Let the Hype Begin
If you’ve seen the commercials for the Daytona 500 on Focks during the football play-offs, you’ll have noticed that it’s not the race that’s being hyped but NA$CAR’s celebrity spokesmodel that’s being hyped. She has yet to turn one competitive lap in a Cup car at Daytona and yet the hype is overwhelming. So when the race isn’t in the “All Waltrip All the Time” mode, it’ll be in the “All Danican’t All the Time” mode.
Cruel & Unusual Punishment?
For those fans who may have missed the announcement, Focks will have both of the Motormouth brothers on Focks during the race broadcast. As usual, Jabber Jaws will be in the booth with Motormouth Mikey being in the Hollyweird Motel bumping Hollyweird Hambone to the position of roving reporter. With both Motormouth brothers flapping their gums fast enough to break the sound barrier while they‘re cheerleading & shilling, don’t expect to hear anyone else get a word in edge-wise. Not even Larry Mac with his new Larry Mac to English Dictionary.
Could this be a deliberate attempt by Focks to drive their ratings down to rock bottom so when the TV contract renewal comes up they can go cheap? Something to think about.
Daytona Testing
When the Cup teams went to Daytona to test, Robin Pemberton stated that the teams would race in packs. That was a statement, not a suggestion, which means that once again NA$CAR is trying to mandate driver actions and help manipulate the race similar to what Bill France Sr did at Talladega back in the 60’s when the well-known drivers of the time went on strike because they felt the speeds were too high and that the tires couldn’t handle it leaving a bunch of relative unknowns to compete. Bill France Sr dictated how fast the cars would be driven. What we’re seeing now is the same sort of manipulation to make the race artificially exciting rather than let the drivers actually race, even if it is the two car Brokeback racing we’ve seen the last couple of years.
Missing from the pack racing practice on the last day was SHR which packed up and went home. Considering that NA$CAR’s Celebrity Spokesmodel didn’t have the opportunity to participate in the pack practice, odds are you can expect to see her involved in “The Big One”.
Lotus News
Simona Di Silvestro took the new Lotus Indy car through its paces at Palm Beach International Raceway and Sebring International Raceway. From what I’ve read, Lotus will be running both of their famous livery colors. The BRG & yellow and the black & gold. So for whichever era of Lotus racing you enjoyed, you’ll see a reminder of it.
Dragon Racing, owned by Jay Penske, will be fielding the new Lotus car with Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge behind the wheel. That now makes 2 female drivers behind the wheels of Lotus cars in IndyCar. It’ll be interesting to see Katherine and Simona compare notes of their cars and set-ups while the new car is going through testing. Lotus plans to put 1,000 miles on the current test engine before the testing at Homestead on Jan 23-24. That’s about what Lotus figures to be about half the life cycle of the engine.
On the F-1 side of the Lotus effort, they pioneered an adjustable suspension system which works off of the braking system. Since the driver cannot make the adjustments from the cockpit, FIA has ruled it’s legal despite numerous complaints from other F-1 teams. Once again, we’re seeing racing innovation being made. Hello? NA$CAR?
Dakar Rally
While Robby Gordon didn’t win the rally, he did win a stage or two of it. However, despite having been passed, the sanctioning body said that Robby ran an illegal engine then changed it to illegal duct work doing their best imitation of NA$CAR changing rules in mid-race. Apparently politics came into play after Robby won the final stage of the Rally. It seems that Peterhansel (no, that’s not a German bedroom toy) was supposed to win the last stage but Robby rocked the boat on that one. In an earlier stage of the rally, Robby was trying to pass Peterhansel using the rally’s equivalent to a horn (called a sentinel) however Peterhansel refused to move over and allow the faster Gordon to pass him. Peterhansel should’ve been penalized but wasn’t. Robby had some “kind words” for the Dakar Rally sanctioning body, ASO. One was he might be back next year. The second was “They can kiss my a$$”. While it was a learning experience for Robby, he’s also found another sanctioning body that likes to change rules in mid-race.
RPM & Busch
In one of those “No Duh” statements, RPM stated that the reason they didn’t sign Busch the Elder was that he was poison to sponsors. And it took The King how long to figure that out? I guess he’s getting a little bit slower with age.
Then there’s also the Roush Factor. Considering what Busch the Elder did and said about Roush when he drove for Roush racing, there’s still a lot of animosity there and since Roush builds the engines and cars for RPM, it’s a sure bet that The King wouldn’t have had any new cars or engines had he signed Busch the Elder.
Busch the Elder must be anticipating getting a number of black eyes this season as he’s signed with an eyewear company for sponsorship on the Phoenix Racing car. Last black eye I seem to remember Busch the Elder had came at the hands of Mr Excitement, Jimmy Spencer. However, Busch the Elder has given a number of black eyes to team owners & sponsors. So being able to hide a black eye is important and I’m sure those sunglasses will do a good job.
As to the length of Busch the Elder’s tenure at Phoenix Racing, I’d say it’ll last as long as his past chump provisionals are needed. Then he’ll get the boot the same way Bill Elliott did.
200 MPH Mustang Coming in 2014
When Ford revamps the Mustang for its 60th anniversary celebration, the GT-500 and Mustang Cobra will be equipped with turbo V-8’s that will allow this street car to reach 200 MPH. And as it will be a production model and meets the basic eligibility requirements of a production car, will NA$CAR allow this car to be raced? After all, it is a stock car and isn’t racing stock cars what NA$CAR is supposed to be about?
Bill Lester Rides Again
After being unceremoniously dumped by Autohaus despite a 2nd place season finish, Bill will be back on track in the #18 Muehlner Motorsports Porsche GT 3 for the 24 Hours of Daytona. As it currently stands, this is a one race deal however, I’m sure it will go beyond that based on Bill’s skills and previous experience.
Old Dog, Same Old Tricks
Johnny Benson was planning to make a comeback in 2012 in the Truck Series right up until his sponsor was stolen by NA$CAR’s conjoined incestuous twin I$C to sponsor a race at Michigan. NA$CAR and I$C stealing sponsors is nothing new. They’ve been doing it for decades. However, in these tough economic times, you’d think that with TV contract money coming in and having plenty of sponsors of their own, that they’d leave the sponsor of a popular and well-liked driver like Johnny Benson alone so he could help put butts in the grandstands. But greed trumps common sense once again in the Ivory Towers of Daytona.
Stolen Laptop
In case you missed it, there was a laptop containing drivers’ and NA$CAR officials names and other information that belonged to Aegis Labs that was stolen a while back. Naturally, NA$CAR & Aegis Labs said there was nothing important on the computer and that the laptop was probably in a pawn shop. Wouldn’t it be funny if it turned up on E-Bay with all that supposedly unimportant information on it going to the highest bidder? Or if somebody’s, like Faux King Brian’s, ID was stolen. I can just hear it now. His Royal Highness on the phone talking to Mister Card about a charge on his card. “What do you mean I sent Jeremy Mayfield two dozen roses, a box of chocolates, and a note saying ‘Come back. All is forgiven XOXOXO’?”. Or John Darby talking to American Excuse, “What do you mean I bought a lifetime membership in the Hair Club for Men?”. Or Shrubbery talking to Whiner’s Club, “What do you mean I sent a ton of M&M’s to a diabetic ward? Oh wait, I did. Never mind”.
Curtis Turner for 2016 HOF
Showing posts with label Daytona 500. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daytona 500. Show all posts
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Friday, February 25, 2011
Highest Paid Drivers, Restrictor Plates, Media Attacks, and Other Junk in the Trunk
Tell Me Again Why They Can’t Help Sam Ard?
After the recent release on Forbes of the 10 Highest Paid Drivers in NA$CAR and the 10 teams worth the most money, I have to ask why they can’t step up and help out Sam Ard and his wife Jo? I will give Dale Jr and Mr Happy a sprout because they have helped out. But how about the other 8 drivers? It cost about $200,000 a year to keep somebody with Sam’s afflictions alive and maintain a minimal lifestyle. Let’s face it, Sam isn’t going out for dinner every night or hitting the dance floor on the weekends. He’s not out drinking “sodas” and hunting palm trees or rear ending somebody while driving and texting. He’s bed-ridden and will be for the rest of his life. Considering these drivers spend that much on fuel for their multi-million dollar corporate jets every year and live in estates worth mega-millions, how hard would it be for the remaining 8 drivers to kick in $200,000 a piece? And considering the value of the race teams listed, how hard would it be for just one team owner to help out the Ards? And consider the positive press and PR they could get out of it for helping out one of the legends and doing what the France family and NA$CAR won’t do. That alone would be priceless for them. How much positive press could Ford get if one of their teams helped? But no, something that could be a really big “feel good” story with the high dollar drivers or team owners helping Sam out won’t happen and instead it’ll be left up to the long time, die-hard fans who remember Sam and his contributions to NASCAR to help out.
Restrictor Plates
I had a question that would probably require a massive number of e-mails, snail mails, and phone calls to NA$CAR to actually accomplish the desired results. The question is, “Could somebody please put a restrictor plate on DW’s mouth?”.
Media Attacking Each Other
After Trevor Bayne’s win, some members of the media cheered. Well, it seems that Faux King Brian’s army of Kool Aid drinkers find that to be unacceptable and say that anyone with a media credential shouldn’t be cheering or rooting for any driver. If that’s the case, how come they aren’t attacking Jabber Jaws, Larry Mac, Crusty, Drab Brad, and other network analyst and commentators for their weekly cheerleading sessions for Faux King Brian’s Chosen Ones, the drivers of the teams they own, and the sons or brothers they have who are on the track? After all, they also have media credentials. Is there some sort of double standard here within the ranks of the media? Using the Kool Aid Crowd’s own word, they deem this behavior as “unprofessional”. Isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along about the Booth Buffoons? And what’s hilarious about this is that one of them doing the attacking is the same guy who turned over Hambone Hamlin’s twitters to NA$CAR. Now there’s a real trustworthy journalist for you. First rule of journalism is to protect your source.
Closing the Barn Door After the Horse is Gone
Rather than black flagging the co-owner of Motormouth Motorsports before he crossed the finish line or DQ-ing him after the race for his truck being out of compliance with NA$CAR’s rules, the win still stands. However, the crew chief has been fined $25,000 and the team docked 25 points. For some reason, no fine was issued or points taken away from The Human Shill with the official excuse being that he’s not running for points in that series. Now keep an eye on this folks should we see other Truck Trash come over from the Cup Series and their trucks don’t meet the rules after a win. Will they receive the same treatment or will they be fined and docked points? And also, pay attention to what happens to a regular Truck Series driver whose winning truck doesn’t meet the rules and what’s done to him, his crew chief, and team owner. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Who’d Have Thunk It
Despite being the perennial back markers running just ahead of the start & parks, Front Row Motorsports driver David Gilliland managed to put a car into the Top 3 at Daytona. Over the winter, Bob Jenkins spent some money on cars and engines to make the team a little more competitive this year. You can call it what you want to. Luck of the Irish, the restrictor plate crapshoot, or whatever you want to, the fact that this underfunded underdog team came in 3rd can’t be refuted.
Daytona Opinions from the Fans
Terry from Delaware: What a joke. That is not a race; that was pirouhet (sic) choreographed dancing.
Russ from Virginia: My guess is that the afterglow of a shiny new winner wears off the slide will continue.
Unkle Phil: I was glad to see Trevor Bayne win in the Daytona 500, now maybe DW will shut the f*ck up about Dale Jr. and Jimmy Johnson; that is if he ever does shut-up. I was disappointed in the fact that there was not an interview with the Wood bros.; that was bull$hit as I have listened ever since I was a kid, prior to television, about the Woods bros. pit crew in the Indianapolis 500 of the radio.
Joe, Flash’s Cohort: Yeah I was screaming loud enough for the neighbors to hear but what the hay i don't care this doesn't happen but once in a great while. That kid has a lot of driving smart's not to have anymore experience than he does usually the rookies are the first one's to cause the wreck's. I thought for sure tantrum Tony or Junior was gonna nail him driving like nobody else was on the track and junior told one of the media after the race he didn't care he was going to drive like he wanted and everyone better get use to it and tantrum had nothing to say must have been pouting in the trailer.
Submariner Bill: That was a VERY satisfying outcome. Seeing a Woods Brothers car in victory lane, with that paint scheme on it... How sweet.
If I recall correctly, Michael Waltrip who turned not one but two cars causing big wrecks, and then in the interview blamed it on the cars he turned. Awesome. The crowd looked bigger than last year.
Dean from Tenn.: Well another 500 has come and gone and I must say in my opinion it ranks up there with one of the worst. All of this 2 car pushing crap has got to go. Its bad enough when you've got Na$car, pit crews and such determining the outcome of a race, but now we how 2 car- hook ups. Please give me back the day when the best driver decided the outcome and not Na$car, crews, 2 car hook-ups and such. The only thing good about today's race was the Wood Bros. winning again, more so than Trevor, which he makes my point I've been saying for years. Here you have a totally inexperienced driver, but, put him in a good car, point him in the right direction and bingo, we have a winner.
As you can see, a variety of opinions and observations about the Daytona 500. These weren’t solicited by me either, so don’t think I went looking for strictly one-sided views.
Something to Ponder
If there really are 75 million NA$CAR fans and every single one of them tuned in to watch the Daytona 500, they still couldn’t match the NFL’s ratings of 111 million viewers for the Super Bowl.
Seating Figure Disparity
The seating capacity for Phoenix is 76,812 and yet the Arizona Republic newspaper said the track sold out the “50,000” seats. So if there’s 76,812 seats in the grandstands and they only sold 50,000, that means there’s a disparity of 26,812 seats. And I know for a fact that not all the seats were sold out. Tickets for the Cup race were being given away all the way back here to the East Coast. So that’s not a sell out.
 |
| The plaque Sam's holding was recently sold on E-Bay to pay medical bills |
After the recent release on Forbes of the 10 Highest Paid Drivers in NA$CAR and the 10 teams worth the most money, I have to ask why they can’t step up and help out Sam Ard and his wife Jo? I will give Dale Jr and Mr Happy a sprout because they have helped out. But how about the other 8 drivers? It cost about $200,000 a year to keep somebody with Sam’s afflictions alive and maintain a minimal lifestyle. Let’s face it, Sam isn’t going out for dinner every night or hitting the dance floor on the weekends. He’s not out drinking “sodas” and hunting palm trees or rear ending somebody while driving and texting. He’s bed-ridden and will be for the rest of his life. Considering these drivers spend that much on fuel for their multi-million dollar corporate jets every year and live in estates worth mega-millions, how hard would it be for the remaining 8 drivers to kick in $200,000 a piece? And considering the value of the race teams listed, how hard would it be for just one team owner to help out the Ards? And consider the positive press and PR they could get out of it for helping out one of the legends and doing what the France family and NA$CAR won’t do. That alone would be priceless for them. How much positive press could Ford get if one of their teams helped? But no, something that could be a really big “feel good” story with the high dollar drivers or team owners helping Sam out won’t happen and instead it’ll be left up to the long time, die-hard fans who remember Sam and his contributions to NASCAR to help out.
Restrictor Plates
I had a question that would probably require a massive number of e-mails, snail mails, and phone calls to NA$CAR to actually accomplish the desired results. The question is, “Could somebody please put a restrictor plate on DW’s mouth?”.
Media Attacking Each Other
After Trevor Bayne’s win, some members of the media cheered. Well, it seems that Faux King Brian’s army of Kool Aid drinkers find that to be unacceptable and say that anyone with a media credential shouldn’t be cheering or rooting for any driver. If that’s the case, how come they aren’t attacking Jabber Jaws, Larry Mac, Crusty, Drab Brad, and other network analyst and commentators for their weekly cheerleading sessions for Faux King Brian’s Chosen Ones, the drivers of the teams they own, and the sons or brothers they have who are on the track? After all, they also have media credentials. Is there some sort of double standard here within the ranks of the media? Using the Kool Aid Crowd’s own word, they deem this behavior as “unprofessional”. Isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along about the Booth Buffoons? And what’s hilarious about this is that one of them doing the attacking is the same guy who turned over Hambone Hamlin’s twitters to NA$CAR. Now there’s a real trustworthy journalist for you. First rule of journalism is to protect your source.
Closing the Barn Door After the Horse is Gone
Rather than black flagging the co-owner of Motormouth Motorsports before he crossed the finish line or DQ-ing him after the race for his truck being out of compliance with NA$CAR’s rules, the win still stands. However, the crew chief has been fined $25,000 and the team docked 25 points. For some reason, no fine was issued or points taken away from The Human Shill with the official excuse being that he’s not running for points in that series. Now keep an eye on this folks should we see other Truck Trash come over from the Cup Series and their trucks don’t meet the rules after a win. Will they receive the same treatment or will they be fined and docked points? And also, pay attention to what happens to a regular Truck Series driver whose winning truck doesn’t meet the rules and what’s done to him, his crew chief, and team owner. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Who’d Have Thunk It
Despite being the perennial back markers running just ahead of the start & parks, Front Row Motorsports driver David Gilliland managed to put a car into the Top 3 at Daytona. Over the winter, Bob Jenkins spent some money on cars and engines to make the team a little more competitive this year. You can call it what you want to. Luck of the Irish, the restrictor plate crapshoot, or whatever you want to, the fact that this underfunded underdog team came in 3rd can’t be refuted.
Daytona Opinions from the Fans
Terry from Delaware: What a joke. That is not a race; that was pirouhet (sic) choreographed dancing.
Russ from Virginia: My guess is that the afterglow of a shiny new winner wears off the slide will continue.
Unkle Phil: I was glad to see Trevor Bayne win in the Daytona 500, now maybe DW will shut the f*ck up about Dale Jr. and Jimmy Johnson; that is if he ever does shut-up. I was disappointed in the fact that there was not an interview with the Wood bros.; that was bull$hit as I have listened ever since I was a kid, prior to television, about the Woods bros. pit crew in the Indianapolis 500 of the radio.
Joe, Flash’s Cohort: Yeah I was screaming loud enough for the neighbors to hear but what the hay i don't care this doesn't happen but once in a great while. That kid has a lot of driving smart's not to have anymore experience than he does usually the rookies are the first one's to cause the wreck's. I thought for sure tantrum Tony or Junior was gonna nail him driving like nobody else was on the track and junior told one of the media after the race he didn't care he was going to drive like he wanted and everyone better get use to it and tantrum had nothing to say must have been pouting in the trailer.
Submariner Bill: That was a VERY satisfying outcome. Seeing a Woods Brothers car in victory lane, with that paint scheme on it... How sweet.
If I recall correctly, Michael Waltrip who turned not one but two cars causing big wrecks, and then in the interview blamed it on the cars he turned. Awesome. The crowd looked bigger than last year.
Dean from Tenn.: Well another 500 has come and gone and I must say in my opinion it ranks up there with one of the worst. All of this 2 car pushing crap has got to go. Its bad enough when you've got Na$car, pit crews and such determining the outcome of a race, but now we how 2 car- hook ups. Please give me back the day when the best driver decided the outcome and not Na$car, crews, 2 car hook-ups and such. The only thing good about today's race was the Wood Bros. winning again, more so than Trevor, which he makes my point I've been saying for years. Here you have a totally inexperienced driver, but, put him in a good car, point him in the right direction and bingo, we have a winner.
As you can see, a variety of opinions and observations about the Daytona 500. These weren’t solicited by me either, so don’t think I went looking for strictly one-sided views.
Something to Ponder
If there really are 75 million NA$CAR fans and every single one of them tuned in to watch the Daytona 500, they still couldn’t match the NFL’s ratings of 111 million viewers for the Super Bowl.
Seating Figure Disparity
The seating capacity for Phoenix is 76,812 and yet the Arizona Republic newspaper said the track sold out the “50,000” seats. So if there’s 76,812 seats in the grandstands and they only sold 50,000, that means there’s a disparity of 26,812 seats. And I know for a fact that not all the seats were sold out. Tickets for the Cup race were being given away all the way back here to the East Coast. So that’s not a sell out.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Never Ending Rules Changes, Safety Concerns, and Other Stuff
Daytona Rules Changes Seem Never Ending This Season
I asked when the insurance company would force NA$CAR to slow the cars down and every time the Cup and Busch Series cars got above the 200 MPH limit, a new set of rules and specs were issued. We were assured that after the grill changes nothing else would be done. Well, guess what? Both the Cup and Busch Series were made to run smaller restrictor plates. So all the testing the teams did over the off-season at Daytona was for nothing. About the only info that was useful was the tire wear info and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the tires were the next thing changed before Sunday’s race. And I also wouldn’t be a bit surprised if NA$CAR did something else to make the races even worse than what they’re going to be. Maybe have the teams carry an extra 1,000 lbs of ballast or a boat anchor to “improve the show”.
Safety Concerns
Something that has been mentioned since the introduction of the generic race vehicle has been the inability of the drivers to see out the rear of the car or to see through the car ahead of them leaving drivers to pretty much drive blind when they’re on the restrictor plate tracks. This is a major safety issue which seems to have fallen on deaf ears just like what the fans really want. For once, it would be nice if NA$CAR actually was pro-active with safety rather than their usual reactive. Like maybe using Lexan for the rear spoiler so the drivers can see who’s behind them or through the car ahead of them. They use it for the “glass” in the cars. So why not use it for the spoiler to give the drivers more visibility.
You’re Bias is Showing
During the coverage of the practice session in which Jr wrecked his car, it didn’t take long for someone to find a scapegoat. They placed blame on Robby Gordon. Last season, Robby was partially immune from criticism of anything happening on the track in close proximity to him because of the make of decals that were on the generic kit car he was driving. Now that he’s sporting Dodge decals on the generic machine, he’ll be the official scapegoat of anything that happens within 100 yards of him. Even if it’s 100 yards behind him, it’ll be Robby’s fault. Just watch.
Keeping the Records Straight
I’ve mentioned from time to time that NA$CAR needs to correct the record of Bobby Allison to show he has 85 wins and not 84. For some reason they steadfastly refuse to give him credit for a Winston Cup win he got driving a Mustang in 1971 at Bowman-Gray Stadium even though Bill France Sr. asked him to enter the race and run the Mustang.
Another bit of record-keeping NA$CAR refuses to acknowledge is the 1982 Sam Ard actually won 16 races. According to NA$CAR, they didn’t start keeping track of the Busch Series records until 1983. However, some recent records were turned up that showed Sam had 16 wins that season which means that his actual record is still intact and that Shrubbery still hasn’t broken it.
I think an unbiased, outside source needs to come in and correct the record books so that drivers get the credit they’re due and that history and any integrity that might possibly exists in the grout of the bathroom floor next to the mold and mildew of NA$CAR can be maintained.
Promises Promises
I don’t know how many folks remember a tune of that name but having been a musician in my youth it was a song I was familiar with. It seems that during an interview last year with a female reporter from MRN that Kyle “Shrubbery” Busch made a promise to once again help out Sam Ard when he officially broke his record. Now don’t get me wrong here folks. I know what he did when he tied Sam’s record. He made a $100,000 donation to help Sam and Jo Ard out and it was very much appreciated by them and by a lot of race fans whose opinions of Shrubbery aren’t exactly that great. However, if he’s going to make a promise to help the Ard’s out a second time, then he needs to step up and do it. Let the fans know he’s a man of his word.
Tim Kohuth Sentenced
Tom Kohuth, who was the shop chief with Ultra Motorsports when I had a chance to work with them and first started writing for Laidbackracing.com, was sentenced to a minimum of 9-½ years in jail after a plea agreement on 2nd degree murder charges back in September of last year. This info seems to have been kept very low key. He was driving under the influence when the rollback he was driving crossed a media and hit another vehicle killing the driver. If Tim’s name might sound familiar, he’s part of the reason why Kenny Schrader give us 1-½ thumbs up. My thanks to Ray Dunlap from Speed TV for the info.
Another Interesting Point on Ethanol
Floyd brought this one to my attention. Since ethanol has reduced our gas mileage it means we have to fill up more often. And since we have to fill up more often, we’re helping to fill up the state and federal coffers more often through taxes placed on gasoline by both state and federal governments. Is it any wonder the states aren’t complaining about the reduced gas mileage and why E-15 is being pushed? Less mileage, more fill-ups, more tax revenue.
More on Fuel Injection
My buddy and fellow military veteran Richard was listening to Sirius 128 when they had someone on talking about the pending move to fuel injection. And the interviewee said something that is very, very true when you really look at it. Since the cars will all have to have NA$CAR’s password code to run the fuel injection system and use NA$CAR’s software to run the engines, NA$CAR has effectively created a spec series engine for the cars. It won’t matter what make the car engine is, they’ll all be running the same program which makes them all equal just like a true spec series engine. Just when the snail’s pace towards returning some branding to the cars was happening, we get NA$CAR making something else on the car just like the old IROC cars. You can bet the Big 3 won’t be happy when they figure that one out especially as they want the current, state-of-the-art technology to be used and not the antiquated technology NA$CAR keeps using.
I asked when the insurance company would force NA$CAR to slow the cars down and every time the Cup and Busch Series cars got above the 200 MPH limit, a new set of rules and specs were issued. We were assured that after the grill changes nothing else would be done. Well, guess what? Both the Cup and Busch Series were made to run smaller restrictor plates. So all the testing the teams did over the off-season at Daytona was for nothing. About the only info that was useful was the tire wear info and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the tires were the next thing changed before Sunday’s race. And I also wouldn’t be a bit surprised if NA$CAR did something else to make the races even worse than what they’re going to be. Maybe have the teams carry an extra 1,000 lbs of ballast or a boat anchor to “improve the show”.
Safety Concerns
Something that has been mentioned since the introduction of the generic race vehicle has been the inability of the drivers to see out the rear of the car or to see through the car ahead of them leaving drivers to pretty much drive blind when they’re on the restrictor plate tracks. This is a major safety issue which seems to have fallen on deaf ears just like what the fans really want. For once, it would be nice if NA$CAR actually was pro-active with safety rather than their usual reactive. Like maybe using Lexan for the rear spoiler so the drivers can see who’s behind them or through the car ahead of them. They use it for the “glass” in the cars. So why not use it for the spoiler to give the drivers more visibility.
You’re Bias is Showing
During the coverage of the practice session in which Jr wrecked his car, it didn’t take long for someone to find a scapegoat. They placed blame on Robby Gordon. Last season, Robby was partially immune from criticism of anything happening on the track in close proximity to him because of the make of decals that were on the generic kit car he was driving. Now that he’s sporting Dodge decals on the generic machine, he’ll be the official scapegoat of anything that happens within 100 yards of him. Even if it’s 100 yards behind him, it’ll be Robby’s fault. Just watch.
Keeping the Records Straight
I’ve mentioned from time to time that NA$CAR needs to correct the record of Bobby Allison to show he has 85 wins and not 84. For some reason they steadfastly refuse to give him credit for a Winston Cup win he got driving a Mustang in 1971 at Bowman-Gray Stadium even though Bill France Sr. asked him to enter the race and run the Mustang.
Another bit of record-keeping NA$CAR refuses to acknowledge is the 1982 Sam Ard actually won 16 races. According to NA$CAR, they didn’t start keeping track of the Busch Series records until 1983. However, some recent records were turned up that showed Sam had 16 wins that season which means that his actual record is still intact and that Shrubbery still hasn’t broken it.
I think an unbiased, outside source needs to come in and correct the record books so that drivers get the credit they’re due and that history and any integrity that might possibly exists in the grout of the bathroom floor next to the mold and mildew of NA$CAR can be maintained.
Promises Promises
I don’t know how many folks remember a tune of that name but having been a musician in my youth it was a song I was familiar with. It seems that during an interview last year with a female reporter from MRN that Kyle “Shrubbery” Busch made a promise to once again help out Sam Ard when he officially broke his record. Now don’t get me wrong here folks. I know what he did when he tied Sam’s record. He made a $100,000 donation to help Sam and Jo Ard out and it was very much appreciated by them and by a lot of race fans whose opinions of Shrubbery aren’t exactly that great. However, if he’s going to make a promise to help the Ard’s out a second time, then he needs to step up and do it. Let the fans know he’s a man of his word.
Tim Kohuth Sentenced
Tom Kohuth, who was the shop chief with Ultra Motorsports when I had a chance to work with them and first started writing for Laidbackracing.com, was sentenced to a minimum of 9-½ years in jail after a plea agreement on 2nd degree murder charges back in September of last year. This info seems to have been kept very low key. He was driving under the influence when the rollback he was driving crossed a media and hit another vehicle killing the driver. If Tim’s name might sound familiar, he’s part of the reason why Kenny Schrader give us 1-½ thumbs up. My thanks to Ray Dunlap from Speed TV for the info.
Another Interesting Point on Ethanol
Floyd brought this one to my attention. Since ethanol has reduced our gas mileage it means we have to fill up more often. And since we have to fill up more often, we’re helping to fill up the state and federal coffers more often through taxes placed on gasoline by both state and federal governments. Is it any wonder the states aren’t complaining about the reduced gas mileage and why E-15 is being pushed? Less mileage, more fill-ups, more tax revenue.
More on Fuel Injection
My buddy and fellow military veteran Richard was listening to Sirius 128 when they had someone on talking about the pending move to fuel injection. And the interviewee said something that is very, very true when you really look at it. Since the cars will all have to have NA$CAR’s password code to run the fuel injection system and use NA$CAR’s software to run the engines, NA$CAR has effectively created a spec series engine for the cars. It won’t matter what make the car engine is, they’ll all be running the same program which makes them all equal just like a true spec series engine. Just when the snail’s pace towards returning some branding to the cars was happening, we get NA$CAR making something else on the car just like the old IROC cars. You can bet the Big 3 won’t be happy when they figure that one out especially as they want the current, state-of-the-art technology to be used and not the antiquated technology NA$CAR keeps using.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Various Nuts and Bolts
I want to send my condolences out to Ken Schrader, his family, and friends over the passing on Ken’s mom. And say a few prayers for Mary, a long time race fan who’s going in for some major surgery.
It Finally Happened!
1960 Grand National Champion and my good friend Rex White was finally inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF). It’s about 35 years overdue in my opnion. The great thing is that Rex is still here to enjoy it. Other inductees to the IMHOF haven’t been so lucky. Now the challenge is to get Rex into the NA$CAR HOF while he’s still with us and before the place either becomes a total ghost town, gets shut down, gets bought by Rick Hendrick and turned into the Jimmie Johnson Shrine, or becomes the Palm Tree Hunter Center of Worship for "Soda" Spilling.
White Line Fever
It looks like JC France, who was busted for street racing and cocaine possession which were later dropped thanks to Judge Kennedy (who dismissed cases against other France family members), is back racing in the Rolex Series again. At a recent testing event, he kept the nose of his car right on the white line all around the track. An unconfirmed rumor has it that the white lines had to be repainted as they disappeared when JC’s car supposedly snorted them.
Bayne, what’s next, and Follow the Wood Brothers
I’ll be curious to see what happens with Trevor Bayne. Although he’s a Roush “property“, it’s looking like he’ll run at least 17 races with the Wood Brothers. It’s possible he could run some more if some sponsorship comes through. After the news that Bill Elliott was going to drive for James Finch and then it was denied, I can’t say as I blame the Wood Brothers for wanting to run Bayne the full season.
And speaking of the Wood Brothers, you might want to follow them on Facebook and Twitter. From time to time they run a trivia contest and you can win some interesting swag. I know because I played on Boxing Day (December 26th) and won a t-shirt, driver’s card, and two decals. Not bad for answering some pretty simple (to me anyways) questions about the Wood Brothers. Of course, you might want to bone up on their history first if you’re not familiar with them.
German TV Gets the Racing Right
German Sky, a German TV network, will be not only broadcasting F-1 in HD but also without commercial interruption. How long have we race fans across the board been wanting something like this? Imagine seeing the entire Daytona 500 or World 600 at home without commercial interruption? Or the NHRA Winter Nationals? Or ARCA races? The German Sky network execs know they’re competing against other series, sports, and shows so by foregoing the commercials they’re looking to pull in the maximum number of F-1 fans and gear heads they can. Hello Ivory Towers?
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.digitalfernsehen.de/Sky-zeigt-Formel-1-Rennen-2011-erstmals-in-nativem-HDTV.47125.0.html&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.co.uk
Buyer Beware!
In today’s Buyer Beware category, it seems that a NA$CAR personality may have tried to pull a scam in the past. It seems that when asked for paperwork regarding the charity that this NA$CAR personality had established, this personality fails to produce it. It didn’t matter if this personality was hired for a personal appearance or an autograph session. Supposedly the money collected for these appearances goes to their charity but as the paperwork was never produced for that charity, it’s hard to say if the money is actually going where it’s supposed to. Apparently, failure to produce the charity paperwork is illegal according to what I’ve read.
Fading Glory
As a kid, one of my favorite racers was Fred Lorenzen. Fred was the original Poster Boy when it came to good looking drivers promoting the sport and promoting Ford, which is what he drove at that time. He was well spoken, clean cut, and an all-around decent guy not to mention one heck of a driver. As time has marched on Fred’s mental health has slowly deteriorated and he’s now living in an assisted care facility. While he can remember races from the old days, he has trouble remembering what’s happening today. If you want to make his day and give him some words of encouragement, you can drop him a card or letter at the following address:
Bridgeway Christian Village
Attn: Fred Lorenzen
Room No. 146
111 E. Washington
Bensenville, Ill. 60106-2674
I need to give credit Rick Houston at NA$CAR.com for the great article he wrote about Fred.
He’s a real commode-ian. He should be flushed with success.
Like the separation of church and state, I sure hope that The Human Shill can keep his day job as a supposed comedian separate from his night job as a shill/cheerleader on Speed‘s coverage of the Truck Series. It’s bad enough having to put up with his constant shilling for his team’s sponsors and his manufacturer plus the cheerleading he does for select drivers who drive the same make of truck. The fans at home don’t need to have him testing out his comic material on them during the truck races. Although when you consider the fact that some fans consider his racing career to be something of a joke, maybe he’s finally in the right line of work?
Daytona 500 Conspiracy Theory
With the Daytona 500 coming up along with the 10th anniversary of the death of Iron Head and Faux King Brian in desperate need of some major headlines to try to lure in more of the Short Attention Span Crowd and in desperate hopes of getting a few old fans to return, wouldn’t it be a real coincidence if Jr. won the Daytona 500? If you think back to the wins Jr. got on certain anniversaries, it definitely makes you wonder and lends some credence to this theory and it’s something that a lot of conspiracy theorists point to. Jr’s wins on the various anniversaries. So think about it, draw your own conclusions, form your own opinions, and see what happens on February 20th. If the conspiracy theorists are right, it lends even more credence to Steve O’Donnell, VP of Racing Operations, and his sworn statement that the sanctioning body and its’ activities are sports entertainment and not actually a motorsport. If the conspiracy theorists are wrong, then they’re wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time and probably wouldn’t be the last. So think about it and don’t go blasting me for putting this idea out there or say I‘m a Jr. Hater. I want folks to think about it and discuss it. And for those that think a race can’t be rigged, go back through NA$CAR’s history and you’ll find several races that were manipulated or had some irregularities that were overlooked, encouraged, or swept under the rug by both Big and Little Bill. The very first Strictly Stock race in which the winner was DQ’ed because Big Bill didn’t like a bootlegger winning the very first race and the tone that would set historically, Fireball Roberts being DQ’ed in order to keep Kiekhaefer’s mega-team in NA$CAR, Joe Weatherly and Curtis Turner being awarded points for a race they didn’t participate in, and the King’s 200th win are just some examples. So cuss and discuss the upcoming Daytona 500 and the possibilities the conspiracy theorists are putting out there.
Gone with the Wind
At the end of the 2011 season, Firestone will not renew their contract with IndyCar. While no official reason has been given yet, it could be for financial reasons. Bridgestone, the parent company of Firestone, is pulling out of racing across the board. This leaves the 2012 season wide open for a new tire provider to work with IndyCar. Michelin, Kumho, Hankook, Cooper, and Dunlop could all be in the running to replace Firestone for the IndyCar Series and a load of other companies could replace Bridgestone in the series that they’re involved in. So it’s possible there could be some tire wars going on this season in a bid to replace both Firestone and Bridgestone.
Two Thumbs Up to IndyCar
3 time Indy 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, Mario Andretti, Al Unser Jr., Sarah Fisher, Davey Hamilton, and Larry Foyt will be doing the Indianapolis 500 Centennial Tour, which is being coordinated by Morale Entertainment Foundation and Armed Forces Entertainment, in conjunction with the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and they start this week. The 10-day goodwill trip to Europe and the Middle East has a goal of boosting the morale of a lot of troops they plan to meet during the 10 day tour. Their first stop will be the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl Germany, which was next to door to where I was stationed, Ramstein AB from 1980-1985.
The last time I heard of a NASCAR driver or personality doing something like this was several years ago when Jeremy Mayfield visited the troops and even went to one of the outlying outposts in a hostile area to meet with some race fans. So to the IndyCar folks and the racing greats involved with this tour, two thumbs up, a checkered flag, and a trophy for this great effort.
It Finally Happened!
1960 Grand National Champion and my good friend Rex White was finally inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF). It’s about 35 years overdue in my opnion. The great thing is that Rex is still here to enjoy it. Other inductees to the IMHOF haven’t been so lucky. Now the challenge is to get Rex into the NA$CAR HOF while he’s still with us and before the place either becomes a total ghost town, gets shut down, gets bought by Rick Hendrick and turned into the Jimmie Johnson Shrine, or becomes the Palm Tree Hunter Center of Worship for "Soda" Spilling.
White Line Fever
It looks like JC France, who was busted for street racing and cocaine possession which were later dropped thanks to Judge Kennedy (who dismissed cases against other France family members), is back racing in the Rolex Series again. At a recent testing event, he kept the nose of his car right on the white line all around the track. An unconfirmed rumor has it that the white lines had to be repainted as they disappeared when JC’s car supposedly snorted them.
Bayne, what’s next, and Follow the Wood Brothers
I’ll be curious to see what happens with Trevor Bayne. Although he’s a Roush “property“, it’s looking like he’ll run at least 17 races with the Wood Brothers. It’s possible he could run some more if some sponsorship comes through. After the news that Bill Elliott was going to drive for James Finch and then it was denied, I can’t say as I blame the Wood Brothers for wanting to run Bayne the full season.
And speaking of the Wood Brothers, you might want to follow them on Facebook and Twitter. From time to time they run a trivia contest and you can win some interesting swag. I know because I played on Boxing Day (December 26th) and won a t-shirt, driver’s card, and two decals. Not bad for answering some pretty simple (to me anyways) questions about the Wood Brothers. Of course, you might want to bone up on their history first if you’re not familiar with them.
German TV Gets the Racing Right
German Sky, a German TV network, will be not only broadcasting F-1 in HD but also without commercial interruption. How long have we race fans across the board been wanting something like this? Imagine seeing the entire Daytona 500 or World 600 at home without commercial interruption? Or the NHRA Winter Nationals? Or ARCA races? The German Sky network execs know they’re competing against other series, sports, and shows so by foregoing the commercials they’re looking to pull in the maximum number of F-1 fans and gear heads they can. Hello Ivory Towers?
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.digitalfernsehen.de/Sky-zeigt-Formel-1-Rennen-2011-erstmals-in-nativem-HDTV.47125.0.html&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.co.uk
Buyer Beware!
In today’s Buyer Beware category, it seems that a NA$CAR personality may have tried to pull a scam in the past. It seems that when asked for paperwork regarding the charity that this NA$CAR personality had established, this personality fails to produce it. It didn’t matter if this personality was hired for a personal appearance or an autograph session. Supposedly the money collected for these appearances goes to their charity but as the paperwork was never produced for that charity, it’s hard to say if the money is actually going where it’s supposed to. Apparently, failure to produce the charity paperwork is illegal according to what I’ve read.
Fading Glory
As a kid, one of my favorite racers was Fred Lorenzen. Fred was the original Poster Boy when it came to good looking drivers promoting the sport and promoting Ford, which is what he drove at that time. He was well spoken, clean cut, and an all-around decent guy not to mention one heck of a driver. As time has marched on Fred’s mental health has slowly deteriorated and he’s now living in an assisted care facility. While he can remember races from the old days, he has trouble remembering what’s happening today. If you want to make his day and give him some words of encouragement, you can drop him a card or letter at the following address:
Bridgeway Christian Village
Attn: Fred Lorenzen
Room No. 146
111 E. Washington
Bensenville, Ill. 60106-2674
I need to give credit Rick Houston at NA$CAR.com for the great article he wrote about Fred.
He’s a real commode-ian. He should be flushed with success.
Like the separation of church and state, I sure hope that The Human Shill can keep his day job as a supposed comedian separate from his night job as a shill/cheerleader on Speed‘s coverage of the Truck Series. It’s bad enough having to put up with his constant shilling for his team’s sponsors and his manufacturer plus the cheerleading he does for select drivers who drive the same make of truck. The fans at home don’t need to have him testing out his comic material on them during the truck races. Although when you consider the fact that some fans consider his racing career to be something of a joke, maybe he’s finally in the right line of work?
Daytona 500 Conspiracy Theory
With the Daytona 500 coming up along with the 10th anniversary of the death of Iron Head and Faux King Brian in desperate need of some major headlines to try to lure in more of the Short Attention Span Crowd and in desperate hopes of getting a few old fans to return, wouldn’t it be a real coincidence if Jr. won the Daytona 500? If you think back to the wins Jr. got on certain anniversaries, it definitely makes you wonder and lends some credence to this theory and it’s something that a lot of conspiracy theorists point to. Jr’s wins on the various anniversaries. So think about it, draw your own conclusions, form your own opinions, and see what happens on February 20th. If the conspiracy theorists are right, it lends even more credence to Steve O’Donnell, VP of Racing Operations, and his sworn statement that the sanctioning body and its’ activities are sports entertainment and not actually a motorsport. If the conspiracy theorists are wrong, then they’re wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time and probably wouldn’t be the last. So think about it and don’t go blasting me for putting this idea out there or say I‘m a Jr. Hater. I want folks to think about it and discuss it. And for those that think a race can’t be rigged, go back through NA$CAR’s history and you’ll find several races that were manipulated or had some irregularities that were overlooked, encouraged, or swept under the rug by both Big and Little Bill. The very first Strictly Stock race in which the winner was DQ’ed because Big Bill didn’t like a bootlegger winning the very first race and the tone that would set historically, Fireball Roberts being DQ’ed in order to keep Kiekhaefer’s mega-team in NA$CAR, Joe Weatherly and Curtis Turner being awarded points for a race they didn’t participate in, and the King’s 200th win are just some examples. So cuss and discuss the upcoming Daytona 500 and the possibilities the conspiracy theorists are putting out there.
Gone with the Wind
At the end of the 2011 season, Firestone will not renew their contract with IndyCar. While no official reason has been given yet, it could be for financial reasons. Bridgestone, the parent company of Firestone, is pulling out of racing across the board. This leaves the 2012 season wide open for a new tire provider to work with IndyCar. Michelin, Kumho, Hankook, Cooper, and Dunlop could all be in the running to replace Firestone for the IndyCar Series and a load of other companies could replace Bridgestone in the series that they’re involved in. So it’s possible there could be some tire wars going on this season in a bid to replace both Firestone and Bridgestone.
Two Thumbs Up to IndyCar
3 time Indy 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, Mario Andretti, Al Unser Jr., Sarah Fisher, Davey Hamilton, and Larry Foyt will be doing the Indianapolis 500 Centennial Tour, which is being coordinated by Morale Entertainment Foundation and Armed Forces Entertainment, in conjunction with the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and they start this week. The 10-day goodwill trip to Europe and the Middle East has a goal of boosting the morale of a lot of troops they plan to meet during the 10 day tour. Their first stop will be the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl Germany, which was next to door to where I was stationed, Ramstein AB from 1980-1985.
The last time I heard of a NASCAR driver or personality doing something like this was several years ago when Jeremy Mayfield visited the troops and even went to one of the outlying outposts in a hostile area to meet with some race fans. So to the IndyCar folks and the racing greats involved with this tour, two thumbs up, a checkered flag, and a trophy for this great effort.
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