March 26, 2006

Paul Dana passes on...

Indy Car racer Paul Dana passed away this morning after an on-track incident at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Fellow competitor Ed Carpenter spun his car and pushed up to the top of the track during practice. And as usually will happen, the car drifted back down across the track where Paul Dana's car hit the rear quarter panel at full speed.

Ed Carpenter is listed in stable condition at an area hospital.

Paul Dana's teammates at Rahal-Letterman Racing have pulled their cars from this afternoon's IRL event in respect for Paul.

Paul Dana was 30 years old.

All my thoughts are with Paul's family.

And on the lighter side...

Yesterday's Busch race provided entertainment at every end of the spectrum...complete with a snowball fight between the NASCAR teams and the Bristol spectators.

During the 90 minute red flag we all got a reminder just how much fun taking a moment out of life to just be a kid can be. The inch of quickly accumulating snow that blanketed the track in a matter of minutes provided vast entertainment for this group of competitors who rarely get to see snowflakes. There was a two-foot tall snowman with lug nuts for eyes, one team was playing The Three Stooges by continually doing the slip and fall on their tarps slick with snow, Micheal Waltrip fended off the many snowballs being tossed onto the track by the fans with an umbrella and somebody apologized for hitting a reporter in the face with a snowball...he didn't mean to hit him "in the face".

However all the laughter vanished when the race resumed and the usual Bristol tempers returned.

Ultimately Kyle Busch brought it home and displayed lots of youthful joy when he climbed from his car on the front stretch to invite the crowd's adulation.

A good day in Tennessee...

Here's to hoping Sunday's race provides even more of the same.

March 25, 2006

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Jingle bells...white christmas...winter wonderland...

Bristol, Tennesee! Who knew? LOL

OK, first we had snow in Vegas and now it canceled Cup qualifying in Bristol. What is with that?

Anyway, Cup boys line up tomorrow according to the points standings at the end of last season. So yes, Tony has the pole. Jimmie starts fifth and the Roushketeers all start in the Top 10.

The blizzard appears to have returned right now and is slowing down the Busch boys from qualifying.

Have they ever mounted plows on the jet dryers? Just wondering...

News, what's in the news. A crewman on the #66 Bestbuy team has been suspended indefinitely for forging a NASCAR credential- for him or for somebody else they're not saying.

Chad Knaus returns to the #48 garage this weekend. Will he last? or will they put the interim crew chief back in...Time will tell.

I watched the new SpeedTV show "Back in the Day" for the first time yesterday. I avoided it because it was being touted as a Dale Jr. show. But it's not. It's reruns of old races! Awesome! Dale is just the "eye candy" between commercials. So those of you out there that try to avoid everything Dale Jr., fear not SpeedTV. They haven't betrayed you.

Up here in Massachusetts we've gotten like a total of 30" of snow for the entire winter. I guess the snow went south for the winter Hopefully this means that the "Icebreaker" race at Thompson CT in a couple weeks will be nice and balmy.

Oh! Dale Jarrett announced that he will be retiring at the end of the '08 season. He has two more years to race the truck...

And I think that's all for now. Later!
 

March 20, 2006

A day late...

But not short on entertainment.

After watching Saturday's Busch race with several right rear tires blowing I was certain we would see wholesale carnage at the Cup race today...nope!

Instead we got Kasey Kahne running a fast, thrilling race and the boy in the #9 Dodge took it to victory lane. Great job! Not only did Ray Evernham's boy wonder win, but it appeared that our long lost heroes, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., returned from the dead. They each finished in the Top 10.

Ryan Newman met with rookie interference, spinning in the early laps due to J.J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin doing what they really shouldn't have. Kurt Busch also was sucked into the rookie zone when Stremme played ping pong with the #2 and #16.

Even though this is probably the most talented and certainly the best funded rookie class we have seen in some time; having 14 of the young men out there has made the track something of a mine field for the more seasoned competitors. I can only wish everybody good luck for next week...

Bristol combined with a super sized helping of rookies. This should be a mess.

A note about Bobby Labonte and the #43. He led 13 laps in the opening of the race. This was the first time in an eon that a Petty Dodge had led at Atlanta. The horsepower under the blue hood was awesome! It truly looked like Bobby had finally put his ghosts to bed...until the engine blew.

Does anybody know someone gifted in removing evil spirits from a driver? I think Bobby needs their help. You could see it in his eyes, he's beginning to feel like a Jonah.

Have faith Bobby. It will come. You're much too good.

Later!

March 18, 2006

Trucks payoff

Yes, I know. Another Green, White, Checker at the truck race on Friday night. But yet it didn't rankle...why not? Because the racing that got us there and the resultant final yellow was awesome.

Mark Martin and Todd Bodine traded the lead and second throughout the race. But they didn't just get in line. They swerved, they bumped, they squeezed, they pushed the limit...the back end of the trucks wiggled all over. The driver's hands spun wildly on the wheel trying to keep their vehicles just this side of wrecking.

This was racing. The final yellow was brought out because Todd and Mark took it FOUR WIDE!!! And almost got away with it. The guys behind them had a little difficulty registering the maneuver and ended up spinning out. Then the restart.

It was Todd and Mark all over again.

Ultimately Todd took the checkers and Mark just couldn't begrudge the man the win. Why?

Because this is the best racing to be had out there.

This is what we wish the Cup and Busch series was.

Why the difference? I think you'd have to talk to an engineer. But it appears that the design of the trucks takes away the aero perfection that the stock cars have. Thus it places control of the truck back in the hands of the driver.

Horsepower and bravado become the currency of the track instead of the calculated decisions made at the shops of the cars.

But the trucks do not get the ratings that the Cup and Busch series do...why? Oh, I've got some opinions on that, too. And perhaps I'll share them another day.

But for now...we get to watch the Stock Cars run at Atlanta and maybe you can make your own decision. Would you prefer to watch the show at California or Atlanta? You tell me

March 16, 2006

Green, White, again?!

Three races, three finishes.  And there’s something eerily similar in the way they all ended.  With two laps to go all the cars lined up single file and came to a Green Flag.  The next lap was a white flag and finally came the checker. 

It’s like a new ritual.  We don’t RACE 400 miles.  We race 394 miles then stop and take a deep breath before we let the officials figure out who should win the race. 

Was Jimmie Johnson’s final lap pass exciting? Yes.  Did it make the previous three hours worth it? Yes.  Was it fair? Yes.                     

But Kenseth threatened Vegas with another predictably boring victory.  The cameras didn’t show the crowds leaving with twenty to go, but I’m sure they were making their way out of the track.   

Is the Green, White, Checker a good policy?  Yes.  It means we race at the end of every race. BUT!... 

Why is it happening every race?  It’s almost like there’s a debris genie in NASCAR’s flags.  And damn if those officials don’t get antsy about bringing out the yellow after the first two thirds of the race. 

I’m not saying favoritism.  I’m not saying NASCAR is trying to generate ratings or ticket sales by providing a thrilling ending to every race.  I’m just saying it’s a little weird.  And if it continues, the conspiracy theorist in me just might go to town. 

This week…Atlanta.  Where we really get to go racing.  Fast, Furious and nearly out of control!  Bring it on J   

Catch ya’ll later!

March 2, 2006

Hola Amigos!

Yeah, I know. Sunday's race was really nothing to write home about. Even if the drivers like Fontana for driving purposes, the track has really never provided the kind of race that is entertaining on TV. Yep, that track definitely needed a second date...NOT. But that is a gripe for another time.

Congratulations to Matt Kenseth. Somebody from the Rousch camp was bound to win that race. Like it was carved in stone or something.

For now we can look forward to this weekend's Busch race at the Autodromo in Mexico City. Last year the inaugural event drew over 100,000 fans to this unique road course. Mexico brought their very best road racers to take on a few headlining Cup drivers and all of the regular Busch guys. The race was tight, exciting and the course challenging. And Martin Truex Jr. won, which made me a very happy girl.

The entire NASCAR convoy has to drive into Mexico, which requires stops at customs and the usual crossing the border issues. This is truly like a field trip for the entire sport. It must be something to see at the border...hauler after hauler lined up. Worth a few photos, don't you think?

So, tune in on Sunday and check it out. You won't see another race like it all year long.

Catch ya Over the Border!

February 26, 2006

This week Shane Hmiel was kicked out of NASCAR for life. Why? After being suspended from NASCAR until 2007 for testing positive to illegal substances last year, he was directed to undergo a rehab program.

And then last week he tested positive again.

Is this fair? Or right? The test was a random test. Not taken because he was ready to re-enter competition. Obviously he wouldn't be driving a NASCAR race anytime soon. Nothing was said over whether he was stating he was clean. It just feels like an incomplete story at the moment. Addiction is a hard thing to beat. Maybe NASCAR is requiring a higher standard for their drivers. But at the same time, don't they also need to provide some kind of support for a competitor that is having a hard time beating their problem?

This is one of those paradoxes. NASCAR wishes to appear to fly on a higher moral ground then the rest of the world. So they have a no tolerance policy for drug abuse. Fair. Then who's there to help the driver that unfortunately falls into the morass of addiction? The team that will terminate the driver's contract at the drop of a hat? Probably not. NASCAR has shown it won't be them. Is there an advocate for these superheroes?

And perhaps this is the price of addiction; complete loss of your livlihood and workplace support systems.

I sincerely hope that Shane has found somebody to help him out of this pit. Whether that helping hand comes from the NASCAR community or his family, he needs to understand that the American public will not condemn him for life...even if NASCAR already has.