Let's Go To The Mart!!!

Well the car of tomorrow sure got an ugly reception by drivers last weekend at Bristol didn't it? Winner Kyle Busch did not hesitate to voice his displeasure.
It is a pretty generic looking car for sure. But hey, safety is much better with this one.
TV ratings were down for Bristol as well. 17.7 percent lower than last year. That's not good. In fact television ratings for the first six races of 2007 are down. What's going on? I'd love to know the thoughts of the average NASCAR fan. Are you watching less of the races? Listening less on the radio?
I can tell you my passion is as much as ever. My boys and I are glued to the races when they're on but I know plenty of people who are indifferent because of the changes NASCAR has made in the past couple years. Are you one of them?
Let me know.

Thoughts
My pick to win at Martinsville is Jeff Gordon. This track belongs to him. Barring engine trouble I think Jeff, Kevin Harvick or Jeff Burton will take this race. Look for Tony Stewart to get a top five finish as well. I like Kasey Kahne at this track as well. I'd love Mark Martin if he was racing. I don't trust his fill-in driver to do quite as well. We'll see. Drivers are qualifying at the Mart as I write this now.
Tickets are still available for Sunday's race as well. Go to www.martinsvillespeedway for details. It's only about a two hour drive from the triangle, closer if you're in Durham or over towards Orange or Alamance County. It's a beautiful drive as well. I usually go I-40 west till I get to Exit 210, Hwy 68 in Greensboro. Then you just hang a right on 68 and go north. After you cross the Virginia line the road turns into Hwy. 220 and the rolling hills will lead you to the Mart on the right. It's about a 50 minute drive from Greensboro, once you turn right on Hwy. 68.
Have a great weekend!! The weather is gonna be superb across the triangle and at Martinsville.
Let's go racin'!!!

Bangin' At Bristol!

One of my favorite NASCAR tracks this weekend. Rubbin' is racin' and there's no better place than Bristol(or Martinsville) for some good old fashioned racin' the way it was meant to be. Only problem is, points leader Mark Martin is staying true to his word. He's not racin' this weekend. Sort of makes me sad. The past four weeks have been some of the best of Mark's career, yet he's sticking to his decision to only race part-time. Kudos to him for keeping his word, but wouldn't it be cool to see him keep racing?

Thoughts and Opinions on the 2007
Silly Season
What has happened to Michael Waltrip this season? I'm sure NAPA isn't happy with him not making races. You can't give your sponsor face time on TV if you're not at the dance. Is he doing too much outside work(TV etc.) to concentrate on racing?

Tell me what you think of the Car of Tomorrow? It debuts this weekend at Bristol. I hear many drivers don't like it. I think it's a big step forward for safety, but it is definitely sort of homogenized. Just no originality in the design. All the cars are the same, with the exception of the grille design or the sponsor decals on the car. I don't think it's gonna sit too well with fans.

Juan Pablo Montoya is for real. This open wheel driver is gonna be a force to be reckoned with on the NASCAR circuit in years to come. He's got the goods. That top five finish at Atlanta was no fluke.

Atlanta was a disaster for Toyota. Do they need me to come in as a consultant. I've got a Sienna Minivan and a Corolla, so I know the product well. I could rev that minivan up and put some spoilers on it. Maybe I could just give the Toyota teams the animal crackers from the back seat of my Sienna. Everytime I eat them they give me the strength to merge on I-40 faster in rush hour traffic.
Toyota needs to get up to speed this year, because I hear that come 2008, one of the big Detroit automakers is gonna dramatically cut back on NASCAR involvement. This will be tough for the sport, but Toyota could fill the gap.

Could Clint Bowyer have a top ten points finish this year? He's looked good so far. He's currently ninth in points. I like this kid.

All eyes will be on rookie Regan Smith.....He's the points leader going into Bristol.('cause he's driving for Mark Martin and Ginn Racing)
Smith will be in the Car of Tomorrow and will he be able to keep the team at the top? We'll see. He's no Mark Martin. Gosh, I wish Mark would just keep driving!!!

NASCAR did you know?

Did you know that if Jeff Gordon wins at Atlanta this Sunday he'll tie Dale Earnhardt Sr on the all time wins list with 76 victories?
The King "Richard Petty" has 200 wins. Somehow I don't think anyone will ever break that record.

Did you know that the best Toyota has been able to do so far this season is one top ten finish? We're talking seven drivers who are top notch. Dale Jarrett says the cars aren't handling well and downforce is a problem. Toyota has a long way to go to victory lane.

Did you know?
AT&T is suing NASCAR for the rights to change the logos on Jeff Burton's Cingular Chevy to AT&T. NASCAR doesn't wanna do it because Cingular(now AT&T is a competitor of NEXTEL. Yet, NEXTEL was just bought out by Sprint and Sprint is gonna change the name of the series to the Sprint Cup.
Are these telecom companies being a little uptight? Competition is good!! Let everybody put their logos on whatever they want, if they're paying money.

Did you know?
Some of NASCAR's biggest sponsors are based in the town we're racing at this weekend, Hotlanta, GA. Names like, AT&T, Home Depot, Aaron's Sales and Lease, Arbys, Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific, NAPA, Newell Rubbermaid and UPS.

Did you know how much it costs those companies who have primary sponsorships of NASCAR teams?
Try 12-20 million on the Cup circuit.
On the BUSCH circuit it's four to six million annually.
On the Truck series it's two to three million.
That's a lot of dough!!!!

Did you know?
NASCAR fans are three times as likely as other consumers to purchase products and services from sponsors of race teams.

Did you know that Jeff Gordon has posted his best points start since the 1998 season. The Rainbow Warrior of old is back!!! I think he's the man to beat this weekend at Atlanta. Look for Dale Jr. and Jimmie Johnson to be hot as well. Jeff Burton could sneak in a top three finish as well. Kasey Kahne won at Hotlanta last year.

Did you know?
Daryl Worley will sing the National Anthem on Sunday before the race.
Green flag drops at 2pm!
Let's go racin'!!!!!!!

Mark Martin is the Man!!

Yeah, I know Jimmie Johnson won at Vegas on Sunday, his second in a row. And I'm happy because both my sons are huge Jimmie fans. But, did you see Mark Martin once again finish in the Top Five.
I just don't think Mark should retire. He's only driving part-time this year and will have another driver take over at Bristol. I think he should keep on keepin' on...he could win the points championship!!!
Maybe it's his switch to driving Chevrolets instead of Fords. Maybe it's his new team, Ginn Racing or just maybe fate has finally found Mark Martin and for the first time in his career he will win the Gold Watch. I love watching a veteran run well. And he's about the nicest guy "ever" on the circuit.

Ruminations, thoughts and opinions:

No more NEXTEL Cup. The Charlotte Observer reported on Sunday that it's as good as a done deal that Sprint will change the name next year to The Sprint Cup. Will this mean a driver has won two Winston Cup trophies, One NEXTEL Cup trophy and a Sprint Cup? Or win it be Six time Sprint Cup winner. That's the one thing that bothers me about changing the name. Whichever name it was called at the time should be what the winner's trophy is called. I know, it's trivial but maybe it's just a heritage thing.

I'm Back!!!

Well I know I haven't posted since the season began, but it's for good reason...I've been recovering from surgery...for further details check my country music and life in NC blog at http://dallasreport.blogspot.com

Now.....I'm dually impressed with Kevin Harvick in these first two races. Daytona was unbelievable...that was an impressive win. I really wanted Mark Martin to win it because he's the perennial bridesmaid but he just didn't have the juice.
Harvick got such a big push on the last turn it was amazing!!! Way to go Childress Racing. Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton were strong as well.

Now on to California....Kevin Harvick should have won this one. He was catching Matt Kenseth until the race was red flagged with only a few laps left. I think Harvick's blown front tire was probably from debris on the track from the wreck. Otherwise Harvick would have become the first driver since Jeff Gordon in 1997 to win the first two races of the season.
All in all the past two weeks have been impressive. I've enjoyed both of the first two races of the season and it looks like it's gonna be a good one.
At this point I'm really excited about the Car of Tomorrow debuting. It's all about more safety and after the horrific crash of rookie David Reutimann at California, it can't come soon enough. Reutimann said in an article in a California newspaper this week that "everything hurts, down to my eyeballs and my teeth." In my opinion it could have been tragic if not for the Hans device Reutimann was wearing, combined with the new safer barriers on the walls at California Motor Speedway. NASCAR has done a stellar job since the death of Dale Earnhardt in making the sport safer and the Car of Tomorrow is just another step in that direction..
For that I am grateful. It's still dangerous, but hopefully it'll help more drivers stay much safer in a sport that is all about the thrills and the chills.