The Last Lap
Well at least it was a beautiful night ...
Not much to say here but to reiterate that old chestnut that it is still the last lap which is the one to lead.
That's the (short) view from here
Michael
Well at least it was a beautiful night ...
Not much to say here but to reiterate that old chestnut that it is still the last lap which is the one to lead.
That's the (short) view from here
Michael
“This is like déjà vu all over again” and “When you come to a fork in the road, take it”.
Remember these pithy quotes?
Well, if you are of a certain age you know that these are just two of the wise sayings(‘Yogiisms’) that came from the mouth of ole number 8 (naw, not Junior), namely, Yogi Berra.
Well, Ft.Worth’s race had a bit of the déjà vu at least. For it was at this race last year that “the double” passed “the half” and then went on to win the championship.
Looks like someone found the fork and took it.
That’s the view from here.
Hey, speaking of forks, where is that turkey….
Michael
Same old place
Same old city
So begins “Oh, Atlanta” by Alison Krauss and Union Station. Yesterday I only had time to see the final few laps (wait…I think from here on out I will tell my friends “I saw the last two cautions” or some other indicator) as I was tanning my face at our yearly Highland Games and Celtic festival in Richmond.
So what did I see? Well I saw that NASCAR can’t seem to live up to the hype. Listening to the drama created on the radio as I drove home, I thought we would see 12 cars run out of gas and a dark horse emerge to gain victory from the heartbreak of defeat.
And so? And so ?
Blech, as my kids once would say. Blandness was snapped from the jaws of excitement-and just in time! Guess only my FedEx man knew how to deliver the goods in the excitement arena—just ask Martin.
Oh well, like a tired army we drag on towards our Appomattox that is the end of the season. I mean, really, are you excited over twice of one or half of the other?
Think about it.
That’s the (Celtic) view from here.
Michael
PS-If you get a chance to see a band from Dallas named “Needfire”, do so. Now, they give their crowd a show!
Yesterday’s Dover race was clearly better than Loudon’s attempt last week.
Lots of racing, bumping, rubbin’, and even a tete-a-tete of sorts. However, what really bummed me out were the race commentators attempting to keep fans interested with their lap-by-lap “update” on the Chase points.
For example, with over half the race yet to go and Kenseth in the lead, the talking heads were putting him in first place in the Chase. How ridiculous is that? I can’t imagine watching the first game of the World Series with one team ahead by three runs in the second inning and the announcers saying something like, “Well, that pretty much clinches the game for the Sox; looks like they’ll repeat as World Series champs.” We would all call that announcer an idiot.
Look at the standings today — Gordon, Stewart, Edwards are 1-2-3 and Kenseth (remember, he was announced as being in first place around lap 190) is ninth in the points race.
How about it, guys, don’t keep updating us on where drivers stand in the Chase when the race is FAR, FAR from over.
It’s not only distracting but insulting!
TTFN,
Jon
Go back and check our top 10 predictions for this year and you'll find that we predicted a Juan Pablo win -- and he's done it twice (although we were talking about Nextel so one doesn't count).
What's our other prediction come true?
Check No. 1 -- nobody replaces Benny! One more "come true" and we're Hall of Fame candidates. Two, and we're in!
OK, so here's this week's major issue. Wally D. on Sunday kept repeating the same mantra -- if Juan decides to pull off another Mexico City routine, "this circuit" is different and won't put up with those antics. Well, Wally, you now know how well Juan Pablo can drive -- you're in the
commentators box and he's on the track, so what does that tell you?
No wrecks on the last lap, just GREAT driving. And there's still Watkins
Glenn. And if you don't think Juan Pablo is in the driver's seat for Rookie-of-the-Year, ask Harvick!
Keep your comments coming.
Jon
1.A night of firsts on a Day of Memory?
Kyle Petty's first top 5 in 10 years
Casey Mears first win
Toyota's first top 5
2. Brother Can You Spare a Gallon?
"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was one of the best-known American songs of
the Great Depression.
Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
(Written in 1931 by lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg and composer Jay Gorney.)
Charlotte is usually the marathon of the season but it was well worth the nearly
6 hours. At first I thought my theme would have to be "The Junkman Cometh."
But, amazingly, most of the wrecks (and there were plenty) were still running at
the end. I think that is a tribute to the unsung crews of NASCAR (and to a 600-
mile race).The season is just beginning to warm up and as we head into the summer heat
let's see who has staying power, because as we all know , 'it isn't over until ... '
3. Now for the concrete of Dover?
Michael
First, let's get the jokes out of the way ... such as, "Let's put on the tea
kettle," "He's just blowing smoke," or "I didn't know they still made Stanley
steamers," etc. It doesn't matter -- JG just rolls on and is, IMHO, heading for
one of the best seasons in modern NASCAR history.
Now for the race itself ... See, this is why the older tracks still have "it'' --
they simply give us a race worthy of watching -- no really big accidents, just
fans sitting on the edge of their seats at times wondering ...
...Wondering when a "big one" was going to occur as this car or that car slid around a curve and earned the famed "stripe" for which the Lady in Black is noted.
... Wondering which car was next to have an engine fly apart right at the end.
... Wondering if the #24 was going to erupt like a Vesuvius and scatter Dupont rainbow colors over everyone.
... Wondering why every race can't be like this.
That's what I'm wondering too my friends.
That's the view from here.
Michael
Well, probably better that we had a sunny race so we could see the yellow better. It seemed to be the usual race for the season so far --- good racing early, then the boring bits, then a pretty exciting chance to see which Hendrick car would be the victor.
Boy, talk about your potential 'black helicopter' theory --- what is it with the COT and Hendrick?! Are they that good? Well apparently so.
Overall, well done Richmond
BTW: Let's give some kudos to others who aren't getting much air time -- such as Ryan Newman and Dave Blaney.
On another note...
A few columns back I called for a "return to yesterday" with regards to tracks. Of course next Saturday night the COT will meet the Lady in Black and if the cars are as hard to turn there as they were here you will need a dayglo yellow flag.
Now, it's time to show some respect for the drivers and to drop some rules. Let's do away with --right now -- both the champions provisional AND setting the starting grid by owners points. While our race commentators noted who didn't make the JSCR 400 (wow, that must be awfully tough for DW), they failed to mention the actual qualifying speeds of those cars. Personally if I were 40th fastest and was bumped by a slower car having higher 'owners points' I would be, well ... I would not be happy. For that matter why not tell only 43 cars to show up or better yet take the several who don't make it and tell them if they don't make it six races in a row then they should just come back next year.
Hey, at least NASCAR's carbon footprint would shrink ...
That's the view from here.
Michael
This is a story about a bird...
It was nice to see a good, competitive 500 KM (kilometers for you non-metric types) race
even if DW and the gang kept waiting for total brake failure (I see those rotors glowing red!).
However, even this early in the season it is painfully obvious that the 'competition' has devolved
into three clear levels. Let’s call them A, B and C (clever, huh?). I think there is also a D level
but I grade on the curve so...
With that said it was clearly JG's day/night. His 76 wins is quite an accomplishment and if he races about another 22 years he will finally catch King Richard. Not bad for someone who will be nearly 60 by then. But I kid in jest. With JG's winning percentage he should have no trouble catching the Silver Fox. So,love him or hate him, he will go down as one of the greats when he hangs up his driving shoes. Plus I think some fans that were at best ambivalent to him are warming to his gestures (witness the #3 flag tribute).
Now back to my bird story...
The bird in question is not a real one, rather a mythical one.
In ancient mythology, the phoenix was a mythical sacred firebird whose tears could heal wounds.
There were many wounded hearts this past week -- I know the Phoenix has shed many tears.
As it was stated in A Christmas Carol by Tiny Tim
"God bless us, every one!"
Yes, indeed, God bless us all.
That's the view from (The Hokie Nation) here...
Michael
Well a two-peat. Perhaps it is time to shuffle the rules? Nah, it was a fine race with plenty of sunny weather (finally) and dented sheet metal from the frontrunners. So, in the end, JB had the right stuff and the Prilosec (good stuff - I use it) purple ruled the day (Hey, even TUMS was there.)
So let's review ...
Little E -- Gentleman. After all he "Cheezed-It" after Kyle pulled a Houdini.
JPM -- Lurking, lurking (just outside the top 12)
Army of One -- Back in the Top 12 and running great. Arkansas and no COT makes for a refreshed driver.
Me :( -- No Toyota in the winners circle. Hope no one put any $$ on my prognostication! (I sure didn't).
But the fortunate soul of the week award goes to ...
Michael W. -- While upside down in too many ways, he's still alive to talk about it.
So the road show leaves Cowtown and heads for Hoozdo. As I understand it, in Navajo, it means 'the place is hot'.
I certainly hope so.
That's the view from here.
Michael
BTW -- If I had driven my car from, say, Charlotte to Ft.Worth and wasn't in the top 43, I think I'd be...
In the Superman comics, the Man of Steel occasionally came up against the Bizarro world - a world in which it is a crime to make anything perfect. As I watch today, I wonder if we are seeing the COT's Bizarro doppelgänger, the COBF2&BP (Car of Broken Fuel Lines, Burning Foam and Brake Problems)?
To me, the big news today wasn't the race - it was OK (alright I am writing this during the rain delay - so penalize me 25 points already) - rather the continuing 'shake out " towards perfecting the COT. Learning curves happen and it does take time to figure problems out but this is getting old - quickly. Frankly, I was bored by the race and more interested in what problems would next be manifested (re: flaming interior foam anyone? Note: Supposedly this cannot happen).
While truly loyal fans will root for little E or Tony etc. even if they were racing donkeys (or cockroaches - see last week's blog) they shouldn't have cars that drive like donkeys. So I say give the teams some room and let them advance some solutions or ....
Well, the rain is done and the race resumes ...
Post-race comment:
OK, OK. The last 10 or so laps were pretty good but still how about five or six cars banging for the checker instead of two? Let's see if the COT/COBF2&BP can do that!
Bring on "Htrae"!! "This am part of genius Bizarro self-improvement plan"*
Let's just hope Superman arrives before it is too late.
That's the (somewhat rainy) view from here...
Michael
*Thanks for Wikipedia note on Bizarro.
I like Bristol. I really do. It takes me back to my boyhood days when I watched the Allisons, Red Farmer and a host of others (yes even DW) at the short track at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
That said, I was a bit worried Bristol would be a smash and crash event this year -- but it was tame. The COT didn't stink up the joint (but that wing! Bring back the Plymouth Superbird, I say) and there was a lot of "racin" actually going on. So, all in all, a bit tamer Bristol (but remember as the song says "The night time is the right time") and some real racin equals a pretty good show for the fans .
Unfortunately for the orangeman, half a race is not enough. The commentators said that Tony could drive a cockroach (and by the end I bet his car felt like one of those little hellions) or a brick to victory if you could put wheels and an engine on either one.
Weird.
So I guess we will have to say that the banana KB requested earlier in the race gave the tigerman the day.
That reminds me -- I'm hungry. Guess some milk and Kellogg's would be a great snack.
See you in Henry County on, gasp, April Fool's Day!
That's the view from here.....
Michael
It was a better day for one big orange team (my alma mater Tennessee) than another.
There may be some gnashing of teeth at 2455 Paces Ferry Rd. NW in Atlanta (Home Depot's HQ) as their rivals from Mooresville win again in a fairly ho-hum race. Guess sales of wood and washers will be better tomorrow in the land of the blue and gray houses ... but second isn't bad and it keeps you in the points race (think Top 12 boys, think Top 12) as Mr. Army decides to stand down for awhile.
So strategy is the name of the game and we see some beginning to develop.
Now we go for the thunder -- not down under, but in the valley in my home state. And COT gets its debut -- could be a 'slammer' in Bristol. (I think there are several good junkyards nearby.)
Rock on, Rocky Top, rock on ....
That's the View From Here
Michael
Other Notes:
1. JPM can do the oval. Bristol should be a real fun time for him.
2. I give Toyota a score of "minus-4" -- two off for continuing to fail in qualifying and two more for poor race performance. But let's have good memories and remember this is kinda like the late 50's and their intro to the US -- they failed but they came back.
This blogist still believes we have only seen the tip of the iceberg -- both in Toyota's abilities and in other future foreign nameplates. After all it's strategy, boys, strategy and we haven't seen the long run ... yet.
I'm gonna give it everything I've got
Lady luck please let the dice stay hot
Let me shout a seven with every shot
Viva las vegas, viva las vegas,
Viva, viva las vegas
(Words and Music by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman)
I like statistics. But I am certainly no statistician, so someone smarter will have to calculate the odds of winning three straight at Vegas (or any track for that matter). JJ and the Hendrick crew seem to have figured it all out so I deem Mr. Johnson the new "Lucky Jackson."
You say you do not know Lucky Jackson? Well, fellow sports fans, he was the man who came to LV in 1964 looking to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Only problem was he came a bit underfunded (like he had no engine underfunded). Somehow he gets the $$ and all is (relatively speaking) happy afterwards.
So I dub Jimmie Johnson the new "Lucky" although he came with plenty of funding and, hey, probably left town with more (how may folks can say that after a few days in Vegas? Remember, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas")
So now it is time to leave the glitz and head for the grits as Atlanta looms and we edge closer to the COT.
I'm Michael and that's the view from here.....
PS - By the way, the real "Lucky Jackson? Why none other than Elvis in "Viva Las Vegas."
PPS - Mark. Don't go. It's too much fun.
In the movie referenced above, the character Ding Bell (played by Mickey Rooney) says, "Pass that cab!"
To which Eddie Anderson (playing another cab driver) replies, "What's the rush?"
Benjy Benjamin (Buddy Hackett) then retorts, "What do you mean rush? We ain't in any rush, we just wanna get there in a hurry."
I can imagine that JPM and Scott Pruett probably rehearsed this scene after yesterday's Busch race for an upcoming act of their partnership. I believe Scott wasn't too pleased with JP's acting skills as I swore I saw him give the 'thumbs down' after the race when questioned on that subject.
Oh well, boys will be boys, and there is still plenty of time in the season to practice the timing between partners
(Lewis and Martin anyone or maybe Larry, Moe, and Curly?), and I am confident that we will see great things from this team.
By the way, Scott, wasn't it Nietzsche who said "What does not kill me makes me stronger?"
That's the view from here...
-- Mike
PS - To me, it looks as if Scott cut down on JP -- so where was the spotter and what was he saying?
PPS - Viva, Mexico!
There was a race? Sorry, I must have been dozing ...
Catch you in Vegas, baby!
-- Mike
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." No wait, I guess it was the best of times (again).
If we could have omitted the middle 60 percent or so of this race, I think we would look back upon it as being a 'classic'. I had earlier noted to anyone who would listen that NASCAR needed the thrill to return as a boring Daytona would not help down the line with either the fans or the sponsors.
And, of course, it delivered.
From Mr. Ghost Rider delivering the "Gentlemen, start your engines' to that upside down Jack Daniels car (hmm...perhaps a new drink here -- "The Upended Bowyer") there were enough tingles still left to be had.
And once my wife stopped screaming in my ear, I had figured out that the Army of One had needed to be an army of at least two as the Scallop car just had too much juice. I also deduced that I wanted to have the wrecker concession at future races.
One final word, though -- "You'll get 'em next time, Mark".
That's the view from Richmond ...
-- Mike
PS -- I still think Toyota will win by Race 7, but you wouldn't have known it yesterday.