Random Thought from the Off Weekend!

The weekend off for Nascars major series turned the spotlight on the NNS cars this weekend, with a rain soaked qualiying and some rain tires runs during the race.

As many have noticed, much of the Nationwide boys have a hard time on road courses when its dry. Throwing rain at them is like throwing gas on a fire. Nothing but more trouble.

* Poor Steven Wallace, he got spun more than a dradle during Hannukah. To his defense out of his 8 (low estimate) incidents, I would give him fault in maybe 3 of them. The 86 seemed to have it out for the RWI cars. Hitting the 66 twice and the 62 once.

* I like Justin Allgier, I think he will become a fine Cup driver. Unfortunatly on Sunday, he got bit by the infamous rear wheel hop. Producing one of the more spectacular wrecks, and that was pre-rain. He locked them up coming into a hard right hander, tried to spin to avoid other cars and caught the grass, propelling him across the track, killing Ron Fellows #5 and damaging Busch rt qtr. He definetly manned up, taking full blame and apologizing to all drivers involved.

*Speaking of Allgier. Bucky Brad officially announced the move to Penske. It also includes running a full Nationwide schedule. I twittered Penske to see how this will affect Justin. News from another twitterer stated that Penske will run 2 full NNS teams next year. I am glad that Justin will continue to gain experience and look forward to him coming to Cup.

* I commented on another Blog, about Carl Edwards victory on Sunday. I think Carl should be careful next time he is around Kyle or Marcos on the next road course or short track. Carl's dive into turns 1 and 2 Sunday, were ill timed in my opinion. In trying to stay inside of the Canadien, Ranger in the 11, Carl started the last lap fracas that resulted in less than stellar results for some. Although he ran Marcos clean on the last lap, and lucked into a win. I saw some earlier attempts of his to pass Marcos that included using the front bumper. I am not saying he did anything wrong, just that some other drivers might not be to happy with him. We all know drivers have memories like elephants.

*Rain, Rain go away. Thats the usual mantra for us race fans. I think its high time that Nascars best and brightest (Cup)race in the rain on road courses. I understand that it not feasible on an oval. Despite what Helton said during Sundays broadcast, I believe that the Cup stars not only could, but should run rain tires. I think most would relish the challenge that it would be.

**** Wanted**** Racing Fans with a few billion dollars. Why, you ask?? I think we need to buy the Speed channel back from Fox, and show whats meant to be shown. RACING. Racing , and more Racing. I will also let Wind Tunnel and Passtime stay. Remove Pinks and replace it with weekly races from Dragstrips around the country. There are too many series that race fans don't get any coverage of. Things I am sure many of us would watch. Example, this weekend Travis Pastrana won his 4th US Rally title. Yet I have never seen any TV coverage of a US rally event. Would I watch? Hell yeah. Plus we could bring other forms back to TV. Remember Thursday Thunder on ESPN. With World of Outlaws, Sprint and Midget racing. I used to love that stuff. Now we barely get highlights. Plus there are great series in other countries. Like the British Touring car series, Formula 3000, and Tez's fav. the V8 Supercar series. If any channel saw fit to broadcast these, I would be burning my DVR up.

* Attention Richard Childress Racing. It will do more harm than good to force Harvick to stay if he wants to leave. In fact, it could delay any progress being made next year. If he wants to leave. Let HIM!! It will be best for all parties involved.

* Kyle Busch article of the week. Attention all fans who were upset when Kyle busted the guitar in Nashville. Please read this article. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090901/NEWS04/909010338/1009/NEWS02/Guitar%20smasher%20gives%20gift%20of%20music%20to%20schools

I know this will never make any Nascar shows, because we the fans should never see Kyle Busch as a human being, who gives freely to charities. No he is the Nascar devil and should be hated by all , for the sake of ratings.

I used to hate on KB, when he drove for HMS. If I can change you can too people. Everybody on the 18 bandwagon. Me and Gene will save you some room!



There I feel much better, now thats I got all that out. I like my new weekly brain cleansing rant.
Remember Race fans, this is only my opinion, I could be wrong. Probably NOT, but I could be.

See you in Atlanta. Not literally, you know what I mean.

Chase Conspiracy Theories!

When the Chase was first introduced, one thing caught my eye. Notice the 2 short tracks, in the last three races. I actually called in to a local radio show, to voice my concerns.

The Question went something like this. What if the guy in 13 (then 11th) happened to "move" the guy in 12 (then 9th) causing him to crash, thus enabling the guy on the outside to move into the Chase? The radio pundits, after much deliberation, decided they really didn't know what would happen.

This has never really become an issue. Especially last year. The big 4, HMS, Roush, Gibbs, and Childress. Had the Chase field covered last year. Each team with most, if not all their drivers making the Show.

This year is a entirely different story. With seven different owners taking up the 12 spots. I will for this blog denote Stewart/Haas and a seperate entity from HMS.

Where am I going with this, you may ask?

Picture this on Sat. night. The 33 is close to making the Chase. His teammate, the 29 who is way outside the Chase, runs up behind the 17. Harvick , not known for patience, boots the 17, who backs it into the fence and has finishes back in the pack. Up moves the 33, one step closer to keeping Childress from being shut out of the Chase.

Voila, instant Chase conspiracy.

Example 2. The 20, with a rookie driver, gets loose and takes out the 5. Helping the 18 inch his way back into contention.

Rookie mistake or team orders? You be the judge.

I'm not saying that teams are sitting in the haulers and Richard is telling Harvick and Burton to dump the guys in front of Clint in the standings, but who knows. In fact, how could you tell at all? Isn't Bristol known for beating and banging.

I guess I must just have a warped mind, but if I was Childress, looking to be shut out of the Chase, I promise its something that would run through my thoughts.

Just something to think about. Of course, we will probably be sitting in front of the TV waiting for the rain to stop. I hope not.

Anyway, just a little food for thought. I am thinking of bringing back the Incident Report, for atleast the next 3 races. That way I can analyze the cautions, and see if I can throw a little gas on the fire for us Nascar conspiracy theorists.

Let me know what you think of my little Conspiracy theory.

Random Thoughts from Michigan!!

Another weekend in Michigan has come and gone. Before we all get to pumped up and excited for Bristol, I thought I would take a few moments to look back at what happened the last two days.

* Jimmie Johnson and I finally have something in common. We both want to be weatherman. What other job can you get, where you can be wrong 50% of the time and still not be fired. o% percent chance of rain, yet still two delays. Atleast they ran it on Sunday eventually.

* Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers- Man I hate when two of my guys have a problem. You would think they would get along, both being HMS leftovers, but I digress. Although I freely admit Kyle acted rashly by running the 32 down on pit lane. But,I do see his point. Had Vickers run the line that he had been using all day, it would have come down to those 2 cars. By pulling down and running Kyle along the bottom, he did slow both cars down. Don't ask me how, its one of those aero deals. If Vickers spotter had kept him aware that the 88 was coming on the high side, he would have ran high, and he and Busch would have dueled for the win. The fastest two cars were Vickers and Busch, those two battling for a win would have been classic. Instead we got Bucky in the 88 playing the opportunist for a second time this season. I won't say Brad was lucky, he had his car in the right position to take advantage and when the time came he pounced.

* The pre-race both days included stories about Keselowski, being from Michigan, and donating tickets to 40-50 area workers, that have been laid off. It was a nice story.
What doesn't get reported, Kyle Busch donated 60 tickets to MIS for them to distribute. Maybe the public wouldn't think he was such an a-hole, if the media would report some things like this about the guy.

* Jimmy Johnson's driving ability called into question once again. Two HMS cars pitted on the same lap. Both had pressure from other cars. One managed to finish and the other didn't. Saving fuel is directly related to a drivers ability to maximize performance while not mashing the gas. Floating the car in, and pedaling off allow a driver to maintain some speed, while saving fuel. Some masters of this include Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Brian Vickers.

*While we are on the subject of JJ. He should have never been out front to begin with. He clearly jumped that last restart and should have recieved a penalty from Nascar. I think jumping the start is a pass through. I only heard Jarrett mention it once on the broadcast and have yet to see anyone talk about it anywhere else. I guess rules don't apply when JJ is gunning for a win.

* Kudos to the Red Bull team and Brian Vickers. I hope this allows them to finalize Brian's contract and get him a teammate that can provide some feedback and help. I like Speed, but he is not helping provide any info that would enable Red Bull to contend seriously for the title.

*Once again we are foiled by too much pre-race and not enough post-race. I raised the same issue during Fox's coverage. Please TV people, less pre, more post.

Well enough whining and crying. (HMMM maybe thats why I like Kyle, we both like to complain)

Hope everyone has a good week, I can't wait till Fri and Sat. I love me some Bristol night racing.

Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong. But probably not!

Random Thoughts on Nascar!

The last few weeks in Nascar has been quite entertaining, yet difficult for me to watch. With the last races being on Monday. I missed both of them. I forgot to DVR the Pocono race and the relative I relied on to set the DVR this past Monday, got ESPN and ESPN2 confused. I look forward to finally watching The Glen race when I get home tonight. I hope I am taping the Speed channel replay. Keep your fingers crossed.

Anyway, enough catch up. Most of these thoughts have already been blogged and discussed, but I will still put my 2 cents in.

* I don't think JPM was speeding at Indy. A guy with a 6 second lead isn't pushing it on the last stop. Add the fact that he wasn't busted earlier in the race, and was "supposedly" hitting the same light on the tach each stop. Sounds fishy to me. All Nascar has to do is show teams the speeds in real time, so they can adjust after the first stop. If it was really a Safety issue, not a way to Nascar to "shuffle the cards" then they would provide them teams the info.

* The one Pocono race I miss and its exciting. Whats up with that?

* Thumbs up for Denny winning the race! Thumbs down for Denny for driving over top of the 00 and spinning him into the 47! Thumbs up for Denny apologizing and taking blame for being a little hasty in getting back to the front.

@$#%%^ What the &^% is up with Robby Gordon?? As most of you guys and gals know, I really don't like RG. I think he makes Paul Menard look like a top 10 caliber driver.
Maybe the last two weeks will open the eyes of the rest of the racing community. Not only did he retaliate against Stremme for no reason at Pocono, but the crap he pulled with Logano at the Glen really irritated me. First trying to spin him and flattening his own tire, then coming back out and finishing the job under caution. Wiping out a rookie and turning his car into a flaming ball. What a way to show your lack of driving skill and intelligence.
I think RG would be better off pulling a Waltrip and retiring and putting somebody else in that car. When so many other teams are struggling to find sponsors, Robby seems to be going out of his way to run his off.

* Nascar should have parked him for the Cup race at The Glen.

* Smoke continues having a great year. You think if he wins the Championship, that Rick Hendrick will get to sit up at the owners table with him???

* Great weekend at the Glen for the Aussie!! I read somewhere that Marcos is pronounced Marcus in the Outback. (Is this true Tez??) if so somebody should tell everyone!

* I loved the dive bomb move during the Nationwide race! I think what po'ed Kyle the most, was that somebody used one of his moves to pass him. Although not the safest pass I ever saw, I didn't think it was dirty.

* Speaking of Kyle. It looks like all the media lambasting has finally worked. He seemed rather subdued in his interviews, almost like a puppy that has been hit with a shoe to many times. Too Bad!! I didn't always agree with the things he said, or how he said them. But it made the interviews more interesting to watch. Now he may as well just be another Drivertron 3000 spouting sponsors.

I am sure I am forgetting some other stuff. I may have to make additions after finally seeing the Watkins Glen race.

Thanks Tony, for clearing that up.

I am beginning to like Tony Stewart more every day. With all the media coverage of his "new" team, we got to see a little behind the scenes of him. He seems to be a decent guy. I know he has had his moments, but as a Kyle Busch fan, I can forgive those. Now I will not cheer for Tony or Ryan, until Stewart/Haas starts building its own cars and motors. I despise pretty much anything HMS related. Hopefully in the next few years he can break the cord attached to Hendrick, and then I might reconsider.

So why the change of heart you ask?? Well because Smoke verified what I have been saying all along! Heres the quote from the Indianapolis Star.

Tony Stewart on his fellow owner-drivers: "If we had to start from scratch, we never would have done this. So the guys like Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip that are true owner-drivers, those guys are a lot more impressive than what I am because I couldn't have done that." -- Indy Star

Thanks Tony, for proving my point! Even though I can't stand Robby Gordon, I can appreciate the effort that he and Mikey Waltrip have made in starting their own teams.

Tony is a great driver, and business man. I applaud his efforts in hiring the best people available to work in his program. He will be a success for years to come.

If he ever cuts ties with Hendrick, he may even have a few more fans.

Sick of Hearing about Tony Stewart's NEW Team!!

First let me start off by saying that although I am not a Stewart fan, I respect his driving ability and his career up till this point. I mean the Indy 500 - Coke 600 doubles were enough to gain most peoples respect, throw in the multiple championships in different series and cars, the talent in the man is undeniable.


That being said, I wish people would stop acting like he created a whole team and is being successful right off the jump. I just read the Foxsports.com article by Rea White, titled "Has Tony Stewart silenced his Critics" My first thought was WHO was critical of Tony taking that deal. I mean who in their right mind would pass up half ownership of a race team for Free!! Sure some people might have said leaving Gibbs was a mistake, but he was looking for a way out of JGR as soon as they went to Toyotas.


So back to my point. Tony did not start a new team. He didn't have to build a shop, hire employees, buy equipment etc.etc. Basically he went in, hired a few key managers, and made a deal to buy Hendricks equipment. Is this wrong? NO its smart, but don't say you started a new team.


For all the C@#$ Mikey Waltrip gets, he started a new team, not only that, a new team with a manufacturer new to the Series. Same with Red Bull. As you can tell by the results, the fruits of these labours are just starting to be born. More for Red Bull than MWR, but the 00 isn't running to bad.


I give them much more credit for starting teams. Tony should get credit for reviving the Haas organization, not starting it.It took a driver/owner of his stature in the sport to bring in the sponsors he did. Without them, Stewart/Haas would be in the same boat Haas was in before, running subpar equipment with smalltime sponsors. The dollars Old Spice, Office Depot, the Army and Burger King put into the organization, allowed Stewart the financials to partner w/Hendrick and get cars and motors.


So please stop telling me how great Tony's NEW team is doing. Just go back to saying what a good driver he is.


thats just my opinion, i could be wrong, but probably not!