With all of the traveling that the NASCAR teams have been doing in the past two months, there is one group of guys who are the Unsung Heroes. They are the truckers who haul the teams cars back and forth from the track to the teams garages.
I did a little figuring today. Since testing began in January, these truckers have logged more than 12,000 miles in two months. And that does not include all the extra miles that the teams had to log to get extra cars back and forth to the West Coast the last two weeks. For races in Vegas and testing in Phoenix.
These drivers spend very little time at home with their families. But if it were not for them, the teams would have not been able to race from week to week. Going from the East Coast to the West Coast in a matter of three days.
I just want to applaud these heroes and thank their families for their support. For without them, we would not be able to watch races all over this wonderful country each week.
Thank You!!!
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Fines and Penalties
Well, well, what do you know NASCAR can be beat.
Robbie Gordon has successfully won his appeals. He will receive his 100 points back and his crew chief will not be suspended. But the monetary fine has been raised from $100,000 to $150,000.
While Gordon was successful in his appeals. Carl Edwards and the #99 team and owner were not so lucky.
Carl Edwards and Jack Roush has been penalized 100 points each. And Bob Osborne has been fined $100,000 and suspended for six weeks.
I guess the appeals committee will be meeting once again soon to decide if the penalty set down was too harsh or just right.
Seems it never rains in southern California Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya It pours, man it pours
Lyrics By Albert Hammonds
If there was ever a time that this song fit Southern California it was this past weekend.
I feel for the people in southern California. I am sure that they are very happy for the rain. But I am also sure that they are glad that it has moved on eastward.
Let's face it when you get that much rain in a short amount of time on land that is very dry, it has to go somewhere. And unfortunately, NASCAR found that out too.
Now I am sure that there are those who say, NASCAR should have never tried to start this race. Granted it was a futile act.
By starting this race on Sunday, it caused several good cars to find trouble. Denny Hamlin being the first victim of the track. Due to all the rain "weeping" through the seams in the track, Hamlin hit a slick spot on the track and wrecked his car.
But the worst victims had to come in the second wreck due to the track "weeping". Casey Mears getting loose and taking out his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. Causing Sam Hornish to wreck and his car to catch fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt in this wreck.
Finally the rain came and settled the decision to halt the race until Monday.
So to Monday we go. The racing was kind of strung out. Which is what you get at this track. For the most part the Cup race was pretty much the same as usual. The leader would get out to a large lead. The green flag pitstops stretch the field out. The cautions brings the field back together.
But at least Carl Edwards made it interesting. He took the race to the Hendrick duo and he came out on top. Congratulations to Carl for his first win of the season.
Then we have the Nationwide Series. That race was a runaway for Tony Stewart. He dominated this race from the drop of the green flag to the drop of the checkered. He lead 136 of the 150 laps. Smoke even joked during his interview that maybe he should rethink his scheduled races for the Nationwide series and run for the Championship.
I second that. If anyone could win both the Cup and the Nationwide championships in the same year, it is this guy.
Congratulations to Smoke on his 2nd Nationwide Series race. Hey, Smoke now, you need to win a few in the Cup Series. Zippy wants to add a few trophies to his resume. Like Dave Rogers has added to his.
The only race that actually got run during the weekend was the Truck race. It was run on Saturday. And it was once again a show of the Toyotas.
It was the Toyotas of Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch that really dominated this race. And in the end, it was Kyle who beat Todd Bodine this time. Where last week it was Todd who beat Kyle to the line. Congratulations Kyle on your win!
Now there is something that Rowdy Kyle Busch was trying to pull off this weekend. And that was to leave California leading the points in all three series.
Well he currently leads the truck and the Cup series. But Tony Stewart says not so fast buddy. So while Kyle leads the two other series, Smoke still leads the Nationwide series in points.
Okay, time to put California behind us and it is time to look towards Las Vegas. Will, we finally see Toyota break through in the win column here. Or will Chevy finally win? Or will Dodge or Ford win another win? We will know in less than six days.
Well, it took four days to run three races. And at the end we had three separate winners. And everyone is finally leaving California.
Have a great week everyone!
Photos by:
AP/Mark Avery (Carl and Tony); Getty Images for NASCAR (Kyle)
I will try and do justice to the rest of the 2006 season. As the first review has shown the first six months of Cup racing was very active. Some of the activities were on the track, some where not.
But I am not sure that anything set off a firestorm like the one that Tony Stewart set off at Pocono in July when he took out Clint Bowyer and innocent bystander Carl Edwards. (Well except the wreck Tony caused with Matt Kenseth at Daytona in February.)
Everyone had their feelings about this one. And I am still not sure that anything was every completely settled between these three men. If these three find themselves in a similar situation in 2007, wonder if anyone will give a little more or if it will be all taking.
SMOKE MISSES THE CHASE THEN GOES ON A TEAR
The unbelievable happened at the fall race in Richmond. Tony Stewart missed the chase by a mear 16 points. Just when the media was starting to say that Tony was going to run and hide, he decides to show why he is the Champion that he is.
Smoke went on to win 3 of the 10 Chase races. Two at tracks in which he has never won at. Smoke might not have been in the chase, but Smoke sure stole the limelight from the Chasers.
2007 should be a fantastic year for Tony Stewart. Don't be surprised if he doesn't walk away with a 3rd championship this year.
DENNY VS. POCONO Denny Hamlin had never seen Pocono (except on a video game) when he first set foot there in June. But to watch this young man on this track, one had to be impressed with his skills as well as his car control and his team's desire to win. This desire was proven by the way they fixed his car after he went spinning through the grass.
It seems that J.D. Gibbs has put together a championship team. Just as his father, Joe, did with both former driver Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart's teams. I see only good things for this young man and his FedEx Team in 2007.
CARL EDWARDS, BAD BOY IN TRAINING? Carl Edwards in 2006 did not have a banner year. He went through the sophmore slump big time. But when you go after the fan favorite, you become NASCAR's Bad Boy in Training.
Just to refresh your memory, Dale Jr. spun Carl Edwards out in the Busch race at Michigan to take the lead. And Edwards retaliated by running into Earnhardt on the ensuing caution lap, which could have been very costly to Jr. For Jr. had his left hand outside of his window netting trying to get some air. When Edwards hit him. Fortunately, Jr.'s window was higher than Carl's front end.
Then Edwards shows how unsportsmanlike he is. He goes into Victory Lane where Jr. is celebrating and confronts Jr. Even Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt never went into victory lane to confront a driver after a race. That is just not done Carl.
So Carl becomes NASCAR's newest Bad Boy in 2006.
MAYFIELD VS. EVERNHAM Not going to take up too much time with this one. This one has been rehashed enough for one year. But the most interesting thing that came out of this to me was that these two were suppose to be really good friends. But yet, they allowed a friendship to be destroyed over what, a young girl? One felt his friend was not paying enough attention to his Cup teams, while the other one felt he was paying enough attention to everything.
But somewhere, along the way, these two forgot one important lesson, Never let a girlfriend get in the way of a friendship. Girlfriends come and go, but friends are forever.
JEFF BURTON ENDS WINLESS STREAK When the last race of September rolled around, Jeff Burton was quietly putting himself in position to end a streak, that had been around since 2001. A winless streak.
Burton finally found himself back in Victory Lane. It was a win that was much welcomed not only by Burton, but by the Cingular team and Richard Childress as well.
CHILDRESS RACING HITS ITS STRIDE Richard Childress Racing was having a banner year in Cup and Busch racing. All three of his drivers were performing very well in both series. Harvick and Burton got wins in the Cup series and all three drivers got wins in the Busch series.
Childress Racing is proving that they have finally pulled themselves up from the disaster that befell them in 2001. They have finally come full circle. They are winning again and they are setting the world on fire. 2007 should be another banner year for Richard Childress Racing.
MARK MARTIN LEAVES ROUSH RACING
This is probably the most shocking news of the 2006 season. Who would have ever thought that Mark Martin would not end his career with Roush Racing.
But Mark shocked the whole racing world with the news that he would return in 2007 to run a limited Cup schedule with MB2 Racing. He will also be running a limited truck schedule for the Woods Brothers.
Mark might be slowing down, but he is still not quiet finished with Cup racing just yet.
FAREWELL TO TEXAS TERRY Terry Labonte raced his last Cup race in Texas on November 5, 2006. The Iceman finally decided to step away from Cup racing for good. Terry will be greatly missed in Cup racing, not only by his fans, but the by the 42 other drivers he raced against.
Terry Labonte was a hard racer, but he was a clean racer. People knew that Terry would not take any #### off anyone, but he also didn't give it. But if you had the nerve to cause him to have a bad day, you had better be sure to come and make amends before the next race. Because the Iceman took names and he didn't mind putting the bumper to anyone he needed to. He wouldn't wreck you, but he would let y ou know he was there and he had your number. Even the legendary Dale Earnhardt knew this.
THE 48 TEAM FINALLY BECOMES CHAMPIONS Well I started this review of the 2006 season with the 48 team and now I am going to end it with the 48 team.
With all the controversy that surrounded this team at the beginning of the year, I would have never thought that they would be champions at the end of the year. But here we are.
They gathered up the pieces of their team in Daytona. Went on to win the Daytona 500, the All-Star Race and The Allstate 400, along with wins at Talladega, Las Vegas and Martinsville.
So the 48 team was the best of the best in 2006. Congratulations for the final time to the 48 team for their championship.
So who will be the best of the best in 2007, well, come February 18, 2007 we will begin to solve that mystery. But unfortunately it will take 36 weeks before we find the answer to that mystery.
So until then rest, your minds. Rest your remote controls. Because Daytona will be here before you can say..."Gentlemen, Start Your Engines".
The big deal is not what Dale Jr. did, that was simply a racing deal. I know, I know Carl Edwards and his fans do not see it that way. And I know if it was Tony Stewart who was punted I would not feel so generous to Dale Jr. But it was a racing deal. Carl got loose and Jr. just ran into the back of him. Could Jr. have let off, maybe. But it was the last lap of the race and they both were going for the win.
Many drivers have been in the same situation through the years of NASCAR. Richard Petty and David Pearson had several of these during their years racing against each other.
The big deal came with what Carl did before the end of the race. Carl came to pit road and parked in Jr.'s pits. Well when Jr. did not come off the track so Carl could have a meeting with him, Carl decided to cut across pitroad and run into the side of Jr.'s car.
This could have been very dangerous to Dale Jr. who at the time of the hit had his hand out of the window. When Carl hit Jr.'s car, it shocked Jr. It shocked him so bad that when he pulled his hand back into the window, Jr. jumped in his seat.
I can understand his anger, but what he did could have caused a man his hand. Carl talks about Tony Stewart being a "####", what in the world do you think he is? He is the one acting like a "####", running into the back of people's cars on pit road (Stewart at Pocono) and running into the side of people's cars on the track (Dale Jr. at Michigan).
Then Carl went to Victory Lane to confront Jr. This is a big no no, Carl. You never go into another driver's victory celebration unless it is to congratulate him. Didn't the "Cat In the Hat" Jack Roush tell you that?
Maybe it is time he gets some Anger Management help. I know that his season has not gone the way he wanted it too, but man he is going to hurt someone, if he doesn't calm down.
His days of being Mr. Goody 2 Shoes is over. He is acting more and more like Eddie Haskell (from "Leave it to Beaver"). Carl needs to sit down and talk to some of his fellow competitors who have received the wrath of NASCAR.
Here is a list for him: Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Jimmy Spencer, Robbie Gordon, just to name a few. I am sure these fellows would be more than glad to share their experience with him.
I would say sit him down and it would help him. It certainly did help Kevin Harvick. But I am not sure that would help Carl right now. He is not thinking with a clear head right now. But hopefully, before he goes to Bristol he will clear his head and be ready to race like the talented driver he is.
I am sure NASCAR will have alot to say about this come Wednesday. They might help Mr. Edwards clear his head.
Statement from Tony Stewart Regarding Lap 32 Incident at Pocono Involving Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards TonyStewart.com
COLUMBUS, Ind. - The following is a statement from NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Tony Stewart regarding the lap 32 incident in Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 that involved Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards.
"I'm taking 100 percent responsibility for the final incident that occurred on lap 32 between myself, the 07 (Bowyer) and the 99 (Edwards). It was totally my fault.
"At the same time, there were circumstances that led up to that wreck, and after talking with Clint this morning, we both have a better understanding as to what happened. He was trying to get out of my way and didn't realize that I had gone to the outside. He thought I was to his inside, and when he tried to give me some room, he slid into us and it put us into the outside wall. I reacted, causing the wreck that I take responsibility for and regret."
On lap 32, Stewart was racing on the outside of Bowyer through turn three of Pocono's 2.5-mile triangle when Bowyer's car pushed out toward the wall. Stewart gave as much ground as he could until scraping the wall with the right side of his No. 20 Chevrolet. As he came off the wall, Stewart made contact with Bowyer, sending Bowyer's No. 07 Chevrolet into Edwards' No. 99 Ford.
NASCAR penalized Stewart one lap for aggressive driving, putting the two-time and reigning Nextel Cup champion 41st in the 43-car field.
Stewart regained his lead lap status on lap 41 by passing then leader Ryan Newman. Stewart went on to finish seventh in the 200-lap race.
Okay Champ you have had your say, now I am going to have my say. Tony I love to watch you race and I will defend you to anyone. But Smoke you have got to settle down. You are hurting your team and you are hurting yourself.
You have made such strides in the last year and half to make yourself a much happier person. You cannot tell me that you are very happy with the way you have acted to situations this year. Tony I know that you have alot more responsibilities this year as champ. I know that you are probably traveling twice as much as you did last year. Trying to fulfill your responsibilities not only to your regular sponsors but, also your commitments as Champ.
Remember last year? You were always so happy at the track. What has happened? I don't know why this year is so troublesome for you. Unless you are just stressed out. And if that is the case this is what you need to do:
Tony you need to take a vacation. You need to get away from all the pressures of NASCAR and enjoy yourself.
I sincerely hope that you take advantage of this off-week. I hope you turn off your cell phones. Tell the paper boy to hold the paper. Turn off the computer. Avoid the media. Go find your bass boat and get yourself onto your lake and fish everyday from sun up to sun down.
