Nascar

The year is winding down, and tons of excitement is to be had!!!

I predict Jeff Gordon and Tony will both get thier wins in these final ten races. Jeff at Dover, and Tony in high drama fashion, with a close run at Homestead.  Shrub (Kyle Busch) will get a couple wins in here.  And Cousin Carl at Atlanta. We will also see David Ragan get his first win in here.

Continue reading "Final 10 Races"

NASCAR.  The beginning of my lucrative sports watching career. I hold this sport dearly to my heart not only because it is just awesome, but I have many fond memories tied along with it. 

Continue reading "An Introduction"

I must say today's race was different. I am impressed by how the drivers and owners handled it. It was what it was. I think Goodyear should be responsible for some of the cost the teams were forced to incur from all of the tire changes. I have an increased admiration for the pit crews. Those guys worked HARD today. It was unfortunately a rather boring race. Approximately 1/3 of all laps run under caution and competition caution at that! There really wasn't much excitement. I am glad they wanted to avoid the issue of blow outs. That could have created some ugly wrecks and more cars torn apart.

Continue reading "Tires"

TNT definitely improved! I enjoyed listening to Kyle Petty. Now on to a new set of announcers and a new network.

And speaking of new, there are some new teams coming up for 2009. I think Tony will do GREAT as a team owner/driver. He has grown so much with the sport and is obviously a great study of how to do things right. I will miss him in the Orange car, but as with Junior I will adjust!

Continue reading "Changes"

The trend as of late has been to bash your ex-employer. But just be sure to wait several months after your employment has been "terminated" before doing so.

The question is: Has ex-Nationwide Series official Mauricia Grant become NASCAR's Scott McClellan? And why, like McClellan, did Grant wait for so long after her "dismissal" to complain? Why did neither she nor McClellan express discontentment while employed in their respective jobs?

Continue reading "NASCAR's Scott McClellan?"

Second half of the Cup season has begun and I miss Fox already. TNT's broadcast yesterday seemed to be more commercials than race. The first two cautions occurred at commercial break and there weren't even replays to know why, when the camera came back "live", the field was under caution. Fox always ran the ticker at the top indicating laps and various difference of the the drivers - time behind, speed, etc. Towards the end of the race TNT didn't even have the laps posted so as a viewer you had no clue where the race was in its progress. They did put it up with about 30 laps left. The camera people for TNT aren't as skilled in following the action either. What is with zoomed out shots where you can barely make out the cars on the track?

Continue reading "TNT vs Fox Broadcasting"

It was a refreshing change of pace (pardon the pun) to see Scott Wimmer break the "Buschwackers'" winning streak in last Saturday's Nationwide race in Nashville. The young season had been dominated by Sprint Cup drivers--formerly known as "Buschwackers"--Cup drivers who also ran in the Busch Series (now Nationwide). Tony Stewart won the first two races, and Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, and Clint Bowyer each garnered one victory.

Continue reading "Wimmer Beats the "Buschwackers""

The 2008 season has barely begun, and NASCAR has already apportioned out myriads of penalties. First came the confrontation between Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch during practice for the Bud Shootout, for which both drivers were put on probation for the first six Cup races. But true to its promise of returning "back to the basics" (or, in other words, allowing drivers to freely express their emotions as in days of old), NASCAR did not punish Stewart or Busch for their verbal or alleged physical combat while meeting with officials.

Continue reading "Penalties by the Number--NASCAR Takes ..."

For the past few seasons, Hendrick Motorsports has dominated in NASCAR victory lane. And with the addition of Dale Jr. to the Hendrick fold, few expected that pattern would change this year. Initially, things were going as planned--Jr. taking the Bud Shootout and then winning the first Gatorade 150 qualifying race.

Continue reading "Does "COT" Spell the End of the Dominant Team?"

Over the last few years of watching Nascar racing I'm beginning to wonder if they are headed in the right directon. It seems that Nascaris always changing and trying to reinvent themselves and in the process has done nothing but drive fans, sponsors, and even drivers away from the sport. Let's address some of these issues first starting with the drivers who are the backbone of the sport.

Continue reading "Is Nascar Headed In The Right Direction?"