Daytona Weekend Wrap-up

Nascar touched down in Daytona this Independence Day weekend, and set off some fireworks of it's own. The weekend was full of joy, frustration, and carnage. No driver was safe from the old monster that Daytona became this weekend. This was the last race weekend on the old pavement, and it went out with a bang. From Nationwide to Cup, rookie to veteran, Daytona seemed to have a "take no prisoner" attitude this weekend.

Nationwide series craziness began in the first practice when, after hitting lead bricks that had fallen from Mark Green's car, Reed Sorenson's tire flew off, and onto Stephen Wallace's car, hitting the A-post on the front of the window. Heavy penalties are expected to be handed down on the #49 Jay Robinson Racing Chevy, the car Mark Green was driving.

Through the caranage and mahem, there was a bigger story being laid out. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was driving the #3 Wrangler Chevy. He was bringing the 3 back to Daytona. This had the possibility to be either the best, or worst thing Junior could do. It would be the best if he would win, taking the 3 back to Victory Lane, and in turn taking himself there, somewhere he hasn't been since 2008. It could also be the worst thing he does, if he were to wreck, or just flat out lose, he would have essentially of brought the 3 back for nothing. Luckily, it turned out to be the best. Junior piloted the #3 Wrangler Chevy into Victory Lane, in a moment that brought out many emotions to everyone involved. From the excitement of seeing Junior finally win a race, to the bittersweet feeling of seeing the 3 in victory lane again, and possibly the final time.

The Coke Zero 400 Saturday night had more of a "battle" feeling than a race. The battle was to simply finish the race.No one was immune to the mayhem, as even Kyle Busch, leading at the time, making a simple pass on Juan Pablo Montoya, cut across the nose too early and sent himself head first into the wall, ending his night. In the "Big One", which might even be an understatement in this case, twenty cars were collected, including Four Time himself, Jimmie Johnson. Kevin Harvick survived the chaos, winning the race and beating second place finisher Kasey Kahne. Third place was Jeff Gordon, fourth place went to Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jeff Burton finished 5th. Other notable finishes are Mike Bliss (9th), Scott Speed (10th), Steve Park (13th), and Kevin Conway (14th).

As mentioned earlier, this was the last time a race will be held on the old pavement, as they will immediately begin work on the new surface. I want to hear from you, what was your favorite moment on the "old" Daytona?

The Rise of Jr.

The past three weeks Dale Earnhardt Jr has exited his car with a smile on his face. To a casual fan this may seem like a useless fact, but to die hard fans this is huge. He's finally happy again, happy with the car, with the team, and with the results. It seems like when Jr is happy, good things happen. Hopefully this momentum will carry over to this weekends Nationwide race at Daytona where Jr will be driving the #3 Wrangler Chevy, a tribute to his father. No way to sugar coat it, when people see the #3 on the track, they expect it to succeed. Anything less than a win will be slightly disappointing, and even worse, if he wrecks, there will be a firestorm of critique on how he did not live up to his fathers standards, and to everyone's expectations. I wish Jr. all the best, this is an emotional burden I would not wish on anyone.

Being a Jr fan, i'm really hoping he wins both Friday and Saturday, but also being a Jr fan, I keep waiting for the team to backslide again. It's happened too many times for me not to wonder when it will happen again. Perhaps this is the rise of Jr and the 88 team though. Only time will tell.

What's up with the 88?

What in the world is wrong with that 88 team? The season started out fairly well, alot better than last season to be sure, but these past few races have given me flashbacks of last season. As a Junior fan, it is extremely frustrating to watch this team fall apart. But where can one put the blame? You could blame the driver, the crew chief, the crew, the owner, the track, the other drivers, the list goes on and on. Much like the oil spill in the gulf, however, someone HAS to take the blame! At this point, I believe that Junior needs to step up and get the team on the right track. The crew follows the drivers example, so to speak. If they see the driver walking around with their head down, what motivation will that give them? However, if they see the driver walking around with a smile on their face, pumping the team up, it will give them a a reason to try harder! It basically is like a circle, everyone has a little responsibility, and a team runs best when each person accepts their responsibility and acts upon it.

So anyway, this was just some ramblings I wanted to get out :)

It's baaaaaccckkkk

OK people! It's that time again! We're less than a day away from the Daytona 500, the start of yet another exciting NASCAR season. It's was a crazy silly season in 2008, seemingly leaving half the garage in different car numbers, or sponsors, or a combination of both. With the economy hanging on a thread, it makes one wonder, "How will the effect the on track racing?" Or, at least, it makes me wonder. Will this make the racers run more competitively, to get more attention from possible sponsors, or will they run more conserved, to try to ensure a good finish to keep the sponsors they have. Also, how will the economy effect the attendance at the race tracks. With major layoffs happening all over the country, more and more people are concentrating more on how to save money, then spending it on trips.

This should be a very interesting season, both on the financial side, and the racing side. Can Jimmie Johnson make history and claim the title for the fourth consecutive year? Or will someone steal the spotlight from him? Only time will tell. So bring on the racing! We've waited long enough!

Kyle Busch, and Silly Season

Let's start by talking about Kyle Busch. He's had an amazing season so far, winning 5 races, and leads in the point standings. However, when asked in a recent poll whether Kyle Busch would win the championship, the majority of people said, no. Now, why is this? He's so dominant, winning races left and right, why would people think that he will end up losing in the end? Is it, perhaps, because of his loose cannon style of driving? He has talent, that is hard to argue with, but his style of driving is highly agressive, and it's often checkers or wreckers. Nonetheless, (is that one word? oh well.) we will just have to see how the season plays out.

The next thing I want to put my two cents into is, the silly season madness. Let's try and break it down. Tony Stewart might be leaving GIbbs to go to Haas CNC, Casey Mears is almost definatly leaving Hendricks, leaving the driver seat open for Mark Martin, possibly sharing it with Brad Keselowski. I'm not so sure about Tony going to Haas. Why would he go from a top notch team, to a mid-pack team? Unless he's just tired of all the ego over at Gibbs. I know I would. Well, maybe i'm biased since i'm a Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin hater. I'm not too surprised about Casey getting the boot. When you look at his performance compared to the others, it just doens't stack up. With three of the Hendrick drivers in the top ten in points, and Casey is 24th, something was bound to happen. It is rumored that Mark Martin wants to run a full scheldule next season, and make a run for the championship. When I told my friend, a Mark Martin fan, this, she said "I thought he was going to retire three years ago! When is he going to make up his mind!" Then I told her he hasn't won a championship yet, and wants to try to, and she said, "Aw, well, that changes things." I think he should go for it, i'd love to see him win it, but I don't think he can do that from a DEI car, and I think he realizes that.
I'd like to end this blog with my condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Scott Kalitta.

The Nascar Lawsuit

I believe the Nascar lawsuit is very unforunate. If the allegations are found to be true, then this is not going to be good for Nascar's reputation.

Mauricia Grant filed a $225 million lawsuit on the basis of sexual and racial harrassment. Mauricia, an African-American female, is claiming that she was told she was working on "colored people time" and called such names as "Nappy Headed Mo" and "Queen Sheba". She also claims that two of her follow officials exposed themselves to her. These officials have been placed on administrative leave. While people debate if the facts in the lawsuit are true or not we are left to wait on how it plays out in court.

Finally.

That's the word I think of when I think of Dale Jr's win on Sunday. Finally. I don't believe there is a driver who deserves it more than he does. Although, I might be biased, :D lol. Thousands of fans, and many reporters, have been waiting for this day since 76 races ago. I missed the race because I had to work, and of course, the first race I miss in a year is the race where Jr. wins. I'm still stoked, and I hope that this win will breed many more to come this year. Second place was Kasey Kahne, who seems to still be riding the wave of momentum, starting with his win at the All-Star Race. Third was Matt Kenseth, who, in his opinion, was the car to beat. As I said earlier, I did not get to watch the race, but I did see the clip of Matt almost running over the official. Come on Matt, we all know the driver's don't like the officials, but, isn't that taking it a little to far? Lol, j/k. Fourth was Brian Vickers. In my opinion, he will end up getting a win within the next few races. Tony Stewart finished fifth. When asked his opinion of the race, he was sure what he could say, and pretty much sent a direct blow to Brian France. Brian called a supposed "Shut up and Drive" driver's meeting on Friday. (I think it was Brian France. Either him or Mike Helton...ya..I think it was him.....oops...o well. Sorry.)

P.S.

This is my first blog, so please leave comments and feedback. Constructive critisism is greatly appreciated :D