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California Dreamin

By Keith Ott

The Mama’s & Papa’s may have set a lyrical stage for Ca. life, in the 60’s…Me, I’m just “California Dreamin’” for an actual race.  Fontana has not shown us anything justifying one race, much less two. 

We get a new starting time…7PM Eastern.  Well, that just shoots the crap outta my Fontana nap.  However, I will keep an open mind and eyes as long as I can, because this is a change.  Seven PM is 4PM there and the sun is low in the sky.  The hottest part of the day is passing…So, the track will be cooling as they run…could be a plus.  The sun is low and, I’m not sure (yes, I could google earth it) how the late sun will come into play as for visibility.  And, then again…It’s nicer to shop the track malls in a cool evening breeze.

Is it a COT race?  I don’t even care.  If so and the race sucks, the COT gets blamed.  If it’s just another boring race then the track sucks and it gets blamed.   It’s had a number of years now…I’d just like it to show something! 

That’s actually pretty mellow for me on Fontana.  You weigh in your opinions as the event goes on…Make me believe in Fontana…LOL

Just Shut Up!! And Outlaw Buschwhacking!!!

By Mark Young

I've had it!!  Why is it that every time a Busch Series race is on TV it looks like a NEXTEL Cup race with different paint schemes?  Years ago the Busch Series was a developmental one where smaller teams could sign young drivers and grow together to work up to the Cup Series.  Those days are long gone and I am sick of it.  Jack Roush had to beg Mark Martin to stick around after announcing retirement because he didn't have anyone to fill the spot......why is that Jack?  I'll tell you why, he had four of his Cup drivers running every race in the Busch Series.  HE was busy taking sponsorship and young talent away from the grass roots of the Series and turning it into a money pit.  Jack isn't the only one but that situation sticks out.  I think Pope Brian France and NASCAR should outlaw Buschwhacking, and I have a plan as to how it can be done.

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Now I am 140% certain this will never happen.  Not because some amateur journalist in Michigan thought of the idea but because of money and greed.  NASCAR isn't going to stop Buschwhacking because it sells extra seats for the Busch races.  They can advertise that Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, and about 15 other drivers will be there.  People are going to spend half the price of a Cup ticket to go and see the show.  That's business, I can't take it away from them but there is another way to make this work.

NASCAR should split off the Busch Series (or whatever it is going to be called next year) and have it run as a stand alone series.  They can run some of the tracks that the Cup Series has on schedule.  Daytona, Bristol, and Vegas come to mind.  Heck they could run a ton of them on Cup weekends but they should put a limit on the number of Busch events a Cup driver can run.  Ooops, that is another idea, stick with the main one Mark.........  So, the Busch Series is split away from the Sprint Cup Series for 75% of the races.  "Where are they going to race"?  That is the cool part.  Speedway Motorsports Inc. and International Speedway Corp. could make even more money by working together to get NASCAR to run this Busch Series at the tracks the Cup Series used to run on.  Tracks like Rockingham, North Wilkesboro, Kentucky, Nashville, Nazareth, and Milwaukee would become proving grounds for the young drivers that need seat time not camera face time.

"What would race in conjunction with the Sprint Cup"?  Shoot this one is easy, run the Craftsman Trucks on the same weekends as support races.  No disrespect to Skinner, Benson, Musgrave, and now Schrader, but the truck Series has become a haven for Cup drivers that have been run off by sponsors and owners looking for younger faces.  If current Cup drivers want to run in one of these truck events I think it is great!!  The truck races are always competitive and never short on excitement.  Mix in the Cup stars and it would make for a great race and some great rivalries.

The Busch Series would return to being a developmental one.  Cup drivers wouldn't be hogging up precious seat time and even more precious sponsorship dollars for these smaller teams that are becoming few and far between.  I can tell you that I would love to tune into a Busch race to be held at Rockingham just for nostalgia's sake.  People in those areas would have a chance to see big time racing again without paying twice as much, the truck series would finally get the exposure it deserves, and the Cup Series team owners would have a pool of talent to draw from that has some big time racing experience without paying the price of wrecked race cars and pissed off sponsors.

That's what I think should happen, what say you?

Bruton Smith Is King This Week

By Mark Young

This post is sure to ruffle some feathers but that's OK, I have thick skin.  Contrary to many of you fans as well as the journalists out there who do this for a living I think the changes made to Bristol were for the better.  Bruton Smith, President and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., has been a visionary in NASCAR by building new tracks during the rise of popularity the sport saw in the late 90's.  He has also been heavily criticized by many for buying tracks like North Wilkesboro and Rockingham with the sole intentions of shutting them down to get race dates for bigger and newer tracks.  For that I do not like him or his business philosophy but recently I have seen him and his company do some things that have made NASCAR racing better.  For that I have named Bruton Smith KOFM.

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Lowe's, Las Vegas, and recently Bristol have all had major improvements that arguably have improved the quality of racing in all three NASCAR series.  Increased progressive banking at Vegas, though not evident during the first race, increased speeds and allowed for multiple grooves and more passing.  Next season we will see even better action.  The levigation process at Lowe's failed miserably but after repaving the track is again one of the jewels on the circuit.

Then this weekend the world witnessed the first races at Bristol with it's reduced angle (from 36 to 30 degrees) but progressively banked turns that had improved entry and exit angles.  People questioned why SMI would change a track that has had 51 consecutive sell-outs.  The answer was simple, to make it better.  The truck and Busch Series races showed the ability to drive in multiple grooves rather than hugging the bottom.  There were chances to pass without punting someone out of the way.  Gone were the conga lines of cars that had to stay on the bottom or be shuffled to the back.  The Busch race still had a ton of cautions, my memory tells me 15 though I could be wrong, but there was a fantastic finish none the less.

Saturday was a different story.  Two drivers led over 400 of the 500 laps run and there was only four caution flags.  We actually witnessed green flag pit stops, something rarely seen at Bristol.  Granted many of the drivers ran conservatively, protecting themselves for the Chase, but don't blame Bristol.  Blame NASCAR for putting such a great event at a great track on the wrong side of the Chase.

Bruton Smith, though not necessarily my favorite person in the big business of NASCAR, deserves to be recognized for making efforts to improve the racing at the tracks his company owns and operates.  I for one was pleased to see cars have a chance to show what they had by passing other cars rather than wrecking them to gain position last weekend.  Two very good cars made the race appear to be boring but that isn't much different than Pocono a few weeks ago when Kurt Busch made everyone else look bad.  People expect to see wrecks and tempers flared at Bristol, perhaps if this race was in the middle of the Chase that would happen.........  Well done Bruton, well done.

Bristol Shorts

By Keith Ott

For the first COT race on the newly paved track, I was encouraged by the racing at Bristol.  The COT looked good and the track allowed for multi-groove racing.  Still, some of you won’t be happy unless Ol’ Bruton makes it into a crash filled figure 8.  But, you have to give Bruton credit.  He’s hands on, and he’s hands on for the fan.  Unlike some, he goes that extra mile to try to make the racing better for the fans.

The NFL hasn’t started yet, but we’ll be hard pressed to find better quality blocking than we saw Saturday night.  I guess the move over flag has no clout.  Personally, I think the leaders showed a lot more restraint than I would have.  Were I leading, I might have set an NFL record for punts.

Along those lines, Mikey, we know you’ve had some trouble getting sponsor time, but blocking the leader when you’re three laps down, so NAPA and Toyota get TV time just isn’t kewl.  Anybody can race the leader if he’s passing you.  We’ll be more impressed when you’re racing the leader trying to pass him.

Good Year is my number 1 culprit for the excessive blocking.  I’m sure that many of the teams wish today that they had had those old bias-ply tires, which David Green mentioned in his post, on their cars.  They may not have lasted as long, but at least they raced.  If GY can’t make a racing tire, then I suggest NASCAR open the tire competition once again.  When you have monopolies you get compromise products, and you’re stuck with what you get.  Tires and suspension are some of the few things legal to adjust on the COT.  GY needs to make a race tire and NASCAR should keep away from mandating tire pressure.  If team A wants 45deg of camber and 400lbs in the right front let him have it.  They’re professionals.  They’ll figure out that that probably isn’t a good thing.  Stop babying them.

My blame for “The taming of Bristol” is awarded to NASCAR and their Chase.  Drivers just can’t afford to push the issue.  They’re not racing to win.  They’re racing to not lose points.  It’s the total opposite of what a racers mindset should be.  So don’t be blaming Bruton, or pointing at the COT for a tame Bristol.  You have no further to look than NA$CAR.

My move of the race was not Kahne’s squeeze between McMurray and the stalled car.  My move of the race goes to McMurray and his spotter.  The 26 slowed down coming to the trouble.  Had McMurray not slowed, Kahne was toast.  Kahne and his spotter should be sending a case of something cold and refreshing the #26’s way today.

LOL, and lastly, I have this mental picture of Ned Jarrett being a parrot on Rusty’s shoulder.  About 6 times Rusty would explain something and Jarrett would immediately say the same thing.  He could have been a hand puppet.

Ok, last lastly, I think AT&T is getting a ton of free publicity and goodwill out of this logo tiff.  I spent more time wondering if the logo less #31 was going to get mentioned, or, if so, would they say AT&T, or if the team was still getting sponsor money.  I can’t remember thinking anything good about Nextel. 

New Bristol, new Cup car shine

By DAVID GREEN

Two conclusions drawn from Saturday night's Sharpie 500: Bristol is back, and the Car of Tomorrow is here to stay. Two thumbs up and five stars to both developments.

Resurfacing of the high-banked half-mile and the attributes of the new car effectively eliminated the old Bristol, the track where follow-the-leader competition, bump-and-run passing and demolition derbies had become the standard fare.

Winner Carl Edwards put it this way: "I think in the big picture this is a transition race. You've gone from an older style car at a track that's been the way it's been for however many years, to a new style racetrack."

What a difference compared to the spring race at Bristol, the last one on the old concrete surface and the first one for the controversial, much-maligned COT. Even Kyle Busch, who won the race, viciously trashed the new racecar in his victory "celebration."

Last night, the winner was complimentary. And, even though Edwards won by a comfortable margin (nearly 1-1/2 seconds), the battle for the lead involving him, pole starter Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was as entertaining as any the Cup Series has offered this year -- and better than any at Bristol in a decade.

Tony Stewart, who raced from 23rd starting spot to fourth place, gushed that he had more fun than he experienced in his 2001 victory at Bristol. "You could just race all over the racetrack," he said.

Resurfacing eased the abrupt transitions into and off the turns, where banking was changed from a series-tall 36 degrees to a graduated 24-to-30 degrees, and there were three distinct grooves, all of which some drivers found to be suitable. As a result, the old compulsion to knock people of the way to pass was diminished. "It was kind of nice not to have to move people out of the way," Stewart said.

And the COT took care of the matter for the impatient and the cheap-shot artists. With its squared-off front and rear bumpers, the COT is immune to the bump-and-run, which worked because the overtaking driver could stick his nose under the other guy's up-in-the-wind rear end and lift his rear tires off the pavement.

Last night's race was reminiscent of the old asphalt-surfaced Bristol and cars with bias-ply tires.

Seldom if ever does any development earn 100 percent endorsement. Those who liked the carnage that Bristol races used to feature and those who love to see the bump-and-run will have to look elsewhere for such gladiatorial spectacle. The ones with a preconceived opinion that the COT is a failure will probably still feel that way.

As for the rest of us, we can bask in the afterglow of the Sharpie 500. After last night, the track's slogan -- "Racin' the way it ought to be" -- is on target.

Every Race Should Be At Night!!

By Mark Young

Bristol in August under the lights is arguably the second most anticipated race on the schedule next to Daytona.  This year there is even more excitement as the track has been widened and re-paved giving we the fans hope for side by side racing.  Racing under the lights always seems to be faster, the paint jobs brighter, and fuses seem to get shorter on the drivers making for an exciting race.  This weekend is the first of three consecutive night races and my wife is pleased to know this as things might actually get done around the house as there is no race to watch on Sunday.

Lump all of these observations together and I can't help but admit that I think every race should be at night.  Granted the road races would be difficult to do but there is no reason why all of the other tracks couldn't have lights.  If it rains and gets too late then the race could be run on Sunday afternoon. 

What do you guys think?

Stick a Fork In Him, Junior's Done

By Mark Young

OK gang, I hate to admit it but Junior's chances of making the Chase just flew out the window.  The blown engines, pit crew mis-cues, driver errors, and 100 point penalties have proven too much to overcome.  Compound this with a red-hot Kurt Busch and the chances of making the Chase are slim and none.  As of right now junior is 163 points behind Kurt Busch with three races to go before the Chase.  That is 55 points a race that he has to gain on Kurt and 65 points that he has to gain on team mate Martin Truex Jr.  Junior has won at Bristol, but Kurt has too and more times that Dale.  Martin hasn't run so well there so there is a little hope.  California is a cookie-cutter of Michigan with less banking, give the advantage to Busch because of the recent wins at Michigan and Pocono where I am sure they brought the same car.  Richmond could swing in Junior's favor as he has won there recently.

Junior's saving grace is that Busch and Truex both take big hits at Bristol and California.  But that also means that there can be no more blown engines, pit stop miscues, or mid-race shock changes.  The Bud Team must be on top of their game if they want to make the Chase and have a chance of winning a Cup for DEI before Junior leaves.

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Kurt Busch Is King...Again

By Mark Young

FINALLY!! 

After two days of waiting we had breakfast and racing at Michigan International Speedway.  For the first time in the modern era NASCAR raced on a Tuesday and we weren't disappointed.  Kurt Busch put on a mid-race rally and dominated to the finish to get his second win in three races.  With that taken into consideration I can't help but name Kurt Busch King Of France Mountain.

I know this sounds like a broken record following the race at Pocono but damn this cat is on a roll!  Like him or not Kurt has his team has hit stride at just the right time before the chase.  With Bristol on the horizon, where he has flat out dominated in recent years one can't help but pick him to do well this weekend.  Since Pat Tryson has come on-board the #2 team Kurt has had several consistent runs with two wins.  I bet if you ask Tryson the chassis they ran today was the same one they ran at Pocono and surely will be the same one they will run in two weeks at California.

Like him or not, you have to respect the dominance the #2 Miller Lite Dodge has shown recently.  Hate to say it Junior Nation but I think Kurt has nailed a couple more nails into Junior's chances of making the chase in his final year driving for DEI.

That's what I say, what say you?

Mother Nature can be merciless

By DAVID GREEN

The first time I ever experienced a rainout at a race track was in 1965. My dad and I traveled about 70 miles from Okeechobee, Fla., to Palm Beach Speedway at the South Florida Fairgrounds, driving through intermittent showers falling from a sky mostly filled with dark clouds. We arrived at the fairground gates to find the ground soaked and, except for two pickup trucks pulling trailers with shiny wet racecars on them, no other signs of life.

It was a long, long ride back to Okeechobee.

Since then, I've been through the ordeal numerous times, as fan, competitor and journalist. The word from the '60s -- "bummer" -- seems more appropriate than any other option.

At the NASCAR level, "bummer" may not be adequate. The complications inherent to today's washout at Michigan International Speedway are much more complex than a long ride home for a 12-year-old boy and his dad. But on a more universal grand scale, that, even, is small potatoes. As disappointing as that rainout in 1965 was, I'd give anything for about three straight weeks of steady drizzle here in western Kentucky and the surrounding region.

This year, Mother Nature has shown us here in the Heartland just what a mean-spirited witch she can be when she chooses. First, there was the Easter freeze. Then, after farmers had written off their wheat crops and placed their hopes on corn, tobacco and soybeans, it dried up -- and somebody turned up the furnace. The corn is the pale yellow color of parchment. Tobacco that has been irrigated looks fair. The soybeans may survive.

It's so hot here, the migrant workers from Mexico -- where they are, you know, pretty much accustomed to hot weather -- are seeking air-conditioned shelter.

The dirt race tracks where the Kentucky Vintage Racing Association has been competing are dry-slick dust bowls. The fans at Western Kentucky Speedway in Hopkins County last night have my admiration for enduring the conditions at our race last night.

Of course, we should all be able to put things in perspective. It's not that long since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and the tsunami hit Indonesia, providing a couple of extreme reminders about the forces beyond our control.

So, excuse me if I don't agonize all that much about NASCAR's "dilemma" with its overstuffed schedule and the complications of a rainout. It's a problem they begged for, arrogantly painting themselves into such a corner with no room for make-up dates.

The buzz line in the old television commercial was, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature." It's not smart to defy her, either.

Whats in a Number?

By Keith Ott

  First we get Ozzie and his dysfunctional TV family.  Note 1:  Not, “Ozzie and Harriet,” so don’t you oldies get riled.  They were unrealistic, but functional.  We have Kiss’s Simmons and family.  Roush has a driver show.  What’s next, Earnhardt vs. Earnhardt hosted by Judge Judy?

  Note 2:  This may spark some emotion in non-Jr. fans, and non-Teresa fans. Bust on them if you will.  However, if you can’t keep it decent, I will.  That’s your only warning…I’m a retired Sr. Chief and I could swear you up a new one, in words you’d have to look up, but, I won’t, and I’m not going to have to worry about KOS (Kids over shoulder) for something with my name on it.

Back to the number thing, is it a spiteful family thingy?  I can’t see it any other way.

If, Jr. keeps the number he gets continuity.  What does Teresa get?  Without Jr., whether you like him or not, it has limited value.  Or, certainly not nearly the value it had.  Be assured, that Jr.’s fans, feeling she wronged him, are not going to buy #8 Budweiser gear after he leaves.  And, non-Jr. fans wouldn’t buy them if he was driving it.  Where’s her win?  The immediate loss of value and lower legacy value just spells spite to me.

If, Jr. doesn’t get the number he moves along with his fans.  Teresa gets much less.  And, not that I dislike Teresa, but I just think out of the many good decisions she’s made, that this was not one of them.

In a fun bizarre world, it would end up under Jr.’s Christmas tree and they’d all be gathered in their mansions singing merry songs, and doing huggy things.  As it is, I think we’ll see more, “As the Track Turns.”

And, don’t tell me anyone else hasn’t wondered about Jr’s engine woes.  Drivers leaving oft times experience strange failures.

Ok, that’s it.  I just wanted something new up there since there was no event