The Chase is on! Race Three in Kansas…

I have to admit when NASCAR introduced the whole Chase for the Championship format a few years ago, I was not impressed. Not to say I’m one of those “stuck in the past type people,” but I just didn’t see anything wrong with the old point system. I couldn’t understand why NASCAR would want to tweak something that worked. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t busted, don’t fix it.” But, the powers-to-be in the NASCAR head office hauler had some changes in mind. With 10 races left, the top 10, now the top 12, in the points would have a magic wand reset their points. Then, in somewhat of a play-off fashion, during the final 10 races of the season, they would race for the championship.

But, now I must admit the Chase format is certainly creating some very exciting racing, and yesterday was no exception. Coming up in this post I actually have three things I want to address;

1. Cousin Carl’s Best Quote Of The Race
2. Kyle “Cry-Baby” Busch Proves Why He’s NOT Championship Material
3. Remembering An Acting/Racing Icon

Read on …

A number of years ago I attended the Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Up to that point, I’d always enjoyed Indy car races. However, after seeing the cars up close and live on the track, watching them on TV lost some of the glamor it once had. Then the Indy car series made a re-appearance at the Watkins Glen road course. As News Director at WACK, that opened the doors for Press Passes to the race. I must admit, I was once again hooked on these fast moving cars.

This weekend, for the fourth time, the Indy Car Series is set to hit the historic track at The Glen again.

Scott Dixon, who’s won the past three races at The Glen, once again topped the speed charts today, Friday, and it looks like he’s primed and ready for what could be his fourth in a row win at Watkins Glen.

I’m heading out to Watkins Glen tomorrow morning for Saturday coverage, and I’ll be back for the race on Sunday too! So, if you’re a racing fan, and if all goes well, stay tuned to my blog as I hope to make some posts along the way live from Watkins Glen during the weekend.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

For race fans, Memorial Day Weekend is racing heaven! It all starts Sunday around the noon hour with the Indy 500 which is followed by the Coca Cola 600 in the top NASCAR series. Pure speed with 1,100 miles of going fast and turning left. Just as usual, this year provided lots of speed, action, and story lines. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat were present in everyone’s mind. Scott Dixon, who lost the IRL championship last year on the fourth corner of the final lap of the final race when he ran out of gas, took the checkered flag in the 92nd running of the Indy 500. He outlasted, and out ran the Indy car field for most of the day. On the NASCAR side, there were many leader changes. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle, I Don’t Know How To Drive, Busch, his brother, Kurt, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, and a few others all ran up front. In the end, it was a Kasey Kahne sweep as he not only won the Coca Cola 600 but was also the winner of the All Star Race one week earlier.

While race leaders all provide great story lines, I want to address Danica “Cry Baby” Patrick and her uncalled for actions at the Indy 500 this year. Two female storylines are rising to the top after Sunday’s race. One centers around Sarah Fisher, while the other centers around Patrick.

First, let’s consider Sarah Fisher. A great Indy car driver, but one who decided not to pursue the sex symbol status like Patrick. As a result, Fisher finds herself fielding her own team this year. During the month of May at Indy, it was an uphill battle. Especially after her primary sponsor, who signed a deal with her, decided to back out of the deal. I would hope Fisher’s lawyers have some lawsuits underway. After that set back, she scurried around, found some sponsor money, and even had fans handing her money just because she’s an underdog in a big money game. In the end, she was doing fairly well. But, an unfortunate accident took her out of the race. After emerging from the infield care center, a very emotional Sarah Fisher did her best to keep her emotions in check. Through tear filled eyes, she said she’s now needs to figure out if she can pull money together for the race in Kentucky.

Many are picking on Sarah Fisher for the fact that she cried. I’m sorry, but this is simply uncalled for. Sarah Fisher just can’t catch a break in a big-boys sport and she was showing raw emotion after a very trying month. Against all odds, she put herself out there to not only race in the Indy 500, but was also making plans to race the entire season. That may now be gone because of a sponsor deal gone bad, and being caught up in a crash that took her out of the field.

On the other hand, another female racer who spends more time sporting a bathing suit than a racing suit, is heralded as a tough competitor for her actions during the race. Danica Patrick, who always looks like she’s mad at someone and carries a huge chip on her shoulder, was involved in a racing accident on pit road. As she was leaving the very narrow pit lane exit, she was clipped by another driver pulling out of his pit box. This was going on all day. Patrick was not the only driver to be clipped at some point during the day. But, for Danica “Cry Baby” Patrick, she responded in a very unsportsman like way. She may not have been shedding real tears, but she certainly was acting like a cry baby. After being pushed back to her pit stall, she bails out of her car and starts walking down pit road toward the pit stall of the driver that clipped her. What in the world did she plan to do? Did she figure she was going to pick a fight with the driver or someone on his crew? Come on Danica. Did you plan to pull out your lipstick and use it as a sword?

It’s time for Ms Patrick to grow up. It was a racing accident and it had been happening all day. Maybe it’s time to realize just because you might look good in a swimsuit, the big boys are not going to simply move over and let you by.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Once again Kyle Busch, the driver of the 18 M&M’s car in NASCAR, has proven he does not know how to race. Everyone thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, but reality is this. He does not know how to race. He’s a wreck waiting to happen everytime he climbs into the seat of a race car. It doesn’t matter if it’s a car, or a truck, he’s always one stupid move away from taking out half the field. Which, by the way, he has done many times.

Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 in Talladega serves as yet another example of the fact Kyle Busch does not know how to drive. There’s a saying in racing — Rubbins’ racing. In other words, many racers rub up against one another with their cars to move the other guy out of the way. But, for Kyle Busch, all he knows how to do is block. In other words, he erratically swerves all over the race track blocking people behind him who are trying to make a pass. That’s not racing, that’s an accident waiting to happen. On Sunday, true to form, Jeff Gordon and others were coming up behind Busch, who happened to be in the lead at the time, going 200 miles an hour. It was obvious they were going faster than Busch. But, what does Busch do, He decides to swerve all over the track blocking those behind him, causing them to slam on their brakes to avoid a major crash.

Again, that’s not racing. It’s simply stupid driving by a young kid who needs to be parked before he kills someone on the track. Making matters even worse, his owner, Joe Gibbs, thinks it’s great. That’s sad, I thought Joe Gibbs knew better.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Another weekend has come and gone and that means it’s time to look over some weekend sports blunders.

1) NBC Hockey
When will these guys get it right! Okay, they’ve figured out how to fix the white balance so you’re no longer blinded by the bright white ice. You can actually see the players and you can also see the lines on the ice. However, for whatever reason, the NBC control room audio guys must all be deaf. Once again I tried watching the Red Wings game, but had to turn it off because the noise of the crowd drowned out the announcers calling the game. Come on guys, it’s the play-offs and now they’re almost done. Hello NBC execs — do you think you can get your sound guys to figure out the play-by-play announcers are more important than the roar of the crowd?

2) Danica Patrick
Okay, so it took her 50 races, but she finally made it to Victory Circle. Danica Patrick won her first IRL race over the weekend in Japan. But, while Tom Hanks declared — “There’s no crying in baseball” — someone should tell Danica — “There’s no crying in racing!”

3) NASCAR Should Have “Parked” Kyle Busch
The new wonder-boy of NASCAR is at it again. For years I’ve said Kyle Busch is not a good driver. Everyone thinks he is, but in reality, he’s nothing more than a pimpled-face kid who knows how to mash the gas, but that’s about it. Why am I picking on him today? It’s because of something he said during the Nationwide race in Mexico. Scott Pruett led most of the race and in the closing laps Kyle Busch was in second. Busch, who doesn’t know how to race clean keyed his radio and told his crew — “I’m getting tired of Pruett. I’m going to spin him out into the wall so I can take the lead and win.” At that point NASCAR officials should have keyed their radio and said — “Okay Kyle Busch, it’s time to park your car.” But, they didn’t. They just let their wonder-boy drive. Come on NASCAR. When a driver says he’s going to use his car as a weapon, it’s time to park him.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

It’s the start of another new week. With that in mind, I’d like to spend a few moments discussing some major sports blunders from the weekend. I have two blunders to look at today.

Blunder Number One
NBC should be ashamed of themselves! I know NHL hockey viewership took a hit a few years ago during the strike. But come one, now everyone seems to be jumping on the NHL bandwagon trying to reclaim the sport. I’ve discovered a great new channel on my lineup, it’s the NHL Network. I love it! I can find all kinds of hockey pretty much every night. So, what happened with NBC yesterday? They decide to carry their big game of the week between the Red Wings and the Blackhawks. I figure this is great! I’m a Blackhawks fan so I plan to watch the hockey game before the race starts. Well, that didn’t last very long. The white balance was so far off on the cameras you couldn’t even see the lines on the ice! Making matters even worse, the Blackhawks were wearing white which meant all you could see was black skates moving across the very bright white of the ice and big red blobs of Red Wings players.

Come on NBC…aren’t you smarter than that? If you’re going to carry a hockey game, make sure you balance the color on your camera before hitting the air. It was more like watching a bunch of Polar Bears playing hockey than players fighting it out for a playoff spot.

Blunder Number Two
This blunder goes to the many NASCAR drivers who keep complaining about the handling of the new race car. Jimmy “Cry-baby” Johnson finished second in Texas but the first thing he says when he emerges from the car is that he now knows what everyone else is talking about because the car handles poorly. He says he, along with others, want NASCAR to do something about the car because he’s tired of having to work so hard when driving the car. Further down the line the new Golden-Brat-Boy of the sport, Kyle Busch, complains that he hasn’t worked so hard in all his driving career as he had to over the weekend. Why did he have to work so hard? Because he says the car needs to be worked on by NASCAR because he has to work to drive the car.

Excuse me for a moment boys, but aren’t you called racecar drivers? Give me a break. You’re complaining because you have too work to hard to drive the car? You’re paid millions of dollars to drive the car so stop your complaining. Oh, and by the way, I for one believe NASCAR has accomplished exactly what they wanted to. They said the driver needs to be more in control of the car while driving instead of just getting in the car and mashing the gas. They’ve done just that. Suddenly the driver has to work and understand how to control the car.

Reality is, what’s happening in NASCAR this year is exactly what I’ve been saying for years. We’re suddenly discovering the so-called stars are no stars at all. Those whom some in racing held up as stars were nothing more than gas-mashers who sat behind a steering wheel, went fast and turned left. Now all of a sudden the true drivers are rising to the top. The ones who understand there’s more to racing than just going fast. Sometimes, as DW always says, you go faster, by going slower.

Stop your complaining guys, and take a few driving lessons. Then maybe you’ll figure the new car out.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

This just never stops! I addressed this in a blog yesterday, and now she’s at it again. Still complaining about the weight limit. Danica Patrick wants the world to take her as a serious racecar driver.

In a recent article Yahoo Sports article we read…

Indy racer Patrick angry over weight gainMar 27, 6:44 pm EDT Buzz Up PrintMIAMI (AFP) - American racing driver Danica Patrick, one of just two women in the Indy-car championship, has criticised plans which she claims punishes her for being slender.

The 26-year-old, who is still searching for a first victory as her fourth season begins, is upset by a new rule to equalize the weights of each car allowing for differences in driver size.

Some rivals had said Patrick, the slimmest Indy-car racer who is just 5ft 2in tall and weighs in at 100 pounds, had an edge because of her lighter size. Now extra weight will be added to cars for lighter racers and trimmed from tubs for heavier ones.

“If someone is going to take the hit it’s going to be me,” Patrick said. “It’s disappointing the league decided to do that. Just your God-given stature is being penalized.”

Venezuela’s Milka Duno is the second woman in the 29-driver championship which begins a new season here on Sunday.

Danica the bottom line is this. If you want people to view you like this…

Then you really need to stop posing for pictures like this…

And this…

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

IRL officials are considering a weight restriction for all their drivers. No, they’re not concerned about too much weight. Instead, they’re concerned about too little weight. It’s been long argued by some drivers that Patrick has an advantage because at times she weighs in at less than 100 pounds. Some say that gives her an advantage because she can go faster, since she weighs less than most drivers in the series. While that seems plausible, lets stop for a moment and realize she has yet to win a race. Obviously her weight is not an issue making her drive faster. Of course Danica feels this is nothing more than a case of the Indy Racing League making it more difficult for her to compete in the IRL series.

Give me a break Danica. Haven’t you figured out yet that you’re not in the IRL because you know how to drive. You’re in the IRL because they needed a good looking spokesperson to draw attention to what was a struggling series. Now people tune in to the races not so much to watch the race, but simply to catch a glimpse of the IRL cover girl. I know I know, this may sound very sexist, but Danica, you haven’t helped yourself much as far as trying to build an image of a race car driver when you pose for pictures like this…

Tell me Danica… Just what are you trying to sell there?

Stop your crying and complaining Ms. Patrick. You’ve developed an image other than a race car driver. It’s hard to believe you’re really concerned about the weight limit in the IRL because it will effect your racing career. Most people know you’re upset about the weight restriction because you’re more concerned about whether you’ll fit into your swimsuit for the next issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

Stop posing like that Danica, and then maybe you’ll be taken seriously as a race car driver.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

If you follow NASCAR, then you know Tony Stewart is sponsored by the Home Depot. He’s driven the orange Depot car for a long time. However, during the past few years, Stewart has also done some stupid things which have gotten him in trouble with both NASCAR officials and his Home Depot sponsor. When a business spends millions of dollars on sponsorship they frown upon their spokespeople casting a bad light on their product.

That being said, could there be something in the wind as far as sponsorship goes? The new Home Depot commercial does not mention Tony Stewart at all. It’s an obvious NASCAR commercial, but this time around the name dropped throughout the commercial is the driver of the 17 car, Matt Kenseth. Could it be that Home Depot is sending a strong message to the driver of the 20 car? If I were Joe Gibbs racing I’d be saying it’s time to reel in my driver named Tony Stewart before they suddenly see millions of dollars in sponsorship money walking out the door.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Someone needs to tell the NASCAR folks that it never rains in Southern California. They will try yet again today, Monday, to get the weekend races in. For the Nationwide Series, I’m sure they’re hoping the third time is a charm. The only race that took place over the weekend was the Craftsman Truck Series. But even in that race, a Sprint NASCAR Series driver won the race! That of course is another whole story that I won’t go in to here right now. But, suffice it to say, I am not a fan of the Sprint Series drivers, which is the top series on the NASCAR circuit, double-dipping, or sometimes triple-dipping in races through the weekend. If you’re racing in the top circuit, then that’s where you need to stay. I wonder what would happen if suddenly a New York Yankee player said, “Hmmm…I have some time off, I think I’ll go play a game in the minor leagues.” It just wouldn’t happen, nor should it happen.

But once again, I digress…

NASCAR officials will always do their best to get a race in on the scheduled day. But in the case of the race yesterday in California, they really blew it. Not only did they blow the call, but they also cost a number of drivers, top drivers, the race. Rain was falling pretty much all weekend in California, and by the time the green flag dropped for the Sunday race, the track wasn’t even totally dry. Many drivers told NASCAR officials the track was wet on corner three and four with water “weeping” out of cracks on the track! In other words, the track was wet, very wet, with running water on the track. These cars run slicks. So, as you can well imagine, slick tires on water don’t stick. As a result Casey Mears, Sam Hornish Junior, Reed Sorenson and Dale Earnhardt Junior are all in the garage with wrecked cars! Simply because NASCAR ignored the drivers.

Now lets talk about another irresponsible move by NASCAR.

In a time when gas prices are at an all-time high, Sunoco, the official gas of NASCAR, must be loving them! It rained all weekend, and even rained up to the weekend event. In an attempt to keep the track dry, NASCAR kept the jet dryers on the track pretty much the entire time in effort to keep the track warm so it wouldn’t get wet. I’m afraid to even think how many thousands of gallons of gas NASCAR wasted on their attempts to keep the track dry. In the end, this did nothing. All it did was waste gas, and eliminate drivers from the race.

Come on NASCAR, maybe it’s time to re-think some of your policies.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus