Over The Wall

It’s not over yet

  This weekend was an awesome event to be a part of as a team member.  As we watched the race unfold you could tell that the 2 car was going to have a chance at winning due to their strategy.  As far as their car was concerned they had a great piece and would have been in the top 5 anyways.  By staying out and losing some track position, it enabled the team to stretch their fuel millage and make it to the end.  Kurt did a great job keeping his cool and knowing that by giving up time on the track that he would get it back at the end of the race.  Another cool fact about that race was that some lucky fan was sitting in victory lane and just won a million dollars because Kurt won.  I don’t know all the facts but he was a lucky fan that got to pick one of 12 numbers, each number representing a chase driver, and the number he picked was 7 and the young lady that was holding the 7 card was representing Kurt Busch.  Well, that’s about it for now.  It’s off to Phoenix and hopefully Kurt can keep his momentum going.

Nationwide Battle heating up

With only three races to go in the Nationwide Series the race for the top 5 is heating up.  The 12, 1,and 66 are battling for the 5^th spot and it’s probably going to come down to the last race to see what happens.  Over the last couple months I’ve been fortunate enough to pit the 12 during some of the nationwide races and it’s a good team to work for.  Taking a rookie driver and trying to finish in the top 5 in points would be a successful year in my opinion.  We are yet to get a win this year but I think with 3 races to go anything can happen.  The 1 car has been running well the past few weeks and is making a strong run for the top 5.  Steven Wallace is still in contention as well.  He’s gotten caught up in a few wrecks lately but I wouldn’t count him out either.  That’s all I got for now.

 

The Closest Chase Ever?

   So far this Chase has been pretty close.  Every week I feel that Kurt has finished well and then I look up on the score board and everyone were racing has finished right with us.  I said this earlier but I really believe that this year’s final race will have multiple drivers with a chance to win the championship.  Every other sport has a playoff format and there should be no reason we shouldn’t either. When looking back at the Chase format there were a lot of people who didn’t like the way the chase was set up.  From the beginning I was a big fan because I like the competition it breeds.  This year is just another example of the excitement the Chase can provide.  Just curious to hear what everyone else thinks about the racing so far.

The Farm System is looking good

Just like in baseball, a lot of young talent if brought up thru the ranks before they actually get to the Cup Series.  In baseball you have single A, AA and AAA.  In racing you have Arca, Nationwide, and Trucks.  At the moment I think Penske is doing a good job of getting some good young talent into the system and starting to see some results.  This past weekend Parker Kligerman sat on the pole at his first Nationwide race and Justin Algier finished fifth during the race.  I’ve been lucky enough to be part of both teams during the year and I think both guys have a big future at Penske.  Both these guys have won at various levels of racing and in the next few years it should be cool to see their success. 

                As far as the chase goes, I think the 2 car is flying under the radar.  They have a very good team and driver.  As long as you can keep finishing top ten and avoid the DNF’s I think this year’s championship could come down to the last race with 5 cars having a chance to win it.  Already this year the competition is closer than it was last year.  Hopefully the 2 car can continue their success and have a chance going into the last race of the year.

Off to a good start

The chase is under way and it was a good start for the Penske team.  Obviously we thought we had a chance to win but with a top 10 finish we keep ourselves in contention.  Winning races is going to be huge in the chase but making sure you have no DNF’s is going to be more important.  Kurt had a good run and had a chance to win the race and it just didn’t work out.  It was good to see us up front all day and have a solid first run.  The 42 car looked solid as well.  I think he could be a guy that gets overlooked and could end up doing well in his first chase appearance.  Mark Martin is definitely a guy that has everything going right now and someone is going to have to take it from him because I don’t see him giving it away.  Heading to Dover for race 2.  That’s all for now

The Chase

  Well thank goodness Richmond is over.  Every year that is one of the best races due to the fact that everyone is on pins and needles all night.  Its sounds like that wouldn’t be fun but it’s a blast if you’re a competitive guy.  Even though the 12 or 77 didn’t have a chance to make the chase I still had a vested interest in the 2 car and were pulling hard for them.  So now that the chase is set it’s time to make some predictions.  Due to the fact that I’m pulling for Kurt and the 2 car I’m not going make any guesses but I would like to here what everyone else has to say about the next 10 races.  There is a lot of new talent coming into the chase and I think it’s going be great to watch.  Well, that’s it for now.

Big Annoucement

As everyone is well aware Penske Racing made a big announcement this week in the signing of Brad K.  As excited as everyone is about the upcoming year, the team is making a major point to stay focused and finish out the season as well as we can.  It’s never an easy thing to go thru when you have a driver switch but it’s all part of the sport and hopefully we can put together some good runs and end the season on a high note.

    Changing subject matter onto something that is very dear to me, football season.  A friend of mine and neighbor growing up, Joe Cox, will be heading into Okl. State to open his college career as a starting QB for the Georgia bulldogs.  Hopefully he will have a good game and pull off an upset on the road.  As everyone knows I’m a huge Gamecocks fan and they open there season tonight in Raleigh against the Wolfpack.  Man, it’s getting to be a good time of year.  Hope everyone is looking forward to the chase as well as college football. That’s about all for now.

Bristol

    This weekend was a big weekend for racing.  In my opinion Bristol puts on one of the best pre race shows around.  The only other comparison would be the all star race.  Any ways, this weekend had great intros starting with the drivers.  For the first time that I have seen the drivers were introduced by themselves to a song that they picked out.  One of the highlights was Elliot Sadler and Marcos Ambrose.  Sadler came out to the Rick Flair intro and the crowd went wild.  My favorite was the Marcos Ambrose song, I come from a land down under.  I’m sure that song has a title but I don’t know it.  After that they did a whole tribute to the soldiers and our armed forces.  I’m a big supporter of the people that give us freedom and I was glad to see the track applaud there services.  Not only do they do all that but they let the kids of crewman and drivers sing the National Anthem.  Every year that gets better and better.  My little one is 11 months old and maybe one day he’ll make it up to Bristol and do some singing.  That’s all for now.

What a crash

  For anyone who was watching the race on Monday you know what I’m about to say.  The race was pretty good and I don’t mind seeing Tony win but nobody was talking about the finish when the race was over.  The wreck that happened between the 77,24 and 31 was one that you don’t see very often.  The 9 car got loose and sent the 77 into the side wall.  At that particular point in the track the retaining wall is angled back into the track.  So when the 9 car pushed the 77 into the wall the 77 came flying back onto the track right in the middle of oncoming traffic.  After the wreck the Jeff Gordon said he saw what was going on in front of him and tried to speed up and get thru it but the 77 came across way faster than expected.  The crash happened near pit road so we all got an up close view of it and it sounds a lot worse when your close to the action rather than watching a replay on TV.  The good news is that all the guys in our race shop should be proud of the car they built and that it could hold up to a crash like that.  As a driver I would be happy to see a fellow driver walk away from an accident like that and know that Nascar is doing a good job on keeping driver safety where it needs to be.  Well, that s about all for now and it’s off to Michigan.

Football season

   About this time every year most of the guys on our team are getting geared up for two things, racing and football.  Our team currently has 4 college football players on it and the fall is always a good time for bragging right on our favorite teams.  Currently we have a Davidson, UVA, NC State, and LR representative on the 12 team.  I tend to stay out of this type of bragging argutment because my college team hasn't had a winning record in almost 10 years.  Along with college football we have a real nice 12 man fantasy league that alot of the guys play in.  Team members from all over the shop participate and it becomes the most talked about thing in the shop outside of racing.  So neadless to say im very excited about the upcoming months.  As far as this week at Pocono goes, I cant wait.  In the past we have run very strong there as a company.  Stremme is coming off his second best finish of the year at Indy and hopefully we can put together a string of some good runs.  Kurt has won here before and going into the chase with some momentum never hurts.  Its off to the mountains and hopefully we dont hit a deer this year.  Thats all for now.