Track Trash – Back in Daytuna

Oh, KidKyle, after watching the last lap, for once your smug face is so enjoyable to look at. Face it, dude. You got what you deserved.

Weber grill(ed): The sudden demise of Bill Weber as the announcer for the remaining few races of TNT’s season raises a LOT of questions. When was the last time we heard of a sudden and deft change in the booth without any reason?? Not that I particularly liked Weber in the first place, but it sorta smells like there was something fishy going on. It may take a while, but the truth usually surfaces. UPDATE: OK, I spent a while on Google and Bing, and came across this: “The Charlotte Observer reports witnesses saw Weber get into a (loud, public) confrontation over the weekend at his hotel in Manchester, N.H.” There were other references to possibly being inebriated. Most of the fan comments following the lead stories contained words like “egotistical”, “pompous”, etc., and some speculated that he may now be in rehab.

Jerry: OK, Maybefield surprisingly won a battle in the court system. Trust me; this is not over by a loong shot. NA$CAR has the proverbial ‘deep pockets’, and can win this battle via attrition if nothing else. Meanwhile, four owners refused to give him a ride, one sponsor black-listed him, and several drivers are openly worried about having to drive on the same track with Jerry. Sort of a moot point, cuz he didn’t show up. Had he driven, he woulda been tested again…….. Maybe he needs a career change, and he’s scoutin’ out one of dem Subway shops to buy.

JRMotorsports: Jr. indicated that they just don’t have enough money to properly fund the Busch league COT, so this only gives him two other options. Fold up his tent, or jump to Cup. Yes, Cup participation requires a larger bankroll, but going through the developmental stage with the Busch COT might just require more money than that. But in jumping up to Cup, he also needs to come up with some moolah to buy out the Rickster’s investment in JRMotorsports. So any way you cut it, he’s either gotta bail out, or come up with a huge pile of money next year. No wonder he’s taking so much time to ponder this move……

Da Race: In a nutshell, although there were times when the leader was in control lap after lap, there were no significant breakaways. Thus, we were given the impression that anyone could take the lead at almost any time. This in itself took this race to a level above the ‘boring’ state, and it was pretty enjoyable. And it’s still a race that if you get hung out to dry, you could drop like a rock to mid pack.

Two-some: But during the race, the most dominant drivers were Smoke and DennyHambone. They were the cars to beat, but it seemed like Smoke actually preferred Denny to be right in back of him, instead of someone else (who might be a tad more unpredictable). But pit stops were the key, and Smoke’s crew nailed each and every one of them, allowing him to retain the edge most of the time.

Fandango: The last lap was absolutely the best. Kyle got his nose out front and tried to protect the position. Smoke did several moves to regain the lead, and da Kid blocked him. The blocking worked….until he tried it one time too many. He came down on Smoke, got his LR turned around, and ended up inserting various pieces of his hood into the SAFER barrier. But I need someone to explain to me how da Kid can wreck on the last straightaway before the checker, get out of his car, and yet end up in 14th place. OK, I can imagine that NA$CAR freezes the field once someone wins the race, but that seems a tad unfair to all those that are able to actually finish the race. Ooops, I forgot. “A tad unfair”…..shame on me. This is why NA$CAR is NA$CAR.

Kudos: To Smoke, who ran an excellent race. To JJ, who turned an unremarkable race into something. To Hambone, for finally waking up. To Marcos, for another solid finish. To Saddleburns for a good run.

Heaps of 3’s all over yer local flame broiled Burger King,
Racing Maniac #3