NASCAR: April 2008 Archives
Last Friday i made a bold prediction from the north woods of Roscoe NY, (I was away all weekend on tour with one of my bands, They Might Be Giants) that Juan Pablo Montoya would win the Mexico City race on Sunday. Little did i know he was not even racing in the nationwide series race. So of course he did not win as predicted. So before i get bombarded with comments about this i thought i would ridicule myself, and be the first to draw blood. In racing news Kyle Busch won the road race south of the border in Mexico City on Sunday. Kyle is now trying to decide weather he should stay all in. He is poised for a title run in the Nationwide Series, but is pondering weather or not to race the full schedule. If he does race he will most likely win the title.
Kyle is in third (-66) in the NWS, and is in second place (-80) in the Sprint cup standings. Oh and by the way he is leading the Craftsman Truck series by 35 points. This kid is a monster! I would love to see him win the triple crown. Don't quote me on this but i believe that has never been done before. And if it has, no worries i am getting used to the taste of my foot!!
Michael Clark (emsea)
I know everyone was thinking that with 50 laps to go, Jr. and the 88 team were finally going to make it back to victory lane. I know I was. While watching the race at one of my favorite watering holes, my mind could not help but to think that he was poised for the win. Then just as I was leaving the bar I saw mark martin and the 8 (oh sweet irony!) pass the 88 for the lead. I thought to myself "no big deal we got 50 to go, its not over yet". However by the time I got home, a 5-minute walk, the 88 was in like 12th place. Apparently I missed all the pit strategy drama. The leaders all came in to play it safe while others opted to go for it. The gamble. The 48 team loves to roll the dice. Chad Knaus and JJ are quite fortunate while rolling the die; very rarely do the laughing bones read snake eyes for them. So yet again the 48 is successful in the fuel mileage game. That’s what I like about them, they are not afraid to go for it. Way too often Tony Eury Jr. and crew play it safe. Which is why they are 3rd in the standings at the quarter season mark, but it is also why they have not won a points race in 2 years. The big picture is definitely what it is all about, but come on boys, lets go for the gold, let it fly, roll the dice, grow a pair, or any other cliché you can think of that translates to taking a chance. Not to worry Jr. nation, Talladega is right around the corner. We can only hope the magic of the draft can propel Little E back to glory!
This weekend the Sprint boys are off, which means all eyes are on the Nationwide series in Mexico City. I am going out on a limb here and gonna say Juan Pablo and the 42 team are a favorite. Stock car fans were given there first taste of what J.P. is all about last year south of the border. So the 42 will win this weekend, even if he has to wreck his own teammate to do so..
Michael Clark (emsea)
This weekend the Sprint boys are off, which means all eyes are on the Nationwide series in Mexico City. I am going out on a limb here and gonna say Juan Pablo and the 42 team are a favorite. Stock car fans were given there first taste of what J.P. is all about last year south of the border. So the 42 will win this weekend, even if he has to wreck his own teammate to do so..
Michael Clark (emsea)
So another Carl Edwards victory, followed by another back flip. When will it stop? I am setting the over/under at 7 back flips, and i am taking the over. I am beginning to feel that the only way we will see an end to this is if Mr. Edwards suffers an ankle sprain on a back flip gone bad. That might be the only way Carl can be stopped. He certainly is not going to get stopped on the track, especially at these cookie cutter tracks, or the 2 mile ovals, or the restrictor plate tracks. Crazy Carl is looking as good as a loaf of wonder bread to an Atkins dieter. The man just loves driving, and driving is his job, and well lets face it he is pretty good at his job. The 99 is -184 in the standings, sitting in 9th place. Imagine if he was not docked that 100 spot earlier in the season, he would be in 4th place, and poised for an intransigent run at the title. Not to say that his title hopes are out of reach, i am just playing the what if game here. You may remember i called out Carl in week 1, stating that i can not root for anything that has to do with Fenway Park, and i am now eating crow with egg on my face. I feel it is time for a new approach, what if i jump on the 99 bandwagon? Will that then start a repugnant chain of events filled with DNF's and blown motors? Maybe, then again maybe not. I chose Carl to win in my fantasy racing league last week and next thing you know he is back flipping in Texas. I would like to believe that Carl's win had little to do with his driving skills, and a whole lot to do with my prognostication. Michael Clark (emsea)
... Michael Waltrip on last night's "This Week in NASCAR" on Speed TV.
After watching the now legendary clip of Michael McDowell barrel-rolling for longer than my last goldfish lived, Steve Byrnes answered a viewer question about some yellow reflective paint visible on the bottom of the car as it flipped.
Waltrip then mentioned that one of the owners had mused that maybe he should start putting advertising on the bottom of his cars. Waltrip's comment (I'm paraphrasing): "I told him no one would ever get into that car." Good call.
After watching the now legendary clip of Michael McDowell barrel-rolling for longer than my last goldfish lived, Steve Byrnes answered a viewer question about some yellow reflective paint visible on the bottom of the car as it flipped.
Waltrip then mentioned that one of the owners had mused that maybe he should start putting advertising on the bottom of his cars. Waltrip's comment (I'm paraphrasing): "I told him no one would ever get into that car." Good call.
So it was a nice long break from the norm for the last few weeks, but i was glad to see the boys get back to racing. Martinsville, as always, was a great race. Congrats to Jamie McMurray on is 8th place finish, he needed a good finish to avoid the void. He is also racing for a spot next year in the Roush Fenway stable. He better bring his A game if he wants to stay in his current ride, because i can pretty safely say that Kenseth, Biffle, And Edwards will be back next year. This leaves Jamie in direct competition with David Regan for that 4th ride. Jamie is now in 30th in the points standings so he can breath a little easier during his qualifying run this week at Texas.
Denny Hamlin is showing us all that he can win in other states besides Pennsylvania. Denny was not the car to beat on sunday, but led the one lap that matters the most.
The 48 is looking like they are back on track and in championship form. JJ is now 12th in the standings, expect him to move up from there.
So i am going out on a limb here and am calling for the 88 team to find their way back to victory lane. Jr has looked solid all year and is poised for a great starting position in the chase, but you know he just wants that win so bad. Dale is a smart dude and keeps his sights on the big picture, his patience pays off this weekend.
I would also like to wish Goodyear good luck this weekend. The tire manufacturer is on the hot seat ever since the Atlanta race, where Tony Stewart publicly pimp smacked them in his post race interview.
"Its all about the tires"
Michael Clark (emsea)
Denny Hamlin is showing us all that he can win in other states besides Pennsylvania. Denny was not the car to beat on sunday, but led the one lap that matters the most.
The 48 is looking like they are back on track and in championship form. JJ is now 12th in the standings, expect him to move up from there.
So i am going out on a limb here and am calling for the 88 team to find their way back to victory lane. Jr has looked solid all year and is poised for a great starting position in the chase, but you know he just wants that win so bad. Dale is a smart dude and keeps his sights on the big picture, his patience pays off this weekend.
I would also like to wish Goodyear good luck this weekend. The tire manufacturer is on the hot seat ever since the Atlanta race, where Tony Stewart publicly pimp smacked them in his post race interview.
"Its all about the tires"
Michael Clark (emsea)
The number two, apparently, is not nice to Matt Kenseth when it comes to Texas (see article at NASCAR.com). This upcoming weekend's race theoretically could see his fourth second-place finish in his last five starts at the track. So if you're raising a glass to him, make it a double.
That said, congratulations to Denny Hamlin for his win at Martinsville this past weekend. I only got to see about an hour of the race, but reports say he really used his strategy well.
I did, however, get to see - get this - a MotoGP race in which numbers one and two (Alvaro Bautista and Marco Simoncelli), who had been seriously leading most of the race, got into each other on the last lap, slid off the track, and let Mika Kallio win. That's gotta hurt. (You can read about it here, but mind the expletives.)
And, of course, I can't let you go without some more business news:
1) Coca-Cola has become an IndyCar Series sponsor through 2010. “We’ve been involved in the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Speedway. This just involves us with the entire series, not just the one race,” Coca-Cola spokeswoman Susan Stribling said. (That's here.)
2) This is big: Richard Childress Racing will expand to four cars next season with General Mills as sponsor, a partnership that leaves Petty Enterprises searching for financial backing for its famed No. 43 for just the second time since 1972, according to the AP. For those of you worried, however, Petty's pretty sure Bobby Labonte's gonna stay with them, though his contract is up this year, too. It should also be noted that all three of Childress' drivers are currently in the top 12. I didn't see you note it... That's better.
And that's all from me.
That said, congratulations to Denny Hamlin for his win at Martinsville this past weekend. I only got to see about an hour of the race, but reports say he really used his strategy well.
I did, however, get to see - get this - a MotoGP race in which numbers one and two (Alvaro Bautista and Marco Simoncelli), who had been seriously leading most of the race, got into each other on the last lap, slid off the track, and let Mika Kallio win. That's gotta hurt. (You can read about it here, but mind the expletives.)
And, of course, I can't let you go without some more business news:
1) Coca-Cola has become an IndyCar Series sponsor through 2010. “We’ve been involved in the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Speedway. This just involves us with the entire series, not just the one race,” Coca-Cola spokeswoman Susan Stribling said. (That's here.)
2) This is big: Richard Childress Racing will expand to four cars next season with General Mills as sponsor, a partnership that leaves Petty Enterprises searching for financial backing for its famed No. 43 for just the second time since 1972, according to the AP. For those of you worried, however, Petty's pretty sure Bobby Labonte's gonna stay with them, though his contract is up this year, too. It should also be noted that all three of Childress' drivers are currently in the top 12. I didn't see you note it... That's better.
And that's all from me.
