Sorry about that wreck in practice. Hope there are no hard feelings.
Clint
February 9, 2008 11:05:18 a.m.
Sis:
What the HELL was going on with the New York Deal? How could two of our former employees get Indicted for racketeering!?! How are the Gambino, Bonnano and Genovese crime families involved?
We have enough problems even though the Kentucky suit was dismissed; no need to draw attention to our little business here.
Call me as soon as you get this!
Bri
February 10, 2008 6:32:04 p.m.
Smoke -
Wanna bet on whether Nascar goes to its the “kinder, gentler” approach on our penalties?
No more sheet metal then?
Bush
February 10, 2008 7:22:56 p.m.
Junior -
No problem, glad to help.
Just return the favor next week!
JJ
February 10, 2008 7:10:09 p.m.
Chandi, DeLana, Nicole, Eva & Katie -
Did you see Ashley Judd in a dress on pit road for Pole Day? I thought Nascar wouldn’t let us do that?
So you know, I’m planning on a mini skirt for the Duels.
Ingrid
February 10, 2008 9:30:00 p.m.
Sis:
I could have guessed it’d be Bush and Stewart who would test the waters on the penalties. Bush had to pull the same stunt he’d done last year, and Stewart replayed the Indy reporter incident in the trailer when Bush shot off his mouth.
Jim & Mike have a few ideas. Need any help cleaning up the grandstands after the next several races? That would make them think twice!
Bri
February 11, 2008 8:10:47 a.m.
Jim -
I’ve heard from several drivers that their wives are a bit upset about Ashley Judd wearing a dress in the pits on Pole Day. Rumor has it the other wives are planning on mini skirts and halter dresses for the Duels and The 500. I think we need to let Dario and Ashley know that she has to wear pants, just like the rest of them.
Otherwise, the upside may be that we’ll pull in more viewers and sponsors if the wives and girlfriends start a fashion war each week.
Mike
February 12, 2008 10:12:45 p.m.
Bushie -
So we’re agreed its on at Texas?
Smoke
February 13, 2008 9:02:21 a.m.
Jeff -
Saw Ingrid’s SI photos - does she have a sister? J
Any truth to the mini skirt rumor on Thursday?
Is it too early to ask for Ella Sophia’s hand in marriage? I may be ready to settle down by the time she turns 18 or so. JK!
Junior
February 15, 2008 3:12:00 p.m.
Rick,
The wind tunnel results are surprising to say the least. We should have tried to keep Cronquist. Toyotas are out horse powering our Chevys (up to 30?!).
Any ideas?
Richard
February 17, 2008 7:22:59 p.m.
Jimmie,
I didn’t catch you at the track, just wanted you to know I’m sorry about the spin today. Not sure I did anything, but I am a rookie after all.
Sam
February 17, 2008 7:38:34 p.m.
Happy
Where do I sign up to join the JP Montoya Non-Fan Club?
Clint
February 17, 2008 8:34:13 p.m.
Bush -
I guess that’s one way to get back at Smoke!
Thanks again.
Ryan
February 17, 2008 8:38:28 p.m.
Rick,
I may keep the hat until after The 500 in Indy.
Any interest in using the suite in May?
Roger
February 17, 2008 8:39:00
Kevin
When you wax Smoke, could some wax get “spilled” on his long hair?
I’m willing to split the difference with you on the rest of the $100,000 to get it done.
Zippy
P.S. My daughter started calling Smoke “Bumble” after the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer character.
Bad Boys:Kurt Busch - On Friday night, Kurt Busch had a literal "run-in" with a traffic control person at the "Cars" premiere at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Apparently, Busch was following a police escort when the traffic controller tried to stop Busch's car by stepping in front of it. (maybe he wanted an autograph?) Busch brushed by, grazing the man's knee. The man's knee was checked out after he finished work about 15 minutes later. Nothing further will happen as a result of the incident, as it appears no one knows who should do something about it - Nascar claims it wasn't their event, track security was not contacted, and the local authorities can't do anything without a report.
Not to be out-done by his brother's second run-in with traffic control laws, Kyle Busch drug a Nascar official away from the ambulance after a caution flag. Casey Mears slid to start crash, which culminated in Busch violently crashing into the wall. Busch was so disgusted with Mears that he pulled the official from taking him to the ambulance and threw his HANS device at Mears. This happened in the same week Busch pled guilty to improper driving in Richmond, VA.
Bad Luck:Tony Stewart crashed twice this weekend - first in the Busch race on Saturday, and then in the Cup race on Sunday. At this time, he has a broken right shoulder. Will this slow down his extracurricular driving activities? In addition to his Cup duties, he has more Busch races on-tap, a Modified race in New Hampshire in July, and the Prelude to the Dream Late Model race at Eldora next week. And that's just what he's told us about ...
Kevin Harvick, who has been solidly in the top 10, had another bad race, following his trouble at Darlington. Harvick had a tailpipe that broke, which caused him to be stuck in the garage for several laps.
Is it me or does Jeff Gordon have the same undiagnosed mechanical problem every other race?
Bad Endings: The Indy 500 was a bad ending for the Andretti family - leading the race going into the fourth turn, Marco Andretti looked destined to win the race as a rookie. However, Sam Hornish had other ideas and took the race at the line.
Scott Riggs was leading the Coca-Cola 600 when he had problems in the pits that probably cost him the race. The only solice had to be that his teammate won (although that might be more like salt in an open wound).
Jimmie Johnson finished second in the 600. Given his domination at Lowe's over the past few years, second has to feel strange.
I've previously commented on "Buschwacking" in this blog. But an interview with Tony Stewart during last week's Talladega qualifying highlighted the problems with any rule that Nascar tries to promote or change.
Stewart is racing approximately 8 races for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Busch Series this year. He also has indicated that he will drive a car for Joe Gibbs Racing in a couple more Busch races. Last year, Stewart ran a comparable schedule.
Stewart commented before qualifying that he had been reading the opinion pages and the comments by people about Cup racers running in Busch Series races. He expressed his frustration with the authors, and claimed that he had a "right to work" and thus was able to run in the races.
He does have a point. The races are open to anyone who has a Nascar license and a car which meets specifications. I doubt that Stewart needs the money, but he is a driven racer who is game to run anything anytime on any surface.
The promoters, fans, Nascar, and sponsors benefit from the additional exposure from having a Cup driver run in the Busch race. This year alone, there are 8 Cup drivers racing the entire Busch Series.
Because of Nascar's restrictions on testing, the new tire deal which requires teams to turn in unused tires and the new Chase format, the Cup teams want their drivers to run in the Busch Series to gather information for the Cup race. With the money at stake in Cup racing, who can blame them?
However, on the other side of the coin are drivers like Joel Kaufman, Anthony Foyt and Tracy Hines. These Busch series regulars were attempting to start their rookie season this year. However, each has ran into difficulties and has had his schedule trimmed. Foyt's team folded into another (Jason Leffler kept the ride), and Kaufman and Hines are now sharing a ride in the FitzBradshaw #12. Each of these drivers is successful - in other series. Foyt came from the IRL, and Hines is another open wheeler (primarily sprint cars as I recall). When drivers like Stewart grab up points, money, seats and sponsorships, there is little left to go around.
Nascar is floating the idea of using sports cars (ie camero, mustang, corvette, challenger, etc.) in the Busch Series. While this seems like a good idea as the cars would generate their own group of fans, the costs of changing cars will drive some teams completely out of racing.
In essence, Nascar will make a whole fleet of Busch cars obselete with a rule change. I doubt the small one or two car operations can afford that kind of turn over given the small purse size in the Busch series. If Nascar does this, it needs to implement a slow schedule for change to allow the teams to turn over the cars. If possible, some races could be run with both types of cars (assuming safety, gear ratio, etc could be worked out).
Another solution that has been alluded to is to limit the number of cars that Cup owners can run in the Busch Series - in other words, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Racing would be limited to fewer cars. Currently there is no limit. Many Cup teams have affiliation with "smaller" Busch teams. These affiliations help develop drivers for the Cup teams, but there is no reason that Roush should be fielding teams for each of his Cup drivers.
In addition to those ideas, my two cents is to not allow Cup drivers to drive for their Cup team. In other words, Michael Waltrip would be OK this year because he drives for his own company in Busch, and Bill Davis Racing in the Cup series. Tony Stewart is fine to drive for Kevin Harvick, but not for Joe Gibbs Racing. Jamie McMurray is OK to drive for Rusty Wallace Inc as he drives for Roush Racing in the Cup series.
Would this slow Buschwacking down? Maybe or maybe not. I know it would create several problems - which is the point. We don't need to give Cup teams any more incentive to run in the Busch Series. This type of rule may make it possible for a smaller team to pick up a Cup driver - which hopefully leads to better sponsorship deals and continues to grow the sport.
If drivers want the right to work, fine. But they need to find a second employeer for the Busch race, not the same team that pays them on Sunday.
The News Report: Joe Gibbs Racing reports that rookie Denny Hamlin gashed open his hand at Lowe's Motor Speedway after testing yesterday. He was reportedly engaged in a foot race around the hauler when he clipped a piece of chrome causing the injury. Hamlin pointed out that despite the injury, he won the race. He will be able to race on Saturday.
However, I believe that this story has been cleaned up a bit for the masses.
Here is what really happened:
Kyle Busch was celebrating his 21st birthday in the victory lane area. Kyle's brother Kurt and his fiancee Eva Bryan baked Kyle a cake. Well, actually they bought it at Food Lion.
During the celebration, Greg Biffle's boxer, Foster, ran into the festivities chased by Nicole Lunders, Biffle's girlfriend.
Foster ran behind Kyle, pushing him face first into the cake. When Kyle came up out of the cake, he spit cake down the front of Bryan's shirt. An upset Bryan proceeded to yell at Lunders who had stopped chasing her dog because she was laughing so hard at what had happened. Naturally, Bryan was even more enraged at all of this, so she grabbed Lunders' hair.
Humpy Wheeler, the President of Lowe's Motor Speedway, was attending the Busch party. He was shoved by Lunders and Bryan in their skirmish off of victory lane into Tony Stewart, who was walking by carrying his ####, MoJo.
Stewart caught Wheeler, but dropped MoJo, who promptly ran off toward the garage area. MoJo caught up to Foster, and jumped on his back. Stewart and Lunders, who had extracted herself from Bryan, chased the fleeing animals. Kurt and Eva ran after Stewart and Lunders because they blamed them for ruining Kyle's party. Kyle, meanwhile, was crying inconsolably in victory lane.
As Stewart and Lunders crossed the first garage, they ran into Kevin and DeLana Harvick and knocked them down. Stewart yelled apologies and commented that Kurt Busch was chasing him. Harvick had barely gotten back on his feet when Kurt Busch ran into the garage. Harvick, upset that DeLana's white pants had gotten oil and grease on them, body slammed Busch as he attempted to run by. When Busch tried to get up, Harvick grabbed his ear and wouldn't let him. Eva decided DeLana could hurt her, and instead suggested that they go shopping for a new shirts and pants.
Foster and MoJo continued toward the Joe Gibbs Racing Haulers. The crew members from the three teams had been packing up to leave. Denny Hamlin was talking to Greg Zipadelli. Stewart, who was getting tired, Lunders, Foster and MoJo ran by. Stewart stopped, collapsed and gasped for breath. He pleaded for help catching MoJo. Zipadelli declined as he was watching his son and daughter, but Hamlin agreed to give pursuit.
Foster ran over to the #8 hauler, looking for Dale Jr's dog, Killer. Apparently not finding what he was looking for, he ran on through the garage and then turned back to the Gibbs haulers.
As Foster raced by the Gibbs Hauler, MoJo jumped off his back. MoJo saw a DLP HD TV playing a video clip of Stewart, so MoJo naturally tried to jump into the televised Stewart's arms. At this point, Kyle Busch was stumbling around, still upset, trying to find his team.
MoJo's delusion became apparent when he pulled the TV out of its mounting and off the pitbox it was located on. All this occurred as Kyle walked by.
Hamlin tried to catch the TV and shoved Kyle out of the way, but the TV gashed open his hand instead. And the huge TV landed squarely on Kyle Busch's left foot. MoJo lost his footing and landed on Kyle's head, screeching.
Stewart, having recovered somewhat from his run, grabbed MoJo and began lecturing Busch on how he was celebrating his 21st birthday in an irresponsible manner. Or at least, Stewart was until he saw the blood from Hamlin's hand and fainted.
Kasey Kahne had been watching in amusment while Stewart lectured Busch. Kahne tried to catch Stewart, but ended up underneath him instead. Kahne hit his head on the pavement and blacked out.
In the end, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Wheeler, Lunders, Bryan, Hamlin, Stewart, and Kahne all ended up at the emergency room. Doctors found minor bruises on the Busch brothers, Lunders, Wheeler and Bryan; Stewart had nothing wrong with him, Kahne was fine given his Talladega injuries, and Hamlin had stitches.
All parties agreed it would be less embarrassing if Hamlin were the only one who reported injuries. Nascar is now considering banning wives, girlfriends, pets and HD TVs from the garage area.
I'm not sure who was in charge of planning the Nascar Cup schedule this year, but they were brilliant to put another short track race after Bristol. Next week, the series heads to Martinsville for another short-fuse test session. There should be plenty of spats to go around. A brief review of who's mad at whom:
Kevin Harvick - Kurt Busch: Harvick's press conference this week was quite entertaining. He said he wished he could "whup" Busch's ####, and then said he shouldn't have said that. Harvick was refering to an accident at Atlanta where David Stremme bumped into Harvick who then sent Busch into the wall. Busch voiced his displeasure with Harvick (he may not have realized Stremme was involved) on his team radio. Harvick shot back at the press conference ant commented that Roger Penske would regret hiring Busch, which he followed by saying he shouldn't have said that. At the end of hte race, Busch beat Harvick to the line. It left me wishing there were about 30 more laps left to see what could have happened...
Kurt Busch- Matt Kenseth: Busch bumped Kenseth out of the way with about 5 laps to go and went on to win the race. Kenseth had been held up by Dale Jarrett who was battling to stay on the lead lap. Afterward, Busch thought his former teammate would be OK with the bump-and-run. Kenseth was unamused. His lack of amusement may have lead to...
Matt Kenseth - Jeff Gordon: After Busch bumped by, Kenseth continued to lose positions. Gordon was running in third and passed Kenseth. Kenseth tried to get the spot back and bumped Gordon out of the way. Gordon spun out, and finished as the last car on the lead lap (21st). Kenseth went over to Gordon on pit road after the race, which was to apologize according to Kenseth. Gordon, still in his helmet, shoved Kenseth. Penalties are sure to follow - but I'm sure Gordon's check will clear the bank.
Jeff Gordon-Martin Truex Jr.: Gordon may have still been steamed (and worried about) Truex, who he had a run-in with earlier in the race. Truex, a rookie, was a lap down and was not yielding to Gordon, who was on the lead lap. The situation was stacking up traffic, so Gordon bumped him out of the way. Truex spun and had to pit - but he returned to the track. Which led to...
Martin Truex Jr. - Jeff Gordon- Tony Stewart: After he was back on the track, Truex met up with Gordon. The two traded paint side by side in front of Stewart for a couple laps. Both nearly lost it a couple times. Apparently fed up with their antics and with traffic stacking up behind them, Stewart put his bumper to Truex, and sent him crashing into the wall. Truex seemed to blame Gordon for this, probably because....... well, Gordon's an easier target in a fist fight than Stewart would be.
Ryan Newman: Newman seemed to have a lot of problems on the track. He was trading paint, bumps, and probably hand gestures with about everyone on the track. At one point, it looked like he and Dale Jarrett may rumble, but nothing developed. I'm sure that he'll be mad at someone or someone will be mad at him given the donuts, scrapes and damage to his car.
Brent Sherman: Sherman was involved in a lot of spins. Most of them by himself, but I'm sure he had help on a few of them. I don't know that he took anyone with him, but his first experience at Bristol could not have been a fun time. Add to that the fact that he and his wife just had a son, Cooper, and are probably not sleeping well at night. Well, just wait for Martinsville.
Tony Stewart: My favorite quote of the race was from him. He said he ran the most patient race he'd ever run at Bristol - apparently despite the fact he punted Truex. Perhaps he was patient because he led nearly half the laps! I'm sure that someone will have Tony's number next week - maybe Johnson could blame him for the tire going flat in the first lap (Tony started the race too fast causing the tire to go flat? LOL), but then Johnson's got to be mad at Kenseth for shoving him into the wall early in the race. And doesn't Kenseth still owe Stewart for Daytona? Hmm...
