Rain delays at Bristol
May 18, 2008
Updates below, following the rain delay….
Well, I can tell you the Top Fuel results — Tony Schumacher goes from the low qualifier position to his third win this season, beating Larry Dixon with a 4.555 at 306.81 mph at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee.
In Funny Car, we’ll have a first-time winner; either Mike Neff or Melanie Troxel.
In Pro Stock, it’s Dave Connolly vs. Greg Stanfield (looking for his first win.)
Unfortunately, there’s a rain delay, so we’ll just have to hang out until the skies clear and the track is dry. Read more
Double Clutchin’-The Difference Between Being Good And Being Great
May 18, 2008
I’m not the type of person who is entertained by All-Star celebrations in sports. It’s usually a bunch of athletes who are only there because their contracts say that they have to be; who are content to just not get hurt. That being said; the NASCAR All-Star celebration is a pretty good example of what an All-Star exhibition should be: it’s different from the norm, it offers a million reasons ($) for the drivers to give it their best, and the fans have an opportunity to be interactive in voting a driver into the race who wouldn’t have made it Read more
Random Thoughts…
May 18, 2008
Since the great All-Star race was such a snooze-fest, I had a few extra minutes to jot down some random thoughts as I fast-forwarded through the main feature to watch the commercials. Here they are, unfiltered, from my brain to your eyes: Read more
Thunder in the Valley
May 17, 2008
The weather is cooperating at one of drag racing’s most picturesque facilities; the Bristol Dragway that zooms between mountains in eastern Tennessee.
Top Fuel’s Tony Schumacher held onto his Friday night 4.502 run at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, and grabbed his second pole of the season; good thing, since Saturday was mostly tire-smoking.
“The first thing Alan [Johnson, crew chief] had to say this morning was, ‘We didn’t have to run a .50-flat or a .43, we just need to find out where the limit is and we found it,” said Schumacher. “I can’t enjoy racing on Sunday when we haven’t already found that limit, because you’re going to find it eventually, and I’d hate to find it Sunday.
“I’m as comfortable as I’ve ever been; the car is driving fantastic, the racetrack is outstanding, and it’s going to be great. There’s still a little something strange going on because yesterday we thought we could run 4.40s but only ran 4.50 and everyone else was behind us, so there’s still something out there giving us a curveball, but I would rather drive A.J.’s car any day of the week when all is wrong than drive anyone else’s car.”
Connie Kalitta’s crew had an excellent showing, with Dave Grubnic, Doug Kalitta and Hillary Will all in the top five. Antron Brown continued his consistent performance since switching to Top Fuel, with a 4th place qualifying position. Read more
Kahne Voted Into All-Star and Wins It!
May 17, 2008
CONCORD, N.C. - Kasey Kahne got voted into the 2008 All-Star by fans. He paid them back with interest by capturing the race and a nice round prize figure of $1,000,000 for winning. The win also ensures him of ten years’ entries in the All-Star. Read more
Allmendinger Wins Showdown, Hornish Also In All-Star
May 17, 2008
CONCORD, N.C. - A.J. Allmendinger and Sam Hornish Jr won the two transfer slots into tonight’s 2008 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race by placing one-two in the forty-lap Sprint Showdown race. Read more
Monday Morning Crew Chief
May 16, 2008
(Friday Edition)
The NASCAR schedule landed in Charlotte this week, once again a political crossroads. Scene of the sanctioning body’s first Strictly Stock race on a dirt short track in 1949, Charlotte has been home to trouble, boil and bubble on more than a few occasions since. Read more
Indy 500 Ticket Giveaway Trivia Contest
May 15, 2008
The Contest
Hey Indy 500 trivia buffs! Here’s your chance to win! We’ve put together a series of Indianapolis Motor Speedway trivia questions that we think will be tough to just “Google” the answers. Take a crack at the questions below, follow the rules and win!
The two people to get all (or the most) questions correctly answered will win a pair of tickets (Tickets ONLY; Paddock Box, Box 51, Row N) to the 2008 Indy 500 to be run on Sunday May 25.
The Rules
- Questions must be answered in the comments section of this posting.
- Number your answers 1-12, same as the questions.
- The first two (2) commenter with the most correct answers get two (2) tickets each.
- Therefore, you need to provide a legitimate email address that we can contact you at to get your mailing address.
- The contest closes at 12 Noon Eastern Time, Wednesday May 21, 2008, winning two (2) seats each.
- If there are no correct answers by the deadline, we’ll give the tickets away to the first response (by date and time in the comments section of this posting) that gets closest to the right answer by the allotted time.
The Questions
- What fast food restaurant used to stand at the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, across from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
- What was the name of the dress shop in the Speedway Strip mall that used to occupy the south side of 16th Street, across from the IMS South Gate?
- What is the exact location of the famed “Coca-Cola” parking lot?
- The original pagoda, the one that burnt down in 1925, was painted what colors?
- What is the exact height of the scoring pylon at IMS?
- Who has the most victories at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
- How many faces are on the façade of the Borg Warner Trophy given to the ‘500’ winner?
- Who’s the only face depicted on the Borg-Warner Trophy wearing glasses?
- The Turn 1 (and later Turn 4) infield areas were once commonly referred to as?
- What product provides is the source of wealth for the Hulman/George family, now owners of IMS and the IndyCar brand?
- Though IMS will not release an official seating chart, an Indianapolis Star reporter “counted” the seats at IMS in 2006. How many did he say there are?
- How much did Tony Hulman pay for the track when he purchased it in 1945?
Double Clutchin’-When’s The Last Time NASCAR Had A Great Moment?
May 15, 2008
Let me explain.
I just finished reading Joe Garner’s, book-Speed, Guts, and Glory: 100 Unforgettable Moments In NASCAR History, and while I found it an excellent read, it also turned my thoughts in another direction, and prompted me to ask the following question:
When is the last time that NASCAR had a truly great moment? And by great, I mean a moment so big that it transcends the sport and becomes the talk of the entire sports community. Something so big that ESPN actually spends time talking about it, instead of Read more
Teams Focus on Race Prep at Thursday Indy Practice
May 15, 2008
IndyCar Series teams prepped for Sunday May 25th’s Indianapolis 500 by making extended runs on full fuel tanks at the Speedway on Thursday.