Hey. A Spring race in Atlanta with perfect weather. Who woulda thunk?
Bruton: When Bruton starts extolling on various NA$CAR subjects, he sometimes lets his brain disengage. But not this time. Of course, his ultimate goal is to get a second race at Las Vegas, so he made a suggestion to make it happen. How about moving the last race (Homestead, with 63K seats) to Vegas with 131K seats, where there would undoubtedly be more fans in attendance, and perhaps more interest from the press. More seats, more hotels, more parking, an active airport with low fares, good weather. Actually, this is a really good idea. Unfortunately, it’s so good that NA$CAR will reject it without giving it any consideration.
Bruton, again: While he was on his rant, he again suggested moving the banquet from NYC to LV. Another great idea.
B*tch: Drivers were actively complaining about the lack of grip before the race, some suggesting it might be due to the tires. Then Jr. said it just might be the car, which is hard to drive in the first place. NA$CAR seems to be in no particular hurry to make any changes on the COT that would make it easier to drive, and perhaps more competitive. Then again, I don’t see many ex-drivers in management positions at NA$CAR, so it’s almost like they hire managers without any ears on ‘em, and they don’t know how to speak in sign.
Da race: Several drivers had proverbial ‘bad hair’ days. Take Blobonte for instance. Twelve laps in he got loosie-goosie and spun out. He musta liked it so much that he tried it again about a hundred laps later. This time, though, he broke a valve spring, and parked it.
SNAFU: The race took a complete flip flop during a lap 65 green flag pit stop, when one of Ambrose’s tires wandered off and looked like it was heading for the track. One pit member ran after it (an unauthorized no-no), and a Yellow was thrown. This put all but six (6) cars at least one lap down, and completely whacked out most fans because now there appeared to be no logic about where a car was on the track, and what position it was in. So us befuddled fans had to listen closely as the announcers tried to explain it to us. By the end of the race, some were able to get back on the lead lap via the Lucky Dog syndrome, but if you examine the ‘laps completed’, you’ll see a bunch of them were 2, 3, 4, 5 laps down. And a lot of ‘em were those we normally expect to be in the top 10.
Das Kurt: The Blue Deuce was a flying machine today, running the rim line and by far leading the most laps. It sorta felt like he was destined to win this one, and I found myself pulling for him in spite of the gallant runs by Gordo and the Flipster. In the back of my head, though, I was almost bracing myself for the usual das Kurt antics of shooting himself in the foot. The race was his to lose, and for some reason they were able to step up to the plate and knock a home run.
Gordo: I will say this…this team is getting better. They’re gradually inching their way closer to the W they’ve been chasing since 2007. One of these days (probably within the next 4 races), they’re gonna get it. When they do, step aside and watch out for all of the hype that’s gonna get thrown your way.
Sir Mark: Bummer, dude. Not only are you running out of time, but you are now in 34th place in the points, and dangerously close to having to race your way into the top 35. If this happens, yer hair won’t get any grayer, but it might just start to fall out. We don’t want you to look like QueBall Boooodine, so get yer buttinski on the ball and drive like we know you can.
Happy: It was almost like we saw his car driving through a blue haze and into the top 10. At one point he musta been a couple of laps down, but he snookered himself into a 4th place finish. Way to go, you self made entrepreneur.
VickersVapoRub: Not a bad day for Red Bull. He had everyone in his cross-hairs, but a slight misjudgment toward the end (a slight kiss with the wall) did him in. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
All in all, it was a good race. The tires lasted, only a few engines expired, and aside from the loose tire that screwed up the running order and put a lot of ‘em one or more laps down, it was worth the effort. And for once I didn’t do any ‘multi-tasking’ (channel surfing), which says a lot in my book.
Heaps of 3’s all over yer Blue Deuce,
Racing Maniac #3
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