Monday

A rare 1967 Toyota 2000GT.

The Toyota... interesting because they've never really been serious muscle car builders, but they sit on top of the charts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The TRD started in the off-road circuit with huge success, entered into the NCTS with even more success and now they are in the big leagues and there is no stopping them.

A great race yesterday at Martinsville. Amazing how the race went on with a continuous light rain. This probably due to the slower speeds.

It was pleasing to see Hamlin take the win in his home state. Several drivers had a good day including Dale Jr. He is showing consistency with the Hendrick team, but it's the Childress guys that are leading the pack. Jeff Burton is doing very well, but his "Tude" towards Michael McDowell was out of character. It'll be interesting how Burton does at Texas ... being last years winner there.

Gordon and Johnson have finally broken into the top ten. Momentum??

One to Watch

Nice guy! But can he give MWR the boost they need. He takes over the #00 Domino Toyota. He is one to watch with this week being his debut race and of all places.....Martinsville.

Good Luck Michael!!

Martinsville

It's almost time for the weekend kickoff. A full race schedule... NCTS, Nationwide and Cup.

Hoopla.... Jimmy Johnson winning!! NOT!! It's going to be a Toyota. A calculated guess or perhaps it's that clairvoyance, but I don't see a Hendrick car in Victory Lane.

Martinsville is one of those very active and exciting races. I've a passion for short tracks, although the restictor plate races are awesome. The biggest challenges for drivers at Martinsville is over driving the corners...like D.W. says.."slow down to go faster".. and then there is the tightest pit road on the circuit to contend with. All in all... Martinsville is never boring.

I'd love to see a Ford win...specifically The Biff.

Back at the Cottage... The winter from hell is finally showing signs of spring. The mercury will actually reach 45 today. Woooo.....whooooo!!!! My heating bill for this winter, which is not over yet, exceeded $3,000.00. We burned a lot of candles for extra warmth!

Easter Sunday

An Easter Lily.

The Nationwide race at Nashville... uneventful with a feel good finish. I admit that I know little about Scott Wimmer. The name is very recognizable, and his face is familiar, yet I learned more about him after yesterdays win. It was a feel good finish.


A quiet week on the NASCAR front.

I wish everyone a very Happy Easter.

Grand Ole' Opry

I always look forward to the Nashville Nationwide race. I was hoping to see fewer Cup Big Guns on the entry list, because it's so cool to see a minor leaguer win. The last one of these I recall was David Gilliland winning, which broke a streak and placed him on the charts.

Of course the entry list includes the likes of Ky. Busch, C. Edwards, C. Bowyer and D. Hamlin... so chances are slim to none that one of the little guys will take the checker.

Kenny Herman Wallace.... he's a funny guy right? And seems to be very fan friendly right? Yeah...well he's in love with the camera. I believe he's hoping to get noticed by some Hollywood Producer. Any time I've been in close proximity of him he has been a royal prick and his whole demeanor changes the minute they say "Rolling!".

He's been given a full time car in the Nationwide Series by Jay Robinson Racing. The #28 Border Patrol. Kenny boasts.."I'm going to put the Border Patrol Chevy up front and compete in the top ten every week"... yeah OK Kenny!! Ya might better take a seat at the audition tent for the Talladega Nights sequel.

Fall As They May

Typical Bristol. Gotta love it!!

Smoke's dominate run surely kept the records straight... the most laps led driver has never won at Bristol and it's always a surprise ending and always anyone's race.

Very impressive run by the "Cuban Missile" Aric Almirola with a top ten finish in the #8 DEI Army car.

Many kudos to RCR and the 1, 2, 3 finish. Finally a Chevy to Victory Lane and it wasn't a Hendrick mobile.

Toyota continues to show it's muscle with the only mechanical failure I know of being Kyle Busch's power steering... perhaps after their awful debut last season, they've got the bugs out.

A week off and on to more short track racing at Martinsville.

Farewell DJ

Photo from Dale Jarrett.com

I just took this shot on my dining room table with a navy blue sweatshirt of mine under it.
This is of course the RCCA Elite Autographed 2005 Herbie Fully Loaded paint scheme. This car was raced by DJ at the Richmond Chevy Rock and Roll 400, where if my memory serves me, he wrecked it.

The days of Dale's thunder had been past by 2005, his peak career being through the 90's and early 2000's with RYR. He leaves behind a very prestigious record with 3 Daytona 500 wins, and 2 Brickyard 400 wins. He retires this year with what has been an incredible racing career.

Rain, Rain Go Away!! Johnson on the pole again!

Back at the Cottage... My posting here has been lax. This is mainly due to the amount of time I'm spending honing my photography skills. I turned 51 a couple of months ago and I made a decision last year that I need to find another way to make a living as I entered mid-life. The contracting business is okay at best. I've been doing it for over 25 years, but it truly does drive me nuts. I can boast and say that I am good at it, but it's a rough business. I'll most likely always be a contractor, but with less and less hands on. I will have others do the work while I supervise under my good name. I really wanted to do something I enjoy. I am a certified C.A.D. operator with emphasis on architectural design, but I really don't want to spend my senior years behind a monitor for days on end....hence, photography. This will take the better part of 5 years to fully develop, but I am self driven. There will be a book out there one day full of images of the Adirondack Mountains and lakes with my name on it. That is my true enjoyment, but the real bread and butter is in photo journalistic weddings and I still have my sights set on NASCAR. All this said because I will not be as active posting here at NASCAR Eclectic as I was last season, but once or twice a week is for sure.

Tall Order

Kyle Busch.... We might as well get used to it. And I always hate to say this but.... I told you so! The kid has actually grown on me a wee-bit. Does he remind you of anyone?? Come on think real hard! Okay... so perhaps nobody wants to compare Rowdy to a late great Legend, but the young Busch drives like Dale and is just as intimidating. Point in clue... Busch nearly put Dale Jarrett in a tail spin on the final lap yesterday. This pissed me off at the time and I still feel it was an unnecessary evil, but Jarrett was holding Busch back from crossing the finish line with the Snickers car all by itself in the glory of the victory. He had it either way, so this just shows that he is still a selfish little you know what. But... what would Dale Sr. have done?? No driver got in his way and if they did they got pushed to the side and often into the wall and the fans loved this about Dale. I know I did. I don't want to piss anyone off here, but it is what it is. Of course there is no comparison between the two off the track... Dale's life and the way he lived it can never be compared. Kyle Busch is a turd but his skills behind the wheel are not short of amazing.

Goodyear. They've done a good job at pissing off many. Although the tires made for an interesting race. The drivers got plenty of practice driving loose cars.

Interesting. The point standings...not a Gordon or Johnson in the top 10. 3 Toyota's, 3 Dodge's, 3 Chevy's and the lonely #16 Ford. Quite a balanced mix. With short track racing at Bristol this week it's likely the Toyota's will continue to dominate. It's a nice change not seeing Gordon and Johnson dominating... we asked for it! But on the other hand it's going to get old real quick with that #18 Candy Car up front every week.

Hotlanta

What is up with Rowdy?! The kid is unstoppable taking his 2nd out of 3 NCTS win this year. He is also a favorite for Sunday's Sprint Cup race sitting on the outside of row 3. I missed the Truck race... I cannot stay up that late, but reading how NASCAR told Shrub to "Cool it" for passing on the inside didn't stop him.... he then just hugged the wall in a loose truck and worked his way to the front. Later pit strategy landed him in Victory Lane. The kid can pretty much out drive anyone, but his "Rowdiness" gets him caught up in melee more often than not. Maturity will bring him a Cup Championship.

Carl Edwards is touting the Aflac paint scheme for Sunday's race... nothing like a little insurance after his mishap's... the penalty and the wrecked million dollar motor home. It was torn up in an accident enroute to Atlanta... but Carl has new digs!! A 30' tag-along complete with a bathroom and an awning. To have it so bad.... poor guy has to spend the weekend in a $50k trailer instead of a rolling castle. He can borrow my moldy tent!

Free Bird

I consider myself fairly literal in the literal sense, yet I had to look up the word "Sycophant"... sycophant \SIK-uh-fuhnt\, noun:
A person who seeks favor by flattering people of wealth or influence; a parasite; a toady. As taken from Dictionary.com.

"Can we get a collective sigh of relief from all the Robby sycophants who have been in a constant state of panic over Gordon folding his Sprint Cup tent?"

I never thought of myself as a parasite or a toady, but this is what Marc of Full Throttle refers to those of us in support of Robby Gordon's appeal. Oh well, I've been called much worse! And the good news is... he won!! Robby that is. It is a relief and I'm sure a collective one and not only fans of Robby, but folks in general. I am not a huge Gordon fan, although he is one of my faves. This is due to what he represents and the type of man he is. In a word.... BRAVO !!

I say he won...well not totally. But at least he has retained his 100 points. The money is replaceable, the probation is doable. I suppose this blows the theory that NASCAR is out to get him... well that is if NASCAR has any influence over The National Stock Car Racing Commission, but that would make NASCAR a sycophant.

In normalcy... Carl Edwards team got hammered. His drop to 7th in points hardly hurt, at least this early in the season. If he continues to show this fortitude of late, he'll be back on top in a matter of weeks.

Good Luck Robby Gordon

I titled this image "Fate". This is shot through an old John Deere window. Every picture tells a story, some sad, some happy, some inspiring, some comforting and in this case it could be any, but for me it suggests fate. The veins of glass that may have started as a simple crack and with time, ill repair and hard work the window progressed to a state of demise yet somehow can still reflect beauty. Perhaps the farmer that owns this Deere prefers to keep the old girl just the way she is.

Fate... I read a clip on Fox Sports last night about Robby Gordon's impending appeal. The idea that the outcome of this could very well seal his fate was disturbing to me. Losing the appeal will place him in a position that will likely cost him his NASCAR career. He has fought so hard to gain the ground he has as the only owner/driver left in NASCAR, well Kyle Petty qualifies for this too but with the Petty Empire behind him. Robby has courage, stoic integrity and blind faith with a backbone made of steel. He has managed to keep Jim Beam as a sponsor and somehow keeps things moving forward. I don't care what anybody says... this infraction is not his fault or the fault of his team. Dodge has taken full responsibility and given that this was Robby's first race in an Evernham Dodge it's all too obvious that they were only following protocol. Whatever happens happens, yet I will be feeling his pain. Fate will be, but Faith in Robby moving forward in another venue helps. Back to Open Wheel perhaps and he has his Offroad career.

Happy Race Day

I eat my words Marc. The Nationwide race was anything but boring. What is up with turn 4? An oil slick! It was the early demise of several including Smoke who probably would've had the 3 in a row.

I just love seeing Mark Martin win a race. In Jr.'s car no less. What awesome integrity that Mr. Martin has. He felt so bad for wrecking Carl and Brad Keselowski. It is a shame, but "that's racin' boys". Young Brad did an awesome job in the 88. His average finish for '07 is 26th.... ya think that'll climb 10 or more? Yeah Buddy!! He'll be in a Cup car for '09.

Some bloggers have asked how to gain access to the NASCAR Media website. It's an application process and they do not hand out credentials to bloggers as a rule. I am a photographer and that's what I think gained me access. It's anybodies guess, but I applied last year and was denied... this year I was accepted. They have some strict guidelines.

Back at the Cottage... Ole man Winter brought March in like a lion. I woke up to 12 inches of the white stuff. The good news... temps in the 40's all this week. I'm ready to move south by George!!