The Allstar race on Saturday night was awesome and I want to give congrats to Tony Stewart for achieving his first owner-driver race win. With that said a question keeps popping up in my head that really has me thinking. Has Rick Hendrick figured out a way to have up to an 8 car stable? By supplying an engine package and technical support to Stewart-Haas racing Rick may have found a way around the four car team limit. When Tony wins his first points race as a owner-driver I won't be surprised at all when he says some thing to the effect of " The number 14 Office Depot/Old Spice car was great tonight, I'd like to thank Gene Haas for all of his support and I'd like to thank Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports for the motor package they lease us and their continuing technical support." I think my theory will only become closer to being fact if we see Brad Keslowski ending up over at Stewart-Haas Racing, driving a third car for the team.
This theory could be endless Dale Jr. could start his own cup team with Hendrick engine packages with full tech support, making it a 12 car stable. Jack Roush could do something similar with Carl Edwards or Matt Kennseth by having one of them acquire 50% of a team like Yates or the Woods Bros. of course for a rock bottom price ,with the promise of Roush engine packages and full technical support. Or what about something like Hamlin-Nemco Motorsports with Gibbs engine packages and tech support. It's only a theory but it's really something to think about, NASCAR could end up with a number of teams that are still controlled by a few.
By saying all of this I'm not taking anything away from Tony as a driver, I think he's one of the greatest drivers there is. What I am saying though is it seems that Stewart's Allstar race win was more of a Hendrick Motorsports win than a Stewart-Hass Racing win.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Who's Jason Keller?
Well I'm really looking forward to the racin' this weekend, Darlington's one of my favorite tracks, the track itself brings out some good old skool racing, everybody gets to scrape up against the wall at least once. Guys like Biffle,Stewart, big Busch and little Busch all have a good chance of winning at Darlington but I think the guy to watch will be Jeff Gordon, He's hungy, he already has 5 wins at Darlington which ties him with Cale Yarbourgh for most wins at the track, Jeff will be trying to beat that record and I think he'd like to put a bit of a cushion on his point lead. Biffle will be hungry, he's had a couple of wins at Darlington and I think he would like to rack up a win for the Rousch team. The racing there is always great, lots of rubbin' and bumpin', and lots of lead changes with tires and fuel always playing a major role in the outcome of the race.
Going into the Nationwide race on Friday night I'd like to give a thumbs up to Jason Keller, people don't hear a whole lot about Jason but he's been a mainstay of the Busch / Nationwide series for 19 years, has 10 wins, 82 top 5's, and 169 top 10 finishes in 466 starts which is also the most starts of any Nationwide driver. In the 11 years that he ran a full season he's only finished outside of the top 10 in points twice and this being his 19th season he is currently sitting in 7th after 9 races. According to Jayskis.com Jason also holds some other pretty impressive records at Darlington, Keller holds the Nationwide record for most laps completed at Darlington-3598 and after Friday nights race he will have logged 5000+ miles on the track. While some drivers are overrated I think Jason is one driver who is highly underrated and I often wonder what he could do if he drove Nationwide for one of the bigger teams like Hendricks, Rousch or Gibbs. So my hat's off to you Jason, and good luck Friday night at Darlington.
Happy race viewing to all this weekend and may my favorite driver finish ahead of everyone else's.
Going into the Nationwide race on Friday night I'd like to give a thumbs up to Jason Keller, people don't hear a whole lot about Jason but he's been a mainstay of the Busch / Nationwide series for 19 years, has 10 wins, 82 top 5's, and 169 top 10 finishes in 466 starts which is also the most starts of any Nationwide driver. In the 11 years that he ran a full season he's only finished outside of the top 10 in points twice and this being his 19th season he is currently sitting in 7th after 9 races. According to Jayskis.com Jason also holds some other pretty impressive records at Darlington, Keller holds the Nationwide record for most laps completed at Darlington-3598 and after Friday nights race he will have logged 5000+ miles on the track. While some drivers are overrated I think Jason is one driver who is highly underrated and I often wonder what he could do if he drove Nationwide for one of the bigger teams like Hendricks, Rousch or Gibbs. So my hat's off to you Jason, and good luck Friday night at Darlington.
Happy race viewing to all this weekend and may my favorite driver finish ahead of everyone else's.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thank You Sirius Satellite Radio/Talladega Crash
As you may or may not know David Poole a media icon, in the world of NASCAR passed away early this week. Not only did David write for the Charlotte Observer but he was also a host on " The Morning Drive " radio show, broadcast on Sirius NASCAR Radio,Channel 128, Sirius-XM Satellite Radio. I want to give my thanks to Sirius Satellite Radio for introducing me to the world of David Poole, as his comments and insights on the world of NASCAR were both educational and enlightening. Although I often didn't agree with David's comments I always respected his opinion, as I felt he was one of the most knowledgeable media personalities there was when it came to NASCAR. God be with you and rest in peace David.
It took me a few days to form an opinion about the Talladega race and the Carl Edwards crash. I read a lot of articles and opinions on the crash, all the way from technical stuff about the aerodynamics of roof and cowl flaps, to people who just felt that tracks like Talladega and Daytona should just be demolished, never to be raced at again. A lot of people feel that the yellow line rule should be changed and this is the only change that I might agree with. The crash was caused by racers racing, Keslowski went to the outside to try and pass, Edwards went up the track to block, Keslowski dropped down and got his nose just underneath the 99. Carl moved back down to block and clipped Brad's right front corner, end result- BIG CRASH for Edwards, causing debris to be thrown into the grandstand, injuring 7 people along with a non-related injury(not sure about that one, your guess is as good as mine; maybe a heart attack?) If the yellow line rule was changed to allow the drivers to drop below the yellow line, if only on the last lap, there is a slim possibility that this crash could have been avoided.
All of the safety measures that have been put in place worked. The special seat, the restraints, the roll cage, the Hahn's device and all of the other safety features that protect the driver worked. Carl exited the car and jogged across the finish line. The cowl and roof flaps that keep the car from going airborne worked,if you watch the replay after the initial contact and Carl's car goes sideways and lifts up it starts to come back down but lands on the front end of Ryan Newman's car which shoots Carl's car up into the catch fence. The catch fence itself did what it was designed to do, it caught and absorbed the force of the car and threw it back onto the track.
They don't need to move the stands back, as with a lot of sports, fans have to know that the closer you sit to the action, the higher the risks. They don't need to lessen, the steep banking in the corners or slow the cars down, that would take away the racing that is Talladega. Restrictor plate racing at Talladega is high speed with the cars running in a pack. The drivers are professional drivers that are at the top of their game, they've raced all of their lives and know the risks. So don't change a thing other than maybe the yellow line rule, at least for the last lap.
It took me a few days to form an opinion about the Talladega race and the Carl Edwards crash. I read a lot of articles and opinions on the crash, all the way from technical stuff about the aerodynamics of roof and cowl flaps, to people who just felt that tracks like Talladega and Daytona should just be demolished, never to be raced at again. A lot of people feel that the yellow line rule should be changed and this is the only change that I might agree with. The crash was caused by racers racing, Keslowski went to the outside to try and pass, Edwards went up the track to block, Keslowski dropped down and got his nose just underneath the 99. Carl moved back down to block and clipped Brad's right front corner, end result- BIG CRASH for Edwards, causing debris to be thrown into the grandstand, injuring 7 people along with a non-related injury(not sure about that one, your guess is as good as mine; maybe a heart attack?) If the yellow line rule was changed to allow the drivers to drop below the yellow line, if only on the last lap, there is a slim possibility that this crash could have been avoided.
All of the safety measures that have been put in place worked. The special seat, the restraints, the roll cage, the Hahn's device and all of the other safety features that protect the driver worked. Carl exited the car and jogged across the finish line. The cowl and roof flaps that keep the car from going airborne worked,if you watch the replay after the initial contact and Carl's car goes sideways and lifts up it starts to come back down but lands on the front end of Ryan Newman's car which shoots Carl's car up into the catch fence. The catch fence itself did what it was designed to do, it caught and absorbed the force of the car and threw it back onto the track.
They don't need to move the stands back, as with a lot of sports, fans have to know that the closer you sit to the action, the higher the risks. They don't need to lessen, the steep banking in the corners or slow the cars down, that would take away the racing that is Talladega. Restrictor plate racing at Talladega is high speed with the cars running in a pack. The drivers are professional drivers that are at the top of their game, they've raced all of their lives and know the risks. So don't change a thing other than maybe the yellow line rule, at least for the last lap.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I Love You Mark But I Can't Pick You For My Fantasy League
I'm really looking forward to this weekends race at Talledega mainly because it's always a crap shoot as to who will win. Although Mark Martin is the driver I root for the most, I won't be picking him this week for my fantasy cup league same as I didn't pick him last week. The reason being is, I have picked him twice and both times he either blew an engine or blew a tire. In my gut I really thought Mark would win last week at Pheonix so I didn't pick him so as not to jinx him and it worked he won. As a matter of fact it seems most guys I pick, no matter how good they are, don't do very good that week, so if I ever give any advice as to who to pick as winners do the opposite(lol).
Dale Jr. and Joey L. sure need a good run this weekend, things so far aren't looking good for either of them. I really don't like either of them because I think that they are both overrated, but I will still wish both of them the best this weekend. I hope Joe Nemechek has a good showing this week, he needs it also and being it's a plate race his chances are just as good as anyone else's.
By the way if anyone is undecided as who to vote for,for the Allstar race, A.J. is my choice and even though I really think that he will race his way in , I'm probably jinxing him by saying that, so to be on the safe side all of my votes are going to him.
Good luck to all the drivers this weekend and happy race viewing to all of us that have to watch it from our living rooms.
Dale Jr. and Joey L. sure need a good run this weekend, things so far aren't looking good for either of them. I really don't like either of them because I think that they are both overrated, but I will still wish both of them the best this weekend. I hope Joe Nemechek has a good showing this week, he needs it also and being it's a plate race his chances are just as good as anyone else's.
By the way if anyone is undecided as who to vote for,for the Allstar race, A.J. is my choice and even though I really think that he will race his way in , I'm probably jinxing him by saying that, so to be on the safe side all of my votes are going to him.
Good luck to all the drivers this weekend and happy race viewing to all of us that have to watch it from our living rooms.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Whining Whiners Whine
Is anyone else tired of all the whining in NASCAR ? Jr. nation whines about Dale Jr. not winning a race, come on people all the wine and cheese in the world isn't going to help him win a race. Jr. fans are whining because the famed number 8 is parked, Jr. doesn't drive the 8 car any longer he drives the 88, besides it's just a number, changing his car number back to the 8 isn't going to make him win races. People whine about the top 35 rule, save your breath I don't see that rule ever changing in the near or distant future. People whine about the new car, but I think if you look at the statistics the new car is much safer, and cheaper for both owner and manufacturer.
People whine about the start and parkers, these are just under funded racers who are trying to find a way into the big show. Now people are even whining about who gets to be Grand Marshall at races. In particular shock jock Bubba The Love Sponge Clem, who has been named Grand Marshall for the up coming Talledega Nationwide race. He's a high profile radio personality who happens to promote NASCAR and racing in general big time on his show. He owns and drives a late dirt model car for his own race team, has gotten his 6 year old son involved in racing(drives quarter midgets and is one of the youngest developmental drivers for Stewart-Haas Racing). Bubba personally knows a lot of Cup and NHRA drivers and to top it off he has a mega huge fan base that includes people from all over North America, so who better to have as a Grand Marshall at Talledega?
So I guess to be a true NASCAR fan one also has to be a professional whiner, I should know, I just finished writing a blog whining about whiners
.
People whine about the start and parkers, these are just under funded racers who are trying to find a way into the big show. Now people are even whining about who gets to be Grand Marshall at races. In particular shock jock Bubba The Love Sponge Clem, who has been named Grand Marshall for the up coming Talledega Nationwide race. He's a high profile radio personality who happens to promote NASCAR and racing in general big time on his show. He owns and drives a late dirt model car for his own race team, has gotten his 6 year old son involved in racing(drives quarter midgets and is one of the youngest developmental drivers for Stewart-Haas Racing). Bubba personally knows a lot of Cup and NHRA drivers and to top it off he has a mega huge fan base that includes people from all over North America, so who better to have as a Grand Marshall at Talledega?
So I guess to be a true NASCAR fan one also has to be a professional whiner, I should know, I just finished writing a blog whining about whiners
.
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