[Bob Tanner]

Synopsis Modification:

I'm going to add one thing IRT the TV Commentary. True, the thing that stood out the most was the silly bantering back and forth between the TV crew and the people they attempted to interview. That was generally just plain irritating.

However, on the flip side, these TV guys are used to either reporting what's going on, on the track, or doing "puff piece" type of interviews which are usually so ineffectual they might as well be scripted. During the extremely long delays they were forced to wing in and, for the most part these guys ARE NOT professional broadcasters; they're retreads who are there to lend credibility and insight as to what is transpiring.

The stupid Gopher talk, " which seemed to take a life unto itself, aside, I think the crew of every network (The night eventually became a "group grope) did a very passable job and, once more, Gopher aside, can be commended to some degree.

[3fanforever]

I agree Bob, that's why my only criticism was of Chris Myers. It's like he took up where Rusty left off with the worn out catch phrase. I also think they did a fairly good job, taking into consideration what they had to do under the circumstances. But that gopher thing was just plain dumb. Mark Martin had the best answer for that..."Stupid, if I run over it." That should have been their cue to give it up.

And I also agree the dummy who gave the command baffled me with his "lost child in Bush's ear" comment. I have no idea what that was supposed to mean and it wasn't funny. Forgettable command it was, especially compared to last year's by Kevin James. Now that was good...

YouTube - Most Famous Words In Motorsports

[SteelPhoenyx]

Ease up there on the California-bashing there, guys. I happen to like living here. Admittedly Fontana is not one of my favorite tracks and I understand your frustration with it. Miserable hot in September, and a freaking swamp in February... not good racing conditions, nor very fan friendly. They could close that track as far as I'm concerned...too close to the superficiality of Hollyweird. I do not like Southern California. At all. Compromise: Give the South back the labor day race, give a Chase race to Las Vegas. Put the February race somewhere else like Rockingham. Burn the Fontana track to the ground. Not really, but you know what I mean. Y'all get your precious Darlington 500 back and the Rock in use again, the West gets another Chase race. Las Vegas would sell out. And so many other things to do there!

Right now I'm feeling a sense of 'whew! dodged THAT bullet' about now heading down there this weekend. We had thought about it.

I want to personally bash in the skull of whoever decided to call it a Gopher cam... it was mildly entertaining at first, but now they need to shut up about it.

Don't worry, we'll keep sending the blondes... there's an EPA mandate about the maximum amount of silicone in any given area. We need to keep shipping 'em out or we'll exceed the maximum.

[Phils20]

I heard something on ESPN's NASCAR now that greatly irks me!

They are looking to make it a plate track. Not NASCAR, but the owners. I guess MIkey whispered it into his ear on Saturday. Just what we don't need. Two plate races in a row, much less another track where the cars are that bunched up.

How about we just fix the track?? Progressive banking, flatten it out the rest of the way. Tear the whole thing up and make it a short track.

Do anything but put plates on the cars!!!

ESPN - Zucker wants to reconfigure Auto Club Speedway into restrictor-plate track - Nascar

[WestCoast]

Originally Posted by Phils20

Do anything but put plates on the cars!!!

I still think that the best thing would be to make the race a combination of super speedway and road course, just like 24hr of Daytona or the F1 Indy race.
This would be a first on the schedule and should be exciting to watch, if nothing else than just to see cars getting lapped repeatedly.

[Phils20]

Originally Posted by WestCoast

I still think that the best thing would be to make the race a combination of super speedway and road course, just like 24hr of Daytona or the F1 Indy race.
This would be a first on the schedule and should be exciting to watch, if nothing else than just to see cars getting lapped repeatedly.

That would be interesting. I like that idea better than plate racing.

I'd rather see the drivers fireman's carry the crew chiefs around the track than see plates go on the cars.

no no no no no no no

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by SteelPhoenyx

Ease up there on the California-bashing there, guys. I happen to like living here. Admittedly Fontana is not one of my favorite tracks and I understand your frustration with it. Miserable hot in September, and a freaking swamp in February... not good racing conditions, nor very fan friendly. They could close that track as far as I'm concerned...too close to the superficiality of Hollyweird. I do not like Southern California. At all. Compromise: Give the South back the labor day race, give a Chase race to Las Vegas. Put the February race somewhere else like Rockingham. Burn the Fontana track to the ground. Not really, but you know what I mean. Y'all get your precious Darlington 500 back and the Rock in use again, the West gets another Chase race. Las Vegas would sell out. And so many other things to do there!

Right now I'm feeling a sense of 'whew! dodged THAT bullet' about now heading down there this weekend. We had thought about it.

I want to personally bash in the skull of whoever decided to call it a Gopher cam... it was mildly entertaining at first, but now they need to shut up about it.

Don't worry, we'll keep sending the blondes... there's an EPA mandate about the maximum amount of silicone in any given area. We need to keep shipping 'em out or we'll exceed the maximum.

That was why I never commented on the Calif. floats off" statement. I do not like the track and never have. But there are lots of really good folk out there. I know, I lived in San Fran for three years. Most of the people we see from Calif. on the news back here don't represent the State's population as a whole.

[OrionBen]

I haven't watch the race, I recorded it on monday, but I am not even sure I will watch it. Any race at Fontana and Michigan, I don't really care it is boring for me.

NASCAR want SoCal market so much that those race would not move even if grandstand were halfway full. Unfortunate.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by OrionBen

I haven't watch the race, I recorded it on monday, but I am not even sure I will watch it. Any race at Fontana and Michigan, I don't really care it is boring for me.

NASCAR want SoCal market so much that those race would not move even if grandstand were halfway full. Unfortunate.

We see it down here in the deep South, they see it in the Midwest, you see it all the way up in Quebec... It makes me wonder just how blind and deaf NA__AR/ISC really is?

[WestCoast]

Originally Posted by SteelPhoenyx

Don't worry, we'll keep sending the blondes... there's an EPA mandate about the maximum amount of silicone in any given area. We need to keep shipping 'em out or we'll exceed the maximum.

Well that's a relief, crazy talk like that could trigger an oil embargo.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by SteelPhoenyx

Don't worry, we'll keep sending the blondes... there's an EPA mandate about the maximum amount of silicone in any given area. We need to keep shipping 'em out or we'll exceed the maximum.

what's the penalty for keeping them bottled up in la-la land? personally I was hoping to start seeing more from our Scandinavian neighbors.


Bob, I was otherwise occupied during the race on Monday so not able to do my observations but did get half a page of notes before the yellow, green, yellow, red do-se-do Sunday evening...

But I do have a few items from Sunday that no one's mentioned so here goes:

Wiggin's clamp??? What in the world is a "Wiggin's Clamp" and why is it better than the tried and true hose clamp? Well, it wasn't .. as Mikey found out after dumping a $100 worth of oil on the track. (Let's see, this race was in Cali-FOR-nia, so does that mean he's also gonna get an "illegal dumping" citation from the state plus a bill for the cleanup???)

Morgan Shepard Still Gets Around... did ya see him roller skating on pit road? looked like he's been on them all his life.

A Couple of Commercials that rose above the din:

• "Nobody tells Juan Pablo Montoya what to say" - Juicy fruit (w-a-a-a-y too much yellow .. had trouble getting my bearings afterwards...)
• 800 lb Gorilla - AMP (was heads and shoulders above the much touted flop with the camel.)

How hot is it now? What's the deal with the #44 overheating on startup after a red flag? Everyone was wearing jackets, so I know it wasn't mid-summer!

Litter Bug Convention? That's the only reason I could think of why so much trash was on the track .. don't think it blew in from Tijuana with the rain...

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

Litter Bug Convention? That's the only reason I could think of why so much trash was on the track .. don't think it blew in from Tijuana with the rain...

Tijuana .... that brings back a couple memories. First and foremost was crossing the bridge and seeing the cardboard community !!!

[Highflying]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

Ah, for the benefits of being a driver fan, vice race fan.

Well I love racing or i wouldn't have stayed up till 2 It just when my driver wins that when I am happy Racing doesn't make me happy it provides a adreline rush and heart ponding action while winning make me happy

[bob101]

Think about this...they called the race at 2am EST.

At 1am EST they said they still intended to go green racing at 2am and go the whole 500 miles.

"IF" that had happened the race would have ended at approximately 5am EST considering nothing else happened.

At that point they knew the Nationwide series was going to be run on Monday...

What were they thinking. Guys were going to stay up racing till 5am EST and then go racing in the nationwide series the next morning? It was scheduled for a 1pm EST start till the cup got rescheduled.

[Highflying]

I agree who can stay up in my case I had school which being homeschooled i could have started later but also job nobody can stay up till 5 oclock and then go to work at 7 They should have called it at 12 oclock and went racing the next day I think it was more the track call then Nascars though