Geographically Challenged? Try Driving in Circles

I live almost exactly half way between Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina.  I also live about a mile away from the principle route between these two major Southern cities, which is Interstate 85.

I provide this for information because tonight I was asked by two ladies who had just driven from Michigan to my humble hometown of Anderson, South Carolina, via Atlanta.  They were trying to find the best way to Montgomery, Alabama.  I told them they should have taken a right in Atlanta, instead of a left.

While I was standing there trying to explain to them the best way to get to Alabama, a South Carolina Highway Patrol officer pulled up.  I should explain that I was at a gas station at the time, within sight of the exit ramps at Exit 27 on Interstate 85.

The ladies disagreed with me, thought they needed to go through Greenville, SC, and continue north on I-85.  They had a map with them, and I showed them where they were, which was way the heck on the wrong side of Atlanta from Alabama.  I told them that they would get them to Charlotte, NC, and eventually, Richmond, VA if they continued north on Interstate 85.  The state trooper noticed an animated conversation taking place, and came over to help.  He listened to their query, and told them they needed to get back onto the interstate and drive back a hundred or so miles the way they had just come, and keep on going down I-85, south, in other words, echoing words I had just spoken to the ladies, because if they did so, eventually, they would arrive in Montgomery, Alabama.  The Smokey Bear hat, the uniform, the badge, and possibly the Glock pistol on his waist seemed to convince them that maybe they were wrong.

This trooper is probably about 25 years old, very professional, and gave them explicit directions as to how to get back on the interstate and head toward their destination.  They seemed to be convinced, and in some small way, I was relieved.  I thought maybe I had saved them futile trip to Charlotte, at least.  As the state trooper and I stood talking, the ladies drove away, and took exactly the wrong turn, onto I-85 north towards Charlotte, NC, in exactly the opposite direction of Montgomery, Alabama.  Oh well.

The trooper shrugged.  I shrugged.  We laughed a little.  He went his way and I went home.

On the way home, I couldn't help but think about how this little situation applied to the NASCAR race I watched last night in Phoenix, Arizona.  Pit crews, some of whom have had previous problems, continued to have problems.  Pit crews, some of which have not had many problems, suddenly had problems last night.  Sometimes the more you try to help a situation, the worse it can get.

Jeff Gordon ended up 2 laps down because of a problem on pit road.  Jeff Gordon?  The rainbow crew?  That just doesn't happen, does it?  Yes, Virginia, even the 24 crew is capable of mistakes.  They proved that to all of us on national TV last night.

That the 88 crew made mistakes is not a surprise, I suppose, but even though they missed a lug nut on the first pit stop, Tony Eury Jr. managed to put Dale Earnhardt Jr. out in front for quite a few laps by pitting off sequence.  The strategy failed, however, when Dale Jr.'s tires went away after another pit stop, and he was quickly passed, and passed, and passed again.  Eventually, he got into contact with former teammate Casey Mears, which sent the 88 into the wall.  Dale Jr. eventually finished 31st.  They 88 team made some changes on the pit crew this week.  It is yet to be determined if they helped or hurt the situation.

FOX TV showed us the extended lugs that are required by NASCAR during the race.  It takes more time to put the nuts on the lugs than it used to.  The officials want to see threads past the nuts now, in otherwords.  That all requires more revolutions of the lug wrench, and that seems to be causing some teams problems.  I'm guessing that one major problem is that the lugs extend so far past the lug nuts, that applying them to the wheels with glue has become problematic.  If you push the wheel onto the lugs too far, you risk having the lugs push the nuts off.  If the nuts fall onto the ground, they either have to be picked up and replaced, or nuts that the tire changer carries, usually on his helmet, have to be deployed.  A year ago, a 12.5 second pit stop was a good one.  Now, they're lucky if they can get one done in 14 seconds.

What's up with the pit signs this year?  Dale Jr. has complained that he can't see his at times.  I don't know why they rely on just the sign at all, really.  If you listen to Jimmie Johnson's radio, Chad Knaus counts him down to his pit, unless Jimmie takes the very first pit on pit road, as he often does.  In a sea of signs, I'm sure it's often hard to see your sign, but why can't the crews make it easier to pit the driver, without him relying on seeing his sign waving up and down?  Radio is there for a reason, and the crew chief is sitting on top of the pit box.  Why don't they make it a standard practice to count their drivers down to their pit?

Congratulations to Mark Martin on his win at Phoenix.  I know that some don't like Mark, but he tries his best to be the nice, older guy in the sport.  He doesn't always succeed, but he does try.  I assume that one day, he might succeed at retiring as well.  He's been about as successful at retiring as he has at winning a championship or a Daytona 500.  Just kidding Mark.  Congratulations.  I hope you win more this year.

Whether you're driving to Montomery, Alabama, or driving around in circles at Phoenix, or to bring things closer to the point, Talladega, Alabama, it helps to pay attention, and to hopefully know where the heck you're going before you get on the road.

No greater responsibility does a man have

Than to send his men into harm's way.  In World War II, George Patton sent men into battle knowing some of them would die.  It's a sad fact, but it's true.  George Patton's  preferred way was to let the enemy SOB die for his country, and that his own men live.  But the sad fact is, when you send men into battle, men die.

The commander of troops in combat is probably the most underrated job in the world, but probably the most important.  It's been said that the greatest job a man can have is commanding troops in combat.

This idea is somewhat the same in NASCAR.  Crew chiefs regularly ask men to risk their lives going over the wall to service a race car, sometimes while 40 or so others are speeding down pit road inches away from them.  During the average pit stop, the crew chief is asking several men to put their lives on the line to make the driver have a good pit stop.

We've been fortunate that not too many men have died on pit road over the last few years.  We've had some injured, but mostly, we've only had a few injuries, not deaths.  Thanks, NASCAR, for mandating helmets and other safety gear on pit road.  In the old days, most of them were wearing blue jeans and tee shirts, and no helmets, and sometimes one of them got killed doing what they loved the most.

Thank God that's not the case anymore.  At many tracks, we almost always see a crew member almost finishing his career in catastrophe, but thanks to the newer rules regarding safety, we haven't lost one lately.

Thanks, NASCAR.  Most of these guys work other jobs during the week, and most have families.  We're glad you're keeping them safe.

My hat's off to all the fallen out there.  May God keep you and bless you.

Wanna Fight About It?

I post this title, laughing out loud, because I know some of you will want to fight about it.  That's fine.  You don't even know what we're fighting about yet, but yet you're willing to fight.  I like that in a person.

Right now even I don't even know what we're fighting about.  All I know is that the famed '8' team is dead, Aric Almirola is out of a ride, and Teresa Earnhardt doesnt even own the number '8' any more.  Chip Ganassi does.  Chip is the 'G' part of EGR, or what's now known as Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.  Up until last week at Texas, EGR mostly featured the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy of Martin Truex Jr, the #42 Target Chevy of Juan Pablo Montoya, and the #8 Chevy, sponsored sometimes by Guitar Hero, Metallica, and I don't know who else.  Apparently the sponsorship on the '8' has ended, and the team is shutting down.

If I had the money to sponsor the 8 car, I would.  I don't have that kind of money.  I doubt that you do either.  I hate that Aric Almirola and probably about 40 of his compatriots at EGR are now basically without a job.  Like most of you, I've been there, done that.  It's not fun.

My question to you, gentle reader is this:  Should Dale Earnhardt Jr. go to Chip Ganassi and ask to secure the use of the famous '8' number again, now that it seems to be out of action?  The '8' is the number with which Dale Jr. won all but one of his Cup races.  Has Dale Earnhardt Jr. established himself with the '88' or should he go after the '8' again now?

Oh heck, I know that's going to screw up so many people's merchandising plans.  I personally haven't bought any '88' stuff, but that's only because I don't have the money to do so.  I've personally got a lot of '8' stuff, and though I don't expect Budweiser to be back in Dale Jr.'s camp any time soon, I've got some '8' diecast cars and hats, etc.

What should Dale Earnhardt Jr. do?   I don't know.  He and Rick Hendrick have a lot invested in the '88' brand now, so should they switch now that they probably have the chance?  I don't know, to be honest with you.  It might be a once in a lifetime chance to bring back the number that made Dale Jr. the popular driver that he is.  

What do you think?

Is it possible to be a fan of a spoiled brat?

I suppose the obvious answer is a resounding 'Yes.'  I'm not a fan of Kyle Busch, but I find his on and off track antics to be entertaining, at the very least.  Last week he was making cracks about the sport's currently most popular driver, and this week, he literally ran away from a disappointing finish in the Truck race at Martinsville.

I watched it live on Speed TV today.  Kyle Busch literally acted like a little boy who had been kicked in the shins and ran home to Mama.  

Of course, Kyle might have been late to do his part in an M&M's commercial or something.  I'm certainly not privy to information like that.  Believe it or not, I'm not told the details of Kyle's schedule.

I did see him, courtesy of SPEED TV, throw his helmet and HANS device onto the rear of his 51 Toyota truck, owned by his friend Billy Ballew.  After Kyle got out of the truck, he didn't talk to anyone on the team; he simply sprinted up pit road, dodging other trucks that were still coming onto pit road.  He found the gate to let him out of the track, and hopped across the wall, and walked deliberately across the track, and was let out with a sound of 'Boos' in the air.  It's possible he was late to an important meeting, of course.  Anything is certainly possible.

For some perverted reason, I find myself becoming a bit of a fan of the Pee Wee Herman looking, temperamental driver.  It's not that I hope he wins, but performances like he put on after today's Martinsville race are absolutely priceless.  If nothing else, Kyle Busch puts on a very interesting show.

The fact that he has racing performance on his side helps too.  The guy has won in virtually everything he's ever driven, and usually many times.  Kyle Busch is an obviously very talented race driver who apparently has somewhat of a short fuse.  What better guy to capture the interest of NASCAR fans?

Kyle Busch has the talent, and an attitude that tends to irritate fans of other drivers.  He is somewhat like the Darrell Waltrip of the 1970's and 1980's, and somewhat like what many thought of a young Dale Earnhardt in the early 1980's as well.  Kyle Busch is brash, he's unapologetic, and quite honestly, he's a pretty good driver.

The fact that he has major temper tantrums makes it more fun.  Of course, he's not the only driver to have them.

Former teammate Tony Stewart is famous for them.  Brother Kurt used to be, but lately, Kurt seems to be trying to emulate the Jeff Gordon/Jimmie Johnson/Matt Kenseth type of profile, basically smiling at the camera and thanking the sponsors, and never taking the bait when asked specifically about what the driver thinks about getting punted or pushed into the wall.

In some ways, Kyle Busch is old school.  He wears his emotions on his sleeve, and though he acts like a brat at times, the passion shows through.  Kyle races hard, no matter where he is, and when he loses a race, he's upset.  Maybe he carries it overboard at times, as he did today in the Truck race at Martinsville, but when you get right down to it, you have to think that he's just passionate about winning.

Is that such a bad thing?

And you thought this was going to be a hit piece on Kyle Busch.  It wasn't meant to be.

He's very passionate about whatever race he's driving in, and I, as a fan, I'm happy to see that passion in racing.  Kyle, you just keep on doing what you're doing.  You might seem like a spoiled brat at times, but at least I know why.  Keep doing what you do, and one day you'll maybe have fans like Petty or Dale Jr. does.  And maybe you won't have to mouth off about it.

Martinsville: It never ceases to be entertaining

Martinsville is the oldest continually sanctioned track in NASCAR, and this weekend showed us exactly why.  For pure short track excitement, Martinsville definitely delivers.

Yesterday's Cup race saw a lot of fender banging and bumper bashing.  Jimmie Johnson, who won the race, did so without escaping the race unscathed.  He had a late encounter with Denny Hamlin, which put Johnson in the lead, and moved Hamlin to 2nd.

Today's Camping World Truck series race provided more of the same.  After leading a lot of laps in the latter stages of the race, Kyle Busch was bumped by Kevin Harvick, which allowed Harvick to pass.  Harvick was followed by his KHI teammate Ron Hornaday, who made harder contact with Kyle Busch, pushing in the quarter panel on the left rear of Busch's Toyota which in turn caused a tire rub.  The yellow flag came out almost immediately after Harvick's pass for the lead, due to another incident on the track.  

Kyle Busch asked for his crew to check out the damage, and also rubbed the left side of his truck on the inside wall near the entrance to pit road.  Kyle inadvertently crossed the white commitment line, but stayed out on the track.  NASCAR called foul.  Kyle's chances of winning the race were obviously over.

After the race, SPEED TV's cameras where on Kyle Busch as he exited his truck.  Kyle removed his helmet and HANS device, and slammed them down on the rear of the truck.  He then sprinted up pit road, into the oncoming traffic of trucks still entering pit road.  He then hopped over the fence onto the track, walked across, and exited the track, all to audible boos.

I'll offer some commentary on this event later, but so far in 2009, the Martinsville Truck race has been by far my favorite!  Beating, banging and even a temper tantrum!  Does it get any better?

The word 'embattled' is starting to irritate me.

'Embattled' crew chief Tony Eury Jr. is still on the job.  Is that a huge surprise?

I'm not surprised.  I didn't expect there to be a huge shake up on the 88 team this week.  For some reason, I seem to be the only one who thinks so.

What has Tony Jr. done wrong except not handing Dale Earnhardt Jr. a win?  I thought the driver was supposed to be involved in wins too.  The last time I looked, the crew chief sits on top of the pit box, and the driver sits inside of the car.  Of course, the crew chief is important to the outcome of a race, but for some reason, people keep forgetting the guy that's pushing the throttle, the brake pedal, the clutch pedal, and actually turning the steering wheel.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not been faultless this season.  Just go back and watch your Daytona Tivo again.  Don't get me wrong, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of my favorite people in the world, but he's human, and he makes mistakes, believe it or not, just like me, or possibly even you.

I know I make mistakes.  Just ask my current boss.  She'd probably talk for about an hour or more about my current transgressions.  I'm new to what I'm doing, and I make mistakes.  Believe me, I make a lot of them, apparently.  Today I think I peeved her more than I thought was humanly possible.  Leave it to me though.  I managed to do just that.

I'm just saying that even though owner Rick Hendrick says all is well, we'll see what we will see.  Nobody drives these days for Rick Hendrick without producing, and I don't think that even good ole Dale Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. will last forever without producing wins.  If they eventually don't produce wins, Rick Hendrick will demand a change.  Probably that will first be a crew chief change, but eventually that might be a driver change.

For the moment, I encourage the Junior Nation to leave Tony Jr. alone.  Right now he's the chosen man.  Let him do what he does, and quit busting his chops for at least right now.  Tony's the man on the pit box.  If he gets to stay there, fine.  If he leaves, you can have your pound of flesh then.  Right now, Rick Hendrick has faith in this combination.  He's the guy that pays the salaries and turns off the lights at night.  Let's give it a little time.

Inheriting a Name

General George Smith Patton, Jr. obviously was the son of a man by the same name.  In his case, the famous General Patton achieved most of the fame for which the "Patton" name is famous for.  Patton led and pushed his US 3rd Army across Europe in 1944 and 1945, and moved a tremendous amount of men and materiel, in the worst of conditions,  to free the elements of the 101st Airborne Division who were surrounded at Bastogne during what is now called the Battle of the Bulge.  General George Patton is a hero, not just to the US Army, but to the United States as a whole.  The man accomplished great things as a military commander, and some of that was because Patton was afraid of very few things in life.  The General was known as a risk taker, sometimes as taking unnecessary risks by his superiors.  He paid the price for that by being relieved of command more than once, but in the end, he proved to be the guy that is one of the best remembered for liberating Europe from Nazi Germany in World War II. 

There has been a phrase attributed to General George S. Patton Jr.:  "Take not council of your fears."  I've read that actually this phrase might be more accurately attributed to General Phillip Sheridan, who lived and served a full generation before Patton.  Either way, General Patton apparently believed in that saying.

What has all this to do with NASCAR, which I'm sure is the question you're asking yourself by this point?  It's easy.  Think about names like Petty, Earnhardt, Eury.  Fathers and sons.

Lee Petty was Richard's father, and he was a champion in his own right, before Richard Petty ever got behind the wheel of a race car.  Most casual fans of the sport today might recognize Richard Petty's name, but few will remember that his father was a great racer before him.  Richard went on to become the "King", with 200 victories in his career.  That's a number that will not be matched.  There are reasons for that, including the fact that NASCAR doesn't sanction Cup events 3 or 4 nights a week, as they did back in the '6o's and early '70's.  Back in those days, before the days of Winston, Richard might win 2 or 3 races a week at times.  The point is, today, nobody remembers who Lee Petty was, even though he was a great driver.  They mostly remember Richard.

And then there's Kyle Petty.  Kyle has won a few races in his career, and these days he's mostly known as the guy that started the Victory Junction Gang Camp.  Kyle is an all around good guy, and he says what he thinks, which is rare among drivers, or even former drivers these days.  Personally, I have to admire that quality.

Kyle actually started the VJGC in honor of his son, who was destined to be the 4th generation Petty NASCAR driver, Adam Petty.  Adam died in an accident at New Hampshire in 2000.  Unfortunately, tragedy and grief follow the sport of NASCAR, and of course we also lost another good driver, Kenny Irwin in 2000 as well.

In 2000, a young man named Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed his father footsteps into the Cup series, and was successful.  He won his first race at Texas, and followed that up with a win at Richmond.  He then went on to win the All Star Race at Charlotte, which of course, was named the Winston then.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. was on his way.  Or so it seemed.

On February 18, 2001, the man who had won 76 races and 7 championships died.  A lot of, but not all of, the fan base who used to support Dale Earnhardt transferred it's devotion to the son.  Some of that fan base supported Earnhardt's replacement, Kevin Harvick.  Some just went away and support other drivers, but most of that fan base suddenly became Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans.  Thus we witnessed the birth of the Junior Nation.  Dale Jr. already had fans, but this unintentional result of his father's death dumped a lot more fans on Dale Jr. than he had ever had before.

Is it just because of the name?  Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. certainly bears his father's name.  For some reason, no one ever held his half-brother Kerry to the same standards.  Kerry Earnhardt, who still works for the family company, and has a son, Jeffrey, who is becoming an accomplished racer in his own right, has never been held to the same standards that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has.

I certainly don't expect Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. to do what his father did.  They both grew up under different circumstances.  All I do know is that Dale Jr. is an entertaining guy, at least in my opinion.

And about Tony Eury Jr.?  Leave him alone.  He might not be the best crew chief in the field, but he's the one that Dale Jr.'s chosen.  If you're a Dale Jr. fan and can't get past that, then find another driver.  That's the law, according to Dale Jr., and if you don't like it, take it up with Dale himself.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. may never win as many races or championships as his father has, but to me he's an interesting guy.  Interesting drivers are suddenly becoming too rare in NASCAR.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., my best advice to you is what General George S. Patton Jr. once said, or maybe it was Phil Sheridan:  "Never take council of your fears."