After DEI's struggles this year with engines, and the announcement that Dale Jr. would be leaving to go to Hendricks after '07, things have gotten even worse for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. This past week Director of Competition Steve Heimel announced he was leaving DEI as well to join Chip Ganassi. 5 years ago, DEI was still considered one of the top teams/companies in NASCAR. How Quickly things have gone bad since the loss of Dale SR, and fankly, the loss of true direction and leadership at DEI.
Today's race showed us Nothing can go right for DEI these days.
Martin Truex had a great car all day running as the leader and hanging around the top 5. With 5 laps to go, after the final pit-stop, Denny Hamlin , who had stayed on the track for postion as everyone else pit, ran out of gas on the restart. Truex, who was boxed in behind him, slammed into the back of Hamlin, and his day was done.
Then Dale Jr who also had a strong car most of the day and had worked hard to fight from a lap down to make it all the way back up to 3rd place behind JJ and Carl Edwards, losses his left rear wheel on the Green/White/checker restart without any contact except the asphalt beneath him.
We've seen blow outs and track bars break, or damage caused from hitting another car cause top 5's all year for Dale Jr. to end up as DNFs, but for the whole wheel, tire, and all to just fall off, is ridiculous. Surely he had all the lugnuts on or NASCAR would have brought him back in after the pit. DEI's engines falling to peices all year, and now the wheels are breaking apart.?
What a mess!
Junior finally released some of his frustration earlier this week about having top 5 cars all year, and so many freak things turning this year into a Big dissapointment.
Here' s the link courtesy of Fox and Associated press to Dale Junior's take on how '07 has gone for his team:
With DEI's luck this year, and obvious issues in the garage, maybe its time to just park the cars, send Teresa to the Antarctic, and rebuild the company from the ground up.. Or better yet, sell it to Richard Childress. DEI is a mess and I only see things getting worse as Junior moves to Hendricks after this season ends. You have to feel bad for Truex. He's stuck in a bad situation now that only looks to get worse.
Cartoon Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. blew his 6th DEI/RCR engine of the year in today's race. Along with him were teammate Martin Truex Jr and Richard Childress driver Jeff Burton blowing up using the same engine package.
I'm betting Dale can't wait to get some Hendricks horsepower. Every single time he has had a car good enough to win this season, it's gone up in smoke because of motor troubles.
Talk about bad luck. Your thoughts?
Cartoon Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others.
NASCAR , is turning to the CAR of Yesterday instead of the Car Of Tomorrow, for a limited time in a few upcoming races to celebrate a few legends of American cultural history .
This weekend at Michigan , many chevy drivers will feature special paint schemes to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the American classic 1957 Chevy.
The 57 Chevy Belair is an icon in the world of classic car enthusiasts. The older it gets, the more sought after this legendary car is. The 57 Belair in the pic above was completely restored by my own little brother and sold last month for over $14,000. Not bad for a car that originally cost around $2000.
Even at 50 years old, the '57 Chevy is a legend. I'm sure every car fan has met someone that once owned or wished they had owned a great peice of american automotive history like the famous Belairs of the 50's.
The Car Johnson will run at Michigan this weekend
The car fans would rather see Jimmy in.
Notice the painted on rubber bullets on JJ's car. Can u imagine If they could run the actual car instead of a paint scheme emulating it?
Try bump drafting with those giant rubber bullets on the bumpers of the original 57's. I'd hate to see Robby Gordon or JPM with that extra support in the front.
A few more 57 pics:
Eanhadrt Sr. 57 A "Smokin" 57 American Muscle
Also on Sept. 8 at Richmond, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car will feature an Elvis Presley-inspired paint scheme for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400. The design was unveiled this week during the ceremonies surrounding the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death.
Seems to me Kyle Petty should be the one to carry this honor and tribute to " The King" of Rock-n-Roll, since his fathwer Richard Petty was "The King" of NASCAR, but Junior is the most popular driver, so its fitting that he will drive the Elvis inspired car..
It's always nice to see a tribute to the past from NASCAR epsecially in a time when everything points towards the future and the Car Of Tomorrow. Elvis and the 57 Chevy are definately good choices as legends from the 1900's.
Cartoon Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others.
This and That- A Few Little Known Facts About NASCAR.
Here are just a few tidbits to share with the average NASCAR fan that doesn't already know the complete history of NASCAR. Some are referenced to changes in the sport over the years. Some are similarities.
This:
Jeff Gordon, arguably the most successful driver in NASCAR today, has 79 career wins; ranking him 6th all time. His total career earnings, not including endorsements and merchandise sells are : $ 82 million and counting.
That:
Richard Petty, the most successful driver in the history of stock car racing, has an amazing 200 career wins and owns or is near the top of every record in NASCAR. His total career winnings are: $7.7 million.
That amount seems like pocket change compared to Gordon's earnings, but it does give us a little more perspective as to how much the growth and marketability of the sport has changed and the amount of money flowing through NASCAR today compared to the past.
Another odd fact relating to Petty and Gordon:
This:
Jeff Gordon's very first cup start of his career was the 1992 season finale in Atlanta.
That:
Richard Petty's final cup start of his career was that very same race.
This:
Many fans today enjoy NASCAR because of the possibility of wild crashes and spins. Some may think the biggest crash ever in NASCAR would be one of the recent "Big Ones" at Daytona or Talledega Superspeedways. They would be half right.
That:
The actual biggest crash in the history of stock car racing was at the 1960 Daytona 500. It also marks the race with the most number of cars ever to compete in a NASCAR race. 68 cars, almost completely stock, started the race at the then one year old track. On the very first lap, heading into turn 4 at 150 mph, a mid-pack car slid up the track, collecting car after car behind him. After the smoke cleared, an amazing 37 cars were out of the race. That's almost the complete field in today's NASCAR. Another surprising fact of that crash was that not a single driver was seriously injured, considering they didn't have a "spotter" then to help dodge an oncoming wreck, and the cars were basically rental cars with a few engine modifications.
Here's a little video of the 1960 Daytona pile-up if you care for some "ole black and white" TV.
Although the evolution of the sport originated from the sandy beaches of Daytona, the first true NASCAR race was held at the Charlotte, North Carolina Fairgrounds on June 19,1949. Glenn Dunnaway (later stripped of the win for illegal parts) won that race in a '47 Ford that had been used for boot-legging alcohol earlier that week.
That:
Today's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., drives a car sponsored by the largest beer manufacturer in the world, Budweiser.
Guess a few things haven't changed that much in NASCAR.
I hope you enjoyed reading a little of This and That.
Cartoon Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others.
Just an average sports fan. Enjoy in order of favorites: NFL, NASCAR, College Football, MLB, College Basketball.
NBA, and NHL are currently on my "Overrated, Overpaid, and Overhyped" list.
Classic Car enthusiast
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Big fan of humour, but will occasionally chime in on serious subjects as well.
Appreciate quality writing and grammar, and commend it, but will not hold it against those who don't excel in those areas.(I'm definitely nowhere close to perfect either.)
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The Car Johnson will run at Michigan this weekend
The car fans would rather see Jimmy in.
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