Biffled

California was awesome. Better racin' than at Daytona, less wrecks and calmer tempers prevailed among the drivers.
I'm biffled and baffled by Greg Biffle's misfortune though. I thought he had the race in the bag. Gonna have to put more glue and rubberbands in those engines. His Roush teammates didn't disappoint though. They were all very good.
Congrats to Matt Kenseth who's had quite a long dry spell between NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins.
Kenseth was in the right place at the right time(Just like Dr. John) and that's really what it's all about in racing. Survival and timing can win you a lot of races. Worked for Jimmie Johnson last week and now for Matt Kenseth.
Tough day for Tony Stewart. That's the first DNF for him in quite a long time. He'll recover. I think it was a glitch.
Yeah go ahead and say it.....Dallas you blew it!!! I picked Jeff
Gordon to win at California and he finished 13th. I still think he would have won if they would have had a Duracell. They probably were using the batteries from my digital camera. They never last more than a day for me so I know they won't last in a Dupont Chevy. Gordon's battery was nearly dead I think for most of the race and that's really what caused his problems. When his pit crew finally changed the battery Jeff was able to rally somewhat.
This week we're off but there's a great BUSCH race in Mexico. More on that tomorrow from my good racin' buddy and South of The Border correspondent, Carlos NASCAR Bandelero!!!

Off to the Land of Cement Ponds

NASCAR leaves it's home base in the south and heads to the land of movie stars, glitter, glitz, bright lights and cement ponds(thanks Uncle Jed for bringing the south to California on the Beverly Hillbillies)
Who's gonna win Sunday? My pick is Jeff Gordon. I feel the power of 24 is a lot more this year. He's gonna put it all together.
After last weekend I'm thinking there was a big pow wow at Roush racing. Hendrick drivers thoroughly trounced the Roush guys at Daytona. We'll see what transpires this weekend.
Anybody else out there like me who would just love to see Mark Martin put together another tremendous year and win it all. If anybody deserves it, then it's Mark. He's one of the nicest guys on the planet and works his tail off. Plus he's still got the superb skills regardless of his age.
I've never been a fan of California but I guess it's because it's so far away. I'm more of a Martinsville, Darlington, Wilkesboro,Rockingham,(oops forgot NASCAR scrubbed two of favorite tracks) Daytona, Richmond, Charlotte, Atlanta kind of guy. But maybe I'm showing my bias. But there's room for everybody in NASCAR. It's just easier for me to get to tracks in the south so I can get back to work on Mondays.
Gotta run!!! Have a great weekend and please post if you have an opinion. We'll discuss and I love hearing from other big time race fans. Watch Carl Edwards continue to struggle because they let my man Brad Parrott go. Just a prediction!!! Let me know if you agree or disagree!!
Let's go racin'!!!!

Last Cheater's Waltz

Well the hammer came down today. NASCAR has supsended #48 Chevrolet crew chief Chad Knaus for an additional three races because of his template violation in Daytona qualifying. And there's a $25,000 fine to go along with it. The money is a non-issue. He makes that much in a week. I think the suspension does far more damage. He's not there to call the shots on Sundays when they need him. I think the team will do okay but I think it's good that NASCAR has taken a stand with such a stiff penalty. The message needs to be: Cheaters never win. I'm sure plenty of crew chiefs look for every advantage they can give their drivers. It's the way the game is played. But enough is enough. NASCAR is doing the right thing in this situation. We'll see if Jimmie Johnson's team can respond under these adverse conditions. Knaus will miss California, Las Vegas and Atlanta. He'll be back at Thunder Valley.(otherwise known as Bristol Motor Speedway) and hopefully dancing to a 4/4 song instead of the Last Cheater's Waltz!!!

Dolly Parton has a great country song called "God Won't Get You" a portion of the lyric reads,"cheaters never win, their heartaches never end"
So true. There's a lesson in this for every man, woman and child who loves NASCAR.

48 Wins the 48th at Daytona

48 Wins the 48th Great American Race
Wow! The 48 car wins the 48th running of the Daytona 500.
On the 48th day of 2006(this past Friday) I had a dream that Jimmie Johnson would win. I said that in my post this past Friday. It came to pass. Now if I could just get Dale Jr. to win a championship!!!
Conservative run for Jimmie Johnson. He laid back in the pack and didn't hit everything but the Florida lottery like a bunch of other drivers did. Jimmie was able to make the right moves at the end to give the Lowes team a win.
The sixth victory at Daytona for the Hendrick Motorsports team. Geoffry Bodine was the first way back when in the 80's.

Random Thoughts on Daytona

• Dale Jr. looked strong.....way to go DEI
• The Busch brothers had quite a day.
• Jimmie Johnson should find a better way to get his digs at people who dis the 48 team. In victory lane Jimmie dedicated his win "to all the 48 haters"
• My advice....do like Dale Earnhardt did....win the race and when you make somebody mad act like it was an accident. Then give 'um the old, That's just racin'. That was an endearing quality.
• Besides who cares what people think...you're gonna be on all the late night shows on Monday and Tuesday and you've got all the money. The rest of the guys aren't in the record books for 2006 as winners of the Great American Race.
• Tony Stewart complained during Speedweeks about bump drafting yet it looked to me like one of his wrecks could have been a bit intentional. I wasn't in the car so what do I know!
• NASCAR has a new fragrance by Elizabeth Arden. It's called "Daytona 500" A 1.75 ounce bottle is $30.00. It was on sale in the suites on Sunday........Imagine....that lovely odor mixed with oil and grease. This ain't your mama's NASCAR.

Motor Mouths

Welcome to my blog NASCAR fans!

Hello I'm Dallas Reese, afternoons at the NEW 99.9 Genuine Country and this blog will function as a gathering place for all those who love NASCAR. Whether you're new or old fan I hope you'll participate and let your feelings be known as well. Of course everything on this site is my opinion, filtered through my own unique perspective on a sport I have followed since I was a kid in the early 1970's growing up four miles from what was then "Charlotte Motor Speedway"

THE WORLD CENTER OF RACING
First up is Daytona!!! What a race, what a history. My best memory, 1998, when Dale Earnhardt Sr. grasped the prize that for so long had eluded him. My worst Daytona memory.....five years ago when Dale died in the fourth turn on the last lap.

The death of Dale Earnhardt was one of the singular most tragic events in the history of the sport. Dale wasn't just a driver, he was an embodiment of every poor kid who grew up in a small town and didn't excel in school, yet despite those odds still managed to be the best in the world at what he did. I think all NASCAR fans could relate to "The Intimidator" because whether you liked him or hated him, he was the driving force behind the sport in his time behind the wheel. And his legacy lives on like that of the greatest in any human endeavour. Rightly so, Richard Childress who owned Dale's team for many years bought the rights and retired the number three. There will never be another.

I'll never forget what Dale said to me back in 1989. I was working for 99.7 The FOX in Charlotte and had an appearance with Dale at the Budgetfair store in the old Cloverleaf Plaza shopping center, which was about four miles from my parents house and a couple of miles from Dale's mom Martha's house. Dale said, "Someday I'll be back here and I'll be relaxing right down the road" doesn't sound like something memorable, but the preamble is, he was telling me all he had to do that week and his schedule was nuts. He was being pulled in so many different directions by so many people and the pressures of having to be the torch bearer for the entire sport had to weigh on him I'm sure. Be he smiled, signed every autograph and maintained a personal side that was entirely different from who he was on the track. I saw a man who was giving and understood where he came from and who brought him to the party. I also understood from the times that I did appearances with him that he lived to drive and drived to live. Hard!!! That's the only speed he knew. I loved his focus and passion. There's a statue of Dale in downtown Kannapolis now with that smile he wore all those years. Mischevious, yet relaxed. We miss you Dale. I hope you've got a big lazy boy up there with a "3" stamped on the side.

DAYTONA PICKS AND PANS
Kudos to Jeff Burton for winning the pole. Just this past week Jeff assisted the NEW 99.9 Genuine Country along with our sister station MIX 101.5 raise close to one million dollars for the Duke Children's hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Not only is Jeff a top notch driver but a guy dedicated to improving the lives of others. Hats off to ya and the entire Childress racing team.

Oh and my pick to win Sunday's Daytona 500. Jimmie Johnson. Even with his crew chief out, the Hendrick cars are strong at this track. Jimmie's time has come. I almost wanna go out on a limb and pick him to win the CHASE but with the new points system anything can happen. Besides, I think Jeff Gordon will rebound like a superstar this year to win it all. I love Dale Jr. on this restrictor plate track as well if he can avoid the big one. He won here in 2004 and with Tony Eury signed to a new long term contract at DEI and calling the shots things should be better. This could finally be the year for Dale Jr., the reigning rock star of the sport. More about that in a future blog. And of course, Jeff Gordon is the defending champion at Daytona. Jeff struggled at some of the bigger tracks last year but he had this one dialed in with his team. If he can stay out of trouble and avoid the big pileup that always seems to happen at the plate tracks, then he's the man!!!

BUMPDRAFTING
It's what I did to architecture class when I was in school at Appalachian State. I bumped it 'cause I got bored drawing buildings. But in NASCAR it's entirely different. What is it? Well when the drivers gently or not so gently nudge each other to get better position, so they don't have to race two, three or four wide. It's the only way to pass sometimes. You need that extra push. Sort of like a bump and run in basketball...except you're in a car doing 200mph and it's extremely dangerous. So much so that NASCAR says don't do it and has set up NOBUMP Zones at Daytona. NASCAR also says they'll develop softer bumpers by the time we get to Tallegedega(that sounds like a country song) and if you bump with the soft bumpers you'll cause castastrophic damage and possibly end up in the hauler watching Larry Mac talk about your misfortune on TV.
It's gonna be interesting to see who defies NASCAR and tries to bump in the no zones on Sunday. Will they bang 'um up? Richard Petty did it on Interstate 85 in Charlotte when a guy wouldn't get out of his way. Of course King Richard was just giving the guy a gentle reminder about the fast lane. Something I'm sure all of us have dreamed of doing, but would never do. I don't see what's gonna stop drivers from doing it on the track. A fine won't work. Maybe a spanking in front of their mommas. That would do it for me. I wouldn't do anything to dishonor my mother. Of course if everyone would follow a gentleman's agreement then I suppose it could happen. But guys change when they get on the track. It's like a big jug of testosterone is spilled open and like a bunch of kids chasing candy from a pinata everybody's gotta bang into each other. Of course many fans love that. And those that say they don't, probably do. I know I find it kind of fun but this isn't a video game. There are real people inside those cars and no matter how many safety devices they have it's still very dangerous.
Tony Stewart has a point....somebody could die if the bumping at speeds like they run at Daytona and Talledega continues.....and nobody wants to see that. How about some good clean fun.
Let's go racin!!!!