NASCAR

Day o’ Racing

/ Trixie / 3 Comments

It’s Wednesday.  This means it is one day closer to Day o’ Racing.  Once again this is the one of few days of racing that I looked forward to every year.  I mean what more could this race fan or any race ask for.  First up you have the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500.  Then you have the Coca Cola 600 in the evening.  THe Coca Cola 600 can test any seasoned NASCAR driver.  It is 600 miles (0r 400 laps) of up on the wheel, door to door (ok may be not) racing.  Sometimes it’s not about track position, a good car, or something else.  It’s sometimes about survival.  Can teams keep their cars running for that long of a period of time?  600 miles…That’s almost a round trip from my house to TMS and back.  It’s 333 miles one-way to TMS from my house.  Of course it takes me a little bit longer for that trip than the boys will take on Sunday.  Makes me tired just thinking about it.

I hope all my friends and family will understand if I don’t want to leave the household on Sunday.  Heck, they can have me on Saturday and even Monday, but sorry folks I will be busy on Sunday.  I did have people over last year for a Sundy BBQ, however, racing was on and that was the way it was going to be. 

To remind my friends, family and even that occassionally coworker who still doesn’t get it (in reference to NASCAR and for this weekend only also the INDY 500….here is my disclaimer…as posted on February 7, 2008

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 race 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 Sundays or the occasional Saturday…it’s nothing personal…IT’S NASCAR!!!

So please don’t take it personally when I turn down your invite to the Sunday afternoon BBQ, get together, etc or make me feel guilty about spending time with you.  I have let you know what Sunday, May 25 is for the last couple of weeks so you have had plenty of notice.

In other news…

Humpy Wheeler is planning to annouce his retirment as president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  It has been reported Marcus G. Smith, son of track owner and Speedway Motorsports INce chairman O. Bruton Smth, will take succeed Humpy.  Under Humpy, Lowe’s Motor Speedway expanded to 167,000 seats and became the first modern facility to install lights for night racing.  THe first night race at a superspeedway was in 1992.  I have to say, in this race fan’s opinion, Humpy sure does know how to put on a show for the fans.  Even though Humpy may be heading into retirement, I am sure he will be around as he always has.

Juan Pablo Montoya has a new crew chief…again. Will third time be a charm?

Three engine failures for JGR this past weekend.  That’s quite a bit of money wasted or invested depending on your point of view.  I am glad they chose the All-Star race to “experiement” instead of a points race.  But this does bring up a very interesting point I have heard grumbling in the background of the All-Star wrap ups. What is the value of the All-Star race to some teams?  I know teams are still trying to understand how the COT works and perhaps this may have been the reason some teams chose to experiment a little bit more than in year’s past.  Could this be the reason the All-Star race was as competitive in year’s past?  I don’t know.  I guess this is just theorizing on the ever changing environment in NASCAR.

Stock Car Science and Happy Birthday

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

I heard about a really cool website yesterday while listening to Sirius Speedway while headed home yesterday.  It’s called Stock Car Science. Professor Diandra Leslie-Pelecky basically, explains the science of NASCAR in terms even someone like me could understand. I wasn’t interested in science in school, but if this site had been around during those formative years perhaps I would have liked science back in the day. Case in point…the whole yaw thing that has been in the news of late. She has also written a book entitled The Physics of NASCAR.

So if you get a chance, surf on over and find out more about the Science of NASCAR.

One more thing before I forget….

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TONY STEWART!

 

All Star Weekend

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

Ho Hum…the All-Star weekend is over.

Up first was the burnout competition.  All competitors definitely had fun with the competition especially Jimmie Johnson.  Congratulations to Greg Biffle for winning the inaugural Pennzoil Burnout competition.  

Next up was the Showdown.  I felt this was going to be an exciting race.  You have all those drivers fighting for two positions.  I really was hoping Elliot Sadler would race his way into the All-Star race, but it was meant to be.  AJ Allmendinger clipped him and he want sailing into the wall.  Even if he did get the vote from the fans there was no way his car was going to be able to race.  I have to give props to Sam Hornish.  This is a driver who chose to leave the Indy league for the green pastures of NASCAR.  If he was still running his Indy car he would be preparing for the Indy 500, but instead he was giving it his all to get into the All-Star.  He drove the wheels of his car.  He along with AJ Allmendinger advanced to All-Star race.  Of course there was only one more driver that still had to be announced for the All-Star race.  This driver was voted into the All-Star race by the fans.  This driver was Kasey Kahne.

The All-Star race had a little different look to it this year.  The race was broken down into four 25 lap segments with a 10 minute break at the end of the second segment and no invert (yea!).  You could feel the excitement in the air.  From the drop of the green flag, Kyle Busch took off and left the rest of the field behind him.  It looked like Kyle was going to be the one to beat, but as well know what with NASCAR what we think is going to happen doesn’t necessarily happen.  Kyle Busch took the boys to the start of the second segment and once again looked like he was going to leave them all behind.  But unfortunately this wasn’t the case.  Kyle Busch’s engine had other plans.  After the second segment, Carl Edwards was ahead and Kyle Busch’s engine was KAPUT and his night was over.  

The third segment was uneventful, but at the end of the third segment the boys were required to hit pit road.  But it was up to the teams what they wanted to do on pit road.  They could take two tires, four tires, or just stop and go.  Kenny Francis made a gutsy call last night and chose to take no tires and gas only so Kasey would have track position.  From the results of the previous segments whoever was out front ran good and that’s probably what Kenny was thinking.  If Kasey won this would be considered the best call of the night, if he lost well, it wasn’t going to be a good call.  Kasey took the lead on lap 84 after Denny Hamlin’s engine gave way.  Hamlin was the second JGR car of the night to have an engine go KAPUT.  Kasey fought off a determined Greg Biffle, however Greg didn’t have enough for Kasey.  Kasey became the first driver to win who was voted into the race by the fans.  This was a great night for the NASCAR fans.  Way to go Kasey!

I have to give major props to Sam Hornish.  He drove his way into the All-Star race by finishing 2nd in the Showdown earlier in the night.  He was hauling the nail with his #77 car.  I thought he was going to have a long night after getting into the wall, but he plowed on.  He was down two laps at one point in the night, but with getting back on the lead lap Sam Hornish finished 7th.  Well done Mr. Hornish..well done.

The race was pretty uneventful compared to other All-Star races.  There were no cautions except for the ones thrown at the end of each segment.

Smoke had a rough weekend. He was forced to start at the back of the pack after engine issues prior to the race.  Who knew he would be the lone JGR driver to finish the race last night.  He finished 5th.  With all three JGR engines having problems over the weekend, it makes me wonder if they were trying out some new engine package or were there serious problems.  I hope they were just experimenting and not planning to use that engine package for next week’s Coca Cola 600 race.  Because if this is the case, JGR is going to be in for a long night.

It was bittersweet night for Dale Jarrett.  The All-Star race was the last race we would see Dale behind the wheel of a race car, however we won’t miss him for very long.  He will be following in his father’s footsteps again by stepping into the broadcast booth.  Thanks for the memories Dale!  You are one class act.

Not to be overshadowed by the All-Star weekend, even though it probably was, Matt Crafton was his first Craftsman Truck Series race.  I have mentioned before that I really like watching the truck races.  They are shorter than the Nationwide and Cup races so it can sometimes make for some interesting racing.  I feel anything can happen on any turn of the race and Friday night was different.  Congratulations Mr. Crafton!

Today is Bump Day for the Indy 500 and I will probably be watching to get my race fix for Sunday.  I can’t wait until next Sunday.  I mean there’s the Indy 500 in the morning and the Coca Cola 600 in the evening.  What more could this race fan ask for?

NASCAR Day 2008

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

HAPPY NASCAR DAY!

This is the fifth anniversary of NASCAR Day.  The first NASCAR day was held in 2004.  This day is celebrated the Friday before the All-Star race.  So what is NASCAR day?  This is the one-day celebration of NASCAR spirit and the fans.  Of course for me every day is NASCAR day, but today is extra special.  It’s kind of like Mother’s Day.  We give an “extra salute” to our mom’s on that and the same can be said for NASCAR day.  Fans and businesses can participate on many different levels with NASCAR day.  The easiest way is purchase a NASCAR Day pin for $5.00.  That’s it.  How easy is that?  I am proudly wearing my pin as well as my brand new Tony Stewart shirt I received in the mail yesterday. 

NASCAR Day is also about giving back to the NASCAR Foundation and/or chartiable foundations of your

favorite drivers.  NASCAR Day supports the NASCAR Foundation which was established in 2006.  The NASCAR Foundation was created to bring together a number of charitable orgnaizations and initiatives within the NASCAR Family.  Since the first NASCAR Day in 2004, NASCAR day has raied almost $5 million for charitable initiatives for the NASCAR family. 

According to The NASCAR Foundation you can make a donation to The NASCAR Foundation or one of your favorite driver’s foundations during the 2008 NASCAR Day Telethon.  You can either call, text, or donate via their website.  You can also participate in the on-line auction to bid on some really cool NASCAR items.  It really doesn’t matter how you can give, just give.

In case you missed it last night…I did sit down last night and watch the Pit Crew Challenge of Speed TV. I know to most people it would have seemed boring, but it really wasn’t. It was nice to several of the drivers there to support the pit crews last night. I did find myself rooting for Brian Vickers pit crew. I guess becuase they are the underdogs of the competition. They were having some of the best times at the challenge and it was fairly obvious they were the team of the night. In case you missed it and Tivoed…click away from the post.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE #83 TEAM!

Saturday Racing

/ Trixie / 4 Comments

I didn’t get to catch much of the race on Saturday night.  I had to work during most of the day so by the time I got home it was about 5:30 then my brood needed to run to the grocery store to get the breakfast stuff for my Mother’s Day breakfast Sunday morning.

By the time we got home there was about 50-60 laps left.  All I know is that it was a good thing I was out shopping when #19 got into Smoke.  I am sure I would have been cursing at the television set despite the fact that I like the #19. 

Congratulations to Kyle Busch for his 3rd win this season on the Cup side. 

I have been surfing out there on all the NASCAR sites both in the media and those who are listed here in the Park.  There are different camps regarding Kyle Busch.  There are those who think he is a punk ass and should be taken out to the wood shed and those who think he is a great driver (yes, I have see positive posts about him).  I consider myself to be right in the middle.  I do think he needs to be taken out to the wood shed and have an attitude adjustment, but I really do like him as a driver.  This boy can drive.  I about fell out my chair last night while talking to my dad.  Let me preface here…die hard Earnhardt fan (more Senior than Junior), but a fan none the less. He actually agress with me on Busch.  He even mentioned how Rusty Wallace drove and behaved early on and now look at how we all view Rusty.  I think the same thing can be said for Smoke and yes, even Dale Sr.  I think he will come into his own as he continues on through his Cup career and yes, he might even pull it back during interviews, but hopefully not too much.  I kind of like his style.  That’s the reason I am a fan of Tony.  He says what he feels and pretty much does what he wants.  He’s a rebel. 

Speaking of Smoke…I am listening to him on Sirius radio right now.  He is a guest DJ on the Elvis channel tonight.  Plus he will be broadcasting live from Graceland as well during his own show tonight.  I wish I could listen to the show tonight, but have lots of laundry still to clean.  This just gives me one more reason to like Smoke–he and I are both huge Elvis fans.

Well, the boys get a weekend off from points racing this Saturday night, but the gloves I am sure will surely come off for that $1 MILLION DOLLARS.  I believe the Busch brothers took each other out last year.  It’s a million dollars people.  It’s every one for themselves!

Too Tough To Tame

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

I can’t wait to watch the race tomorrow night. Once again the boys are short trackin’ it. After last week’s excitement, this week should be interesting. I am definitely going to be watching how the #18 and #88 race if they get near each other.

I am also excited about the new racing surface. It will be interesting to see how it affects the race tomorrow night.

“I know the track is going to be awesome,” said two-time Darlington winner Jeff Burton. “It’s just what tire do they have to bring to match the track. I know the first tire there was just incredibly fast, and I think their next tire they pulled a lot of speed out of it and I heard it takes a while to get going. Really, it’s just the first couple laps getting a feel for the tires. That’s how I look at it. I don’t have any answers, I just feel like I have all questions.”

“We all know when the speeds pick up through the corners like that, it takes away from the racing a little bit,” Jeff Gordon said. “The cool thing is, I had a blast. That track is unreal right now. It’s smooth, it’s super-fast, but it’s the same Darlington. The track is just really black right now from the new pavement.

 

I hope the race is fast and there is a lot of excitement. I know there will be because, well, it’s short track racing. Short track racing…lots of cars and not enough track for all them.

Richmond

/ Trixie / 5 Comments

I wanted to post after the race, but was too…well what’s the word…amazed.  Before I get into the discussion on the “hit heard ’round the world” on Saturday, I want to congratulate Clint Bowyer for the win on Saturday!

Now on to what has probably been the topic of discussion on all the message boards, blogs, etc.  In case you missed it…here is the incident that has sparked quite a bit of discussion.

Now that everyone has had a chance to review things let me continue on with my post. I want to begin by stating what I have to say will probalby set off some of those Earnhardt fans out there, but if are a frequent reader to The Park, you know I have never claimed to be a part of the Junior Nation. I am a fan of his father, but that doesn’t mean I have to be a fan of his son.

If you caught the race on Saturday night you knew exactly when Junior took the lead. Thousands of people in the stands cheered. This is a usual occurence no matter when Junior is in the lead. And we all knew when Kyle got behind Junior after the last cauation it was going to get interesting. Kyle does have documented evidence of moving drivers out of the way to win. And if you watch NASCAR on a weekly basis, you knew there was a strong possibility Kyle was going to go for the win. And that’s what happened. Both drivers were pushing their cars to the limit. Both drivers wanted the win, Junior probably wanted it a little more, but that’s what it was–two pasisonate drivers wanting victory. Kyle’s car did get loose if you caught the numberous replays. Could each of them given each other a little bit more room? Why sure they could have, but I wouldn’t have expected them to. The result…Earnhardt is spun and finishes 15th and Kyle 2nd.

With all this talk about the incident, I forgot about Denny Hamlin.  Denny Hamlin dominated the race Saturday night.  He lead I don’t know how many laps of the race, I lost count around 200, but he should have one the race.  He had the best car, but as we always know the best car doesn’t always win.  It isn’t always about where you start, but where you finish.  Not to diminish the win by Clint, but somtimes racing in NASCAR is about being in the right place at the right time and that is exactly what happened Saturday night.

Way to go Smoke for your 4th place finish!