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April 30, 2006

Photo of the Day - Paulinskill Viaduct

Paulinskill Viaduct, Hainsburg, New Jersey, April, 2006. Jim and I took a ride out to the Paulinskill Viaduct today. I wanted to get out there before all the leaves were on the trees, which would make it hard to take photos of the viaduct as it's out in the middle of the woods and also before there were too many bugs. In addition, NJ Transit may one day in the next couple of years starting running trains over the viaduct again which would make it a lot less accessible than it is now. Today was the perfect day to go as it was really nice out - not too hot and not too cool, but also there wasn't a cloud in the sky. So we had a great time exploring, though we didn't end up going all the way to the top, and taking photos, some of which will end up in this blog this week.

It's really hard to capture just how huge the viaduct is - it's really quite a sight seeing it rise over the treetops!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)

Hey, There Was a Truck Race Last Night!

Not that anyone noticed since it was in St. Louis instead of taking place at the same track that the Cup and Busch races are being run at. Steve Park finished 18th and a top twenty is something for this team to get excited about considering how poor their results in all the other races this season have been. Of course that's not been the fault of the team or their drivers, rather a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which has resulted in being wrecked out of the first four races of the season. Last night's race was a different story - despite spinning twice, as usual though no fault of his own, rather because of other drivers getting into him, Steve finished the race in one piece, which I'm sure the team was very happy about since bent sheet metal is probably more of a burden to a small team than it is for a team with a lot of resources.

However, the 18th place finish was more due to a lot of other drivers being involved in incidents and having problems than the #59 truck being so great. It seemed as if Steve's truck was loose at times and the only reason why he was towards the front at all was due to pit strategy. Unfortunately all too often after he made some gains on the track, he almost immediately would fall backwards. Last race there was a pre-race report but there was no post-race report and there wasn't a pre-race report for this race so I'm not sure the odds are very good that we will ever find out what went on for Steve during the race unless a fan posts a race report of their own somewhere. I had figured that finishing 18th might bump the #59 team up a little in the owner's points standings so that they were closer to being in the top 30 and thus not have to worry about qualifying on time but it appears that they are exactly where they were prior to this race.

Todd Bodine ended up winning this race, his third win this season, and fifth out of the last eight races. At this point Bodine is completely dominating this series and has to be considered a threat to win just about every race. He said,

"It's just a really great place to be. I still feel like I want to get in the Cup Series and prove that we can do it there. But right now we're enjoying what we're doing. We're running good and we're going after a championship for Toyota."

Bodine has never had much success in Cup and has seemed to attract quite a bit of trouble on the track. But maybe he's just never raced cars that would allow him to be as competitive as he's been in the truck series lately. I think there's a good chance that he will be the next Truck Series Champion. Even if he doesn't win it all this season, I think he will continue to show that he isn't as useless of a driver as many fans seem to think.

The Toyotas dominated this race. The top five was Bodine, his teammate, Ted Musgrave; David Reutimann, who led quite a few laps himself in this race; Jack Sprague; and Johnny Benson. In addition, David Starr finished 8th so six of the top ten finishers in this race were Toyota trucks. Bodine said,

"There is no competitive advantage. Where the advantage is is for the support that Toyota puts behind their teams, in the technical side of it -- getting us the information, the data, the means to do what we do every week."

Despite what he's saying I think the Toyotas do have somewhat of a competitive advantage over many of the other teams. They are just so strong and this race is some of the proof of that.

Otherwise, I can't say that I was all that excited about this race. It's funny because I was really looking forward to seeing Steve race since it had been three weeks since the last time he was on the track and that race didn't end so well. But I guess because he didn't have such an exceptional race I found myself feeling kind of blah about this race. I've been noticing lately that the interest level in what Steve is up to seems to have waned so maybe I'm not the only one who is blah about things. It's not that no one cares about Steve - Steve has a ton of fans, who will support him always no matter what he's doing but I guess because there's not that much to talk about, even when he races, people aren't.... well, talking. I guess this is the way things evolve. Maybe that will change when he has a full-time ride for people to get excited about or when the fanzone opens.

Posted by silverdsl at 06:15 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/30)

Happy birthday Michael Waltrip! It's Michael's 43rd birthday today (along with Elliott Sadler) but unfortunately he won't be racing today. Nor will anyone else. That's because rain has forced Nascar to postpone the Aaron's 499 until tomorrow at noon, which stinks for me and anyone else who has to work. I can't take the day off of work but luckily I will be able to listen via XM and to Michael's radio communication via Trackpass. I will miss seeing the action unfold on TV but at least I'll still be able to follow along. I'll have to record the race and then watch the highlights when I get home.

Last weekend Michael was complaining about flying under the radar as far as media attention this season but he more than made up for that this week. Unfortunately until the past couple of days that wasn't for great reasons since most of the stories were about how much trouble the #55 team was in since they dropped out of the top 35 in owner points. But on Friday Michael met with the media to discuss a variety of topics, including his search for a driver for his second Cup car and his relationship with Toyota which produced quite a few stories that were a little more positive. I was thrilled that Claire B. Lang played quite a bit of what Michael had to say on "Dialed In" on XM so I got to hear most of it. He definitely had a lot of interesting things to say.

Of course the topic of how he felt about potentially not qualifying for the race came up. As we now know Michael qualified with no problem for this race, but on Friday he was asked whether missing the race would be devestating for him. Perhaps the reporter who asked meant in terms of devestating to his team, their chances for turning their season around and sticking in the top 35 in owner's points, but Michael answered from a personal standpoint. He said that it would be very disappointing but not devestating. Why? Because over the years his definition of devestating has changed and he's come to learn that there are more important things in life.

Some fans were upset when they heard that he said this because they seemed to feel that it indicates that his priorities aren't with his team, but that is a very common sentiment it seems from older, veteran drivers. When a driver first starts racing Cup it probably seems like there is nothing more important than being in the car on race day. But as a driver gets older, has a family and their career starts to wind down, many probably start to realize that there is more to life. I believe that Michael's perspective has likely also been changed by the loss of his father, the dead of his close friend, Dale Earnhardt, who was probably on his mind since Dale's birthday would have been yesterday, and by being the father of two daughters, among other things. Family, friends, being in good health, experiencing life outside of the race car, I believe those things take on added significance and importance as the years go on and drivers realize, as many others often do, not to take anything in life for granted. So yes, I think Michael would have been extremely upset had he not qualified the #55 for the race but I don't think he would be as upset as if there had been a death in his family. I have absolutely no problem with Michael valuing other things more than his race car. That said, I have no doubt that driving a race car is still extremely important to Michael and he is, and will, do everything he can to be as successful as he can, both as a driver and as an owner.

The majority of the rest of what Michael said seemed to focus on the future and Toyota. Michael went on a huge rant about Toyota and how he felt that the media had gotten it entirely wrong in relation to how the Toyota teams are going about finding drivers and personnel. He could not have been more clear in stating that Toyota are not the ones who are signing the drivers or hiring the crew members, that he has complete freedom to make all the decisions in those areas. He said,

"Every time I read something, it says, 'Toyota is after Ricky Rudd, Toyota is after crewmembers. They're not. They're committed to me to help build cars and engines. It's not anything unlike Richard Childress gets help from General Motors or Robert Yates gets help from Ford. It's going to cost me $20 million to run a competitive team and most of that comes from NAPA. It's not Toyota."

It's not just the media of course who have assumed that Toyota is calling all the shots when it comes to the drivers who will be in Toyota Cup cars. Most fans, including myself at times, have talked about why Toyota would want this driver or that driver. But Michael said that it's his sponsors who have the most input into who he puts into his cars, not Toyota. In fact Michael said that he had a list of drivers who his sponsors would be "cool" with. He intends on trying to get the best driver he possibly can get, who might or might not be a top driver. It will all depend on who Michael feels can best get the job done for him, who his sponsors want and of course who they can come to a deal with.

To that end Michael has already started reaching out to some drivers to gauge their interest level in racing for him. It sounds like he's pretty much all set for his Busch cars as David Reutimann is lined up to drive one car and if Joey Miller does well for DW in the truck series this season he will likely drive the second car, thus ending the hopes of some Steve Park fans that Michael was going to put him in a Busch car in the future (I'm kind of thinking it's likely we won't be seeing him in Cup for MWR either). But the second Cup car, which Michael already has a full-time primary sponsor for, is still available. Michael said that he has only talked to people who aren't signed for 2007 and one of the people who he talked to about driving for him next season is Dale Jarrett, which must be where the rumors of Jarrett racing for Toyota came from. Michael said, "I haven't really talked about that a whole lot," Waltrip said,

"Obviously, it's been in the media that his deal is up this year, and so you ought to be able to figure out that I probably have. How could you not? He's a champion and he's a friend. I did ask him but I don't have anything to report on the answer."

At first I was thinking that it was unlikely that Jarrett would sign with Michael Waltrip Racing since it's been said that UPS intends on following Jarrett to his new team if he were to leave Robert Yates Racing, which wouldn't work at MWR since Michael already has a sponsor for the second car. But Jarrett has since said that what he does is separate from what UPS does.

"They came here because of what we accomplished here at Robert Yates Racing and that hasn't been a factor in determining in what I'm going to do. The offers that I have had from everybody else aren't contingent on bringing a sponsor."

So that does open up the door to him potentially racing for Michael. I'm not sure how realistic that would be, and if Jarrett would even leave Yates, but it is an intriguing scenario. I find it interesting that Michael is even admitting publically that he talked to Jarrett about a ride since usually owners don't tip their hand to what drivers they might be speaking with. Since Dale and Michael are friends the thought crossed my mind if Dale gave Michael the green light to discuss it knowing that it might jumpstart negotiations with Yates and other teams out of fear that if they don't move soon they might lose him to a Toyota team. It could also raise Jarrett's price tag if there is the belief that he is going to be in demand by a bunch of different teams.

The other thing that Michael talked about is the Burger King car that Bill Elliott will be racing later this season. Apparently Michael also approached Ricky Rudd about racing those races for him but Ricky wasn't interested so I guess he really was serious about taking this season off. There has been some talk about Ricky coming back in 2007 for one of the Toyota teams and I assume Michael talking to him about the #00 car is where that came from. But apparently Burger King coming on board to race the five races is what has really helped MWR to get a headstart on next season. Because if they weren't racing that car with a sponsor there would be no money coming in and they couldn't afford to hire the personnel that they have. I'm sure a few people are thinking that with all the money that Michael has made over the years that he should be able to afford to hire anyone he wants. But it's incredibly expensive to field a competitive race team, and especially in Cup. Michael said that they estimate that it will cost at least $20 million to have a competitive Cup car, most of which will be paid by NAPA in the case of the #55 car, but that probably doesn't account for all the expenses that go into running a successful race operation, just what it takes to put the actual team together.

I really enjoyed listening to what Michael had to say and it was interesting to hear him talk mostly from the perspective of an owner since we are used to hearing him speak as a driver so often. I know that some fans feel that he should focus on his responsibilities as a driver first and foremost, and that worrying about being an owner and what's going on with MWR is a distraction to what he is doing in the car. I think there is some truth to that, but I also think that it goes back to what I was talking about earlier in terms of Michael's priorities possibly shifting as he has gotten older. He's been racing for more than 20 years in Cup and as sad as it is to think about it, Michael's career is winding down. While he may continue racing full-time for another 2-3 years, I think he wants to be prepared for what he's going to do when he's no longer a full-time driver. That's really important because one thing about Michael is that he's been extremely active, involved and busy with appearances, on TV, doing things for his sponsors, etc... I'm not sure he would be happy if he didn't have a lot that he was involved with after he turned his car over to someone else. So owning several teams in Busch and Cup, having Waltrip Racing World, and everything else he is making preparations for now is probably a very good idea. It also ensures that his family will be well-taken care of financially since the money will continue to come in. Not every driver looks to the future and prepares as well as Michael has. But even more important is that everything that Michael is doing with MWR is some of his dreams coming true - the dream that one day he would own his own full-time Cup teams. I am really impressed with the way he made that happen and in a big way.

In other news, unfortunately a deal couldn't be worked out so that Michael could keep racing for Brewco Motorsports so Scott Wimmer will take his place in the races that he was supposed to race for Brewco. I don't know what that means for the Yardman sponsorship or whether Michael will race those races in the #99 instead but I'm really disappointed. Michael did so well in the Brewco car in Nashville and I was really looking forward to seeing what he might do in that car in future races.

I hope that Michael has fun celebrating his birthday tonight and has a great race tomorrow!

ETA: A link to a complete transcript of the remarks that Michael made to the media on Friday was posted on another site. It's well worth reading through in it's entirety. It's interesting how Michael mentioned more than once how the media should seek him out if they have any questions about Toyota and how they will be operating in Cup.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

April 29, 2006

Photo of the Day - Tulip Tree?

New Jersey, April, 2006. I call this a tulip tree but in reality I have no clue what kind of flowering tree it actually is.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

Michael Waltrip Makes the Race!!!

Michael Waltrip and the #55 team did exactly what they needed to do today and qualified on time for the Cup race at Talladega which willl be run tomorrow on Michael's birthday. I was afraid of what might happen all week and even more concerned after the practice times weren't wonderful yesterday. But the fates were on Michael's side this afternoon during qualifying and not only did he make the race, but he qualified 21st! Jim and I were out shopping while qualifying was happening but thanks to the wonders of XM I was able to keep up with what was going on when we were in the car going from store to store. When it was Michael's turn to take his qualifying run I made Jim sit in the car of the parking lot of Bed, Bath and Beyond until I heard how well he did. When I found out he was among the fastest of the drivers who needed to qualify on time I was estatic. I was ready to dance though the parking lot but I managed somehow to contain myself!

I don't know how the race is going to turn out for Michael. There is always the threat of being caught up in The Big One at any plate race. But now that he's in the race Michael is very positive about his chances for doing well. In fact Michael thinks that he has a chance to win. He said,

"I believe I can win the race now that I am in it. I just have that much confidence about it."

Even though Michael has always been outstanding at plate races and was always considered a threat to win at these tracks when he was at DEI, it would be something of an upset if he won tomorrow. But he can definitely do it if he has a strong car and it appears that he might have a fairly decent car. So I will have my fingers crossed for him that he will get a most wonderful birthday present in the form of a win! But if that #55 car isn't destined to be in victory lane, I at least hope that he will be able to get a top ten or top fifteen to jumpstart his season going in the right direction!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2006

Elliott Sadler Looking For a New Ride?

According to Tim Tuttle of SI.com, Elliott Sadler has been putting out feelers to other teams to see if there's any possible rides that might become available to him. Sadler has one more year left on his contract at Robert Yates Racing, but when has been locked into a contract stopped anyone in Nascar from making a change? Tuttle said in his column,

When Sadler arrived at Yates, he said it was a dream job, perhaps a lifetime job. And now? He's not so sure. Sources say Sadler is talking to other team owners looking for a deal. He'll be 31 on Sunday, and in a tight market for experienced, winning Cup drivers with plenty of years left, somebody likely will be interested.

Sadler has a year remaining on his contract, and he may just be testing the waters in case things don't improve. Or he may be trying to create a situation like Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray did last year by signing a year in advance and then letting the car owners work out a deal for an early release.

I'm sure many will be quick to dismiss this as a wild rumor, and there might even be a denial from Sadler himself. But I wouldn't dismiss it so fast. There were numerous rumors about Bobby Labonte looking to leave Joe Gibbs Racing, something that was inconcievable to many, and in spite of denials from Labonte, that's exactly what ended up happening. While not every rumor becomes reality, in many cases I think there is a grain of truth to many rumors. In a lot of ways it's smart for Sadler to start making some inquiries now even if he intends on staying with Yates through the end of his contract. This way he can get a sense of what rides might be open and some teams might start thinking towards the future and the possibility of signing him.

I think that Sadler's next contract will be an important one for him because at 31 (he turns 31 on Sunday) he is starting to become less of a young gun and more of a veteran driver. We all know how desirable the young guns are to teams and how much trouble the veterans can have if things don't go their way. So Sadler needs to put himself in a position where he has a long-term deal with a strong team. He will certainly be in demands if his services were available considering he is a driver who can race up front and win, he is extremely marketable, has an outstanding personality and attitude, and is very fan-friendly. In fact, I think Sadler's popularity is a huge asset for him because he has a tremendous and very loyal fan base. As much as driving skill is important, increasingly there are a lot of off-the-track factors which are key for teams as well when they are looking at drivers.

The organization that Sadler ends up with may very well be Yates. His results while at Yates have been the best of his career. Since becoming the driver of the #38 in 2003, Sadler started slow but has since won two races, 12 top fives and 37 top tens compared to one win, four top fives and 11 tops tens while he was with the Wood Brothers from 1999-2002. Sadler was in the Chase for the Championship in 2004 and a contender last season. While he is currently in 14th in the points and the team has struggled for consistency, the season is far from lost. Sadler and the #38 team are still very much capable of winning a few races and getting into the Chase.

But every driver dreams of not just winning some races and contending for the Championship but actually becoming Cup Champion. So even though Sadler has been successful at Yates, he may feel that there are other teams that would give him a better chance at getting that Championship. With the possibility of Dale Jarrett leaving Yates as well, I can see Yates making a big push to keep Sadler happy. If push came to shove I would guess that they would choose the younger Sadler over Jarrett, assuming they could come to terms with Sadler - that isn't to say that Jarrett is a lesser driver, simply the reality that often youth wins out these days. I'm interested to see whether Yates will try a crew chief change with the #38 even though they aren't that far down in points and Tommy Baldwin, Jr. is a relatively new hire with a good reputation. Often the crew chief is the first to go if expectations aren't met as quickly as everyone wants.

I've always liked Sadler so I really hope that if he is looking at other teams, he ends up in a good situation that will give him the best possible chance at winning - I would love to see him win that Championship some day too.

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

April 27, 2006

Photo of the Day - Cinderella's Castle

Cinderella's Castle, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, January, 2004. Cinderella's Castle has a slightly different look when it's back-lit.

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

Should've Mentioned Sooner...

... but entries have been sparse at some points this week because of how busy we are at work.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:55 PM | Comments (1)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/27)

So it turns out there's more to the story about why Michael Waltrip was racing the Yardman #99 for Brewco Motorsports at Nashville instead of the #66, which ended up being a Michael Waltrip Racing entry with David Reutimann behind the wheel. From Nascar Scene, via Jayski's:

Brewco Faces Dilemma with Waltrip: Brewco Motorsports will have to decide what to do about the Busch Series races in which Yard-Man is a sponsor, the next of which is May 5 in Richmond. Michael Waltrip was supposed to run those events, but his Nextel Cup sponsorship from NAPA conflicts with Brewco's associated sponsorship from Federated Auto Parts. In an attempt to appease everyone, Waltrip ran the Yard-Man paint scheme with the #99, which represents the Busch team Waltrip owns. But a Brewco Motorsports crew worked on the car during the race and it was a Brewco car. Meanwhile a Michael Waltrip Racing car had the #66 on it with David Reutimann as driver. NASCAR did not award Brewco the points its team earned through Waltrip, so the Brewco team is now in a quandary for the six other races scheduled this season. That was a 73-point difference and six spots in the points standings.(NASCAR Scene)(4-27-2006)

I have to say that is a pretty big error that no one realized prior to the contracts being signed that there was a conflict between NAPA and Federated Autoparts. Several fans picked up on this on the forum on Michael's site so I am really surprised that no one from either organization thought of this. The only thing I can think of is that maybe they thought they could work things out or were told that it wouldn't be a problem and then after further review it was. Yardman has invested quite a bit in Michael by marketing their sponsorship of him in the #66 pretty heavily with the "Honey, Is That Michael Waltrip Mowing Our Lawn?" contest.

Originally when I heard about this problem I thought that Michael could just take the Yardman sponsorship with him to Michael Waltrip Racing and the #99 but then I realized that in those races that Michael was supposed to race for Brewco, Cottman Transmissions were supposed to be the sponsor of the #99 with Reutimann behind the wheel so there would have to be a second MWR car in the mix. And it wouldn't really be fair to Brewco to lose their sponsor for those races - maybe for those races MWR and Brewco could switch sponsors. Essentially it just sounds like a big mess. I hope somehow it works out that Michael can race more races for Brewco since he did so well in that Ford.

Of course there's a more immediate problem for Michael and that's qualifying for Sunday's race since he's no longer guaranteed a spot since the #55 is 36th in owner points. Michael would want to be in the race regardless but it's also his birthday on Sunday and that makes it even more important that he makes the race. Not racing on his birthday at Talladega, where he's run before? I'd say impossible, but unfortunately it is possible. Michael said,

"The reality is, this year has been tougher than I thought it would be. I never dreamed we would be outside the top-35 but we are, so we need to really focus on fixing that. We understood that this year would be a bit of a challenge without factory support. We thought we could survive that and build and be ready for our Toyota venture in 2007. Talladega is a big part of that. If we can make the race, then we can start patching up what’s been going wrong and hopefully get better going forward.”

I knew that this season would be a struggle for Michael but I also never anticipated that things would get this bad - but does any fan think that their driver will struggle this much? I hope that Michael is right and that Talladega will be a turning point for the team, that they will make the race, finish well and it will jump start their season turning around. What might happen if they don't make the race... well, I don't really want to think about all of that right now because it's too depressing.

Not racing on his birthday is a rather depressing thought to Michael too. But one thing he is looking forward to is that his friend, the singer Edwin McCain is going to perform the National Anthem on Sunday. Michael said,

“I'm thrilled that Edwin's going to be there. I’m really looking forward to hanging out with him. He’s a good friend and a phenomenal singer. He just released his new album.”

I think it's interesting that Michael has a number of musicians as his friends. Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish is also a friend of his. Michael seems to really enjoy music and can obviously relate to musicians if a couple of them are good friends of his. I also notice that he doesn't miss an opportunity to plug new albums that they come out with - he did the same with Hootie and the Blowfish's album last year, going so far as to feature Darius on a segment of "Mikey Mike'd" which was pretty cool.

Back to racing, the #00 which will have Hermie Sadler behind the wheel, is a late entry (post-entry) to this weekend's race. I was surprised that this car wasn't entered to begin with considering the whole weekend's events are sponsored by Aaron's and they've sponsored Hermie in this car before. But most people are assuming that this car has been entered as a back-up plan for Michael in case the #55 doesn't make the race but the #00 does. Presumably the car would become a NAPA #55 car with Michael behind the wheel instead of Hermie. Some have wondered if the #55 were to go on the car if Waltrip-Jasper would then get owner points for it even though the car wouldn't be owned by them. That is a similar scenario to what happened when the #99 was on the Brewco car at Nashville. I've been told that this couldn't happen because the number switch wasn't made prior to when both cars were entered in the race, but I've also seen it said that it is possible for the #55 to get owner points if it were on another car. Hopefully it won't come to that but I would like to know a definitive answer as to whether or not that scenario is possible. The only problem with the #00 being entered is that it's one more car that Michael has to out qualify and it would really suck if he was knocked out the race by a car that he has a stake in.

Michael is also racing in the Busch race on Saturday. In the first practice today, Michael was 39th but in Happy Hour, Michael was 16th. It's really hard for me to know exactly how good the car is because you have to throw drafting, qualifying runs and all sorts of set-ups into the mix. But it would be nice if Michael had a car capable of racing up front like he did in the Busch race in Daytona. That way he would know that if he was able to miss The Big One, he would likely do well in at least one race this weekend.

Of course no matter how much I, and every other fan of Michael's, wish that there was something that we could do to ensure that Michael qualifies for the race on Sunday, there isn't. That's not going to stop me from having my fingers (and toes!) crossed for Michael for good luck!

Posted by silverdsl at 07:29 PM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2006

Why Isn't Kyle Busch Being Penalized for Retaliating Against Casey Mears?

I didn't discuss this yesterday because I had already ripped Kyle Busch for something so I figured I would save some hatin' for today. Not really. I don't really care for Busch much these days but I don't actually hate him. I am however perplexed as to why he didn't receive a fine or have points taken away for deliberately hitting Casey Mears under caution last weekend at Phoenix. Busch was upset because he felt that Mears had wrecked him so he went looking for a little retaliation. I can't stand when drivers use their cars as weapons against each other. I understand why it happens and I expect to see it happen, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it. Busch ended up behind the wall after that incident and when he returned to the track Nascar had him come to the pits where he was held for an additional five laps as punishment. Of course that's no punishment at all considering how many laps he was already down.

Nascar claims that the five lap penalty that they gave Busch during the race, as well as the talking-to they gave him after the race is punishment enough. But I don't agree. Last year after Kasey Kahne deliberately ran into... hey, look at that - young Mr. Busch, during a caution at New Hampshire, he was fined $25,000, lost 25 driver points and his owner, Ray Evernham lost 25 owner points. At the time Mike Helton said,

“There have been a growing number of incidents lately where drivers have taken matters into their own hands. Such unsafe and inappropriate behavior has to stop. NASCAR will use whatever means necessary to stop it.”

A year later it seems as if they've decided that kind of behavior isn't so inappropriate after all if they aren't willing to even penalize Busch as much as they did Kahne. I'm not saying that they should throw Busch out of Nascar. But it seems to me that there is precedent for more of a penalty.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2006

Photo of the Day - Pretty in Pink

Rosedale Park, New Jersey. 2002.

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

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/25)

Michael Waltrip's getting a lot of media attention this week, but unfortunately a lot of it isn't for positive reasons. I guess that's to be expected since getting wrecked at Phoenix knocked him out of the top 35 in owner's points which means there is no guarantee that he will be racing on his birthday this Sunday. Tom Bowles, writing for SI.com , summarizes the situation, and actually manages to sound sympathetic towards Michael, something that many fans and some in the media seem to be unable to do. He says,

Catch any glimpses of Michael Waltrip's NAPA-Best Western-Domino's Pizza-insert 10 more sponsors here-Dodge running up front in any race this season? Didn't think so. Sadly, one of the sport's most colorful drivers is all but disappearing from the radar screen, and his season now is in serious trouble.

I'm glad that someone other than Michael's fans thinks that the way his season is going is a shame. Bowles also brings up a good point about Bill Davis Racing in that in light of their legal problems with Dodge they likely have the smallest budget of any multi-car team, which is hindering their efforts. Which unfortunately means that it might be unlikely in my opinion, unfortunately for Michael and Dave Blaney, that they will be able to make their cars significantly more competitive this season than they are now.

There is one other person in the media who feels for Michael and that's Bob Margolis of Yahoo! Sports, who writes,

Michael Waltrip actually had a good race going (for a change) for the first hundred laps until the melee at Turn 4 took him out. I wonder if he looks at this season as being similar to a kid on the night before Christmas? You know what's coming around the corner (a Toyota Camry), but you can't play with it yet.

Waltrip now sits just outside the magic top 35 in owner points (his car is 36th) and he'll have to qualify on speed next weekend at Talladega. For those of you who may have forgotten, his restrictor plate cars at Daytona were junk.

Poor Mikey.

Poor Mikey indeed. Michael must be dying to unwrap that shiny new Toyota that he knows is waiting for him but he's got months and months to wait.

There are some fans who do recognize that Michael experienced some reallly tough luck on Saturday. His crash on lap 99 that gave him his first DNF of the season earned him the dubious "honor" of being voted this week's Cup winner of the Goody's Headache Powder Headache of the Race Award. That award earns him a $250 check (that's probably less than any of the drivers carry in their wallets on any given day) and an additional $250 will be donated to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in his name.

Before he heads to Talladega Michael is making a few visits to his sponsors. Yesterday he was in Florida at the headquarters of Burger King and Thursday morning he heads to Georgia where he will stop by the headquarters of NAPA. Michael said about visiting Burger King,

“This will be a great opportunity for me to meet and spend time with representatives of Burger King at their headquarters. As I’ve said many times before, Burger King is a great brand and a great sponsor. We’re happy that they are on board for the five races Bill Elliott will drive for us. ”

What I'm wondering is if Michael had a meal with the executives from Burger King whether they had Whoppers? I'm sure that Michael would like to give new meaning to their slogan "have it your way." If he could really have it his way I'm sure he'd change a few rules so that he didn't have to worry about having to qualify in on time this weekend.

About his visit to NAPA Michael said,

“NAPA has been very successful in each series they have competed in and I’m proud to have been a part of their winning success. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone this week and I’m also looking forward to our future.”

I suspect that he will be very much playing up the future and how much improved things will be in the future once are working with Toyota.

One thing that Michael won't have to worry about is qualifying in on time for Saturday's Busch race. Since he is in the top 30 in owner points in that series he is guaranteed a spot. Which is a good thing because Michael's #99 Aaron's Dream Machine will have a special paint scheme this weekend. I'm not sure how long ago but at some point Aaron's held a contest, Color your Way to Talladega Sweepstakes, which had over 25,000 entrants. I have no idea how they were able to choose one winner out of that many entries but somehow six-year old Benee Calderon was selected as the winner. He and his family won an all-expenses paid trip to Talladega to watch the race and they will also meet Michael. But I think what's really cool is that for the rest of his life Benee can say that he designed the paint scheme on a Nascar race car.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)

It's Not Easy Being a Female...

... for any number of reasons but today I'll just go with the inappropriate comments that Keith Hernandez and Kyle Busch have said recently.

First we have former player and current TV broadcaster for the New York Mets, Keith Hernandez, who said about Kelly Calabrese, the San Diego Padres' full-time massage therapist, when he saw her in the dugout,

"I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout."

Hernandez later tried to brush off the comments as a joke by saying,

"You know I am only teasing. I love you gals out there -- always have."

Naturally there some outrage over those comments which forced Hernandez to apologize, not for the actual remarks, but in case he offended anyone. Which tells me that he didn't actually regret anything he said, rather how people reacted to it. SportsNet New York realized that stronger action was needed and released a statement saying,

"Keith Hernandez made inappropriate comments regarding the presence of a female massage therapist of the San Diego Padres who was in the dugout. We immediately addressed the issue with Keith and reprimanded him, and he publicly apologized during Sunday's game."

I can understand why Hernandez took note of Calabrese in the dugout since it is extremely unusual to see a female in the dugout who isn't a ballgirl. However, his comment that followed indicated that even in 2006, Hernandez can't fathom any reason why a woman would be in the dugout, even as a team employee. Inappropriate is right. While there are no female baseball players, as is obvious from Calabrese's presence it's clearly possible for a woman to be a member of the training staff. In fact as time goes on I would hope and expect that becomes a more common sight, as unhappy as it might make Hernandez.

Then we have young Kyle Busch. He was asked during a pre-race interview whether driving a race he is a big hit with the ladies. He said yes, and said that there are pit lizards running around. I want to give Busch the benefit of the doubt and assume that he mean that all female fans who he sees running around are pit lizards and he realizes that not every female fan that he sees is looking to hook up with a driver. That said, I still don't think it's appropriate for Busch to be referring to any female fan as a pit lizard. The reality is that while there are some women who dress in the stereotypical pit lizard "style" there is no way of knowing what a woman's motivation might be for being at the track or being a fan.

Just because a woman is attractive and dressed in a certain way doesn't mean that she should be judged for it. I happen to be very thin and have a certain "look." I don't wear skimpy clothes, in fact I rarely even wear tank tops and I certainly don't wear heels or anything inappropriate to the track, but at the same time I don't think I should have to wear a paper bag and cover myself from head to toe, lest I be thought to be a pit lizard by neanderthals like Busch. A lot of those female fans that Busch might be thinking of might be some of his most dedicated fans who have been long time supporters of his - and he certainly needs all the fans he can get.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)

DEI Cars to Have Special Black Paint Schemes to Honor Dale Earnhardt

A while back there was some controversy over the possibility of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. one day racing the #3 that his father made so famous before he passed away in a wreck during the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Junior said that before he retires he would like to race the #3 and that is something that many fans would like to have happen as well. However, Teresa Earnhardt made comments which suggested that she didn't want anyone to ever race the #3, not even Junior. So now comes the news that all three DEI cars, including Junior's #8, will sport special black paint schemes, very reminiscent of that of the black #3, at Talladega this weekend in tribute to Dale, Sr., who will be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. April 29 is also Dale Earnhardt Day.

Of course I'm sure that everyone would like to honor Dale, Sr. in as many ways as possible anyway, but I also can't help but wonder if this is also a way for Teresa to placate Junior. The car that Junior will be racing does look very similar to the way his father's did with one key exception of course - that there is no #3. In any event, naturally there will be a die-cast of this car, which I'm sure will sell extremely quickly, even to those who aren't really fans of Junior's like they were his father. I think that even those who aren't that excited about it now will be when they see that black car hit the track this weekend.

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

April 24, 2006

Photo of the Day - Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, January, 2005.

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

Can Michael Waltrip Change Manufacturers?

Naturally, fans of Michael Waltrip, like myself, are extremely upset about the way his season has gone, particularly after Saturday night, since he was knocked out of the top 35 in owner's points and will have to qualify for Talledaga on time, something that might be no small feat considering how poor the cars are that Michael has had have been both during qualifying and during the races. A lot of fans feel that since Michael isn't officially aligned with any one manufacturer he should immediately stop getting his cars from Bill Davis Racing and enter into an agreement to get them from Ford or Chevy. I would love for this to be possible because I have no doubt that Michael would be racing much better if he was racing cars that had some manufacturer support, since Dodge isn't giving BDR any help due to the litigation they are involved with them. However, I don't think that would be as easy of a process as some fans seem to think it would be.

First, when it was announced that Waltrip-Jasper was being formed to field the #55 NAPA car, it was also announced that they had contracted with BDR to provide all the cars, equipment and personnel, including the pit crew. I think that is the biggest barrier to Michael joining with another manufacturer is that unless there is an out-clause somewhere for the time being he is likely locked into getting his cars and personnel from BDR. So unless they are able to switch to using Fords or Chevys as well, Michael isn't likely to get anything different than what BDR has. Every car that Michael is using currently was built brand-new for Michael at BDR so I'm kind of doubting that BDR is going to be anxious to pretty much throw away all those cars considering they made an investment in those cars, and the team itself, both financially and in terms of manpower.

But let's say that there is a way for Michael to break ties with BDR. Where would his cars be built? The new shops at Waltrip Racing World aren't projected to be finished until June at the earliest. In addition, the recent press release about Michael Waltrip Racing and Waltrip Racing World talked about working on Bill Elliott's #00 cars for the handful of races they will be running this season, as well as getting prepared for what they need to do for when they join with Toyota in 2007. Are they really going to be set-up to build Michael a whole new fleet of cars at the same time? Additionally, who would build the cars? Michael does have personnel who are working on the #00 cars and presumably working on things for 2007, as well as the MWR Busch cars. But I would guess that they might not have the spare personnel to replace those people at BDR who have been working on the #55 cars, some of which also form the crew on the race weekends, who would also have to be replaced if Michael left BDR.

Many fans point to Michael being aligned with Ford and Dodge in the Busch series as proof that he could switch manufacturers easily but it's a different situation in that series since Michael is working with two other organizations, Fitz-Bradshaw Racing and Brewco Motorsports, who have pre-existing relationships with Dodge and Ford respectively. Michael would be entering into an entirely new deal for this season with MWR, rather than latching onto another organization's existing program. Then there's also the question of whether Ford or Chevy would want to be associated with the #55 team for just one year, knowing that he's joining with Toyota full-time in 2007. Chevy is obviously willing to work with Michael for the five races that the #00 will be on the track with Bill Elliott behind the wheel, but there's a big difference between five races and committing to almost 30.

Beyond all of that, I have to wonder if it's the best use of money to build a whole new fleet of cars that will be useless after this season. Useless because Michael will no longer be using them because he will be with Toyota but also because other teams won't be very interested in purchasing them since starting next season the Car of Tomorrow will supposedly be phased in at some tracks. It seems to me that the money, if there is any extra money hanging around, could be better spend on trying to make the existing cars better. Which appears to be a tall order at the moment but might be their only realistic option at this point.

Some have suggested that if Michael is locked in at BDR that he should at least try to get engines from somewhere else. But again, that might not be so easy. The teams that are currently affiliated with Dodge likely can't give the #55 team engines or any other kind of help because they would end up in trouble with Dodge due to that pesky Dodge lawsuit against BDR. And the other teams can only give engines and help to teams that are also aligned with their particular manufacturer. I don't think it's going to work for Michael to say that because they don't get any manufacturer support that the car isn't really a Dodge - that's not going to fool anyone.

So at the moment it's likely sink or swim with BDR.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:02 PM | Comments (0)

Is It Okay for the Media to Use Comments From Forums or Message Boards Without Checking With the Author?

Ted Vaden of the The News & Observer ponders this question after some residents of a Raleigh neighborhood were taken aback when they found comments they had posted on a Yahoo Groups message board about a nightclub in the area they feel is a public nuisance were reprinted in the newspaper.

Many people seem to forget that when they post something on a message board it can be read by anyone, as well as copied and pasted to any number of other places. Even private, members-only or password protected forums or message boards often aren't very private. Controversial or juicy comments have a way of making the rounds. No one excepts that a comment they make on a forum might end up in the newspaper, but there's really nothing stopping a reporter from cherry-picking a few quotes to reflect people's opinions on a particular topic.

In general, I think that if a reporter chooses to use a quote from a message board that they should make an effort to get in touch with the author. Vaden makes an excellent point in that reporters need to check the identity of the person behind the user name that authors the post. That's just good journalism because a reporter needs to fact-check whether the person is who they say they are,as well as ensuring what they are saying is truthful if their statement is more than just an opinion. In addition, talking to someone might also reveal whether that person has any biases or conflicts of interest that might be influencing what they've said. But beyond that, I think that basic courtesy dictates that letting someone know that their quote is going to be taken off a message board and used in a newspaper article shouldn't be too much to ask.

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

UPS Will Leave Yates if Jarrett Does?

According to CircleTrackPlus.com, UPS hasn't re-newed their sponsorship contract with Robert Yates Racing and won't until Yates re-signs Dale Jarrett. Not only that but if Yates fails to re-sign Jarrett, UPS intends on going with him to his new team, much like NAPA did with Michael Waltrip. Which makes sense because most Nascar fans likely think of UPS when they think of Dale Jarrett and vice-versa, a lot of which is because of how heavily UPS has used Jarrett in their commercials. I think Jarrett has definitely helped raise their brand recognition, at least among race fans, so I can see why they would want to continue what has been a successful relationship.

So if it's true that UPS will go with Jarrett where ever he ends up that will make him a very hot commodity. The UPS sponsorship is likely in the neighborhood of $12-15 million a year and there are probably plenty of teams who would like to get their hands on that kind of sponsorship money, not to mention have a former Champion who is still a good driver race for them. In a lot of ways it makes sense for Jarrett to end up with one of the Toyota teams since Jarrett's veteran presence would make him an asset as Toyota enters Cup racing for the first time. It's hard enough for a young driver to adjust to a new team but even harder to have to deal with adjusting to a new manufacturer and the potential for having to qualify for races on time if they join with one of the brand-new teams. I also think Jarrett could benefit from a change in scenery. He's won a couple of races the past few years but he hasn't has as much success as he did from 1996-2002 when he won multiple races in each of those years.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)

Driver by Driver: Phoenix

One general note on this race - I think it's inexcusable how often FOX has been missing the restarts of the past couple of races. It was really bad on Saturday night since they not only missed more than one restart but missed them by several laps. I can understand that FOX has obligations to their sponsors and sometimes it's hard to get back fast enough from a quick caution but it's starting to seem like they don't care whether or not they get back in time for a restart. Which is really unfortunate for viewers since there is often action to be seen on restarts.

1. Kevin Harvick - Whoo-hoo!!!! I am so happy for "Happy!" Not only did he win Saturday night's Cup race, he also won the Busch race on Friday night. After a slow start to the season, Kevin is really turning up the after-burners and he's suddenly looking like a Chase contender after all. I would be thrilled if that happened! My only question is how Kevin's recent success is going to effect his current negotiations with Richard Childress over whether Kevin stays at RCR or not. Is RC giving extra resources to the #29 team in an attempt to woo Kevin to stay? Is it just coincidence? Kevin said this weekend that his first preference is to stay at RCR, but of course every driver says that they want to stay with their current team so they don't look like a jerk to the fans. What this may end up doing is driving up Kevin's price on the open market if he keeps having so much good fortune on the track.

2. Tony Stewart - Phoenix is an impound race so the teams are supposed to start the race on the tires they qualify on. Unfortunately there was a screw-up by one of Tony's crew members and he gave the tires back to Goodyear, who promptly destroyed them. That meant that Tony had to start the race from the back of the field. But Tony and his team didn't panic. This team is so confident because they knew they had a good car and a driver who could race his way up front. And that's exactly what Tony did - made his way through the field and he ended up finishing second.

3. Matt Kenseth - With such a strong finish Saturday night Kenseth moved into first place in the overall points standings. Of course that doesn't mean much any more with the new Chase format but it's something to give the #17 team an extra boost of confidence.

4. Carl Edwards - There was some concern that losing Bob Osbourne as his crew chief might have an adverse effect on Carls fortunes for the rest of the season. Not if this race is any indication. Carl was far from thrilled about losing his crew chief so perhaps he's using that as motivation to show Jack Roush and others that he can race well no matter what kind of support he gets. And he can.

5. Clint Bowyer - Clint started off the season strong with a 6th place finish, but the results since then have been medicore. A top five is exactly what this team needed.

6. Kasey Kahne - Kasey's showing no signs of slowing down yet. What's starting to impress me is that this team seems to be able to race well on all different kinds of tracks. There is the 35th place finish at Martinsville but that was due to a blown engine. I don't think this team is quite on the level of the #20, #17 or #48 teams yet but they are heading in that direction.

7. Jimmie Johnson - Hard to believe but "only" finishing 7th caused Jimmie to lose the points lead.

8. Bobby Labonte - A great race for this team! Bobby had a lot of bad luck to start the season which really put them in a hole in the standings but in three of the last four races Bobby has gotten a top ten or better. Those who look at where this team is in the points standings might jump to the conclusion that this team isn't a very good one, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is a much improved team from last season.

9. Jeff Burton - Richard Childress has to be thrilled. All three of his cars were in the top ten in this race.

10. Jeff Gordon - Hard to believe but I barely remember Jeff even being mentioned during this race. Nor do I really remember him running up front. Yet quietly he raced his way to a top ten which allowed him to jump two spots in the overall points standings to 6th. Flying under the radar, as much as Jeff can, might be exactly what this team needs because it will allow them to sort out any lingering issues from last season without being in the spotlight quite as much as the #8 team is.

11. Mark Martin - Yes, Mark finished 11th which would thrill a lot of teams but this actually wasn't a very good race for the #6 team. Mark did exactly what he was supposed to do - racing his way up front and he even led 111 laps which made many think he might win the race. However, on lap 200 he entered the pits with the lead but his team left some lugnuts loose on one of the rear wheels, necessitating Mark to come back into the pits. He went back on the track in 16th place and raced his way back into the top five. But disaster struck once again because in the final laps of the race, Mark ran out of gas. Teams are going to make mistakes and some of them will be very costly. But both a big mistake in the pits and a miscalculation about fuel mileage can't happen if this team wants to contend for the Championship down the road.

12. Martin Truex Jr. - I believe he had to come in late for gas but it wasn't too costly for this team. In fact, Martin ended up finishing this race better than Junior.

13. Sterling Marlin

14. Brian Vickers - Not a horrible finish by any means but this team seems very inconsistant. They do have two top tens this season but overall they've been kind of mediocre. Things may improve for Brian but I'm surprised that he's not been stronger this season. Last season he really seemed to make a lot of gains after a rough rookie year in Cup. Eight races isn't much to go on, but I'm sensing that his progress might have stalled once more. It's puzzling because I think that Brian is a better driver than what we've seen.

15. Jamie McMurray - New crew chief Bob Osbourne didn't make much of an impact. Part of the reason why Jamie finished 15th was because he had to make a late stop for gas but I don't think he was racing up front for too much of this race. I have a feeling that Jamie isn't going to live up to expectations this season but perhaps once he gets used to working with his new crew chief they will make some improvements.

16. Greg Biffle - Another heartbreaker of a race for Greg and his team. After leading the most laps in this race, Greg was passed by Kevin Harvick with nine laps to go. It seemed like Greg was on his way to a second place finish, which would have been disappointing, but the team would have probably been happy about it considering the way their season has gone. Then just like with Mark Martin, Greg also ran out of gas. I have always thought that Roush is good at figuring out the fuel mileage game for their cars but not in this race!

17. Ken Schrader - Ken Schrader was in this race? I don't remember him being mentioned at all. Unfortunately, the results for Ken thus far haven't been all that much better than last season when he was in the #49. That surprises me. Of course the #21 is a much better car than the #49 is currently, but it's not as good as I thought it might be.

18. Tony Raines - Another driver who was never mentioned during the race. In fact, the #96 is never mentioned ever. Meanwhile for a new team they are doing pretty well. In fact I believe they are achieving their goal of finishing in the top 20 or top 25 in almost every race. Which is really good for an independent team. Of course they are affiliated with Gibbs, which helps, but they are doing better than some probably thought they would. I think they deserve the occasional mention and it's got to be frustrating for their sponsor.

19. Jeff Green Chevrolet

20. Dale Jarrett - Two tops tens this season but otherwise Dale's been racing mid-pack more often than not. In this race it was a handling issue that kept them from a better result. So far Slugger Labbe hasn't seemed to do much to improve this team's fortunes.

21. Casey Mears - What happened to Casey? He started the season so strong with three top ten finishes in a row. But his finishes since then have not been impressive at all. I had really thought that this might be the season that Casey broke out and lived up to his talent, but his season might go in a different direction if this team can't find their early season form.

22. Travis Kvapil - Best finish of the season for Travis so far. This team has been getting progressively better and better results each race. However, I think that in some ways that's been decieving because some of that has seemed to be not because they've been racing so well but rather because a lot of the other cars behind them have experienced problems. They may continue to improve as the season goes on but I have my doubts as to whether they will be able to get this team as competitive as they need to be.

23. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Junior was in the car that Michael Waltrip finished second in at this race last season. So one would think that Junior would be able to run up front with it for most of the race. That's exactly what happened for part of the race but as the sun went down the car started pushing and Junior started dropping back. He was able to regain a few positions but then he ran into Kyle Petty, which caused a wreck that damaged his car and ended any hopes of finishing well.

24. Kurt Busch - Not a very good race for the #2 team. Handling problems were an issue, then Kurt brushed the wall. On top of that with four laps to go, the window net in Kurt's car came loose and even though Kurt tried to hold it in place with his hand, Nascar black-flagged the #2, forcing Kurt to pit road so his team could secure it.

25. Kenny Wallace - Has anyone noticed that Kenny Wallace in a car that I believe has failed to qualify for any of the other races this season finished 25th? For another team this might be a finish to be disappointed with but for this team that's pretty good.

26. Jeremy Mayfield - This is turning into an absolutely dreadful season for Mayfield and I'm starting to wonder if his days are going to be numbered at Evernham if he can't find a way to get better results. He was outraced by the #32 car for crying out loud!!

27. Dave Blaney - A BDR car at the back of the field? What a surprise! Blaney's cars are barely better than Michael Waltrip's and I think he could eventually be in danger of dropping out of the top 35 in owner points as well.

28. J.J. Yeley

29. David Stremme

30. Scott Wimmer

31. Kyle Petty - Ran over good friend Michael Waltrip, got run over by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. So far this season isn't looking to be much better than last for Kyle but at least he can take some satisfaction in how well the #43 is performing.

32. Brent Sherman - Apparently Sherman wasn't too happy about Jimmy Spencer trying to qualify the car at Texas and made some ill-advised comments that neither Spencer nor Sherman's team really appreciated. I don't know if that spelled the end of Spencer working with this team but I'm thinking that both Sherman and this team don't have a long-term future in Cup.

33. Stanton Barrett

34. Denny Hamlin - Mechanical problems ruined his day.

35. Joe Nemechek - Was involved in a lap 99 wreck that damaged his car but his team got him back on the track so he could extend his streak of being running at the end of the race to 40 races in a row.

36. Kyle Busch - Another race, another opportunity for a Busch Brother to get in trouble. And Kyle didn't disappoint. He was wrecked by Casey Mears and elected to let Casey know how he felt about it by bumping him during the caution in retaliation. I'm sure Kyle will have some sort of excuse about his brakes or steering being damaged in the wreck but I hope that Nascar takes a hard look at that incident. Sometimes I give Kyle a pass on some things because of how young he is but even he should know better than to be using his car as a weapon to retaliate against another driver under caution.

37. Elliott Sadler - Elliott was caught up in the lap 99 wreck when the track was blocked and he had no where to go but he probably wouldn't have finished too well even if he hadn't wrecked since the car didn't seem to be that great.

38. Scott Riggs - A wreck ended his day early.

39. Ryan Newman - Ditto for Ryan.

40. Reed Sorenson - Also a victim of the lap 99 mess.

41. Robby Gordon - After a good start to the season Robby has really struggled and he's started sinking like a stone in the points standings to 31st. This week's issue was a blown engine. DEI is providing the engines to Robby and Tony Eury, Jr. specifically mentioned in an interview a while back that one reason why DEI entered into the agreement to provide engines to Robby was so that they could do a little R&D with those engines in a way that they wouldn't with the #8 or #1 engines. Guess that didn't work out so well in this race.

42. Michael Waltrip - What's there to say that I didn't say yesterday. A heart-breaker for Michael.

43. Brandon Ash

Posted by silverdsl at 01:26 PM | Comments (0)

April 23, 2006

Photo of the Day - Flowering Tree

New Jersey, April, 2006. I saw this tree in full bloom last week in the neighborhood. Two days later all the blossoms had fallen off completely.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

What Kind of a Meal Do You Get For 20,000?

There was a dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao and his wife, Madame Liu Yonqing, last week at the home of Bill and Melinda Gates, which was hosted by the Governor of Washington State, Christine Gregoire. Of course there were any number of local business, political and community leaders who attended, but also corporate guests who paid $20,000 each to attend the dinner and a luncheon the following day. So what was served for $20,000?

First course
Smoked guinea fowl salad with hazelnuts, spring radishes and Granny Smith apples
Entree
Three choices:
•Fillet of beef with Walla Walla onions, local asparagus, celeriac purée and chervil glacé
•Alaskan halibut and spot prawns with spring vegetables, fingerling potatoes and a smoked-tomato-infused olive oil
•A vegetarian option
Wines
2002 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon or 2003 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay, Canoe Ridge Estate
Dessert
Rhubarb brown butter almond cake

Of course the attendees are paying for more than just the food but that menu doesn't really sound that exciting to me for the kind of event that it was.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:01 PM | Comments (0)

Jason Giambi Powers the Yankees Past the Orioles

Awesome day for Jason Giambi! His three hits, including two homeruns and five RBI, helped led the New York Yankees to a 7-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Last week, Giambi was named the American League Player of the Week by hitting .571 with four home runs, 10 runs batted in and six runs scored in five games, along with a .700 on-base percentage. Say what you will about Giambi and steroids but he has to have a good eye and talent at the plate to be hitting this well. Even yesterday he didn't have any hits but he walked three times. I don't know how long Giambi will be able to continue to be this productive at the plate, but he is clearly a huge asset to the Yankees right now.

Giambi wasn't the only hero for the Yankees today. Randy Johnson was outstanding today, going eight innings and giving up only one run on just three hits and one walk. All three hits came off the bat of Miguel Tejada, who also had the only other hit for the Orioles off of Mariano Rivera. Johnson absolutely dominated the Orioles. I am so happy to see this kind of pitching performance from Johnson considering his last time on the mound he didn't last very long. If he had some sort of injury issue it's apparently resolved itself as Johnson couldn't have looked better! If he can pitch like this more often than not this season, the Yankees will be in good shape.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:58 PM | Comments (0)

Phucked in Phoenix; Michael Waltrip Wrecked on Lap 98

In spite of all the struggles for Michael Waltrip and his #55 NAPA team this season, one thing that I've been impressed with is that they had somehow been able to finish every single race. Even when the car has been junk or they've had mechanical issues, they've done everything they can to make sure that they didn't get any DNFs. Unfortunately their luck ran out last night. Phoenix is a track at which Michael can race well and the #55 car seemed somewhat better than it had been in past weeks with Michael saying that the set-up of the car was good over the radio. But disaster struck early for the team when Kyle Petty ran over Michael and wrecked him, along with several other cars. The #55 team tried hard to make repairs but I knew that would likely be a futile effort when TV showed the #55 being taken off the track on a wrecker - the car looked more like a crushed tin can than it did a race car.

Of course it would have been nice if all the hard work that the team put in, not just after the car got wrecked, but presumably to prepare for the race had resulted in a better car to start with. Qualifying so badly put them back in the field and necessitated Michael having to race his way up through the field. And unfortunately the back of the field is often where a lot of the problems are because there are many drivers trying to race their way up front or desperate to not get lapped.

I am absolutely heart-broken for Michael, particularly after he was interviewed after the wreck. He looked so down and so upset. And for good reason. The #55 team was just hanging on to one of the last spots in the top 35 in owner points and last night's DNF knocked them out of the top 35 and into 36th position. That puts them in jeopardy of missing next week's race at Talledega unless they are able to qualify for the race on time. Michael is outstanding at plate tracks, but given how lousy the #55 cars have been this season it's definitely not a given that the car will be strong enough to qualify for the race or if they qualify that he will be able to finish well enough to get himself back into the top 35 in owner points. As bad as I feel sometimes for Michael or Steve Park when something bad happens to them on the track, I almost never shed real tears, because after all, it's not like I actually know them. But if Michael fails to qualify for Talledega I might actually burst into tears. Not only is that a track where he has always been considered a threat to win at in the recent past, but it's also his 43rd birthday next weekend. The best birthday present that he can get is a decent car that he can qualify into the race with, that is competitive enough for him to finish in the top 20 at least.

I'm sure a lot of fans of Michael's are really upset with Kyle Petty right about now. But Kyle has always been one of the cleanest racers on the track and on top of that he's a long-time close friend of Michael's. Of course a friendship dating back years didn't stop Michael from ending his friendship with Jeff Green over an on-track run-in but hopefully since this is such a rare miscue by Kyle, the two of them will be able to work things out. The thing is that on TV it looked like Kyle didn't lift and ran Michael right over but appearances can be deceiving. For all we know Kyle's spotter screwed up or there was a sun glare issue as was mentioned in the broadcast was one reason why so many other cars got collected in that incident. Or maybe it was just a rare lapse of judgement for Kyle. Just like Michael, he is under a tremendous amount of pressure and while he's higher than Michael in the points, it's not by much. Last week Pattie Petty said that Kyle has sponsors who want to see him in the top 20 if they are going to sign on or remain with the team so he needs solid finishes just as much as Michael does. That might have made Kyle a little more aggressive than he usually is.

Regardless of the reasons why Kyle got into Michael, I really hope that they discuss the incident and put it behind them. Michael has such a good friendship with Kyle and with how much he's struggling this season I think Michael needs all the support he can get from all his friends. Likewise, Kyle could probably use a friend who understands what it's like to not run up front all the time. Aside from that there are some things that are more important than what happens on the track and I think a long-time, close friendship like what Kyle and Michael seem to have is one of those things. But what worries me is that last season, as noted Michael seemingly ended his friendship wtih Jeff Green, and appeared to stop speaking to Kasey Kahne, who he had previously been friendly with, after Kasey wrecked him at Watkins Glen. So I'm hoping to hear on Inside Nextel Cup tomorrow night that Kyle called him, apologized, and everything is right between them.

Michael mentioned in his interview last night that he's been flying under the radar so far this season, I guess in terms of being shown or interviewed on TV, something he previously didn't have much of a problem with. Of course the solution to that problem is if his team is able to give him cars that he is able to race up front with. But in the meantime, while it's not the same, to all of Michael's devoted fans, like myself, he will never fly under the radar for us, no matter how poor the results are or how many races the team might miss. I will always be a fan of Michael's no matter what, whether he finishes first, last or somewhere in between, and even after he retires and moves on to another chapter of his life.

So next week both Michael and the team will have to be absolutely perfect, not just in qualifying but during the race as well. Unfortunately there is always the danger of getting caught up in The Big One at Talledega. Even if they were to make the race, getting wrecked out of the race, would be a terrible outcome. Once they are in the race, Michael and the team must race well but also be as careful as they can to not getting into any trouble - which is often a tall order these days with how many drivers are willing to run each other over these days. Nascar has taken steps to address the bump-drafting problem with the new noses on the plate cars, which will debut next weekend but I think there will still be a pretty good chance that there will be a big wreck at Talledega - that's simply what almost always happens during plate races, which is why I really don't enjoy them very much, despite how well Michael usually races at those tracks. Now I'm looking forward to next weekend even less because I'm afraid of what's going to happen for Michael and his team.

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

April 21, 2006

Photo of the Day - Curvy

Richard W. DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst, New Jersey, April, 2006. I liked the curviness of the shadow in relation to the bench on this one.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/20)

First, the big news that I think I've mentioned previously but is so awesome that it should be mentioned again - Michael Waltrip is making his 650th Cup start this weekend at Phoenix! On top of that Michael is 15th overall in career Cup starts and is fourth among full-time active Cup drivers. Michael said,

“It’s truly a blessing for me to be able to do something that I love for so long. I wasn’t aware of how many starts I had, but that’s pretty cool.”

Not only is Michael blessed to have been able to race so long but it's also a tremendous accomplishment that he should be proud of! Some might say well, all he did was show up and race each weekend. But the reality is that Michael has survived for over 20 years on Nascar's highest level, making 650 more starts than some nay-sayers probably ever thought he would. That speaks to Michael's strength as a person and as a driver. Also, to his abilities behind the wheel, as hard as it is for some to recognize that. No driver without talent lasts for 650 starts, no matter how well they plug their sponsors. Michael has had to deal with some really poor cars over the years, and this season some of the worst yet, but he's still in Cup racing. Hopefully he will be racing for many more starts to come!

While in Phoenix, Michael dropped by the headquarters of one of his sponsors, Best Western, for a party for their 60th anniversary. Michael said that he used to stay at Best Westerns when he was attending some of his brother's races and he still loves Best Western.

"When I get in my car, I can't help it. I just drive down the road and look for a Best Western."

Of course there's a big difference between looking for Best Westerns, which is something I can't help but do too, since they are one of Michael's sponsors, and actually staying there. The vast majority of time when Michael is on the road for race-related activities he likely stays in his motorcoach and no offense to Best Western, but I'm thinking when he's in places like Las Vegas he might gravitate towards someplace like The Bellagio to stay.

Also from the article:

Waltrip also made sure he told Best Western CEO David Kong and board members at the party that he never misses an opportunity to plug the chain. "If you watch an interview, and I didn't do it, watch another one, and I will," he said.

That is exactly why Michael's sponsors love him so much. Indeed he does plug them in every interview he can. There is no other driver who represents his sponsors as well as Michael does. There's no question in my mind. Sure, there are drivers like Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who probably get their sponsors more visibility by virtue of their success but there is no other driver as masterful as Michael at making the most of every opportunity he has to get exposure for his sponsors.

Best Western will be the primary sponsor of Michael's Busch car tonight in the Bashas' Supermarkets 200. First practice was okay for Michael, as the #99 was 26th. However, things weren't so hot in the second practice - he was 43rd. Ick. I hope that the #99 will be more like the way it was in the first practice for qualifying and the race tonight, not only for Michael's sake but also because there will likely be many people from Best Western in attendance at the race.

Unfortunately things look even bleaker for Michael's #55 Cup car right now. He was 41st in the first practice and during qualifying the car was so loose that it's amazing that he was able to keep from wrecking. That resulted in a very poor qualifying lap and Michael will be starting 42nd out of 43 cars. That doesn't bode well for tomorrow's race and I'm extremely worried about how things are going to go. This team can't afford any more poor finishes if they are going to stay in the top 35 in owner points. I hope that somewhere, somehow they are able to find some speed. I know that Michael will be doing everything in his power to get all that he can out of the car that he's given - I just hope that it's good enough for a top 20 or even better a top 15.

Lastly, and I can't believe I'm about to plug this because I think the overall idea of the contest is vile and plays into a lot of stereotypes about why female race fan watch, but if there are any fans of Michael's reading this, he is currently up against Junior in Fox Sports' Sexiest Driver poll. I'm not a big fan of this contest, in fact I wish they would do away with it, but I can't help but think that it would be pretty funny if Michael beat Junior. He would tease Junior about being sexier than him and it would put the Junior fans into a tizzy!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

NBC Cancels Celebrity Cooking Showdown

All the build-up and Celebrity Cooking Showdown has been cancelled with two espisodes left to go. I can't even begin to imagine how much money was wasted on this show. But it's no surprise that it's coming to a premature end. No show can be successful against American Idol but beyond that the "celebrities" on this show aren't much of a draw. Ashley Parker Angel? Cindy Margolis? I don't even know who Chelsea Cooley is. Not only that why should I care that they're cooking competitively against each other? And this comes from someone who loves Top Chef on Bravo! Apparently the final two episodes will be available for viewing on NBC's website.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2006

Mark Martin on Racing Part-Time

Mark Martin said today that he has no plans in the future to race a part-time schedule in Cup like Terry Labonte or Bill Elliott have after they've left their full-time rides because he wants to race competitively which these days you can't in a part-time ride. Of course Martin is absolutely right. He said,

"My pride and my dignity are worth way too much to just go out there and ride around. I don't mean this in a negative way, but look at Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte's limited schedules of races. They haven't done them justice. I can't bash Ray Evernham or Rick Hendrick for embarrassing them, but they have been embarrassed by their level of equipment."

The thing is that I'm not sure that Labonte and Elliott were always racing to be competitive in those part-time rides. For Labonte he was in the #96 car for his Championship provisional and the team said up-front that they didn't expect to finish better than in the top 20 or top 30 each week to start. For Elliott I think he's been in cars for R&D purposes which is what he's basically going to be doing for Michael Waltrip Racing later this season. But in general, I do agree with Martin that it's very difficult for part-time teams to gain momentum and be competitive which is one reason why I've not always been overly thrilled with what has been going on with Steve Park this season.

I think the #31 Busch team is a great team for a part-time team. They work super-hard, Whelen is supportive of Steve and I'm sure that the team will do everything they can in every race to make sure that Steve gets the best possible results. However, the team has limited resources and it's really hard to make any headway. Some fans seem convinced that Steve is going to contend for wins in the #31. I would be as thrilled as anyone to see that happen but I don't think that's realistic for a part-time team that has an even bigger battle to fight than the full-time teams in terms of competing against the Cup affiliated teams.

I also don't think it's great that Steve is in some sort of limbo in which he has a vague full-time ride lurking in the shadows somewhere but for now he's just in the #59 for five or six more races. The #59 is also a hard-working team but again, I think it's hard to really make a lot of headway if things are up in the air to a degree in terms of driver, sponsor and manufacturer. I would like to see things settled for Steve completely so that he can get down to the business of racing and be able to concentrate on that. Maybe then we will see him racing up front where he belongs on a regular basis.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)

Random Thoughts on Random Thoughts

*There's really not much to talk about today. It's an off day for the New York Yankees and since Nascar is in Phoenix this weekend, there won't be much news until later today once the first practices and qualifying is complete.

*However, there was a Yankees game yesterday, which the Bronx Bombers won against the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1. Mike Mussina was strong, giving up just one run in seven innings. In the process Mussina lowered his ERA to 2.67 which is outstanding. Many Yankees fans are concerned about Mussina because he hasn't been as durable or as dominant the past couple of seasons as he once was. But by all reports Mussina is completely healthy this season so if that continues it could be a very good season for him.

*Best Western announced yesterday that they renewed their sponsorship agreement to remain Nascar's official hotel through 2009. It was mentioned in the press release that Best Western also has an agreement to be an associate sponsor at Michael Waltrip Racing through 2008. In fact they are the primary sponsor on Michael's #99 this weekend. Michael was 26th in the first practice. That's not great but it could be worse. Hopefully it will end up being a good race for Michael. I'm not sure he'll get a top ten like last week but a top fifteen would be great.

*There's a forum that I read occasionally but don't post at where things are really out of hand right now. It always boggles my mind that so many sites think it's a great idea to have a forum where people can post their opinions on various subject but aren't willing to put the work in to moderate. That almost never works out well unless the site is extremely small and not very active. If the forum does happen to be an active one, like the one I'm thinking of, people often take advantage of the fact that no one is paying attention to what goes on and treat each other pretty poorly because they aren't afraid of having to face any consequences. Which causes others to lash out in an equally harsh way. And it goes on and on and on until the forum becomes so unenjoyable to read that there's not really any point to visiting any more. Like this one. I don't think people who run some sites realize just how poorly that kind of thing can reflect on their site overall.

*Apparently Kevin Harvick is going to be involved with a reality show that will let drivers try out for a one-race ride in a Kevin Harvick, Inc. truck at Martinsville in 2007. How exactly is this show different from Roush Racing's Gong Show or "Racin' For a Livin'? It's great that young drivers are getting some exposure in this way but it seems like there's an awful lot of these shows popping up these days.

*Speaking of Racin' For a Livin' that show has to have the most confusing and convoluted system for drivers being voted onto the show. But what is kind of bothering me is that it's nothing more than a glorified popularity contest thus far and suffers from the same problem as any other poll based on internet voting. The results aren't really a true reflection of which drivers are most deserving of being on the show but instead of which driver is able to get the most fans to vote the most times for them. Of course being popular with the fans and fan relations is important when one is a Nascar driver but I would rather see drivers get a chance to be on the show by being selected on the basis of their racing talent. Supposedly this show is going to end up on TV but I heard an interview with someone involved with it on XM and that doesn't sound like a sure thing by any means. There are some well-known names in racing involved with this and that should draw interest but perhaps TV is a little unsure of how well the concept as set-up on the website is going to translate over onto the screen.

*It's really interesting how different organizations in the same field have different approaches. It's sometimes obvious why one organization is a lot more successful than another. Little things sometimes tell the tale. I am sometimes amazed by how little thought some organizations give to customer service and being responsive. The organizations who make an effort to make their customers feel valued or address concerns are often the ones who have loyal and happy customers. Yes, there is a specific scenario that I have in mind that I'm going to decline to detail. But it really is incredible sometimes the differences and how lacking one organization is in comparision to another. And it's very unfortunate because through the years it's probably hurt their bottom line.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2006

Photo of the Day - Around the Neighborhood

New Jersey, April, 2006. Even around here, which is definitely not a rural area, there are a lot of flowers blooming now that it's spring.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:39 PM | Comments (0)

Michael Waltrip Racing Busy Preparing for 2007

Things aren't going so well for Michael Waltrip in terms of his #55 Cup team, but everything seems much brighter with everything Michael Waltrip Racing is doing to prepare for next season. Construction is well under way at the future site of Waltrip Racing World, which will be where MWR's race shops will be, as well as a number of attractions for fans. In the more immediate future, MWR is working on the cars they will be fielding for Bill Elliott later in the season, which will help them get ready for 2007.

Naturally Michael is still excited about having lured Burger King to be a sponsor at MWR. “

Burger King is a great sponsor. Their brand is so recognizable. To be able to give them a driver of Bill Elliott’s caliber was a real important piece for Michael Waltrip Racing to pull off. It’s something Burger King and their customers will be excited about. Their franchisees, store owners and workers have somebody to cheer for. We’re real proud that Bill is going to do that for us.”

Michael should be happy about that since Burger King is yet another major sponsor that Michael has aligned himself with. I'm quite sure we will be seeing any number of promotions down the road, particularly if Burger King will also be a sponsor in 2007 and beyond, that feature Michael. Hopefully a few commercials too!

But it's Larry Carter's comments which are more interesting. Carter will be the crew chief for the #00 that Bill will be racing.

“For the five races this year, we’re going to have an All-Star Team. We’re taking the best guys from both Waltrip organizations. Be it a Busch guy, a Truck guy or a Cup guy, we’re going to put them together to run these five races. Our plans are to get our feet wet because it’s difficult to jump out there cold turkey. One of our objectives is to run these races to make sure we have all the pieces in place. We’re covering all our bases so that when we show up in Daytona next year we’ll be prepared.”

I think it's interesting that some crew members from Darrell Waltrip Motorsports will be involved with the #00 this season. There have been some occassional rumors that MWR and DWM were eventually going to merge. While I'm not sure a merger is going to happen soon, some members of DW's truck team are going to be involved with the #00 indicates that the ties between the two organizations might be more than just that Michael and DW are brothers. In some ways it makes sense for both organizations to work together closely to support each other on all three levels in Nascar.

Some might be saying, well, isn't the #55 team a way for MWR to prepare for 2007. It is. Only thing is that the cars are built by Bill Davis Racing and the majority of the personnel who work on and pit the car are also from BDR. So this way MWR personnel get to work more directly on the cars, pit them and do all the things that go into each race weekend. I would like to see them race even more than five races to build a foundation for 2007 but not only might the sponsorship not be there for that but if they can't race Toyotas prior to next season I imagine it might limit the usefulness of the data they can collect via the races with Bill. Nothing has been said about whether the Toyota teams will be allowed to test this season or if they will be allowed to enter races at some point this season. I would like to see that happen to help those teams for next season but Nascar may have other ideas.

Waltrip Racing World sounds like it's going to be really awesome. It will be made up of two buildings, one the old movie theater that has been mentioned previously, which will be the main building, and the other, known as the FX building where the cars will actually be built. The main building will house the MWR teams and all of the offices, as well as all the areas for fans. There will be a theater, a restaurant, a museum and of course, a retail store. The museum will be really cool for sure - a whole place full of memorabilia, photos and other items related to Michael! I'm sure that I could spend a lot of money in that store too!

Apparently MWR plans on being in the FX building working on the #00 cars, and eventually the Toyotas for next season, in June of this year. That will be good for them to be able to get settled in to the shop well before next season. As for the main building they are looking at opening that in May of 2007. As with any construction project there are often delays but it would be great if Michael could have it open in time for the events surrounding the May Cup race in Charlotte. They would definitely get a lot of visitors then! Personally, I would love to be there for any opening events at Waltrip Racing World - I can't wait to see how it comes out! I'm very excited for Michael that all of this is becoming a reality for him but also excited for myself because it sounds like Waltrip Racing World is going to be a great place for fans to visit.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)

Kodak to Sponsor Drive for Diversity Driver Chris Bristol

Apparently even though Kodak opted to take a step back from their sponsorship of the #77 at Penske Racing this season, they aren't ceasing their sponsorships in Nascar completely. Kodak has sponsored Drive for Diversity drivers in the past and now they've added a new driver to their roster - Chris Bristol, who races for Ken Schrader Racing, in the 2006 Nascar Dodge Weekly Series. Of course this sponsorship is probably a drop in the bucket in comparison to what they were doing with the #77 team, and appears to continue an existing program, but it indicates that Kodak is still interested in remaining involved with Nascar.

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

Kevin Harvick: Kurt Busch is a "dork"

Will Kevin Harvick ever stop taking shots at Kurt Busch? I guess it plays to all the fans who hate Busch but it's getting really old to me and this comes from someone who is a big fan of Harvick and doesn't like Busch all that much. In an interview on Fox Sports Radio, a partial transcript of which was posted on the Fox Sports website, Kevin said,

"The thing about Tony is... Tony's a racer. And when it's all said and done, he gets in there and does what he has to do and root and gouge a little bit. But when it's all said done, he gets out of the car, and he'll go finish what he started and talk about it and settle whatever differences he has. The great thing about our sport is people either love you or hate you. And usually when there's as many that hate you as love you, you're doing something right on the track. I think most people don't like Tony because he's a competitor. Most people don't like Kurt Busch because he's a dork!"

Calling Busch a dork isn't the worst thing that he could say but it's not necessary either. I also have to disagree with Harvick on why people dislike Busch - they don't like his actions on or off the track. In fact, that's why I don't care for either Tony Stewart or Busch very much. I don't like some of the things that they've done.

By all reports Stewart is a great person who does a lot for a number of charitable causes but I don't like the way that Stewart loses control of his emotions and lashes out in anger. I also don't like the way those incidents are excused because Stewart is a "competitor" as Harvick notes. Likewise, I think that Busch is making an effort to reach out to the fans but I don't like the way he loses control of himself either. Both Stewart and Busch are immensely talented drivers but they sometimes hinder themselves, especially in the case of Busch.

There will always be a percentage of fans who will dislike certain drivers because they are successful but I think for the majority of fans it's a drivers actions that determine whether they like them or not.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

A.J. Foyt Out; Ryan Moore In

This gets a bit confusing. Last week Braun Racing and Akins Motorsports completed their merger, which was done to help both organizations become stronger, especially in the face of increased competition from Cup affilliated teams. When that happened Great Clips, the primary sponsor of A.J. Foyt's #38 car in the Busch series, moved over to become Jason Leffler's sponsor on the #32. It was then announced that Foyt would move into a part-time role in the #38 and would test and race in other series such as ARCA to gain much needed seat time. It wasn't really a surprise that Foyt was removed from the car because he's struggled terribly in just about every one of the Busch races that he's been in this season. But that part-time role soon became no role at all. Another part of the merger was that the #38 was going to become a Chevy which presented a problem for Foyt since he is an Evernham Motorsports developmental driver and they are affiliated with Dodge. So now Foyt has no ride at all.

But Foyt's bad luck is good fortune for Ryan Moore, who is one of DEI's developmental drivers. Only problem for Moore has been that DEI hasn't had a car to put him in. But when this ride opened up, Moore was able to take it since it's a Chevy. Right now it's only for one race but if things go well maybe Moore will race a few more races for them. The only question is what will happen to Foyt? I suspect a lot of teams will be leery of him.

What struck me about all of this is how much of a driver's career is at the whim of things that are out of their control. What Foyt does on the track is under his control but his team, sponsor and the manufacturer he's affiliated with make a huge difference in what happens to him as well.

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

Not a Pretty Game

I'm not happy with the way the New York Yankees played against the Toronto Blue Jays last night. When it comes to division rivals the Yankees have to be on their game, especially against a team that is improved over last season and to start the season is hitting extremely well. Poor pitching from starter Randy Johnson and sloppy fielding was very disappointing to see and it led to the Yankees losing to the Blue Jays 10-5. It's great that the Yankees played so well against the Kansas City Royals, but those are the teams that they are supposed to beat. They must be able to play well against stronger teams as well.

Johnson left his last start for mysterious reasons. At first Johnson and the Yankees tried to claim that there was nothing physically wrong with him, that he was tired or that he wanted to let another pitcher get some work in. Eventually after being questioned further, Johnson admitted that he had gotten "stiff." That concerned me because Johnson is 42 and has existing issues with his back and knees. But when he was slated to make the start last night I figured everything was fine with him. Now I'm not so sure. Johnson gave up seven runs on nine hits in just 3.1 innings of work. That is a very poor start, especially for a pitcher who is supposed to be the Ace of the Yankees pitching staff.

Johnson is still denying that there's anything physically wrong with him. He said,

"I just didn't execute my pitches and I paid the price," Johnson said. "It's just one of those games where you take it on the chin."

I'd like to believe him but unfortunately players often try to play through various aches, pains and minor injuries. Johnson's back could be bothering him, he could have tweaked something in another start, there could be countless things going on with him... or nothing. Maybe as he says it really was only a bad start where he didn't execute properly. Johnson being successful is going to be extremely important to the Yankees overall chances for success this season so I hope whatever is going on with him straightens itself out before his next start.

What was also troubling last night was some sloppy play in the field. Of course this is nothing new for the Yankees and something I've complained about before in this space. For the past few years there hasn't been as much emphasis on the defense as there once was and when you combine that with players who appear to not be giving it their all it spells trouble. There was an ugly looking play early in the game where Johnson was late in getting off the mound to field a ball. Jason Giambi made a great stop but then threw the ball away for an error. Worst was that not a single person was covering home plate on the play! Then in the 7th inning Gary Sheffield half-assed it on a play and dropped the ball, also for an error. Those are the mistakes that the Yankees have to cut down on because other teams are going to take advantage of those miscues if they aren't careful.

Another thing that I didn't like seeing last night was Bernie Williams in left field. Williams has gotten just as much playing time as he did when he was a starter and that's exactly what I, and many other Yankee fans, feared when the Yankees re-signed him. Williams is simply not the player he once was at the plate or in the field. It's bad enough when Williams is the DH but he shouldn't be playing the outfield except in an emergency. The problem is that Joe Torre has so much loyalty to his veteran players that he is sometimes blind to their limitations. And in Williams's case, he has a lot of limitations at this point.

But despite how aggrivating it was to watch the Yankees last night there were some positives. The Yankees offense managed to score five runs, highlighted by homeruns from Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi, as well as an RBI double from Derek Jeter, who also had a triple in the game. In some games this season the Yankees have struggled to score even two or three runs let alone five so I was happy to see that the offense had some life. In many games five runs is sufficient to win.

Something else that I loved seeing is how well Johnny Damon tracked down balls in centerfield. He really made three great plays out there. Of course Damon's throwing arm is weak to say the least but he can definitely get to a lot of balls that I think that Williams would have had trouble with if he was still the regular centerfielder. I think it will take a while longer for Yankee fans to warm to Damon but if he continues hitting well and making impressive plays in the field I think they will eventually become very happy with his signing.

This afternoon Mike Mussina starts for the Yankees in the final game in this short series. Last time out Mussina was solid but the Yankees offense couldn't muster any run support for him. Hopefully today's game will be a different story.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2006

Photo of the Day - Yellow Flowers

Richard W. DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst, New Jersey, April, 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:33 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/17)

A little more on Michael Waltrip using the #99 during the Busch race at Nashville this past weekend even though he was driving for Brewco Motorsports relates to the situation with owner points. I had wondered whether the owner points would go to Brewco because they owned and fielded the car or to Michael Waltrip Racing because Michael owns the actual #99. As it turns out apparently the owner points go to the #99 which is great because the #99 jumps four positions in the owner points standings, putting the team on more solid ground in terms of staying in the top 30 in owner points.

Over on the forum on bgnracing.com some of the users are freaking out about this situation and complaining about the unfairness of it all. How dare Michael arrange to get more points for the #99 when the points should go to Brewco and the #66? Well, for one thing Brewco willingly entered into this deal otherwise I assume it wouldn't have happened. So they must have no problem with the owner points going to the #99. Perhaps one reason for that is after this season the #66, the actual number that is, will transfer back to Rusty Wallace, Inc. so that Steve Wallace can race it full time in 2007. I can't say for sure because the owner points situation is often very confusing but it's possible that the owner points for the #66 will also transfer to RWI. So it seems to me if that's the case Brewco might not be all that concerned with the #66's owner points as long as they are able to stay in the current top 30 in owner points to guarantee them a spot in future races this season.

In other news Michael will be appearing at the Craftsman for a Cure event on May 23rd at Nascar SpeedPark in Concord, N.C. The event, which was organized by Bobby Hamilton, who is currently undergoing treatment for neck cancer, will raise money for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and the Victory Junction Gang Camp. I really, really, really wish I could go to this because one part of it is that a limited amount of fans can buy tickets for $75 to have dinner with the different drivers. It's essentially a brief Q&A session and meet and greet with food, limited to the first 20 fans who sign up. That sounds like a lot of fun and a great opportunity to see Michael for a few minutes when there aren't many other fans around. Then the drivers will also race go-karts against fans for varying amounts of money. I would love to see that! But I don't think I'm going to be able to organize a trip to North Carolina in May. Other drivers who will be participating include all the Bobby Hamilton Racing drivers, Todd Bodine, Ted Musgrave, Jack Sprague, David Starr, Dennis Setzer, Ron Hornaday, Ken Schrader and Kyle Petty.

There are also autograph sessions at Craftsman for a Cure, during which the drivers will be grouped by manufacturer and unfortunately right now it looks like Michael might not be taking part in any of the autograph sessions because he's not officially aligned with any one manufacturer right now. That's unfortunate because the most tickets will likely be available for those autograph sessions as compared to the go-kart racing and the dinner so some fans of Michael's might get shut out of seeing him unless he has an individual session or gets added to one of the existing ones.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)

Jason Keller Out of a Ride Despite Being 12th in Points

From Jayski's:

Keller Released from the #1, Mike Wallace In: Phoenix Racing has decided to make a driver change in the #1 Miccosukee Gaming Dodge effective this weekend at Phoenix. Mike Wallace will take over driving duties on an interim basis as Phoenix Racing evaluates their program.(Phoenix Racing PR)(4-17-2006)
NOTE: Keller currently leads all drivers with 279 consecutive starts in the Busch Series. He is also poised to break Tommy Houston's record of 417 Busch starts later this season.

I would say I'm perplexed by this but this is a team owned by James Finch, a man who entered a Cup car into a race without a pit crew because he planned on parking the car before the first pit stop. Finch does the... unexpected shall we say? Unless there's more to the story, canning a driver eight races into the season when he's 12th in points and not too far out of the top ten in points seems like a rather desperate measure.

I have to ask whether Mike Wallace is really going to do a better job in the #1 than Jason Keller. Both have raced in the Busch series for sixteen years. During that time Keller has 400 starts, 10 wins, 80 tops fives, 157 top tens and 1917 laps led. Wallace has less starts - 237 and 4 wins, 18 top fives, 50 top tens and 196 laps led. Of course it's likely that there were differences between the quality of the cars that they were in but it seems to me that Keller has had quite a bit of success in the Busch series over the course of his career. In fact, I'd say that Keller is one of the better full-time Busch-only drivers so it's a shame that he's lost his ride. Given that he's had a lot of success on this level one might think that he would easily get another ride, the only problem is I'm not sure how many other teams are looking to make driver changes or field a whole new car for Keller at this point in the season.

The problem for Phoenix Racing, and all of the Busch-only teams, of course is that it's very difficult for any of them to compete at the level that the Cup teams who are fielding Busch teams can.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)

How Do We Know That Jason Giambi Isn't Still Using Performance Enhancers?

That's the question posed by Wallace Matthews in Newsday today. The answer is we don't know for sure that Jason Giambi isn't using performance enhancers but that's true of every player in Major League Baseball. There will always be more questions and louder whispers about the players who were a part of the Balco scandal. But the reality is that in spite of MLB's stronger testing policy there is no way to know absolutely for sure that every player is completely clean. Many of the players have money enough to pay for designer steroids that might not be detectable by MLB's tests, some might be willing to take performance enhancers and risk getting caught since it's only a ten-day suspension for a first positive and any player can use human growth hormones without fear of getting caught because MLB doesn't test for it.

In yesterday's game between the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins, Giambi hit two homeruns which is why Matthews is writing about him today. I can't say I feel sorry for Giambi for being singled out yet again as one of the poster boys for steroid use in baseball. He put himself in the position in which every time he has an outstanding game at the plate many people, including plenty of Yankee fans, will be asking in the back of their minds whether he is back on steroids. Of course Giambi still has to have plenty of natural talent of his own to achieve what he has in baseball. Steroids can't make a poor hitter into a great one, otherwise Jeremy Giambi would also have won an MVP. But Giambi will have to deal with this kind of speculation for the rest of his career.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:19 PM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2006

Photo of the Day - Shadow Patterns

Richard W. DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst, New Jersey, April, 2006.

In all the time that Jim has lived in this area we've never been to Richard W. DeKorte Park until today. The park is a 110-acres right in the middle of the Meadowlands, an area known more for the New Jersey Turnpike and Giants Stadium than anything related to nature. But the park is a refuge for birds and likely lots of other wildlilfe. There are observation and photography blinds, as well as other viewing areas. In one of them the sunlight through the wood made for quite an eye catching pattern.

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

Michael Waltrip Finishes 10th at Nashville!!!!

Finally a top ten for Michael Waltrip!! Okay, it was in the Busch Series as opposed to the Cup Series where he really needs it even more but a top ten is a top ten! Yay! What's so impressive about this top ten is that Michael started towards the back of the field in 32nd and raced his way up through the field to finish 10th. That's outstanding, and a much better indication of MIchael's abilities behind the wheel than anything we've seen this season since the cars that he's been racing have been so weak for the most part. Finally Michael had a car that allowed him to actually race and pass other cars on the track! In Cup that hasn't happened too often and in Busch things haven't seemed all that much better. So I am thrilled for him that things turned out so well!

The reason that this race went so much better than some in the recent past for Michael is likely because he was racing a Ford in this race as opposed to the usual Dodge. The exact situation as it relates to the car is still a little murky but despite what has been said in a variety of other places Michael was driving a Brewco car. This is from an article on Nascar.com:

But Michael Waltrip delivered a solid performance and finished 10th in his debut with Brewco Motorsports.

"I just appreciate driving good cars, and lately we haven't been hitting it with our Busch cars, and it was good to get in there and run in the top 10 and have a consistent day," Waltrip said.

However, Waltrip had a rough day as an owner. David Reutimann, who won a Craftsman Truck Series race here last year, crashed in Waltrip's car and finished 34th.

That Michael was in a Brewco car and David in a MWR car was also said during the TV broadcast so I think that if two separate media entities are reporting it, that there's a good chance that is the correct scenario for both cars, though there has been so much conflicting information this week it's really hard to say for sure.

I still find it very perplexing that Michael used the #99 as opposed to the #66 but maybe that was what they wanted to do all along and Nascar only signed off on Michael using the #99 on a different car only recently. Or perhaps there was a last minute hang-up somewhere that necessitated this happening. And I have no clue how the owner's points are going to sort out for this. But In any event, it's pretty obvious that Michael had a much better car at Nashville than he's had at any other Busch race this season. He's slated to race in a few other races in a Ford for Brewco and after seeing what Michael was able to do in this car at Nashville, I'm really looking forward to those races! Then again, I look forward to watching any race that Michael is in!

Yet another Buschwacker ended up winning this race which really doesn't bode well for the Busch series regulars since there weren't many Cup drivers entered in this race so this presented one of the best opportunities for a non-Cup driver to win this season so far. Kevin Harvick's first Busch series win this season is the eighth time a Cup series regular has won a Busch race and as much as I am a fan of Kevin, I don't think that is a good thing for the Busch series. At least in this race a few more Busch regulars were able to break into the top ten, but the top five finishers were still all Cup drivers and six of the top ten finishers overall were Cup drivers. The subject of Buschwackers has been debated to death, including in this space, so I won't bother getting into it again, but I really think Nascar has to do something to address the situation. But just because they should do something doesn't mean that they will.

What I always love about the races at Nashville is that the race winners receive a custom Gibson guitar. Michael won this race in 2004 so he's got one of those cool guitars. It's always fun to see the drivers playing with the guitar in Victory Lane and this year during driver introductions. I think that kind of a prop makes the Victory Lane celebration at Nashville stand out a little because the drivers really get into playing air guitar and otherwise using the guitar to show how excited they are about winning.

Next weekend the Busch series heads to Phoenix along with the Cup series. I think that Michael will be pulling double-duty in Phoenix so I'm hoping to see him finish this well in both races! Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that realistically that's probably not going to happen, especially in Cup, but a gal can dream, can't she?

Posted by silverdsl at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)

Delana Harvick: Confrontation Inappropriate

During the race at Texas after Kurt Busch wrecked Greg Biffle, there was a confrontation on pit road between Nicole Lunders, Biffle's girlfriend and Eva Bryan, Busch's fiancee, after Lunders actually climbed up onto Busch's pit box to have a "chat" with Bryan. While I understand the emotions that are involved, I don't think that was appropriate or a good idea. Kevin Harvick's wife, Delana, who says she has been confronted in the past herself, agrees. Delana said,

"Stuff like that definitely happens more often than you see on tv. I have been confronted in the past myself. It's a double-edge sword. You (as a wife) are so emotionally attached to everything that goes on and you always want the best for your husband (or in her case boyfriend). Plus, there are things that go on behind the scenes that the public never, ever hears about. So sometimes we as wives see things play out in a different light. It's a dangerous sport and nobody wants to see another driver hurt (I don't care if you totally can't stand them). But, in my opinion, it's completely inappropriate to involve someone's wife or girlfriend when it relates to an on-track incident. They aren't behind the wheel of the car. They have no involvement whatsoever. I think she made a bad decision and would imagine she regrets it by now."

Delana makes a good point about not only the emotional attachment that the significant others have for the drivers but also about the things that go on behind the scenes that fans might never know about.

That is a point that Pattie Petty also makes in an article on Nascar.com. In the same race at Texas, her husband, Kyle, blew an engine when he was running fairly well in the race. She says,

"That meant we don't have a sponsor. And we're 33rd in [owner] points, so it would be harder to get one. One of the sponsors that was looking at us wanted us in the top 25 in points. I wanted to cry, but people would see me and construe that however they wanted. 'Why is she crying? Why is she upset? She has a motor home and a nice home, and she cries because her husband blew up?' They don't understand. It's a woman's nature to protect and stand up for what she believes in. We don't have a sponsor for the whole year and we're struggling, and every week is very emotional."

TV shows us the confrontation or might show Pattie Petty crying if they happened to spot it. But we might never know the full context about why these things are happening. I speculate and jump to conclusions about things myself all the time but I also like to leave room for being wrong because as a fan, I am usually not privy to all of what goes on in the garage area. That's why while I might not agree with things that happen I try not to be too judgemental over the drivers, or in this case their significant others, because there are a lot of things I might not be aware of that might be effecting the way they react to certain situations.

But I think that Delana Harvick is right about how the significant others of the drivers shouldn't get involved when there's an incident on the track. As hard as it may be, it shouldn't happen. Bryan has no control over what Busch does on the track, just as Lunders has no control over the way Biffle drives his car.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:24 PM | Comments (0)

Kyle Busch Cited For "Reckless" Driving

This is much ado about nothing which is why I put reckless in quotes. Did Kyle Busch break a traffic law? Yes. Should he have been more careful since he drives for a living and is appearing in public service announcements about responsible driving? Yes. But is this a major infraction that the media and fans should come down on him for? I don't think so. Kyle was driving less than 10 miles an hour and "chirped" his tires as he was going from the parking lot of a gas station to a fast food restaurant next door. That's all he did to get a ticket. According to the Henrico County authorities he was cooperative, unlike his brother Kurt, who was belligerant and difficult when he was stopped on suspicion of drinking while intoxicated at the end of last season.

So why is this even news? Kyle is far from the first Nascar driver to be given a traffic ticket and he surely won't be the last. Last season Kasey Kahne had to appear in traffic court because of a speeding ticket he got but that barely got anyone's attention. The difference is that both Busch brothers have a reputation for getting into trouble and this is looked at as one more example of how they can't follow the rules or respect authority by those who dislike them. Naturally, the media being well-aware of that is going to play this story up for all that it's worth too. But I don't think this incident is much to get too worked up about.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2006

Photo of the Day - A Look Inside

Goddard Mansion, Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, July, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)

Not Much Blogging For a Couple of Days...

It's Passover so I'll be doing a variety of Passover related things over the next couple of days so blogging is likely to be light for a bit...

Posted by silverdsl at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)

Woman Dies After Riding Mission: Space at Walt Disney World

A 49-year old woman from Germany complained of feeling ill after riding Mission: Space, a ride that simulates a space launch, at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World tar. She was taken to the hospital where her condition worsened and she eventually passed away. Apparently this woman had high blood pressure and Disney warns numerous times that riders with high blood pressure or other medical conditions should avoid riding Mission: Space. This is the second death attributed to Mission: Space. Last year a four-year old with an undiagnosed heart condition died after riding the ride. That there have been two deaths raises some questions about the safety of the ride but after this most recent incident the ride has been cleared to reopen.

Walt Disney World bills itself as "The Happiest Place on Earth." The majority of people on vacation think that it's unlikely that anything bad will happen on vacation and perhaps even more so in Disney. But things can and will go wrong. Some might say that this woman should have heeded the warning signs given her medical conditions, others will say that Disney shouldn't have a ride that is so intense that they need that many warning signs. I just feel bad for this woman's family because no one expects something like this to happen after riding a thrill ride.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:21 PM | Comments (0)

Jamie McMurray and Carl Edwards Get New Crew Chiefs

Six races into the season and already there are major personnel changes occuring at Roush Racing to try to improve the fortunes of two of their teams. Bob Osbourne, who was crew chief for Carl Edwards on the #99 car, and helped him have so much success last season in his rookie year, is becoming Jamie McMurray's crew chief on the #26. Edward's new crew chief is not Jimmy Fennig who worked so well with Kurt Busch and helped him to a Championship in 2004, but instead Wally Brown, who was a head engineer at Roush. Fenning will oversee all of Roush's efforts in the Busch series, including becoming crew chief for Matt Kenseth's #17. I thought that perhaps that change was made in relation to Chad Norris being busted for the third time this season for a rules infraction on the #17 Busch car but once he has finished serving his suspension he will be in charge of overseeing the set-up for all the Busch cars so Roush can't be too displeased with the job he's done.

I guess Roush is afraid to let it get any deeper into the season because those teams might be even further away from the Chase than they are now. I would think that they would want to give McMurray a little more time to get used to his new team but perhaps he and Fenning weren't working as well together as Fenning worked with Busch. I'm really not sold on McMurray as an elite driver so I wouldn't be surprised if he continued to struggle in spite of getting a new crew chief but perhaps Osbourne will be able to work some magic with McMurray like he did last year with Edwards. I think the #99 team will end up being fine in the long run since some of there issues seem to relate to bad luck rather than bad cars or set-ups.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)

April 12, 2006

Photo of the Day - Tree Bark

April, 2006. One of my favorite types of photography is close-ups. There are patterns in nature and it's kind of neat to try and find them.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:31 PM | Comments (0)

David Reutimann in the #66 After All?

Yesterday I was thinking on the basis of Nascar's entry list for this weekend's race in Nashville that someone made an error because Michael Waltrip was listed as being in the #99 Yardman car and David Reutimann was listed in the #66 Cottman Transmissions car. Now back when the schedule came out in terms of which races Michael and Ken Schrader would be in the #66 Yardman Ford for Brewco Motorsports it was said that Michael's first race in that car would be this weekend. And I believe there was some joking back and forth between Michael and Kenny on Inside Nextel Cup on Monday that Michael should take care of the car for Kenny. But now there's been PR from David Reutimann that specifically talks about him being in the #66 and I would assume that he would know what he's talking about.

It's just very strange because Cottman Transmissions was definitely on the #99 earlier this season and Yardman is slated to be on the #66 for fifteen or sixteen races and they have a fairly extensive marketing campaign based around their sponsorship of the #66 including the "Honey, is that Michael Waltrip Mowing Our Lawn" contest. Not only that Michael is on both the Brewco site and the Yardman site as being in the #66. But it appears that there's been a sponsor swap between the #66 and #99, as well as a driver swap. What happened to cause that to happen? We may never find out unless Michael or David happens to be interviewed this weekend and addresses it. Very strange.

Posted by silverdsl at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)

New York Yankees Win Their Ninth Home Opener in a Row!!!

It was looking bleak for a while but New York Yankees fans were happy when the Bronx Bombers rallied in the eighth inning to come from behind to beat the Kansas City Royals 9-7. Derek Jeter was the hero as he hit a three-run homerun to give the Yankees the lead. Is there a more fitting savior than Jeter, who is the Captain and face of the Yankees to many fans? Jason Giambi also had a three-run homerun earlier in the game and Bernie Williams, Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui also contribued with RBI hits. Yesterday also was the first save of the season for closer Mariano Rivera, the first of what is sure to be many this season.

Even though the season officially began over a week ago, yesterday felt like the real start of the season since it was the home opener and the Yankees are back on the East Coast so I can actually watch some of the games. So I was really excited for yesterday's game even though I could only listen on XM rather than watch on TV since it was a day game and I was at work. I was even happier that they pulled out the win! I guess it's become routine for the Yankees to win their home opener, but I'm estatic for each home opener win.

The offense bailed out the Yankees pitching staff yesterday because Chien Ming-Wang was shaky and Tanyon Sturtze wasn't very good either. Wang will hopefully be better in his next start but I can't say that I have much hope for Sturtze. At times he has pitched extremely well for the Yankees which has made fans think that he is always capable of pitching that well. Some have attributed his struggles to Joe Torre overusing him but but over the course of his career Sturtze has a 5.19 ERA so he's never been an elite reliever. I'm not sure how much longer Sturtze will last in pinstripes if he continues to struggle, though it's still early in the season and there's time for him to right himself.

What was amazing to me is that yesterday's loss was the Royals' 12th straight loss at Yankee Stadium since August of 2002. This in spite of how much trouble the Yankees seemed to have with the Royals last season. Today looks like it's going to be no better for the Royals as the Yankees are leading in the 8th inning 12-5. I don't know if the Yankees will end up winning tomorrow to sweep the Royals but at the very least assuming they can hang on in this game, they will win the series which is what they should be doing against the weaker teams.

One note from today's game is that Gary Sheffield has three hits, including a homerun, four RBI and scored two runs. So far to start the season Sheffield has looked awful at the plate so some fans were getting worried. But this game should make them feel a little better that he's not done yet. Considering Sheffield's age it would be surprising if he started to decline one of these days but he's such a great player that I think the process will be gradual rather Sheffield suddenly losing the ability to hit. So Sheffield was likely in an early season slump and this might be a sign that he is breaking out of it.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

Quote of the Day

Been a while since I've done one of these but I came across this quote that I liked...

"Many of the things that you can count, don't count.
Many of the things you can't count, really count."
-Albert Einstein

Posted by silverdsl at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/12)

I was wondering a couple of days ago if Michael Waltrip's post-race report from Texas would address whether the crew chief baton for the #55 has been officially passed from Derrick Finley to Larry Carter and it doesn't. The post-race report does reference Carter calling the shots by noting at one point,

Loose off the corners, Waltrip-Jasper consultant Larry Carter went with four tires, fuel, and rear air pressure adjustments to see if it would help.

But Carter is still refered to as a consultant. There is no mention of Finley so it's hard to tell what role, if any, he still has with the team. I'm thinking, as I might have mentioned in this space previously, that there are contractual reasons, either with Waltrip-Jasper's deal with Bill Davis Racing or from when Carter was with , that Carter can't officially take the reigns as crew chief yet. Or it could just be that for some reason they don't want to name him crew chief or he doesn't want to officially take over as crew chief this season. Very hard to know what's going on.

But in some ways it's not really surprising. One thing I've noticed in the past about Michael, especially as it relates to things regarding Michael Waltrip Racing, is that he, and others around him, can be very tight-lipped about exactly what their plans are. Michael will sometimes hint about things but he is extremely careful about not letting the cat out of the bag about a lot of things. For example no one knew that Michael was going to decide to leave DEI until it happened and no one had any idea that Michael was forming Waltrip-Jasper with Doug Bawel until just before it happened. Meanwhile, both of those things were likely in the works for some time before they happened. Sure, there were plenty of rumors that Michael was going to drive for BDR and join with Toyota in 2007 but Michael was certainly very careful about being vague about exactly what was going to happen until it was officially announced.

Which brings us to another thing that Michael Waltrip Racing has been secretive about - who is going to drive the #99 when Michael is in the #66. The first race that Michael will be racing the #66 Yardman Ford for Brewco Motorsports is this weekend at Nashville. Yet not a single word has been mentioned about who would drive the #99. I assumed that it would be David Reutimann when I saw that he was at Busch testing a few weeks ago and it was more obvious when truckseries.com had an article about him racing in the Busch race this weekend, though the specific car wasn't mentioned. But yes, based on the entry list from Nascar David will be in the #99, though it appears that someone got some of the information entered incorrectly since Michael and David are each listed with the correct sponsor but wrong car number. Michael did say last night on Inside Nextel Cup that he would be in the #66 so I assume that is just a clerical error.

Michael is a former winner of this race and Scott Wimmer got a top ten in the #66 this past weekend in Texas. So I'm hoping that bodes well for a great finish for Michael this weekend. He could really use one even if it's not in his primary car! I would love to see him in Victory Lane with the guitar they give to race winners there in his hand once again but I will be thrilled with even a top fifteen finish! Michael has struggled so much in both Busch and Cup with iffy cars this season so I would love to see him actually be able to race up front like I know he can!

In the meantime Michael is at Richmond Raceway testing once again, though this time it's his Cup car that he's testing. He will be there today and tomorrow. I haven't seen any test speeds to know how they've done but hopefully the team will learn some things from this test to continue to make some improvements to the #55.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)

And People Think Chad Knaus is Bad?

Chad Knaus has been getting all the attention this season for being a multiple offender when it comes to cheating but he's not the only one. In fact while Knaus has been singled out by fans and practically burned at the stake as a symbol of all that's wrong in Nascar, it's virtually escaped everyone's attention that there's a crew chief who has is a multiple offender this season, forget about over the course of his career. I suppose since it's on the Busch level no one cares but personally if fans are going to be outraged over cheating and unapproved parts they should be outraged when it happens on every level, not just in Cup.

Today it was announced that for the third time this season, Jack Roush, Matt Kenseth and crew chief Chad Norris have been penalized for rules infractions on Kenseth's #17 Busch car. The first infraction was for unapproved rear jacking bolts at California Speedway and Norris was fined $10,000, Roush lost 25 owner points and Kenseth 25 driver points. The second time Norris was fined $5,000 for an unapproved front jacking bolt at Atlanta. Finally, this past weekend at Texas it was discovered that the #17 Busch car had a quarter panel that was too high. So Norris was fined $10,000, suspended for three races until May 3 and once again Roush and Kenseth lost owner and driver points respectively.

So to sum up Norris has been fined a total of $25,000, Roush has lost 50 owner points and Kenseth 50 driver points. That's a big hit for one team. Maybe because of the perception that no one cares Norris felt free to continually bend the rules, assuming that the violations haven't been accidental, and I'm guessing that Nascar believes that they aren't since he's now suspended. But it seems to me that it's a big deal that Kenseth and the #17 team have only run five Busch races and in three of them the team was busted for rules violations!

Fans are pointing fingers at Rick Hendrick and saying that obviously he doesn't care that he has a cheater working for him, well what about Jack Roush? Seems to me that by the second time in a month that the team is being fined for a rules violation it might the time to tell your crew chief to be a little more careful, even if the violations are accidental. Maybe the problem is that all the penalties other than the suspension are pretty meaningless to Roush and the team. I have my doubts as to whether Norris has to pay the fines himself and the points certainly don't mean anything to Roush or Kenseth since this is a part-time team and Kenseth isn't racing for the Busch Championship.

I'm just amazed that so many rules violations so early in the season by one team seem to be shrugged off by so many. Where are the accusations that Kenseth is a cheater for the actions of his crew chief just like the accusations that Jimmie Johnson is a cheater because of what Knaus did? Oh right, it's the Busch series - no one cares. But the racing is just as real in the Busch series (in spite of the presence of the Buschwackers) as it is in the Cup series.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

Carl Long in the #37 at Darlington

That Carl Long will be in the #37 for R&J Racing in the Cup race at Darlington caught my attention because it was only two weeks ago that R&J Racing announced that after failing to qualify the first five Cup races this season with Mike Skinner behind the wheel that they would be reevaluating things and only trying to qualify for selected races instead of the full season as originally planned. At the time nothing was mentioned about a driver change but as per Long's website, he will be racing the #37 at Darlington, not Skinner. It doesn't really matter all that much since Skinner's main focus is on his full-time truck ride with Bill Davis Racing, a much better ride than the #37, but being in the #37 would put a little extra money in his pockets and present the opportunity to race in a few extra races if he were able to qualify in. Maybe it's just a one-race deal for Long and Skinner will be back in the car behind the wheel for whatever other starts the #37 makes this season. I have to admit it's kind of nice to see a real underdog driver like Long get a shot at getting the #37 into the show.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)

$1,000 Mint Julep at the Kentucky Derby

Big-spenders can get a special treat at this year's Kentucky Derby because they will be able to buy a $1,000 Mint Julep. I don't think any drink is worth spending $1,000 on but the proceeds from the sale of this drink will benefit the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a nonprofit that provides homes for retired race horses. What goes in a $1,000 drink? In this case premium bourbon, mint from Morocco, ice from the Arctic Circle and sugar from the South Pacific. In addition it will be served in a 24-karat gold cup along with a silver straw.

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

No DNA Match in Duke University Rape Case

I'm sure everyone has heard all the details of the rape allegations made against members of the Duke University lacrosse team by a stripper who was hired to perform at a party the team had. Apparently DNA tests that were conducted do not show a match with any of the lacrosse players. That supports the players claims of innocence and makes it hard for the prosecutor to move forward with charging any of the players.

The problem is that a lot of people are going to say that everything is okay now, the stripper lied and the lacrosse players are completely exonerated of any wrong-doing. But the fact of the matter is that even if a rape didn't take place the team still had a wild, drunken party where they hired strippers to perform. In addition, a member of the team sent a vile e-mail to others in which he said he wanted to have another party with strippers where he wanted to kill and skin them. And even prior to this incident members of the team had a reputation for partying and aggressive behavior. While there is nothing wrong with partying and having a good time, some of the behavior issues that have been brought to light by this case need to be addressed even if the players are all innocent of rape.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2006

Photo of the Day - Aruba

Arikok National Park, Aruba. October, 2005.

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

Driver by Driver: Texas

1. Kasey Kahne - Yay Kasey! I think it's safe to say now that Kahne has two wins (both from the pole), two top fives and a top ten that his hot start to the season is likely to continue. What a difference a year makes! Last season at this time Kahne had a second place finish in Martinsville but he had also crashed twice and his other finishes were less than steller. But this season he's really been impressive! I'm glad to see it - I wasn't too thrilled last season when Kahne wrecked Michael Waltrip at Watkins Glen but otherwise I've always liked him. So I'm happy to see him do well.

2. Matt Kenseth - A very impressive finish for Kenseth. On Saturday the #17 blew an engine during practice which meant that Kenseth's team had to change engines and he would have to start from the back. That didn't stop him from leading fourteen laps and finishing second. If he keeps it up I think Kenseth will make a strong run at possibly being a repeat Champion.

3. Tony Stewart - The luckiest man on the track no doubt about it. When Carl Edwards wrecked he came within inches of slamming into Stewart. That would surely have ruined a strong run by Stewart, who also started at the back. Stewart led 99 laps in this race but in the end Kasey's car was better.My feeling is that Stewart is the best driver in Nascar right now and I think he will win quite a few races this season.

4. Denny Hamlin - What a race for the rookie! This finish is Hamlin's best in a Cup points race and he also led 41 laps. Hamlin made a statement when he won the Bud Shootout and he's showing that win wasn't a fluke. We will see Hamlin get his first Cup points win this season, I'm sure of it. It's incredible to me what a turn-around this team has made. They struggled terribly with Jason Leffler but it's a completely different story with Hamlin. I don't know whether the cars that Leffler had weren't as strong as what Hamlin is getting or maybe Leffler was in over his head in Cup but this team should feel really good about themselves for how much they've turned things around. I'm sure Fed Ex is much happier this year too.

5. Kevin Harvick - The #29 team is definitely starting to turn things around. The first four races of the season were not impressive but in his last three races Harvick has finished 2nd, 7th and now 5th. With this finish Harvick vaults three positions into the top ten in driver points. I would really like to see Harvick be a Chase contender this season but the #29 team will have to continue to race as well as they have been the past few weeks if they want that to happen.

6. Jeff Burton - Another strong run by an RCR driver. Burton's had some bad luck lately so it was nice to see him be able to run up front without anything happening to ruin it.

7. Scott Riggs - Best finish of the season for Riggs, which follows a 10th place finish last week. Ray Evernham said in an interview on XM a while back that he felt that the #10 team was the strongest team that he has. That's really saying something considering how well the #9 team is performing. It's really impressive how this team came back from missing Daytona. It's really hard for a team to climb out of that kind of a hole but Riggs and the #10 team are doing exactly what they need to do so to salvage their season. I think Riggs might contend for at least one win this season and I will be very happy to see that. Because of some struggles the past couple of years a lot of fans have felt that he doesn't belong in Cup. But I think there's a reason why Valvoline wanted to stick with him and why Evernham has so much faith in him and his team.

8. Martin Truex Jr. - Another rookie who raced extremely well and also finished the best that they have all season. The results for Truex haven't been terrible this season but he really hasn't raced as well in Cup so far as he did in Busch. Finishing better than Dale, Jr. at this track is a sign that if he's given good cars he is capable of finishing well.

9. Mark Martin - two top tens and two top fives for Martin so far this season. He is reportedly close to a deal to race full-time in the truck series in 2007 and 2008 but didn't rule out the possiblity of still making some Cup starts. No wonder - he is clearly still at the top of his game as far as Cup racing goes.

10. Bobby Labonte - Outstanding to see Labonte racing up front and finally having a problem-free race. I don't think this will be the year but I predict that Labonte will make a run at the Chase while he's with Petty Enterprises.

11. Jimmie Johnson - This race really shows how strong Johnson and the #48 team are. Some might say, well, he only finished 11th. However, Johnson rallied from being two laps down at one point to finish that well. The car started off handling poorly and Johnson was lapped fairly early on. Then he made a pit stop under green and the caution came out, which put him two laps down. But Johnson earned one of his laps back the hard way by racing past the leaders, then was the lucky dog to put him back on the lead lap. Though this team probably expects even better results every time out, this really was an outstanding finish for the team considering and it's an example of why no team should ever give up, particularly when they have a good car.

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 12th is definitely not a bad finish but Junior never really made much noise in this race. In fact I think that's been the story of his whole season. He is currently 6th in overall points and has two top fives and a top ten so it's far from a bad season. But Junior really hasn't been in contention for a trip to Victory Lane very often this season. He led 32 laps at Daytona and only one since and that was the following week in Fontana. For an elite team that has to be a disappointment. I think the #8 team's season could go either way and a lot of it in my opinion will depend not on Dale, Jr. or Tony Eury, Jr., both of whom are very talented, but on what DEI does behind the scenes.

13. Reed Sorenson - A third rookie with an extremely strong race. Sorenson would have finished even higher than 13th but during a late pit stop he stopped outside his pit box and lost time when he had to reposition.

14. Casey Mears

15. Kyle Busch - some fans were quick to jump all over Busch and accuse him of wrecking Clint Bowyer but I don't think Busch had much to do with it.

16. Ken Schrader - Schrader struggled early on and he was trapped a lap down for quite some time. But once he got the lucky dog he took advantage and was able to race his way up to 16th. The results for Schrader haven't been incredible this season but I'm sure he's enjoying being in a better car than the #49.

17. Dale Jarrett - there are rumors that Jarrett might be a target for Toyota since his contract with Yates expires at the end of this season. I think it makes sense for both parties because Toyota gets a well-respected veteran who still knows how to race and Jarrett gets a change of scenery that might allow him to win a few more races.

18. Jeff Green - Green qualified fourth for this race and his car was good enough to allow him to race up front for a while. But Green eventually faded due to handling problems and then damage to his car and an issue with a spring rubber destroyed any hope of a really good finish.

19. Clint Bowyer - A last lap spin caused him to finish further back than he should have but otherwise it was a pretty good race for Bowyer. Bowyer's post-race report blames Busch for the spin but from what it seemed on the TV replays Bowyer got loose on his own. His new spotter is Tim Fedewa who has raced in the Busch and truck series the past few years.

20. Robby Gordon - More bad luck for Robby. The caution came out as he was pitting and that trapped him a lap down. He tried to get his lap back by racing the leaders but he was unsuccessful. Some fans are convinced that Nascar has it out for Robby and deliberately waited to throw the caution until Robby was on pit road. Doubtful.

21. David Stremme - This was Stremme's best finish of the season so it probably felt like a win to him. Still, the #40 wasn't exactly one of the strongest cars on the track. I still have to wonder how much patience Ganassi is going to have for him but Coors put him in a commercial so I can't see them getting rid of him so soon after an ad campaign with him in it debuts.

22. Jeff Gordon - I know that Gordon had some problems that caused him to finish this far back, though I can't quite remember exactly what happened nor can I find a post-race report. But from the start it looked like Gordon didn't have a great car.

23. Joe Nemechek

24. Tony Raines - the team itself got slightly more attention this week because Texas is the home state of the owners but I can't remember Raines ever being mentioned by name at all during the race. But I have to say again that considering this is a brand-new, single car team, this isn't a bad result.

25. Terry Labonte - the only reason he got any attention yesterday, and it was minimal, is because he's from Texas. He's really not racing for anything in this car.

26. Michael Waltrip - I discussed this finish in depth yesterday but this was an improvement over how they've been finishing the past few races.

27. Travis Kvapil - Kvapil is lucky to finish this well because much of the rest of the race he was running more worse than this. Hard to believe but this is the best finish this team has had this season so far.

28. Scott Wimmer - was he ever mentioned in yesterday's race?

29. Dave Blaney - for a change Blaney had the worst of the BDR cars. The car seemed to be bad all day.

30. Sterling Marlin

31. Jeremy Mayfield - this team continues to struggle. I don't even remember Mayfield being involved in an incident so this might have just been a case of a bad car. The past two season Mayfield has been a Chase contender and it's almost mind-boggling how much his fortunes have turned around.

32. Kevin Lepage - Of course the results haven't been very good but surprisingly Lepage is doing a pretty decent job of qualifying for these races. So far he's only missed one out of the seven that he's attempted. In some ways that makes the #32 team having missed two races look even worse since Lepage is with a team that likely has far less resources than PPI.

33. Elliott Sadler - This is one of Sadler's favorite tracks and he won in Texas in 2004. Unfortunately was he not only unable to race his way as far up front as he might have liked but something in the engine eventually broke which put him out of the race and gave him his first DNF of the season.

34. Kurt Busch - As I already discussed in a previous entry Busch pretty much did this to himself.

35. J.J. Yeley - Yeley was running in 10th place when he got loose and wrecked.

36. Carl Edwards - Edwards started at the back and was able to race his way to the front. In fact he led 50 laps. Then as it has so many other times this season, disaster struck for Edwards as his car got loose and he wrecked. The season hasn't been completely horrible for Edwards as he also has two top five finishes but thus far it's shaping up to be a much harder sophomore season in Cup for Edwards than his rookie season was. When he wrecked he almost took out Tony Stewart too and after the race Stewart said,

"He was driving over his head. He got loose about three times before he lost it. I'm just glad nobody got caught up in it."

My guess is that Edwards is trying way too hard to make up for some of the poor results. He needs to have a little more patience and drive smart and carefully.

37. Jamie McMurray - The #26 was pretty horrible all weekend. McMurray qualified at the back and was never able to make any forward progress. Finally he took the car behind the wall in an effort to locate the problem that was making the car so bad but the crew was never able to figure out what was wrong.

38. Mike Garvey

39. Kyle Petty - Kyle never had a really strong run going but he was doing okay until his engine gave up the ghost.

40. Ryan Newman - Newman wrecked and immediately blamed Sterling Marlin. In fact, he didn't just blame Marlin he had a pretty harsh, and in my opinion, uncalled for comment, after the wreck.

"I saw Casey Mears get sideways, but I am pretty sure Sterling Marlin's hairpiece just got in his eyes and he couldn't see what was going on. Sterling just dumped us, and it was unfortunate.

I'm sure a lot of people think that kind of remark is hysterical but I think it's just insulting.

41. Derrike Cope - if not for a tire rolling out of his pit his name likely would never have been mentioned during this race.

42. Greg Biffle - what does this man have to do to get some luck? He's led 404 laps this season but every time it looks like he's on the verge of winning something happens.

43. Brian Vickers - Vickers does have two top tens this season but otherwise this season hasn't been anything to write home about. I'm surprised because he made some improvements over 2004 last season so I thought he was really going to break out in 2006. But so far it's looking like that might not be the case. Of course a blown engine isn't his fault - it certainly doesn't help him if the car is going to fall apart on lap 24.

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

April 09, 2006

Photo of the Day - Bailey the Pug

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

Greg Biffle vs. Kurt Busch

Greg Biffle has been in contention to win quite a few races this season. But he's only 23rd in points. That's because in spite of running up front and leading quite a few laps, he's had horrible luck which has resulted in a blown engine, getting wrecked and other mechanical problems. Today's race was no different. After leading 49 of the the first 70 laps, Biffle was run over by former teammate and supposed friend Kurt Busch which sent him into the wall and led to his second DNF of the season. Biffle of course was not pleased and said among other things,

"But that's unfortunate that he didn't want to give. It's a little bit of a give-and-take game out there, you know? If you get a run on someone down the straightaway, you can't just run into the back of them because you're faster than them. If he slid up into the corner and caught me on accident and couldn't react quick enough, that would be one thing. I don't know what he was upset about."

Busch could have lifted but for some reason he decided not to. I'm not even sure that it was a matter of him being upset about something as much as it was that he wasn't racing smart. And that led to disaster for Biffle and to a lesser degree for Busch as well.

Biffle's girlfriend, Nicole Lunders was so angry that she stormed over to Busch's pit box and confronted his fiancee, Eva Bryan. I can understand why Lunders was so upset but I don't think it's a good idea for the driver's significant others to be confronting each other mid-race. No good can come out of that but I'm also guessing that it's something that Nascar probably frowns upon as drivers, crew chiefs and crew members aren't supposed to be going into each other's pits during races. It happens that Lunders and Bryan are friends, as were Biffle and Busch up until this point, and they exchanged text messages to work everything out between them. But I don't think a driver's wife or girlfriend should have to worry about being confronted in the middle of the race about something her husband or boyfriend does. It's not Bryan's fault what Busch does.

As for Busch of course there were all sorts of excuses after the race. He said,

"I don't know what he was doing," Busch said of Biffle. "I was a lapped car trying to get out of the way. He had trouble passing the 21 [Ricky Rudd], and he checked up going down the straightaway. I tried not to get into him. I had nowhere to go."

Of course only Busch truly knows what he was thinking and doing on he track but it didn't look like Busch did a single thing to avoid getting into Biffle. That's a shame because Biffle has always been one of Busch's few defenders in the garage area and as noted they are friends. Of course a lot of times it's every man for himself on the track and friendships can go by the wayside when the drivers strap into their cars. But one would think that Busch would use a little more care when it came to how he raced around a friend. All he had to do was give a little, lift a little and the outcome might have been very different.

It's really puzzling to me how Busch is so incredibly talented behind the wheel but sometimes he does some really boneheaded things. I have no doubt that he didn't mean to wreck Biffle but he definitely didn't use very good judgement in that spot. And it cost him as well as Biffle as Busch ruined the nose of his car and caused him to have to go behind the wall for repairs meaning that he could finish no better than 34th. I just can't understand why Busch is constantly putting himself in so many situations that draw the ire not only of his fellow competitors but of fans as well. I think the biggest shame of all is that if Busch could ever get himself under control and use a little more common sense he might be an even better driver than he is now but I have my doubts if he's ever going to learn that lesson.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:44 PM | Comments (0)

When a 26th Place Finish Isn't So Bad

26th place isn't such a great finish... unless one considers how badly Michael Waltrip and the #55 team has struggled this season so far, how close they were to falling out of the top 35 in owner points after last week's race and how badly they qualified for this race. I was really worried for Michael when I saw that he qualified last for this race. A good finish was going to be essential this weekend if they were going to stay in the top 35 in owner points. But at the beginning of the race Michael was able to race his way through the field to the point where he was in the top 30. Not amazing by any means but definitely an accomplishment considering how in most of the races this season Michael hasn't been able to make any forward progress at all. Unfortunately after a few pit stops the #55 never seemed to be as good as it was to start the race but it was good enough to allow Michael to finish 26th, three laps down. That finish puts the #55 team in 34th place in owner points, guaranteeing them a spot for the next race, the Subway Fresh 500 in Phoenix on April 22.

I got really nervous for Michael in the last few laps of the race when he said that he felt like his engine was about to blow. The funny thing was that based on what Trackpass was showing Michael was racing some fairly fast laps and I wouldn't expect to see that if the engine was going south. Based on what Michael was saying there was clearly some sort of problem but luckily the engine held long enough for Michael to finish the race. With the way that Michael's luck usually is it's almost a surprise that the engine didn't blow ruining that 26th place finish but for a change lady luck was at least half smiling on the #55 team.

Though nothing has officially been announced it appears that there might have been a crew chief change or at least someone else helping Derrick Finley. That would be Larry Carter who was apparently taking an active role when it came to calling the shots from the pit box. Carter has been helping out all along but I don't think he's been this involved on race day. I hope it continues. It's hard to know exactly how much he helped today but the results were a little bit better than they've been the past few races so his presence might have made a difference. It will be interesting to see if Carter's role with the team and what he did today is at all discussed in the post-race report.

Of course the team still has a lot of work to do. Yes, they are in the top 35 in owner points but not by much. They don't have much breathing room so if they continue to struggle, and especially if they were to get any DNFs that could knock them out of the top 35. And once they're out it might be hard to get back in. I just don't want Michael have to worry about qualifying into races on time, the possibility of missing races and the hole that could put him in for next season. Michael is a much better driver than the cars he's getting is allowing him to show and I hate it for him that he has to have this in the back of his mind all the time.

There is no Cup race next weekend so the team will have some extra time to work on the car for Phoenix. Michael is very capable of racing well at Phoenix since he finished 2nd there last season. I can still remember vividly how well Michael raced that night and how happy I was for him - how I would love to see that happen again, or even better see him in Victory Lane! Of course he's not going to have as competitive of a car as he did last season in this race but I hope that Michael's team will be able to build on this week's 26th place finish and give him a car capable of allowing him to get a semi-decent finish. A finish in the top 20 would be great, even better would be like a win but I don't want to hope for or expect too much. As long as they finish well enough to stay in the top 35 in points I will be happy.

I hope that sometime soon Michael will be able to race up front like he's capable of doing!

Posted by silverdsl at 08:58 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park's Future Plans

According to someone from Steve Park Central who talked to Steve Park this past weekend at Martinsville Steve plans on racing three to four more races in the #59 truck and then after that announce his plans for the rest of the season. Since the truck series doesn't race as often as the Cup series does that means that unless something leaks sooner we might not know about a full-time ride for Steve in the truck series, if that's what his announcement is going to be about, until June. That's two months from now. I have no idea why things are evolving this way for Steve but I hope that the reason is that he is joining a new team that won't be ready to go until June because I have to admit that it concerns me that it appears that things may be pushed off for him in terms of a full-time ride once again.

Of course it takes time to work out deals with sponsors, teams and all other involved parties but the way Steve was talking a few weeks ago it sounded like the deal for a full-time ride was going to happen at any time, now it may not happen until June. That's not because I don't have faith in Steve, but because in this sport things can change very quickly and what seems like a sure thing now can fall apart the next day, as has already happened to Steve once at the beginning of this season. Obviously there is some reason why he will be racing in the #59 for a few more races and for all I know that is the team he is working on going full-time with. But things still being up in the air to whatever degree that they still are isn't a good thing in my opinion when the season is already under way. So what does this all mean? I have no clue because I am just a fan on the outside looking in but that's not going to stop me from speculating...

What I'm hoping is that the reason that things are still in flux for Steve and won't be firmed up until June is because he will be joining an organization that already fields a team and they couldn't field a truck for him sooner because they were concentrating their efforts on their existing team or teams. I would love to see Steve join Wyler Racing as a teammate to Jack Sprague. Besides Steve being good friend with Jeff Wyler, Steve would likely get very competitive trucks from Wyler Racing since they run Toyotas. I'd love to see what Steve could do in a Toyota! Another scenario, though I think it's a less likely one, is that Bill Davis Racing will field a truck for Steve. The only problem with that is that they are already fielding three trucks and I'm not sure they will be able to successfully field a fourth. A third possiblity is that Steve will continue racing the #59 for the rest of the season since that's who he will be racing with for the foreseeable future. However, the #59 has no sponsor, no manufacturer support and right now doesn't have a guaranteed spot in the next race at the least since they are not in the top 30 in owner points. So I'm not sure that is the ideal situation for Steve. I'm sure there are other possibilities out there too - maybe he will join a team that I've not even considered via a driver change or that organization deciding to field another truck.

Of course all of this leaves Steve's Busch schedule up in the air to a degree because Whelen Racing was waiting to confirm which Busch races he was going to run on the basis of whether he got a full-time truck ride. Steve will be racing in the Busch at Richmond and Darlington but otherwise there's some uncertainly there too.

I guess my point to writing this entry which is probably just repeating some things that I've said in the past is that sometimes I feel sad for Steve that things have turned out this way for him that there's so much uncertainty. It's great that he's racing and that he will likely eventually be in a full-time ride but Steve shouldn't be in this position. It's unbelievable to me that a driver who has won in each of Nascar's top levels wasn't locked up in a definite full-time ride to start the season, let alone still be up-in-the-air to some degree about what he's doing for the rest of the season. I hope we hear a definite announcement about Steve's plans sooner rather than later.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)

Reed Sorenson Needs a Caution, Creates a Caution

Nascar takes issue with teams that try to cheat by modifying their cars in ways that are prohibited in the rule book but there are other ways of cheating. And I happen to think that when a competitor tries to do something to manipulate the race, also in a way prohibited in the rule book, then I also think it's a form of cheating. Which is what Reed Sorenson appeared to do yesterday in the Busch race. Sorenson was complaining about a bad vibration in his car but no driver wants to have to make an unscheduled pit stop under green. So instead of waiting for a caution Sorenson appeared to throw a piece of roll bar padding out of his car onto the track. Then Sorenson followed that up by telling his spotter to tell Nascar that there was debris on the track in the hopes that Nascar would throw a caution flag. Which Nascar did... but they also sent Sorenson to the back of the longest line as a penalty for seemingly causing a caution.

Of course this is far from the first time that a driver has intentionally done something to draw a caution. In a Busch race earlier this season a mystery driver threw a glove onto the track to draw a caution. Perhaps the best known recent incident is when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spun himself deliberately at Bristol in 2004 because he had a loose wheel and he didn't want to have to pit under green. Of course in that incident unlike Sorenson who is denying everything, Junior freely admitted to what he did after the race. That earned Junior a penalty of 25 driver points and a $10,000 fine. So Sorenson may also face a further penalty once Nascar reviews the tape.

I have a problem with drivers creating cautions for themselves. For one thing it can be a safety issue when drivers go to the lengths that Dale, Jr. did and spin themselves - if something were to go wrong another driver could have gotten into him. But as I noted above I also think it's a form of cheating because the driver is manipulating things in a way that they shouldn't. Sometimes things aren't going to go their way and they are going to have to pit under green as much as they might not like it. I'm glad that Nascar takes a dim view of drivers creating cautions for themselves because otherwise drivers would be dropping things out of their cars and spinning themselves on a regular basis.

But just like any other form of cheating I highly doubt we'll ever see the end of it just because the drivers face a penalty. As we saw with the mystery glove caution, it's quite possible that the driver might get away with creating a caution for themselves. So I'm sure that there are many drivers who will be willing to risk a penalty because there's also a chance that they might get away with it. I wonder how many drivers fall into the category of being willing to do anything, including creating a caution for themselves, if they think it might help them win and which drivers wouldn't consider doing anything of the sort because they feel that it's wrong.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:09 PM | Comments (0)

April 07, 2006

Photo of the Day - Black and White Aruba

Aruba, September, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)

New York Post Reporter Probed by FBI For Extortion

It's bad enough when you hear stories about reporters who don't fact-check, don't use proper sourcing, make up quotes or other ethical no-no's. But the actions of New York Post reporter Jared Paul Stern if true just about take the cake. Stern is a freelance writer for the Post's "Page Six" gossip page and it's alleged that he tried to get billionare Ron Burkle, the managing partner of Yucaipa Companies who is a big-time Democratic fundraiser, to pay $220,000 to get protection from having false and damaging items written about him on "Page Six." Unfortunately for Stern it turned out that his meetings with Brukle were being taped by the FBI and he is now the subject of some rather unflattering media coverage himself.

Immediately I have to wonder if Stern had or was trying to extort money from others for favorable coverage in the Post. If so, that would call into question the legitamacy of everything that Stern has written in the past because anything he worked on might have been influenced by who might or might not have given him money. Of course some are saying that the Post has never been known for it's journalistic standards and "Page Six" was only a gossip page so what does it matter? But it does matter. There is a difference between a poorly written story and someone who extorts money from the subjects that he covers. If Stern did what he is accused of he did wrong not only criminally but very much ethically as well.

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

On the Yankees

I've been quiet about the New York Yankees the past few days mostly because I couldn't watch much of the games that were played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights so I missed most of the key plays. And yesterday was an off-day. Aside from that the Yankees lost and I didn't want to get all negative-nellie about things three games into the season. Really, it's too early to draw too many conclusions about which way the season is going to go for the Yankees or how individual players are going to do. However, I will say that I am concerned that the Yankees are going to have defensive problems that are going to be costly to them this season. The lack of attention to having a strong defense over the past few seasons has troubled me and the last two games errors have helped set up Yankees losses. Perhaps it was only early season butter-fingers but that is something that I didn't like hearing about. The Yankees won't be able to depend on their offense to hit them out of every jam. The pitching and defense must also be strong.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)

April 06, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/6)

For the past few years Michael Waltrip has run the Pepsi 500 at Daytona in July with a NAPA Stars and Stripes paint scheme. That tradition will continue this season as well which make me happy because I think that paint scheme is great! I was looking at some images of the #55 all decked out in the Stars and Stripes and it sure does look sharp, especially the star on the nose of the car - very nice! The good news for diecast collectors is that there will be a diecast of this car available at some point. I have a couple of diecasts of Michael's cars but I don't have a huge collection like many people do. However, that Stars and Stripes scheme has always drew my attention so maybe I will get it this season when it goes on sale.

I guess I wasn't paying very good attention because I was surprised to discover that Busch practice and qualifying are both today. Oops! It's this Busch race that Michael will be racing the #99 with the Texas Longhorns paint scheme. But unfortunately so far the car is not terribly fast. In practice one Michael was 35 and in practice two Michael was 41st. He may pick up some speed between now and qualifying and then from there to the race but I was really hoping that the car might be a wee bit better this weekend considering they have the special paint scheme on it. Michael goes out 23rd this evening for qualifying and I hope that he qualifies better than he practiced.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:24 PM | Comments (0)

Sony Tries to Discredit Film Critic

Roger Moore, the film critic from The Orlando Sentinel was invited to a screening of Sony's new movie The Benchwarmers, starring Rob Schnieder and David Spade. After he saw the movie he wrote a review of it and put it on the Knight Ridder Tribute wire service for affiliated newspapers to pick up and use in their papers. Sounds pretty innocent so far right? Well, not to Sony who had decided at the last minute to do what many other movie studios have done and not allow film critics to screen some movies in advance. But unfortunately for Sony a local representative working the screening didn't disinvite everyone she or he was supposed to including Moore. And as it turned out Moore panned the movie.

Sony's response instead of sucking it up and dealing with it or admitting their mistake for accidentally allowing Moore to see the movie when they had decided not let critics into the screening is to call newspapers that might run his review and try to discredit him by saying that he snuck into the movie screening using a disguise and that the review was unauthorized. I have bad news for Sony. Even if Moore's review was unauthorized, and I can't imagine how it was considering that he had an invitation to the screening, why would the newspapers pull the review? Media outlets have an obligation to run news and reviews even if it upsets the person, organization or entity that is being written about and even if they didn't want the story or review written.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

TV Stations Continue to Air Video Releases As News

Corporations and other entitites put together video news releases similar to standard press releases which they send to TV stations. What is disturbing is that instead of picking out clips to include in a larger report or using what they saw in the video release to create their own news story, some TV stations are simply putting the entire video release on the air and even worse framing them as news without mentioning that they came from the corporations that are featured. So essentially they are running a commerical for the product or company but disguising it as news. Apparently the TV stations take steps to make it seem as if it's a piece created by the station such as having on-air talent read a script (provided by the corporation of course) or they might add the station's logo to the video.

That's scary. Unless they are paying close attention many people might not realize that the "news" they are watching is little more than an ad.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)

Place of the Day - Bryce Canyon National Park

Photo from the National Park Services Gallery of Public Domain Images.

I saw an outstanding photo this morning from Bryce Canyon National Park which reminded me of how much I would love to visit this national park and the others in Utah. Bryce Canyon is not as well known as some of the other national parks but it features a lot of the unusual erosion-created rock formations that I love.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)

Ancient Pyramid Discovered in Mexico

I continue to be amazed by how much is discovered by archeologists and scientists on a seemingly daily basis. Yesterday it was announced that archeologists in Mexico have uncovered a huge 6th-century pyramid. The pyramid was underneath a Catholic religious site where the Crucifixtion has been re-enacted since the 1800's. Unbeknownst to anyone until recently was that Indians had abandoned a pyramid there a thousand years prior. It's incredible to think about. A huge pyramid is abandoned and nature takes over to such a degree that when the next people come around they have no idea it's there and no one does for hundred more years. Apparently the pyramid was carved out of a natural hillside and was used for almost 300 years by the Indians in the area.

Very close to where the pyramid is also is the area where the Crucifixtion is still re-enacted, something which draws a million people to the area. So moving forward the archeologists will surely have to be careful not to do anything to disturb that site while they are uncovering the pyramid.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2006

Photo of the Day - Infrared Ogunquit

Ogunguit, Maine, July, 2004.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/5)

Michael Waltrip hasn't been up to much this week other than his usual weekly appearance on Inside Nextel Cup. Sometimes I wonder how much he enjoys doing the show these days with a stiffer format in the past and Dave Despain as host? Michael is often seen scribbling or drawing on a clipboard in front of him instead of paying complete attention to the discussions and he often doesn't seem to be having as much fun as he used to. But the same could be said for all the panel members - it's just not the same show as it once was and that crazy, casual, often hysterical format of the past is very much missed.

Michael was also on another TV show this week - The Learning Channel's Overhaulin’ because they were overhaulin' a NAPA truck. I recorded the show last night but haven't gotten to watch more than a brief clip which was posted on TLC's website. But that clip showed Michael in a tricycle race. I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard because big Michael with his long legs was a hysterical sight on the little, tiny tricycle he was pedaling! I'm going to have to watch the full show tonight. The photo of the overhauled truck that was posted on Michael's site looks really cool!

This weekend Michael will be racing in both the Busch and Cup races. As mentioned previously Michael will have a Texas Longhorns paint scheme on his car. Of course the Texas Longhorns are the 2005 National Football Champions so perhaps their Championship ways will bring Michael good luck this weekend and he will be able to finish well in the Busch race.

As for the Cup race, Michael finished 6th in this race last season so he is obviously very capable of racing up front at this track if he has a competitive car. But the question is, will he have a decent car this weekend? Apparently he will be racing the same car that he raced in Atlanta where he finished 20th. One might think that would be a hopeful sign that Michael will have a semi-decent car but that car was pretty horrid at that race too until the end. Michael managed that 20th place finish by sheer force of will, getting every last position he possibly could. So I really hope that they will be able to improve on that 20th place finish and maybe even repeat a top ten like Michael got last season, but I'm not going to get my hopes up too high. I hope I am very surprised though - I dearly want to see Michael racing up front!!!!

Apparently Texas has turned into one of Michael's favorite tracks. He said,

“The track originally made me sick to my stomach, because you just couldn’t race there. It wasn’t much fun for the drivers or the fans. Thankfully, Eddie Gossage and his team listened to the drivers and spent the money to make Texas Motor Speedway one of the best tracks on the circuit today. Last year we were able to race two and three-wide. That kind of racing puts on a good show for the fans and lets the driver’s race. It’s one of my favorite tracks now.”

I would really love to see some more of that two and three-wide racing! Nothing is more boring than follow-the-leader racing where not much passing seems to happen. Michael has said that he doesn't think any race is ever boring but that's from the perspective of a driver who is in the car or a broadcaster in the booth during a truck race who can see all the action on the track. Fans at home see only what TV shows them and TV struggles to cover follow-the-leader racing in a very interesting way. But hopefully this race will be interesting and exciting both for Michael and for fans!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

"Bonds on Bonds"

Last night was the first show of the new ESPN reality show, "Bonds on Bonds" which will follow embattled San Francisco Giants baseball player Barry Bonds throughout the season. This is one reality show that I won't plan on watching. I think it's ridiculous that ESPN, a sports news channel, would enter into an agreement with Bonds to do a show like this. From what I've read Bonds essentially controls what is shown on this show and although it is done through ESPN's entertainment division, it's appalling that they would give a man who they will likely be covering hard stories about a venue to spin himself as he sees fit. Especially considering Bonds poor relationship with much of the rest of the media.

As Richard Sandomir points out in today's New York Times while the show does make mention of the steroids issue as it relates to Bonds, the show fails to ask Bonds any number of key questions including

Have you taken steroids?

Have you taken human growth hormone?

Do you know Victor Conte Jr. of Balco?

What substances did you receive from your trainer, Greg Anderson?

Would you like to clarify or elaborate on the grand jury testimony that was obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle?

Of course Bonds would never answer those kinds of questions. But that is exactly why this show is such a problem. A real news organization needs to be asking and actively looking for the answers to those questions, not giving Bonds a pass and free air time to make himself look sympathetic to fans.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)

Nomar Garciaparra To the Disabled List Already

Unbelievable. I'm not sure there's a more fragile player this side of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Carl Pavano than Nomar Garciaparra. His first at-bat as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers resulted in his first, and likely not last, injury of 2006 as he strained a muscle in his side. So Garciaparra will head to the Disabled List, something he's become very accustomed to the past few years. It's hard to believe how much injury has derailed his career. In 2001 Garciaparra only played in 21 games for the Boston Red Sox. While he avoided missing major time from 2002-2003, he's not been able to play even 100 games the past two years. Right now everyone is saying that he should only miss about two weeks and that it's not a major issue but with Garciaparra one never knows. While I think that Garciaparra can still be a productive player when he's healthy it seems that he has quite a bit of trouble staying that way so I'm glad that the New York Yankees never ended up signing him.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

Boris Said, Frank Stoddard to Start New Team

I think it was back when he raced the Busch race in Mexico that Boris Said expressed some displeasure that the limited Cup schedule that he was supposed to race for MB2 didn't pan out in the way that he thought it was. So instead of sitting on the sidelines Said has taken matters into his own hands and formed a new team with his crew chief at MB2, Frank Stoddard and the owner of No-Fear Clothing, Mark Simo. New teams face a difficult challenge in Nascar and even more so when they only plan on running a handful of races like this team is but what will give them an advantage over some others is that they will be working with Roush Racing who will be supplying the team with cars, engines and other technical expertise.

Of course this team will race the road course races at Infineon and Watkins Glen since Said's specialty is road course racing. But they will also race at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona as well as at the Brickyard. Both of those races generally are fairly high profile races which is probably pretty attractive to their sponsors.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)

April 04, 2006

Travis Kvapil Gets a New Crew Chief

When a team is struggling often the crew chief is the first person on the chopping block and that's exactly what happened to James Ince. From Jayski's:

Ince and #32 PPI part ways UPDATE: been told that the #32 PPI Motorsports / Tide team and crew chief James Ince have parted way. No word on the new crew chief. Ince is actively seeking a new position in the sport.(4-3-2006)
UPDATE: PPI Motorsports officials say Gary Putnam will take over as crew chief of the #32 Chevy driven by Travis Kvapil in the Nextel Cup Series. Putnam, who was the team's competition director, will immediately assume the duties of James Ince. Officials say Ince, who also served as team manager, has been released to pursue other opportunities.(SceneDaily.com)(4-4-2006)

I can't say I'm hopeful that a crew chief change will produce better results for Travis and this team. The team has way too many challenges to overcome before they are competitive again. That's not to say that good runs are out of the question but as I've said before I think that the days are numbered for the #32 team. It's a shame because Travis is a much better driver than he's been able to show in the time he's been in Cup.

ETA: I was over on the Ricky Craven fan forum and I loved this line by one of the posters regarding Putnum becoming crew chief of the #32:

Crew Chief on the Titanic would have more of a future than this guy.

Sadly for Putnum I think that poster is likely to be exactly right.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:15 PM | Comments (0)

Barry Bonds Has Syringe Thrown at Him

During yesterday's opening day game between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres someone threw a syringe from the stands onto the field at Barry Bonds, of course in reference to his alleged steroid use. Appalling. It's to be expected that Bonds is going to receive a harsh reaction in every stadium he plays in other than his own and indeed last night he was boo'ed, heckled and had signs waves at him from batting practice right through the end of the game. But throwing things at a player is inexcusable no matter what the circumstances are or how hated the player is. A lot of fans think that it was hysterical - after all it's mocking Bonds and his likely use of performance enhancers. They are applauding some fan's creativity. But I think any time something is thrown at a player whether it is a syringe, a paper cup or a brick it's wrong.

Fans throwing things onto the field and especially at players makes all fans look bad when in reality it's only a small percentage of fans who don't know how to act appropriately. What's the harm some are asking? Well, if people keep throwing things at players I think that one day there will be barracades of some sort between the fans in the stands and the field. How fun is that going to be? Some day a player is going to get injured by a fan throwing something at them, it's just a question of when. And once that happens all fans will be punished for the actions of a few.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

New York Yankees Win on Opening Day!

I didn't get to watch a single pitch of this game due to how early I have to get up for work in the mornings and how late the game started since the New York Yankees opened the season on the West Coast. But oh, how I wish I did! The Yankees beat the Oakland A's last night 15-2 thanks to a seven run second inning highlighted by a grand slam by Alex Rodriguez. Sweet! Big night for A-Rod as he ended up going 3-5 with five RBI and a walk. Hideki Matsui also had an outstanding night in spite of a lingering knee injury from spring training, going 4-4 with four RBI and two walks. And Johnny Damon got off to an excellent start in his debut in pinstripes with three hits, an RBI and two runs scored. It's way too early to draw any definitive conclusions about the Yankees but apparently Joe Torre said during spring training that this could be one of the best lineups he's ever had and last night certainly indicated that they could potentially be a powerhouse offense. Of course it's also possible that the Yankees offense looked so good because Barry Zito really was pitching that badly - without having seen the game it's hard for me to know.

On the other hand Randy Johnson was dominant last night. He lasted seven innings and gave up just one run on five hits. That is exactly what the Yankees need out of their starting pitchers and I'm very happy that RJ started off the season on a positive note to set the tone for the rest of the pitching staff. Some are concerned that RJ only had three strikeouts last night but I have no problem with that. The reality is that RJ is 42 and he may not be able to pitch the same way that he did when he was younger. So the wins may now come in a different fashion as RJ makes some adjustments to how he pitches. I will always be satisfied with a pitching performance like last night. Some other pitchers might have taken it easy when their team put them ahead by so much early on but not RJ. Very impressive.

I'm also happy that the Yankees started off the season with a win. To some it might seem insignificant because of how long the season is, and in a lot of ways it is, but I think that it's a good thing for the team to start the season on a positive note. They didn't just win either - they won big! And on opening day no less! So I think that has got to fill the team with some added confidence, though I'm sure they are already feeling very confident about how they are going to do this season.

As always I remain concerned about the starting pitching for the Yankees. I'm not convinced that all the Yankees starters will stay healthy or pitch effectively, but I'm sure every other team has the same worries. I also think that age remains an issue for the Yankees - some of the players are older and there is an increased risk of injury with those players. Two off-the-field issues bear watching as well. The MLB investigation into steroids and how it will effect Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi is one. The other is how MLB placing amphetamines (greenies) on the banned list, is going to effect not only the Yankess but every other team. I believe there will be effects as some players find it difficult to function as well as they did on greenies.

But those are storylines that will play out as the season goes along. For the more immediate future Mike Mussina makes his first start of the season against the A's tonight. Unfortunately I will also be missing that game but I hope that Mussina is able to pick up a win just like RJ did last night!

Posted by silverdsl at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)

April 03, 2006

Photo of the Day - Grand Canyon

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

Driver by Driver: Martinsville

1. Tony Stewart - I'm one of the few people who doesn't like Tony all that much. I appreciate his driving talent and think that he is probably the best driver in Nascar right now along with the 2nd and 3rd place finishers in this race. I also admire how much he's done for charity. But Tony's anger issues and the way that when he loses control of his emotions it is often excused in a way that it isn't for other drivers troubles me. However, it's neat to see Tony climbing the fence and saluting the fans when he wins - I think that is a great touch that shows how much he appreciates and recognizes all that the fans do to support him. I'm also wondering if Home Depot is going to come up with another promotion to celebrate this victory - they've done some really creative tie-ins with the fence climbing and all.

2. Jeff Gordon - the Martinsville master comes up just short. I was really anticipating a heated battle and a close finish between he and Tony but after the final restart Tony got too far ahead of Jeff to make things interesting. Again, I say that contrary to popular belief Jeff hasn't lost much of anything in terms of talent or desire.

3. Jimmie Johnson - Jimmie was in the lead for part of this race and the battle between himself and Tony made for some great racing. Because of the problems that Matt Kenseth experienced Jimmie takes over the points lead this week.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - an absolutely incredible race for Junior and the #8 team. Junior was collected in a wreck in the first few laps of the race and sustained major damage. But his team didn't panic. They pulled off sheet metal and fixed the damage in such a way that the car was still competitive. Junior then proceeded to overcome the damage and a pit road penalty to race his way back into the top ten. Then disaster struck for a second time as Junior went for a spin into the inside wall. But once again his team rallied and Junior shook it off. A truly outstanding finish considering the circumstances. A very good sign about what this team could achieve if they continue to show the ability to overcome obstacles like they did in this race.

5. Kyle Busch - stayed out of trouble for the most part on a track that many probably thought he would find it at.

6. Elliott Sadler - Elliott got into some trouble on the track which took a probable top five finish away from him but it was still a very nice showing for a team that needed a solid finish. They need to follow it up with a strong finish at Texas as well and build some consistancy.

7. Kevin Harvick - another driver that many seemed sure would mix it up with his fellow drivers, particularly Kurt Busch. But nothing ever materialized even when he and Kurt were racing near each other. Supposedly this weekend was the deadline for he and Richard Childress to decided whether they have a future together but no word on whether a decision was reached.

8. Brian Vickers - another team that needed a good finish and got one. Brian says that he doesn't get any pressure from team owner Rick Hendrick or his sponsors to produce good results and the only pressure is that which he puts on himself. Unfortunately that could be pressure enough if he sets his expectations for what his season is going to be like too high. But I'd guess that even if nothing is said openly Hendrick Motorsports and his sponsors would like to see him in Victory Lane sooner rather than later.

9. Jamie McMurray - yet another driver that needed a great finish and got one. Finishing 9th vaulted Jamie seven positions in the points standings. I remain unconvinced that he's going to have a steller season in '06 or make the Chase.

10. Scott Riggs - best finish of the year for Scott. Could this be a sign that his season has turned the corner? Time will tell but for now this finish ensures Scott a guaranteed spot in next week's race.

11. Kurt Busch - wrecked Jeff Burton which didn't please some but I'm not sure that wasn't just one of those racin' deals when two guys are trying to race their way into the same piece of real estate.

12. Reed Sorenson - Reed was Raybestos Rookie of the race on a track that he's never raced on before. Impressive.

13. Mark Martin - Mark was one of the cars that got damaged in the early wreck and he was also involved in an incident with Denny Hamlin. For a while it seemed like he was struggling but a 13th place finish is still pretty good considering.

14. Sterling Marlin - the finish this team needed to move up in the owner's points and give themselves a little breathing room.

15. Dale Jarrett - Dale had problems all day from a tight car to a bad battery but thanks to being the lucky dog twice he managed a decent finish.

16. Carl Edwards - an okay finish but I'm getting the sense that Carl's sophomore season might not be as amazing as his rookie season in Cup.

17. Dave Blaney - considering how iffy the BDR cars are finishing 17th is like a win. No seriously. The cars really do seem to be that bad.

18. Ryan Newman - not a good day for Newman. In fact it's probably pretty luck that he even finished this well. The car wasn't good most of the race, he cut a tire and then was given a penalty by Nascar because they felt that he intentionally stalled the car on the track to draw a penalty. Of course Newman denies it.

19. Martin Truex Jr. - I don't think he got directly caught in the early wreck but apparently he got into the car in front of him trying to slow which bent the grill of the #1. Fixing it put Martin two laps down and the only reason he finished this well is because other teams had worst luck. So far Martin has been underwhelming his rookie season in Cup but I'm guessing that might have more to do with issues related to DEI rather than anything to do with his talent level or ability to adjust to racing Cup.

20. J.J. Yeley - a cut tire derailed his day.

21. Tony Raines - This was Tony's first race in the #96, replacing Terry LaBonte who was in the car because of his Champion's provisional. But Terry also raced the #96 well enough to put them high enough in the owner's points to guarantee them a spot in the field. Tony continued the trend with a 21st place finish. I'm just not sure how he got to be multiple laps down because I checked his post-race report and nothing is mentioned other than that the car was ill-handling.

22. Clint Bowyer - also caught in the early wreck but was able to hang in for a semi-decent finish.

23. Joe Nemechek - seemed like every time I looked up Joe was spinning, crashing or otherwise in trouble. Not a good day for the U.S. Army team.

24. Matt Kenseth - Matt was on his way to a good finish but he lost his brakes and crashed hard into the outside wall. It's a very good thing there are SAFER barriers there! This was the second brake problem for the #17 team this weekend as they also had a brake issue during one of the practices. Lost the points lead.

25. Jeff Green

26. Jeremy Mayfield - was racing fairly well until his engine gave up the ghost same as his teammate's did. This is a team in dire need of a good finish as they are currently 34th in owner points. Michael Waltrip's team at least has the excuse of having to deal with iffy BDR engines and cars as well as being a new team. While there was a crew swap for this team, they shouldn't be struggling this much this season. I doubt that they will be missing any races even if they fall out of the top 35 in owner points but they need to make some improvements.

27. Casey Mears - broke a rear end gear and was off the track for 40+ laps making repairs. After a hot start to the season Casey is hitting some bumps in the road but I suspect this team will right themselves.

28. Scott Wimmer

29. Michael Waltrip - the #55 team finished the race 55 laps down. Even without the brakes failing it wouldn't have likely been a great race because the car seemed iffy even before the mechanical problem but they might have been able to pull out a top 20. I really hope they do better at Texas.

30. Kyle Petty - both Petty cars had problems yesterday.

31. Greg Biffle - was trying to pass Jeff Burton for position and ended up wrecking. Biffle accepted responsibility for the incident afterwards, one of the rare drivers who is able to admit that they made a mistake.

32. Bobby Labonte - really awful luck for Bobby this season so far. Hard to believe but he is outside the top 35 in owner points.

33. Jeff Burton - wrecked by Kurt Busch but I don't think there was any intent there though Jeff may think otherwise.

34. Travis Kvapil - got caught up in a wreck. No surprise - if there's bad luck to be had on the track it will find this team.

35. Kasey Kahne - yet again Kasey appeared to be on his way to a top five finish but first he lost a cylinder then the whole engine gave out. Had to be disappointing considering how well he's been racing this season.

36. Chad Chaffin

37. Denny Hamlin - I'm very puzzled by Denny's post-race remarks where he was critical of Mark Martin for getting into him. He felt that Martin should have gave him more room on the track... while Mark was bouncing off the wall after being pushed up there by another car. Didn't sound like that was anything intentional oni Mark's part and he's one of the cleanest and most respectful drivers on the track.

38. David Stremme - was turned by Ken Schrader. Usually Kenny is a clean racer but he will move a guy aside if he feels his car is faster which is what it looks like he did to David. And it didn't work out very well for David. In my opinion, the clock is continuing to countdown to when David is replaced in this car unless he starts to show some improvement soon. Yes, his team should show patience with him since he is a rookie but the way the sport is these days no one seems to have much patience.

39. Stanton Barrett

40. Ken Schrader - damaged his radiator during the incident with David Stremme.

41. Mike Garvey

42. Chad Blount

43. Robby Gordon - was involved in the early wreck and then his engine expired shortly afterwards.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

White Sox Give Jose Contreras Three-Year $29 Million Extension

Is this really such a wise idea? Most New York Yankees fans are looking at this through glasses colored by the fact that Jose Contreras didn't work out well as a Yankee but my issue is whether it is a good idea to throw this much money at a pitcher who will be 37 by the end of the contract? Contreras never put the pieces together to pitch as well as he was capable of when he was in pinstripes but last season for the Chicago White Sox he was 11-2 for them after the All-Star break and was 3-1 in the post-season, helping the White Sox to win a World Series. So in that regard he showed signs that he can be a solid pitcher.

I think it's possible that Contreras will continue to pitch well for the White Sox in the near future. Some players blossom when they change teams whether it is because they are more comfortable elsewhere, a different coach helps them find the key to improvement or a number of other reasons. But the question is whether Contreras is going to be as durable in 2009 as he is now? I'm guessing he might not be. Even Mike Mussina who rarely had any major health or injury issues during his career has started to experience some problems as he has gotten older. That is always the risk with signing a player, especially an older one, to a long-term contact - by the end they may not put up the stats to justify all the money they are being given.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2006

Photo of the Day - Aruba Sunset

Aruba, October, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

No Brakes, No Breaks For Michael Waltrip

It must have been something in the air (or the brakes) for the ex-DEI drivers. Yesterday Steve Park ended up in the wall during the truck race when he lost the brakes on his truck, in today's race Michael Waltrip's #55 NAPA car also lost it's brakes. Only things turned out slightly better for Michael as he was able to keep the car off the wall and make his way to pit road where the NAPA crew took the car behind the wall for repairs. When Michael returned to the track he was 55 laps down but at least he was able to finish the race in 29th place which kept him in the top 35 in owner points, but only just barely. I feel terrible for Michael and his team that the season has gone so poorly so far and if I feel bad then it must be a really awful feeling to be a part of the #55 team and see all their hard work be for almost nothing week after week.

I'd like to say I don't know how things can get any worse for the #55 team but if they fall out of the top 35 in points, and there is a very real danger that they will, things will most definitely be worse because they will lose their guaranteed spot in each race. Michael will have to qualify in on time, something I would worry about since the cars are not strong at all. On top of that, while I think Michael is overall extremely talented behind the wheel if there's one area that I think he's weaker in than others it might be qualifying. Michael has also said in the past that he gets the most nervous during qualifying since he only has at most two laps to get the best possible result in comparision to 500 laps of an entire race. So that puts an awful lot of pressure on Michael on top of all the pressure he's already feeling to get things right with this team.

And while I think that this team will improve as the season progresses I'm not sure that their performance will ever be what they would like it to be. The reality is that thus far the Bill Davis Racing cars are junk. Dave Blaney is barely able to race any better than Michael so my feeling is that if they improve it might only be to the level that Blaney is racing at. So while I do think that eventually they will start to pick up some top 20's and top 15's as even the worst teams occasionally have days when all the pieces come together and they race well, I'm not expecting that this season is going to right itself for this team to the point where they are knocking off top 10's and top 5's every week. The communication seemed to be somewhat improved over the radio this week which is a very good thing and it seemed as if Derrick Finley had a better idea of what to do with the car. But if the cars that they are getting from BDR are bad and there isn't much hope of them getting too much better then there might not be too much they can do to make the cars competitive enough for Michael to be able to run up front no matter how hard Michael races, no matter how awesome the communication is or how solid Finley's game plan is. It's just awful to listen to over the radio and watch (as much as they show of Michael on TV) because Michael is a much, much better driver than he's able to show.

The big goal for this team to shoot for is remaining in the top 35 in points. That is essential to start next season so they don't have to worry about missing any races when the guaranteed spots will be on the basis of the 2006 owner points. That is a goal that should be very much do-able but they will need to make keep working hard and cut down on some of the mechanical issues that have plagued the team. I'm impressed with the way they have made sure they have finished every race even when they've had big problems. That's important because it's allowed them to hang on to that last position in the top 35. Hopefully somehow next week in Texas they will be able to find some way to get a better finish to give themselves a little breathing room.

I just hope that Michael can hang on and not get too down on himself. He is doing everything he can behind the wheel to get the best results he possibly can from the cars that he's given, that much is clear from what is said over the radio. And I'm pretty sure that from the ownership side Michael is also doing everything he can to make his team better. It's just a shame that they will have to wait until next season to have any help from Toyota - once Michael and the team can fully benefit from Toyota I believe we will see much better results.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:08 PM | Comments (0)

Bad Brakes = Bad Break for Steve Park

Last season the #59 Harris Trucking team experienced a brake failure in the fourth race of the season at Martinsville which ruined their day and even though they worked hard to ensure that the problem was fixed this season history repeated itself. Making his second start behind the wheel of the #59, Steve Park saw his day come to a premature end on lap 65 when his brakes failed sending him into the wall hard. Luckily, Martinsville has SAFER barriers and Steve climbed out of his truck uninjured but the damage to the truck was too much for the #59 team to fix. At the end of the race their official finish was 36th, dead last.

Unfortunately it was the worst case scenario for this team. I don't know what Steve's future with the team is as there has still been no definitive news about whether he has a full-time truck ride and whether it is with this team. Either way this team is in a pretty bad position right now. They have no full-time sponsor at the moment, no manufacturer support and now that the points being used to set the field are those from 2006 they don't have a guaranteed spot either. A strong finish could potentially have vaulted them into the top 30 in owner points or close to it but instead they find themselves still mired in 33rd position (actually a tie for 32nd). It's definitely still possible for the #59 team to get back into the top 30 in points but it might be challenging.

So four races for the #59 team have resulted in four wrecks. I don't recall the circumstances for Mike Wallace though I believe at least one of those wrecks, maybe even both, he was an innnocent victim, just as Steve was an innocent victim of the carnage at Atlanta where there was a huge wreck during the final lap of the race. And of course the brake failure is something completely out of Steve's hands and likely the team's too as they were certain they had addressed the brake issues from last season. The team, and Steve, is just experiencing a tremendous amount of bad luck right now which is hard for any team to deal with but even more difficult for a team with limited resources both financial and otherwise.

The next race is in St. Louis at Gateway and I have no clue as to whether Steve will be there racing or not. Of course I have to add a disclaimer (I've got to make that a whole separate entry so I can just link to it): I believe 100% in Steve Park and his talent behind the wheel and as Steve as a person. However, Steve has not officially announced a full-time deal and things can change very rapidly in this sport. What seems like a sure thing in this sport one day can fall apart the next day due to any number of factors, including sponsorship as Steve learned once already this year. So just because I'm not sure he will be at Gateway doesn't mean that I don't have faith in him - I just don't know how things will play out for Steve. But in three weeks maybe he will finalize the full-time deal he was working on or come to an arrangement with the #59 to be behind the wheel of that truck at least once more for the race at Gateway at the end of the month.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)