Martinsville Was No Spoiler
I don’t know if the new spoiler had anything to do with it, but the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville was a great race.
NASCAR really cranked up the level of competition on this one.
Denny Hamlin was determined to win the race, and he earned the victory by driving through traffic with just a few laps remaining.
I expected Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon to win the race. They have the best record there. And Jeff Gordon almost won the race on sheer luck. Another 100 feet before the caution and the race would have been Gordon’s
Kurt Busch had the winning car until his pit crew left a lug nut loose. He never regained from that mistake
What about you? Did you think the competition was cranked up a notch or two on this one?
Win Jeff Gordon’s Corvette
Jeff Gordon is giving away his personal 2009 Corvette Z06 to raise $500,000 for charity.
The proceeds are going to help further research on children’s cancer, and to help fund The Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord, North Carolina.
“There is much work to be done, and we call on you to join us in this critical mission,†noted Jeff Gordon. “We are thankful for your past generosity and support, and hope that you will share in our vision of eradicating cancer and providing the highest level of care to our children in the years to come.â€
To have a chance to win you need to purchase a raffle ticket for $100. Only 5,000 tickets will be sold.
SPEED TV’s Trackside Live will host the drawing on October 8, 2010.
Jeff will personally deliver the Corvette and keys to the winner on Sunday, November 7, 2010 at Texas Motor Speedway as part of the AAA Texas 500 Weekend.
You can help! Buy your ticket now at The Jeff Gordon Foundation.
The Nancy Pelosi Secret to Winning in NASCAR
Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have mastered the art of psychological gamesmanship. They are experts at getting inside the hearts and minds of their opponents.
Drivers are more concerned about beating Jimmie Johnson than they are about making their own cars faster.
Johnson enjoys the games. “I get caught up in that mind game stuff and find a lot of satisfaction in it,†Jimmie Johnson said. “I told Chad before the year was over I want to win a lot to frustrate the competitors.
Kurt Busch is concerned
Just look at Kurt Busch’s remarks after losing at Bristol despite dominating the race and leading 278 laps.
“I don’t know, I’d rather lose to any of the 41 cars out there than the 48 car,†Busch said
“It’s up to the best of us to knock him off the top,†Busch said after losing to Johnson in the closing laps of Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol. “So it’s rough. You know, they’ve won three times this year. Not that we need to, deserve to win, it’s just that they are winning every chance they’re given. We just need to position ourselves more to get those wins.â€
Matt Kenseth is worried about Johnson, too. During the spoiler test this week at Charlotte Motor Speedway Kenseth was asked about the upcoming race at Martinsville and Johnson’s winning record there. “He’s good everywhere,†said Kenseth.
What drivers can learn from Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi knows how to play mind games all too well. She called President George Bush a “total failure†when Bush criticized Congress’s inaction on important legislation.
“God bless him, bless his heart, President of the United States — a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people,†said Pelosi.
When Barack Obama was pushing for passage of his Obama Care plan Pelosi urged her colleagues to vote for it. “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it’†urged Pelosi.
There are a few NASCAR drivers who can stand to learn a thing or two about mind games from Pelosi.
Chad Knaus does the same thing to other crew chiefs. He’s been known to walk through the garage on the morning of the race with a rear spring over his shoulder headed to the race car – but never intending to change a thing on the car.
He just wants to get the other crew chiefs talking – to throw them off their game.
When the No. 48 team was invited to participate in a Goodyear tire test late last year many drivers including Greg Biffle were complaining that Johnson was gaining an unfair advantage. Here’s how Chad Knaus responded to that:
“But as far as sending a message, I hope it does. I hope people talk about it. Like I said earlier, I hope people are worried. I hope people are talking about the fact that we tire tested and it’s wrong. All these people can get wound up about stuff that really doesn’t matter,” said Knaus.
Dale Earnhardt was the master
I haven’t seen anyone this good at psychological racing since Dale Earnhardt. He wasn’t known as The Intimidator just for what happened on the race track.
Once at Talladega when all the other drivers were busy dialing their cars in during practice Dale shook things up with a very simple move. He parked his car in the garage, covered it up, and went fishing.
Dale Earnhardt won 10 Cup races at Talladega.
Earnhardt once struck fear into the hearts of his fellow drivers when he made his famous comment about drivers complaining about the high speeds at Daytona. Essentially, he told them if they were afraid to drive the car they should go home.
So who else in NASCAR is good at psyching out their competitors? What tactics have you seen played out by drivers? I’d be happy to hear about it in the comments, or feel free to contact me.
Can anyone beat Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville?
Is there any reason for NASCAR to run a race in Martinsville next week?
It seems like Jimmie Johnson wins every time we go there. Johnson has 6 wins at the half- mile Virginia paperclip. His average finish is 5.1.
So far this year Johnson has won 3 of 5 Sprint Cup races. He is the man to beat at Martinsville.
How do Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus do it?
The No. 48 team’s domination can’t be good for NASCAR – long known for keeping an equal playing field.
You don’t have to look any farther than the grandstands at Bristol to see that. There were 50,000 empty seats on Sunday. And Bristol has been sold out for 55 straight races.
Can anyone beat Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville
Will there be a Dale Earnhardt the Third?
Dale Earnhardt Jr was interviewed by Chris Wallace recently while he was in Washington for a National Guard appearance. The interview aired on Fox News Sunday.
Wallace had a few questions for Earnhardt.
Why is he so popular with NASCAR fans?
Has it been a blessing or a burden to be Dale Earnhardt’s son?
“The blessings far outweigh the burdens,†said Earnhardt. “It’s tough following those footsteps.â€
Dale Jr talked about how fortunate he felt to be one of only 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup drovers each Sunday.
Earnhardt also spoke about how he wanted to have children one day. Wallace asked him if there would be a Dale Earnhardt III.
Watch the video to see Earnhardt’s answer.
How did Dale Jr handle the interview?
Brad Keselowski Won’t Back Down
During driver introductions this Sunday at Bristol drivers will come onto the stage to a song that they picked out.
Do you know what song Brad Keselowski chose?
Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down.
A message for Carl Edwards?
NASCAR Taxes
What Every NASCAR Fan Needs to Know About Their Tax Dollars
It’s not easy paying taxes. It seems even harder to figure out the IRS tax code. NASCAR fans pay their fair share of taxes. But 1 in 4 fans may miss a credit that could save $5,600 this year. Here’s a look at how taxes hit home for race fans.
Park Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards Should be Parked for Intentionally Wrecking Brad Keselowski
With 3 laps to go Brad Keselowski was running in 6th place Sunday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Carl Edwards was running 39th. That’s when Carl Edwards intentionally made a hard right turn into the left rear of Keselowski’s Dodge sending Keselowski into a flying spin and a hard landing on his roof.
“It looked like it could have been a payback from the No. 99 on the No. 12, said NASCAR’s vice-president of competition Robin Pemberton. “We talked with Carl after the race and we have an understanding about it and we will talk internally again as a group Monday or Tuesday of this week and make any decision on if there will be any other actions that we will take.â€
When NASCAR Chairman Brian France told drivers earlier this year that NASCAR “is a contact sport”, he was definitely not not sending a message that it was okay to intentionally wreck another driver at the end of a race.
Hard racing does not mean you can take out another driver. Especially when you are 156 laps down, like Edwards was.
Keselowski could have been seriously injured or killed in the crash. The roof of his car was caved in on both sides, and the A pillar, the post in front of the driver that supports the roof, was severely damaged.
The flying car of Keselowski didn’t miss the catchfence by much. Edwards put the fans safety in danger as well.
Carl Edwards was parked following the incident, but since he was already 156 laps down his finishing position wasn’t affected. He has not been punished at all yet.
So will NASCAR park Edwards? “We’ll let you know either Monday or Tuesday. We’ll meet as we normally do the first of the week at the R&D Center as a group,†said Robin Pemberton
After the wreck Carl Edwards said “People gotta have respect for one another, and I have a lot of respect for people’s safety.†Well Carl, all I can say is your actions speak louder than your words.
What’s more, Edwards may have affected the outcome of the race. Kurt Busch was leading at the time of the wreck, but Juan Pablo Montoya was closing. Would Montoya have caught Busch if Edwards had not caused the caution? We’ll never know. But we don’t need an intentional wreck at any time – especially with 3 laps to go.
I say park Edwards for a race. Carl, don’t even bother showing up at Bristol. You can watch the race at home on TV.
What do you say?
Dale Jr Pole
Dale Jr Takes the Pole
Dale Earnhardt Jr was the fastest qualifier tonight at Atlanta Motor Speedway grabbing the pole position for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.
“It’s really, really fast you just gotta hang on,†said Earnhardt of his pole run. “When you can do it and do it right it’s pretty cool.â€
Earnhardt turned a lap of 28.761 seconds at 192.761 to earn the top spot. He was he was .07 seconds faster than 2nd place qualifier Kyle Busch.
It was the fastest qualifying lap ever in a NASCAR COT.
The pole was the 9th of Earnhardt’s career, and the first since 2008 at Texas, 68 races ago.
What do you think about Dale Jr’s fast qualifying run?
