[Racer Duck]

A short Race? Sure seemed like it .. only about 2 and a half hours. I think I like these "kilometer" races!

National Anthem: am I the only person who believes the National Anthem should be played/sung as written, without "artistic" flourishes? I was gratified last week when the TCU Marching Band did exactly that. Then this week, Dr. Whatever-His-Name-Was, who is a very accomplished horn player I'm sure, offered our National Anthem as a dirge. Not exactly what I would have selected to honor our Veterans. (Phoenix hasn't been annexed by California yet, has it? )

Front Row Joe's Short Laps: I'm sure Joe blamed Tony for his first short lap of the day, but Tony was innocent .. really!!! Seems the Furniture Row Chevy is very consistent: it spins a lot! Kenny Wallace had the same problem.

4 Open Wheeler Rookies: not a lot of pre-race media on our 4 "rookie" open-wheelers in the race. They posted respectable qualifying times. 2 went to the back pretty quickly, one stayed in the middle and 1 bounced in and out of the top 10 all day. In the end, only our F1 Champ (Jac) seemed to have a really bad day (a wreck on lap 136); Juablo (17th), Sam (30th) and Pat (33rd) managed to finish running (and, most importantly, didn't take out any Chasers!!!)

Speaking of Chasers: 10 of the 12 finished in the top 12. Carl was out early with an engine problem though he was unbeatable for the first 87 laps. Denny showed some signs of strength, but finished just in front of Juablo.

The Lucky #13: Dale Jr. dropped a spot and handed the first non-chase position to Ryan while Biff moved within 7 points of Jr. You do know that the 13th position is worth a cool million, don't ya?

Cautions: has NASCAR been listening to my gripes? Probably not, but somebody has told the TV folks to get back to the race a little quicker. There were 10 cautions, the longest one lasting 7 laps was when Kasey demolished his car. 2 cautions took 6 laps each , 4 lasted 5 laps each, and 3 lasted 4 laps each!!!

A New Commercial: even with the abbreviated cautions, there was a new (to me anyway) commercial. Jack .. eh .. Mr X .. no, it's Mr Jones .. yeah, Mr Jones!; Anyway, Mr Jones had his identity obscured with a black bar superimposed over his eyes (I couldn't tell who it was, could you????) and is questioned about his unfair advantage in the cutthroat world of hamburgers. Ja... er, Mr Jones confesses he does have an unfair advantage, in fact he gloats over it!!! Such a poor example of winning...

Was Jeff Gordon in the race? I didn't see him... How could anybody whose TV was on the channel carrying the race not know Gordo was in the race? I think he was center camera for at least 300 of the 312 laps!!! Poor Jimmy, he couldn't hardly get any coverage at all: even when he was battling Kenseth for 2nd late in the race the cameras were on Gordon racing for 6th .. until victory lane, that is. Post race interview with Gordo produced these jewels: "Top 10 isn't good enough!"; "you can't rub Kevin 'cause he gets mad..."; "It's over, even if we win the championship it'll be because (Jimmy) had a problem .. I'll take it, but it's not the way I want to win it."

Did ya notice Tony's quick pit stops? me neither. Zippy and the boys need recharging. Wonder of Home Depot has something to get rid of their sludge?

Still No Respect: Shrub is almost the forgotten man in the Chase. There he is, 4th in points, but nary a second in the spotlight. He even gets shortchanged in the winnings dept: though he finished 8th, he came in 16th in winnings for the race - both Dale Jr. (43rd) and Kasey (40th) took home more than him!!!

Smart Move or Not? Late in the race Ryan took on no tires during a pit stop. He was leading at the time but eventually lost the lead to guys with more tire than him. He finished a respectable 5th. Was this a smart move or not? Do you think he might have won the race had he taken tires?

The Chase as of the Checker Auto Parts 500 (km):

1. -- Jimmie Johnson 6572
2. -- Jeff Gordon -86
3. -- Clint Boyer -241
4. -- Kyle Busch -387
5. +1 Tony Stewart -403
6. +4 Matt Kenseth -469
7. +1 Kevin Harvick -479
8. -1 Jeff Burton -483
9. -4 Carl Edwards -505
10. -1 Kurt Busch -516
11. +1 Martin Truex, Jr. -563
12. -1 Denny Hamlin -599

Truex and Hamlin will continue fighting it out for the last spot. Postions 6-10 are up for grabs, but I expect Matt and Kevin to hold on to their spots. Tony is virtually locked into the Top 5 .. but he has to have a decent finish next week. If Clint has a bad day, Shrub will pass him, but, again, I don't expect that... And I believe we heard the fat lady sing Sunday evening (you might have missed it with all the commercials ), but I'm pretty sure I heard her sobbing later. (yeah, she's a Gordo fan.)

[Quality88]

I missed most the race. You sound good though. I would agree with the playin/singin of the National Anthem without artistic interpretation.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Quality88

I missed most the race. You sound good though. I would agree with the playin/singin of the National Anthem without artistic interpretation.

If, collectively, we cannot get Delana Harvick to remove her hat during the playing of the national anthem, I fear we'll never hear it the way it was written. I believe they all have the "My version is better" attitude.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

If, collectively, we cannot get Delana Harvick to remove her hat during the playing of the national anthem, I fear we'll never hear it the way it was written. I believe they all have the "My version is better" attitude.

This is true. Delana has done better this year about wearin the hat( I stress better).

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Quality88

This is true. Delana has done better this year about wearin the hat( I stress better).

Not this past Sunday !!! I watch for that *itch !!!

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Not this past Sunday !!! I watch for that *itch !!!

Sorry, I was in the woods.... missed it. The little blond ditz did it again huh?.... disrepectful *#$&!

[SpaceCadet]

I didn't see the race - working- (hey, somebody's gotta do it), but after watching my shortened version, I have to say that even in "fast forward", all a saw was JG. Glad I wasn't listening, too. And just out of curiosity, does anyone know if Ms. Harvick is trying to make some kind of statement or something with her refusal to remove the hat? I know this discussion has been had a zillion times, but is there another side to this I just haven't gotten to? Or is it just because she is exactly as I perceive her to be - an anti-american, gold digging, castrating bimbette with enough brains to run a company but not enough to show some respect? Gee, I wanna be just like her some day...not.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by SpaceCadet

I didn't see the race - working- (hey, somebody's gotta do it), but after watching my shortened version, I have to say that even in "fast forward", all a saw was JG. Glad I wasn't listening, too. And just out of curiosity, does anyone know if Ms. Harvick is trying to make some kind of statement or something with her refusal to remove the hat? I know this discussion has been had a zillion times, but is there another side to this I just haven't gotten to? Or is it just because she is exactly as I perceive her to be - an anti-american, gold digging, castrating bimbette with enough brains to run a company but not enough to show some respect? Gee, I wanna be just like her some day...not.

No ... really SC .. tell us what you really think of Delana !!!

I've tried to contact them via the web but no luck. I'm sure she must know that she irritates mega fans but going along with your view it is more than obvious she doesn't care at all. I hope I never get a face to face with her. I'll be in jail for running my freedom of speech !!

[jks812]

Have to admit I hate seeing her wear that cap during the anthem also. Wish they just wouldn't show her, then at least I wouldn't start the race already mad.
I too think they should just sing the anthem the way it's suppose to be done.
I didn't watch the whole race, really couldn't stomach the JJ and JG show again. But 90% of what I did watch they seemed to be showing them. Don't even think I'll watch this weekend.
I didn't understand why Joe was so upset with Tony either. For once it really wasn't Tony's fault. Same for JG with Harvick.

[PettyBlue]

I am not real sure what the big deal is about the hat.Right or wrong I was taught that females are special, beond and different from males.Not to bring religion into this but I grewup where females wore hats in church but let a male try that he got litup about it in quick order.Again,right or wrong what is the most important to you?

[LSC9901]

We've had the Delana discussion a few times and there seems to be a general consensus that many are unhappy with her attitude.

My point of view is, and maybe she cannot hear this, but the track announcer asks everyone to please remove their hats. I won't go into the etiquette question. I will use the honor guilt trip. I remove my hat to honor America and to all those who have worked tirelessly to keep my home free. To me, and I reiterate "ME", she is slapping the face of all I believe in respect to the flag and what it means.

I'm not asking one person to view this my way and never have, but I'm always curious as to why, when asked, people cannot remove something as simple as a hat to honor America ????

[clutch]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

We've had the Delana discussion a few times and there seems to be a general consensus that many are unhappy with her attitude.

I'm not asking one person to view this my way and never have, but I'm always curious as to why, when asked, people cannot remove something as simple as a hat to honor America ????

I dont really get why you'all get so upset either.......yes its disrespectful, but there are so many other things to get upset about......everyday, family violence, murders, suicides are commonplace.
These are things we should be getting upset about........not whether or not some woman takes off her freakin hat during the National Anthem.

[jks812]

Originally Posted by clutch

I dont really get why you'all get so upset either.......yes its disrespectful, but there are so many other things to get upset about......everyday, family violence, murders, suicides are commonplace.
These are things we should be getting upset about........not whether or not some woman takes off her freakin hat during the National Anthem.

I get upset about all those things also. But watching the race it's her and the hat during the anthem. If anybody ever gets murdered at the track on camera, I will be more up set about that. I don't discuss that or how upset I get about all the crap going on in the world because it's not related to Nascar and this forum is.

[clutch]

Originally Posted by jks812

I don't discuss that or how upset I get about all the crap going on in the world because it's not related to Nascar and this forum is.

Well maybe we should discuss what shes wearing too??......because thats as related to Nascar as playing the anthem at a sporting event.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by clutch

I dont really get why you'all get so upset either.......yes its disrespectful, but there are so many other things to get upset about......everyday, family violence, murders, suicides are commonplace.
These are things we should be getting upset about........not whether or not some woman takes off her freakin hat during the National Anthem.

methinks it wouldn't be as much of a problem if it weren't that she's a high profile wife of a high profile driver and a team owner. in other words, a female role model. I suspect her hubby would get blasted also if he left his cap on...

I understand the "hats on women" conveyance. however, hats and caps are different animals and caps have never, as far as I know, been given such relief (pony tails not withstanding.)

that said, I don't get heartburn over Delana and her antics. As clutch said, she isn't that important.

my gripe is the "performers" and their interpreting the National Anthem. It's not a piece of music to be messed with .. it is what it is and, good or bad, it is the same as the flag and is not subject to redesign on an artist's whim. if you think you have a better design, submit it to the powers that be as a replacement, but don't assume you have the power to replace it without due process.

this is one place where tradition rules and breaking tradition is not tolerated .. at least not by those taught as I was to respect their country and its symbols!