Welcome to the snooze button edition of RSO. We're in Pocono, and we promise to wake you back up every eight minutes. Please keep your hands and arms inside at all times, as we're passing those safer barriers at over 200 miles per hour. I'm on vacation, so this will be a rain-shortened entry. Highlights, downlows.
We bid the gopher network a heartfelt AMF, as TNT takes over the Cup broadcasts for the next six weeks. Kyle Petty gets to do the job he was born to do----we already know what he wasn't born to do----analyze the races from a rear-of-the-field perspective. For some reason TNT is introducing it's own cartoon character, Race Buddy. Russian roulette, anyone?
Tony Stewart won his own charity race Wednesday night. Then he presented Kyle Petty with a million dollar check for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Denny Hamlin has led 40% of the total laps in the four races he has ran in Pocono. Jason Leffler will attempt to qualify the CNC #70, again. Attempt is the key word. Robby Gordon has no sponsor on his car this week. Dario Franchitti makes his Cup return this Sunday. Welcome back, Ash.
Jeff Burton has been in the top 12 in Cup points for the last 77 weeks. Two RFR drivers, Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray, make their 200th Cup starts at Pocono. Regan Smith and Sam Hornish are tied in the Rookie of the Year standings. Tery Labonte brings his past champion's provisional to the moonlighting Kyle Petty's #45. Why Terry, why?
Penske sponsor, Altell, has agreed to a purchase offer from Verizon. NASCAR has a rule about new communications companies sponsoring Cup cars. Altell is currently grandfathered in. No word on how this may affect Ryan Newman's #12 Dodge. Little help, KLV?
Jeff Gordon tested at Pocono last week. When asked about the new car's stability, he said he hasn't felt so uncomfortable in a car since his rookie year. Great. 500 miles at Pocono is already about 100 or 200 too many.
Attention Busch bashers, Public Enemy #Won*, Kyle Busch, will attempt---not the key word---to become the first driver to race in all three of NASCAR's major series, on different tracks, in one weekend. Rowdy starts Friday deep in the heart of Texas in the #51 CTS entry. Then he'll be strumming along in Nashville, Saturday in the NNS event. Sunday, he heads for the mountains in the M&Ms Most Colorful Fan Toyota in the Pocono Cup race.
Ashley Force
Finally, the NHRA has produced three first time winners in different classes this year. Don't yawn, they're all women. Ashley Force won in Funny Car back in April. Melanie Troxel already had four Top Fuel wins when she won in a Funny Car in May. Hillary Will became the NHRA's fastest woman last week when she made a winning Top Fuel pass at 334.65. That's MPH, not KPH. I love fast women.
*thanks, Yee Mum
***I really am on vacation, with a crappy wi-fi connection, so if I dont reply to your comments, please know that most of them are appreciated. You know which ones you are.***
Hanahan, great as always. I will be interested in hearing just how many miles Kyle actually covers in his travels this weekend.
JEFF BURTON IS GOING TO WIN THIS WEEK! Yes, I'm yelling it out loud.
Hanny,
Would this be an inappropriate time to once again state that in drag racing it is more about the car and the crew chief than the driver? lol
Don't get me wrong, I love seeing all three of those women do well but when will we see a championship by a woman in the IRL, Cup, Nationwide, or Trucks. Probably not in our lifetimes.
BTW Hanny,
As much time as you spend on these pages I would have bet a lot of money you were already retired. You still work? and have hours and hours every day to share your knowledge with us. What a great gig you must have - lol.
Han have a great vacation, enjoy yourself and don't drink too many busch's. 8-{p
I do look forward to seeing Kyle Petty in the booth doing the 'job he was born to do'. LOL
He is a very good analyst and the view is so much better up there too.
Congrats to Biffle & McMurry. Mc is supposed to be interviewed before the race, maybe answer ? about his future.
If Sprint goes the same route with Altel/Verizon as they did with Cingular/ATT we will see more lawsuits and yet another sponsor lost. Apparently they think they are the only one allowed to change their name.
Tony said he thought that it would be very difficult to pass and felt there was only one groove. It might be boring unless 'somebody' gets roudy.
Why Terry? Because we get to see the classy Labonte brothers as teammates again. Albeit in crappy equipment. I know you will be rooting for two top twenty finishes from the Corpus Christi Boys. Well, at least between sunning yourself and picking up clam shells. Have fun.
Hanahan - I think you got about 1/4 of the field covered in your comments about this weeks race! And some interesting statistics that I didnt know. Pretty impressive that Burton has been in the top 12 for 77 weeks!
Guess you're glad that Kyle Petty is in the booth. I would agree...I think he did a great job last year on the TNT broadcasts.
I am on it Hanahan! We will probably have more deets before I get to Sonoma but have plenty to poke around about...
I am a wee bit worried about it being a right front tire blow-a-thon now that the transmissions are changed and they can no longer shift into 3rd for the turns, forcing them all to change their lines and car setups.
Have a good vacation and enjoy your self. Good to see the gals in Drag Racing doing so well. Ashley is a living doll. Too bad I am older than dirt or I would be chasing her all over the track.
hanahan
Ain't nothing like having a venture capital firm come along and now take an equity stake in Petty Enterprises Inc. .
Makes one wonder what'll happen next as the economics of running a small team in NASCAR becomes ever more expensive. Say nothing of which these have got to be exceedingly tough times for each of the Big Three domestic producers.
Flattening , stagnant or in some cases decreasing sales and no real respite in sight. They're reaching a breaking point that could in the end have some real ramificcations for the sport as a whole.
