Pocono 500 Qualifying Washed Away

The rains came and washed away all schecduled practices and qualifying. It turns out that Jayski.com misinformed me on a couple things: 1) only 45 cars were entered, and 2) Derrike Cope, Mike Wallace and Tony Raines failed to make the race, due to the rainout(Dexter Bean, instead of Wallace, will race Sunday).

Pocono 500: Mattioli's Mountain Marathon

Okay, so it's been a while since I my last post. I expect no one has lost any sleep over it. On with the show.



Pocono Raceway: Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course: 2.5-Mile, Triangular Superspeedway
Surface: Asphalt

Pocono Raceway is unique in its design, in that each turn was constructed to resemble the turns at three famous race tracks. Turn One, with 14 degrees of banking, was modeled after the old Trenton Speedway in New Jersey. Turn Two, the "Tunnel Turn" was designed to mimic Indianapolis Motor Speedway (9 degree banking). And, the Milwaukee Mile was the example for Turn 3 (6 degree banking). The 3470-foot long front straightway, at Pocono, is the longest in NASCAR. The second straightway (between turns 1 and 2), named the "Long Pond Straightway", after the nearby town of Long Pond, Pa, is 3055-feet long. Straightway three, the "North Straight", is a mere 1780-feet (one-third of a mile).


The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race, contested at Pocono Raceway, was held on August 4, 1974, and was won by Richard Petty. The 2009 races will mark the 63rd and 64th NSCS races at Pocono.


Bill Elliott has the most NSCS wins (5) and the most pole positions won (5)at Pocono. His last win there was in 2002.


Interesting statistic: 35% (22 of 62) of the NSCS race winners at Pocono have started in the front row, while 73% (45 of 62) started in the top-10.

2009 POCONO 500
Forty-six drivers will attempt to qualify for the 43 starting spots. With a 72% chance off rain on qualifying day, it doesn't look good for three drivers. If qualifying is rained out, Derrike Cope, Daxter Bean and Tony Raines will not race. Those drivers, outside of the top-35 in owners points, that would make the race include: Sterling Marlin, Patrick Carpentier, Mike Wallace, Dave Blaney, David Gilliland, Regan Smith Scott Speed and Joe Nemechek. Trevor Boys has withdrawn his entry.

The race is scheduled for June 7th, with raceday coverage beginning at 12:30pm on TNT, and the green flag dropping at approximately 2:16pm.

Special Paint Schemes
A.J. Almendinger - No. 44 Stanley Tools Dodge
Jaimie McMurray - No. 26 IRWIN Vise-Grips Ford
Martin Truex, Jr. - No. 1 TomTom Chevrolet
Reed Sorenson - No. 43 Valvoline Engine Guarantee Dodge
Ryan Newman - No. 39 Haas Automation Demo Day Chevrolet

Veteran Victory

It was 'Senior Night' at Darling Raceway, on May 9, 2009, as Mark Martin claimed his second NASCAR Sprint Cup (NSCS) victory of 2009. The 50-year old Martin drove his No. 5 Cheez-It Chevy Impala SS into the lead, passing Tony Stewart on lap 122, and led the final 46 (of 367) laps of the Southern 500. Greg Biffle led the most laps (117), followed by Martin Truex, Jr. (61 laps led) and Ryan Newman (48 laps led). Rookie of the Year contender Joey Logano led 19 laps, on his way to his second top-10 finish of the young 2009 NSCS schedule.

The win was the 37th in Martin's Hall-of-Fame worthy career, in which he has 733 NSCS race starts. Martin now has six top-10 finishes, and two wins, in 11 starts this season. He now holds the 11th position in the drivers points chase. His bank account grew another $295,150, and raised his season winnings to $1,677,827 for the year. Mark's first NSCS win came at Rockingham Speedway, in 1989, in the AC Delco 500. That first win came in his second year with Roush Racing, in the No. 6 Stroh's Light Ford Thunderbird, which earned Martin $52,800.

This weekend, the NSCS teams head to Lowe's Motor Speedway, for the non-points Sprint All-Star XXV weekend of racing. Practices and qualifying for the All-Star weekend races will be held on Friday, May 14th. The All-Star competitions will be run Saturday night, May 15th, beginning around 6:20pm, with the Victory Challenge burnout contest. The Sprint Showdown begins around 7:30pm. The Sprint Showdown race winner, race runner-up, and All-Star Fan-Vote winner will advance to compete in the prestigious Sprint All-Star Challenge XXV race, which will begin around 9:00pm.

For more information, and you chance to cast your Fan-Vote, visit: http://www.nascar.com/promos/allstar/.

Another Out-of-Towner Week

I will, again, be out of town this week, for an Office of Surface Mining course. This time, it's another good subject, Acid Forming Materials (concerning acid mine drainage from coal mining). I may get online this week and throw something together. If not, I think my two followers will get along fine without my ramblings. Have a great week.

I love you, Cathy!

RIR, The Big Little Track

Measuring 0.75-mile in distance, a lap at Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is said to be a nice combination of short-track and speedway racing. Most drivers say that they love RIR, for exactly that combination of racing feel. The NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) will compete this weekend at RIR, on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. I love night racin'!

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America)

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I attended 5 races at RIR, and I absolutely loved it. No matter where you are seated, you can see at least 90 per cent of the track. And, then there is the feel of the race, especially if you stand close to the track. You feel the building thunder of 800 horsepower (x43) as the cars draw nearer. Then, as the cars go by, you experience a ground-shaking quake; you are buffeted by a rush of wind and the flying specks of rubber tap your arms and face; and you smell the hot rubber and engine exhaust. The wave of sensations ebb as the pack races to the other side of the track. Seconds later, a few other cars, off the pace, vrrrrrroom... vrrroom... vroom by. Here's a link to show you a quick example... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41v_k3y-lLs. Repeat the lap cycle 400 times (300 miles), and you have witnessed nearly non-stop action. I love that the track workers will let you walk along the fence, as long as you keep moving. A walk around the RIR circuit, during the race, is an absolute must. RIR has the feel of a local short track, but the power of big-time auto racing.

DAVID POOLE TRIBUTE

Some NSCS teams will carry logos honoring the late David Poole, this weekend, at RIR. Each of the Hendrick Motosports cars will sport a "DCP" logo (David Carl Poole), which is in Carolina blue. DP's alma mater is the University of North Carolina. Stewart-Haas Racing cars will are also honor DP, with a decal reading “In Memory of David Poole 1959-2009”, which includes images of a fountain pen and a microphone. Roush Fenway Racing, Penske Racing and Richard Childress Racing are among other race teams carrying tribute decals.

TELEVISION COVERAGE SCHEDULE
NNS Qualifying: 4:10pm, on SPEED
NSCS Qualifying: 5:40pm, on SPEED
NNS Lipton Tea 250: 7:00pm on ESPN2
NSCS Crown Royal presents the Russ Freidman 400: 7:00pm on FOX

2009 CROWN ROYAL 400 SPECIAL PAINT SCHEMES
A. J. Allmendinger - No. 44 Kings Cup Karting for a Cause/PVA Dodge
Clint Bowyer - No. 33 BB&T Chevy
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - No. 88 National Guard-Drive the Guard Chevy
David Ragan - No. 6 UPS Freight Ford
David Stremme - No. 12 Star Trek Ford
Jeff Burton - No. 31 Prilosec OTC Chevy
Kyle Busch - No. 18 Combos Toyota
Marcos Ambrose - No. 47 Bush's Best Baked Beans Toyota
Mark Martin - No. 5 Cheez-It Chevy
Michael Waltrip - No. 55 NAPA Adaptive One Brake Pads Toyota
Reed Sorenson - No. 43 McDonald's McCafe Dodge

Robby Gordon - No. 7 Energizer Toyota

RIR RACE STATS
*May 2008 Race Winner - Clint Bowyer (Avg. Speed 95.786mph, started 31st)
*May 2008 Pole Setter - Denny Hamlin (126.198mph, finished 24th)

*The furthest back in the field that a race winner started was 31st, by Clint Bowyer May 2008
*11 of the past 12 races have been won from the top 10
*60 of 105 races at Richmond have been won from the top five starting positions, including 21 from the pole
*The first race under permanent lights was held Sept. 7, 1991

*45 Cars Entered, 2 will not race
*There is 30% chance of a thunderstorm at qualifying time. If qualifying is rained out, Tony Raines and Trevor Boys will not race. Those outside the top-35 that would make the race include: Brad Keselowski, Scott Speed, David Gilliland, Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield and Todd Bodine.

David Poole - The Mourning Drive

David Poole was the ultimate NASCAR reporter. He passed on, yesterday afternoon, too soon for any who knew well of him, at the young age of 50. To those of us who were familiar with the man, he was known as a devoted husband/father/grandfather, a very respected and thorough reporter, and a man who was determined to tell the harsh truth as he saw it. He had been the lead NASCAR reporter for the Charlotte Observer, for nearly 13 years, and for four years, had been the co-host of Sirius Radio's "Morning Drive", along with Mike Bagley. Among countless numbers of other awards, David was a four-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association's Writer of the Year (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008).

Since the news of his call to Heaven, endless numbers of friends and fans have blogged, called the Sirius radio shows, Facebooked, etc., to express their sympathy and to tell a personal aside relating to David (aka DPizzle or DP). The scale of the response seems equal to that when Dale Earnhardt, Sr. passed away.

I did get to speak with him, one day while on my way to work, and listening to the Morning Drive. Fortunately, DP and I agreed on my view that Kyle Busch has always been the type of driver and personality that he is, and that race fans need to just get over it and get used to it. Countless other callers weren't so lucky. If DPizzle disagreed, he bluntly told you that you were wrong, and then succinctly told you why you were wrong. Many callers hung up understanding that they had been corrected. Other callers hung up mad, insulted, or a combination of these feelings. Like him or not, I suspect that all of the rebuked callers recognized that they had been successfully debated by the top dog. Those same callers likely will now hold there personal experience with high regard ("Ya know, I talked to David Poole, once..."), and as a badge of honor.

I'll miss DP, and I am so deeply saddened by the hurt and loss felt by his wife Katy, sons Matthew and David, daughter Emily, and cherished grandson Eli. May God's comfort and blessings be with them in the sorrowful days ahead.

The family has requested, in place of flowers and gifts, that donations be made to the Pennies for Wessa fund (http://www.penniesforwessa.org/) and/or The Victory Junction Gang Camps (http://www.victoryjunction.org/).

Talladega Days - Draft Racing is Dangerous!!

Holy guacamole, Carl. I betcha Carl Edwards will, by now, hate restrictor plate racing... completely! Last year, at 'Dega, Carl bump-drafted up behind Greg Biffle (his teammate), in the turn, which spun Biffle. Biffle then swerved down track, came back up track and collected Matt Kenseth (another of Carl's teammates), and a dozen or so other cars, including Carl.

The recently completed spring race at Talladega looked to be redemption for "Cousin Carl", as he held the race lead, with a few hundred yards to go on the final lap.


With young, but tough-as-nails, Brad Keselowski making his move, Carl went up up the track to block Brad (which is exactly what Brad wanted him to do). Brad then dove down , and just b-a-r-e-l-y under Carl. Carl reacted by trying to block Brad, but was too late to shut the door, and began to slide across the front of Brad's nose.


Thus, began Carl's first ever flip, whilst still inside a race car. The car lifted, beagn flying nearly backwards, started to come back down, but bounced off the hood of Ryan Newman,


regained air and struck the safety fence. A number of spectators suffered minor (cuts) and serious (broken jaw) injuries, as pieces of the fence and car flew into the stands.


After the car landed, Carl ran the remaining distance to the finish line. Fortunately, no one was critically injured.


Kyle Busch was absolutely insane with blocking, at one point in yesterdays action. He eventually spun himself out, and very luckily only caused one other car to get caught up in it.

The call-in radio shows will be inundated with a weeks worth of opinions, complaints and versions of what happened. But my take is that this is what plate racing entails. Bumper-to-bumper drafting, blocking, desperation in gaining places when horsepower of one car alone will not prevail, will result in wrecks. Few will result in cars striking the safety fence. Until yesterday, no Sprint Cup car has hit the fence so violently, since Bobby Allisons frightening wreck in 1987, also at Talladega. But, these restrictor plate races will continue to have multiple "Big Ones", as long as they are run. Let us pray that blocking will be strictly regulated in plate racing, and that bump-drafting is effectively policed, as well. That stuff is dangerous!!

Out of Town

Note to self (since I am the only one who reads this blog). I will be out of town this week. I am in hydrogeology training in Lexington KY. See ya next week.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Points System

My previous blog post begs the question, how on earth does the RoTY points system work. While I was writing that last post, the whole time I'm thinking "What? How has Scott Speed hung so close in points? Or, how did Joey Logano hold a points lead after finishing behind Speed?" Well, if there is anyone reading this blog yet, here is the points system explained.

1) The highest-finishing rookie in each race earns 10 points, the second-highest, nine points, etc.

2) Only the top-17 race results, of the 36-race 2009 Sprint Cup schedule, for each RoTY candidate are counted in the RoTY race.

Rule 2 means that the third viable RoTY contender, Max Papis, does have a shot at the RoTY honors, because he is scheduled to run 18 races. All three RoTY drivers, Logano-Speed-Papis, can have any number of bad races, or even missed races, and still be in it to win it, if they qualify and finish well in at least 17 races.

3) In order to be eligible for the RoTY award, a driver must attempt to qualify in at least eight of the first 20 events.

Again, Mad Max Papis makes the cut. By the time race 20 (Allstate 400 at Indianapolis) has been run, Papis' schedule has him attempting to make 9 races.

4) Attempting to qualify for a race earns the rookies one bonus point, which is a bonus that is available for all 36 events.

Advantage of 18 points each to Logano and Speed, who should be attempting to qualify for each of the 36 events (Papis only attempting 18).

5) Bonus points are awarded for a top-10 finish. A rookie who wins a race is awarded 10 points, second place gets nine and so on down the line with a 10th-place effort earning one point.

There have been no collectors of the top-10 finish bonus points, yet.

6) "Segment Bonus Points." The season is divided into three segments, the first segment being the first ten races of the season, the second segment being the second ten races of the season, and the third segment being the final 16 races of the season. The candidate with the most championship points in each segment earns ten bonus RoTY points, the candidate with the second-most championship points earns nine, etc.

This is where Papis will lose most of his ground in the RoTY points chase. He will run only 3 of the first 10 races on the schedule; 6 of the second 10; and 9 of the final 16 races. Assuming that Logano and Speed attempt and make most of the 36 races, they should easily outscore Papis in Sprint Cup championship points, and gain 28-30 RoTY points on Papis.

7) Following the final race of the season, the highest-ranking rookie in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points standings receives 10 bonus points. The second-highest rookie earns nine points, third receives eight, etc.

8) During the final weekend of the season, a Raybestos Rookie of the Year panel meets and rewards favorable conduct in the following categories: Conduct with NASCAR officials in the garage and pit areas; conduct and awareness on track; personal appearance and relationship with the media. The panel rates each driver, with scoring ranging from a maximum of 10 to a minimum of 1. Total points will be averaged from each panel member’s ballot. The points derived from the panel will be added to the entry, competition, and bonus points after the final race of the season to determine the overall Raybestos Rookie of the Year winner.

Mad Max could actually have an edge, here. He is a very competent racer, well presented and a well mannered individual. He has many years of experience dealing with on-track stress and off-track media relations. The media gets alot of energy and excitement out of a Papis interview!

The RoTY Season, To Date

After 7 races, Logano and Speed have attempted 7 races, and Papis has attempted 2 races. There has been only one race (Shelby 427, Las Vegas), where all three RoTY candidates made the race. In that race Logano finished 13th, Speed 21st, and Papis 35th. Logano has had the highest finish among RoTY drivers in 5 of the 7 races, and Speed was highest in 2 of the 7 races run. Here is the breakdown of RoTY points scored, as of the completion of the Samsung 500 (Texas, Race 7).

Joey Logano, 75 points
7 Qualifying Attempts (1 pt. each) = 7 points
5 Highest Finishes (10 pts. each) = 50 points
2 2nd Highest Finishes (9 pts. each) = 18

Scott Speed, 63 points
7 Qualifying Attempts (1 pt. each)= 7 points
2 Highest Fiinishes (10 pts. each)= 20 points
4 2nd Highest Finishes (9 pts. each) = 36

Max Papis, 19 points
2 Qualifying Attempts (1 pt. each) = 2 points
0 Highest Finishes = 0 points
1 2nd Highest Finish (9 pts. each) = 9 points
1 3rd Highest Finish (8 pts. each) = 8 points

So there you have it! It's not confusiong at all... I think.

Sloey Nogano, er, Joey Logano

(Photo Courtesy of LOLnascar)

Alright. Raise your hand if you thought Joey "Sliced Bread" Logano was going to be 35th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver point standings, after seven races? Okay. Put your hands down. Now. Raise your hand if you really thought Logano was going to start the 2009 season, 9th in points (based on the 2008 owners points), and sink to the 35th and final guaranteed starting position so quickly. My hand stayed down both times. And if you raised your hand both times, well, I won't call you a liar, but I will say most of you aren't being completely honest.

I guess you have to give the rookie a break. He is only 19 years old, and a veteran of only 10 Cup races. But I thought he would have done more with the powerhouse that is the Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota. Joey is also competing against Scott Speed, for Rookie of the Year (ROTY) honors, and currently leads the ROTY points. That ROTY contest may ultimately be set in Logano's lap. Speed failed to qualify for the most recent race. That can't happen if there is to be a ROTY race, since there are no other drivers involved (Max Papis is considered a ROTY candidate, but he is scheduled to run only 18 races).

Note that, if Joey falls out of the top-35 in owners points, and fails to qualify for any races, this could be the most lame ROTY contest in history.

So, here's a rundown of Joey's (and Scott's) season so far.

JoeLo's 2009 Season Recap

Daytona 500: Start 9th (Good!), Finish 43rd (Bad!).
While running 27th, lost it on Lap 79, trying to avoid the loose car of Scott Speed (coincidentally, the only other Cup rookie of the year candidate in the race). Speed finished 35th.

ROTY Points: Logano 11, Speed 10

Auto Club 500 (California): Start 34th (could be worse), Finish 26th (could be better). A decent result, for the rookie. He was one lap down, at the finish, but at least he finished, and finished ahead of Scott Speed (41st, blown engine).

ROTY Points: Logano 21, Speed 21

Shelby 427 (Las Vegas): Start 20th (nice), Finish 13 (now we're talkin). A solid race, for the newbie. Things are looking up.

ROTY Points: Logano 32, Speed 31

Kobalt Tools 500 (Atlanta): Start 42nd (huh boy), Finish 30th (doh!). Somebody bumped Logano and put him into the wall. Scott Speed pinned David Ragan's car to the wall, which caused Speed to pound the wall, which resulted in a multicar crash. Speed finished 35th.

ROTY Points: Logano 43, Speed 41

Food City 500 (Bristol): Start 23rd (okay), Finish 38th (that's Bristol). Struggled to stay on the lead lap, but ended up blowing an engine on Lap 324. Speed finally tops Logano for top-finishing rookie of the race (28th).

ROTY Points: Logano 53, Speed 52

Goodies Fast Pain Relief 500 (Martinsville): Started 34th (yawn), Finished 32nd (yawn). Cut down a tire, early in the race, and finished four laps down. Better than Speed, who finished 39th, 76 laps down, after getting wrecked by Kyle Busch.

ROTY Points: Logano 64, Speed 62

Samsung 500 (Texas): Started 10th (yee haw), Finished 30th (gal darnit). Again, finished four laps down. But the good news is that the other ROTY contender (Speed) did not qualify his way into the race. Speed is another, and bigger, disappointment in 2009. Can you hear A.J. Allmendinger giggling in the distance. Red Bull should never have dropped A.J. for Speed. Bling bling, don't mean a thing Red Bull!!

ROTY Points: Logano 75, Speed 63

Phoenix International Raceway: Subway Fresh Fit 500 Preview

Let's go racing, Pardner. Week 8 has the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS), headin' out west to the 1.0- mile quasi-oval of Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). PIR is located in lovely Avondale (not really in Phoenix), Arizona.

Here's a summary of the television broadscast schedule for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 race weekend.

Practices
NNS, Friday, April 17, 11:00am/et, on SPEED TV (Only Practice)
NSCS, Friday, April 17, 1:00/et, on SPEED TV
NSCS, Friday, April 17, 3:30/et, on SPEED TV (Final Practice)

Qualifying
NNS, Friday, April 17, 5:30pm/et, on SPEED TV
NSCS, Friday, April 17, 7:10pm/et, on SPEED TV

Race
NNS, Bashas' Supermarkets 200
Friday, April 17, 9:00pm/et on ESPN2

NSCS, Subway Fresh Fit 500
Saturday, April 18, 8:00 pm/et on FOX
Green Flag at ~8:46pm/et

Pre-Race Honors

Michael Strahan, future NFL Hall of Fame Defensive End for the New York Giants (1993-2007), wiil be the race's Grand Marshall, and will cue the racers to "Start Your Engines!"

Country Music performers, and twin sisters, Kate and Kacey Coppola, will do the honors of presenting the National Anthem.

I think the U.S. Navy will execute the pre-race flyover.







Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has officially declared Phoenix International Raceway as “Zoomtown U.S.A.", for the race weekend.

Interesting Stats
There have been 25 NSCS races run at PIR (1988 through 2008).
*Chevys have won 11 events at PIR, including 9 of the last 10 races.
*Fords have won 12 events at PIR, including 11 of the first 15 races.
*Pontiacs have won the other 2 races.
*The average winning pole speed is 131.243 MPH.
*The average race winning speed is 103.203 MPH.
*The race averages 7 cautions and 39 laps run under caution.
*Only 42 cars started the the 1992 race.
*44 cars started the 1995 and 1996 races.

Greenhorns Shootin' to Qualify

These drivers will be attempting to make their first NSCS PIR start.

Brandon Ash (No. 02 Sprinter Trucking, Inc Dodge) - Between 2006 and 2008, the 32 year old Ash has 4 NSCS starts; three on road courses and one at Kansas Speedway, with a best finish of 38th.

Dexter Bean (No. 51 LiveWire Enrgy Chews Dodge) - 22 year old Bean, has only one NNS start under his belt. I he does manage to make this race, God bless him, and God help the other 42 drivers.

Trevor Boys (No. 06 Boys Will Be Boys Racing, Co. Dodge) - Boys, aged 51, actually has 102 NSCS starts, between 1982 and 1993 (93 of 'em between 1983 and 1987). Boy's best finish was 10th, at Darlington, in 1984. He drove for James Hylton in all 102 races.

Special Paint Schemes
Carl Edwards - No. 99 Subway Ford
Denny Hamlin - No. 11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota
Elliott Sadler - No. 19 Stanley Tools Dodge
John Andretti - No. 34 Taco Bell Chevy
Marcos Ambrose - No. 47 Chlorox Toyota
Mark Martin - No. 5 CarQuest Auto Parts Chevy
Paul Menard - No. 98 Peak Antifreeze Ford

Sixth Grade Math Skeptic

From the Mama's Losin' It blog, my chosen assignment is to describe a hard time that I gave a teacher... and what would I say to her today?

As a preface, as of 8th grade, my math brain began functioning quite well, thank you.

It was the bicentinial year, of 1976. I was in sixth grade. Math had been important in the new world for roughly 200 years. But, I didn't know that. How could I? My teacher is learnin' us all about simple fractions. Great! Another stupid new thing in math, I thought. Isn't addition, subtraction, division and multiplication enough? I honestly don't remember the exact words said, but I remember the progression of the dialog and emotions exchanged. Here's my version of the brief but exciting incident.

Mrs. Jones: blah, blah, blah... fractions.

Me: Mrs. Jones, why do we need to know this?

Mrs. Jones: Because it will be of use to you in the future.

Me: But isn't adding and subracting and stuff like that enough?

Mrs. Jones: You will see that you will use fractions alot.

Me: I don't think so.

Mrs. Jones: You will.

Me: But fractions are stupid. I don't see why we need to learn this stuff. I'll never use it.

Mrs. Jones: Mr. Snyder, I suggest you just sit quietly and listen to me. Blah, blah, blah... fractions.

Me: I'm NOT going to need to use this stuff. It's stupid and I'm not listening!

Mrs. Jones: Mr. Snyder, would you please follow me into the hall?

A Short Time Later

Mrs. Jones: Whack! Whack! Whack! Now take your seat, Mr. Snyder. Just because you don't understand something, doesn't mean it's stupid.

Me: Yes, Ma'am.

The moral of the story is exactly what Mrs. Jones said. Simply because you do not understand something, doesn't make it stupid, or undeserving of respect, or unimportant. I didn't necessarily grasp the lesson fully that day, but it was a seed planted (yeah, planted by a nice little plank of wood... across my buttocks).

If I could speak with Mrs. Jones today, I'd apologize for being a smart-assed 13 year old, and thank her for "explaining" to me the importance of understanding something before making quick and often negative judgements. I'd tell her that, possibly, thanks to her, I went on to ace most math classes following hers. And I now realize that her lesson, applies to everything that occurs in my life. You da bomb, Mrs. J.

No Racin' on Easter!!

Well, I suppose I can sacrifice a weekend of NASCAR for my Savior... if I have to... i guess. So, another week, or so, before the Subway Fresh Fit 500, at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). Lord, I remember when PIR had that scary exit out of turn 2, before they moved the wall out in 2003. I always expected a bad-bad wreck there, but fortunately it never happened. Alan Kulicki won the inaugural race in 1988. Dale Earnhardt won PIR in 1990. Davey Allison won it back-to-back in 1991-92. Bobby Hamilton took the checkers in 1996. God bless'em... there all gone now.

The track picked up its second race date in 2005, and the brothers Busch swept that year's honors (Kurt in the Spring and Kyle in the Fall). Three drivers have two consecutive race wins at PIR: Jeff Burton (2000-01), Dale Eanhardt, Jr. (2003-04), Kevin Harvick (both 2006). Jimmie Johnson has scored wins in the last 3 races at PIR.

Wikipedia has a nice page of info on PIR. Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_International_Raceway

We do have the Pepsi 300, at Nashville Superspeedway, on Saturday. I'll be watching that.

Special Paint Schemes for the 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500 (will update as race nears)

A.J. Allmendinger - ?Probably Something?

Carl Edwards - No. 99 Subway Ford

Denny Hamlin - No. 11 FedEx March of Dimes Toyota

Reed Sorenson - No. 43 Auto Value Parts Stores Dodge

Happy 29th birthday (ver. 18.0) to my beautiful wife, Cathy. I love you, sweetie!

Run, Jimmy! Run!

Jimmy Watts, the Gasman for Marcos Ambrose's No. 47 Kingsford Toyota, will be in constant embarrassment for the next week or so. God bless him. He was only trying to do what he thought was right, by chasing a lost tire nearly all the way to the apron of the track. “I saw the tire going away and it was a reaction – the wrong one,” Watts said. Some folks, including a bunch of drivers who went a lap down with the subsequent caution flag, blame Jimmy. But, he didn't let it get away from him; he just went after it. A caution would have been called even if he didn't chase after it. But, poor Jimmy will be the butt of the jokes and ridicule for some time to come.

POST-RACE PARTS & PIECES
*How about Kurt Busch? What a strong race for the No. 2 Miller Lite race team. You won't be able to knock the smile off him for at least two weeks.

*Another strong top-5 for Jeff Gordon. He's gotten off to a nice start on the "drive for five".

*Clint Bowyer continue to surprise the doubters (me included)

*Mark Martin's final Cup championship attempt took another slap in the chops. Average 2009 start position 7.25; average finish position 31.75. Ugh!

*What evil bastard decided to schedule Bristol as the all-important 5th and deciding race, which will set the initial top-35 owner points for 2009? In danger of being out the top-35 owners points standings, after Bristol (driver, cup points, points relative to 35th):

30) Andretti, 336, +59
31) Hornish, 328 ,+51
32) Newman, 324, +47
33) Logano, 321 +44 (Sliced What?)
34) Gilliland, 301 +24 (Cinderella Man?)
35) Martin, 286 +11 (Bad luck be gone!)
36) Almirola, 277, -11

37) Speed, 256, -30
38) Menard, 238, -48
39) Kvapil, 214, -72
40) Smith, 206 -80

ATLANTA TOP-5 PREDICTION RESULTS
1) Jeff Gordon, 2nd
2) Dale Jr., 11th
3) Kyle Busch, 18th
4) Jimmie Johnson, 9th
5) Tony Stewart, 8th

Hello... hello... hello. Is there anybody out there?

HOTlanta!

Hampton, Georgia plays host to this weekends NASCAR series races. The Camping World Truck Series and the Sprint Cup Series will run at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS), on Saturday afternoon (SPEED, 1:30 pm) and Sunday afternoon (FOX, 1:30pm), respectively. The Nationwide Series is off-track until March 21 (Bristol Motor Speedway).

AMS has always been a favorite track of mine, to watch and to race on Playstation2. Mostly, I like it because it is F-A-S-T, but a controlled fast (unlike Daytona or Talledega). It is a 1.54-mile, D-Shaped oval, with 24-degree banking in all four turns. The straightways flatten out to 5-degrees, coming out of the turns, but do so with a pretty sweet transition. The drivers can just about mat the gas pedal all the way around the track, and there is plenty room for side-by-side racing. You have to be a little careful coming out of turn 4, and through the start-finish stretch, as racing can get a little tight there. Although I expect this weekends event to be a great race, am I absolutely psyched about the September 6 race. That race will be the first race for AMS, with the new Labor Day race date, but most exciting to me is that it will be AMS's first ever Cup series NIGHT RACE!!

The 2008 season at AMS featured wins by Kyle Busch (Spring race) and Carl Edwards (Fall race). I think the odds are pretty high for another weekend sweep by Kyle "Shrubby" Busch. But not so fast, Shrubby!

TOP-5 PREDICTION
1) Jeff Gordon
2) Dale Jr.
3) Kyle Busch
4) Jimmie Johnson
5) Tony Stewart

SPECIAL PAINT SCHEMES
Aric Almirola - Cub Cadet
Casey Mears - DirecTV
Clint Bowyer - BB&T
Jeff Gordon - National Guard Youth Challenge Program
Pual Menard - Pittsburgh Paints
Reed Sorenson - Super 8 Motels

INTERESTING SIDENOTE

Geoffrey Bodine (Gunselman Motorsports, No. 64 Toyota) and Todd Bodine (Germian Racing, No. 35 Toyota) will be attempting to start their first Cup series race together, since September 19, 2004 (Sylvania 300, New Hampshire Motor Speedway). In that race, Todd finished 23rd, and Geoff 41st. Geoff owns the AMS qualifying speed record of 197.498mph (1997).

Posto Uno - Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Week 03

Alright, I kinda stumbled into this, but hey, let's roll with it. I hope somebody will get a kick out of this blog; it might even be me.

Notes of interest regarding my NASCARdom:
*Hometown = Owensboro, Kentucky
*Hometown/Favorite Driver = Mikey Waltrip, anyone named Waltrip, Green or Mayfield
*Fan since 1979
*Attended 5 Cup events at Richmond International Raceway (no other races attended)
*NASCAR Fantasy contender

I shall now proceed with my first ever blog post; Posto Uno. We'll start it off simple, with a brief rant on batch engine parts.

What in the world is up with these parts suppliers, so far, this season? Holy guacamole! Lifters to the left, lifters to the right, lifters dropping valves like hot... uh... pistons. Yea, pistons. Gees! Hendrick, Gibbs, Earnhardt-Gannassi, my beloved Michael Waltrip Racing, and (God help us) Roush-Fenway. They've all had their batches of bad engine parts and subsequent blown engines. I can't remember such a mess in the first three weeks of a season. Who's gonna get hit this week? Yates and Penske are the only two big-team survivors. Somehow, every motor survived the Daytona 500.

So here's the breakdown, to the best I could quickly gather, of teams who either lost engines in the race or at some point during qualifying/practice (no instances durnig Daytona).

MWR (Toyota) - 4
Red Bull Racing (Toyota) - 4
Hendrick (Chevy) - 3 (poor Mark Martin had 2)
Roush-Fenway (Ford) - 3
JGR (Toyota) - 1
RCR (Chevy) - 1
Earnhardt-Gannassi (Chevy) - 1
Germain (Toyota) - 1

Just an observation. It will get better, but it seemed like the big teams got bitten by the batch bug.