NASCAR

Party in the Poconos 400

/ Trixie / Leave a comment

Party in the Poconos 400 presented by Walmart is a little over a month away (June 9).  If have already made plans to head to the race, FANTASTIC!  If you have not made plans, but not sure if you can afford it, you are in luck!  Walmart in partnership with Pocono Speedway to offer 16,000 concourse level tickets for just $25!  That’s what I said $25!!!  Tickers at this low price are still available and can be purchased online at Walmart.

You can still cast you vote for the pierogie you want to see served at the race.  You can choose from the following three pierogie flavors:

  1. Hot Honey Buffalo Wing
  2. Loaded Potato Skin
  3. Sweet Cinnamon

pierogi

Right now, Loaded Potato Skin has a commanding lead.  So if you are fans of the other two pierogies, you better get to voting!  Remember just like with the name of the race, you can vote once a day, every day until May 7.  You can vote online via the Walmart Facebook Page at walmarturl.com/FanDriven 400.  Make your voice heard!

There is a third stage of voting you will get to participate in as fans.  Beginning May 8th through May 27th, you will get to choose between three designs for the pace car.  So be on the lookout for your chance to decide the design!

Beginning June 5, Walmarts in the Long Pond area will be hosting NASCAR fan events.  These events will feature real stock racing car and simulator displays, FREEsamples from suppliers, driver appearances and more!  Man, that sounds exciting!  Plus while you are participating in these exciting events, you can pick up some of those tailgating items you may have left behind!

So make your summer plans to join other race faces at Party in the Poconos 400 presented by Walmart on June 9, 2013!  You don’t want to miss out on all the action!

Have a great day!

Wednesday Musings

/ Trixie / Leave a comment

I have been debating whether or not to post about the Phoenix race.  I didn’t get to watch majority of the race and what I saw was here and there.  Because my husband in a letter carrier with USPS, he had a rare Friday and Saturday off.  This means lots of family time for us and that is exactly what happened this past weekend.  With that being said, I did keep track of the race and saw the last 60 laps of the race.  Congratulations to Carl Edwards!  After last year’s season, this was a welcome surprise for him.

I have been perusing the websites looking for something to write about today.  A couple of things have caught my eye.  One of those items came out of Texas Motor Speedway yesterday.  Eddie Gossage announced yesterday the National Rifle Association (NRA) will sponsor the April 13 Cup Race at TMS.  I do not like to discuss my political views on my blog.  My political views are my own and this is not the purpose of this blog.  I will say, I believe you should have the right to own a gun.  This doesn’t mean everyone should own a gun.  I grew up with a father who taught me the value of gun safety and what it meant to be a gun owner.  I am a gun owner.  I own two rifles, one of them is my grandfather’s and the other is my father’s.  I do not have them loaded and I do not keep ammunition in the house.  They have not been fired in years.  I keep them away from my children.  I will do exactly what my father did when I was curious about the rifles.  I do know Eddie Gossage is sensitive to the recent events in Newtown.  If you have not seen a race at Texas, the winner gets a set of guns and a cowboy hat.  The winner gets to shoot blanks in Victory Lane.  Eddie Gossage has stated if a Cup Team or owner is opposed of this celebration, it will be altered.  If you do not like the NRA, that is your choice as well as being a member of the NRA.  I am not here to debate this issue.  If you are visit often, please respect my wishes.  Thank you.

Another story that caught my eye was one about Christmas Abbott.  Who is Christmas Abbott?  I didn’t know either until I saw her story on Headline News.  She is the first woman to work for pit crew at the highest level of NASCAR.  She is currently the front tire changer for Michael Waltrip Racing.  She is the 8th crew member for MWR and will work as the front tire change for Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series teams.  I applaud her effort to break into the male dominated world.  She may not get the amount of coverage like Danica Patrick, but she is making her mark on NASCAR.

Now on to Vegas…

Tony Stewart is the defending race champion.  Last year was the first time he had won a race at Vegas.  In 2011, he was thisclose to winning it, but finished up as runner-up.  Not to use a Vegas cliché, the odds look good for Tony this weekend.  Tony has the 3rd best driver rating in the last 8 races at Vegas behind Jimmie Johnson (who has the highest and 4 victories at Vegas) and Jeff Gordon.  Tony has also led 290 laps out of the 534 laps in the last two races.  So if you are a betting person, I would put it all on Tony.  But watch out Jimmie Johnson is in the zone.  He finished 1st at Daytona and 2nd last week.  And as mentioned above, he has 4 wins at Vegas.  The Cup teams will be able to get some extra time in Gen 6 car.  Teams will have a full day of testing on Thursday.

If you are headed to Vegas or you are already there, check out some Race Time events sponsored by Walmart.  These events will be held at the following Walmarts in the Las Vegas area March 6, 7, & 8 according to the following website www.walmart.com/NASCAR.  These events bring NASCAR to life. So stop on by and check out it!

March 6:

  • 6005 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas   10:00-4:00
  • 5198 Boulder Hwy, Las Vegas      11:30-5:30

March 7:

  • 4505 W. Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas    10:00-4:00
  • 8060 W. Tropical Pkwy, Las Vegas        11:30-5:30

March 8:

  • 1807 W Craig Rd   11:30-5:30

If you are headed to the races this weekend don’t forget to stop by Walmart for all your tailgating needs.  I have been to several races Texas Motor Speedway and I always make a point to stop and get stocked up before heading out to the race.  did you leave home without your favorite Tony Stewart shirt and don’t want to pay all those high prices, don’t fear Walmart can help you out.  In fact, Walmart was the first place I looked when needing a new Tony Stewart shirt.  I can’t say it will bring your driver any luck, but I know you can get some responsibly priced NASCAR merchandise at Walmart.  IMG_1735

Want to make it to a race, but can’t spend that much money.  Walmart is offering Family Track Packs for select races this year.  You can get a 4 tickets, 4 Coke Sodas, and 4 hot dogs for only $99!  That’s right $99!  The next race you can take advantage of this opportunity is the race at Auto Club Speedway on March 24, 2013 and then the Southern 500 at Darlington on May 11.  You can head on over to www.walmart.com/NASCAR to purchase the $99 packages

Now for a little fun…

  • Got some free NASCAR swag last week in the mail, a Kyle Busch cup and a Jimmie Johnson calendar.  Would have loved some Tony Stewart stuff, but I don’t care.  I love me some free stuff!IMG_1840
  • I love being a NASCAR fan.  Being a NASCAR fan, is different from being a fan of other professional sports teams.  I feel as if all the NASCAR fans are part of a family and the last couple of weeks no different.  I was able to hook up another Tony Stewart fan with a copy of NASCAR Illustrated with Tony on the front.  She wasn’t able to locate any in her part of the country (California), but I was here in Texas.  I also found a set of tiny SHR race cars for her as well.  I thought she might like them.  I didn’t expect anything in return.  It was just one Tony Stewart fan helping out another Tony Stewart fan.  To my surprise, she sent me a Tony Stewart car to me.  That’s just how we are!  Thanks Amy!

IMG_1807

  • My youngest loves Tony Stewart.  He is his favorite driver (go figure).  Every Sunday, I ask him the same thing…what day is it?  Race Day…Who is going to win?  Tony Stewart!  However, he added a little to this the morning of the Daytona 500.

chase with tony mag

Danica Patrick

/ Trixie / Leave a comment

I was going to rehash all the stories I had read on the internet and watched on tv the last couple of days. Honestly I kept deleting everything I had written. Even with this post, I am having a hard time writing about the story. But on the eve of the Budweiser Duels, here goes, my take on this historical even in sports history.

I have heard so much talk about Danica since she decided to come over to NASCAR from Indy Car.  There has already been quite a lot of hoopla surrounding her arrival both good and bad.  But you cannot argue with the historical significance of what she accomplished on Sunday.  Title IX has been law since 1972.  I was only two years old when this went into effect.  Growing up I lived next door to three boys.  Of the three, two were very rambunctious and into sports.  We all played football, basketball, and baseball together.  It didn’t matter that I was a girl to them (well, at least until I hit puberty).  I was good at all the sports. I held my own with this boys.  And to blunt, I could throw a football better than most of the boys on the block.  However, I was somewhat limited to the sports I could participate in at school.  It wasn’t because I was a girl, it was because my school didn’t have many offerings for girls.  In junior high, it was basketball and track.  In high school it was the same thing.  But either way I was given the opportunity to play sports.  I did play soccer and softball through other sports programs offered.

As a young girl growing up in the 1980s I didn’t have many female sports figures I could follow or point to for inspiration.  All the ones I grew up knowing and following were men.  The only time I can remember watching women participate sports was on Wide World of Sports, Wimbledon, or the Olympics.  I believe the only women’s basketball I ever saw was when the NCAA tournament rolled around in March.  That was it.  I knew there were women who were participating in sports, but there wasn’t they didn’t receive the exposure they do today.

As a young girl, I went to the local dirt track on Saturday nights with my father.  I so wanted to be a race car driver.  I wanted to get out there on that dirt track and race with those guys.   There were no women I knew of at the time that raced.  But as I know now that wasn’t true.  Women have been a part of NASCAR since it’s inception from Sara Christian (first female driver in NASCAR) to Louise Smith to Janet Guthrie (she also competed in Indy Series) to Shawna Robinson and now Danica Patrick.  Each of these women and the many others who have been part of NASCAR have laid the groundwork for Danica.  And whether you like it or not, she is laying the groundwork for the next generation of female racers who want to race in NASCAR.

Of all the side stories that came out of qualifying this past Sunday the one I enjoyed the most was about Ella Gordon, daughter of Jeff Gordon.  I found the story on USA Today written by Jeff Gluck http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/02/17/danica-patrick-daytona-500-pole-jeff-gordon/1926541/).  Danica took a picture with 5-year old Ella Gordon after winning the pole on Sunday.  According to her father, Ella didn’t realize girls could grow up to be race car drivers until Patrick came along.  Now Ella can grow up knowing women do race in NASCAR thanks to Danica.  Who knows 20 years from now we may Miss Ella Gordon and other young ladies competing in NASCAR.

And folks that is the significance of this accomplishment.

Don’t forget…

  • Fan Driven 400–Don’t forget you can become part of NASCAR history too!  You can submit your idea for naming the June 9, 2013 race at Pocono.  You have until Monday, February 25 to get your idea submitted online at walmarurl.com/FanDriven.  For more additional information about how you can participate your participate in the “Fan Driven 400” go to https://trixiestrailerpark.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/fan-driven-400/
  • Budweiser Duels are on tomorrow, February 21!  This is the first time in awhile I be home to watch them.  Several drivers are already “in” the 500 due to speeds set on Sunday.  These include Danica Patrick, Jeff Gordon, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse, and Kurt Busch.
  • All the points racing action begins Friday with the Camping World Trucks Series, then Saturday with the Nationwide Series, and finally the Daytona 500!  It has definitely been a very long off-season!

Fan Driven 400

/ Trixie / 4 Comments

As we all know NASCAR is always striving to involve its fans in some way or another.  Just look at this past weekend at The Sprint Unlimited.  Now NASCAR and Walmart want to give fans another opportunity to get involved.  Fans will get a chance to customize the “Fan Driven 400”  to be held at Pocono Raceway on June 9, 2013!  This includes naming the race, voting on a concession stand item called a pierogie, and the official pace car design for the race.  That’s sounds awesome, but how do I get involved in the “Fan Driven 400”?.  Just a reminder this is for the Pocono race to be held on June 9, 2013.  Personal note–this should be easy for me to remember since it is my wedding anniversary.

Here is how you, the fan, can become part of the action!

  1. Race Name Submission:  Fans can submit a name for the race through February 25 at walmarurl.com/FanDriven.  When submitting a name for the race be creative!
  2. Race Name Voting:  Beginning March 11 until April 8, fans can return to the website and vote on the three submissions.  Just think, your submission could be one of the three!
  3. Concession Item:  Fans can vote on three different types of pierogies from April 8 until May 6.
  4. Pace Car Design:  Yes, you as fans will get to choose from three Pace Car designs.  This voting takes place from May 6 until May 27.

That’s folks!  That is how you can help customize the “Fan Driven 400”!  This sounds like a great promotion!  This is just another example of why I love NASCAR.

Thanks to Walmart there are making attending the race even more affordable for everyone.  Walmart is offering 16,000 Concourse Grandstand tickets at a discounted price of $25!.  Did you hear that?  $25 dollars!  Tickets can be purchased online at Walmart.com/NASCAR or through Pocono Raceway at poconoway.com.

If you can’t make it to Pocono, you can still have an opportunity to save some of your hard-earned dollars and attend a NASCAR race.  Walmart is offering the Walmart Family Track Pack for $99 online at Walmart.com/NASCAR.  This means you get 4 tickets, 4 sodas and 4 hotdogs!  That means my family of four can go to a race and have a great time.  With this 4-pack, you can attend races at Las Vegas, Fontana, Darlington, Dover, and many others.  This also includes the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race and the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July and even the season ending race at Homestead!  Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of this money saving opportunity to attend a race with your family?

If you are like me, you might forget when and where to vote…don’t worry, I will be back around to remind everyone!  In the meantime get your thinking caps and submit your name suggestion for the “Fan Driven 400”!  and become part of NASCAR history at walmarturl.com/FanDriven!

Oops, Chad did it again.

/ Trixie / Leave a comment

The hammer came down yesterday for Chad Knaus.  Jimmie Johnson’s car failed opening-day inspection.  His car was found to have an illegal C-post.  A C-post is a body panel that runs from the rear of the roof to the deck lid.  any kind of modification can give the car an aerodynamic advantage.  NASCAR has suspended Chad Knaus for 6 races and docked $100,000.  Jimmie Johnson has been docked 25 driver points. Hendrick Motorsports is appealing the suspension.

This is not the first time Chad has been suspended by NASCAR, but it has been the first time since 2007 when he was suspended in 2007 for 6 weeks.  NASCAR has suspended Chad 4 times.  So this begs the question, is the punishment too harsh for Chad?

I have been on the fence about this question.  On one hand Jimmie’s car that had the illegal part had not even seen the track.  So technically, Jimmie didn’t get an unfair advantage.  But Chad is a repeat offender.  NASCAR I am sure has been scratching their head on this one.  One would think after his suspension in 2007, the message would have been received.  With repeat offenders, you have to continue to amp up the punishments to try to get the crew chiefs to understand you don’t mess with car.  If this had been a first time offense for Chad I would be all over this one saying it was way too harsh.  But I with his history of violations, I believe NASCAR had to issue the 6 race suspension.

There is great pressure on not only Chad, but other crew chiefs in the garage.  NASCAR is a sport of performance and if you aren’t performing you are out of a job and probably sponsorship.  After all NASCAR is a business.  The crew chief’s job is to set up the car each week to be better than everyone else on the track.  The pressure to win not only races, but championships at HMS is very high.  I can’t imagine what kind of pressure Chad is under every week.  Chad’s job is try to push the envelope to get everything out of Jimmie’s car.  All crew chief’s do this on a weekly basis.  The #48 team is probably scrutinized more than other teams I suspect.  I mean he is a 5-time champion and is a threat to win every week.  That is why I think Chad would be watchful of trying to modify the car that would call his actions into question.

Chad was not the only that received punishment.  Car chief Ron Malec has also been suspended for 6 races.  Car owner Jeff Gordon has been docked 25 owner points.  Jimmie Johnson has been docked 25 driver points.  With Johnson’s finish this past Monday night, he left Daytona with only 2 points.  Now with this penalty, he will be heading into Phoenix -23 points and 43rd in the standings. 

Jimmie shouldn’t worry about his standings at this point in the season.  This is only the 2nd week of the season and there is still a lot of racing left.  Remember, he is the only driver to make the Chase every year since it’s inception.  I don’t doubt Jimmie will be there challenging for the 2012 championship.

Hello NASCAR!!!

/ Trixie / Leave a comment

For those of you who know me on a personal level, you know 2011 was a very tough year for me.  I lost my father in April 2011 and then I lost my mother to leukemia on Christmas Eve 2011.  She was diagnosed on December 19 and by Christmas Eve she had lost her battle with to this vicious monster.  She fought this monster with everything she had, but in the it just wouldn’t let go.  I miss both my parents every day.  I love you guys!  This was the one reason I lost sight of myself and The Park.  But I am back with some renewed sense of purpose and maybe, just maybe, getting back into The Park will help me with my healing.

Welcome back all you NASCAR fans!  The off-season is over and it is time to get to business. In case you missed it, we have two races down and one more to go.  I didn’t catch much of last night’s truck race, but I did get home in time to see the finish!  And man, let me tell you, business definitely picked up for the sheet metal fabricators.  It took three green-white-checkers to get our winner.  There was total truck carnage and our winner was John King.  Who?  I repeat John King.  It was his first start and win!  That’s right Mr. John King is a rookie.  That was some crazy stuff!

The Nationwide was sort of a repeat of last nights truck race.  I have to congratulate Danica Patrick on winning the pole for today’s race.  I know there are those out there who think Danica shouldn’t be in NASCAR for whatever reason.  That is their opinion and I respect that.  But for me, I am excited about watching her run with the boys.  I think those out there who do not think she belongs, give her a chance.  She is now in NASCAR full-time.  She will go through growing pains.  But I think she has the support and guidance needed to succeed in NASCAR.  I mean after all who wouldn’t want a 3-time champion mentoring you.

With that being, said, I once again missed most of the race.  I was spending time with my two fellas.  Sometimes my life as a mother takes over my life as a NASCAR fan.  Tony was going to try to win 5 Nationwide races in a row today.  He is that good.  I just wish that success on Saturday would play over into Sunday.  I know there is another Tony fan who shares my sentiment.  But just like the truck race, sheet metal didn’t stand a chance.  It was a crazy finish.  And another first time winner received the checkered flag.  Fellow Texas, James Buescher, who was sitting 11th before all the carnage, came across the start/finish line as the winner.

I am pumped about tomorrow.  This will be the 14th attempt the #14 will try to win the Daytona 500.  I told my co-workers yesterday that if Tony won the Daytona 500 I would probably have some kind of coronary.    He has looked during Speedweeks (both on and off the track).  I listened to the race on Thursday and his post race interviews.  He has that championship feel about him just like he did in the last ten races of 2011.  With that being said, Tony is going to have to fend off quite a field of competitors.  If Tony can’t win, I would love to see someone who hasn’t won this race.  I think we need to watch out for Kasey Kahne and most definitely Carl Edwards. Carl came thisclose to winning it all last year.  He wants that championship and believe you me it is one to watch.   But as we all know the Daytona 500 is unpredictable.  Just look back at last year’s race…who had Trevor Bayne in their Daytona 500 pool?  Certainly not me.

As I close out Saturday and look forward to tomorrow….I am leave you with my annual NASCAR disclaimer.

Attention to all of my family, friends, co-workers and complete strangers, NASCAR season is upon us.  I will NOT be available for family functions, outings, or get-togethers on Sundays.  If there is an event on said Sunday, you will have to understand they must be held prior to the start of the race or after the race.  If you must schedule things during the raced be aware I may not attend your function or request that I have access to a television set.  This also applies to races that are held occasionally on Saturday nights.  If you wish to spend time with me, you must understand the topic of conversation will be predominately about the upcoming race, the previous Sunday’s race, Tony Stewart, or anything in general about NASCAR.  This is the time of the year all projects are put aside unless they involve a NASCAR related event.  Please don’t be offended if I ignore you on Sunday or the occasional Saturday…it’s nothing personal…IT’S NASCAR!

As NASCAR Turns…

/ Trixie / Leave a comment

I wasn’t going to post anything else with regards to the whole Carl and Brad incident, but I have had some time to digest things.  I even went back to read what I posted yesterday and I feel the same way.

Someone once said to me, “the only reason you watch NASCAR is because you want to see wrecks”.  That is far from the truth.  if you are coming to watch NASCAR just because you want to see wrecks, then I don’t want you as a part of NASCAR Nation.  Wrecks are ineveitable in NASCAR.  You have 43 guys racing in 3400 lb cars at 170-200 mph all trying to finish first.  There will be beating and banging, trading paint, and rubbing.  But I don’t want to see ANY driver crash.  I don’t want another driver killed at a race track.  I think that is what bothers me about this whole incident.  I want drivers to be racing each other hard and aggressive, but I don’t want it get to the point where they start using their cars as weapons.  If you have a beef with another driver, park your 3400 pound weapon, get of the car, and take care of it in the pits or behind the haulers.  

I am not naive here either.  I know this goes on in NASCAR and I can point to several incidents in which drivers (my favorite drivers is not immune to this activity) have paid back each other on and off the track.  I have to agree with Amy over at Amy’s Bad Groove.  This wasn’t your classic bump-and-run as we have seen Dale Earnhardt Sr. peform with little effort, this was an, to quote her, “all-out crash and burn”.   I don’t want the sport that I love and obessess about 365 days a year to turn into a demolition derby.  What I do want is NASCAR to allow drivers the freedom to race each other hard on the track, allow the banging of quarter panels, and bumper rubbin’ and maybe that is what NASCAR was saying yesterday. 

I just don’t know.