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Race 22: Watkins Glen (Or How To “Watch” A Race with No TV)

Amy — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:45:06 +0000

I work Monday- Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm so I was a wee bit disappointed that Watkin’s Glen was rained out. Now it’s not to say that I wasn’t tempted to call in to watch the race. Sure I was tempted, but it is our busiest times of the year right now at work plus I kinda like getting paid and “rain delayus to next dayus- aka race related illness” are not considered appropriate uses of sick leave – of that I am almost certain. So I watched the first several laps on TV until 7:30am (remember I am a west coast fan) when I begrudgingly got in my car mumbling the whole time about wanting to watch the race and drove my butt to work where I wouldn’t be able to watch the race.

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, leads Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, during Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images North America)

That’s not to say I was completely clueless when it came to the race though. Between Sprint Cup Mobile, Twitter, NASCAR.COM‘s leaderboard and Misty’s occasional texts (she has a TV in her office). Now it’s nothing I recommend doing…I would much rather see the race with my own eyes (not to mention not having to not only do my work but to take customer calls during it- oy! Don’t they know there is a race on?) then have to rely on other methods- it still mostly satisfied my needs to know what was going down at the Glen while I was sitting here working.

Tony seemed to have a fairly strong car- because he was in the top 10 most of the day except after pit stops…which I can’t tell you why mind you (even though I was listening to Tony’s radio on my Sprint Cup Mobile) where he would get knocked way back. Actually I don’t know if it was because it was the glen or because the building I work in has this industrial feel to it so it is clad in concrete but I didn’t get a lot out of Tony’s radio this race.

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, walks on the grid during qualifying for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images North America)

I will say two things about the end of the race:

1. It really SUCKED not having a TV for that last lap crash because best I could tell from the information I was getting from twitter was that there was a heck of a crash that involved the Davids (Ragan and Ruetimann) and then Tony fell on the leaderboard from 7th to 27th. I saw some of my tweeps (twitter peoples) mention Tony spun or crashed and that was the end of it. I had no idea how bad Tony was involved (in my mind it was all a single crash) or what the heck happened and most importantly if Tony was okay. (I knew that the David’s were both out of their cars under their own power from twitter- but no one said anything about Tony beyond he too had spun/crashed). Misty texted me that Tony’s wasn’t bad and he was fine when I texted her to ask if he was okay.

Tony Stewart limps his injured car to the finish line at the end of the race at the Glen, finishing a dismal 27th. (Photo Credit: Kevin M. Boots)

2. I may have thrown a little fit when Tony dropped from 7th to 27th in the standings right there in my office. Fit included ripping off my rubber 14 bracelet and tossing it across my office. Fit also included a disgruntled text to Misty (after the one verifying Tony was okay) where I said “There goes our chase!” Misty reassured me by telling me that luckily Denny Hamlin was out of the race early, and I credit that with the only reason that Tony did NOT drop out of the top 10. We are still in it (tenth place)…but we are hanging on the edge of the building with just our fingernails. I very well may develop an ulcer before the beginning of the chase at this race.

Race winner was Marcos Ambrose:

Marcos Ambrose celebrates his win at Watkin's Glen with a burnout. (Photo Credit: Kevin M. Boots)

Notes About Watkins Glen:

1. I couldn’t tell who bumped into Tony that caused him to mow the lawn in the interloop…was it Jeff Burton? Best I could tell it was either Jeff Burton or Clint Bowyer. Anyone know? I have watched it several times now and I still can’t tell…not that it matters I guess but someone it sure looked like someone clipped him unlike what was said during the race broadcast….

2. Kevin Boots shared his Watkin’s Glen photos with me…he took two of the ones I have shared with you in this post. To see the rest of his Watkins Glen photos check out his album here. You should check them out – he has some great pictures- I love the picture of the Drone! Thanks Kevin!

3. I don’t know that this was mentioned much during the race broadcasts but I loved what the TV panel said on Jeff Gordon’s car at the Glen- whoever thought that up should get a prize…very witty:

TV Panel of Jeff Gordon's car he ran at Watkins Glen (photo credit: Jeff Gordon Facebook Page)

If only we could get Tony to tweet…but I understand his reasons for not.

And…bonus picture begging for an LOL caption. Don’t you just wish you knew what he was thinking here? If you think you have a funny caption leave it in the comments:

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, walks on the grid prior to the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen. (Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images North America)

Next Race: Michigan on Sunday

Race 17: The Daytona Night Race (Pod Racing After Dark)

Amy — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:32:55 +0000

So I started Daytona week with a feeling of trepidation after Tony Stewart’s incident with Vickers at Infineon. The results of the race at Infineon caused a drop in points and I am starting to panic about the points (read about my POINTS PANIC! here) so that finish in Infineon did NOT help at all. But on Friday I was able to catch a bit of Tony’s Daytona press conference and at least I understood that he was “drawing” his line in the sand. I have to respect his conviction there…even if I don’t necessarily agree with it. (POINTS! PANIC AT THE DISCO WE ARE OUT OF THE TOP TEN!)

“I’ve drawn my line in the sand, and the next guy that blocks me, he is going to suffer the same fate. It doesn’t matter who it is. That’s what it’s going to be.” Tony Stewart, Daytona’s Friday Press Conference

“I’ll make sure when I do it the next time that the guy doesn’t have the opportunity to come back and wreck me.” Tony Stewart, Daytona’s Friday Press Conference

I also got from the press conference that the reason that Tony wasn’t planning on drafting with his teammate Ryan Newman is that he didn’t want to put all his eggs in one basket should an event during the race occur. And did they occur.

(L-R) Joe Nemechek, driver of the #87 NEMCO Motorsports Toyota, Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Burger King Chevrolet, Travis Kvapil, driver of the #38 Long John Silver's Ford and David Gilliland, driver of the #34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, race during the Coke ZERO 400 at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images North America)

(I dub thee Stewiland and Kvapilchek respectively pod racers)

Tony spent much of the race in the back of the pack just kinda hanging out with his drafting partner from the last restrictor plate race, David Gilliland. So they were dubbed Stewiland again. Stewiland did do a test run to the front about at the halfway point? Just to see how long it would take I am thinking. He even led a lap- so YEY extra point there. However in the last part of the race, Tony seemed mired at the end of the field and I was sure it was going to be another dismal finish for Tony and the 14 crew. However- thanks to two accident induced green-white-checkers – most especially that last one…Tony worked his way up to an 11th place finish. While I would usually not be as happy as I was with an 11th place finish, its only because laps before I was worried he would finish 20th or even possibly lower than that. So while Tony didn’t gain in the points standings, he also didn’t really drop in the points standings. He remains 12th (with NO WINS! PANIC AT THE RACE TRACK!). Race winner was David Ragan!

The race at Daytona really got me thinking about “pod” racing or the 2×2 racing or whatever you want to call what restrictor plate racing has become. I am trying to decide if I like it or not. I use to think maybe I did but now I am not so sure. While I still think that pod racing is better than the two long freight trains that jockeyed back and forth all race, I am not sure that I like the fact that you are STILL dependent on someone else to win. It just seems more like politicking and less like racing. I have to tell you though that I LOVED Junior’s post race comments, as reported by sbnation, about the whole deal:

“You guys need to get your own frickin’ opinions and write what y’all think about it,” he said. “Because I think (those opinions are) pretty damn close to mine. So stop putting my damn foot in my mouth with y’all and getting my ass in trouble. Y’all write what y’all think, man. C’mon. Y’all are good. Y’all got an opinion about it; I read y’all’s shit.” Dale Jr as quoted by SBNation

Emphasis is mine, because that part is the best part of the whole damn quote right there. Seriously that has to be one of THE best quotes of the season, let alone the Daytona race. Junior doesn’t like pod racing.

Notes About Daytona:

I still think that making up cutsie names for the different pod combinations is fun (see picture above).
Don’t think I didn’t notice that it was Evil Brian Vickers as I now call him, pushing Tony at the end of the Daytona race. I still think I will call him EBV though. At least until someone else makes me mad, anyway. Then all will no doubt be forgotten.
Dear SiriusXM DJ (you were either on The Boneyard or Hair Nation but it’s been days now so I can’t remember which)- Yes the race REALLY was called the Subway Jalapeno 250 (talking about the nationwide race there) maybe you should have read the promo to yourself before reading it on the air so you didn’t sound dumb.

Next week we go Sprint Cup racing for the first time in Kentucky!!

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Burger King Chevrolet, looks on while he sits in his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series COKE ZERO 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 1, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images North America)

Fresh Bread, Not Sliced Bread: It’s Good for NASCAR

Misty — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 04:19:27 +0000

If I had been able to flash forward to the end of the Daytona 500 and watch my reaction I would have bet everything I have that Jeff Gordon had just wheeled his Chevrolet to victory lane, because what else would have me on my haunches, screaming, shouting and pumping my fist in the air as the checkered flag waved?! Good thing my flash forward button doesn’t work cause I would have lost my pants in that bet, since Gordon crashed along with a good portion of the field on lap 30 ending his shot to drive to Victory Lane.
So what else could possibly cause me to have such an enthusiastic and heart-felt reaction to this year’s Daytona 500? It’s the kind of ending that we usually only see in Disney movies, but this time we got to see it all unfold for ourselves during this year’s Speed Weeks. It is the story of part-time, rookie driver, Trevor Bayne.
D.W. said it best at the end of the race when he held up a blank piece of paper and said that it was the bio he had on Trevor Bayne before the race. Few people had heard of Trevor before this race. He had only one other Sprint Cup Series start, in last fall’s Texas race, and here he was in Daytona proving himself. First by laying down the fourth fastest lap during Qualifying and then in his eagerness throughout the week leading to the race. He quickly became the talk of the media by being the first in his garage everyday, the first on the track to practice. He wore his eagerness and excitement on his sleeve throughout Speed Weeks.
I, personally, took notice during his Duel race when he waited after his driver intro to talk to Jeff Gordon, presumably to seek advice from the veteran driver. Throughout their Duel Gordon and Bayne worked together, Bayne pushing Gordon in the two car tandem that characterized this year’s races on the newly re-paved track. Despite a last lap crash in the Duel, Bayne clearly earned credibility among the other drivers. Time and again, seasoned drivers looked to Bayne in the 500 as a drafting partner. Again, I took notice when mid-way through the 500 Carl Edwards got on his radio to ask Bayne if he needed someone to push him. Many rookies would have leapt at the chance to work with a proven driver like Edwards, or simply been too intimidated to turn him down, but Bayne showed his intelligence and integrity and told Carl that he was a better pusher and preferred to continue pushing David Ragan. Bayne’s demonstration of integrity, intelligence and independence are all qualities that will serve him well in his career.
So when it came down to the final restart and Bayne looked like he could pull off what had really never been done before – winning the Daytona 500 on his first Daytona 500 start (Lee Petty won his first start at the 500, but since it was the very first 500 does not count), I was on the edge of my seat, screaming for this kid. When he actually pulled it off, I the felt the kind of sweeping emotion and pride that I usually only feel for truly great moments in sports, like the U.S. winning another Gold in the Olympics or the Yankees winning another series. Then again, this is another great moment in sports history.
I admit that I usually do not watch post race, especially when my driver finishes 35 laps down, but today I watched and I continued to be impressed by Bayne. Earlier in the race, D.W. had mentioned that Trevor had taken time before the race to pray with his team and the first thing that Trevor said when he climbed out of his car in Victory Lane was to mention the prayer and the power that God had. What is not to like about NASCAR’s newest hero?
I watched his reaction as David Ragan came over to offer his congratulations and saw Trevor’s genuine concern and empathy to Ragan, who’d been his drafting partner most of the day and had nearly pulled off the win himself, when he prematurely switched lanes during a restart and got black flagged by NASCAR. This is the kind of personality that NASCAR and this country needs – a good hearted, genuine, eager, talented young man to invigorate the fans and make us feel good.
NASCAR promised just such a driver a few years ago in rookie Joey Logano (“Sliced Bread”), but Logano never quite lived up to the hype and you can’t market this kind of a moment and you can’t create this kind of honest emotion.
Before this 500 no one knew who his kid from Knoxville, Tennessee was and now with his remarkable victory, the publicity machine will undoubtedly roar to life, like the engine of his #21, but at least it does so as a response to a hard earned achievement versus a contrived, marketing ploy to draw in fans. This NASCAR fan will take fresh, homemade bread over commercialized sliced bread any day. It’s good for the sport and good for the heart of NASCAR.
2011’s Daytona 500 will go down as one of the greatest moments in NASCAR history and I wouldn’t be surprised if a Disney movie isn’t already on the drawing board. Here’s to a fantastic and unbelievable start to the season that proves that anything can happen!

Race 24: Bristol

Amy — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:15:23 +0000

Bristol- I like you. I really really do. But damn- why did you have to be so mean to Tony on Saturday night? Tony qualified strong- a 4th place starting position. And at the begining of the race he was doing so well. He even led for a lap or two (five points right there). I was optimistic at the beginning!

BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 20: Tony Stewart, driver of the Old Spice/Office Depot Chevorlet, prepares to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 20, 2010 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Then it all went to hell in a hand basket. First David Ragan spun. Tony slowed up on his sponsors advice as to not hit Ragan who was sitting in the middle of the track and sliding ever so slowly towards the infield. Ragan looked like a sitting duck. I was worried that it could get ugly for Ragan. Apparently he was not the one I needed to be worrying about as Stewart ended up with the worse of that deal when Tony Raines smacked him in the right rear as Stewart was slowing to avoid Ragan. It looked ugly- parts sticking out from the car. It took him two trips to pit road for the crew to fix up the damage but Stewart was able to stay on the lead lap- he was 25 or 26 but still on the lead lap (I am pretty sure that he was the last car on the lead lap actually).

BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 20: Tony Stewart, driver of the Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 20, 2010 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images)

Understandably the car wasn’t handling as well as it was pre-accident…and what might have even been a salvageable evening for Stewart turned to crap when Stewart smacked the wall pretty hard because the car was looser than a caboose. Then he had a tire start to go down and was forced to pit under green- and lost three laps changing only right side tires (Bristol is that small and the race leaders were running that fast). He would not come up any farther and unfortunately finished 27th- 6 laps down. Stewart would lose two positions in the points standing and is now 6th behind points leader Kevin Harvick. Race winner was Kyle Busch who completed the first ever trifecta- winning three series events in a single weekend.

Notes About Bristol:

When Tony got the 4th starting position in qualifying, the StewartHaasRacing twitter account claimed it was his second consecutive STEWART POLE…that being the highest qualifying position not required to do after qualifying media.
Speaking of media…what does Jeff Gluck have against Tony Stewart anyway? He made a snide twitter comment after Tony’s first incident at Bristol “Fortunately for Tony Stewart, he won’t have to visit the media center tonight. Fortunate for the media, too.” He always has something rude to say about Tony. It riles me up.
Best National Anthem of the season so far. I am just saying…maybe they should get away from the weird acts and go for the kids more often.
Pre hell in a handbasket radio was interesting. Tony instructed them to calm him down if he got riled up during the race during his pre-race peptalk.
After the contact with Ragan but before he had a tire come apart on him Tony got riled up about something and Darian told him to “chill out.” That cracked me up because when I am ramped up and someone says that to me? It just riles me up more.
Post hell in a handbasket radio was pretty depressing. Stewart didn’t say hardly anything. Neither did Darian…mostly it was his spotter Bob saying things like “Clear.” And “The x car has a hole if you need it.”
Caption:

BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 20: Tony Stewart, driver of the Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 20, 2010 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images)

Next weekend is an off weekend for the Cup Drivers.

Commercials NASCAR Style

Amy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:50:45 +0000

It’s been awhile since I talked NASCAR commercials. This year has given us a fair share of new ones to consider…and I am prompted to post this entry that has been rolling around in the cargo area that is my brain for about a month now by an email from NASCAR.COM announcing that the winner of their Daytona Commercial Showcase was the David Ragan UPS Three-Wheelin’ Ad (Seriously?? That one?? Did my votes not count because that commercial did nothing for me).

Since I don’t agree with the winner, I am going to tell you Amy’s favorites of the newest round of NASCAR commercials:

1. The Coca-Cola Drivers Commercial. First off you HAVE to give these guys props. They are race car drivers NOT singers- but there they are putting it all out there. I have seen the behind the scenes video and it shows that our favorite coke drivers are singing it themselves. I can’t imagine doing that and then having it broadcast on TV. I LOVE to sing, especially in the car (because I am alone and who can complain except except on the rare occasion I have the sunroof open). I also like that the commercial incorporates some of the crew chiefs like Darian Grubb and Greg Zipadelli. By far a favorite. (By the way you can hear your favorite coke family driver sing the whole commercial alone if you want just go to MyCokeRewards.com/Nascar and scroll your cursor over the driver you want to hear. I say Tony and Elliott Sadler are the best).

2. Second place is a tie but it goes to the same company- Toyota. I can’t decide which I like better Denny Hamlin asking, “Who doesn’t love love?” Or Kyle Busch driving the car with kitties, bunnies and little baby seals. That is some funny stuff…especially the look on Kyle’s face as he is driving, with his head in that kitty cat helmet…Oh I chuckle just thinking about it.

3. My third favorite is the UPS Delivery commercial- I don’t know why but the fact that Santa gets all aggro and tries to climb the fence while Mercury and some of the other delivery guys try to keep him from going over cracks me up.

Now for my least favorite commercials:

Hands down my least favorite is the Martin Truex Jr. Napa commercial. Mainly the part that bugs me the most are the two Napa guys at the end.

But the Sprint Jimmie Johnson commercial bugs me too…for two reasons. Reason 1: why is Jimmie playing golf in a bathrobe but he’s got full on pjs on underneath the bathrobe? Who does that unless they are in the artic? Reason 2: Wouldn’t everyone they call be “the real Jimmie Johnson” and not just Jimmie Johnson the race car driver? Just sayin’.

Set your DVRs: NASCAR Stars on TV

Amy — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:01:34 +0000

NASCAR’s Joey Logano and Kyle Busch will be on RAW on USA (DirecTV 242) today…check your local listings (looks like 9:00 / 8:00 CT).

Also, Thisi week is NASCAR WEEK on Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader (check your local listings). Watch for drivers David Ragan, Michael Waltrip, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards to compete (one driver each day this week during the first half hour). Money the drivers win benefits The NASCAR Foundation and the driver’s favorite charity.

Gimme Fuel, Gimme Fire…..

Amy — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:02:00 +0000

I probably should have picked a different title because I am sure that some NASCAR fans are going to think this entry is about Chad Knaus running Jimmie Johnson out of fuel at Michigan last weekend. I am not going to go into that. This is about this coming weekend: Bristol Motor Speedway is doing something a little different this Saturday night. When the cup drivers take to the stage before the race for driver introductions, each driver will enter the stage to approximately 30 seconds of a song snippet from a song of their choosing. As you would probably expect there is a wide variety of songs- however- it would seem that apparently AC/DC is a favorite as five drivers picked three different AC/DC songs:

Mark Martin will be entering to “For Those About To Rock”

Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and David Ragan all picked “Thunderstruck”

and Jamie McMurray picked “Shook Me All Night Long”

Now I like AC/DC quite a bit. When I drove Doris (the black RAV) my favorite song to pull up in front of home was BACK IN BLACK because– I was back and the car was black, so it just kind of fit. It also helped that BACK IN BLACK was my favorite of the AC/DC albums so it was often in my car.

There are choices all over the musical spectrum from Elvis Presley (Clint Bowyer picked “C.C. Rider”) to Jerry Reed (Joey Logano picked “Eastbound and Down”) and The Rolling Stones (“Start Me Up” was picked by Jeff Gordon). I will say, and I don’t know WHY, I am surprised that Jeff Burton decided to walk onstage to Guns N Roses classic “Welcome to the Jungle”.

I have to say that the Stewart-Haas boys picked some awesome songs! Ryan Newman picked Big & Rich’s “Save A Horse, Ride a Cowboy” which I absolutely LOVE! Tony picked to walk onstage with “Bawitdaba” by Kid Rock (David Stemme also picked this song). While I admit I am not a huge Kid Rock fan he does have about three songs I love…and that is the top one. Both I think are excellent choices.

Which leads me to…what if I were being introduced and needed a song snippet. What would I personally pick. I have pretty wide, varied tastes in music that usually depends highly on my mood. Some days I might be on a country kick and listening to the likes of Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Blake Shelton, Diamond Rio, Big & Rich and others. Other days it could be hair metal favorites like Cinderella, Poison, Slaughter and Dokken. Then again it could be a bad day when I want to hear nothing but the “hard stuff” like Disturbed, White Zombie, and Metallica. Then of course there are my broadway show days (wicked, les mis, mamma mia), classic rock days (Heart, Zep, Sabbath) or my “whatever the heck Mr. IPOD SHUFFLE DJ picks for me” days.

Honestly it would probably depend on my mood:

If I were in a rockin’ mood I would probably pick “Fuel” by Metallica. (Sing it with me now..”Gimme Fuel, Gimme Fire….”)

If I were in a more country state of mind- I would probably go with Toby Keith’s “How Do You Like Me Now?”

What about you? What would you pick for yourself? Or for me? Talk to me people- I know you are out there!