Remember: Your Ruler MAY Be Different

WARNING: This is a pet peeve blog post...

How different are they?

You see it often in posts on your favorite social network site:

NASCRAP...
NAPCAR...

Usually followed by whoever made the post referring to the "boring-ness" of NASCAR and how it isn't real racing. It goes both ways though, NASCAR fans regularly bad mouth Indy Cars and Formula 1 for not being real racing either. That being said, what exactly is "real racing"?

I feel that, too many times, race fans get blinded by their love for one type of racing and totally discredit any other type. In his 2003 book, True Speed, Tony Stewart said:

"Stock car people look at an Indy car, and to them it's so fast and so different that they forget it's just a race car. Indy car people do the same thing: they look at a stock car and see a big, heavy thing that's a challenge to turn and a challenge to stop, and they lose sight of the fact that it's also just a race car. Every race car has four wheels, a throttle pedal, a brake pedal, and a steering wheel; if you drive them too hard, every one of them either pushes, gets loose, or does a four-wheel drift..." (p.224-225)

Stewart hits the nail on the head with this one. Judging one type of racing with the skill set it takes to succeed in another is just plain wrong. I find that it is unfair to drivers of any series to judge them with the "ruler" of another field of drivers. Everyone has their preferences, I can't discount that, but you need to realize that racing is racing regardless of if it's on dirt or asphalt, open wheel or with fenders, or winged or non-winged.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm guilty of this. I like my NASCAR and my dirt racing. I've never been one to watch Formula 1 or Indy Cars. I don't necessarily LIKE to watch them either...BUT I will not discredit the drivers of either series because of that. It takes a different skill set to wheel an Indy Car or Stock Car than it does to wheel a Sprint Car or a Late Model.

So remember, YOUR ruler MAY be different...so don't measure someone else's racing series with it.



Book Cited:
Stewart, Tony, and Bones Bourcier. True Speed: My Racing Life.
New York: HarperEntertainment, 2002. Print.

Wait, Who?

Trevor Bayne, that's WHO!!

The 2011 Daytona 500 is now in our rear-view mirror but this one will be talked about for a long time to come. In a race that saw a record number of lead changes AND caution flags, 20-year old Trevor Bayne scores his first career Cup Series victory in just his second career start!

What makes this such a great win is that he didn't back into it. He was up front and competitive for the majority of the race. He showed maturity behind the wheel well beyond his level of experience. TREVOR BAYNE is a name we will be hearing alot more for several years to come.

Other News/Notes/Thoughts from the Daytona 500:

 - BAD DAY TO DRIVE FOR RICK HENDRICK:
ALL 4 Hendrick Chevrolet's were involved in some type of wreck during the Daytona 500. Mark Martin was able to come back and  secure a 10th place finish after repair work was done on his car car. As for the other 3 Hendrick cars; Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr scored finishes of 27th, 28th, and 24th, respectively.

- YOU WANNA DANCE?:
The 2-car breakaway came into play as it did in the Budweiser Shootout and Gatorade Duels BUT this time it made for a good show. This was one of the most entertaining Daytona 500 that I can remember. That being said, the constant shoving through the corners made for ALOT of crashes (a record number of caution flags actually!). All in all, the 2-car draft made for an interesting race and it will be interesting to see what, if anything, NASCAR does about it when we go to Talladega in a few weeks.

-MORE SURPRISING FINISHES:
Sure, Trevor Bayne winning was surprise but he wasn't the only surprise finish of the day. David Gilliland came across the stripe in 3rd and Bobby Labonte came home 4th! Great finishes for two drivers who haven't had much good news to speak of the past few seasons.


So tell me, what were your thoughts/reactions to the 2011 Daytona 500?

IT'S A SHOOTOUT!!...without guns apparently

The 2011 edition of the Budweiser Shootout is now in the books. Overall, I think the race was horrible. The two car breakaways ruined what COULD have been a great race. So let's break down some of the elements of the race:

1. ME AND YOU...AND YOU AND ME!

Drivers in the 2-car breakaway formation at a test in January 2011.

I'm not sure anyone know what causes these two car breakaways but they are a force to be dealt with. They showed up in this year's Shootout with a vengeance and totally ruined the racing. For weeks we've heard from commentators and track officials how the new surface at Daytona would make the racing there better than ever and while the speed's were the highest they've been since the mid 80's (Michael Waltrip topped 206 mph!) the overall "racing" was poor. Sure, there was a record number of lead changes but watching the groups of two for 75 laps tonight was not fun at all. I would just about bet that NASCAR makes a rule change on Monday or Tuesday to 1. reduce the speeds and 2. attempt to find a way to limit or cut out entirely the two-car breakaway.

2. THE FINISH
The finish of this year's Shootout will certainly leave alot of folks talking for weeks to come. For all the benefits of the "yellow-line rule" it sure does cause alot of arguments as well. Coming to the checkered flag, Denny Hamlin was pushing Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurrary was pushing Kurt Busch. As they came to the stripe, Hamlin ducked out from behind Newman and made a move to the inside. (WARNING: the next few sentences contain my opinion based on what I saw in the live finish and replays!) As Hamlin was making the pass, he crossed below the yellow line JUST AFTER HE PASSED RYAN NEWMAN FOR THE LEAD. The NASCAR rule book says you can't cross below the double yellow line to advance your position. If Hamlin already had the lead, how was he advancing his position below the line? In a post race interview he said he did so as a safety move since spinning Newman at those speed's would surely mean Newman would get airborne. NASCAR said he was advancing his position though and gave the win to Kurt Busch, who made a late charge with McMurrary pushing to secure what looked like a 2nd place finish.

Well, those are the two biggest things I took away form this years Budweiser Shootout but I'm sure everyone has a thousand different opinions. So please, share your comments, thoughts, and opinions on the 2011 running of the Budweiser Shootout!

Always and Forever...The Man

Dale Earnhardt after winning the 1998 Daytona 500

It's hard to believe that its been ten years since we lost Dale Earnhardt. Plain and simple, the man WAS Stock Car racing (and still IS to alot of folks). Every sport in the world has their legend, their "greatest", Dale Earnhardt was all that and more in the NASCAR world.

2001
Daytona, Florida
We were about a quarter mile from a great running of the Daytona 500. Michael Waltrip came off turn 4 headed for the Checkered Flag, his first ever in Sprint Cup competition, with his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. right behind him. A little farther back was the owner of those two cars in his traditional black number 3 Chevrolet. Some say he was holding off the pack to help his two cars stay up front while others say there's no way he was holding back, he's DALE EARNHARDT, the man doesn't know what holding back means! But in that pack of cars, Dale found himself 3-wide and in the middle as they came through turn four. And then...

We'd seen wrecks that looked alot worse. Heck, just earlier in the race Tony Stewart barrel-rolled down the backstretch and walked away! Dale just hit the wall a little but...dang, that WAS a bad angle he hit and...no, no, no, he's DALE EARNHARDT. He'll walk away just like he always has, right? RIGHT??

It wasn't until later that afternoon when NASCAR President Mike Helton confirmed everyone's worst fears....."After the accident in Turn 4 at the end of the Daytona 500...umm...we've lost Dale Earnhardt". That line will live in infamy in the history of NASCAR.

The racing world was shocked. He can't be dead, he's DALE EARNHARDT...the man was a god in stock car racing. He can't die behind the wheel, can he??

The sport has continued along fine these last ten years though it's not quite been the same without The Intimidator out there mixing it up. So on this 10th Anniversary, I open this up as a forum to the readers: What is YOUR favorite memory of Dale Earnhardt?

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

It was a goal thought unreachable with today's level of competition...

Surely no one could EVER do what two of the sports greatest have done, right???

Wait, he won three Championships in a row?

Crap, nobody's ever done four-in-a-row before...

HOLY S**T!! 5 IN A ROW?????

Besides maybe Kyle Busch, no driver can stir up a crowd of NASCAR fans better than Jimmie Johnson. Most fans either love him for what he's accomplished or they hate him for what he's accomplished. Some say he's too "vanilla" for the sport and doesn't show enough emotion during or after a race.

Love him or hate him, Johnson now stands a chance of reaching the "unreachable" mark of 7 championships in his career, a mark now held only by NASCAR legend's Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Alot of folks assumed that with today's level of competition, no one could ever get to seven championships again. But it's been said that records WERE made to be broken, right?

"The King" Richard Petty (left) and "The Intimidator" Dale Earnhardt (right)

I can't lie, I've spent the last several seasons really hating Jimmie Johnson. Who likes a guy who wins all the time? But while I may not be able to stand the guy, I can't discredit what he and #48 Lowe's team have accomplished these past five years. Alot of fans like to accuse the 48 team of cheating all the time or that NASCAR rigs the races in Johnson's favor. I find both of those claims crazy. Sure, Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus has had his run-ins with the NASCAR officials for cheating in the past, but to think that there is some large conspiracy among officials to let Johnson get by with something every week is insane.

I'm not saying any of you out there have to burn all of your favorite driver's gear and buy a Jimmie Johnson  t-shirt; everyone having a favorite driver makes watching the races with a group that much more fun. But give the guy at least a little respect...the dude can drive.

So what do YOU think:
1. If Johnson reaches 7 championships someday...
2. If you DON'T like Johnson, why?
3. If you DO like Johnson, why?