As I took my seat before the race at Phoenix I had a case of butterflies that wouldn’t quell. I was almost more nervous during the race then I was that first time I interviewed Tony Stewart (and trust me- I was a BALL of nerves that day- just ask Misty).  The actual race at Phoenix was a stress-fest because I felt the need to keep steady vigil on Tony and Carl and who was where and who led a lap and who led the most laps, who pitted when and how many tires they took and so on.  People- I tried doing math in my head while at a track.  MATH- IN MY HEAD!  I am not a dumb person- but I am not great with numbers unless I have a calculator- or paper and pencil at the very least.  The number 3 is taunting me…with our three point deficit on the points leader, Carl Edwards.

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, sits in his car prior to practice for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images North America)

It isn’t helping that Tony and Carl can’t seem to break free from each other.  They qualified for Phoenix Tony right in front of Carl. They finished Carl right in front of Tony.  There has been virtually no separation between the two competitors.   It is killing me! KILLING ME!  I was hoping to go into Homestead with a couple of points on Carl and here we are sitting exactly where we were before the Phoenix race.  I know I should be grateful that Tony didn’t fall further behind Carl- but I am not.  I am bitter that we did NOT best him- it’s the sore loser in me…even though I was not the one who was racing.Yeah…so I am not the most graceful loser.

That damn duck on Carl’s firesuit mocks me…quacking THREE THREE THREE at me.  A couple of years ago at Champions Week we got our hands on some little stuffed ducks that say AFLAC when you squeeze them.  It’s been in my nephew’s toy box since I came home from champions week that year…but last night was the day he decided to play with it. AFLAC AFLAC AFLAC. That damn duck needs to go that is for sure.  On the other hand- my oldest nephew discovered my 1:64 Tony Stewart diecasts up on the shelf and wanted to know “If they were real?” and “Why can’t I play with them?” because to him they look like matchbox cars.

Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Aflac Ford, and Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy, speak during a press conference following the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images North America)

Usually by this time in the season I am beginning to mourn the end of the season, already missing my racing fix until next February, and looking a head to a fresh season for Tony to kick ass in.  However, I can NOT think that far ahead right now.   Right now all I can think is:

#KeepDiggingTony

#GoTonyGo

#BookendChampionships

XXX

By the way here are a couple of great articles about Tony in advance of the final race of the season:

Tony Stewart Vs Carl Edwards: The Championship Contenders Press Conference Score Card by Jeff Gluck

Stewart Balances Life As Driver/Owner In Quest For Cup by Cary Estes

Tony Stewart Would Make A Best Cup Champ by Terry Blount

I love the look on Tony Stewart’s face when he is asked the question is priceless- I think he was nearly speechless and it was obvious that the question caught him kinda off guard.  His answer is pretty darn funny too.   Also? Dale Earnhardt Jr’s answer cracks me the heck up.  Just what I needed on a Friday afternoon. Enjoy:

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, poses with his team and Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, and his team on the grid prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images North America)

It appears I had every reason to be hopeful.  EVERY REASON.  I settled in for the race with my cell phone and my note pad close.  I started off on the TNT national broadcast- only for the pre-race. Once the command was given to start engines I switched it over to Stewart’s DirecTV HotPass channel where for the second week in a row I just stayed on the HotPass Channel.  I have decided that I like the HotPass because I get the radio communications between Tony, Darian and Bob without draining my battery on my phone and having to relaunch the Sprint ap every time I go to read a text or a tweet- which during the race is quite often.

Anyway- it was quite obvious by the way Tony Stewart moved through the field that he had a car to be reckoned with.  Especially if you consider that during the pre-race show all the drivers interviewed mentioned how hard it would be to pass at Louden.  I don’t remember anyone saying anything different.  Tony seemed to be able to work his way up through the field a couple times and made it look easy.  EASY!  Whoo.

Ryan Newman (R), driver of the #39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, is congratulated by team owner and second place finisher, Tony Stewart (L), driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America)

I will readily admit that the competitive side of me came out when Tony was running hard trying to catch Ryan.  I was standing there in front of the TV-hoping Ryan would run out of gas. I know, I should hang my head in shame a little for hoping Ryan would run out of gas, after all that is Tony’s  teammate.  All I can say is that, Tony is my driver and he could be racing my mom out there and I would still be rooting for Tony. It’s just how this fan/driver relationship works.

Tony’s second place finish has moved him into a tie for 10th place with Denny Hamlin.  I can only hope that this 1-2 weekend at New Hampshire signals the start of better luck for Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing.

Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, is congratulated by teammate Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, after Newman won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images North America)

Notes on Loudon:

1. You see that picture up there of Tony congratulating Ryan in the car. The one right above this notes section? You might have to look carefully because it’s small but Tony’s hand is out congratulating Ryan.  I LOVE that picture.  Why? Well, as I mentioned I was watching the race on Tony’s HotPass channel and seeing him celebrate Ryan’s win and his second place from his incar camera was GREAT!  He was UBER excited!!!  Then hearing that one of the first things Tony said when he got out of his car was that he was “so damn proud” that he “couldn’t see straight” made me laugh.
2. I love listening in on the radio communication. How else would I have known that Tony was mad because the hose that cools his feet wasn’t hooked up and I found that out because he stated over his radio that he in charge of hooking up said hose could drive the car the next time the hose didn’t get hooked up.  So Tony wasn’t hot-headed he was hot-footed.  Ha! I crack myself up.  Not to mention the kind words he had to say about Andy Lally.  LOVE it because that is what is going on right then and there in the car in my driver’s head.
3. Oh and I am hearing that there is a rumor out there that Carl Edwards may be signing with JGR for next season…I am not sure if JGR is going to a 4 car team or if that means someone is out of one of the JGR cars.  I guess we will find out soon enough.
4. I still have to say that I would be happier if Ryan and Tony’s finishes were reversed, but still pretty damn happy.
5. But we really need a win now. Just saying.
6. Oh and before I forget- Tony mentioned during his post-race press conference that Darian was dealing with pneumonia while on the pit box…I sure hope he’s feeling better soon!

Gratuitous Tony picture:

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 15, 2011 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images North America)

Don’t forget next weekend is an off weekend for the Cup cars…they will be back the following weekend at Indy. Go Tony Go!

I am going to admit something right here…Misty and I played hooky from Infineon on Saturday and played tourists in San Fransisco so I really have NOTHING to tell you of Saturday.  Valli has a post about Saturday though if you want to check out what she was doing (plus you can read about how Dale Jr tried to scare her just like Jimmie did to us the day before).

We were up with the chickens on Sunday- grabbed a quick bite in the room and headed right to the track on Sunday morning and it wasn’t even early enough because the race traffic heading into Infineon was in full effect!  I remembered this from the time we came in 2009 and thought we had left in plenty of time- apparently not.  Not that we were late- but we were later than we wanted to be. So we get into the track plop our stuff down in the media center (I LOVE having a place I can ditch my stuff at the race so that I don’t have to carry all my belongings with me everywhere I go) grab both of my cameras and we decide to spend the morning just wandering before the start of the race.  First we wandered over to the driver introduction stage to get some pictures of three greats: Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett and Bobby Allison. I have to admit…Misty got THE best picture of Bobby Allison:

Bobby Allison talks with PRN host before the race at Infineon Raceway. (Photo Credit: Misty Bethany)

Ned Jarrett (photo credit: Misty Bethany)

The King- Richard Petty. (Photo Credit: Misty Bethany)

My instinct was to say at the driver intro stage until driver introductions were over- but Valli kindly told us we should check out pit road instead.  And that is what we did.  We walked up and down pit road repeatedly.  It was crowded and I was starting to get hot and cranky with all the people because at the time pit road was a madhouse.  So Misty and I picked a random pit stall and sat down for a tad on the wall.  It just happened to be next to Joey Logano’s pit stall and the crew were  busying themselves prepping for the race when I got this AWESOME picture:

Pit helmet and Radio (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Just getting that shot inspired me to get some other cool shots:

Under Pressure (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Flammable (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Three little gas cans sitting in a row...(photo credit: Amy Marbach)

No Ethanol For Carl Edwards (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Tire shot- with US ARMY crew. Almost every race I get at least one tire shot- it's my thing. (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Then after the track and event security cleared pit road of fans we continued to wander- only much more freely. It was at this point where I started feeling really conspicuous and kind of out of place.  Misty and I were trying to decide where we should go at this point. Obviously we have different favorite drivers so we started off over by Jeff Gordon’s car just in time to see his family arriving at the car:

Leo Gordon arrives for Pre Race ceremonies (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Ella Gordon arrives for Pre-Race (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

So it was kind of fun to witness the filling in of the drivers families and crews to the cars on the raceway grid on pit road.  It was kind of weird because every time I would look up I saw SOMEONE.  Misty and I decided to move down pit road a bit at one point for instance and I look over at her to ask her a question and Misty is walking side by side with Gene Haas…and had no idea because she was paying attention to me and not who was next to her.  I didn’t snap a picture because Misty probably would have wondered what I was doing plus I thought it would be an odd thing to do at such a close radius without actually asking to take the picture.

We finally ended up near Kyle Busch’s car:

Samantha Busch stands by Kyle's Car. (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Now we had three very good reasons for staying in the Kyle Busch area and none of them had anything to do with M&M’s.  One is that Tony’s car was on one side of Kyle.  then of course, Dale Jr was on the other side of Kyle.  And lastly, pre-race was about to start so we had to settle in somewhere and Misty and I felt most comfortable hanging off towards the side of Kyle’s car…I can’t explain why.

Dale Jr. stands next to his Amp Chevrolet on Sunday at Infineon. (Photo Credit: Misty Bethany)

Mr. Hendrick, Dale Jr., and Steve Letarte talk prerace on Sunday at Infineon Raceway. (Photo Credit: Misty Bethany)

Tony was pretty much impossible to get a shot of before the pre-race ceremonies started. The reasoning for this?  He was pretty much surrounded by people and then by crew (Although I did miss my opportunity to get a great shot of the crew huddle/prayer circle whatever you call it as it was just breaking up when we got there). Also? He got in his car BEFORE pre-race.  I don’t know if he was hot or sick of people hollering at him for his attention (there was this one guy who was loudly yelling for Tony’s attention and unfortunate for my ear drums he was right next me- my right ear is still ringing- TONY TONY?! HEY TONY!)- it was kinda strange to see him already in his car before the ceremonies started but he was.

A NASCAR official talks to Tony Stewart who sits in his car prior to the race at Infineon Raceway on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Then the pre-race ceremonies started.

PreRace Ceremonies. (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Pretty much I was standing off to the side towards the pit wall between Juniors and Kyles car at this point.  We stood there looking  all somber as one tends to do during invocation and the national anthem.  As soon as it was over we started high tailing it back to the media center.  As soon as we got there we ended up catching Ingrid Vandebosch taking little Leo for a walk in his stroller:

Ingrid Vandebosch and baby Leo go for awhile while they fire up the engines. (Photo Credit: Misty Bethany)

Then we took our seats in the media center to watch the race.  We had a great view of turn 11 – which as you know is where the action was ALL day long.

We all know now in hindsight that Tony pushed Vickers on purpose because he felt he was blocking. I had no way of knowing that in the media center though- to me it looked like Vicker’s checked up and Tony accidentally spun him. I even tweeted it. And then promptly forgot about the incident and continued to watch the race. It was really kind of hard to hear the national broadcast in the media center actually.  That was my biggest complaint…and I coudn’t listen to my Sprint Cup ap on my phone because I didn’t have headphones and didn’t want to disrupt the entire media center.

Now for “THE incident” – I followed Tony’s drive down the straightaway and into the turn.  I glance back to the straightaway and saw Vickers flying into the turn way too fast. I knew no good would come of that.  Then, of course, was the retaliation hit.  All I could really see was tire smoke and then Tony hanging off the tires.

Tony in the tires at Infineon. (I DID NOT TAKE THIS PICTURE...I borrowed it from TonyStewart.com)

Now, I let a few not so nice words escape my lips.  I CAN’T HELP IT.  Really I can’t. I get wrapped up and I can’t help it when this happens.  The worst part was that, as I mentioned before, I couldn’t really hear the television that was airing the national broadcast, so I didn’t know what was going on and Tony seemed to be hanging on the tires a really long time. It was all I could do not to SHUSH the entire room so I could hear. The best thing? My Twitter peeps were keeping me informed as to what was happening for the most part there. My absolute favorite tweet I got while I was sitting there though? Was this one:

Branden Williams: I sure hope @badgroove isn’t at the track. Because Vickers better run if she is. #justsaying

He had no idea I was sitting in the media center.  My Tony Stewart fandom OBVIOUSLY precedes me- and I am proud of it.  Truthfully,  I actually did have an urge to run down to the garage area because I figured they would have to bring the car in and I honestly wanted to see how damaged Tony’s car was.  But a good portion of the media center was already down there trying to get a sound byte, so I figured I should stay put because I didn’t think they wanted MY sound bytes because invariably they would be flying and they wouldn’t be pretty.

After Tony’s day was pretty much crushed into smithereens in the tire barrier, the rest of the race seemed long and drawn out. That is until the end, when Jeff Gordon started flying through the field at the end. I am still not sure how he passed Carl Edwards there at the end…but I know Misty was quite pleased when he did.  After the race we packed up our stuff and headed downstairs to the press conference room and waited for Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards to do their post race:

Carl Edwards checks his voicemail before the start of the post-race press conference. (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards share a laugh at their post-race press conference at Infineon Raceway. (Photo Credit: Misty Bethany)

Jeff Gordon is joined by his daughter Ella during his post race press conference at Infineon Raceway. (Photo Credit: Amy Marbach)

All this was going on while Kurt Busch was celebrating his victory in Victory lane outside.  They were still there when Misty and I left, trying to get an early start on the traffic. Our early start was not so early.  However, I will say that our new way leaving was much much quicker than in 2009 when we sat in nearly dead-stopped traffic for over 3 hours.  So YEY.

And there you have it.  This experience was great fun! There are some videos I will post soon as well.

I watched the event as I do every year on PPV…but the other day I was searching around and I found a photo album that had some GREAT photos from the event. I wanted to share some of my favorites  (after the jump):

Ron Capps prepares to drive during practice before the running of Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 8, 2011 in Rossburg, Ohio. (June 7, 2011 - Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images North America)

Carl Edwards inspects his car in the garage area before the running of Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 8, 2011 in Rossburg, Ohio. (June 7, 2011 - Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America)

A general view of the running of Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 8, 2011 in Rossburg, Ohio. (June 7, 2011 - Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America)

Tony Stewart waits in his car prior to practice for the running of Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 8, 2011 in Rossburg, Ohio. (June 7, 2011 - Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America)

Ricky Carmichael, driver of the #4 Monster Energy Drink Chevrolet, leads a pack out of turn four during the running of Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 8, 2011 in Rossburg, Ohio. (June 7, 2011 - Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America)

A tire from the car driven by Tony Kanaan (not pictured) bounces on the track during the running of Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 8, 2011 in Rossburg, Ohio. (June 7, 2011 - Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images North America)

Clint Bowyer, driver of the #33 Crawford Supply/Klotz Synthetic Lubrication Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the running of Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 8, 2011 in Rossburg, Ohio. (June 7, 2011 - Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America)

You can check out the entire photo album here.  None of these photos are mine. All of them are great.

I first found out about this episode when Stewart-Haas Racing tweeted this photo of  Tony last week:

Tony filming a scene at Homestead Miami Speedway for THE GLADES (Photo Credit: Stewart-Haas Racing Twitter)

Problem was I was at work and hadn’t been paying attention to what was going on in their twitter feed so I initially thought Tony was filming an Office Depot commercial of some sort. You can probably see why I thought this- if you look at the props in the scene- it’s very Office Depot-esque.  That kind of excited me because like I mentioned last week the crop of NASCAR sponsor commercials this season has lacked.  But THE GLADES is just as good because I actually watch and enjoy that show!

Here’s a little video I found with interviews from Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart while on the set:

However, there are things I don’t like about Daytona. And they all hinge on the fact that I don’t like it when drivers have to rely on other drivers to get around the track and win a race. The kind of driving we see on the super speedways of Daytona and Talladega especially. That being said- I much more preferred the two-car break away drafting (I think some people have been calling it pod racing but that makes me think of Starwars) we saw this year. Cars would pair up and work around the track in little two car teams. I thought it made the racing far more exciting that they long train-style drafting of years past- where two really long trains of drafting cars would jockey back and forth around the track all day. That racing I did NOT like at all. At least the two-car breakaways made it more interesting.

Sure there were a lot of wrecks and spins and cautions but that is to be expected as this style of driving is new to the drivers. They need to learn what work sand what doesn’t work- and they only way to do this is to see how far they can push it. Afterall, isn’t that what racing is about; pushing until you can’t push any longer? You need to know how far you can go- and you can only find that threshold of too far by going over it a few times. Even experienced drivers like Tony Stewart where having occasional trouble with it. Tony said on his radio during the race “Will someone please tell me what I’m doing wrong that spins guys out?!”

Speaking of Tony Stewart, it was very very encouraging to me to see both Tony and teammate Ryan Newman both up towards the front of the pack at different points during the race.  That’s definitely a marker towards a good season ahead.  Tony drafted with several different drivers during the course of the 500 mile race but my favorite was when he was listening to him and Junior draft together.   I enjoyed listening to them communicate directly back and forth with each other instead of playing a complicated game of telephone that includes two spotters like he had to do with other drivers he drafted with like Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.  Tony also seemed to be able to talk directly to Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer so I think it was a Chevy driver thing. I just wish Tony hadn’t gotten shuffled back so far during the green/white/checker attempts as everyone jockied for dancing partners all day.  Tony ended up finishing 13th and is currently 12th in series points with 31 points- which is 11 points behind points leader Carl Edwards.

Of course, the real story of the race is the win by 20 year old Trevor Bayne.  They had been poking fun at Trevor during practice- about how he was always the first person out on pit road in the mornings. How he was an eager beaver sort of driver. How he sought out his idol- Jeff Gordon after driver intros then again after the parade lap. How he worked with his idol during the Gatorade Duels.  He was obviously a quick study. That move at the end of the race- how he jumped down in front of Carl Edwards as they were coming to the checkered flag? That move was something you would see from a veteran driver. It was awesome to witness.  Congratulations to Trevor- he’s one to keep your eye on. He will be going places I am sure of it. If you didn’t see Misty’s post on Trevor’s win- it’s a great read: Fresh Bread, not Sliced Bread, is Good for NASCAR.

NOTES ABOUT DAYTONA:

• Congratulations go out again to Tony Stewart for winning his 4th Daytona Nationwide victory in a row (not to mention he’s won 6 of the last 7 nationwide races).  I LOVED the oreo paint scheme. I think it was great! You can find the diecast to pre-order available here.
• Okay…I SQUEALED when I saw the Transformers NASCAR cars on the warm up laps.  Those things look AMAZINGLY COOL! I hope they have them at LVMS when I go- I want to see those things up close.
• Don’t forget to vote daily for your favorite driver at the Wheaties Fuel Most Popular Driver website (formally the Hambuger Helper Most Popular Driver).

Next Race: Phoenix!