……..Sweet
Carl Edwards had an amazing weekend to say the least. In the Nationwide race, Carl took a
chunk from his gap with Nationwide series leader Clint Bowyer on defending his
Nationwide Series Championship by taking the checkered flag at Memphis. Carl, who missed practice at Memphis
for Atlanta’s qualifying which was eventually rained out, started 34th
and rose to hold off David
Reutimann to
win the Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 on Saturday. Then flew to Atlanta to start the race in the 4th
position (lining up the field by series ranking) and won the Pep Boys 500. This was Carl’s second Sprint Cup win
at the 1.5 mile D-shaped oval in Georgia; the last was his first trip to
Victory lane when he swept the weekend in the spring of 2005.
The
Bitter…………
You
would think an Edward’s victory would easily close the gap that sits between
Series leader Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the Sprint Cup contenders. You would think Jimmie Johnson would
have finished poorly after being caught for speeding on pit road and having to
do a dry run down the lane at 45 mph while under a green flag. You would think sitting in the middle
of the pack throughout the last 100 laps of a grueling, typical Atlanta race
would catch the Blue Lowe’s car in a bit of scrap with another driver’s
error. You would think giving up
you’re 10th spot on the last caution to get 4 fresh tires with 16
laps to go would be ill effective and only move him back to his original place
at best. You would
think………………..
It
just shows you can’t count anything out for Jimmie Johnson and the 48
team. Chad Knaus knows how to win
and Jimmie Johnson knows how to drive. PERIOD. A weekend which typically would have launched the 99 within
60 points of the leader, still sits 183 points back. I don’t want to sound like I’ve given up on Carl because I
haven’t, but it’s difficult to celebrate this victory a great deal.
Good
thing is, Carl knows that he’s going to have “bury the game ball” (stole that
from a Mr. Mack Brown who was preparing his Longhorns for a game against my
Tigers after a victory in this year’s Red River Rivalry) and put his suit on
and go to work again next week.
And not only does he have to get his work done, but hope for a rare
hiccup from the 48, if he wants to ruin the reigning 2 time Champ from scoring
his 3rd straight cup.
Arguing points:
Jimmie
Johnson and Hendrick motorsports are the Yankees, Patriots, Red Wings, Lakers,
Blue Devils, Trojans of NASCAR,:
A
lot of people view the Hendrick team as that dominating team that we should all
cheer against or have some sort of bitter hatred for. Why:
1.
Jimmie
Johnson has won 2 straight Cups and is now chasing his third with a commanding
lead with 3 races left.
2.
In
the past 15 years, Hendrick Motorsports claims 6 Champions, 4 Jeff Gordon, 2
Jimmie Johnson and the majority of the Owner’s championships.
3.
Hendrick
motorsports has the largest budget, nicest equipment and could probably
convince in driver to leave their current team to join their team, even without
the zeroes in the paycheck.
Hendrick motorsports give good drivers good cars and it is consider the
best route to win a cup.
4.
The
money, sharp haircuts, and good TV personalities just don’t settle well with a
blue collar fan base.
But……..
I can’t see myself ever hating or rooting against any of the Hendrick drivers
Why:
1.
Rick
Hendrick and all the drivers are classy.
Especially after booting Kyle Busch and gaining Dale Earnhardt Jr. They are the first to give credit to
other drivers, first to give credit to the fans, and first to know that drivers
don’t win races, teams do.
2.
Hendrick
cars won’t be caught ridin dirty.
They race clean. Yea, Gordon
haters out there might say differently, but honestly, do you even watch the
races. I don’t remember the last
time Gordon, Johnson or Jr was under fire for cheap shots on the track.
3.
Hendrick
drivers are talented. Point-- you
may hate all of those teams that I mentioned earlier but we still marvel and
watch Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter/A-Rod, Coach K, Tom Brady/Randy Moss, Pete
Carroll, and whoever is good for the Redwings (sorry Mike, I don’t watch much
hockey). Why, because they
are studs at what they do and even if you hate them, one day you will be
bragging to your children about how great it was to watch them play in their
prime.
The
Hendrick drivers have talent coming out of their exhaust and it is on display
for every race, every restart, every lap, every pit, every put myself last
interview, every sincere thank you, every charity that has been supported by
Rick’s team and every time they didn’t whine about Goodyear tires not holding
up for a race.
That is why I can’t hate the Hendrick drivers. They may be NASCAR’s pretty boys, but in a sport that has the stereotype fans that we have, I don’t mind a pretty face every once in a while.
Brett McAllister
10/7/08
A few quick things for Post Race Talladega
My Trip…….
One statement: If you get the chance, GO!!!! Even if you’re not a diehard NASCAR fan, the Talladega experience is amazing. The place is huge, the South is pretty, tailgating, merchandise, sponsor booths, and did I mention its huge. People were from everywhere. When we were driving back, every other car that we passed in Illinois yet had “Dega bound” wrote on their windows. Not to mention, that track makes for some fast speeds and awesome action. Another cool thing is that if you sit up high in the grandstand, you can still see the whole track. That is something you can’t do at all tracks. As someone put it,” Talladega is the Mecca of NASCAR every fan should make a pilgrimage to.”
The Race
Not a great day for Carl. It was obvious of his strategy Sunday. I heard Carl tell Bob over the radio that after they led a lap, they were going to just stay within the lead pack and make their move at the end. Flawless right. WRONG. After leading a lap, they did what the needed to do. Stay within the lead pack. And they did that for about 120 laps. But it was right when they were making their move that THE BIG ONE happened as Carl got into Biffle on the north turn and took out half the chasers.
Bump Drafting
Bump drafting is a technique used primarily in tracks like Daytona and Talladega. The high bankings, long straight aways, and high speeds allow for this process to occur. What happens is a driver usually a teammate or ally, will follow right behind the driver in front of him and use them as a wind break. This allows the second car to move at a higher velocity because less power is being used to break the wind and more is propelling the car forward. This will then push the second car into the front car allowing both cars to move faster through the field. Both cars benefit and the more cars you have, the more wind is broken, the more energy is passed along the train to benefit the whole group. DOWNFALL: going fast and touching bumpers. The driver doing the bumping must line up with the front car pretty close to perfect, that way one side doesn’t get loose and cause a “spin out” because the force is unevenly being distributed across the width of the car.
Blame Carl?
I’m going to say “not entirely”. Why. If you had been watching the race, you would probably have to agree. This was the most aggressive race I’d seen all year, and for it to happen at this venue is certain to be an unforgiving experience. Superspeedways (Dega, Daytona, and Indianapolis) are long and fast. Most races start off tight after a restart but after 2 to 3 laps, the field spreads and it gets rather uneventful until an aggressive move happens. NOT the Amp Energy 500. A NASCAR record 46 lead changes spread between 18 leaders. That is a Bristol or Martinsville stat. The COT and restrictor plate combination did its job by keeping the lead lap cars close all race long. If you recall, there were laps where Jr. would be in first when crossing the start finish line, drop to ninth halfway around, and one lap later, he’s back in first. Johnson said it best when he said the whole race was like the last 20 laps of every other race.
So why can we not totally shove the book at Carl Because the only way anyone was going to get to the front was by bump drafting. If you went high all by your lonesome, you weren’t going to go anywhere but backwards. You might gain a little on the car ahead of you around the turn, but when those straightaways came up, you’d drop back 8 or 9 spots. But if you came in a train, then you were going to get somewhere.
Biffle and Carl were bump drafting the whole last 30 laps. They were simply “making their move.” Its just that after some worn tires and 4 hours of white knuckle racing, Biffle got loose, Carl got into one side of his bumper sending him up the wall and right back down. It just sucked that he also took Jr., Harvick, himself and teammate Matt Kenseth with him. It was going to happen to someone, if just happened to two teammates that were sitting 2nd and 3rd in the standings. Carl took the blame because he’s classy. But its Talladega racing. No blame, I don’t care if you’re Matt Kenseth or Kevin Harvick
Noteables:
Johnson recovered from a broken sway arm to take 9th and pad his lead to 72 points.
This was Tony Stewarts first win and Talladega and there only remains 2 tracks where the 20 hasn’t visited victory lane.
Gordon finished 38th with lots of problems.
Stay tuned and explore Seth and Seth sports. Where our facts are probably as accurate as our punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure.
Brett McAllister
10/3/08
Talladega Pre-Race
The Kansas City area was the home to awesome exciting weekend of sports action as the Chiefs triumphed over favorite and division rival Denver Broncos and the motorsports world saw true grid iron driving at its finest. The Camping world 400 at Kansas Motor Speedway was a spectacle bringing back old time white knuckle driving and taking chances the way Bobby Allison, Cal Yarbourough and Dale Earnhardt once did every race.
If you missed it, Carl Edwards spent most of the race in the middle of the hunt due to some pit problems and having a car that just couldn’t get in that comfort window. But as the laps ticked down to the white flag, Carl was holding on to second with 3 laps to go and 8 car lengths behind Cup contender Jimmy Johnson. Carl found grip, cut that lead down and on the last turn, went underneath the 48 but barely lost a little control and scraped the wall to take home a second place finish and leave second by 10 points in the standings. Nothing to be disappointed about with Missouri’s favorite driver. Greg Biffle continued his good chase performances with a third. Hats off to Carl and showing some real, well, you know. That’s the kind of driving you just don’t see anymore. A man putting it all on the line. Only a Mid-Missouri boy.
This week should be an interesting one. Talladega, Alabama!!!!!!!!!!! YEA, DEGA, CHASE, SUPERSPEEDWAY, 2.66 MILES. This weekend is the only restrictor plate race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and its all on the line. Who’s gonna avoid the big wreck? Who’s gonna be in the big wreck.? Which Chase Drivers are going to see their cup hopes fade away? Which Cup Drivers will find true redemption?
I will be reporting live at the race to bring you all the action, pre and post race commentary. Yes, Seth and Seth Sports on Location in Talladega, AL. Wait for the post race with all the exciting stories also. Tune in to ABC at 12 Central for all you’re NASCAR action (not a paid advertisement) Have a good weekend. If you’re going to Lincoln, give a shout to Ole Mizzou. Go Carl and be Safe!!!
Mark Martin
If you are a Roush Fan, it was exciting to see the 123 finish. But, I’m wondering was I the only one that got a little nostalgic seeing a familiar face right behind. Mark Martin on Sunday finished 4th. Jack’s one time “flag-ship” driver had a good running Sunday. Leading a lap and grabbing the top 5 finish. In 2008, he signed a contract for DEI to run half a schedule with newcomer Aric Almirola in the #8 U.S. Army Impala. Obviously, this wasn’t an official last attempt at a cup for Martin, but he still did exceptionally well. Finishing 27th in points and only running half the races, age hasn’t caught up to Mark yet. Michael Waltrip was in every race and will finish lower than that. But this isn’t the end for Mark Martin. He recently signed a 2 year deal, placing himself in the Hendrick #5 car for a full schedule in 2009 and a part-time for 2010. No, not some young team with no equipment that needs a name to get a sponsor. HENRICK’S Motorsports. Best equipment in town. Don’t give up on the 49 year old 4 time Cup Runner up yet.
No one is talking about Childress
All I and the rest of the world can talk about from Dover is Jack Roush’s total domination, but what about Richard Childress racing. Kevin Harvick 6th, Clint Bowyer 8th, and Jeff Burton 9th. Not bad for some guys who really didn’t make a whole lot of noise this season and are now sitting 4th, 5th, and 6th in the standings. These are the three drivers that aren’t Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Jimmie Johnson that still have a shot at the cup. Maybe Dover is what these guys needed. They’ve been questioning their engines all season and now, it seems like the team has its act together. They got three strong drivers that barely made it into the Chase, now the pressure is off and its time for RCR to do some Old Fashioned, Engine Revving, Concrete Peeling, Racin!!!
Kansas
Well, this is the only time of year that I can say the Cup Circuit will be local. This weekend, Sprint Cup racing comes to Kansas City. It should be a good race. Comment on the blog if you’ll be heading across the border to a gem in the middle of hell (Kansas). Let me know what you’re excited about. 1.5 mile D-Shaped Oval, 15 Degree turns; the Camping World RV 400 will be worth the price of admission. Not to mention Cabela’s is right there. Have Fun, Be Safe, and Set your homepage to Seth and Seth Sports.
I’m Brett
I’m Out
9/21/08
Brett McAllister
Dover Post Race Blog
Good Day to be Jack
It was a good day in
Deleware to be on Jack Roush’s Ford Racing team. Sweepting 1,2, and 3, the Ford Fusion’s were easily the only
cars up to conquer the concrete mile.
Where have you been Old Greg?
0 Wins / 27 Regular Races
: 2 Wins / 2 Chase Races. The 16 car is on fire!! (in a good
motor sports way) Is this going to
last? We kind of saw this last
year with an imature Clint Bowyer and it kinda fell off, but Biffle is no
newbie. Biffle was the 2005 Runner
Up to Tony Stewart for the cup.
Greg Biffle is one name you can almost bet your first born that he’ll be
a late season factor. Kansas is
next week, Greg Biffle won the Life-Lock 400 last year in the Sunflower
state. Could Victory Lane have the
3M car for the 3rd time?
Don’t miss that action.
Gibbs??
What the heck
happened? Lets first forget about
Kyle Busch for a second (I get to him later). Gibbs Racing cars finished, Tony 11, Hamlin 38,
Kyle Busch 43 (Dead Last)!!!
What is going on? Have the
Camry’s lost their 2008 spark?
Tony is just itching to get his bottom (as large as it may be) back into
a GM car, and it appears Hamlin and Busch are already looking to next
year. It seems to me, that the
arguably second hottest team going into the Chase (behind Hendricks) is just
looking towards a Stewart-less 2009.
A season isn’t the only thing needing salvaged in Joe’s garage. How about a few old Chevrolets from the
past? Like when Stewart wore bow-ies
when racking up Cups and Hamlin was hottest new driver on the circuit.
Kyle Busch
Remember last week when we all turned our televisions on Saturday night to watch a non-conference matchup for the ages. USC-Ohio St.-- Ohio St. a little beat up, but we all thought could still hold up for an interesting game. BAMMMM!!! Jim Tressel and Kyle Busch, start a Darn Facebook group!!! Invite the 2007 Dallas Mavericks, and every recent Oklahoma Sooner BCS Bowl Bound team. Call it, “Big Game, No Show.”
I will admit, I thought
the 18 team would be back on its game after the events of last week. I want to apologize to all my
faithful readers for that. I hope
you didn’t base your fantasy selections, on my predicting capabilities. And I’m not pointing fingers completely
at Busch. You would think this
team would dot every eye, and cross every t and color every m&m on that car
before even thinking about putting it up against the Monster. I really have nothing else to say for
this matter, so I’ll let Mr. Kyle Busch sum up the rest of the chase in his own
words:
"Something broke inside
the engine -- I'm not sure what it is.
At this point it doesn't matter. Same thing happened two years ago,
exact same thing. Wrecked at Loudon, blew up here. So where did we end up? Dead
last.”
"We're out of the
title hunt -- that's for sure. So we'll just manage what we can."
Carl – Who wanted to 2, who wanted 4?
Most of you who know me,
know that I don’t often question Bob Osbourne as the Crew Chief for my
mid-Missouri hero. But why 2 tires
on the money pit stop, UNDER CAUTION?
Green flag pit stop, no doubt, that would have been the right call. Seconds would have been hours in those
pit stalls. BUT-------- IT WAS
YELLOW. You could have changed the
oil, shined the tires, and ran to a porto-jon and still possibly have kept your
same position and the cars behind would have been just as close as the 2 tire
pit.
Clearification for my
ranting -- For those of you who may be confused. The reason most teams prefer to pit on yellow, is because
caution laps are controlled by pace speeds, which means, not as much time is
sacrificed for a pit stop on caution laps versus full speed green laps. However, racing position is a factor
because the order you come off pit road is the order you restart. Some times teams usually opt to only
change 2 tires to gain positions.
However, this can be a costly grip sacrifice when matched against strong
cars with 4 fresh tires.
The reason I’m frustrated
is…… Carl Edwards was in 1st when they came in. He didn’t need to jump any positions in
the racing order. He also had
the strongest car, so given nothing went wrong in the pit, he could have passed
any driver that did only get 2 tires.
But Bob was the only one that made the 2 tire call, everyone else
including his two teammates that passed him, got 4. I know that b/c Carl use to run the dirt tracks of mid-mo,
he doesn’t mind a bit of slippage, but when you’re racing to keep up with what
those Roush motors are putting out, 2 good tires aren’t gonna cut it. However, I’m probably throwing a big
fit over nothing. Third place is
strong and a victory wouldn’t have a made a huge point difference than how it
is now.
I apologize for not having a pre-race blog up this week. I’ll try to get a mid week blog out along with next weeks pre-race.
Thanks for reading and stay informed (no matter how biased) with Seth and SethHendricks cars are still the ones to beat.
Its easy to say Jimmy Johnson dominatated the race until Biffle realized he could quit worrying about fuel mileage, and just do some pedal mashin racing. Jr. ran up front and one could argue that he probably had the strongest car this weekend. Except for a bad set of tires, Jr. would be in victory lane for the second time this season. The 88 crew looked good, Jr. drove strong, and I think we should look for the Amp Energy team to make some noise in the chase. Jeff Gordon was the only Hendrick’s chaser that you could say didn’t show. But he got 14th, not shabby and remember who we’re talking about, Jeff Gordon. One race, not out, the Rainbow warrior will definitely be a factor as the Hendrick drivers try for yet another year of domination.
Can Kyle Busch Recover?
Yes, as much as I personally wouldn’t like to say it, but Kyle Busch is still in the top running for the cup. Not b/c of where he is standing right now, but b/c of the driver that is Kyle Busch. If there is one driver who will show up for Dover, here he is. We saw throughout the season as Kyle Busch would use a “so-so” performance the week before as a fuel additive in the Sunoco tank for a dominating performance the next. This tool is ultra competitive, and we’ve seen his style, his attitude, and his will to win: all these make him the most dangerous driver on the track.
Expect a tight a Chase.
10 out of the top 15 drivers at Loudon were Chase Cup contenders and only Kyle Busch did not finish on the lead lap. If this is a preview of what is to come, this Fan is psyched!!
Keep your eye on Carl.
Carl has never finished well at Loudon except for a 2nd place in 2006, so a third place behind Biffle and Johnson, not bad. This 99 fan is also excited to have Carl sitting at the top. Tied with Jimmy but technically first place by race wins, this will keep the momentum on the Office Depot Racing team at full throttle. Carl has won at 3 of the remaining 9 tracks in his still young career and most of the remaining tracks are intermediate distance, a 99 specialty. Our local hero will be flipping through this chase.
What to drink during a NASCAR race?
My personal favorite is a good soft drink with cubed ice. A close second is milk. But with the length of the races, its easy to get filled up or a sour glass. Also a thick glass of milk can put a guy to sleep rather easily, whether its Bristol or Daytona. Juice is all right, but what college male has a bunch of frozen concentrate or Kool-aid mix laying around. A Saturday night race might employ your favorite beer, if you are into that, but with this, I encourage you to be responsible.
Thanks for reading…and keep updated with Seth and Seth!
However, now, only regular season wins (unless they were removed for a lose oil lid) separate the 12 drivers. Weather you were a dominate force the entire season, or came in by the skin of your teeth, NASCAR’s 5 year old post season, combines the thrills of rewarding regular season wins and allowing second chances of glory to late season success stories. We all saw how last year, Clint Bowyer went from no one from no-where Kansas, to a favorite in the NASCAR’s most elite series. We also saw a strong regualar season driver, Denny Hamlin, fell apart when the circuit’s playoff began.
Tomorrow afternoon will answer a lot of early questions. Can Johnson carry the late season momentum into the Chase for the Sprint Cup? Out of top 3 drivers, he has had the best results at New Hampshire and has the 5th best practice time going in. Did Kyle Busch’s success peak to early to carry him to his first title? Will the usual favorites make up for a winless but consistent regular season, by taking advantage of making the 12 driver field and showing up for stock-car racing’s playoff. Race-time is noon (central). Get excited, Get your TV’s on, and get ready for Cup run that keeps improving every year. NASCAR is doing a fine job in allowing change in the sport, so to provide a great show for we the fans. Don’t be left out. I’ll have a post race blog following the checkered flag as soon as possible.
