January 31, 2006
But this IS NASCAR
A race! A real race! At
Phoenix, Matt Kobyluck, a northeast regular in the extinct Grand
National Busch North Series (now named something new like Grand
National East...I can't keep up!) finished 3rd!
Why is this remarkable? Besides the fact that stockcars were racing
around an oval? Matt Kobyluck has an incredible penchant for wrecking
on any track that's bigger then a 1/2 mile. Every year he goes to
Loudon. Every year he wrecks. We've seen him attempt Dover. We've seen
him attempt Watkins Glen. It's never a pretty scene. I was convinced
he couldn't complete a race and I had no clue as to how he always
finishes in the Top 5 in the points of the Busch North Series...it's a
puzzle. Well, perhaps the Mohegan Sun #40 car will have finally
figured it out. Maybe he will be able to compete against the regulars
on the larger tracks...only time will tell.
And on to other news:
The Stafford Springs track just finished installing SAFER barriers in
Turn 1. Stand up and applaud! It's awesome that an affordable and
flexible design was available for one of the most exciting tracks on
the Northeast Regional circuits.
Oh, and I guess you want to know something about the big boys testing
out in Vegas...I'll have to get back to you
January 28, 2006
It's not NASCAR, but...
The Rolex series is
spinning around the road course at Daytona as I type. And even though
I am a devotee of stock car racing, the sound and sight of any
four-wheeled vehicle cranking it up is enough to make me bounce up and
down on my couch yelling, "Woo Hoo!"
The Season has begun in earnest. Teams are fighting the track and
eachother for a trophy. The list of names competing for the 24 Hours
at Daytona trophy grows ever more phenomenal with each year. And I?...
I yearn for the day when I have the ability to take an entire month
off so I can park the RV at Daytona and drink in racing to my heart's
content. Hubby asked me if I thought I could sleep while a 24 hr. race
roared past my bedroom window. He thought for a second and decided,
"Never Mind." Considering that the purr of race engines puts me to
sleep while watching TV and I've slept through the dismantling of a
porch outside my bedroom window (power tools were involved), it was a
silly question.
I am able to enjoy the rest of the race due to the fact that Danica's
team is out due to mechanical difficulties. I've never posted my
extreme disgust with the media and Miss Patrick's manipulation of the
male mindset...I get much too upset. So I will once again refrain
The #02 team with Dixon and Wheldon remains at the top of the charts
as I write this. The Target car's masterful overtaking of the #39 was
breathtaking!
And just think! I get to wake up to MORE RACING in the morning!
Life is good
January 21, 2006
That was tricky
Micheal Waltrip created a
new team and basically bought the #77 points from last year. It's all
a bit confusing (and I'm still a little sleepy) but it appears the #77
was 35th in points last year. Penske racing decided not to run the #77
this year so that allowed the #4 team, 36th in 2005, to move up for
2006. What is the benefit? It assured the #4 a starting spot in each
of the first five races of the season, including the Daytona 500.
And then people got sneaky. Waltrip created a new racing team, who is
still partnered with Bill Davis Racing, and the new team "bought" the
#77. Mikey now has a guaranteed spot for the first five races of the
season. That is huge! It guarantees him a piece of the pie at each
race (the bottom payout for a Cup race is usually at least $30k and
way up for the 500), and it guarantees his sponsors lots of air time.
Not only will he be competing, this little trick is going to get him
attention. And we all know Mikey LOVES attention.
Silly Season remains completely insane!
In the Busch series; Carl Edwards' crew chief Brad Parrot left. No
reason was given in the press release I read.
In the Truck Series; Dennis Setzer may be making a move...I'll have to
follow up on that. Setzer has been one of the top performers for
years. What's wrong with staying with your very successful team? The
Truck Silly Season is giving me almost more of a headache than the
Cup!
On the very silly side: At Fan Fest, Robby Gordon was instructing the
crowd on the nicknames of the Busch Brothers, Kurt and Kyle. He
gestured that the "Busch" (Kurt) was the bigger one and Kyle (the
little brother) was the shrub. At which point Kurt and Kyle stood up
and proved that the Shrub somehow grew taller then the Busch. LOL.
Kurt's problem from the fall...you know, the traffic ticket that was
treated by the Media and his Sponsors as a DUI? Not a word has been
said so far. Has the public forgotten? Has the media forgotten? Or is
the carpet getting awful lumpy? I'm wondering just how this will play
out on the Networks.
Anyway...
Catch ya'll later!
January 16, 2006
trucks, trucks, trucks,
Let me tell you, the Truck Series provides nearly as
much entertainment as the Cup Series. So much going on! In fact,
because there is greater competition among the different teams and
less control wielded by the Royal Families, it's like a racing series
the way it is meant to be.
This is where new teams, new drivers, and new energy is just bursting
out in the garages. Can the Series Championship be predicted?
Possibly...Bodine and Musgrave present a deadly duo over at Germain
Racing. But we can't write off Setzer, Sprague and Skinner--very sharp
veterans. Meanwhile, Brendan Gaughan is promising to bring his skill
and luck back to the truck series this year. That's a pretty serious
threat.
Rookies...the rookie class for the trucks is nearly as large as the
Cup series and just as full of talented drivers.
Daytona...the trucks will be sporting a restriction on their enginess
for the first time at the home of the NASCAR Super Bowl. It is not a
plate, but a one inch spacer placed between the carbeurator and the
intake manifold. The holes are funnel shaped. How that's different,
I'm not sure...ask the experts. This should slow down the trucks and
help prevent Crawford from going airborne again. They will also have a
passenger side window installed.
Car of Tomorrow. They put a wing on it! Entirely for research
purposes, but it's a fun idea. They say it's somewhere between a
performance thing and a sales thing (all those tuners with the silly
wings on the back). I am beginning to warm up to this COT idea. Will
it really allow more competition between the smaller and larger shops
in the Cup series? I doubt that...but it will be easier for a new team
to start up. There will be fewer cars built and removeable parts are
all part of the cost saving measures.
And now we return you to the dismal period of waiting...oh yes! There
will be testing at Vegas. Pay attention to that, people. Plate racing
represents only 4 races on the Cup schedule. The Vegas track provides
testing for the flat track, the mid-size track and handling. As far as
the upcoming season goes, Vegas is much more important for the teams.
So, until then...
Catch ya'll later!
January 12, 2006
Musgrave All Set
And how! It took less than
a week for somebody to come to their senses and sign Ted Musgrave to a
ride. He will be driving next to Todd Bodine at Germain Racing.
Considering that Bodine was blowing the doors off of the competition
last fall (including Musgrave) this is a great move for the reigning
champ and for Germain Racing.
Todd Bodine has actually been working on debunking the "Must've been a
Bodine" theory, with his consistent and electric performances in the
Truck Series.
The trucks take to the track at Daytona this weekend. We'll see where
that takes us
As a side Nextel note: The Hendrick boys looked amazingly good over
the testing session this week. So much so Jeff and Jimmie packed up
early thinking they had everything lined up for victory at Daytona. To
me that said they weren't really showing us everything...which is the
Hendrick way.
On the flip side, the #1 Truex car for DEI sucked so bad, they sent
the engineers back to Mooresville to start building another car for
Daytona. That ain't good, no matter how you try to twist it.
The rest of it? Tony got fat and is driving midgets at the Chili Bowl.
Ryan Newman got fat and is laughing...what else is there to do? Elliot
Sadler needs to find a barbershop. Silly stuff, but it has to be said
all the same
Next? *shrug*
Catch ya'll later!
January 10, 2006
Elliot Sadler said it best
It's great to be
back...you know, the sound of the engines--the smell of the engines...
If only for a short 30 minute segment I was able to feed my starving
NASCAR self, it was wonderful. Ambrosia for the soul
Nextel Cup teams tested at Daytona yesterday with Jeff Gordon topping
the charts. I could assign a certain portent to that...but it really
means little when all the teams are gathering data, switching out body
panels and checking engine power. However, I did get a chance to start
aligning my confused brain with the new number/driver/team
combinations.
Bobby Labonte in the #43 Petty blue machine looks smart. Partnered in
the garage and atop the war wagon by Todd Parrot and Robbie Loomis,
this team has the building blocks in place to do something this year.
Kenny Shrader looks very smart in the red, white and blue of the #21
Woods Brothers Motorcraft mobile.
I had to scratch my head at David Stremme in the #40 Coors Light
colors. I'll get used to it though.
And Bill Elliot made us smile as he took the Hendrick powered #36
round the track, logging Top 5 times for the day.
My boy, Martin Truex Jr., was struggling with speed but he still looks
good in the Bass Pro Shops colors. But now he's driving the #1,
relying on Micheal Waltrip's #15 points from last year to gain him
starting spots for the first 5 races of the year.
Some mention was made of teams thinking about skirting the new
tire/testing rule by talking to BF Goodrich and Hoosier. That could
prove to be interesting.
And the Ford Fusion whizzed around the track, looking much like the
Taurus except for the novel grill plastered on the front. Just for
looks folks. Don't worry--Ford didn't drop the ball here.
Must work now...
catch ya'll later!
January 8, 2006
And here we go folks!
News! Actual news!
Ted Musgrave is out of a ride for the Craftsman Truck series after the
205 Series winning team closed its doors this past week. It was stated
by the owner of the #1 MOPAR team that they had been unable to come to
an agreement with a manufacturer for support, and that made it
financially impossible to operate in the black.
The #1 team had been running with Dodge last season and were talking
with Ford for this year. No agreement was reached. No money, no races.
No job for Ted Musgrave.
Ted, one of many aging racers in NASCAR, will find it difficult to
find a ride as most teams in the top 3 series have settled their
driver seats by now. Even with the 2005 Craftsman Truck title under
his belt, Ted only had marginal success at the Cup level. Ted's star
may be fading fast...
and that is just not right.
Testing tomorrow! Rev those engines!
January 1, 2006
A New Year
And a new season is
staring down at us.
So many new faces and names.
The impound rule went away...which is a good thing. I'll get more out
of my Thursdays and Fridays at the tracks. Still no sign of new
regulations that would keep the Cup boys out of the Busch garage.
Can't have everything, I suppose. Robby Gordon is having the time of
his life at the Dakar rally.
The holidays are almost over. Monday is still a day off for most of
the world, so not yet for those of us in the service industry.
Tuesday. Tuesday I can breathe again.
Take care and make some noise. 2006 is a whole new year.
Catch ya'll later!
