Track Trash - The Stripe

I ask you……… How can you possibly like a race that ends at 11:45 pm EDT ?? How many times did you either take a short snooze, or switch to another channel?

Apologies: Several of ‘em. First: for the shortened Talladega TT. By the time it came to my attention that half of it was missing, I was in NC, heading East, and couldn’t latch on to my computer at home. Second: for the lack of an issue for Richmond. I had a sub lined up, but there was a sudden loss of a relative and at that point, family comes first. I have no other commitments this year, so like it or not, there will be a steady stream of TT.

Editor’s note: My apologies for the Talladega Track Trash problem, too. I am living in 2 cities at the moment, about 100 miles apart, and I just didn’t realize that it was not a full edition until it was too late.

JR.: OK, he made the tabloids. He seems to be a home wrecker. Believe it or not, this is probably good news to the Nation, cuz his presence at the track without a babe on his arms has led many to wonder what kind of knickers he was wearing. So all of a sudden he becomes macho again. Now all he has to do is start winning races (but for the time being, I wouldn’t bet the farm on it)……..

Bottom feeders: Week after week we see the same group of drivers at the bottom of the list. So there isn’t parity in NA$CAR by any means. Thus, drivers like Blabonte, Saddleburns, I’mSore-enson and CaseOfMears are doomed, and may need to either retire or seek gainful employment in another area of racing.

JJ: A few have begun to throw stones at the 48 team for their lack of stellar performance in the past few races. But remember……this team excels on cookie cutter tracks, and there’s a whole bunch of ‘em coming up in the near future. So hold onto yer britches, Nellie, cuz I wouldn’t want to bet against das Knaus.

Pre Race: Two servicemen sang the national anthem. I’m sorry. They tried to sing it. As much compassion as I have for the men and women who defend our country, last night’s warbling was like someone scratching their fingers on a chalk board. Sorry, but I had to bail……I quickly tuned to see commercial fishermen go after swordfish.

Da Race: OK, I’m gonna go out on a limb and state that night races should be limited to a max of 400 miles. Any race that ends at 11:45 PM EDT is asking a bit too much from the fans. Granted, all I had to do was quickly go to bed, but the fans in the stands had a long night just getting to their sheets. Maybe I’m just an old fart (spelled ‘geezer’), but this might be the next thing NA$CAR should address to get their sport more fan-friendly.

Gordo: The 24 car was stout, but as usual, almost only when it was in clean air. Gordo is still adamantly behind Lefarte, but this loyalty might have cost him several Championships in the past few years. And yes, Gordo is in the waning stages of his career, so there’s not much time left to make his charge to the top.

JJ’s luck: Well, it sorta ran out. For some strange reason, das Knaus hasn’t found the key to the new spoiler, and JJ ran back in the pack all night long. Running in the back certainly increases the chance of getting collected, and although JJ has in the past swerved through some doozie wrecks, he got tagged BIG TIME at Darlington. Dinger lost it, then rammed right into JJ about half way through the race. I’m surprised that JJ even knew his name after that one, cuz it was a bell ringer. But keep your eye on him at Charlotte, cuz he ‘owns’ that track.

JGR: Good to see Hambone and Shrub get racy and give the Hendrick bunch a run for their money.

JamieMac: This guy just might be the real deal. He’s been layin’ down the rubber in an impressive manner, and me thinks the Cat in the Hat just might’ve let the wrong driver go last year. But then, Jamie probably wouldn’t have had this success in the Roush stable.

Heaps of 3’s all over yer local FedEx driver,

Racing Maniac