Random Thoughts

Posted by silverdsl at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2006

I Have a Confession to Make

Young drivers excite me. Get your mind out of the gutter, not that way! Not just young drivers - new blood, new ideas, new teams and change excites me. Based on the attitudes of some of my fellow fans I should be ashamed about that since a lot of fans are very anti-rookies, very anti-change, and pretty much very anti-anything new. But not me. Don't get me wrong - there's a lot of veteran drivers that I like, after all my favorite driver is Michael Waltrip. And not all change is for the best. But to me there's something exciting about seeing what a young driver, or a driver who isn't that young but new to Cup such as David Reutimann or Juan Pablo Montoya, might be able to do. I'm already very much looking forward to next season to see whether next season's rookie class produces another Denny Hamlin, or (hopefully not) another Brent Sherman. It's sad when drivers retire or are forced out of the sport, but from the ashes of one man's career, there's the birth of someone else's career, and if we're lucky maybe we'll get to see the development of a talented driver.

I've thought about some of this before, but I really got to thinking about it earlier when I read that A.J. Allmendinger is going to race a Cup car for Red Bull Racing at Atlanta. I realized how much I enjoyed watching him race a truck for Bill Davis Racing in those two races this season, and how the idea of him possibly becoming the driver of the #83 for RBR intrigues me. I really don't know much about Allmendinger, but I'm impressed with how well he raced in his first truck races ever, and I'm interested to find out what he might be able to do in a Cup car. I know there are other fans who share that interest, but there are also plenty of fans who are really displeased with the trend of drivers from other series getting opportunities in Nascar. Well, I say that if a driver has talent, it shouldn't matter what series they're from. Of course some Steve Park fans resent Allmendinger because they feel he raced a truck that Steve should have been racing, and their distaste for him might get worse if it's true that Allmendinger is talking to BDR about a part-time truck ride next season, as was supposedly reported on Speed recently. But that's not Allmendinger's fault that things didn't work out for Steve, nor is it the fault of any of the other young driver who takes the place of a veteran. The sport is constantly moving forward, and as unfortunate as it is, sometimes there's no longer a place in the sport for some drivers for a variety of reasons.

I think part of my interest in seeing young drivers develop stems from what I discussed a while back in relation to my waning enthusiasm as a Steve Park fan. Even though Steve might have a new ride to announce soon, it seems like his career is going in the wrong direction, and heading towards its conclusion, at which time he likely won't be too involved in the sport. So I've been drawn towards other drivers whose careers seem to be heading in the opposite direction, whether it's due to their varied involvement in the sport (Michael), or that they're drivers on the rise (David Reutimann), or because they're young drivers who have their whole careers ahead of them. I love racing and I intend on watching Nascar for many years to come, after Steve is retired, after Michael is no longer an active driver and only a car owner, and I guess I'm looking for a few other drivers to follow and be excited about.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I'm also excited to see the new Michael Waltrip Racing teams hit the track next season. But I'm also really looking forward to see the other new Toyota teams, particularly the ones fielded by Red Bull Racing. Everything about the Toyota teams are going to perform is an unknown and I'm fascinated by how they're going to develop their teams into ones that will be competitive and hopefully contend for Championships. Will the Toyota teams be able to develop a solid foundation for future success like Hall of Fame Racing has? Will they have immediate success and be competitive right away? Or will they struggle? The answers are still completely unknown now but I'm very interested in seeing things play out.

I'm also not against change. I don't hate the Chase for the Championship like a lot of fans do. I definitely think there are ways that Nascar could make it better such as increasing the amount of drivers who are eligible for the Chase or making wins more important, but I think there's a some elements of the Chase that add an extra level of intrigue and excitment to the racing in terms of who's going to make it in, who's going to be left out in the cold, and then how they're going to fare over the last ten races. I'm also not opposed to Nascar expanding into other markets. I don't like that they no longer race at Rockingham, but I like that Nascar races at a variety of tracks all over the country. I also love that the Busch Series is going to be racing in Canada next season, mostly because I love road course racing. Those are just a few examples, but I have a completely open mind to change. Sometimes it takes me a while to get used to some things being different, sometimes I hate the changes that are made, but sometimes I like change, whether it's with a driver, team, sponsor or an overall change in Nascar.

So as this season winds down, and many teams look towards 2007, I'm also looking towards 2007 and finding a lot of things to be excited about - including some of the young and new drivers!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:34 PM | Comments (0)

Dale Jarrett's New Number Will Be #44

UPS unveiled both Dale Jarrett's new number - #44, as well as the new paint scheme of the car that he'll be racing next season for Michael Waltrip Racing, on their website today. The new paint scheme features lightning bolts, and I think it looks a lot sharper and racier looking than the current paint scheme on the #88. Of course the number of the car that Jarrett would be driving for MWR has been a subject of much debate for a while now. At one time they were going to try to get the #88 from RYR, but more recently DJ had talked about using the #44 to keep with the double-numbers theme or possibly #50 if getting the #44 didn't work out. Apparently Petty Enterprises holds the rights to the #44 at the moment, but agreed to allow MWR to use it for now, which was pretty nice of them - I guess Petty has no plans on adding a third car in the near future.

I'm happy that this announcement has been made because it was one of the last major pieces to be announced regarding MWR's plans for next season. I'm sure they're still got a tremendous amount to do and put into place behind the scenes to get ready for 2007, but now we know the complete details about MWR's Cup lineup for next season. I'm so excited - I can't wait for 2007 to see those cars hit the track!

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

October 19, 2006

Photo of the Day - Want Some Asparagus?

Seattle Fish Market, Seattle, Washington, September, 2006. The Seattle Fish Market is a big tourist attraction, but Jim and I were underwhelmed. If we lived in Seattle it would be a great place to shop for fresh fish and produce. But we live in New Jersey and it's unlikely any of the food we would get there would travel well! So we didn't spend much time in the fish market. But I did find a produce vendor who had his fruit and vegetables lined up very presicely. Since I love patterns his stand definitely caught my eye.

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

What Becomes of Travis Kvapil?

Now that David Reutimann has been announced as the driver of the #00 for Michael Waltrip Racing, I've been wondering where Travis Kvapil, who was also a candidate for that ride, is going to end up. Kvapil is a two-time Truck Series Champion, but his Cup career has been unimpressive. In fact it's been pretty terrible considering his best finishes are two top ten's last season. Of course a lot of that isn't Kvapil's fault since his time in Cup has been spent with two subpar teams - the #77 at Penske Racing and his current team, the #32 fielded by PPI Motorsports. Problem is as I've said in relation to Steve Park more than a time or two, many people don't look inside the numbers for the story of why the results have been so bad and how much of it might have been out of the driver's hands. In Kvapil's case they might not see that Kvapil and the team have made improvements on the track, they might only see that Kvapil has failed to qualify for several races this season, that he's often at the back of the pack and that his owner took him out of the car at both road course tracks. So while there's still a couple of open rides in Cup, most notably the #88 at Robert Yates Racing and the #83 at Red Bull Racing, will Kvapil be a serious candidate for either one? Kvapil himself said in an interview just before this season started that this was an important season for both himself and PPI if they both wanted to stick around in Cup.

So what are Kvapil's options? One option is staying right where he is at PPI. It could be Kvapil's only choice if he wants to stay in Cup, but is it his best choice? PPI has enough problems being competitive now as a one-car team with few resources, and things could get worse. There's a good chance that Tide won't renew as the primary sponsor of the #32. Cal Wells says he has sponsorship to replace Tide, but there's no telling if that'll actually happen and if their level of financial support will be the same as what Tide has given PPI. In addition, unless PPI adds a second car or aligns themselves closely with another team, it's unlikely that PPI will be able to become more competitive, and they might even become less competitive. That's not going to do Kvapil's career any favors.

There's also taking another subpar Cup ride if one's available, like the #4 for Morgan-McClure Motorsports. There's also taking a Busch or Truck ride with a competitive team and hoping that he does well enough to catch the eye of a Cup owner willing to give him another chance on that level. Only problem is that once a driver moves to a different series, it can be very difficult to go back full-time in a competitive ride. Or Kvapil can go the route of Ricky Craven and some other drivers, refusing to take less than competitive rides and sitting out until exactly the right ride comes his way. Which doesn't seem to be working out all that well for Craven, and likely wouldn't work out too well for Kvapil either because out of sight often equals out of mind.

With how important personality, appearance and charisma have become for drivers these days, I think that puts Kvapil at a bit of a disadvantage in comparision to some other drivers. By all reports he's an extremely nice person, however he seems to be more laid-back than some other drivers personality-wise. He's also not as polished in appearance, and as unfair as it might be, that can matter to some sponsors. Fact is, some sponsors, and thus some teams, are looking for a certain type of driver to fit in with their marketing plan and appeal to a certain audience, and Kvapil may not fit in with what every sponsor is looking for. What Kvapil does have going for him is that he's a family man, who will almost certainly never embarass his team or sponsor, and will most likely never be involved in anything too controversial. He's also a solid driver who doesn't seem to vocallly complain too loudly.

On all three levels, the best teams already have most of their plans almost set for 2007. So I hope Kvapil is already talking with some teams, otherwise he might find himself out in the cold next season. Which would be a shame because as a former Truck Series Champion, he's clearly a better racer than he's been able to show so far in Cup.

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

Ray Dunlap Suspended Over Tradin' Paint Remarks

A couple of weeks ago, Ray Dunlap, who is a pit reporter for Speed during broadcasts of Truck Series races, made an appearance on Tradin' Paint to debate Michael Waltrip on current events in Nascar. One topic they discussed was a recent survey that showed that 10% of all Nascar fans are Hispanic. Dunlap scoffed at those numbers, saying that he didn't believe that it was true. But he didn't just stop there. Dunlap commented something along the lines that the only Hispanics he sees at races are those who are working or cleaning. As a result, Dunlap has been suspended by Speed for a week for making racially insensitive remarks. Nascar's spokesman Ramsey Poston said,

"NASCAR is incredibly disappointed in remarks made by Ray Dunlap. His remarks do not reflect NASCAR's values. We were in contact with Speed executives right away and fully support the steps they've taken."

As do I. Dunlap is lucky he even has a job since Fox just fired Steve Lyons for making less inflammatory remarks. Some are going to cry about how Nascar and Speed are being too politically correct. But I don't think there should be any tolerance for those kind of remarks on-air, ever. What's horrifying to me is that apparently a Tradin' Paint producer questioned those remarks after the taping of the show, but those concerns were ignored and the show was aired unedited. I think that there's a few other people at Speed who deserve disciplinary action for not thinking that those remarks are inappropriate. And kudos to the producer who spoke up with his or her concerns.

I commend Nascar and Speed for taking a hard stance on this issue. Prejudice and intolerance should have no place in Nascar.

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

Roy McCauley Fined, Suspended; Kurt Busch Penalized 50 Driver Points

As it turns out, when the #2 team had their qualifying time disallowed by Nascar due to a rules violation related to the right rear shock, it appears that it wasn't an accidental "oops" due to a faulty part, but rather a crew chief who was deliberately trying to skirt the rules with an illegal part. As a result, Roy McCauley has been fined $25,000 and suspended until November 1. In addition, Kurt Busch had 50 driver points taken away, which drops him two spots in the overall points to 16th, and owner Roger Penske was penalized 50 owner points.

I don't know enough technically to talk authoritatively about what McCauley was trying to get away with. I do agree with Nascar taking a hard stance to prevent blatant cheating, which it seems like this might have been. However, penalizing Busch 50 points for something he likely had no knowledge of seems overly harsh to me. Busch hasn't had a very good season, but he still had a chance to finish in the top 15 in points, something that might not happen now that he's had these points taken away. What boggles my mind is that earlier in the season, Chad Knaus was also caught cheating, yet unless I'm not remembering correctly, Jimmie Johnson never lost any driver points. I understand it's hard to compare the two situations because it involved different violations, but on the surface it seems to be another case of Nascar not applying the rules in a consistant manner. I know a lot of people strongly dislike Busch, so to them it's hysterical that he got points taken away, but if there's outrage when other teams and drivers are penalized like this, then there should be the same outrage when it happens to this team as well.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)

This is What Michael Waltrip Got to Do Yesterday

AP photo byCharles Dharapak.

Yesterday President George W. Bush visited the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Along with Kyle, Pattie and Richard Petty, Michael Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson also went along as the President got a tour of the camp. What a huge honor it was that the President visited the camp and recognized the Pettys for all that they've done with the camp, but also for Michael and Jimmie that they were invited to be there as well! Of course Michael raised a million dollars for the camp through Operation Marathon, and Jimmie's Foundation has donated a significant amount too, so it was very appropriate for both of them to be there considering how much they've each done to support the camp. I'm really happy for Michael, though my political beliefs are radically different than his. He's surely met a lot of well-known and important people through the years, but he seems to admire President Bush a lot and it had to be a huge thrill for him to be there for this visit. He sure does have a big smile on his face in that photo!

Posted by silverdsl at 07:35 AM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2006

President Bush to Visit Victory Junction Gang Camp Today

Today Kyle and Pattie Petty will host President George W. Bush at the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Kyle said,

"So many NASCAR drivers, officials and fans have poured their hearts and souls into helping the camp. President Bush visiting the camp is a great reward for everyone's dedication and an incredible opportunity for him to bring awareness to the plight of a chronically ill child."

I think it's outstanding that the Pettys and everyone else who works so hard at the camp, are getting the recognition and attention they deserve for all their efforts to help terminally and chronically ill children with the camp! I've seen this visit dismissed by a few fans as nothing more than a politically motivated photo-op. But regardless of the motivation for the visit, it's still a tremendous honor for the Pettys that the President of the United States is coming to tour the camp they founded in the memory of their son, Adam. In addition, Kyle is exactly right that the President's visit will help bring extra attention to the camp and the children they help. That's a very good thing, especially if it brings the camp some additional donations.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2006

Photo of the Day - Multnomah Falls

Part of Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. September, 2006.

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

An Annoucement About An Annoucement From Steve Park

From Steve-Park.com:

October 17, 2006

I would like to update everyone regarding the announcement scheduled for October the 15th. Details regarding the announcement are still being put into place and at the appropriate time we will make a formal statement. I greatly appreciate everyone’s continued support and patience, I can’t thank you enough. I hope to see everyone at the track very soon and once again thank you for all your continued loyalty. You are the absolute best fans in NASCAR.

Steve Park

From Random Thoughts (this blog):

Dear Steve,

The next time you announce something is there any possiblity that you could actually... you know, announce something? I mean it's great that you're working hard on putting a deal together which is giving you the confidence to keep announcing that you'll be announcing something soon, but it sure would be neat-o if the next announcement was something about a shiny new ride or a cool new sponsor. Heck, even an announcement that Harley's having puppies with that bitch next door would be cool with me. But this announcing a possible annoucement thing is really starting to feel like getting a lump of coal in my stocking at Christmas. If I actually celebrated Christmas, that is. Anyway, maybe if you go a few weeks in between announcements about announcements it'll make it more of a happy surprise for your fans when your deal actually does become done. After a year of nothing but hints and announcements about announcements, that's really an announcement to look forward to! Hope to see you at the track, or at least on TV real soon!

Yours Truly,
Random Thoughts

Wait, is that a knock on my door? Could it be the Sparkie police to take away my gorgeous, laminated Steve Park Fan Club Membership Card and my treasured fan club mouse pad and t-shirt? Maybe I'll get thrown out of the fan club. Oh the horror! The horror!

Got ya! I could only be thrown out of the Steve Park fan club if I was actually a member, and I never bothered to renew this season! Ha-ha! I know some will find the preceeding very inappropriate and insulting to Steve, but you know what? It's my freaking blog and if I feel like mocking how many times Steve has announced on his site, to the media or to fans that he has an announcement upcoming about a deal for a new ride then I'm darn well going to do it! I really don't mean any harm, but it's getting to be really funny to me how many times we've been through the same song and dance without anything actually happening. And if I thought about it long enough I'd probably find it pretty depressing and sad instead of funny that a driver like Ward Burton who hasn't raced a thing since 2004 could potentially have a ride for 2007 before Steve depending on how things play out.

I guess Steve really can't make an announcement about a new ride if the deal's not done yet. I'm pretty skeptical that there was even going to be an announcement about this ride on the 15th to begin with for the reasons I've already detailed in this space, but hopefully soon everything will be finalized and Steve will have an awesome ride for 2007 that will be competitive and allow him to race up front.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)

Missing Boy in Crater Lake National Park

A little more than two weeks ago, Jim and I were in Crater Lake National Park. The day that we went was sunny, warm and beautiful and we marveled at how it could be possible that in just a few weeks the park would be preparing for winter and expecting snow. That snow has arrrived and at a not very good time as there's a missing eight-year old boy who may be lost somewhere in the cold and snowy woods around Crater Lake. What's scary is that the woods around Crater Lake are vast and undeveloped. Other than the Rim Village, the Park Headquarters and Mazama Village, there's not a lot of shelter other than perhaps some fire towers where this boy could get out of the cold. And off of Rim Drive the chances of running into another person probably isn't too great either. I hope he's found soon!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann (10/17)

I decided to do a combo "In the News" on Michael Waltrip and target="_blank"David Reutimann because so much of the news about them in this entry is overlapping.

DW wrote in this week's column for FoxSports.com that he had a busy week and a lot of it related to Michael Waltrip Racing. First, was the visit to Florida with Michael for the gathering to celebrate David being selected as the driver of the #00.

All I can think of every time I see that photo is good thing they didn't drop that cake! (Plus, mmmmm... Chocolate! And Michael! And...oh, I'm not even going to go there!) From the sounds of it DW had a good time at that party and so did everyone else who attended!

In another article about the gathering in honor of David, Michael was quoted as saying to those who attended,

"I know all of you care about David. It means a lot to me to feel this emotion."

It's funny because I wasn't even there and somehow that emotion came across to me just from the photos, articles and what's been said by a few who were there on the forum on David's website. I've really been enjoying reading the many stories about this party, because it seems like such a wonderful thing that they did for David, that had to make him feel so good! From what I understand this party was Michael's idea and it really speaks to what kind of a person he is that he wanted to do this for David. Michael really had a big heart, and it's a big reason why I like him so much.

Michael also said this,

"I'm not real bright, and I wouldn't know David Reutimann if not for Brian Pattie and Joe Nemechek. They put David on the map. There's only a few times you get a chance in this world to do something special. When Brian and Joe gave David the chance to show who he was, David was ready and he took advantage of it."

I didn't know that David and Brian Pattie grew up together. I bet they never dreamed as kids that they'd both find themselves in Nascar! David did indeed do well in Joe's Busch car and I'm glad that he got that opportunity!

In the same article, DW said of David,

"David is one of those guys who's lovable, likeable and has a great heart. He's just a good man. I'd rather have somebody I trust and believe in than some hot dog. David is not a hot dog, but he is a great driver. He's the kind of guy you want to say, 'That's my driver.'"

Which seems to be Michael's philosophy as well. While I have no idea the complete list of drivers that Michael might have been talking to about the #00, all of the names that were mentioned as possiblities - Jeremy Mayfield, Travis Kvapil, Mark Martin, David - are all solid drivers who aren't flashy. None of them are extremely young or overly aggressive, just good drivers who all appear to have a great attitude, both on and off the track. (Except maybe for Mayfield, whose off-the-track attitude is a little iffy, but I think he would have done a good job of racing the #00).

When DW got back from Florida, there was a luncheon at MWR for all 132 employees, plus representatives from the various sponsors, to talk about the progress they've been making towards next season. It's incredible how much MWR has grown in the past year! Apparently MWR is looking to be in their new shops by January 1, which DW feels might be overly optimistic. Which could be true given how many delays there often are when it comes to construction. But I hope they do get into their new shop as close as possible to the first of the year, not only because it will help them in terms of what they do on the track in 2007, to be in the shop before the season starts, but also because any delays in the progress to the shop could result in delays to the grand opening of Waltrip Racing World to the public and I know a lot of people are very much looking foward to that!

Even at a distance, I've been extremely impressed with the way that Michael has put all of this together, with help from those who are working for him. DW, who is much more intimately involved in the process, is impressed too. He said,

"I'm excited for Michael. He's done an incredible job of pulling things together sponsors, a manufacturer and employees. I'm so impressed with his organizational skills and his ability to get everybody on the same page that he's on."

Sometimes I think that Michael is like the pied piper. He can convince anyone to go along with anything. It's really amazing how he's gotten so many major sponsors, a major manufacturer and many others to believe in him and his vision for his race teams. I'm probably one of the most resistant people to advertising, commercials and anyone trying to sell me on anything. However, since I've become a fan of Michael's, even I've found myself being swept under his spell, so to speak. I shop for auto parts at NAPA, eat Domino's on a regular basis, I'd get furniture for my new house from Sofa Express if there was one around here and I've even considered eating at Burger King and I really don't like fast food! But Michael had done such an awesome job with building MWR into an organization that is on the verge of making an impact in the sport, if only as one of the first Toyota Cup organizations at first. Some are convinced that because Michael isn't an elite driver that his organization is going to be a failure. But I disagree - MWR may struggle at first as a new organization, but there's no question i n my mind that Michael is putting together a solid foundation made up of terrific sponsors, great employees and talented drivers that will eventually translate into a lot of success.

This weekend David will be racing the #17 truck at Martinsville Speedway, a track where he's had mixed success. Earlier this season he finished 15th at Martinsville, and has a top ten finish from 2004, but his results in between haven't been stellar. I hope David is able to repeat that 15th place finish from the spring, or do even better! David will be racing a different kind of truck in December, this one a Pro type truck, at the Hopkins Family Truckers 200, which is apparently some sort of fundraiser for someone who's ill. David Starr will also be taking part.

In other news, the post-race report for Charlotte was posted on Michael's site, and it sheds no light on how the #55 team managed to run Michael out of gas, which led to his "oopsie" trying to enter pit road, which resulted in an encounter with the wall and a DNF. Mistakes are going to happen, but I can't figure out why the #55 team seemed so off in their fuel calculations in relation to other teams, few of whom seemed to be running out of gas, and certainly not on the track. I'd just like to see Michael's luck turn around for the better in a Cup race. Things aligned themselves in such a way in the Busch race to where Michael was able to finish second, I'd sure love to see things fall into place for him like that on the Cup side too!

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

October 16, 2006

Driver by Driver: Charlotte II

Before I get to talking about how each of the drivers fared during this race I have to mention something that happened during this race which was completely inexcusable. After the yellow for the lap one wreck, the green was thrown to get the race going again with several safety trucks still on the track. The yellow quickly came out again, but the green should never be thrown with safety workers or vehicles on the track. That's a recipe for disaster that could result in torn-up race cars, injuries and perhaps even worse. I can't see how the Nascar officials in the tower missed seeing the safety vechicles still on the track. That's a major breakdown in commmunication between the safety crews, those in the tower and the person who waves the flag that must be addressed in such a way that it doesn't happen again.

1. Kasey Kahne - Yay Kasey! This win is Kasey's sixth of the year, more than any other driver this season. I think it's a little hard to argue that Kasey is better looking than he is talented on the track as some have tried to claim when he's on his sixth win of the season. Kasey's had his share of bad races as well, but seems to me that Kasey is continuing to develop as a driver and I think he's going to be a regular in Victory Lane for years to come.

2. Jimmie Johnson - Fans rejoiced because someone other than Jimmie won at Lowe's. Still, this was a great finish for this team, especially considering how many problems they've had in the Chase so far.

3. Jeff Burton - A strong finish for Jeff enables him to remain on top in the Championship standings. I don't think many would have predicted that he'd be the man to beat for the Championship several races into the Chase. I think it would be awesome if he were able to hang on and win the Championship - talk about a comeback from a driver that many felt was washed up to Championship contender!

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Led 37 laps and had an overall solid race, which moved him up a spot in the Chase standings to 5th.

5. Bobby Labonte - Best finish of the season for Bobby since Bristol in March, when he also finished 5th. While there have been some decent races for the #43 team, overall this season has been less than impressive for them. In a post-race interview Bobby gave a clue as to why that likely is, saying that his team doesn't have the technology that other teams do. Which makes it all the more impressive when he finishes well. But until Petty Enterprises is technologically on par with the other teams, they will continue to struggle.

6. Kyle Busch - Finished well in spite of a pit road speeding penalty.

7.Tony Raines - Awesome race for Tony! If I remember correctly Tony initially got the lead because of pit strategy, but he was able to keep the lead and race up front because he had a fast car. A definite sign that this team continues to make strides and build themselves into a team that many one day contend on a regular basis.

8. Carl Edwards - Received minor damage in the lap one wreck and at one point was concerned that his engine was going to give up the ghost, but Carl ended up being able to lead 12 laps and finish well. A late pit stop where they took four tires when others took only two cost them some time which might have prevented Carl from finishing a little better.

9. Joe Nemechek - Best finish of the season for Joe, and it's quite an improvement over where he started - 30th. With all the changes at MB2, I'm sure Joe is going to be extra motivated to get the best finishes he possibly can to ensure that he keeps his ride or is attractive to other teams.

10. Brian Vickers - Before this race many fans were speculating that Brian would be given junk for the rest of the season because of how angry everyone at Hendrick Motorsports was over what happened between him and Jimmie Johnson on the last lap at Talladega. I think not - clearly Brian got just as good of a car for this race as his teammates, which allowed him to follow up last week's win with his 9th top ten of the season.

11. Sterling Marlin - Last car on the lead lap. A strong showing for MB2 this week with both of their cars in the top 15, which indicates that when things go right, they are capable of some good races.

12. Casey Mears - The same thing happened to Casey that happened to a number of other drivers - they came in for gas under green and unfortunately it was the wrong time to come in because a caution flag flew and they found themselves a lap down.

13. Tony Stewart - Over the past two months or so, the results have been very uneven for the #20 team. Yes, Tony won at Kansas, but it seems as if the team struggles to put two good races in a row together. This certainly wasn't a terrible finish, and I think Tony might have had some minor damage in the lap one wreck, but earlier in the season, Tony put together more than one streak of several races where he didn't finish outside the top ten. So they've really dropped off from where they once were.

14. Matt Kenseth - Matt only trails Jeff Burton by 45 points in the Championship standings.

15. David Stremme - Top finishing rookie of the race and his best finish of the season since he finished 11th at Loudon in July. David has definitely made some improvements since early in the season, but I'm not convinced that he's going to be that successful in Cup racing, at least not before he has another year or two of experience.

16. Jeff Green - Jeff is going to be reunited with former Busch Series crew chief Harold Holly, while Bootie Barker goes to work with Johnny Sauter in an effort to prepare Johnny for possibly moving to Cup in 2007 as Jeff's teammate... or will he replace Jeff in the #66 if they can't find sponsorship for a second car? Johnny was over his head when he was put in the #30 Cup car for RCR in 2004, particularly considering how subpar that car was at the time. But I think Johnny might have matured as a driver since then so it will be interesting to see if he might be able to have more success in a second shot in Cup.

17. Scott Riggs- Started on the pole, led 34 laps and looked to have a decent car but a loose wheel ruined his night.

18. Kevin Harvick - Had gear problems, plus a tight condition to deal with.

19. Todd Bodine - Considering this team wasn't even able to qualify for the race at Talladega, 19th place is a solid finish for them.

20. Travis Kvapil - I thought Travis was involved in one of the early wrecks, but I can't seem to find anything that indicates that was the case. After missing the race at Talladega, I wonder again whether this team is going to be around next season and who the driver's going to be?

21. Terry Labonte

22. Kyle Petty - Sad to say but this is Kyle's best finish of the season since he finished 21st at Sonoma in June. Kyle received damage in one of the early races which is probably why he finished four laps down.

23. Clint Bowyer - Spent a lot of time in the top ten and even led some laps, but transmission trouble eventually forced him to the pits for repairs and he finished the race five laps down.

24.Jeff Gordon - A heartbreaking finish for Jeff and the #24 team. For quite some time Jeff had a strong car that allowed him to race in the top five, but the engine blew on lap 301ending his night early. That blown engine likely extinguished any lingering hope that they might somehow get back into contention for the Championship.

25. Robby Gordon - Todd Bodine might have helped Robby around on the lap one spin, an incident Robby was able to recover from. But he later got caught up in the J.J. Yeley/Mark Martin incident, further damaging his car.

26. Dave Blaney - What a difference a day makes, and not in a good way. Dave won Friday's night's Busch race with a fast car. But his car for Saturday night's race was so bad that according to someone who was at the race, Blaney was complaining about it on the parade laps. He eventually spun to make matters worse.

27. Ryan Newman - Lots of problems for both Penske teams. In Ryan's case, mechanical problems forced him behind the wall so his team could make repairs and even though he eventually returned to the track, he ended up finishing the race 62 laps down.

28.Denny Hamlin - Received heavy damage in the lap one wreck, which forced him to the garage for 60 laps. Drops to 6th in the Championship standings.

29. J.J. Yeley - Made a rookie mistake and didn't properly signal that he was going to pit lane which led to a big wreck with Mark Martin, that also got Robby Gordon. No question that Yeley should have made his intention to pit clearer, and perhaps his spotter could have done a better job in guiding him. However, some are using Yeley as proof that all that the rookies do is make mistakes and wreck. First of all, there's a rookie in the Chase, and rookies like Clint Bowyer have shown the ability to race without tearing up too much sheet metal. Secondly, it's not only rookies who cause incidents and make mistakes. Michael Waltrip also made a mistake trying to get to pit road and spun himself and he's a veteran. Lastly, young drivers need to be out there gaining experience if they're ever going to develop into successful drivers on the Cup level. Yeley made a mistake, but I suspect he's learned a lot from it.

30.Mark Martin - Got wrecked when J. J. Yeley didn't make it clear enough he was heading to pit road. Mark was a bit overly happy in his post-incident interview for a man who had just gotten wrecked. He claimed that he was having fun, but getting wrecked by another driver's error doesn't sound like too much fun to me.

31. Martin Truex Jr. - Received major damage in the lap one wreck.

32. Kurt Busch - Got some damage when he brushed the wall, then not long after things got even worse when he spun and got into the wall again.

33. David Gilliland - Got into the wall.

34. Jamie McMurray - Engine expired around lap 163.

35. Elliott Sadler - Another blown engine, which is too bad because it looked like Elliott had a strong car for a while. Based on the way it looked in his interview, Elliott's cut his hair even shorter than it was.

36. Reed Sorenson - Not a good night for Reed. Angered Dale Jarrett by getting into him twice, once on pit road and once on the track, then lost it when Kurt Busch spun and got into the inside wall. I've got no idea how he ended up getting into DJ, not once but twice. I think Reed's a better driver than this.

37. Greg Biffle - Another blown engine for Roush.

38. Michael Waltrip - Just like with Dave Blaney, the magic from Friday night's Busch race didn't carry over into Saturday night's race. But I didn't expect it to. Michael was the slowest in Cup practice on Friday, which told me that things likely weren't going to go very well on Saturday. But I didn't think he'd also get caught in so many incidents. First he was shoved into the wall during the incident between Todd Kluever and Ken Schrader, then there was a flat tire that forced him to pit road under green. But what finished the #55 off was when somehow his team ran Michael out of gas and in trying to get to pit road quickly, he spun himself and ended up in the wall. At first the team thought the damage was fixable but it turned out to be terminal. Just a bad race for the #55 team. I believe this is at least the second race they've struggled with fuel mileage calculations and that's something that must be improved.

39. Todd Kluever - Spun and might have been okay, but Ken Schrader miscalcuated where Kluever was going on the track and ended up getting into him,which also resulted in damage to a few other cars. Things haven't gone very well for Kluever lately - hasn't lived up to expectations in the Busch series, found out that he was passed over for the #6 Cup ride, and his outing in the #06 didn't go very well either. His confidence level probably isn't too good right now.

40. Ken Schrader - Choose the wrong way to go to get around a spinning Todd Kluever, which ended up wrecking them both.

41. Dale Jarrett - Reed Sorenson got into him on pit road, then again on the track. DJ was so angry that before he took his car to the garage he took it to Reed's pit to let his team know how displeased he was.

42. Mike Bliss- Exactly what this team didn't need. They were able to make the race, but got wrecked on lap one. Torn up sheet metal really hurts with a team like this one that has so little resources.

43. Mike Skinner - Also didn't get to race more than one lap.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)

No Announcement From Steve Park

A couple of weeks ago in an article by Marty Smith on Nascar.com, there was a vague reference to more becoming known about Steve Park's potential new ride on October 15th. Hopes were further bouyed by the announcement that Steve would be participating in the Ride to Victory IV on that day, setting the stage in some fan's minds that Steve would be making a big announcement yesterday at the Ride. But yesterday came and went without an announcement. Is anyone really surprised? It's getting to be like the little boy who cried wolf. Eventually one of these days when Steve gives a timetable for when he's going to be announcing his new ride it'll actually happen, but after a year's worth of "hopefully in two weeks" or "around race or date X we hope to have something to announce," there's probably getting to be less and less people who actually expect that he's really going announce something when he says he's going to.

It's actually for the best that nothing was announced yesterday because there will surely be more media attention on a different day, when there's not a big event going on in support of the Victory Junction Gang Camp. That's if the deal is actually even done. It might be done and just not be ready to be announced. Or it might not even be close to being a done deal. Steve got excited and made similar comments the whole time he was negotiating with Bill Davis Racing to fans and to the media, and we all saw how that turned out. I hope for his sake things turn out differently this time, but until there's an official press release, I'm not counting on anything. There's still time for things to come together, though as Yogi Berra says "It gets late early." Teams like to have their plans set for the following season as soon as they can. Still, I think Steve is okay as long as things don't drag into December. If it goes that long then teams start slowing down for the holidays, then in January shifting gears towards testing, and they definitely want all the pieces in place before testing. But hopefully we'll hear some news of Steve's new ride long before then, maybe even this week.

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

October 15, 2006

Photo of the Day - Infrared Pumice Desert

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, September, 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

Ward Burton in the #4 at Martinsville

Fans of Ward Burton have something to celebrate because he'll finally be making a return to the race track next weekend at Martinsville. Burton will be behind the wheel of the #4 Lucas Oil car, fielded by Morgan-McClure Motorsports. Scott Wimmer had been the driver until about two weeks ago when there was a parting of the way. Since then Todd Bodine has been the driver, but Bodine wisely opted to concentrate on the truck series next weekend where he's currently the leader in the Championship standings. So that opened the door for Ward to step in.

Although MMM was a successful team at one point, recently things haven't gone very well for them on the track to the point where they've failed to qualify for several races. The best finish for the #4 this season was 19th, once with Wimmer at Bristol in the Spring, and last night at Charlotte with Bodine. So expectations should be kept very realistic for Burton in this car - first he has to qualify in on time for the race at Martinsville, shake off the rust from not having raced in several years, and from there he'll be very lucky to be able to break into the top 20. Not because he's a bad driver, but simply because the #4 might not be very competitive, though I'm sure MMM will do everything they can to give Burton the best possible car.

I'm sure some are wondering why Burton is taking this ride. I would guess one reason is because he misses racing. But I also suspect that he feels that he needs to get behind the wheel a couple of times in preperation for possibly racing on a more regular basis in 2007. Fact is, plenty of things have changed since Burton was behind the wheel from the set-ups that many teams are using to pit road speeds being monitored by computer. Burton's ability to race well might be exactly the same as it was in 2004, but there are still going to be some things for him to adjust to, as would any driver returning to the series after a long absence. At one time Burton had said he would only race a competitive car, but I think he's doing the right thing by taking this ride for a race or two to help ease back into the sport.

I've heard that Burton might be a guest on Trackside this weekend. At that time I guess we'll hear more about why he took this ride, as well as what his plans are for next season. It's long been rumored that he's going to end up as the driver of the #88 for Robert Yates Racing, pending sponsorship. So maybe we'll hear more about whether that's actually going to happen for him or not then.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)

Blog-o-versary

Forgot to mention yesterday that it was the 2nd anniversary of this blog! It seems like just the other day that I was setting it up! So much has happened in the past two years, personally and with the two topics that I write about the most in this space, the Yankees and Nascar.

I thank all of my readers for stopping in for a visit, whether you're a regular who comes by often, or someone who's just wandered by once or twice. Based on the site stats, it appears that my most popular entries are those that relate to Michael Waltrip and Steve Park, so I hope that those of you who are fans of those drivers have found what I've had to say about those two interesting. Since I'll be writing more about David Reutimann in the coming months, I hope to convert some who come by this space into fans of his as well. But I do this blog for myself, and while I most certainly appreciate my readers and the feedback I've gotten since I started this blog, I'd still be doing it even if no one was reading. Though I'm not always able to blog every day, putting my thoughts in this space has come to be something that I enjoy doing very much. The past year has been pretty good to me, and I hope next year is even better!

Posted by silverdsl at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2006

Dave Blaney Wins Busch Race, Michael Waltrip Finishes Second

What a crazy Busch race last night in Charlotte! And I didn't even get to see the whole thing. But what I did see sure did feature a lot of controversy and excitement. When it was all over, Dave Blaney had not only won his first Busch race, but his first race in any of Nascar's three highest levels, Michael Waltrip had finished second which was very unexpected considering the problems he had earlier in the day, and Kevin Harvick was crowned as Busch Series Champion.

I'm going to start with what I was most excited about - Michael finishing 2nd! It's really incredible that he was able to finish this well considering he wrecked during qualifying, his team had to get the back-up car ready in just a few hours for the race, he had to start 42nd, and from what I understand he got minor damage in a early wreck. In spite of it being Friday, the 13th, Michael had good luck as well. Based on what someone who was at the race said, he got a flat tire that didn't ruin his night only because a red flag came out at exactly the right time to bring him, and the rest of the field to pit road, so when it went back to yellow, Michael was able to get the tire changed and not lose any laps. When I came back from dinner Michael was in the top 15, but I really took notice when he was 6th. Suddenly, I was nervous and excited - did he have a chance for a top five? What about a win? I had my fingers crossed so tightly for Michael, wishing and hoping so hard that nothing would go wrong from him since his luck is often terrible. Well, a win wasn't to be. But Michael ended up 2nd, his best finish of the season in either Cup or Busch. Absolutely awesome!

Michael did an exceptional job of racing and making sure he avoided getting caught up in any of the late wrecks - and there were many of those. His team also did an outstanding job of giving him a terrific car, which is no small feat considering that it was a back-up. I'm really happy for Michael. So much of this season has been a struggle on the track, that it's good for him as a driver and as a person that he was able to get such positive results. As much as I'd like to see that kind of result in Cup, I'm even happier that it came in the Busch car, because that program, even though they're working with Fitz-Bradshaw Racing, is much more a Michael Waltrip Racing effort than the #55 is. So to see Michael, and also David Reutimann, finish well in a MWR car, gives me confidence about next season when MWR will be completely on their own. Such a sweet night for Michael, on a track where he's raced well before. Really an outstanding night and I'm so happy for him!

I'm not a big Blaney fan, but I was still cheering him on to win. What a battle between he and Matt Kenseth, until Matt got loose and spun! Some will say that Dave only won because Carl Edwards and Casey Mears wrecked, but I don't agree. First of all, Dave had to race his way up to the front and stay there. Then he had to hold off Matt, which is no easy feat. And he had to survive the green-white-checkered finish. So Dave was most certainly not handed anything in this race. (And neither was Michael - he also had to race his way up to the front and hold off those behind him.) Lately Dave has raced much better on the Cup side than he has all season, probably because the cars he's being given are much better now that Tommy Baldwin, Jr. has joined Bill Davis Racing. Winning this race, even though it wasn't in a BDR car, will probably give Dave a nice boost of confidence which should help things on the Cup side even more.

What I liked is that when Carl and Casey wrecked, neither one ripped into the other in their interviews, nor were there any heated confrontations, at least publically. Casey and Carl are apparently close friends, but friendships haven't stopped drivers from ripping each other. Casey immediately took responsiblity for the wreck and admitted fault. Carl said that he knew that Casey didn't mean to wreck him. Above all it was clear that there was respect between both men, even though they must both have been pretty disappointed and upset with the outcome. I would guess they'll talk things out pretty quickly. A very different way of handling things than Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers last week in Talladega.

Of course it was pretty unlikely that with such a huge points lead Kevin was going to lose the Busch Championship. However, at one point it seemed like it might not happen at Charlotte. But Carl's bad luck allowed Kevin to clinch, the earliest a Busch Championship has ever been decided. I'm really happy for Happy. A lot of people hate it that a full-time Cup driver won the Busch Championship, but I think winning any Championship on any level, for any driver, isn't an easy accomplishement. In fact it might be harder for a Cup driver because they have to race both seasons full-time. I think that Kevin winning the Busch Championship and also being in the Chase in Cup reflects what an awesome driver he is!

Posted by silverdsl at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)

October 13, 2006

Mike Wallace Gets a Three-Year Deal With Phoenix Racing

A couple of months ago, Mike Wallace announced that he had a three-year agreement with a company to sponsor him in a Busch car for three-year. Unlike many sponsorship agreements, where the sponsor is signed directly to the team, based on Wallace's comments, he had a contract with the sponsor directly, and as a pair they would then be contracted with a team. So today it was announced that Geico would be sponsoring him in the #7 Busch car for Pheonix Racing, the team Wallace had been racing with this season since Pheonix, for the next three years.

Of course this is more evidence that sponsorship equals a ride. If a driver brings a sponsor to the table, or a team thinks that driver can draw more sponsor dollars than the next driver, then they've got a ride, even if their on-track success isn't all that impressive. Wallace has had success on restrictor plate tracks, and he has 4 wins in the Busch series and 4 wins in the truck series. However, he's not considered an elite driver, and at age 47, he's no spring chicken either in the eyes of those in the garage area. But Wallace has a large company willing to sponsor him and that makes him extremely attractive to Phoenix Racing.

One thing that's always struck me about Wallace is that like his brothers Rusty and Kenny, Mike has the gift of gab. In Nascar that's a tremendous asset because as much as the sport is all about racing and what happens on the track, increasingly the business side is equally as important as well. Drivers have to know how to sell - themselves, their team and their sponsor. That's something that Wallace seems to understand how to do extremely well.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:06 PM | Comments (0)

Michael Waltrip Qualifies Well at Charlotte; Bill Elliott Fails to Make it In

I have to admit I was pretty worried for Michael Waltrip regarding his chances for qualifying for this weekend's Cup race at Charlotte. When the series last raced at Charlotte, Michael failed to qualify and had to enter into a deal with Derrike Cope's team to get himself and NAPA Auto Parts into the show. As if it wasn't bad enough that things had gone badly for the #55 team the last time they were at this track, 52 cars were entered for this race, so quite a few teams were going to be packing up and heading home.

As it turned out Michael wasn't one who had to leave early. In fact not only did he qualify for the race, he was the second fastest go or go home cars! So on Saturday night Michael will start from 23rd place. Michael's qualifying effort was better than that of drivers like Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon. I'm so happy that Michael will race on Saturday - no matter how positive and confident he always seems, I'm sure whether or not he's going to be able to qualify in each week must weigh on him. The difference between this time and last time is likely Tommy Baldwin, Jr. as crew chief. Since he's come over to Bill Davis Racing, the #22 team has been significantly better and Michael has been able to get some slightly better finishes too. I don't know how good the car will be during the actual race, but I'm so happy that not only was Michael able to qualify for the race, but so well too! It would be awesome if Michael was able to have a decent race - he's raced well at Lowe's in the past, I sure would love to see him up front at least a little!

Qualifying didn't go as well for Bill Elliott and the #83 Red Bull Racing team, who were going to be making their debut this weekend. I was shocked to find out that Elliott failed to qualify for this race. I really expected that the team would at least be good enough to make it into the race even if they weren't that competitive during the actual race. When Red Bull decided to put Bill in the car they were probably thinking that if worst came to worse and the car wasn't very good, they could use his Champion's Provisional to get them into the races. Unfortunately for them, this weekend Terry LaBonte was also entered, and he's a more recent Champion than Billt. So when his speed wasn't enough to get him into the race, he needed to use the Champion's Provisional, which left Bill and the #83 team loading up to go home. RBR is using Dodges for the races they'll be entered in this season, so while some may see this as a bad sign for how RBR will fare next season, I don't think it's any indication at all, since they'll be using entirely different cars and equipment from a completely different manufacturer.

It's really a shame that the #83 team won't be racing this weekend. The car was sporting a Victory Junction Gang Camp paint theme and the team was going to donate all their race winnings to the camp. On top of that, Elliott's race suit and the car itself were going to be auctioned off by the Nascar Foundation. I would guess the auction will still go on but since neither is raced used, it may effect how much money each is auctioned off for. Elliott will still be the Grand Marshal for the Ride to Victory IV on Sunday and will presumably be involved with the tours of the RBR shops as part of that ride, but they won't have too many positive remarks about their (non) debut this weekend.

After missing last week's race at Talladega, I was curious to see how Travis Kvapil and the #32 team would do this week at qualifying. Luckily for them, they were fast enough to qualify 38th for the race. Since the beginning of the season, the #32 team has made a lot of improvement on the track so failing to qualify last week was a huge setback for the team. I thought they'd rebound with a really strong car this week. While they were good enough to make the show, they were actually the last of the go or go home cars to make the show on speed so Travis came pretty close to not making this race too.

In other news from qualifying, Kurt Busch will start 42nd because his qualifying time was thrown out when the car failed post-race inspection, due to a right rear shock that didn't conform to Nascar's rules. There's been very little said beyond that the car didn't pass inspection and why, so it's hard to know if the team was trying to get away with something, a part failed or what exactly happened. Nascar may announce further penalties next week, but it was pretty costly for the #2 team already since instead of starting 3rd, Kurt will have to start at the back of the field. So far the fan outrage has been very muted. It seems to me that fans only care about cheating when it involved a driver in the Chase or a Hendrick Motorsports team.

Scott Riggs ended up on the pole, his second pole of the season. The #10 team has been extremely inconsistant this season, but they've shown some signs that they might develop into a better team in the future, including the two poles. Although the #10 team existed last season, and Riggs was the driver, the team is new to Evernham so some growing pains shouldn't be unexpected. Next season I think we may see some good things out of Riggs and the #10 team.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2006

Yankees Corey Lidle Dead in Plane Crash

A variety of sources are confirming that New York Yankees pitcher Corey Lidle, who joined the team this season in a trade from the Philadephia Phillies, has been killled in an awful plane crash this afternoon. Lidle was apparently the pilot of a plane that crashed into an Upper East Side apartment building.

Horrible, horrible news and I'm beside myself. RIP Corey.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:59 PM | Comments (0)

Preach On Jade!

I try to avoid anything remotely political or overly controversial in this space to save myself some aggrivation. Jade Gurss, the Public Relations representative for Budweiser and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., someone who one would think would bend over backwards to be as politically correct and non-offensive as possible, doesn't care about who he might offend or anger. One of today's entries on his blog doesn't mince any words when it comes to what he thinks about some of the fan reactions to the last lap incident at Talladega but especially the Yahoo! Sports article on the Confederate Flag flying at Nascar events.

Before I get to specifically what Jade said, it appears that some fans have some misconceptions. First of all, you do not pay Jade's salary. Budweiser does. Secondly, just because you don't agree with Jade's opinions, doesn't mean he's an idiot. Jade probably has more of a clue about racing, Nascar, Junior and everything that's related than a 100 fans put together. Third, Jade has every right to say exactly what he pleases in his own blog, including criticizing President Bush, the fans, Nasar or anything else, on the website of the company that he owns. If someone doesn't like it, they don't have to read it.

When I read the Yahoo! article what struck me the most was the unwillingness of any of the drivers to comment or their PR reps to let the topic even be posed as a question. Jade says,

Putting your head in the sand and pretending an issue doesn't exist is absolutely the most damaging strategy possible. That many of the PR "experts" were both combative and obstructive shows a lack of a bigger view of the sport and the true nature of media and public relations. The belligerent response (or lack of response) seems to only confirm the shame and prevalence of the flag issue. True, it's not an easy issue. There is no easy solution. But pretending it doesn't exist only seems as if hatred and racism is being condoned or encouraged by the powers-that-be. Yes, there are (and will likely always be) racist fans of NASCAR. Racism exists in all areas of America. But that fact doesn't mean the sport can continue to grow and be inclusive of all who call America home.

I couldn't agree more. Yes, it's a difficult topic to discuss without someone being offended. But it's also appalling that some would rather ignore the issue instead of addressing it.

If Junior can say,

"We live in a country where you can speak freely and do as you may. I don't know [if] what that flag stands for is the same for me as it is the guy who might have it flying out there. I am not going to agree with everything everybody does all my life. So I don't have any control over it."

Then why can't other drivers comment? It's not like Junior actually gave much of an opinion there. It's a sad day when the drivers and PR reps think that the majority of fans are so superficial that they might stop being a fan of a driver because they don't agree with the opinions that he states. Yes, there most certainly are fans who want their driver to think and act in the ways that they approve of. However, there are a significant amount of fans who think for themselves and understand that the drivers are entitled to opinions of their own. I don't agree with some of Michael Waltrip's political opinions, and neither do some of his other fans. Yet we continue to support him just as much as if we agreed with him politically. Differences of opinion make this world a better place.

Many of those who fly the Confederate flag only do so out of a sense of Southern pride. However, there are some who have more sinister reasons for flying it and as such the flag is a symbol of hatred to some. Nascar says they want to diversify, but how is someone who's African-American truly supposed to feel comfortable at the track when they see that flag flying? Nascar wouldn't dream of allowing a swastika to be displayed at the track, even though it symbolizes good fortune in some cultures, so why then is is acceptable to for the Confederate flag to be displayed? I respect everyone's right to express themselves as they choose, even if it's not in ways that I agree with. However, a race track isn't someone's home. Nascar can dictate what fans can and can't do at the track. Yet, while they've discouraged the flying of the Confederate flag, they're really done nothing to prevent it from being flown.

And they talk about diversity. Jade calls them on that too. He said,

NASCAR's diversity program is a joke. It is a poorly executed faux-PR program that lacks real support (fiscal or otherwise) from the folks in Daytona Beach. The gains that have been made- and there have been gains - are much more a result of sincere efforts by conscientious team owners like Joe Gibbs, Ray Evernham, Bill Davis and Richard Childress. Some major sponsors have also put their money into the effort. I applaud them all, but I also challenge NASCAR to quit the hollow talk and take real action.

Where are the African-American drivers in Busch and Cup? The Latinos? The Asians? The women? (or even the Jews?) I keep hearing that there aren't any minority drivers who are talented enough to cut in the higher levels in Nascar and I find it very hard to believe that it's true, that no woman, no minority period is good enough to race Busch or Cup regularly and successfully. Nascar must make real gains as it relates to diversity if they're truly going to expand as much as they want to. I'm glad that Jade isn't afraid to speak his mind as it relates to diversity and I hope others will too, particularly those in the garage area with some influence. The only way that things are going to change is if people won't let this issue be buried, like Nascar would like it to be.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)

David Ragan Gets the Call

Roush Racing announced today that David Ragan will race the #6 in 2007. For quite some time it had been thought that Todd Kluever would get the nod to replace Mark Martin, but that opportunity dried up for him when his results in the Busch Series were underwhelming. Kluever shouldn't feel too bad. He joins Ricky Craven and Jon Wood as other drivers who thought they were going to race the #6, only to find out differently. I really don't know much about Ragan other than that he's had some solid races in the truck series, with one top five, six top ten's and a pole. Will that translate into success in a Cup car? Apparently Roush thinks so. A lot of people are high on his talent behind the wheel, but I'm thinking that there's going to be some growing pains for Ragan next season. Anything can happen but I kind of doubt we'll be seeing the #6 back in the Chase in 2007.

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

October 10, 2006

Photo of the Day - Mountain Sunrise

Portland, Oregon, September, 2006. Sunrise over Mt. Adams (Not sure if that's actually Mt. Adams).

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

Now It's Really Official: David Reutimann to Race the #00 for Michael Waltrip Racing

Whoo-hoo! I'm so excited that finally the official announcement has been made that David Reutimann will be the driver of the #00 Burger King/Domino's Cup car for Michael Waltrip Racing! I've become such a big fan of David's this season because of how well he's raced both the #17 truck and the #99 Busch car, as well as his great attitude towards racing, the fans and everything else. I think he's going to do a tremendous job for MWR next season racing both the #00 and #99 cars full-time! He's also going to be terrific representing his sponsors as well. I'm so happy for David - not only is he getting an opportunity to race Cup and Busch, but he's also going to be a part of Toyota making their mark in the highest levels of Nascar.

Of course David is excited about the direction his career has taken. He said,

“In my wildest dreams I couldn’t come up with a scenario that would have put me driving a ‘00’ car especially with great sponsors like Burger King Corporation and Domino’s in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. I always thought how cool it would be to drive a car with my family number in the top series in the world, but what are the chances that would happen. It’s right here in front of me. My grandfather, my father, my uncle and my cousins have all raced a car with the ‘00’ number. It’s our family number and if you’re a Reutimann that’s the number you race. I can’t describe it. It’s just such a great feeling. It’s surreal and a thrill not only for me, but for my entire family.”

How great is that? I have no doubt that David was going to do everything he could to get the best possible finishes for MWR no matter what number he raced, but even moreso since the car that he's racing will sport a number that's so meaningful to him and his family.

Michael Waltrip has spoken quite often recently about how David was his first choice for the #00. In making the announcement he said,

“David’s competitive spirit, proven on track performance and verve for racing made David our top choice for the No. 00 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Toyota. Dale Jarrett and I both feel strongly that David is the ideal candidate to cap off our driver line up."

I agree! I think that David is going to fit in really well with Michael and Dale Jarrett, work well with his teams, and also be a great match with his sponsors. More importantly, although there might be some rough going as David adjusts to racing Cup and Busch full-time, I think he's capable of getting strong results in both the Busch and Cup car. The thing that's impressed me the most about David this season is that he doesn't seemed phased by adversity, something that's going to be important not only with how crazy his schedule is going to be, but also because the #00 team is a completely new one. No matter what seems to happen on the track or in the pits, David seems to deal with it with ease. Getting wrecked? No problem. A mechanical issue? No problem. A screw-up by the pit crew? No problem. No matter the set-back during a race, David seems to methodically work his way up front and stay there. I'm not expecting him to be a front-runner in 2007 as much as he's been this season, but I do think that David has a bright future and we're likely to eventually see him in Victory Lane.

On a side note, it seems as if every time there's some sort of announcement in the works, all sorts of people come crawling out of the woodwork claiming to have inside information about what that announcement is going to entail. On the Speed message boards among other things, someone insisted that when the announcement was made that David was going to be racing the #00, that it would also be announced that he wouldn't be in the #99 full-time, that he'd be sharing time with a few different drivers. Oh really? Maybe things will change, but it's pretty clear in the press release that as it stands now David will definitely be racing both series full-time. In fact, that's something that Michael feels will be beneficial to David. It seems to me that as hard as it's going to be to juggle the demands of racing both series, the best way for David to gain experience is by racing as often as possible.

What I think is really cool and speaks to what kind of an organization MWR is, was what happened last night. Apparently MWR threw a party for 250 of David's friends and relatives at the Reutimann family race shop in Zephyrhills, Florida. Both Michael and his brother Darrell, who owns the truck that David races, were present. Darrell said,

"It was important for us to come here tonight and for them to see David Reutimann made it."

I think it's awesome that way that members of the Waltrip and Reutimann families were gathered to celebrate the good news. There's something so neat about that to me. I think it's a really nice gesture what MWR did in terms of gathering all those people together as a surprise for David. There's something about it that seems so warm - and so different from the way I'm guessing most teams welcome their driver into the fold. Hopefully some of the footage from this will show up somewhere soon! Based on the photos on David's site, it looks like not only did everyone have a great time, but they ate lots of Burger King and Domino's as well!

Another thing that apparently came up last night given that so many of David's family who have raced were in attendance is about how Michael didn't know at first that the number that the Reutimann family had always raced was #00 and when he was made aware of it, he felt it was some sort of sign that David belonged in the car. I have no idea how seriously Michael really means it when he says things like that, though he strikes me as the type who might take something like that seriously. But I think it's pretty cool. I'm not sure how many people in the garage area would admit to letting something like that influence them like that. In fact, I sometimes give weight to things like that, but I'm not always willing to voice what I'm thinking in that regard because some think it's strange or stupid. Yet it does seem almost like it was David's destiny to end up in the #00 car for MWR. When he signed on to drive DW's truck, fielding Cup cars full-time was still a dream for Michael. But a few years later things have worked out in such a way that fate has dictated that David will race the #00 on Nascar's biggest stage.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:23 PM | Comments (0)

Grow Up Jimmie!

Apparently Jimmie Johnson is having a hard time accepting Brian Vickers's apology for the incident on the last lap of Sunday's race which left Jimmie and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wrecked and Brian as the race winner. Although Brian has apologized in countless interviews, on Inside Nextel Cup, and more importantly privately via a message that he left on Jimmie's cell phone, Jimmie said,

"I know it wasn't intentional. I have a hard time feeling he is really sorry for what he's done. But at the same time, I know it wasn't intentional, so I just kind of go on. If I look at the interviews and the quotes and the message that Brian left me, I wouldn't take it as an apology, by any stretch of the imagination. That's where I'm at."

I understand why Jimmie's upset about the incident. I have no idea what Brian said in the message he left Jimmie. But I think that Jimmie's attitude is a little harsh, particularly since he's talking about someone who's been his teammate for the past three years in Cup, and supossedly a good friend of his. I really don't know what he expects - for Brian to have started crying about the wrong he did in Victory Lane? For Brian to get down on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness? For Brian to refuse to celebrate his first win? If he's really a friend, call him back, or better yet talk things over in person and hash the whole incident out. Jimmie has made his share of mistakes on the track and he's expected others to forgive him and move on - why is he having so much trouble doing the same when it comes to a friend?

Posted by silverdsl at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)

Joe Torre to Stay on as Yankees Manager

Joe Torre's future as manager of the New York Yankees had been a subject of much debate since the Yankees were eliminated from the post-season this past weekend. Although Torre has one more year remaining on his contract, the rumor was that he was going to be fired immediately and replaced with Lou Pinella, because Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was so furious for Torre for the Yankees failings this season. As it turns out, either that rumor was never true to begin with or Steinbrenner changed his mind because Torre said today that Steinbrenner told him that he's not getting fired and that he has his support.

I know a lot of fans are very disappointed about this bit of news. Often when a team doesn't live up to expectations, one of the first people to get blamed is the manager. Torre isn't a perfect manager - he makes mistakes, doesn't always handle the bullpen very well, and sometimes makes some questionable calls. However, Torre can't be blamed for his players not hitting or pitching well. In addition, even though the Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2000, they've still been in the post-season every season since Torre has been manager. I'm sometimes puzzled by the moves that Torre makes, but I wasn't thrilled with the idea of Pinella taking over. In fact, I think that overall, Torre's shoes will be a lot harder to fill than many fans think. So I'm pretty happy that for now at least, Torre's job is safe.

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

More Good Works

Bill Elliott is going to be the Grand Marshal for the Ride to Victory IV, that I previously mentioned in relation to Steve Park. Bill is also going to be debuting Red Bull Racing's #83 during the Cup race at Charlotte the night before the Ride. What's pretty cool is that the #83 is going to sport a Victory Junction Gang Camp paint scheme, and all race winnings will be donated to the camp. In addition, Bill's race suit and the car itself, will be auctioned off on The Nascar Foundation's website, with the proceeds from that also presumably going to the camp. That should bring in a a pretty penny!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

New Bird Discovered in Columbia

I didn't know this but apparently there are 2-3 new birds discovered every year. The most recent of which, a very colorful brush-finch was found in a remote, mountainous area in a Andean cloud forest that had never been explored before. Apparently the Columbian government has agreed to create a new National Park in this area out of 500 acres of cloud forest, which excites conservationists and researchers who believe that there are many other undiscovered plants and animals in the same area. The researchers had to hike 12 hours to get to the area!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)

Elliott and Hermie Sadler Donate $25,000 to VJCG

Elliott Sadler, his business manager/spotter/close friend Brett Griffin, and to a lesser degree, Elliott's brother Hermie, have taken some criticism, along with the Sadler Fan Club, regarding some of the activities and charitable donations the Elliott and Hermie Sadler Charitable Foundation has been involved with. In fact there's a blog, whose author has discussed at length his displeasure with some of Elliott's recent behavior, as well as the approach towards charitable causes, in that if I'm understanding things correctly, there's some unanswered questions regarding how much of the money that's raised by the Foundation actually goes to charity.

Recently, the Sadlers had a fan club event that raised a significant amount of money for two good causes. At Talladega, the Sadlers presented Kyle Petty with a check for $25,000 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Earlier in the week the Sadlers also donated $10,000 to the Commonwealth Autism Service of Virginia. I have no idea how much that amounts compared to the total that was raised by the event itself (some percentage of the amount raised likely went towards costs for the event itself), but $35,000 is no small amount of money. I think if someone's going to rake them over the coals for their failings in that area (and I do think the writer of the previously mentioned blog has some valid points regarding the Foundation and Elliott overall), then the good things that that Sadlers do regarding raising money for charitable causes via their Foundation deserves mention as well.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I think one of the greatest things about Nascar is how committed the drivers, teams, sponsors, and fans are to helping various charitable causes. Things may not always be perfectly smooth regarding the Sadler Foundation, at least in some fan's eyes, but I'm very happy to see them donating a nice chunk of money to some good causes.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)

October 09, 2006

Photo of the Day - Crater Lake Reflection

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. September, 2006.

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

603-Carat Diamond Sold at Auction for More Than $12 Million

The biggest diamond found in 13 years, and the 10th largest ever found, was sold today at auction for more than $12 million, but it's expected that once it's cut up into several smaller stones, it may bring in more than $20 million. It almost seems like a shame to cut up the diamond, that's bigger than a golf ball, but diamonds usually have more value when they're cut into gemstones than when they're in the rough. The diamond was found in a tiny African kingdom called Lesotho by a woman sorting rocks in a mountain diamond mine. I can't even imagine what it must have felt like to find a diamond that big, though of course it belongs to the mine where it was found, and not the woman, unfortunately for her. I wonder if she got some sort of bonus for finding it?

Posted by silverdsl at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)

It's (Sort of) Official: David Reutimann to the #00

Okay, the official announcement hasn't been made yet, that's supossedly going to come sometime this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow. But someone on Michael Waltrip's site who works for Domino's shared a press release he got which announces David Reutimann as the driver of the #00 for Michael Waltrip Racing next season!! There was also a photo of the car decked out in the Domino's paint scheme and it looks sharp. Of course whenever the announcement actually comes there's also going to be a press release from Burger King as well, since they're co-sponsoring the car for half the season. I'd love to say a lot more about this because I'm really excited about it, but I'm going to wait until the actual announcement is made and all the details are made public. I'm very happy that it appears this all worked out for David! It's going to be hard to race both Cup and Busch next season, but I think he's up to the challenge!

Posted by silverdsl at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park to Participate in Ride to Victory IV

So Steve Park is apparently going to be participating in the Ride to Victory IV on Sunday, a one day Kyle Petty Charity Ride in North Carolina, to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Participants will tour the Red Bull Racing Race Shop, get a commemorative pin and t-shirt, eat lunch at the VJGC and tour the camp. Sunday's date is October 15, the same day that Steve said that he might know or announce something regarding his plans for 2007. I suppose that there's a possiblity that Steve is going to be racing a Busch car for Red Bull Racing, or that somehow his plans involve Petty Enterprises.

But I have to say that unless Steve's going to be announcing that he's going to be donating a percentage of all his race winnings in the future to the VJGC, which would be awesome, then I hope he doesn't announce anything on the Ride to Victory. Why? Because I think that day shouldn't be about Steve Park, it should be about the camp, the kids that benefit from the camp, and the ride itself. I'm sure no one will agree with me on this, but there would be something distasteful to me about Steve making an announcement that way, unless it was handled very carefully, such as being introduced as a RBR driver as they were touring the shop. But maybe Steve is just taking part in the ride for fun and to support a charity that is meaningful to him, as he's done in the past with the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America.

I got to thinking about this and here's what I'm talking about - when I went to Las Vegas for the events associated with Operation Marathon, which was Michael Waltrip's effort to raise $1 million for the VJCG, one event that we attended was a Meet and Greet with Michael, that was for donors who had donated a certain amount of money for the privledge of attending a private gathering with Michael with few people. Michael brought Kyle to the Meet and Greet. What ended up happening is that Michael spoke for the first five or ten minutes and answered a couple of questions, then turned the floor over to Kyle for the rest of the time, only interjecting a few comments here and there. I think that he did that for two reasons - one, because it was the perfect opportunity for Kyle to talk about the camp to people who would be likely to donate more money in the future, and two, because I think Michael was aware enough to recognize that Operation Marathon wasn't about him even though he and his "people" had organized the whole thing. Michael used himself as a way to bring attention to the camp and get donations, but in the end it was all about the camp. Just like when Tony Stewart or Kurt Busch donated $1 million to the camp, there's little mention made of racing and on-track activities, the focus is on the cause they're helping.

So unless it somehow fits in because of a connection to RBR, Petty or a sponsor who might be involved with the ride, I hope the announcement waits until a different time. It would be better for Steve anyway to make it at a time when there might be more media attention to be focused directly on him.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:22 PM | Comments (0)

Driver by Driver: Talladega II

1. Brian Vickers - Well, Brian got his first Cup win and did what he said he wanted to do - put the #25 in Victory Lane for Ricky Hendrick before he left the team. Unfortunately though the way he won is going to overshadow his actually winning. As I discussed in a previous entry, I don't think Brian intended on wrecking Jimmie Johnson or Dale Earnhardt, Jr., but I do think he was over-agressive and made an error in judgement. He's probably just happy to get a win on the Cup level, but I wish it had come in a different way.

2. Kasey Kahne - Kasey made it into the Chase but since then the team has struggled. So it's nice to see him finish so strongly in this race. It's likely too little, too late to put him in a position to contend for the Championship again, but it's still good to see him up front.

3. Kurt Busch - I didn't know this until I looked at the stats, but it turns out that Kurt is actually outstanding at this track. He's finished 3rd three times, including yesterday, and his average finish is 10.3. He's not as good at Daytona, where his average finish is only 20.3, but Kurt does seem to have a knack for some restrictor plate racing. Kurt and Kasey worked very well together during yesterday's race, which is what put them in a position to be up front and in the top five at the end of the race.

4. Matt Kenseth - Matt's strong finish moved him into second in the Chase standings, just six measly points behind Jeff Burton.

5. Martin Truex Jr. - First top five of his Cup career. Martin's actually put together a streak of three solid finishes in a row, with a 6th place finish at Dover, 11th at Kansas and now 5th yesterday. Martin's season has been pretty mediocre, so hopefully this is a sign that he'll be better next season.

6. Kevin Harvick - Really nice job by Kevin and his team to rebound from being involved in "The Big One" on lap 137 to finish in the top ten, which allowed Kevin to move up one spot in the Chase standings to 4th, just 33 points behind his teammate Jeff Burton. The #29 team is really a strong one and I can see why Shell/Pennzoil was so interested in coming on-board next season. Kevin may not win the Championship, but he and his team are going to make a good run at it.

7. Jeff Green - Not only was this Jeff's first top ten this season, it's his first top ten since 2004 when he finished 7th in the Fall race at Martinsville.

8. Mark Martin - Mark won Saturday's truck race at Talladega and followed it up with his 14th top ten of the season in Cup. He's 3rd in the Championship standings and has a new ride for next season that he seems pretty excited about. Mark must be pretty happy right now. Only ten points behind Jeff Burton in the Championship standings.

9. Carl Edwards - Was involved in the lap 137 wreck, but survived in one piece and ended up finishing in the top ten.

10. Bobby Labonte - A good finish for Bobby in a season that's been pretty uneven for him.

11. Kyle Busch - Led five times for a total of 11 laps, but also seemed to have some issues that put him in the back at times. This finish drops Kyle to 10th in the points standings, and he has virtually no chance of contending for the Championship.

12. Dale Jarrett - DJ won this race last Fall, so in some ways finishing 12th is probably disappointing to him. However, considering the way the #88 team has struggled 12th isn't bad by any means. The last few races have actually been pretty good for DJ and his team - 15th at Dover, 3rd at Kansas and 12th in this race. Maybe there is some hope for this team for next season after all.

13. Ryan Newman - Ryan had a good car all day but after becoming separated from teammate Kurt Busch, had trouble finding someone to draft with which might have kept him from finishing as well as he could.

14. Michael Waltrip - As I detailed in a previous entry, this was a finish to be happy with considering it's Michael and the team's best finish of the season. Still, Michael is one of the best when it comes to restrictor plate racing so it's unfortunate that he didn't have a car that allowed him to race up front.

15. David Gilliland - Gilliland started on the pole and many predicted disaster since he's a rookie with so little experience but he was fine. This is his best finish since getting in the #38 and his finishes have slowly started to improve. Only time will tell, but if that trend continues, he may not be as bad as some are predicting he's going to be next season.

16. Robby Gordon - Robby had a very fast car in practice but he didn't qualify well and wasn't able to finish any better than 16th. In comparision to some of his poor finishes the last few races, 16th is great, but I was thinking that he might be able to get a top ten in this race based on how fast he seemed in practice.

17. Mike Wallace - A very respectable finish, when one considers that this is a part-time team and this is only Mike's 4th Cup start of the season. He should have finished in the top ten in Saturday's truck race had he not gotten wrecked by Mike Skinner.

18. Joe Nemechek - This is actually Joe's best finish since the second Pocono race in July where he finished 17th. Joe seemed taken aback by the news that he was being shifted from the #01 car to the #13 next season, but I think he's lucky to still have a ride considering how mediocre the results have been this season.

19. Scott Riggs

20. Tony Raines - Was involved in one of the wrecks so Tony's probably lucky to finish in the top 20. This is actually his best finish since he finished 11th at Indy in August.

21. Denny Hamlin - All three Gibbs cars were involved in the same wreck on lap 173. Luckily, the damage was mostly cosmetic and Denny was able to continue. He dropped to 5th in the Chase standings, but he's just 51 points behind Jeff Burton, so he's still very much in the hunt for the Championship.

22. Tony Stewart - Got some pretty bad damage in the lap 173 wreck but was also able to continue.

23. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Until the last lap it looked like Junior was going to win this one, but in racing anything can happen and it did. Instead of celebrating in Victory Lane, Junior ended up with a wadded up race car and a 23rd place finish. I'm not 100% sure Junior would have won even if the wreck hadn't taken place. Jimmie Johnson was going to make a move and if Brian hadn't goofed up so badly, they might have been able to pass Junior. But we'll never know.

24. Jimmie Johnson - His Championship hopes are probably pretty much crushed by this finish. Since the Chase started, Jimmie's been okay, but my to my surprise the team's not been as strong as I thought they would be.

25. Ken Schrader - Got into the back of J.J. Yeley on lap 103 when Yeley slowed because of Junior moving out of line. That resulted into big damage to the nose of his car.

26. Mike Bliss - Considering how poorly this team usually finishes, finishing 26th is actually pretty good for them. I wonder how long Bliss will be behind the wheel though?

27. Jeff Burton - Still leads the points standings but a number of Chasers were able to take advantage of him finishing so poorly due to a blown tire that caused him to lose a lap when he had to go to to pit road to get it fixed. There's only six points separating Jeff from Matt Kenseth in the Chase standings.

28. Dave Blaney - Blaney had a blown tire that ruined his day.

29. Elliott Sadler - At one point Elliott was up front leading some laps. Then suddenly things went south for him, but I'm not sure why. Elliott and his brother Hermie donated $25,000 to the Victory Junction Gang Camp via their Foundation this weekend.

30. Casey Mears - Was 15th when Casey and Carl Edwards tangled which set off "The Big One."

31. Eric McClure - I can't remember him being mentioned even once during this race.

32. J.J. Yeley - Involved in not just one, but two incidents. The first where Ken Schrader ran into the back of him didn't turn out so bad, but the second that was a result of him getting loose and into several other cars, involved all three Gibbs cars on lap 173 and caused more damage.

33. David Stremme - Got tangled up with Yeley in the lap 173 incident.

34. Paul Menard - Got wrecked in the lap 173 incident. Seemed like he had been doing a decent job of hanging in there too until he got wrecked.

35. Clint Bowyer

36. Jeff Gordon - His Championship hopes took a big hit when he was swept up in the wreck on lap 137. Many fans came down hard on Jeff for complaining about the way Junior was bump-drafting him, but since Nascar warned Junior about overly aggressive bump-drafting during the race, it seems to me that there might be some validity to Jeff's complaints.

37. Jamie McMurray - Actually led 22 laps during the race, but started to overheat and had to drop back, then got caught in "The Big One" shortly afterwards. I'm not ready to write Jamie off yet, but he's really been underwhelming this season.

38. Kyle Petty - Lap 137 wreck did him in.

39. Reed Sorenson - His day ended early when he lost an engine.

40. Sterling Marlin - Got swept up in "The Big One" on lap 137.

41. Greg Biffle - Also a victim of the big wreck on lap 137.

42. Kenny Wallace - Engine woes ended his day early.

43. Derrike Cope - A day after almost getting a top ten during the truck race before he got wrecked, Cope didn't even make it ten laps into the race before he parked it. Cope's won the Daytona 500 so he obviously knows how to plate race, so he should have lasted longer at this track. Maybe they didn't want to take the risk of getting caught in a wreck and going home with a ruined race car? It's just a shame because while he was faster than the #32 team, who went home, it's almost certain that barring a wreck or other disaster that team would have run a lot longer, and most likely the entire race.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:46 AM | Comments (1)

October 08, 2006

Photo of the Day - Beach Walk

Ecola State Park, Cannon Beach, Oregon. September, 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

Michael Waltrip Finishes 14th in Crazy Talladega Race!

I don't think Michael Waltrip had the greatest car he's ever had at a restrictor plate track, but it was good enough to allow him to race his way into the top 20 at the end of the race. Ultimately, due to the carnage at the end, Michael finished 14th. That's awesome for the #55 team! While some might think it's silly to celebrate a top 15, that's Michael's highest finish all season. It's not surprising that it would come at a restrictor plate track, where Michael has had so much success, but with how much this team has struggled this season, I didn't think there was any guarantee that Michael would finish as well as he's been able to in the past on these tracks in a DEI car. I was a little worried because much of the race Michael spend hanging around the back of the pack, and it seemed that it might not have been just because he wanted to avoid "The Big One(s)." At one point he even said his car was loose. Ultimately though the car was good enough to allow him to race his way through the field and be in a position to finish 14th. Yay! I'm really happy for him - Michael should feel good about himself that he got a good result today. He took a car that wasn't the greatest and got everything he could out of it, using his knowledge of the draft and experience at this kind of track. Really finish to be happy about!

I don't know if the #55 team will be able to follow up today's fine finish with another good finish next week at Charlotte, but for Michael's sake I hope so! Charlotte is another track he's been able to race well at in the past, so if he's given a good car, there's no doubt in my mind that we'd see that NAPA car up front. Unfortunately the way things have gone this season, I'm not going to get my hopes up. However, I hope I'm wrong - I sure would love to see Michael get at least one top ten before this season's over!

Despite Michael's success at restrictor plate tracks, I've never really liked these kinds of races. Dale Earnhardt's death in the 2001 Daytona 500 is one reason, that Michael has flipped twice in recent times in restrictor plate tracks is another, but overall I really dislike "The Big One" which is inevitable at these tracks. Unlike some fans, who love the spectacular crashes I hate them. No matter how many safety advances Nascar's made over the past few years, this remains a dangerous sport, with the potential for injury, or even worse, should things go wrong. I also hate seeing so many wrecked cars. To me a race isn't really a race when half the field has wrecked out as we've seen in some races.

Today's race was certainly a messy one. There were two multi-car wrecks, plus the controversial last lap wreck, which fans and the media will surely be hashing over for the next week. The last lap wreck is exactly the kind of incident that I hate to see the most because it involved the race leaders. Over the past year thanks to his presence on Inside Nextel Cup, Brian Vickers has grown on me. I don't think he's a good fit at Hendrick Motorsports any more, and likely the change to Red Bull Racing next season will allow him to show a lot better what he's really capable of. I've wanted to see him get his first Cup win for quite some time. However, I didn't want to see it happen this way.

I didn't like the way Vickers wrecked Mike Bliss for the Nextel Open win a couple of years ago, and I don't like the way things played out this afternoon either. I don't think that Vickers deliberately wrecked Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., but I do think he made a pretty big mistake. No matter how excited he might be about racing up front, no matter what opportunities he might see to either help push Johnson to the lead, or even win himself, he's got to be careful and not be too aggressive. Especially when it comes to racing a teammate and friend. On the last lap drivers are going to go all out to try to finish as best as they possible can. I don't expect any of the drivers to hold back. But I do think that the drivers need to be sure that they don't wreck each other like Vickers did today or Todd Bodine and Mike Skinner did to Derrike Cope and Mike Wallace respectively yesterday during the truck race.

While Junior was gracious in his post-race remarks and didn't rip Vickers even though he surely wasn't think thoughts that were too kind, Johnson was clearly angry. He said,

"It's absolutely uncalled for, completely out of line. I'm racing for a championship, okay? The only way to win (the race) was to crash us both. I don't think he meant to do it, but he did it. He shouldn't even think about putting any of us in that situation. It's ridiculous."

It's definitely ridiculous and I think he was completely justified in being upset. Even though Vickers might be leaving Hendrick at the end of this season, he and Johnson are still teammates, and teammates need to race each other in a way that doesn't result in one or the other getting wrecked. Perhaps that's why Junior had little to say about Vickers - he's no innocent flower when it comes to wrecking a teammate - last season, he ran Michael Waltrip over and wrecked him at Charlotte when Michael was still in the #15. But I also think Johnson likely expected more from someone who he considers a good friend. Johnson is just hanging on in the Chase for the Championship so on that level this had to sting as well. As competitive as Johnson is, to have such a great season, and then flame out in the Chase, with help from a friend and teammate, can't feel too good.

If Johnson was angry, at least he didn't rip Vickers. But his crew chief Chad Knaus didn't hold back. He said,

"It wasn't bad judgment, it was lack of talent. I just don't think he has the talent to understand what he has underneath him."

Is it a lack of talent that's led to Johnson causing some of the wrecks he has at restrictor plate tracks? Is it a lack of talent that's caused Johnson to have problems since the Chase has started? There's no shortage of talent with Johnson or with Vickers. I think the issue is that Vickers showed extremely poor judgement in the way that he was racing. Junior seems to agree with that assessment. He said,

"He didn't wreck anybody on purpose. I think he was just trying to push the No. 48. He didn't think, 'Oh here's my chance and knock them both out.' He just got excited trying to push the No. 48. I don't think he should lose any points or anything. He was just racing hard there."

I don't think Vickers should lose any points - or the win - as a lot of fans seem to think should happen to him. While Nascar does penalize drivers for rough driving at times, I think if they penalize Vickers in this situation, it opens up a giant can of worms where they'll need to consider taking points and wins for all sorts of incidents, where there's likely no intent on the part of the drivers involved. I would also hate to see drivers be afraid to race hard at the end of a race. But if Bodine and Skinner aren't penalized, and I doubt that they will be, then it's really unlikely that Vickers will be.

On a side note, the author of the article on Nascar.com where these comments come from is by Marty Smith. It boggles my mind that Smith is allowed to write articles about Johnson. Given their close friendship, so close that they go on vacations together and I believe Smith was in Johnson's wedding party, I have my doubts that Smith is objective when he's writing about Johnson. Every time he writes about Johnson, I have to wonder if the article would be different if Johnson was just another driver, as opposed to someone who he has such a good friendship with.

But back to the incident, a lot of fans are speculating that Vickers has made himself public enemy #1 to such a degree at Hendrick that he's going to be removed from the #25 as soon as next weekend at Charlotte. I actually wouldn't be surprised to see it happen because it would allow Casey Mears to move over from Chip Ganassi Racing and start working with the #25 team now. That in turn would allow Ganassi to get Juan Pablo Montoya some Cup experience before 2007 when he'll be in the #42 full-time. That would leave Vickers on the sidelines, but maybe RBR would field a car for him.

Regardless of how it all plays out, I'm sure much more will be said about all of this in the coming days.

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

Ricky Rudd to Race Part-Time for Wyler Racing Next Season?

I don't know how reliable this information is, but supossedly, pending sponsorship, which is expected not to be a problem, Ricky Rudd will race as many as 16 Cup races for Wyler Racing, likely all Car of Tomorrow races. Rudd didn't retire at the end of last season as much as he decided to take a break from racing, so I'm not all that surprised that he might have decided that he misses racing. And easing back into racing with a part-time schedule might be something that appeals to him.

It seems to me that there's been a bit of a shift this season. Not only do teams want youth, but they're also willing to consider veterans, particularly accomplished veterans, as well. Part of that is because the pool of available drivers is somewhat thin. But I also think some of the newer teams understand how much they can gain from a veteran's leadership. Developing young drivers who will be around winning races for years to come is very important, but it's also important for a team to have a solid foundation. A driver like Rudd knows what it takes to get to Victory Lane - he's won Cup 23 races and has finished as high as 2nd in the points. He knows how to communicate well with a team and also how to represent a sponsor well. Wyler Racing wouldn't have to worry about teaching a young driver the ropes, while they're trying to get their Cup program going. Assuming this is actually going to happen, I think it's a smart move on their parts.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)

Yankees Crash and Burn

Hard to believe that the same New York Yankees team that swept the Boston Red Sox in five straight games this summer is the same team that failed so spectacularly - again - in the post-season, this time against the Detroit Tigers. I have to admit that I can't say I'm surprised either - once they lost game 2 on Thursday, I just had a feeling that the tide had turned and things weren't going to go their way. When a team can't hit, and the pitching is just okay, instead of outstanding, it's not a good sign. And indeed the Yankees went out with a whimper, not a bang, losing the next two games.

I'm usually one to take losses in stride, even bad or post-season losses. No team is perfect, no team will always win - even the Yankees, and no player can always come up with a big hit or pitch well. However, this time I'm taking the Yankees being eliminated pretty hard. To me the season it's a failure if the Yankees don't win the World Series like some fans think. But I did expect them to advance to the Division Series at least. Not because I thought the Tigers were a weak team like some other fans, but because I thought that a team this good, with players as talented as those on the Yankees, would surely be up to the challenge presented by any team. Of course the Yankees are proof that even good teams can fall apart, but a team that has so much money sunk into it, with so much talent shouldn't have fallen apart so quickly.

George Steinbrenner isn't one to take losing and failure lightly. In fact he said today,

"This result is absolutely not acceptable,'' Steinbrenner said in a statement. ``Rest assured we will go back to work immediately and try to right this sad failure and provide a championship for the Yankees, as is our goal every year.''

Which means that odds are there will be personnel changes. The question is how many of those changes will be to the players or to the managerial staff? The New York Daily News is reporting that Joe Torre will be fired any day. His replacement - Lou Pinella. First of all, Torre is far from perfect as a manager, but what manager doesn't have their weaknesses? In addition, Torre can only make the best of the players that he's given. He can't do anything about the problems of the starting rotation - Randy Johnson's age and ailing back, Mike Mussina struggling in the day game, Jaret Wright being only a five-inning or less pitcher, or Carl Pavano not being able to pitch at all this season. Nor can he do much about the offense not being able to get any hits with men on base. What he has done is guide the Yankees into the post-season in every season that he's managed the team. Would that have happened with a different manager during that time? I'm not so sure.

I would be very disappointed if the Yankees hired Pinella to replace Torre. One thing that I think the Yankees need to do is get younger, whether it's through developing young talent in the farm system or aquire young players when they become available through trade or as free agent signings. What I don't want to see happen is those young players get verbally abused by Pinella. His childish outbursts might be entertaining to some fans but I find them embarassing. I also think they do nothing to help his players become better - they only make players afraid of him. And the veterans certainly won't respond well to a manager who yells and screams when he's angry at them.

Another change that the Yankees are rumored to be making is with Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod had a subpar season, no question of that, and did nothing in the post-season. For the amount that the Yankees are paying him, that's pretty unacceptable. Fans have booed A-Rod all season, the media has been on his back and even Steinbrenner has commented on his failings. So the current speculation is that the Yankees are going to trade A-Rod or he will ask for a trade. I wouldn't be happy if the Yankees traded A-Rod. For one thing he was the league MVP last season. Odds are he's going to work hard during the off-season and come to spring training ready to show that this season was an abberation. A-Rod is too talented of a player to suddenly become average. I can't see the Yankees wanting to take the risk that they'll trade him and then he'll help another team beat them. I also think that the Yankees would have a very hard time finding a team willing to take on his contract without the Yankees paying a signficant percentage of it. And if they're going to pay him, he may as well be playing for them too.

I also can't see A-Rod asking for a trade. It's pretty obvious that A-Rod cares what others think of him, perhaps too much. If he asks for a trade after saying that he's committed to the Yankees, he'll be ripped over the coals. But beyond that how many other teams could A-Rod play for and know that he's going to have an owner who's willing to spend any amount of money to make the team better? How many other teams can A-Rod play for that he knows he has a good chance of perpetually being in the post-season? Not that many. So I don't anticipate A-Rod going anywhere unless the Yankees are overwhelmed with an offer that some team makes for him.

Other players who may not return include Gary Sheffield, Mussina and Bernie Williams. The Yankees have an option for both Sheffield and Mussina. I think they'll decline both but may try to re-sign both for less than they would have to pay them if they picked up the option. Mussina had some injury issues, but he was fairly solid this season. It's always a risk with an older pitcher, and I don't think Mussina will ever be the pitcher he once was again, but Mussina is an extremely intelligent man and I think he can adjust and be a decent pitcher for another couple of years. As for Sheffield, the sooner he's gone from the Yankees the better as far as I'm concerned. I love how productive Sheffield has been at the plate for the Yankees, which is one reason why I think there's a possiblity they might try to keep him next season, but I really dislike his attitude towards a lot of things. Williams played a lot better than I thought he would this season, but I don't see how there's going to be room for him next season unless the Yankees trade Melky Cabrera, which I think would be a mistake.

I have no idea what the Yankees are ultimately going to do, but I definitely think there needs to be some changes, particularly to the pitching staff. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Steinbrenner is going to force Brian Cashman to make a lot of sweeping changes and not all of them might end up being for the better.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:28 PM | Comments (0)

October 06, 2006

Five Years!!

Speed is reporting on their website that Mark Martin's deal with MB2 is for five years. Five freaking years! The man is 47 or 48 now, he'll be in his 50's by the end of the contract, if that report is accurate. Martin's in excellent shape and is one of the better drivers on the track, no question. But is he really going to want to race in his 50's, even part-time? What happened to wanting to spend more time with his family? No wonder this deal was so attractive to Martin. It sounds like they made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:35 PM | Comments (0)

Mark Martin to MB2!

Has the racing world gone mad? This is a big shocker - instead of racing a truck full-time next season as planned for Roush Racing, instead Mark Martin will leave the organization he's been with for 19 years and head for MB2 Motorsports where he will race the #01 Army car for 22 races. Regan Smith will be behind the wheel for the remaining races. Joe Nemecheck will move to the #13 car, with a sponsor to be announced in the future, and Sterling Marlin will remain the driver of the #14 car. When Bobby Ginn took over as owner of MB2, he promised that changes were in the works to improve MB2's performance on the track, but no one could predict this turn of events! Not only is Martin joining an organization with a radically different recent record in terms of results on the track, but he's also switching manufacturers from Ford to Chevy. I had sensed that Martin might be considering racing for another organization in the future, and possibly in Cup part-time in spite of his denials that he was interested in that, but I'm still extremely surprised at the way this has played out.

Many fans of Martin's are beside themselves and I can understand why. He's leaving an organization he's been with for 19 years, switching manufacturers and going to an organization whose cars are up front far less than any of Roush's cars are. Plus, Martin had talked about focusing on the Truck Series next season, not Cup. That's a lot for his fans to deal with all at once. I've never been one for choosing the drivers I follow on the basis of which manufacturer they race for so it's hard for me to relate to that aspect of things. I'm also one to follow a driver no matter what organization they race for. However, I can't wrap my mind around why Martin is opting to go to MB2 - the results for the MB2 cars haven't been very good recently and they must have made Martin an offer he couldn't refuse financially and otherwise, because I can't figure why Martin would want to finish his career on any less than a high note. Fact is, even if MB2 makes big changes to their program that translate into improvements next season, as a part-time driver, Martin won't be in a position to race for the Championship, something he's done quite a bit of at Roush. Martin is an outstanding driver, but I'm also not sure how many wins he'll actually be in a position to contend for next season either. So I can understand why Martin's fans are concerned about that aspect of things.

I'm not sure how big of a fanbase Nemecheck has, but his fans should be even more concerned. If MB2 can't find a sponsor for the #13, I have to wonder if they'll actually race it next season? So Nemecheck might find himself out of a ride, depending on how the sponsorship situation works out. I also can't help but note that #13 is traditionally considered an unlucky number, though it's been used in Cup dating back to 1949. Only time will tell how it all works out for Nemecheck, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him with another team in 2007. I'm sure the Army is thrilled that they're going to have Martin representing them - he's a much more high-profile driver than Nemecheck and the exposure they will get with Martin will be much greater than what they get with Nemecheck, even though I think he's done an excellent job of representing the Army well.

What's a little perplexing to me is why Martin suddenly dropped his interest in moving to the Truck Series full-time. I suspected something was up when the deal for that to happen wasn't done, in spite of all parties saying that it was going to be a go. The question is how much of the reason for that not happening is because Martin decided he wanted to stay in Cup instead, or because Roush backed away from the original plan. Geoff Smith, president of Roush, said,

"When Mark finally reconciled his somewhat conflicting desires, he settled on staying in Cup and running a 20-race schedule. We had no way of accommodating that desire since all of our Cup programs were previously committed. And, NASCAR team limits prevented Roush Racing from putting together an additional team for Mark, so in the end Mark had to move on -- in order to stay in the Cup Series. He's meant a great deal to this organization and we certainly wish him the best in whatever he chooses to do down the road."

I'm not sure I buy that completely as there had been some talk that Martin might race some races for Boris Said's team, which is essentially a satellite team for Roush. In addition, Roush doesn't have a driver for the #6 yet, and since their intention is to be a rookie behind the wheel, and all the candidates have very limited experience in Cup, it seems to me that a situation like what Martin is entering into at MB2 where he's going to help develop a young driver, might have worked well at Roush.

In any event, while Martin's never been one of my favorites, he is a driver that I like and respect, so I wish him well and hope that he's happy at MB2!

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

You Might Be Wondering...

... why I've not posted about the Yankees in the post-season yet. Well, that's because due to the big event at work the past few days, I've not been able to watch more than a few pitches of either game. :( Yesterday, not only was I not able to watch any of it, I couldn't even listen on the radio as I normally do when I'm at work, and I wasn't near a computer to check for updates either! As it turns out, that was probably a good thing considering the outcome of the game.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:43 PM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2006

Photo of the Day - Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. September, 2006. Crater Lake National Park was amazing! I've never seen anything like it - the lake was so vast, the water so incredibly blue, everywhere we turned we saw a beautiful sight. Words, and even photos, can't do justice to how unbelievable Crater Lake was! It took us five hours each way to get there, but it was definitely worth it!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (10/5)

Things continue to move along for Michael Waltrip and Michael Waltrip Racing as this season nears it's end and 2007 looms ever closer. There's been some question about the fate of the #17 truck, currently fielded by Darrell Waltrip Motorsports. In a recent interview Michael confirmed that the #17 truck was going to become a part of MWR, and last week in the print edition of Nascar Scene it was revealed that there won't be just one driver behind the wheel, even though the plan is to field the truck full-time. Apparently as it stands now, Michael will be one of the drivers who takes a turn in the #17, along with D.W. and possibly some of the other Toyota Cup drivers. I'm really excited about Michael possibly racing some truck races! I think he'd have a great time racing the truck, and it sure would be fun to see! The Truck Series features some really awesome racing, and I'd love to see Michael be a part of that! The #17 truck has been without sponsorship for the majority of this season so it makes sense that MWR might go to this type of model with the truck, where they put a variety of mostly Cup drivers behind the wheel. I think they probably won't have too many problems finding sponsors for the races that the Cup drivers race because naturally they're going to attract a lot of attention during the TV broadcast and otherwise.

MWR is also expanding their driver development program. Ken Butler III was already racing some Hooters Pro Cup races for MWR, but he's going to be racing in the ARCA and Truck Series for MWR as well next season, along with newly signed Josh Wise, who previously raced USAC Sprint and Midget cars for Tony Stewart. I can't say I know much about Butler or Wise, other than that Butler is the son of Aaron's president Ken Butler, and as already noted, Wise has been racing cars owned by Stewart. So it's really hard to know how good they might or might not be next season or beyond. But Wise must be fairly good if Stewart has been fielding cars for him. I'm pretty excited about MWR developing young drivers. I love seeing young drivers learn the ropes, progress and eventually, if everything goes well, have success. It's also another positive sign about MWR, that not only are they focused on the near future in terms of what they're going to do next season, but also years beyond. They're trying to prepare for the day when Michael, Dale Jarrett and maybe even David Reutimann, are retired and they're going to need drivers to take their place. Michael has always seemed very forward thinking and I'm glad that his company seems to be as well. I hope that he's able to develop some good young talent who will be part of the organization for many years to come.

Michael did a pretty interesting, and at times revealing, "Ten Questions With..." on Nascar.com a few days ago. One question Michael was asked about was his most embarassing moment in or out of racing. He declined to discuss what came to mind first, so I'm thinking that it was pretty embarassing! He then mentioned the incident with Lake Speed back in 1995 when he got angry at Speed, blocked him in on pit road, then jumped out of his car, went over to Speed and punched him. Michael said,

"This might be a passionate sport that wipes out all reason, but there was still no excuse for it. There are a hundred times when something can set you off, and that just set me off."

When I read that, I was trying to remember if other drivers who have temporarily lost their minds in a similar way have admitted to embarassing themselves. My feeling has always been that as much as I understand that this is an emotional sport and that the drivers are going to get angry and lose control of their emotions at times, that there's no excuse for physically going after each other or otherwise throwing temper tantrums. But it seems that while sometimes the drivers offer up weak apologies for their behavior (that are probably written for them by their PR reps) I'm not sure that the drivers truly understand how poorly their behavior reflects on them sometimes. I'm glad that Michael is aware enough about the way he's perceived to understand that.

Michael was also asked about what athlete outside of racing he admires the most. He said Arnold Palmer and then said,

"I always try to put people that I know a little bit, but that are better than me -- or that do a better job at living life than I do -- at the top of my lists, so that I can hopefully aspire to straighten up and live more like they do, one day."

That's pretty interesting to me to think about. Myself and countless other fans look up to and admire Michael and the rest of his fellow drivers. But I don't think anyone gives much thought that these drivers also have people they in turn admire as well, and wish they could be more like. There are very definitely some qualities that Michael has that I wish I had - he's very forward thinking, he's very good at making his ideas become reality, he's extraordinarily persausive and has the ability to draw people in, to name a few things, but he's also very committed to charitable causes and has been known to reach out to those in need when he can. I try to do those things as well, but I wish I was able to do even more.

(Since one of my few rules for this blog is that I won't discuss politics, I'm not touching his political comments with a ten foot pole.)

As his biggest vice, Michael said that it's his tendency to run off and hide at times. He said,

" I always seem to want to go somewhere where no one else is and spend some time with me. That means you hide sometimes, and that's not good, so if I could change anything about myself, I would not internalize so much. So I guess that's sort of complex, but I like to run off and hide sometimes."

Given the demands on Michael's time and how much time he has to spend not only in the company of a lot of other people, but also making them happy and maybe even doing what they want him to do as opposed to doing or saying what he wants to do, I'd say that going off by himself and being with just himself and his thoughts isn't a bad thing in the least. I would say that internalizing things isn't good though, and he mentioned previously that he's not always good at communicating about problems he has with others. That's not so good because keeping things inside can eat you up and cause even more problems - I know all about how that goes.

Michael also talked about how he'd like to go back and live in the time when Jesus did. He joked,

"Plus, you got to wear sandals and a leather skirt -- without feeling like there's something wrong with you -- and that sounds pretty cool. I might just get me some sandals and a leather skirt someday and go to the drivers' meeting that way -- just walk out across the garage area and say "Hey, I'm Mike and I'm comfortable with who I am."

I don't know about wearing a skirt and sandals - that might be scary on a guy who's 6'5"! But I'd like Michael to be able to be comfortable with exactly who he is, without having to worry about molding himself based on others expectations or worrying about what others think. All the drivers have to worry about things like that. They need to be concerned with saying and doing the right things, even if they might have different opinions or want to do something differently, in case they offend their team, sponsor or the fans. It can't be easy. And particularly for someone like Michael who is not only very intelligent, but is such a unique personality in comparision to those around him.

Michael finished with this,

"I've tried to say that I'm a dad and I'm a husband -- that's who I am, and my job is that I'm a racecar driver. And I've always tried to say that I'm not going to let that job mess up my life or make me have a bad day. But after many bad days recently, I've come to understand that I need to continue to work on defining who I am and what makes me happy."

I think it's hard for a driver, particularly one who has been racing for as long as Michael has been to say that it's simply a job. Like it or not, racing is very much his life, past, present and future, as much as his family is and I think it's hard to separate it completely from the rest of his life. It's a huge part of who he is, his lifestyle and he'd be a very different person, with a very different life if he wasn't involved in racing. I hope that Michael is able to define for himself more clearly who he is and what makes him happy in the way that he wants.

This weekend the Cup Series heads to Talladega, a track where Michael has won at before. Michael ending up in Victory Lane would be a real surprise as much as I'd like to see that happen, considering how poor the #55 has been most of the season. But I'll be happy if Michael successfully qualifies for the race and finishes in the top 20. I'll be thrilled with a finish that's even better of course too!

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

In the News: David Reutimann (10/5)

Just catching up with some David Reutimann news from the past week or so. There's still no official news about who the driver of the #00 for Michael Waltrip Racing is going to be, but the signs continue to point to that driver being David. He said this past weekend at Kansas,

"Michael talked to me [Thursday] some about it - he said they have a couple of final things to hammer out, but he's really encouraged by it. He hasn't said it's a done deal, but it is the first time that he has said we're in a pretty good position."

Of course it's not a done deal until everything is signed, sealed and delivered, so maybe they'll end up going in another direction, but is sure does sound pretty positive for David, which is great news! David was in the #99 this past weekend at Kansas and he was only able to finish 13th due to some handling problems and a spin. "Only able to finish 13th." Some teams and drivers would love a top 15 finish! But David has made racing the #99 car and #17 truck look easy with how many strong finishes he's gotten so finishing 13th must seem like a disappointment in some ways. But it's those kind of consistently good results which make me think that he's the right man for the #00 next season. There will surely be a learning curve when it comes to moving up to Cup, but I'm pretty confident he's up to the challenge.

But before any announcements are made about the #00, David has to focus on what he's doing this season, which is racing for the Championship in the truck series. This weekend the Truck Series heads to Talladega, and David will have a very familiar sponsor to Michael Waltrip fans on his truck. Joining the #17 team for one race will be NAPA Auto Parts, who got their start in Nascar as a sponsor in the Truck Series. NAPA will also sponsor Johnny Benson's truck at Bill Davis Racing for two races, at Martinsville and at Atlanta. I hope that between David and Johnny, the NAPA truck will be up front quite a bit over the next few races! David was 18th in final practice today for the John Deere 250 at Talladega so hopefully that will translate into positive results on Saturday.

David has actually never raced at Talladega before and some of his fellow truck drivers probably haven't as well. In fact some fans are expecting the race to be a complete wreckfest due to the inexperience of the drivers who will be racing. However, are they really that inexperienced? Sure, there are some young drivers who haven't been racing in Nascar for very long. But this far into the season, they've got more than a couple of races under their belts, including another race at a superspeedway, that being Daytona that kicked the season off. In addition, there are many veterans in the truck series who have plenty of experience on this track such as Benson, Mike Skinner, Mark Martin, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. and others. On top of that, wrecks are caused by drivers of all sorts of experience levels. So my guess is that we will see multiple wrecks, but maybe not as many as some are thinking (there were no incidents during any of the practices today), and that they will involve both inexperienced and veteran drivers.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:57 PM | Comments (0)

Announcement for Steve Park to Come October 15?

Marty Smith spoke to Steve Park for Nascar.com, and Steve reiterated comments he made at Dover recently regarding a deal for a new ride that he's working on. Steve hopes to have something to announce about a deal for a Truck or Busch ride October 15th, with people he's worked with before, but seeing as how once again it's apparently not 100% a done deal, I'm not going to get too excited until an announcement is actually made. Some will say that Steve wouldn't be saying anything unless he was sure that this was a done deal but saying

"We're on the cusp of getting something pretty exciting done, to possibly get back in the Busch Series full time, or the Truck Series."

doesn't fill me with confidence that the details of this deal are as done or as worked out as some would like to think. Seems to me they need to know whether they'll be racing Busch or Truck before this deal can be finalized. Not to mention if I had a dime for every time Steve has talked as if a deal was about to be announced or there was a rumor that he had a done deal, I'd be a rich woman. So I hope it all works out for him, but I'm not going to get my hopes up until it's really, truly done... and I know if this ride is really worth getting excited about. If the folks he formerly worked with that he's going to be working with again is Richard Childress Racing or DEI, fantastic, but if it's Orleans Racing, not so great.

On his failed deal with Bill Davis Racing, Steve said,

"There's a lot of rumors and speculation. One thing I can say is we had planned on going to Bill Davis Racing, and in the final hour that fell apart, fizzled out."

Rumor and speculation indeed. Increasingly I'm skeptical that the sole reason for the deal falling apart was because Nascar didn't appove the sponsor because it conflicted with Sunoco, an official sponsor of the sport. One, because Steve said the following in another recent interview, that's unfortunately not available online,

"In November, it will be a year we've been working on this sponsor. We had negotiations with Bill Davis Racing and Toyota that's gone by the wayside. We're back at first-base again, trying to get plans going with this sponsor. I think we've pretty close."

So I ask, how is it that this is still a viable sponsor that he's bringing to another team if Nascar wouldn't approve that sponsor because of a conflict with Sunoco? If they conflicted with Sunoco in the truck series, the same conflict would still exist in the Busch series as well, or on any level for that matter. In addition, Jayski has a rumor today that Kevin Harvick's #29 car might be sponsored by Shell Oil next season. Seems to me that sponsor would be a definite conflict with Sunoco. Which leads me to think that there's some inaccuracies in that story that's been so widely circulated about why the BDR deal fell apart.

Some are already circling October 15th as a red letter day with the expectation of a big announcement then. I say not so fast. I think the time period around the 15th is when Steve is hoping to find out if things are finalized, not necessarily when there's going to be an announcement. The only reason I think that is because the 15th is a Sunday, but there's not actually a race that day because the Cup race takes place the previous night in Charlotte. I would be a little surprised if a big announcement was made on an off-day when the media and everyone else in the garage day won't be around to hear it. In fact, I'll go further and say that unless they have arrangements to make the announcement on Dave Despain's show, Windtunnel on Speed, it might not be such a great idea to make an announcement then, because they might not get the attention they could if they made it at the track in the media room or by sending out a press release on a day when the media more likely to be working. So maybe the announcement will come earlier that weekend when there will surely be a lot of media around in the press room at the track, or maybe it'll come a few days later, it all depends on when they actually get it finalized and are in a position to make the announcement.

Steve also commented on some of the younger drivers these days.

"Racing has changed a lot since I've been involved. I had to win 100 short-track races a year to get an opportunity to go work for a guy like Dale Earnhardt. Now it seems like if you win a Big Wheel race you get a Roush driver development contract."

Indeed things have changed and a driver either evolves and makes the most of the opportunities that come their way, or the sport passes them by. Yes, drivers are being signed younger and younger and they don't always have as much experience as drivers did previously before they're put in competitive equipment, or even a Cup car. But things aren't easy for young drivers either. A driver in a driver development program still needs to prove themselves and get results otherwise they get released. In addition, there's a tremendous amount of pressure on young drivers to get immediate results and be the next Jeff Gordon or Denny Hamlin. Teams don't always have the patience with young drivers to allow them to make mistakes and develop... and neither do fans. On top of that it seems as if the responsibilities that drivers have off-the-track in terms of obligations to their sponsors, the media and to their fans have increased as well. So I don't think that too many drivers have things handed to them on a silver platter without them having to do anything to work for it, no matter what it might seem like.

In any event, we'll see how this all works out for Steve. Hopefully he'll end up in a great ride that will be competitive on a regular basis and he'll race up front all the time. Maybe he'll end up back with a team associated with DEI or RCR, or with Eddie D'Hondt's new team, all people he has a previous relationship with. Or maybe it will be with a suprise team, but with a sponsor that Steve's worked with before. All in all, I hope that everything works out for him in the way that he wants it to.

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

Scott Wimmer Released; Todd Bodine to Race the #4

A lot of people are upset about the unfairness of Scott Wimmer being released by Morgan-McClure Motorsports before the end of the season, but the official press release makes reference to the parting of the ways being mutual, and in this case I believe that really is true. Fact is the #4 is a subpar ride, and while Wimmer has done a good job of getting the most that he can out of it and keeping out of trouble on the track, the #4 has also missed six races. Wimmer isn't a favorite of mine but I think this car hasn't allowed him to show what he's truely capable of, and in this sport when drivers are judged on the cold hard numbers and their recent results, the longer he stays in this ride, the more it might hurt the way he's viewed in the eyes of other teams, who may assume that he's a subpar as the car is.

Wimmer will be replaced by Todd Bodine. In spite of Bodine currently leading the points in the Truck Series, many think very little of his ability to race Cup successfully. And it's true that the results haven't been very good, but one has to wonder is it really the driver or is it that the cars that he's been given to race haven't been ones that he can succeed with. I think that Bodine must have some ability behind the wheel to be racing as well as he has been in the Trucks the past couple of seasons. I highly doubt he'll be able to do much with the #4, but I'm not so sure that he's a lock to cause "The Big One" this weekend either, as many are predicting.

As for Wimmer, there's been no official word on what his plans are for the future. Jayski reported a rumor that he heard that Wimmer might sign a deal to race a Richard Childress Racing Busch car next season. For Wimmer's sake I hope that's true because it would likely be the best equipment he's had to race in a very long time.

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

Kevin Lepage Out; Mike Bliss In

And so the revolving door in the #49 continues. Ken Schrader was replaced with Brent Sherman at the start of this season, who up and quit the team when he found out that they were going to replace him in some upcoming races. Kevin Lepage then replaced Sherman, bringing some sponsorship to the #49 team with him. Now Lepage is out and he'll be replaced by Mike Bliss. No details were given as to exactly why Lepage was released, other than a reference to restructuring, but I've seen some speculation, that could be totally off-base, that the sponsorship deals that he brought with him expired and that's why BAM Racing gave him the heave-ho. That wouldn't surprise me since a big reason Sherman got the #49 was because he brought Serta with him.

I have no idea why Bliss is taking this ride. I think he wants to get back to racing Cup, as opposed to the Trucks, which is what he had been doing. But the #49 team is a completely non-competitive team even on their best day, and I don't see many signs of improvement in the near future. In fact, this is a team that I think in in perpetual danger of folding at any time, depending on when the money runs out.

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

Ken Schrader, Jon Wood to Share Time in the #21

For quite some time the rumor had been that Ken Schrader's last full-time season in Cup would be this one, and that he would be replaced in the #21 by Jon Wood. However, that plan has changed. Now, Schrader will race the #21 for at least 18 races with Little Debbie as the sponsor, and Wood will race the remaining races with Ore-Ida and Delimex Brands as the primary sponsor. I think that Wood hasn't progressed as quickly as all parties were hoping and expecting so the feeling is that he's not ready for Cup full-time. 2003 was a great year for Wood in the truck series with 2 wins, 10 top five's and 20 top ten's, ultimately finishing 5th in the overall points standings. However, since then the results haven't been as good, with no wins and only 5 top five's and 19 top ten's, in the Truck and Busch Series combined. So pairing Wood with Schrader seems like a good plan. I think that Schrader will enjoy mentoring a young driver, and he'll have some spare weekends to go race outside of Nascar like he loves doing so much. And Wood will surely benefit from Schrader's guidance, as well as being eased into Cup. This way he can learn the ropes a little and gain some more exprience.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

October 03, 2006

So Much to Say...

... but not the time to say it. :( I have a bunch of stuff I want to blog about but it's looking like it's all going to have to wait. Maybe I can sneak some time tomorrow or Thursday, but I'm kind of thinking not since we have a big event at work.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)

October 02, 2006

Photo of the Day - Mt Hood

Mt. Hood, Oregon, October, 2006. We were only at the lodge at the base of Mt. Hood but I've never been this close to a mountain of the size of Mt. Hood before. It was a pretty amazing sight to see! What's incredible is that there's skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Hood pretty much all year long, even in the summer.

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

Format of All-Star Race Might Change

I haven't seen the reaction to this bit of news, but I imagine there's a lot of fans who aren't happy to hear that Nascar is looking at changing the format of the All-Star Race. Most times it seems as there's a big chunk of fans who are determined to hate every change that Nascar makes without even giving it a chance to see how it turns out. Personally, I think mixing things up with the All-Star Race is a good idea. Maybe it's because the race is a non-points race, but I have a hard time getting excited about this race. So I'm all for changes that might potentially make things more interesting.

I like Humpty Wheeler's idea of somehow adding some Busch and Truck Series drivers, as well as making the pit crew competition count for something in relation to the All-Star race. The Busch and Truck Series have outstanding drivers with a lot of talent who could be considered All-Stars, so it makes sense to me for them to be included. In addition, racing is very much a team sport. The pit crews play a big role in every race, including the All-Star race, I have no problem with them playing an even bigger role.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)

Mike Bliss Sues Haas CNC Racing

Seems like this is the new way of doing things when things go bad between a driver and their team - a lawsuit. I can't say I blame Mike Bliss for being upset with Haas CNC Racing. Last season he thought he was going to continue to drive the #0 this season, and didn't pursue some opportunities that were available to him, including one with Hall of Fame Racing, but a few weeks later found out that instead Haas CNC wanted to go in a different direction and he was out of a ride. So Bliss has filed suit for $1.5 million in salary and possibly more in damages. I don't know if Bliss's suit has any merit, and in fact Haas CNC says that they invoked a clause that allowed them to release Bliss at the end of any season without having to pay him the remainder of the money owed to him in his contract. I find that a bit confusing though since it was originally said when this story broke that what Bliss had been working on with Haas CNC was a contract extension so it would seem that Haas wouldn't have to invoke that clause, simply not sign Bliss to the extension.

But I never liked what I heard about what Haas CNC did to Bliss. Yes, a verbal agreement isn't the same as done deal, and until everything is signed, sealed and delivered, any deal can fall apart. However, I never like hearing about a situation where a driver thinks they have a ride completely lined up and promises have been made to them, only to have things fall apart and those promises mean nothing. So it does strike the wrong note with me that Bliss was told they wanted him back, then suddenly changed their minds. It's possible that the suit will be decided in their favor and contractually Haas CNC did nothing wrong. But just because a team can do something doesn't always mean that it's ethically the right thing to do.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:19 PM | Comments (0)

Brian Vickers Excluded From Hendrick Team Meetings

There's a lot of fans flipping out because Brian Vickers has been excluded from Hendrick Motorsports post-practice team meetings since he announced that he would be joining a new team next season, although his crew chief Lance McGrew is still allowed to attend. Many fans feel that this is HMS's way of sticking it to Vickers and that it's very unfair. However, I suspect that other teams with lame-duck drivers who are leaving for other teams the following season operate in the same way. Vickers will be joining Red Bull Racing in 2007, so not only will he not be with HMS, but he will be with a different manufacturer as well. I think that there's a concern that Vickers might take knowledge regarding set-ups and other information with him to RBR. Set-ups are constantly changing and teams are always working to find an advantage over each other. It's not unheard of for teams to spy on each other. So I don't think it's that outrageous for HMS to want to protect themselves and exclude Vickers from the team meetings. That's not to say that Vickers is going to be sitting there taking notes with the express purpose of handing them over to RBR, but he's going to want to do everything he can to help his new team be as competitive as possible, and HMS is a strong organization that a lot of teams could learn a few things from. I think in light of the comments Jeff Gordon made about Vickers and how he raced him recently, this story is getting a lot more play than it actually warrants.

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

Back from Oregon...

The trip almost didn't happen because I had to visit the emergency room due to some bad oysters, but after a late start we finally did make it to Oregon and had a great time! The wedding we went to was fun and we loved visiting Seattle, Crater Lake National Park, the Oregon Coast, the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood areas! I've got a lot to catch up on and a lot of pics to post too!

Posted by silverdsl at 08:00 PM | Comments (0)