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NASCAR's BURNING

Tuesday February 26, 2008 @ 06:58 PM EST
Posted by 18packAbs

Welcome Race Fans to this edition of Nascar’s Burning. Just after the washed out Auto Club 500, I am at a loss for words. Not really, but what a debacle? Come on call your proctologist? I mean after the NASCAR Red Flagged the event they should have called the race. They knew there would be like a 3 or 4 hour window to get it in. When they took two hours to get the track ready, they should have known, and moved it to Monday. It stinks for the fans, but would have been the right move. Congratulations to Carl Edwards and the #99 team on a great win in Southern Cal.

Let’s get to what’s burning me. The schedule needs to be revamped. It doesn’t make a lick of sense. Just have Brian France get with the new Scheduler of Nascar, Bruton Smith and get it worked out. This guy owns like 8 tracks and is treating Mr. France like the kid he is taking the milk money from. Why don’t you just hire the guy and put him in charge of scheduling. Soon enough he will own all the tracks and be scheduling anyway. This way if you have a repeat of last weekend you have someone to blame. Put in his contract that all scheduled events must maintain at least 90% sellout and make a certain percentage of profit. Let’s see how he likes being responsible for those decisions. We will see if he is the savvy businessman that he says he is.

Let’s get back to the race out west. Look we all agree it was a horrific decision to run that race. The extremely unfortunate crash in the early going left Casey Mears on his side and Sam Hornish Jr, on fire, underneath him. This incident incited some strong reaction from the drivers and fans. This just shows how much NASCAR is walking on eggshells right now. Even Dale Jr and Denny Hamlin made verbal jabs at the governing body and no fines were announced. I wonder what Tony Stewart thought about that? Since he gets fined for what he says on his satellite Radio show occasionally. I noticed that the analysts didn’t say much against the decisions. I guess there opinions don’t matter. Just like the penguins, doing damage control. Why didn’t Mike Helton take out one of those Race cars, get it up to 200 mph and drive the same line Casey Mears ran. Then make a decision to run the race. These cars are much safer, but that doesn’t mean they should overlook safety concerns.

The boys from Hendricks that were left in the race looked real strong all day, with Jimmie Johnson leading the most laps. Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr also looked good for the boys in bowties. Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch ran well for the Toyotas. Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth looked good all race for the Fords. The Dodges looked like they lost a step from the plate race, but managed to get two in the top 10. There were others in and out of the top ten all day. Also Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch and David Ragan, yes David Ragan, flirted with a top 10 finish. Bad luck for the four cars in that big wreck on lap 21. It has Casey, Dale Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Sam Hornish Jr. all worrying about being in the top 35 in points. Casey just needs to relax he is trying way too hard to show he belongs. Junior and Hamlin just need some better luck. But Hornish Jr had Kurt Busch’s points. That could prove to be a huge mistake by Roger Penske. All in all it will be remembered as bad race weekend. The Nationwide race was pretty much a run away for Tony Stewart who led the most laps there and was only minimally challenged throughout. Kyle Busch was impressive in winning the truck race and leading the most laps. So pack it up a day late, head to Las Vegas and chalk it up as an experience.

My final burn brings me right to the Big Three of NASCAR. No, not the Big Three Manufacturers, The Big Three surnames of NASCAR, France, Petty, and Earnhardt. These three names are synonymous with the Sport, and have been for years. Why is it that they are all going in different directions? Earnhardt stock is rising and by far is the most popular driver in the sport. Only Bill Elliot has had more popularity in this sport than Junior. He held that spot (most popular driver) for about 16 years, off and on. The “king” Richard Petty and Bobby Allison, are the only others to have more titles than Dale Jr, but I don’t believe they were more popular. That won’t last much longer as Junior has held that title for 5 of the last 6 years. The Petty name that was once synonymous with winning has been reduced to just some cars on the track, stock is unchanged. Family tragedy has been the biggest racing news out of this camp for 20 years. Regardless, how could Dad and Granddad, be any prouder of the man they raised. Kyle Petty’s tireless efforts for the Victory Junction Gang should get us all thinking about the things that are more important than racing. Bravo Petty Family for teaching Kyle to put others ahead of himself, you are already a champion, and that is a great legacy. And my favorite target errs…. I mean topic Brian France. This guys stock is falling faster than Fords. He continues to pour gasoline on the fire. The Debacle of California, The continually double talk and rhetoric, which in pushing fans away in chunks. The assumption that Drivers will come to the aid of the sport, and the Bruton Smith’s and Sprint Corp.’s pushing you around and telling you what to do. They would have never pushed your Dad around like this. He would have owned the Bull. The end around that Roush is pulling, it is a joke. Get in to the kitchen and put out the fire or call a fireman before the whole house burns down. These guys have a tough deal to live up to the accomplishments of their Fathers. Junior is the only one who has a shot of doing it at or on the track, time will tell. Kyle has shown you can have your cake and eat it too. His is more successful off the track than everyone in the sport. Brian will have to become something else or learn how to be a great leader in a short period of time. He is in danger of losing everything his family legacy stands for up to this point in time. Brian I am pulling for you. I have the need for speed.

Well that’s all folks. I need all my clones to chime in, and give me your take. I thank all of you for your wonderful and positive feedback. I will be back next Tuesday, Viva Las Vegas, I’m Out.
Rating: 10 Votes
  • Currently 4.50/5 Stars.
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Burning_down_the_house, THE_BLUE_DUDE_IS_THE_MAN, THUNDER_IS_AN_INSPIRATION_TO_US_ALL, WHOSE_IS_YOUR_DADDY,
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2.0.5.1/461 Mon Aug 25 20:51:19 UTC 2008