A Little Shameless Self Promotion

Hi, folks.  I have a new site, called JCNN, which stands for Jimmy C's NASCAR Network.  It's a social network, which means that I post news articles and stories about NASCAR, or what ever else I feel is important to talk about, and you can comment on them.  There are message boards for you to use, and live chat as well.

You can set up your own page anyway you want, and post pictures, video, music, or whatever.  You can even write your own blog there as well.  It's a site that I've recently discovered, and I'm still learning my way around it, and cordially invite you to do so as well.  There will be little in the way of moderation, as long as members keep it within Ning's guidelines as far as profanity or pornography.  I'm not really going to moderate it that much, if at all, as long as all goes well.  We have a racing discussion forum, and can add separate forums for your favorite drivers, or even your favorite type of racing.  All you have to do is ask, and your wish is my command as far as that goes.  You don't even have to talk about racing at all, because there is a general discussion board as well.  On the live chat, I don't care.  Talk about whatever you wish.  Just keep it more or less PG rated, and I will never have a problem with it.

It's totally free, which is the great thing about it.  You can sign up in less than a minute and be on your way, uploading your own pics, video, music, whatever you like.  It's sort of a cross between Facebook, MySpace, and about 10 other popular sites.  Come on in, fix up your page anyway you like, and have fun.

It's easy, it's simple to join, and you can interact with other race fans, or even people who aren't race fans.  There is no preferred driver, because I'm not doing the site on any one driver or team.  All fans of NASCAR or any other racing series are welcome here.

It's all about fun.  We could all use a little more of that, I think.  Come on in!  Join JCNN now!

Put your Mind back in the Game!

OK, I've defended Dale Earnhardt Jr. here.  I like him.  I hope he wins, but he's not going to win unless he puts his mind back in the game.  Regardless of the wreck that everyone is still talking about, Dale Jr. made at least two mistakes that put him first of all at the back of the field, and later a lap down.  Supposedly Dale Jr. had a cold or a sinus problem, but those kind of mistakes that he made in the Daytona 500 will ruin a championship run.

You absolutely cannot miss your pit stall.  You just can't.  It's easy to do with 43 pit stalls on pit road, but having a pink sign and not having the foresight to change it to an easily distinguishable sign before the race is no excuse.  I'm not saying that's Jr.'s fault.  Tony Eury Jr. or someone on the crew should have seen that coming, if indeed all the pit signs were so alike.  All I'm saying is that missing your pit is an automatic tail end of the lead lap.  Experienced drivers should never, ever let that happen.

In NASCAR, every single point counts.  Finishing 27th in the Daytona 500 is not a good way to begin a season.  I don't know where Dale Jr.'s mind was on Sunday, but it wasn't really in the race car.  He's got the best equipment, the best owner, and some of the best sponsors in the sport, but he's going to have to pick it up if he's going to keep Rick, Amp, and the National Guard happy.  Sure they got a lot of TV time, but not in the way they wanted it.

It's attention to details that can make or break a winner in NASCAR.  One inch on the line of the pit stall, and having an official pointing and being ignored is a huge mistake.  The crew could have taken a little time and put Dale Jr. in the pit stall and not lost a lap.  They would have lost time, but not a lap.  Had they done that.

Here's hoping that Dale Jr. gets his head out of where ever it was and into the game.

The Wussification of NASCAR

Block somebody?  Ban them!  Bump somebody, park them.  Huh.

If this is where NASCAR's headed, I say I don't want to watch the sport anymore.  I've not actually watched all the races that NASCAR has ever held, but I have watched a lot of them during the 1980's and 1990's, and basically all of them since 2000.  Since now that Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s so called parkable offense is now the status quo among not only NASCAR fans, but NASCAR writers, I'm rethinking my decision to get into this sport at all.  I currently do some things for a couple of drivers, one of whom has been around since the 1990's.

I think some people need some basic education in NASCAR.  What Leffler did to Steve Wallace was moving somebody out of the way.  What Earnhardt Jr. did to Vickers was move him out of the way.  

Want to go back to Bristol, 2000?  Dale Earnhardt moved Terry Labonte out of the way.  Labonte was furious, but Earnhardt was given the win.  So now we need to fine or penalize people for touching other people?

Let's just tear the fenders off these cars and make it yet another open wheel series then.  If you can't touch or rub your opponent, let's just call it another open wheel series and make the most spectacular wrecks you've ever seen.  Oh yeah, and possibly deaths.  Is that what you want to see?  I don't.

Though the wrecks in open wheel are often spectacular, they sometimes result in death or serious injury.  As entertaining as they are, I don't like to see people hurt.  If you do, go watch a different sport.

As I see it, no matter how much crap Dale Jr.'s reputation is catching today, he was for once driving like his father would have driven.  Rule number one:  Never take that kind of crap from another driver.  Rule number two:  Make sure he knows where to go to even if out after the race.  Dale Jr. did exactly just that, via his spotter.

As far as I know, Brian Vickers never showed up at Jr.'s hauler to even things out.

Though Dale Jr. is young, he thinks like an old school driver.  He did what he had to do to stay on track.  He did that.  Go back and look over the history of NASCAR.  I dare you.

NASCAR's New Villain?

The above photo is courtesy of TheFastandtheFabulous.com  It's of the back of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s helmet at at least some of the Daytona races in which he participated in 2009.  In case nobody's heard the news, Matt Kenseth is the 2009 Daytona 500 winner in a rain shortened race.  I doubt that many people are actually talking about that today or will remember it 3 weeks from now.  Congratulations, Matt Kenseth!

The big news from Sunday's race is, of course, the wreck.  Dale Jr., restarting the race a lap down for receiving pit service outside his pit stall, restarts on the inside.  He ends up behind Brian Vickers.  Dale Jr. thinks he can squeeze by on the inside.  Brian Vickers cuts down the track to block, bumping Dale Jr. below the double yellow line.  Dale Jr., nearly in the grass, pulls back up the track, and the replay shows making minimal contact at most with the TV panel on the back of Brian Vickers' Toyota.  Brian goes for a spin, taking out several cars with him, including most-laps-led leader Kyle Busch.  TV replays show no visible damage to the rear of Vickers' car when he begins his spin.  There are no bumper bars hanging out, no sheet metal dragging.  The key words here are when the Vickers Toyota begins its spin.  At this point, any discernible damage to the rear of the Toyota would have been caused by Dale Earnhardt Jr.  But I'm not wanting to get into any magic bullet theories here, or as seen on Seinfeld, magic loogies.

Sunday night and Monday morning, I've read various comments as to how Earnhardt Jr. "ran over" or "punted" Brian Vickers.  I guess I watched a different race.  At best, Earnhardt Jr. gave Vickers a nudge.  I've got an announcement to make:  Brian Vickers did nothing wrong.  It's legal, under the rules of NASCAR to block another car.  Is it always the smartest thing to do?  That's another issue.

To say that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was without fault in the 2009 Daytona 500 would be facetious, at best.  Early in the race, Dale Jr. completely missed his pits, putting him in the rear of the field.  I'm sorry, that's a mistake that a driver who has driven in 10 Daytona 500's shouldn't make.  Every driver makes mistakes, but missing the pit completely was inexcusable.  If the crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. wasn't counting him down to his specified pit, or whether Dale Jr. just screwed up, those are the kind of mistakes that will lose races.

On a later pit stop, Dale Jr. put his right front tire about an inch onto the line marking the pit stall.  The NASCAR official quickly pointed out the error, and apparently no one paid any attention to him.  The crew completed their right side tire service and a crew member even pushed the official out of the way when making his way back to the left side of the car.  The 88 team had the option of repositioning the car within the pit stall, and though they would have lost valuable time, they still could have completed the pit stop without a one lap penalty.  

These are mistakes that should not be made by veteran drivers and crews.

For comparison purposes, there was an incident in the Saturday Nationwide race where driver Jason Leffler nudged driver Steve Wallace and sent Wallace into the outside wall, ending his day. For that transgression, Leffler was held in his pit for 5 laps, effectively ending his chances at have a good run as well.

Numerous comparisions between the Earnhardt Jr./Vickers incident and the Leffler/Wallace incident have been made today, with the concensus apparently being that Earnhardt Jr. should have been penalized 5 laps as well.  I can't argue against that opinion.  NASCAR apparently felt that Leffler's bump on Wallace was intentional, while the same sanctioning body felt that Earnhardt's bump on Vickers was not.  It's possible that radio traffic between Leffler and his crew chief or spotter may have led to NASCAR's decision to park him for 5 laps.  I don't know all the facts as far as that incident.  I was not listening to Leffler's radio, and don't know what was said.  The fact of the matter is just this:  It's often perception, other than truth, that leads to fans' discontent over the show that NASCAR puts on.

Most of the opinions that I've read today point to the perception that Earnhardt Jr. was treated favorably by NASCAR, either because of his popularity, or his last name.  Whether that is the truth or not, it really doesn't matter to the fans or the press.  It's the perception that counts here.  What is actually the truth of the matter means little.  I personally didn't see Earnhardt Jr. do much of anything that most of the other drivers in the field wouldn't have done.  If it had been, say, Greg Biffle that spun out Vickers, I doubt there would have been much talk about it, except among the fans of the drivers actually effected by the incident.

Diehard fans are diehard fans.  I actually am a Dale Jr. fan, but I'm a fan of other drivers as well.  I no longer post on, or really even monitor any of the Junior Nation fansites anymore.  The hatred for the Dale Jr. fans mostly comes from fans of drivers who either had clashes with Dale Sr., or are just jealous, in many cases.  Unless you're a Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, or Matt Kenseth fan, chances are you hate Dale Jr. because of his popularity, and because so far your driver hasn't accomplished as much as Dale Jr.  Dale Jr. has never won a Cup championship, but neither have a lot of other great drivers.  Jeff Burton has never won a championship.  So far, Kyle Busch hasn't, though he was the odds on favorite in 2008, going into the Chase for the Cup.  Carl Edwards hasn't yet.  Kevin Harvick hasn't either.  Relative old timer Mark Martin hasn't, but he's trying one more time.

Here are the facts about Dale Earnhardt Jr.  He only has a ride because of who his daddy was?  Can you say your driver isn't in Cup racing because his family never helped him?  Anyway, here are the facts.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won 18 Cup races.  He's won poles, not many, but he has won some.  He won the All Star Race in 2000, his rookie year.  He's won the Bud Shootout more than once.  He also won 2 Busch Series championships before he even ran Cup full time.  He's a Daytona 500 winner.  You may think of him as a Daytona or Talladega guy, but he's won at Bristol.  He's won at Richmond.  He's won at Phoenix.  He's won at Atlanta.  He's won at Chicago.  He's won at Michigan and Dover.

Yeah, I'm a Dale Jr. fan.  I don't look at him as if he has no faults though.  I know he has them.  He can do wrong in my book.  He did it yesterday at Daytona.  Dale Jr.'s human, ok?  He makes mistakes just like the rest of us.  He made mistakes at Daytona, but if I remember correctly, he's not the only driver to move someone out of the way.  He's not even the first Earnhardt to do so.

The 51st Daytona 500

The above photo is of the finish of the first Daytona 500, which was held in 1959.  The car in the middle, after checking film and photographs, was later declared the winner of the race.  The driver of that car was Lee Petty, and thus began one of NASCAR's greatest traditions.

Today, all of what has happened over the last week or so will be forgotten, all the tire problems hopefully a thing of the past, and all the other issues that the drivers, teams, and owners have faced will all go out the window when the green flag flies.  Daytona is a brand new beginning for many teams, and new associations for other teams and sponsors.

For those of you Kevin Harvick fans who may be dubious about my pick of Kevin Harvick to win today's race, I promise I didn't pick Kevin because my choice is the K.O.D., or as is sometimes called the kiss of death, or the kiss of disaster.  I picked Kevin because I think he can win!  Honest!

Here's hoping for a good, safe race.  I pray that all the drivers and crew members walk away from the track under their own power today.  I hope that all the fans travelling to and from the track will have a safe day as well.

It's 2009!  Let's light this firecracker!

The Daytona 500. My Pick to Win

I don't normally pick winners of races, and there's a good reason why.  I'm usually wrong.  Today, however, I feel pretty good about the chap pictured above.  Curse me all you want to, but I'm picking Kevin Harvick to win the 2009 Daytona 500.

Winning the Daytona 500 is something that most drivers would love to have on their resume, but few actually do.  Kevin's already won, beating Mark Martin to the line in 2007.  I watched last Saturday's Bud Shootout and frankly found my jaw hanging down around the area that my shoe laces usually occupy.  That's how good this young man is, and yes, I can call him a young man, because I was wearing long pants when Kevin Harvick was still in diapers.

On Sunday, NASCAR kicks off a brand new season, and I'm guessing that Kevin Harvick will be right up there with the leaders at the end of the race.  Harvick showed that basic 'no fear' attitude on Saturday, charging to the front and leading the only lap that really matters:  The last lap.

Do I think Kevin Harvick can do it again, just like he did in the Bud Shootout?  Yep.  You betcha.  Please, don't mortage your house or bet your car on this, but I'm thinking we'll get to see some more spectacular burnouts when Kevin Harvick wins the 2009 Daytona 500.

15 years ago: Missing Neil Bonnett

The above photo shows a very relaxed Neil Bonnett catching a quick nap at the track.  15 years ago today, we lost Neil Bonnett.  He died in Turn 4 at Daytona International Speedway during practice.  Nearly 7 years later, the man who considered Neil to be his best friend died in almost exactly the same spot, on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

Neil Bonnett had a passion to race.  He worked hanging high steel in Birmingham, Alabama before and during the time that he got into racing.  Neil later said that there were plenty of guys that wanted his steel hanging job, but nobody wanted his racing job.  Walking around on steel beams hundreds of feet off the ground was safe enough, but strapping yourself into a race car and going nearly 200 mph around an oval track was just way too dangerous for many.

Neil had a great career as a driver.  In 362 starts in the Winston Cup, Neil won 18 races, finished in the top five 83 times, and in the top ten 156 times.  Neil also won 20 poles during his career.  Neil won at places like Darlington, North Wilkesboro, Ontario, California, and even the Daytona July race.  He won multiple times at Charlotte, Atlanta, Rockingham, and Richmond.  He won a Talladega race, and he won at Dover.

Neil seldom ran complete seasons, in other words, there were only a few seasons during his 20 year Cup career that he ran the complete schedule.  Neil finished 4th in points for the 1985 season, and had two wins that year.

Neil Bonnett drove while he was hurt many times.  Late in his career, he asked a doctor to bolt his broken sternum back together so he could race the next week.  For Neil Bonnett, racing was everything, and everything was racing.

As an avid hunter and angler, Neil Bonnett and Dale Earnhardt were a natural fit for each other.  The hunting stories these men could tell, if they were alive, would be priceless.  We only know about a few of them.

Turn 4 at Daytona is hallowed ground for me.  Two of my heroes died there.