First up, last Friday night at the newly renamed O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis (I would have prefered IRP by O'Reilly), the NASCAR Craftsmen Trucks Series was in action for there 200 lap sprint race with Rick Crawford holding off Denis Setzer and the master Ron Hornaday Jr. to grab the victory. This truck race also showcased a new racing grove, the very bottom of the corners below the yellow line just about to the grass, for anyone who could get there truck to handle down there including the winner, made short order of the lap traffic.

Last night (Saturday), the Busch Series was in action with another 200 lap sprint race, were history would repeat itself for two drivers, Denny Hamlin make the call that didn't get him the track position at the end, Hamlin found himself in the back on one of the final restarts were in the closing laps, he used the outside grove next to the wall to make up over 10 positions passing cars to finish 8th instead of outside the top 20.

But the night belowed to Mr. Busch Series himself, Kevin Harvick who added to his huge points lead by grabbing another victory..Harvick made real short-order of traffic by using the lowest grove on track. Now Harvick has a 374 point lead...

This Busch race needs at least 50 more laps. How about the Kroger 250?

On to the Sunday, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard for the Nextel Cup Series, 160 laps, Jeff Burton grabbed the pole yesterday during qualifying with his RCR teammate Clint Boywer starting 2nd. During yesterdays (and Fridays) practice sections, tire ware was a huge problem with tires only being able to go about 9 - 15 laps total per set, would that come into play Sunday?

Green Flag in the AllState 400 at the Brickyard were NASCAR had two caution flags set for just after lap 15 and around lap 40, but the first caution cameout for Elliott Sadler on lap 2 when he lost it in turn 2 putting hime into the wall and ending his day. Jimmie Johnson also blow a left front tire, but he would recover and Jeff Gordon broke a front swaybar putting him laps down to fix that and all this before lap 10.

The tire problem really didn't show up too much thought the 160 lap race. Jeff Burton showed the way early on and thoughtout, he would struggle to find the ballance on his racecar. The race played out just like your average Nextel Cup race, slow but steady with lots of pitstops to control the any tire issues.

The bold moves of this race would come on the last caution were pit stragory would come into play, Kyle Busch and Dale Eanhardt Jr. rolled the dice by staying out and Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth took on 4 tires. I don't really know where Jimmie Johnson came from, towards the end of the race, he just fought his way to lead and after getting by Busch and Dale Jr., Jimmie Johnson cruised to his first Brickyard victory. What a drive for the 48 team, coming back from a blown left front tire to win, were have I heard that before...

Note: Dale Jr finished 6th.

Final Thoughts: I always look forward to the Indianapolis trip to both the short-track at Raceway Park at Indianapolis and the Brickyard itself. all three races were good to watch, no sleepers here, just good side-by-side racing with lots of passing. Tire problems at the Brickyard really didn't play a part in the final outcome, Goodyear and NASCAR both said the tire ware would be better and it was.

I felt bad for Michael Waltrip, not qualifying for the Brickyard 400, but his MWR #00 with Bill Elliott did make the 400, I will end this column with a question:

Question: With Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) along with BDR changing over to Toyotas in 2007 and MWR currently running one Chevy Monte Carlo for the #00 already, why don't he change his NAPA Dodge over to a Chevy Monte Carlo SS?

Just a question from this NASCAR fan, Mikey needs to get ready for 2007 and getting into the top 35 in points is a must...anyway, next up, Watkins Glen for both the Busch and Nextel Cup Series.

See Yeah!

Link: My previous post with comments on the 2007-2014 TV package...

I have been thinking about this subject and I pose this question to all NASCAR fans.

Question: Should NASCAR fans be concerned about the ABC (including ESPN) new TV deal for 2007 and beyond after this past weekends IRL IndyCar Series Michigan race ran over time and ABC cut off East Coast fans at 6PM for local news?

First: For people who didn't watch the IRL Michigan race this past weekend, there was a 2.5 hour rain delay and around 6pm East Coast time, the race was set to go green, but ABC said that West Coast would be able to watch the race, but the East Coast fans would be cut off. The entire race was later televised on ESPN2 at 12:15am for East Coast fans and again the next day. Note: This has happened before a couple years or so ago at Pikes Peak when rain came in to play, but that race was in the middle and ABC cut east coast fans off for local news...race won by Gil deFerran in a Penske Indy car.

In my opinion, YES, if ABC does this for an IndyCar race, then they most likely will do this to any sporting event including a high rating NASCAR event. No fan should be cutoff just because there game or race goes into over time.

A couple of things to remember:
One, the networks in 2007 have asked for a later start times for the NASCAR events including the Nextel Cup Series races for better ratings on the West Coast, that flurts with darkness at the racetrack and not much time to get the race in.
Two, Nextel Cup races most likely always go over there time limit, not just for over time, but races take 3 to 4 hours to complete even without delays...cautions breed cautions during a race.

The simple thing is that no NASCAR/Sports fan wants to be cut off, the past couple of years, fans have enjoyed there races being televised live and the networks staying no matter how long the race runs over time, including going until 12:30-1am in some cases. These networks pay enough for these TV packages and already add more than enough commericals during them, now ABC might pull this...hopefully they at least move it to another network, but that cuts of non-cable/dish customers, what's next...

Also, It was reported on Thatsracin.com that NBC has changed the start time of this season's Nextel Cup Series finale in Homestead from the evening for the race to start in the day and end under the lights to 2:30pm and that the race must be completed by 7pm, because it interfears with there Sunday night NFL game...sorry, no racing under the lights and what happens if the race goes past 7pm?

Well thats my take...See Yeah!

Pictures of Tony Stewart's #94 Modified are at Racedriven.com.

This NASCAR fan's view at NHIS from behind the fence.

This past Saturday I got the chance to take a day trip to New Hampshire International Speedway to take in the days action. After a three hour car trip up from Massachusetts and getting there for 10:30am or so, I sat through the final practice section for the Nextel Cup Series. Beyond that, I watched a little of the Busch Series qualifying for the Busch 200, but the time it was over, I didn't not even know most of the line beyond who took the pole.

Once 1pm come around, those grandstands were packed..

The main event and the real reason that I went up to NHIS was the Whelen Modified Tour, anytime I get the chance to watch the modifieds in action at NHIS I will grab at the chance to and this time for the New England 100, I was not disappointed, the Modifieds put on a incredible show from start to finish. This past Saturday's 100 laper had a bonus in it, two Nextel Cup drivers, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart, qualifyied mid-pack in a 42 car field. This was a great race almost from the begin for the regulars, Carl edwards climbed up to fourth or fifth before a earlier wreck with the wall somewhere out of view of my seat sent Edwards to the garage and retired from the field, he would finish 39th. For Tony Stewart, I watch him come up through the field twice after a two mid-race pitstops, with just under 10 laps to go, stewart was battling for second and trying to go for the lead when going into turn 3, he got hit and ended up in the grass and on the aprin to save his car, Stewart would end of finishing in the 9th position, but the race would come down to the regulars, just when the fans would see an incredible race for the victory, the caution flag came out and the race ended under under the yellow flag. What a shot in the air for the racing fans, no one in the grand stands was happy with that at all. It was announced that RON YUHAS had won the race and he even went to victory lane, but later on, it was JOHN BLEWETT, III being declaired the winner of the New England 300.

Official Results: 1. JOHN BLEWETT, III, 2. JAMES CIVALI, 3. REGGIE RUGGIERO, 4. ED FLEMKE, JR, 5. MICHAEL STEFANIK, one note, TED CHRISTOPHER finished 7th.

Again, the modifieds was the race that I wanted to see and for the most part except for ending the race under the yellow, the modifieds was great to see...see yeah in September.

As for the real main event to lots of people, the Busch 200 was up next, for the bUsch race, I didn't find this race as good as I found the modified race, sometime during the race, it was just boring with follow the leader as the Nextel Cup guy domanated the race. Kyle Busch, who started on the pole, got bowed during the introductions, lead in the early laps, before giving up the lead to Clint Bowyer, Bowyer lead through most of the race until he got caught out pitting under green with the caution coming out just a couple of laps later. the real action was in the final laps with Carl Edwards leading with 2 laps to o and Mr. Busch Series Kevin Harvick tried to close the gab, but just ran out of laps and Carl Edwards got redemption from crashing out of the Modified race as he held on to get the victory.

For both my father and I, the day was not over, we left the grand stands right after the checkered flap waved to go home, I was dead on my feet, 90+ degree temperatures, humid and partly to mostly cloudy, we still got roasted, of course we sat in the grand stands from 1pm (the start of the Modified race) until 5:30, when the Busch race ended.

Here's the low...the NHIS parking, we parked behind the backstraight around turn 3 and the traffic getting out was horrible, we idealed in the parking lot moving a 10th of a minute for 1.5 hours to 2 hours to squize out one gate two cars wide. This was a nightmare...NHIS needs to fix its parking, getting into the speedway along route 106N was bad enough on a two lane blacktop squeezed one more lane using the breakdown lane, but the parking, coming in, was lots of NHIS employees parking cars, but on the way out, there were no NHIS employees helpping us leave. I turned a great day trip into hell and we still had a three hour drive home. When I go in September, we will find a different place to park...that simple.

See Yeah!
By Brian from Racedriven.com

I have been thinking about this question for a month or so now since a WindTunnel on SPEED question of the week caught my interest, it was put "Should all major American racing series make the transition to ethanol?", because of the IRL Indy Car Series will be running ethanol in 2007, but I think that this question should go alot further then just ethanol.

With Audi's impressive and history making victories at both the 12 hours of Sebring and the historical and one of the toughtest races in the world, the 24 hours of LeMans in there two Audi R10 TDI 5.5L twin-turbo diesels becoming the first diesel car in the world to win a major sports car race, the idea of using alternative fuel in all major American racing series such as Diesel which gets better fuel economy and more horsepower/torque, ethanol which does give basically the same amount of power compared to gasoline and is renewable is a great idea instead of using gasoline, plan and simple.

There is a couple of things to remember, whatever fuel that is used in Motorsports, is trucked or piped in to the speedway a head of time and is held in tanks until needed. Motorsports has the technology to use alternative fuels because everything is there, unlike street use.

Thinking about it, this option is a good idea because it free's up a large amount of gasoline for consumers to use in there cars, face it, for the next 10-20 years or so until a better fuel can be found and developed including hydrogen, gasoline is the main fuel for street use all over the United States and beyond.

One that note, I will say one thing, diesel vehicles are starting to make a come back, but with stricter government standards, automakers still have to continue finding a cleaner way to run these vehicles and in 2007, Jeep will introduce one new cleaner diesel in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but stop making the Jeep Liberty CRD (Diesel), that still leaves gasoline.

That's my thoughts - simply put, alternative fuels (Diesel, ethanol, Hydrogen and etc.) should be used in all major American racing series and gasoline should be used for consumers to drive there cars everyday on the street for now.

What's your thoughts?

See Yeah!

If the first 8 races of the season is any clue, NO!, well...we have seen stranger things happen in Formula One before, there is only one or two drivers in the lineup that come to mind who might have an outside chance of becoming a contender and challenging him for a multi-victories, let along the championship, Michael Schumacher/Ferrari with 2 victories this season and maybe Raikkonen/McLaren.

But for Fernando Alonso, After winning an impressive champion last year and becoming the youngest champion in Formula 1 history, Alonso aims for a second straight championship and with eight formula one races in the books, Alonso is well on his way with five victories in Bahrain, Australian, Spanish, Monaco and earlier today's British Grand Prix along with a couple of second place finishes to boot.

The headline on Formula1.com for earlier today's British Grand Prix reads "Alonso cruises to first British win", that headlines doesn't even begin to describe that grand prix, let along the 06 season, in the British GP, Alonso lead from pole to checkered flag with no one coming anywhere close to challenging him for position at all, it was a fight for third-fourth on back..

So, will Fernando Alonso be challenged at all this season for the championship or does he have the winning formula for the 2006 Formula One championship, with 10 races in the 2006 Formula One Season left, it is still too earlier to just award him the championship and don't count out the rest of the top 5 in points,

Top 5 Points (After British GP)
F.Alonso - 74
M.Schumacher - 51
K.Raikkonen - 33
G.Fisichella - 32
J.Montoya - 26

One Note: It was brought up in the CBS broadcast (which was taped delayed again...) reminding us that Alonso has signed a multi-year contract for 2007 and beyond to go drive for McLaren and with McLaren's performance...one must think..but I will say, he will continue his winning formula next year and for years to come in just about any ride (Ferrari or McLaren), its not just the car or driver, its the entire team's (car, crew, crew chief, owner and etc) communications and chemistry that makes a championship caliber team, along with some luck.

See Yeah!