I have yet to be discouraged at the action I’ve seen thus far in 2010.
Oooops, I have to take that back.
If I had a gun, I woulda shot Digger in his initial appearance today.
H.V.D.: Or in more common lingo, Happy Valentine’s Day to all you gals out there, and especially my lovely wife. Yeah, I got her a few roses, but they ended up being a little gnarly. As long as you don’t get too ridiculed in the process, it’s the thought that counts.
Feud: Looks like the feud between DennyHambone and Bradski is still simmering, which is just what we were hoping for. That oughta spice up the next few races. If nothing happens before then, Bristol is just around the corner…….
Jointly Fielding: No, this isn’t officially an ‘alliance’, but BAM racing and RoboGordo are ‘jointly fielding’ the 7 car in selective races. This whole arrangement leaves me befuddled, and begs me to ask: Is You Is, or Is You Ain’t?? But then I recall the phrase ‘if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a …….” It would be real interesting to find out what would happen if the 7 car miraculously won a race. Who would then get the owners points? I need someone to ‘splain it to me.
Maurice, You Idiot: One of the absolutely stupidest things comin’ down the pike in the last few weeks was the announcement Maurice Jones-Drew (Jaguar’s ) made a few days ago. He was chosen to be the grand marshal for the second Twin 150. This was the very first NA$CAR event he’s gone to, and he was swept up in the emotion. OK, now the stupid part. He suddenly wants to own a team. He sees a couple of exciting races, and then proclaims “The key to being a good owner is who you have with you,” he said. “I don’t think any one person can run a race team. You need to have a lot of good people. I would get all the good people I can and I would give them the very best of what they needed. But we’d also have rules. We’d have a way to do things and you’d have to follow that.” Gee, Maurice, so much wisdom in such a short period of time. The very first thing he needs to do is see a shrink. Then he needs to talk to all the other wanna-be’s that have lost fortunes in this sport. Maurice, you’re had yer 5 minutes of fame; now go back and play football.
Dmania: I, like countless others this weekend, watched the Busch league race (something many of us rarely do). Why did we watch it? To see all the hype of Danicamania, and to see if she could actually wheel a car. What we saw was a gal that was tentative at first, certainly not wanting to get anywhere near the car in front of her. She dropped back, and was even toying with the problem of losing the draft. Mixed in was a new learning experience of a couple of pit stops, then she started getting her confidence back. Unfortunately she got tangled up in one of The Big Ones. Too bad, cuz she was just getting interesting to watch. She’s getting far too much air time, but she sure is giving a needed boost to the Busch League. Oh, and seeing Jr. do a roof job was worth the price of admission.
Da Race: Lots of action and inaction. One pot hole took 2 hours and 30 minutes to fix (ISC coulda saved a lot of time if it had hired the county maintenance crew). But this race lived up to its hype, and should have thrilled everyone. All of the major teams had their turn at tooling around in the lead, which should have satisfied even the naysayers.
Saddleburns: Elliot finally had a steed he could ride, and the 19 car was strong in the middle of the race. Too bad he got shuffled back to Buffalo, cuz this guy is in dire need of a good showing.
Million Dollar Bill: There was a lot of pre-race hype about the Wood Bros. 21 car, but it’s as if they weren’t running full bore. Sure, they might be able to qualify near the front in some races, but in most races you can bet the farm that they won’t be in the top 20, let alone the top 15. I know SirWilliam is well respected, but the combination of Woods Bros and Bill Elliott just isn’t cuttin’ the mustard.
Digger: I think Fox cut back on the Digger cartoons, but not quite of as much as I would’ve liked. I don’t know why the big corporations don’t holler, cuz when their commercials come on, this irritating little rat is hogging all of the attention. Sorry if I stepped on any of your toes with this comment, but if I wanted to watch cartoons, I’d plant myself in front of my TV every Saturday morning.
Bopsie Twins: Well, JJ and Gordo both had bad hair days at the same time. JJ’s never had much luck in the 500, so maybe he should just take comfort in a 20th. Today he had to settle for a 35th. Not to worry, cuz he’s got all season to recover. Gordo, on the other hand, almost displayed a flash of brilliance during the race, but unceremoniously caused the last Yellow when he bumped the 9 car into oblivion. And one must remember that Gordo was the cry baby who previously had complained to NA$CAR about excessive bump drafting at Talladega. Fatherhood must’ve addled his mind, cuz today he had a brain fart.
Da Radio: I have a ritual of turning off the TV sound on starts and restarts, and switching on the radio. I can’t tell you how much most of you are missing, cuz those guys on PRN (or MRN) tell you exactly who is doing what, and to whom……and they do it about a minute earlier than the action on TV. So automatically, you can get ready for a big wreck, a great pass, etc.
JamieMac: Super kudos to Jamie for the excellent finish. For a guy that got bounced out of his last seat, he did a great snub at the Cat in the Hat. A new team, a new crew chief, and a new outlook on life.
Jr: Most of us had pretty much written off Jr. He was strong in the early stages and had some flashes in the middle, but it looked like he was falling into the same pattern of flaming out at the end of the race. But this time he pulled a “Happy”, and blew past a number of cars in the last lap. There’s no question that he’d like the W, but is certainly settling for the 2nd place finish. And being the highest finishing Hendrick driver was icing on the cake.
Overview: A great race, and there are 3 more super speedway races ahead of us which should be equally compelling. However, the crux of the season is based on the cookie cutters, so the next two races should show us a glimpse of which teams did their homework in the off season.
Heaps of 3’s all over yer local Bass Pro Shop,
Racing Maniac #3
