Pit Stops

This is something that I’m going to do, not every week, but when is needed. This is going to be a section where I can make quick comments on random NASCAR news. I call it Pit Stops because it’s going to be short and pithy.

Dodge Charging ahead. Dodge will only race the Charger after Texas. Thank goodness. I’m tired of wondering what Dodge team is going to race what. Also I don’t think it would be fair for a Ford team to race a Taurus, why should a Dodge team race an Intrepid. Besides the Charger looks better.

Grubb?? I didn’t know who this guy was five weeks ago. He gets named crew chief for a team that can’t win with out some controversy and the team wins the race. Now you can’t go a broadcast without hearing his name mentioned five times every hour. He will go back to doing what he did before and Chad will be back on the Lowe’s box. Who ever asked if Grubb was going to replace Knaus all year long is an idiot. Chad may not have been at the races but he was at the shop the entire time. By the way, does anyone know who was Harvick’s crew chief when Todd Berrier was suspended?

Colorblind. I want to say this. I’m not racist! Now, what Bill Lester did this weekend was not that special. He qualified for a Nextel Cup race, he ran that race, and he finished 38th. It was really no different than the other 43 drivers who qualified, ran the race and finished between 1st and 43rd. One difference is Bill Lester is black. It takes a lot to run any NASCAR race and I won’t take that away from him. But, everyone else made such a big deal about this I was really frustrated. I don’t remember reading an article on Tuesday that didn’t mention him in the first two paragraphs. Generally being mentioned just after the fact Kasey Kahne won the race.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! Remember when you were in middle school and you’d hear that coming from down the hall. This is what I think of when Harvick and Busch were going at it on Monday. There was a lot of talk going on and not much action. This is what I think NASCAR needs. Something interesting. I know what you are going to tell me, but Kyle Busch is being a bad boy. No, he’s not. He’s inexperienced and cocky. Harvick and Kurt harken back to good rivalry.

Boogity one more time, promise. I like DW. I don’t care how many times he continues to race. I think he should stop saying it’s the last time, but who cares really? If he can qualify he can race as much as he wants to.

Hotlanta! Even When It's Wet.

I think more happened in the 3 days at Atlanta than most of this season combined. Maybe this means we are finally getting into the NASCAR season. After waking up from the California race anyways.

First of all let’s talk a little about the actual race. I admit I may have underscored Kasey Kahne in my power rankings this past week. I knew he was on the pole by the time I posted that but really did not think he was going to go win the race on me. Congratulations are due though. Not only to the Dodge Dealers crew but also to everyone that continues to stick with Dodge’s official entry. To me running the Intrepid is like a ford team running the Taurus this year. I know it is within the rules to still run them but it does defeat the purpose of having the Charger.

I did not get to watch this race. I was highly disappointed that I did not get to watch. I mean how am I to comment on a race I was unable to watch. Thank you Speed Channel for replaying races. It was a good race to watch. There was real racing. Side by side action, and lots of drama were on the bill for this race. What is better than Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick going for another round, and with Bristol next? It will be interesting to say the least.

Mark Martin is still waiting there ready to pounce on the Chase when it rolls around in September. His runs this year and especially a win and some more top five runs will keep him there by the time Richmond comes up. Dale Jr. showed that while Atlanta is good to him, he could overcome difficulties that would have kept him down last year. He came from the back twice during the race after having tired problems. Handling, something he missed last year, was the reason he could deal with it. I think that has something to do with Tony Jr. being on the box.

Jeff Gordon has put together two top 5 finishes and shows we can’t forget him even if we want to. Paul Menard was a pleasant surprise to the top 10 finishers though. After missing Daytona I did not give him much of a chance and I’m a DEI fan. Maybe he does have some talent after all. Here is hoping that with Dale Jr. Truex Jr. and Menard DEI can put a dominant product on the track. And speaking of good things and coming back I hope that Kyle Petty continues to finish well. I’d like to see Petty make the Chase. That would show a turn around in a struggling program.

By the way if you are still asleep from California it is time to wake up we are going short track racing. I do not think it is possible to have a boring race at Bristol.

Atlanta Power Rankings

Ok I don't have many good quips this week. So we'll see what happens. In case you couldn't tell, last weeks rank is in parentheses and if they were not on the list last week NR means not ranked.

1.) Matt Kenseth (3) ~ I told you to watch out for consistency. He should have back-to-back wins this year
2.) Jimmie Johnson (1) ~ That's right I put him down a peg. He hasn't dominated any race this year, win or not. He got lucky. One day, hopefully soon, his luck runs out.
3.) Casey Mears (3) ~ One of these days Alice, One of these days.
4.) Mark Martin (4) ~ Maybe one of the best shots this year, wouldn't that make a great end to his Cup career.
5.) Jeff Burton (7) ~ Didn't I say something about watch out. I'm telling you it is going to happen.
6.) Elliot Sadler (8) ~ Hope this can keep up if he wants to be in the Chase this year.
7.) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5) ~ Again, who called for that stop? At least he finished the race this year though. Progress.
8.) Clint Bowyer (NR) ~ Scary isn't it. He's a quiet Carl Edwards. Mainly because that black car is evading the radar somehow. Do a back flip and everyone will notice though.
9.) Kasey Kahne (NR) ~ Bet he's glad that sophomore slump is over. Lets hear for year 3.
10.) Jeff Gordon (NR) ~ No USA Toady writer one top 5, a season does not make.

Folding Big in Vegas

I'll be honest with you all. I don't know what to write about Sunday's race. It was depressing. Don't get my wrong the racing itself was good. But, I do not like Jimmie Johnson and I did not want to see him win. I loathed that he won Daytona and I loath the fact he has now won two races this season. Lets go to Atlanta and hope for something better.
I will say this. I like that Gordon did better at Vegas but who ever at USA Today said that his run at Vegas means he's back to form has not watched any other race this year. He had one good run. If Dale Jr. does great at Atlanta you'll see them say either that he always runs good there or that this doesn't mean the Budweiser team is back to form. Speaking of Jr. who made that pit call at the end of the race?

Vegas Power Rankings

I know that NASCAR.Com has a power rankings list for every race. I don’t always agree with it. So here is mine. Like it or not I don’t care, it’s my opinion. My rankings are partially based on points, partially based on how well they are running recently.

1.) Jimmie Johnson ~ I hate it as much as anyone else but we are talking about a guy that hasn’t been out of the top 10 in points for like 2 or 3 seasons now. Plus he has finishes of 1 and 2 this year.
2.) Casey Mears ~ Ever have that dream where you are running as fast and hard as you can to get that prize and you can’t quite get there? That’s how Mears must feel right now. He will get it though.
3.) Matt Kenseth ~ Is anyone else worried about consistency from this team? If he wins one more race at least they won’t pick on him for winning a championship and only one race. Come to think of it wasn’t Vegas where he did win that year?
4.) Mark Martin ~ If he could get those AAA cars to run like those Scott’s trucks we might not even need to run the rest of the races.
5.) Dale Earnhardt Jr. ~ He may not be where he was 2 years ago, but you have to admit that this year so far is better that last year, if he could get one of those Blue Angels jet engines in his car… hmm… he wouldn’t need anyone to help him in the draft.
6.) Tony Stewart ~ No his points spot isn’t great, but he’s still the same Tony. Watch out if his engine can last as long as his determination.
7.) Jeff Burton ~ Remember a few years ago when he was dangerous on almost any track? Remember when he almost ended Jeff Gordon’s No Bull Million Dollar Run? Yeah watch out! I think he’s back.
8.) Elliot Sadler ~ He’s running well, but I still think this team needs a little push. Maybe he can borrow the truck with the jets on the back. Then he and Dale Jr. can draft together and Elliot won’t end up on his roof anymore.
9.) Carl Edwards ~ I just don’t know if he’s ever heard of a sophomore slump. We’ll see what happens at Vegas.
10.) Greg Biffle ~ I didn’t want to put him here because 38th in points isn’t top ten material, but this needs to be said. He may have lead the most laps at Fontana but that doesn’t mean you win. It’s early and look what Kenseth did last year, but he does need to finish a race to start that kind of climb.

Racing was built here, racing belongs here.

Today NASCAR finally announced that the hall of fame will be in Charlotte, NC. My thoughts? This is probably one of the best decisions I’ve seen NASCAR make in the last few years. I think that the other three finalists were worthy, but Charlotte just plain makes sense. With over 80% of full time teams based near Charlotte it makes for a “NASCAR Destination”. This means for the diehard NASCAR fan you can spend a lot of time in Charlotte going to the race shops, visiting the Hall of Fame, and dropping by Lowe’s Motor Speedway. I’m almost positive you will now have people that spend their week vacation in Charlotte doing just that.

For the other cities that were competing for this prize congratulations on the proposals made and the efforts put forth.

Kansas City ~ I know you wanted this but please be real. Kansas? You’ve had what 3 races? Sorry I’m not driving to Kansas for this.

Richmond ~ You now have one of the highest profile races on the schedule with the Chase cut off. You have a great location being on I – 95. But to me you just weren’t high enough profile. I can’t even find a diecast store in Richmond at the moment. Course maybe there would have been one with the hall.

Atlanta ~ Yes you are the corporate hub of the south. But, you are the track that gave up the last race of the year because the championship hadn’t been decided there in a couple of years. Still kicking yourself about that one?

Daytona ~ Stop whining! You have THE crown jewel in NASCAR. You have Daytona USA. Everyone knows Daytona in the racing world. It’s not like you’re Darlington who has to worry about if they are going to hold on to their one race a year for dear life. People will still come to Daytona for 2 weeks every winter. And people still come every week of the year. It’s Florida for crying out loud. I’m going there in November.

South of the Border

At least it wasn’t another race at California. I mean I did stay awake to watch this race. That should speak volumes in and of itself. I really did enjoy the race at times, and congratulations are due to Denny Hamlin at winning his first Busch series win.

Probably the most interesting thing about this race is how Kyle Bush continues to be more and more like his brother. I understand there is a fine line between winning a race and losing a race. Just ask Ricky Craven and Kurt Bush about that Darlington race a few years ago. But what Kyle did on Sunday can only be called bone headed. He took a car that contended for the win and regulated himself to having to fight for a top 10, and in the process upset about 75,000 Mexican fans and took out another competitor. Maybe Kyle will learn patience but if he doesn’t learn it soon he’ll have a hard time in racing.

As long as we are discussing racing in Mexico, let me be one to voice my displeasure in wanting to bring Nextel Cup to Mexico. Yes I know we are looking at two big new markets for NASCAR in the form of our neighbors to the south and the north, but this is a mistake. There are so many tracks in our own country that want to host Cup races that giving one to tracks outside the US is a mistake. Again I’m all for growing the sport. And while I believe that people will come to these races as opposed to the debacle in California last week, I believe there should be a concentration on remembering where NASCAR came from.

NASCAR Cruising or NASCAR Snoozing?

I’m not going to tell you that this past weekends race at California Motor Speedway was boring, but I did not see most of it because I was asleep on the couch until I moved to my bedroom in which I missed even more because I was asleep in my bed. I think I caught what I needed to know about the race on NASCAR.Com later that evening.

I love NASCAR. I’m even in favor of growing NASCAR so that there are more fans than ever. However we were told two years ago that Rockingham was taken off the schedule because they could not sell out, and the weather at times was prohibitive of running the race on time. But, California was a great place to hold the second race of the season. The weather is always great, the racing will be great, we have more seats, and we can sell all of those seats.

I’ll give California the weather, because it hardly ever changes there but I have to make comments on the other “promises”. I’ll give it this much I probably would have fallen asleep that afternoon to anything on television. I did work eight hours that morning, and did not have much sleep the night before. But I’ve watched entire races from Rockingham, and Darlington after less sleep and more work. I give the fact that California sold more total seats than Rockingham has, but they did not hold the promise of selling all those seats. When I was awake I saw many empty seats. I know that ticket sales account for such a small portion of the money involved in one race weekend, but what about television ratings, and the great interest in the west for a good ol’ boy southern sport?

I have to agree with most of the other pundits when I say that while I enjoy the growth of NASCAR, I miss Rockingham, and the Southern 500 at Darlington on Labor Day. Let California have a race, let them have two if need be, but remember Rockingham crowned Champions and Darlington is still the Lady In Black. By the way for all those that say they hope for a Rockingham clone in the Northwest I have to say a clone is not possible. It is the makeup of the area in middle North Carolina that made Rockingham the racetrack that it was, and one day could be again.