Well I did go to Daytona early to take in all the sites and racing for the last week and a half. Got a spot close to the track for my RV so it would not be too far away from the excitement. The next time I will get one very very far away from the track. Got very little sleep as the partying was non stop daily. Didn't want to miss any thing so I was partying too. Met a great bunch of fellow RVers that were NASCAR fans and shared our grumblings about the current state of affairs with NASCAR bosses ( thugs). I did squeeze in time to see most of the races up to the Busch race. I wonder if any were Bloggers. Seems a lot of fans share my and you bloggers dis trust of NASCAR bosses.  

The infield garage area is the place to be during the pre race events. So much to see and do. You can see some of the track from the top of the garages and have video screens for the places with limited view. Saw all the speed News reporters, Fox news folks were in full force and Wendy Venturini is cuter in person than on TV. Went by the Fox and Speed Broadcast stations and got to see DW, Jeff, Jimmy, Larry Mac, and Mike. However I only got Wendy's autograph. Oh Yes, Saw all the drivers daily and got a few of their autographs. 

The actual races were some thing else. You cannot really grasp the felling , action, and velocity these cars travel on a TV screen. You would have to be there to experience it. I t actually shakes you down to your bones and joints. The intensity from the drivers and crew are certainly evident in the garage and the track but most were very cordial to the fans, Even Tony who some times gets testy when bothered by fans. The best description I can come up with the entire event was like viewing a big 3 ring circus for the first time as a child. There was action going on all the time nonstop on the track and off.

Now I am not going into the area of NASCAR management blunders but will leave that to other bloggs later.

Some of the people  I ran into there were quite colorfull and un inhibited so that was a show in itself. Most were just diehard fans wanting to see good racing and I feel they got their monies worth this time with all the races.

Me?? Yep, I did too mostly. Had an accident Saturday on my RV roof. Wasn't watching where I was going ( Too busy looking at a couple of cuties next to us and forgot I was on my roof). Ended up with a broken ankle and slight concussion. I Had to sit out the Busch race in he emergency room at an Urgent Care type of hospital. Unfortunately, also had to watch the Cup race on TV as was unable to get around too well.

Well this race event was certainly costly but well worth it despite the poor management calls. I did recoup some of my expense when I sold my Cup race tickets to a scalper Saturday evening. All in all, this event was priceless and worth the expense and the broken ankle. Certainly an experience I will remember for a long time. The people we met, the drivers we talked to, the races we saw, The circus atmosphere around the races, and the excitement cannot be described in words. You have to be there to understand. Guess that is what makes NASCAR the real NASCAR.

T

It is definitely a good idea for the drivers to set up a pension fund for their retirement years. I definitely would not let the  NASCAR monarchy have their hands on the money. I would imagine it would be missing when the drivers tried to cash in on their pension.

If the drivers could organize a fund their selves independently and in a collective format, they would realize a larger earnings potential. Leave it up to the NASCAR monarchy to set up a pension plan ( which they have no interest in doing as they don't care about the drivers) and the drivers would be screwed and glued like they are now in the earnings department.

A survey was taken among the drivers at a recent testing in Vegas and very few were returned leads me to believe they were afraid of reprisals by the France kingdom should they have filled out the surveys. Now that is down right rediculous. Why does this bunch of  hoods( France boys and Helton) have such a tight grasp on the drivers or should I say gestapo tactics on the drivers. Those hoods have bullyed their way with the drivers for too long. It is time to take a stand NASCAR fans as the drivers are afraid to and rightfully so. If the drivers unite and form a union, NASCAR hoods bring in other drivers to replace them, fans will boycot the races plain and simple. No income, no fans, = no race. 

I have heard that Helton tells the drivers in situations " you need us, we don't need you in NASCAR" What an outright lie and propaganda. The fact is NASCAR needs the drivers to keep their show going and also the fans. Both have been crapped on for too long. It is time unite and if NASCAR dumps their gestapo tactics on a popular driver, it is up to the fans to boycot NASCAR. Now that is going to be hard to do with Daytona just a week away but the rest of the races the fans need to speak out with their pocket books.

I firmly believe if the fans will get behind the drivers and support them, then NASCAR will have to listen and take the right action. If not then all need to establish a new form of stock care racing nad drop NASCAR.

Well here I go like a fish out of water on most subjects except NASCAR, Nature, and Environmental issues.

It is my firm conviction that if NASCAR is sincere in contributing to the reduction of fossil fuel polution, they would consider alternative fuels to be used in races. There are other alternatives such as methane gas ( a derivative from waste dumps which are readily over flowing the countryside in America as well as sewer plants). Bio fuels derived from corn is a good and cheap form plus burns cleaner. Don't know how this will fit in with the NASCAR image of Sunoco performance gas.

I did a slight disertation on hot air on the Fox Blogs at another post but it has potential. Just have to figure out the engineering to get it to work. As I sit in my home where it is -5 degrees outside now, the natural gas is priced higher than gold and the old gas meter is spinning faster than the sound barrier speed, I am going to the poor house to stay warm.Don't take offense bloggers but this is a great idea to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels so take that part seriously. Consider the amount of people that blogg on the internet every night. Must be millions  and millions. Could concievably heat half of the homes in the USA easily. Turn on more lights in the house. These bulbs produce heat and we need heat. To hell with the electric bills except if you heat with electricity. Got a bunch of cathode ray TVs. Turn them all on. They produce heat.

Now that we got a start on energy conservation, lets switch to sports. Ok??  Well racing, I have been told is not a sport. SAY WHAT??? All these years I have been watching racing and thought it was a sport. Hell, there goes my favorite past time.

I had noticed some one stated football is not a sport. Cripes ther goes another past time for many fans. I would expect to hear that baseball is not a sport too. Is it??? Hard to tell. Never could hit that tiny ball with that skinny bat but people are just as fanatical about the game as NASCAR fans are about racing and football.

Hey!! Is the Olympics a sport or a political agenda? I simply do not know any more. Must be a problem with it. They never play in the same city twice and have to go to different countries every 4 years or so.

OK. Maybe there is no such thing as sports. It is only a figment of our imagination. Sports really do not exist.What if it is really an obsession about a gathering  of sorts where a bunch of people get high salaries to beat the hell out of each other for a determined amount of time and the one with the highest score wins the pot or prize.

If you can't go to these spectacles, you can watch it on TV in between the commercials. SO what are we watching?? A spectacle or commercials??? Now if you go to a live performance, do they stop the shindig when they have the commercial and resume it when the commercials are over??? I wonder how NASCAR does it. Stop the cars on the track??

Well the events that fans watch with a passion has to be classified as something to have order in our society or we will fall into utter chaos. Why not call these event sports? Certainly beats calling them something wierd like human participation, human bonding event, or a gathering of the fittest.

OK now. We have determined that these events need a name and all agree it should be catchy. SO lets say sport covers all games of competition and sorts.The fans that follow these sports will be called sports fans. That includes racing of all sorts, ball games, boxing ( not my favorite),  fishing, hunting with regulations, and shuffleboards ( for the old guys like the man with more names than Carter's got liver pills).

Do you see where I am going with this Yakety Yak????

I am helping reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. Now some body needs to figure out the way to harness this hot air to heat our homes.

As I sit here in the Midwest in my well warmed home ( which the heating bill will probably cost more than the price of a pair of tickets at a NASCAR race) and the temperature is hovering at 10 degrees, I have realized that I have cabin fever affliction NASCAR style.

You know you got it when:

You look out the  frosted window and think only 2 weeks to go before the  DAYTONA 500.

You start to think that the clocks are running backwards.

You explode when the better half suggest to you to take out the trash.

You get up on a Sunday morning thinking got to get ready for the races only to realize there is none.

You dig out the old recorded races on your dvds and watch them all day long as the snow piles up on your RV.

You drive by the closed race tracks in your area and wished they had a snow ball derby today.

You have a blank stare when watching  TV and are thinking about racing.

You see total strangers with their favorite driver jacket on and you have to go over and start a conversation with them. 

You hear the word NASCAR and immediately your heart starts to race.

You spend the entire trip to the mall at the NASCAR store watching past races on the TV while your better half shops till they drop.

You drive on the highway and think aero push when passing 18 wheelers.

You never start the projects you planed to do during the off season.

You are trying to be  intimate with your better half and you are thinking Taledega.

You babble a lot on Fox blogs about the new season up comming.

You constantly check the mail box for your Daytona tickets you ordered the day before.

You envy Southern Cindi living so close to Daytona.

You get violent with people that say racing is not a sport.

You want to bump draft slow drivers on the highways  in front of you.

You start telling Jeff Foxworthy jokes about NASCAR to your self and think they are funny.

Well these are a few of the symptoms but I am sure there are more that can be listed given time. Got any symptoms??? 

WELL THE SILLY 2007 SEASON HAS STARTED OFF WITH A BIG ####.

Lets see, We got a 72 year old ex driver trying to qualify for the Daytona 500. Billy Bob from Taladega Nights is expressing interest if he can get Wonder Bread to sponsor him. NASCAR has upped the points for winning a race ( no mention of more money though for winning), and they have done away with the 400 point deal. Never knew about that deal. The race to the chase has been expanded to 12 drivers which includes the Dirty Dozen ( Who is the dirty dozen?). Does this mean that the drivers have to be dirty to be in the chase? So now I guess I am going to be totally confused in keeping up with the points system which is nothing new.  Jr. and Teresa are still haggleing over their contracts and Jr. may or may not drive the #3 car. It has been said Teresa may give Jr. a stake in DEI ( a small cubicle in the back of the garage as an office to play video games).

Here is my take for an exciting 2007 season.:

The COT is scrapped to being a pace car ( good way to test at a minimal cost).

Helton is locked up in the big yellow trailer and it is sent to the Artic Tundra.

Drivers are encouraged to let it all hang out while racing except the obvious infractions.

The chase to the championship is  started on the first race of the season with 43 drivers competing through out the season.

Restrictor plates are outlawed at super speedways.

More points and prize money for finishing first. No  points and prize money for finishing 35th to 43rd. ( this might keep Wally Dalenback and other once in a while drivers out of the races as well as insuring every one is not playing it safe).

Lower prices for the fans at the gates ( this includes parking, motels, refreshments, and souvineers. No more $5.00 charges for a pop or beer).

Seats in turn 4 at Pocono will be free. (Wonder if you all catch this one?)

Good singers for the National Anthem.

More access to the drivers for autographs and are free.

Well that is my idea of having an exciting season in 2007. Any takers???

LATEST NEWS FLASH !

Dale Jr. decides to cancel his contract with Teressa of D.E.I.  Jr. says that there has been a falling out with his stepmother ( Teressa) of D.E.I. The apron strings he was tied to with her was becomming too tight and restrictive. Other issues discussed was his free time to play around, cars that were less than competitive in 2006, and his recent venture in organizing a racing conglomerate in Mobile, Ala. ( that is in the deep deep South).

Allready other teams are lining up to offer him premier rides in their organizations, Richard Childeres has offered to put him in a new secret car that he had planned to let Harvick drive. Toyota has offered him the presidency of Toyota USA if he went with their cars plus all the Giesha girls he could handle. Jack Roush offered him a partnership in Roush Racing if he went with his teams. Bud Suds promised to follow him  as his sponsor with any team he chose  and promised to double their free samples of Bud Suds. Joe Gibbs made an offer to Dale Jr. but retracted it when Tony Stewart said he would go race for D.E.I. Dale Jr. was heard telling Stewart that he would not wish D.E.I. on any one plus he would have to have Eury Jr. as his crew chief..There is more and will be announced later.

Dale Jr. has become one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR history as of late and continues to attract more fans to the sport.

In a recent interview with some high powered investors, Dale Jr. was over heard stating that  he will build his own racing organization to compete in NASCAR and set up a new stock car sanction operating out of the Mobile Ala. complex offering reasonable seat tickets to the races.. NASCAR immediately released a press statement stating " OH MY, He can't do that. We will have to buy the track to stop that move".

Dale Jr. also stated it is time to give the sport back to the fans and have races that are exciting. His first move to provide excitement was not to have big yellow trailers with Helton look alikes in them. The other moves were higher prize money for first place finishes, no COTs, no bump draft rules,and no restrictor plates. NASCAR was heard as saying " OH MY! He can't do that. Can he??

Many of the NASCAR drivers are linning up to sign up for his racing sanction plans and it has been heard that Mark Martin is comming out of retirement again to race in the new sanction. Bill Elliot has announced to race a full schedule. Will Farrell,the star of Talledega Nights has also expressed an interest.  NASCAR was heard as saying " OH MY! He can't do that.Can he??

Well this is the latest news flash of the day.This is Will Farrell sports caster giving you the (POOF!!!!). Another bad dream folks..

Looking back over the 2006 season, I found it some what a bit dissapointing  in many ways and a few surprises that were interesting.        

The biggest surprise was Tony Stewart not making the chase and then run like he was in the chase putting down some impressive finnishes. At least he kept the final races interesting. The biggest dissapointment was Jeff Burton starting off  the chase  with some impressive runs only to falter mid way and fall out of contention towards the end of the chase.                         

What the heck is wrong with the format set up here???

Another dissapointment is the NASCAR Boss Hogs  totally ignoring the pinacle of any business venture. Customer Satisfaction. I certainly did not see any action on their part giving the fans ( customers) what they went to the races to see. Another dissapointment is the excessive charges of track seats at the races. I think they need to take a cue from Walmart's slogan ( Allways low prices) to  get fans back into the seats that are starting to come up empty more than before. Also they should take part in encouraging the track's local businesses to stop gouging the race fans with their excessive rates for hotels, eateries, gas, and parking to mention a few.

The NASCAR powers need to step out of their Ivory Towers and see what is really going on with the fans in order to get a better idea of what they want in a race, not what the NASCAR powers think the fans want. Ignoring the fan base needs is certainly going to be the death keel of the sport.

Looking ahead to 2007, I have a reserved amount of optimism  about the drivers and their plans. Johnson may well be a force to be reconed with . Stewart will definitely carry over from 2006 with his style of dominating many of the races. I look forward to seeing Dale Jr. really have cars capable of winning more races in 2007.This might be the year Jeff  Gordon has  cars capable of winning the championship. Hamlin might have a banner year this year if he can avoid the sophmore slump. Will Harvick and Burton have cars that can be in contention for the championship?? How about the Toyota teams? Are they going to be a dominating force? Maybe a long shot in my book. I think the Rosh teams will have one driver  making a spash for the championship but not as in the past with 3 or 4 drivers. From the Everinham teams Kahne is a shoe in but the others will be on the outside looking in for the chase.

The NASCAR powers have promised an exciting 2007 with the COT, moving the awards banquet to Vegas, and a change in the chase format but I only see the same as last year . Another mundane boring year with high ticket prices, declining fan base, politically correct drivers, and boring races. Perhaps it is time for Tony Stewart and the other drivers to stand up and voice their true inner feelings concerning races and have a bigger voice in NASCAR operations.After all, they are the reasons fans go to the races in the first palce.

Looking away to other forms of racing. CART, INDY, SCCA, Formula 1, and Regional race sanctions have caught my interest lately and may well replace my prior  plans for  attending 2007 NASCAR races. Thinking about it, I wonder if Dale Jr. could be lured away from NASCAR  and start racing INDY cars or even Formula 1. Can you imagine that?? I know Stewart would fit in nicely with the  INDY or Formula 1 sanctions. Just needs to stay on his diet to fit into the cars. How about Johnson? He might do well if he doesn't ride on top of the car like he does his golf cart. Hey! How about Bobby La Bonte ? His name would fit in with the other drivers in those sports but he doesn't have much of a foreign accent.                        

The drivers in NASCAR make the sport what it is. Take out the drivers and NASCAR has nothing.Their loyal fans would follow them wherever they go so NASCAR powers you better wake up or you will be loosing the drivers that make the sport and the fans . 

Well that is my take on things.

Much has been said about the impending doom of NASCAR and I have said a lot too.

So with that out of the way, I have some news flashes that will put excitement back into NASCAR.

1. CEO Brian France has announced he will step down for the 2007 season as CEO. The former CFO of Imron will take over the helm as CEO of NASCAR under a new work release program instituted by the judge rulling in his former court case.

2. MikeHelton has been promoted to chief flag man for the pit road access duties. He has also been given a new design helment with flashing red and green lights for the drivers to better see him

3. The COT has been reshuffeled to being the pace car and will allow minimum caution speeds of 125 MPH. NASCAR feels the engineering put into this car will allow the faster caution speeds. Guess the pit crews will really have their hands full now. Also less commercials during cautions.

4. Jeff Gordon has made true his promise to get out of racing cars if he ever got married again. NASCAR has offered him the position Mike Helton once held as the top boss hog. Jeff says his first job is to shut down the big yellow trailer. He was quoted as saying" All drivers can now vent their frustrations out on the track with out penalties". Johnson was heard saying" boy we got an insider that will favor us". Gordon was heard as saying " Keep it quiet pea brain".

5. Mark Martin has come out of retirement and plans to run a full schedule in Cup in 2007 racing a Toyota.

6. Pit road speeds have inched their way up to 75MPH. Pit crew members will now wear NFL football player padding for safety.

7. Restrictor plates are now off the cars at super speedways. Jr. was quoted as saying " #%*# you kidding me. Right?". Also rapid release jets are now legal. Jr. said" #%&*  you kidding me. Right???

8. In order to bring disgrunteled fans back into the sport, NASCAR has announced a price reduction in seat prices up to 50% off in row 1A and 2A on turn 4 at all the tracks..

9. NASCAR has also announced driver prize money has also been reduced for the non winning drivers of a race and more money added to the winning driver pay out. Why would a driver finishing 43rd get nearly $100,000.00 in the first palce?

10.Tony Stewart has announced he will win all the races in 2007 due to the higher prize money for first place. Some other drivers at the press conference dissagreed and an ensuing altercation broke out. The press conference was canceled. Looked like a main event from the WWE but Stewart won.

11. Nascar has announced that they are bringing back the MISS NASCAR beauty for the winners circle. Likely candidates are the ladies from the Playboy Girls Next Door  show. Wonder if that was the real reason for Stewart's quote in news flash #10.

12. Last but not least. The current Cup Chase points system was dropped in favor of JJD's points system as it was more in line with actual scoring.

Well, folks there you have it. All the exciting news that is news. This is Will Farrell your NASCAR sports caster wh--( POOOOFFFF!!!)   What a heck of a fantasy dream.

A response to ISC scraps plans to build NASCAR track on Staten Island

You read this article and realize NASCAR just flushed $128,000,000.00 or more  down the toilet for a track on Staten Island that the community nearly violently opposed. Makes you wonder where the NASCAR heads' mentality level is. Most corporations would have a survey long before purchasing property to see if there would be opposition to them going into an area. Not NASCAR, they just bought up the property and started plans with out regard to the politicians and community opinions. Guess they showed NASCAR.

An odd thing happened to the developers of the Sparta, Ky. (near Cincinnati, Ohio) track when they were building it. NASCAR expressed interest in this track for the Cup and Busch series  so the developers went full speed ahead on the completion using money out of their pockets, not NASCAR's. It is a state of the art 1&1/2 mile track with plenty of amenities.  The Waltrips thought this track was great for a Cup race. Sparta occasionally gets a Busch race and NASCAR said they would never put a Cup race there. Why??? Indy and Cart race there along with other sanctions. This track was almost handed to NASCAR on a silver platter in order to get Cup racing there. Considering the track was right in the Midwest and central to NASCAR diehard fans, it would be a sell out track each race.  Would not have cost them as much as the Staten Island fiasco. The track not being owned by NASCAR outright may play a pivital role in ignoring this track. In my opinion, it was a gross oversight on this tracks racing potential for the Cup series.

It must be nice to squander away millions of dollars and not be held accountable.

Well the awards banquet has officially awarded Jimmy Johnson the 2006 chase championship trophy. Took 3 hours to watch the show. Perhaps too long and boring except for the driver's attempt at politically correct speeches.

Bill Weber did an excellent job as the annoucer and straight guy. Where in the world did they get the comedian ( I use that term very loosley). His jokes were very bland and not funny. Many of the drivers  pushed him out of the way when he came out to make conversation.

Jewel the singer wasn't bad. Liked her song. Her dress looked frumpy and ill fitting with a crooked bow on the front bodice? or top. Oh well it was some where on the front. The dress was certainly distracting. However, I should not have been so critical. They could have had  Britteny Spears with out her undies as the singer. 

Prize money: 6 million to the champion Johnson. WOW!!! 2 plus million to Kenseth. WOW!!! Near 2 million to Hamlin the rookie. WOW!!! Now what about the 8  other guys. From 1.1 million to 1.7 million. Skimpy Skimpy Skimpy. Seems the presentation money last year was more for the 4th through 11 place last year or is my memory going south on me.

What I do not for the life of me understand is why were the other 7 or 8 drivers being so cautious in the 10 race chase  for only a 6 or 7 hundred thousand dollar prize difference. Personally, I would have been charging like a mad man to finish first in the chase to get 6 million bucks and raising the dickens with my crew if I did not have a car capable of staying up front to win. Not this year. Most of the drivers failed each week to show championship style save Johnson and Tony Stewart. Too bad Tony wasn't in the chase. It might have been more exciting.  

We can only hope for an exciting 2007 season but I doubt it. It might turn out to be as bland as this year or worse. Think I might start going to the local and regional auto races to get some real racing excitement from now own.

Bank of America certainly has a leg up over any other financial institution, with its national reach," said Steve Phelps, NASCAR's chief marketing officer. "We consider this agreement a significant step for the future growth of our sport."

A person familiar with the agreement put the overall value of the five-year deal between $15 million and $20 million.

"The big thing is that this deal reaches across all fan groups and adds to what they have," said Shawn Bradley, chief operating officer of the market research division at The Bonham Group, a Denver-based sports marketing firm.

Under the deal, Bank of America will be NASCAR's exclusive sponsor for banking and related financial services, including checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, mutual funds and securities brokerage services. The company gets the right to use the NASCAR logo and name in marketing and advertising promotions through 2011.

What does this tell me??? Well it says NASCAR has up to 20 million more dollars in the pot. But who in NASCAR will reap the benefits???? Will it go to the drivers in higher purses? Will the fans realize benefits from this influx of cash?? Will the tracks that NASCAR owns see improvements??? Will NASCAR provide better accomodations for the fans?? Will NASCAR provide better emergency medical provisions at the tracks for all??? Or will it go to the select few ( one in particular)  personal pocket books??

It would certainly be a crime to see this influx of revenue go to waste. I would hope that NASCAR does plan on usefull projects with this windfall and create more excitement for the fans, track improvements, safety issues, higher first place prizes to entice the drivers to mix it up, and most important save the sport. Considering my formula for profits I posted on Southern Cindi's post, this should generate another 2% in net profit for reinvestment into the sport. What do you say NASCAR?? Want to save the sport???

I took a gamble with "Ole Bessie" and loaded her down to head to Florida for some R&R and the Homestead race hoping she would make the trip.

500 miles into the trip and Ole Bessie pukes ( fuel pump). Got that fixed and back on the road.

Stop over in Pensacola Fla. for the Blue Angels 60th anniversary party and air show. Can you imagine flying an F14 jet at near Mach 1 only 3 feet off the ground and upside down?? How about 4 F14s flying wing tip to wing tip formation at near Mach 1 at the same height?? Quite an exciting show.

On to Homestead hopefully for some more excitement, maybe.

250 miles into the trip Ole Bessie pukes again ( carb gasket leakage). Got that fixed and on to homestead. #@**&#* Bessie.

Got a spot close to the track to enjoy the pre race festivities and found our seats. I was ready for a thriller race like the Blue Angels show I had seen a few days before . I was looking for Stewart to mix it up with the chase drivers and charge to the front and see Johnson battling with Stewart  for the lead. Well maybe Kenseth or Harvick would make a stunning comeback to take the champoinship. Possibly Jr. was saving his best car for the final race and would sweep the other drivers to the finish. Instead, Biffle wins the race. The only excitement to this race was the crashes and Neuman and Montoya mixing it up.

 Johnson wins the championship by being conservative in Homestead. I was happy that he officially won as he was the only one that showed champion ship driving in the prior races by consistently being up front most of the other races but felt a little cheated. Actually the race was really boring.

I long for the good old days when drivers really mixed it up for the win at any cost but those days are gone I am afraid considering the NASCAR bosses have such tight control on driver emotions now ( political correctness). No personalities are allowed, only political correctness.

Hearing much to do about NASCAR making the sport more exciting has made me wonder exciting for who? What I have heard so far leads me to believe the Ivory Tower bosses  have lost touch with reality and do not have a clue what the fans come to the tracks for. 

The car of tomorrow is really a car of antiquity (much like "Ole Bessie"). NASCAR leave the body designs to the manufacturers. They are smarter than you. Lets have power plants that have computerized fuel injection with fuel injectors, overhead cams, electronic fuel pumps, and the like. Certainly would reflect what is driven on the roads today and probably much more efficient and safer.

Mixing up the points system. Forget it!! Many of us still do not understand the current system and then to change it certainly not for the better. Well maybe, but I doubt it.

On to the trip back home.

What an exercise in futility. Stopped at many RV service centers along the way home for repairs ( un able to  find wiring shorts killing the batteries). Now I understand why there are so many RV repair and sales centers along I-75 and I -65. Happily I put "Ole Bessie" out to pasture and picked up a new RV with a warranty. Guess I will name this one "Gypsy Rose". 

Well the NASCAR season is over till Feb. 2007 and certainly will have my share of withdrawal pains but certainly hope we will have a more exciting 2007. If not, guess the NASCAR bosses in their Ivory Towers will ruin the sport but they will happily laugh all the way to the bank.

Well it is down to two races to go in the chase. Still too close to call. Can any of the other chase drivers rally up enough gusto to take the lead away from Johnson? Well??? Any body??? How about Gordon?? How about JR.?? How about Hamlin?? Think Kenseth?? What about Harvick??

Ok,  we know Stewart will be up front again rubbing in the humiliation  of the chase drivers not being able to catch him right?? Well it is about time for at least 3 to 5  of the drivers to take off the binders and lay it all on the line to make a formidable champoinship showing this week end. Can they do it??

Lets look at it this way. The ten drivers are in the chase no matter where they finish in Homestead so they are all safe. They are going to be on the stage getting fat checks, give a speech,  and ad lib with a joke at the banquet. Now one driver gets the fattest check. Why not get gutsy for the last two races and be real racers wanting to win a race. Who knows one besides Johnson  might win this chase. Of course, that is a risky adventure but hey it might be fun. Why give Stewart all the fun racing??

The drivers owe it to their fans to race like race car drivers. The race teams and owners  owe it to their drivers and fans to provide a car capable of winning races  even against Stewart. Zippy does it week end and out for Stewart and he is not in the chase. Don't even want to hear Stewart is not under the pressure of a chase cop out.

The question again is who is up to the challenge??? Who is going to put the pedal to the metal and take the lead??? Any body??? Hello???

Refer to part one. Well the hunt is still on but the fox is falling back. Seems the blue hound beat him over the 8th hill but wait. That sly fox is only 17 steps behind him and might well pass him on the 9th hill. Seems like the red hound is closing the gap some but still a ways back. The black hound is falling back to 80 steps behind the blue hound. 

Then there is the uninvited orange hound just dominating his own chase. Good thing they kept him out of the hunt. Other wise he would have dominated this hunt.Guess now I will have to change the fox title to the blue hound and call the former fox  the yellow hound.

Nope, This story did not go the way I had thought. Not fair to change the fox in the peak of the hunt.

The end.

STEWART DOMINATES TEXAS,  REALLY !!

Well Stewwart has won 3 of the last 8 races and is on a tear to win more. Like he said on the post race interview, he is under no pressure for the champoin ship chase and is only out there to win races so he is going for the gusto with more risk taking. Well he certainly has done that quite frequently lately.

Granted the chase drivers are being cautious and not taking chances as evidenced by Johnson's strong run and second place finish not really challenging Stewart at the end. Could Johnson have caught Stewart? Probably, but then he could have had an accident trying to pass Stewart and lost a lot of ground. Certainly a safe move in his part I guess.

Precisely my point about the chase system. Every one is playing it safe ( well maybe not Jr. ) and not taking chances due to the pressure to stay in contention. What ever happened to the chase drivers letting it all hang out and charge to the front to win rather then finish in the top 5 or 10. So far, I do not think most of the chase drivers have shown enough champoin ship form or had good cars to win any of the chase races except for Johnson. Of course he is going to have to get around Stewart to do it.  Jr. is sure trying to get up front but is plagued with bad luck. Amazing what he gets hit with but still is plugging away.

This race was Kenseth's death keel. I expect him to slide backwards  in the chase for the next two races. Johnson is on a roll and has consistently been at the front or behind Stewart in a race. He may well be the 2007 champion. Jr. may well get to nipping distance of Johnson and pass him in the points with any luck at all. He certainly will have to go out and charge to the front to win and not play it safe.

It appears that this chase will definitely be deicded in the last 20 or so laps at Homestead by where ever the top 2 drivers in the chase are at the last 20 laps.

As I sit at home ( Ole Bessie and me was not up to the task of going to Texas)  watching Speed News before the race, there was a clip on Martin running into Raines as he tried to get to the pits diuring practice. This video was almost an instant replay of the incident with the 18 car a couple weeks back. Dejavu?? Luckily, Martin didn't have the horendous impact he had with the 18 car crash incident.

Thinking back, Martin has had at least 4 incidents or crashes  in the last 8 to 10 races ( two in the last 3 weeks that was the result of him running into some one trying to pit).  Is it just bad luck or is he developing tunnel vision or slower reaction time and does not see what is unfolding around him? Perhaps his spotters are not advising him of the changing conditions in front of him? I would think he should be some what skittish about going around any slow car near the pit road entrance after the 18 car incident but not the hard charging Martin.

My point is, I think Martin is starting to slow down in his reflexes, reaction time, and driving ability. Mark, being one of my favorite drivers is getting older and I do know about slowing down physically as you age in respect to driving a race car.

My other point is, Am I the only one that notices this?