Tony Stewart

Daytona 500-Rain Delayed

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Looks like Mother Nature won out today, the Daytona 500 has been postponed until tomorrow. NASCAR waited until the latest they could to get the race, but Mother Nature was not going to give up. Thanks Mother Nature..not! This is the first time the Daytona 500 has been postponed due to weather.

Well, I guess most of NASCAR Nation will be keeping one eye on our work and one eye on the race. Thank goodness there are ways to be a multitasker tomorrow while on the job. I hope my coworkers understand things tomorrow. I wonder what tomorrow’s race will bring. I am hoping Tony gets his first Daytona 500, but if Friday and Saturday is any indication, tomorrow’s race is going to keep us all on the edge of our seats.

Have a great evening everyone!

In the mean time check out my yougest son Chase watching his favorite driver being interviewed on Fox earlier today. I wonder where he gets it???

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!

Vegas and other things

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Sorry for not posting after the Vegas race.  I had everything ready to go, but I have been dealing with quite a few health issues (some mine, some my son’s) so they have taken priority for me.  I made my first visit ever to a cardiologist.  It was a little scary especially since I am only 40.  I am now on medication and have to go back in two weeks for a stress test and other tests.  I am treading the treadmill thing.  Treadmills and I have this understanding, I don’t get on them.  That’s pretty much it.  One of my co-workers told me I should stop watching NASCAR with all the chest pains I have been experiencing.  He is always kidding me about NASCAR.  I told him watching NASCAR is good for my soul.  But enough about me, let’s get to talking about racing

Vegas was just disappointing for this Stewart fan.  Vegas is one of two tracks Tony does not have a victory.  Sunday looked promising until a late caution and pit road mistake pretty much cost him a victory.  I have to give credit to the #14 team for finishing 2nd, but for Tony this was one that is a bitter pill to swallow.  He clearly had the car to win the race.  But as we all know the best car doesn’t always win the race.  He was heartbreaking to watch his post race interview with Fox.  I wonder how they decided who was going to interview Tony.  I mean Tony has been known to speak his mind (both good and bad) when stepping out of the car.  But there was Matt Youcum right there asking Tony the tough question.  Clearly, you could see Tony was upset with the result.  I am glad it was a short interview and with someone who really understands Tony. 

Other tidbits from Vegas

  • Of there was some action off the track as well.  Apparently Robby Gordon and Kevin Conway had their own little meeting in the garage.  This resulted in Robby getting put on probation immediately.  I mean if you are going to get in a fight, Vegas is the place to be.  Did anyone notice if Don King was hanging out in the garage?  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
  • Congratulations to Mark “The Kid” Martin for winning the Nationwide race.  So he got the win when Brad K. blew a tire.  But sometimes racing is about being in the right place at the right time.  Who hasn’t taken advantage of mistakes and bad breaks of other drivers to snag a victory?  Also this is the first win for Turner Motorsports.  It’s nice to see the smaller teams (well, compared to Hendrick/Roush) win. 
  • It was 50 years ago on March 4, 1961 that Wendell Scott became the first African-American to start a NASCAR race. 
  • Danica Patrick finished 4th in the Nationwide race.  This was highest finish by a woman in a NASCAR event.  She was also the first woman to lead  lap at Daytona.  I am still not sure where I stand on Danica’s presence in NASCAR.  From what I have seen she has improved from this year to last, well at least in the first couple of races.  Until she is able to commit to NASCAR full-time, I am holding my opinion.

There is no Cup race tomorrw.  The boys are off until next Sunday where they will head to Bristol for some short track racing.  However, you can catch some  Camping World Truck racing at Darlington today.  I love to watch the trucks.  Lots of racing action!

What will I do tomorrow?  I am not sure yet.  Right now I am watching “Cars” for the millionth time (well, at least it feels that way) with my little foster son.  He can sit at watch this movie and be entertained through the entire movie.  Not bad for a 2 year-old.  I still find this movie very funny.  They definitely nailed Daryl Waltrip’s personality!  Speaking of Waltrip (not Daryl, but Michael).  I am almost finished with Michael’s book, “In The Blink of An Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything”.  I have enjoyed the book.  You know what is weird, while I am reading the book, all I can hear is Michael’s voice in my head.  It’s as if he is narrating the book for me.  I have found the book very intriguing and now understand a little bit more about that day back in 2001.

This is the 2nd year for Toyota’s Sponsafy program.  You can pick a driver, decorate your car and win a cool prize.  If you have seen the site, or been over there check it out.  I have one already out there entitled “Pink Bubblegum”. I know it isn’t too spectacular, but it is what I wanted to design. I am in the middle of working on a second one with a Texas theme. So in the mean time, if you want to stop and look, vote for me. You can also vote for others too! Vote early and vote often as they say.

Have a great day!

Well, I hope everyone has

“We just beat Kyle Busch!”aka Phoenix…better late than never

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I know this is somewhat late in the week to be talking about last week, but if you knew the kind of week I had you would certainly understand.  With that, I won’t make this very long since I am getting for the Vegas race.

Congratulations to Jeff Gordon for his victory in Phoenix last Sunday.  With the win last week,  he snapped his 66 race winless streak.  His last win prior to last week was at Texas in 2009.  He also is now tied for 5th with Cale Yarborough on the all-time win list.  I have to say when Jeff moved Kyle B. it was awesome.  I did not want Kyle Busch to win last week.  Sorry Kyle…but that is just how this NASCAR fan feels.  The move he put on you was, in my opinion, classic Jeff Gordon.  And the other cool thing, the crowd cheered for him.  Even when he got of his car in victory lane, there were a little more cheering than he has had in the past.  I mean he has had beer cans thrown at his car.  I guess it is all about the level of dislike you have for the driver.  I guess more people dislike Kyle than they do Jeff Gordon.  Either way, it was nice to see such emotion from a driver in victory lane. 

Jeff Gordan is just one of several drivers who are still struggling with their winless streaks.  Here are some of the drivers still looking for victory lane.

  • Mark Martin-47 races
  • Kasey Kahne-49 races
  • Joey Lagano-57 races
  • Matt Kenseth-72 races
  • Jeff Burton-79 races
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr.-95 races
  • Martin Truex-133 races
  • Bobby Labonte-254 races

Will today be the day one of these drivers end their winless streak?  Guess we will all have to tune in today to find out.

Now on to Vegas…heard Tony Stewart was driving a taxi in Vegas.  Can you imagine that?  At least he would get you where you needed to be in a hurry.  Also for those of you who are thinking about shoplifting in Vegas, make sure Morgan Shepherd is not hanging around.  Amy over at Bad Groove has made her yearly pilgrimage to Vegas. From her Facebook postings, I can’t wait until I see her posts. On that note, if you haven’t checked out her site, it is a must read.

Well…let’s kick the tires and light the fires…HAPPY RACE DAY EVERYONE!

The Week That Was

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

I really had an excellent post for the Daytona 500, but with the way my week has been, I am lucky to be sitting at my computer on this race Sunday.

Seven days ago we were all poised to sit and watch the first race of the season.    For me it seemed to take forever for the race to begin.  I guess the off-season had me all pumped up and I was waiting for everything to get going.  I will not bore everyone with a recap of the race.  It has been analyzed to death by just about everyone out there.  I do have to say I am still in awe at the fact that 20-year old Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500.  Other than Dale Earnhardt Jr winning the race last week, this was a storybook ending.  I mean you have a rookie running his first Daytona 500 driving for the Wood Brothers in the #21 which at one time was driven by David Pearson.  In fact David Pearson was the last driver for the Wood Brothers to win a Daytona 500.  Trevor Bayne wasn’t even alive when this happened back in 1976.  And makes it even more special David Pearson is a 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee.  I just love it when NASCAR history comes together like it did last Sunday.

I am not afraid to say it, I really wanted Tony Stewart to win last week.  I mean he has won everything there is to win at Daytona except the big one.  He was poised to make his move last week in the waning moments of the race, but as we all know restrictor plate racing is just a crap shoot.  I was not happy with one particular driver because he always seems to mess it up for everyone.  And Sunday was no different, but that’s the way racing is.  Tony finished 13th on his 13th attempt to win the Daytona 500.  He will try to win his 14th next year.  But on the upside of his Daytona 500, he won his 4th Nationwide Daytona race in a row.  He has won six in the last seven races.  This gives him 6 wins in a Nationwide car.  There has not been a driver this dominant at this particular race since Dale Sr.  Dale won 5 races in a row from 1990-1994.  He also won in 1982 and 1986.  This gave him 7 wins.  In 2012, Tony can tie Dale Sr. win another victory in the Nationwide race with number of races won in a row and for total wins as well.   All I have to say is Tony is just scary good at the Nationwide race. 

Nerdiness alert….Once again my numbers nerdiness is showing.  I don’t know why I have this condition, but I do.  I just like numbers.

Now on to Phoenix…Carl Edwards is the hottest driver on the circuit right now.  This goes back to the 2010 season for his back to back wins in the final two races of the 2010 season.  He also finished 2nd in Daytona 500 and he also is atop the points standings (albeit, it’s very, very early).  Oh by the way, he is starting on the front row of the race today.  Yesterday in the Nationwide race he came in 2nd.  One more thing, the last driver to win at Phoenix, yep Carl.  Guess what else?  He had the pole for that race too.  I am going to say Carl has a pretty good chance to take the checkered flag today.  Of course he is driving the Subway car in the Subway Fresh Fit 500…coincidence???  Looks like a Carl kind of day…of course I hope Tony can take spoil things for Mr. Edwards and come away with a victory today.

Happy Race Day!

Bud Shootout

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

Congratulations to Kurt Busch for winning the 2011 Bud Shootout. 

This was definitely an exciting, well as exciting as it can be with that few cars on the track.   I wasn’t sure what kind of factor the new racing surface would on the racing tonight.  All I can say that was definitely some fast racing out there on the track.  The average race speed from the first 25 laps was 196.857 mph.   Throughout all the interviews and coverage this week, the surface of the track was all the talk.  Many of drivers as well as commentators were saying it was going to be more like Talladega.  Drivers are just not going to be able to go as wide as they can at Talladega.  All I know, if the racing is this exciting with just 24 cars on the track, what is it going to be like with 43 cars?  I for one can’t wait until next Sunday.

As with restrictor plate racing there were a few incidents on the track.  The biggest one occurred early in the 50 lap segment.  Regan Smith got into Carl Edwards who then turned into Dale Jr.  This incident took out several cars for the evening.  Another crash with Kyle and Mark Martin pretty much ended Kyle’s night.  From what I could tell of the incident, neither one really did anything wrong.  Neither one seemed very upset about the crash.  Mark, as I knew he probably would, apologized for the incident.  He wasn’t sure what happened, but he was having a good time out on the track.  A similar incident occurred between Michael Waltrip and Tony Stewart.  It wasn’t anything, in my opinion, either one did, it was just a racing incident.

The last laps of any race at Daytona gets dicey.  The four cars on the lead pack (Newman, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and McMurray) were all waiting for the last minute to make their moves for the lead.  It came down to Newman/Hamlin pairing and the Busch/McMurray pairing.  I was holding out hope that Newman would hold his line, but it wasn’t the case.  Out pulled Denny as the four pack headed toward the final turn.  Unfortunately, Denny went below the double yellow line as the checkers began flying.  This is a big no-no at Daytona.  This violation resulted in Kurt being named the winner of the Bud Shootout and Denny finishing 12th.  After the race was over, Denny said he had a choice to make either to crash into Newman or not.  He chose to not hit Newman. I sort of like his explanation since it was just the Bud Shootout.  I guess sometimes you have to make a decision and live with it.  He wasn’t too upset about it.  I mean it was just the Bud Shootout in his opinion.  I wonder if he would feel the same way next week?

I really don’t know what happened to Tony tonight.  He was racing up front during the first part of the race, but during the second segment not as competitive.  I wonder if he received some damage in the dust-up with he and Waltrip.  Either way, he never really got back up front to make a challenge for the win.  Tony paired up with Denny several times during the night, but Denny didn’t seem to be able to keep up with Tony.  That’s alright for Tony.  His teammate, Ryan Newman, finished 3rd tonight.  I for one am happy for Stewart Haas Racing.

Tomorrow is qualifying for the front row for the Daytona 500.  I would love to see a SHR front row with Tony in the P1 spot.  But who knows what kind of qualifying it will be tomorrow.  The rest of the field will be set on Thursday with the Gatorade Duels.  I won’t be able to be home to watch the races, but you can bet I will be listening to the race on NASCAR.com.

The Bud Shootout is just enough of a racing fix to get me through until Friday night when the trucks take the track for the start of the 2011 NASCAR season!

Pre Season Thunder-Day 1

/ Trixie / 1 Comment

The first day of testing at Daytona is over.  It wasn’t real exciting by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn’t care.  The boys were back on the track.  The cars weren’t all stickered up but you really didn’t need all the stickers to know who was who.  There are a couple of changes to keep track of though.  Kasey Kahne is now driving for Red Bull in the #4.  Kurt Busch is now in the Shell Pennzoil #22.  It was strange to see Kurt in the yellow/red firesuit instead of Kevin Harvick.  Brad K. is now the driver of the #2 car.  I was glad to see Brian Vickers back behind the wheel of the #83.  I bet he has been itching to get back into his car and racing.  I see that Trevor Bayne is driving the #21 for the Wood Brothers.  Both Paul Menard and Marcos Ambrose are settling in their new teams with RCR and Petty Motorsports respectively.

I was happy thrilled beyond belief that Speed TV was streaming video from Daytona.  It was a little difficult to keep my mind on my work, but I managaed.  I’m sure I wasn’t the only one today who was multitasking.  It has been a few years since any kind of pre season testing had occurred.  I don’t know about other NASCAR fnas, but I am pumped for the 2011 season!

Speed TV did show some of the interviews in the media room at Daytona.  I did get to see Tony’s interview.  It was pretty much what I expected from Smoke.  He was calm and very direct when it come to questions about the incident in Australia.  I felt like he was honest with his answers about everything.  In my opinion, he seemed ashamed of his behavior in Australia.  But I have to give the press some credit, they didn’t constantly ask the same question over and over.  But as we all know, I sure as Daytona gets closer and with the demands of Media day, these questions about the incident will come up again.  For this Tony fair it is over.  Turn the page and move on to better items about Smoke. 

I like the look of the new nose on the cars.  I was a huge fan of those metal splitters in the front of the car.  Now it looks like a normal race car.  How it will react one cars begin drafting one another is another story.  Speaking of drafting, I was a little disappointed that several of the teams weren’t going to work on drafting today.  But there are a couple more days of testing and perhaps they will try out things tomorrow or Saturday. 

The nose isn’t the only thing that is new for the 2011 season.  Drivers now have to declare which championship they want to race for.  There is no longer an option for drivers to race for multiple championships.  I am sure this is NASCAR’s way of preventing Cup regulars from winning the other championship more specifically the Nationwide championship.  Cup drivers can still race in all three series, but can only use their points towards one championship.  How this will all shake out is still left to discuss for another post.

There is possible changes coming to points system.  On the surface it seems easy to follow.  If a driver wins a race, he will receive 43 points, for 2nd place-42 points and so on all the way to the 43rd driver who will receive one point.  I am thinking NASCAR wants to make the racing more exciting by reducing the amount of points the drivers can receive on any given Sunday.  But these things haven’t all been “officially” announced by NASCAR.  I like this idea.  I would like a few more changes to the points system however.  I would like points for leading a lap either under green or caution to go away.  I don’t mind give points for the most laps lead, but just a lap, no.  If NASCAR has to leave in the poinst for leading a lap, give them only 1 point for a lap led.  Give the person who leads the most 3 points, and if you win 5 points.  I am not a fan of the 10 points bonus for a win because not all drivers can take advantage of those bonus points.  If you give them 5 points the day of the win, boom…you may have drivers will to drive just a little bit harder to get those 5 extra points.  So on any given Sunday, a driver could possible end up with 52 points if they max all the bonus points from the race.  

Now onto the Chase…I think the leader of the first 26 races should be in first.  That should be his reward for winning the regular season.  I think all the drivers should be reset to the same amount of points at the start of the Chase.  It puts everyone on the same level.  The regular season allows the driver to into the Chase.  If you are winning in the first 26 wins and running consistently, you will be in the Chase.  Can you imagine the first race of the Chase where all the Chasers have the exact same points?  It would definitely create some excitement.

Well…that’s about it for now.  Tomorrow is Day 2 of Daytona testing and this race fan needs her rest.