Great story.

This has absolutely nothing to do with nascar, but everything to do with true humanitarian spirit. Glad there are still kids with decency in this country. So many young people today only think about themselves. How refreshing Watch "Act Of Sportsmanship Gives Texas High Schooler Shot At Glory" on YouTube

After Daytona...

Well here we are, the day after the Daytona 500. First I want to say I hope everyone that was injured in the crazy wreck in the Nationwide race Saturday is ok and will be home soon with their families. That was a really scary wreck and could of been even worse had that very hot engine gotten farther past that fence and actually landed on someone, in that aspect the fence did its job. My question is this,the idea I heard from someone was "why doesn't NASCAR put up 2 fences, 1 about 6 to 8 feet inside the first fence. 1 to catch the car and one to catch the flying car parts?" Sounds like a great idea to me.

Like I said the other day, I did not get to watch the Camping World Truck Series Race because I had prior plans that sent me and my family to the Idaho Steelheads Hockey game, Idahos ECHL hockey team. which I am proud to report the Steelheads beat the San Fransisco Bulls, 4-0. I would however, like to congratulate Johnny Sauter for the win in Truck series Friday night. I have always like Johnny and always wished he could of gotten a better shot with a better team in the Cup Series.

Now on to Saturday, HOLY CRAP DID YOU SEE THAT? It was a spectacular crash and unfortunately several fans were hurt with flying debris from Kyle Larson's car after he went airborne into the catch fence. The cars front clip (from the front bumper to the firewall) totally evaporated as it ran across the fence. When the car came to a stop and Kyle climbed out, I am sure his first thought was...where is my engine? Well it was wrapped up in the catch fence along with one tire and part of the frame that the engine is mounted too and caught on fire moments after it landed. The rest of the front clip was scattered as far as 25 rows up. (remains of the car chassis pictured at the top) 28 fans were treated for injuries (5 for heat exhaustion) 14 at the track and 14 in area hospitals. Some with serious injuries, but none life threatening thankfully. They repaired the fence after the race and Sundays race went on as scheduled. No drivers were seriously hurt, minor bumps and bruises and some sore body parts. Tony Stewart went on to win his 4th Nationwide Daytona race. After the race in the winners circle Tony decided to hold the celebration in respect to the people hurt in the stands.

On to Sundays race. Can you say BORE FEST.... I knew you could. Did I call it or what? Look back in the blog, I said "single file boring race like they had when the track was repaved" hello! that's exactly what it was. The most exciting thing that happened was again a wreck that collected Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, and Brad Kesoloswski, last years NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. Poor Carl Edwards had yet another tough couple weeks at Daytona wrecking almost everything he sat in. I am sure he hopes starting next week to turn that around. I do believe they all made it back on the track after major repairs were made to the cars. Brad K put a little 100mph tape on the car and lead a good portion of the later stages of the race. It actually looked like he could of gone on to win the race as the laps ran down. With a late race restart we actually had a chance to see a few different cars at the front of the pack, ultimately seeing Jimmie Johnson taking the lead and holding on to it (again single file racing, a few laps after a side by side restart all the cars lined up single file and stayed that way.) for his 2nd Daytona 500 win. Dale Earnhardt Jr made a last lap pass to move up a few spots bringing with him Mark Martin and a couple other cars to finish second. Matt Kenseth and teammate Kyle Busch both ended their days with car troubles which I am sure worried then race leader and teammate Denny Hamlin. 

Darrel Waltrip couldn't stop talking about his new crush, Danica Patrick. Every sentence either started or ended with her name being uttered by the man once called jaws. Yes she started on the pole and finished 8th. If you think this will be how the rest of her season goes I think you will be sadly let down. With the rest of the season ( non super speedway tracks 1 1/2 miles or less) coming up, like Phoenix (1 mile) Vegas (1 1/2 miles) and Bristol (a little over a half mile) I have a sneaky feeling we will see a less stunning result to her season take shape. I believe the chicken got counted before the egg hatched. Even my wife is getting tired of her name being spoken out loud (mostly probably because every time I hear it I have something negative to say in response to it)

So congratulations are in order for Jimmie Johnson I guess. As the laps wound down I uttered the same words I have been uttering since 2005, "anyone but Jimmie Johnson please!!!" As you might know I got excited to see Jr come up on the last lap and get behind Jimmie, I was hoping he would try the old sling shot move at the last second and inch by Jimmie, I think he waited a half a lap to long to make his move. If he could of made it in turns 1 and 2 and not waited for turn 4 to make the move maybe it would of been a little different.

On to Phoenix next weekend where we got to see a lot of exciting racing and a pretty good crash and brawl thanks to Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer in the second to last race of last season (which yours truely was lucky enough to see live and in person.) Kevin Harvick went on to win the race last year and I have a feeling he will be in contention again next week. And I dare say don't count out drivers like Carl Edwards, it is the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and they are a major sponsor of Carl's and I am sure the pressure to win there is pretty high. Also don't count out Matt Kenseth, he has been successful there also and if yesterday was any indication of what is in store for Matt this season I think great things can and will happen for him this year even with the new team, new manufacturer, new crew chief and new spotter, he looked like a contender until mechanical problems put him behind the wall. Others to watch are Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Clint Bowyer. Oh and of course never count out ol 5 time Jimmie (please not Jimmie) Johnson.

Let the season begin....until next time.........

After the Duels!

Well what did you think of the Budweiser Duels at Daytona? My personal opinion, as always, might not reflect what everyone else might be thinking. Yep it was racing and I am so glad the season has started, I was getting bored on Sundays with nothing to watch on TV.

But.... I thought the first duel would be the most exciting, and it was if you factor in the wreck, but I'm not one that likes the wrecks in racing. I do like beating and banging and rubbing fenders, I am no way a fan of wrecks. By what we seen yesterday I have a feeling we are going to see a snooze fest this Sunday and I am already trying to think of other things to do during the mid part of the race that will keep me from sleeping during the boring single file, follow the leader style racing that we seen a few years ago when the track was repaved and I have a bad feeling we will see the same thing after the initial start. Once everyone gets settled down and lines up, the top line was the only line that moved forward yesterday and I don't see a change for Sunday.

The second duel was even less exciting then the first, I did think however if Jeff Gordon wouldn't of got caught speeding on pit road he would of probably stayed out front and won the race. Passing on the inside seems very difficult and Jeff raced on the outside groove even starting from the pole on the outside. I also thought Kasey Kahne would pull out and try the sling shot and it looked like he thought about it for about a half second then tucked back in and was content with second place finish putting him in a 6th place starting spot for Sundays race. We seen a lot of people try passing on the bottom, we also seen those that tried end up being passed by everyone lined up on the top groove. 

I am sitting here typing this today and watching practice at the same time and its overall single car practice with very few even out practicing and only a couple drafting together. Most teams, it seems, have decided not to go out today and are waiting for happy hour tomorrow to go out and practice. A few have made the change to the engine they will race on Sunday and don't want to put excess miles on it today. Funny a lot of teams are practicing coming onto and exiting pit road. We seen a few entering and exiting to fast penalties yesterday with a few drivers coming in way too hot and locking up the breaks, sliding the tires. At a place like Daytona you don't always need to take on 4 tires so not sliding and flat spotting the tires is very important.

One other thing we have seen with this new car is the importance of the side draft. These cars seem to get very edgy when they get close together. They have flared out fenders, something they have not had before, and it seems to cause a turbulence when the cars are side by side that is causing strange things to happen. Like right side door windows to blow out. Ask Martin Truex Jr about that, he was penalized yesterday coming to the checkered flag because his right window blew out. And hes not the only one having problems with that. Several cars have had them pop out this week. NASCAR has added a couple rules to hopefully fix the window problem. This car is surely a work in progress and what might happen next to the car might be the most exciting thing to happen this weekend.

Unfortunately I wont get to see most of the truck race tonight because of other family plans, I will be checking on my phone from time to time to see whats going on. Lets hope its a typical fast paced door banging race the truck series always puts on. Me.... I'm hoping a Chevy kicks every ones butt, don't care which driver as long as its a Chevy lol!

My top 5 for Sunday, the 24, 29, 18, 20, 11 with honorable mention to the 88 and the 5 and 48. I think the 4 Hendrick cars will all be in the top 10 if there are no accidents.

Until tomorrow....

New Look

Today I previewed a new look for the blog. It will change from time to time and I am going to try and start adding pictures also. 1 step at a time. It will get there I promise.

Day Before the Duels

Blown engines, wrecks, and questions left unanswered! That's what today's practice for the Budweiser Duel 150's had in store for us today.

So does Rick Hendricks teams have an engine problem? First Juan blew a motor ( yes Earnhardt Ganassi now uses Hendrick engines.) Now today Jr explodes one during the first practice for the duels. He did get the engine replaced and got to spend a little time on the track, running 17th during the last practice almost 2 miles per hour off the leader. He also has to go to the back of the pack for his duel. In the Sprint Unlimited he fell to the back and said he had a hard time catching the draft, lets hope this doesn't happen tomorrow in the duel and lets also hope he can scoot up front fast an challenge for the win so he can get a good starting spot for the 500 Sunday.

Ok I guess I have to talk about Danica just a little bit. Yes she got the pole for Sundays race, but who actually thinks she will finish the race in first or well.....finish it at all? I will be straight up here, I am not a fan at all. I still don't understand what all the hype is about besides she gets mostly undressed for the commercials. She was good racing go carts, mediocre in the IRL winning just one rain shortened race on an oval in Japan. Her best finish other then that was a 4th at the Indy 500. She didn't come even close to a win in 2 1/2 years in the Nationwide season ( 2 part time seasons and 1 full time season) she did finish 10th in points last year in the Nationwide series and that's a shock seeing as how a lot of the races she finished at least 1 lap down if not multiple laps down, the only thing that saved her was the fact that cup regulars were not able to score points in the lower series per NASCAR rules on only claiming points in 1 series. If they had been able to she would of finished way down the list on points. Yes that is a what if situation and under the rules of the series she finished 10th in points, but really, she is not a 10th place driver. Look back at her season, starting in Daytona and I will post starting position and finish position. 1-38, 21-30, 12-12, 19-27, 35-21, 8-17, 21-16, 13-17, 12-17, 30-9, 13-3, 30-17, 18-5, 12-10, 12-11, 31-3, 14-18, 14-13, 35-20, 11-18, 43-23, 27-4, 9-34, 13-17, 29-24, 12-12, 14-11, 16-25, 11-11, 10-13, 14-8, 10-14, 13-14. She didn't finish 16 of the 33 races on the lead lap, a half a race shy of half the season down laps. So tell me how does she warrant the exposure she is getting? The only thing I can think of is the bikini! Arguably Juan Montoya is one of the greatest all around drivers ever to sit behind the wheel, and after several seasons in cup, he is still struggling to have consistent seasons. So exactly how can she or anyone actually expect her to do better then Juan who is so much more of a driver then she has ever been? I guess we will all see at the end of the season, I am not one for all the hype on a nobody and to me she is a nobody. I say that Ricky Stenhouse will be the rookie of the year hands down, now "he" is a race car driver worthy of a cup ride. 2 back to back Nationwide championships earned him that chance, Danica? Not so much. Used to be you got a ride in cup because you earned it, not so these days, its how much money you can bring to the table.

OK, OK im done ranting. My wife is sitting here telling me "for a guy who doesn't like Danica you sure are talking a lot about her"..lol well what can I tell you, I'm stubborn and I truely believe she has not earned her ride the correct way.

In other news, I think Mark Martin has to be the underdog favorite here, the guy has been wrecked because of other peoples screw ups in both the Unlimited and now in practice. With car parts at a premium because of the new car, how many more can he wreck before they have to start borrowing from other teams to make a car? anyone know how much it costs to re-wrap the cars? I bet Michael Waltrip knows....

Until after the duels, see you tomorrow.....

The man named Dale....

Well today is 12 years since Dale Sr died. I was in the same place that day as I was the day he won the Daytona 500 in 1998, the TA truck stop in Vegas. I was as sad the day he died as I was happy the day he finally won the Daytona 500 after 20 years of trying.

I remember the day he won the 500 like it was yesterday, I walked into the truck stop to sign my fuel ticket and then find a place to park for the day, with a delivery in California a couple days away, I was there to find a casino and have a little fun, what I got was a bug I never have been able to shake even though I have tried many times. That bug for which I was a casual fan since around 1978, that day turned into something I never thought possible, and obsession with a motorsport that would make me forget there were any other sports.

All bigger truck stops have a TV room, this Ta was no different. When I walked into the truck stop I heard a roar and a commotion from the TV room that was so excited that I had to ask the lady at the fuel desk, "what the hell was that abut" her response was "oh the are watching some stupid race!" The energy that came from the TV room made me think that it wasn't just some stupid race. I hurried out to my truck, drove like a crazy man to find a parking spot so I could get my ass back in there to see what all the excitement was all about.

After parking my truck and running back into the truck stop TV room, which was literally packed from wall to wall and barely standing room only, what was all the yelling and hype about you ask? Some guy named Dale Earnhardt took the lead in what I was told was the biggest race of the season, the Daytona 500!! Well with all that excitement I just had to stand there and find out ho this guy was and what all this meant. As I said up to that day I was just a casual fan of NASCAR, I watched all forms of racing up until then, motor cross, mud bogs, street bikes, F1, Indy car, jet boats, monster trucks, you name it in racing I was a fan, mostly of motor cross racing because that was something I loved to do and watch.

I can't remember how many laps were left, but I think it was around thirty or so, I stood there watching not only the race, but the people in that room, man there was so much excitement in that room and it was all for that guy Dale Earnhardt. I listened to the stories about how he has been trying to win this race for 20 years and has been leading during the last lap almost every time and something crazy happened to him every year, "this year had to be his year" was the common thoughts of everyone in that little TV room. As the laps wound down, you could feel the excitement build, I looked up a couple times thinking that ceiling had to be about to explode with all the buzz and excitement in that darn little room!!

Then came the last 2 laps, Dale was right there, right up front and poised to take the checkered flag finally once and for all, everyone was screaming and yelling and cheering, I thought for sure we were all going to get kicked out of the TV room because of all the noise. As he came out of what I learned was turn 4, made no sense to me because it looked like there were only 2 turns in the whole track, but the TV announcers said it was turn 4 so who was I to argue, to take the white flag, 1 lap to go, there was a wreck behind him, so they threw the white flag and the caution (yellow flag that indicates there is a wreck on the track and for everyone to slow down, another thing I learned that day.) That little TV room went totally BERSERK!!!! Holy crap that guy Dale Earnhardt won the race after 20 years of trying. There were screams of joy from everyone and an energy that I have never experienced ever before. I really had no idea what had just happened, I didn't know the magnitude of what I just witnessed, but I will tell you this, if this is what NASCAR was all about I was in. And how could I pull for anyone but that Dale guy? If 1 man could excite a room full of guys that much, did I happen to say only 1 guy in that little TV room had a shirt with Dales name and car on it? I think everyone had their own favorite driver, and Dale had himself a new fan if he knew it or not, I couldn't wait until the next race, "um hey guys, whens the next race?" I actually didn't have a clue.

4 years later, in that very same little TV room, I sat there cheering on Dale, Dale Jr, Steve Park, and some loser dude that hadn't won a race in something like 400 some races, Michael Waltrip, and now worked for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Dale Sr's team. Steve wrecked earlier in the race so I was cheering for Dale and his son Dale Jr to win that race. And it looked like that was for sure possible with Dale running up front most of the race and Jr fighting for the lead early in the race. That loser dude Michael was mid pack all day then presumably out of nowhere here he came, to the front. I sat there stunned along with everyone else, hell it looked like he might actually win his thing. Then the white flag, looked like Dale was doing something he had never done before, he was blocking for his team so one of them could go on and win the race. Then like many times in years passed, something crazy happened and Dale and Kenny Schrader had hit the wall simultaneously. Looked like any other minor wreck, certainly not the worst wreck of the day or nothing close to the worst either driver had been in before.

That day my world stood still, a little while later while sitting in my truck flipping both TV channels and radio channels I learned that Dale Earnhardt had died that day, from results of whats now one of the most famous crashes in NASCAR history, "with the wreck on the last lap of the Daytona 500, we lost Dale" words the President of NASCAR, Mike Helton, that might not be the exact words Mike uttered, but it didn't matter, I was in tears when he said it. In those 4 years I learned a lot about Dale, the racer and the father and someone who I grew to admire and call hero, not because he was an athlete or a famous person, but for what I learned he did away from the track. I think its safe to say I have 4 hero's in my life, first my father, my nephew Nic, who died in an accident when he was 17, third Dale Earnhardt and fourth every man and  woman that serves or served this country in the military. That day I had to decide if I wanted to continue to watch NASCAR, it was almost too difficult to even think at that time, but could this be my last race I watch. I guess we all know that answer, I am still a fan, I still watch it every weekend that I can, and I am just as big a fan now as I was the day he died. Now I pull for his son, not because its Dales kid, but because he is every bit the racer his father is, might not have the record his dad does, but really.....how many of us do? Even today when I think of Dale I shed a tear, hell sometimes I out and out cry like a baby. So today I watch all the clips, even the movie Richard and Teresa made, remember the good times like the day he won Daytona, the day Jr won the Pepsi 400 that same July and what it meant for him to win that race, of Michael and what that day meant to him, what it should of meant to him.

Whats your story? I know we all have them. You know mine now, tell me yours.

Until tomorrow.......

Sprint Unlimited

Out with the old in with the.....old. New name same race....not this year, Sprint has decided to throw more money at NASCAR and sponsor and change yet again what was once called "the busch clash" "bud shootout" and probably others I dont remember. This year they have a twist, fans get to vote on how the race is run, if there with be eliminations, and how the segments are done, and also how if at all they will be inverted. I ask why? I understand the fan involvment, one more thing other sports, or what the racing world call stick and ball sports, can't do, but why do we continue to change this race year after year. When Budwieser sponsored the shootout and the pole award, thats how you would get into the Bud Shootout, win a pole and get the chance to race in the shootout. Then Coors Light took over the pole award sponsorship and the shootout changed how you qualified for the race. Now I like the way it was and not the way they did it last year, I like the fact that you win the pole you get to race the shootout, thats the way it has been and the way it should be. The whole uproar that Brad K and Clint are not in the shootout is all for not folks, rules are, win a pole get in the race, those are the rules everyone played by and knew at the begining of the year then thats the way it should stay. Nobody gets special treatment because they won the championship or placed second in the points standings. They knew the rules and didn't qualify in the top spot all year and now they don't get to race.

This year NASCAR was able to get the rights to the website, all internet content, and the right to boradcast over the web, now with Sprint as the partner, the NASCAR app has channged also, for the better. If your a sprint customer all the content on the mobile app is free, but for the first time now if you have an iphone or an android phone you can also download the app and with a fee get all the same content that Sprint customers have been enjoying for the last few years. They have yet to add all the good stuff to the app, like the team audio, the radio coverage, camera's, the leader board, but all should be there shorty because racing in Daytona starts in a little over a week. Teams are headed down to the beach within the next few days, and I for one am extremely excited.

I am still having a little bit of a hard time finding the correct pictures to show the old style cars to the new style cars, most of you im sure have seen them both, but seeing them side by side is really amazing. NASCAR has taken the right steps with the design of the new car. Finding the front shots of the new car is easy, the old car not so much because the focus has been on the new gen6 car. I am a diecast collector so if i dont find the right pictures soon I will just take pictures of the diecast and use that as the old car example. What do you thing of the new format the shootout or Sprint Unlimited, is taking on? And what do you think of the new NASCAR 13 app? And how about the new cars? Until tomorrow...have a great day everyone.

Gen6 car

No matter how many ways you look at it, the new gen6 car is a step in the right direction. With the new body style, these cars look more like their showroom floor counter parts all 3 manufacturers put on the street, ( I for one am still sad that Dodge wont be in NASCAR this year, I hope for a speedy return) The Chevy SS, of course, isn't on the showroom as of yet, but they will be in the middle of this year. The official unveiling will be during speed weeks at Daytona. Now I know I should be more unbiased of my opinion of the new cars as far as picking one I like over the others, but I really like the looks of the Chevy SS and am already putting a bug in my wife's ear to trade the old malibu in when they come out (to no avail I'm afraid, at least not until I can get her in one for a test drive.) I have never been impressed with the looks of the Toyota Camry, and in general not a Toyota fan. The ford looks remarkably like its showroom counter part, but in my humble opinion, not sporty. Please don't let my grandpa here that, he was a Ford man through and through.

The drivers have all had high remarks for the new car, I do not believe we will have the colorful remarks by the winner of the first gen6 race like we did with the COT in Bristol by Kyle Busch, refresher of what he said after winning and leading most all the laps that day was "this car sucks." Every one has said they like the car, its fast, sticks to the track better (has much better down force then the old COT and much less of the dreaded aero push we hear so much about) Denny Hamlin has said that during a tire test a week or so ago, "it was faster then the old car."

Dale Earnhardt Jr has been very happy with the new car saying "its much more drivable" even though it looks like bump drafting will be not as before (as we seen during the testing in Daytona, bumping was not the way to get around the track) Dale Jr has learned the hard way, while attempting to bump draft with Marcos Ambrose he ended up being the cause of the "big one" wrecking and ending many teams testing weekend at Daytona. After the wreck Jr said that the bumpers of the different manufactures did not line up well and later stated wrecking half the field like that was probably the dumbest thing he has done and was more embarrassed about that than anything he could remember before. Will we see the old "sling shot" passing we had before the COT hit the track? I for one sure hope so. That was a way more entertaining way to race I always thought. And my question is, will we see drivers like Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr, who excelled with the "old style" car, go back to their winning ways? Dale Jr won 16 races in 4 years before the COT hit the track and in the old car Jeff won 4 championships and hasn't won but a smattering of races since the COT hit the track, both struggled getting the "feel" of the new car. We will soon see wont we? Daytona speed weeks is less then 2 weeks away, Feb 16th at 8pm EST is the new Sprint Unlimited (old bud shoot out, that will be tomorrows topic by the way.) And I for one can not wait... its time for some NASCAR!! Until tomorrow.......

p.s I will try and locate some pictures of the old car of last year and the new car gen6 as NASCAR is calling it, and try and post them later tonight or tomorrow with the next blog.

new year, new season

Well I'm going to try this again this season, I am home every day now so this might be easier to accomplish then via a mobile smart phone I was using to try and do this last season. I'm also part of a NASCAR fantasy racing league and I will post how I did and maybe get a little help from readers. I hope you follow along with my blog, give me ideas to write about and either argue your point of view or agree with mine. When the season gets rolling I will post Sundays after the race and any time something of NASCAR interests hits the airwaves. Maybe even post a picture or 2 along the way. Follow along on twitter @brad202b I don't always talk about NASCAR on twitter, but for the most part I try.

Here you will see what I personally thought of the racing action, who won, who did who wrong, and about anything else related to the racing going on in all 3
NASCAR touring series. Warning: I am blunt and to the point, I don't hold back and I will tell you how I feel about what I have seen. Doesn't mean you might not be right, just means I have my opinion and you have yours and sometimes we will disagree and that's ok with me. I will give credit to the person I am quoting if it is another reporter I am quoting, they do the work, they should get credit where credit is due. I will start out tomorrow by giving my thoughts on the new "gen6" car. Until then, have a great day and always remember to turn left!