I didn’t get to see the race on Monday. I was able to see a clip of the tangle between Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart. From what I could tell, the on track incident was just a racing deal. Of course I didn’t get to see the laps leading up to the meet and greet, but all I saw was a racing deal. Two racers wanting the same spot on the track and neither one giving an inch. I don’t see why Tony had to give Kurt the line. They both had good cars. I can understand if Tony was much slower than Kurt, but this didn’t look like the case. With that being said, I would like to address the actions of Kurt Busch after the on track incident.

I was appalled by what he did. I am sure he wanted to tell Tony what he thought of Tony’s driving on the track. That’s all in good, but when your car nearly takes out a crew member then I take issue with your actions. Luckily Tony’s crew member was not hurt in the incident and he was able to jump up on the hood of Tony’s car to avoid Kurt’s car, but his could have turned out differently. While listening to Sirius on the way, one caller said this incident was being blow out of proportion and that if it had been anyone else this would be no big deal. I disagree. I don’t care who it is including Tony. Car vs pedestrian is not a good thing. The pedestrian usually comes out on the bad end of things. NASCAR was right in parking Kurt. Should he been further penalized? Yes. This is a safety issue. NASCAR is always said safety of everyone at the race track is a number one concern. I would still be upset if this was the other way around. No matter who it is behind the wheel your car is a dangerous weapon even at a slow speed. It will be interesting to see how NASCAR handles this one.

I am sick of rain. For the past several nights we have had thunderstorms. Some being on the severe side. Luckily, there were no tornadoes, but I am sick of them. I don’t like my television viewing interrupted by our local metereologists telling me there is a nasty thunderstorm headed my way. First of all there is one of them who blows everything out of proportion and panics everyone for no reason. Here’s the deal…the fine citizens who live in this part of the great state of Texas know what thunderstorms are all about..hail..rain..wind..and an occassional tornado. We get it. I think this guy likes to here himself talk. I will give him credit…he gives out the most information, but ENOUGH ALREADY. This leads me into yesterday’s NASCAR race.

I was already to hunker down to watch the Dover race. Unlike last year’s race Tony was in top condition and ready to race. I had friends, non-NASCAR friends mind you, coming over for come dogs and patties. And that stinking rain just had to ruin my NASCAR watching day. DAMN YOU RAIN!!!! Why couldn’t the BUSCH or TRUCK race been rained out? Now, I have to listen to the race at work–AT WORK. This work thing is SERIOUSLY cutting into my NASCAR watching. But I am OK!

Speaking of friends, I was introduced to Architect’s new girlfriend yesterday. She was very nice. I like her. I haven’t seen Architect this happy in a long time. I have always believe he needed someone who wasn’t the typical gal Architect dated. She’s definitely made an impact on him. I didn’t get a chance to visit with her as much as I wanted because I was playing the hostess with the mostest, but we are headed out to Big D next week for a much needed vacation. We are planning to meet up with them for dinner/lunch and that will give me a chance to visit with her some more.

5 days till VACATION!!!!!

One more thing before I go…the Dale Jr. lottery is still going on. I think the top contenders are Gibbs and Ginn. I know Earnhardt nation would love to see him at RCR, but not at this point in his racing career. Dale needs a place where he feels safe, comfortable, and more importantly feel like a champion. I think both Gibbs and Ginn would be those places. We will just have to wait and see.

I will be watching Prelude to a Dream from Eldora Speedway on Wednesday night courtesy of HBO pay-per-view. All proceeds benefit Victory Junction. I can’t wait. It will be fun to watch the boys race on dirt. Have you ordered it today?

Oh did I mention…5 DAYS TILL VACATION!!!!

I got up early to clean my house on Sunday so that I oculd have the rest of the day to enjoy the racing that laid ahead. Just as I do every Memorial Day weekend, I take a moment or too to remember what Memorial Day is all about. I say “Thank you” to those who have served and are still serving to protect my freedom. Once again I want to “THANK YOU”.

I sat down to watch the 91st Indy 500. I love the pagentry of the whole thing. I am hoping to attend an Indy 500 some day. I have a list of races I want to attend in my life time and well Indy is at the top of the list. This year’s race was somewhat historic, there were 3 women in the race. I was saddened to see Jim Nabors was unable to attend Indy to sing the traditional “Back Home in Indiana”, but he is getting up there in years. The race started off great. And then the rains came. I for one was not too happy. How long the delay would be was a serious concern? I mean I had this all planned out. Indy would be finished and not cut too much into the NASCAR coverage. But sadly the rain kept falling. Finally, they got Indy underway, unfortunately the rains came again. Congratulations to Dario Franchetti! I would have loved to seen it a complete race, but sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t always play fair.

Now on to the Coca Cola 600. I thought it was going to be a long race when the first crash occured. I saw the whole thing even before it started. I saw that piece of tire go flying into the air. And then KABOOM! Carnage everywhere and Tony right in the middle of it all. I grabbed a cup of Kool Aid and poured some vodka in it. It was going to be a long night for me. At this point, I’m thinking, they ARE at LOWE’S Motor Speedway and it WAS JIMMIE’s car the tire came off of…and MY driver has HOME DEPOT as a sponsor…it’s a CONSPIRACY man! But hey, it was better than last year’s showing at Charlotte.

I have to say WOW…on the Jeff Gordon crash. That looked like that hurt from my living room couch. But look at this way Jeff, you got to go home early to spend some time with Ingrid.

It was a long, long race for most of us. There were some teams who did well while the track was hot and slippery, but faded as the track began to cool. While others just bided their time and kept digging in…and look what did my wandering eyes see, but that #20 orange car leading the way. Unfortunately, gas mileage came into play.

Here’s your top 5…it’s rather interesting I must say.

1. Casey Mears
2. JJ Yeley
3. Kyle Petty
4. Reed Sorenson
5. Brian Vickers

And I can’t leave out my man…Tony…nice 6th place finish. I do have to also give props to both Kyle Petty and Brian Vickers for having good runs on Sunday.

I am glad Casey Mears finally got over that hump of winning his first race. I have always believe it wasn’t a matter of if, but win. I mean how appropriate that a MEARS wins on Indy 500 Day. CONGRATULATIONS CASEY!

I did get a chance to watch other sports this weekend. The most intersing of them was Lacrosse. I have to say it is an interesting sport. They play 4 quarters (similar to football). Try to score goals in a net (hockey, basketball, soccer). They use short and long sticks, not sure what that’s all about, but I’m sure it matters. They get penalties for fouls (hockey). And it’s fast paced at times. I watched the Duke/Cornell semi-final on Saturday. I had to root for Duke. After all they had been through the previous year I had to cheer the Blue Devils on. During the time I watched them, they rattled off 5 unanswered goals. I thought Duke would take the money and run with the game, but Cornell would have none of that. They came back to tie the game with a little run of their own. But just like in fairy tale fashion Duke scored with just seconds remaining. Duke went on to face Johns Hopkins in the finals. JH is a powerhouse in NCAA lacrosse having already won 8 championships. I saw the last quarter or so. I really wanted to see Duke win, but this fairy tale had a different ending. Duke had a chance to score in the last seconds, but was unable to conncet. JH won their 9th NCAA championship. Congratulations Johns Hopkins. Duke fought valiantly and have no reason to hang their heads. You rocked.

Well…the boys are on to Dover and the Monster Mile.

Have a safe week!

Last weekend was interesting to say the least. Here are the highlights.

Crew chief race was funny…guess Kyle’s crew chief took some pointers from Kyle?

Qualifying for the All Star race was interesting..way to go Killer Bees! Now that’s a way to make a pit stop.

Congrats to Newman’s crew for winning the Pit Crew Challenge.

The Open was exciting. Montoya got a little excited and took himself out along with a few others before they could even complete a lap. I thought Carl was going to run away with it, but here comes Truex and Sauter. Sorry Carl, but better luck next year. You didn’t do too bad as a pit reporter though. Hey, if that racing gig doesn’t work out…

Way to Kenny “The Shy One” Wallace for getting voted into the race. It was nice to see someone I voted for get win.

The open’s new format was ok. I am glad they didn’t have the invert. I don’t like it. I did like the 4/20 lap segments and the final pit stop. Do you get tires/gas/or just do a stop and go? Made for some interesting action in the pits. I really thought Matt had the best chance to win, but that old speeding gremlin got him.

Way to go Kevin! I am so glad you beat that other home improvement driver. I am so sick of them saying it’s his house. Enough already.

But for the biggest highlight and the one that got the most cheering in The Park was when Kyle took out his own brother Kurt. I guess when you are racing for a cool million all bets are off. I think I would take out my own grandmother for a million dollars.

Announcement of the week: COT will be the car of next year. Starting with the 2008 season the COT will be full time. The COT has grown on me. I think it has brought some better racing. They seem to be a little durable than the old car. Those who were spoiled by the aerodynamic car of right now seem to struggle while those who can drive anything (Tony) are doing pretty good.

Dale Jr. Lottery Update: Just still lots of rumors…nothing substantial to report.

Penske: Has the pole for the big races on Sunday. Both Newman and Busch will start in the front row Sunday. Looks like the Penske team may have turned the corner. They have had some good runs lately.

I would like to take a moment to wish everyone a wonderful happy Memorial Day weekend. Please take time out this weekend to remember those who are serving, served and ultimately gave the biggest sacrifice of all. Those are the ones we need to say “Thank you” to you this weekend.

Happy Memorial Day!

For those of you out there who remember…the record is stuck and keeps repeating. Someone go bump it so it can play the next song.

Once again, HMS won. This time at the hands of Jeff Gordon. Postman picked Gordon again this season. Last year if my husband picked some he was known as the car killer. This year, the exact opposite. It must be Gordon’s year. He was overheating and spewing hot water and yet the damn thing managed to hang on until it was over.

What’s up with Denny’s pitcrew? Isn’t this the second time a SNAFU on pit road has cost Denny a victory? He was clearly a dominate car in the field yesterday.

We get a break on Saturday from points and the championship. Saturday is the All-Star Challenge. No points, just pure racing! Can’t wait! Did you vote? I sure did…I am voting for Kenny Wallace. I didn’t vote in my local election, but I am voting.

News flash…teams are considering hiring team meteorologists. After two Saturday night rainouts, teams don’t want to take any chances with the All Star challenge.

I have had a few days to think about what happened on Wednesday. Everything that Dale Jr does whether it’s on the track or off the track it makes headlines. I was at work during his press conference so I didn’t get a chance to watch it live on Speed, but I was I did get a chance to hear the first four minutes of the press conference on Sirius.

This decision was the hardest decision he will make in his life until he decides to walk away from NASCAR. I can’t even begin to step into his shoes and to tell you the truth I don’t want to. I believe this is a good decision for Dale. He wasn’t, in my opinion, getting the equipment needed to compete on the level he should be. He is a talented driver. But talent will get you so far in the world of NASCAR. You need the car, the equipment and the personnel in place to compete and win championships in NASCAR. When Dale Jr. decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, you knew his life would be under a microscope. His father is a Daytona 500 winner and a 7-time NASCAR champion. He was The Intimidator. To me there was no driver any greater than Dale Sr. As much as he would have liked to stay at the company his father built and created, it wasn’t meant to be. Junior needs to carve out his own niche in NASCAR. He needs to step out of his father’s shadow and become the champion, in my opinion, he can be. He will win one I have no doubt. I am sure Dale Sr. would support his son in whatever pursuits he chose to follow. But I believe this whole event would be moot if Dale Sr. was alive.

Now the Dale Jr. lottery begins. Dale Jr. wants to win a championship. He will need a team that will get him that championship. He wants to stay with Chevy. This eliminates several teams out there. He wants people around him who he feels can get the job done for him and whom he feels comfortable working with. Everyone’s sentimental favorite would be Childress Racing, but if he is going to carve his own niche, RCR wouldn’t be it. I would like to see him over at Gibbs Racing. What a team that would be! And of course…I hate to say…maybe Hendrick. But they are a long shot. HMS has 4 racings teams. There’s Ginn racing, but it is not quite in the same tier as RCR, HMS, and JGR, but maybe Dale Sr. would elevate the team. From what they have done with Mark Martin, you might have to give them a shot. And last, he could just elevate JR Motorsports to a Cup team. No matter what Dale Jr. decides it will be one with careful thought and consideration. Good Luck Junior wherever you may land.

Tonight’s race is rained out. This is the second week in a row the Saturday night race has been rained out. I am sick of rain. We had some serious deluge here on Tuesday and Wednesday. I thought I saw Noah putting up some scaffolding. I am going to say the HMS domination will end tomorrow. Go Tony!