NASCAR 2009

Pit Crew Challange & NASCAR Day

/ Trixie / 2 Comments

PCC_664I have to say I love the Pit Crew Challenge.  It’s great to watch these guys do what they do best and last didn’t disappoint.  I was very proud of the #14 team reachign the semi-finals.   I so much wanted them to win last night, but a couple of  penalties cost them.  It was a tough break for these guys, but you have to these things happened on pit raod they could cost tony the lead and/or penalty.    It was cool to see the wives and girlfriends fo the drivers get into the pit crew challenge.  Fro example, Kim Burton steering the #31 car for the competition.  I mean this women is there at the track atop the pit box every week supporting her husband.  I don’t know if I have ever seen a more passionate spouse.  The same could be said for Delana Harvick.  It was kind of cute to see Kevin standing at the a sort of pit box watching his wife and crew memebers compete.  But in the end, it was the #31 team who smoked the competition.  They were up against the underdog team of the night the #43 team of Reed Sorenson.  As I told my husband last night, it was the “Battle of the Richards”.  I wanted both of those teams to win, but unfortunately you can only have winner.  CONGRATULATIONS #31 TEAM!!!

Today is the 6th annual NASCAR day…do you have your NASCAR gear on as well as your NASCAR day pin?  I do.  But I don’t need a special day to wear my NASCAR attire, but as with any special observation, you make a special effort to let people know how you are passionate about NASCAR.  Of course NASCAR day isn’t all about declaring your passion for NASCAR, it is a time to make a difference for the NASCAR charities.  There are several driver foundations that you can contribute to these days.  You can also look at all the charities Speedway Charities helps out.  You can make a difference.  Even buying a $5 NASCAR Day pin is making a contribution.  Yes it may be only $5, but what if 100, 000 people bought just one pin that is $50, 000 that could help make a difference in someone’s life.  I bought three pins this year…one for myself, Postman and Little Smoke.  I would love to give more this year, but things are a little tough for this NASCAR fan, but I just wanted to show my support for NASCAR and it’s charities.

The Bullet List

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

Sorry about not posting in awhile–this is my busiest time at work and I am lucky to get out with some kind of damage like at Talladega. So with that being said here is my bullet list for the past couple of weeks.

  • I was ok with the result of the Richmond race.  I was hoping for a Denny Hamlin victory or at least closer to the front so it would have given me a bigger lead in my fantasy league, but I came out leading the points after that race.  Not too shabby I must say.  Congratatulations to Kyle Busch for yet another win this year.  Say what you want, but this boy can drive that car.  With the win at Richmond that gave him 4 wins so far on the season.
  • How ’bout that race at Darlington?  That’s the second win for Mr. Mark Martin this year.  It’s 2 wins in the last four races.  He is now up to the 11th spot in the standings with 20 bonus points.  He has one more win than teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.  And 2 more than Junior.   I believe I heard this was his first multiple race win season since 2000, but I am not sure on that stat.  I was half listening at times and I think it was on the radio and not tv. 
  • Thanks Jeff Burton for a decent finish for me.  You allowed me to keep my lead in my fantasy league.  Granted it’s a small one, but a lead nonetheless.
  • I listen to quite a bit of NASCAR on Sirius.  No matter what the topic somehow, someway, talk will turn about Juniors’s performance or lack there of this season.  Normally when the talk turns to Junior I usually switch channels because frankly I really don’t care about it, but the other day one of the callers made a decent point.  He said perhaps Junior doesn’t know how to communciate to Eury Jr. about how this new car reacts or what needs to be done.  This is a different car than the old one.  I mean all you have to do is look at how Jeff has struggled with the car.  I have watched Junior drive the wheels of the Nationwide car.  However this car is similar to the old car.   I just think Mr. Hendrick is going to have some tough choices ahead of him.  I mean think abou this…Mark Martin just joined HMS this year and he already has more wins with HMS than Junior has with HMS.
  • I am excited about the results Stewart Haas has been putting up lately.  Tony and Ryan finished 3rd and 4th respectively at Darlington.  Both drivers are in the top 12 with Tony sitting 2nd just 29 points right behind Jeff Gordon.  While Ryan is sitting 8th in the points.   I am excited about the rest of the season.  Both drivers are so close to that first win for Stewart Haas.  I would love for Tony to get the first win for his team, but I would take a Newman too.
  • How ’bout them rookies?  Brad K finished 7th and Joey Lagano finished 9th. 
  • I have to say I was a little disappointed about the suspension of Jeremy Mayfield from NASCAR especially since he was tryign to make a go of it with his own team this year.  This is a no-tolerance policy.  I can’t say I blame NASCAR for having such stringent policies.  Does a driver want to be out on the track driving 150 plus mph with another driver who may be under the influence.  Will Jeremy be able to come back into NASCAR at some point?  I can’t answer that.  But it is going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.  Jeremy has named his wife Shana as the owner and tagged JJ Yeley to drive his #41 car.
  • It’s all-star week in NASCAR.  One of my favorite events takes place tomorrow–the pit crew challenge.  I love to watch this event.  This is the time these guys get to show what makes them best out there.  Many times these guys get no recognition unless they  make a huge mistake, but if it wasn’t for these guys doing what they do best soem of these drivers would be able to do what they do best.
  • Have you voted for your favorite driver?  I have a couple of times, but that’s about it.  I will go and vote a couple of more before the deadline.  So if haven’t voted…go vote!
  • Don’t forget about NASCAR Day on Friday May 15.  Wear your favorite NASCAR gear to work, home, or whereevery to let everyone know what NASCAR means to you.  Of course, for those who are friends and family memebers of a NASCAR fan, you already know what NASCAR means to them.

One More Time

/ Trixie / Leave a comment

Mark Martin will return in 2010 to run another full year for Hendrick Motorsports. Initially when Mark decided to come out of semi-retirement, he was going to run a full season in 2009 and a partial season in 2010. Looks like Mark may be having a good time and signed up for the full season next year. Of course this news didn’t surprise me in the least. Mark seems to have a renewed desire and energy it didn’t have after he left Roush. I mean look at this year so far…one win, 3 poles, and 5 top tens in 10 races. And who knows what the rest of the season holds for Mr. Martin. There is quite a bit more racing left. Watch out boys….Mark Martin is back.

Post Dega

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

Personal note…I can’t believe I went by I didn’t acknowledge April 12.  No it wasn’t my birthday…that’s June 15 or my wedding anniversary that’s June 9…but the anniversary of The Park.  I can’t believe it has been 4 years already.  What started out as a way to just share my randomness in my life as well as my passion obsession, has turned into a place where I have meet some wonderful people who love to blog just as much as I do.  At one point I thought about giving up on The Park, but it has become a part of me.  I may not have the traffic or the readers so people do with their blogs, but I like to think I can brighten someone’s day out there with my efforts.  Thank you to all those who stop by and comment and for all those lurkers out there.  I hope you continue your travels through The Park.

I was planning on posting my thoughts about the race at Talladega on Tuesday, but with the sudden passing of David Poole, I wanted until today.

As I have mentioned here before I like racing at Talladega.  I like the sitting on the edge of your seat kind of racing and Sunday was no exception for me.  Of course the face of the race took a different look on Lap 7 when the Big One happend.  I mean it took out several of the race contenders in one fell swoop.  it shows how one itty bitty wiggle/bobble can cause a massive pileup.    This race took out Jeff Gordon, the points leader as well as Mark Martin who had managed to climb to 13th in the points standings.  I felt bad for Mark. He was gaining  momentum and to have it all taken away just plain SUCKS.

I make no bones about the fact I am not a fan of Dale Jr.  I won’t go into all the horrendous details and detailed explanation of why, but on Sunday I found myself wondering where he was on the track.  It wasn’t because I was thinking of becoming a member of Junior Nation…the reason I picked him as my driver was for one of my fantasy leagues.  I was in the lead coming into Talladega and I wanted to maintain my lead as well increase my lead, plus Junior was still on the block for me to pick so why the hell not?  I mean I am not a fan of his, but I am not going to let that come between me and winning.  I mean look at the numbers at Talladega for Junior.  His best starting position is 3rd and well his best finish is first and he has done that 5 times.  It’s all about winning in my book.  And with the finish on Sunday I am have maintained my lead and stretched it out. 

Now on to The Crash…

We all know the best part of the race usually happens within the last 25 laps.  This is where those who have a possibility of winning begin to make their moves and find their drafting partners or better yet who they call follow to the front until they can pull out to take the lead.  Just like they did in the Nationwide race on Saturday, Newman and Junior hooked up nose to tail as they made there way to the front.  Plus you couldn’t count out David Ragan either since he was just about in the same spot after the last restart on Sunday as he was on Saturday.  But as we all know, this is Talladega…anything can happen.  Since Tony had a rough go on Sunday and to be honeset I thought he was going to make it interesting near the end, but as luck would have it no.   But there was the other SHR car driven by Ryan Newman.  If Tony couldn’t get the first win for Stewart Haas Racing, it was perfectly fine and dandy that Newman get it.  I was thinking Dale would make his move around Newman sooner than he did on Saturday, but the next thing you know he comes Carl Edwards being pushed by Brad Keselowski.The two of them passed the Newman/Earnhardt Express like they were standing still.  There was Carl I grimmaced.  He pretty much rode around all day until he needed to make his move…of course this was nothing new.  I have seen other drivers do this as well.  You have to do what you have to do to WIN. 

In my opinion, the incident between Carl and Brad was a racing deal.  Brad held the bottom line and did not go beyond the yellow as he was instructed by NASCAR during the driver’s meeting.  If he had gone below the yellow when Carl came down on him, it would have cost him the victory (see Fall 2008 Dega race).  It was a horrific accident.  Every piece of safety equipment did it’s job from the fence to the Hans device.  Carl was able to walk away and make his way to the start finish line.  I believe if Newman’s car had not been there when he started flipping I don’t think he would have ended up in the fence.  From what I could tell he was headed back down to the track surface when he hit the front of Newman’s car which accted like a catapult.  Eight fans were injured because of debris from Carl’s car.  This begs the question…should NASCAR car look at ways to prevent something from this happening in the future?  That I can’t answer.  NASCAR considers safety of the drivers, crewman, and fans priority number one and I am sure NASCAR will be disccussing these things in the near future.

Congratulations Brad for your first win in the Cup Series.  I think you have a might bright future in NASCAR!

Talladega

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

As I lay in my recliner trying to beat this sinus cold that has taken over my body, I flipped on to Speed TV to see a replay of the 2007 Aaron’s 499.  I must say it was kind of exciting to watch even though I knew who the winner was going to be.  I like Talladega.  I have made no bones about this fact here in The Park before.  It’s a chess game of sorts.  One little move can make or break the race.  One wrong misstep could take out a gaggle of cars and change the race in a second, but I still love it.  This race could change the face of the standings as well.  I don’t know how it would effect them this soon in the season, but when the boys come back in the fall it could change the face of The Chase.

I do have a little dilemma this week.  Dale Jr. tends to race well at this track, but he hasn’t had the best luck this season.  Even though this little tidbit has not escaped me this week, I am still thinking of choosing Dale Jr. as my driver for this week over at On Pit Row’s “One and Done” Fantasy Racing contest.  I have a slight lead and sitting a top the standings, but like anything else it could all fall apart of this weekend.    But sometimes it’s about points racing and maintaining that lead.

I am hoping this is the weekend Tony Stewart gets over that hump and get his first win in the #14.  He won last fall’s race after a discussion regarding the yellow line, but I think he will be one of several drivers to watch this weekend.  I have to admit I think Dale Jr. will also be one of the drivers to watch this week as well.  All his teammates have each won a race this week and to some there may be some pressure on him to win on for HMS.  But Talladega is one of the those tracks where he runs well.  So maybe he will come through for me…but of course it needs to be behind Tony.  Come on now…let’s don’t all go drinking that crazy kool-aid.

Racing in the Desert

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martincolver3302

Wow! That was some fine racing last night in the desert by one Mark Martin. First he decides to come out of semi-retirement to drive the #5 for Hendrick Motorsports. He then goes on to win 3 poles (Atlanta, Bristol, Phoenix). He started off the season after Daytona 15th in the standings. He fell near the danger zone in 34th after Atlanta, but after Bristol, he has steadily moved up in the standings and now sits in 13th just 9 points behind former Roush teammate Matt Kenseth. Even though I wanted Tony to capture his first win under Stewart Haas Racing, I was excited about Mark Martin’s victory.

I do have to say there was quite a bit of respect for Mr. Martin last night from teammates, fellow competitors, but most of all his former boss Mr. Jack Roush when they all came over to congratulate Mark in Victory Lane. I hadn’t seen something like that since Dale Sr. won his only Daytona 500. I like Mark Martin. He is always the first to say thank to his crew, thank to the fans, and he appreciates everything he has with regards to NASCAR.

I was excited to see Tony having a good night. His first victory of the year is so close we can all feel it. At Texas, Jeff Gordon broke his winless streak, last night Mark Martin broke his, perhaps next week at Talladega the #14 can get that first victory with SHR. He finished 3rd at Martinsville, 4th at Texas, and 2nd last night. It looks good for Talladega. I know Tony wanted to win last night, but I don’t think he minded that he was 2nd to Mark Martin. And like Mark Martin mentioned in Victory Lane, “Tony would have raced me clean, but he would have raced him crazy.” That about sums it from Phoenix folks.

NASCAR

/ Trixie / Leave a comment

I haven’t been doing such a good blogger of late.  I have been stuck in the back of the pack, on pit road or in the garage.  But to be honest I have been trying to get some things in my life back on track and get some focus into my life.  I have come to the conclusion I need to get back to what I love to do here in The Park…talk about NASCAR.

I have to say I was somewhat excited about Jeff Gordon finally breaking his winless streak, the longest of his career at what I consider my home track Texas Motor Speedway.  TMS was one of two tracks Jeff had not conquered, the other being Homestead, but after last Sunday, Homestead is the last track standing.  I think his fellow teammate, Jimmie Johnson, had other ideas.  I think if the race had lasted a few more laps, Jimmie would have caught his teammate. 

I have been researching some things and I really want to post something about Dale Jr, but I want to wait a few more weeks before making this post.  I will say up front that I am not a fan of Dale Jr, but I was a little saddened by the apparent demise of the #8 team he made famous.  It is going to be strange not to see the #8 racing on Sundays.  The team was suspended indefinitely due to lack of sponsorship.  The economic times have been tough for all teams in NASCAR.  Many have had to tighten their belts and make decisions they  might not have made if it wasn’t for the economy.  I am sure there are those in Earnhardt Nation who are just sitting back and saying “We told you so.”  Do I think DEI, or EGR as it is now known, will slowly fall to the wayside?  I am not sure.  EGR isn’t the only team who has had to park a team due to lack of sponsorship.

I am a fan of Kyle Busch.  I wasn’t when he first came into NASCAR.  I thought he was punk and needed to be taken back behind the woodshed, but he has earned my respect and has won me over.  I believe Kyle Busch is exactly what NASCAR has needed.  He is a breath of fresh air.  He does have smart ass mouth on him and he isn’t afraid to speak his plus he is a damn good driver.  I have read he is being compared to a Dale Earnhardt Sr. when he first came into NASCAR.  I know that seems like blasphemy in NASCAR, but why can’t we compare him to Dale Sr.?  Aren’t other sport superstars compared to each other in the other major sports?  Will Kyle accomplish the things Dale Sr. did during his tenure in NASCAR?  I don’t know.  Dale Sr. raced during a different time in NASCAR.  But from this NASCAR fan’s point of view, it’s going to be a blast to see him try.

It looks like Stewart Haas Racing is headed in the right direction.  Tony has started out with several great runs.  He has 2 Top 5s and 5 Top 10s and is sitting 5th in the points.  He doesn’t have a win as of yet, but it is only a matter of time.  Ryan got off to a slow start (and I am sure he was thrilled to just get of Daytona), but they have slowly found something and are headed in the right direction.  He’s only 92 points behind 12th place Jeff Burton in the standings.  He moved up one spot last week to 17th.  I figure with a few more good runs, Newman can get into the Top 12.  And isn’t that where you want to be after Richmond?

I am hoping to make a more concerted effort to post more NASCAR stuff with a little of my messy and confusing life mixed in.