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A reasonably good race Sunday in Richmond. Any time you have 14 yellows, you know there’s action on the track.
It sorta keeps yer fingers from jumping to your favorite NFL game…… |
Stremme: Well, I really thought Penske was smarter than that. Why would you hire a third rate, washed up driver, when you could go for the gusto, and maybe hire a second rate driver? Why, perhaps because Penske has been a third rate team for some time now, and this dufus is just blending in with the wallpaper. Oh….did I say that??
Dario: Sorry to see Franchitti bolt back to the open wheelers. With a little more grooming, he coulda become a good NA$CAR competitor. However, he was doomed when he accepted the ride from AssiGanassi. Doomed because like Penske, the Ganassi/Ricky Ricardo team has never been truly ‘dominant’ in this series. Yep, they both have open wheeler laurels, but neither has been able to transfer that edge to NA$CAR. And alas, we’re sorry to see the sip of Scotch (and his beautiful wife) return to ‘the other series’.
Da Race: It was probably a better race today than it woulda been last night. And we were able to get some sleep, too. Early on, the Roushketeers were fighting the fickle finger of fate, and losing the battle. Da Flipster went a lap down with a green flap pit stop to replace a bad tire, da Biff slapped the wall, then 7 laps later DavieRagan lost it and MattyBoy did the ‘slip sliding away’ move and both did wall jobs. But they had most of the race to recover, and Flip and da Biff charged back for 13th and 14th place finishes.
Payback: KidKyle was in the lead at one point, and Jr. was right behind him. Jr. started to pass on the inside and da Kid came down on Jr., sending the 18 car into a spin that dropped him toward the end of the lead lap. The fans saw this as payback for a reverse situation earlier this year at Richmond, but chalk this one up to a stupid move on Busch’s part. Nonetheless, we might not have heard the last of this little rivalry. After all, whereas da Kid is a great driver, he’s a loaf short of a good salami sandwich.
Etc.: Not to be out done, some 10 laps later Saddleburns later took advantage of da Kid and did a bump and spin on him. Oh, da poor Kid.
As usual, the best racing is in the last 30 laps, and we had some excellent side-by-side encounters. Perhaps the best racing was near the end, when TwoTonTony was racing JJ for the lead, and the win. You could almost hear the soft whispers of the fans: “Come on Tony, you know, you can do it……..anybody but JJ (or da Kid)”. But alas, twas not to be. JJ streaked across the line with plenty to spare, and what with last weeks win in Calif, looks like he’s got a strong head of steam for the Playoffs.
Playoffs: OK, what’s it gonna take? A hot streak with a few W’s, or the ‘steady Eddy’ approach with a serious number of Top 5’s??
OK, the answer is……….all of the above. But if you have two really bad races, you might as well pack your bags and head for the hills.
It’s gonna be really hard for anyone to overcome the number of Points the Kid has, so if they do, they’re gonna have to win a number of races while da Kid is sucking a huge amount of fumes. Sorry, but one doesn’t see a clear picture of this happening in the Swami’s crystal ball.
Heaps of 3’s all over yer local Lowe’s store,
Racing Maniac #3, #88e
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the kid(like him or not) has had a **** of a year and drove the wheels off of that toyota. as far as the incedent with jr. yesterday, that did not look 100 percent intentional, jr. just got into the turn a little hot, locked up the left front and pushed up the track and clipped him. i am sure they will both be focused on good finishes throughout the chase.