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Empty Grandstands, NASCAR, A Grammar Lesson, Plus Macon
Due to security concerns following unrest and protest in Baltimore, the Orioles and White Sox played a game at Camden Yards with no fans in attendance. I was going to say that photos of the grandstands reminded me of the grandstands at ____________ Speedway during the __________ night weekly show. Or the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Chicago. Fill in the blanks however you want.
Lesa France Kennedy of the NASCAR and ISC France family-the family worth $5,000,000,000 according to Forbes Magazine-spoke about Daytona Rising yesterday, and mentioned possible non-racing revenue streams the $400,000,000 revamping of Daytona International Speedway might allow-like a football game, music festival, or a Tony Anville fan club meeting. See below:
After the 2015 season, GoDaddy will no longer sponsor the #10 car of Danica Patrick. This is also the final season of Patrick’s contract with Stewart-Haas Racing. What do I think will happen? I think another sponsor or several other sponsors will take the place of GoDaddy and that Patrick will re-sign with SHR. She may not win races, but she is a sports marketing dynamo.
David Ragan will move into the Michael Waltrip Racing #55 after this weekend’s Talladega race and will drive the car the rest of the season. Regular driver Brian Vickers is on blood thinners for a heart condition and will be on this medication through June at least, maybe longer. Vickers cannot race while on blood thinners, though he does hope to return to racing at some point in the future.
Ragan has been the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing #18, substituting for the injured Kyle Busch. Rumor has young Erik Jones driving the #18 after Talladega until Busch is OK’d to race again. Jones subbed for Denny “The Neck” Hamlin at Bristol.
Boris Said will replace the younger Busch brother in seven NASCAR XFINITY series races starting at Talladega this weekend.
Grammarly, a proofreading company, rated fans of NFL teams based on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Redskins fans made 16.5 mistakes per 100 words, while Lions fans made only 4.2 mistakes. Until former Nebraska coach Bill Callahan became an assistant on the Washington team, their fans made only 2.1 mistakes per 100 words. I wouldn’t make up something like that.
Grammarly also rated fans of NASCAR drivers, showing that making the fewest mistakes were Jeff Gordon fans, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fans made the most mistakes:
Jeff Gordon fans-.2 mistakes per 100 words.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fans-55.8 mistakes per 100 words.
I would not make this up either.
I had a really great, totally sarcastic comment about why Grammarly could not rate Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, but I just deleted it-it was too smart ass even for me. Anyway, I am OK with Earnhardt Jr., but his fans drive me crazy.
Speaking of Gordon, he will be driving the pace car in the Indy 500 this year.
Look for rain in eastern Kansas and Missouri this weekend. The USMTS has events scheduled at Lakeside Speedway near Kansas City, Kansas on Friday and Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri on Saturday. Rain seems to be following all the dirt tours, but especially the USMTS.
Just a reminder-go to www.DirtonDirt.com and order the Lucas Oil PPV from Macon Speedway tonight. Think of 24 Late Models on a 1/5th mile oval. Think of all that could happen over 100 laps of racing on this tiny track. The PPV will start approximately 6:45 p.m. and cost $24.99. I watched this race last year and it was definitely worth the price.
Illinois drivers like Shannon Babb and Bobby Pierce will challenge the Lucas Oil regulars Jonathan Davenport, Earl Pearson Jr., Jimmy Owens, Steve Francis, Don O’Neal, and Scott Bloomquist. One Illini driver who will not be racing this weekend is Brian Shirley. He announced on Facebook that he will not be at the track until his wife regains her health. Shannon Shirley is hospitalized with an undisclosed health issue but is getting getter.
I talked of going to I-80 Speedway on Friday, but I see they are replacing Super Late Models with Sprint Cars that night. Sprint Cars, A-Mods, B-Mods, Stock Cars, Grand Nationals, and Hornets. Six classes and two, maybe two and a half, I really wouldn’t mind seeing. Hopefully I can convince Matt to go another time and watch the Lucas Oil PPV from Tri-City Speedway on www.DirtonDirt.com instead.
Thanks for stopping by.
P.S. Yahoo listed the wealthiest person in every state. Can you guess who the richest person in Nebraska is? No, it is not my friend Tony Anville, but good guess. Hint: the richest person in Nebraska is hosting a party in Omaha on Saturday for 40,000 of his closest friends.
And a comment that has little to do with dirt track racing: According to the ASPCA an animal is abused every 60 seconds. I really, really, really do not like bullies. I really, really, really detest anyone who would abuse a spouse, a girl friend, a child, or an animal. Don’t put them in jail-taser them repeatedly until they pledge to never abuse again. And if they break the pledge, taser them again, then lock them up and lose the key.
Racing, Alaska, Wrestling, And Rock-Nowhere Else But The Rest Of The Dirt
I have already suggested this, but do yourself a favor and order the PPV from Macon Speedway in Illinois tomorrow night. Late models on a 1/5th mile track might seem crazy-more like insane, but if you want to watch an action packed race-something happening all over the track-this is a race you want to see. The cost is $24.99, but think how much it would cost you to drive all the way to Macon to watch in person.
Before I order, I always check out the weather at the track, though if an event gets rained out DOD will honor your purchase on the make-up date or if the event is cancelled, will refund your money. I will be ordering the Macon event, and will also order the Tri-State PPV on Friday unless Matt and I head to I-80 Speedway.
If the weather co-operates, this will be a very busy Late Model weekend. As I mentioned above, the Lucas Oil Series is racing at Macon and Tri-State on Thursday and Friday, and will be heading to Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky on Saturday. The WoO will head to North Carolina for Friday and Saturday races at Friendship Motor Speedway in Elkin and Fayetteville Motor Speedway in Fayetteville.
There is plenty of regional action on the schedule as well. Ray Cook’s Spring Nationals have $4,000 and $6,000 to win races in Tennessee. The Southern All-Star Series will complement the NASCAR race this weekend with a show at Talladega Short Track. MARS will race at Monett and Springfield, Missouri and the Deery Brothers will visit Quad City Speedway in East Moline, Illinois.
Below is my Top 25 for this week. Once again I do not differ greatly on 20 of the drivers, but completely disagree with other voters on 5 drivers. In fact, one of my drivers is 40th overall, and no more than 1-2 other voters mentioned him. Ouch.
| DirtonDirt.com Top 25 Voting Ballot | |
| Name: | Ron Meyer |
| Date: | 4/27/2015 |
| Position | |
| 1 | Randy Weaver |
| 2 | Shane Clanton |
| 3 | Jimmy Owens |
| 4 | Jonathan Davenport |
| 5 | Scott Bloomquist |
| 6 | Darrell Lanigan |
| 7 | Josh Richards |
| 8 | Billy Moyer |
| 9 | Brandon Sheppard |
| 10 | Don O’Neal |
| 11 | Earl Pearson Jr. |
| 12 | Bobby Pierce |
| 13 | Tim McCreadie |
| 14 | Eddie Carrier Jr. |
| 15 | Steve Francis |
| 16 | Casey Roberts |
| 17 | Dale McDowell |
| 18 | Devin Moran |
| 19 | Steve Casebolt |
| 20 | Chub Frank |
| 21 | Mike Marlar |
| 22 | Billy Ogle Jr. |
| 23 | Dennis Erb Jr. |
| 24 | Gregg Satterlee |
| 25 | Brandon Overton |
What famous dirt track announcer has a birthday this weekend?
Why am I reading books about individuals who dropped out and went to live in the Alaskan wilderness? I am on my second such book in the last month. Both men knew how to hunt and fish. I have caught one fish in my life and never shot anything. Both men built a log cabin for shelter from the bitter cold Alaskan winter. I would have trouble putting up a tent. I get cold at April and October races in the Midwest-how would I fare in the Arctic in January? An outhouse at -30 degrees has no appeal to me at all and gives new meaning to freezing your butt off. I like steak, but I like to get it from a grocery store or at a restaurant. I don’t want to shoot a moose-probably couldn’t even hit one, skin it, carve it up, carry the meat miles back to my cabin-afraid a pack of wolves would decide they want it more, and fry up moose steak for supper. I am 64 and my left knee is screaming to be replaced so I am not going snow shoeing. And, how would I get by without TV and the internet?
So why am I reading these books? I think I just need to escape. Or maybe it is that the annual audit at work just began and fending off bears and wolverines and mosquitoes and black flies like nowhere else seems more appealing than working with an auditor.
Verne Gagne, longtime AWA champion, died on April 27th. He was 89. I will always remember my dad letting us watch All-Star Wrestling on KETV at 10:30 p.m. on Mondays back in the early 60’s and when good guy Gagne came to Fremont to wrestle the likes of Dr. X and Mad Dog Vachon. Gagne’s was the first ‘star’ autograph I ever got. RIP.
Also, Jack Ely, an original member of The Kingsmen and singer of the greatest rock song ever, “Louie, Louie,” died at his home in Redmond, Oregon after a long illness. He was 71. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have heard that song. If I did, I could buy a couple of shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock and attend the shareholders meeting in Omaha this weekend. RIP Jack.
Racing, the Alaska wilderness, wrestling, and rock-you don’t get that combination anywhere else. Thanks for stopping by.
P.S. Occasionally I post emails someone sent me. Below is one of them. No, I didn’t leave out anything.
Roush Racing Highlights for 2015:
He Is NOT A Hero
While I am sure some of you will disagree with me on the link above, my perspective comes from seeing the effects of domestic abuse on families for the past 25 years. My wife has been a Family Support Specialist working with families in the Nebraska in the court system for nearly three decades and many of the situations she has had to deal with are beyond sad and most begin with some type of abuse.
There is no question that Busch is a gifted racer. There is also very little question that he has been a jerk almost all of his NASCAR career-incidents with Roush, Penske, Phoenix Racing, Front Row Racing, plus suspension while driving for Stewart-Haas. His victory proves nothing more than he is a good driver. It does not change what he has been-and remember, the incident that garnered his suspicion occurred long after he had worked with a therapist on his anger issues. And, though criminal charges were not filed, a Delaware court concluded that Busch “more likely than not” strangled his ex-girlfriend and smashed her head against a wall last year and a restraining order was issued.
I am bringing this up because of redemption comments made by FOX analyst Darrell Waltrip and FOX announcer Mike Joy. And, Busch’s comment in Victory Lane: “Your personal life doesn’t need to affect your (professional) life. And I’m here in Victory Lane.” I read that as saying “I can be an ass off the track because I can drive the wheels off a race car.” I don’t agree.
Admire what he does on the track, OK. I can’t argue he is one of the top NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers. But redemption for past off-and on track deeds? Uh-uh. The man is a multiple offender when it comes to being a jerk. He has been given at least 4 chances and screwed up that many times. His redemption does not come from his driving ability and it certainly doesn’t come after just six races in 2015.
FOX Sports is as goofy as FOX News. You don’t have to agree with me. If you disagree that is fine. I am simply stating my opinion.
And from his Victory Lane photo I see that despite all the past incidents, Busch had no trouble finding another hot girlfriend. Amazing.
Instead of the totally bizarre Talladega group qualifying last year, NASCAR will be debuting a new restrictor plate qualifying format this weekend. No 43 cars on the track at the same time, rather just two-one on the back stretch, and one on the front stretch where no one will benefit from any aerodynamic advantage. Hallelujah.
There will be two qualifying rounds. The first round will consist of one timed lap and will determine starting positions 13-43 and who times when will be determined by a draw ala short track racing. There will be a 10 minute break in between the sessions, but the only adjustments that can be made are use of a cool-down unit and positioning of tape on the grill. The fastest 12 cars will again be timed for a lap, with the slowest of the 12 cars going first and the fastest timing last. This session will determine starting positions 1-12.
Thanks for stopping by.
MA, Speed Shift, Schrader, Richmond, Corning, Plus Outtakes
60,582 fans filled Met Life Stadium in New York on Saturday to watch a Monster Energy AMA Supercross event. No, I don’t get that-I am not into motorcycles at all. Of course I also do not get arenas packed for Monster Truck events, or that post-race demo derbies draw the biggest crowd of the year to dirt tracks.
For those of you who are fans of “race” cars with wings, but without starters, Speed Shift TV will be showing All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Car races from Lernerville Speedway and Mercer Raceway Park in Pennsylvania this weekend. Price for a single night PPV is $24.95, while a two night package costs $44.95.
Apparently May is Sprint Car month on Speed Shift TV-I keep leaving out the ‘f’ for some reason. In addition to the ASCOC, six National Sprint League races will be shown on Speed Shift during May. As of now-and they are adding more races almost every week, Speed Shift TV has 55 events scheduled the rest of the year.
Ken Schrader won the ARCA Federated Auto Parts 200 at Salem Speedway in Indiana yesterday. Schrader will turn 60 on May 29th. 60 is the new 40.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers spent most of Sunday afternoon “Chasing” Kurt Busch-pun intended as his victory at Richmond yesterday almost guarantees Busch a spot in The Chase. I am not a big Busch fan-actually I am not a fan of Busch Light either-but since his return from a three race suspension, the driver of the 41 Stewart-Hass Chevrolet has been as dominant as any driver not named Kevin Harvick or Joey Logano.
Harvick gave Stewart-Haas a 1-2 finish, and was followed by Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, and Logano. While Busch and Harvick are almost certainly in The Chase, team owner Tony Stewart continues to struggle, with the worst season start of his career. Yesterday Stewart tangled with Dale Earnhardt Jr., spun out, could not re-fire his race car and finished 41st. The former NASCAR champion is now 30th in points with just a single top ten finish, but three DNF’s. Not only is Stewart behind teammate Danica Patrick, he is also behind all three Roush Fenway drivers.
Speaking of my favorite team, RFR is so bad you could compare them to baseball’s 1962 Mets (40-120) or the NFL’s 1980 New Orleans Saints (1-15), the year fans called them the “Aints” and wore paper bags over their heads. Greg Biffle in 21st place in point standings is the top Roush driver-the equivalent of Marvelous Marv Throneberry of the Mets, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at 25th and Trevor Bayne at 27th following close behind.
Didn’t I predict last week that Carl Edwards would win the Richmond race? If so, the TROTD jinx is fit as a fiddle as the only time Edwards managed to get on TV was when he was trying to pass Busch to unlap himself. And Denny-The Neck-Hamlin took his car all the way from the Richmond pole to 22nd place. At least he didn’t blame the Saturday rain for a poor effort like Keselowski did last week when he wrecked himself and Logano.
I won’t mention any names-I don’t want TRODT’s jinx to take effect, but I think someone who finished in the Top Five of the Richmond race yesterday is going to win a Sprint Cup race this season-and maybe soon.
Talladega this week. I will predict a winner for this, because I don’t care if TRODT’s jinx holds up-I say the 3 car of Austin Dillon will zoom to the front on the final lap. Maybe I will keep picking him every week until grandpa takes the 3 car away from him.
Were there really only 7 Late Models at Adams County Speedway in Corning on Saturday? Wow, if that is so I am really glad I talked Matt out of going after the NASCAR race from Richmond was postponed. I am not sure I can talk him out of going to I-80 Speedway on Friday though-there were 18 SLM’s there last week.
I haven’t shared spam posts lately, so here are a few:
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NO, those are not my grammatical errors. I just didn’t make any changes to the spam. I hated deleting the last comment though.
Thanks for stopping by.
Souvenirs, Sunset Speedway, Richmond, Plus East Germanic Tribe
Rumor has the track at Doniphan being sold for some other purpose than racing-a very different purpose. No, I don’t have confirmation-it did come from a usually reliable source, or I would mention the purpose too.
It seems like almost every race NASCAR Sprint Cup cars carry new wraps every race. Sponsors are primary sponsors for some races, associate sponsors for others, so schemes change. Of course the added benefit for car owners and drivers is that the changes lead to souvenir sales-people like my friend Steve Basch, aka Race Guru, are diecast fanatics; they want all the J.J. Yeley memorabilia.
Stick and ball sports are into the souvenir business too. A team wears retro uniforms and of course fans just have to have one at $100.00 or more. Wow, I remember spending $25 for a Harvard sweatshirt years ago and thinking that was expensive. Yes, people did ask me if I went to Harvard. I replied “not the one in Cambridge, Massachusetts, rather the Harvard of the Plains.” Anyway, my mind working in mysterious ways like always, is thinking dirt tracks and dirt drivers should go for the retro business too.
A t-shirt with scenes from the first World 100 on the front-cars and Earl Baltes and winner Bruce Gould, with a list of winners on the back would be cool. Or maybe a then and now Eldora t-shirt, showing what the track was like 50 years ago and what it is like now. Billy Moyer could do an 80’s throw back. So could Scott Bloomquist. Hey, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is into retro t-shirts, why can’t I be?
Of course this led me to thoughts of my favorite track, Sunset Speedway. Oh, to be able to sell souvenirs of the legendary Irvington, Nebraska track. T-shirts and sweatshirts and ball caps and DVD’s of old races, with all the proceeds to go to funding a Sunset Speedway book. There are several writers who would tackle a Sunset book-Lee Ackerman and me. There are photographers with hundreds of photos to refresh our memories. There are drivers and officials and fans by the score who would love to tell their Sunset stories. Unfortunately there are 30,000 reasons why the book hasn’t happened and probably won’t. The $30,000 it would take to prepare a QUALITY book worthy of the track. If it is going to be done, no half-ass effort.
Anyone want a Sunset t-shirt? I wonder if a crowdfunding site could raise the money. Well, as the Blues Magoos once sang: “Pipe dream, pipe dream, come back to reality.” Very psychedelic, but I haven’t been smoking anything.
And thinking of all of this reminded me of seeing some old Joe Kosiski t-shirts. No, Joe isn’t doing anything retro, he just has fans wearing shirts from 20 years ago. I don’t know if his fans are that loyal or just cheap.
Who is going to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Richmond this weekend? Penske Fords swept the Virginia track last year, so if Brad Keselowski can keep from wrecking his teammate Joey Logano, that pair of aces might have a winning hand. Denny Hamlin calls Richmond his home track and he received treatment this week on the neck “injury” that kept him from completing the Bristol race, so if he doesn’t “re-injure” his neck, he has to be a favorite. Hamlin teammate Matt Kenseth won last week. Can he make it two in a row?
After being wrecked because of a Jimmie Johnson incident last week, Kevin Harvick went to the White House to be congratulated on his 2014 Sprint Cup championship. I have no idea what that has to do with winning at Richmond, but I can see Harvick taking the Richmond checkered flags as he did in the fall of 2013. Jeff Gordon really wants a win too, so don’t count out this wily veteran.
So, who am I picking? Let’s see if TROTD’s jinx still works. I’ll pick Carl Edwards to win. He won in the spring of 2013 and is with a much better team now.
Below is a link to current events that no one else thought of.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandals
Substitute “sprint car drivers” for “east Germanic tribe.”
Thanks for stopping by.
USMTS, IMCA, And Moyer Jr.
If you are looking for some computer racing tonight, check out RACEFEEDX.com. The site will have a USMTS PPV from RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas starting at 6:00 p.m. Crandall is southeast of Dallas.
Oops-scratch the above. Once again Mother Nature rules. With tracks already wet and thunderstorms forecast, the USMTS postponed the entire weekend of races, rescheduling them for May 6th-9th.
IMCA will have a record number of sanctions in 2015-close to 440 total sanctions. For over 20 years there have been 100+ Modified sanctions, but for the first time ever there will be 100+ Northern Sportmod/Southern Sportmod sanctions-hooray. Over 8,000 drivers in 31 states will race under the IMCA banner, so IMCA is hardly a small Vinton, Iowa business.
I was thinking more about Billy Moyer Jr. stepping away from late model racing. It can’t be easy bearing the name of a racing legend, a hall of famer among the winningest drivers in the sport’s history. Many people say when he does well it is because of all the help he gets from his dad. If he doesn’t do well they say he isn’t the driver your dad is. That is hardly fair. How many drivers are as good as Moyer Jr.’s dad?
As fans we see the results that talented drivers put on the track at late model specials. While we understand those results come from hundreds of hours of hard work by the driver and his crew, those facts are pushed aside by the excitement of the competition. We don’t think of long drives to get to a race, only to have Mother Nature decide there won’t be a race that night. Bob Seeger sang of a “long and lonesome highway” east of Omaha, but tour drivers know of the two lane highways heading from Wheatland, Missouri and Eldora, Ohio, the ones they are traveling going home from the track well after midnight, when they’re “riding sixteen hours and there’s nothing there to do.”
We don’t think of the incredible expense of racing a late model either. I have heard talk of it taking $150,000-$250,000 to be competitive on a national tour. Yes, a $50,000 win at a crown jewel event goes a long way to making a season, but not many drivers win those races. It takes good sponsors some $10,000 wins and plenty of top five finishes to make a living as a dirt late model driver. And one bad night-blow an engine or get caught up in someone else’s mess and making ends meet gets a lot tougher.
If a driver doesn’t spend seven days a week with the car, he knows some other driver is, and that driver is liable to beat him. He knows he can’t just get by another race or two with used parts when someone is going to spend money on new parts. All the time and money spent merely gets a driver to the track. Then he has to better the likes of the elder Moyer, Bloomquist, Owens, and Lanigan to make a buck. I would call that a stressful situation.
And the stress is getting to drivers. Brian Birkhofer, Brady Smith, and now Billy Moyer Jr. have stepped out of their race cars in the past seven months, maybe for the last time. I wish I had a solution to the problem. Dirt track racing is a tough way to make a living. The men who do make a living on short tracks deserve our respect as much for their focus and determination as for their ability to go fast and turn left.
Thanks for stopping by.
RIP Steve Byrnes, Top 25, Plus Some NASCAR
I am sure by now that most of you have heard that Steve Byrnes died yesterday. It is almost eerie that he stayed alive for the tributes FOX TV and NASCAR drivers gave him on Sunday. Reading the comments from David Hill of FOX on the link below it is easy to see that the tributes were heartfelt.
http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/21/fox-sports-broadcaster-steve-byrnes-passes-away/
RIP Steve Byrnes.
Below is my www.DirtonDirt.com Top 25 for the week:
| DirtonDirt.com Top 25 Voting Ballot | |
| Name: | Ron Meyer |
| Date: | 4/20/2015 |
| Position | |
| 1 | Shane Clanton |
| 2 | Randy Weaver |
| 3 | Jimmy Owens |
| 4 | Scott Bloomquist |
| 5 | Darrell Lanigan |
| 6 | Jonathan Davenport |
| 7 | Josh Richards |
| 8 | Billy Moyer |
| 9 | Brandon Sheppard |
| 10 | Bobby Pierce |
| 11 | Tim McCreadie |
| 12 | Earl Pearson Jr. |
| 13 | Don O’Neal |
| 14 | Eddie Carrier Jr. |
| 15 | Steve Francis |
| 16 | Steve Casebolt |
| 17 | Devin Moran |
| 18 | Casey Roberts |
| 19 | Dale McDowell |
| 20 | Chub Frank |
| 21 | Gregg Satterlee |
| 22 | Billy Ogle Jr. |
| 23 | Dennis Erb Jr. |
| 24 | Mike Marlar |
| 25 | Brandon Overton |
Once again the other 24 voters and I don’t agree on who belongs on the list. There are about 20 drivers on everyone’s list, but 20 other drivers receive votes, and any of those 20 could make a good case for being in the top 25.
Speaking of DOD, the site will be offering two PPV’s next week, the Lucas Oil Series races from Macon Speedway and Tri-City Speedway in Illinois. I watched the race from Macon last year and will simply say get that PPV. Think of the 1/5th mile track as a dirt version of NASCAR’s Martinsville or Bristol. There is action around the track and there is always plenty of beating and banging going on. Check out DOD for more information.
I just watched President Obama congratulate Kevin Harvick for winning the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Harvick, car owner Tony Stewart, and the #4 team were all visiting the White House. I wonder which was more exciting for Harvick-standing beside the President at the White House, or sitting about 5’ away from me when he was speaking at the Sports Business Journal NASCAR conference in Las Vegas last December. I am sure Harvick hopes for another White House repeat, as I am hoping for another Las Vegas NASCAR visit in December.
More NASCAR. A Sporting News article talked about the “best” NASCAR races to attend. I have the Daytona 500 and the Bristol night race on my bucket list. With the win Homestead, win the championship feature of The Chase, I certainly wouldn’t mind being in Miami in mid-November either. And I would love to have tickets to a race at Martinsville or Richmond and wouldn’t say no to Talladega, Charlotte, Texas, or Phoenix. And no need for anyone to post a comment stating that I turned down free tickets to the Kansas Speedway race in a few weeks. Yes, I would have like to go, it just didn’t work out. I would have to have “Auburn money” to go to all those races.
And one more NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is building a tree house at his North Carolina compound. He already has an Old West town, a go-kart track, a junk yard of NASCAR wrecks, and pretty fancy living quarters as well. I guess when you can have everything but privacy this might be something you do.
http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2015/4/20/8459057/dale-earnhardt-jr-builds-treehouse
Darn, I wish I could have a tree house like that for Henry and me.
Why is it that when I can’t get a song out of my mind it is always an annoying one? I have no idea what electrical impulse in my brain brought this song from the depths of my memory banks, but the song is The Beatles “What Goes On,” sung by Ringo Starr. After about the 100th time for some lines, this becomes more like a root canal or an audit than a song. I like almost every Beatle song, just not this one.
Thanks for stopping by.
NASCAR’s Food City ‘511’-The Real Story
Here is one I definitely did not see coming:
I wonder what kind of an effect this will have on his hall of fame dad remaining in the business. With the Lucas Oil series race rained out at his hometown Batesville Motor Speedway, the elder Moyer ventured into hard tire territory this weekend, racing with the CBC/MARS/ALMS at Davenport and Burlington, Iowa. Moyer finished 20th at Davenport and was nipped at the finish by Ryan Unzicker in Burlington. Billy, the elder, does not have any upcoming races listed on his schedule. That is not unusual, so it probably is not something to try to read anything into.
Moyer Jr’s decision to leave racing indefinitely once again brings into focus the commitment needed to race on dirt full-time. I don’t think money had anything to do with Billy Jr. walking away from the sport, rather it was the seven days a week commitment needed to contend with other top drivers in the sport.
What did I think about the NASCAR Sprint Cup Food City 511 from Bristol? No typo, they “ran” 511 laps, not 500.
-I appreciated all of the support shown Fox announcer Steve Byrnes who is battling cancer. It was great seeing the tributes and all of the signs. Cancer has hit my family several times.
-I enjoyed Jeff Gordon’s children doing the “most famous words in motorsports” too. Too many “stars” of overhyped movies recite those words, badly, screaming like they actually know what they are talking of. Anyway, my daughter says the most famous words in motorsports should be “beer is on sale.”
-I probably got a little carried away with applause when Brad Keselowski managed to collect teammate Joey Logano in an early lap wreck. Both are in The Chase, so finishing many laps down at Bristol merely was a bad day for Penske racing. I couldn’t keep “are you expletive deleted kidding me?” from coming out of my mouth when Keselowski seemed to want to blame rain for his crash though.
-Jimmie Johnson was practicing for Talladega last night. It seemed like every hundred laps or so he was involved in-usually the cause of-an untrack incident. Just like at Talladega though, the six time champion seems to be able to drive away from those wrecks, unlike most of the cars he runs into. As crew chief Harry said to Cole Trickle in “Days of Thunder,”-“I want you to run into the pace car.” “What?” “Run into the pace car, you’ve hit every other damn car out there.”
-Super hyper Darrell Waltrip described yesterday’s 9 hour butt tiring event as “great racing, crazy accidents.” Usually you take what Waltrip says with a handful of salt-not a grain, but he was right. There were weird wrecks starting with Keselowski and Logano, and there was some very good racing-Kenseth ends a plus 50 winless streak; Johnson bounces his car around like a pinball and still finishes second; Gordon comes from two laps down to finish third; and Stenhouse gives Roush Fenway Racing their first top five finish of the year.
-I really do not like tracks where one lane has an incredible advantage over the other lane. Starting on the inside lane at Bristol means losing a position or more almost every restart. And Bristol isn’t the only NASCAR track with one lane having a huge advantage.
-Do you think Cale Yarborough would have sat out Sunday’s restart because of a sore neck? Denny Hamlin, you are no Cale Yarborough. Or Ricky Rudd-didn’t officials have to pull him out of his car with damn near heat stroke after winning a race at Martinsville? Or Davey Allison-drove with broken ribs. Or Richard Petty-drove with a broken neck. Or Terry Labonte-drove with a broken knee. Wow, now do you drive with a broken knee?
-Were all the empty seats at Bristol really the result of the weather?
-Did you feel bad when Austin Dillon had to come to the pits for fuel late in the race, costing him about six spots in the finishing order? Tell the truth. If he deserves to drive a Sprint Cup car numbered ‘3’ I deserve to be a humor writer for New Yorker magazine.
Sorry, Austin reminds me of Paris Hilton’s brother Conrad, the spoiled rich kid who just got to plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault against flight attendants charge, in order to have a felony charge dropped. I wonder if he would have got the same deal if his name was Ron Meyer. And I wonder if anyone other than his grandpa would allow Dillon to race a car with a number made famous by Dale Earnhardt.
-Jeb Burton. There is a punch line there somewhere. Like “assume you will be moved aside when you are laps down and try blocking a six time champion.”
-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got a top five finish at Bristol for the second year in a row. And he did it hurt-outside of the car he is wearing a walking boot as a result of a “farm injury.” No telling what he stepped in. Unlike another Sprint Cup driver, Stenhouse plays hurt. Denny Hamlin, you are no Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
On to Richmond for a Saturday night race. Thanks for stopping by.
Back, As Good As New-Which Probably Wasn’t All That Good
No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I would like to blame my disappearance on having the flu. However, I know I got a flu shot this season, and isn’t the shot supposed to protect a person from getting the flu? Apparently I was away from the blogosphere for an ailment with symptoms eerily similar to the flu, just not the flu. I do not care to repeat last Thursday anytime soon. Last Friday the most strenuous thing I did was sleep. Saturday I started to feel better, and Sunday I was well enough to watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Bristol.
I’ll have more on that race in tomorrow’s blog-and no, 9 hours from when the first green flag flew to when the checkered flew is not a record. I am sure that Junction Motor Speedway must have taken longer some time.
Below is what I was going to use for a blog on Friday. I hate to waste words-yes, I do see the irony-so I will use it today, with some minor editing:
I received a red rubber bracelet when I was walking into Haymarket Park on Wednesday for the NU vs. UNO game. I didn’t look at it until I got to my seat. The group handing out the bracelet was DONTBESIDELINED.com. Their message? “Mental illness is treatable.”
I checked with Matt to see if he got one too. I didn’t want to think they singled me out for some reason. He said he did get one, but it was for our friend Tony. Maybe they thought I looked like a blogger. I hope they didn’t think I was an auditor.
I wrote last Thursday of the Cubby’s Chase to the Silver Dollar Nationals at I-80 Speedway in July. Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Illinois is doing something similar for their Prairie Dirt Classic a week later. Like I-80’s Chase it is full of difficult to understand details. Friday night’s six heat winners qualify for this $5,000 to win 25 lap feature. Two track regulars, two Illinois drivers, two WoO regulars, and two national drivers will add eight more cars to the feature. The 15th entrant will be the highest finishing FALS driver in this Saturday’s WoO Illini 100 at Farmer City, Illinois. Fans will vote on the track website for the final three spots in the race.
Like I said, complicated. But they aren’t quite done with details. Each driver will come to the backstretch to draw for position. That sounds too easy, so instead of that being their starting position, they will give their draw to another driver. I assume the handover will be before anyone is aware of the starting position drawn. No matter what, I am thinking this will take some time to sort out before the race starts. It should be a good race though, plus it gives fans something other than just qualifying heat races on the first night of the two night event.
Per Matt and DOD, the Lucas Oil race scheduled for Saturday that was postponed has now been cancelled. Four other races in Illinois, Tennessee, and Louisiana scheduled for this weekend have now been postponed. Over the last few years I have mellowed on races being cancelled early. It used to irritate me greatly when an event was postponed days ahead of when it was scheduled. However, with competitors traveling hundreds of miles and thousands of dollars on the line for promoters, I understand why events get postponed. I won’t go so far as saying I like that promoters do that, but I understand why they do.
The CBC/MARS/ALMS trio of weekend races in eastern Iowa and western Illinois are still on. So are the Deery Brothers IMCA Late Model races at Farley and Webster City, Iowa. And the WoO two night show at Farmer City is still a go. NOTE: The final CBC/MARS/ALMS race was rained out, as was the Deery Brothers show at Webster City.
Thanks for stopping by.
Civil War, Lincoln, Dinner, Bristol, Silver Dollar Nationals, And IMCA Rankings
Years ago the Smithsonian Institute had a huge display traveling to various cities around the US, including Kansas City. My wife and daughter and I were able to visit the display and I remember that the car Richard Petty won his last race in was on display. So was an incredibly small Mercury space capsule. We saw the ruby slippers Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz-can’t wait to watch that with Henry. And we saw several artifacts pertaining to the Civil War. With the 150th anniversary of The Civil War happening the past few years, much has been made of various battles. However, what was on display in KC had nothing to do with battles, rather with peace. The chairs that Lee and Grant sat in at Appomattox Courthouse were an important part of the show. Gave me goosebumps. But, I am writing this on April 15th, 150 years to the day Lincoln was assassinated. What brought “oh my God” to my lips was the Smithsonian display included the hat Lincoln wore to Ford’s Theatre that night. I wonder what our country would be like today if Lincoln had not been assassinated. When I think of “Five People You Could Have Dinner With,” Lincoln is always on the list. So is my dad. At times Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson are on the list. Sometimes Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Winston Churchill would dine with me. Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Babe Ruth seem to be added when the baseball season arrives. So are Cool Papa Bell and Josh Gibson from the Negro Leagues. Curtis Turner and Dale Earnhardt are the only ones from racing, and no I can’t explain why Turner. Louis L’Amour or Tony Hillerman or Mari Sandoz when I am reading their books for the 5th or 6th time. Moe, Curly, and Larry-and I don’t mean Matt, Tony, and Randy, though them too. George Gershwin and Antonio Carlos Jobim. I guess I would have to set a lot of plates, but it would be a helluva entertaining evening. And my grandson Henry would be there to learn everything every one of them had to offer. Yesterday at lunch I drove through KFC. I pulled up to pay and the young lady at the window asked me if I was a senior. Apparently their definition of senior is anyone over 60. So yeah, I am a senior. And it saved me a dollar on lunch. I am thinking that someone reading this who is extremely cheap but not over 60 will probably get a fake I.D. to show that he is over 60 just to get senior discounts. No names, this person knows who I mean. The top five finishers in last year’s Bristol spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race were: Carl Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse, Aric Almirola, Tony Stewart, and Marcos Ambrose. Obviously with Ambrose home in Australia there won’t be a repeat of that finish in 2015. My question would be: will any of the top five in 2014 finish in the top five in 2015? My response: Are you kidding me? Edwards FINALLY cracked the top 10 last week in Texas. He has done well at Bristol, and would be the most likely to finish close to the front. Stenhouse has a grand total of two top-five finishes in a lackluster career, and hasn’t led a race since 2013. Almirola has no top-five finishes in 2015, and only two in 2014. Stewart’s performance since his leg injury in 2013 has not been anything like his pre-injury performance. He hasn’t really been close to a top-five finish and doesn’t even have a top-ten finish in 2015. My crystal ball worked quite well last week, so I think I will forego predictions this week. I have names in mind but fear if I put them in cyberspace it will jinx them. OK, I’ll give you a hint, they are all members or quasi-members of a certain race team. Check out Lee Ackerman’s Cubby’s Chase to the Silver Dollar Nationals post on the I-80 Speedway forum on www.dirtdrivers.com. While I am little confused about how the driver’s qualify for “Chase” race, I do know it will be the last event of the Friday portion of the Silver Dollar Nationals and will $2,000 to win and $200 to start. Cubby’s at the Greenwood exit-about a block from the I-80 Speedway entrance-is going to be giving out certificates to 18 fans who drawn and paired with drivers for the race. 17 fans will get a $50 gift certificate from Cubby’s, while the fan paired with the winning driver will get a $100 gift certificate. 17 drivers in the race will also get a $50 gift certificate, while the race winning driver will get a $200 certificate. Also during the SDN week anyone paying cash for diesel fuel or gasoline will get a five cent discount. 93 days to the Silver Dollar Nationals. Well, 92 days if you want to include the Thursday night practice as part of the event. Checking out April 10th IMCA national standings 82 drivers out of 100 who formed the top 20 in five divisions are from California, Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas. Yes, I do understand those are the only tracks who have been racing weekly. By the end of the season, less than half of those drivers will remain in the top 20. My point-early standings like this are totally distorted. I think standings should not come out until the middle of May when tracks throughout the country have had the opportunity to run some races. No, it is NOT like the DOD Top 25. The DOD Top 25 is more like the football or basketball polls and includes everyone likely to be ranked. It is an opinion poll, and very subjective. Thanks for stopping by.
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