Thank You, What's Ahead, Rose Colored Glasses, and More

Many Thanks

I want to send out a big THANK YOU to FW Rogers and William Horrall for their donations in helping out Sam and Jo Ard. These 2 fans really came through for the Ards at a time when they can really use the help. Their donations are more than what NA$CAR, the NA$CAR Foundation, and the France family have contributed in helping Sam out. So my thanks and the thanks of Sam and Jo Ard once again to FW Rogers and William Horrall for stepping forward and helping out one of the legends who helped build the sport.
　
If any fans still want to contribute during the year, you can either go to Sam’s web site and donate through there or you can send it directly to
　
Sam Ard
1237 Bass Road
Pamplico SC 29583
　
What’s Ahead on Focks This Season
　
I don’t know how many folks watched the pre-race stuff on Speed or the Shootout on Focks, but here are some good examples of what we get to look forward to from the Focks Booth Bozos:
　
DW Calls Kurt Bush, Harvick


DW Says they are at "Dover" twice


Jamie McMurray wrecked the car he raced there last year (I thought that car was in Daytona USA)


Larry MacReynolds "McMurray won the Brickyard 400 at Charlotte last year"
　
Yeah, they’re real professional broadcasters alrighty. These sort of mistakes make Benny Parson’s “McMary” look great in comparison. Not to mention the fact that the green flag for the Shootout hadn’t even dropped and good old Jabber Jaws was already shilling and cheerleading for his favorite make of car and drivers.
　
And one thing that has been missing the last couple of years was the vote on the dreaded and accursed 3 B’s. After the fans voted to end it a couple of years ago, Jabber Jaws said there was some irregularities with the voting and hasn’t run a vote since. Just like Faux King Brian and NA$CAR, Jabber Jaws ignores what the fans have to say and want.
　
Double Secret Probation Coming?
　
You can bet that some sort of fine is coming for Shrubbery for this remark about the Shootout:
　
"It sucked," Busch said. "You're watching four cars and then you have another two there and another two there. To me, it sucked."
　
Now, will it be the traditional actions detrimental or will it be a double secret probation fine like with Twitter?
　
Rose Colored Glasses and the Kool Aid Brigade
　
I’m sure by now folks took in what Larry Mac had to say at Charlotte during the Magical Media Tour about only reporting positive things. It reminds me of a directive that Josef Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, issued regarding photography and movie footage. Everything would be shot in such a way that it appeared that the German Army was on the attack. Even in the last days of the Third Reich, they were still following the directive. It didn’t save them or change the outcome of the war. This goes back to what I’ve said before about those not learning the lessons of history are doomed to repeat their mistakes. Trying to control the message the media is sending out isn’t going to change things. Fans will still notice the grandstands, poor quality of the broadcast, races that are boring, and the smoke and mirrors being used. You can’t polish a turd, plain and simple.
　
The media has a job to do. They’re supposed to ask who, what, when, where, why, and how in order to keep the race fans posted on what’s going on and let them make their own decisions. When the fans want to know why the TV ratings are falling, it’s the media’s job to find out the facts and report them. When the fans want to know why the grandstands are half-full/half-empty, it’s the media’s job to ask and even report that the grandstands are half-full/half-empty. When the media reports on a decision from the Ivory Towers of Daytona and the fans reply that it’s a stupid or unpopular decision, it’s the media’s job to report the fan reaction. So to say that everything is just peachy keen and nothing’s wrong as Faux King Brian and company keep re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic even though it’s sinking, they’re deceiving themselves and doing a disservice to the fans thinking that if they too drink the Kool Aid and put on the rose colored glasses that everything will be fine.
　
Shootout Practice Speeds
　
Drivers were hitting over 203 mph during practice for the Shootout, which is faster than what they were doing during testing. The big question is, will NA$CAR go to a smaller restrictor plate before the 500? Naw, they'll tinker with the cooling system instead. I’m sure the insurance company who wrote the policy for the race is asking that same question too. Will they make a last minute change on the restrictor plate despite comments to the contrary?
　
Mayfield Apology
　
I got a few e-mails about this asking why would Jeremy Mayfield apologize to the Wicked Witch of the East. In simple terms, he’s got a much bigger fish to fry. An oversized sewer trout called NA$CAR. By issuing the apology, he’s cutting away some dead wood so he and his legal team can better concentrate on the much bigger task that’s coming up in the appeals courts.
　
Twitter, Media, and Daytona
　
For those of you not on Twitter, a lot of media folks have been busy sending out messages on Twitter during Media Week at Daytona and the practice sessions for the Shootout. A lot of them say basically the same thing and you can clearly identify the Kool Aid drinkers among the media members in Daytona. One good thing was Kenny “You’re Not a Real Race Fan” Wallace sending out a Twitter saying what time he’d be on Speed for the position selection show for the Shootout. That allowed me and countless others to change channels so we didn’t have to see and hear him. Obviously he hasn’t figured it out yet that he’s one of the reasons why folks aren’t watching any Speed TV shows that he’s on after the way he has insulted the intelligence of numerous fans.
　
Ford Wants to Run the Mustang in 2013
　
Ford has requested to run the Mustang in the Cup Series as their car of choice in 2013 replacing the current generic bodied car with the Fusion decals. Ford is pressing for identifiable bodylines to give some definitive branding back to their model of car. No word yet on what GM and Chrysler will do. In last February’s meeting between the Big 3 and Faux King Brian, the Big 3 clearly laid down the law regarding identifiable bodylines and branding. All 3 were tired of the generic looking race vehicle that looks the same no matter what “make” it’s supposed to be. If Faux King Brian doesn’t get off his duff and return the bodylines and incorporate current technology, he may find himself with only one manufacturer in NA$CAR. The one who originally developed the generic car in the first place because they didn’t want to spend the R&D money on building their own cars.
　
　
Not Quite a Paul Harvey Moment
　
Jabber Jaws was going on Saturday night during the first segment of the Shootout that they were going 203, 204, 206 MPH. Well why was the average speed only 194? Something’s wrong with the math there. Maybe Jabber Jaws couldn’t get his shoes off to count properly?
　
Jabber Jaws was talking about how the cars look more like racecars, but not really saying they look like their street counterparts. He mentioned that Ford has petitioned NASCAR to run the Mustang, but failed to state that Ford wants it to resemble the street version, not the Car of Sorrow with the words Mustang on it. He mentioned that Dodge is looking at the Challenger and GM should campaign the Camaro. Again, no mention of what the manufacturer’s wanting the cars to have street credibility.
　
Jabber Jaws and Jimmy Spencer talked about how the E15 has less mileage, but provides more horsepower. Everything I have read indicates that besides lower mileage, it also produces less power. On corn ethanol, one study I read stated it takes roughly twice the amount of energy to produce ethanol than ethanol provides. What is not mentioned is the octane rating of the E15, which would be the contributing factor for any increase in power. E-15 means 15% ethanol. Normal racing fuel runs at 100 octane or higher. And I’ve been trying to find info on just what octane the fuel that’s being run actually is because we could be looking at another case of smoke and mirrors. If they’re using a 120 octane race fuel to make up for the power loss of the ethanol, then it could be yet another in a long line of NA$CAR’s stretching the truth.
　
Another thing has to do with the last minute rule changing before the 500 is run. Because of the two car racing fiasco we had during the Shootout, NA$CAR changed the openings of the grills from 50-100 square inches smaller. But they didn’t say which makes were getting the largest openings and who got the smallest. Jimmy Spencer may have unintentionally let the cat out of the bag when he said the engines of the Japanese manufacturer’s cars ran hot. That means they’ll have the largest opening. As the new Ford and Chevy engines run cool, they’ll have the smallest opening. Could we already be seeing the deck being stacked this season against both Ford and Chevy?