Kobalt 500
Well an interesting day today. Or perhaps I should say, a day of disappointments. Hopes were high as Junior won the pole for the first time in two years. Not that it helped him any; he was no where near the front of the pack. A nice turn of events to see was Kasey Kahne leading much of the race today, although he didn’t win. But hey, at least Jimmie Johnson didn’t either. My man, Tony Stewart, came in out of the top ten, which is somewhat unusual for him.
The big news of the race came on lap 323 when Carl Edwards deliberately (after a failed attempt a lap earlier) took Brad Keselowski out with a not so friendly nudge to the rear, which sent BK (also known as Krashlowski) airborne in what could have resulted in serious injury to the young driver.
Last season, Edwards was accidentally spun out by Keselowski resulting in a horrifying crash that even injured race fans in the stands despite the fencing and barriers. The incident happened partly due to the inexperience of Keselowski and Edwards at the time, took much of the blame on himself saying he hadn’t given BK enough room.
Returning to today, BK and Edwards accidentally bumped into each other, which resulted in Edwards getting into Joey Logano. BK went on to put on a great run that had him racing for the top 5 when the incident occured. After 150 laps in the garage, Edwards came back out and from the replays, it absolutely looks as if Edwards deliberately wrecked BK; on further review by Darryl Waltrip, you can see one lap earlier where he tried to wreck Keselowski and missed, nearly hitting the wall in his attempt.
After ending up on his roof, BK got out of his car, very fortunately, but was quite dazed and shaken up and had to be assisted. After checking out of the infield care center, he had this to say, “To come back and intentionally wreck someone, that’s not cool,” Keselowski said. “You could have killed someone in the grandstands. I know that it’s a little ironic that it’s me saying that, but at least I didn’t do it intentionally [when it happened at Talladega].
“It will be interesting to see how NASCAR reacts to it. They have the ball. If they’re going to allow people to intentionally wreck each other at tracks this fast, we will hurt someone either in the cars or in the grandstands. It’s not cool to wreck someone at 195 mph.”
Indeed it’s not. NASCAR immediately pulled Edwards from the field. To add further insult, he drove down pit road backwards to get to the garage. Even Darryl Waltrip, a heavy Edwards supporter, said that it “just wasn’t right” in a quiet voice. When the infield reporters caught up to Edwards heading toward the ‘principal’s office’ he had this to say. “Brad knows the deal between him and I,” Edwards said. “The scary part was his car went airborne, which was not at all what I expected. At the end of the day, we’re out here to race and people have to have respect for one another and I have a lot of respect for people’s safety.
“I wish it wouldn’t have gone like it did, but I’m glad he’s OK and we’ll just go on and race some more and maybe him and I won’t get in any more incidents together. That would be the best thing.”Brad knows the deal between him and I,” Edwards said. “The scary part was his car went airborne, which was not at all what I expected. At the end of the day, we’re out here to race and people have to have respect for one another and I have a lot of respect for people’s safety.
“I wish it wouldn’t have gone like it did, but I’m glad he’s OK and we’ll just go on and race some more and maybe him and I won’t get in any more incidents together. That would be the best thing.”
Apparently Keselowski told reporters that he thought Edwards took at least 3 swipes at him before wrecking him. I personally (along with everyone else watching) clearly saw at least one attempt the lap prior on the replay provided by DW.
As scary as Edwards’ accident last year was, undoubtedly for him, as well as BK who inadvertently caused it, to the fans who were injured, Edwards absolutely should have known better than to deliberately inflict that kind of incident again, on anyone. Hello? Roid rage, anyone? Geez, I haven’t seen anything that malicious in a very long time. It is a horrible example of sportsmanship in a sport that is known for sportsmanlike conduct. While, no doubt, Crash-lowski has made many enemies on the field, I have no doubt in my mind that it isn’t deliberate, but inexperience that gets him involved in these incidents. However, Edwards has most definitely been in the business long enough to know that inexperienced drivers need assistance, not retaliation.
I am normally a fan of Carl Edwards and I was shocked and disappointed to see him acting like such a child today. I certainly hope NASCAR does take BK’s suggestion of a race suspension to heart because if that doesn’t incur some kind of penalty, I might take a ‘race suspension.’
Tony’s First Chase Race
Today marks the opening day, so to speak of NASCAR on ABC and the first Chase race of the post-season. So how did my man do?
Great, to start off with. Qualifying is not Tony’s strong suit, so I knew that when he qualified second (after Mark Martin) that he was sitting on one fast car. Smoke didn’t disappoint there. He led laps twice in the beginning of the race.
Then later on, a loose axle cap gave him the issue that I believe kept Tony out of the top 3. First, I gotta say that Darian Grubb probably didn’t make the right call not telling Tony IMMEDIATELY about the issue. Hey, Grubb, Tony’s no puppet driver, he’s the boss!! Not to mention, Tony is one of the sport’s best problem solvers–he should have been told immediately. Nor should Grubb have made the call to wait to fix it. Yes, I know, waiting for a caution sounds good but he still had to sit there and have the cap replaced and if he had done it during green flag condtions you can bet your asphalt they would have fixed it quicker. Not to mention, in the resulting caution, Tony could have stayed out for track position.
In other news, Kasey Kahne got a DNF when his engine blew. Junior, whose woes have followed him over to Hendrick, was having a great day, in contention for the lead wih a great car when he was taken out by the 00 car of David Reutimann, who is probably the most unpopular guy of the day right now.
Pablo Montoya made history by being the first foreign born driver to make the Chase and nearly won today but he just couldn’t beat Mark Martin. Of course, he said he could have nudged him out of the way but that he wouldn’t because of his respect for Martin (as well as due to the help Martin has given Montoya in the past) but that next time, he was going to bump him if he had to. Montoya is famous for his aggressive nature in the sport.
In the end, Mark Martin won the race at Loudden, his first time ever at this race. Congratulations to Martin who is first in the points standings by a margin of 35. Tony Stewart slips down to 6th place due to that damn axle cap..heads are going to roll on that one, no doubt. Good luck, Tony at next weeks, race..I believe it’s at Dover.
Finally!
I can’t wait!! September the 12th is the day for Sprint Cup Racing to come to ABC. This means I can actually watch lol..I can again for the rest of the Chase, root on Tony Stewart and watch as he makes himself a 3 time champion!! GooooooooTony!!
TONY WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s right, Tony Stewart just won his first Sprint Cup points race today, the first owner/driver to win a race since 1998!!!! Way to go Tony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My man is an All-Star now!
I am soooooooooooo happy for Tony Stewart who just won his first ever NASCAR All-Star race!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tony just keeps getting better and better…I can’t wait to see what happens when Tony gets into the “zone” (the point during the summer where he seems unbeatable) This is the first All-Star race that an owner/driver has won since Ricky Rudd in 1998!!!!
All the haters, now what!
Tony Finishes 3rd at Darlington
Tony keeps getting better and better every time he gets behind the wheel, and the crazy part is that he isn’t even into his “winning time” yet, that part of midsummer when Tony can’t do anything but take 1st..2nd place in the Cup so far, you can do it this year for sure, Tony!!!
Tony may be doing just fine without me after all
Tony came in 4th place Sunday’s race of the Samsung 500. And to think, as much as I hate Samsung cell phones, I may have to revise my opinion in the wake of that awesome finish!!!
Way to go Tony!!!
New Look For the New Tony
I figured since Tony got himself a hot new makeover in that beautiful CHEVY Impala, I thought I would make over my WP page. This is a great looking theme that goes with Tony’s new ride perfectly…check out how hot Tony looks in his new firesuit..YUM!
Seriously though, what is with the no-title??? I am having traffic problems as it is without people wondering what my page is called…grr..fix this someone!
And soooo much easier for a girl to co-ordinate her outfit when she doesn’t have to take into account the orange!!
I sure won’t be sorry to see the orange gone..although it will be weird not to hear anyone talking about how Big Orange is coming up behind..lol..Yes, I know Joey Legano, the sweet-looking little rookie is taking over but that poor kid isn’t a big anything yet lol..(Good luck to him though..he will need it to fill Tony’s shoes)
Tony Wins at Talladega!!
After a crazy day that included one “Big One” that managed to completely skip over all the Chase contenders and a SECOND “Big One” that swept up most of the rest of the field, Tony Stewart went on to win his first Sprint Cup series race at Talladega. This superspeedway is notorious for being the track where Junior Nation tends to rule and has not been that kind to Stewart. Of course, I doubt that many Junior fans would begrudge Tony the win after Junior was taken out in the second incident of the “Big One.” After all, Stewart and Earnhardt are notorious draft partners, although oddly enough there was no evidence of that Sunday.
In a nailbiter finish, second place rookie Regan Smith tried to go below the apron and come around Tony for the win, actually preceding Stewart to the start/finish line. However, as was made clear in the driver’s meeting, such is against the rules at Talladega. Therefore, the penalty imposed by NASCAR on Smith was to send him to the tail end of the lead lap which placed him in 18th place for the finish.
This I disagreed with..I felt that second place would have been where Smith should have finished. I will say that the rookie is starting off to a great career.
Talladega marks Tony Stewart’s first win of 2008 and first win at Talladega in Sprint Cup Series racing, GOOD JOB Tony!!!!!!!
Getting behind the times
It’s been awhile since I have posted concerning Tony Stewart, so here goes in a nutshell:
1. He has joined Haas Racing to be Stewart-Haas Racing. This will put Tony as the highest paid driver in NASCAR.
2. His number will be 14, a number that AJ Foyt once used.
3. His (dual) sponsors will be Old Spice (no surprise) and Office Depot (I hope they are more reliable for Tony than they were for Carl Edwards.)
4. Tony is 6th in Sprint Cup standings as of this post!!!! WoooooooooooooT!
Tony Stewart to go owner in 2009
Today there was a news conference concerning Tony Stewart’s contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, which expires after this season.
Tony Stewart announced that he will not return to Joe Gibbs Racing next season. This expected announcement will end the “longest active driver/crew chief relationship in the Sprint Cup series.”
In 2009, Tony will partner with Haas CNC Racing, to become Stewart-Haas Racing, which will run two full time Sprint cup cars next year.
While this will be Tony’s first venture into NASCAR team ownership, he is already well versed with team ownership as the owner of two teams in the USAC and the World of Outlaw sprints.
So, out with the old and in with the new as Tony will bid farewell to Joe Gibbs and Greg Zippadelli. At a later date, sponsorships, lineups and numbers will be announced…
It is a sad day for “Number 20″ fans but a great day for Tony Stewart fans.
Tony Wins again in the Nationwide!
Saturday was a great day for Tony Stewart as his infamous Nationwide Series crew chief got him to victory lane yet again in the Nationwide NASCAR series. With Dave Rogers as the crew chief, Tony was unbeatable, coming in first ahead of his Sprint Cup teammates, Denny Hamlin for second, and Kyle Busch in third. Many post-race interviews expressed the sentiment that it didn’t matter who the driver was; as long as Dave Rogers is the crew chief “anyone could get behind the wheel and win.”
Congratulations Tony!!!! Tony Stewart is doing extremely well in the Nationwide Series this year; it’s a shame he isn’t running it full-time!
Tony’s continuing run of bad luck
Today was stock car racing’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600…This race starts in the day and ends up at night, approximately 4 hours long…It’s a monster, but filled with good racing and plenty for fans to see! The race started out with the announcement that long time track promoter Humpy Wheeler was retiring after today’s race. He was well known for his belief that every race fan was the best person in the world and for his legendary efforts to make race fans happy on their day at his track..So thanks Humpy for over 30 years of service.
So as the race started out, with Kasey Kahne and (geez) Kyle Busch in first row, I was quite concerned to see that Tony qualified clear back in somewhere around 31st..I’m not sure because I think I may have actually groaned out loud, thereby missing the actual number. My only consolation was that the “WonderTurd” was back there too.
Okay, now every Smoke fan knows that Tony doesn’t really need to qualify well and if he does then it’s because he is driving a nuclear warhead instead of a stock car…so not a big deal that he was back there…although it was farther back than I was comfortable with definitely…So I wait patiently for DW to say, There goes Smoke; he’s marching toward the front……and I wait…and I wait….Hmm
Okay there is no marching toward the front…this is bad…the laps start climbing and Tony is losing ground! What?? Nooooo….again, the only consolation is that the wonderturd is losing ground too. Then comes several inevitabilities…there is something wrong with Kyle Busch’s Toyota..go. figure. Seriously, Joe Gibbs, this was not the best idea. And still…Tony loses more ground…Ugh..
Then comes the middle part of the race…tweaker time…This is the point in the race where everyone is going to have adjustments made to their car in order to prepare for the night-time half of the race. Then, as the day gives way to night…There..I hear the words I have been waiting for…”You know who’s been marching toward the front?” THAT is what I’m talking about!!!
All of a sudden, my night has gotten a bit brighter! Then, another problem as Junior slides along the wall because of a tire. Then, for what reason I still haven’t figured out from the replay, J.J. Yeley comes down the track and just piledrives Junior…Well of course, most everyone thought his day was done but fortunately the damage was mostly aesthetic and off Junior went, unfortunately not with as nearly fast a race car as he had before that!
But hey, at least WonderTurd wasn’t winning!
So then, Tony gets up to 19th, then 17th…15th…then all of a sudden he has cracked the top ten. Sweet mercy! So then, Tony does what Tony does best…clearing a path to the front of the pack..and woe to anybody that gets in his way (that means you Juan Pablo!) So finally Tony gets where I knew he would go (to first, of course!)
So then, “it” happens…What could “it” be? Tony blows a tire with 2 laps to go….2….yes, 2……(pardon me while I cry some more)….yeah, I said 2….So he does exactly what I would do, stay right on the track, right in the middle of it, hoping they would call a caution….but no! Any other freakin time, they would call the caution but no such luck…so off Tony limps to the pits and ends up going from first to 18th…..ugh!!!….why does this keep happening????
You know, probably no other NASCAR driver has led as many laps this season as Tony but he just can’t seem to seal the deal! Something just isn’t right…I swear Toyota is bringing him bad luck or something! The only thing I can say to Tony is to pick up more Nationwide races because he is kicking butt in those! Out of 6 starts, he won 4 races! So, hopefully this bad luck streak will end! Soon!!!!
And congrats to Kasey Kahne with his first Sprint Cup win since 2006 and Junior did well too, coming in 8th I believe…
Reflections on the Indy 500
Today was the big day! The 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500! Today the big winner was Scott Dixon, known as the “Ice Man” but he was told today that he was being renamed “The Milk Man” as he sprayed everyone with the obligatory jar of milk.
Today was not the day for Danica Patrick…out of four tries at the Indy 500, today she failed to finish for the first time. She was doing great, having a very good day until as she was exiting the pits, she was hit by another driver who ran into her and broke the rear axle on her car, ending her day…She was completely justified in being extremely angry as she was on her side of the lane exiting pit road. She was so angry, she looked like your typical angry NASCAR driver, out to “get someone.” She left her vehicle and went down pit road to confront the driver who hit her but before she could get there and cause any damage, she was escorted back to the garage area by the track security officials…Good thing for that guy she didn’t make it down there (as she told a track reporter later)
Out of all the occasions of the Indy 500 that I have seen over the years, I was reminded today just how time flies and how even though things change, often times racing legacies do not. I remember as a kid I used to root for AJ Foyt…today I cheered on AJ Foyt….the fourth! lol..
So congratulations to Scott Dixon, who will soon be receiving an invitation from Tony Stewart to join him and several other drivers in the Prelude to the Dream event he has started at the dirt track he owns at Eldora.
Tony’s great day at Talladega!
Guess who won the Nationwide race at Talladega today?? Tony Stewart, if you couldn’t figure it out already! This marks Tony’s first win ever at Talladega, so congratulations to you, Tony, especially on tires a hundred laps old!! No fence climbing today but a long-lasting burnout to remember and a hug and a squeeze for the little girl from the Make-A-Wish Foundation who was there in the winner’s circle to give her congratulations; Tony called her his good luck charm and said he would love to take her all over the country.
And what a race to the finish too! Dale Jr. was hard on the heels of Stewart most of the day, either running right behind or right in front of the number 20. On the very last lap, Junior made his move, shooting out to the outside to go around Tony but he didn’t quite have the momentum to pull it off. Because of the line of cars behind him, Junior got shuffled back into 6th place in the official results. Still a good day, a good race and a good try for Junior..he took a risk and it didn’t pay off but next time it just might. It was a great finish for all NASCAR fans! And good sportsmanship as usual for the son of the Intimidator.
Going nearly 200 mph packed together and lined up nose to bumper, the Big One is a wreck that will take out several cars..In Talladega, it’s not about if, but when! However, this race went very cleanly with surprisingly good-driving rookies alongside veteran drivers…The Big One might not have even happened if it weren’t for the mistake of one driver, Kevin LePage. The 45 year old driver from Vermont made a costly error that could have resulted in serious injury for Carl Edwards and did result in injury to one of the other drivers (a former Formula one racer, sorry his name escapes me at the moment). He was taken to the infield care center and at the time of the end of the race was still at the local hospital where he was transferred to for observation, thereby giving us the information that he was at least moderately injured..Hopefully all is well and he will return to race
another day.
In not such a show of good sportsmanship, Lepage refused to acknowledge his mistake and tried to say that NASCAR had said that where he entered the track was where he was supposed to enter (which was not true). Lepage was leaving the pits to re-enter the track on Turn 1 (which he was not supposed to do) and despite seeing a field of cars barreling toward him, decided to enter the track anyway (hello? who cares what your spotter is telling you? common sense time!) going nearly 80 miles an hour slower than the rest of the field, thereby getting hit hard by Carl Edwards who was sent airborn and taking out 16 cars…Two drivers later tried to re-enter the race after repairs (Kyle Bush being one of them) but were black-flagged by NASCAR officials for not being able to maintain minimum speed.
Hopefullly, Lepage will see the errors of his ways and apologize, instead of passing the buck on to NASCAR, who did a great job with calling cautions for debris.
Again, congratulations to Tony Stewart on his first Talladega win and to Junior for a great, fan thrilling race!
Not again!!!!!!
Yes, again!!!! Opening day at the race track was supposed to be April 20th but it has been pushed back (for the fourth time and counting) to April 27th…for the sake of some unknown Pete, get some damn blowdryers out there and firm up the track!!!! I want to see some racing before the season ends!!!!
Rainy Race Day at Martinsville
Today was a wet one at Martinsville, Virginia for today’s Sprint Cup race at the most famous short track in racing…
As usual it was a bump and run kind of day at Martinsville…some came back strong, some came back weaker and some didn’t come back for 60 or so laps…
Almost everyone finished out the day, although one driver was 80 laps down, others were anywhere from 26 to 60 laps down as well but it was overall a good day for staying on the track for most of the race.
Junior led a couple of times, to the delight of Junior Nation…Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon had their turns as well as Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin…
At the end, where it counts!, the last lap belonged to Denny Hamlin, who won the lovely prize of the Grandfather clock trophy that has become a symbol of Martinsville.
Tony Stewart, the man!, came in 5th..not bad at all!…and Junior was right behind him for 6th…good job guys!
Atlanta Action
Today was the day for Toyota! History was made with a win by a Toyota driver, Kyle Busch..congrats on that…
My man! Tony Stewart came in second on tires that, in his words, he wouldn’t race on again for any amount of money. Tony was quite upset with Goodyear and their use of tires that were previously unused by Nascar drivers. According to Tony Stewart, the folks at Goodyear sometimes “spring” a new set of tires on a team at random, telling them little or nothing in order to get unbiased feedback from the racing team that is using them. This is a normal procedure but can be unnerving to a driver who is trying to win a race with a set of tires they know nothing about. Tony, in his usual style, was very vocal about Goodyear having “dropped the ball” and that perhaps Goodyear is not up to the challenge of having their technology change to reflect the changes made in the cars used by NASCAR (i.e. the C.O.T)
Furthermore, Tony elaborated that Goodyear had, in effect, been “run out of” other driving organizations that used to use their tires but have since found them not up to performance standards. Tony went on to say that if Goodyear doesn’t step up performance, Firestone or other tire manufacturers would be happy to take their place.
Congratulations to Tony on his second place finish despite running on tires that made the car “skate all around the track” (-Kyle Busch)
And Congratulations also to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for coming in 3rd right behind TonyStewart, slipping by Greg Biffle to take the 3rd place position. Junior is obviously doing better with Hendrick, off to a great start already!
NASCAR news
Hopefully Tony Stewart is okay to drive to win tomorrow at Atlanta…In Las Vegas, Tony wrecked his car in both the Sprint Cup race on Sunday as well as the Nationwide Cup Race the day before…in both accidents, Tony was hurt; first, on Saturday he suffered a minor injury to his ankle…Sunday his back was more seriously injured in a wreck that made fans wonder if Tony was going to walk out of that one. Certainly he was shaken up, understandably so; now all that remains to be seen is if he has sufficiently healed over the week to be “in it to win it” at Atlanta…Good luck Tony…and of course, good luck to Junior (I believe he qualified second? if so, way to go!)
I’m a NASCAR girl
I just wanted to give a quick congratulations to the man, Tony Stewart, for coming in 3rd at the Daytona 500 this year…If it hadn’t been for a mistake made by his new teammate, Kyle Bush, Tony would not have been “hung out to dry” by himself while 2 other cars were able to ‘bump/draft’ right on by…I bet Tony is seriously pissed.
Hopefully not too much though, it was a great car–great day–great race, all in all a race to be proud of.
Dale Jr. was looking pretty good in his new ride, the number 88. Commercials are out already for Mountain Dew Amp. Junior says it tastes like candy, so I would imagine it is even sweeter than Mountain Dew and likely with even more caffeine. Watch yourself, Junior–it hurts quite a bit to have to drive a car with a kidney infection.
