Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
Mother’s Day Weekend —another short weekend — proved to be almost as interesting as the weekend before in Richmond, though when the race was done the “Lady in Black” seemed to have been tamed.
Practice sessions and qualifying for the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races were no indication of that at all.
Darlington has always been referred to as the track “too tough to tame.” It’s new surface had some thinking it was impossible to master.
Many drivers had contact with the wall during the practice sessions and qualifying. Some of the cars had minor damage; others had enough damage to cause them to change to a backup car. Some damaged both cars. (more…)
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Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
The weekend that was Talladega, known for it’s “big one,” was not only enjoyable to watch but also full of victories, could-have-been wins and chances blown away.
Talladega was the first impound race of the season. That meant, after the final practice session Friday, they’d have to qualify Saturday. If they didn’t have it figured out yet, they’d have to wait until the race. Usually, when the race isn’t an impound race (i.e. Daytona, Talladega, or Richmond) the teams set their cars up for qualifying during the first practice session and with the next practice session(s) they set it up for the race.
With impound races, most of the teams, who were already in on owner points, set their cars up for the race and weren’t betting on the best starting position. And those teams that were on the “outside looking in” focused mainly on getting their cars in and not on race setup. The top five cars and drivers for the starting lineup gave evidence of that. (more…)
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Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
Wasn’t the first day of spring a good week before the race? Yes, I believe it was! It wasn’t very apparent if you were watching the race coverage throughout the weekend. Once again, this thing called indecisive weather, played games with the drivers (and us).
The weekend appeared to be better than before — no rain in sight — at least for the first half of the weekend.
During Friday’s qualifying, all the teams were on their a-game. The drivers seated below the top 35 in owner points were sitting on edge and stepping up. The starting lineup was evident of that. (more…)
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Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
Short track racing typically equals disappointment. Disappointment for the drivers, not the fans, and Bristol was no exception.
Once again, like several times this season, the expected winner or dominant driver didn’t cross the finish line first.
For the second time this season with only five races under the belt, Cup qualifying was cancelled due to rain (or weather). Once again, the starting order was set by the owner points.
Nationwide qualifying was also cancelled (for the third time), because the drivers had not practiced on the track. (The rain had cancelled Nationwide practices earlier.)
Saturday called for both series to have one long final practice each with Clint Bowyer’s No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet being the fastest Nationwide car. Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Budweiser Dodge was the fastest Cup car. Both names would continue to play a part in Saturday’s Nationwide race. (more…)
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Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
Atlanta proved to be every bit as exciting as the previous races.
The racing at our in-state speedway was good and clean as a limited number of caution flags flew. Once again, a dominant driver won and, of course, the weather was indecisive.
The weather, it seems to me, is very wishy, washy these days. One minute it’s hot, the next it’s freezing and then it’s hot again. I should have figured that the weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) would be no different. And it wasn’t.
It did rain, but not enough to totally cancel anything Friday. The Nationwide practice sessions were combined into one with Kyle Busch being the fastest.
The rain was gone Saturday, but snow appeared that morning canceling Nationwide qualifying, causing the drivers to start according to the owner points, and joining both Cup practice sessions into one final practice. (more…)
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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? Let’s hope not, because once again, Vegas was great racing.
Where weekend before where it was all rain, all day — Las Vegas was far from rainy. It was very much a typical race weekend.
Qualifying was Friday, as usual. The Cup drivers and fans got their first taste of the new way of qualifying (that is if you haven’t been watching Truck or Nationwide qualifying).
The top 35 in owner’s points qualified first and then all those who weren’t in the top 35 qualified at the end together. It makes it more fair for the teams who may or may not make it in, they say.
I agree with this. I think it gives all the “go or go-home” cars the same advantage (or disadvantage) — but that’s just my opinion. (more…)
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Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
What happened at California Speedway — newly named the Auto Club Speedway — will go down as one of the most talked about races of the season, and possibly of the sport of stock car racing. It took forever to complete — or even started for that matter.
Sunny southern California, was not so sunny this past weekend. While it was raining Friday here in south Georgia, it was evidently raining everywhere else. (more…)
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