After the past few races in the heat of Dixie, this week's view was as refreshing as a cold Dr Pepper on a hot day. Lots of hard racing in Loudon on Sunday made it hard to fall asleep for once.
The first Chase race is in the books and we have nine to go. Up next week is another one mile track, Dover. Dover is more of a superspeedway type one miler, where as Loudon is a short track style, one mile, flat track. Night and day.
CHECKERED FLAG.......Mark Martin stood up to all challenges on Sunday and earned the win. He's made the Chase, received a contract extension, and won a race all in the last week. The AARP should be so proud. Any room left on the bandwagon?
GREEN FLAGS......Juan Montoya won the pole, led the most laps, and then finished 3rd. Denny Hamlin capitalized on a Montoya miscue at the end to take 2nd place. Kurt Busch (6th), and Ryan Newman (7th) both had strong Chase runs. Kyle Busch won the Truck Series race on Saturday, then somehow, came home 5th on Sunday. A rare Elliott Sadler sighting in the top-10 (8th) earns him his first Green Flag since February.
YELLOW FLAGS......Tony Stewart (14th), Jeff Gordon (15th), and Carl Edwards (17th). While all three of these Chasers were strong at some point of the race, their finishes didn't show it.
RED FLAG......Kasey Kahne lost his engine before lap 50 was complete. Not a great way to start his Chase. His team, RPM, has no engine department now after announcing that they're switching to Ford next season. RPM is crumbling from the inside. Last week a longtime VP was fired by the owner, the engine dept either quit or got fired, one of their drivers has been racing for no salary for weeks, and they accepted a merger (takeover) as a way to save money next year.
BLACK FLAG......Kevin Harvick displayed strange behavior during the Truck race on Saturday, to say the least. Harvick, who was in third place, demanded that his employee (2nd place Ron Hornaday) pull over and let Harvick run down leader Kyle Busch and win the race. Hornaday is in a points race and would like to keep every spot that he EARNS. If you can't even pass the second place truck, what makes you think you can catch and pass the leader, Kev? The whole situation made Harvick look like a spoiled brat. Probably not far from the truth.
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Hey Gene, so the krypt keeper won again huh, good for him and us old guys.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about this Harvick fellow, but he sounds like a class act to me. Not! :)
My compliments sir.
I was wondering what was Kevin thinking? Seemed odd to me...
ReplyDeleteIt may have been reverse psychology? LOL
ReplyDeleteHarvick has clearly flipped his lid - that was just bizarro.
ReplyDeleteAnd WTH is MM going to do for new sponsor GoDaddy? GoGranddaddy? That is just a bad bad match. I wont be on that bandwagon anytime soon...
RPM saga is saddest thing in this sport next to the DEI debacle.
So The old guy won again. That is becomming a habit. Glad to see experience win gracefully for a change.
ReplyDeleteAll your Mark Martin jokes SUCK!
ReplyDeleteAero....thanks for checking in bro. Cryptkeeper...LOL. I see the resemblance.
ReplyDeleteHarvick is a very good, hard nosed, racer. Received a large fan base when he took over for Dale Sr. A lot of them never question his behavior. And he has had some run-ins with drivers, owners, and officials. He has the will to win, but no one can figure out what he was trying to do on Saturday.
CR....I always get a chuckle whenever I'm listening on the scanner and I hear a driver ask another driver (through his spotter) to let him go by because he's faster. How come the faster car (or truck) can't pass the slow one in front of it? LOL
ReplyDeleteOne person picked Martin in the poll. Who?
Kristen...Someone should have been telling Kev, "Big picture, Kevin. Big picture."
ReplyDeleteI heard some gasbag on TV saying that that Harvick was upset because he wanted a Chevy to win the race. WTH? Wonder if he'll be more upset if Horny doesn't win the title?
I can imagine that Go Daddy commercials with Martin will be embarrassing for him.
Photo...Yes, he's making it a habit. Arrggghhh!
ReplyDeleteBOS....Jokes? You would not believe the restraint I'm showing with the geezer.
I could not believe what I was hearing when I heard that Reed Sorenson was racing without pay and that RPM did not have an engine department.
ReplyDeleteWho is working on their engines? Do they not realize that they need someone to tune those engines and work on them? Guess RPM just doesn't care that Kasey is in a title hunt. Guess they really don't want to win another championship anytime soon. Guess they just want Richard to be their last champion.
As far as Harvick, like Kris said bizarre.
Oh, I'm so sorry, (again). I must have been suffering from premenstrual syndrome, although a woman old as Mark Martin shouldn't be doing that anymore! Geritol and Red Bull!lol
ReplyDeleteNice post as always. Extra great humor!
ReplyDeleteWhat Harvick did in the truck race shows just how desperate he is to win a race... lol.
Mark Martin may start a new trend of old people watching NASCAR...
G - O - N - G - E - R!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYDOT (your deity of choice)
ReplyDeleteLove a Duck. Silly season this!
Kasey makes the Chase ( surprise) and loses his help b4 it starts
**grouchy YeeMum mode**
Old news that's new to me...
ReplyDelete***Kyle's car failed post race inspection***
Someone needs to take the scizors away from the "she love's racing" girl... lol
ReplyDeleteRefreshing as a cold Dr Pepper on a hot day ?.
ReplyDelete- Nothing beats an Ice Cold Beer -
Hows it goin Hanman - just a drive by to say whats up !
Stop by JWaA's and check out some crazy videos me and WW made -LOL abd LOL again -make sure you check them all out - You created a monster -
LMAO !!!
Damn I just looked around the room and seen a bunch of cool people -Howdy All -
ReplyDeleteJokerswild luvs ya all -
CR - If your out there shoot me a Fox-Mail with your e-mail -
Oh And ~ ((( Nice Damn Of The Day ))) !!!
ReplyDeleteUpon review I may need a lifetime. There's allota jargon being strewn and I know jargon, believe you me...words are warm and tend to melt but man, I'm lost...I know not of this cryptkeeper ('less you speaking on as many levels-which couldn't and shouldn't be put past.)though I do recognize the usual suspects.
ReplyDeleteWhat's up Hanny? You, as always, know homefield advantage and use such wisely. A veteran runs shop and can't never stop.
It all gets me hearing the engines rev and roar as the people pour in from all points in the you Ess of A. Hay!
That may just be me though...nice work per usual sir.
-Blood
Hey Gene, good Spinout as usual. I can't quibble with your choices. Harvick's behavior puzzled me at best, disgusted me at worst. It was indefensible, especially considering he DIDN'T have the best truck at the time. He had a strong truck, just not the best truck. Kyle Busch was loving it when Harvick and Hornaday were racing for position. I think the strain of a long, hellish season is wearing on Harvick. A Cup win would do him wonders. (He had one in the ATL, but Clint Bowyer cost him that win. Thanks a lot, Clint.)
ReplyDeleteI misread the poll question?
ReplyDeleteI thought it said "Will I be driving horny and happy next year?"
So I said yes.
TsFan...yes it's sad to see RPM crumbling. especially now...I kind of expected Kasey to do alright in the Chase.
ReplyDeleteGonger....thanks. Hey! Plenty of us old people watch NASCAR! LOL
Yee....Too bad for your boy, Kasey. I would not be surprised to see him still win once or twice though.
CR....The Nation is having fun with Kyle's car failing inspection. He still has a ways to go to catch up with Jr and the Eury's failed inspections.
ReplyDeleteJ Dub....Great to have you drop in bro! I just got home, JW&A will have to wait until tomorrow. Tired.
Nothing wrong with a Dr Pepper...lol
Blood Brother....YOU certainly do know jargon. Like no one else! lol
ReplyDeleteI'm jonesing for some of your jargon. Is it on the table yet?
Jon...Kevin does have a hair trigger. I didn't understand why he said it was "too late now" when they made the last restart with 7 laps to go. They both got to start right behind Kyle. If he didn't think he could pass kyle in 7 laps, I don't know how he thought he could have ran him down and passed him earlier.
Rev...Good answer. Just keep your eyes on the road when passing by the 'Damn of the Day'.
ReplyDeleteAlright, why is everyone ragging on Mark Martin? He's is winning dammit!! Why has age become an issue instead of SKILL in Nascar. The comment about Grandaddy.com was inappropriate. Mark Martin is a class act and always has been. To those who are badmouthing a great driver I have one comment. "If you haven't anything nice to say, just shut up" Don't open your mouths and prove how stupid you are. MM is the most respected driver in the garage area. I wonder if anyone else will be as good as he is at 50 or if they will even be around. Go Mark... you da man!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJW... Oh I'm out there all right! Fox-Mail? I seem to remember Fox-Mail... That was when I was known as Gandolph the Grey... now I've come back as Gandolph the White! Nevermind my rambling, I'll go to that site of old, and fire off a FM to you!
ReplyDeleteJoanne....That's a little extreme! You'd better calm down. Gene has a following from coast to coast! And he excels in Mafia Wars! One of these days, someone will like Gonger will write a blog on Kyle Busch, the old geezer!lol
ReplyDeleteJoanne....thanks for your views. This is sort of an irreverent community. We all resect everyone else's opinion...even if we think they're full of crapola.
ReplyDeleteMark is a great driver....but his humbler than thou act has worn thin with many of us. Why was he crying at the end of the race in NH? It wasn't like he hadn't won before. It wasn't like it was a championship or anything.
Well I just don't know what to say. Go Mikey Waltrip! Oh! He is not in the chase. Well that is a fine Howdy Do. Do they give points for the most crashes?
ReplyDeleteFrom Mikey's one and only fan.
photogr that award will have to go to David Stremme. He has hit more people and things than Mikey this year.
ReplyDeleteHey Hanny what is old Hanner up to these days? Any new interesting cases he is working on.
I think Hanner's been on a binge since getting that hush money...
ReplyDeletePhoto....A true fan you are. Through thick and thin....mostly thin. lol
ReplyDeleteTsFan....Hanner is still recouperating from the gunshot. He can only drink with one hand now! LOL