Tomorrow is the Super Bowl of NASCAR Racing-The Daytona 500

The NASCAR boys are back at it.  Actually, they have been at it for a couple of weeks at Daytona.  Last Saturday night I watched the Bud Shootout, 24 cars and drivers going for broke.  During the last week, qualifying took place as well as the twin 125 mile races Thursday to set the starting grid for tomorrow's 500 mile race.  Last night the first Truck race of the season took place with Michael Waltrip, not a regular in the Truck series, taking the win.  Today, the first Nationwide series race was run, and won in very exciting fashion by Sprint Cup regular Tony Stewart.  Not a regular in the Nationwide series, Tony won this particular race for the 4th year in a row.  Amazing!

This year the Daytona races have been two-by-two affairs.  Seems for the cars to go fast, they need to pair up and push each other around the track.  In the past, the draft was always important but was characterized by one or two long lines of cars nose to tail.  This year pairs of cars run fastest together.  A bit tedious for the drivers, somewhat interesting for the fans since so far there have been lots of lead changes throughout the races, and still dangerous because it takes a lot of skill and patience to push another car or be pushed by another car at nearly 200 mph!  Should be an interesting race tomorrow.  

Am hoping for a Dale Earnhardt Jr. win tomorrow.  Would be memorable for all 10 years after his dad died at Daytona.  

Elliott Sadler Lucky To Be Alive After Pocono Crash Sunday

Elliott Sadler crashed unbelievably hard into an inner retaining wall Sunday at Pocono.  He is lucky to be alive, or at least not to be severely injured.  There is no reason that retaining wall should be there the way it is.  Should be safer barriers all the way around the track, and they should rip up most of the grass on the back stretch and replace it with pavement, like they have at Talladega.  When race cars go into and through the grass at 190 mph, there is no stopping them. 

I was at Watkins Glen in 1991 when J.D. McDuffie died in a similar crash.  He was going down the back stretch, lost control, got into the grass, and ran head first into a tire and dirt retaining wall.  When I saw the Elliott Sadler crash Sunday, my thoughts went back to that sad day at Watkins Glen, when they brought J.D.'s car back to the pits on a hauler, all covered, signifying J.D. had died in the crash.  Geoff Bodine also had a hard crash at Watkins in the same spot J.D. hit, saying it was one of the hardest crashes he was ever in.

Thank God Elliott was able to crawl out of the car, and walk away from the accident.  It is a credit to the safety of the NASCAR cars.  Let's hope we don't have to watch another vicious accident like the one Sunday.  

David Reutimann Wins @ Chicagoland

Nice win for David and Toyota @ Chicagoland last Saturday night!  Great for him, and great for Michael Waltrip Racing.  David is a good person, and a very good NASCAR driver.  Read that many drivers stopped by Victory Lane and in the garage to congratulate David.  Only watched a bit of the race but did see the pass of Jeff Gordon.  Sometimes those cookie-cutter ovals seem really boring but when you watch a driver struggle to make a pass, when both cars are so close in speed, is like watching ballet.  Both drivers, the one in front, and the one right beside, are on the verge of spinning out, and taking out the other driver/car.  It is a beautiful thing to watch, over 8-10 laps, to see the pursuit, chase, capture, and pass.  Very cool, and David did it perfectly Saturday night.  Once he got past Gordon, he drove away from him. 

Denny Hamlin Owns Pocono--Harvick Should Not Have Hit Logano

Denny Hamlin wins at Pocono again and one can only assume he will win the July race as well.  He has won there four times, always seems to be in the front toward the end of a Pocono race.  Great job Denny.  And Kevin Harvick, there was no need to take Joey Logano out of the race.  You guys were all alone, you could have backed off, and if you had enough car to pass him, you could have done it after turn 3.  I've grown to respect you, Kevin, as a mature racer, but this event was too much. 

Pocono is never my favorite venue until the last 20 laps.  Then the fuel mileage, getting into turn 1 first, all those things come into play.  Races at Pocono are usually all about the end of the race.  Drivers need to survive to the end, then do the best they can.  

Geoff Bodine Qualifies for Pocono at Age 61

Geoff Bodine qualified for the Pocono 500 (or whatever it is called now) today at age 61.  Geoff was the first Rick Hendrick driver to win a Daytona 500 back in the mid-1980's.  He also introduced power steering to NASCAR racing.  And, I saw Geoff race his first race at Chemung Speedway, a track his dad owned, back around 1967 or so. 

I read last week Geoff was going to try to qualify at Pocono, I think for a team owned by Tommy Baldwin.  Looks like they knew there weren't going to be a ton of teams at Pocono--only two were sent home.  A few years ago, there would be 6-8 teams trying to qualify.  Today, with tough economic times, and at a track like Pocono--think long, unusual, unique to NASCAR--make it an interesting and opportunistic place for some one-off team to make a race.  So, Geoff goes out and qualifies.

He said last week that if they qualified they might not be able to afford to race because it would be so expensive to practice, qualify, test, etc.  Hopefully they will come up with enough money to start the race Sunday.  I for one will have the start of the race on DVR at least.  Geoff has always been my favorite racer, so cool to see him out there again.  

BTW, Olympic fans will know Geoff is a major supporter of the U.S Bobsled team.  He has given a lot of money, time, and design effort to bring the U.S. team back to world class standards. 

Go Geoff!

Kurt Busch Wins All Star Race and Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte

What a show of strength by Kurt Busch and the Roger Penske organization at Charlotte over the last two weeks.  Kurt and his Miller Lite Dodge was the best of the best in both events!  Great car, great team, great driver.  Will be interesting to see how Kurt/Dodge/Penske does the rest of the season.

Classic Tallagega Win for Kevin Harvick Today

Now that is the way you are supposed to win at Talladega!  I watched/listened to the race while painting the kitchen.  Of course, as all NASCAR fans know, at Talladega and Daytona, everything up to the last 20 laps is survival and experimentation as drivers try to avoid "The Big One" and move back and forth from the back of the pack to the front with different drafting partners, all in preparation for the end of the race.  Today Kevin Harvick rode around in the back most of the day but there he was, near the front toward the end of the race.  After a couple attempts at a the fan-favorite Green-White-Checkers, Kevin was right behind Jamie McMurray, pushing him away from the pack, and then in the final turn, giving him a little bump, just to get him loose enough so Kevin could slip by at the finish line!  Classis Talladega, a beautiful thing. 

There were a few wrecks but nothing too terrible, no injuries, nothing for anyone to point their fingers at or raise fists about.

Congratulations Kevin, it has been a long time since you have been to Victory Lane.  Nice to put the Shell Pennzoil car on top this week when the Shell decided to move the sponsorship to Penske next year.  

Jimmie Johnson Wins At Vegas!

#48 wins #49.  Wow, Jimmie and the #48 Lowe's team is hotter than a pistol!  Two in a row for the Lowe's Chevy.  He was not so good at the beginning of the race but Chad Knaus is better than anyone at adjusting the car throughout a race and getting it just perfect for the last 50 laps, and most importantly the last lap!  It will be interesting to see how many Jimmie can win this year and he sure looks likely to win yet another championship. 

This week the boys are off to Atlanta, a very fast track.  Will be fun to watch!

Jimmie Johnson wins at California

Nice win for Jimmie Johnson today at California Speedway (or whatever it is called).  Lot's of empty seats there today!  The last 30 laps were exciting and Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton raced with each other for 2nd and 3rd, and tried to run down Jimmie Johnson.  Eventually Kevin got close but lost the handling on the car after clipping the wall with a few laps left.  That track is boring as hell--you have to be a dedicated NASCAR fan to sit through a whole race there! 

Off to Las Vegas--the boys like to go there for a week!

Daytona 500 Slowed By Major Pothole, Still Great Dash to the Finish

Jamie McMurray won the 2010 Daytona 500 yesterday on Valentine's Day.  Good for Jamie, he is a good guy, and good for the Earnhardt Ganassi racing team.  It was an exciting race, while the cars were on the track, but the giant pothole on the track led to several very long delays while crews worked to repair the pavement.  Reminds me of seeing highway crews throwing blacktop in potholes in the middle of the winter--the workers  and drivers passing by know the blacktop won't hold up for long but at least temporarily the holes are filled. 

Dale Earnhardt made a great run over the last two laps and came up just a bit short, taking second.  This is a good start for Dale Jr., though it would have been great to see him win. 

I don't know if there is a solution to the wrecks that are part of restrictor plate racing at Daytona and Talladega.  It did seem to me that there were more problems in the Nationwide Race on Saturday than in the 500 on Sunday but that may be due to less experienced/not as good drivers, as well as a different car and setup.  Who knows!  The racing is exciting to watch but tough on cars and drivers.

Now NASCAR is off to California Speedway in Fontana, CA, a fairly boring 2-mile track, but at least the season has begun.  Yeah!

Bobby Labonte's New Ride for 2010, and other News

Bobby Labonte has a full time ride for 2010.  Good for him--he is one of the very good guys in NASCAR.  And, as a former Champion, he brings a lot of perks to a team without much status.  Bobby will be driving the #71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet for team owner Kevin Buckler.  Hopefully the team will be competitive.  Bobby will surely get everything he can out of the car.  Here is a link to the short story in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-11-14-labonte-trg_N.htm

Carl Edwards won the Nationwide race in Phoenix.  With only one race left in the season, Kyle Busch will be the champion if he can start the final race next week in Homestead, Florida.  Nice win for Carl, but he couldn't perform his signature back flip due to the broken foot he suffered earlier in the season.  Carl did a lame somersault instead.  Hopefully he will be doing a lot of back flips next year. 

Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski continued their season long on track feud.  Should be interesting next year when Brad drives full time on the NEXTEL Sprint Cup circuit.  Seems like a lot of guys want  a piece of him.  Here is a summary of yesterday's race from USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-11-14-phoenix-nationwide_N.htm

Next to last Sprint Cup race today in Phoenix.  My guess is Jimmy Johnson will finish well, maybe even win, and lock up the Cup going into the last race of the season. 

Denny Hamlin Wins @ Martinsville

Denny Hamlin won today at Martinsville.  Virginia boys love to win at home so good for him.  I find it interesting with all the hoopla around Kyle Busch that Denny has become the most consistent Gibbs team driver.  Good for Denny.  Sure was a great move by Toyota to sign the Gibbs team a couple of years ago.  Gibbs has given Toyota a lot of wins. 

Jimmie Johnson extended his lead in the Chase.  If he gets through Talladega next weekend with the lead, I don't think he can be stopped.  He'll be on his way to his 4th championship and accepting all the accolades at the banquet in Las Vegas in early December. 

NASCAR Announces More Consistent Start Times in 2010

Most Sunday races will start at 1:00 Eastern Time next year, NASCAR announced today.  Good idea.  True race fans will know when most races will begin, and fans who go to the track will be able to see the races, and maybe even get home the same day.  Old School!  And, in the DVR era, it doesn't really matter when the races start for TV watchers, other than to figure out when to set the recording to start. 

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-10-07-nascar-start-times_N.htm

Sorry I haven't been updating this blog as much lately.  Will try to be more diligent the rest of the season. 

Great, Exciting Race @ Loudon, New Hampshire

The NASCAR Sprint Cup race today in New Hampshire was exciting, not a mileage race, which is unusual.  Many of the New Hampshire races have been quite boring in past years but today there was plenty of two-,  and at times, three-wide racing.  Lot's of bumping and pushing toward the end of the race, more like what happens at Martinsville or Bristol.  Juan Pablo Montoya led the most laps, and was right there at the end, but finished third, behind Denny Hamlin and the winner, Mark Martin.  Yes, Mark Martin won the 1st race of the Chase!  Very exciting for Mark, his fans, and I think NASCAR to have a veteran like Mark contending so seriously for what he hopes will be his first NASCAR Championship.  That is what Rick Hendrick hired him to do, win a championship this year.  I hope he will do it, though I'd also like to see Tony Stewart win as well.  Good to have an AARP member (at least he is eligible to be a member) leading the Chase. 

And, what was Juan Pablo mumbling about after the race, something like Mark crowded him down in the corner, and Juan Pablo could have hit him, but he has a lot of respect for Mark, and decided to not push him out of the way.  Not sure Juan Pablo would have gotten out of New Hampshire if he had wrecked Mark Martin in the last laps of the race today.  Juan, just win races, and the rest will take care of itself.  

Tough day for Junior.  He was running really well, up to 4th place, when David Reutimann went into a corner underneath Junior, and, as Junior said, "Ran out of talent", and wiped Dale out.  I really hope Dale can have a good fall, even win a race or two to set up a very good 2010 season. 

Off to Dover for Race 2 of the Chase!

Exciting Weekend @ Atlanta

I watched both races from Atlanta this past Labor Day weekend.  What a dominating performance by Kevin Harvick Saturday night in the Nationwide Series race.  He was in control all night long.  Of course, Atlanta is special for Kevin since he won his first Cup race there after taking over for the late Dale Earnhardt after his untimely death at Daytona.  Kevin always runs well in Atlanta and he was the best Saturday night.  Nice to see him do well.  On Sunday night, Kasey Kahne was there at the end with the best car.  It has been interesting to see Kasey over the last couple of years.  I remember when he took the Budweiser sponsorship after Dale Jr. switched teams.  Many didn't think Kasey could carry the Budweiser torch but he sure has done a good job.  And Dodge must be happy to have him.  Good year for Dodges with Kurt Busch and Kasey both in the chase, along with Juan Pablo. 

On to Richmond, and determining who is in and out of the Chase.

Exciting Finish at Bristol!

Great finish at Bristol Saturday night. Classy racing between Mark Martin and Kyle Busch over those last 5 or 6 laps. Either one of them could have wrecked the other but they didn't. They were clearly the class of the field and showed it at the end. Nice finish for Dale Jr, 5th for the second week in a row.

Off to Richmond and Atlanta before the chase begins!

Marcos Ambrose wins Nationwide Race @ Watkins Glen Saturday, Finishes 2nd in Sprint Cup Monday

Marcos Ambrose won the Nationwide Race Saturday at Watkins Glen and then finished second today in the Sprint Cup race. Big weekend for him at The Glen. Carl Edwards was third, Biffle had a top five, as did Kyle Busch. Kyle was pretty grumpy after the race. More later.

Oh, Tony Stewart won the race, 3rd this year, extending his lead in the points. Great season for Tony and his team.

NASCAR is Back at The Glen, Watkins Glen, That Is

NASCAR SPRINT Cup drivers and teams will be taking on the second and last road course of the season this weekend at my home track, Watkins Glen. I went to my first race at Watkins Glen when I was about 8 or 9 years old. My brother Bill and some of his friends took me along--they probably didn't have any choice--to watch sports cars, those funny little two seater European cars, and also the predecessors of Formula 1. Saw all the great road course drivers over the years, Sterling Moss, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, and so many more. Also saw all kinds of cars and motorcycles race there, FI, Can-Am, Trans-Am, and of course eventually the real race cars, NASCAR stock cars. Even saw some drag racing there in the 60's.

Then the track went quiet for around 10 years in the 70's and into the 80's. Corning Inc., formerly Corning Glass Works, bought the track in the early 80's to spur tourism to the area, in part to help soften the blow of decreased manufacturing employment in the Southern Tier/Finger Lakes Region of New York. NASCAR was a major part in the resurgence of The Glen. NASCAR was getting hot, thanks to ESPN TV coverage, and The Glen benefited from the resurgence.

I attended the first three or four NASCAR races at the Glen, before the little chicane was put in on the backstretch to slow the cars down before the tough downhill 180 degree turn at the end of the very long straightaway where speeds were reaching 175 or so mph. Geoff Bodine took a wild ride in the grass into the tire piles, one of the worse crashes he ever had. And I was there in 1991 when J.D. McDuffie died after he lost control at the end of the backstretch. I will never forget seeing his car come back on the wrecker all covered with a tarp. We knew he had died when we saw the car all covered up. Tragic. But of course, the race went on! And, many safety improvements were added, most notably the "kitty-litter" gravel areas to catch and slow cars when they go off the track to keep them from hitting the retaining walls at great speed.

The double-file restarts will be fun to watch. Turn 1 is one of the most exciting turns in racing, as far as I'm concerned, all about going as fast as you can down the front straight and then out-braking your opponent to get the preferred line through the corner. Lead going out of turn one and you will probably lead the rest of the way around.

Hopefully the weather will be beautiful in the Finger Lakes this weekend. If you never been to that part of New York State, you should go, and short of that, enjoy the views of the area you will see on TV during the race. The Glen is a special track, one of the most historic in the U.S. Enjoy!

Dave

Denny Hamlin Wins Pocono

Okay Tom, this for you, since you may be the only person reading this. I picked Hamlin on Saturday, didn't I? Just had a feeling he could pull it off since he won twice in one season two years ago. He was a man on a mission today. I listened to most of the race on the radio while at work. Sounded like a pretty exciting race for a Pocono. And what about Jimmy Johnson and his team! Came back from being three laps down to finishing 13th.

Speaking of listening to the race on the radio, was actually pretty cool. For those of you who haven't listened to races on the radio, it is pretty exciting. MRN does a great job covering races. What is really entertaining is that there are reporters in each corner and they tell you what is going in every lap all the way around the track. Makes you be able to "see" what is going on. Pretty exciting.

Watching Victory Lane on Speed. Great show to see the whole race in an hour with commentary. Lot's of rough driving there today. Looks like maybe Denny should have been penalized a lap for pushing David Reutimann out of the way. Robbie Gordon and David Stremme were held for five laps for rough driving. Tough penalty but well reserved.

Off to my home track, the road course at Watkins Glen next weekend.

Qualifying Rained Out @ Pocono, Stewart Has Pole

Qualifying was rained out at Pocono today so Tony Stewart will be starting on the pole, with Jimmy Johnson starting right next to him. I told my buddy Tom today that my choice for the weekend is Denny Hamlin since he won both events last year but my real hope is that Tony can lead from start to finish. We'll see.