The end of the Coca cola 600 is a trivia question in the making. What driver won a race and never lead a lap under green. David Reutimann winning the 600 after staying out after everyone else pitted. It seems like most of these rain shortened races are won by drivers who would not have stood a chance if the race ran to a conclusion. They really have nothing to lose and a chance to win if they take a risk. A win is still a win, they take home the cash and the trophy, which is special as this was the 50th anniversary of the race. As Reutimann said “ these wins are hard to come by and they will take it” also out of 43 drivers his crew chief made the right call. This really can’t be called taking a risk because there is no down side. In a race where Dave Blaney held the lead, long enough to pass the start finish line but not for a full lap, almost anything can happen. Should NASCAR have called the race sooner or should they have held off. It was an official race, and many of the drivers were in street clothes I think they had an inside track to the fact the race was over of course they were also wet. My one concern is how much of the timing on calling the race is controlled by allowing the networks to have enough time to get in all there commercials. The fans pay a lot of money and sat through the rain they should, if at all possible, get to see a finish. On to Dover, a rough track for everyone, many are introducing new engines at Dover which is a strange place as power is not that much of a concern there. To survive with a car you can still drive is a major accomplishment.

Here it is Memorial Day weekend and as usual the Indy 500 is on the front burner of racing fans. It doesn’t matter if you are a NASCAR or an Outlaws fan the Indy is a big race. At no other time during the year does open wheel receive the press it receives this weekend. One thing I noticed is that I don’t recognize a lot of names, some of the last names are familiar but the drivers are not. True I don’t follow open wheel, since they refused to allow Ashley Judd to wear a skirt and Danica fell by the wayside, I lost interest, but then except for Indy I never really had that much to begin with. Watching the save Graham Rahal made to avoid John Andretti almost made me a fan again. His driving skill along with some luck and good genes were a thrill to watch. True there have been several saves in NASCAR this year that were fantastic and almost unbelievable, but they were as much the COT as driver ability. I am not trying to take anything away from NASCAR drivers but the COT has helped them to regain control as it was designed to do. I really hope that the Rahal team can do well; it is time for some new blood to replace Penske, Andretti, and Ganassi teams. I really think Danica could be a surprise winner if she gets some breaks and lady luck smiles on her but then anyone who gets the breaks and luck can win. Is Jeff Gordon going to use this bad back for a reason to retire it would be an easier out then admitting he has lost his edge; he doesn’t drive like the Jeff of old.( I wrote this before he qualified 3rd) Ryan Newman on the pole I underestimated Tony Stewart I thought his first year would be OK but that team has done great. Of course they had a great team to build on. Mayfield give it up you got caught move on. Carl Long suspended for 12 races, NASCAR is saying don’t cheat because they are going to make it hurt. In his defense it did sound like an honest mistake but then a lot of the times they do. I do think that the .001 NASCAR is fining him for is a little too close to call. But then he never really was competitive and I am sure the team is done. The COT is getting a lot of credit for 3 wide racing and better racing but I also think Goodyear deserves some credit their tires lately have been wearing well and maintaining handling for several more laps then we have seen in a long time. Prior to this year a pit stop at Darlington without changing tires would have been a prelude to a crash, but there were several this year. 600 miles this Sunday and going from sunshine to the lights will be interesting. Would like to Mark Martin pull off a win but I think Jimmy Johnson has the edge, Joey Logano may pull off a surprise. I hate to say it but I may have underestimated him.

GM Head Steps Down, could it affect NASCAR?George Richard “Rick” Wagoner Jr. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors resigned as Chairman and CEO at General Motors on March 29, 2009, at the request of the White House.The value of GM has gone down by more than 90%, while he was in charge or about 72 Billion dollars. There stock dropped from $60 a share to a little over a dollar.The White House said they had no desire to run GM and the “B”word bankruptcy was mentioned. They do have a plan to save GM & Chrysler; Ford is not in the spotlight yet as they are not declining as rapidly. Cleaner cars are a major part of their plan, and NASCAR definitely does not fit.5-6 MPG and over 300 horse powered cars in an organization that took 25 plus years to switch to unleaded fuels, cannot be called a green company. The leader of NASCAR are putting up a good front, as they have to with sponsor money on a rapid decline, but what would the loss of manufacture dollars do to the sport. I don’t think it would kill the sport but it definitely would be on life support. As many of the teams already are having money IE sponsorship problems.I say put Jimmy Spencer in a old clunker car let him take out as many as he can and then let the rest run the race, a demo derby start. A stupid idea I know but not any more of a clunker than backing around the track or the new 2 race rule for Nationwide that prohibits any burnouts for the winner when the engine is on the first race.NASCAR quit shooting yourself in the foot and let them race continue to try to limit the amount of money it takes to run a race so the smaller and lesser financed teams stand a chance. I have not had a favorite driver since Dale Sr but I would love to see a Dave Blaney, Marcos Ambrose, Tony Raines among others win a race.I am positive the good old boys that run on the sand at Daytona would take you all out behind the garage and give you a whooping if they knew what you have done to their racing. They didn’t call it entertainment or a sport it was racing. Remember your big start came when at the end of the race one driver took to beating on another driver head with his helmet on TV. They also called this racing.

Personal Thank You to NASCAR Now for showing Jamie McMurray save, I just don’t know how in the world he saved that car. A lot of the credit goes to the COT as one of the goals in the design was to make the car handle better when out of control. This was accomplished with a lot of wind tunnel testing and placement of wickerbills. I just could not stay awake during the 14 cautions and 2 red flags; even as I watched the recorded show I had a quick nap. Another 117 commercials and way too much about Digger, come guys enough with the little fellow. I enjoy him but it is becoming a bit too much.Kyle Busch did his best to beat himself and still won the race when he pulled to the front he was flying, as his spotter said “say good night gracie”. What is the problem on pit road these crews work too hard to have the drivers who show up to race on Sunday try to run them over and lose spots on the track due to over driving the car. Sliding through the box is a rookie mistake and Jeff Gordon missing the commitment line. Hey Jeff Joey made it so I guess I have to quit picking on him. Sure the tires were hard but everyone knew it from practice. They don’t run in the rain but how about snow doesn’t look good for parts of the South. Do you have race snow tires Goodyear.

Not official but Stewart-Hass Racing [formerly Haas CNC Racing”> will lay off 16 people Monday, November 17th, this is a new team did they just over hire to start with or is Tony becoming cautious with his own money. Also on Monday, a large layoff at #96 Hall of Fame Racing, supposedly due to lack of full sponsorship. The current Hall of Fame Racing shop building is also up for sale. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg for 2 reasons, as we all know the economy is tough right now, Several sponsorship deals have been overturned in recent weeks as companies cut back. It would be hard to lay off employees while sponsoring a race car. Also I believe several of the teams were overstaffed and are using this for an excuse to cut back. When sponsorship dollars were easy to come by it is easy to hire, but when dollars become scarce some positions become extinct. Several sources are saying the layoffs could be as high as 1000 positions before the smoke clears, I also think more than a few teams will not be around next year. One more little tidbit, what in the world is going on with Penske, he just isn’t competitive with his NASCAR team. This is not the norm for him.

1st Hybrid Cup pace car at Homestead: Sprint Cup officials will leave it to a green car to lead the field to the green flag Sunday at the season-ending Ford 400–marking a Sprint Cup first. The all-new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, featuring the debut of Ford’s next-generation hybrid system, along with the all-new Fusion Sport will pace the Ford 400, which concludes Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “Miami is an international city with a flair for what’s new,” said Homestead-Miami Speedway President Curtis Gray. “And with the evolution of Ford Championship Weekend into one of the highest-profile events in sports, the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami is the perfect spot for a historical racing first–the Fusion Hybrid Pace Car.” The Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Fusion Sport will both be in NASCAR-inspired camouflage for the race. Miami-area race fans and the national television audience on ABC will be the first to see the cars, since they won’t be officially unveiled until the Los Angeles International Auto Show three days later. They will be available in dealer showrooms in the spring of 2009. After the Fusion Hybrid leads the field to the green flag, the 263-horsepower Fusion Sport will be the pace car for the remainder of the Ford 400. The Ford Fusion Hybrid can operate in electric mode at speeds up to 47 mph with a range of more than 700 miles of city driving on a single tank of gas. A smaller, lighter high-volt battery has greater charge capacity and range than Ford’s current generation battery, as found in the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid, which is the most fuel-efficient SUV on the planet.

Jeff Burton won not by pushing or moving another car out of way but simply being the fastest car with the best game plan. Edwards sat in the pits with an engine that would not start (I would check to see if Harvick didn’t make a late not stop to the garage). This is a multimillion dollar organization and the car won’t start, how in the world are today’s techs supposed to keep a engine running with a tenth of those resources? Jr ends up in the wall, with a blown tire, 1 lap short of a pit stop. Seems to be the story of that team always a little short of where they should be. Jimmy Johnson looked like he had his brakes on the last 10 laps. The COT has a very fine line between going fast or hitting the wall, I think many of the teams are putting too much pressure on the right side tires and are causing many of their own problems but it easy to blame Goodyear. 5 more races in the Chase and it is still anybody’s, Kasey Kahne looked fast towards the end but the cars are just too close to catch another car over a short run.

Office Depot &Old Spice going with Tony to Hass. I knew he was waving that Old Spice towel around for a reason. I would assume he is buying equipment only as I am sure he will gut the employee part of the business. I wonder if Zippy will go along. Apparently part of the deal was Home Depot had to stay at JGR or they would not release him. With the down turn in the economy and slow home building and repairs this sounded like a good deal to me. After Carl Edwards slapped Office Depot in the face I would suspect they are willing to step up to the plate and dump a ton of money which Tony will need to be successful. He has had a long term deal with Old Spice. I am sure it will take few years and a lot of dollars to make this a successful team but I think Tony is capable of hiring people to obtain this goal.

10. Two lap penalty for “rough, but extremely funny and satisfying” driving.9. With the whole “Mo” lawsuit going on, you can’t punish the only living symbol of NASCAR “diversity!”8. Make him run The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona without fenders on his car.7. Have him write a handwritten apology to every single Kyle Busch fan and pay for postage…wait a minute…that’s no punishment!6. Require Juan to hand write a personal note to every single driver, owner, and fan who has thanked him. That should make him think twice next time!5. Start limiting the amount of “social time” he is spending with Jimmy Spencer.4. Punishment for what? He did nothing wrong!3. Make Juan Pablo count all the profits Brian France will realize fromJPM rivalries with other drivers.2. During the remainder of the 2008 season, require him to put his arm around Kyle Busch’s shoulder and repeat, “Say hello to my little friend,” for a new series of NASCAR promotional commercials.1. Award him 100 Bonus Points for “actions detrimental to Kyle Busch!” News source: Frontstretch

DOVER, Del. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. has his moments when talking to reporters isn’t on the top of his priority list. That’s OK. The man has to deal with the media horde more than anyone else in NASCAR. It gets old at times.But the weird thing is some of Earnhardt’s best comments come when he wishes he were somewhere else besides the back of his hauler, talking to reporters.[+”> EnlargeAP Photo/Russ HamiltonDale Earnhardt Jr. on cheating in the garage: “I feel very good about how stern NASCAR is handling all these issues.”Friday afternoon was one those days. At one point, Earnhardt was asked his opinion on the penalties given Haas CNC Racing.”I don’t know, man,” he said. “I’m done giving you guys my opinion on stuff, on things that ain’t related to me.”Immediately after saying that, Earnhardt gave his opinion.”I don’t want guys directly cheating, intentionally cheating to outrun me,” he said. “I hope if that ever happens, or if it happens in the future, it’s dealt with real harshly.”I feel very good about how stern NASCAR is handling all these issues.”I’ve been in that situation, too, and I feel very good about how stern they are. I like the fact that they’re harsh. I want them to be harsh.”Despite his lack of enthusiasm for the interview time, Earnhardt offered some strong opinions on several topics. It probably was the best Q&A session of the season. For your entertainment and amusement, here is Junior at his best:On concrete tracks like Dover, a place where he has three victories: “I don’t like concrete. I wish it was asphalt. I ain’t a fan of concrete. It’s real bumpy and rough. It’s just real slick and gets kind of tough to hang on to. You look at the old races they ran here on asphalt and they looked pretty fun.”On the Pocono test session: “The track needs to be repaved. It’s real, real rough. They paved this little strip in Turn 3 in the third groove and we’re all running around on it. It was funny.”When we first hit the track I saw that strip of asphalt and I thought, ‘Man, I bet that’s got a lot of grip. If I can figure out a way to get up there and run on it, I might find some speed.’ By the end of the test, everybody was running there. That’s going to be slightly amusing to see in the race.”On race purses and why one driver can make more than another driver who finishes ahead of him: “There is money paid to guys who run a full schedule and money paid to guys who are on a Winner’s Circle program or have run a race, teams who have won a race and drivers who have run a race. There is money paid to guys for various decals they run on their fenders. It’s very complicated.”On the penalties to his Nationwide team (one crew member was suspended for a week and another placed on probation) for the shoving and shouting incident with Denny Hamlin’s crew after the race in Charlotte last week: “Well, my guys were a little bit aggressive. They did show their butts a little bit. But the penalties, I was a little disappointed in. I felt like we sort of got the bad end of the deal.”NASCAR said they were going to be more lax on the penalties for us showing our emotions. I don’t want to see anybody get punched in the face if it ain’t necessary. That’s why I kind of feel like the penalties were real harsh because it was great TV. Each side really kind of had a valid argument and I really didn’t see much harm in it.”On the $1,000 fine given to Tony Eury Sr., the crew chief of Earnhardt’s Nationwide team, for the Charlotte incident: “I didn’t think Pops should get penalized. Man, he’s a veteran in this sport. He didn’t do anything wrong at all. I thought his treatment should have been a little bit better than that.”But Tony always had a real sore temper when I was a young kid. I didn’t want to mess with him. I was scared to death of him. It wasn’t until recently where I felt like we worked on the same level, but he demands that respect. Tony Sr. is possibly more intimidating than my father.”He is the same way as my dad was in his ability to intimidate and motivate. He gets guys to team up with him and get on his side. He’s a great leader. I’m fortunate as hell to have him on my side working at JR Motorsports. We’re a much better team with him.”On reports that Bruton Smith wants to buy Dover International Speedway: “I don’t believe what I read.”There you have it. The world according to Earnhardt News source: ESPN GO Sports