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Another good race. Say….maybe this COT isn’t as bad as they say it is. I hate fuel races, but this one had some pizzazz to it, and the fans loved it. |
More drugs: NA$CAR put the whammy on JerryMaybefield. They counter sued him. Each driver has a contract with NA$CAR, and they must report if they are taking a prescription drug. Sorta looks like NA$CAR’s deep pockets have whomped poor Jerry over da head with a sledge hammer. Like I said a few weeks ago, Jerry oughta pack it in, open a Subway shop, and get on with his life. At this point, there is NO WAY that a potential sponsor would want to associate themselves with this team.
Double File: Glad to see the double file restarts become the norm. This should inject some immediate interest from the fans, and make the action much more interesting. Funny thing. Pablo said that the cars in the back will now be much easier to pass and go another lap down. Gee, Pablo, this is the way it’s supposed to happen…….the cars in the back are normally much slower than the big boys.
Saturn: Penske inked a deal with GM to take Saturn off their hands. This could be a win-win situation, cuz I would expect Roger to bring this franchise to life. They just needed someone to remake their image. Instead of being the cheaper end of the GM offering, they now will be stand-alone, and worthy of better consideration. Maybe they need a new name, though……..
Danica: More hype about the possibility of her jumping to NA$CAR. I even read a piece about her being a nice fit for JR Motors. Sorry, but this is just hype to help her re-up with the Indy league. They must drag this stuff up on a slow news day……
Long and short of it: If you followed the Carl Long fiasco, you know that he got royally screwed. Royally and totally. Via the outcome, you’d think he did this on purpose, and this is far from the truth. Carl is right. The people that should get the shaft are the people that make the engine (or other parts) in the first place. However, if some stupid owner or crew chief willingly altered the product to gain a competitive advantage, this is a whole different story. But we have to remember that NA$CAR is a dictatorship, and they make their own rules.
Da Kid: I watched the end of the Busch race last night, and witnessed another boneheaded move by KidKyle. He won the race, then disengaged his brain. Vowing to share the trophy with all of his teammates, he got the Sam Bass decorated Gibson guitar, then smashed it on the ground. Is there any possible way you could further disrespect the track, the trophy, and then fans? What an idiot. As I said last week, he’s our ‘village idiot’… and he continues to live up to his moniker.
Mikey: Rumors abound that Carpentier may jump into the 55 car at the two road courses this year. If so, this would certainly indicate that Mikey is gonna step out of the car next year and allow Trueaxle to jump into it. Smart move, Mikey.
Da Race: Just as soon as the flag dropped, so did DennyHambone. His engine malfunctioned on the first lap, then again when he came back on the track on lucky Lap 13……
Pathetic: The Jr. fans were hanging their heads today. Jr. made another blunder on pit road (by going thru his pit stall). And his new crew chief never quite tuned the car. So they were generally a 20th place car, and ended their day in 27th place and losing 2 more spots in the Points race. We still need to give them a few more weeks of breathing space, cuz this ain’t gonna be easy…..
Rocket: Newman had an interesting day. He lost his #7 spark plug, but because of the huge Pocono track, didn’t go a lap down. It took them a few pit stops to get everything ironed out, but it happened during a couple of ‘debris’ yellow flags, and he ended up in 5th place and jumped up one spot in the Points.
To fuel, or not to fuel: The end of the race became another fuel gamble, and most of the teams threw the dice. Some of them chickened out toward the end and came in for a few gallons of Sunoco, but a few of them gambled and won. JJ was the only car to run out of gas, and a lot of cars gained valuable spots by biting their nails, crossing their fingers, and everything else one does to have Lady Luck shine on them.
Owner/Driver/Winner: It was great to see Smoke finally win a Points race, and be the first Owner/Driver to win since RickyRude. He was lucky that Flip wasn’t close behind him, which allowed him to do everything except turn off the engine during the last few laps to conserve fuel. But it wasn’t quite THAT close on fuel, cuz he sure did a good burnout…….
Kudos: To Smoke and Rocket. To the Flipster for hanging in there. To Gordo for nursing a 10th place car into 4th place. To Marcos, Pablo and Hornish for exceptionally good finishes.
Heaps of 3’s all over yer local Office Depot,
Racing Maniac #3
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