NASCAR Racing

April 9, 2010

NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson is like a cat. No matter what is thrown at him - he always lands on his feet. The guy is good but lady luck is hanging over him. He's won three out of the first six races of the season. But most astonishing is the fact that even after a bad finish in Martinsville (well - for Johnson a nineth place finish is bad) he made the way to the top spot in the standings. For now anyway. I want to see some good competition this season. I'm not ready to see Jimmie Johnson lead to the end. In that case NASCAR might as well just hand Johnson the trophy now. There are a lot of other drivers, good drivers that need to make Jimmie Johnson sweat.

So far this season tempers have flared a bit. The feud between Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards being the worst. Only because it was definately intentional on Edwards part and could have been disasterous. Edwards only got a slap on the wrist. Kenseth and Gordon even got into it a bit in Martinsville. Both drivers are very hungry for that elusive win and they do have a bit of a history. Kenseth ended up hurting himself by knocking out his chances of a top five finish by making a stupid reckless move. Gordon's chance to possibly take his first checkered flag this season was also a product of Kenseth's desperate move.

NASCAR has implemented some new rules and the spoilers are coming back. Lets see if NASCAR can bring this sport back to the drivers and the fans and fill those racetracks and have our eyes glued to those TVs on Sunday afternoon or Saturday night.

Feb 16, 2010

Daytona International Speedway kicked off NASCARs Sprint Cup season with an exciting race, that is while the drivers were racing and not red flagged for a pot hole on the track. Not once - but twice. The first time for one hour and forty-five minutes and the second time for forty-five minutes. Seems like the track officials should have known ahead of time what type of compound to use to repair the track. This after being routed all around Daytona Beach by local law enforcement. You get excited - you can see the entrance to lot 7 or 10 but you also see law enforcement officials rerouting you back on to Hwy 92 and back around for another tour of Daytona Beach. Save the tour. We want racing.

Jamie McMurray pulled off his first Daytona 500 win while holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win. In a series of shuffles for several rounds of green-white-checkered the field was changing so fast that it was impossible to predict the outcome. Dale Earnhardt Jr had one of his best races in a very long time. He wound his way up through the field in a matter of laps. Maybe NASCAR's most prestigous race will be a turn around for him. Meanwhile, in turn four on the last lap it was almost like the last lap if 2001s Daytona 500. I could barely breathe as I saw cars going up the track into the wall of turn 4 and back down the track. I saw Robby Gordon"s #7 and Jeff Gordon's #24 sliding down off the wall and down the track. It was almost like seeing Dale Earnhardt all over again. Only Jeff Gordon walked away. Jeff Gordon was having a pretty good race only to be shuffled back during the green-white-checkered. I barely saw the #1 of Jamie McMurray take the checkered flag.

So with a few rule changes we're off and racing for the 2010 season.

Feb 12, 2010

After the Gatorade Dual #1 which was won by #48 Jimmie Johnson overn #29 Kevin Harvick by less than a hair and the Gatorade Dual #2 won by #9 Kasey Kahne over #14 Tony Stewart by a hair, the field for NASCAR's Daytona 500 is set. If the Duals set the pace for The Daytona 500 we are in for a really exciting race.

The starting grid for NASCARs Daytona 500 is as follows:

1) #5 Mark Martin - Pole

2) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr

3) #48 Jimmie Johnson

4) #9 Kasey Kahne

5) #29 Kevin Harvick

6) #14 Tony Stewart

7) #18 Kyle Busch

8) #42 Juan Pablo Montoya

9) #33 Clint Bowyer

10) #2 Kurt Busch

11) #78 Regan Smith

12) #19 Elliott Sadler

13) #1 Jamie McMurray

14) #56 Martin Truex

15) #43 A.J. Allmendinger

16) #20 Joey Logano

17) #39 Ryan Newman

18) #47 Marcos Ambrose

19) #6 David Ragan

20) #00 David Reutimann

21) #24 Jeff Gordon

22) #83 Brian Vickers

23) #16 Greg Biffle

24) #17 Matt Kenseth

25) #11 Denny Hamlin

26) #12 Brad Keselowski

27) #99 Carl Edwards

28) #36 Mike Bliss

29) # 55 Michael McDowell

30) #82 Scott Speed

31) #13 Max Papis

32) #98 Paul Menard

33) #34 John Andretti

34) #7 Robby Gordon

35) #37 Travis Tvapil

36) #77 Sam Hornish

37) # 38 Robert Richardson

38) # 26 Boris Said

39) # 31 Jeff Burton

40) #21 Bill Elliott

41) # 87 Joe Nemechek

42) # 71 Bobby Labonte

43) #51 Michael Waltrip

Feb 9, 2010

Kevin Harvick wins his second NASCAR Budweiser Shootout in a row. Carl Edwards put in a great effort in taking the checkered in this race as did many others. Although the drivers were given a little more leway for more aggressive driving it was calmer than a lot of fans expected. With the exception on Juan Pablo Montoya, there didn't seem to be any more aggressive driving than usual. Some drivers like Jeff Gordon worked their way through the field from the back of the field toward the front although he never led any laps he quietly thredded his way through the pack. Kurt Busch had a short night after his crash. The stage is now set for the Gatorade Duals and and of course The Daytona 500. Mark Martin will be on the Pole for NASCARs Daytona 500 with Dale Earnhardt Jr sharing the front row. The rest of the field is still to be determined.

Danica Patrick ran her first ARCA race and had a sixth place finish. After a solid finish in the ARCA race, she and Tony Eury Jr (Crew Chief) decided that Danica will compete in NASCARs Nationwide Series race on Feb 13 for her first NASCAR race. Danica will drive the #7 Chevrolet for Jr Motorsports for this event.

Now, on to 2010....

NASCAR'S 2010 Sprint Cup season starts with The Budweiser Shootout at 8pm on Saturday February 6. This race consists of twenty-eight eligible drivers although only twenty-four will compete this year, twelve drivers who made the Chase in 2009 plus past champions and past winners of the Daytona 500 and the Coke Dis Zero 400 (formerly the Pepsi 400). The race is seventy-five laps divided into two segments. The first segment is twenty-five laps. Then there is a ten minute intermission where the racecars can be worked on followed by a fifty lap segment. Each segment has rules to be followed like pit-stop and fueling requrements. There is no qualifying for this race. The line-up is by the luck of the draw. This is not a points race.

With attendance down in 2009 NASCAR's bosses decided to consider some input by some of the fans and drivers and decided to make some changes for the 2010 season. So far, NASCAR has announced more uniform race start times of 1:00pm for eastern and central regions, 3:00 pm for west coast regions and night races starting at 7:30pm with the exception of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte which will start at 5:45pm. Next, NASCAR officials decided to let racing get "back to basics" by allowing drivers be themselves and express themselves a bit more freely and be a bit more aggressive in the field. The rules will now relax the restrictions on bump-drafting on superspeedways such as Daytona and Talladega. Remember bump and runs? Larger restrictor plates in Daytona and elimination of double-yellow out-of-bounds line will be among the new rules.

NASCAR's Sprint Cup racecars will also take on a bit of the old car style with the return of spoilers in place of the unpopular wings. This change will take place after the Daytona 500, NASCAR's biggest most prestigous race. Word is that Crew Chiefs and their crews will have a bit of chance to show their expertise in making their cars perform better by adding their own special touches.

This season also brings Danica Patrick to NASCAR's track. She will drive in her first ARCA race at Daytona starting in 12th position. She will face many changes and challenges coming from Open-Wheel racing as Juan Pablo Montoya has. She faces this challenge with the attitude that she will push as hard as she is pushed and do whatever she needs to to succeed.

For Dale Earnhardt Jr fans: after a really rough season in 2009 Jr led the rain shortened practice for the Budweiser Shootout. Granted it was only two laps but it's a good place to start.

So, on to 2010. Let the racing begin....

A year off . . .

2009 starts out as a phenomenal year for NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth in the #17 DeWalt Ford. He won the first two races including the Daytona 500. But his year went downhill from there. Not only did he not perform well but for the first time since The Chase format began in 2004 he did not make it into the top twelve in points to qualify for it. DeWalt who has been the main sponsor for Kenseth in NASCAR's Sprint Series for the last ten years has pulled out as sponsor. Is it because of the economy? Or is it because of Kenseth's lackluster performance? But don't worry - Daytona 500 winners rarely have problems finding new sponsors. In this case Crown Royal (former sponsor for Jamie McMurray) will step up and be sponsor for Kenseth. It's hard to feel too sorry for a driver who has made over fifty million dollars driving the #17 Ford. By the way, McMurray had to move to a new team because of the new limit of four cars per team.

In 2009 The Chase has been commonly called "the playoffs". Is this what NASCAR fans want? If we wanted playoffs - we would be watching football. This is NASCAR - all drivers should be able to be competitive all season long. What about the fans of the drivers who don't make the Chase? Would you still be excited if your driver does not make the Chase? Are you still going to watch when NASCAR makes your driver insignificant and in some cases told not to interfere with Chase drivers? What about the non-chase drivers? Do they just ride around for the rest of the season as fillers for the race? Or maybe they don't have the pressures to win and can go out and just drive. But then again there may be more pressures on the non-chase driver because of the pressure to do well to retain your sponsors or even your spot on your team. Don't forget- all of the drivers have earned the right to be members of this elite NASCAR Series called the Sprint Series and deserve your respect.

I have a lot of respect for Tony Stewart for having the guts to leave the established Joe Gibbs Racing team and his Home Depot sponsor and venturing out to become owner/driver of Stewart-Haas Racing. He went from the #20 Toyota to the #14 Chevy without missing a beat. He went from a driver who needed to be babysitted and was sometimes violent toward the press to a calmer, more responsible nicer person. He also took Penske driver Ryan Newman with him. Newman was the former driver of the # 12 Dodge. He now drives the #39 Chevy. Stewart put together a very sucessful team. Both Stewart and Newman made the Chase and had a great NASCAR Sprint Cup Season. Even those who are not Tony Stewart fans have to admire his guts and accomplishments this season.

Many strange things happen in the Chase. Kyle Busch won six races this season and still did not make the Chase line-up. Maybe this will humble this driver and force a change in his rather nasty disposition. Maybe he will act like a grownup and give interviews even if he doesn't have a good race. Of course he may not go for the new rule that you can bumpdraft at Talladega or Daytona. He made a statement that he wanted drivers black flagged for bumping the leader. I guess his position will depend on if he is the bumper or the bumpee.

2009 also showed that the COT cars were safer. Ask Carl Edwards who rolled over and over. Have to admit he showed class when he got out of that car and ran over the finish line. Ryan Newman and Kyle Bush walked away after flipping a number of times. And rookie Joey Logano walked away after flipping end over end. But are the cars competitive? There are so many restrictions. NASCAR should give the drivers and their teams a little wiggle room so they can make the car their own. But maybe within some limits to let smaller teams still compete with the larger teams.

This year NASCAR showed that it would not put up with drivers using drugs. Jeremy Mayfield was accused of using illegal substances by NASCAR and banned from driving. But, was Mayfield really using illegal drugs or was he using prescribed ADD drugs with an OTC nasal decongestant as he claims? On one hand - you definitely don't want someone using drugs and driving 200mpg with forty-two other cars and endangering the lives of all. On the other hand, is Mayfield being railroaded and being falsely accused by NASCAR as an example? Has he lost his team and reputation unfairly? I wonder if we will ever know the truth.

To wrap up the season, Jimmie Johnson won his fourth consecutive Championship in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, thus setting a record. This ties teammate/owner Jeff Gordon's four Championship wins. Johnson has has four phenomenal years. Can he keep it up? Mark Martin had one of the best seasons of his career. He was very much in the running for this years championship. He has shown that you can still race clean and fairly and still kick some butt. Jeff Gordon also had an awesome year and has shown us that he is still very competitive and still a contender for that fifth NASCAR Championship. He may have even had two or three more championships under the old racing format. These three teammates have also set a record for coming in first, second and third in the Chase standings. The only Hendrick Motorsports teammate that had a fairly poor season is NASCAR's favorite driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. We can only hope that he can get out of his dad's shadow and make his own racing history.

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