Holy cow check out this horrible crash by Michael Mcdowell in Sprint Qualifying today! I count 10 rolls and he gets out and walks away with just a limp. 15 minutes later he was giving an interview. Unbelievable! I guess the Car of Today is not so bad after all. Check it out:
Carl Edwards wins UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas in a two lap dash to the finish line after NASCAR stopped the race for about 18 minutes to clean the track after a wreck that wiped out contenders Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, Edwards pulled away from Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to win by .504 seconds.
The victory gave Carl Edwards the series points lead for the first time in his career, by 21 points over Las Vegas pole-sitter Kyle Bush, NASCAR’s new darling and by 41 over Ryan Newman who finished 14th.  However, NASCAR found an “issue” with the 99 car in post-race inspection. I will keep you updated on this as more news is released.
Yes you heard it right folks, Dale Earnhardt Jr is leaving DEI and the announcement will be made tomorrow according to this article:
I know it’s been awhile, but this brought me out of hiding. What is this woman (Theresa Earnhardt) thinking? As of tomorrow DEI is going to lose Dale Jr, Martin Truex, Jr AND their main sponsor, Budweiser. Simply because she is to stupid to turn over the company to the kids that Dale Earnardt BUILT THE COMPANY FOR!! I honestly can’t believe this, I am no Junior fan but this is just so sad. The Man In Black must be turning over in his grave right now. That’s all for now, but this news has brought me out of hiding. I will add more as I get the news.
Mark Martin does not win the Daytona 500, but he almost does. In a questionable decision by Nascar not to throw a caution after a last lap crash, Kevin Harvick passed Mark Martin and won the Daytona 500. Mark Martin reacted in typical Mark Martin fashion, with absolute class. He said that was the call that was made by Nascar and he would not question their call.
My thoughts - Should a caution have been thrown? OF COURSE!! Lately Nascar has been about as consistent as Britney Spears. Why would they not throw a caution? There were cars crashing and bumping all over the place, racing should have been stopped immediately, especially by Nascar’s latest pansy ass standards. If these were the old days I would see no problem with not throwing a caution, BUT it is the “kinder, gentler� Nascar and as soon as they saw a crash, the flag should be out. That is part of the problem with NASCAR, they change the rules as they see fit. I think they need to sit back and decide what Nascar is going to be. If they want to be a sport on the same level as the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. then they need to make the rules concrete and STICK TO THEM. No “deciding factors�, no nothing. These are the rules and Nascar follows the rules. All penalties should be equal for infractions. Otherwise Nascar is really just the WWF and they can forget about ever being considered a legitimate sport with the huge mainstream following that they so crave. Viewership has been falling off, sponsors are fleeing the building and Nascar is beginning to alienate their CORE fan base. My tip for Brian France…get some consistency going before you lose the very people that made you the millions that you have today.
Michael Waltrip, the jokester, Nascar’s funny guy got caught cheating this week. Well, not Mikey exactly, his team got caught cheating. They were caught with a fuel additive in the manifold of the 55 car during a qualifying inspection. NASCAR suspended Waltrip’s crew chief, David Hyder and his director of competition, Bobby Kennedy. They fined Hyder $100,000 and took 100 owners points and 100 driver points from Michael Waltrip. They also disqualified Michael’s qualifying score and confiscated the 55 car. Michael stood up and took full responsibility and vowed to find the individual responsible for the infraction. He stated that the additive was not approved by himself or any MWR management personnel.
Michael Waltrip has done a few interviews but the one that struck me the most was when he said that nothing Nascar could do to him would be worse than his daughter asking her mommy why daddy was cheating. Michael Waltrip said he was very close to quitting and his wife talked him into running the 150. MWR pulled out a backup car that hadn’t been tested and managed to qualify for the Daytona 500.
My opinion - just about every team in Nascar cheats one way or another. When you try to make all of the cars exactly alike the teams have to take an advantage wherever they can find one. Sometimes that involves pushing the envelope. The problem comes in when you go beyond “pushing the envelope� to “let’s hope we don’t get caught�. When you have a sport that was built by bootleggers you are going to have cheating. I am actually amazed that Nascar came down so hard. Especially since Michael Waltrip has been such a positive emissary for the “sport� of Nascar. I have some opinions about why this crackdown happened, but that will be another post. For now, I want to say that I wish Michael Waltrip the best of luck for the Daytona 500 and the rest of the race year.
I have spent the last week reading in disbelief all of the nasty things going on in Nascar. I am going to make a seperate post for each individual driver, however, the first thing I wanted to talk about is the new points system.
The changes:
Will the points change help Nascar? My opinion, I’ve never liked the points system. I think the driver that wins the most races should be the Champion. I understand that Nascar is trying to have a “playoff season�, but I think in doing so they may be alienaing their core fan base. People who have loved Nascar for years are not interested now. Why? Because of the points systems, rule changes and the impending “Car of Tomorrow� doom. I don’t like points and I don’t believe there are many that do.
Very sad news:
Former NASCAR champion Benny Parsons dies of lung cancer
January 16, 2007
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA (TICKER) — Former NASCAR champion and popular broadcaster Benny Parsons died Tuesday of complications stemming from his battle with lung cancer. He was 65.
Parsons had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina since December 26. He was diagnosed with cancer six months ago but continued to work as a racing analyst for NBC after learning of his condition.
The 1973 NASCAR champion and winner of the 1975 Daytona 500, Parsons never allowed his competitive streak to affect his pleasant personality - or vice versa.
“Benny Parsons was the kindest, sweetest, most considerate person I have ever known,� said Darrell Waltrip, also a former NASCAR champion and announcer. “He was almost too nice to be a race car driver, and I say that as a compliment.
“In my 30-odd years of racing Benny Parsons, I never knew of anyone being mad at Benny.�
Parsons joined the NASCAR circuit full-time in 1970 and registered 21 victories, 20 poles and 283 top-10 finishes in 526 starts in his 18-year career. He was inducted to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994 and was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
After retiring from racing in 1988, Parsons began his broadcasting career with ESPN and later worked for NBC and cable network TNT. His friendly demeanor made him a favorite of virtually all NASCAR fans.
“Benny Parsons was a great champion, a great ambassador for our sport,� Waltrip said. “But more than that, he was a great person. He exemplified that good guys can be winners, too.�
Just in case you didn’t already know that Jimmie Johnson won, I figured I’d make my first post in awhile. I’ve moved recently and haven’t had a chance to post much, but I’m back on track now. I wasn’t real happy about the outcome of this year’s championship, but Oh well, on to next year, right??!!
Anyway, on a brighter note, my sister just started her own site Bunkies Gifts so if you are looking for Christmas Presents, or just want to surf a little, go check it out!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS NASCAR FANS!!
Brian Vickers crashes Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earhardt, Jr to win the UAW Ford-500 at Talladega. Dale, Jr undoubtedly had the strongest car for most of the race. Going into the last lap Dale Earnhardt, Jr had the lead with Jimmie Johnson second and Brian Vickers third. Johnson and Vickers clearly had a deal. Johnson pulled out planning on taking Vickers behind him and passing Dale, Jr on the inside. Vickers came down to get in line behind Johnson and misjudged his distance by an inch. He hooked the rear of Johnson’s bumper sending Johnson swerving up into Jr. Both of them went skidding off into the grass and Vickers zoomed by for the lead. NOT a popular win by any means!
Now, for the controversy and gossip. Everyone knows that Brian Vickers and Jimmie Johnson are not getting along. Vickers has been barred from team meetings and is basically being treated like a pariah in the garage. So, the question is…did he do it on purpose or was it truly an accident? In the after race interviews Dale, Jr’s response was basically “That’s racin�. Jimmie Johnson, not so much. He was clearly angry and clearly blamed Vickers for taking him out. It will be interesting to see how this drama plays out.
Keasey Kahne is in, Tony Stewart is out. It’s only fair, he did win the most races this year he should be in the chase. It would have been nice for Tony Stewart to get in also, but I’m glad Kasey Kahne made it! Kevin Harvick passed Kyle Busch in the last lap to win the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond. It was touch and go for Junior, Gordon and Hamlin fo awhile. Junior and Gordon both had brake problems and Hamlin was only running on 7 cylinders. In the end they all managed to stay in long enough to make the chase.
Here are the final Chase standings:
1. Matt Kenseth
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Kyle Busch
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Mark Martin
8. Jeff Burton
9. Jeff Gordon
10. Kasey Kahne
