// MotorSportsNews.Net(work)

Does anyone ever wonder if not into the too far distant future that Petty Enterprises might be considering selling or maybe merging with another owner? It makes me wonder if the move to Mooresville was for some not yet surfaced reasons too. There seems to be a lot going on and not going on at their camp.

I honestly feel sorry for Kyle as I feel he is and has tried to be competitive but something surely is not clicking. With what he and his wife and the entire family went through when their son Adam was killed on the track at New Hampshire, I for one would understand if they were to give up racing. VJG is a wonderful organization that he and his wife created in memory of Adam. A lot of good for other children has come from the Victory Junction Gang Camp and always will.

Let me remind you all before I go any further that the context of this commentary are simply my opinions and a few rumors that have been passed down to me in emails. Take none of this to the bank because they won’t take it as a deposit even on a piece of bubble gum.

Anyone ever wonder why a particular driver in the Sprint Cup Series continues to gripe the most about the COT? He did that last year too and he was the first to win a race driving a COT. He griped in Victory Lane. He has had better finishes behind the wheel of the COT then anyone else. I don’t think I have to let anyone know his name. He was griping once again behind the wheel this past weekend at Phoenix. It does give him attention but to me the wrong kind but the continual griping gets old fast.

The COT sure is not pretty but it got a whole lot prettier to me when I saw the beating it took to save McDowell from being seriously injured or killed in Texas. Again, we can thank Dale SR, long after he left this world for making safety a number one priority to NASCAR including mandates for the tracks by having safe barriers installed.

I keep wondering why Dale JR is down on himself so much. I heard his post-race interview this past weekend and he was putting himself down again. Maybe he does not realize it but he blames himself most of the time for not being able to get back into Victory Lane. I am sure no one wants a win more then he does this year. I think he is trying too hard and he needs to ease up on himself a little. You know something, take a look at where he was this time last year and compare it to being 3rd in Cup point standings this year. There is a big difference, a huge difference. Give it time JR and it will all fall into place.

Do you ever wonder about one driver who many seem to think has a halo on underneath his helmet each time he is out on the track ? You ever wonder if those so called accidental bumps, taps, or slight pushes up into the wall for the driver to his right might be intentional? Of course they are made out to look like it was a innocent mistake. I won’t name this driver but he has been racing a pretty long time. I just don’t buy all of the innocence stuff. Never did and never will. You can’t be a stock car driver without being a little naughty on the track. You’d be a lying stockcar driver if you said you weren’t a little underhanded or sneaky as long as you thought you could get by with it..

Do you ever wonder why some of us get a tad bit upset with some comments that come out of the broadcast booth during a race? Comments such as, “I pick Dale JR to win this race” but during a in car cam race interview with another driver during the warm up laps, DW said he only picked Dale JR because it was on TV. Who does he think was listening to him as he took back the statement about picking JR and changing his pick to the driver he was talking to during the warm up laps? Millions of us were listening. I don’t know about a lot of you but I still miss BP in the booth.

I admit, I am not a fan of Kyle B but he can drive a stock car but then so can a lot of them and quite well like Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Dale JR, Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon just to name a handful. Heck, they each can drive well or they would never have got behind the wheel of a 200 mph stockcar to begin with. Every driver has his day. Like I have said a thousand times, I might not like a driver’s personality but they each have my respect as well as their fans.

Does anyone ever wonder what Toyota has found on the tracks this year that other car makers seem to have misplaced since last season? Makes one wonder when they get such a good jump at those restarts and jump out a bunch of seconds into the lead and fast. I do think it is more then a talented driver behind the wheel. There is talent that put those cars together back in the shops. You got to give credit to the crew chief’s for they along with the over the wall crew can win or lose a race for any driver.

Does anyone remember in the beginning months and years of Jeff Gordon’s career the rumors that flew around that he had a hidden switch that he flipped on when he got the lead so fast and won so many races? Unbelievable rumors and some really funny too. I always thought this was one of the best. I am hearing that Toyota has a hidden switch also but this one might be attached to the driver and not the car itself. I just sit back and laugh. That’s all anyone can do.

Does the broadcast and camera coverage during a race ever make anyone else angry besides me? Lead changes are made, wrecks happen and more but it seems those in the broadcast booth and behind the cameras have a chosen two or three that they just can’t seem to get enough of. All 43 drivers have fans. Give us a break whether our driver is in the top 10 or 10 laps down. We would like to see them every once in awhile unless they end up behind the wall not to return.

Does anyone else think that these 500 and 600 lap races are just a little too much? Not only for the driver’s, especially the driver’s but for the fans in the grandstands? Whose idea was it to set such long races for these drivers? Of course, it has to be NASCAR. Sometimes the heat in the grandstands is unbearable to we fans. Just think what it feels like to the drivers behind the wheel of those 4 wheel “stockcar furnaces”.

NASCAR, have you ever considered the time of the year and the size of the tracks when you decide just how many laps you will put these driver’s through each weekend? What is wrong with a Talladedega 400 instead of a Talladega 499? Just cutting those 99 laps would be a huge break to the drivers.

No one loves the Coca Cola 600 more then me. Well I know a lot of you love that Memorial Day weekend race along with Speed Week in downtown Charlotte. I have been to many Coca Cola 600’s in my life but 600 laps is inhuman. Why does it have to be 600 laps? 500 hundred laps is pushing it except perhaps for those short tracks like Bristol and Martinsville. Those can be miserable too but at least those laps on short tracks add up a lot faster, minus cautions.

Does anyone ever wonder why each track does not have auditions for those who want to sing the National Anthem pre-race? I wish that all tracks were situated geographically close enough to have a military band play the National Anthem or at least someone in our military singing it.. I do not know where some of these people or groups come from. I will never know why some want to ADD more to the National Anthem as they attempt to sing it. If they only knew how ridiculous they sounded they just might stop. Our National Anthem needs to be played or sung with respect for all Americans, especially those who wore or are wearing a uniform of our Armed Forces.

I know I can hear it now. A lot of you will think where did she come up with all of this? I come up with 99% of what is on my mind each and every week I watch the races and work on putting my newsletter together RaceFansStockcarNews (Newsletter). It is amazing what you can read out on the Internet and what you can hear on TV and on the radio pre and post races. As I said, these are just my opinions along with rumors that have been discussed with me over the weeks. I thought for a change instead of keeping things to myself I’d vent them.

I know there are many who will feel the same way about some of my comments. I am not a professional writer and I am sure it shows so please don’t bash me by saying I am trying to be something I’m not. I’ve wrote commentaries for years and never have claimed to be a professional. I am just your average fan from as Dale JR would say, from “Back in the Day.”

I wish everyone a Happy Income Tax day. I am happy mine is over for at least another year. As always, your feedback both negative and positive is always welcomed. See you in Talladega!