Archive
I Am Sick Of Being Sick And I Don’t Like Joey Logano Either
For those of you who don’t want to read about my health maladies, skip down. Anymore I am confused about what is happening and why, so it isn’t much fun to write about either.
I visited the urologist 4 times last week, a neurologist twice, and my family physician once. I’ve had new meds prescribed and I guess there must be a reason in that. Wednesday I awoke with a numbness in my outside right leg from my hip down to my knee. My urologist took me to a neurologist in the next office over, and the neurologist gave me some kind of pill that supposed healed nerve damage. Whether it did or not is open to debate, but one thing it did was knock me out like anesthesia.
Thursday had been the day I was waiting for-the day the @#$% catheter came out. First though was a stop at the neurologist. It takes a while, but it hit me that the numbness and fiery pain in my right leg, the terrible ache in my back, and knees that simply felt leaden was exactly what I had felt when I had shingles in March.
And the neurologist agreed I might very well have shingles again. Damn, can’t anything go easy for me? Well, that was the bad news for the day. The good news was the catheter came out. Thank you Lord Jesus and all your disciples. I would say the good news outweighed the bad news on Thursday.
On Friday the urologist called and told me to come out for a bladder scan. I did. When he came into the examination room with his right hand extended I nearly cried. No need for a catheter to be put back on.
The shingle pain if that is what it is was strong, but thankfully I had pain pills to deal with that. I am thinking of stamping “stupid” on my forehead though. I should have got a shingles shot and I did not.
Hopefully both Jane and I will have more than normal to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. Our lives have been a mess since Jane’s knee replacement surgery on October 3rd, and enough is enough.
RACING. For the second weekend in a row I watch sprint car racing on Speed Shift TV. This week was the Budweiser Oval Nationals from Perris Auto Speedway in California. I only knew a handful of the drivers racing, but still enjoyed the action. I even watched all of Saturday’s A feature and it ended up well after midnight. These meds I am taking must really be messing my mind. Anyway, Damion Gardner-a driver I do know of and like-led all 40 laps of the feature, collecting a $25,000 first place prize.
The shingles knocked me for a loop on Sunday and I watched very little of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Phoenix. Just as well with Joey Logano winning. So, Logano, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Carl Edwards will battle for the championship at Homestead-Miami. As far as my favorites, it would be Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Logano in that order. I have become a real Kyle Busch fan the past several years, though it would be OK if Johnson joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. as seven time champs.
I’ll have to get out my “ABJ” t-shirt, or “Anybody but Joey.” Or maybe make up a voodoo 22 car and start sticking pins in it. Hopefully the season finale will be a good one.
This is the time of year I get my invited to Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon in Las Vegas. Many of the secondary Sprint Cup awards are handed out at this luncheon. I would really love to go, but just can’t make it work. I have already missed too many days from work, plus I don’t feel I am healed enough for a long airplane journey. Always next year I guess-the story of my life.
Thank all of you for stopping by and staying with me these past three weeks. It means more to me than I could ever say.
Racing, Icing, Fussing, Whining
I have been somewhat remiss in printing my friend Tony Anville’s thoughts on his visit to Talladega a few weeks ago. Here are a few of his thoughts-hey, he doesn’t have all that many to begin with.
“This was the first time I’ve sat in the front row of the tri-oval. But it will not be the last. The most interesting thing…after the field goes by you would immediately expect a rush of air. Nope. That doesn’t happen until the cars are exiting turn 2. I found that very interesting.
One thing I’ve noticed over the past 30 years at Talladega…the drinking crowd in the grandstand is nearly non-existent. They still drink…but nothing in comparison to what it uses to be. It’s much more family.
Also, a younger crowd than I see at Kansas. More kids with parents.”
Thanks Tony. Hope not too many teenagers egged your house last night.
I am sure the pack going by someone sitting in row one of the tri-oval at Talladega is quite a rush, no pun intended. I thought a handful of cars going by 100’ away at Kansas at about 190 miles per hour was wild, so 40 cars doing nearly 200 miles per hour at Talladega must be extreme.
There is a thread on www.dirtdrivers.com Eagle forum that I read from time to time, and find interesting. It is posted by Eagle Pit Shack Guy and is titled “Meet some of the drivers for the Racesaver IMCA Sprint Nationals.” No, I have not been kidnapped and no, my mind has not been addled by a bunch of pain killing drugs taken after my cancer procedure (actually I am not taking any right now). Greg and I have disagreed about some things, but I very much respect his passion for racing-and I am one who likes to learn more about drivers from around the country, even sprint car drivers. Check out the thread.
I would like to say I spent an enjoyable week off work last week-I started back today. I would like to say that, but it wasn’t really so. I wouldn’t call any day fun, but the weekend was beyond “un-fun.” It appears that my recovery will be a long, slow, frustrating process. BUT, it will be a recovery, and that is what is important. Actually, I should have said FRUSTRATING. Took a step back today-ended up going home early, and have two doctor visits scheduled for Tuesday. There is a quaint somewhat profane saying someone might use when someone or something irritates him that kind of says it all in my situation. Unfortunately it is too appropriate.
As I said, last weekend was not real fun for me. I watched less than a quarter of the NU vs. Wisconsin football game. I watched at most 10 laps of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Martinsville, and I did not watch any of the WoO season ending PPV from Charlotte. Whether I missed much is open to debate.
This week I plan on doing some watching, especially the National 100 on www.DirtonDirt.com. DOD is planning 3 nights of coverage from November 4th-6th. Super Late Models will be racing all three nights, with 42 lap features paying $5,000 to win on Friday and Saturday. The 100 lap feature on Sunday pays $20,000 to win.
A 3 day package for DOD subscribers costs $39.99. Add $10.00 if you are a non-subscriber. Single day packages run $19.99 per day for November 4th and 5th, and $24.99 for November 6th.
If you are an open wheel fan, Speed Shift TV is your place to be this weekend. Speed Shift will bring you the 49th Annual USAC Western World special from Arizona Speedway on November 4th and 5th. Non-wing 410 sprints will be featured and USAC 360 sprints will also be on the bill. Honestly, I may tune into some of this show too-I do like the non-winged open wheel cars.
With his win at Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson will be one of four drivers vying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship at Homestead, Florida later this month. Who will be with him? Well, given that a win at Phoenix will put a driver into the championship bout, it seems like Kevin Harvick is likely to be one of the four. My guess for the other two would be Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Oh wait, no Roush Fenway drivers qualified for the Chase AGAIN this year. OK. How about Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth? That would be a fun event to go to, but I’ll just watch from the comfort of an easy chair.
Not much else to say today. Thanks for stopping by.
Two Thumbs Down To JGR Teams
What left the strongest impression from this afternoon’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Talladega? No, not the lap after lap of three wide racing, though I am a big fan of three wide racing. Not that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in the NBC booth as a commentator-and the thought entered my mind that may be where we see him not just next week at Martinsville, but maybe in that spot permanently. Not that Martin Truex Jr. lost a chance at the championship when his Toyota engine erupted in smoke-and that is a shame. No, not that Brad Keselowski also lost an engine and a chance at being the Sprint Cup champ in 2016-I don’t see that as a shame at all. And though I am not a Denny Hamlin fan, it did not bother me that he beat Austin Dillon by one point to advance to the championship round of eight. No, none of those things left the biggest impression on me.
What did impress me-very negatively-was that three Joe Gibbs teams chose to do nothing more than ride around the 2.66 mile Alabama tri-oval. Before the race even began Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch dropped to the back of the starting grid and remained there through much of the race, finishing 28th, 29th, and 30th. Yeah, this was a “bigger picture strategy,” designed to miss the Talladega big one-which didn’t happen anyway. I for one think this sucked.
Fans pay a lot of money to go to Sprint Cup races. They go to watch the best drivers race, not to watch pampered millionaires cruise around 300 yards behind all the other drivers. The JGR driver actions was an insult to fans and to the sport. Bobby Allison gave the start engine command, and Donnie Allison waved the green flag to start the race. I can’t see either of these Alabama Gang members or Richard Petty, or Cale Yarborough, or David Pearson EVER stroking it. I guess the new NASCAR cliché can be “where the best drivers in the world always drive to win, except when they don’t.” Two thumbs down to JGR.
I am going to root for Jimmy Johnson and Kevin Harvick. I can’t bring myself to cheer for Joey Logano or Kurt Busch, but I hope these drivers will be the four to make it into the winner take-all at Homestead in four weeks.
I have been watching plenty of racing this weekend. Friday night and last night I was on Speed Shift TV switching back and forth from IMCA races in Memphis, Missouri to USRA races in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Today it is the finale of the New Mexico show. I envy the people there-it is in the 80’s this afternoon. But it is comfortable here at TROTD Speedway too.
Just a little over 36 hours until my prostate gets cryo-blasted at Fremont Medical Center. Yeah, every hour closer makes me that much more nervous. I am trying to keep my mind on more positive things. Like Thanksgiving with my family. Watching Henry play basketball at the Fremont Y this winter. Going to Kansas Speedway 201 days from now for NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying and later the Camping World Truck Series race. And then two weekends in July, the Silver Dollar Nationals at I-80 Speedway followed by the Prairie Dirt Classic in Fairbury, Illinois. I have to be well to enjoy all of them, and I damn sure plan on it.
So I will be taking a few days off to rest and recover. My prostate-and my cancer-make soon be history, but my opinions will be as strong as ever when I blog next time. Thanks for stopping by.
P.S. Thanks to Kyle Ealy for reminding me that Lee County Speedway is in Donnellson, Iowa-not Bloomfield like I said. Darn, I would have been driving all around Bloomfield trying to find it.
Friday Night Lite
As John Lennon sang so long ago in ‘Wait’:
“It’s been a long time Now I’m coming back home I’ve been away now”
I have been away. Working full-time, commuting to Omaha to work, a wife who just had knee replacement surgery and somehow in the process ended up with multiple broken ribs and cannot drive-well it all adds up to an overwhelmed me who just did not feel like blogging this week. And I almost forgot-I am having a prostate cryoblation on Tuesday and that is wearing on my mind more than a little.
Anyway, it added up to no blog. I did watch some racing last weekend though. Speed Shift TV showed events from Lee County Speedway in Iowa, and Longview Speedway in Texas. I watch a lot of the IMCA racing from Iowa but it seemed like every time I switched to the Texas track it was intermission. Lee County Speedway in Bloomfield, Iowa had been on my bucket list, so I enjoyed those races. And Longview Speedway looked like a nice facility, though I can’t say much about racing there.
I will be logging on to Speed Shift TV again this weekend as they will be streaming the USRA Fall Nationals from Southern New Mexico Speedway as well as the Fall Nationals from Scotland County Speedway in Missouri. The USRA show will be three nights starting tonight, while the Missouri races will be tonight and tomorrow.
I also watched part of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Having been there for a past qualifying day, I will attest to being there is much for fun than watching on TV. My friend Tony Anville was there and here is what he had to say:
The weather Sunday was better than I ever remember it. Only once in the 15 years of the fall Kansas event has the weather been even remotely questionable. Although the empty seats are increasing, it still looked more full than most of the tracks on the circuit. The Kansas City race attracts a lot race fans from a six state region. The facility and service is always top notch.
Watching the “boring” racing on the big screen in front of me makes me appreciate that I can watch the live action and it’s not boring. Many times in the middle of the pack they race 3 wide thru 3 and 4 and then 4 wide down the front stretch. The parking at Kansas is second to none. From the time I leave my seat (after watching each car cross the finish line) until the time I’m driving up the interstate is probably a max of 20 minutes.
One of my favorite parts of the day is roaming the pit area prior to the race. It makes me appreciate even more the work the crews put in on a race weekend. I’m not sure how they do it.
NASCAR continues to keep the drivers away from the fans by the way they put up the ropes. One (and only one of many) of the reasons racings demise is soon to come is the drivers. Only about 2% care about the fans. You can tell in everything they do. I say it every time but I was never at a NASCAR event when Bobby Allison and Richard Petty didn’t sign and talk to the fans (this is when they were racing). The current drivers (except for one) didn’t acknowledge one fan as they were riding around “waving” at the crowd. They were too busy talking amongst themselves. I will give kudos to Danica Patrick. She seemed to be the only one engaged with the fans. And that was only waves and smiles (which means a lot to some fans).
Already looking forward to next Sunday and being at the biggest and most bad ass of them all. My favorite…Talladega.
Yes, Anville somehow manages to attend two Sprint Cup races in a row each fall. Someday maybe I will be able to attend even one. Thanks for your report Tony and I am looking forward to hearing about Talladega.
I am not sure I will be posting another blog prior to my procedure on Tuesday. It is being done on an out-patient basis, so hopefully I will be coming home on Tuesday. It is supposed to be less invasive than surgery and have fewer complications than surgery or radiation. A -40C gas is injected into the prostate killing the cancer cells-well, killing the prostate too. I looked up converting C to F on the internet, and -40C was also -40F. Basically damn cold. If you are old enough to remember the Cornhusker Classic at Sunset Speedway, it is that cold.
My plan is to rest and heal for a week and then go back to work. Yes, I do know plans often go awry. So keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hoosiers, Speed Shift TV, I-80 Speedway, And NASCAR
First and most important, about Jane. She is home now, but is still in a lot of pain, which is normal after knee replacement surgery, but what happened after the surgery has left her in much more pain. She will start physical therapy tomorrow, so right now we are just hoping for the best. I really don’t want to talk much about this in my blog, but for those who know my email, if you want more information, please write.
“Some things never change.” That is a line from one of my all-time favorite movies, Hoosiers. Thanks to Speed Shift TV I have been able to watch B-Mods race from California to Florida and many stops in between. Last night it was Minnesota B-Mods. The cars may be painted different colors, but one thing you can count on is as many-if not more-caution flag laps as actual race laps. Truly amazing.
While I watched IMCA action from Nobles County Speedway in Minnesota (Sport Compacts, Hobby Stocks, Sport Mods, Stock Cars, and A-Mods), I also watched a little of the Sprint Car action from Arizona Speedway in Phoenix. Not because I am a reborn open wheel fan, but because Arizona Speedway will be host to the 2017 Wild West Shootout in January. That is late model action. 6 nights of late model racing. And I would love to go there for a few nights, but if I can’t, I at least plan on watching the action on www.DirtonDirt.com.
I suppose I should have given some thought to attending I-80 Speedway’s season ending Cornhusker Classic. I didn’t though-the days of me really wanting to be at an event with 200 race cars, including far too many B-mods, are in the past. Plus the temperature at TROTD Speedway was a pleasant 68 degrees, no need for a heavy coat or a blanket.
I watched all of the Sprint Cup race from Charlotte today. It seemed more like a full-moon Saturday night for Chase drivers, than a sunny, southeast afternoon. About the only Chase driver who did not make a mistake or have something strange happen was Jimmie Johnson. And guess who won the race? With the win Johnson automatically moves into the Chase round of eight for the first time since NASCAR switched to the elimination format.
Five Chase drivers finished 30th or worse. Two of the Roush Fenway drivers did better than that, making the day doubly strange. Now it is on to Kansas for NASCAR’s top series. I had hoped to repeat last year’s Friday visit to the track, but with Jane’s surgery last Monday, and mine coming up in a few weeks, I just could not take off from work this year. Maybe next season.
Even though I haven’t written for a few days, it is hard to have much enthusiasm about anything but my family right now. I guess we will call this my “season of discontent,” and hope that 2017 will be a “banner year.”
Thanks for stopping by.
Iowa-No, Sprint Cars-I Guess, Sprint Cup-Not Really
received the following link from my friend TMC:
How I Have Been Spending My Summer
Below is a link to this year’s Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Illinois. If you can watch this video and not want to go to FALS for the 2017 Prairie Dirt Classic, you are either an auditor or not much of a Late Model fan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3McMF2E1ag
During last night’s lengthy rain delay at Bristol I turned to my trusty remote to find me something entertaining. I stopped pushing buttons in HBO land where the movie “Mad Max, Fury Road” was showing. It took me 10 minutes watching before I realized this wasn’t filmed on the streets of Knoxville during the Sprint Car Nationals. Hey, look at the “warriors” in the movie and look at the average Sprint Car fan. The resemblance is uncanny.
When the last rain delay at Bristol came, I got online to watch the Topless 100 from Batesville Speedway in Arkansas. The rain played havoc there too. With 6” already fallen and more to come the event was cancelled.
I suppose next weekend will be totally dry in the Midwest, when I wouldn’t mind seeing rain at all on Saturday. USMTS Modifieds, OK. 360 Sprints-a reluctant I suppose so. Sport Mods and Sport Compacts-can any track in the area run a special without at least of these divisions? Apparently not. Yeah, I am talking about Park Jefferson on Saturday. For some reason my son continues to want to visit PJ, ACS, and JMS while I wouldn’t mind simply saying “adios amigo” to all of them. But I like my son and will tag along anyway.
On Sunday the SLMR Late Models will visit US 30 Speedway for the second time this season. I do like that the races will start at 5:00 p.m. that night. I also like that Hobby Stocks will be part of the program. I don’t think that adding IMCA Northern Sport Mods makes the program better, but they will be there anyway. I still like the track though and think the Melcher’s are doing a great job promoting.
What did you do on your summer vacation? The proverbial question asked of returning students everywhere. Me? I didn’t really have much of a vacation. I had about three days in between when my temp job ended and my new permanent full-time position started. Later I did have two days off to go to Fairbury, Illinois for the Prairie Dirt Classic, and that was the simply outstanding. But, I have experienced a rather eventful summer.
Back in mid-July I had what I thought was a routine doctor’s appointment, one I have to schedule occasionally to have my prescriptions refilled. I try to put these off as long as possible, because I do not like getting on the scales, and I hate having blood drawn for a test. Rarely does the first stick work on me, and three times before getting blood isn’t uncommon. But, I was out of refills, so in I went.
Four days later I got a call from the doctor. My PSA level was high and I needed to see an urologist ASAP. Thus began my summer of high anxiety and hurry up and wait. Even with my doctor’s help it took me several days to get an appointment with the urologist. There I had blood taken-great fun, not-and an ultrasound. Yeah, even less fun than the blood draw. A week later the results came back from the lab and showed that I had a better than 50-50 chance of having prostate cancer.
This was on a Wednesday, and the next day Matt and I were leaving for Illinois. Not a good start, but fortunately the trip turned out wonderful. The doctor wanted to do a biopsy on Friday, which was out as far as I was concerned, so I did not have a biopsy until 10 days later.
As Lynyrd Skynyrd sings “let me tell you son, it ain’t no fun.” That was the biopsy. Deep breathing technique was the order of the day. Then came another week long wait. Logically I knew the results were going to be positive, emotionally I was hoping one more time to dodge a bullet. I would say that “the waiting is the hardest part.” Yeah, thanks Tom Petty for that line.
But it is true. It was not a good week for me or my family. And the results came back that four of the samples taken were positive for cancer. After the long waiting, the next two days were hurry up. I had a CT scan on Thursday and a bone scan on Friday. Nothing like a barium cocktail to start the morning on Thursday and an injection of radioactive material to begin Friday. However, both tests were clear, which should mean that the cancer has not spread from the prostrate.
I am very pleased with Dr. Khan, my urologist. He requested the bone scan be read immediately at the conclusion of the test and that the results be emailed to him so he could give them to me Friday afternoon. Yeah, Friday afternoon, a time most doctors spend out of the office.
There was some disturbing news from these tests, but I really don’t want to go into that right now. I have to deal with one problem at a time, and cancer is the problem I am dealing with right now. Again, Dr. Khan felt the cancer has not spread outside my prostate and we discussed treatment options.
I can tell you for a fact that I feared surgery because of risk factors. Age, weight, diabetes, and high blood pressure are not a welcome combination for a surgeon or anesthesiologist. I can’t do anything about age, but the doctor (and Jane) were quite forceful in stating I must do something about the others. Anyway, my treatment started on Friday. First up was hormonal treatment to reduce the size of my prostate gland. Two shots in the stomach made my day. Well, it was a start and I want to get better and will deal with any discomfort.
I go back to see the doctor again in a month. If the size of the prostate has been reduced enough, the plan is for a cryotherapy procedure. For those of you who can remember the Cornhusker Classic at Sunset Speedway and freezing your ass off, this procedure is a little bit like that. A solution of some kind at -100 C will be injected into my prostate, freezing and destroying the cancer cells-and the prostate with it. It is an outpatient procedure, which surprised me, and I will only be off work a few days.
I have spent a lot of time online this past five weeks learning about prostate cancer. It is the most common cancer among males-over 200,000 men are diagnosed with this cancer each year, and there are over 2,000,000 survivors of this malaise living in the U.S. If caught soon enough, it is very survivable. And for me, it does appear it was caught soon enough.
So, I will do what it takes to get rid of the cancer and go on with my life. A life that has to be changed in many ways. Red meat is going to appear less and less on my daily menu. Same with white bread. McDonald’s is going to be a rare treat, not a regular stop. Pork and chicken will replace red meat. I need to start exercising again. I need to get my weight down, way down, and honestly the choices I have to make aren’t terrible ones, I just haven’t made them. Now I will.
I have no desire to leave my family. Any of them. And most especially there is a soon to be 5 year old living in northwest Fremont that I want to watch grow up to become what I know will be a fine young man. So, I am making the decision to live and stop killing myself.
I suppose from time to time I will write about this again. Most likely when the cryotherapy is done. The past five weeks have been tough ones, an emotional rollercoaster-and I hate and am afraid of rollercoasters. So, I got this off my chest. Now I can go watch the postponed Bristol night race being run on a Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for stopping by.
Finally-The Week Of Silver Dollar Nationals VI Plus Much More
After two nights of watching the best dirt drivers in America do their thing, I am not so sure I want to bother with watching today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race from New Hampshire. I suspect there will be some nap time during at least part of the race at a track I simply do not enjoy. Anyway, I am not NASCAR’s big worry today-the legion of Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans not tuning in as their hero is sidelined has to be a big worry to NASCAR and NBC.
Once again Earnhardt is out of the race car due to concussion like symptoms. This certainly shows concern on his part for his health-in the short term, but what about the long run? Will he continue strapping in to a race car? He is past 40, though still in his prime as a driver. Perhaps the real question is should he continue racing? I suspect he will for now, but I also think his latest bout with concussions will shave years off his racing career.
It is a different NASCAR than 15-20 years ago when Gordon, Stewart, and Earnhardt Jr. first came on the scene. The fan base is older and smaller than it once was. TV ratings seem to drop every year. Even with creative camera angles, rows and rows of empty seats at the track are visible every week. Gordon is gone-OK, I know he may substitute for Earnhardt Jr. at Indianapolis-Stewart is leaving, and if Earnhardt leaves, I just don’t see any young drivers having the star power to replace them. And I am including Chase Elliott in that group of young drivers.
Oh well, NASCAR has its long term TV contract and will be raking in hundreds of millions of dollars even if no one is watching at the track or at home.
Forrest Lucas built the dirt track I would build if I were as wealthy as he is. Lucas Oil Speedway in the southwest Missouri town of Wheatland is simply the best in everything-except racing and that is getting better. Paved parking for fans and in the pits. A manicured grass infield with a paved road for safety vehicles. Comfortable grandstand seating, and suites for those with a few extra bucks. Good concessions and an air-conditioned bar (that I remember well from the extremely hot day Matt and I visited). And even a go-kart track, kind of like Knoxville’s Slideways Karting but part of the racing facility. Everything is cool. And people flock there for the Lucas Oil late model races, with 7,000 fans filling the grandstands last night.
There are racier tracks, but no other track comes close to the total package of Lucas Oil Speedway. Maybe another visit is in order.
After a violent flip and a strong Top Ten finish in a back-up car at Tri-City Speedway on Friday, Saturday was a much better night for Jared Landers. The Arkansas driver won his heat and led all but one lap of the 60 lap Diamond Nationals A-feature. He survived challenges from Scott Bloomquist and Jimmy Owens to collect $12,000 for his second series victory of 2016. Owens finished a strong second, followed by Jonathan Davenport, Tim McCreadie, and Bloomquist.
One driver not on hand for Saturday’s race was Steve Francis. Debris-possibly a weight falling off another car-hit his helmet, knocked him out, broke his nose, and sent his car careening into the wall at Tri-City Speedway. As a result, Lucas Oil officials changed the location where weights can be bolted on the race cars.
Next up for the Lucas Oil series is the biggest race ever in the state of Nebraska, Silver Dollar Nationals VI. There are plenty of intriguing story lines to follow. Will Bloomquist win his third straight SDN? Does Landers have momentum on his side after a good finish at Granite City and a win at Wheatland? When the weather gets hot, so does Jimmy Owens? Can the Newport Nightmare visit Victory Lane at I-80 Speedway? Jonathan Davenport has not won a race since Memorial Day weekend. He looked good in Missouri last night. Will Superman put on his cape again? Will what may be Billy Moyer’s final Nebraska appearance be one fans will remember for years to come? Will Tad Pospisil or Kyle Berck be the highest finishing local on Saturday night? Will a Nebraska driver crack the top ten? Lots of questions, be there for all the answers.
Tomorrow is day one of my new full-time permanent job. Yes, I am looking forward to going to work. My only regret is that I found the job when I was 65. I wish I had found it when I was 35.
Thanks for stopping by.
Bloomquist Hot. NBC NASCAR Coverage Not.
I thought seriously about not doing a blog today-everyone knows what I think about last night’s Daytona winner Brad Keselowski. However, I keep getting emails from someone about the finish of all three Roush Fenway Racing drivers and I know until I say something about them I will continue to be harassed. And I have been quick to point out their usual mediocre finishes, so I suppose I should also cite the one time they actually did OK.
OK then-Trevor Bayne finished 3rd. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 5th. And, Greg Biffle finished 8th. Of course a lot of really good cars were taken out in the “Big One,” so these finishes might have as much to do with luck as skill. Or as someone once said, “even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut.”
As far as NBC coverage. First, maybe it was just me, but were there like 1,000 commercials shown during “race coverage?” Seemed like it. Second-well, I have never been a Rick Allen fan, not even when he was an announcer at a Nebraska track. Mike Joy on FOX is much better. Jeff Burton is no Jeff Gordon. I don’t mind Burton, but he doesn’t come close to being as informative as Gordon. Steve Letarte is better than Darrell Waltrip and he doesn’t do that “Boogity” crap either. Larry McReynolds on Fox is better on tech than anything NBC did. And I think the FOX pit reporters are better.
When I say “better” on all of these except Gordon, it is a relative term. It does not mean that FOX is great. Anyway, I would give NBC a D+ for its coverage. It would have been higher if there had only been 500 commercials.
Again, maybe it is just me, but for being a multiple time champion, Jimmie Johnson sure seems to be involved in a lot of the big wrecks at Daytona and Talladega. I am giving credit to the 42 car of Kyle Larson for starting last night’s melee, bouncing Jamie McMurray into Johnson. Perhaps McMurray did have tire trouble, and if he did perhaps it was because of Larson. That is how I saw it.
Apparently, the WoO suspension of Scott Bloomquist irritated the Tennessee driver a little. He won the Firecracker 100 at Lernerville last weekend, and this weekend he won $12,000 at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Ohio, leading all 60 laps of the race. It was Bloomquist’s third straight win on the Lucas Oil circuit, and coupled with an 8th place finish by Jonathan Davenport, Bloomquist now has the series points lead. Hopefully this rivalry will continue to build leading up to the Silver Dollar Nationals.
Some non-Lucas Oil regulars who have the SDN on their website schedules are Jimmy Mars and Frank Heckenast. Moyer Jr. is running the WoO tour this year and does not have any Nebraska race on his site. Moyer Sr. seems to be doing a lot of UMP Hell Tour races for someone who is retired, but his website doesn’t have anything listed past early July. And of course all the MLRA regulars will be on hand too. As I said yesterday, if you don’t have your tickets yet, why not?
Thanks for stopping by.
Smoke In Sonoma, More Bloomquist Fireworks
Like him or not, I think a win by Tony Stewart in his final NASCAR season is good for the sport. Maybe at my age I am too sentimental, but I love to see veterans show the way. His Sonoma victory all but ensures Stewart will be in The Chase. A Stewart championship might be more than a little far-fetched, but even a shot is a nice way to end a career.
Leave it to Scott Bloomquist to poke a stick in the eye of the World of Outlaws sanction. Bloomquist appealed his Dirtcar suspension, allowing him to race at the WoO Firecracker 100 event in Lernerville, Pennsylvania. And always up for some drama, he outdueled perennial WoO champion Josh Richards to take home the $30,000 first place prize.
With Bloomquist being a 50 something, I wonder if he ever gets tired during a long race like the Firecracker 100. Or perhaps that should be tire-d. An anonymous source with a demented sense of humor suggested that perhaps it would be somewhat humorous if the penalties against the other four drivers were abated, but the penalty against Bloomquist stuck. I’m just repeating what I heard.
Matt and I discussed the tire issue on the way back from Corning last night. Or was it on the way there? Or maybe it was both. Anyway, shouldn’t there be more transparency when situations like this arise? I am not suggesting that methods used in testing tire samples be made public, but perhaps the results should be more open.
With no WoO drivers getting busted, conspiracy theorists have a heyday when little more than penalties are announced. Do you think the WoO might see some benefit in saying that two of the biggest stars on the Lucas Oil circuit are cheaters? If 32 samples were taken, who were the other drivers that did not have a positive test for some illegal altering of tires? Can the results be explained in laymen’s terms? If a sample tests positive, should it be sent to another lab for testing to confirm results? Should the sample be returned to the driver to allow him to send it to an independent lab for testing?
I realize this is not Bloomquist’s first tire go round. Same with Owens. However, Ricky Thornton claimed to have bought the tires at the track and had to have the tire supplier show how to groove them because he had never done that with tires-Thornton is mainly a modified driver. So where at the track can a driver find a place to doctor tires?
I am not a tech person at all. I have never claimed to be. I am sure others would have better questions that should be asked AND answered about a situation like the Eldora 5 find themselves in. Me, as a fan I just want answers to be clear, to not suspicion sanctioning body motives.
Wow. Three out of four days with a blog post. Must be summer. And I haven’t even started hyping the Silver Dollar Nationals yet.
Thanks for stopping by.
The Rest of the Dirt Weblog 
Comments