In The Groove is dedicated to bring you, the all-knowing Fox Sports Bloggers, a peek at the Highs and Lows of racing randomness from Richmond, Virginia.  Welcome.

The High Groove

Running first in the High Groove is Kyle Busch, naturally.  The Show stole the show, all weekend.  Richmond and Kyle Busch proved to be a fascinating "Combo."  I wonder how many more records Rowdy will break or tie with by the time of his 25th birthday. Congrats, again.

Running second in the High Groove is Stewart-Haas Racing.  SHR's drivers Tony Stewart (2nd) and Ryan Newman (4th) were competitive and on their game Saturday night. Although Smoke said that they "backed into" their finishing position of second, I ain't buying it.  Smoke usually doesn't get hot until about Daytona in July.  There is something much more magical going on with him this year.  Even Newman moved to the top ten in points.  Of course, the contest now is to see which of these drivers will get a big "W" first.  More Saturday night racing this weekend, so we might just find out.

Running third in the High Groove is Casey Mears.  I honestly do not know how he did it, really.  Casey Mears finished 9th.  Surely after changing organizations, teams, numbers, uniforms, etc., etc., time and time again, one could excuse away his poor career.  But, there Mears is - week after week.  Still plodding along.  Harvick's and Mears' entire crews were switched before the Richmond weekend and maybe Richard Childress had another stroke of genius.  No, I'm not holding my breath just yet, but it was good to see.  Kudos for your top ten finish.

Honorable mentions: Jeff Burton (3rd), Juan Pablo Montoya (10th), and Marcos Ambrose (11th)

The Low Groove

P1 in the Low Groove is Jimmie Johnson.  Johnson was ready to hightail it out of Alabama and move on to Virginia.  However, the defending champion had a rough go of it in Richmond.  From speeding penalties, to no brakes, to getting caught up in an accident, Jimmie just could not get out of his own way.  He finished in the 36th position, 32 laps down.  I wonder if he thinks this track sucks too?

P2 in the Low Groove is Dave Blaney.  Shocking, I know.  Blaney wrecked before I could say start and park.  I truly do not understand why the team/crew did not get him back out on the track as there appeared to be minimal damage.  We saw how well Marcos Ambrose, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and others ran after getting some damage to their cars.

P3 for the Low Groove is Kevin Harvick.  Harvick blew a tire and smacked the wall, finishing in the 34th position, 6 laps down.  Did you know that DeLana was sitting atop the pit box again this weekend?  Why is DeLana jinxing him like that?

Dishonorable Mentions:  David Stremme a/ka/ wrecking ball, Denny Hamlin's pit crew, and Brian Vickers for missing his pit stall.

And for the checkered flag we have In The Groove's thought for the day ...

Junior nation, do you remember how irate and how vocal you were as a group this time last year? Kyle Busch wrecked Junior at Richmond and, goodness, we didn't hear the end of that for a long time. Heck, people were still talking about it before the drop of the green flag this Saturday night. This year, Junior made pretty much the exact same move underneath Jeff Burton during the race, wrecking him, and yet I don't hear the Burton brigade throwing tirades. Maybe a mention, but not an all-out call for Junior's neck. Weird.

Quote of the week: "... as odd as this is going to sound, I've really been impressed with how good, Goodyear's working really hard and they continue to not sit on their hands and they keep trying different things, and they keep trying to find combinations that make it better for us ..." - Tony Stewart

We have Saturday night racing up again this weekend at Darlington, the track "Too Tough To Tame." If you tried to be tough to tame growing up and your mom had to give you a few of those (Darlington) stripes, remember your Mom for Mother's Day this Sunday and, if you can, tell her thanks for her unconditional love. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

We have Saturday night short track racing up at Richmond this weekend, with a little Crown Royal to be consumed in Victory Lane ... a perfect set up for the Bobby Isaac Tribute.

"A soft-spoken man who rarely gave interviews, Isaac was not known well outside of the NASCAR world. Few people knew him well, a fact that did not bother him in the least. Billed as a loner by many, those who knew him well understood: outside of his hometown of Catawba, North Carolina, the only place he felt at home was behind the wheel of a race car. And when Isaac felt at home, he could not be beat."

(Direct Quote from Bobby Isaac: What Speed Looks Like, by Steve Lehto)

I read most of Mr. Lehto's book a long time ago and decided to bring it back out for this tribute. A lot of what you will be reading about are thoughts and/or paraphrasing from the book and I wanted to make sure the proper credit is given.

The Beginning

There are different birth years given for his date of birth, some sources say August 1, 1932 and others say 1934. His hometown was in Catawba County, NC in a little community called Piney Woods. His earliest occupation, beyond working on the family farm from the age of 6 when his father died, is debated between working at a sawmill or a cotton mill beginning at age 12. When his father died, Isaac's mother went to work, in town away from the farm, and so Isaac and his eight siblings were left to take care of themselves. There was no one there to tell him he had to go to school. Therefore, he never learned to read or write having dropped out of school entirely at age 13. Obviously, he didn't focus on schoolwork the times he was in attendance.

Nestled in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, Isaac lived a very meager life, got in fights at school, and was thought to be "mean" or a "hot head." Isaac even tried to hitchhike out of the mountains while still a teenager, a plan soon spoiled by one of his sisters who stopped to pick him up and take him home to live with her and her husband.

The Racing Bug Bites

The setting is 1952. (Other accounts say this happened in 1953). Isaac was biding his time working in the mill during the day, living in pool halls at night. There was no grand plan for his life or career. So, Isaac decided to visit the new dirt track called Hickory Motor Speedway, which opened in Catawba County, NC in 1951. One of the drivers he saw there was "Gentleman" Ned Jarrett. By chance, or by fate, this was Jarrett's very first race. Although they had met through one of Isaac's jobs, they were not friends. Apparently, Isaac was not a loquacious man and did not make friends easily. However, Ned Jarrett eventually became a very important and identifiable part of Isaac's life, successes, and death. It is a wonder the two became so close as it seems they were polar opposites in their demeanor.

After seeing the excitement at Hickory, Isaac had the desire to try it himself. Isaac's first race experience was in a modified '37 Ford dirt track car, which ended for him on the second lap when he went into a corner too fast flipping and rolling the car. The owner wasn't happy, but Isaac was hooked. I would have loved to see the gleam in his eyes after that initial encounter with racing! From then on, he would drive for anyone who would put him in their car.

Tearing up the dirt track circuit in the 1950's with purses so small, yet they almost matched his weekly wage, Isaac quit his day job(s) and focused on racing. Isaac raced as many as four nights a week. One of Isaac's friends called him a "furious competitor" who was just trying to make a name for himself. Usually, it was Isaac against "the rest of the field." Many times promoters paid him not to show up for a race because they wanted to give the other drivers a chance. He even hid in the infield one time because he was afraid people were going to want his autograph and he didn't know how to sign his name.

Isaac had a fierce temper and it was not uncommon for him to get in a fight after a race, taking dirty driving tactics of other drivers into his own hands. Although no one kept exact records of the total monetary fines, it is said he was the most fined driver in history.

Isaac watched and raced with the heroes such as Jarrett, Richard Petty, Ralph Earnhardt, and David Pearson. Before Isaac even entered the stock car world, David Pearson took a liking to Isaac, personally and professionally. Through Pearson's persistence, they became close friends.

Moving Onward and Upward To Stock Cars

Bobby Isaac's career in NASCAR started in 1961 at the ripe age of 28. He raced in only one race that year and that was at Charlotte, in the qualifier race. Driving for Junior Johnson in the number 27 Pontiac he completed two laps of the 67 before having a coil issue, officially. Actually, Junior Johnson wanted to save his car for the big event (World 600) and asked Isaac to take two laps and bring it to the pits to park the car. Without compensation. Isaac later told a reporter that he was "still happy to do it."

The Stats

Isaac didn't race again at that level until 1963 when he hooked up with Bondy Long in a car purchased from Lee Petty. Eventually, Long purchased a car from the Holman-Moody team. Before the end of the '63 season, he left that team and ran the last race for Smokey Yunick. He ran almost half the schedule with no wins which left him wondering about his future. Driving for Ray Nichels, 1964 brought him one controversial win, the Daytona 500, out of the 19 races he ran. Isaac didn't win a race again until 1968. Leans years followed, for in all of 1965, 1966 and 1967 he raced in total of 25 races. In 1965, he raced 8 races for Junior Johnson before being let go (or leaving on his own, another contradiction). After being put through an "interview" process with other drivers, 1966 was when he joined the Krauskopf/Hyde K&K Team driving the number 71 for which he is famously associated with. Hyde explained they had a five-year plan to win the championship, which is why they chose the number 71 (for the year 1971). However, other sources say that this is just the number NASCAR issued to them.

And this is where the legendary numbers begin. 1968 was the only year Isaac ran the entire Cup (Grand National) series. This year there were 49 races total (6 races on dirt tracks, 42 races on paved tracks, 1 race on a road course). He had three poles and an equal number of wins.

Bobby also has the record for poles in one season with 19 in 1969. He ran 50 of the 54 races gaining 17 wins. This was the year the drivers union boycotted running at Talladega. Isaac didn't, even though his owner told him he could sit out the race if he wanted. Mr. Bill France was impressed with Isaac and later presented him a gold watch which was inscribed with "winners never quit, quitters never win."

In 1970, Isaac ran 47 of the 48 races while sitting on the pole at both Talladega races, along with eleven other times. That year, Isaac won eleven races and became the Cup Series champion, one year prior to his team owners' goal. Success!

The following year 1971 saw Isaac add four more wins to his total while he ran just a little more than half the schedule.

In 1972 he won only once, the last one of his career. He sat on the pole nine times, something he would never again do for the remainder of his career through 1976. The records show that he had a total of 37 wins and one championship.

The Salt Flats

In September of 1971, the defending champion was feeling like he was at the pinnacle of his career. He decided to try his luck at the world-famous Bonneville Salt Flats in the Utah desert. During the sessions, Isaac set a number of land speed records in the No. 71 Dodge Charger Daytona owned by Nord Krauskopf and prepared by legendary mechanic Harry Hyde. This car (here is another contradiction) was said to have been driven at Talladega to a closed-course lap record of 201.104 mph on Nov. 24, 1970, although other accounts say it was a brand new Dodge Charger with a brand new Hemi engine.

These records brought Isaac national attention and what many remember him for today.

The End Of Isaac's Career, Per Se

In 1973, Isaac flew with David Pearson to Talladega for the second race of the season there. On lap 14 driver Larry Smith hit the wall and died. Although not informed of Smith's condition at the time, Isaac radioed Bud Moore on lap 90 and told him he had heard a voice telling him to get out of the car, and that is exactly what he was going to do. Later on however on a trip to New York, Isaac told a reporter that it wasn't a voice but that he had asked himself what he was doing there and he didn't have a good answer for that question, so he just quit. He did race for a few rag-tap operations in NASCAR until 1976, but nothing of any significance came of it.

The Final Lap

In 1977, Isaac returned to his roots racing at the local dirt tracks. He had told many of his old contacts he needed to slow down and that he hadn't been feeling well. The hot and muggy Saturday night race of August 13, 1977 would be his last. He started slowing down during the race from heat exhaustion and a failing heart. Other sources say it was from carbon monoxide poisoning. Either way, Dr. Jerry Punch was in attendance that night and accompanied him to the hospital. He didn't survive the night.

Mr. Isaac's passing was on August 14, 1977 (two days before Elvis Presley's death) at the age of 44. Word quickly spread through the NASCAR community. His current wife to whom he'd only been married for a few weeks didn't have enough money to bury him. So, the ever gentleman Ned Jarrett offered her a plot from his recently purchased cemetery plots near Hickory Motor Speedway so that she could bury Isaac. She asked Jarrett if she could have another plot to eventually be buried there with him, which she later turned back over when she remarried. Isaac is buried there overlooking the speedway awaiting his dear and true friend to join him in the Jarrett family plot.

My closing thought ... the stark contrast to many drivers in the Cup circuit today, Isaac entered that world with only a dream --and left it as if it had only been a dream. Thanks for reading.

Now in honor of the 1970 Cup Champion Bobby Isaac, let's go RACING!!

In The Groove is dedicated to bring you, the all-knowing Fox Sports Bloggers, a peek at the Highs and Lows of racing randomness from Talladega, Alabama. Welcome.

 The High Groove

Running first in the High Groove is Brad Keselowski!  Way to go BK!!  Wow. I sure did NOT see that one coming.  I have been cheering for this young man for a while and watching the underdog win sure is glorious, especially at Talladega.  Savor it Brad, no one can ever take that away from you.  Congrats.

Running second in the High Groove is David Ragan for winning the Nationwide race.  Congrats on your first ever victory in NASCAR!  Besides that, David looked like he might get a push from Joey Logano again on Sunday and be able to make it interesting for the win.  Surely, former UPS-Sponsored driver Dale Jarrett must have given this fine young man lots of great pointers about restrictor plate racing.

Running third in the High Groove is Alli Owens.  Nineteen-year-young Ms. Owens finished 6th in the ARCA race at Dega, her best finish this year, in the No. 19 entry for D'Hondt Motorsports.  Owner Eddie D'Hondt is a fellow blogger here.  Alli started racing on bikes, moved to dirt racing, then to asphalt and isn't looking back!  Alli has her own website, a weekly column on RacingOne.com, and can be found on Twitter. It is not hard to find her if you would like to more information.  Let's hope this well-spoken and talented lady keeps moving forward and we see her in the top NASCAR series in the future, not fade away like so many before her.

Honorable mentions:  Marcos Ambrose, Scott Speed, and Joey Logano.

The Low Groove

P1 in the Low Groove is Ryan Newman.  Okey dokey.  This is a tough one. Ryan was in contention for the big W in both the Nationwide race AND the Cup race this weekend at 'Dega. But, he didn't get to VL in either race.  Last lap passes in both races.  Bummer.  However, as a slight "attaboy," he did put that KHI #33 in contention in the NNS race to keep that teams' momentum sailing, as well as getting a better finish than his boss in the Cup race - for once this season.

P2 in the Low Groove is, wait- I can't put Dave Blaney?  Blaney wasn't even in the field this week.  However, neither was his replacement Michael McDowell.  I like you Mee McDee, but you have to do better than that and get that car in the show!  Besides, you could have left after lap 49.

P3 for the Low Groove is the fact that the past two races at Talladega have been decided by the "yellow line rule."

And for the checkered flag we have In The Groove's thought for the day ... did anyone else notice that Morgan Shepherd finished on the LEAD LAP of the Nationwide race Saturday?  That was amazing to watch in person!

Quote of the week: "We had a lot of fun tonight." - Brad Keselowski. (Hey, BK, this isn't short track Saturday night racing anymore. Welcome to the Big Sunday Show!!)

 Up next on the racing schedule are two great short tracks ... Richmond and Darlington.  Oh, and Kurt Busch (what the heck?) is now the points leader.

In The Groove is dedicated to bring you, the all-knowing Fox Sports Bloggers, a peek at the Highs and Lows of racing randomness. Welcome.

The High Groove

Running first in the High Groove is Mark Martin.  How could I not put him here? Martin started from the pole, lead 157 laps, and beat Tony Stewart by .734 of a second to garner his 36th Cup win, his second at Phoenix.  Congrats "old man!"  In my book, Martin is a shining example of the heart of a champion and the epitome of class.

Running second in the High Groove is Denny Hamlin.  Despite Jimmie Johnson using Hamlin's car as a ping pong ball early in the race, Hamlin finished 6th and he moved up one spot in the points to 5th place.  Denny's radio communication Saturday night was quite entertaining.  Who would have thought Denny would be higher in the points standings than his teammate Kyle Busch, who is sitting 7th in the points?

Running third in the High Groove is Joey Logano.  Joey earned the Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors and moved from 35th in the points to 33rd.  "Tonight was a good point's night at Phoenix for The Home Depot team," said Logano.  I don't know that Joey will get any help this weekend at Talladega, but it would be great to see him continue to gel with his crew and keep moving in the right direction.

The Low Groove

P1 in the Low Groove is Jeff Gordon.  First, for retaliating against Denny Hamlin when it was his teammate Jimmie Johnson's fault for Hamlin getting into him early in the race.  Secondly, Gordon's pit crew for the lug nut error which eventually left Gordon one lap down to finish in the 25th spot.  Gordon never even lead a lap at Phoenix.  He's still holding on to the points lead, however, 85 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson.

P2 in the Low Groove is, unfortunately, Dave Blaney. I know you all are surprised to see him here.  Blaney played the start and park role in BOTH series this weekend at Phoenix.  Boo!

P3 for the Low Groove the Dale Junior v. Casey Mears fiasco.  Remember Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart at Daytona last year?  I guess NASCAR doesn't want to punish their cash cow.

And for the checkered flag we have In The Groove's thought for the day ... who will hear about first as being let go from their teams at the end of this year - Reed Sorenson or Casey Mears?

Quote of the week: "Looking forward to having a new driver in the 55 next year" - Robby Gordon

We have 'Dega this weekend and would love for Tony Stewart, sitting fourth in the points ahead of both his former teammates, to back up his win from the Fall in the #14 as a driver/owner. Here's to a great and safe race!

Okay, this is going to be a rant, if you do not want to read this, please click your back button or the "find more blogs" link over there on the right-hand side of this page.  Thank you.

I JUST WANT TO WATCH SOME DAMN BASEBALL!

Dear Mr. Bud Selig :

You have my hands tied.  You got me. 

I fell in love with baseball at an early age, even played the wonderful sport growing up.  I have followed the Atlanta Braves (remember them don't you??) for decades.  I want to continue to enjoy watching the Braves, as well as various teams play the sport.  I want to see Pujols and Chipper jack one out of the park.  I want to watch the finesse and strategy of all the top notch players, and analyze the newcomers as they play with the big boys.

But, last night, I was so outraged, I don't know where to begin.

I will start, though, by saying that last year we purchased the MLB package with DirecTV, our satellite provider of choice.  Of course, with the economy the way it is, we can only hope for the best and plan for the worse.  Therefore, we didn't shell out the huge amount of money this year for the MLB package.

However, after watching the Braves get beat last night I tried searching for another game and especially wanted to watch the Cardinals.  I saw it listed on many channels, none of which I have purchased.  It was interesting to see that the FSN channels had so many baseball games available.  So we get on the phone with DirecTV and inquire as to purchasing just the Fox Sports channels.  The price was fair, it seemed, only $12.00 a month for all the FSN channels, including FS Midwest, which of course shows the Cardinals games.

We order.  We reboot system.  We are not able to see the games.  What?

After some strained conversation with the rep on the phone, we finally pulled the explanation from them that if the games are being shown on the MLB channels, they are not broadcast on the FSN channels.  What is the point of having these channels then??  Strangely enough, this money making scheme doesn't surprise me, but we quickly canceled the FSN channels, almost faster than we had ordered them.

So, I am stuck wondering why someone like Bud Selig, a lover of the game, a businessman of the game, a promoter of the game, the stinking Commissioner of the game, would try to wrangle so much from us.  We love the game as much as you do and want to share that love with our children, our spouses, our families, but most importantly to fill that love inside ourselves! 

Thanks for breaking my heart.