It seems like Jimmy Johnson and Chad Knaus just can't be beat. Even at a track that they've NEVER won at, in a race that was dominated by other teams and that weather threatened to stop at any minute.
But, once again, the 48 crew ran just good enough to be there at the end, catch a break on the re-start and beat the Miller Lite Dodge for their first win in Thunder Valley. And they continue their dominance of the 2010 season. Even though they aren't leading in points (yet) due to a bad start at Daytona, they are on their way to the #1 spot, and heading into a weekend at Martinsville - a track that Johnson has DOMINATED over the past 7 years. In fact, I don't know if any other driver in NASCAR history has EVER dominated a track the way Jimmy has dominated Martinsville. He's definitely my pick for this weekend's race, and might just leave Martinsville with the points lead (sorry Harvick.)
In other NASCAR news, many teams were back on the track today at Charlotte Motor Speedway testing the new spoiler (aka. "the Blade") before it's re-introduction this weekend at Martinsville. They also did some spoiler testing last week at Talladega, so hopefully NASCAR and the teams have some answers regarding how the cars react with the blade as opposed to the current wing.
Many people are hoping that losing the wing and going to the wing will give the rest of the field a chance to catch the #48, thinking that the wing was somehow the reason for the #48's dominance. Hey...wait. Didn't Jimmy and Chad win a Championship BEFORE the wing went on the cars? Yep. Sorry other teams...it's gonna take more than a blade to cut the fifth straight Sprint Cup out of Jimmy's white knuckled clench. I'd recommend heavy artillery instead.
Marc.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
You Mess with the Bull...You Get the Horns
I have to comment on the incident at AMS yesterday between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski. The media is in a frenzy over the whole thing, so I thought I'd weigh in my two-cents.
Did Carl Edwards intentionally dump Brad on the front stretch - absolutely. Not only was it intentional (which is corroborated by the video showing Carl's white gloves steering his car to the right when the incident occurred) but one could argue that it was premeditated. Carl was 150 laps down, and had been in the garage for nearly two hours stewing over the previous contact with Keselowski before heading back out on the track and exacting his revenge. In fact, he tried it a lap earlier, but missed him and had to catch him again on the following lap. In fact, the ONLY reason Carl even went back out on the track Sunday was probably specifically to do what he did. It wasn't about saving points or anything like that. I'm sure that he told his team, "Just get me back out there before it's over. I want him!"
Now, all that said, do I think that what he did was uncalled for and deserves punishment from NASCAR? That's a tough call. NASCAR did just announce the "old school racin'" and "let 'em go at it" paradigm shift a few weeks ago. This is really the first time that the new mindset has been tested, so I guess we'll see if they were serious about letting the drivers police themselves on the track. I heard several driver's say that Brad had that coming, and if it hadn't been done by Carl then someone else would probably had done it. Maybe not at Atlanta on the front stretch when they were down 150 laps and Brad was in the Top 5, but eventually. Maybe at Bristol. Maybe Martinsville. But it was coming. If you watched that race, and from reports of friends that I had at the race, Brad was messing with Carl all day and eventually Carl just snapped (after being wrecked.) As far as his "Now that I've looked at the tape it looks like both Brad and I both had a part in the wreck and it wasn't as intentional as I first thought" - that was a stone cold LIE. He didn't believe that for one second, and the fact that he could say that with a straight face on national television is a bit shocking. I think he should have won an Oscar for that performance!
So, with all that said, do I think that Carl should be parked for a race or two, or have points taken from him because of the incident? No, I don't. NASCAR said that they were taking the gloves off, and all of their commercials before races on FOX show bumping, crashing, fighting, pushing, helmet throwing, etc. If anything, this is exactly what NASCAR was looking for - the drivers policing themselves and making their own justice. It was unfortunate that Brad ended up on his roof, and Carl probably could have found a better time and place to exact his revenge, but in the heat of the moment shit happens. You mess with the bull...you get the horns.
If NASCAR parks Carl, then the whole pre-season mantra was all just a bunch of B.S. and nothing has really changed at all.
Those are my thoughts on the issue.
Marc.
Did Carl Edwards intentionally dump Brad on the front stretch - absolutely. Not only was it intentional (which is corroborated by the video showing Carl's white gloves steering his car to the right when the incident occurred) but one could argue that it was premeditated. Carl was 150 laps down, and had been in the garage for nearly two hours stewing over the previous contact with Keselowski before heading back out on the track and exacting his revenge. In fact, he tried it a lap earlier, but missed him and had to catch him again on the following lap. In fact, the ONLY reason Carl even went back out on the track Sunday was probably specifically to do what he did. It wasn't about saving points or anything like that. I'm sure that he told his team, "Just get me back out there before it's over. I want him!"
Now, all that said, do I think that what he did was uncalled for and deserves punishment from NASCAR? That's a tough call. NASCAR did just announce the "old school racin'" and "let 'em go at it" paradigm shift a few weeks ago. This is really the first time that the new mindset has been tested, so I guess we'll see if they were serious about letting the drivers police themselves on the track. I heard several driver's say that Brad had that coming, and if it hadn't been done by Carl then someone else would probably had done it. Maybe not at Atlanta on the front stretch when they were down 150 laps and Brad was in the Top 5, but eventually. Maybe at Bristol. Maybe Martinsville. But it was coming. If you watched that race, and from reports of friends that I had at the race, Brad was messing with Carl all day and eventually Carl just snapped (after being wrecked.) As far as his "Now that I've looked at the tape it looks like both Brad and I both had a part in the wreck and it wasn't as intentional as I first thought" - that was a stone cold LIE. He didn't believe that for one second, and the fact that he could say that with a straight face on national television is a bit shocking. I think he should have won an Oscar for that performance!
So, with all that said, do I think that Carl should be parked for a race or two, or have points taken from him because of the incident? No, I don't. NASCAR said that they were taking the gloves off, and all of their commercials before races on FOX show bumping, crashing, fighting, pushing, helmet throwing, etc. If anything, this is exactly what NASCAR was looking for - the drivers policing themselves and making their own justice. It was unfortunate that Brad ended up on his roof, and Carl probably could have found a better time and place to exact his revenge, but in the heat of the moment shit happens. You mess with the bull...you get the horns.
If NASCAR parks Carl, then the whole pre-season mantra was all just a bunch of B.S. and nothing has really changed at all.
Those are my thoughts on the issue.
Marc.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Expletive NOT Deleted
What is the big uproar about following the race at LVMS? Was it about Jimmie Johnson winning his second race in a row? Was it about Jeff Gordon leading 90% of the race on Sunday and then finishing third after taking two tires instead of four with 30 laps to go? Was it about Kevin Harvick finishing second again and sitting atop the points lead after three weeks? Nope. None of those things have hardly been talked about this week. Instead, most of NASCAR Nation has spend the last four days talking about Juan Pablo Montoya letting the heat of the moment get the best of him and saying "shit" on live TV when interviewed after getting out of his wrecked race car on Sunday.
Really? Is JPM being super pissed-off at his EGR teammate Jamie MacMurry after Jamie crashed him out of the race, and letting "the 'S' word" (as it has become known this week in the media) slip out on a live TV interview, really front page news? Really?? WHY???
If you've ever attended a race and listened in on a scanner, or listened to a driver-t0-crew channel on DirecTV or Sirius Radio during a race, you've heard raw, unedited commentary from drivers in the heat of battle on the track. They bitch, they complain, and they SWEAR! Just like many of us do when things don't go our way, or when we're talking to our buddies in the garage or at the bar. Big fucking deal! Grow up. I've heard people call into Sirius NASCAR radio this week ENRAGED that JPM said "shit" and vow NEVER to buy another product that he endorses ever again, or that they will never watch or attend a NASCAR race ever again because NASCAR didn't fine him for his outburst and "lude" behavior. Are they serious???
Let the man with no sin cast the first stone, I say. Obviously none of the people with that opinion are world-class athletes competing at the top level of their sport. Obviously none of them are ultra-competitive and would rather die than finish second (the first loser.) While I'm not a big JPM fan, I do like the guys FIRE; his "win at all costs" attitude. He's PISSED when he doesn't win, as he should be. I wish all of the Cup drivers had his fire and personality. Most of them are a bunch of sanitary, pre-recorded, boring robots. Monkey's have more personality than most of those guys do. Show me some passion! Puhleeeeeaze. I'm beggin' you!
So, while most people are spending their time this week telling me how mad I should be about Juan's "unacceptable behavior" I'm looking at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and wondering....is the #48 gonna make it three in a row on Sunday? It wouldn't surprise me if they did. And if JJ doesn't win, I hope he's pissed as hell and I hear him voice that anger on the radio. "@#$#$$%!! We should have won that race. F*@K me!" At least you'll know he cares!
Really? Is JPM being super pissed-off at his EGR teammate Jamie MacMurry after Jamie crashed him out of the race, and letting "the 'S' word" (as it has become known this week in the media) slip out on a live TV interview, really front page news? Really?? WHY???
If you've ever attended a race and listened in on a scanner, or listened to a driver-t0-crew channel on DirecTV or Sirius Radio during a race, you've heard raw, unedited commentary from drivers in the heat of battle on the track. They bitch, they complain, and they SWEAR! Just like many of us do when things don't go our way, or when we're talking to our buddies in the garage or at the bar. Big fucking deal! Grow up. I've heard people call into Sirius NASCAR radio this week ENRAGED that JPM said "shit" and vow NEVER to buy another product that he endorses ever again, or that they will never watch or attend a NASCAR race ever again because NASCAR didn't fine him for his outburst and "lude" behavior. Are they serious???
Let the man with no sin cast the first stone, I say. Obviously none of the people with that opinion are world-class athletes competing at the top level of their sport. Obviously none of them are ultra-competitive and would rather die than finish second (the first loser.) While I'm not a big JPM fan, I do like the guys FIRE; his "win at all costs" attitude. He's PISSED when he doesn't win, as he should be. I wish all of the Cup drivers had his fire and personality. Most of them are a bunch of sanitary, pre-recorded, boring robots. Monkey's have more personality than most of those guys do. Show me some passion! Puhleeeeeaze. I'm beggin' you!
So, while most people are spending their time this week telling me how mad I should be about Juan's "unacceptable behavior" I'm looking at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and wondering....is the #48 gonna make it three in a row on Sunday? It wouldn't surprise me if they did. And if JJ doesn't win, I hope he's pissed as hell and I hear him voice that anger on the radio. "@#$#$$%!! We should have won that race. F*@K me!" At least you'll know he cares!
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