Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Cry Wolf


Brian France wants to play fair. His rhetoric , for lack of a better word, in my opinion, comes a little late. But better late than.. well you know. His defense of the CoT, which I am now calling the Sprint Iroc, is all good, yet he tries to fill the public with rationalization of empty promises. No more changes... or as he put it, "Back to the basics".

Who is he trying to kid? Change is inevitable. So what... teams, drivers and owners will now have to beg for his majesty's blessings for change? I'm sure his intentions are ... well at the very least his own. The spot light wavers, he makes waves, the public listens.

I hope things do level off for the sake of struggling owners and the average fan who needs a NASCAR book for Dummies. Nothing can compare to 2007... but then again they have yet to develop the flying car!

Pooling together the "Go or Go-Homer's" for qualifying.... now there's a brilliant idea... duh!

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Visions




Born and raised in the Motor Capital state of Michigan I was taught that these Japanese "Go-Carts" were garbage, along with any foreign auto. But my own father had an Opel Cadet shipped over from Holland... and as cute as that car was, it was pure junk. Go figure! For years we Americans have been closet foreign car lovers. Now some 40 plus years have gone by since the first Toyota laid rubber on American pavement and it has surpassed all domestic autos as the #1 seller in America.

I'm not much on crystal balls, but I do have the gift of clairvoyance. Although the clarity is often clouded, there is some small truth to this as it has proven true many times over the years to the astonishment of myself and those around me. I cannot predict the future by any means, but I have moments of clear vision through my mind of things that have not yet taken place. Hence... Toyota will dominate NASCAR. Okay...so I'm full of crap, but I got you to read this!!

Smoke at testing! Now there is a vision to behold! Apparently needing a haircut and a shave.

Monday, January 14, 2008

New Stripes


I've been so out of touch with things that I had no idea old Darlington was getting a face lift. The new pavement and infield work was long overdue. I expect she'll still hand out her legendary stripes.

We have full access to National Guard NASCAR stuff. The perk of having a son in the Guard. He came home and bragged that they got boxes of Dale Jr. stuff to hand out.

Testing.... the Toyota's are doing well. Dale Jarrett??? And only to retire. I'll miss him. But he'll make his presence on the tele.

Friday, January 11, 2008

New Blog

© All Rights Reserved


I won't be posting many of my photos here any longer. I've built a new blog dedicated to my photography and imaging business. It's "Chase Images" and you'll find a link to your right on the sidebar. I had fun posting photos here during the off season but NASCAR is now revving up for this season so I'll be concentrating on all the great things to come from the racing world for 2008 on this blog and Chase Images will be for the obvious. Please pay a visit and comments with feedback are encouraged.

The photo above is of the Hudson River located about 35 miles north of Albany, NY. This particular part of the river is part of the Champlain Canal system which connects to Lake Champlain, The inner-coastal and the Great Lakes and points south to the Erie Canal, NYC and the Atlantic Ocean. It is considered international. I live about 5 miles north of this shot and our town has a harbor for traveling vessels to moor for the night. I love to visit with the travelers and check out some of the most incredible yachts from all over the world that stay in our little town.

I am excited about the '08 NASCAR season. It should be very interesting.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Two left feet


Two left feet
Originally uploaded by Racefan57
Anxiously waiting for Daytona week!!

New pit road rule..."No more tire tossing!" Good move...I still have a vision of that one tire flying through the air and clocking a crew member. I thought it had killed him at first. Lucky is an understatement. It's good to see NASCAR put some effort into safety.

Not much else to say...as you can see I am busy honing my photography skills. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I took this shot...but it turned out the way I expected by experimenting with the shutter speed. I'm going to try this at my next race....of fast cars...not my foot!

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Blowout


Blowout
Originally uploaded by Racefan57
No..not a tire blowout!! That's a photography term. Bright whiteout's...but I did this on purpose. It was -10 f and that is steam coming off the river with the sun behind the tree. Made for an interesting shot.

Racing season is almost upon us. What...5 weeks or so.

My step-son is working the NASCAR Bobsled challenge this weekend. He's a National Guardsman and our local boys are in Lake Placid to assist with the event. He called us today from his cell and Geoff and Todd Bodine were standing right next to him. Then he told Boris Said that I am a Said Head.... Boris apparently belly laughed. Oh and by the way..I like Boris but I can't do the wig thing! Pattyjo did not believe Adam..so he got the Bodine's to say "Yup..it's us, father & son". He got photos and autographs...I hope!! We could have attended but we have a house full of kids this weekend. At least one member of our family is part of it..but the one least interested in NASCAR. Go figure!!

It's a cold winter up here. The gas bill is scary! I might have to frame and sell some of my photos!

Adios amigos.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Those are not Stars


Those are not Stars
Originally uploaded by Racefan57
It a cold and snowy start to the new year. We've had snow for several days in a row and it's bitter cold. Makes for good photos though. I took this right in my backyard. The snowflakes look like stars. I'd much rather be taking photos of Daytona!!