In Shock and Dis-appointment………

SHOCK !!……………

WOW, I can’t beleive Kyle went out like that. Does he have a chance ?? I really thought that if Kyle didn’t win the chase it would have been because he was driving to aggressive and crashed in a few chase races to get the DNF’s that knock him out of contention. I would have never guessed that equipment failures would be the cause. I would have bet money that equiptment won’t be the problem. He ran 26 races with very little or no equiptment failures then the first two chase races and it’s over, maybe. Is it karma, bad luck, or both.  Can he pull out of this, I haven’t check yet but is it mathematically possible for him to bounce back ?? I sure hope so, he and his team preformed better than any other driver/team for the first 26 races. I think they deserve it.

DIS-APPOINTMENT !!………

I am really dis-appointed in Red Bull decision to release A.J. Almendinger for Scott Speed. It’s going to be another 2 years now before the no.# 84 Toyota will be competitive. I believe its going to take Scott Speed the same season and a half it took A.J. to get comfortable, is Red Bull going to change again because they don’t understand they’re competing against team that have been around for 10 + years and it takes years to gain the respect and knowledge it takes just to be a weekly top 10 team. Drivers respected A.J. he was starting to come into his own veteran status. It looks like Ganassi is going to be the beneficary of Red Bull’s hard knocks. Red Bull made a mistake and I can’t believe Jay Frye was part of that decision, I know the big wheels in Austraila don’t have a clue but I really thought Jaye knew better.

The Chase for the Cup Contenders are Set

               2008 Chase Contenders

1) #18-Kyle Busch 5080 [8 wins x 10 bonus pts]
2) #99-Carl Edwards 5050 [6 wins, 5 wins x 10 pts = 50pts*]
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5040 [4 wins]
4) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5010 [1 win, 2nd, 3rd, 3-4ths]
5) #07-Clint Bowyer 5010 [1 win, 2nd, 3rd, 4th]
6) #11-Denny Hamlin 5010 [1 win, 7-3rds]
7) #31-Jeff Burton 5010 [1 win, 1-3rd]
8) #20-Tony Stewart 5000 [3-2nds]
9) #16-Greg Biffle 5000 [2-2nds]
10) #24-Jeff Gordon 5000 [1-2nd, 3-3rds]
11) #29-Kevin Harvick 5000 [1-2nd, 1-3rd]
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 5000 [2-3rds]

* lost the bonus for win at Las Vegas due to penalty
• To start the Chase, all 12 drivers have their point totals reset to 5,000.
• After the reset, Chase drivers get 10 bonus points for each victory thus far this season.
• Those new totals produce the Chase seedings.
• For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seedings are determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.
Courtesy Jayski’s

 

Who do you think will win the Championship ?? 

Post your Choice. Document it Now…. 

Carl’s Mistake……Kyle’s Motivation……

 

    The August night race at Bristol is one of my favorite races of the year. I’m not sure from a fan standpoint if the racing is better or worse since the new pavement. In the past it was a 1 and a half groove race track now its pretty much a 2 racing groove track, in the past to get around someone you had to move them out of the way and that was the cause of alot of fights now with the new pavement and 2 racing grooves you can race around them.

   So I was thinking as we near the end of the race “is this going to finish without somebody getting pissed off” just about the time I thought that with 30 laps to go Carl Edwards didn’t use the 2nd groove to get around race leader Kyle Busch he moved him out of the way just like the olds days(last year).

   In my opinion Carl made a huge mistake, it wasn’t when he moved Kyle out of the way it was on the cool down lap when Kyle came along side Carl and bumped him and Carl retaliated by spinning Kyle out. Don’t get me wrong I think Carl was right in his actions and I would have probably done the same thing it just wasn’t smart. The reason I think it was a huge mistake is Kyle is motivated when he’s been poked with a stick, when he’s poked he usually feels like he’s got something to prove and he usually does prove it. He runs best when he thinks he’s getting the raw end of the deal or when he’s mad.

   Just a couple races until the start of the Chase for the Cup and Carl lit the fuse hanging out of Kyles butt so now Kyle is going to show Carl that 2nd is just the first loser.

Yea Right !!!

A Statement From Joe Gibbs Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing

  First, we want to apologize to NASCAR, all of our partners, all of our families at JGR, and all of our fans for the unfortunate incident that took place this past weekend in Michigan with our two Nationwide teams. A poor decision was made by some key members of our organization, and 100 percent of the blame rests with us.

   “In 17 years we have never had any representative of Joe Gibbs Racing knowingly act outside of NASCAR’s rules, and that is something we consider essential to how we operate on a daily basis. What we have determined is that these individuals involved used extremely poor judgment in attempting to alter the results of NASCAR’s dyno test following Saturday’s Nationwide Series race in Michigan. Although in no way was anything done that might have altered the race outcome, these JGR employees attempted to circumvent the NASCAR rule book and that is unacceptable.

    “We take full responsibility and accept the penalties NASCAR has levied against us today. We had come to the conclusion that we would add to any NASCAR imposed penalties with the minimum being suspension for the remainder of the season for those involved, including our two Nationwide Series crew chiefs. There will also be an additional monetary fine beyond the amount announced by NASCAR earlier today, which will be the responsibility of those involved.

   “We are, however, disappointed that NASCAR chose to place our drivers on probation, as they had no knowledge or involvement of this incident.

   “On behalf of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, we apologize again for this most unfortunate situation.”(Joe Gibbs Racing PR)(8-20-2008)

The Garage Area Comment:

I think we all expected better from Joe Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing but one of his first comments in his statement was a crock….Gibbs said “In 17 years we have never had any representative of Joe Gibbs Racing knowingly act outside of NASCAR’s rules” there is no way he can make that claim and be truthful. We know teams skirt the rules thats no secret so his comment just makes him look like a liar.    One of the last comments in his statement was…. “We are, however, disappointed that NASCAR chose to place our drivers on probation, as they had no knowledge or involvement of this incident.
It is my understanding that the NASCAR officials took control of the cars when the drivers exited them, so the drivers were the last JGR employees to have access to the gas pedals thats why they were part of the penalty, the six NASCAR officials that impounded the cars did in fact state the drivers were the last to have access to the cars. You don’t have to be a crime scene specialist to figure it out. Most drivers take the heat shields off their shoes before exiting the car, so while doing that you could easily slip a magnet under the pedal without creating suspicion, another blatant lie by Gibbs.
  The smartest thing Gibbs could have done is just say…We’re sorry, I’m sorry, we accept NASCAR’s penaltys we too will investigate and JGR will also penalize those involved. Again I apologize.  Thats it, don’t say anything more. Walk away.

The whole thing was really an ignorant move. Most owners, crew chiefs, and drivers will tell you when luck is on your side and your running as well as the Gibbs teams were you don’t cheat because your being watched, everybody in the garage area is watching you to find out what your doing and half the people in the garage area  think your cheating anyway when your racking up the wins the way Gibbs is. If you do get caught then you’ll really be scrutinized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busted and disgusted………..

 NASCAR officials found magnets placed under the gas pedals on cars out of the Joe Gibbs Racing stables prior to a Dyno test after this weekends race the Carfax 250. By placing a quarter inch thick magnet under the gas pedal it will limit the throttle/carburator from being opened 100% in turn causing lower overall horespower on a Dyno test. Both the #18 and the
#20 Nationwide teams  will be penalized for attempting to manipulate the throttle so NASCAR would not get a true horsepower reading when putting their cars on the chassis dynamometer after the race NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Saturday night. Both the #18 and #20 teams face penalties for what was a blatant attempt to interfere with the inspection process, Hunter also said.

the garage area: So what do you think the penalty should Be ?? Me personally think it should be very harsh….

  It was Nationwide Series teams but they(nationwide and cup) come from under one umdrella Joe Gibbs Racing. Does that taint Kyle success this season, does this taint Tony Stewart titles and for that matter any of Bobby Labonte’s success. This cast a shadow on their success because you have to wonder how many times have they cheated ?? How many times have they manipulated testing info ?? You just don’t know but what we do know is they(employees of Joe Gibbs Racing) are capable of cheating.

 

Also
 
   Did you hear Deny Hamlins comments after Sundays race at Michigan International Raceway ?? He stated several times to a few different media outlets that he’s frustrated because Gibbs and Toyota are so far behind on their engine program. Is he on the same team as Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart ?? How can you say that when one of your teammates is leading the points and has won 8 races and the other teammate is 6th in the points. After Michigan all 3 Gibbs cars are in the top 12 that doesn’t look like a team thats behind in anything. He hasn’t stuck his foot that far in his mouth since a Natiomwide driver (Keslowski) raced him too hard so he made the comment that Nationwide driver should give cup drivers automatic respect.

  A good driver can take the car the crew gives him and with good communication can make adjustments compatible with conditions on raceday and finish the race a few spots better than the car was capable of. Most drivers can take the fastest, best handling car and get a good finish, but what car owners need and what makes a driver great is for a driver to be able use his talent take up the slack for the short comings of the car. Deny can’t do that yet, he does show spurts of talent when condition are perfect.

  Is Deny right are they behind in the engine program but cheating has made the others on the team successful and Deny just wasn’t included in on their rain deer games ??

Tell me what you think…….

Earnhardt Stretches Fuel and Rules

How do you feel about Earnhardts decision to test the NASCAR Officials Patience ??

  Several drivers were upset that #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. was allowed to speed up and pass the pace car during a caution so he could save gas to make it to the finish line. The running start gave Earnhardt enough momentum to allow him to turn his engine off and coast halfway around Michigan International Speedway. “I just didn’t know you could pass the pace car,” third-place finisher #17-Matt Kenseth said. NASCAR rules prohibit anyone from passing the pace car during a caution, but Earnhardt was allowed to pull in front of the pace car at least twice to save fuel. The sanctioning body eventually warned him not to do it, but by then he had saved enough to win the LifeLock 400 on fumes. Earnhardt admitted he stretched the rules — and NASCAR’s patience — but not enough to give the victory back. “I got a little greedy,” he said. “I can understand how it looked, especially if you’re not a Dale Jr. fan. But I got the trophy; I got the points.

The Garage Area:  I’m a huge fan of the underdog, I don’t support the big name drivers.  What gets my blood racing is when a first timer is running for the checkers.  I make a point to support any sponsor that sponsors a no name, a new driver or winless driver. For me the worst time in NASCAR is when you’ve got to watch Jimmy Johnson win week after week thats just boring. Now with that said I would have rather seen David Regan or Brian Vickers win the race but I will say I was kind of happy for Earnhardt because he’d come so close on so many Sundays. I would have rather seen him win it racing it would have made it legit.  Especially now after we’re hearing what transpired during those final laps.  Earnhardt won we can’t change that but I do think NASCAR needs to get specific on what a driver can and can’t do in the closing laps to save fuel.

Deny Hamlin’s an ASS

  When I saw the Post Race press conference after the Lowes Motor Speedways Nationwide race the Carquest Auto Parts 300, I thought who does Deny Hamlin thinks he is.  He made some stupid comments about rookies, veterans, and how Nationwide drivers should heed to Cup drivers because of their experience, that Nationwide drivers should automatically give respect to Cup drivers. I thought  What an Ass!!, he’s still a rookie to most veteran Cup and Nationwide drivers himself. 
  Then Sunday during the Dover Cup race there was an accident coming out of turn 2, many drivers including Deny Hamlin got caught up in it. Because of the design of the track and the location it was hard to avoid but never the less Deny showed his driving experience. The difference between the way Deny wrecked and the way the others wrecked was the other drivers slowed down, Deny didn’t he just came out of turn two with his foot to the floor and slammed right into car sitting car on the track. I don’t know if his spotter warned him about the wreck or not. It appeared that there would have been plenty of time for a warning from his spotter. It seems that there was a good 5 to 7 seconds from the initial accident to the time Deny rolled into turn two. It looked as if he just wasn’t paying attention, I’m not saying he could have totally avoided it but if he was paying attention and tried to slow down the damage would have been far less and the impact to the car he slammed into wouldn’t have been so hard. So we saw his Experience.
   It always happens when you open your mouth with stupid comments Karma bits your ass.

Good Job Kasey but……..

    I like the fact that Kasey was pick by the fan vote to be in the race and then to win it that’s even a sweeter victory for all the fans, team and driver. But it was a pretty dull All-Star Race, TV stations  are going to have to really search for some good film clips. It was just un-eventful. I think what happened was is when a driver would get his car out in front in clean air he was gone so the the best racing to watch was between 2nd and 3rd, well in a race where 2nd and 3rd just don’t matter the best racing was pointless. The format was in my opinion crappy at best. I don’t know whos idea it was to run that format but my guess is their not running around this morning claiming it was their idea. What was the thought process behind 4- 25 lap segments how can you even think that would be a good format ?? I just don’t get that.

   The Showdown did have a little excitement but just a little, enough to  get the fans pumped up for the All Star Race.  A.J. Almendinger surprised us all and this time I don’t mean with his hot wife he actually surprised us on the track. So I was really happy for him, you know when you see guys constantly struggle week after week after week its really cool when you see them have a little success in my opinion its way better than seeing Jimmy Johnson, Jeff G., Tony, Deny, Carl or any of the other driver that we constantly see in victory lane have success. The two drivers I wanted to see advance from the showdown to the All-Star race were #6 David Reagan and #83 Brian Vickers so early on I thought my picks were solid. But that changed and I willsay again I was glad to see A.J. win the showdown. Thats the great thing about the Showdown it’s a race made up of the drivers that haven’t had any success so no matter what the outcome everybody is usually happy with the winners(the drivers that advance).

    I did expect to see more from Dale jr. , I really thought he’d be more of a threat. I thought since Hendricks cars have always ran well at Lowes and Dale is the Hendrick driver thats riding the wave right now I thought he’d be more of a threat. I also think everybody even the haters thought Kyle Busch would have been a threat if not win he’d take out the leader in the battle. I think we all can agree if Kyles engine would have held up there probably would have been a little more excitement. 

    Sam Hornish might have been the most exciting driver to watch. He did extremely well, given his lack of experience. I don’t think anybody expected it from him.  He did show he’s got a lot to learn but he also showed he’s got alot of talent. You could tell he’s probably struggling a little trying to learn how to drive a heavier car, stock cars are a little more than twice the weight of an Indycar.  Stock Cars are 3450 lbs.  compared to an Indycar at 1500 lbs. thats a huge difference at 180 MPH with 42 others cars all fighting for the same lane.  But he did do well despite the learning curve.

   My hope now is NASCAR does something immediately to eliminate the cars from getting out in front in clean air  and checking out. I know thats a pipe dream, unrealistic or just stupid but my worry is that the Coca Cola 600 is going to be a huge bore. I love to watch racing my TV is on the Speed Channel the majority of the time because I’ll watch any race anytime even when I’m not watching its on in the background it drives my family crazy. But once a year I even struggle during the 600, it’s a long “Son of a B____”  you sit on your A$$ for a good 6 hrs.. So if you’ve got leaders that just check out its going to be one LLoonngg day. Thats what worries me. I know the drivers would hate it but maybe NASCAR should think of restrictor plates to keep the cars bunched up. That might increase the chances of having a better race, atleast for the fans. You get nore side by side stuff, more lead changes.

 

   Congrts to Kaseys fans, if your a Kasey Kahne fan and you actually voted for him the victory has to be soooo sweet for those fans.

Biffles Contract and Franchittis Ankle……Status Unknown

    Roush Fenway driver of the #16-Greg Biffle said he’s not had any new contract talks with Roush Fenway Racing, citing a busy schedule that had him testing for two days last week at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. But Biffle certainly didn’t sound like a guy committed to Roush Fenway Racing when he blasted the faulty equipment that led to his last-place finish at Darlington Raceway. “All I want is equipment to drive that stays together,” said Biffle, who started from the pole and led 95 laps Saturday night before loose wheels, a bad vibration and a broken timing belt ended his race early. It is really frustrating, but you know what, I’ve just come accustomed to expecting it because week after week it’s something. Something breaks. Something falls off. I give it 110% as a driver all the time, and you just want your equipment to last and be able to win these races.” Still, it was clear “The Biff” was sending a message with his biting remarks. Just what might that message be? Well, signing a contract extension with Roush might not be the slam dunk both sides have led everyone to believe. In fact, Biffle might finally be ready to test the free-agent market. Before Darlington, he seemed determined to stay at Roush. “My 100% intent is to work out an extension with Roush,” Biffle said a week ago in Richmond. “I’ve sat back and thought about what else is out there. There are a lot of great teams and great opportunities out there … but do you look at it as are they better than what I have now or how are they different than what I have now? I’m making my decision kind of how (Dale) Earnhardt Jr. did, and it’s about winning races and championships and contending for the title and having good equipment. There are lots of teams that have that, but I feel comfortable where I’m at with Roush Fenway. I’ve been there 10 years and we’ve got great equipment.” Then that same equipment failed him Saturday night in Richmond, and Biffle sure didn’t sound as convincing. Compounding the situation is that Roush officials have openly questioned why, if Biffle is so certain he wants a contract extension, he’s been absent of late from the bargaining table. Biffle’s cited a busy schedule for the slow contract talks, but it’s time to wonder if he maybe isn’t taking a harder look at what’s available across the garage. And of all the drivers still on the market, Biffle is the top choice. He’s considered more talented than Ryan Newman, who is available, and Martin Truex Jr., who might be available, and both drivers are continuously mentioned for other rides.
    He shouldn’t be looking how Earnhardt sign his deal, he should be looking how Kyle lost his with Henedrick. Drivers especially today should be very careful how far they push owners. One thing Biffle better take into consideration is while he’s talking to other teams Roush is talking to other drivers. Biffle could find himself in the same position Kyle found himself at the end of last season. If you leave an owner hanging for too long he” ll go with another driver because there are plenty of drivers capable of winning with good equipment and let’s face it Roush has good equipment. There are a few owners you don’t drag your feet on. Roush, Hendrick, Childress, Gibbs are owners that drivers would kill to drive for. You don’t leave a Roush after you’ve been there 10 years unless they ask you to or your going to Hendrick. If thats not happening you sit down and shut-up and sign the extension with a smile on your face.

 

Dario Franchitti continues to heal

 

   #40-Dario Franchitti continues to heal from the broken left ankle he sustained during a Nationwide Series race at Talladega last month, with no firm timetable for his return. “There’s not really been any change,” Franchitti said last Saturday in Darlington S.C.. “I’m just waiting for the swelling to go down and the pain to go away, and for the fracture to heal. When those things go away, I’ll be able to drive the car again.” Sterling Marlin drove Chip Ganassi Racing’s #40 Dodge at Darlington, and could do so again at Charlotte if Franchitti is not ready. Franchitti has been monitoring the amount of pressure he puts on his ankle. After a couple hours of walking around, Franchitti elevates his leg and uses a boot that circulates cold water through it to alleviate the swelling. He had considered testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but the doctor nixed that idea. Franchitti obliged, remembering how he rushed back from injuries earlier in his career to mixed results. He recently traveled to Indianapolis – not to ponder racing in the Indy 500, where he is the reigning champion, but to get fitted for a carbon fiber brace that supports his ankle. He’ll use the brace when he returns to the car.
     Dario is missing very valuable seat time. This is his training year every race he misses means next year is going to be that nmuch harder. The #40 team has some tough days ahead which is going to turn into a tough year ahead if Ganassi is committed to Dario. But has Ganassi ever been committed to a driver(?).