“The biggest thing is just that we don’t have the concrete tracks figured out yet. It’s obvious. At Bristol and Dover, we’ve just struggled for three years now with Tony there. We just need to figure out what we need to do. It’s not because of a lack of effort. We’re going to keep trying to find a few things and keep fighting.” Darian Grubb, Crew Chief of the #14 Chevy Impala.

Also from the team report, I don’t understand the technical aspects of what Tony means when he says “even when we got the balance halfway decent we didn’t have speed.” Now shouldn’t the car have speed? It’s too technical for me to wrap my beady little brain around I guess. I do take some solace in the face that Newman seemed to be struggling too. I guess that they were equally crummy across the board leads me to think that it IS a technical issue that will be ironed out and hopefully soon. So the race really is NO fun to watch when you driver is struggling ALL race long just to attempt to be competitive.

To make this post a tad more cheery I would like to share with you a series of photos from photographer Glenn Bure who kindly shoots a couple of the NorthEast races and then kindly sends me his Tony pictures. I love this series by Glenn because they show off Tony’s helmet. Tony must have quite a few helmets and it seems to me that they all have different designs. I know he ran a cool patriotic design to go with his Richmond car- but I don’t know exactly how many helmets he has. I get frustrated because sometimes I want to see what his helmet looks like but never get to see it.  Glenn was able to get some shots of this one that I hadn’t seen before:

Tony Stewart futzes with his helmet pre-race at Dover. (Photo Credit: Glenn Bure for BadGroove)

Now the pink on the helmet is all reflection (I think) from the number on the roof of the car- which I will get to later. Here is a little different view of Tony and his helmet:

Tony and his helmet- pre-race at Dover. (photo credit: Glenn Bure for Badgroove)

Again I think the pink (except for the pink ribbon on the shield) is reflection from the number on the roof of his car.  Because the car was all pink-ified for breast cancer awareness month:

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, drives on track during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images North America)

Most of the Chevy drivers (not all- I didn’t see any pink on Jimmie Johnson’s car -but I did see that his crew chief was wearing a pink hat) had pink on their cars because October is breast cancer awareness month.  It was a little odd. However then I watched some football that afternoon- more pink in the football and then in the late evening I watched some bull riding and even the cowboys were either wearing pink shirts or had a pink bandana tied somewhere on their person (one guy was even wearing his like a pink cape).  But I totally digress.

Back to racing and Tony Stewart! Even though they had a bad run at Dover I still have faith that Tony Stewart and the whole #14 team can pull of a championship…they need to just #KeepDigging. Tony is currently tied for third in the points standings with Dover winner Kurt Busch and are only 9 points out of the lead.  Current chase leader is Kevin Harvick.

Notes:

Remember to enter the Office Depot 14for14 contest on the Office Depot Racing website this month the prize is the poster of Tony and the team and is autographed by Tony and team.  While you are there at the Office Depot Racing website, don’t forget to get the coupon to take to the Office Depot print center to get your NOVEMBER poster.  Does anyone have them all? I am missing June….and I am sad about it cuz I loved June- it was one of my favorite months.

Oh and here is another picture of Tony from Glenn:

I can't decide if he's thinking or if he's confused...but it's a silly face all the same. (Photo Credit: Glenn Bure for BadGroove)

#KeepDiggingTony and #GoTonyGo at Kansas next week.

Rookie JR Hildebrand (from California) crashes into the turn four wall (and hard) in what could only be described as a rookie mistake, and while he did cross the finish line in his injured car- Dan Wheldon was able to overtake JR to get to the checkers first, leaving JR with a ruined car and a second place finish.

A similar scene would play out at the Coca-Cola 600. Dale Earnhardt Jr took the white flag on the last lap of the marathon race only to run out of fuel on the backstretch.  While he was able to coast the car around turns three and four, he was overtaken at the end by Kevin Harvick who won the race.  That sound of anguish you heard Sunday night? That was Junior nation- all of whom let out an agonizing cry after that race.

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images North America)

And what of Tony Stewart’s run you asked? Well he had a run that has been typical of the season. See-sawing up and down…mostly down including struggling with possible engine issues until the team had- through pit stop strategy worked their way into the top ten at the end of the race- only to have to practically come to a stop on the apron to avoid a spinning Jeff Burton.  Tony ended up 17th and is now 9th in series points standings.

Notes on both Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600:

• Double File Restarts at Indy lead to some excitement- except- that they never really seemed to have the field side by side by the time the green flew.  I don’t know if the drivers needed to figure it out or the race officials needed to tell the field to bunch up a bit more before they flew the green- but most of them were pretty sloppy for double file restarts.
• I still do NOT understand why NASCAR did NOT throw a caution for that massive mess of spinning cars on the first attempt at a green-white-checker.  Seriously I am confused since they threw cautions for much less.
• Hendrick engines seemed to take a beating during the 600.  Jimmie blew his.  Jeff Gordon complained of what seemed like engine issues earlier in the race- and then Tony Stewart complained with 30 laps to go that it seemed like he lost a valve spring or something.  Both drivers said their engines felt sluggish. Unusual.
• I was wondering what that big orange slide like looking thing was in the aerial shots of IMS were.  Apparently it was a wickedly large jump ramp- Team Hot Wheels attempted and broke the world record for jumping a four wheeled vehicle:

Next weekend- NASCAR moves to the Midwest and goes to KANSAS.

The Mobil 1/Office Depot Car on track at Dover. (Photo Courtesy of Glen Bure, for BadGroove)

Right off the bat Tony found out his “cautiously optimistic” hopes about his car would be dashed when he found the car to be so ill-handling that at one point during the race he described it like trying to drive a skateboard. Couple that with a major fueling malfunction on a pit stop just past the 100 lap mark (as in the car didn’t get ANY fuel because the new gas can failed to connect to the car’s fuel hookup).  Stewart soon found himself flailing around at four laps down while still battling handling on a car that didn’t seem to to like the rubber on the track.  It was enough to put anyone in a bad mood!  While spending most of his time in 33rd and 34th position he was able to bring it home in 29th place- yet still a miserable six laps down from race winner Matt Kenseth (who won his second race of the season).  Tony dropped three positions in the Chase points standings down to 10th.

Tony and Crew in the pits. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images North America)

NOTES ABOUT DOVER:

• You can be pretty sure that Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch  aren’t going anywhere near each other anytime soon considering they are both on PROBATION.  Both drivers are in the top five in the championship points and neither driver is going to risk further action by the sanctioning body that might cost them points.  So all that pre-race “feud” hype was just that- HYPE.
• I am still not clear why Kevin Harvick was fined and put on probation in the first place. Those of you who have read me a long time know I love Kyle – but it was his actions that put people at risk- not Kevin’s.
• Is it a coincidence that while I was scrawling out this entry in my notebook (yeah I do it old school) that the shuffle mix on my iPod decided to play Adam Sandler’s “Piece Of Shit Car?” Okay it probably was coincidence but I think even Tony Stewart would admit that it was pretty apropos.
• Also in the apropos category- did you happen to notice the one commercial during the national broadcast for the race? It was for the fall race at Dover (I think) and had a bunch of drivers talking about Dover and at the end Tony says “Ouch!”  Ouch indeed my man, ouch indeed!
• The Tony Stewart fan in me has a little rant she needs to get out now: Ok, seriously what we have to do to get Tony and the crew some freaking GOOD luck this season?  Do NOT make me dig out the $2.00 bill that I’ve had since I was a kid and hunt Tony down to give it to him.  Sigh.

What’s a guy gotta do to get a little luck on his side:

Tony Stewart sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images North America)

Does that face not look like it could use some GOOD luck?

Special thanks to Glen Bure who sent me these Tony Stewart pictures from Dover specifically for BadGroove’s use- ENJOY them- I certainly do!

Tony heading to the Driver's Meeting. (Photo Courtesy of Glen Bure for BadGroove)

Tony at Driver Intros...I wonder what he's saying? (Photo Courtesy of Glen Bure for BadGroove)

Tony standing on PitRoad before the race at Dover. (Photo Courtesy of Glen Bure for BadGroove)

Tony and Darian stand on pit road. (Photo Courtesy of Glen Bure for BadGroove).

Next Race is the non-points All-Star race this Saturday night (and don’t forget The Pit Crew Challenge that I LOVE).  The next points race is the endurance race at Charlotte Motor Speedway – The Coca-Cola 600.

The two car tango that we have been seeing at the plate tracks brings with it two “issues” that seem to be on everyone’s mind. Of course you know I am going to throw my opinion in the ring.

(Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images North America)

The first “issue” is pod racing versus “pack” racing.  I honestly don’t know what “pack” races you are talking about…because before the two car break aways when I think of Daytona and Talladega I think of this: Two long freight train lines- one in the upper groove and one in the lower groove.  I always found that kind of racing boring and extremely frustrating- especially when your driver, in an attempt to pass would get shut out of being able to get back in line and end up falling from 11th to 35th in one poorly timed swoop.  I think that the pod racing makes the track more maneuverable and thus you get more racing action. So the cars are stuck together…who cares. Not me. We only see this at the restrictor plate races- so it’s not that big of a deal. It might be a different story if they raced like this at all the tracks.  To me it is much more fun to watch the cars move more freely on the track than being relegated to the top groove or bottom groove and this train is faster than that train kind of race.  Plus the pod racing has it’s own strategies in place.  It’s important to time the swap from pusher to pushee at an opportune moment.  Pitting with your partner if you want to stay with that partner is important. Communication is really important since the pusher can’t see around the car in front of him.

That brings me to the second issue- radio communication.  A big deal was being made about drivers wanting to communicate with drivers of teams other than their own.  I honestly think that this is a non-issue.  I am of the opinion that if a driver feels comfortable with having the possibility of taking to 16 different drivers, 30 different drivers, whatever- then let them.  As long as it doesn’t creat too much of distraction where it becomes like a driver on the interstate texting while driving, I have no problem with it. Obviously it is always best to try to draft with your teammate but that isn’t always possible depending on where they each qualified.  Honestly it’s not like drivers are going to be working with multiple drivers at the same time- at least not for very long.  Once a driver picks a dance partner he’s usually stuck working with that particular driver as least until the next caution.  I think that this is something that should be based on the driver’s personal comfort level with who is in his headset.  Again this is something we usually only see at restrictor plate races- so I don’t that it is that big of a deal.  I really don’t.

(Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America)

Okay- now that I have that off my chest- onto more about Tony’s run at TallafreakinDega.  Tony (and teammate Ryan) had a stellar practice. As in they were first and second fastest.  Then there was severe weather that called off second practice (tornado warnings).  The next day was qualifying.  I don’t know what happened but Tony pretty much tanked in qualifying. I wasn’t concerned for two reasons- Tony isn’t a great qualifier usually anyway AND it is Talladega- the track whose catchphrase might as well be “it’s not where you start it’s where you finish.”

At the beginning of the race, it seemed like no one wanted to be Tony’s partner.  He seemed to be floundering there alone for several laps.  Honestly it was hard to tell because the national broadcast wasn’t paying to much attention to Tony- I am guessing because he was in the back. I finally got sick of trying to figure out what was going on with Tony and got my phone so I could use my Sprint Cup  Mobile. It drains my battery, so I don’t use it too much but I was sick only knowing where Tony was when the ticker marched by.  By the time I got my Sprint Cup Mobile, he had already hooked up with David Gilliland and they seemed to be working spotter-to-spotter for communication.  They seemed to be pretty comfortable just hanging out where they were trying to avoid getting into any trouble, saving their cars for a planned charge to the front towards the end.

(Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America)

It almost worked too.  A late race caution broke them up temporarily but they found each other and the two of them (whom I dubbed Stewiland) began another charge towards the front and were actually visible in many of the national broadcast shots. Unfortunately something happened and Gilliland lost the back of Tony’s car and for some reason unbeknownst to me, Kurt Busch (I will have more to say about him later in the notes) decided to give pushing Tony a shot. Then a few minutes later he abandons Tony and shoots up a groove on the track to push someone else.  I couldn’t tell you who because I was cursing such a blue streak that all I could see was blue for a few minutes.  What could have been a top ten finish ended up being a 17th place finish, which dropped Tony back down to 12th in points.

The finish however, between Johnson/Earnhardt and Bowyer/Harvick (with Gordon/Martin in the middle) tied for the closet in series history (since the advent of electronic timing) with Johnson beating Boywer by the skin of his teeth (I think they said 2/16th of an inch or something like that?) The win catapulted Johnson to second in the series standings.

Gratuitous Tony Picture Alert: I had to add this one because it’s a funky angle. I can’t decide if it looks like he is lifting his leg to pee on the car like a dog or if it looks like Tony is doing some sort of newfangled NASCAR YOGA!

(Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America)

The ‘Dega notes:

• I have watched the video and seen the stills in question…and I do NOT believe that Jimmie dropped under the double yellow. At most he had one tire ON the yellow line but he was not over it and his tire was on the line for maybe 10 seconds? I don’t think that counts as advancing position by going under the double yellow line and Johnson’s win and points should stand. That is all I will say on that subject.
• I think your best bet to win restrictor plate pod races is to hook up with your teammate and try to stick with him throughout the race- like Jimmie/Earnhardt and Gordon/Martin.  (HINT HINT – Stewart-Haas Racing- something to think about for Daytona and fall Talladega).
• Did you know that if you are in a tornado warning and don’t really have any place to take cover that the best thing you can do is get into your car, buckle your seat belt and turn on the engine? It took me forever to figure out that you needed to turn the engine on so your airbags will deploy in case you end up being tossed around like a sock monkey in a dryer. The things you learn on twitter while hoping the fans in the infield are safe.
• Kurt Busch seemed like he was trying out for the highway patrol and not racing at Talladega with as many people as he pitted. It was for this reason alone that I was NOT pleased when he jumped between Tony and David. Of course I was even less happy when he up and abandoned Tony. But yeah- just because your car is yellow Kurt doesn’t mean you need to try to cause all the cautions- just sayin’!
• That was some driving by Ryan Newman to save his car from hitting the wall not once but twice late in the race.  Good job- but maybe we should rethink greasing the bumper next time.
• One FUN aspect of the pod racing is coming up with cute monikers for the duos.  I already told you my one for the Stewart/Gilliland combo (Stewiland) earlier in the post. Here are some others I came up with: Johnshardt (Johnson/Earnhardt), Boyvick (Bowyer/Harvick), and Ham-man (Hamlin/Newman).  Play along with me…can you think of any good ones?

The Sprint Cup Series takes a break this weekend and then takes back up Saturday April 30th with night racing at Tony’s favorite track: Richmond.  Go TONY Go!

____

* Title inspired by Trace Adkin’s song “Ala Freakin’ Bama”

• Tony Stewart fans you have less than a week to enter this month’s 14 for 14 Office Depot Racing contest. This month the prize is a race used lugnut and an autographed picture (to 14 lucky fans).  After you enter the contest be sure to poke around a bit and download a wall paper or Ask Tony a question.
• Also, while I am on the subject of Tony, don’t forget to buy your raffle ticket (only $25.oo) for the 2011 Convertible Camaro that Tony is giving away- proceeds to benefit The Tony Stewart Foundation. Go to SmokesChevy.com for more information now.
• There is a great article in the new edition of Sports Life Magazine (the magazine has Danica Patrick on the cover) called the 21 Coolest Things About NASCAR (here’s a link to the article on the author’s blog). Its an interesting article and it has a quote from yours truly (Amy) in it.  Brownie points if you read the article and come back and tell me what you think is the coolest thing about NASCAR…or just tell me you like my quote!
• Have you noticed that they are making a big deal out of how they are going to nickname Kevin Harvick The Closer instead of Happy?  Just because he won two races in a row? I would be surprised if Junior Nation didn’t want to call him Hated Harvick – only because he took the lead from Junior at Martinsville in the last laps of the race- not because I think he should be hated.  I am still trying to find out why Tony’s Spotter Bob calls Kevin Harvick “Cupcake”. There is a story there I am sure…but then again we might not want to know.  Maybe Kevin Harvick is the driver with the most nicknames…maybe that should be his nickname. Ok now I am just getting silly.
• The points watcher in me is starting to panic. Tony’s dropping and it’s disheartening to watch.  Not as disheartening as watching him lose at LAS VEGAS…that was sad. But this is worrisome. Junior and Jeff Gordon are going up steadily in the points and Tony’s dropping. ACK. I will try not to obsess about it too much.
• When you are attending a race, do you let race traffic influence how good or bad of a time you had a said race? I am just wondering this because apparently traffic at Texas is expected to be an issue judging by the tweets I am reading.  I mean- I don’t know how anyone can go to a large sporting event such as a race and NOT expect traffic.  Figure a race has 100,000 attendees.  Average 3 people per car – that’s still 33, 333 cars.  All trying to enter or exit a track facility at the same time.  Personal experience wise- it’s taken me anywhere from 5 minutes (the parking gods were good that day) to 2+ hours to get out of a track and on the road.  I think it was Las Vegas the first time…I sat in the same spot in a parking lot trying to get out for this long: I had time to watch the fellows parked in the aisle I was driving down arrive at their vehicle, watch them set up their grill and table, grill some steaks, drink some beverages, and then sit down at a little camp table and eat their steaks. I didn’t let that influence how I felt about the race though.
• One of my favorite parts of pre-race is watching the teams do their individual prayer huddles:

Photo Credit: Borrowed from TonyStewart.com….shamelessly

•  Assignment for you: Tell me WHY you love your favorite driver….whomever that may be. What made you a fan? What keeps you a fan?

Over a week later I still don’t understand what happened at the end of the race in Fontana. Tony seemed to have a strong car- but that car just faded away that last run. Was it lack of tire? Mechanical? I still don’t understand what caused the fade away that left him finishing 13th after such a strong run all day long.

Then today- we have Martinsville. Tony didn’t have speed in practice earlier in the weekend. He qualified poorly (28th) on Saturday.  Then when the race started, he just seemed to fight an ill handling car all day while trying to conserve tires.  He was able to work his way up to a high of 20th at one point. Judging by radio communications Darian seemed to have some sort of plan to get Tony track position so he has something to work with.  Unfortunately that plan wouldn’t really get placed in effect after Stewart was penalized for changing lanes before reaching the start finish line during a restart.   I admit- that one had me shaking my head.  Okay…shaking my head and cursing like a sailor.  I it is disheartening to watch your team have a couple of bad weeks.  Tony finished 38 laps down in 34th position. He dropped to 11th in points.

Race winner for both Fontana and Martinsville was Kevin Harvick. I can only imagine Junior Nation is NOT a Harvick fan after the last several laps of Martinsville.

Notes:

• Two drivers who had GREAT days- Dale Earnhart Jr and Jeff Gordon.  I swear I could hear the crowd at Martinsville go wild all the way over here in California when Jr took the lead during the last 30 laps of the race.  Jeff Gordon also had a great finish considering he qualified 21st.  He rose from 19th to points to 12th in points. That puts him right behind Tony.  Jeff is going in the right direction. Tony however is not.  Dont think I am not starting to panic about points.  Yes I know that there is a lot of racing left in the season…but I worry because we are going in the wrong direction.
• The tire issue that everyone seemed to be concerned about didn’t really seem to be that big of a deal after all.
• Was it just me or did Martinsville seem to take FOREVER to finish? Maybe it was just because I was cranky because Tony was having a bad day.  Any Kevin Harvick fans want to weigh in on the length of the race?

Next week we are racing under the lights at Texas on Saturday night.

So who were you rooting for of the three contenders at Homestead? Were you rooting for Denny? Kevin? Jimmie?  I will tell you who I was rooting for if you tell me who you were rooting for!

Notes about Homestead:

• I hate to say this…but that incident between Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle on lap 24- the one that caused Denny to spin – and some damage to the car? That really looked like Denny drifted up into Greg to me anyway.
• And what about Kyle Busch? That was a fiery crash! I was all STOP THAT SUCKER AND JUMP OUT KYLE!!!  Of course I don’t want to see Kyle burn! I actually enjoy him as a driver (not as much as Tony of course).
• I always feel bad when the championship is clinched by a driver who is NOT the winner in the race. It made me feel that Carl Edward’s celebration was truncated.  He did win the race.  I was a little worried for his safety when he got out of his car to do his trademark backflip and Jimmie had started burning out right next to him. Yikes!
• Jimmie’s in-car reaction to having won the championship though? He was so excited! I have to say that Chad Knaus’s Post-It note (Our TEAM won!) to the camera- was appropriate. I liked how he emphasized TEAM especially since the pit crew swap.  (Consequently enough I noticed that nearly right away – with in the week of the swap- the Lowes racing website listed the “new” crew- while the Jeff Gordon website also listed his original crew. Interesting.) Ha! Take that Mike Ford!
• Speaking of the pit crew swap- I had to say I was concerned that since the swap the wrong crew would get credited with the Tissot Fastest Pit Crew – but luckily they explained that on the national broadcast….that while Jeff Gordon’s crew won the award- it was the original crew….the one that ultimate went to help Jimmie after Texas.
• Apparently we missed some sort of on track altercation between Logano and Montoya after the wreck? They mentioned it on the national broadcast quite briefly but inquiring minds want to know! What happened?

Next Race:  Daytona 2011.

Seriously though- like last year, I am planning on attending Champion’s week celebrations after Thanksgiving so posting might be light that week. I will tweet and facebook so follow me or friend me or whatever…but of course I will post afterwards!

(SMOKE fans…be sure to check back here Wednesday…Just saying).