[Racer Duck]

the technical problem I've been fighting with my PC has been resolved, but in the process I missed the first 30 or so laps of the race. from what I've gathered, it wasn't much of a loss...

Boring??? I admit, I tried unsuccessfully to doze off a time or two, but the yelling around me at something on the TV woke me up each time. Except for the last 20 odd laps, it was about as exciting as watching a chess match zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Johnson an "aggressive" driver??? did ya hear the announcer (don't know if it was Brad Daughtry or Andy Petree - they sound very similar to my old ears) making the point several times that JJ is an aggressive driver? don't know about you, but that's not how I'd characterize him.

Gordo "taps" Jr: dunno what Jeffy was thinking, but it was definitely a foolhardy move. kudos to Jr. for being able to keep his car from wrecking and not setting steam to take Gordo out... from the the radio traffic, Gordo wasn't really looking forward to getting around Jr. the next time...

Move the rear end: I wonder how many understood (or cared) what was happening that caused Biffle's crew chief to take such drastic action as changing the rear end angle during the race. I know they mentioned "rear steer", but if the tech center explained it, I must have been out of the room .. or snoring...

Lowes is temperamental track: Lowes is the most temperamental track on the circuit. when anything with the weather changes or merely going from day to night, the track changes drastically. nobody really knows why or maybe Bruton Smith & Humpy Wheeler won't let anybody that really knows spill the beans... it really gives the race teams fits, which, I believe makes for better racing 'cause they can't rely 100% on their notes like they can at other tracks.

ESPN & bleeping: did ya notice ESPN has taken the position that they aren't going to bleep any recorded radio traffic for playback? they let Jr's baddie stay in when they replayed it later. I wonder if they do the same when a golfer mutters an obscenity? (If you don't think golfer's let a few choice ones fly from time to time, you've never been around a golf course!)

Tony's Gas & Go: poor Tony. Zippy and the guys did a great gas & go, but Tony wrecked twice getting out of the pits! Was Zippy and/or his spotter ogling the girls or what??? Now, THAT's enough to make a guy HOT!!! Wonder if ESPN recorded his radio traffic and if so, why they didn't play it? Some are asking why Chase cars don't have the right of way .. how stupid is that? We (bored) fans need some pit road action to keep up the interest level...

Mark's radio traffic: my son likes to "listen in" to his favorite driver's radio traffic .. and he keeps me advised of what's going on with Mark during the race. Well, this race Mark was unhappy with David Gilliland: seems David's pit was right in front of Marks and David was pulling into his pits at an angle and leaving his rear end partially blocking Mark's exit. after several attempts my Mark's crew talking to David's crew asking them to get their driver to do a better job and each successive pit stop getting worse instead of better, Mark said "This old man will whip his butt after the race!" I didn't hear any more about it after that and don't know if Gilliland get the final word or if he and Mark...

Chronicles of Mikey: as I watched Mikey's email commercial I wondered if the one sender (N.A. Pa) was happy or sad about Mikey's new "partner"? I was certainly interested reading the story on NASCAR.COM about the changes the guy has already put in place (showed Mikey may be a good driver and personality, but has no clue how to run a race team.) I expect MWR to be lots better real soon!!!

"My House" wrecks: "This is My House" wrecks in his house on successive nights - that's the headline in Charlotte. Though JJ seemed to have the car to beat both times, around halfway or so in both the Busch and the Cup race he lost it and wrecked. not bad, but enough that he was never seriously in contention after that. Maybe he needs to sell that house and get a better one, he can certainly afford it!!! Oh yeah, I forgot .. he lives in NYC... Anyway, I think his visit to "My House" this time cost him the Championship.

Is Happy happy? don't think so. got down early from a flat tire that took 2 pit stops to find and could never recover though it seemed he had a good car for a while .. his 33rd place finish dropped him 3 more spots in the Chase.

Month of Miseries: that's how Matt characterized his recent fortunes and the "miseries" have taken him from 3rd in points to the bottom of the Chase, 440+ points back and out of the race for all intents and purposes. I still like the new paint job, though....

Green leaks => Johnny spins => Ryan leads => then spins => Gordo Wins! what a strange last 20 laps or so... raspberries to NASCAR and Humpy for leaving all the oil in the low groove in turn 4 .. it caused lots of miseries at the end of the race, not the least of which is some wrecked cars. I thought Ryan had it in the bag, but I guess the slick track and being a bit overanxious for his first win this year did him in .. he claims the left rear blew, but Goodyear said the tire was up when he pulled into the garage. Now Jeffy has almost 70 point lead on JJ and 10 more on Clint .. baring catastrophe, the party is over...

Low gas? Not so!! methinks Gordo was throwing a false trail to the hounds. If he was so low on gas that the car sputtered under caution, where'd the gas come from for all the post race celebrations? (I'm pretty sure NA$CAR is still checking for "illegal fuel tanks" in the frame and cage...)

With 5 races to go, here's how Chase 2007 looks:

1. -- Jeff Gordon 5880
2. -- Jimmie Johnson -68
3. -- Clint Bowyer -78
4. -- Tony Stewart -198
5. +1 Carl Edwards -240
6. +2 Kyle Busch -280
7. -- Kurt Busch -315
8. -3 Kevin Harvick -328
9. -- Denny Hamlin -349
10. +2 Jeff Burton -366
11. -1 Martin Truex Jr. -378
12. -1 Matt Kenseth -442

The fat lady is warming up the vocal cords...

[thunderfoot]

Hey RD why dont you apply for the job of commentator? You certainly couldnt do any worse.

[Quality88]

I think he could give the sportscenter guys a run for their money.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by thunderfoot

Hey RD why dont you apply for the job of commentator? You certainly couldnt do any worse.

Originally Posted by Quality88

I think he could give the sportscenter guys a run for their money.

Thanks guys. But it would be too much like a real job! This is more fun even if the pay ain't so hot and I get to work my own hours!

[thunderfoot]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

Thanks guys. But it would be too much like a real job! This is more fun even if the pay ain't so hot and I get to work my own hours!

Yup. If your not having fun there is no reason to do it.

[Campbell]

It more fun to read different commentary here after the race anyway! ...And you don't have to worry about adhering to any rules set by a boss or sponsor here

[wingkey1]

"Gordo "taps" Jr: dunno what Jeffy was thinking, but it was definitely a foolhardy move. kudos to Jr. for being able to keep his car from wrecking and not setting steam to take Gordo out... from the the radio traffic, Gordo wasn't really looking forward to getting around Jr. the next time..."

************************************************** ****

View from the other side of the moon:

As we watched the event we saw a red vehicle running the proverbial high groove. Commentators, seemingly in some form of personal love fest with the red car were going on and on to the effect - "oh golly gee see the red car and it's supreme performance in the high groove". So being the obedient mammal that we are, we observed. Seen was - red car in high groove getting repeatedly passed on the low side by multiple vehicles lap after lap. Here comes still another running the low line - just a matter of time - ok, we're now at - "next lap, this one passes the red car". But what's this?!? - The red car has decided to drop to the lowest of lines to prevent this next car from making it appear as if a continuous train is participating in the event.

A brain cell fires - "Punt the jerk". The jerk is punted and we are glad. Names, sponsors, owners, relationships be danged, that was jerk-wad stuff.

And so it is. And the "punted" is clearly the lesser, not only for the decision but too in the final event performance.

And so the event proceeds. Commentators continuing with the love affair with the red car and it's tremendously successful "high line", as successive restarts and event segments see the red car gobbled up by more and more low groovers. WHAT are these flippin' people watchin' and smokin'?

Since we recorded the event, we watched repeatedly to be sure we were not perhaps unconcious. We were'nt. And we here root for the red car. Go figure.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

Thanks guys. But it would be too much like a real job! This is more fun even if the pay ain't so hot and I get to work my own hours!

Understandable

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by wingkey1

"Gordo "taps" Jr: dunno what Jeffy was thinking, but it was definitely a foolhardy move. kudos to Jr. for being able to keep his car from wrecking and not setting steam to take Gordo out... from the the radio traffic, Gordo wasn't really looking forward to getting around Jr. the next time..."

************************************************** ****

View from the other side of the moon:

As we watched the event we saw a red vehicle running the proverbial high groove. Commentators, seemingly in some form of personal love fest with the red car were going on and on to the effect - "oh golly gee see the red car and it's supreme performance in the high groove". So being the obedient mammal that we are, we observed. Seen was - red car in high groove getting repeatedly passed on the low side by multiple vehicles lap after lap. Here comes still another running the low line - just a matter of time - ok, we're now at - "next lap, this one passes the red car". But what's this?!? - The red car has decided to drop to the lowest of lines to prevent this next car from making it appear as if a continuous train is participating in the event.

A brain cell fires - "Punt the jerk". The jerk is punted and we are glad. Names, sponsors, owners, relationships be danged, that was jerk-wad stuff.

And so it is. And the "punted" is clearly the lesser, not only for the decision but too in the final event performance.

And so the event proceeds. Commentators continuing with the love affair with the red car and it's tremendously successful "high line", as successive restarts and event segments see the red car gobbled up by more and more low groovers. WHAT are these flippin' people watchin' and smokin'?

Since we recorded the event, we watched repeatedly to be sure we were not perhaps unconcious. We were'nt. And we here root for the red car. Go figure.

got it and understand

however (ya knew it was coming, didn't ya?)

the red car entered the turn low, not high, so the option of running low thru this corner was tried since the high line wasn't working. enter the blue multicolored car stage right. gap closing quickly .. hold the line .. bumper's don't mate, lift the rear wheels of the red car .. ok on straight, but not in corner. NASCAR frowned but narry a word...

two options not taken: steer around or slow down. both are better than one taken. blue was definitely faster than red on that day .. no need for roughhousing.

I don't root for either... still puzzled.

[PenelopePitStop]

You know, when I first joined this Forum, it was quite typical for a Thread, regardless of the Topic, to turn into a Gordon-bashing. As of late, many Threads are morphing into Jr. or Stewart bashing.

People feel that Jr. is getting way too much coverage by the media/commentators. Tony is Mr. Bad-Temper, and we must be reminded of that on a regular basis, less we forget.

Jr. ran into a Chaser! Oh, Heaven forbid he ever lives that down. Tony gets pi$$ed off. Well so do I. Has anyone forgotten that one of the "blessed" Chasers also came down Pit Lane/Road and almost hit another crew member in retaliation for events on the track. I guess that behavior is forgotten now that The Chase has begun.

And let's not even discuss "cheating". The top two in the chase? Cheat to win is the way to go, I guess. And yes, I know, Jr.'s Team also was accused of cheating at the beginning of the season.

Yes, the commentators go on and on and on with the high line that Jr. has run lately--which hasn't proven to be beneficial in the long run--but do we hold this coverage against Jr.? If you recall, Jr. also has come from the back to the top-10 in the past few races, which does warrant coverage, as it would with any driver.

I don't "dislike" the driver I no longer mention solely because the media shoved him down my throat. I dislike him due to his own actions. Can't blame the media for that one.

Alas, I guess there's nothing really exciting as far as the racing itself for the rest of this season. Too bad.

[LSC9901]

Awwww geeeee Penny. Are you trying to burst my bubble ???? In my case I've stated time and again that Tony is one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR today and his abilities exceed that of many others over the past 50 years. He still insists on beating us (me) up with his insane (Bullshoot) attitude. Have you forgotten the Daytona race where he literally ran another driver off the track ???

Yes Kurt made a bone head move on pit road ... or should I say another bonehead move. After all he is a Busch. It appears to come natural.

Too much of Jr and who's fault is it. If ever there were a person who hates interviews it would seem to be him. Yes i get annoyed listening to DE, Rusty, Larry Mac, Andy, Mike Joy ..... (Ada, Ada, Ada) talk about Jr .... but it is them doing the incessant talking ... not Jr.

I understand that you get sick of hearing the negative but we all have sore spots. I take most of it with a grain of salt. We all have differening opinions and I try to appreciate all of them. If everyone agreed with me ..... this would be a dangerous place !!!

[PenelopePitStop]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Awwww geeeee Penny. Are you trying to burst my bubble ???? In my case I've stated time and again that Tony is one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR today and his abilities exceed that of many others over the past 50 years. He still insists on beating us (me) up with his insane (Bullshoot) attitude. Have you forgotten the Daytona race where he literally ran another driver off the track ???

Yes Kurt made a bone head move on pit road ... or should I say another bonehead move. After all he is a Busch. It appears to come natural.

Too much of Jr and who's fault is it. If ever there were a person who hates interviews it would seem to be him. Yes i get annoyed listening to DE, Rusty, Larry Mac, Andy, Mike Joy ..... (Ada, Ada, Ada) talk about Jr .... but it is them doing the incessant talking ... not Jr.

I understand that you get sick of hearing the negative but we all have sore spots. I take most of it with a grain of salt. We all have differening opinions and I try to appreciate all of them. If everyone agreed with me ..... this would be a dangerous place !!!

Oh, no. That wasn't directed at you or anyone else at all. I am quite accustomed to how you feel about certain drivers.

No, I don't remember Tony running another driver off the track at Daytona. And, no, I don't have selective memory. As you know, I wasn't always a Tony fan, and I know he's not the perfect representative for NASCAR.

Perhaps the announcers focus on Jr. because, quite frankly, there's nothing else to talk about at times. Maybe they are just playing up the fact that Jr. is "The Most Popular Driver" last I heard. However, I don't remember such coverage when Bill Elliott also was voted "The Most Popular Driver" year after year. Didn't they broadcast a race a few years ago with no announcers? I may have been dreaming ... or just wishful thinking.

As you said, if everyone agreed with you, this would be a very dangerous place! I also appreciate different opinions, but it just seems that as of late Jr. and Tony are getting the brunt of criticism. Additionally, I do take all posts with a grain of salt. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone. Simply calling out an observation.

No harm. No foul.

Speaking of foul, the Sox better step it up tonight!

[simple simon]

i will tell you my observation of the race ....... i didnt watch it because as soon as the chase started i got bored with NASCAR ....... ill be back next season ..... for some reason this season was more exciting to me before the chase was going

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by PenelopePitStop

Oh, no. That wasn't directed at you or anyone else at all. I am quite accustomed to how you feel about certain drivers.

No, I don't remember Tony running another driver off the track at Daytona. And, no, I don't have selective memory. As you know, I wasn't always a Tony fan, and I know he's not the perfect representative for NASCAR.

Perhaps the announcers focus on Jr. because, quite frankly, there's nothing else to talk about at times. Maybe they are just playing up the fact that Jr. is "The Most Popular Driver" last I heard. However, I don't remember such coverage when Bill Elliott also was voted "The Most Popular Driver" year after year. Didn't they broadcast a race a few years ago with no announcers? I may have been dreaming ... or just wishful thinking.

As you said, if everyone agreed with you, this would be a very dangerous place! I also appreciate different opinions, but it just seems that as of late Jr. and Tony are getting the brunt of criticism. Additionally, I do take all posts with a grain of salt. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone. Simply calling out an observation.

No harm. No foul.

Speaking of foul, the Sox better step it up tonight!

Feb. 19, 2006

WHOA!! Matt Kenseth was PUSHED off the track by Tony Stewart in lap 107 he flew back up the track into the wall (lot of good driving kept some guys from getting collected). He said on his radio “The 20 hit me”. I can’t figure out what could’ve happened to Tony Stewart that would have caused an accident like that, it looked like it was completely on purpose.
Tony Stewart was penalized by Nascar and sent to the end of the longest lap. Matt Kenseth came driving up behind Tony Stewart on pit road and then backed off after his crew chief Robbie Reiser yelled at him. Then coming off pit road Matt Kenseth pushed Tony Stewart over (without touching him) but in doing that he passed Tony and Nascar blackflagged. Matt protested saying he didn’t do anything wrong. He refused to come in and Nascar took him down another lap.


http://www.racingmen.com/nascar/jeff-gordon/

Top of the 5th 0-0

[nascarfan24]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Feb. 19, 2006

WHOA!! Matt Kenseth was PUSHED off the track by Tony Stewart in lap 107 he flew back up the track into the wall (lot of good driving kept some guys from getting collected). He said on his radio “The 20 hit me”. I can’t figure out what could’ve happened to Tony Stewart that would have caused an accident like that, it looked like it was completely on purpose.
Tony Stewart was penalized by Nascar and sent to the end of the longest lap. Matt Kenseth came driving up behind Tony Stewart on pit road and then backed off after his crew chief Robbie Reiser yelled at him. Then coming off pit road Matt Kenseth pushed Tony Stewart over (without touching him) but in doing that he passed Tony and Nascar blackflagged. Matt protested saying he didn’t do anything wrong. He refused to come in and Nascar took him down another lap.


http://www.racingmen.com/nascar/jeff-gordon/

Top of the 5th 0-0

I remember that. That was the day I said, "Who put that guy in a Cup car!?!" If I was Matt, I would have done the same thing. No one will ever know what Matt did that day. My guess: nothing!