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.
question photog since I'm not real knowledgable about NASCAR. Why is everyone complaining about the finish? Just cause they like Mike? The crash was behind them and a yellow wouldn't have affected them until another time around. Looked like just one hell of finish to me? Seems to me from back when I did watch a lot of NASCAR that often the second place car drafting off the 4th turn will get that bumper in front.. Am I wrong?
Last edited by DustyOutlaw on February 19th at 12:56 AM.
Dusty, as yellow flag is meant to serve a safety issue for all the cars behind the wreck. If you watch the wreck it sort of happened like a string of dominoes. not all at once. Some good race cars were really messed up when they really didn't need to be. There is a quite a steep jump in prize money for each position gained, so it stands to reason that a lot of drivers and owners are a little upset with NASCAR about all this.
And, as far as your question about the draft...the answer is not always. Dale Earnhardt used a technique where he would drag the brake a little coming off Turn 4, not allowing the second place car to get a head of steam like you describe. All the veterans know about it, although some use it better than others. Mark had Kyle busch to worry about, too, though and chose to block that line instead of Harvick.
Sounds like a great time. When you see those low angle shots of the cars coming around and they just zip by in a blur you get a feel for what you're talking about in regard to being too close. Fun blog to read, will there be photos to go with it?
hey nphotogr, nice post, sounds like an awesome time, would love to do it myself someday. sorry you had to have an accident in the midst of all that. i would guess you have some great pics. if you post them anywhere on the web, let us know, i would love to see them.
nphotogr ...... Can't help but feel that many of the fans were left somewhat disappointed. I felt that the majority of them towards the end were hoping to see Mark Martin prevail. But somehow Harvick seem to pull it out of the bag just when it mattered the most. Much to the overall disappointment of the fans. You probably won't see another finish like that in years to come. How often do you actually see one car hurtling towards the finish line upside down ?
Questions on photos. Yes I have 7 1 gig. flash cards full of shots at 10 megs setting so a few will be poster size photos for obvious reasons. Got to cover expenses for the trip.I do plan on setting up a site for review when I get back home. Have to stay here for a day longer to get rechecked on the concusion.
On the controversy of the race. Can't the NASCAR thugs get any thing right. Leave it up to the jerks to screw up a stellar race with their antics. I don't think the caution would have been a determining factor on the out come of the winner ( Martin or Harvick) but the melee that happened with the other drivers behind those two certainly tore up a lot of good cars and put many drivers in harms way needlessly. Reviewing the plabacks, of the last lap, we had drivers flying buy wrecked cars and getting into the melee too since the caution was not flown.. The caution should have been out when the first car wrecked but it was a careless call on NASCARS part not to fly the caution flag. I cannot believe that NASCAR has so little regard for the drivers safety. It is not that the wrecks were on the back stretch with limited visibility, It was just a few hundred yards from the flag stand. Was the flagger sleeping???
Dusty:Yes it was a nail biter at the end.One of the closest races to the finish in many years. That is what makes racing so exciting but with the wrecking at the end, some say Martin was robbed of the win but I do not see it that way. Harvick had the high line and could carry more momentum into the corner so he was gaining fast and passed Martin enough to nose
Last edited by nphotogr on February 19th at 5:43 PM.
Here is the deal. Two cars going into a corner side by side, the car at the bottom will bog down the car higher up on the track will carry more momentum into the corner and not bog as bad. Comming out of the corner the higher line car will come out faster than the slower car on the bottom.
The winner ( Harvick) justfully was the winner. Martin did not have the steam to keep up with Harvick because he was on the bottom and loosing momentum.However, should the race have been another 100 yards to go, Martin may have been able to pick up the momentum to pass Harvick. Sort of like a basketball game at the end of time play. When the buzzer sounds, and no ball is thrown to the net, the game is over...Pure and simple.. But then again, you have the blundering morons officiating (NASCAR thugs) that put their fling into the play and everything is spoiled. A great race only to be screwed up by stupidity.
NPHOTOGR WASNT IT GREAT MY FIRST DAYTONA WAS IN HUM!!1974 WHEN I MOVED TO FLORIDA GOT BOTTOM SEATS CLOSE TO THE FENCE AND SNAPPED 4 ROLLS OF BLURR AMAZING THEN IN 76 MY WAY COOL NEIGHBOR TALKED ME INTO DOING THE WHOLE WEEK WITH HIS FAMILY AND THE CAMPER WELL I DIDNT MISS A RACE EXCEPT FOUR FOUR IN THE 80'S (A STATE FUNDED HIATUS)AND RESUMED FAITHFULLY UNTIL 93 WHEN I MOVED WEST I ENVY YOU THOUGH ALL GOOD THE FIRST IS THE BEST YOU LUCKY DOG NEXT YEAR TRY TALLEDEGA TRUST ME
Check out "This Is The Race I Saw" nphotqr and let me know if you think it's a good description.
Way too bad about the broken foot man. My son used to go to various tracks. He was involved with safety equipment and he's told me some great stories. When you mentioned the center island of the track you brought him right to me. That's where he would be. And in the pits too. He absolutely loved it. But he wanted to ne a fireman. He finally got it. He was a volunteer but he wanted the full time real deal.And that is a true, when he was 5 years old "I wanna be a fireman when I grow up? story".
nphotogr ....One would hope that for the next race all we'll see is just pure racing in the true traditions of NASCAR. Rather than the laborious traits of cheating ne're do well amongst some of the teams. It would also help if NASCAR actually made an example of disqualifying a team once in a while for skirting the rules whatever they're pretained to be !
But it would appear that Mike Helton, Robin Pemberton and Brian France Jr haven't the wherewithall to deal with such matters as they seem to be too afraid of stepping on someone's toes !
What's the point in being the power that be, in terms of the organisation when you're not prepared to use it to clamp down on cheaters ? Are they all a buch of wusses in the NASCAR hierarchy or what ?
You hit the nail 0on the head in your blog....BTW. I like your avitar. Which one was you???? Sorry. The meds made me do it...
Deemon: Will do on the Talledega race. Just have to be sure before I take in the views where I am at the time. This wasn't my first Daytona but the first time since all the remodeling was done..
Bdyckns:
Yep, know the story.. As a Kid I always wanted to be a race car driver and did quite a bit in my early years but never settled down to one particular sanction. Guess I never was good enough to make it to the big leagues or jumped around too much to make a splash in any one but I certainly did enjoy the racing when I was into it as a driver
You were probably good enough nphotogr or they wouldn't hve let ya on the bloody track ;0) From my experience of "almost there" it too consisted of a bit of this over to that and around the bend.
It's nice to recall those times you WERE doin' your thing tho huh?
nphotogr .....The avitar is of model Adriana Lima in one of her more provocative poses. She's also one of the Victoria's Secret Lingerie models. That being said I'm of the opinon that once Brady dumps Gisele Bundchen he'll move on to her next. That's if he doesn't impregnate Bundchen first ?
He's a lucky SOB isn't he ?
Let's just hope that the next race on the schedule just lives up to all that we're expecting without any major controversy. As NASCAR has all that it can handle over the past couple of days.
DustyOutlaw .. The reason why so many people were upset over the finish of the Daytona 500 was not so much what happened, or what didn't happen. It had more to do with NASCAR picking and choosing when to apply a rule. The rule as it stands is that as soon as a wreck occurs the yellow flag is thrown. Now in the case of the green/white/checker finish the drivers have one opportunity to finish the race under green. If a crash occurs the field is frozen and that is the final finishing order. Myself I am in the middle. Part of me agrees with letting them race to the checker but at the same time you put the rule in place for a reason, and it doesn't seem fair especially in a week in which NASCAR was a stickler regarding what crews were doing to their cars and showing a zero tollerance for any "cheating." I hope that answers your question - basically it comes down to inconsistency by NASCAR officials.
Well fan:
Those are mighty cute cheeks.. Some guys have all the luck. Controversy or not, I think California will have it's own brand of excitement.
Will not be able to make it to that race ( too far to drive seeing double) but am looking forward to it. Lets hope NASCAR has their officiating up to snuff.
Speaking of snuff, any body have trouble using a laptop with the touch pad??? I do. Drives me nuts.Not leaving here till I get a regular mouse to plug into this contraption.
Hey everbody !! Dusty is trying to come up to speed in NASCAR.. He needs a little help and is basically a good guy.. Just a little excentric ( you know, age thing).I am older than dirt and he is older than that so go easy on him..
BD:
I saw your blog and was great I like your style... Also qiute artistic..
Hey Photog. Thanks for posting on my blog and sticking with me man. This one guy is posting some things that is illegal under federal law and it's being dealt with in the proper forum. I don't haveing anything to say beyond. These things take time and I know what pretty much will take place. I was advised to just relax and take a low profile while this gets sorted out and I got some good people posting and you're one of the.
Now, what did you think of Jr's car? He had performace problems last year but seems to me his car had the power?
Yes I did and would do it again in a heart beat but would be more careful the next time by keeping my eyes on where I am going.Sort of a bad deal to drive all the way down there and then have to watch the 500 on TV. What a bummer...
Hey Dusty:
Glad to hear from you in NASCAR land. Always welcome. Just bring some bananas to feed the Silver Back..Yes Jr.'s car was fast but from the in car audio he seemed to have his hands full in the handling department. For some reason Urey Jr. just can't seem to find the total package yet for Jr. to win still. Of course Jr. has to avoid the pile ups like last week. The only way to do that is stay out front with the leaders and away from the pack of also runners.
Hey, I'm looking for pictures for my web site WFO Racing Fans. If you have any you would allow us to use, contact me at kcjsmoket20@seeing20twenty.com or go to seeing20twenty.com/wforacingfans.as px for more info.
Avid auto racing fan and former racing participant for over 40 years. Enjoy all forms of auto racing but found NASCAR sanction to be my favorite followed by GTP and INDY cars. Have raced in SCCA, NHRA, Stock Car, and Modified sanctions in the past.
Getting up in years has regulated me to being a spectator but still find it exciting to go to the races and enjoy the hoopala surrounding the pre and post race festivities. Also find Nature Photography to be a relaxing form of enjoyment and get quite a few opportunities traveling around the country to the races to use my cameras at the tracks and nature preserves.
