[Racer Duck]

As I watched the race today, I started taking notes about things I saw that I wanted to comment on later. I know some have/are being discussed in other threads, but this seemed a more focused way to condense the essence of our collective impressions.

Shrub on Camera: I found it odd, after Mears wrecked and Shrub took over the lead, that except for the "group shot" of the restart, not one time until the next yellow flag did the camera show the race leader. the announcers talked about almost every car in the top 20 except Shrub .. it was like he was being boycotted.

Are You Kidding Me?: after Johnson's early mishap which required repair to his left front fender I was taken aback by the announcer's obvious fawning over the repairs. That was the ugliest repair job I've seen since 2nd grade art class. It was, or should have been, obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the bear bond wasn't attached well, the body work the announcers pronouced next to perfect looked like a piece of ...., and that the car had lost a major portion of its aerodynamics. then when the bear bond was seen pealing off at speed, they made excuses that the fender had failed and cut into the tire. look at it again and you will see the bear bond being pulled under the tire and the fender with it. they at least got the fender cutting the tire right.

A Little Hair Singed: in his interview after the accident that saw his car enveloped in flames and put him out of the race, Johnson was describing how the flames in the cockpit burned the side of his face. my question: how did that happen if he had his face shield down as he should have?

Mark's message to Jeff B.: the mark (no pun intended) of a true racer is acknowledging another racer's courtesy. Mark sent a message via his pit folks to Jeff Burton thanking him for giving him room on restarts after he lost 2nd gear. not many of today's racers would have done either. these two are class acts.

Mikey's Letters commercial: no matter how you feel about Mikey, it was refreshing to see another commercial poking fun at his inability to attain minimum racing speed. I especially liked the "school zone" letter.

"The Chase Isn't Important..": did you hear Jamie actually utter those words? I couldn't believe my ears. even more, I couldn't believe the pit reporter ignored what he said .. maybe she couldn't accept that a Cup driver would actually say it on live TV!!! whatever the case, I applaud Jamie. sounds like he's got his priorities right .. now if he can just get some consistent finishes...

ESPN Tech: the technical illustrations and explanations were the best I've ever seen on TV. they were clear, concise and informative. Congrats to the ESPN Tech team for an A+ performance at Indy!

No Room for Harvick: isn't it strange that Tony, the guy who's always spouting off about others racing him badly, did exactly what he so vocally condemns when he passed Harvick for the final lead change late in the race? when I first saw it, I thought I didn't see it right. but the replays show Tony intentionally drove into Harvick who was as far to the right as he could go without hitting the wall. Another example that's occurring much too often of an arrogant driver who has no regard for those he races against. With all his talent, you would think he could find a way to win races without roughing up his competition. Harvick, who's not known as a shy individual, has rightly focused the spotlight on Tony's driving. Tony calls Harvick a friend, but what I saw is not how one treats a friend.

A Fine for Tony?: It was obvious to me, and apparently many others, that Tony's "indiscretion" during his post race interview was intentional. Some feel it was perfectly acceptable; others, like me, feel it was inexcusable. NASCAR now has to decide whether Tony's actions are in the best interest of the sport and act accordingly.

Juan Pablo's Post Race Interview: I was completely won over to the Montoya camp by JP's demeanor and graciousness during the post race interview. Not only because of what he said, but because he obviously meant what he said and made no excuses for today's results. so often we see excuses for not winning, JP seemed pleased to have garnered the runner-up trophy at a track where he's seen success before. He acted as a champion ought to act but seldom witness in today's NASCAR.

Your Turn. If you have an opinion or comment on today's race, I'd love to hear it.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

As I watched the race today, I started taking notes about things I saw that I wanted to comment on later. I know some have/are being discussed in other threads, but this seemed a more focused way to condense the essence of our collective impressions.

Shrub on Camera: I found it odd, after Mears wrecked and Shrub took over the lead, that except for the "group shot" of the restart, not one time until the next yellow flag did the camera show the race leader. the announcers talked about almost every car in the top 20 except Shrub .. it was like he was being boycotted.
I would only ask what interest ESPN would have in not talking about him intentionally ? Media is generally just the opposite.

Are You Kidding Me?: after Johnson's early mishap which required repair to his left front fender I was taken aback by the announcer's obvious fawning over the repairs. That was the ugliest repair job I've seen since 2nd grade art class. It was, or should have been, obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the bear bond wasn't attached well, the body work the announcers pronouced next to perfect looked like a piece of ...., and that the car had lost a major portion of its aerodynamics. then when the bear bond was seen pealing off at speed, they made excuses that the fender had failed and cut into the tire. look at it again and you will see the bear bond being pulled under the tire and the fender with it. they at least got the fender cutting the tire right.
This pretty much reaffirms my belief in the media. They are stuck on JJ and will do whatever is necessary to insure they can get access to him when needed or not needed.

A Little Hair Singed: in his interview after the accident that saw his car enveloped in flames and put him out of the race, Johnson was describing how the flames in the cockpit burned the side of his face. my question: how did that happen if he had his face shield down as he should have?
My thoughts exactly.

Mark's message to Jeff B.: the mark (no pun intended) of a true racer is acknowledging another racer's courtesy. Mark sent a message via his pit folks to Jeff Burton thanking him for giving him room on restarts after he lost 2nd gear. not many of today's racers would have done either. these two are class acts.
Just verifies, again, how many already feel about Mark and Jeff.

Mikey's Letters commercial: no matter how you feel about Mikey, it was refreshing to see another commercial poking fun at his inability to attain minimum racing speed. I especially liked the "school zone" letter.
Who was that N.A. Pa guy anyway ???

"The Chase Isn't Important..": did you hear Jamie actually utter those words? I couldn't believe my ears. even more, I couldn't believe the pit reporter ignored what he said .. maybe she couldn't accept that a Cup driver would actually say it on live TV!!! whatever the case, I applaud Jamie. sounds like he's got his priorities right .. now if he can just get some consistent finishes...
Sort of the same story you hear when the Oscars are passed out and one of the nominees is interviewed after not winning.

ESPN Tech: the technical illustrations and explanations were the best I've ever seen on TV. they were clear, concise and informative. Congrats to the ESPN Tech team for an A+ performance at Indy!
I did like the aspect but not the presenter.

No Room for Harvick: isn't it strange that Tony, the guy who's always spouting off about others racing him badly, did exactly what he so vocally condemns when he passed Harvick for the final lead change late in the race? when I first saw it, I thought I didn't see it right. but the replays show Tony intentionally drove into Harvick who was as far to the right as he could go without hitting the wall. Another example that's occurring much too often of an arrogant driver who has no regard for those he races against. With all his talent, you would think he could find a way to win races without roughing up his competition. Harvick, who's not known as a shy individual, has rightly focused the spotlight on Tony's driving. Tony calls Harvick a friend, but what I saw is not how one treats a friend.
I don't think anyone wants to hear my opinion (AGAIN) on Tony.

A Fine for Tony?: It was obvious to me, and apparently many others, that Tony's "indiscretion" during his post race interview was intentional. Some feel it was perfectly acceptable; others, like me, feel it was inexcusable. NASCAR now has to decide whether Tony's actions are in the best interest of the sport and act accordingly.
Once again we'll get to see if NASCAR justice is equal.

Juan Pablo's Post Race Interview: I was completely won over to the Montoya camp by JP's demeanor and graciousness during the post race interview. Not only because of what he said, but because he obviously meant what he said and made no excuses for today's results. so often we see excuses for not winning, JP seemed pleased to have garnered the runner-up trophy at a track where he's seen success before. He acted as a champion ought to act but seldom witness in today's NASCAR.
I'm slowly being turned, but I still fear the attitude issue.

Your Turn. If you have an opinion or comment on today's race, I'd love to hear it.

That's the best I can do Ducky

[kcoruol]

JJ - I didn't see any singed hair and not sure how it could happen with a helmet on but it did look like the whole inside of his car was filled with smoke as he was getting out (and pretty dang fast at that).

TS - What's the deal with slammin Harvick into the wall?

Post interview "indiscretion"? I must have missed that what happened?

TS - Climbing the fence - He obviously lives for the spotlight.

Are these races fixed? I mean the announcers were fawning all over Tony Stewart the whole race. My wife told me he was going to win early on in the race because they were giving him so much coverage.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by kcoruol

JJ - I didn't see any singed hair and not sure how it could happen with a helmet on but it did look like the whole inside of his car was filled with smoke as he was getting out (and pretty dang fast at that).

TS - What's the deal with slammin Harvick into the wall?

Post interview "indiscretion"? I must have missed that what happened?

TS - Climbing the fence - He obviously lives for the spotlight.

Are these races fixed? I mean the announcers were fawning all over Tony Stewart the whole race. My wife told me he was going to win early on in the race because they were giving him so much coverage.

after Tony blasted the interviewer about climbing the fence and as one of his parting statements he looked directly into the camera and in very measured words said something like "for all my fans who put up with this B... S..." - course his fans love it .. well, some of them.

re: fixed races .. think we covered this already in another thread, but basically none other than Mike Helton, head NASCAR mouthpiece, has stated: "we aren't that smart". ya gotta give 'em that! but Tony was consistently the fastest car on the track all day .. those announcer types pay close attention to that if the car is in the top 5.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by kcoruol

JJ - I didn't see any singed hair and not sure how it could happen with a helmet on but it did look like the whole inside of his car was filled with smoke as he was getting out (and pretty dang fast at that).

Did you hear the interview after he came out of the infield care center? He even admitted to having singed hair.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Did you hear the interview after he came out of the infield care center? He even admitted to having singed hair.

also looked like his left eye was blackened .. probably from the mascara running due to heat.

[wingkey1]

re: JJ's overheated face

Even with the face shield down (he did have it down when we all saw him exit the car), one path for air exchange in the helmets being used continues to be "up the neck". There currently is no seal between the driver suit and helmet. If there are flames all about you and you inhale - here they come. The positive pressure cooling tube in the top of the helmets can and does help to minimize this when it is running and attached. When exiting the car - it is unattached and is an additional inhalent path.

[Racer Duck]

point taken...

[I Flip For Carl]

We were watching one of the post race shows last night and one of the hosts was talking about Johnson's singed eyebrows and he said something like, it wouldn't hurt him to loose some of those eyebrows

I'm not a Johnson fan,but feel that comment was totally uncalled for.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by I Flip For Carl

We were watching one of the post race shows last night and one of the hosts was talking about Johnson's singed eyebrows and he said something like, it wouldn't hurt him to loose some of those eyebrows

I'm not a Johnson fan,but feel that comment was totally uncalled for.

he went to the Tony Stewart School of Broadcasting

[wingkey1]

Racer Duck observes: Mikey's Letters commercial: no matter how you feel about Mikey, it was refreshing to see another commercial poking fun at his inability to attain minimum racing speed. I especially liked the "school zone" letter.

Agree. It baffles me at times when folks go on about how he'll lose his sponsers due to team start up problems and the associated lack of air time. The guy (or some really smart ones he has gathered around - making him defacto not so dumb) are constantly getting him, his team drivers, and his sponsers air time through various innovative approaches that make advantage of misfortune, mishap, and "being human".

And even provoking those detractors to go on and on about him is itself another form of recognition/promotion.

We should all be so dumb.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by wingkey1

re: JJ's overheated face

Even with the face shield down (he did have it down when we all saw him exit the car), one path for air exchange in the helmets being used continues to be "up the neck". There currently is no seal between the driver suit and helmet. If there are flames all about you and you inhale - here they come. The positive pressure cooling tube in the top of the helmets can and does help to minimize this when it is running and attached. When exiting the car - it is unattached and is an additional inhalent path.

While I can buy the positive pressure cooling tube, I can't by the no seal between the helmet and suit, as drivers now where that that neck scarf or whatever it is called that comes off the helmet to provide protection in case of fire... If I remember correctly NA$CAR mandated it after Jr wrecked the corvette and burnt is neck.

[SpaceCadet]

I should probably read through the rest of the threads first because this has probably been brought up, but is it my imagination or was Hamlin trying to wreck everybody on the track? It seemed to me like he was driving like a maniac. That's the first thing that jumped out at me. The second was Mikey's commercial. I am not a big fan of his, but the worse things get for him, the more he allows himself to be poked fun at for the good of his sponser (and himself, of course). He's actually growing on me. You've got to admit, he's pretty darn funny. And I think the patch job on Johnson's car, well, holy crap, couldn't have been much worse, ya think? I thought that was my imagination, too, since all the experts didn't see what I thought I did. I'm no expert, but at least I'm not as crazy as I thought I was (maybe ).

[BringBackWilkesboro]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

Shrub on Camera: I found it odd, after Mears wrecked and Shrub took over the lead, that except for the "group shot" of the restart, not one time until the next yellow flag did the camera show the race leader. the announcers talked about almost every car in the top 20 except Shrub .. it was like he was being boycotted.

If that is the case, I have no problem. I'd boycott the little sumb*tch too.

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

A Little Hair Singed: in his interview after the accident that saw his car enveloped in flames and put him out of the race, Johnson was describing how the flames in the cockpit burned the side of his face. my question: how did that happen if he had his face shield down as he should have?

If he had the shield down, nobody would have been able to see his face on the in-car shot. That's the risk he takes I guess. Seriously though, If I was Robin Pemberton or John Darby, I'd ask him the same question.

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

Mark's message to Jeff B.: the mark (no pun intended) of a true racer is acknowledging another racer's courtesy. Mark sent a message via his pit folks to Jeff Burton thanking him for giving him room on restarts after he lost 2nd gear. not many of today's racers would have done either. these two are class acts.

I'd expect nothing less from those two.

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

"The Chase Isn't Important..": did you hear Jamie actually utter those words? I couldn't believe my ears. even more, I couldn't believe the pit reporter ignored what he said .. maybe she couldn't accept that a Cup driver would actually say it on live TV!!! whatever the case, I applaud Jamie. sounds like he's got his priorities right .. now if he can just get some consistent finishes...

It's a different way of looking at things, but I see where he's coming from. Drivers always focus on getting the best finish they can. If you run well, you get the points, so just do that and the points will fall where they may.

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

No Room for Harvick: isn't it strange that Tony, the guy who's always spouting off about others racing him badly, did exactly what he so vocally condemns when he passed Harvick for the final lead change late in the race? when I first saw it, I thought I didn't see it right. but the replays show Tony intentionally drove into Harvick who was as far to the right as he could go without hitting the wall. Another example that's occurring much too often of an arrogant driver who has no regard for those he races against. With all his talent, you would think he could find a way to win races without roughing up his competition. Harvick, who's not known as a shy individual, has rightly focused the spotlight on Tony's driving. Tony calls Harvick a friend, but what I saw is not how one treats a friend.

It's just like Kevin said, Tony's the first guy to whine about not getting space, yet he's also to the first to take it.

Those are a few off my thought on what you said. Here's some more:

• Scott Wimmer - I mentioned him in the pre race talk thread. Said it was a good opportunity to be considered for a second chance, and he was looking to cash in. Until the incident on pit road, where he was just an innocent bystander trying to get out of the pits, he was running very solidly in the top 15-20. Too bad what happened to him.
• Chase seeding - With chase seeding being based on wins, Tony Stewart joined Gordon and Johnson as the only drivers with multiple wins.
• Some good finishes: Reed Sorenson- 5th, Dave Blaney- 9th, Ward Burton- 14th, David Ragan- 16th.

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

Juan Pablo's Post Race Interview: I was completely won over to the Montoya camp by JP's demeanor and graciousness during the post race interview. Not only because of what he said, but because he obviously meant what he said and made no excuses for today's results. so often we see excuses for not winning, JP seemed pleased to have garnered the runner-up trophy at a track where he's seen success before. He acted as a champion ought to act but seldom witness in today's NASCAR.

welcome to the dark side