switching brands, he wasn't happy. And neither was Zippy. So don't be surprised when Tony leaves and Zippy follows him. And something else to think about too. While the finger seems to be pointing at Haas as Tony's new home, don't forget that Childress is also looking for a driver for that 4th team despite rumors that Labonte is heading there.
On the heels of this, Jules the Engine Guy asked me about driver loyalty to a particular make of car and the old days. Most fans are familiar with the Petty's and their loyalty to MoPar over the years. And the Wood Brothers and their loyalty to Ford. My friend Rex White was a staunch Chevy man until they pulled the rug out from under him. Cotton Owens was a dedicated MoPar man as was Dr. Don Tarr. Smokey Yunick was pretty much a GM man although he wasn't driving. One of the other things that played into driver/owner loyalty to a brand had to do with which brand was racing and which one pulled out. Nowadays, with everything being so PC with the drivers and not wanting to offend anyone, it's the rare driver or owner who will admit to brand preference.
You have to wonder why they continue to race in Mexico. Attendance dropped by about 15,000 from last year and that was down from the year before. You also have to ask yourself, how teams can continue to race there if they're going into the hole financially every year. The only thing I can figure is that the Beach Boy Bubbas are paying appearance money. Do you honestly think that some of the underdogs would make the trip to Mexico if it was going to put them deeper in debt? Love of the sport is one thing but there's also some financial prudence involved too. And remember HRH Faux King Brian's reasoning about keeping race dates. If it doesn't sell out, they have to give up a date. But then, I keep forgetting that he got paid $40 million by the Mexican government for NA$CAR to be there in the first place.
While it has nothing to do with NA$CAR, two of Robby Gordon's sponsors will be back on his Team USA Hummers. Both Toyo and GM have renewed their sponsorship deals with Robby through 2011. That says a little something about their faith and loyalty in Robby's rally efforts. And congrats to Robby for not only Team USA's finish in the rally, but also his 11th place finish at Talladega. Not bad for having had somebody else qualify his car and starting from the rear.
Some advice to Marcos Ambrose for the next road race. Make sure Boris isn't on your rear bumper.
Mary asked me about the recent ruling on Sellers being stripped of his win and if NA$CAR has done this recently in Cup. It has been a long time since NA$CAR DQ'ed somebody of a win in Cup. The last time it was done was when it was still the Grand National series. There was a more recent case a couple years ago where a Busch team was DQ'ed although they weren't the race winner. Which always leaves room for the question of would NA$CAR DQ a Cup driver nowadays? Yes they would. But it wouldn't be one of the mega-teams. It would be one of the single car teams that aren't in the good graces of HRH. Like a certain maverick who calls a spade a spade and shows some emotions unlike the driving clones in the garage area.
There seems to be some hoopla over "the official burger" leaving as a sponsor. As many "official products/services/providers" as there are in NA$CAR, some sucker will step up for the position. I can think of much better burgers than the one they had to be the official one. I can also see other burger franchises asking the question of why the current one left. While it may not matter much in the grand scheme of things, some companies shareholders are starting to ask just what all they're actually getting out of their sponsorship dollar, especially with the economy being what it is.
There are some rumblings about Jr. winning. When's he going to win? Why can't he win? Is he going to win? All I can tell you is that on any given Saturday or Sunday, that maybe 12-14 drivers have a shot at winning. The winning comes through a combination of things. Skill, a good car, teamwork, and luck. From what's been happening so far this season, the big problem seems to be on pitting. There are 3 people on the radio yammering away and the word to pit isn't getting passed on. Once this problem is resolved, then maybe you'll see a win. Or it'll increase the odds of it happening. Lady Luck can be very fickle sometimes. As can fans.
Last year the official mouthpieces were screaming about the comparisons between the Uni-Car, NA$CAR, and IROC. They would say it's not IROC or even heading in that direction. Well, here's a quote from somebody who'd know more about the direction they're going than the mouthpieces would since he was an actual driver:
"I don't think it's good for 'em to watch over everything so close," he says. "They control so much that you can't hunt an edge. It's like a big IROC."
- LD Ottinger
This was from an interview that was done with LD by Richard Allen. Add that to what David Pearson said on NA$CAR Now. More and more we're seeing/hearing greats from the old days saying what they think about the current state of NA$CAR. Add to this the warning Rex White had when he told me about what happened to the midget car series when they were all made to be the same and how it hurt the series.
And speaking of my good friend Rex, I checked in with him to see what's going on. Rex made some very good observations about the gas prices. You can expect to see folks cutting back on their personal appearances if the prices keep going up the way they are. When I talked with Rex, he said the price of gas would be at $3.50 a gallon by Memorial Day. He was right. I've seen a few gas stations around here that have already hit the $3.50 a gallon mark.
For you folks who want to keep up on the progress of Harli White, the little gal who was hurt while racing down in Oklahoma, you can check out her progress at: www.harliwhite.com
I want to give a big thumbs up to Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne for taking an interest in her progress and sending along some goodies to her. Now let's hope a few other drivers in Brian's Big Top do the same and hope one or a couple of them take some time out of their schedule and pay her a visit.
And let's say a few prayers for Aunt Judy who's going in for surgery on the 30th. She's having a piece of her hip bone fused to her spine so she won't become paralyzed. Being one who has back problems, I can only wish her the best, say some prayers, pray for a speedy recovery.
I read HRH Faux King Brian's "defending" the current drug policy. I know why he's afraid to have one like I suggested. Because it not only would expose drug users/abusers but also those who have problems with alcohol. But then, he doesn't have an alcohol problem, he just spills "sodas" all over himself and the inside of his car.
Congrats to KHI for implementing a comprehensive drug testing program. I think that's a great idea and deserves a little recognition for trying to have a drug free work place. Now if a race team can have this, why can't Brian's Big Top? Oh, that's right. Because his program works. And if you believe that, I've got some land near the Florida Keys I'll sell you.
For you folks who have Adobe Acrobat or
Adobe Reader on your computers, make sure
those programs are updated. There's a Trojan
going around that will infiltrate your system
using one of these programs. I lost a lot of
work, photos, and other stuff because of it.
Also make sure your anti-virus and spy ware
programs are up to date so you don't have the
same problem I had. And my stuff was
supposedly updated.
It took almost a week to get the ratings from
the last race but here it is and they've already
got the ratings out for Talladega. Why?
Because they're up.
I want to give a little recognition to a group who doesn't get much recognition and that's the United States Merchant Marine. They serve just like the Navy, have a lot of the same risk, and put themselves in harms way when the nation needs them. To all the folks of the Merchant Marine past and present, my thanks to you. Acta, non verba.
For all of you military either active or retired, don't forget about
Motherhood, Apple Pie, and John Wayne
Mad Mikie
Curmudgeon at Large
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