Track Trash - It’s a Bristol thang

Good racing, the threat of paybacks, and a stellar weekend by that
trash talkin’ Kyle. Yep, it’s a Bristol thang……..

Longitude 43: More info on that ne’er-do-well racing outfit called Latitude 43. Last week we indicated that Boris Said bailed out because he was owed a bunch of money. That was followed by David Stremme bailing out because he didn’t get respect from the owner, Bill Jenkins. In order to fill the seat, Longitude 43 just hired Patrick Carpentier for Atlanta. It’s a good opportunity for Patty, but the odds seem to be against this being a long term relationship……

Jr.: Several articles have recently been written about how long it’s gonna be before Jr. either gets axed, or just moves on to another organization, even though he has 2 more years on his contract. One article accurately depicts how historically one of the HMS teams runs really bad…..year in and year out. Rickie has waited long enough for Lance McGrew to inject some pizzazz into this team and needs to make another change in the very near future. This team is going South, and needs a new band leader. NOW.

The Hex: JJ tried to put the whammy on Happy. He indicated that Happy was the favorite to win the Championship. So what did Happy do? He put the whammy right back on JJ by indicating that he thought JJ would win it. In this day and age, the hex is nothin’ to mess with, so if you get hexed, you’ve gotta unload it ASAP. It’s bad mojo to be the last one with a hex on your head……

Wins: Not winning in 2010 can have an effect on whether a team can get a solid spot in the 2011 All Star race in Charlotte. Thus far not included are notable drivers like Jburton, Jr., and da Flipster. They can always race their way into it via the preliminary race, or get voted in. Odds are that if Jr. can’t get a W in the meantime, he’s pretty much assured of getting voted in.

Da Race: Racing at Bristol just might get back to ‘the old days’. Not the type where you could only run the lower line, but it’s getting the adrenalin going again. Maybe part of that is the ‘get it on’ attitude of NA$CAR, which allows the drivers a little bit more leeway on their emotions. But the most important factor of this race was the new tire that Goodyear threw at them. By and large the crew chiefs just couldn’t get the right set-up for this tire, and it caused problems along the way.

JJ: He owned the track…….until he got snookered about half way through the race. On a restart, he led the pack at the Green, then shortly found himself as the peanut butter in a sandwich, going three wide and nowhere to go except back. Another 150 laps and he had an altercation with Pablo that sent him into the wall, then behind wall for much needed repairs. So chalk his race up to a big Plus for running out front as much as he did, and a big Minus for having another spell of bad luck. Unfortunately, his bad luck seems to be following him around the country as of late, and will probably ensure his not getting another Championship.

Jr.: A valiant effort…for a while, then it turned into a fading same-old, same-old. No question he wanted to post a good score, but for some reason this team just can’t produce. But perhaps he fared better in the Cup race because he got some seat time in the Busch League race.

Kyle: What a dramatic weekend for the young vomit-mouth. When this kid is ‘on’, he is flat out ON. This weekend’s performance of winning the Truck, Busch and Cup races is unquestionably one of storybook proportions. But in order to attain the highest level of racing (being respected by your fellow drivers), he’s gonna have to do two things. (1) He needs a steady menu of Humble Pie. (2) He needs to get his lips permanently sewn together.

Kudos: To the Rootman for putting his food poisoning on the back burner and concentrating on racing to the line. To JamieMac, who once again put on a stellar performance. To Bowowyer for driving a stake into sirMark’s chances. To Kasey for recovering from penalties, and to FlyinRyan for finally posting a top 10.

Heaps of 3’s all over yer pack of Doublemint,

Racing Maniac #3