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Another strategy fuel race. Another set of lucky bums that shouldn’t have ended up where they did.

Nonetheless, it was good to see some drivers actually earn their way by driving hard and fast.

But we again witnessed a number of supposedly smart drivers make some very stupid mistakes.

Onwards to New Humpshire………then Daytuna.

Fore: I know this has nothing to do with NA$CAR, but last week during the race I was multi-tasking and also watched the US Open. What a fantastic golf game. One of the best I’ve ever seen. Tiger kept trying to give it to Rocco, but it was not to be. Even in his wounded state, Tiger is the best. Not all of the time, but with amazing frequency. Now….if we only had that type of excitement in NA$CAR…..

BDR: They’re losing Cat as a sponsor, and are gonna field a second Cup car next year. I sure hope Davis has the sponsors lined up, cuz situations like this can be the death of a team. What with the economy in a tailspin, finding adequate sponsors is getting tougher and tougher.

Flyman: So now it’s for real. FlyinRyan’s contract is about up, and he’s openly declaring that if things don’t quickly improve on the 12 car, he could bolt. Talk about holding a hatchet over your owner’s head…. There’s no question that the Flyman is on the short-list of solid free agents, and he could definitely jump to an ‘A’ List team. Penske’s an average team at this point. It has a ‘name’, but the performance just hasn’t been up to par for several years now. The problem just might not get ‘fixed’ by the end of the year, so Rocketman could light his own fuse and soar to another team (like RCR??).

It’s Silly?: Wild rumors that SirMark may bolt DEI next year and jump to Hendrick where he could play ‘teacher’ to student Brad Keselowski. SirMark really likes the role of a part time driver, and a mentor to an up-and-coming driver. So, the ‘odd man out’ here would definitely be CaseOfMears, who has had a less than stellar performance record while at Hendrick. Sounds good to me…. Other big name drivers still in the Silly Season rumor mill are Trueaxle, FlyinRyan, and Smoke (the one with the domino effect).

It Isn’t Silly?: During the race we heard the announcers speculate that CaseOfMears may have recently learned that he wasn’t going to be asked back to the Hendrick empire next year. Sort of plays into the SirMark/Bradley rumor just above…….

Da Race: As now typical of the Sonoma Wine race, instead of fast machines, it’s a race to find the grand poopaw crew chief who has figured out exactly when to pit for fuel. Fuel economy is at the top of the desired traits of these Sonoma cars, and some teams are spending big bucks to stretch it out as far as they can. But once you get the position, you certainly need a stout steed to stay ahead of the hungry pack. You also need a first class driver who nails every turn. I guess we happen to be talking about KidKyle again. After the initial round of pit stops, he pretty much owned the track.

Lucky: The road races are a crapshoot. Teams set their strategy, and then have to reset them on the fly. Some earn their spots, and others are just plain lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Take for instance, our ole bud Gordhead. He had a terrible car…..no, a TERRIBLE car most of the race, and at one point Lefarte said he just didn’t know what to do to make it better. Obviously they did, but Gordo was extremely lucky to get the finish that he did.

Impressions: A number of drivers made their mark today, even though they may not have finished high on the totem pole. Marcus Ambrose, Davie Gilliland, Juan Pablo, Saddleburns, JamieMac, and yes, even Jr (who just wanted to leave Dodge City with a top 10). However, by next week we will have forgotten their deeds……..

Air Time: UPS got plenty of air time this afternoon. Unfortunately, it was due to Rootman violently plunging head first into the tire barrier. This is not the recognition that UPS was looking for, but nonetheless they got more air time than the majority of other sponsors. Somehow I can’t picture UPS being back with MWR next year, cuz even though MWR was one of the prime switch-hitters to go with Oyota, they are far, far behind both Gibbs and Team Red Bull in the performance bracket.

Special Kudos to Marcus Ambrose. For a rookie Cup driver that has never driven this course before, and has never competed in a Cup race before, he brought a huge amount of pride back into the 21 Woods Bros. team. Woods Bros. oughta hire this dude and ride the crest of the wave as long as it can. Running with WildBillElliott up to this point hasn’t done them a lick of good.

Heaps of 3’s all over yer stack of M&M’s,
Racing Maniac #3, #88e