Hello Nascar fans. Hope you have had a great week and a half. There has been alot going on in the last couple of weeks. I wish I could have been there last night for the race at Lowe’s. After all it is my favorite track and we got rained out in May when we went. But it’s been a busy semester and with four classes its been heavy on the test rotation. I even had to write a paper for Humanities class.
Maybe we should have Johnson write a paper on what it feels like to win like he does during the chase every year. I bet that would be a great paper to read. I hate to say it but he is really putting some distance between himself and his nearest competitors, other than Mark Martin who is only 12 points behind Jimmie despite finishing further back at 17th position. Gordon however is fifth in points 105 points behind his teammate and he finished the race in the 4th position last night.
Jeff made quite a run for it with Johnson passing him in a late race attempt to grab the lead but Johnson only let Jeff get a couple laps in the lead before he took it back for himself. This makes the second week in a row that Johnson has brought it home to victory lane. It seems to be a frequent chase strategy of his to win as many races as possible during the chase races and so far I would say he is doing a great job of that this year again.
Richard Childress isnt fairing as well however and there is discussion as to how many cars he will run next season as he loses primary sponsorship for their 07 car next season as Jack Daniels departs this year. Childress will need to make a decision before the holiday season and the end of the cup season but that may well depend on whether or not sponsorship can be found for the 07 car.
Well seems not everyone is jumping on the 48 band wagon just yet. In fact Sprint Cup driver Brian Vickers thinks that as far as performance goes, Mark Martin is your man. This is true as Martin’s performance this season pretty much speaks for itself. Martin of course has never won a championship and with it being so close within reach, he is again only 12 points behind Johnson, he is ready to do battle to obtain it. Vickers says not to underestimate Mark and that he is the man to watch this season. I think I may tend to agree with him on that. I dont think that any of us can call this a done deal at this point. What happens next remains to be seen.
The one Hendricks driver who we havent heard anything from this season was Dale Jr.. Personally, I am a big fan of Dale Jr.’s, he is my second favorite driver, but he just hasnt had the luck this year at all. Sadly, it has not been the season we thought it would be for him. I am not sure what needs to happen next but something different has to happen for him or its just a waste of time for him on the track. I really hope that the figure out the right combination for Jr. that will allow him to have a decent run at it next season.
Well after the race at Lowe’s the chase drivers are as follows:
Jimmie Johson 5728 points
Mark Martin 5716
Juan Montoya 5670
Tony Stewart 5644
Jeff Gordon 5623
Those are your top five drivers in the chase. At this point anyone more than 105 points out from the leader doesnt really stand much of a chance but hey, you never know. It is still a race too close to call for me. And I am rooting for Mark Martin to win it all. Cmon Mark!!
Well thats about it for now. I’ll see you guys next weekend. Have a great week! See you later Nascar friends!
Johnson Wins Again : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum
Hello Nascar friends. Well Tony really fired it up this weekend in Kansas. He “smoked” the competition including Jeff Gordon by mere hundreds of a second to take the checkered flag this weekend at Kansas Motor Speedway. With this win Stewart effectively put himself back in chase contention and cut 39 points off of his defecit to chase leader Mark Martin who is still leading the pack with 5551 points. Martin finished the race in 7th position and holding on to his points lead over second place Johnson by a mere 18 points.
Well my man Jeff Gordon finally had a great run after a really mediocre season so far. Jeff was not even a full second behind race winner Stewart. This second place victory places Jeff in seventh place in the chase. Stewart by the way is solidly in fourth position just 67 points behind chase leader, Mark Martin. Montoya is in third behind Johnson and Kurt Busch is holding onto 5th position in the chase behind Tony in 4th.
Well the Mayfield saga just continues to get more bizarre by the week. This week it has been announced that Mayfield has hired and is not a client of Mark Geragos, a high profile attorney that has represented some big names including Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder, and most recently Chris Brown. He was also the attorney for convicted killer Scott Peterson. All I can say is that doesnt really speak to Mayfield’s character knowing that his attorney actually defended someone as heinous and horrible as Scott Peterson.
I would wonder what kind of individual would be willing to defend someone accused of killing not only his wife but an unborn child as well. It doesnt set to well with me. But as always I will continue bringing any updates as they come about. There is a scheduled hearing for the first week of December to appeal the upholding of his suspension so hopefully there wont be anything else before that.
Now here’s something that is out of the normal routine for Nascar. Instead of taking just the winning car of Stewart and a random car for post race testing this week, Nascar has also taken two of Hendricks cars to the research and development center for further testing as well. The cars of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin were both taken there as well. It seems according to Nascar officials that both Hendricks cars were perilously close to the limits imposed by Nascar regulations. Nascar warned Hendricks teams about being so close to the limits while series officials say that the cars were in compliance.
Joey Logano seemed to be suffering no ill effects from his spectacular ride last weekend at Dover. Logano says it is what it is but it is over now and time to move on to the next race. He says however that he does appreciate that everyone wants to know if he is ok but that its part of racing and now its time to move on to the next race. However the wreck did garner some national attention for the young race driver who was asked to appear on Good Morning America after last weekend’s spectacular crash. Alright Joey, I wont ask how your feeling I will just say what a ride that was and good luck this weekend keeping all four tires firmly on the ground.
One chase driver who did not fair so well this weekend was Brian Vickers. Vickers who entered the race at Kansas in 10th position in the chase standings, had a rough weekend with a spin early on in the race and then later an engine issue which dropped him from 10th to 12th in points. That drop leaves him 250 points behind the chase leader Martin and virtually out of contention to win the championship all together.
Greg Biffle on the other hand had a pretty good run at Kansas gambling with tire wear and how many tires to take on pit stops during the race. Well strategy may or may not have played a hand in Biffle’s day grabbing the lead early on and then finishing the day third behind Stewart and Gordon. Biffle is now 8th in the points standings and still feels he could come alive with 7 races left in the chase. At this point its probably more about winning races to make up points rather than just finishing up front to get the points to close the gap. But with both Martin and Stewart performing well this season, its going to be hard to catch them without some kind of misfortune befalling them like a DNF or something. Let’s hope that is not the case. I would really rather see them all battle it out on the track than to see someone drop due to a DNF. Best of luck to all drivers in the chase.
Well that’s about it for now. This weekend coming they are racing at Fontana. My good friend Riki Ratchman will be running around there doing some driver interviews so if you see him say hi. He is a great guy and one hell of a Nascar fan. Alright well have a great week and keep your fingers crossed for your favorite chase driver, its not over yet!!!
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum
Hey there everyone! Hope all you Nascar junkies are having a great week. At least better than my week. They closed my store after 5 years of working for Hollywood Video without even a warning or 2 week notice. Nice huh? Anyways I am not stressing it at all. So lets get to it.
Well that was a wild ride for the Home Depot driver Joey Logano Sunday at the monster mile. I think it is probably truly one of the wildest crashes I have ever seen and thank goodness he was able to walk away. It certainly made for an exciting race!
Congratulations to race winner Jimmie Johnson. Well this is eerily reminiscent of the past 3 years of the chase. Once the chase starts, it seems Johnson can do no wrong and easily walks away with the championship. Well that may have been true the last 3 years but its still early in the chase, only 2 races down and 8 to go.
And dont forget that Mark Martin is still the chase leader going into Kansas this weekend. Mark who has had a phenomenal season thus far, is poised and ready and still very much in contention to win the championship. I hate to say it again but I gotta tell you, I am definitely pulling for Mark to win the championship. Go Mark!!!
Jimmie Johnson received a real honor recently when he was named the driver of the decade by Sporting News Magazine. He beat out Tony Stewart for the honor. Not only that but he also scored his 44th win of his career at Dover tying Bill Elliott on the all time wins list. Congratulations Jimmie for your win at Dover, the honor of being driver of the decade and for tying Elliott on the all time wins list. Whew, thats a mouthful.
David Gilliland will pilot a fourth car for JGR during the remaining chase races. He will drive a Toyota car for three races with Farm Bureau Insurance as his primary sponsor. They signed on to sponsor like 5 or 6 races this season and thus far only 2 races have had a Farm Bureau sponsored car.
David will drive the #02 Toyota at races in Charlotte in October, Texas on November 8, and finally at Homestead for the season finale and crowning of this years champion. Good luck David and have fun racing for Farm Bureau.
George Gillette whose family owns most of Richard Petty Motorsports, has entered into an agreement with a Saudi based firm that is owned by the Prince Faisal bin Abdullah Al Saud. The firm known as F6, is a multidirectional sports company with interest in soccer as well as stock car racing. They are looking at options for developing a new team and possibly opening racing schools around the country and in the middle east as well. ‘
Well thats about it for now. I am going to go watch some tv and eat some dinner. Here’s looking forward to the race at Kansas. After the Kansas race we should have a good idea of who to watch and who is not a contender. Hopefully they will shake it up good. Have a great rest of the week Nascar fans.
Mr. Logano’s Wild Ride : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum
Hello Nascar fans. Well I can hardly contain myself this week. What a weekend. Its been an unbelievable ride this season for Mark Martin and apparantly its not over yet. Martin won the race and took the Chase lead after the end of the first race in the chase. Mark is the man this season to beat and so far doesnt look like anyone is gonna be able to do that. This is going to be an exciting nine weeks coming up. Are you ready for some racing ??? I know that I am!
Well with only one race down and nine to go there are already several drivers who are wondering at this point if they have any chance to contend for the championship or not. After just the first race Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Kasey Kahne are all over 100 points away from leader Mark Martin. They are 102, 113, and 161 points respectively behind the leader Martin. At this point it is still anyone’s chase but we are hoping Martin takes it all.
Clint Pittman, tire changer for the team of Casey Mears is out for the rest of the season. He got his foot run over Sunday at Loudon when Hamlin came in for a routine stop. Pittman’s foot was run over and was broken in the incident. He will be out for the rest of the season. Here’s to a speedy recovery for you Clint.
Dale Jr. less than stellar season continued this week with a late race wreck with David Reutimann. Both were racing for a top ten finish and having good days when they got together with 20 laps to go. This was one of the only times this season that Jr. has had a cup car worth a shot at winning a race. This season has been less than stellar for Jr. and I am sure its been stressful too. Hopefully he and crew chief Lance McGrew can dial in their cars during the off season and the remainder of this season so they can be contenders next season. Good luck Jr.
Well finally some good luck for the 18 team. Yeah, thats right. You know I dislike Kyle Busch for many reasons but this just sealed the deal. The number 18 team got caught cheating. Thats right, cheating. I had a feeling that they had been for quite a while but never really knew for sure. Know I do. They were slapped with several fines and infractions.
Crew chief Steve Addington was fined 25,000 dollars and owner Jack Roush and driver Kyle Busch were both fined 25 points, owner points and driver points respectively. Its about time. They were found in violation of three of Nascars rules of racing that include, actions detrimental to racing, equipment that does not conform to Nascar standards of racing and the height of the car during the after race inspections. Finally someone caught them doing no good. I always had a feeling about that.
Well the ongoing battle between Mayfield and Nascar unfortunately continues. This is almost soap opera quality stuff now its just so ridiculous. Now the court wants a full medical and mental evaluation of Mayfield to determine if he has a substance abuse problem or ADHD. Seriously? This has just become a three ring circus all the way around. I dont know who or what to believe. Jeremy saying he never had a problem or Nascar, did they boo boo and now are trying to cover it up or what??? It has to make people wonder. I would hate to see them put a dent in their stellar reputation by stooping to such behaviors. But things dont work the way they do here in the real world.
Well thats about all for now. Gotta get to work and I have a class tonight. Here’s looking forward to a great weekend of racing. Take care and have a great week. See you soon.
Mark Martin Charging Ahead : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum
Hey everyone! Hope all my Nascar fans are revved up and ready to go. This year to me has been full of surprises. Some unexpected and some that we just knew were coming, but all definitely adding flavor to this years chase. From this point on now there are just 10, count ‘em, a mere 10 races til the season is over. I cant believe the season has flown by so quickly. There have been so many exciting and so many frustrating moments that it just seems that it all went to quickly!!
Well there sure was a big shake up points wise after the Sunday race which was the last in the regular season. I can hardly believe that Mark Martin is atop the points standings going into the chase. Go Mark!!! Like Mark said, he will enjoy that for one week and then Sunday, it starts all over again. Following Mark in points is Tony Stewart and Jimmy Johnson in third. Denny Hamlin sits fourth with Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon behind him in 5 and 6 positions for the chase.
I dont know what happened there Jeff, well yes I do, but here’s hoping we can pull it together for the chase and hopefully get a shot at winning! Of course you got Jimmy up there running in second place and if he has anything to say about it, I am sure he will be winning a few during the chase as well. I dont know what it is about Johnson but he always seems to get “Chase” fever and really digs for it and usually comes out of it with a couple of wins under his belt and well frankly the title as well the last three years. It would be really cool to see him set a new record with four in a row, but I gotta tell you I am seriously pulling for Mark Martin to win the whole shebang this year.
The race for the Chase starts this weekend as we all know at New Hampshire Motor Speedway followed next week by Dover then Kansas. Then its onto Fontana, Charlotte, and Martinsville. Then its back to Dega, then Texas, Phoenix, and finally bringing it home to Florida for the grand finale, Homestead. I just want to wish all the drivers the best of luck and even better luck to Mark and Jeff. This is about to get good in a couple weeks once the chase gets underway and we see where these 12 drivers start falling within the chase rankings. It should be really interesting.
Also just wanted to mention too that a real stand up guy, Matt Kenseth did not make the chase this year for the first time since they adopted the chase formation for Nascar. Kenseth struggled all night with his car in Richmond and finished in a not so good 27th place. That knocked him from chase contention straight into 14th position. Thats too bad because I have always liked Kenseth, he is quiet but nice and very respectful. Good luck next season Matt.
The chase will bring with it a chance for redemption on the part of the Roush drivers. The only wins they garnered this season were the 2 races that Kenseth won and now he isnt even a chase contender. Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, who by the way had a great season last year, are both winless this season. Biffle however was winless last season entering the chase and won the first two chase races and helped boost himself within the chase keeping him within reach for a short time.
Cousin Carl on the other hand had a stellar season last year with like 4 wins during the regular season. This year he hasnt had an oppurtunity to do any backflips for the crowd. I like Carl and met him at Daytona. Some people have said that he was arrogant, but I didnt see that. Heck, I was close enough to grab his ass and often wonder if I should have. But he was very nice and signed hats and stuff for fans for several minutes before he had to go. Good luck to you in the chase Carl.
Here’s something I had not heard about yet. Martin Truex is leaving Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to make the move to Michael Waltrip Racing. Truex is leaving at the end of this season to join MWR and drive the #56 Napa Toyota. In addition to Truex they are also adding another quality person to their team in their choice for Truex’s new crew chief, Pat Tryson. Pat is a seasoned veteran that has taken two drivers to the chase in the past and has had a fair amount of success over at Penske racing as crew chief for the #2 car of Kurt Busch. Tryson also is a former crew chief for chase front runner Mark Martin during his time at Roush Racing. Tryson says that MWR has made some really big strides and really come on to the scene this season and feels that they could be a contributor to the chase in the future with Truex piloting the Napa Toyota.
Well thats about all the news this week. Things seem to be relatively quiet and that is probably a good thing right now. At any rate I hope you all have a great week and are rested and ready to go for the chase this weekend!! Dont forget it’s Loudon, New Hampshire this weekend and the chase is on Nascar fans! Until then everyone have a great week!!!
The Chase is On! : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum
Hey Nascar fans. Hope you are all having a great week so far. I am just getting back from a weekend of relaxation and then had to get back to the grind yesterday with school. Thats okay I totally aced the anatomy quiz and now I can relax and get back to the business at hand, Nascar!
Well being gone this weekend I didnt watch the Atlanta race, believe me it was a hard choice between paradise and nascar, haha. But at any rate, I am not sure I would not have been in pain watching and holding my breath with Harvick running up front and finishing second. I just hate to see him win because he gloats. Like he thinks he is so great but really he is nothing. I ask you, Kevin Harvick, what have you done for anyone lately??? I am surprised RCR has kept you around as long as they have. My answer would be nothing, you have done nothing. Plus nobody likes you anyway.
Kasey Kahne on the other hand!! Wow! I never mind seeing Kasey win. He is an all around great young man and I still would love to meet him sometime. That would really be great. So that makes like what 2 wins for Kasey this season?? Thats great Kasey. He has had a fairly well rounded season with 2 wins, 5 top five finishes and 10 top ten finishes in 25 starts. Not too bad for a driver who didnt do much at all last season. For a while it felt like it was almost Kasey who?? But congratulations to a fine young man what a way to get it done.
Well I cant tell you how happy I am that Kyle Busch is out of the chase too. Well he sits in 14th in points with one race left til the chase starts. To bad there is no “zero” in his win column, unfortunately he has had 4 oppurtunities to gloat this season, however that doesnt include his behavior at Nationwide races. At any rate, I am happy he is sitting in 14th without much chance of securing a spot in the chase.
On the other hand, my man Mark Martin is sitting securely in 10th place among chase contenders. More than anything else in this world I would love to see Mark win a championship this season. No driver is more deserving and has worked harder than Mark has. He never gives up, he is always positive and always charging forward. He is a class act all the way around. I know we have said it before but it bears repeating. Go Mark, we are pulling for you!
Well the Jeremy Mayfield story just keeps getting more bizarre by the minute. Apparantly now he is suing his stepmother for wrongful death in the shooting death of his father in 2007. Police speculated that Terry Mayfield took his own life with a gunshot wound to the chest. The lawsuit does not specify in what way his stepmother, Lisa Mayfield has been implicated in his father’s death.
However in a even stranger twist concerning the lawsuit against Nascar and vice versa, Mayfield’s stepmother testified under oath that she witnessed his using methamphetamine on at least 30 occassions over the last several years. Mayfield denied this statement as he has continued to do since the beginning. Mayfield also stated that he believes that his stepmother was payed to lie under oath about the driver’s alleged drug use by none other than Nascar. Come on now, seriously? Stay tuned.
Tony Stewart is helping Danica Patrick in her quest to find some in depth information about the Sprint cup series. Danica, who is definitely the most popular driver in her Indy car series, has expressed interest in Sprint cup racing and has met twice with Stewart now to fact find and get information about the series. Stewart who you may remember made the transition from Indy to cup cars some 10 years ago and would be the best person that Danica could seek out advice from. Tony said he thinks that Danica will end up in Nascar when all is said and done. I am not to sure how I would feel about that. I love racing and Danica, but never really considered having a female driver in the cup series.
With only one race left til the spots are locked in for the chase, the lineup seems to be pretty well locked in with only a couple of maybe’s left to be seen. Mark is secure in 10th spot for now. Kyle Busch is sitting in 14th and is almost a hundred points behind Mark. Kasey is locked into a sixth place seat for the chase and should be secure in that spot after his victory at Atlanta.
Of course the top three remain unchanged with only a swapping of second and third between Johnson and Gordon, go Jeff! Gordon now sits in second and Johnson in third. I am okay with that to be sure. Hamlin and Edwards round out the top five and then the rest of the gang is hanging out 6th through 12th with Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo, Greg Biffle, Mark of course, and Matt Kenseth holding onto to the 12th spot.
Alright well thats about it for now. This weekend the final chase race is on and they are racing in Richmond so it should be a great race! Take care everyone. I will be back before Sunday hopefully. Have a great week Nascar fans!
Kasey Kahne Wins at Atlanta : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum
Hello Nascar friends. It was a boring weekend this past week with no race except for Nationwide, but no Sprint race was depressing, haha. Not really but I sure missed them racing last weekend. Well with no race last weekend there are no changes to report in the race for the chase. However there are a few things going on this week that may be of interest. And I thought I would answer four questions, Nascar related of course and give four answers for each. Just a couple of fun questions nothing life altering to be sure.
It was confirmed this week that Brad Keselowski will definitely be going to Penske Racing next season. He will be driving in the Sprint cup series as well as the Nationwide series for Penske. Keselowski is replacing David Stremme in the #12 Dodge for Penske. Roger Penske says that Brad has proven himself to be a success in his first few years racing and that he is quickly establishing himself as one of the top young drivers of today. Penske also stated that Brad would be a welcome addition to the Penske Racing family.
Ray Evernham was married this past Wednesday to Erin Crocker, a former developmental driver for GEM before beginning a relationship with Evernham. Evernham you will remember won 3 championships with Jeff Gordon before moving into car ownership. Best wishes to the happy couple.
Bobby Labonte will be relinquishing driving duties on the #96 Ask.com car. Yates racing will be replacing Bobby for the rest of the remaining races with truck series Rookie of the Year for 2005, Erik Darnell. He has had 11 Nationwide starts and has 2 top five finishes and 5 top ten finishes as well as 1 pole. Sponsorship issues this season prompted the change in drivers for those races that Darnell will be racing in.
Not surprising to me, Kevin Harvick is having his worst season in 9 years at RCR. Winless since his “stolen” victory from Mark Martin in the Daytona 500 in 2007. I still think that was a bad deal all the way around but thats just me. Anyways, RCR has apparantly addressed rumors for the second time in as many months, about Harvick’s future driving the #29 car for Childress. Childress himself confirmed yesterday that Harvick will indeed be driving for them next season in 2010. Yipee, I guess. Whatever. haha.
And now a round of 4 Questions. Well more like a top 4 list. Here we go.
What are your 4 favorite tracks?
Lowe’s I always enjoy going to Lowe’s, I love this track its my favorite.
Daytona I love Daytona, after all, I live near Daytona!!
Talladega There is no place for real Nascar spirit and fun like Dega, the party never ends!
Atlanta A similar type track to Lowe’s and I have been there but there was no race there at that time!! We got lost going to Dega and ended up at Atlanta! What are the odds???
Who are your 4 favorite drivers?
Jeff Gordon Crazed Gordon fan established 1992. He is still my all time favorite driver. Someday Im gonna hug that man!!!
Mark Martin He was my husband’s favorite driver for as long as I knew him. Mark deserves to win more than any other driver including Jeff Gordon, sorry Jeff. But I hope Mark wins it all and thats in memory of my hubby.
Dale Jr. Truly the most popular driver ever. However, his driving skills leave something to be desired. He has been having a bad year for the last several years,and I wish he would do good. He seems like such an awesome guy and I applaude the way he stood up to that witchy stepmother of his. Come on Junior!!!
Carl Edwards I really like Cousin Carl. My husband thought hewas a good driver and was an Edwards fan as well when both he and Mark raced for Roush. I got to meet Carl and was close enough to grab his butt, but I wasnt brave enough. Unfortunately, Edwards is still winless this season. I am sure that will change before its all over. Go Carl.
Who are your 4 least favorite drivers?
Kyle Busch First on my list of all time d-bags. His antics and television behavior as well as his demeanor with other drivers leaves alot to be desired. His poor choice of behavior like destroying the trophy only prove to show his immaturity. I have seen him in person. I had no desire to meet him then either. I would rather meet a snake.
Kevin Harvick He used to be number one on my list of all time d-bags. I met him once, he refused to sign my hat and put his hand up in my face. Once again I say, this is why no one likes you Harvick. Your a loser, with a capital L. What more can I say??
Kurt Busch The other Busch brother. He has the personality of wall paper. He totally ignored a huge group of fans waiting and cheering for him as well as others to get an autograph. Both Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson, both a million times more popular than Kurt and also present at that event, actually took the time to sign stuff for the fans. Kurt take a cue. Dont be such a loser. Thats why no one likes you either.
Juan Pablo Montoya I know a lot of people like him but he hasnt done anything to impress me. He seems to me to sort of arrogant and smug at times. I dont really like that in a driver. I prefer drivers that are accessible and eager to meet the fans and show their gratitude. Im not so sure Juan is that type of driver. It remains to be seen. Until then, its your game Montoya.
Name 4 reasons you like Nascar.
My husband got me hooked, I havent been able to give it up since 1992. I just LOVE racing.
Going to actual races is the most fun you can have with your clothes on, seriously. It’s that good.
Meeting other people at the different tracks and making new friends. Where else can you go and say you spent the weekend with 100,000 of your closest friends???
Hot drivers. I am not gonna lie. Some of these drivers are really really hot. Good looking guys, going fast, hot cars…….um, yeah.
Well that’s about it for now. I will be back this weekend and I believe we are racing at Atlanta this weekend. So have a great week and I’ll see you on Sunday Nascar friends. Keep on racing.
What’s New This Week And A Round of Four Questions : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum
Hey there Nascar fans. Its been a busy busy week down here in Florida. Kids go back to school tomorrow and I start back Wednesday so I am looking forward to another great semester of learning. It’s been an interesting week all the way around but definitely a busy one for me and for the guys in the chase, so let’s cut to it.
Well I cant say enough bad things about Kyle Busch on an average day and although I found what happened with him last night, coming from behind after not having lead at all during the race and winning, strangely reminiscent of what happened a week or two ago with him when he got passed on the outside and lost the race to Brad Keselowski I think it was when Brad hadn’t really been a contender all race long.
I sort of feel that way about Mark Martin’s second place finish last night. Although Mark is a gentleman and would never stoop to such childish behavior as was displayed by Busch after that loss to Brad. I will say to Busch’s favor that he raced Mark clean and didn’t try to wreck him out or anything during those crucial last few laps. In fact, he gave Mark an oppurtunity to pass and take the lead back and Mark stuck his nose in there but wasnt able to pull it off and so the win went to Busch.
I will say that Busch was respectful and decent in his post race comments about the race and the last laps that he battled with Mark with for the win. I will however say that I think he should apply said good behavior and use it as a tool going forward to help deal with other drivers. This is by no means any way of conceding to anything regarding Kyle Busch. I do not like him and think that he is a spoiled brat that really needs to grow up and learn to be a man.
His antics post race on several occassions have proven his need to mature as a person. Destroying trophies, yelling at other drivers for racing, and just his in general bad attitude has shown us what he is really all about. Hopefully he will learn from his mistakes and use them to better improve his image because as a friend of mine said, his television image leaves a lot to be desired. Take a page from Mark Martin’s book Kyle, you could learn alot from a class act like Mark Martin.
There are reports over the last few days that Brad Keselowski will ride full time next year for Penske Racing. Brad, who said he was not in a position to speak about it, is reportedly going to join Penske Racing and drive the #12 Dodge replacing current driver David Stremme. Brad currently drives the Nationwide car for Jr. Motorsports which is owned by Rick Hendrick and Dale Jr..
Rick Hendricks has said that no matter where Brad goes for this coming season to break into the Sprint Cup level, he wont be so far away that Hendricks cant bring him back to HMS in a flash. Brad was originally marked to take over the #5 car of Mark Martin next season but with the stellar season he is having Mark has decided to come back next season again so that left Brad without a ride for his Sprint Cup debut full time. Brad has been a hot commodity since winning his first race last April in Talladega in a surprise victory for the team.
Nascar has been considering a move to fuel injected engines for the Sprint cars. They have been in talks to possibly switch to fuel injected motors as a way to possibly reduce cost and increase the potential audience of the already huge sport. If they do decide to change over to fuel injection, the move wont come before at least 2011.
I bet Marcos Ambrose is breathing a little easier this week. It has been announced by Kimberly-Clark, makers of Kleenex tissue, Scott Towels, and Cottonelle Toilet Paper, that they will be primary sponsors on the car for 5 races next season including the Daytona 500 in February. They will also remain as a sponsor on the car for all the other races next season as well. That’s pretty cool for Marcos, I love Australia and I think his accent is awesome!! G’day mate!! haha. Congratulations to Marcos, he seems like a really nice guy.
Team owner for Marcos Ambrose, Tad Geschickter, has said that all together Marcos will have as many as seven primary sponsors all sharing space on his car next year. We have some great Blue chip sponsors around us, Marcos stated. He carries not only the Kimberly-Clark sponsorship but also sponsorship for Clorox, Little Debbie, and Kingsford Charcoal. Now all they have to do is go out and win races for them Ambrose said. Good luck to you Marcos.
With only 2 races left before the chase contenders are locked in their positions going into the final 10 races this season, there were some shaking up of the rankings last night at Bristol. Points leader Tony Stewart had a terrible time last night and was never a threat to win at any time during the race.
Despite his dismal and uncharacteristic performance, points leader Stewart managed to maintain his lead over Gordon and Johnson by some 250 points between the 3 of them. Mark with his most laps led last night moved up to 10th position in the points standings. Busch managed to move up to 13th and is on the outside looking in going towards these last 2 races. Here is the breakdown of the 12 drivers contending for positions in the race for the chase.
Tony Stewart 3564 points leader
Jimmy Johnson 3344
Jeff Gordon 3310
Denny Hamlin 3141
Carl Edwards 3110
Kurt Busch 3103
Ryan Newman 2995
Greg Biffle 2986
Juan Pablo Montoya 2975
Mark Martin 2971
Kasey Kahne 2963
Matt Kenseth 2945
Kyle Busch is sitting in 13th position with 2911 points going into these last 2 races. If Mark Martin continues with the trend he is on, he should have no problem locking in his spot for the chase. Now once they are locked in, the lineup goes by most wins this season and that would put Mark squarely at the top I believe. At any rate I think it would be between Johnson and Mark who will wind up seated first when the time comes here in 3 weeks, but I am sure that he and Johnson and Tony Stewart will be up there for sure.
Well thats all for now Nascar friends. I am going to close this out before I have to rewrite it a third time. I hate when you are writing and lose all your information by accident. It is just horrible. Have a great week Nascar friends. See you next week!
Thunder Valley Saturday Night : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum
Hello Nascar friends. Hope everyone had a good weekend. Well I am not much of a road course fan, but if we have to deal with it, at least the scenery was nice. I dont know what it is about the road courses, maybe its the lack of left turns that are normally seen on the weekend. I hate when they confuse me like that. Just kidding. But hey, I like Kasey Kahne and the first thing I thought of was a story Genna told me about him. I immediately smiled and started laughing to myself. Maybe someday we can get her to relate it to you all. It was a great little story.
Anyways congratulations to Kasey Kahne. I have always liked him anyways and frankly the boy was due a win. Congratulations to Richard Petty Motorsports on their first win as a newly formed organization. You will remember that they were bought out by Gillette Evernham last season when all the consolidating and so forth was going on. And that the once great Petty organization was now part of a team. Well that team proved to be the winning team this past weekend so way to go Kasey and team.
Well Jeff continued his streak at Infineon, not with a win but another top ten finish. Jeff has the most victories at Infineon, the most top five and the most top ten finishes. Congratulations Jeff. Not the finish I was hoping for but we will take that 9th place victory. Speaking of Gordon, my grill should be on its way to my house now. We should have a barbeque when it gets here. Or maybe I can take it to Daytona next weekend and do it up there!!! That would be fun. Anyways thats still another week and a half away.
Well lets run down the top ten finishers at Infineon this past weekend.
Kasey Kahne 9 Budweiser Dodge
Tony Stewart 14 Old Spice Chevy
Marcos Ambrose 47 Little Debbie Toyota
Jimmy Johnson 48 Lowe’s Chevy
Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Toyota
Juan Pablo Montoya 42 Target Chevy
AJ Allmendinger 44 Best Buy Dodge
Clint Bowyer 33 Cheerios Chevy
Jeff Gordon 24 Dupont Chevy
Elliott Sadler 19 Stanley Tools Dodge
After last weekend’s race at Infineon, the race for the chase is heating up. Lots of drivers are looking to seal that last spot in the 12th position to just get into the chase. They still have a few weeks but not many. Tony is still leading the points race and Jeff is a mere 84 points behind him. Johnson is third in points and Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards round out the top five contenders.
Well here is the latest on the Jeremy Mayfield suspension for drugs. The last thing that I heard was that he going to be countersued by Nascar who said he knew the policies and rules in Nascar and that there should have been nothing left to speculation as far as what happened with Mayfield. But as you know, anyone who is accused of something like that is going to fight to clear their name if the charges are unfounded and maybe even if they are founded. People do some strange things. At any rate though the latest that I have heard is that there will now be a hearing in federal court on July 1st. The judge has added his injunction to the list of dockets for that day and if things go his way he could be racing that weekend at Daytona for the Coke 01 400. Mayfield’s suspension took effect on May 9th and Jeremy’s team has not been at the track in the last four weeks for any kind of anything even though I am pretty sure they could race without Jeremy as a driver and as long as he has nothing to do with the team. But my guess is they have chosen not to do that.
Well thats about all for now. I am getting ready to go to work. So I will try and find some fun facts and information on the next place we are racing which is New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Alright well everyone have a great day and I will be back soon. See you later Nascar friends.
Hello Nascar fans. It has been a long week and its not over yet. I am sitting here in the emergency room at Florida Hospital Orlando to get my knee looked at. So I thought I would take this break in the action to get some information to you about Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. So without further ado, let’s get to it.
Infineon is located in Sonoma California and is nestled amongst the splendor of the wine country in that great state. This year they will celebrate 41 years of racing excitement at Infineon. When first opened as Sears Pointe Raceway back in 1969, they never imagined the vivid and colorful history that would follow.
Infineon is not only host to Nascar’s elite Sprint cup series but also host events for NHRA Powerade drag racing and Indy car series as well. They host events at the track some 340 days out of each and every year.
The raceway changes elevation some by some 160 feet in various locations around the track. The highest point is on turn 3a where the elevation is a 174 foot elevation to the lowest point of elevation at turn 10 at just a 14 foot elevation level.
The course itself runs a 2.52 mile course with a whopping 12 turns originally. The revamping of the raceway saw the addition of a section of track that bypassed turns 5 and 6 and decreased the length of track to 1.95 miles in 1998 but drivers were unhappy with the setup of the racetrack and in 2001 during the total reconstruction of the track another turn, 4a was added and brought the track to its present day configuration of 1.99 miles.
The track has some interesting trivia and facts. For instance the Raceway owns some 1600 acres of which a large portion, in fact 900 acres of it is used for daily racing activities. During the annual Nascar Sprint cup event, they use an incredible 8 miles of temporary fencing. More than 9 and a half million cubic yards of dirt were moved around on the property during the 50million dollar Modernization of the track back in 2001. The seats that are at turns 2-4, 7, 8a, and 9 used 140,000 concrete blocks and each block 18 inches long which makes about 40 miles of blocks.
Well the qualifying is on right now. Jamie McMurray is running in 12 position right now. Joey Logano is qualifying now. In the top five times is Jeff Gordon running fifth quickest and right behind him, Mark Martin running 6th quickest. This should prove to be an interesting race this weekend. I hope its a good one. Well have a good weekend. I will see you back here after the race Nascar fans. Take care.