Random Thoughts

Last weekend most fans assumed that the engine change that forced the #55 to the back of the field was due to a mechanical failure but unfortunately it was due to driver error. Michael said that normally the driver has nothing to do with it when an engine goes but in this case he literally broke the engine. Apparently he shifted incorrectly and that broke the engine. He said that there was a silver lining in that it forced him to focus more on shifting right on Sunday but I felt bad for him. Given that it led to the team having to make an engine change that's not a small mistake and he had to have been kind of embarrassed about it. However, every driver makes mistakes some of them even bigger and more embarrassing - at least Michael didn't do what Sterling Marlin did a few years ago when he looked down for a second during a caution and ended up running into the back of another car, wrecking himself and maybe the other guy too. Now that's embarrassing and even more so since he had to give an interview about it afterwards!

Michael also mentioned that his team failed when it came to fuel mileage. I have to agree with him there and I hope fuel mileage and the strategy they use is something they're working hard to address. Seems like fuel mileage is a part of more and more races so it's an area in which they need to be on top of.

Jim Aust from Toyota who is retiring was the guest on last night's show. Michael seems to really like him a lot and talked about what a great heart he has. A lot of what Jim said during the interview was very much what we've heard before from people from Toyota regarding their acceptance in the sport and fan misconceptions about Toyota. In light of how he's retiring and that he's been involved with Toyota's efforts in Nascar for the past ten years I admit that I would have preferred to have heard a little more about some of his memories from the past ten years or ways in which he helped bring Toyota to the Cup Series. They talked about how the fans have come to accept Toyota's presence in the Cup Series and how fans are always coming up to them and thanking him at races. That may very well be true and for PR purposes I know that's what Jim is going to say regardless of what the case may be but I encounter anti-Toyota sentiment every single day whether it's on forums that I visit, comments from fans in blogs that I read, or when I'm listening to calls from fans on XM and Sirius. Jim credited Michael being a great ambassador for Toyota as part of the reason why Toyota has been accepted and that I have to agree with since Michael is outstanding at being an ambassador for whoever he's representing whether it's Toyota, his sponsors or the sport itself. However, I cringed when Jim said that Michael is in "lockstep" with Toyota I understand what he was getting at there but that term is sometimes used to refer to people who mindlessly do as they're told without thinking for themselves and Michael most definitely thinks for himself!

As for the biggest misconception it was about how a lot of fans believed that Toyota is outspending the other manufacturers. Honestly, I think after last season when the performance for the Toyota teams was so putrid I think most fans stopped thinking that Toyota was pouring an endless amount of money into their teams because if they did the results would have been better. Sad to say but the conspiracy theorists and anti-Toyota crowd seem to have moved on to thinking ridiculous things like either the Toyota teams are cheating or that Toyota is using their money to pay off Nascar.

Michael and Jim are going to play golf at Pebble Beach soon - apparently Michael knows someone who can get them in. I sure hope we hear about that on the show! Pebble Beach looks gorgeous and I would think that it has to be incredible to play there!

In the last segment Tony and Michael had a spirited disagreement about the Sonoma race, fuel mileage, the length of the race, etc... Tony said that in other road course racing series the fastest car is the one that wins but if I understood right in Cup good fuel mileage is what helps a team win. I don't think he likes that too much and I have to say that I don't really either. I'm not like some other fans who think that fuel mileage wins don't count as "real" wins - to me strategy is a part of the sport, an important part, and if a team wins that way it doesn't take away from their accomplishment. However, it seems like there's more and more races where getting good fuel mileage and the strategy that a team uses in regards to pitting and fuel is what gets them success rather than how fast their car is. I was really bothered at Michigan by the fact that Michael seemed to have the fastest and best car he's had for quite some time and he still wasn't able to finish up front because the fuel mileage didn't work out so well for his team. I especially didn't like that Michael had to slow down to a ridiculous degree in an effort to save fuel. Drivers should be racing hard with everything they've got, especially at the end of a race and particularly when they've got a good car like Michael had.

Michael surprised Tony by letting him pick the song they closed with. Apparently Traci, Michael's PR rep had tattled on Tony and told Michael that Tony says that he's bossy and likes his way all the time so Michael wanted to show that he didn't have to have his way. I cracked up when I heard that because if I had a dime for every time I've heard some version of how Michael likes his way, he does what he wants, he likes to be in control or he's stubborn I'd be a very rich woman right now! I think some see how head-strong and stubborn Michael is as a negative (and I can see how it can be difficult for those around him at times) but it's that stubbornness and determination which is what has helped him to be a part of this sport for as long as he has.