It's Race Day!

I know some of you are taking the weekend off from NASCAR, but did you know there's major road race across the pond? Yes, it's that time of year again. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is this weekend, and yours truly spent a few hours on Friday racing a Chevrolet Corvette C7.R race car around the track in Project CARS.

This year, the event is getting the television coverage it deserves. For the first time since we had the SPEED channel, 19 of the 24 hours will be on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2. If you want to see those five "missing" hours, you can stream the race on the Fox Sports Go app. It's free and you'll have access to the race provided your cable provider has FS1 and FS2 in their channel lineup.

If you want to cheer on Corvette Racing, the new Ford GT race cars, or watch Porsche, Audi, and Nissan battle it out in the highly competitive LMP1 prototype division, here's the television broadcast schedule. All times are Eastern (EST):

8:30am - 2pm  FS1
2pm - 4:30pm  FS2
6pm - 6:30pm FS2
7pm - 7:30pm FS2
10:30pm - 2:30am FS2
2:30am - 9:30am FS1

Will I stay up for the full 24 hours this year? Not this year. Sunday is Father's Day, and I don't want to visit my family on three or four hours of sleep because I stayed up all night. I'll be on Twitter off and on all day and evening, though.

Brian France and NASCAR Need A Wake-Up Call

Do you know the expression "Jumping The Shark"? You know the episode of Happy Days where the Fonz decides to water ski and he jumps over the shark? You could never take that show seriously again and you always thought of that episode. Well, that is where NASCAR has gone since Matt Kenseth let his anger overrule good sense and intentionally wrecked Joey Logano. It has been thought that the NFL was the king of arbitrary rules since last season. I submit that is the dunderheads the run NASCAR. They have no clue and will arbitrarily enforce rules.

Let's start in Martinsville. Kenseth crushes Logano into a SAFER barrier and Logano can no longer continue.  NASCAR parks Kenseth for the rest of the race and decides on a 2 race suspension and a 6 month probation. Let's say something right here. I have no problem with the suspension. In fact, I would have made it the final 3 races of the year. The probation is longer that I thought it should be, but it is OK. Probation was reduced to the end of 2015 on appeal. So the reason that Kenseth was suspended for that amount of time is something that Brian France stated in the defense of the penalty given out:

"Going back to Richmond, we made it very clear that anybody in the industry, any driver or participant who intentionally tries to alter the outcome of events or championships, that that crosses a different line than a racing problem between two drivers," France said.

Go back and read that again. Any driver or participant who intentionally tries to alter the outcome of events or championships. Well, Matt Kenseth definitely did that. So, he and NASCAR are fine on that account. But what about the Danica Patrick badly performed takeout of David Gilliland? She was fined and points taken away. She was intentionally trying to alter the outcome of the event. She was causing a caution that should not have been. Do you know if things would have shaken out differently if she had not caused that caution? No you do not. Because maybe Jeff Gordon has a tire that blows 2 laps later. Every caution has an impact on the Chase and on the participants in the race. So why isn't NASCAR parking her ass on the bench just like Kenseth? Because then you would have drivers suspended each and every week.

Why would you have racers suspended each and every week? Because those racers who decide to dump a competitor intentionally should face the exact same penalty as Kenseth did. And we know that each and every racer out on a NASCAR track has a t one time or another wrecked a competitor because of anger. The regular season determines who is in the Chase and you cannot win the Chase without qualifying for it. With a straight face, how can you say that someone being taken out in Week 4 of the season doesn't impact the Chase? So let's say that Matt Kenseth takes out Eric Almirola during a race in Atlanta intentionally with 5 laps to go and they are going for the race win. NASCAR will not suspend the driver. Why? According to Brian France, that is just smart racing. That is wrong. Matt Kenseth has intentionally altered the outcome of an event and the chance for Almirola to advance to the Chase. But then you turn off some of your audience because their favorite driver is out of at least one race. And if you decide to suspend a fan favorite, then what is the business backlash if he is out at the same time you have suspended another top name? I understand that $$$ drives the sport, but let's get this straight.

And speaking of $$$, NASCAR will take this action and make money off of it. You don't think so? Then you don't remember Edwards taking out Keselowski at Atlanta. I saw that wreck this year in an advertisement for the NASCAR race in Atlanta. Wrecking each other is a part of the sport that is intriguing to people, whether it is deliberate or not. And what will bring in more $$$, according to NASCAR, it is a controversy about why the accident happened. NASCAR will allow footage of this wreck between Logano and Kenseth to permeate the airwaves in ads and NASCAR themselves will show this wreck in various instances, not just for news worthy things. 

So if what Mr. France states is a reason for Kenseth's suspension is true, then why isn't NASCAR investigating Kurt Busch's claim that Brad Keselowski intentionally wrecked Matt Kenseth before the Logano incident? It had an effect on the Chase because Kurt Busch was taken out during the wreck. Where is the questions to the #2 driver? I don't think that has been done. And has NASCAR talked to Busch after the claims? The wreck affected the chance of Kurt Busch to win the NASCAR title. Because the sanctioning body doesn't care. Oh, a tie rod came loose and that caused the wreck. Really? How do you know that? Kenseth says that his tire went flat and he couldn't turn. Maybe that is true. Did NASCAR investigate that? Probably not, because they parked him immediately after the wreck. I'm not saying that Kenseth wasn't lying, but if he says something, why don't you believe him but you do another racer in the exact same position?

In conclusion, NASCAR has always had their favorites and agendas. We knew about that in the 80's, 90's, and 2000's. After the Boys, have at it proclamation, fans were hoping that would be set aside. Well, with this incident, we know that the sanctioning body at the very least is incompetent, and probably hoping that controversy will bring back viewers and fans to the sport. The Kevin Harvick wrecking somebody at the start to get him into the next round of the Chase didn't bring them the controversy that they wanted, but they think that this might. The agendas are in full force, at least to me they are. And until they are put back on the back burner, the sanctioning body can kiss my lily white a**.

Hey! NASCAR Drivers! Do Something Or Shut Up!

After the Coke Zero 400, I read and heard driver's comments about the Austin Dillon accident. In case you didn't know, his car was hit, and violently flipped into the catch fence where the fence did it's job of keeping the car on the track and minimum debris going into the grandstand. And for some reason, there were some comments that stuck in my craw. It wasn't about how they all are thankful that Austin wasn't severely hurt. It wasn't about how they were saying that they might have needed to race on Monday during the day. Nope, it was the pot shots that they took at NASCAR and the supposed lack of safety that NASCAR has for their competitors.

Here is Ryan Newman in an interview with USA Today:

“NASCAR got what they wanted, That’s the end of it. Cars getting airborne, unsafe drivers, same old stuff. They just don’t listen.”

Asked whether Dillon’s wreck might effect change, Newman referenced the death of RCR driver Dale Earnhardt on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

“They’ve had several events since then,” Newman said. “They just don’t pay attention to safety. Simple as that.”

Funny about that. NASCAR has improved their safety edicts tremendously from that dark day in 2001. And if you don't believe they have, then you to can be a stupid asshole like Ryan Newman.

Here is Joey Logano and his stance:

“There isn’t much good to say about what happened here tonight,” said reigning Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano, who was caught in multiple crashes Monday. “It is a product of the racing here."

“I just heard (Dillon) up in the catch fence, and motors were flying out of cars. That isn’t the first time that has happened here and it is just dumb that we allow it to happen more than once.”

Hey Joey, you just continue to make sure that you are being done being walked on, and take your shots with your car towards others you think wronged you.

Kyle Busch has stated that he wants all grass eliminated that are adjacent from racing surfaces. Many drivers have stated that they want SAFER barriers at all tracks and on all walls at every track. They are all squawking at safety and what they want done. Great. NASCAR can pass all the safety ideas they want, but it all comes down to the 43 drivers in the cars not being complete and utter asshats. And you know that isn't going to happen.

I should not have to go into the history of the drivers. They have all wrecked one another on purpose. At the Superspeedways, the sanctioning body has tried to slow the cars down and the drivers bitched about not going fast enough. They tried to make it where the cars worked in tandems and they didn't like that. We have gone back to the pack racing and they bitch about that. They wreck each other with moves that shouldn't be attempted and they blame NASCAR. If you are NASCAR officials, you just have to listen to them and shake your head. I am still waiting for Newman, Busch, Harvick, Logano, Allmendinger, or any other driver out there to go public with their solution on how to make NASCAR safer for them. You know, the drivers get paid more than enough for finishing in the Top 20 in points, they should each contribute 5% of their earnings for the year and hire a think tank that does nothing but think of ways that they could make NASCAR racing safer.


What I am trying to say is that if you don't like how the safety of NASCAR is, you privileged drivers, then do something about it or shut the fuck up. You fucks are the major reason that your fellow drivers get hurt. I didn't see any one of those drivers at 1:40 AM on July 6th deciding that they didn't want to be in the draft and fighting for the win. I didn't see or hear the crew chiefs of those drivers telling them to get out of the draft to make sure that the drivers did not get hurt. No, they want the win, they want the glory, and the spoils. And when it doesn't go their way and one of them decides to punt the person in front of them (Kevin Harvick), there are consequences to their actions. And the lemming drivers will always bash NASCAR instead of their fellow drivers when it comes down to it. Why? Because that driver might decide to dump their ass in a future race into the wall. There again, the drivers are their own worst enemy.

The reason that Austin Dillon walked away is the safety improvements that NASCAR has done to the cars and the tracks doing upgrades to their tracks in the name of safety. He is lucky to not have any broken bones. And yet, drivers are arguing that NASCAR has not done enough. When you decide to spin a car at 200 MPH on asphalt, the car should be basically destroyed due to the laws of physics. But yet, these drivers think that it should be like getting hit with a soft pillow. NASCAR has tried to keep the car on it's wheels, but they do not control the laws of physics. No one does. And when you decide to make a car travelling at high speed go where it meets resistance, sometimes things don't go as planned. Who is responsible for that? It isn't NASCAR as an organization.

Until the drivers decide not to race like a raped ape and actually use their heads, these things will keep happening. There have been 2 NASCAR deaths on the track in the past decade. Carlos Pardo and John Blewitt III. And while we mourn their deaths in the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series, we all understand that there are risks when driving race cars. The drivers need to remember that and work with NASCAR on solutions not just whining and not doing a damn thing to help protect themselves.

24 Heurs du Twitter (Mans)

Now that the "drama" from earlier today is a thing of the past, it's time to get ready for the biggest sporting event in my household -- the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For me, this is my Super Bowl. Ever since I saw the movie "Le Mans" with Steve McQueen as a kid, I've always been fascinated with sports car racing. Over the years, we didn't have anything in the way of television coverage here in the States, but once the former Speed channel broadcasted over half of the race live several years ago I was hooked.

Do I have any strange rituals for the race? My participation in it as a fan has always been, "I'll stay up as long as Corvette Racing has a chance to win." In most cases, that meant waking up just before 6am on Saturday morning to catch the start of the race and then doing whatever it took to stay awake the full twenty-four hours! On some occasions, I've been rewarded with the sight of the men dressed in yellow and black celebrating on the top spot on the podium on Sunday morning. Lately, this also includes Dempsey Racing since "McDreamy" now participates in the event.

One of my habits during the race is to be active on Twitter. I not only follow the Corvette Racing account and several of the drivers, but it's the best place to get information during the race before it appears on the newswires. In some cases, it's great when you want confirmation of driver changes or what's happening to cars on the track. On the flip side, I also found out through social media and French translation when Allan Simonsen passed away well before they announced it on television. Regardless of what happens, this means my Android devices pictured above will all take turns "live tweeting" my thoughts on the race just like the drivers.

A common misconception is that I'll be glued to the television for the full twenty-four hours. I learned after the first time I did it that, it takes me a few days afterward to recover. I'll likely take a nap in the early afternoon hours so it will be easier for me to stay awake well into the next morning. The middle part of the race is also a great time for me to catch up on reading. While the PC is streaming the race, I'll likely be on one of my Kindle tablets reading a magazine or comic book.

I always have a "sin" meal during the race, and it's almost certain I'll pick up a large order of carne asada nachos from a nearby Mexican restaurant this weekend. Those are heavenly, and perfect for this event. I'll also need to keep plenty of coffee on hand, or perhaps pick up a bottle of Mountain Dew if I want to save a few bucks.

Finally, this also means I'll need to dust off my DVD copy of "Le Mans" and watch it tomorrow or Friday night to remember the good old days of sports car racing.

So Much For That Idea

I may skip this year's race. The Fox Sports Go app doesn't recognize my cable provider, and half the TV coverage is overnight. #LM24

— The Hun†ress (@RJOuttaSoCal) June 10, 2015

I was going to write this nice blog post about watching the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but as you can see in the above tweet that may not happen this year. But in the event you're interested in one of the world's most prestigious sports car races, the following TV schedule is where you can watch all the action. All times are Eastern Standard Time:

8:30am - 11:45am Fox Sports 2
7:00pm - 8:00pm   Fox Sports 1
11:00pm - 12:30am Fox Sports 2
3:30am - 7:30am Fox Sports 1
7:30am - 9:00am Fox Sports 2
9:00am - 9:30am Fox Sports 1

You can also watch the entire race on the Fox Sports Go app, but if you're like me and have Cox Communications as your cable provider, the stupid app won't recognize your provider and you can't "unlock" the event.

UPDATE 10:38am PST: It turns out the Fire TV app is the one that doesn't work, but the Fox Sports Go app for the Kindle Fire tablets detected my cable provider and work fine. It would be nice to stream the race on the big screen, though.

A Day Of Bad Decisions

Normally, the day before Memorial Day is like Christmas for me. I get to wake up well before sunrise and watch the Monaco Grand Prix live on television, then wait a few hours afterward for the start of the Indianapolis 500. The Coca-Cola 600, or whatever it’s called nowadays? Sorry, but NASCAR takes a back seat to open wheel racing on this special day.

My day of racing is over. Even though I should be happy I saw two great races, I’m relieved no one was seriously injured or killed. This should have been a fun day to relax and watch my favorite drivers battle for victory, and instead I’m left wondering if it’s a matter of time before tragedy strikes.

Let’s review what happened today:

MONACO: I still can’t believe Lewis Hamilton didn’t win. He was 19 seconds ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg when with about a dozen laps to go “Mad Max” Verstappen attempted to overtake the Lotus of Romain Grosjean on the inside heading into Sainte Devote (Turn 1). Just as he had done with Grosjean’s teammate Pastor Maldonado earlier in the race, Mad Max made contact with Grosjean and took him out of the points.

The collision caused Mad Max to lose a wheel and his brakes, and he shot straight into the barriers at high speed. If this had happened at the chicane coming out of the tunnel, we might have had a different outcome for the young driver. I don’t mind seeing aggressive driving, but you never should do it at the expense of your competitors unless it’s the final laps.

Believe it or not, that wasn’t the biggest brain fart in Monaco. That belongs to whoever made the call in the pits for the AMG Mercedes driver to pit for new tires under caution with a dozen laps to go. Instead of rolling the dice and letting Lewis battle for the win, the points leader had to settle for third place on the podium. I appreciate Lewis defending his team after the race, but he’s too smart to make that call. He should have won his fifth race this season, not his crybaby teammate.

INDIANAPOLIS: If you’ve been reading my forum posts this past week, my fears of a fatality are well documented. I had every reason to be worried. The changes in this year’s aero kit and car design were a huge step backward in driver and fan safety. Cars that had not previously gone airborne when going backwards were now flying in the air like prototype sports cars. We also could have had a new mayor of Hinchtown when James Hinchcliffe was critically injured earlier in the week.

Then there was talk of assaulting Arie Lyendyk’s lap record with this same, flawed car next year. If these cars are getting airborne at 200 mph, how much higher do you think they’ll sail at speeds ten to twenty miles an hour faster? Did we not learn from Tony Renna’s practice accident? Tony Kaanan’s accident a dozen years ago when a suspension part pierced his legs? We haven’t, and I told all of my friends to brace themselves for the very real possibility we’d see a very serious or fatal accident like the ones that were commonplace twenty to thirty years ago.

Thankfully, no cars got airborne and no drivers were killed or seriously injured today. However, it must be noted three crew members from Dale Coyne Racing were injured when someone let James Davison exit his pit while both lanes in pit road were occupied by passing cars. In a cruel bit of irony, Davison’s car struck teammate Pippa Mann, who was on the inside lane and entering her own pit.

The collision sent Davison’s car into the pit of third teammate Tristan Vautier while the crew were changing right side tires. Luckily, the accident looked worse than it actually was. At this writing, only one crew member is hospitalized for an ankle fracture. In my opinion, none of the drivers were at fault. If Davison’s pit had kept him there until Mann was clear, this incident never would have happened.

The traveling open wheel circus goes to Detroit next weekend, but I worry about what could happen when they arrive in Texas in two weeks for the Firestone 600. Will there be enough safety measures to prevent a repeat of Hinchcliffe’s accident? A car going airbone like Kenny Bräck nearly a decade ago?

I know racing is dangerous and not all fatalities are preventable, but to compromise driver and fan safety for the sake of faster speeds will ruin the sport in the long run unless immediate changes are made. With the safety advances the series has made over the past few years, including the creation of the DW12 car, there is no excuse for these cars to endanger the lives of drivers and fans like they did in the past.

Hoping For A Ryan Newman Championship

At least one member of this message board wants to see a Ryan Newman Championship this Sunday in Homestead.

Found On Twitter

I love my mom. pic.twitter.com/eLEe7KDzbt

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) July 27, 2014

I. Can’t. Stop. Laughing!

Changing the 2015 Schedule For NASCAR

With the NASCAR teams forming the Race Team Alliance and talking about saving money on costs and drivers now speaking out on changing tracks and days of racing, I figured that I would redesign the schedule for NASCAR and the tracks in the Chase. 

I do like Ryan Newman’s idea of racing on Wednesday nights, although that might hurt attendance at the races. Jimmie Johnson had put out there that maybe cutting back on the amount of races. Tony Stewart has advocated bringing new tracks. And there are other ideas out there as well. I am going to use some of the ideas. The one idea that I absolutely agree with is no Super Speedways in the Chase. So that would eliminate Daytona and Talladega from the last 12 races. That doesn’t mean that they won’t play a part in determining who gets through to the Chase. Let’s figure out how to make the schedule a bit better than what it is.

ROAD COURSES SEEM TO BRING OUT THE "I'LL REMEMBER THAT NEXT TIME" PERSONA.

I was impressed with the racing at Sonoma this weekend past. The pole was held by Jamie McMurray, with the second spot going to AJ Almendinger. AJ was thought to be one of the favorites there, with Marcus Ambrose and Kurt Busch also being a top contender. But as the race wound down the leader and winner was Carl Edwards in the 99, this was Cuzzin Carls first road course win out of his many career Sprint cup wins. This was not without some suspense between the drivers. The two biggest complaints came against the "most popular" driver in NASCAR, drum roll please, Dale Earnhardt Jr. AJ thought Jr. didn't give him enough room and made him lose control which ended his quest for a win for the small team, and then near the end Matt Kenseth also thought he wasn't given enough room causing him to run into the safety tire barricade and totally tearing his front end off, do you think the number 88 will be marked on the dash of these two cars? Only time will tell. Jeff Gordon showed he isn't quite ready for the retirement heap yet, coming in second in a close tight final lap that showed Carl keeping the 24 at bay on the second to final turn. The aforementioned Jr. displaying road skills that have not been prevalent in his previous racing starts, came a close third with the newer tires that almost took him to the top. Pole sitter Jamie Mc. came fourth after having a great start but fading middle race, Paul Menard keeping up his resurgence over the last few races capped by his Nationwide win two weeks ago. Kasey Kahne came in 6th and drat, darn, horrors, Jimmie Johnson pulled off 7th. Kevin Harvick again had pit problems, this appears to be wearing on both the #4 driver and his crew. This writer feels there are and always will be adverse conditions between the drivers and the pit crews, that said, it should be kept between the teams, for it to make it into the media, and then, become fodder the teams have to rehash every time a race comes up, detracts from the winning ways everyone needs to win in this high caliber sport. I always have loved "go straight then turn left" be it open wheel, stock car, ARCA, or outlaw, but when you see the diverse qualities needed to drive road style, there is a real need to watch the steady improvement the stock car drivers are showing and not just a few ringers who race a few races and then don't see them til the next race. Case in point is the fine sixth place showing Kurt Busch showed at the Indy 500 and then running well at the Coke 600 and through a mechanical problem being dropped out of the running. Well we are off to Kentucky, Cya'll there and enjoy, to quote an old Bette Davis movie, "hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride".

JIMMIE (YAWN) JOHNSON WINS HIS FIRST RACE AT MICHIGAN.

I like Jimmy Johnson, I think he is an asset to the sport, but darn, enough is enough, the media fawns over him if he does not win, the media fawns over him if he wins. Chad and Jimmy are a great team, but I for one would like to see some of the other teams pull wins out, this was a classic example of the Chad and Jimmy show, good planning all race and then holding on at the end. Pole sitter Kevin Harvick came close by placing second by one second, this was the third win out of the last four races to the 48 team, and the fifth in a row for Chevy and Hendrick Motorsports, Keselowski pulled out third, Paul Menard added to his Nationwide win by placing fourth, followed by Kahne, Gordon, and Jr. Speaking of Nationwide and Paul Menard, his win was well received as it is his second win in this series, and after a tire problem took Joey Logano out of contention the win gave Chevy the win in their back yard. On the truck scene the Camping world series race was won by Bubba Wallace in the KBR truck, lots of fun coming up at NASCAR Sonoma this weekend, I was there in '10, Jimmy won there then, Marcus Ambrose made a big mistake, I hope that does not happen this weekend, I mean Marcus, I don't want to dump on Jimmy, nudge nudge.

TALLEDEGA, IS IT JUST ME, OR IS NASCAR MAKING THE BIGGEST AND THE BEST BORING?

Denny Hamlin got a well deserved win at the 2.66 mile restrictor plate track at Talledega on Sunday. Now I know plate racing is a different animal and fans have to be ready for changes NASCAR has put in place over the years in the name of safety and speed suppression. A lot of the changes are good, the return of pack racing compared to the two car draft that was in place the last few years, of which there are penalties levied if cars lock or basically touch for extended time is one I found in the whatever category. But some of the racing now appears boring now compared to the short track, mile, and mile and a half tracks. I've always loved Talledega and Daytona, but I'm starting to wonder if some of the changes are giving us an inferior product, well that is just my opinion, we will see after the race at Kansas, now back to the race on Sunday. Denny won the race on a last lap caution which some felt maybe didn't let the best win but I didn't feel that way, I think he had it and it would have taken more than a green, white checkered to change it. Greg Biffle drove a good race giving him second, Clint Bowyer is showing some speed if not wins with a third place finish, Brian Vickers and AJ Almendinger rounded out the top five. Events started early with Brad Keselowski causing a crash on the 15th lap by driving down into Danica Patrick and causing a crash that caused him and Jamie Macmurray losing ground by seven laps when they returned. Keselowski also caused another crash deep into the race on the 137th lap, this one causing problems for many drivers a few of which were wondering where Keselowski was hiding his brain by racing so hard when he was down by six laps. Now I know the opinions of some are he is a race car driver and no matter where he is on the lap board it is his job to race hard and try to get those laps back, and this writer grants this fact, as Jamie Mc. came within one lucky dog of doing just that and getting back onto the lead lap, but after watching replays,(that is why this is so late as I was watching replay after replay for this blog) I felt he was overdriving and did damage where it wasn't warranted. I give the boss his due with Kasey Kahne in the #5 coming in 8th, and Aric Almirola #43 coming in 13th. Is Jimmie Johnson in a slump? Is Tony Stewart slow? I'm going to leave you with those questions and maybe we will have some answers after the first night race this Saturday night Kansas City.

RACING AT RICHMOND, SHORT TRACK AT IT'S BEST.

I know this is very late and I'm sorry, the weather is sunny and I insured my bike so there you go......! Anyway as far as the racing goes, the win for Joey Logano last weekend was huge, both as a lock into the chase, and showing that some races come right down to the end with five big name racers vying for a win in the last laps of a long race. The final laps also caused tempers to flare in the garage which brought Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears coming to blows in an after race skirmish which NASCAR viewed with an eye of disdain and made a move to stop any fistfights again by fining Ambrose $25,000 and fining Mears $15,000. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver took advantage of the late race duel to grab the lead then outran Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, and Brad Keselowski. There were more opinions expressed after the race with Keselowski vowing to remember how Kenseth blocked him from a chance at winning, which this writer feels is more crybaby than fact, as Matt was vying for the same win which gives him as much right for blocking and trying to win as bad Brad. I think there will be another name added to the win list before the chase starts, as A.J. Almendinger and the 47 took a sixth place finish and AJ is a fan fave for a win this weekend, and guess where we are this weekend, TALLEDEGA BABY, my fave and probably the best example of resrictor plate racing, Nationwide on Saturday, Sprint Cup on Sunday, Dega baby, I can't wait, and there is rain in our forecast so no time with the Harley this weekend just typing for my friends on the blog, cya Sunday night, maybe Monday,no later than Tuesday or ........................

Guess Who’s On Twitter?

Look who I ran into at the Daytona Experience. Dad's Happy! #2XDaytona500Champ pic.twitter.com/I0zf5PLfr5

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) February 24, 2014

@DaleJr is late to the Twitter party, but it’s better to be late than never when he posts cool selfies like this one the day after his second Daytona 500 victory.

WHAT A RACE, WHAT A WIN, I'M JUST A HAPPY JR. FAN AND MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE.

Well here we are at the start of another NASCAR season with the Daytona 500, the race that everyone knows about, like the Indy 500 this race is one of the granddaddy races that all the drivers want to win, and they all have an honest chance to win. Through rain and wrecks this was Daytona's longest day,and it was a drought Dale Earnhardt Jr. was determined to end. NASCAR's most popular driver won the Daytona 500 on Sunday night for the second time, ten years after his first victory. And with this he snapped a 55 race losing streak dating back to 2012. It also ended the frustation of coming 2nd in three of the last four Daytona races. After he crossed the finish line the fans who withstood the 6 hour 22 minute red flag delay were screaming their support. Dale Jr. dominated at the track where his father died on the last lap of the 2001 race. He led six times for a race high 54 laps, all after the rain delay and seemed to have it under control until things got chaotic near the end. There were 42 lead changes and four multi car accidents as the field closed in on the checkered flag. Denny Hamlin was second in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Brad Keselowski was third in a Team Penske Ford. Jimmie Johnson who beat out Jr. in last years race commented how "He's been knocking on the door of the 500 for a lot of years. He got it done tonight, he did an awesome job". Well folks,on to Phoenix next week, and coming up in the next weeks is my personal fave, DEGA BABY. Enjoy the season.

We Have A Winner?

Congrats Fox News!!! Hahahaha #fail #nascar pic.twitter.com/vaOL5Jv685

— Scott Speed (@scottspeed) February 23, 2014

Oh. My. God. I know one time Fox News once reported a story from The Onion as fact, but I think this tops that on hilarity alone.

While you’re at it, go follow @scottspeed on Twitter. He’s a hoot!

Long Overdue

Today marks the first time in thirteen years we’ll see a black #3 car on a NASCAR track. If we were having this conversation a few years ago, I would have been very upset if had happened then. It’s a different time now. The car belongs on the track, and probably should have returned several years ago.

Back in the day, I was a huge Dale Earnhardt fan. I owned a couple of his GM Goodwrench hats. I watched every NASCAR race on the schedule. I participated in several online racing leagues and won championships the way he did – with a cinder block on my shoulder and nothing to lose in the final laps.

You can imagine how devastated I was when Dale died and the #3 car disappeared from the track. I always held out hope another ornery, aggressive driver would step in and return the car to glory. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was an obvious choice for his lineage. Tony Stewart, my favorite driver since Dale passed away, would have been a perfect fit. But as time passed, it was obvious neither of them would ever drive the #3 car for Richard Childress Racing full-time.

Now we have Austin Dillon doing what I had hoped Jr. and Stewart would have done. How do I feel about this? The more I think about it, I really like it. Austin is Richard’s grandson, has only driven the #3 in his short career, and already has championships in the Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series to his credit. It also helps that, like Earnhardt and Stewart, Dillon won’t take crap from anyone on the track.

For us longtime Earnhardt fans, we have to keep this in perspective. Before Sr. drove the car, drivers like Buck Baker, Buddy Baker, Ricky Rudd and Junior Johnson won races while driving the #3. It’s not like that number belongs to Dale. It belongs to NASCAR – and back on the track.

While I’ll be rooting for Stewart to win the Daytona 500, I wouldn’t mind seeing the #3 car run up front or end up in Victory Lane today.

You Gotta See This

I’m in the middle of a four-day weekend, and one of the things I did last night was rent “1” on OnDemand. This is a documentary on how safety changed in Formula 1 from it’s beginnings to modern day.

It begins and ends with Martin Brundle’s end over end accident in the 1996 Austrailian Grand Prix, and shows the British driver walking away unhurt from an accident that certainly would have killed him only a few years earlier.

In between those clips, you’ll learn about some of the great drivers from Formula One’s deadliest era. But most importantly, you’ll also learn about the appalling conditions these drivers performed in until they demanded changes in the sport.

View it for the great vintage footage, but learn from it so you’ll gain a healthy respect for the drivers. Jochen Rindt was the first to speak out about the lack of safety in his Lotus 72, and sadly perished in it at Monza in 1970. Jackie Stewart, and subsequently Emerson Fittipaldi, were brave enough to take a leadership role in making tracks safer.

In the 70s, we lost an entire generation of future champions in François Cevert, Roger Williamson and Ronnie Peterson. You’ll learn about them as well.

It should be available on OnDemand until next month, and then it will be released on DVD sometime afterward.

Is There Any Possibility For Negative Credibilty?

Because if there is, I just saw it on Saturday with NASCAR holding a press conference explaining how they are going to ensure that their races have credibility. Mike Helton, Randy Pemberton, and Brian France. They went and told the Sprint Cup racers yesterday in a 17 minute meeting in the Nationwide Garage the new "rules of the road". And yet as the new Tenat 12-4L is laid out to us that aren't in the NASCAR garage, I am thinking, this does nothing for most of the situations that happen during the year that brings the credibility down for NASCAR races.

The Dark Side Of Motorsport

Yesterday was the start of this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, and like I’ve done every year since Speed channel started broadcasting the race here in the States, I stayed awake all night to watch it. It’s normally an exciting event. I’ll cook pork tenderloin in my crock pot just before I go to bed late Friday night so I can serve pulled pork sandwiches for lunch later in the day. Sometimes I’ll have friends visit and watch part of the race, but most of the time I’ll burn up Twitter during the event.

Normally it’s good, solitary fun but this year it wasn’t. For the first time since Jo Gartner lost his life in the 1986 race, we had to deal with death. Allan Simonsen, a driver with the Aston Martin team that regularly competes against Corvette Racing in the GT division at Le Mans, lost his life after a massive accident during the first ten to fifteen minutes of the race.

Early reports on Twitter stated Simonsen was conscious and speaking with rescue crews, but deep down I knew something was amiss. As you can tell from the above screen capture, the roof on Simonsen’s Aston Martin was askew. Which means two things: the driver’s side made a huge impact with the ARMCO barriers on the side of the track, and the frame of the race car was either bent or broken.

Within an hour, we then heard reports that Aston Martin team officials visited Simonsen in the care center and would not disclose whether or not he was conscious. It did not help matters when Speed HD showed images of the destroyed #95 Aston Martin entering the pits on a flatbed – with a blue tarp covering it.

During the third hour of the event, French newspapers ran with the story of Simonsen’s passing but it wasn’t until an hour later when Speed announced it to viewers State side.

I feel this death, like Jason Leffler’s last week (no side head rests) in New Jersey, was preventable. What I found distressing in Simonsen’s case were the trees located behind the ARMCO barriers at that corner. One of them had a large portion of bark missing due to the impact. Why were those trees so close to that corner? Couldn’t they be relocated or removed?

I was also unimpressed with the ARMCO used in this year’s race. It broke so many times during the event I openly wondered if the track was using the same barriers that were used when Steve McQueen filmed his iconic movie during the 1970 race.

There are instances when we can’t do anything to make motor racing safer (Gartner went airborne and hit a telephone pole and several trees in mid-air at approximately 180mph), but there are instances when we can do more to save lives, such as in this case with Simonsen. If those trees weren’t so close to the barriers, he likely would have walked away from this wreck.

Motor racing is always going to be a risky business, but we owe it to today’s and tomorrow’s drivers to give them the best chance to walk away from an accident.