Monday Morning Hangover/ The Return of Wind Tunnel/ On Second Review/ Stewart Happy with New Start/ NASCAR May Consider Special Sign
Monday Morning Hangover
There were things that were good and things that were bad from the opening weekend of racing, now with my head hurting from all of the racing coverage, I will attempt to tackle it all.
The Return of Wind Tunnel
We start of first with the return of the best racing program on TV. Wind Tunne1 with Dave Despain debuted Sunday night with a load on the program’s plate beginning with the Daytona 500 and the hot button issue of Dale Earnhardt Jr. turning Brian Vickers. Despain brought in Darrell Waltrip to discuss the issues.
One interesting issue that a caller brought up was the tires and the opportunity for NASCAR to start using technology and tire sensors. The “I don’t know how it would work” that Darrell Waltrip gave doesn’t cut it. Hey NASCAR, when you go to Indianapolis this summer, drop into an IRL garage and they will show you.
Wind Tunnel announced that the program has a revamped page at SpeedTV.com. The new page features a live chat, features and a new message board. More on this later in the week.
It’s A Robin Miller Night
To balance out the NASCAR coverage, WT had Robin Miller on the program. Miller updated viewers on what is going on in the open wheel world and tackled the rumor of Danica Patrick in F1 saying it is not going to happen.
He also talked about when Sammy Swindell will retire and showed video of the Chili Bowl.
Miller said he expects Swindell to keep on racing for a while like Steve Kinser because it is all they know.
Just a quick note, the opening image at the top is a shot from WT of the lower part of the set. Often that part of the set is filled with books and die cast cars but every once and a while they recreate a racing scene from earlier in the day. The scene above is the beginning of the big wreck.
On Second Review
On that note, take a second look at be at the big wreck. Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes below the yellow line and Brian Vickers goes to block.
Notice in this shot that Vickers’ tires are also below the yellow line. Maybe that is why NASCAR assessed no penalty. We never heard from NASCAR why there was no penalty assessed which looks pretty bad. It appears if you have a NASCAR name like Wallace and Earnhardt, then you get a free pass and if you name is Vickers or Leffler then you are screwed.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. A Little Confused
Needless to say the 51st running of the Daytona 500 was a bad day for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Look at the quotes from him after the race and then look at the images and see how wrong he was.
“On the back straightaway, I was a lap down trying to get my lap back and I had a really, really good run and Brian (Vickers), he was side-by-side with somebody for the lead and I went on the inside and he drove me down, down almost into the grass below the line and I didn’t have much control over the car at that point. I was just trying to get back on the race track and I hit him in the quarter panel and spun him out.”
Actually in the images courtesy of FOX, he was nowhere near the grass. Besides the fact that you can’t go below the yellow line. Dale Earnhardt Jr. should have gotten out of the gas or figured out a way to pass Brian Vickers. 
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is wrong here again, Vickers was a lapped car. Maybe his spotter or someone could have helped him on this. Here is more of the conversation of Dale Earnhardt Jr. unloading on Brian Vickers: 
Reporter Question: WERE YOU CONCERNED THAT NASCAR WAS GOING TO PENALIZE YOU?
There were things that were good and things that were bad from the opening weekend of racing, now with my head hurting from all of the racing coverage, I will attempt to tackle it all.
The Return of Wind Tunnel
We start of first with the return of the best racing program on TV. Wind Tunne1 with Dave Despain debuted Sunday night with a load on the program’s plate beginning with the Daytona 500 and the hot button issue of Dale Earnhardt Jr. turning Brian Vickers. Despain brought in Darrell Waltrip to discuss the issues.
One interesting issue that a caller brought up was the tires and the opportunity for NASCAR to start using technology and tire sensors. The “I don’t know how it would work” that Darrell Waltrip gave doesn’t cut it. Hey NASCAR, when you go to Indianapolis this summer, drop into an IRL garage and they will show you.
Wind Tunnel announced that the program has a revamped page at SpeedTV.com. The new page features a live chat, features and a new message board. More on this later in the week.
It’s A Robin Miller Night
To balance out the NASCAR coverage, WT had Robin Miller on the program. Miller updated viewers on what is going on in the open wheel world and tackled the rumor of Danica Patrick in F1 saying it is not going to happen.
He also talked about when Sammy Swindell will retire and showed video of the Chili Bowl.
Miller said he expects Swindell to keep on racing for a while like Steve Kinser because it is all they know.
Just a quick note, the opening image at the top is a shot from WT of the lower part of the set. Often that part of the set is filled with books and die cast cars but every once and a while they recreate a racing scene from earlier in the day. The scene above is the beginning of the big wreck.
On Second Review
On that note, take a second look at be at the big wreck. Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes below the yellow line and Brian Vickers goes to block.
Notice in this shot that Vickers’ tires are also below the yellow line. Maybe that is why NASCAR assessed no penalty. We never heard from NASCAR why there was no penalty assessed which looks pretty bad. It appears if you have a NASCAR name like Wallace and Earnhardt, then you get a free pass and if you name is Vickers or Leffler then you are screwed.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. A Little Confused
Needless to say the 51st running of the Daytona 500 was a bad day for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Look at the quotes from him after the race and then look at the images and see how wrong he was.
“On the back straightaway, I was a lap down trying to get my lap back and I had a really, really good run and Brian (Vickers), he was side-by-side with somebody for the lead and I went on the inside and he drove me down, down almost into the grass below the line and I didn’t have much control over the car at that point. I was just trying to get back on the race track and I hit him in the quarter panel and spun him out.”
Actually in the images courtesy of FOX, he was nowhere near the grass. Besides the fact that you can’t go below the yellow line. Dale Earnhardt Jr. should have gotten out of the gas or figured out a way to pass Brian Vickers.
“If he’d have just held his ground, I was the lapped car. I wasn’t even racing for position. That was unfortunate.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is wrong here again, Vickers was a lapped car. Maybe his spotter or someone could have helped him on this. Here is more of the conversation of Dale Earnhardt Jr. unloading on Brian Vickers:
Reporter Question: WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE WITH THE BIG WRECK?
Jr.: "I got a run on Vickers and the guy he was beside. I went to the bottom of 'em. Vickers drove me below the line. He ran in to me and sent me below the line. I was just trying not to run into, drive in to the grass and get my car under control and try and get above the line so I get penalized for being down there, I ran in to his quarter panel and spun him out."
Reporter Question: DOES IT MATTER THAT BLOCKING WAS GOING ON?
Reporter Question: DOES IT MATTER THAT BLOCKING WAS GOING ON?
Jr.: "He shouldn't have started that, it would have never happened. If he had held his ground, who knows? He would have probably got the back or got the position back eventually, but at that point in the race, that was pretty reckless."
Reporter Question: WERE YOU CONCERNED THAT NASCAR WAS GOING TO PENALIZE YOU?
Jr.: "Penalize me? For what? I got ran in to and sent below the line. What the hell? I don't want to go down there, I didn't aim to go down there, and I got sent down there. What the hell am I supposed to do? Then what am I supposed to do? Stay down there? No. I got to get back up on the race track. It was unfortunate man. If he wasn't so damn reckless, we would have never had that problem, that would never happen. As far as I am concerned, it is all his responsibility.”
Reporter Question: WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE WITH YOU AND (BRIAN) VICKERS?
Reporter Question: WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE WITH YOU AND (BRIAN) VICKERS?
Jr.: "I got a run on him and he saw me coming. I had a big ole' run on him and I went to the inside. I didn't try to make no late move and try to make it some surprise or anything, I just kind of eased on over there and he went to block me and hit me in the fender and sent us both off. Sent me down toward the grass and trying to recover my car I got back into him coming back up the race track. I don't hate it for him but for everybody else that got wrecked."
Reporter Question: WAS IT ACCIDENTAL?
Reporter Question: WAS IT ACCIDENTAL?
Jr.: "Yeah it was accidental. I didn't want to wreck the field. I mean he drove me down almost into the grass. I was trying to get back up on the race track."
Reporter Question: JEFF BURTON AND YOU HAD CONVERSATION, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?
Jr.: "I was trying to get my lap back and I think it was three-wide and put him in the middle sometime or another on the restart and he got shuffled back to the back and wrecked and he was upset with me for making it three-wide and I should have worked with him and all that. But rains coming time to try to win the race you know what I mean. Time to try to get back on the lead lap. We had a pit stop where our right-front tire I was told was only an inch on the line and I got penalized a lap for that. I don't feel like that's a fair trade but maybe its time we re-evaluate that rule. So I had to run hard and Vickers could have just held his ground. I had a great run. I was a lapped car anyways, I wasn't battling for the lead but he drove us down in the grass almost and I didn't have much control over my car after that."
Reporter Question: JEFF BURTON AND YOU HAD CONVERSATION, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?
Jr.: "I was trying to get my lap back and I think it was three-wide and put him in the middle sometime or another on the restart and he got shuffled back to the back and wrecked and he was upset with me for making it three-wide and I should have worked with him and all that. But rains coming time to try to win the race you know what I mean. Time to try to get back on the lead lap. We had a pit stop where our right-front tire I was told was only an inch on the line and I got penalized a lap for that. I don't feel like that's a fair trade but maybe its time we re-evaluate that rule. So I had to run hard and Vickers could have just held his ground. I had a great run. I was a lapped car anyways, I wasn't battling for the lead but he drove us down in the grass almost and I didn't have much control over my car after that."
Tony Stewart Happy with New Start
This past week had a lot of ups and downs for Tony Stewart. He won the Nationwide Series race but saw racecar after racecar from his own team damaged in incidents.
“I am proud of Tony Gibson and Ryan and Darian Grubb, Bobby Hutchens and all the guys that came down here and helped to get two cars ready,” said Stewart. “Considering we lost three cars, to still have a car finish in the top-10 you can't be that disappointed. I'm really proud of everyone at Stewart Haas and real appreciative of Gene Haas and everybody at Haas Automation for giving us this opportunity.”
Stewart went on to say that he expected to see Ryan Newman have better luck in the next few weeks.
NASCAR May Consider Mandating Special Blinking Sign Color for the 88 Team
(Note: the following story is sarcasm although the quote is real)
NASCAR today announced that are strongly considering giving the No. 88 cup team of Dale Earnhardt Jr. it’s own special colored sign after listening to post race comments from Dale Earnhardt Jr. following the Daytona 500.
"If you look down this pit road, my sign is pink and every other sign is pink so it’s hard to see,” said Earnhardt responding to a question about why he missed his pit box. “They're all about the same color. Everybody says all right I'm going to make mine yellow this week then two weeks later everybody's is yellow. I was under a lot of pressure too. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to get up in there and try to lead a lap and all that and I just wasn't thinking good. I mean I can't really blame it on anybody but myself."
In following precedent set at the Daytona 500 where you just can’t penalize Jr. for fear of a riot even if he takes out eight cars in the process, NASCAR is doing what ever the golden child wants. The sanctioning organization is looking for suggestions on a color that Earnhardt will be able to see.
My suggestion is for Hendrick Motorsports to install LEDs similar to running rabbits at airports in the pavement. In a related story, NASCAR is also looking into doing away with the rule that the 88 team must pit in it’s pitbox. The new proposal is for the 88 team to pit wherever the hell they feel like including the front stretch.
Later this Week
We have a few good stories that I am working on for later this week in the blog. We will have a preview of the USAC opener at Manzanita, answer questions regarding Wind Tunnel, recap the best TV moments from Daytona and have an updated TV schedule for this weekend.
Ideas, thoughts, questions? Drop me a line at bjohnson_292@comcast.net.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of FOX, ESPN2, Speed and NASCAR Images.
This past week had a lot of ups and downs for Tony Stewart. He won the Nationwide Series race but saw racecar after racecar from his own team damaged in incidents.
“I am proud of Tony Gibson and Ryan and Darian Grubb, Bobby Hutchens and all the guys that came down here and helped to get two cars ready,” said Stewart. “Considering we lost three cars, to still have a car finish in the top-10 you can't be that disappointed. I'm really proud of everyone at Stewart Haas and real appreciative of Gene Haas and everybody at Haas Automation for giving us this opportunity.”
Stewart went on to say that he expected to see Ryan Newman have better luck in the next few weeks.
NASCAR May Consider Mandating Special Blinking Sign Color for the 88 Team
(Note: the following story is sarcasm although the quote is real)
NASCAR today announced that are strongly considering giving the No. 88 cup team of Dale Earnhardt Jr. it’s own special colored sign after listening to post race comments from Dale Earnhardt Jr. following the Daytona 500.
"If you look down this pit road, my sign is pink and every other sign is pink so it’s hard to see,” said Earnhardt responding to a question about why he missed his pit box. “They're all about the same color. Everybody says all right I'm going to make mine yellow this week then two weeks later everybody's is yellow. I was under a lot of pressure too. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to get up in there and try to lead a lap and all that and I just wasn't thinking good. I mean I can't really blame it on anybody but myself."
In following precedent set at the Daytona 500 where you just can’t penalize Jr. for fear of a riot even if he takes out eight cars in the process, NASCAR is doing what ever the golden child wants. The sanctioning organization is looking for suggestions on a color that Earnhardt will be able to see.
My suggestion is for Hendrick Motorsports to install LEDs similar to running rabbits at airports in the pavement. In a related story, NASCAR is also looking into doing away with the rule that the 88 team must pit in it’s pitbox. The new proposal is for the 88 team to pit wherever the hell they feel like including the front stretch.
Later this Week
We have a few good stories that I am working on for later this week in the blog. We will have a preview of the USAC opener at Manzanita, answer questions regarding Wind Tunnel, recap the best TV moments from Daytona and have an updated TV schedule for this weekend.
Ideas, thoughts, questions? Drop me a line at bjohnson_292@comcast.net.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of FOX, ESPN2, Speed and NASCAR Images.
posted by Blake Johnson at 12:20 PM
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