Random Thoughts

« January 2006 | Main | March 2006 »

February 28, 2006

Photo of the Day - Stone Lion

Cape May, New Jersey, September, 2005

Posted by silverdsl at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

Bode Miller Getting a Bad Rap?

Brian Montopoli writes in the CBSNews.com blog that Bode Miller is getting a bad rap from the media. Montopoli feels that Miller is paying the price for being real to the media and letting his true personality show. Personally I think Miller is getting slammed by the media because he stunk in the Olympics and he boasts about all the partying he does. Of course it's possible to party and have a good time yet still be serious about one's goals. But when Miller failed to be much of a factor in any of the events he was in and appears to spend all his free time in Torino partying, people are going to wonder if maybe he didn't party as much he might have skiied better. Some were probably wondering whether he was skiing drunk after some of his hapless performances as he admitted he's done in the past in an interview on 60 Minutes. Miller really stands in stark contrast to Apolo Anton Ohno who has said that he had virtually no social life for the past year in preparation for the Olympics. He actually medaled and even if he didn't I think the media would have been much kinder to Ohno because his approach was completely different. It's all about attitude and Miller doesn't seem to have a great one.

Even the chair of the U.S. Olympics committe wasn't thrilled with Miller. Jim Scherr said,

"If they're not taking the Games seriously, that's where we draw the line. In Bode's case, we thought he could get focused."

If Scherr is commenting on Miller's attitude and behavior then I'd say it's not just a media creation as to why he's being criticized so harshly.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:22 PM | Comments (0)

"Tradin' Paint"

Michael Waltrip always has a lot to say - some people who don't like him think that he talks too much but I love how willing Michael is to say what he thinks, no small matter in Nascar where a conservative atmosphere means that drivers and all others in the garage area have to be careful of what they say so that they don't offend sponsors, fans or Nascar itself. So Michael was the perfect choice for Speed's new show, Tradin' Paint which premiered this past weekend. The idea behind the show is that each week Michael will engage in a heated discussion with a media member about various issues in Nascar. John Roberts will moderate and the show is taped in front of a live audience at the track on the Speed stage. What's so outstanding about this show is that it's a way for Michael to talk more candidly and at more length about his opinions than he might have an opportunity to on Inside Nextel Cup or during an interview during a race. I absolutely loved the first one and I can't wait for future episodes!

I think a lot of people underestimate Michael's intelligence and think he's never serious about anything because he jokes around so much during interviews and on INC. Some seem to mistake liking to keep the audience entertained by sometimes being goofy as being a sign that he doesn't give much serious thought to anything around him. That is far from the truth as witnessed by everything he's done to last in Cup for twenty years and to get to the point where he will be entering into a partnership with Toyota in 2007 to field cars in Cup and Busch. But if anyone has any lingering doubts they just need to watch this show. Not surprisingly Michael held his own quite nicely and engaged David Poole from The Charlotte Observer in spirited debate that touched on many issues.

A few fans have expressed concern that Michael is running the risk of offending another driver if he's going to be so outspoken. There may very well be some who take issue with some things that he says. Last season Michael said on INC that some of what led to the incident with Robby Gordon in New Hampshire is that Robby was upset because of a comment that Michael made on an earlier edition of INC. That hasn't stopped Michael from saying what he thinks though. On the premiere espisode of TP, Michael expressed his disapproval for the comments that Ryan Newman had made in reference to Jimmie Johnson after the Daytona 500. Michael felt that Ryan should have been focused on what how well he and his team did rather than talk smack about how Jimmie's 500 win, as well as other racent wins, have come under a cloud of controversy because of issues with illegal parts. I agree completely with all that Michael said, especially when it comes to Jimmie's car which was probably one of the cleanest ones on the track considering how closely it was probably inspected. However, I'm not sure that Ryan is going to be having Michael over for dinner any time soon after Michael said something along the lines of how Ryan should go back to Indiana with the kind of comments that he made.

That said, I'm sure Michael is aware that he runs the risk of raising the ire of a few of his fellow competitiors. Any time you put yourself on the line and speak your mind openly there is a chance of that happening. It's certainly happened to me plenty of times because sometimes people only want to hear the things they agree with and have trouble with opposing viewpoints. I think that Michael is going to say exactly what he thinks in a lively way but I would guess that he will also make sure not to cross the line and say anything that could end in a competitor giving him a hard time on the track. It's a delicate balance but he will make it work. Michael is a master at knowing what to say, when and his comment about Robby Gordon was one of the rare times I can remember hearing him say something that I thought might have gone too far.

Another thing I like about the show is that they are going to be fielding questions from the audience. That's a good way to keep the panel on their toes because someone in the audience might ask something unexpected. That way the answers are very spontaneous and unprepared - I'm sure that Michael and whoever he is debating know at least generally what they will be talking about based on what that week's headlines have been so they have time to think about what they want to say. But a fan might ask about anything, though I'm sure they are asked by a Speed staffer before they are given the microphone what they plan on asking.

The show is going to be ever week that there is a Cup race, since they are going to be taping at the Speed stage at each track. I'm really happy to hear what Michael thinks on all that's going on in Nascar so often. The only thing that I've noticed is that in looking at the air dates of the first few episodes they don't seem to be airing at one set time and some of the times are very late at night or early in the morning which will make it very difficult for the show to find a regular audience. I'm not sure what the thinking there is by Speed. My paranoid mind jumps to the conclusion that since in the past there has seemed to be friction between Michael and some at Speed that perhaps they aren't committed to making the show a success. They certainly haven't done a single thing to promote it in any way. But he does have the show. If they were so down on him I don't know why they would give him his own show unless they were contractually obligated to do so. But the fact of the matter is that as much as they'd like to deny it Michael is extremely popular as a driver and as a personality on Speed's shows so it would only benefit their channel to give the show a regular time that it airs and do some sort of promotion for it.

In any event, I'm really looking forward to the next episode in two weeks!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:48 AM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2006

Photo of the Day - Flowers

New Jersey Botanical Gardens, Ringwood, New Jersey, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)

Woes Already for Travis Kvapil and the #32 Team

Back in December when it was announced that Travis Kvapil would be in the #32 Tide car for PPI Motorsports I predicted that not only would the #32 team have trouble fielding a competitive race car for Travis but that they would struggle to make races which meant that being in the #32 might not be the best career choice for Kvapil since often people blame the driver when fault lies with the cars. Unfortunately that prediction has turned out to have some truth to it as the #32 failed to qualify for this past weekend's race in California.

I had thought when the #32 qualified easily on time for the Daytona 500 and was able to run mid-pack or better during the actual race until a blown tire ruined their day that perhaps all the hard work during the off-season by the team had paid off and PPI was finally going to be able to turn things around. But not having the necessary speed to qualify for this past race at a track which is much more similar than Daytona to the majority of tracks that they will be racing at is an ominous sign for the way the season is going to go for the #32 team. Missing the race puts the #32 team in 40th in owner points (43rd in driver points for Kvapil) meaning that they will have to be nearly perfect over the next few races to not only lift themselves in the into the top 35, but ensure that they stay there so that they have a guaranteed spot once the 2006 owner points becomes the way the guaranteed spots are set.

What's unfortunate is that both Kvapil and PPI may disappear from Cup racing if this season isn't a successful one for the #32. A few weeks ago I heard Kvapil do an interview on XM in which he stated that he felt that being in the #32 could be his last chance to show he belongs and that if he doesn't have a good season he may not get any more offers on the Cup level since his 2005 rookie season in the #77 was less than impressive as well. In addition, Kvapil also believes that if the #32 doesn't improve over the last few seasons the primary sponsor, Tide, may opt not to renew with PPI when their contract expires, which I believe happens at the end of this season. Since PPI is a single car team that could mean the end of Cup racing for them unless they were to find a sponsor to replace the #32 which might be difficult in light of how poorly they've done the past few years. It's a shame because everything I hear indicates that everyone associated with this team from owner Cal Wells to crew chief James Ince to Kvapil himself have put in a tremendous amount of effort towards trying to make this team better this season. But the odds for a single-car team that doesn't have a great foundation to build on may be stacked against them.

Of course it's way to soon to really know how things are going to play out. The #32 team may use missing this race as a motivator and qualify for every race no problem. They could go on to put together a strong season. But they can't afford to miss any more races and they won't have much wiggle room for poor finishes either because it's going to be essential that they find a way to get into and stay in the top 35 in owner points.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

Gary, Gary, Gary... Will You Ever Keep Your Mouth Shut?

The problem with Gary Sheffield isn't that he's outspoken - speaking one's mind is a good thing. It's that Sheffield has no clue when to stop talking. Not only that but when it causes controversy instead of standing by his words, understanding why it might have attracted some attention or clarifying what he meant, Sheffield often blames the media. Either they've misquoted or misrepresented him somehow.

Such as is the case this weekend when Sheffield wigged out about the way that he was portrayed in an ESPN segment about Sheffield's discussion with New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman about whether the Yankees planned on picking up Sheffield's option for 2007. Sheffield claims that ESPN made him look like a "two-year old" because they made it seem as if he didn't understand that when Cashman spoke in positive terms about the Yankees picking up the option, he made no guarantees. Well, I don't see how ESPN can be blamed for that. Sheffield spoke about being pleased about the conversation and implied that the option had definitely been picked up - more than one member of the media had that impression, later clarified by Cashman who indicated that while it was a positive discussion no promises had been made.

What gets me is how, as usual, most fans are excusing Sheffield's comments. Virtually every fan is focusing on his comments on ESPN and the media in general but Sheffield said far more over the course of several days.

In relation to his contract and whether or not his option is going to be picked up.

"Just like I said, tear up the whole contract. Send me somewhere else. It doesn't matter. I'm sick of it."

So let me get this straight. The man who last year said that he doesn't want to play for any other team but the Yankees is talking about how the team should send him somewhere else because he's sick of his contract and whether his option is going to be picked up next season? He had a positive discussion with Cashman. How about feeling happy with that, as it appeared initially that he was and then worry about next season after this season is over?

On Cashman,

"I trust him, but I don't trust him totally. I don't trust no one totally."

Which essntially means that no matter what Cashman and the Yankees say Sheffield is going to be mistrustful and paranoid about it. Lovely.

About some of the long-term contracts that his teammates have.

"Just like all those other guys feel comfortable here, I want to feel comfortable, too. Why do I always have to have my back against the wall and prove something to everybody?"

What's amazing to me is that Sheffield is in the midst of a long-term contract! How much more comfortable can the Yankees make him? Oh wait, he wants more money, as he's always complaining about wanting his contract renegotiated so he'll feel "appreciated", and he wants the Yankees to pick up the contract on him without even seeing how productive he's going to be this season! Odds are Sheffield will put up the usual good numbers at the plate but he is getting older and it's not unusual for players who are Sheffield's age to start to decline.

On playing for the Yankees in the future:

"You got to think about, 'Do I still want to keep putting up with this every year, or go play someplace where it's simpler?' Now I have to go make that choice. Since you can't appreciate what I do, maybe somebody else will."

Again, these comments are ridiculous in light of Sheffield's comments about the possibliity of the Yankees exploring a trade for him last season. Back then he flatout refused to consider the option of playing for another team, indicating that he would refuse to report and be disruptive. Now, he's willing because it might be somewhere that he would be appreciated (someone willing to pay him more than the Yankees)? And just exactly what is he putting up with each year other than being on a team that is in the post-season every year he's been with the team? If anything it's the Yankees who have to put up with a lot from him since he is constantly mouthing off and complaining.

Then Sheffield was apparently asked by a reporter about who had the upper hand when it came to his contract - the Yankees or himself.

"It's always in my hands. Trust me. I know how to get out of anything."

Well, he certainly was brilliant in the way that he ensured that the Yankees couldn't trade him by stating that he would be a disruption to any team that aquires him. That meant that no team would even show any interest because who wants to have to deal with that kind of a headache? So I have no doubt that Sheffield has any number of tricks up his sleeve that he could use to get his way.

I love everything that Sheffield does on the field. He's a tremendous hitter, he gives 100% the vast majority of the time, he plays hard and he will play through injuries. But I still wish that he'd shut his mouth once in a while.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Communication Problems for the #55 Team

Listening to the radio communication during the race in California from Michael Waltrip's #55 via Trackpass yesterday was really frustrating. And if I felt like I wanted to scream then I can't imagine how aggravating it must have been for those who were actually taking part. During the Gatorade 150 Duel two weeks ago I mentioned in this space how it seemed like the commication was a problem at times for the #55 team. I also got the sense that Michael was calling a lot of the shots and that I felt that might not be such a good idea. Unfortunately that trend has continued, only during this race it appeared that there wasn't any one single person making any of the decisions which was leading to confusion. It's essential for input to be given by Michael, by his crew chief and in certain situations by the spotter. They must work together as a team. But there also has to be one person to definititively make a decision on a gameplan, whether it's when to pit or what they are going to do to the car on a pit stop. That person should be the crew chief but Derrick Finley seems unwilling to full put himself in that position.

Maybe they've discussed communication in the past and Michael has expressed a desire to play a bigger role in the decision making than he did at DEI. Or maybe Finley is uneasy with telling Michael, who is not only the driver but the team owner, what to do. Perhaps he's afraid of stepping on Michael's toes. There is no doubt that Michael has an extremely strong personality and often seems to have a vision for the way he wants things to be. So some people might be somewhat intimidated by that, particularly if they are new to working with him. Finley is simply going to have to get over it, and Michael is going to have to accept his crew chief calling the shots. Yes, Michael should give a lot of input and yes, his crew chief should usually do what Michael feels is going to make the car better since he's the one in the car and best familiar with how it's handling. But there absolutely needs to be a more decisive decision maker.

I also felt like Michael was having a hard time making himself understood. At one point there were changes made that were different than what Michael wanted so that led to further frustrations. At times it seemed like Michael had to yell and repeat what he wanted a couple of times. I don't know if they were actually having trouble hearing him - there can sometimes be interferance with the radios or they misunderstood what he wanted or whether Michael wasn't strong enough in making it clear for sure that the changes he was suggesting were absolutely what he wanted. They've got to be sure to clarify that everyone knows for sure when Michael definitely wants something done to the car and when he's just throwing something out as a possibility. It could be very costly if the right changes aren't made to the car at the right time.

If a team has communication problems it can make things difficult even when races are going well. But communication problems can make bad situations worse. That they experienced a mechanical problem on lap one has to be an incredibly disappointing feeling but good teams are able to rally. While it was unavoidable that they were going to lose laps to try to fix this problem, in the future a mechanical issue might be fixable in a short period of time so that they lose only one lap or maybe no laps at all. In that kind of a situation it will be essential that everyone on the team is on the same page and able to communicate well. Good communication can be the difference between finishing a race in the top twenty and finishing in the top ten because it can lead to well-informed decisions that help a team get up front after a pit stop. Poor communication can lead to frustration, mistakes and other issues that can ruin a team's day. Someone is going to need to be the quarterback and call most of the shots - hopefully Finley - and their overall way of communicating with each other has to be improved.

I understand that Michael was very frustrated yesterday which probably put him in a terrible mood. Unfortunately when that happens he has even more problems communicating because he has a tendency to snap at people or close himself down completely. I adore Michael but that kind of thing only makes the situation worse. He might be angry about how the race has unfolded and not being able to make what he wants done to the car understood by his team quite right but snapping at his spotter, Ty Norris, or deciding not to talk at all for the last part of the race isn't going to make things better. In fact since there might be an issue with Finley's concern about stepping on Michael's toes, when he snaps at Norris that's going to make Finley be even more cautious - no one wants to be yelled at and especially not by the boss.

As a new team that doesn't have manufacturer support I expect that this is going to be a season full of challenges for the #55 team. They may struggle to consistantly run up front. However, they are more than capable of doing it. After some of the mechanical issues were fixed Michael's car was much better, unfortunately by that time he was already multiple laps down. But there is some hope that they will be able to have some good finishes. But being able to effectively communicate with each other is going to be key to overcoming any of the issues that do arise.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:36 AM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2006

Photo of the Day - Sunset

Aruba, September, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)

Sigh...

Y'know I'm all for folks being outspoken - I wish that more people were willing to put themselves on the line and speak their mind. But as I've said before just because you can say something doesn't mean that you should. Not to mention I never think it's a good idea to insult someone to get one's point across - White Sox GM Kenny Williams, I'm looking at you. Sometimes it just comes off as needless whining too - Gary Sheffield, can you ever keep your mouth shut about your contract? More to follow on those two items as well.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)

Today's Race Stunk

I thought last fall's race at Kansas was the most boring race in recent memory but today's race at the California Speedway outdid that snoozefest. When the commercials are more interesting than the race itself there's a real problem.

Matt Kenseth won but since I don't particularly care for him that victory did nothing for me.

Michael Waltrip had a dismal race due to mechanical issues on his #55 as well as communication problems with his team. That needs to be addressed and fast because poor communication will hinder even the best of teams.

Tomorrow I might be motivated to discuss this race in more detail but right now I'm just disgusted.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)

Shane Hmiel Meth User... Maybe

One of my pet peeves which I've discussed more than once in this space is when journalists report things without proper sourcing, fact-checking, or follow-up. This is particularly a problem it appears for some internet based journalists who seem to think that the standards are somehow different for them then they are for print or broadcast journalists. I've always thought that motorsport.com, a website that covers all motorsports, was a professional news site that strived to bring their audience news that they could rely on for accuracy. Until now. On Friday motorsports.com published an article by Linda Przygodski about Shane Hmiel being banned for life by Nascar which reported garage rumors that Hmiel has a crystal meth habit which is what led to his positive drug tests. Przygodski wrote,

Hmiel has long been rumored by garage insiders to have a 'crystal meth' habit - the most powerful form of illegal speed. It is known to cause depression, anxiety, delusions and psychosis with long term use.

Crystal Meth is a very pure, smokeable form of methamphetamine. It is an extremely addictive stimulant and causes excessive anger in its users. It was some of Hmiel's sketchy behavior and outbursts on the race track that raised red flags for people in the NASCAR garage.

After an incident on track last year at Bristol with Dale Jarrett, Hmiel gave a TV interview where he was slurring his speech, stepping on his words and highly erratic.

While Przygodski mentions that Hmiel having a meth problem is only garage rumor she mentions one of the symptoms of meth use, as well as behavior by Hmiel that might match up with a meth user's. It seems to me that Przygodski is offering that up as evidence that particular garage rumor is true. Many readers are going to assume that because Przygodski wrote about it, then it must be a done deal that Hmiel uses meth but unsustantiated rumors and Hmiel's behavior really don't consitute definitive proof that Hmiel is a meth user. Some will say, so what? But I believe that when it comes to making serious accusations, and accusing someone of having a meth habit is a serious accusation, that there needs to be more proof than some unsubstantiated garage rumors and that Hmiel's behavior might have matched up to that of a meth user.

Nascar has never publically released what substances that Hmiel tested positive for any of the three times he failed drug tests. Hmiel has never said what he tested positive for, nor has anyone else close to him. While there have been other rumors that it was pot or a legal drug that's on Nascar's banned list, unless there are people in the garage area who have direct knowledge of Hmiel as a meth user, then no one actually knows what he specifically tested positive for. It's possible that Hmiel's test results were leaked to some in the garage area, just like when Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for steroids, the specific steroid that he tested positive for was leaked to the media. But whether Przygodski has "good" information about what Hmiel tested positive for or whether she's simply heard a lot of rumors I think she has a responsiblity to ask some questions of those who might be in a position to confirm or deny that information whether it's from those at Nascar, Hmiel's representatives, his father or Hmiel himself if he can be reached. Because reporting a rumor about a serious issue that could ruin someone's already severely damanged reputation does Hmiel an injustice.

I also question making assumptions about what kind of drug Hmiel tested positive for on the basis of his outbursts and other behavior. Tony Stewart has been known to have angry outbursts - does he also have a meth problem? Of course not. But Hmiel's positive drug tests mean it's open season to speculate about what he might have tested positive for even though there's really no way to know for sure unless someone saw Hmiel using or has knowledge of the test results. There are quite a few legal and illegal drugs that can be abused that could cause erratic behavior, either while the user is high or as they're withdrawing.

I'm not surprised that many fans are assuming that because Przygodski reported it that it must be fact that Hmiel is a meth user. After all, if someone puts it in an article and posts it on the internet, it must be true right? Too bad that's often not the case - some sites, and apparently motorsports.com is one of them, allows their writers to publish articles without apparently doing the necessary sourcing and investigative work to ensure that what they are reporting has any truth to it.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2006

Another Failed Drug Test: Shane Hmiel Banned From Nascar for Life

Finally Nascar has made the right call on Shane Hmiel. There will be no more chances for Hmiel as he is now banned for life from Nascar after testing positive for drugs a third time. What's unbelievable is that this positive test came as he was taking part in a rehibilitation program that Nascar made a requirement for him to be considered for reinstatement after he tested positive a second time in June of last year. I thought Hmiel should have been banned for life after the first positive drug test because when it comes to people who drive for a living I think there should be zero tolerance for drug use. In Hmiel's case he got multiple chances, likely because his father is Steve Hmiel, a bigshot at DEI. But no more chances. Not even his father can fix this.

I'd like to say I'm surprised that Hmiel tested positive a third time but I'm really not. As I mentioned above I'm just surprised that it came under those circumstances because I figured that even he would be smart enough to realize that getting yet another chance to race in Nascar wasn't something to take lightly or squander. When Hmiel tested positive a second time I thought that was a sign that he had a problem that was a little more than just casual use. Unfortunately I've been around some people who have had serious problems with drugs and I've seen how it can destroy lives. Some are able to successfully go through rehab and through a lot of hard work stay clean. But unfortunately for a lot of people the lure of drugs is just too strong. That Hmiel was given a choice between drugs or being a Nascar driver and apparently choose drugs is indicitive of someone with a problem.

There are more than a few people who made excuses for Hmiel. Some close to him spread the rumor that Hmiel tested positive for a legal drug, therefore he was somehow being treated unfairly by Nascar because it was okay that he took something legal, even though legal drugs are abused all the time. Not to mention if something is on Nascar's banned list it's on there for a reason and he can't be using it. Some believed that Hmiel was being set up by Nascar who had a grudge against him, that he had never really failed the second drug test. I wonder what those people think now that they've heard he's failed a third drug test? There's no set up here. Simply a young man who couldn't fight off his demons yet again.

Aside from having broken the trust of all the people, friends, family, fans and those in the garage area that believed in him and supported him through it all, one of the biggest shames is that Hmiel is immensely talented behind the wheel. He could have been a star in this sport. At one time he was rumored to the leading candidate to replace Michael Waltrip in the #15 at DEI, now he will never race in Nascar again. There are hundreds of other talented race car drivers who would never dream of touching drugs because they know it could spell the end of their racing careers who will never get even a first chance in Nascar, let alone a second and hope of a third. It is utterly incredible to me that Hmiel took for granted that opportunity that he had, one that was going to be a lot cushier than that of other young drivers struggling to make it due to his father.

Maybe this will be the wakeup call that Hmiel needs and he will find a way to get his life back on track. Whatever he ends up doing it's not going to involve Nascar and that will likely be very difficult for him to deal with. I hope that he gets the help he needs and manages to find a way to stay clean - his life may depend on it.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:07 PM | Comments (0)

James Frey Loses Book Deal

Now that James Frey has been exposed as a liar and Oprah ripped him to shreds he's lost the big money book deal with Riverhead Books he had recently signed to write two fiction books. I can't say I'm surprised. While the controversy over A Million Little Pieces hasn't seemed to hurt sales of that book too much, I think it would be hard to market new material by Frey, even if they were in the fiction genre. I also wouldn't be surprised if the movie adaptation of A Million Little Pieces never sees the light of day as well.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)

Nascar to Slow Pit Stops in Truck, Busch Series

From Jayski's: NASCAR to slow pit stops in Busch, Truck Series: In an effort to increase parity in the Busch and Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR has made a move to try to slow pit stops. Busch Series director Joe Balash said NASCAR has decreased the diameter of the fuel-dump cans team use to fill fuel tanks. The smaller cans mean fuel travels more slowly into the cars, a rate of about one second slower, Balash said. Teams use two cans to fill the 22-gallon fuel cells, which means a full pit stop will take about two seconds longer.(NASCAR Scene)(2-23-2006)

This was first brought up as a possibility back in 2004 and I didn't really understand why they thought this was a good idea then and I still don't. Teams are going to do whatever they can no matter what to ensure they have the quickest pit stops possible. Two seconds slower getting gas in means they will look to save those two seconds elsewhere either by trying to get the crews to work even faster or by using some sort of strategy related to what else they do when they need to take gas. No matter what, the teams with money are going to pay good money for the best over-the-wall crew members and those that can't pay the price will have to make due.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)

Steve Park: A Year Later

Tonight the truck series will race in Fontana at the California Speedway. A year ago, this was a triumphant night for Steve Park and his fans, as Steve won the first truck race of his career and the first race since before his accident in 2001. Seeing the look of happiness on Steve's face in Victory Lane, a bigger smile than I've ever seen him smile before was an incredible sight! I was beside myself with delight and excitment and every other fan of Steve's was too. I really thought that Steve was going to go on to have a strong year and that the #62 would be in VL a couple more times before the end of the season. How wrong I was! But for that moment all seemed to be going right for Steve and his team and it seemed as if he had proven all his doubters who said that he wasn't the same since the accident wrong.

Fast-forward a year later and Steve's not even going to be racing tonight to try and repeat. It's astonishing to me. Steve has so much ability behind the wheel and if he's given a competitive car or truck he can race up front and win - that's fact because he's won in each of Nascar's highest series. So even though I feared that something like this might happen when the #62 team was struggling so much last season, I found it hard to completely wrap my mind around the concept of Steve not having a full-time ride in 2006. I guess it was the fangirl in me wearing rose-colored glasses, thinking that all of Steve's positive attributes would somehow win out in the end over the realities facing drivers looking for and trying to keep rides these days.

I'm glad that Steve will be racing ten races in the Busch series for Ted Marsh/Whelen Racing that's not the same as a full-time ride. I know that Steve has said that he's still working on putting something together for a regular ride in the truck series and while I really hope that happens I can't say I'm optimistic. The vast majority of teams are concentrating on what they're already got on the track and getting off to a good start so I'm not sure that there are going to be too many organizations with the time at the moment to focus on putting together a brand-new ride for him.

It's been said that the team he was close to a deal with was Bill Davis Racing but in looking at their situation right now I don't see how it's realistic to think that they could give Steve any more than a spot start here or there. Their existing trucks have some sponsorship issues - Bill Lester has Bill Davis Trucking on the truck this weekend - there's losing the Dodge lawsuit which may mean BDR coughing up $6.5 million and Bill Davis apparently is looking for sponsorship for the #23 Cup car so he can run a partial schedule with Lester and Mike Skinner. In addition, while I didn't hear it myself, it's been said that Michael Waltrip mentioned during truck qualifying or one of the practices last week that he might race a couple of truck races for BDR. So I'm not sure that leaves a place for Steve, especially full-time.

Then you've got Wyler Racing, the other team that Steve was supposedly talking to about a ride, at least at the end of last season. Jack Sprague finally got a full-time sponsor for his truck but Wyler Racing is still a very young organization trying to establish themselves. Since they didn't run the full season last year Sprague isn't locked into a spot for the first few truck races. So I think for now they are going to want to concentrate on making the #60 as strong as possible to ensure that Sprague is in every race before they start thinking about a second team. I guess there could also be a wild-card team that Steve is talking to, some truck team that no one would expect that wants to field another team at some point this season but given the problems that already existing teams are having with sponsorship and other issues, how likely is that?

So we've got a former race winner who is sitting at home right now just like he was for Daytona. Just like Ricky Craven, another driver who won in the truck series last season is. I've ranted on the unfairness of that before so I'm not going to repeat myself but I'm reminded on the sad state of things for some drivers at times in Nascar in a big way with Steve's absence from this race tonight.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2006

Photo of the Day - Piglet

Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. January, 2004.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:24 PM | Comments (2)

Tony Stewart: Not Just an Innocent Victim

Tiffany Myers writing for racingjunky.com says that she was at the Daytona 500 and that she saw a vastly different version of events than what NBC choose to show fans in relation to the actions of Tony Stewart on Sunday. According to Myers, Stewart is an innocent victim - that he was a target of his fellow drivers, that NBC and others in the media are out to get him and that fans have villianized him on the basis of "yellow" journalism. Nonsense. Tony Stewart is getting flack from the fans because he engaged in a style of racing on Sunday that he condemned other drivers for just days earlier.

Myers starts off by asking her readers whether they are aware that they might not have all the evidence when it comes to evaluating Stewart's behavior. But in the very next paragraph she decides that she's going to pick and choose which evidence she herself uses in her column. Myers says,

I am not here to argue whether or not Tony intentionally wrecked Matt. I’m also not here to argue whether or not such an action, if indeed intentional, was justifiable. However, what I am here for is to tell you all the events that conspired to form the breaking point witnessed during this incident.

Whether Tony intentionally did or didn't wreck Matt Kenseth is at the heart of why fans are so upset and why the media is giving this so much attention. How can one successfully talk about all the events that occured which led to fans developing an incorrect perception of Stewart but not touch upon Stewart's actions and why some might have had a problem with what he did? In addition, in spite of saying that she's not going to defend whether Stewart was justified in what he did, that's exactly what she does for the next several paragraphs!

Myers spends a lot of time describing what she saw during the race as compared to what fans saw on TV. How Stewart was "pounded and hounded from all sides." She says,

Stewart was shown little respect and instead given a whole lot of garbage to put up with every lap. His patience lasted for an admirable length of time (I’d have lost it long ago). He raced around and simply sucked up everything his fellow racers were giving him.

Hello, this is a plate race - the drivers bounce off each other all the time. Has she ever heard of bump-drafting? The drivers make contact with each other during these races on a regular basis, both intentionally and not, but part of the way they move forward is by getting a "shove" from another car. What Myers neglects to mention is whether the level of "garbage" that Stewart had to put up with was more or less than what every other driver had to deal with. The way she makes it sound is that Stewart was just minding his own business and every driver on the track went after him. Please. Stewart is the reigning champion and many considering him the man to beat on Sunday. Few drivers out there were going to pull over and let him go by easily. Another thing which Myers fails to note is how Stewart was racing them - was he going all out, also racing his fellow drivers aggressively? His style is often to race aggressively so why would he expect others to race him any differently? But above all I can't figure how Myers thinks that describing the "garbage" that led up to Stewart reaching his "breaking point" doesn't fall into the category of justifying his actions.

What's really incredible is that as she's ranting about how terrible her fellow journalists are, Myers, a journalism major, says,

A journalist’s golden rule is to serve as a watchdog of government and to bring people the truth in a fair and balanced way with an objective point of view. If sides must be presented, then the journalist must present all sides, not just the one they want to support.

Which is very ironic considering Myers seems to have decided that she's only gong to present one side her column - Tony's side. Then there's this comment:

I know Tony and those around him well enough to know that he is heartily sincere when he expresses concern over driver safety.

It's laughable for Myers to lecture anyone about objectivity when she apparently knows Stewart and those around him which means that every word of her column might very well be biased. It's also laughable that Myers talks about presenting all sides and then won't discuss the very subject which is of the most relevance to the entire issue - whether or not Tony intentionally got into Kenseth, as he appeared to admit to doing in a post-race interview, which is what fans are so upset about.

The vast majority of fans recognize that Kenseth wasn't innocent in this incident either. When drivers battle each other for position they often fight hard to hold onto their spot, as they should. That sometimes means that things don't turn out well. That I have no problem with because it's just part of racing. In addition, while I don't like retaliatoin and drivers deliberately wrecking each other, I understand that it's a part of the sport. Racing is an emotional sport and sometimes the drivers feel that it's necessary to send a message to a fellow competitor. What my issue is, and that of the majority of other fans who have lost respect for Stewart after this incident, is that Stewart, whether he was giving back as good as he was getting or not, drove in such a way on Sunday that puts him in direct conflict with his harsh statements on Thursday.

If you wreck another driver, which Stewart did to Kenseth, and there is intent behind it, as there appears to be with Stewart, even though he claimed afterwards he didn't mean what he said, then he is driving aggressively. The reasons for why he was driving aggressively are really irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that Stewart said that aggressive driving was dangerous and then just three days later did exactly what he was so concerned would led to the loss of life. The media isn't making this up. Stewart brought this on himself but his own words and actions.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:29 AM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2006

Photo of the Day - Chris Crumley

Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware, September, 2004. Two years ago I won an Operation Marathon auction to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp and what I won was one of the best experiences of my life - spending the day with Michael Waltrip's #15 team on race day. So I got to watch the race from the #15 pit. All of Michael's crew that day was exceptionally nice to us but it was also clear that they were outstanding at what they do. Chris Crumley was Michael's front tire changer then and he has since become a part of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s crew on the #8 team. This week Crumley was named DEI's pit performer of the week, a feat he achieved while changing tires with a hairline fracture on the knuckle of his left thumb. Ow! It's amazing what the crews do in the matter of seconds and I love watching them at work. The hard work of the crews often go underappreciated and I'm glad that DEI takes the time to single out the crew members who really shine.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)

Do the Penalities Fit the Crime?

Yesterday Nascar announced the penalities against the #48 and #96 teams for the violations discovered during inspection after qualifying for the Daytona 500. I'm absolutely astonished by how harsh the penalties levied against the #96 team are and how easily the #48 team got off! For being caught deliberately adding parts to the car to make it illegal because it was outside of Nascar's template, Chad Knaus was suspended for four races and fined $25,000 but the team wasn't penalized otherwise! Meanwhile the #96 team, who were found to have an illegal carburator, which Nascar admitted when they found the violation was likely not deliberate, had 25 owner points taken away, driver Terry LaBonte had 25 driver points taken away and crew chief Philippe Lopez was fined $25,000. All this for a carburator that wasn't even prepared for the team since Joe Gibbs Racing provides all of the engines and carburators for Hall of Fame Racing! Outrageous!

I'm trying to wrap my mind around why Nascar would claim to want to take a hard stance on cheating yet appear to let the #48 team off easy. This isn't Knaus's first violation either. It seems to me when there's a pattern of breaking the rules it's time for the sanctioning body to put their foot down and make it very clear that they aren't going to tolerate it anymore, especially from the same individual who has been caught previously. While I don't believe in conspiracies or that Nascar often favors certain teams over others it sure doesn't make them look good when the punishement given to the #48 team appears to be so weak. There is no excuse for points not being taken away but Nascar is certainly working overtime trying to justify it. On my way home from work yesterday I heard John Darby, the director of the Cup Series, give a lengthy interview to Claire B. Lang on XM during which he gave all sorts of excuses.

First, Darby claims that the penalities given to the #96 team were easy to figure out because they could simply look back at other instances of illegal carburators and penalize the #96 team in the same way they did those teams. Meanwhile, with the #48 team, no other team had ever been caught doing what Chad Knaus did to the car. So that made it harder to come up with penalities. I think that's a lot of nonsense. First of all, Nascar has never been shy about creating new rules and enforcing penalties as they see fit. There's absolutely no reason why they couldn't do something different in the case of the #96 team, especially since they didn't prepare the carburator themselves. In addition, if there's never been a case like what Knaus did, then Nascar can choose to punish the team in any way that they want.

Another reason why Darby claims that the #48 didn't lose any points is that Nascar apparently felt that they had to punish the #96 team as a whole beause they couldn't pinpoint exactly who had a hand in the illegal carburator being put in the car. It could have been done when the the engine was being built, it could have been done by a crew member as the carburator was being installed in the car, it could have been done by the crew chief, etc... Whereas with the #48's issue, they felt that all the blame rested on Knaus's shoulders. That's laughable too. Nascar has never worried previously about exactly who has been at fault. Back when Todd Berrier was caught cheating, the #29 team lost owner points and Kevin Harvick lost driver points, when it was clear that Berrier was to blame for illegal fuel cell box found after qualifying at Las Vegas last season. While the specifics of the two situations are different in terms of the specific infractions, both crew chiefs blatantly and deliberately modified their cars in a way that was illegal. So I can't imagine why the #48 team skates now when the #29 team didn't last season. Why did Harvick lose points for something he didn't have a hand in but Jimmie Johnson doesn't? Harvick must not be too pleased with Nascar or Johnson right about now.

Many fans are comparing what Knaus did to what Berrier did but Nascar feels that the two situations are completely different. On this point I can partially understand their line of thinking. Darby said that in the case of the #29, or the #96 for that matter, they had an actual illegal device that they could take off the car and hold in their hands. In the case of the #48, they had no such illegal device. Knaus had apparently taken a bunch of perfectly legal parts and put them on the car in a way that violated the template that the car needed to be in. Robin Pemberton, Nascar's vice president of competition said,

"In the case of [Johnson's car] it was all legal parts and pieces, the window and the jack bolt.It wasn't anything illegal about the pieces. They just were orchestrated in a way to alter the back of the car.''

It seems that in the absence of a clearly illegal part, Nascar had no specific rule against using those parts in that manner. So the only rule from their rulebook that ended up being broken was that the car didn't fit the required templates.

While I see where they're going with that explanation I still think it's a pretty lame excuse. The car was illegal - it didn't fit Nascar's required templates. If it doesn't matter to Nascar how the #96's carburator got to be illegal, then why does it matter how the #48 got to be illegal? If legal parts are used in an illegal way then how is that acceptable? If the end result of those legal parts being put together is that the car is in violation of the rules and it's by a deliberate act on the part of the crew chief, then it needs to be punished just like if Nascar found an illegal part.

What's really mind-boggling is that Nascar feels that the #48 team losing Knaus for four more races is a more severe punishment than the #96's loss of driver and owner points. Please! First of all just because Knaus can't go to the track each week doesn't mean he can't work on the cars. He can still go to the Hendrick Motorsports shop and set the cars up. He can still communicate with the team when they're at the track. It's impossible for Nascar to monitor all cell phone calls, emails and IMs of all members of the team. Not to mention it would likely be a major violation of their privacy. So while Knaus won't physically be at the track he will still be a presence.

If Nascar needs any more proof that it's not as severe of a punishment as they think, they only need look at this weekend which found Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team in Victory Lane even though Knaus had been sent home from the track. This isn't a team with a small amount of resources - they have top equipment and top personnel and have used adversity as a motivator in the past. The #48 team isn't suddenly going to become a field-filler because Knaus isn't at the track, especially since he can work on the cars during the week. They will no question still be contenders.

Meanwhile, a loss of owner and driver points can have major implications for a team. In the case of Hall of Fame Racing who only have LaBonte in the car for the first five races, they need to ensure that they are in the top 35 in owner points when Tony Raines gets into the car to lock themselves into the races that follow since they won't benefit from LaBonte's Champion's provisional. Losing 25 owner points could be very costly to them. Likewise in the case of the #48 team had Johnson been penalized 25 driver points that could be very costly to the team in terms of the Chase for the Championship. While it's likely that the #48 team will make the Chase easily, there is a tremendous amount of competition for a small number of spots and there are no guarantees. Just ask Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. about that. In a tight points race, the loss of 25 points could make the difference between a team making or not making the Chase.

What really gets me is that Darby claims that suspending Knaus for four races will send a message to the garage area that they won't tolerate infractions like this. Give me a break! Darby claimed that Berrier's punishment was less than Knaus's so they've made their punishments for cheating harsher. Um no - Berrier was also thrown out of a track and suspended four races, just like Knaus. If you compare the two, which Darby insists you can't, the #29 team was definitely punished worse because they also lost the points. So it makes it seem as if Nascar is taking a step backwards as it relates to sending a message about cheating, not forwards. If Nascar really wanted to send a message not only would they dock Johnson and the team points but they wouldn't have given the #48 car back the car that had been illegally modified and made them go to a back-up.

What's really astonishing, as someone pointed out on one of the forums I frequent, the penalty assessed against the #48 team is less than the penalty given to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for cursing during a post-race interview on TV. In that case Junior was fined $10,000 and lost 25 driver points. Think about that for a minute. Junior lost points for something that happened off the track while the #48 team lost no points for something that related to what they did on the track. Nascar had no problem coming down hard on drivers to ensure that they cleaned up their language but when it comes to cheating apparently they aren't quite as determined to really allieviate the problem. And with how widespread pushing the grey area of the rules and outright cheating might actually be Nascar must take a hardline otherwise the teams will be willing to take risks to gain an advantage.

Knaus and Hendrick Motorsports have opted not to appeal their penalties but not only is Hall of Fame appealing, but Joe Gibbs Racing is going to appeal right along with them since they were the ones who prepared the engine and carburator. In fact the statement from JGR states,

"We are responsible for any issues having arisen from the unapproved carburetor that was taken by NASCAR in Daytona."

I give them a lot of credit for essentially taking blame for the trouble that the #96 team found themselves in. I'm not sure that's going to make a difference to the appeals panel though since they may feel that there's no way to prove where the illegal modification occured, whether it was something done at JGR or after it was already in the car at HoF Racing.

Unfortunately what happens with situations like this is that the appearance that the rules have been applied unfairly means that it's very disheartening for fans and I would imagine other teams and drivers because it seems like, even if it isn't actually the reality, that some teams can get away with more than others. Nascar dropped the ball on this one.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:36 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (2/22)

This weekend Nascar heads to California where the trucks, Busch and Cup cars will all see action at California Speedway. As usual Michael Waltrip has a busy weekend as he will be keeping the broadcast of the truck race lively by being in the Speed booth during the race. Then on Saturday he will race the #99 in the Stater Bros. 300 and the following day he will race the #55 in the Auto Club 500. Michael is happy with the way his team performed at Daytona and hopes that it's a sign that they will be competitive at California.

“I’m pleased with where we are right now as a team. As a driver, you always want to win every race, but as a car owner you know that isn’t very realistic,” said Waltrip. “We were competitive at Daytona. I could tell we didn’t have the kind of car that could make up for mistakes. But it ran well in the draft and it handled really good. Knowing that we can make the car handle well gives me confidence that we can be competitive at tracks like California and Las Vegas.”

The pre-race report mentions more than once Michael's goal to at least finish in the top 20 each week. Some feel that's the wrong attitude to have, that they should set their sights on winning each and every week. But I think setting one's goals too high can lead to disappointment so I think it's better that they keep their goals realistic, at least in the short-term until the team isn't so new anymore. I have no doubt that Michael and his team are passionate about racing and want to win as many races as they can. But with how competitive things are in Cup these days that can be a tall order, particularly for a new team that doesn't have manufacturer support. I hope that Michael will finish much better than 20th in California but I'm not going to be upset if he doesn't. I think by mid-season this team might end up surprising a few people but I'd rather they do it quietly without boasting about how great they are like some teams do.

Michael will also be appearing on a new show for Speed in California as well. I've heard zero about this show in any way, shape or form so I don't know how Speed expects anyone to tune in to watch it if they don't publicize it but I came across it by chance while reading the Nascar TV schedule for this weekend.

• Saturday, Feb. 25 – DEBUT Tradin’ Paint pits NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip against a member of the media in a lively discussion of hot topics. Audience questions accepted as the show is done from the SPEED Stage Truck (9 p.m. ET)

I don't know whether Michael will be on every week or not but it sounds like a show with a lot of promise. Michael certainly isn't shy about expressing his opinions so depending on who he engaging in a "lively" discussion with, I think the show could be really good! What's funny to me is that last year Chris Long from Speed was saying that Speed was concerned about Michael being overexposed on the channel, yet they are putting him on another show, even if it's only for one episode. I wonder if that's because they got so much pro-Michael feedback that they realized just how popular he is?

Fans can also enter a contest through Yardman to win Michael mowing their lawn in the "Honey, Is That Michael Waltrip Mowing Our Lawn?" sweepstakes. The winner won't just get Michael, his pit crew and a professional landscape company working on their lawn but also lawn maintenance equipment and some Nascar goodies. In addition, the winner's neighbors will also receive lawnmowers, maybe to smooth over any potential problems from those in the neighborhood who might not be overly thrilled with the chaos that this would likely cause! It would be pretty funny to see Michael try to mow our lawn - it's so small that he would go up and down once and be done!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:45 PM | Comments (0)

Tino Martinez: "I Won't Criticize"

When I heard that Tino Martinez was up for a gig as a baseball analyst for ESPN my first thought was whether he was going to be willing to speak his mind openly, particularly about players that he played with or against recently. Tino is by all accounts a great person, but at least when the media was around when he was an active player he tended to be fairly reserved and didn't offer up a lot of opinions. So I wondered how that was going to translate on ESPN when there are times when they don't pull punches when it comes to talking about players. Apparently I'm not the only one who wondered the same. Neil Best, who covers sports broadcasting for Newsday asked Tino about his approach.

"I obviously know the game of baseball and can analyze games and the talent of players and stuff," he said. "But I'm not going to criticize players, because I know how tough it is ... Obviously, I'm not going to destroy a guy who's not playing well. I know what it's like."

So what is Tino saying? Is he never going to say anything negative about any of the players? Because if that's the case I don't think he was a good choice by ESPN to join their staff as a baseball analyst. Yes, playing baseball is difficult. Yes, I think there are some in the media who are too harsh and go too far in their criticism. But at the same time the reality is that players are going to slump, are going to make errors and in some cases misbehave on and off the field. Saying that the game of baseball is hard to excuse all of those things isn't going to make for a very interesting analysis. There are ways to point out flaws that a player has without being overly critical. It's a matter of choosing one's words carefully. Tino has always seemed to do that when he's given interviews in the past but there's such things as being too careful. The reality is that life isn't always flowers and rainbows and there's nothing wrong with pointing that out and discussing how the players might improve, especially since as a former player, Tino would know what he's talking about.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)

I Wonder What Else Will Get Swept Under the Rug?

Of course the controversy over Chad Knaus and the #48 team means that there's zero attention being paid to the fact that Nascar did absolutely nothing to the reigning champion, Tony Stewart, for implying during a post-race TV interview that he intentionally wrecked Matt Kenseth. This after they claimed last fall that they took a dim view of retaliation and drivers intentionally going after each other and would punish offending drivers harshly. Yeah, right.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

Just Because You Can Do Something Doesn't Mean You Should Do It

I say some variation of the above statement all the time. Just because you can say something doesn't mean that it's a good idea. Or just because you can post something on the internet and it would be hard for anyone to stop you doesn't mean that you should. In this case it's just because you are the editor of a newspaper and you can publish something doesn't mean that you should... or at least not without careful thought when it comes to a controversial topic. The New Times, a news and entertainment weekly, in San Luis Obisop County, California, decided to do a story on the increasing use of methamphetamines. Most newspapers would talk about the dangers of meth and the problems associated with those who make, sell and use meth. Not the New Times. In what can only be described as a stunning lack of good judgment and common sense, the article in the New Times actually seemed to endorse the use of Meth! Entitled "Meth Made Easy," the article featured a casual interview with a meth user that made it seem as if a meth habit is completely manageable as long as one doesn't let it get out of control and a list of "what to expect from your homemade meth" that actually seemed to imply that there are positives to using meth.

Naturally readers were outraged given that meth use is a huge problem in many communities. Even worse for the New Times was that advertisers were up in arms as well with some of them electing to stop running ads in the paper. Jim Mullen, the editor of the paper, apologized the following week claiming that they wanted to do an article that showed the dangers of meth use but had to take that tone because younger raaders would be turned off by an article that was mostly lecture. Well, there are ways of getting the point across without "sermonizing" as Mullen says he was trying to avoid. For instance, an article about someone who has had their life destroyed by meth, and there are plenty of people like that out there, could show the dangers of meth use. There's no question that Mullen should have used better judgement and he's paying for it now - though it's being said that he "resigned" I would guess that the paper gave him no choice.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (2/20)

Photo credit: REUTERS/Pierre DuCharme

I'm just trying to figure out where this camera person was positioned that they were able to get this shot looking down at the stage in quite this way - must have had a maga-telephoto lens! In any event, this photo kind of makes me laugh because I doubt it's very often that Michael Waltrip actually has to look up at anything! I've heard in the past that Michael has been backstage at a couple of Bon Jovi concerts so I was wondering if Michael knows the guys in the band, at least a little bit. According to the post-race report on Michael's site,

While all the drivers were invited to watch from the front row, it was Waltrip, that lead singer Jon Bon Jovi singled out. With daughter Macy on his shoulders, Waltrip was told “good luck” by Bon Jovi as the band ended their three song set.

I had noticed Jon acknowledging someone in the crowd as he was walking off and I was thinking that it might be Michael - how tall he is definitely makes him noticable!

What really makes the penalty for speeding coming off of pit road even more painful is that the crew apparently had pulled off a 14-second pit stop which is outstanding for a pit stop that includes changing all four tires. I'm really glad to hear that Michael's crew is capable of such good work in the pits - the crews are more important than a lot of fans give them credit for and pit stops can sometimes be a huge factor in why drivers win or lose races. If Michael has a strong crew to work with that will be an asset for him moving forward.

I give Michael a lot of credit for acknowledging that he messed up by speeding off of pit road. Even over the radio when he was informed that he was being set to the back he didn't try to deny that he was speeding or complain about how unfair it was. He simply said, "Okay" and went from there. In addition, I'm glad that the post-race report doesn't try to gloss that over either. There are times when the post-race reports from some teams are laughable because of how they leave out or creatively spin anything the least bit negative.

Michael had another interesting comment after the race.

“Our goal is to finish in the top-20 every week until we get our legs about us. We qualified poorly down here but we were very competitive in all the races,” Waltrip said. “The pit crew did a great job and I’m real proud of our progress. It wasn’t the finish that we wanted, but I look forward to California next week and seeing if we can get after it again.”

While top 20's aren't anything to write home about, I'm glad that Michael and the team are keeping their expectations, at least for the start of the season, realistic. The fact of the matter is that they are a brand-new team and they will need time to find their grove as a team. But beyond that there's no denying that with the lack of Dodge support, the equipment that Bill Davis Racing is giving Michael is likely not going to be as competitive as the elite teams in the garage. I will be very happy if I see more races like I did yesterday - Michael was able to make his way to the front and stay there until he made the unfortunate mistake of speeding off of pit road. If not for that error I think that Michael would have finished much better in the race, surely a top fifteen. Again, considering that this is a new team and all that goes along with it, I can't complain.

Last season Michael DNF'd at the race in California due to his engine giving up the ghost. So as long as he successfully finishes that race, he will be in better shape than he was last season. If he finishes in the top twenty, or hopefully even higher, than that's even better. 18th this week, maybe 15th next week, maybe a top ten the week after - baby steps to build on. If they create a solid foundation the #55 could turn into a strong team before we know it.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)

Few are Completely Innocent When it Comes to Cheating in Nascar

From the amount of outrage being expressed by fans far and wide throughout the 'net one would think that Chad Knaus is the only crew chief who has ever been caught cheating. Please! That is far from the case. Jayski's has pages specifically devoted to listing all the penalties levied against the Cup teams dating back to 2001 and just a quick look through those pages shows that many, many teams have run afoul of Nascar's rule book and have been fined and worse for having unapproved or modified parts on their cars. I have bad news for any fan who thinks that their driver is so saintly that they would never drive an illegal car or work with a crew chief who cheats - I would guess that virtually every driver has either driven a car that wasn't completely in line with Nascar's rules at one time or another or been part of a team that has been penalized for a rules infraction because their crew chief was pushing the grey areas of Nascar's rule book.

Kyle Petty, commonly considered one of the most honorable and upstanding members of the garage not only admitted that he has actively participated in cheating himself, sometimes without the knowledge of his crew chiefs, but also says that he believes that there aren't many teams who can say that they've always been completely within the rules at all times.

"I'm being totally, blatantly honest. I'm not saying I've always been straight up on everything I've done. I'm not sure there is anybody in here that can say that.''

Petty would not get specific on when his car was illegal.

"'Cause it's been too recent,'' he said with a laugh. "Not this year, though.''

Yet. As of race one of the season his car has been completely legal but if his car hasn't been completely legal in the recent past, it's quite possible that there will be times this season that his car won't be legal... and Petty doesn't seem to have too much of a problem with that. I would guess that the same is true for the vast majority of drivers - they are on the track to race competitively and win so I don't think they're going to complain too much if their crew chief finds a way to give them an advantage over the other drivers that they're racing against.

Let me be clear - I don't like the idea of teams blatantly cheating like it's been said that Knaus was doing. I think he deserves to be punished harshly for putting an illegal part on the car. But I also think that the fan outrage is getting to be a bit much. Yes, Knaus is a repeat offender but in my mind that shows that he's doing everything in his power to find even the smallest advantage for his team that might help them win. And make no mistake the teams are out there to win and they will do whatever they feel is necessary to achieve that goal. Different crew chiefs and teams surely have different attitudes towards what they feel is acceptable when it comes to playing around with the grey areas of the Nascar rulebook so I'm sure that not all of them would go to the lengths that Knaus did but there is probably more than one of Knaus' fellow crew chiefs who are applauding his risk-taking and creativity.

Furthermore, despite some of the public comments by a few team owners like Robert Yates about the hard line they supposedly take on crew chiefs cheating, I think privately they might feel a little bit differently if Knaus was working for them. In fact, Rick Hendrick, who owns the #48 team said,

"We want him, he wants us, Lowe's is happy, life is good. We're going to renegotiate. This was a little bump in the road, but we're going to put it behind us and go on."

Of course some are saying that's just because Hendrick is a crook who condones cheating but if cheaing is such a big issue for owners why are some of the crew chiefs who get caught cheating rank among the top crew chiefs in Nascar. Yates hired Slugger Labbe and Tommy Baldwin, Jr. Todd Berrier still has a job and there probably aren't too many crew chiefs who haven't been fined for some sort of infraction, though to be fair some of them are likely unintentional.

So I think that some fans need to take a step back and stop demonizing Knaus, Johnson and the #48 team. It's okay to dislike them - the #48 team aren't among my favorites either and part of the reason why is a pattern of blatant cheating that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's also okay to hate the cheating itself - I definitely have an issue about cheating that involves deliberately sticking an illegal part on the car. But to stick one's head in the sand and act like the #48 is the only team that cheats is a bit laughable.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)

Tino Martinez Signs With ESPN

Tino Martinez, a key player in the New York Yankees' amazing championship run of 1996-2001, has signed with ESPN as an in-studio baseball analyst, his player career apparently over. Though Tino hasn't officially announced his retirement, quietly, as has always been Tino's way, that's exactly what he's doing. Tino always said that he would like to retire as a Yankee and that's exactly what he did. Tino was less than stellar for the Yankees last season, hitting just .241 but he had an outstanding May which earned him a nod as Player of the Week after he hit .391 with six homeruns over the course of six days. Tino was also solid throughout the season as he ever was at first base. But it was obvious that he wasn't the player that he once was and I'm glad that he retired instead of trying to hang on

I'm sad that Tino retired. He was always one of my favorite players and the last active player of my three favorites from the magic years of '96-'01, the other two being David Cone and Paul O'Neill. While I love baseball and have other favorite players among the current Yankees, I'm not sure that there will ever be other players who captivate me in quite the same way that Tino, Coney and Paul did. There was just something about them and the teams that they played for that I admired tremendously. They might not have been the best players on the field or the biggest superstars but each one of them gave everything they had towards helping the Yankees win.

Tino wasn't re-signed by the Yankees at the conclusion of the 2001 and he ended up signing with the St. Louis Cardinals. His time in St. Louis was a disaster as Tino hit extremely poorly and Cards fans never warmed to him. It's strange because Tino was always a fan favorite in New York even when he struggled at the plate. But Cards fans never forgave Tino for not living up to their lofty expectations and were thrilled when he was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays prior to the 2004 season. Tampa is where Tino grew up and where he lives in the off-season and being in familiar surroundings appeared to help him as he put up better numbers for the Devil Rays than he did for the Cards. But at the conclusion of the season the Devil Rays weren't interested in re-signing him which opened the door for a return to the Bronx since the Yankees were unsure of what they were going to get from Jason Giambi and needed a back-up. As it turned out the Yankees got a lot from Jason and not so much from Tino but that was okay - Tino was signed only to be a bench player and he filled that role without once ever complaining about playing time even though previously he had always been a starter.

Now Tino moves into a new phase of his career, one that takes him into broadcasting. This year he will work for ESPN but in the future I hope he will eventually end up with YES. He'd be a fine addition to the broadcast team there.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)

More Thoughts on the Daytona 500

* I loved the Bon Jovi concert on the pre-race! I've always been a huge Bon Jovi fan so I was really looking forward to seeing them and they didn't disappoint! Bon Jovi is such a high energy band that they were the perfect choice in my opinion to perform before a race and they did a great job yesterday! The set list was "It's My Life," "Have a Nice Day" and their current hit "Who Says You Can't Come Home," which Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland came out to perform with them. I had to laugh because Jim asked as soon as he saw Jon Bon Jovi, "how long did it take him to do his hair?" It's true that Jon has very styled hair - I'm sure he has a hair stylist to do it for him, particularly before a performance that's going to be broadcast on TV. I have to give Jon a huge amount of credit for staying in shape and keeping himself looking great as he's gotten older. A lot of the bands from the 80's let themselves go and the results haven't always been pretty!

*Michael Waltrip was right by the front of the stage with his daughters Macy and Caitlin. I think he was enjoying the show but it was hard to tell since he was holding Macy the whole time so it was probably hard to move to the music if he wanted to. I had to laugh because at 6'5" Michael is tall to begin with so anyone standing directly behind probably had a hard time seeing but towards the end of the performance he put Macy on his shoulders so that must really have made it tough for some people to see! But it's not like anyone was going to tell him not too! Michael was shown quite a few times since he was right up front and I have to wonder if the rest of the drivers were also in the crowd as well. I saw a quick shot of Dale Jarrett who seemed to be getting into it and Teresa Earnhardt was shown a few times as well. I was jealous of Michael and family that they got to be right up front like that - I've never seen Bon Jovi live before and I really, really want to - it would be a dream come true to watch them perform from right up against the stage! I'm not sure that Macy is a big Bon Jovi fan though - she looked kind of bored!

*There's been a lot of talk about Michael forming Waltrip-Jasper and how many believe it's a company that only exists on paper and a complete sham. Of course there's no doubt that the points was why Michael entered into a partnership with Doug Bawel but it doesn't appear that Bawel is simply going to hand over the #77's points and then walk away from the sport. Yesterday at least twice Bawel was on Michael's radio and that told me that he's going to be involved with the team, even if it's only in a minor way. Since Michael is going to be fielding the #55 completely independantly in 2007, I think it's going to be a big help to him to have Bawel around since he fielded the #77 independantly before joining with Penske Racing.

*Some fans insist on calling Jimmie Johnson a "cheater" and how unfair it is that he won the Daytona 500. The funny thing is that the #48 car was probably looked over by Nascar with a fine-toothed comb on multiple occassions this week so it was probably one of the cleanest cars on the track. In addition, Johnson's not the cheater, his crew chief, Chad Knaus is. I highly doubt that Johnson had any knowledge that Knaus put an illegal part on the car. The only thing that Johnson knows is that his crew chief is going to do whatever he can to find them an advantage and no driver is going to have a problem with that. Through the years, countless teams have been busted for cheating, some of them violations at least as severe as what Knaus was caught for. If you call Johnson a "cheater" for what his crew chief did than many, many other drivers are cheaters as well and that is far from the case. The vast majority of drivers probably have no clue when there's something illegal about their cars, even if they get underneath the car periodically or talk to their crew chief regularly. Unless they go to the shop every single day and help put the car together there aren't many who are likely aware of all the specifics of what the exact set-up is mechanically. And they're better off that way so that they aren't put in a position where they might be parked for having had a role in cheating.

*Ken Schrader finished 9th yesterday. It's always seemed like Schrader is good on plate tracks but I also hope that this is a sign that he's going to have a strong season in the #21. I think most people have written Schrader off - he's well-liked but most seem to think that he has no chance of getting anywhere near Victory Lane ever again. I'd love to see him prove them wrong.

*Clint Bowyer was the highest finishing rookie in 6th place, followed by Martin Truex, Jr. in 16th place, Brent Sherman in 22nd place, Reed Sorenson in 23rd, David Stremme in 30th, Denny Hamlin in 31st and J.J. Yeley in 41st. I can't say I'm surprised that Bowyer did so well since he was third in the Busch race the day before - that indicates that he definitely knows what he's doing at plate tracks. Some probably see Truex's 16th place finish as a disappointment for him but he got into the wall early on so that's a nice job of overcoming an early problem. Sherman finishing ahead of Sorenson, Stremme, Hamlin and Yeley has to be considered a surprise though. I have a feeling that Sorenson and Stremme are going to struggle in 2006 so it might not be the first time that Sherman, a major underdog, manages to finish better than them.

*Casey Mears finished 2nd - outstanding! Since coming to Cup Mears has showed flashes of talent but hasn't really been able to be consistant. As the senior driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, I suspect he's going to be getting better equipment than he ever did in the past and I think he will likely have a career year in 2006.

*Quietly Kasey Kahne finished 11th - he desperately needs a strong season this year otherwise I think he's going to be written off as a pretty boy who is all hype. He's not - Kahne clearly has talent behind the wheel but he's struggled to live up to expectations. While Kahne is aggressive when he's racing in person he's incredibly timid and I've wondered more than once if his shy personality might hold him back. Cup racing is extremely demanding and difficult both on and off the track. To survive this long Kahne surely must have a strong will but I'm interested to see how he manages going forward, especially if he continues not to have a tremendous amount of success.

*Purely by coincidence Jamie McMurray ended up wrecking Kurt Busch. I'm sure there was zero intent there though likely some fans will try to make it out as if there was since McMurray is in Busch's old ride.

*Kyle Busch was the other driver penalized in this race for aggressive driving by Nascar. Most thought that he is the reason why there has been so much concern over bump-drafting and aggressive driving due to his crazy driving at times. It's strange because he actually dislikes plate racing so one would think that he might use greater care at those tracks but instead he's a wild man behind the wheel. It makes me very nervous to watch him and I'm glad that Nascar sent a message to him yesterday.

*Yesterday has to be considered a disappointment for Petty Enterprises. Hopes were very high with Bobby LaBonte on board and the cars seeming to be much improved over last season. However, both LaBonte and Kyle Petty were involved in wrecks which mean that both Petty teams DNF'd in this race. Definitely not the way that they wanted to start the season off.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2006

Photo of the Day - Brick Wall

Kittery, Maine, July, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)

Jimmie Johnson Wins the Daytona 500; Michael Waltrip Finishes 18th

First race of the season and not surprisingly it brings the first controversy of the season as well. But before I get to that, a week after his crew chief was thrown out of Daytona International Speedway for cheating, Jimmie Johnson drove his #48 Lowe's Chevy to Victory Lane to win his first Daytona 500. Just before a caution on lap 187 Johnson took the lead from his teammate Brian Vickers, and he was able to hold off several strong cars through a green/white/checkered finish. After the race Johnson dedicated his win to the "haters" which of course drove all those who can't stand Johnson or his team into a frenzy. It made me laugh. I'm not a huge fan of Johnson or his team's anymore myself but I always get a kick out of it when a driver who is hated is successful and proves that it doesn't matter what fans think - a driver doesn't have to be well-liked to be a winner.

The other big story in this race was Tony Stewart's behavior. I'm truly amazed by what Stewart did in this race considering the events of last week. While I think it was par for the course for Stewart in terms of his driving style just days after speaking out about bump-drafting, aggressive driving and his fears that someone was going to die as a result, he did exactly what he raged against - engaged in aggressive driving that earned him a penalty from Nascar.

Stewart's comments led to Nascar reviewing their policies towards aggressive driving at plate tracks and they warned drivers that those who appeared to step over the line would be penalized. I was pretty sure that Stewart would be one of the first to earn Nascar's ire - one because he's a bit of a hypocrite in speaking out about aggressive driving since that's sometimes exactly how he drives himself but also because it was clear that Nascar didn't want to get involved in having to police bump-drafting and aggressive driving so I figured they would look for a way to punish him for speaking out. So with that in mind I figured that Stewart, especially considering how badly he wanted to win the Daytona 500, would drive a smart race and be very cautious as to how aggressive he got. But he was involved in an early incident with Jeff Gordon that was likely both their faults but surely got Nascar's attention and followed it up by tangling with Matt Kenseth. That earned him the distinction of becoming the first, but not only driver, penalized under Nascar's new policy about aggressive driving at plate tracks.

The incident with Kenseth was particularly troubling, especially in light of Stewart's post-race comments on TV which seemed to indicate that he deliberately went after Kenseth. Stewart has a lot of nerve complaining about how dangerous some of his fellow drivers are and then possibly doing something to deliberately wreck another driver. That's inexcusable to me. I can't stand it when the drivers use their cars as weapons to begin with, though I understand the reasons why they do it and that it's part of the sport. But someone who chastizes his peers for dangerous driving should be sure not to engage in that kind of behavior himself. It's also unbefitting of a Nascar Champion. Kurt Busch took a lot of heat for things that he did last season from the fans while he was the reigning Champion, I wonder how fans are going to view Stewart's behavior during this race? They will probably excuse it given his popularity and overall likeability. Of course Kenseth is also a former champion himself and he didn't behave much better. He and Stewart pitted at the same time and coming off of pit road Kenseth appeared to be trying to get into Stewart - that's childish and Kenseth needs to control himself better as well. He ended up having to also have to serve a penalty, which was the right call by Nascar.

Pehaps this is a one-race abberation but I can't help but wonder if this is a sign that Stewart's attitude change that was so highly touted last season wasn't a permanent one. Over and over again we heard how Stewart is a changed man who doesn't let things get to him and doesn't lose his temper. Article after article and interview after interview talked about what a teddy bear Stewart has turned into. Well, today it appeared that Stewart let Kenseth get to him and that he lost control of his emotions in exactly the same way he used to before he went through he miraculous transformation. One thing about Stewart that there's no doubt of is that he's one of the best drivers in Nascar and he did an outstanding job of coming back through the field from the penalty. But this bears watching as to whether Stewart might revert to past bad behavior that earned him a trip to anger management classes.

One thing that I'm really surprised about is that Valvoline never ended up buying space on Kirk Shelmerdine's car. I figured that when the #10 car that they sponsor didn't make the field that they would buy space on Shelmerdine's car. It certainly would have benefited him since he apparently did really think he would make this race since he struggled to come up with enough money to pay for tires. It was only through the kindness of some fans who heard about his predicament and gave him some money that he was able to race today. So Valvoline could probably have gotten a good deal on space on Shelmerdine's car which wouldn't have worked out bad for them since he got a little bit of air time today and managed to finish 20th. That 20th place finish is like a top 5 or even a win for him.

Some would probably say that an 18th place finish for Michael Waltrip and the #55 team is a disappointment, especially considering how strong Michael usually is at plate tracks. And I'm sure that Michael had hopes of finishing better. But compared to DNF'ing in the last two Daytona 500s, a race that he's won twice before, and starting the season in a big hole that has been almost impossible to climb out of, an 18th place finish that puts him 19th in the points is pretty good. I have no illusions that Michael is going to have a stellar year this season since Bill Davis Racing equipment isn't exactly among the best in the garage area. But what I do expect is that Michael and the #55 team make the best of what they've got and that's exactly what they did in this race.

Michael had to deal with a bad vibration in the car at one point in the race and overcome a penalty for speeding off of pit road which put him in the back of the field when he had been running in the top ten. With help from some excellent pit stops, Michael advanced his way through the field and managed to salvage an 18th place finish - I really can't complain about that. If the BDR engines had more power Michael might have been able to finish a little better because he probably would have been able to pass a few more cars there at the end but all things considered this is a decent finish. Things may get harder for the #55 team next week at California but an 18th place finish is something to build on.

Overall it was a pretty good race to watch. I'm just happy that while there were several small incidents that took out some good cars, there was never a major "big one." I really can't stand the wrecks at plate tracks that take out 20 cars at a time - that's not racing, that's a demolition derby and I can't stand seeing that. So I'm glad that the wrecks that did happened, while they were costly to the drivers involved, didn't take out half the field.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)

Those Who Are in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones

I can't help but laugh at the comments by Robert Yates, owner of Robert Yates Racing, this week in response to Chad Knaus being caught cheating by Nascar. It's admirable that Yates has a zero tolerance attitude but how realistic is that really? Yates said,

"If the [NASCAR rule book] language covered that area ... gone. Just gone forever, because that's just stealing."

and in relation to his own operation he said:

"If it was [an infraction] with a clear rule written against it, and he didn't tell me about, because I wouldn't approve that, I'd have fired him, yes,"

I think Yates should be a wee bit more careful about making strong statement like that lest he find himself in the position of having to fire someone. I don't know of a site that keeps a running list of crew chiefs and all the times they've been busted for being in violation of Nascar's rulebook but both of Yate's new crew chiefs, Tommy Baldwin, Jr. and Slugger Labbe have been caught for infractions that have resulted in fines and a loss of owner and driver points at least once in the past, meaning that they were no small violations. In 2003 Labbe was fined $25,000, Michael Waltrip lost 25 driver points and Teresa Earnhardt 24 owner points for unapproved carburetor modifications after the July race at Daytona. Then the following year Baldwin was fined $25,000, Kasey Kahne lost 25 driver points and Ray Evernham 25 owner points for being in violation of Section 12-4-A (Actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 12-4-Q (Any determination by NASCAR Officials that parts and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform to NASCAR rules) after a pre-qualifying inspection found an unapproved spoiler modification on the #9 prior to a race at Talladega. Baldwin followed that up this past season by being busted under the same rules violations for an unapproved front air dam extension that he was fined $10,000 for.

I highly doubt that those are the only times during their careers that Labbe and Baldwin have made some modifications to the cars they've worked on that have put them in violation of the Nascar rule book. Sometimes they've been caught and likely at times they've gotten away with it. Given that all three of those incidents took place in the past three years, though before either man worked at RYR, it seems to me that it's not out of the realm of possibility that they might try to push the limits of the rules again. Yates made sure to say that if it were something not directly covered by the rulebook then the offending crew chief should only be subject to probation but a device like what Knaus put on the car should result in a life-time ban and if it were one of his employees they'd be terminated. So when, and I really think that it could be a matter of when, not if, Baldwin or Labbe gets caught doing something, because all crew chiefs try at one time or another to get away with something what would Yates do? It seems like Yates has forced himself into a corner where he would have no choice but to fire the offending crew chief.

Meanwhile the majority of the rest of the owners would probably never even dream of firing a crew chief for cheating unless the infraction was something so serious like the use of traction control. No team owner is going to be happy if his crew chief gets himself suspended but I have my doubts that a team owner is going to be too upset at a crew chief for trying to find an advantage over other teams.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (2/17)

Good thing that Michael Waltrip entered into a partnership with Fitz-Bradshaw Racing to get his #99 Busch car owner points to guarantee himself a spot in the first few races of the season. Because right now qualifying for the Hersey's Kissables 300 is underway and Michael is dead last so far with 34 cars having taken their qualifying runs already. There are 15 cars yet to go at the moment but I think it's pretty likely that Michael will be starting this race last. I'd say that perhaps there was a mechanical issue with the #99 that caused them to qualify at least a second off the leader's time but David Reuitmann in FBR's #12 wasn't much faster. I'd guess that Michael had high hopes for this race since he's outstanding at this track and I'm sure he wants to make the #99's struggles in 2005 a thing of the past. This, unfortunately isn't a good sign, but hopefully they'll find some speed between now and tomorrow.

Incredibly, when Michael races in the Daytona 500 on Sunday it will be his 20th career start! Hard to believe that Michael is a 20-year veteran of Cup racing. Of course Michael has won the Daytona 500 twice but his brother, Darrell, has also won the Daytona 500 making them the only two brothers to have ever both won the 500. Awesome! Michael won't just be racing on Sunday - he will also be featured in at least one TV commercial which will air during the 500. In a Domino's ad to promote their "555" deal, Michael will receive a Domino's delivery in his pit during a race. That one has been shown during the week but I understand there is also two news Aaron's commercials with Michael that I'm anxious to see.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:52 PM | Comments (0)

Kirk Shelmerdine Stands to Make Out Well This Weekend

I was very surprised that Scott Riggs in the #10 Valvoline Dodge, racing for Evernham Motorsports, wasn't able to race his way into the Daytona 500 yesterday. Though it appears that the Dodge teams may have some challenges ahead of them this season an Evernham team should be reasonably competitive. I also figured that Evernham would throw everything they had into making sure that their third team got into the 500. But it was not to be and Riggs is going home. But his sponsor might not be. Almost impossibly Kirk Shelmerdine was able to race his way into the Daytona 500 where Riggs wasn't and naturally speculation started almost immediately that Evernham and Valvoline were going to work out a deal to get Valvoline on the #27 if not buy the car from Shelmerdine completely to allow Riggs to race.

Shelmerdine certainly seems open to at least selling some space on his car to Valvoline or other interested sponsors. He said,

"The quarterpanels are open," said Shelmerdine, who smiled broadly and added, "the price has gone up."

Apparently just starting the race will net Shelmerdine over $200,000, money he will use to pay off his debts. His is a team with few resources, not many cars and only two full-time employees besides himself. He likely stands to make a lot more money if he works out a deal with Valvoline. I'd guess that some might not understand why Valvoline would want to do this - after all the #27 is unlikely to see any time up front. But the Daytona 500 is one of the most watched races of the season and the race itself is sold out. So that's a tremendous amount of people who would see the Valvoline logos. Any of the sponsors on the cars that had to race their way into the 500 made out extremely well yesterday because almost all of those cars recieved significant airtime, a lot more than they usually do. I would guess that Shelmerdine and Kevin Lepage will also get some airtime on Sunday because of how much of a long shot it was for both of them to make the race so Valvoline might benefit from being associated with the #27 more for this one race than they might have by being on the #10.

What won't be happening is Evernham buying a car completely for Riggs. Apparently Ray Evernham commented on Speed this afternoon that they have no intention on buying their way into the race because they don't think it's right to take a spot they didn't earn. While I commend Evernham for feeling that way on the other hand I think that it's not necessarily the best business decision as he has a sponsor to take care of who might not be so thrilled that their car is going to be missing the race. Particularly since they got into this situation because there was a gear problem on the #10 which meant that Riggs was unable to post a speed any better than 55th. So it's not like it's driver error - it's a mechanical issue. Missing this race will put Riggs, and the #10 team, in a hole that will be extremely hard for them to get out of. There's no way to get the #10 on the track but I wouldn't blame Evernham if he had looked into ways to get Riggs into the race.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:47 PM | Comments (0)

On the Cheney Shooting Incident

I usually avoid talking about anything remotely political in this space but I find the Dick Cheney shooting incident to be pretty troubling. It's not the incident itself that bothers me - accidents happen and that's exactly what this was. Perhaps a preventable accident if those involved were being more careful but an accident all the same. What troubles me is that the flow of information regarding this incident has not been what it should be. There is no excuse for the incident happening on Saturday and it not becoming known until the following day and only because the owner of the ranch, Katharine Armstrong, spoke to a local newspaper. That might be acceptable for a routine hunting accident but not one that involves the Vice President of the United States. I also find it disturbing that initial reports seemed to downplay Harry Whittington's injuries as no big deal when in fact they led to him suffering a minor heart attack and being kept in the hospital through today. Through it all the White House and Cheney himself, have seemed unwilling to provide much information about the incident, though Cheney did give one interview to the Fox News Channel. I believe that the free flow of information, even when it's in relation to negative news, is essential. I understand spinning the news but I do not care for withholding the news - and make no mistake, as much as the White House wishes that it wasn't this is news.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2006

Photo of the Day - Flowery

Posted by silverdsl at 09:45 PM | Comments (0)

Jeff Gordon Wins Second Gatorade Duel; Michael Waltrip Finishes 19th

Once again a driver I'm a fan of won one of the Gatorade Duels but I'm still pretty disappointed. For a while it looked like Michael Waltrip was on his way to a pretty decent finish which would have meant a good starting spot for the Daytona 500 but a late pit stop doomed the #55 team to a finish further back than they would have liked.

Jeff Gordon started this Gatorade Duel up front and there wasn't much of the race where he wasn't in the lead so he won in pretty dominating fashion. While his teammate, Kyle Busch and a few of the Roush cars made a charge at various points, Jeff essentially had this race locked up pretty early on after the first round of pit stops. That tells me that on Sunday Jeff has to be considered a favorite for the win. His car is clearly outstanding, he'll be starting from the pole and his team is on their game. The entire #24 team is probably anxious to show that last season's 11th place finish in the points, good for another team but subpar for this team, is an abberation. A win on Sunday would certainly make a statement. Overall, it was great to see Jeff in Victory Lane but I'm not as excited as I could be since Michael didn't finsh as well as I thought he was going to.

It was actually really frustrating for me to listen to the radio communication of the #55 team and watch the race, knowing that Michael has car that handles great but still doesn't have the power necessary to do what he needs it to do. There's no question that if Michael is up front and in the draft he can contend for the win. But if he loses the draft at all, he has getting caught up and needs help from other cars behind him. However, once he did get some help, he was able to race his way into the top ten, then the top five and stay there which was outstanding to see! A late pit stop put him in second behind Jeff Gordon but he was unable to hang on and drifted back through the field to around tenth place. I thought that might be around where he would finish which would have been great but just before the white flag waved there was another caution which set up a green/white/checkered finish. Michael might still have finished fairly well but I was stunned that Michael opted to pit - not surprisingly no one else did and he ended up at the back of the field, unable to finish any better than 19th. That's disappointing considering how he many laps he spent up front.

Back when Michael was with DEI choosing to pit in that spot might not have been a bad call, though it's always risky since there's no telling if others are going to pit or not. But when Michael was in the #15 he was in a car that was usually strong enough to make up at least a few spots, particularly at a plate track. But unfortunately while the handling of the car is excellent, the engine power doesn't appear to be the same as what Michael had under him at DEI. So he really couldn't do much in only two laps.

What was really interesting to me in listening to the radio communication of the #55 team is that it seems as if many of the decisions, at least today, were made mostly by Michael. That's in contrast to last season where Michael would give plenty of input but the majority of the final decisions seemed to be made by his crew chiefs, first Tony Eury, Jr. and later Tony Gibson. Today I felt like MIchael was calling a lot more of the shots from what they did during pit stops to when they pitted. Now, Michael is an extremely intelligent man who knows what he's doing and he should play an active role in the decision-making. The best teams are the ones in which they truely function as a team. Not to mention there is no better person to give input on the car and what to do than the person who is actually behind the wheel. But I think that Michael should be able to just drive the car and not have to worry about strategy and making decisions quite as much as it seemed he was doing today. It may very well be that he wants things this way - after all, he's not just the driver but kind of also the owner of the team as well. But I think it adds to the pressure of what Michael has to deal with if a lot of the decisions are on his shoulders.

Today was a very small sampling so moving forward in the rest of the races things could be completely different but I definitely sensed a difference in the radio communication of the #55 team and the radio communication when Michael was with the #15 team. Even with the spotter there was a big difference. Michael had an outstanding rapport with Joey Meyers who now spots for Martin Truex, Jr. Joey spotted for Michael during the Bud Shootout since Martin wasn't in that race and hearing Michael joke with Joey and then hearing the way he communicated with his spotter in this race - or didn't - well, it seemed like a pretty big difference. I suppose it's to be expected since this is a brand new team. They need time to get used to working with each other and time to feel comfortable with each other. So by the end of the season the great rapport that Michael had with Tony, Jr. and Joey might be there but I didn't feel it today. Or maybe it's just my overactive imagination.

I guess it's the last pit stop that's bothering me. Michael made the call to pit with two laps to go which really didn't work out so well because he ended up back in the field which led to the 19th place finish. I was really surprised that he opted to pit at that point because I knew it was likely that no one else was going to pit with him. Benny Parsons said on the TV broadcast that Michael came in to top off on fuel but I didn't catch that on the radio communication - if that was the case then it's more understandable that they would play things safe and pit. But at the end of the race Michael was apologizing for his team for not staying out and for having made a bad decision. I guess I just wish those decisions were more in his crew chief's hands so that Michael doesn't have to second-guess himself and question if he's doing the right thing. But perhaps this is just the way that things played out in this race and it will be different in the future.

Some of Michael's fans have expressed concerns that now that he's not with DEI any more and he's not aligned with a major team that he won't get as much TV time as he did in the past. I think a degree of that is to be expected. But today he was discussed more than once and that's more than can be said for Michael's teammate, if they really are still teammates, Dave Blaney, who wasn't mentioned once until he brought out the final caution. Granted this is a plate track where Michael always has to be considered a contender for the win so he figures into the storylines that TV is going to cover but I have a feeling that he's going to do okay for TV time as long as he's racing fairly well. Michael has a major primary sponsor on his car that buys commerical time and also two associate sponsors that are official Nascar sponsors. In addition, that he is going to be fielding cars for Toyota and how that develops should also help get him some attention. Though somehow I think Michael would be fine in this regard anyway - he has a way of getting visiblity for himself and his sponsors.

It was a real battle between the cars not locked into spots for the Daytona 500. In the end Mike Wallace and amazingly Kirk Shelmerdine ended up making it, Mike by racing his way in during this duel and Kirk based on his time during qualifying on Sunday. The way it all played out was extremely confusing but it left drivers like Kenny Wallace, Scott Riggs and Scott Wimmer shut out of the 500. I didn't really expect Kenny to make it in, though he raced his way in last season, because of how much competition there was going to be for so little spots but I was sure that the two Scotts had a good chance of getting in. Riggs is racing for Evernham Motorsports and has a major sponsor so it's hard to believe that his car wasn't better than it was. Unfortunately missing the first race of the season is going to make it extremely difficult for those two teams moving forward and if they miss more races it spells disaster.

Tomorrow brings Busch series qualifying and the Truck race - I don't know if I'll get to watch the truck race but I hope so because it should be a good one!

Posted by silverdsl at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)

Elliott Sadler Wins First Gatorade Duel

Two years ago Elliott Sadler was in Victory Lane after a Gatorade Duel to set the qualifying field for the Daytona 500 and history has repeated itself once more. By virtue of a great pit stop to put him out front, Elliott led 36 laps to win the first of two Gatorade 150s today. I'm a fan of Elliott's so I'm really happy to see him in Victory Lane! Of course it's not a points race so it's not the same as if he had won the 500 on Sunday but a win is a win. It's great for Elliott and his team that they've started off 2006 in one of the best ways possible with a win! The expectations are pretty high for the #38 team that they contend for the Chase for the Championship but they experienced problems last season that put them out. Maybe this win is a sign that they will make it this season - I certainly hope so!

There were a number of drivers who had to race their way in during this race - I was really pulling for Kevin Lepage. Last year he raced his way in when no one thought he had a chance in hell of making it. Well, not only did he race his way in but he finished 9th, an incredible finish for a single-car, independent team that has minimal personnel and resources. So prior to this race Lepage was interviewed and he said that he thought his chances were very good for making it. I wasn't as optimistic as Lepage but he did note that they have some help from Roush and Yates, presumably having a Roush-Yates engine in his car. Well, Lepage was exactly right - he did manage race his way in! When he got out of the car he was celebrating like he had won the race and I loved seeing that kind of enthusiasm and excitment! Odds are he won't be able to repeat his 9th place finish of last season in the 500 but he will be in the race and that's awesome for him and his team.

Unfortunately, good fortune for Lepage was bad fortune for Mike Skinner - it appeared that he had the second spot locked up but right at the end of the race Bill Elliott was able to race his way past Skinner to race his way in. That's a shame because Skinner is a teammate of Michael Waltrip's and it would have been good for Michael to have Skinner to draft with during the 500. Elliott would have had a spot regardless because he is a past Cup champion but he would only have used that provisional if he didn't make it in during this race. That apparently means that regardless of what happens in the second race Robby Gordon is guaranteed a spot based on his time from Sunday but don't ask me to explain exactly how that works because it's way too complicated for me!

There was one very odd incident in this race. There was a caution after Chad Chaffin blew a tire so under the yellow a number of cars checked up to avoid getting into debris. But Sterling Marlin didn't slow down in time and ended up running into and spinning Dale Jarrett. It appeared that Marlin suffered the worst of the damage but I'm sure that the #88 team is going to have some work to do to get their car fixed as well. What's most amazing to me is that when he was interviewed post-race Sterling admitted that the reason the wreck happened was that he took his eyes off the track for a minute to shut down a cooling fan and that's when everyone slowed down in front of him. First of all, I have no clue where his spotter was because he should have warned Sterling that everyone was checking up. But also I can't believe that Sterling actually took his eyes off the track to such a degree that he caused a wreck under caution. That's a pretty big oops that can't be happening. Sterling's probably kind of embarassed about that and he's going to have to explain further to Nascar as he was called to their hauler post-race.

Now comes the second duel which Michael will be taking part in...

Posted by silverdsl at 04:49 PM | Comments (0)

Chad Knaus Wants to Get Fired?

From Yahoo Sports via Jayski:

Knaus looking to get canned? By the way, a rumor floating around the garage says that [#48 crew chief Chad] Knaus has been trying to get out of his contract at Hendrick so that he can move to Evernham Motorsports, and that he might be trying to get fired to accomplish that goal.(Yahoo Sports)(2-16-2006)

I'm really amazed that Bob Margolis who covers Nascar for Yahoo would report this rumor. Okay, there may be talk in the garage area about this but it seems like a really far-fetched rumor to me to include in an article without any kind of evidence that it's true. There has been talk for quite some time that Chad Knaus might leave Hendrick Motorsports for another team so I wouldn't be surprised if there was some truth to that part of the rumor but otherwise I'm very skeptical.

First, while I'm sure that Knaus's bosses at Hendrick aren't happy that he's been thrown out of Daytona and will likely be suspended for three or four more races, I doubt they're too upset that he pushes the limits of the rules to try and find an advantage. He's far from the only crew chief who plays in the grey areas of the rules and many feel that is a desirable quality in a crew chief that they are willing to take risks and be creative. So I don't see Hendrick firing Knaus because of this incident. Second, it makes zero sense that Knaus would do thing to make himself look bad if he's trying to find a new job. If what he does at Hendrick is frowned upon so much that he gets fired then it might make Evernham Motorsports not want to hire him. If he really wants out so badly the way to go about doing it is by negotiating a buyout or some sort of deal between Hendrick and Evernham.

So I'm perplexed as to why Yahoo Sports would report this rumor as if there's something to it when it might be nothing more than idle talk. But that's not going to stop many fans from assuming that there's truth to it even though there's no proof that it's anything more than a wild rumor.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:48 PM | Comments (0)

Freedom!

Bohem C'est La Vie, a dog that won an award at the Westminster Dog Show earlier this week, escaped from it's cage at John F. Kennedy International Speedway and is on the loose somewhere in Queens. The dog is a whippet and is capable of running quite fast as it is a dog that is similar to a greyhound. Perhaps this dog wasn't too enthused about being a show dog anymore?

Posted by silverdsl at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)

Fitz-Bradshaw Racing - David Reutimann, Tracy Hines and More

Joel Kauffman is slated to be the full-time driver of the #12 Supercuts Dodge in the Busch Series for Fitz-Bradshaw Racing this season. However, he doesn't have much experience on superspeedways so Nascar mandated that before he could be cleared to race the first race of the season at Daytona he would have to successfully race the ARCA race, which took place this past weekend, to show that he could handle racing on these kinds of tracks. As it turned out Kauffman never raced in that ARCA race and David Reutimann, who drives the #17 for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports in the truck series, will race the #12 in Kauffman's place in this weekend's Busch race at Daytona. Armando Fitz said,

“Our goal this season is to give Joel competitive equipment and to build a strong team around him. Running the ARCA race would have diverted the team’s attention from the Busch program. We feel that we’ve got a lot of synergy going into 2006 – preparing a car for the ARCA race had the potential to disrupt that.”

I can understand that. Instead of worrying about trying to get an ARCA car together last minute for one race, focus on the full season Busch program that Kauffman will be a part of. However, it doesn't really make sense to me that FBR wouldn't do everything in their power to get Kauffman into the ARCA race so he could get cleared to race not only this weekend but at the other plate races later in the season since he's a Rookie of the Year candidate. If he's going to be missing races he's not going to be able to contend for ROY and he's also likely not going to finish so high in the points. I think it's an unfortunate way for a young driver to start off because he probably already feels like the odds are stacked against him and even more so if he's going to be out of his car at certain tracks unless he gets clearance for plate races later in the season. Of course he's not alone as several truck series rookies weren't cleared to race at Daytona as well.

During the truck series rookie practice the topic of Nascar having to clear inexperienced drivers to race on plate tracks came up and the way Michael Waltrip was talking it made me wonder if it wasn't that FBR wanted to concentrate on Busch, but that Kauffman couldn't even get clearance to race the ARCA race. And he would know since Michael Waltrip Racing is aligned with FBR this season. I'm not sure what the story actually is but it does make me wonder - if a driver needs to run an ARCA race to be able to run Busch plate races and they aren't cleared for the ARCA race then how are they supposed to get the necessary experience to get cleared?

But Kauffman's bad luck is good fortune for David Reutimann because he gets to make at least one start in the #12, and potentially more down the road depending on what happens with Kauffman. He's slated to also make some starts for Michael, which may come during some of the races that Michael is in the #66, since Michael's #99 is going to be running the full season. I think Reutimann is one of the drivers who is the future of Michael Waltrip Racing and I suspect he will likely be in one of Michael's cars in Busch or Cup in 2007 when MWR is fielding cars for Toyota. I've always liked Reutimann so I think its great that he's getting some of these opportunities beyond what he's doing in the truck series.

Otherwise, Tracy Hines and Carlos Contreras will be sharing time in FBR's other Busch Series entry, the #14. There was a lot of speculation among Steve Park fans that Michael was going to get Steve a ride at FBR in the #14 and I was pretty doubtful that was going to happen. I would have liked it to happen because as much as I'm not really a big fan of Armando Fitz or FBR, it was a full-time ride in a car that might be fairly decent since they will be running Evernham engines. But I figured that Contreras was going to be in the mix in that car so it didn't seem like the ride for Steve. I don't really know much about Hines other than that he was in the truck series last season and has made a few scattered Busch starts previously. I'm curious to see what he might be able to do in that car if he's in it with any amount of regularity.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:07 PM | Comments (0)

Offending Image Removed From Spamalot Marquee

Last month, Carla Collins, a model, sued the Schubert Organization and an ad agency because she claimed that an image of her was doctored and being used without her consent on the Spamalot marquee in a way that was "foolish, unnatural and undignified." Now the offending image has been blacked out, except for two hands giving the appearance that someone is climbing out of the darkness. Collin's attorney says that the lawsuit hasn't been settled yet but I'm guessing that with the removal of the image it will be soon.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (2/15)

On track activities continue at Daytona International Speedway today in advance of tomorrow's Gatorade Duels and this weekend's races. So Michael Waltrip is taking part in both Cup and Busch practice today as he is racing in both the Hershey's Kissables 300 on Saturday and the big event, the Daytona 500 on Sunday. I haven't seen any results from Busch practice yet but there have been two Cup practices today. In the first practice Michael was 45th which had to worry fans who are still concerned about the #55's lack of speed in the Bud Shootout. However, in the second practice Michael is listed at 12th on the speed charts which is a good sign that the car might have improved power as compared to in the Shootout. If that's the case Michael will definitely contend for the win on Sunday since it was apparent during the Shootout that the handling of his car was excellent. I was very encouraged by what I saw Michael do during the Shootout and tomorrow should be an even better test for what Sunday will hold for the #55 team.

Michael will be racing in the second of two Gatorade 150 Duels tomorrow. Fans have been spending a lot of time figuring out which duel has the greatest chance of resulting in a big wreck based on which drivers are in which Duel. I think there is an equal chance of either Duel turning out to be very messy. Both Duels feature drivers who have to race their way in and will be doing whatever it takes to get in. That may mean that some drivers are more aggressive than they might normally be to ensure that they finish better than the other drivers who have to race their way in. That can spell disaster. In addition, there is always the chance that even an experienced driver will make a mistake - Jimmie Johnson has certainly gotten a reputation recently for causing wrecks. So I think no matter who Michael is racing against in his duel, there is always the danger that something could go wrong. But I have my fingers crossed that this year will bring a repeat of last year where Michael ended up in Victory Lane in 2005 at the end of his Gatorade Duel.

Otherwise, although Michael expressed concern about the increased aggression on the track as well as with bump-drafting in the most recent edition of Inside Nextel Cup he doesn't seem thrilled with Nascar's solution to the problem.

"That's going to be really arbitrary to police because even the most sublime bump drafts at a time when a guy's getting ready to make a move in another direction can result in sending a guy out of control. It seems to me it would have to result in a crash before (NASCAR) could react. If you bump draft going straight really hard, that's OK. You have to know the other guy is going to continue in a straight line. Even if you barely bump draft him, it would cause a crash if he's starting to make a move.''

I think Michael makes an excellent point in that while Nascar is seeking to address the bump-drafts that occur in inappropriate places on the track, it's possible that even a fairly mild bump-draft might cause another driver to wreck depending on what move they are making. So Nascar might end up penalizing drivers for causing wrecks when they really didn't do anything wrong. That's something that troubles me. Fans and the media are very fond of assigning blame when there's a wreck. But my way of looking at it is that while sometimes there is fault in a wreck, often it's simply a matter of circumstances coming together in such a way that a wreck happens. In that a driver makes a move that might be fine at a different point in the race but given the circumstances could result in disaster. So I don't really like the idea of Nascar doing what might amount to blaming or penalizing a driver for a wreck. Sometimes things just happen and there really isn't any fault per say. It's going to be interesting to see how this all evolves and what effect it has on the racing.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)

Kyle Petty Fined by Dodge For Helping Kevin Harvick

I find this appalling - in August of 2004 during the Sharpie 500 at Bristol, Kevin Harvick experienced a loss of feeling in one of his arms so bad that he was forced to get out of the car. No driver ever wants to get out of their car during a race so it was obvious that it was a very serious problem. Nascar's rules allow a relief driver for situations like that in which a driver takes ill so Kyle Petty who had been forced out the race early due to a wreck stepped in to drive Kevin's car for the remainder of the race. One driver helping another - great story right? Well, not so great according to Dodge. See the problem is that Kevin's car is a Chevy and Kyle drives Dodges. So Dodge decided that it was a violation of the contract they have with Kyle and fined him $45,000!

Ridiculous. I understand that Dodge needs to protect their interests and they don't want to open the door to their drivers feeling free to race for other manufacturers but they could have simply sent an official letter or made a phone call to Kyle expressing their concerns. A fine seems excessive especially when all Kyle was doing was helping out a fellow driver in an emergency situation. Kyle said,

"Initially it was a shock just because that's just a given in the sport - if a driver is down, everybody rallies and tries to help him out. Kevin was sick; Kevin felt bad, so I drove the car.

That everyone in the garage area rallies around someone in need is one of the best things about this sport. At least once a season there is a situation where one driver relieves another and there are many other instances where people in the garage area do things to help each other regardless of what team they drive or work for, what manufacturer they are associated with or who their sponsors are. I think it's a very bad sign about the direction the sport is going in if drivers have to think twice about helping each other out.

John Fernandez, the director of motorsports operations for Dodge said,

"That was definitely a violation of the contract, and I think we took appropriate action. If you know the history of the sport, 10 years ago, that would be acceptable. These days it is not acceptable."

One person helping another person should always be acceptable. I think it's a sad day that a manufacturer is so concerned with appearances and contracts that they are overlooking the human element - that Kyle did something charitable, something good, not for his own personal gain, but as a favor to help another team and driver. A driver, it should be mentioned, who has done a tremendous amount for the Victory Junction Gang Camp that the Pettys run which was probably even more of a reason why Kyle would want to help him. It boggles my mind that a friend helping another friend is subject to a fine.

I have no problem with the sport changing - it's impossible for things to stay the same as they were ten years ago. But this is not a change for the better.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:48 PM | Comments (0)

Nascar Forced to Regulate Bump-Drafting

After the finish of the Bud Shootout, reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart had harsh words about bump-drafting during a post-race interview on TNT. He said,

"We're going to kill somebody. Someone else is going to die at Daytona or Talladega with what we are doing here, I hope I'm not around when it happens."

His comment was followed by this one from Dale Earnhardt, Jr., which was also broadcast on TNT.

"It's not necessarily what you want to be in the middle of, but it's a necessary evil. You can't race restrictor plate racing without doing it. You have to do it or else we'd be single file and no one would watch that, it's just dangerous."

Claire B. Lang also played some comments during her afternoon show on XM that Jeff Gordon made to the media prior to the Shootout, that also expressed concern over the way that bump-drafting has evolved and that while it is necessary at plate tracks, it's not being done in a way that is completely comfortable for all the drivers. Junior, Stewart and Gordon are the three most prominent drivers in the sport and their comments were echoed by Michael Waltrip, Ken Schrader and Brian Vickers on Inside Nextel Cup, one of Speed's most highly watched shows. So the issue of bump-drafting and how it is being done more aggressively and carelessly in places on the track where it shouldn't be done was made into a topic of conversation for the media and fans, particularly in light of the blunt way that Stewart spoke his mind. So Nascar was forced to take notice, address the driver's concerns and take action, even though they really didn't want to.

Starting with tomorrow's Gatorade Duels, Nascar will be posting spotters around the track in so-called "no zones" where bump-drafting will be frowned upon. The idea is not to eliminate bump-drafting all together but rather to make the drivers use more caution about when, where and how they bump-draft. If Nascar deems that a bump-draft is unnecessary, presumably if it occurs in a "no zone," then they might choose to penalize a driver. Based on what I heard during the media event at which this was announced that was played on XM, I don't think Nascar has a set plan about how the penalities are going to work. So I would guess that there will be warnings issued, drivers made to serve pass-through penalties on pit road, drivers parked for a couple of laps or drivers black-flagged depending on how serious the offense is deemed to be and whether they are a repeat offender in that race.

Will this really help eliminate the problem of over aggressive bump-drafting? I don't think so, at least not at first. There are still going to be plenty of drivers who are going to want to push the limits and see how far they can go. In addition, it may be hard for some drivers to change their driving style if they've gotten used to one way of driving at plate tracks, especially if it's worked successfully for them. But what I think it might do, especially if Nascar does hand out some penalties, is that it might make some drivers think more carefully about the manner in which they bump-draft and in which areas on the track they do it in. That would be a good thing. Nascar is likely hoping that the drivers will sort the problem out among themselves to a degree with the fear of penalties being enough to cut down on the worst of the bump-drafting to the point where they won't have to get involved.

And it really is obvious that Nascar didn't want to have to step in but they feel that they have no choice. Robin Pemberton, Nascar's president of competition said,

"We've talked to the competitors about the problem and we may be put in the position that we have to make some calls that we really don't want to make."

I think a big problem for Nascar is that calls about bump-drafting are going to be complete judgement calls. It's not a black and white call like a rule about the template of the cars or speeding on pit road. Nascar is going to have to decide whether a bump-draft was appropriate and necessary. What the drivers might think is acceptable might be completely different from what Nascar might think is acceptable. And they may opt to punish one driver and not another for similar behavior. That's going to lead to controversy and unhappy drivers and fans. There's no way around that.

I also think that the process by which Nascar enforces the guidelines as it relates to bump-drafting is likely to change from race-to-race as things evolve. That's to be expected as well given how subjective this is going to be. Nascar may decide that the way they penalized for bump-drafting or how they enforced it during the Duels isn't the way they should do it during this weekend's races. So I think that's going to upset some fans as well since they have a difficult time when rules are changed mid-stream.

But I don't think Nascar had any choice but to step in. Aside from the safety concerns, when it's made an issue in the media, especially by the sport's most visible drivers, it becomes something that they have to address. Recently there has been much discussion over who has stepped up after Dale Earnhardt, Sr.'s death to be the voice of the drivers and make things happen with Nascar. I can't help but notice how masterfully the drivers orchestrated Nascar seriously taking a look at this issue. Stewart of course should get a lot of credit for that since he spoke his mind so openly and honestly but I think a number of others latched on to his comments and ran with it. So it appears that the drivers can get something done, but it may be that there is no single driver who makes things happen himself.

What this is all leading up to is a change in the front-bumpers on the cars so that they are softer, thus making it harder for the drivers to bump-draft without damaging the nose of the cars. Nascar is currently working on a soft bumper for the plate cars at their research and development center and that's what I think will really reduce the hard or slam-drafting that has so many of the drivers so concerned. No driver will want to do something that would damage their car and decrease their chances of a good finish.... though funny how some of the drivers who are the worst offenders when it comes to overly aggressive bump-drafting don't seem to care if they start a huge wreck which could take themselves and many of their competitors out of the race. But down the road I think the softer bumper is the way to go and a much better solution than putting Nascar in the position of having to make even more judgement calls then they already do.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2006

The Penalty Should Fit the Crime

I'm just as displeased as anyone else that Chad Knaus and the #48 team were caught cheating this past weekend but I think some fans are overreacting. Left and right I'm seeing fans say that they think that Jimmie Johnson shouldn't be allowed to race in the Daytona 500, that Knaus should be suspended for a year or even that he should be banned from Nascar completely forever. But let's put things in perspective. Every year numerous teams get caught for various infractions, some of which are simply pushing the rules, others that are outright cheating. While there are often penalties handed out in the form of fines, points being deducted and sometimes crew chiefs and team members getting suspended I can't remember an instance in which a crew chief has been banned from the sport for a year or forever. Even after testing positive for drugs twice Shane Hmiel wasn't banned from the sport forever! Furthermore, the illegal part was on the car for qualifying not for the actual race. Yes, it's a serious offense but is trying to get away with something for qualifying the same as being caught altering the car illegally for the race? I don't think so.

While I think that Knaus and the #48 team need to be penalized for illegally altering the car, I don't think parking the team for the Daytona 500 is the right way to go. First of all that punishes both Jimmie Johnson and his sponsors when it's likely that they knew nothing about the cheating. If Nascar could prove that Johnson and Lowe's had a hand in the cheating that might be a different story but it seems excessive to punish them so serverely for something that they didn't do. Johnson could face having points taken away so he might be punished anyway it doesn't feel right to me that he should be punished even harsher than that. Drivers have used their cars as a weapon against each other, thrown things at each other and misbehaved in all sorts of ways without being suspended. Teams have shown up with whole cars that don't meet the templates and still been allowed to race (with a back-up). I think parking a team needs to be saved for situations where the behavior and the infraction is so great that there is no other choice.

However, suspensions, fines and the loss of points doesn't seem to stop teams from cheating. Especially Knaus. This is the seventh time that he's been busted for breaking the rules. So while I'm not sure that Knaus was intentionally cheating in all of those instances, it seems as if there needs to be more of a detterent than the four races he is likely to be suspended for. David Poole, writing for the Charlotte Observer, has good suggestions for what the penalties for the #48 and #96, the other team caught breaking the rules this weekend, should be.

Poole thinks that Nascar shouldn't allow Johnson to race the primary car that the team had illegally altered and instead force the team to go to their back-up car. I agree with that. The #48 team might be able to bring that car into compliance with Nascar's rules but it's still a car that was made illegal by the team. This way the team is allowed to race but they do so with a car that presumably hasn't had any illegal parts put on it. I'm sure Nascar would go over the back-up car with a fine-toothed comb to make sure there isn't anything fishy about it and keep a careful eye on the car after it goes through inspection. Apparently, this is something that Nascar is considering but they haven't made a final decision on what they will do. That decision will have to be made prior to the 150 Duel on Thursday that Johnson is going to be participating in.

As far as the #96 team goes, Poole believes that they should forfit the right to use Terry LaBonte's champion's provisional and that they should have to race their way in via the 150 duel. I think that's pretty fair as well. While again, LaBonte likely had no idea that the carburator on his car was in violation of Nascar's rules, that seems like a good way to penalize the team for funny business during qualifying. That way not only is their time thrown out but also their guaranteed spot. It's unfortunate that kind of penalty can't be assessed against the #48 team because I think that's the kind of punishment that would send a message and make teams think twice about cheating. The guaranteed spots are like gold and no team would want to do anything to jeapardize that.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)

Teresa Earnhart: Unlikely the #3 Will Run Again in Nascar

Not too long ago Dale Earnhardt, Jr. expressed his desire to race in the #3, the car his father drove before he died in a wreck during the 2001 Daytona 500. Junior told Nascar.com's Marty Smith,

"I really think that'll happen. I've informally talked to Richard (Childress), just so he knew I wanted to do that. I'll drive the No. 3 car toward the end of my career if I've done what I wanted to do at DEI, and that's win championships and win races. And I'll stick around as long as it takes to do it."

That sounds pretty clear to me that Junior has every intention of one day down the road driving the #3 and that he's already taken informal steps towards making that a reality.

However, Teresa Earnhardt, Dale, Sr.'s widow and Junior's step-mother feels differently about whether the #3 should be raced again and said the following in an interview to be aired tonight on Speed,

"Contrary to popular belief, everyone cannot be replaced. Legends live on forever. I don't think the No. 3 will ever be driven by anyone else."

From the sounds of it I think in the future there is going to be quite a battle, and perhaps not a pretty one, between Teresa and Junior, especially since Junior has also recently talked about how years in the future he'd also like to run DEI, which is what Teresa currently does. I don't know how Teresa feels about Junior running DEI but it's obvious that she doesn't think that he or anyone should ever get behind the wheel of the #3 in a race again. I think that's an unfortunate attitude because either Junior or Kerry Earnhardt racing the #3 would be a very fitting tribute to their father.

What I'm wondering is what Richard Childress feels about all of this. He's the one who actually owns the rights to the #3 at the moment. So he can decide what to do with it, including let Junior or someone else drive it, even against Teresa's wishes. However, Nascar actually owns all of the numbers and if they decided that no one else should ever race the #3 again they could probably deny Childress from renewing the number as he likely has to do each year. If that were to happen there would be nothing that Childress or Junior could do about it. I think that would be unfortunate because based on the comments that Junior has made over the years I think it would mean a great deal to him to race the #3.

So unless all parties can quietly come to some kind of agreement I sense that years from now there could be quite a war of words, and maybe even a legal battle over this issue.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:53 PM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2006

Photo of the Day - Flower

Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, 2002.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

Chad Knaus Ejected From Speedweeks

I can't say I feel sorry for Chad Knaus in the least for being ejected from Daytona International Speedway and prohibited from taking part in activities leading up to the Daytona 500. As I've said previously, I have no problem with the crew chiefs pushing the limits of the rules but deliberately putting an illegal device on the car that raises the height of the rear window to help the areodynamics of the car is outright cheating. I'm really puzzled by why Knaus and the team would try to get away with something as blatant as that considering how important this race is. Now the #48 team is without their crew chief for the Daytona 500. I'm sure that Darian Grubb, who is normally the lead engineer for the #48 and #24 teams, will do a fine job filling in for Knaus. But given how long Jimmie Johnson and Knaus have been working together it won't be quite the same.

Kevin Harvick was quoted as saying,

"There's a little bit of a double standard. There's probably a reason why Chad Knaus maybe has been brown-nosing too much. I don't know. Maybe we need to brown-nose a little more."

I would guess that Harvick made those comments when it had just been announced that Knaus was being sent home from Daytona prior to news that Nascar is likely to suspend Knaus for the races at California and Las Vegas. If that doesn't happen or if there are no other penalties against Knaus and the #48 team such as fines and/or the loss of points I can understand why it might be a double-standard. But being thrown out of the track in advance of one of the most prestigious and important races of the season and facing a suspension for the following few races doesn't seem like getting off easy to me.

Nascar's spokesman Jim Hunter said,

"There are gray areas we expect teams to exploit. We know everybody is looking for every little advantage. But when these templates don't fit, they don't fit. It's not fair to the other competitors to let one team get way with it.''

Of course a lot of fans are going to say that the #48 team, as well as the other Hendrick teams, are allowed to get away with a lot of things. But that Chad Knaus and other Hendrick teams have been caught for various infractions the past couple of years indicates that Nascar isn't letting the Hendrick teams get away with much. In fact, one might want to take a look at the other teams who haven't gotten busted for much recently - maybe those teams are the ones getting away with something. Actually, in reality it's likely that the other teams understand the limits of the rules and how far to push the grey area a little better than Knaus does. Or they aren't as willing to take risks as he does.

I'm glad that Nascar took a strong stance with Knaus. I have no doubt that there are other teams at Speedweeks trying to get away with things. But no team should be allowed to have an illegal advantage over another and if Nascar doesn't make it clear that they won't tolerate cheating, crew chiefs will run wild throwing all sorts of illegal parts on their cars and trucks.

Posted by silverdsl at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2006

Photo of the Day - Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, August, 2001. There are many fountains at Longwood Gardens but this one was among the most unusual.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)

Update: Johnson Officially Disqualified, Also Terry LaBonte, NOT Burton

Speed did polesitter Jeff Burton, as well as Jeff Gordon a major disservice tonight as they reported that Nascar was checking Burton's engine for a potential problem and also looking closely at Gordon's car. However, as it turns out that was apparently just part of a standard post-even inspection and there was no problem with either car. But there are going to be quite a few fans who are going to assume that the #31 and #24 teams were cheating and might even believe that even if nothing more is said about those two teams because they will think that Nascar opted to look the other way. Given how quickly rumors spread these days I think Speed needs to do a better job of ensuring that the information they report on air is accurate. It's essential to ask follow-up questions, confirm information they are hearing from sources and check with someone in an official position with Nascar. Yet Bob Dillner chose to report what he was hearing in the garage area before knowing whether it was actually factually correct or not. As it turned out there were teams DQ'd tonight but not the #31 or #24.

Jimmy Johnson's qualifying time was in fact thrown out but not because of an illegal traction control device as was reported in Jayski's. That's another media outlet which did a team a disservice because there is a big difference between a part that Nascar might park a team for possessing and a part that altered the back window of Johnson's car. Both illegal parts, yes and both a form of cheating, especially since the part was added to Johnson's car after the post-qualifying inspection but there is a difference. I can understand the rush to be one of the first to break news but I think it's essential that news be reported accurately. To Jayski's credit he has been quick to clarify and correct the record but it would have been nice if it had been reported correctly in the first place.

What's surprising is that Terry LaBonte in the #96 car for Hall of Fame racing has also had his qualifying time thrown out. Apparently his team made illegal modifications to the carburetor on his car. Not that it helped since he was only able to qualify 28th. Of course it matters not what happens during qualifying for LaBonte and whether his qualifying time was good or not since he is eligible for a Champion's provisional. Given this he may have to use it.

Nascar is apparently leaving open the possiblity that there will be more penalties forthcoming. In the case of the #48 team I'd say that should certainly happen since the car was modified after it went through pre-qualifying inspection and it was actually on the track with that modification. Nascar should take a very dim view on that kind of behavior. I would guess that there will likely be a fine and maybe even points taken away which isn't a very good way for the #48 team to start the season.

ETA: I've seen it said that Nascar mentioned that they were looking at the #31 and #24 teams in the media center. So I guess I can't really blame Speed too much for reporting information they got from Nascar if that's the case. However, Nascar shouldn't have said anything unless they knew there really was a problem with those teams because now there's a cloud of suspicion around those teams and maybe for no reason. It still might have been nice if Speed had waited for confirmation about the #31 and #24 teams before rushing that bit of information to air as well.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

Jimmie Johnson's Qualifying Run Disqualified; Possible Problems for Jeff Burton?

From Speed via Jayski's:

Johnson's qualifying run disqualified: on Speed Channel's Victory Lane show, Bob Dilner reported that #48-Jimmie Johnson's Daytona 500 qualifying run has been disqualified due to an illegal traction control adjuster on the right rear of the car. Johnson had qualified 5th on Sunday with a speed of 188.762mph and the rear tires were rubbing and smoking during his run. So Johnson will not have his speed to fall back on if he has a bad run in the Gatorade Duel race on Thursday, but since he is in the top-35 2005 owners points, he is guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500. Could be a fine and/or points penalty coming.(2-12-2006)

Back in March of last season, after the race in Las Vegas, Jimmie Johnson's car failed a post-race inspection. Chad Knaus, Johnson's crew chief, was suspended, though ultimately that suspension was overturned on appeal and instead Knaus was place on probation for 90 days. That probation period is long over so apparently Knaus felt free to use an illegal part. I don't claim to know exactly what that particular part does, and I believe that Jayski might have the specific part they were caught with listed incorrectly, but Johnson did qualify within the top ten so whatever it was might very well have helped him with his qualifying run. What I do know is that an illegal part isn't just having a part accidentally become non-compliant with Nascar's rules during a race as the #48 team claimed happened after the Vegas race with the wedge bolt, nor is it a part coming from a manufacturer with the wrong dimensions and the team unknowingly using it as some teams have claimed have happened to them in the past. An illegal part like that can't get into the car accidentally and it's hard to not see that as cheating.

I can see why Knaus might have been willing to try and get away with the illegal part. With the rules relating to qualifying being what they are, the #48 is locked into the race so having his time disqualified doesn't mean that Johnson won't be racing in the Daytona 500. In fact it likely doesn't even mean that he will start all the way at the back as unless Nascar decides differently Johnson will still take part in one of the 150 duels on Thursday and his results in that race will determine where he starts. It makes it harder for him because if something goes wrong during the duel, as it did last year, he won't have his speed to fall back on but unless Nascar decides to severely penalize the team, I think Johnson doesn't have to worry about not racing in the 500. He will just have to work even harder than he already would to stay out of trouble in the 150 race and get a good result.

I used to be a fan of Johnson and Knaus because he is a teammate of Jeff Gordon, who I am a big fan of. However, it's things like this that make it difficult for me to cheer for this team. Of course every team looks to push the rules as much as they can so I have no illusions that my favorite drivers have always been in completely legal cars. In fact, last season, a car that Kenny Wallace race for Michael Waltrip Racing was found to have a trick rear end after one of the races at Talladega. It's just that a pattern of what may be blantant cheating in combination for Johnson's inability to take responsiblity for incidents on the track at times and a few other things make it hard for me to be as much of a fan of his as I once was despite his obvious talents on the track. To be clear, that doesn't mean that I dislike Johnson as a person. Some fans make cheating into an excuse to hate a driver as a person but that's not the case for me. It's possible, even likely, that Johnson had no idea that there was an illegal part on his car. And as I've always said, even if he was aware, no one is perfect, not Johnson, not Knaus and not any other driver and they are always going to do thing that I don't necessarily agree with. It's just when these things pile up that it turns me off from wanting to support the team.

It was also reported on Speed that there is talk in the garage area that there might also be a problem with the engine on the #31 car of Jeff Burton. That would be very disappointing if there is anything to that because Burton is on the pole right now. Both Burton and his team dearly need a good season and starting out strong with a pole is exactly what they need. If they were disqualified for some reason I think that would be a big blow to the team. But details are so vague right now that the talk may not amount to anything.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:08 PM | Comments (0)

Denny Hamlin Wins Budweiser Shootout; Michael Waltrip Finishes 11th

Wow, talk about a suprise winner! Denny Hamlin, making his first appearance in the Bud Shootout, in his first race of his rookie season as a Cup driver won! Hamlin was impressive in the seven Cup races he appeared in last season as one of the drivers for the #11 Fed-Ex car for Joe Gibbs Racing after Jason Leffler was released and based on this evening it appears he may pick up in 2006 right where he left off in 2005. Hamlin had a lot of help in the Shootout from teammate Tony Stewart and some feel that Stewart might not have given his all towards winning the race at the end to let Hamlin win. I'm not sure I agree with that since it seemed that Hamlin had an excellent car all night and Stewart has never struck me as the type to let someone else win when he thought he could but then again it was a non-points race and Hamlin is his teammate. Either way this is the perfect way for Hamlin to make a statement that even though he's a rookie he is a driver to contend with and it's a good way to gain some respect from the other drivers. Veteran drivers often don't want to draft with rookies at the plate tracks but based on this win, I would guess that there will be any number of drivers who will be willing to draft with Hamlin because clearly he knows what he's doing. I think Hamlin is going to have a very strong rookie season and I look forward to seeing what he does in 2006.

As for Michael Waltrip, he led around 14 or 15 laps until he had to come in for a pit stop. That pit stop was on the slow side and hurt him when he went back on the track but he was able to rally back into the top ten before fading towards the end of the race. Michael was still able to finish 11th which isn't at all a bad showing, particularly since the car was short on speed. But what the car lacked in speed it certainly made up for in handling and it's clear that when Michael is in the draft and has other drivers to work with he is able to make his way to the front and stay there for a while. At the end of the race, someone, possibly Bill Davis, came on the radio and said that they will give him more power for the 500. I certainly hope that happens because the combination of a great handling and more horsepower would likely make Michael a real contender for another Daytona 500 victory. The #55 team will just need to make sure that they are on top of their game when it comes to pit stops because mistakes on pit road can be costly. But I think it's to be expected that there might be some rough patches there, particularly at the beginning of the season, since they are new to working together.

I was worried in the first segment when MIchael lost the draft and wasn't fast enough to get caught back up to the rest of the pack. But I was thrilled with what I saw during the second segment when Michael was able to not only keep with the other cars but race his way to the front and lead laps. That should make a statement to anyone who is doubting that Michael will be a factor during the 500 not to count him out yet despite the car being slower than Michael and his team might like. I think it also shows all of Michael's fellow drivers that he doesn't need to be in a DEI car to race well at plate tracks so that should mean that Michael will have plenty of other drivers who are willing to draft with him, something that some fans were worried about since he's not officially a Dodge driver meaning that he might not be able to count on other Dodge drivers as draft partners. But I don't think fans need to be concerned. Based on the radio communication today, Mark Martin, a Ford driver, was more than willing to work with Michael.

Many fans have also been spending a lot of time leading up to Speedweeks wondering whether Michael and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will draft together now that they are no longer teammates. This week both Michael and Junior made a number of comments that indicate that they will definitely draft together if the opportunity presents itself. There are some fans who are still unwilling to believe that Junior is being sincere when he says that he and Michael are still good friends and that they will work together. I believe it. Junior is well aware that Michael is an outstanding drafter and he knows that Michael can help him get to the front so why wouldn't he take advantage of that? During the Shootout it appeared that Michael got behind Junior a few times - I wouldn't be surprised to see that during the 500 as well. Some feel that if Junior drafts with Michael he can't be trusted and will hang him out to dry. Well, during a race it's every man for himself and as much as the drivers need to have friends on the track to draft with, in the end there can be only one winner and each driver has to make the choices that he feels will help them win. That goes for Junior, for Michael and for every other driver out there. I think fans put too much into drivers hanging each other out since it's really nothing personal - it's simply drivers making moves and doing what they need to do. As for the personal relationship between Michael and Junior some think that if drivers aren't best friends then they must not be friends at all. But Michael and Junior have known each other for so long, even before they were teammates, that I have no doubt that they will continue to be on good terms for many years into the future regardless of what happens on the track.

While qualifying for the Daytona 500 didn't go so well for Michael and the #55 team, something which based on Michael's pre-qualifying comments during the broadcast the team expected, I think the Bud Shootout was extremely positive for the #55 team. While 11th is likely somewhat disappointing for Michael, I think that he and his team showed that they will have something for the 500 and that is the much more important race than the Shootout. I'm very much looking forward to both the 150s on Thursday and the main event, the Daytona 500 on Sunday - may they both bring great things for Michael!

Posted by silverdsl at 07:22 PM | Comments (0)

Confidence is Great But Overconfidence is a Dangerous Thing

Along with predicting that he has the car to beat for the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made the following prediction about how the 2006 season is going to go for him:

"We’ll be in the top three in points when we get to the Chase," he said. "We’ll win about six or seven races and if we don't win the championship we won't lose it by much."

I have no doubt that Junior and the #8 team are going to improve on their results from 2005. It's essential for Junior and for DEI as a company that they get back on track and I'm sure that they are putting a huge amount of effort into making that happen. In addition, based on what Tony Eury, Jr. did when he was Michael Waltrip's crew chief, it's pretty clear to me that Eury, Jr. doesn't need his father's help to built an outstanding race car and make good decisions from on top of the pit box. I also think that Junior is a better driver than his points finish in 2005 reflects. However, winning six or seven races before the Chase and being in the top three in points is setting extremely lofty goals and I'm not sure that's necessarily realistic for a team coming off of a subpar season at an organization that has issues that they may still need to deal with.

I think Junior is a driver who is capable of winning many races in a season and ultimately the Championship. However, so many things have to go exactly right and the competition among drivers and teams is incredibly intense these days. There are many extremely strong teams and I don't think it's a given that the #8 team is going to rebound from 2005 to such a degree that they're going to be one of the best teams in 2006. There are many question that need to be answered for the #8 team. How will Junior and Eury, Jr. work together now that they've been re-united?They say that they're beyond the days when they would argue bitterly when working together but when the pressure is on in the midst of the season will any of those previous tensions rear their ugly head again? Has DEI addressed some of their internal issues both as an organization and as it relates to their teams? If there's been other personnel changes to the #8 team besides Eury, Jr. how will they work together? Are the engine problems that sometimes plagued the #8 and #15 teams in 2005 resolved?

I think it's premature to start talking about a run for the Championship for the #8 team until at least a few races go by and they really see what they've got. It's great to be confident and it's great to feel good about one's chances for success. I definitely think that positive thinking can help a driver behind the wheel. But I think that overconfidence can also be a something that's not so good because it can lead a team to overlook problems and also set them up for disappointment. If a team assumes that they're "the car to beat" and just about perfect they might not work on their weaknesses or might not see a potential issue, mechanically or otherwise. And what happens if the #8 team doesn't get off to a strong start? What if they don't start winning races right away? Is Junior and the team going to get down on themselves because they thought they'd be in the midst of the hunt for the Chase from race one?

I think quiet confidence is a better strategy. Be positive about the chances for winning and for success but let people wonder about exactly what you've got. Have confidence in yourself but not to the point of being cocky. Be realistic about what you, your team and your car can achieve. But by making the kind of comments that Junior has during Speedweeks thus far Junior is setting himself up as a target for fans, the media and others in the garage area if he and his teams can't back up Junior's boasts about how good his team is going to be in 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)

Snow Everywhere!

Here in the New York area we got hit with a huge snowstorm. It's still snowing and we've already got almost two feet! I'm really not looking forward to shoveling but luckily we paid a neighbor $40 to use his snow blower to clear the front of the driverway, the sidewalk and the huge drift in front of the driveway from the snow plows that have passed by so that will help reduce the amount we have to clear ourselves. Still, it's going to be a big job to clean off the cars and shovel the rest of the driveway. I'm not even sure we'll be able to finish it all today since the forecast is for it to keep snowing until 6 p.m. this evening.

Some say that a snowfall like this must be beautiful because it covers everything so completely. And it is I'm sure in areas that aren't as developed as this one where there are more woods. Here it's all houses, stores, streets and cars so those things don't like very pretty no matter how heavily covered in snow they are. So everyone here is just concerned with digging out in time to get to work tomorrow. I'm hoping that with how heavily it's still snowing this late in the day that I won't have to go to work tomorrow.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2006

Johnny Damon Thanks Red Sox Fans, Yankees Fans Upset

On Wednesday Johnny Damon, who recently joined the New York Yankees, took out a full-page ad in the Boston Globe> to thank Red Sox fans for their support while he played for the Boston Red Sox. The text of the ad said,

"Many thanks to the great fans of New England and the city of Boston. It was a privilege and an honor."

Some Yankee fans are up in arms and feel insulted that Damon would dare to show his appreciation for the fans who were so good to him while he played for the Red Sox. I can't understand what's wrong with Damon taking out this ad. In fact, I see it as a positive, not a negative that he's reaching out to the fans, regardless of what them they may cheer for or what team he may play for now. I strongly believe that players should show their appreciation for fans in a variety of ways and I think it says something good about Damon that he seems to recognize why it's important to reach out to the fans. Sometimes I think some players take the fans for granted but it's nice to see a player who doesn't.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:46 PM | Comments (0)

Deutsch Claims He's Under Attack for Ties to Bush

George Deutsch claims that he was forced to resign from NASA because of claims that he tried to censor scientists, insert religion into policy and limit the media's access to some scientists. He says,

"What you do have is hearsay coming from a handful of people who have clear partisan ties and they are really coming after me as a Bush appointee. I was an easy target. I was low-hanging fruit."

Um, no. Personally I think the biggest problem is that Deutsch claimed that he graduated from Texas A&M with a degreee in Journalism when he never graduated at all.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)

More Teams Buy Owner Points

Of course this is flying totally under the radar for most people because it's happening in the truck series and not too many fans care what happens in the truck series but three more teams have created "partnerships" to buy owner points to lock themselves into a spot for the first four races of the season. From Jayski's:

Reid, Crocker, Richardson “locked in” truck field: Boston Reid will now have one of the top-30, locked-in spots for the first five Truck Series races of the 2006 season, including the GM FlexFuel 250 season-opener at Daytona. The new Woodard & Sharp Racing team, with Reid, has formed a partnership with Orleans Racing owner Michael Gaughan and will get the points from the disbanded #62 team paired with drivers Steve Park and Scott Lynch last season. Two other new teams have also formed partnerships to earn locked-in positions: Erin Crocker will have points from the #2 Ultra Motorsports team while Robert Richardson will have points from the #1 Ultra Motorsports team, both of which closed down in the off season.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(2-9-2006)

With the way that owner points have been changing hands left and right, I assumed that Orleans Racing would sell the #62's owner points if they had no intention of putting that truck on the track this season. In fact, Steve Park told someone this past weekend at an appearance that Brendan was selling the team but I figured that he wasn't exactly selling the team as much as the owner points were changing hands. So it's not surprising that the new Woodward and Sharp Racing Team has a "partnership" with Michael Gaughan that will make sure that Boston Reid makes the first few races. In addition, there is some sort of "partnership" between Evernham Motorsports and Jim Smith so that Erin Crocker can use the #2's owner's points and there is also a "partnership" between Robert Richardson's team and Jim Smith so they can use the #1's owner points. I put "partnership" in quotes because it's a neat way of saying that money changed hands and paperwork was written out to make it possible for the owner's points to change hands. While it's possible that some of the owners who sold their points will be involved directly with the teams that they are now partners with, this is really all about the points and not about forming new race teams.

Despite the fact that Michael Waltrip is benefiting in both Cup and Busch by Nascar's rules that allow owner points to change hands and despite the fact that I think it's a smart business decision for teams to protect their investments by buying owner points to guarantee themselves a spot, I'm not entirely comfortable with this trend. Nascar's rules allow the teams to transfer owner's points in this way so the teams are doing nothing wrong in Nascar's eyes. The teams should be exploring every avenue available to them that gives them the best chance of success within Nascar's rules and this happens to be one of those ways, no matter how many people might not like that Nascar allows it. However, racing at it's heart is about he who is fastest winning and I think that qualifying for races should be determined based on the fastest 43 cars making the field, rather than on provisionals and owner's points. It will never happen but I would love to see Nascar go to a qualifying method in which owner's points are useless and only speed matters. I can see giving teams a very limited amount of provisionals to use in case of a mechanical problem or other circumstance that didn't allow them to make their qualifying lap but otherwise it should be the teams that are the fastest are in the race.

Marty Smith has an interesting article this week about this very topic. There's been a lot of discussion about the teams who buy the owner's points and about the teams who don't have the owner's points to guarantee them a spot in the race but not much about the point-of-view of the owners who are transferring their points. Until Smith's article which shows why Doug Bawel's partnership with Michael in Waltrip-Jasper makes sense for him as well as for Michael. Smith writes:

Bawel's No. 77 was 34th in 2005, so when the 77 shut down he had something to sell. Eight teams contacted him about a partnership, three of which, he said, were folks that wanted everything, a seamless, turn-key transition.

He wasn't certain he wanted to stay in the sport.

Then, during banquet week in New York, Bawel was approached by Michael Waltrip. Waltrip had just departed Dale Earnhardt Inc. to drive a second car for Bill Davis Racing, but hoped to partner with Bawel on his own Nextel Cup Series program.

It was a win-win scenario: Waltrip gets a guaranteed position in the first five races, not to mention Bawel's expertise in the day-to-day operation of a Nextel Cup team. Bawel, meanwhile, maintains a vested ownership interest in a Cup team.

After mulling it over for a month, Bawel accepted Waltrip's offer, and Waltrip-Jasper Racing was born.

Bawel owned Jasper Motorsports and had fielded an independent team prior to joining with Penske Motorsports in 2004 to field the #77. If not for partnering with Michael, all of Bawel's hard work that went into developing a Cup team would have gone for nothing and his team would simply vanish. This way, at least for the near future, Bawel can continue to be involved in the sport.

Larry McClure's #4 team got bumped up into the 35th position, the last guaranteed spot, when the #77 folded. So they thought that they were going to have a guaranteed spot for the first four races. McClure says,

"I don't make the guidelines. NASCAR does that," McClure said. "I've always been a NASCAR guy, and don't like to air laundry in the open. But I think it takes some credibility away. The guy that was listed as car owner can take points and work out a deal with someone else, and they use him to get that [points] advantage."

There's just one problem - if it takes credibility away from the sport that Michael is going to work out a deal for owner points he didn't directly earn than it takes credability away from the sport for the #4 team to benefit from owner's points they didn't directly earn either. At least Michael raced well enough when he was with DEI to earn enough owner's points for the #15 team to be in the top 35 in owner's points. Whereas the #4 team didn't race well enough in 2005 to be in the top 35 in owner's points.

Robby Gordon, whose #7 that he both owns and drives is outside the top 35 in points is also opposed to the way that owner's points can change hands but also to the Champion's provisionals. He says,

"It is what it is, but it's wrong," Gordon said. "There's two wrongs. There's wrong with Hall of Fame [Racing] putting Terry Labonte in the car. They don't deserve to be in the race any more than we deserve to be in the race. You should have to earn your way into the top 35. Terry shouldn't be eligible for the top 35 [with] the past champion's provisional unless he's going to race the full season. Otherwise it's cherry-picking. NASCAR shouldn't let that happen. Then the Michael Waltrip wrong. That team doesn't deserve to be in either, because they haven't paid their dues. Just like we haven't."

I have to agree with Robby that I'm not a huge fan of the Champion's provisional and I'm especially not a fan of the way that some teams take advantage of it by putting a former champion in the car just to ensure that they have a spot in a race. Hall of Fame Racing has both Terry LaBonte and Tony Raines in the car and it's pretty obvious that they sought out Terry's services specifically to take advantage of his Champion's provisional. Again, it's smart from a business perspective since they have a major sponsor that they need to take care of, not to mention Terry can still race, but it doesn't feel quite right.

Robby then says,

"You should have to earn your points. Welcome everybody to the track, doesn't matter who it is, but no freebies."

But what I'd like to know is whether Robby Gordon Motorsports is one of the teams that contacted Doug Bawel about getting the #77's owner's points. From his comments one would think that Robby is so opposed to teams buying owner's points that he wouldn't even consider approaching Bawel. However, Robby didn't get to the point where he has his own race team by not being a smart businessman as well. And from a business point-of-view, as I've said a few times already, it makes sense to try and get those points. I'd also like to know how his sponsors felt about the situation - did they want him to try to get the owner's points to try to guarantee a spot in the first four races considering Robby failed to qualify for several races last season due to a lack of owner's points? Or did he reassure them that this season with DEI motors things would be different and he'd have no problems qualifying? I think Smith should have asked Robby whether he talked to Bawel about the owner's points because his personal feelings might be different than his feelings as an owner who needs to take care of his race team.

I also feel the need to point out that if Robby hadn't thrown a huge temper tantrum directed at Michael last season which resulted in him having 25 owner's points taken away he might not be in the situation that he's in now where he had to worry about qualifying for races. If I recall correctly at that point Robby was still in a position where he still had a chance to finish the season in the top 35 in points but being penalized eliminated that chance. So if Robby is upset at anyone perhaps he needs to be upset with himself for losing control to the point where he might have cost his team a guaranteed spot for the first few races.

The fact of the matter is that Nascar's rules are set up in such a way that owners are allowed to transfer their points and teams are allowed to aquire them. In addition, the environment that Nascar is currently operating in is such that it's very difficult to find primary sponsors and keep them. So teams must do everything they can to keep their sponsors happy and get the best possible results. If that means entering into a partnership to get points that they didn't really earn then so be it. I really can't fault any team for looking out for themselves.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)

Operation Slapshot Ensnares Wayne Gretzky and Wife

Most people have probably heard by now about "Operation Slapshot" the investigation by New Jersey law enforcement into an illegal gambling ring allegedly financed by Pheonix Coyotes associate coach, Rick Tocchet, and run by New Jersey State Police Officer James Harney as well as a third man, James Ulner. The Pheonix Coyotes are managed by hockey legend, "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky. It's also alleged that a number of NHL players placed bets with the ring as well as Janet Jones, Gretzky's wife. Initial reports are that no bets were placed on NHL games and that the ring dealt mostly with college and professional football and hockey, taking in $1.7 million in bets between December 29 and the day of the Super Bowl. Authorities are also investigating the possiblity that the ring had ties to organized crime.

In general I don't have a problem with gambling. I see nothing wrong with people gambling in casinos or wagering on sports. However, when it comes to those who are involved professionallly in sports I think great care needs to be taken so that there isn't even the appearance of impropriety. First, that this is an illegal gambling ring looks bad right off the bat. If those involved were going to Las Vegas and placing bets in a sports book, if it was done discreetly, no one would probably blink an eye. But in the state of New Jersey the ring itself is illegal, even if the betting isn't, so that makes it seem as if those who bet did something wrong. But more importantly it opens the players and coaches involved to questions about whether or not they bet on hockey games which is forbidden by the NHL.

Right now Gretzky's involvement is limited to having knowledge of his wife placing bets and trying to find a way to protect her from getting caught up in "Operation Slapshot." However, if it turns out that Gretzky, who is known to enjoy gambling, placed bets through his wife with this ring I think that's going to create a considerable backlash against him. The reality is that, right or wrong, people place athletes like Gretzky on a pedestal and they sometimes have a hard time dealing with their heroes misbehaving or doing anything that they perceive to be "wrong" even though it's possible that Gretzky didn't actually do anything illegal. At the very least I think even if Gretzky's wife was only placing bets for herself I think it shows poor judgment that she, and the others involved in hockey professionally, chose to place bets in this way.

A lot of fans are making a big deal of how Gretzky denied any involvement in the gambling ring at first and it's now been revealed that he was caught via wiretap Tocchet how his wife could avoid being implicated. Many are interpreting that to mean that Gretzky lied but from what I can tell Gretzky never said he didn't know anything about the gambling ring, only that he wasn't involved with it. I don't think it's very surprising that Gretzky knew of the gambling ring considering Tocchet is a coach under him with the Coyotes. Nor is it surprising that he might discuss his wife's involvement and how to keep her out of this mess. What would look bad for Gretzky is if it's revealed that his wife was placing bets for him which I think will be hard to prove.

Given the NHL's recent problems in relation to the strike and the struggle to regain fans they might have lost during that saga, I think the NHL is going to do everything they can to investigate from their end and clear up any suspicion that players or coaches were betting on hockey games. I think it's also likely that Tocchet, who is currently taking a leave of absence, coached his last game for the NHL - they will want to make a statement that anything involving illegal gambling won't be tolerated.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2006

Photo of the Day - Arikok National Park, Aruba

Arikok National Park, Aruba, October, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (2/9)

Good news for Michael Waltrip as the comissioners in Cornelius, North Carolina approved the permit for Waltrip Racing World. Some homeowners in the area were concerned with the plans, particularly that it's going to include an RV park, which the homeowners felt might hurt the value of their properties. However, the developer of Waltrip Racing World, Noah Lazes, told the comissioners that it will involve private memberships and not be the typical RV park. Translation: likely something upscale and more exclusive than the standard RV park. This part of the article in the Charlotte Observer was particularly interesting:

Lazes expects the motor sports project to attract 50,000 to 70,000 people a year. It will employ 110 to 130 workers on a $10 million annual payroll. Over the next year, his company plans to invest more than $10 million in the project.

That's a tremendous amount of visitors which is not only wonderful for Michael that so many people are likely to be interested in his race shop but that will also bring visitors to Cornelius who might not go to the area otherwise. Michael was obviously dreaming big when he came up with the plans for Waltrip World and he, and others, are clearly willing to pour a lot of time, effort and money into this project. $10 million is quite a bit of money, not just in payroll but in terms of the investment in Waltrip World itself. I hope that Waltrip World is a tremendous success in every way for Michael and everyone else who is involved!

What I'm even more excited about is that the 2006 Nascar season is days away from starting with the first official event of the season on Saturday night - the Budweiser Shootout. The Shootout is a non-points race that only drivers who have won a pole in the previous year or those that have won a past shootout are eligible to participate in. For the first time in fourteen years Michael is going to be racing in the Shootout because of having won the pole at the June race at Pocono Raceway. The last Shootout Michael raced in was in 1992 and he started fourteenth and finished eighth. What a way to kick off the season if he could somehow end up in Victory Lane! If the car he has is strong one Michael should be considered a threat to win given that he is a previous winner at Daytona. Of course Michael is very positive about his chances for Victory in the Shootout as well as for his season in general.

"Almost everything is new this year," Waltrip said. "I have a new team, new engines and a new car. But NAPA is still on the hood and I'm still the same guy who drives his butt off whether they think I can win or not. I felt in testing that we had a car that handled like the car I won the Duel 150 with. So I would definitely keep an eye out on the ol' double nickel."

I like that part where Michael says that he races his butt off no matter what anyone else thinks of his chances to win. And let's face it, the #55 team isn't considered to be much of a contender by many fans and those in the media. But there's no doubt that Michael is going to do everything in his power to finish as well as he can regardless of what anyone else thinks he can do. One thing about Michael is that no matter what kind of car he's given he does everything he can to get the most out of it and he doesn't give up easily. Nor does he let what others say influence how he feels about himself or his racing.

MIchael also said,

"To me this is the best part of the year. Everybody is so optimistic. Everybody is tied for the points lead. All the new cars and paint schemes. Everybody is headed down to Florida. It takes me back to when I was a kid. I used to love it. I get that same burst of energy every time it comes to head to Florida."

I have to agree that this is a wonderful time of the year. Hope springs eternal for every team, they all speak in glowing terms about their chances for success and there is so much excitment in the air for the start of the race season. If the fans can't wait for the season to start the teams and drivers really must be anxious. I'm glad to hear that even after over twenty years of racing in Cup, Michael still gets as energized for the Daytona 500 as he did when he was a kid. Of course winning two 500s probably helps but it shows that the competitive fires and enthusiasm for the sport still burn bright for him.

I hope the 2006 season brings lots of good fortune for Michael on and off the track starting with the Bud Shootout on Saturday.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:44 PM | Comments (0)

Interesting Item on Brewco's #66 Busch Car

Michael Waltrip is going to be driving the #66 for Brewco Motorsports in eight races and Ken Schrader, Scott Wimmer and other Cup drivers will also see time behind the wheel of that car. What's interesting is that apparently the number is on loan to Brewco from Rusty Wallace who had that number previously and intends on using it in 2007 when he fields a Busch car full-time for his son, Steven, who will be in the #64 for thirteen races for Rusty Wallace Incorporated. In fact, Wallace wanted the number back this season but Brewco and Duraflame, the other sponsor on the car in addition to Yardman, already started making plans and selling things that involved #66.

Wallace says it's already a done deal with Nascar that he's getting the number back in '07 but I wonder what the situation with owner points is going to be. Owner points are essential these days because being in the top 35 in owner points from the previous year locks a car into a spot for the first few races and if they stay in the top 35 in points, assuming that they start every race, they are also guaranteed a spot the remainder of the season. If Brewco just hands the number back to RWI those owner points will go to waste, since I assume with the roster of Cup drivers in the car this season, they will have no trouble being in the top 35 in points. But the owner points changing hands would involve money changing hands and some sort of partnership between Brewco and RWI. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, happens there.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)

Nascar Nextel FanView

I love gadgets and I love Nascar so a gadget related to Nascar really gets my attention! This season Nextel is going to make the Nascar Nextel FanView available to fans at the race track. The Fanview will feature audio, video, stats and function as a scanner. The specific features it will have are:

* Video: Up to 7 in-car camera views plus the race broadcast
* Audio: Listen in on drivers and teams
* Audio Replay: Listen to conversations you missed
* Priority Scanning: Up to 4 drivers and officials
* Race and Driver Stats: See race positions, point standings, driver info and more
* Pre-set audio channels: No programming is necessary

So fans will be able to see exactly what their favorite drivers are seeing from inside the car, assuming their favorite is one that is featured as well as the TV broadcast. Being able to see the TV broadcast is outstanding because fans in the stands can't always see the entire track or what exactly happened to cause an on-track incident. Of course fans love using their scanners to listen in to the radio communication between drivers and their team. I also like having the ability to see the race positions, I assume in a similar way to Trackpass, because that would make it easy to keep track of which cars are on the lead lap.

I would say that this device is going to be very popular with fans but I see that it costs $50 for a day, $70 for the entire weekend and the big catch - fans much put down a $500 refundable deposit, presumably to ensure that no one decides to take a FanView home with them. I would pay $70 to use a FanView, especially since I go to very few races so it's not like I'd be renting it every weekend but I think a lot of fans might balk at the price, especially since all the other costs of attending a race tend to add up quickly.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

Just Testing...

Playing with smilies is fun!!!!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

U2 Wins Big at the Grammys

In what has to be considered a huge upset, five Grammys last night, while Mariah Carey won just three, all of them awarded prior to the televised show and none of them in major categories. Virtually all of the media coverage leading up to the Grammys has focused on Carey since she was nominated in eight categories and most assumed that given her success in 2005 that she would be the big winner last night. But that was not to be. I'm thrilled to find out that U2 won Album of the Year for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," Song of the Year for "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own," Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own," Best Rock Song for "City of Blinding Lights" and Best Rock Album for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." In addition, their producer, Steve Lillywhite, won the Producer of the Year award. "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" is an outstanding album and I'm very happy that U2 got so much recognition for it. Since I've never cared for Carey, I can't say I'm all that upset on her behalf that she didn't receive as many awards as most people thought she would.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)

"What is Money For?"

That question was posed by "Jane," a New York University student, who wouldn't give her her real name, in response to why she has four iPods and is likely to also purchase Apple's new 1 GB iPod nano. I have exactly one portable digital music device and it's not an iPod. I can see why someone might have two iPods, but four or more? That seems excessive but it speaks to how good Apple is at marketing iPods to their target audience if they've convinced people that they need so many.

But I keep going back to the rhetorical question that "Jane" asked - "What is money for?" Maybe "Jane" is working or comes from a wealthy background but most college students don't have a tremendous amount of money. So it seems to me that in her case money is for food, clothes, books for classes and all the other expenses that a college student has, not buying a fifth iPod that she likely doesn't need. Of course we all buy things that we don't really need, myself included, so I shouldn't be so judgemental of poor "Jane." But it occurs to me that perhaps the average credit card debit of approximately $8,500 per family might be slightly less if people learned from an early age why it's important to make good decisions as it relates to money. I would love to go out and buy the newer model of my Canon Digital Rebel but I understand that there are better uses for my money since the old one that I have works just fine. Surely the at least a couple of other four iPods that "Jane" owns work perfectly fine too.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:01 AM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2006

Photo of the Day - Monkeys!

Bronx Zoo, Bronx, New York. 2002.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

Scientists Find "Lost World" in Indonesia

Hard to believe but there actually are undiscoverd places in the world, where humans haven't yet been. But it's true. A team of American, Indonesian and Australian scientists have discovered a "lost world" of two million acres of rainforest in the Foja Mountains, in the Indonesian province of Papua. What's so incredible is that it appears that humans have never set foot in this area until this team of scientists found it. There are no signs of civilization what-so-ever and some of the animals that the team came across had no fear of humans, presumably because they had never seen them before. There are two clans that live relatively nearby but the total amount of people in the area is only several hundred and food in the areas around the mountains is apparently so plentiful that there has never been any need for them to go into the mountains. So far the scientists have found twenty new species of frogs, four new types of butterflies, several kinds of palms and have encountered a number of rare birds and animals. It sounds like a fascinating place.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)

Kurt Busch Gets Community Service for Arizona Incident

Back in November there was a huge uproar after Kurt Busch was pulled over for a variety of traffic infractions because of his surly behavior towards the police officers who detained him, as well as because of the erroneous belief that Busch was driving under the influence of alcohol. While it was later shown that Busch was under the legal limit and was legally sober, Roush Racing suspended him for the final races of the season. As it turns out that was a harsher punishment than what Busch recieved at his court date. Busch will simply have to perform some community service of an unspecified nature but I would guess will involve filming some PSAs and talking to youth groups. It would be funny if they made him pick up trash from the side of the road or something as part of his community service but I have my doubts about that happening.

I think one of the storylines in 2006 is whether or not Busch can stay out of trouble on- and off- the track. He claims that he's making a huge effort to change and that he's learned from this incident. However, when he was Champion he should have realized the importance of appropriate behavior and obviously didn't given his occasional outbursts at the track as well as the incident in Arizona. I don't really care for Busch but I do pull for underdogs and there is a part of me that hopes that he is able to stay out of trouble and win over the fans, the majority of which hate his guts. But I think Busch has a tough road ahead of him. I have no doubt that he will win races in future in the #2 but he's going to have to work very hard to redeem himself in the eyes of fans and it will likely take more than some good trips to Victory Lane to achieve that.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

NASA Employee Resigns; Did Not Graduate From College

George C. Deutsch worked on President George Bush's re-election campaign and later worked as a writer and editor at NASA's Washington, D.C. public affairs office until he recently resigned. The 24-year old claimed that he graduated from Texas A&M in 2003 with a degree in Journalism but it turns out that he withdrew from the university to work on Bush's campaign and never returned. The story broke in a blog, The Scientific Activist, who was tipped off to the fact that Deutsch never graduated as he claimed by a former co-worker of Deutsch's at The Battalion, the student newspaper. The Scientific Activist notes,

...how did this guy, who already had dubious qualifications, make it into NASA with such an obvious lie on his resume? To work for a federal agency, including NASA, extensive background checks are usually required.

That's what's amazing to me. Deutsch was working for NASA, not the local 7-11. A federal agency. It should be a priority to be sure that the people working there are who they say that they are. Of course as The Scientific Activist points out a political appointee might not be subject to the same kind of checks that everyone else would have to go through but maybe they should. This person is working on projects that shape the message that NASA communicates publically, not stocking shelves at a grocery store.

The Scientific Activist feels that he wouldn't have been qualified for the position anyway with only a journalism degree because he has no background in science or technology and shouldn't be telling scientists what they should say. On one hand I agree that it's essential that someone in that kind of position know what they're doing I don't fully agree that they need a science background to be effective at the job and make good decisions. Many public relations professionals only have general journalism, English, marketing or public relations degrees rather than a specific degree tied to the industry they publicize. It is possible to do a good job of promoting a message without having detailed knowledge of that topic. If NASA requries those who work in their public affairs office to have some sort of science or technology degree than that's a different story but it's possible that the rest of the people in the office don't have degrees all that much different than the one that Deutsch claimed he had.

But the other thing that's troubling is this:

The resignation came as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was preparing to review its policies for communicating science to the public. The review was ordered Friday by Michael D. Griffin, the NASA administrator, after a week in which many agency scientists and midlevel public affairs officials described to The New York Times instances in which they said political pressure was applied to limit or flavor discussions of topics uncomfortable to the Bush administration, particularly global warming.

I think it's to be expected that any company is going to want their message shaped in the most favorable way possible. However, when it comes to topics that are of national and world-wide importance, such as global warming, I think the scientists should be able to speak openly even if it makes the Bush Administration uncomfortable. Global warming and other problems need to be addressed but if there's not a free flow of information and ideas it makes it much harder for that to happen.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)

February 07, 2006

Photo of the Day - Ogunquit Sunrise

Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2004.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)

Place of the Day - Fort McKavett, Texas

Fort McKavett State Historical Site has been open as a park to the public since 1968. Established in 1852, the fort was built to protect settlers and travelers on the Upper El Paso Road. Originally called Camp San Saba, it was renamed after Capt. Henry McKavett who died in battle in 1846. Abandoned once in 1859, it was re-enhabited in 1868 but abandoned again, this time for good in 1883. The site currently contains 25 restored buildings, some of which are ruins, and other that are roofed and furnished. The park holds living history events but a huge draw for visitors to the park is something that has nothing to do with the Fort - wildflowers that bloom from late March through May.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)

Hendrick Plane Crash Caused by Pilot Error; Lawsuit Filed

A horrible plane crash in October of 2004 killed ten people, most of them employees of Hendrick Motorsports. As the plane approached the Blue Ridge Airport near Martinsville, Virginia, where a Cup race was taking place, it crashed into a nearby mountainside in fog and mist. Today the National Transportation Safety Board released a report which stated that the pilots of the plane failed to follow the correct landing procedure after missing their first approach to the airport. Apparently they also failed to use all of their navagational aides, relying on a GPS device when they could also have used the airport's localizer, a ground radio beacon that helps pilots position their planes as they approach the runway.

In related news, the widow of one of the victims, Diane Dorton, whose husband Randy was head of Hendrick Motorsports' engine department, has filed a lawsuit against Hendrick Motorsports and the estates of the two pilots claiming that the company and its pilots were negligent in having the plane fly to and attempt to land at the airport in Virginia. I understand the urge to place blame and get some sort of justice for her husband's death but on the other hand it seems to me that she is suing people who her husband was presumably close to when he worked at Hendrick. This lawsuit and any money she gets won't bring her husband back and will likely drive a wedge between herself and some of the other people who suffered as a result of this tragedy.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:57 PM | Comments (0)

Recently Arrested Williams Coordinated Nascar's Most Popular Driver Award

Turns out that in addition to representing drivers such as Kyle Petty and Bobby LaBonte, Richard "Chip" Williams, from The Williams Company, apparently played a big role in coordinating the Chex/General Mills NMPA NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award as the adminstrator/publicist. Williams was recently charged with statutory rape and other charges in relation to allegations that he had a relationship with at least one minor. That presents a small problem since the voting for the award usually kicks off around now but with Williams sitting in jail the others who work on the MPD award are probably scrambling to do everything that he normally would have done to get the voting up and running. I'm sure Nascar, General Mills and everyone else involved would much rather it not be known that Williams was involved in the MPD award but Jade Gurss, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s public relations representative spilled the beans in the comment section in one of his blog entries. To be sure Gurss wasn't talking about some other recently arrested publicist, I did a search and found several MPD press releases with WIlliams' name and contact information on it, including this one.

The MPD award is a big deal to Junior's fans and they spend a considerable amount of time voting on the award to show their support for their favorite driver. Actually, it's a big deal to many driver's fans and there will likely be a lot of unhappy people if there is no MPD voting this year. Personally, I can't stand any of the MPD polls as I think they are only a measure of which fanbase finds a way to vote the most times for their driver, often involving cheating if they can at all manage it, rather than a true showing of who the MPD really is in some cases. In addition, voting in these kinds of polls often turns ugly with groups of fans pitted against each other flinging insults at each other. So I wouldn't mind if they did away with the whole thing completely. But since there is likely a considerable amount of time and money invested in the award by General Mills and others, I doubt that it's going anywhere soon in the near future, though the start of voting may be delayed for a little longer as everyone picks up the pieces after Williams arrest.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

February 06, 2006

Photo of the Day - Cape May

Cape May, New Jersey, September, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (2/6)

Mac Powell, lead singer, of the Christian rock band, Third Day has good taste. His favorite driver is Michael Waltrip and as such Michael is his pick to win the Daytona 500 this year. I hope he's right! Third Day performed at the Daytona 500 three years ago and Michael became his favorite driver because

"The first time we went, we met Michael Waltrip, and he ended up winning that race. Therefore, that was my guy."

Michael certainly has a way of winning people over and turning them into fans. Powell not only became a fan of Michael's that day but he also became a fan of the sport in general. Before attending a race he couldn't understand the draw but seeing everything in person made him a quick convert into a die hard fan.

As I mentioned a few days ago Michael and Ken Schrader will be sponsored by Yardman in the #66 Busch car for Brewco Motorsports. Michael will be in the car for seven races, the first one being the April 15 race at Nashville. He will also be in the #66 at Richmond, Darlington, Milwaukee, Gateway, Richmond again and Memphis. Apparently Schrader's truck sponsor, Federated Auto Parts will be an associate sponsor on the #66 and I've got to say that I'm a bit surprised that NAPA isn't taking issue with Michael being in a car that is at least partially sponsored by another auto parts company. But Michael is one of the most conscious of all drivers about taking care of his sponsors and NAPA is extremely important to him so they must not have a problem with it.

Today Sports Illustrated online speculates that the driver of Michael's other Cup car in 2007 for Toyota will be David Reutimann, who currently drives for Michael's brother in the truck series. I'm not sure that Reutimann will be ready to make the leap from the truck series to Cup but I do think he will be a player for one of Michael's Busch cars in '07.

One Jarrod Breeze writing for Nascar. com needs to pay a little more attention . Breeze wrote a mini-capsule of all the drivers in Cup who are in new rides and of Michael he says,

Waltrip wasn't a factor at DEI and he won't be at BDR. Besides, he'll be too busy playing Toyota Man upon that manufacturer's entry into Cup in '07.

Did Breeze miss when Michael won four plate races for DEI? Did he miss how MIchael is almost always a contender at every plate race? Did he miss how he finished second to Kurt Busch at Phoenix last season? Or the other fine finishes? Yes, on the surface if you just look at the points finish Michael's last season with DEI, as well as the previous ones, don't look very impressive. But if you look inside the points one sees that Michael has contended and been a factor in a number of races. Is he Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart? No. Is Michael going to have a steller season in '06? As much as I'd like it to be different I think he will struggle in BDR equipment. But Michael is a much better race car driver than he's ever given credit for.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)

NFL, Not ABC Censored Rolling Stones

Initial reports indicated that it was ABC who censored the Rolling Stones during a half-time show via a five-second delay. However, it turns out that it was the NFL who wanted the lyrics to go unheard on the TV broadcast. I say go unheard because Mick Jagger actually sang both "Start Me Up" and "Rough Justice" with the offending lyrics, but the NFL turned down Jagger's mic for at those points in the song so the lyrics couldn't be heard either in the stadium or on TV. Apparently the Stones were consulted prior to the show about what the NFL intended on doing and that plan was a compromise of some kind. I still find it ridiculous that those lyrics were deemed offensive when there are far worse lyrics in many popular songs, not to mention the sex and violence on TV, in the movies, in video games, etc...

Posted by silverdsl at 02:39 PM | Comments (0)

Team ASE to Sponsor Ted Musgrave

This is a bit of old news but apparently Team ASE which was going to sponsor Ted Musgrave's #1 truck for Ultra Motorsports, until that organization closed up shop, will be joining Musgrave at Germain Racing as the primary sponsor of the #9 truck. So here's what I don't get - Jim Smith cites financial reasons as to why he closed the doors to Ultra Motorsports. Yet he had a primary sponsor for Musgrave's truck and manufacturer support, including some money, from Ford. Was is Smith's personal finances that were a problem? Was he not making enough revenue from Ultra Motorsports to justify keeping the doors open? It seems like winning a Championship would have been lucrative for Ultra but that apparently wasn't the case, otherwise they might still be in business. All in all, Ultra Motorsports closing still strikes me as odd and I don't think we've heard the full story yet.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)

ABC Uses Five-Second Delay to Censor Rolling Stones

Last night the Rolling Stones performed three songs, "Start Me Up," "Rough Justice," and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as part of the half-time festivities for the Super Bowl. But thanks to the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake debacle in 2004 which revealed much of more of Jackson's breast than most thought they would ever see, ABC used a five-second delay last night and used it to edit out two lines of lyrics that they thought could be potentially offensive to viewers. One was the line in "Start Me Up" that goes "You, you make a dead man come" and the other was a reference to "cocks" in "Rough Justice." Of course ABC is well within their rights to use the delay to censor or make edits in any way they please to adhere to their standards and avoid offending their viewing audience. But it seems ridiculous that ABC is going to cut those lyrics which are fairly mild in the face of gads of violence and sex not only on any number of TV shows but also in commercials. In fact the GoDaddy.com commercial, which had to be edited multiple times before ABC would accept it is still pretty suggestive as is the Pizza Hut commercial with Jessica Simpson.

As for the performance itself some are saying that it wasn't all that impressive. And I guess in comparision to some really theatrical and energetic performances of the past it was lacking something. But I think people need to keep in mind that the members of the Rolling Stones are in their sixties. Mick Jagger was especially spry and energetic and I think overall, while the Rolling Stones aren't necessarily my kind of music, I think they did pretty well. They are a band from a different generation than now and I don't think that they should be expected to perform in the same way as Eminem or 311 might.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:18 PM | Comments (0)

Some Kind of Monster

Over the weekend Jim and I watched the Metallica documentary that came out in 2004, "Some Kind of Monster." I had really wanted to watch SKoM for quite some time as I had always heard excellent reviews of it. In fact the movie was nominated for a number of awards, including an Independant Spirit Award, and made quite a few movie critic's lists for top ten movies of 2004. With all of this in mind perhaps I expected way too much out of the movie as I didn't care for it at all and neither did Jim. Was it an interesting look at the process of recording a record album? Yes. But was the it the riveting and moving movie that a lot of others seemed to feel it was? Not to me.

I think one of the biggest problems for me is that the album they were recording at the time of the making of SKoM was St. Anger which I feel is one of the worst albums that Metallica has ever done. I disliked that album so much that I could barely sit through the album even once and this comes from someone who likes both old-ultra-heavy Metallica and the newer more-mainstream Metallica. I simply could not connect to the music on that album at all so I think it made it hard for me to then connect to the process of them recording the album. It's not just the music that was a problem for me on the album - the overall quality of the recording didn't seem to be what it should be, though it's apparently been said that was something intentional.

To enjoy a movie one usually needs to be able to relate to the characters, be sympathetic towards them or at least be interested in them. As much as I've always been a fan of the band's music, I found it difficult to relate to them as people. Yes, I felt sorry for lead singer James Hetfield when he went to rehab and how the rest of the band struggled to adjust while he was gone and then when he returned. But I also came away from watching the film feeling like both Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich are selfish people. Granted, at many points in the movie they were being encouraged to talk about themselves and their feelings by the therapist that their management company had hired to work with them, Phil Towle. But I also felt like their world view was very inwardly turned and I found it difficult to relate to that.

On the other hand, the one band member who I did enjoy was Kirk Hammett. At times some of his observations were very on-target and intelligent. Yet he often let Hammett and Ulrich do the majority of the talking. In fact, Hammett talked at one point about how he strives to have as little ego as possible and he has certainly achieved this - at points Hammett seemed to blend into his surroundings. There were times when arguments raged around him and he simply sat there listening. But I suppose that should be expected from a man who practices Buddism. Instead of retaining a "performance-enhancing coach" perhaps Metallica's management should have considered bringing in a Buddist monk to keep the peace and keep Metallica on track.

In the end that is exactly what Towle's presence is all about. If the band members are able to work out their issues and become better people - great. But he is there to keep the lines of communciation open among the band members and do all the other things that will help them be productive and finish the album. Towle ends up spending a considerable amount of time with Metallica, so much so that by the end of the movie the members of the band become uncomfortable because they feel that he also considers himself a member of the band. I'm surprised it took them that long to feel uncomfortable because it didn't take me too long to feel like he might be intruding just a wee bit too much in the process of making the album when he was actually in the room while they were recording. In fact, Bob Rock, Metallica's producer who was present for the majority of the sessions with Towle, told him to back off at one point. No doubt Towle knows a lot about motivating his clients to get the best possible results in their lives and careers but when it came to the actual writing and recording process it seemed like he had gotten a bit too involved.

Of course that he was being paid $40,000 a month to be available to Metallica at any time they wanted probably made for excellent motivation to immerse himself as deeply as possible in everything the band did so as to make himself indespensible. Indeed Towle was present as many business related issues were discussed and I think that was another factor that made the band uncomfortable as well. There definitely have to be some boundaries. That's not to say that Towle didn't help the band resolve a lot of personal and professional issues for the right reasons but I also think that he seemed to become very connected to the band in a way that helped him personally as well.

In the end Metallica finished the album and went on tour in support of it. Apparently they have been in the studio fairly recently recording another album - it will be interesting to see what direction their music goes in and if it is at all different I wonder if that will have anything to do with the cameras not being around (assuming they're not working oin a sequel to SKoM).

Posted by silverdsl at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

February 05, 2006

Sean Penn Scuffles With Photographer At Brother's Funeral?

The New York Daily News is reporting that Sean Penn got into a fight with a photographer at yesterday's funeral for his brother, Chris. If this incident actually happened I'm sure that it will be used as a way to portray Penn in a negative light but I'm astonished that things have gotten so bad that the paparazzi intrude on a private funeral service to the point where they are close enough to get in a physical confrontation with the deceased's family. While I don't have a problem with celebrity photographers who go about their business in a respectful way I do find it distasteful the way there seems to be no boundaries that some paparazzi won't cross. Just because someone is famous doesn't mean that they give up all of their rights to privacy. Famous people are still human beings who deserve some consideration, particularly at someting so personal and emotional as a funeral. Photos are taken at funerals all the time when the person being buried is someone well known or who has been in the news. So I completely understand why there might have been some photographers there. But I find it distressing that chasing after a photo might have become more important to at least one photographer than showing compassion for the family while they were burying a loved one.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)

And That's Why You Always Pay Your Storage Unit Bills

I try to avoid reading, hearing or watching anything to do with Paris Hilton but the recent news that unpaid bills for a storage unit in her name have resulted in one man buying at auction what he says is a a "treasure trove" of scandal, caught my eye. Apparently Hilton used the unit to store diaries, photos, videos, sex toys, and computers among other items. Bidding for access to the diaries and other potentially scandalous material is up to $10 million. I'd like to say that I'm amazed that anyone would care what Paris Hilton wrote in her diaries or that they would pay that much for it but really I'm not surprised in the least. People are interested in the most intimate details of celebrities, the juicier the better, and though I sometimes can't figure out just exactly what Hilton has done that is so deserving of so much attention, she has certainly become a celebrity.

Jim had a good point about all of this - why was she storing such personal items in a storage unit? She has a house, maybe even more than one and I kind of doubt that there's a lack of storage space there. Perhaps she didn't want anyone that she was living with to come across those items, but ironically the whole world might get access to them instead. I do actually feel sorry for her if she was under the impression that the bills for the unit were being paid and she never got notice that they weren't. But with such personal items it seems as if one might want to keep them under lock and key close by.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:56 PM | Comments (0)

Photo of the Day - Aruba

Renaissance Island, Aruba, September, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:40 AM | Comments (0)

February 04, 2006

It Must Have Been Raining...

Yesterday there was a nine car pileup on the Strip in Las Vegas which led to the Strip being closed in both directions until it could be cleaned up. I wondered if it was raining because when Jim and I were in Las Vegas last year we were extremely nervous driving the days that it was raining. They don't get too much rain in Las Vegas and the roads seem much slicker than they are here in the rain but also drivers native to Las Vegas don't seem to be able to drive on wet roads quite as well as they do on dry roads. It was incredible how many fender-benders we encountered as we drove around, something we didn't see on the days that the roads were dry. It was like something that we might see up here in the Northeast during an ice storm.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 03, 2006

Why Can't People Just Live and Let Live?

Police in New Bedford, Massacusetts, are looking for an 18-year old who entered a gay bar and went on a rampage with a hacket and a gun, injuring three people. When you are dealing with someone who might be mentally unbalanced obviously they might not be thinking rationally but this is just one extreme example of intolerance for people's differences that happens everyday. Some people are harassed because of their sexual preference, some because of the color of their skin, their religion, their country of origin, their political beliefs, because of the way they look, or simply because they don't have opinions that the majority have. It's really disturbing and sad to me what people will do to each other because they think they are "right" and the other person is "wrong." There are a lot of close-minded people in this world and some of them act in very extreme ways. It's scary and it doesn't seem to be getting better.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)

Super Bowl Sunday Huge Day for Pizza Makers

I guess this is pretty obvious but Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest days of the year for pizza makers and really for any place that serves takeout food. According to the National Restaurant Association one out of every seven people in this country order takeout or delivery on Superbowl Sunday. The majority of those people, 58 percent, order pizza, 50 percent also order chicken wings and 20 percent order some kind of sub. The competition between the big, national pizza chains as well as with the small, local pizza places is intense and some add new items to the menu around this time of year specifically to lure customers on Superbowl Sunday. In fact, Pizza Hut has a new Cheesy Bites Pizza, featuring cheese-filled bites that form the perimeter of a large pizza which will be promoted via TV commercials with Jessica Simpson.

The numbers are staggering. Papa John's says that Super Bowl Sunday is their biggest day of the year and they expect to sell more than 600,000 pizzas at its 2,600 U.S. restaurants, double the amount they sell on a usual Sunday. Domino's expects to sell even more. They are predicting sales of 1.5 million to 1.6 million pizzas at its 5,000 stores in this country. Pizza Hut also expects to sell pizzas in the millions. When you add into that sales from local pizza places that's a lot of pizza! No wonder the pizza industry is a $37 billion industry!

Posted by silverdsl at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

February 02, 2006

Photo of the Day - Mickey

Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, January, 2004.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)

Michael Waltrip in the #66 in Busch

I'm not sure exactly all that this entails but during Busch testing in Daytona the crew chief of the #66 for Brewco Motorsports mentioned that a number of Cup drivers would be splitting time in the #66 including Michael Waltrip, Ken Schrader, Scott Wimmer, Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle. For some of the races Duraflame will be the sponsor but according to this item on Jayski's Michael and Ken will be in the #66 with Yardman as the sponsor:

Schrader and Waltrip to run #66 in Busch: the Yardman.com site has a NASCAR Racing section, listing Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip as drivers of the #66 Yardman Ford for Brewco Motorsports in the Busch Series, no races listed.(Yardman.com)(2-2-2006)

The Yardman site has an um, interesting photo of Michael on a Yardman lawmower. I adore Michael and I'm sure that Yardman is a wonderful company but I'm not sure that bright yellow and green are Michael's best colors. Or anyone's for that matter. Apparently there will also be a contest, similar to one that was done with Kevin Harvick last season, where Michael will come mow the contest winner's lawn. I'd love to "win" Michael in a contest and he might like coming to mow the lawn at my house since it's the size of a postage stamp! Since that wouldn't take long maybe Yardman would let me put him to work around the house otherwise. Get your minds out of the gutter!!! It's just that I'm so short and Michael is so tall, taller even than Jim, I could use him to get the stuff out of the top shelves of the cabinets!

The confusing part is how this fits in with Michael's plans for the #99. Supposedly the deal he signed with Aaron's is for Michael to race at least 22 Busch races in the #99 with Aaron's as the sponsor. So I'm not sure how many races he will be in the #66 for. It has been said that there will be two other drivers in the #99, Dave Blaney presumably being one of them, but it's unknown for how many races there will be alternate drivers and who the second person is. Some have expressed concern about Michael driving for another team as if he will get in "trouble" with someone but Michael isn't aligned with any particular manufacturer in Cup and Busch until Toyota comes on the scene in 2007. So he's not going to get in trouble for racing for a different manufacturer. And since he both owns and drives the #99 he's not going to get mad at himself for driving for someone else.

In the past the #66 has been a strong car with Greg Biffle behind the wheel so I expect that it will be equally as good with a variety of other Cup drivers behind the wheel in 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:42 PM | Comments (0)

Reporter Fired For Postings On MySpace Blog

Matt Donegan had a job as a reporter and photographer for the Dover Post until his editor, Don Flood, came across some of the material on his blog on MySpace.com, which included a potentially offensive remark about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and comments about the Post's newsroom. Flood said,

"I can't have somebody discussing comments in the office about some of the stories we're going to cover, and reasons we may or may not cover them."

I am astonished that Donegan thought that it was appropriate to discuss his job in such detail on his blog. Other than a few references here or there I try to say as little as possible about anything that relates to my job. Not only do I not want to accidentally get myself in trouble to me it doesn't seem right to discuss what happens at work publically. Of course I don't talk extensively about other aspects of my personal life anyway but work especially seems like something that should be off-limits for bloggers lest they accidentally offend someone or talk about something that is better left confidential.

Of course Donegan isn't the only person to get fired for what he wrote in his blog. Some feel that this trend could led to self-censoring but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Yes, people shouldn't be afraid to talk openly about their thoughts and opinions but they need to find the right venue to do so and a blog might not be the right place for everything. There are some things that I know I need to keep to myself and just discuss with my friends, family and husband. I also try to be remember that anyone might read what I write at any time. In addition, I try to be respectful of others and while I don't hesitate to say what I think strongly, I try to avoid name-calling or anything that might fall into bashing or personal insults.

But a lot of people seem to think that having a blog, website or being on a message board means that anything goes. Not so. Just because you can say something doesn't mean that you should say something.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)

Millionares But They Still Get an Allowance

Players who are participating in the World Baseball Classic are allowed to start reporting to Spring Training immediately and once there they will receive spring training money as soon as they get there. Many of the players are millionaires many times over but they will still receive a weekly spring training allowance of $262.50, plus a supplemental allowance of $46.50 for players not living at club headquarters and a daily meal allowance of $74. Of course there are some players in spring training in the minors, who are fringe players or haven't played in the majors very long who don't earn a lot of money. So for those players the allowances and meal money likely is a big help. But for a player like Alex Rodriguez who earns something like $26 million a year and that doesn't include endorsements or any other business ventures he makes money from, it seems a little ridiculous that he, or other extremely well-paid players, get meal money or a weekly allowance.

To those players $262 is pocket change - in fact many of them probably carry around a lot more money than that on a daily basis. Of course the union has to look out for all it's members and there likely isn't a way to just give allowances and meal money to players who make below a certain amount but there is something that doesn't feel completely right with me about giving multi-millionares extra money to help with their expenses during spring training.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:26 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park and the Truck Ride That Wasn't To Be

Steve Park was interviewed by Claire B. Lang on XM yesterday and in addition to talking about his new part-time ride with the #31 for Whelen/Ted Marsh Motorsports, Steve mentioned that he thought he had a deal for a full-time ride in the truck series but it fell through in the past few days. I had heard the rumor that he was working on something for a full-time truck ride for at least a month and I didn't think it was a good sign that when he went to Daytona testing he was still saying it was close but not done yet. Claire B. mentioned the possiblity that Bill Davis Racing was going to be the organization fielding this truck for Steve and if that was the case I'm not surprised in the least that the deal is a no-go. While Steve said that something might still happen for him in the truck series if it does it would likely only be making a few starts here and there as opposed to anything full-time.

My question is - how was BDR going to successfully field a fourth full-time truck team when their three existing teams aren't all fully sponsored? In fact, Steve mentioned that what prevented this deal from happening was money. Though he said that he had a sponsor willing to work with them, the finances to get this deal done weren't there. That was a bit confusing to me because usually a sponsor's money makes deals happen. So I can only speculate that the sponsor wasn't a big-money one or wasn't going to be a full-time primary sponsor. BDR is getting a lot of support from Toyota in the truck series but a fourth truck might spread those resources, both financial and otherwise, pretty thin especially if the sponsor wasn't going to be able to pick up a lot of the tab.

Steve also said that he is working on trying to get something lined up to race at Daytona but based on what he was saying the chances of that happening sound extremely remote. He said that he needs $75,000-125,000, personnel and a team to make a go of it. So essentially all he has is himself and his desire to race. The other thing is that Steve will only get into a truck that will be able to race competitively at Daytona so that means that his choices are extremely limited in terms of which teams might be able to field a strong truck like that for him. I feel bad for Steve because he's raced at Daytona to start the season every year since 1997 and it's probably difficult to face the idea that the race weekend will likely go on without him.

So what he's left with is racing ten races in the Busch series, starting with the first race in Las Vegas. While Steve sounded very happy about working with the people at Whelen and Ted Marsh Racing again and he is very appreciative of the opportunity that they gave him, he didn't sound quite as upbeat or excited as he did last season when he was talking about racing for BDR for those two races. I guess he really thought that those two races would lead to something more so it must be pretty disappointing that it appears that's not going to happen. Hopefully he will have some success in the #31 car and it might open some eyes in the garage area about what he is still capable of behind the wheel.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)

February 01, 2006

Photo of the Day

Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey, 2002.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)

As I've Said Before...

If anyone is cruising by this site because they are looking for information on various drivers or baseball players and who they might be dating, who they are married to you will be very disappointed. While I have been known to touch upon drivers or baseball player's significant others it's always because they are somehow involved in something newsworthy or interesting as opposed to me discussing the latest hot gossip about who is dating or cheating on who.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:59 PM | Comments (0)

And This is Why You Need to Proofread...

Down below I made mention of the error on Steve Park's site in the official announcement of his new ride with Whelen/Ted Marsh Motorsports, Steve talked about his excitement of returning to the Busch Grand National Series. Only problem is that Nascar dropped "Grand National" out of the name of the series after the 2002 season. The error is fixed on Steve's site now but not before it was posted like that on Jayski's in the following way:

UPDATE: From the Steve Park site "I'm thrilled to announce that I will be back in the #31 Whelen Engineering Monte Carlo for 10 select races during the 2006 Busch Grand National season" [note: it has not been the Busch Grand National Series since 2002, just simply the Busch Series](2-1-2006)

So Steve's mistake was pointed out for quite a few people to see - 400,000 or more a day in fact based on the latest statistics that Jayski has posted on his site. I am very relieved that they fixed the mistake on Steve's site since it will look much better to everyone going there but unfortunately now it's going to be saved for posterity on Jayski's where is will continue to make Steve look a little silly for seeming to not know the name of the series he's going to be racing in. I certainly make my share of stupid mistakes - I'm sure someone could go through this blog and point out any number of errors - but I'm not a Nascar driver.

The thing is that Jayski's is read not only by fans but by any number of people in the garage area. And if it jumped out at me that Steve got the name of the series wrong, it's certainly going to jump out at anyone who actually works in Nascar. I guess to some it seems ridiculous that I'm still talking about this but where it might have been shrugged off a few years ago when someone made a mistake like that I don't think that's the case anymore. Sometimes it seems as if what the drivers say is as important as what they do in the car.

When I brought up the error elsewhere I was told "that's just Steve" and how he refers to Speed as Speedvision, their old name and ha-ha, he probably still refers to the Cup series by it's old name the Winston Cup Series. It's one thing to mix up names in casual conversation with fans but I really hope that's not the way it is when he talks to people who matter. Because if Steve doesn't get the name of the series he's racing in right or the name of the TV station he's going to be doing interviews with and does this on a regular basis is a sponsor going to think that he might not get their name right either? Obviously he doesn't have to worry about that at the moment since he has a ride lined up in the #31 with a sponsor he has a long relationship with but I'm guessing he will be looking for a full-time ride in the future and it pays to be extra careful in this regard.

ETA: Claire B. Lang also mentioned the Busch "Grand National" reference in her interview with Steve this evening. :(

Posted by silverdsl at 03:36 PM | Comments (0)