New Nominee's

Courtesy of NASCAR Media

DW... well you either love him or hate him and speaking for myself I can't help but love the this 3 time Champion. I'm not here to ramble on about Darrell but I'm happy he is among the 25 nominee's for the 2011 Hall of Fame Class. All of the chosen are very well deserved of the honor.

Daytona is proving to be hazardous to car and driver with several drivers having to go to back up cars after yesterdays melee practice runs. This should be an interesting race and the last one of the old surface. The old girl is about to go under a complete face lift. Hang on to your helmets fellas.

I've posted very little here on NASCAR Eclectic as I am so occupied with photography, but I keep getting emails from many other media members and sports writers asking me where I am. I'm right here and I'll try to put more effort into my twisted NASCAR thinking and writing.

Happy Race weekend and a very Happy Independence Day

Simply Fantastic

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This was one of the best "Feel Good" races in a long time. After watching the usual domination by the usual suspects Ryan Newman takes a surprise victory during a green white checkered finish. He can thank Jeff Gordon for spinning his tires on the restart.


I have been a long time fan of Newman so this is especially good for me and other Newman fans. This win comes after a 77 race dry period when Newman won the '08 Daytona 500. In his second year driving for Stewart Haas he has had a rough start sitting 22nd in the point standings. This is not typical of Ryan who is usually hanging in the top ten & always a Chase contender, but he has time.

Simply fantastic !!

'Bout Time

I was able to sit home on a Monday. Martinsville 2010 will remain in my memory. I'm not a huge Hamlin fan but, it was a fantastic finish to a fantastic race. No one thought Hamlin would pull it off after pitting with 10 laps remaining. The four new tires gave him a huge advantage but we all know passing at Martinsville is not easy. Another late caution gave Hamlin an edge over then leader Jeff Gordon and the green white checkered finish truly was exciting. Bumpin' and bangin' all the way and Hamlin found a hole.

Happy Easter

Feel Good

One word.... fantastic !

That's how I feel about Justin Allgaier winning the Nationwide race at Bristol yesterday. Not only did it feel good not to see Kyle Busch in Victory Lane it felt good to see a non - cup driver win. I was actually excited. Something I have not felt in awhile watching a race. About half way I said to Pattyjo "watch this kid Allgaier". Albeit I've had my eye on him since he started his Nationwide career last season making Rookie of the Year. I also want to give a kudo to Brad Keselowski for racing Justin clean in the final laps. They both gave The Captain something to be proud of.

Now if only we can have another feel good race today....

Must be Love

This explains it

Yay Kevin !!

Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Like a breath of fresh air... Kyle Busch did not win a Nationwide race. Kudos to Kevin Harvick for his win at Vegas.

The top 5 were all cup drivers... go figure... so my next kudos goes out to Trevor Bayne and Justin Allgaier whom finished a respectable 6th and 7th. It would be nice to see a Nationwide regular clinch a victory... perhaps at Iowa on July 31st.

Danica... nuff said.

Re-Run

This is an image of what the vast majority of NASCAR fans dream of. I'm not a Johnson hater but I too am discouraged. I actually believe that NASCAR's TV ratings will fall even more if Johnson continues to win races. I read many forums last night after the race and fans as a whole are not happy. My own wife won't even sit to watch a race anymore, she was in another room watching Lifetime movies. This from a woman who used to jump up and down in the living room, now she won't even bat an eyelash. As soon as I saw Harvick scrape the wall with 2 laps to go I took the dog for a walk.

His win yesterday was pure luck. Something he has had time and time again. He did not have the best car in the field. Funny how many think it's a conspiracy.. NASCAR conspire ?? nah! But much of it is just pure good luck.

So we brush ourselves off and hope somebody new wins at Vegas.

Good PR

Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Toyota's recent woes have not effected TRD. The not so happy Logano pulled off a fifth place finish sliding through the infield and across the finish line as his team mate and fellow Toyota driver, Kyle Busch (no surprise there), takes the checker at the Nationwide ACS race. Although, in Fontana tradition, Logano dominated the race with somewhere around 100 laps led. The final lap was pretty exciting with The Biff tapping Logano's bumper and taking the lead. Busch just had more muscle in the end with Toyota's horsepower and beat Biffle out in a drag race down the final stretch with Keselowski running a close third. The kid I'm watching towards the future is Justin Allgaier.

Steve and Charlie

From my desktop in Upstate NY I can tune into Toledo's finest radio show "On Pit Row". It's broadcast live on Tuesday's from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Steve and Charlie do an outstanding job. I tuned in this past Tuesday to listen to NASCAR Legend Bobby Allison. Somehow these guys managed to get Bobby on the phone, but I must say that it was the most comfortable laid back conversation I've heard. Bobby seemed to feel right at home and I felt like I was right there with them. This is in part due to the live interaction they provide with their Facebook page. Here I listened and left comments on Facebook that were answered live by the guys. One can also call in on 800-645-2946. It's really a fantastic gig these guys have. Thanks Steve and Charlie.

Here we go... from the most highly anticipated week in NASCAR, Daytona, to the hum drum of Hollywood. Boring!! These mile and a half flat tracks are like driving on interstate I-95 although without a speed limit. It's like watching the Pied Piper because whoever takes the lead early on seems to stay there for the entire race while the rest of the field falls in behind... tune in for the pre-race and listen to Styx then come back in two hours to watch the final laps. You'll have a much more productive Sunday. NASCAR needs a track like Bristol in a warmer climate zone.

Twists

Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR
NASCAR Media



Rules change, some benefit, some flounder and the commonly heard cliche' "it's anybody's race" could not have been more prevalent in the 52nd running of The Great American Race. New rules and Mother Nature helped determine the outcome but with a final push from The Biff, McMurray held on to the lead nudging out Dale Jr.

The emotions McMurray demonstrated in Victory Lane were anything but subtle, emotions Jr. Nation were experiencing for the opposite reason. I don't fault Jamie for this and in fact it was a nice feel good finish, but I felt his embarrassment he'll undoubtedly feel when the excitement wears off. Melodramatic but characteristic of McMurray.

I found the race to be decent with plenty of excitement, mostly from the continuous lead changes. The pot holes... well those nasty things played a big role in the outcome albeit causing delays that nearly put me to sleep. Repaving is on the agenda and the old girl may never be the same. Perhaps, as Carl Edwards stated, they can repave the track with a rough surface.

On to L.A.

Same Ole'

Photo credit NASCAR Media

I suppose I too am entitled as a member of NASCAR Media to prolong the agony on the overwhelming coverage Danica Patrick has received. I made up my mind last week not to write about her due to this tsunami, but the hyped up anticipation of her Nationwide debut and the not so surprising early demise to her day has prompted me to at least say... I knew it. But I must add that up until she was taken out just past the halfway point she ran quite well. She avoided another crash very early and like last weeks ARCA race proved she can drive a stock car. Beyond all this I especially liked her post crash interview. She was very honest and seemed content even though her day was over. Danica... welcome to NASCAR.

The Nationwide race was fantastic... at least in my humble opinion. I lost count of the number of lead changes, but they were numerous and record breaking ?? Tony Stewart winning was no surprise but the action was ( I even enjoyed watching Dale Jr. in his acrobatic crash, but thoughts of his dad entered my mind as I watched his car get tossed like a rag doll ). It was not the boring restrictor plate racing we were forced to endure in the past... it was racing !! Will today's 500 prove as exciting ?

Who to watch today... Harvick, Stewart, Newman and my dark horse pick... Paul Menard, even though daddy's money paid for his spot.

Back at the cottage... Happy Valentine's Day and enjoy the race with your sweetheart... I will be.

Bud Shutout

Kudos to Harvick.

His domination has me questioning the larger restrictor plate. It's almost like there was no change and all cars were created equal. The draft was stagnant although at 190 plus mph, still no one could get around him... how many lead changes... what 5 or 6? And only briefly. Could it actually be that RCR nailed this and we'll see Harvick in Victory Lane next Sunday ? That's a feel good story, but what follows throughout the season remains.

Read My Lips....

Ya think ?

Well I suppose it's better late than never. I've been to a race at Dega and it was incredibly exciting... 3 years ago. Last seasons fall race was a complete waste of the fans money... in a time when few of us in this Country have much to spare. Bringing "back to basics" with allowing drivers to race is so cool... thank you NASCAR !! Let's only hope that replacing the wing with a spoiler keeps the wheels on the ground.

Preseason Thunder Fan Fest

It's nice to see things on a roll again. I'm truly hoping for a more exciting season without so much domination by one or two drivers.

Hope everyone is having a nice winter... stay tuned