Race Journal Online
est. October 4, 2006
"I believe anybody who tells you he is unbiased is a liar. Being human gives you bias, and you can't avoid that. The best you can ever hope to be is fair."
-David Poole
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Quote of the Week |
"I feel grateful for being able to do the things that I've wanted to over practically a lifetime and been lucky enough to have been successful enough out of them that as I grow into, ah, into old age that I can look back with satisfaction over a life well spent. I really consider myself a damn lucky individual. I don't think you can ask for much more outta life."
-Carroll Shelby, in a 1990 Autoweek interview |
By Carol Einarsson | 05/18/2012 | | | Greg Biffle has a very cool car this week for the American Red Cross (see image here), but I can't be the only one who wondered, "Whose legs are those?" Headlines this week talk about how Tony Stewart hopes to re-sign Ryan Newman. Gosh, what a suspenseful story that is! Will he? Won't he? Let's all just agree to act surprised when Ryan Newman stays on at SHR, okay? Dale Earnhardt, Jr's gonna run a Batman scheme at Michigan! I wonder if anyone else is hoping, with fingers crossed, that someone (even if it's not MIS) will get Batman to again give the command to start engines. If that happens, my DVR-recording-you-tube-savvy readers, PLEASE will someone upload it and send me the link for use in that week's CHEERS and JEERS? | Comments: 7 | Last Activity: 05/18/12 | | |
By Eddie Laub | 05/17/2012 | | | The big news of late is the complete and total lack of cautions in the Cup series. We can argue that it's because the cars are better, or talent is increasing, or we can blame the points set up or accuse the tires of not dropping off enough. Fans are complaining about boring races, tracks are complaining that seats can’t sell, and more folks are taking naps (or watching golf) than watching races. But instead of playing the blame game, how about we come up with some alternatives: Ways for NASCAR to legitimately increase the number of cautions and build interest: -Make Brett Bodine drive a racecar when he isn’t actively driving the pace car. This will increase cautions, and thus increase those super exciting restarts. That’s better than the Brian Vickers effect. -Make the defending race champ only have on rear tire. He can choose which one to lose, but he can only have one. | Comments: 4 | Last Activity: 05/18/12 | | |
By Carol Einarsson | 05/15/2012 | | | JEERS to a sad day for Kyle Petty, the 12th anniversary of Adam's accident, but CHEERS to the 16,000 kids and families that have been blessed by camp.
CHEERS to the invocation and thanking God for our mothers.
CHEERS to Nashville-based Casey Weston who looked nervous as all get-out. She had two of the three things we like - southern and relatively unknown, so we'll excuse the less-than-stellar anthem. When you can see nervous on someone, you just have to be impressed when she gets to the end.
CHEERS to the Jimmie Johnson Sprint ad with the techno music. Definitely their best one yet. "Man, you've got some questionable taste in music."
CHEERS to "I don't talk TO Kyle Busch or ABOUT Kyle Busch." Good, because actions speak louder than words anyway, and that Darlington wall is just waiting. | Comments: 11 | Last Activity: 05/16/12 | | |
By Carol Einarsson | 05/14/2012 | | | Following the 2011 Nationwide Series race in Montreal, Danica Patrick had this to say:
"But it was about charging hard and being with good guys, and Villeneuve was up there and he was kinda one of my childhood hero-like guys, so y'know, it was a cool place to be, and I learned a heck of a lot, and it was a bummer that I got a big wheel hop down in the hairpin and I broke the axle or somethin' like that [shoulder shrug], so... all in all it was a good day, I guess." An axle or somethin’?? I thought about writing an article on this back then, but instead I just saved the quote for another time. This is that time.
In last week’s announcement of Danica’s new spotter, she said:
"That was definitely something that I've been thinking a lot about the last couple of months. As a driver you just need to have someone on the radio that you click with. Everybody needs something different. For me, I need someone ... I'm going to say, almost drive the car. Like, tell me you're turning in too early, tell me be patient with the throttle; Okay, pick it up. I need somebody that is familiar with those patterns, because I'm not." She needs someone to DRIVE THE CAR for her??
| Comments: 26 | Last Activity: 05/17/12 | | |
By Carol Einarsson | 05/08/2012 | | | CHEERS to rain delay that may have let some writers sleep a little later to compensate for being kept up all night by a dog.
CHEERS to the Alabama Army National Guard and to Rev. Rob Lightsey for a nice invocation.
JEERS to Margo Rey who -- sorry, but we knew from her appearance what was coming -- stunk up our national anthem all the way thuh-rough it.
CHEERS to a reasonable command to start even if it was Ron White. Big fan of Blue Collar Comedy Tour, but he just never fit in with the others. Sorry, Ron, you're just not funny.
CHEERS to Jeff Gordon on the pole even if only one race in the last 28 at Talladega have been won from the pole. I wonder who that driver was. Oh, yeah... it was Jeff Gordon.
| Comments: 28 | Last Activity: 05/13/12 | | |
By Carol Einarsson | 05/01/2012 | | | CHEERS to Smoke playing pool, because while I didn't immediately understand why, I finally got how a Saturday night short track race has quite a bit in common with billiard balls knocking each other around a table.
CHEERS to getting mad in turn two, and paying back in turn three. That's the kind of track we like!
CHEERS to Denny's dance moves.
CHEERS to Michael Waltrip picking Junior for his start-up team, and DW picking Carl. Kyle Busch only got picked because the options changed to "under 30". Interesting.
JEERS to catching Jimmie (and then staying on the shot) blowing his nose. Then again, CHEERS to seeing that you don't really need Kleenex so long as you have Wypall wipers!
| Comments: 17 | Last Activity: 05/03/12 | | |
By Carol Einarsson | 04/30/2012 | | | Did you ever have one of those days? You show up at work and the first thing you do is spill coffee all over the coffee machine, the counter top, spilling onto the floor, and splashing on your own clothes, too?
That's kind of the day it seems NASCAR had on Saturday night.
Sure, it started off benign enough (and by benign, I mean.. well.. dull), but then got more interesting (if by "interesting" you mean "circus-like").
Race fans who sat for a couple of hours watching an uneventful race by any measure, but shocking by Richmond standards, were suddenly awakened by a series of moments that left us puzzled, aggravated, and wondering what on earth happened in the control booth?
| Comments: 31 | Last Activity: 05/03/12 | | |
By Carol Einarsson | 04/25/2012 | | | Hotel living to me is like camping is to others. I find myself quite inventive, but in more civilized ways.
For instance, have you ever considered cutting the corner off a bag of Wholly Guacamole and then squeezing it like toothpaste onto your ready and waiting chip? No scissors? C'mon, it's camping -- use your teeth!
I found quite a cute hat at Wal-Mart that I thought was a bargain for six bucks, but then it rang up as half off! Only thing, it had a sequin peace sign on it. Now I'm not against peace, mind you, but when I see a peace sign (and maybe especially a sequin peace sign), I think one of two things: hippie or trendy. As I am neither, I'd have to remove it. Thankfully, I know how to use a seam-ripper. Unfortunately, I hadn't packed one. I DID, however, have a cuticle trimmer! Same thing, really. And no more sequins on my cute purple hat.
| Comments: 4 | Last Activity: 04/25/12 | | |
By Carol Einarsson | 04/24/2012 | | | CHEERS to so many components of the following opening lines by Chris Myers: “Hendrick Motorsports with Five-Time Jimmie, four-time Jeff, popular Junior, and rising Kahne are out to end the drought.” Raising cane? Popular is a nice replacement for “no-time.” And wrap it all up with a rhyme. Very nice, indeed.
JEERS to the cold. I mean, not just cold for those southern folks, but cold for even a Nebraska girl. Yes, I went back out to my car to get a sweatshirt. While I was there, I grabbed my hat and gloves, too. Best thing, though… the people riding the golf carts. I’m not sure, but I may have seen some whose lips were blue.
JEERS to all the Sprint Girls who now look identical. I miss Monica.
| Comments: 13 | Last Activity: 04/25/12 | | |
By Carol Einarsson | 04/23/2012 | | | You know the old joke about going to a fight and a hockey game broke out? Lately, the joke’s been about NASCAR. “I went to a parade and a race broke out.” Sadly, though, it seems the race doesn’t break out until there are just ten laps remaining. So what is Kansas Speedway gonna do about it?
Nothing, really. Or everything.
When they first started talking about repaving the track, it was natural for everyone to think it was an attempt to make for better racing. Never mind that all of the drivers in every pre- and post-race interview are either asked or mention “the seams”, people still have trouble believing the repave is anything asphalt-related.
| Comments: 6 | Last Activity: 04/25/12 | | |
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Sprint Cup 2012 Schedule
Saturday night races in red
Feb 26 Daytona FOX 1pm
Mar 04 Phoenix FOX 3pm
Mar 11 Las Vegas FOX 3pm
Mar 18 Bristol FOX 1pm
Mar 25 Fontana FOX 3pm
Apr 01 Martinsvl FOX 1pm
Apr 08 OFF (Easter)
Apr 14 Texas FOX 7:30pm
Apr 22 Kansas FOX 1pm
Apr 28 Richmond FOX 7:30pm
May 06 Talladega FOX 1pm
May 12 Darlington FOX 7:00pm
May 19 All Star SPEED 7:30p
May 27 Charlotte FOX 6:00pm
Jun 03 Dover FOX 1pm
Jun 10 Pocono TNT 1pm
Jun 17 Michigan TNT 1pm
Jun 24 Sonoma TNT 3pm
Jun 30 Kentucky TNT 7:30pm
Jul 07 Daytona TNT 7:30pm
Jul 15 New Hampshr TNT 1pm
Jul 22 OFF
Jul 29 Indianapolis ESPN 1pm
Aug 05 Pocono ESPN 1pm
Aug 12 WatGlen ESPN 1pm
Aug 19 Michigan ESPN 1pm
Aug 25 Bristol ABC 7:30pm
Sep 02 Atlanta ESPN 7:30pm
Sep 08 Richmond ABC 7:30pm
The Chase
Sep 16 Chicago ESPN 2pm
Sep 23 New Hampshr ESPN 2pm
Sep 30 Dover ESPN 2pm
Oct 07 Talladega ESPN 2pm
Oct 13 Charlotte ABC 7:30pm
Oct 21 Kansas ESPN 2pm
Oct 28 Martinsvl ESPN 1:30pm
Nov 04 Texas ESPN 3pm
Nov 11 Phoenix ESPN 3pm
Nov 18 Homestead ESPN 3pm
 
 
When I was a little girl, growing up in Southern California, my grandma would come visit from Indiana for three months a year to get away from the Indiana winters. Oh, the stories I could tell and the memories I have of Grandma's annual visits. But one of my fondest memories is of Grandma's penchant for See's Candy. There are few stores outside of the west coast, so I remember going to the candy store to order something special with my mom, to be shipped to Indiana. Whether it was Mother's Day, Grandma's birthday, or if it had just been awhile, my mom would kindly send candy to her mother-in-law half way across the country.
When she came to visit, there'd be a box waiting for her in the top drawer of the dresser in the spare room where she'd stay, and very rarely, she'd share a piece with me. I think the rarity of the occasion made it all the more special.
It wasn't until I moved to Nebraska that I really missed seeing See's Candy stores. Nuts & Chews. That was the special mix we'd always get in the box. And the square lollypops? There's nothing like them anywhere else. Caramel and chocolate and vanilla. If you've never had See's Candy, you should try a box. I promise you'll be glad you did. I recommend the Nuts & Chews, of course, so that's the picture I've posted for you. Click it and you'll see more.
Great for gifts, but even better to order your own box. And if you hide it in the top dresser drawer, I won't tell anyone where it is. -Carol
 
 
  
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