Track Trash – Texas Two Step 09

Two more to go. We need to find out the odds in Vegas. Surely JJ is a clear favorite, but the only thing to stand in his way is Mrs. Luck. It’s too early for Santa Claus, but it would be worth the wait to see if he gets a trophy, or a lump of coal.

Jr. on ‘dega: After the last race Jr. offered his views on how to correct the problem at Talladega, and they were right on the money. Make the engines smaller, and the cars less aerodynamic. Although he didn’t liken this to how golf equipment technology has made some courses obsolete, he did touch on the fact that car technology has put Talladega into a bad situation. NA$CAR used to listen to his dad, so let’s wait and see if he has similar voice power. But of course, I’m not gonna hold my breath…..

Bradski: Out with Stremme, and in with Bradski in the Penske 12 car. This just may put some spark back into the Penske organization, and also might make das Kurt a bit uneasy for not being able to remain as the golden boy. If the 12 car eventually starts running better than the Blue Deuce, das Kurt just might then be on a short leash. Das Kurt seems to want to be the big fish in a small pond, but he’d better watch out……someone just slipped a shark into the water.

EGR: Rumors are spreading that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing may switch from Chevy to Oyota engines next year. If so, please hurry and visit Dale Senior’s grave, cuz you just might see him turning over. To associate the name Earnhardt with an engine other than Chevrolet is blasphemy. And it would be another prime example of how Teresa is asleep at the wheel.

ABC: NA$CAR blasted ABC’s production of the Talladega race because they painted it as a boring race. Gee. Let’s see. Shall we tell the truth, or lie through our teeth? If NA$CAR wants an exciting race, they’re gonna have to make it happen, and they’ve gotta quit trying to pull the wool over our eyes. In other words, don’t shoot the messenger.

Da Race: MUCH better race than Talladega, although I never thought I’d say it….. The only downside for this race is that it’s become a fuel race, and as much that I abhor this kind of race, it was exciting.

JJ: Needless words here, because you all know how it occurred and how much it cost him. If you don’t know, there are umpteen stories on the net that will indulge you. Suffice to say that their strong point is not giving up, and the tenacity they had to repair the car. All of the other Hendrick teams contributed personnel to replace virtually the entire car except the engine, the framework, and the center shell.

Gordo: “Gordon has said he’s felt his cars are “second class” compared to Johnson’s”. How idiotic can a seemingly smart driver be? Hey, dumbo. It’s not the cars…….it’s the crew chief. Get a good one and your troubles may all disappear. But nooooo. LeFarte SOUNDS like a good crew chief, but he’s obviously not pulling the right strings.

Hambone: Before the race, Denny suggested that Gordo was whining to NA$CAR, and had the bump drafting rule enacted at Talladega. His point was that the elder statesman of drivers might have swayed NA$CAR to play into Gordo’s hands (Gordo had admitted his car was not good for bump drafting). In this case, although somewhat plausible, I would err on the side of safety.

Kyle: As much as I dislike this guy, I was actually pulling for him the do the Trifecta at Texas. Yes, he’s an extremely good driver (when his cars are tuned), and yes, he may go down in the record books several times for his feats, but he also has this nasty personality to overcome. On one hand we have JJ with absolutely no personality, and on the other hand we have VileKyle with waaay too much personality. A ying and a yang if I ever saw one. Personally, I prefer the Pablo kind, which is smugly confident, yet not bodacious.

Da Points: If you want to read about the Points race tightening up, go ahead. In spite of JJ’s hiccup, he still has enough Points salted away to take the Championship via a ‘sit back and play safe’ strategy. Now, if you were das Knaus, would you opt for the danger of running for a W, or would you take a step back and go for the FourPeat?? The only danger with the latter is that you may be in mid pack and caught up in a fender bender. But this is why the Crew Chief is paid the big bucks (certainly not as handsomely as the driver, but big bucks nonetheless).

Bummers: To Pablo, Jr, KidKyle and the Flipster. All were running a great race, and were given the fickle finger of fate.

Da fuel: Another fuel race. The most exciting part of this kind of race is to see who was gonna run out. I probably missed a few, but first it was the Rootman, then KidKyle, then Marcos, then Happy. Hey. When you play with fire, yer gonna get burned. Who woulda thunk that das Kurt would escape the perils and even have enough fuel to run a victory lap in reverse? This was not the Polish victory lap. It was the “I don’t know how to get it out of reverse” victory lap.

Kudos: To Pat Tryson. As a lame duck crew chief, and being ostracized by the Penske organization, he deserves a ton of credit for hanging in there and guiding Flat Ears to a victory. Yes, they were on the verge of dumping him for the last few races of ’09, but his luck held firm. Stick it in your ear, Roger.

Heaps of 3’s all over yer foamy Miller Lite,

Racing Maniac #3