al asifyouknow

Can we honestly call this an auto race or is it more appropriate to call it a weekend carnival or maybe a visiting county fair with a demolition derby.

I know there wasn't as many wrecks as usual at Talladega, but there were enough wreck to take out some very good cars, that should of brought some comfort to the- bent metal-fans.

I'm one of those race fans who loves to see teams that make all the right moves be rewarded with a good finish, but at Talladega it is totally irrelevant if you have good pit stops or if the crew chief makes the right adjustments.

Having a perfect car with the best driver, the best crew chief and pit crew means absolutely NOTHING there, you might as well have the Three Stooges as the pit crew and Bugs Bunny or Elmer Fudd as your crew chief.

All it takes is an idiotic move to ruin someones good day, today A.J' Allmendinger and Aric Almirola win the trophy.

NASCAR should at least make this race a non-points race, they should quit pretending that this is a legit test of racing skills.

I'm not an expert, I'm just a fan who is entering my sixth season as a NASCAR fanatic, I have learned to hate this race, I've watched or listen to just about every NASCAR event since 2007, maybe missed three or four, but I plan go golfing and fishing with my friends when the next Talladega race comes around.

I suppose not all was lost, I'm sure the fans had lots of fun, beer,Jack and Cuervo flowing all night long and a few wrecks next day makes for great entertainment folks, I hate to burst your bubble but that is not racing.

Just saying.

As always this is just a fan's opinion and from what I understand everybody has one and I thank God for that.

Enough said.

"It's probably not his fault. His wife wears the fire suit in the family and tells him what to do, so it's probably not his fault”.. End of Joey Logano’s quote
There are certain lines in life you just don’t cross no matter how angry you are, that boundary is ones family.
Logano’s comments on the TNT post-race show were totally out of line and shows a maturity level of a 15 year old.
Having said that, I do understand he is still a kid, but he is over 18 and by now should at least understand the concept of respect for another mens family.
That’s something his father could help him with rather than encouraging his son to fight.
NASCAR needs to do something about Mr. Logano’s involvement in his sons racing career, Joey is considered an adult and I’m sure he’s capable of standing up for himself.
Can we agree on that?
I’m not a Kevin Harvick fan, I just don’t like the guy or his wife, why? Who cares , I just don’t like them but I’m not going to say anything bad about his wife, but I do feel comfortable talking about Kevin Harvick, so I will !
At times Kevin Harvick will get all huffy about an incident, insulting other drivers, then when replays shows it wasn’t the drivers fault he doesn’t apologize, I find that behavior unbecoming of a gentlemen, don’t you?
I’m not going into examples because it would probably make this a book length article.
I’m glad Joey Logano got into Harvick’s face, the young man needs to send a massage to older drivers that he is not going to be pushed around.
Harvick did punt the kid, in my opinion, out of pure meanness, he got mad because the kid was racing him too hard.
Harvick could’ve been thinking- How dear him race me that hard, I’m Kevin Harvick the Cup standings leader, give me respect and move out of the way kid ! That was probably Kevin’s self talk before he punted Joey.
If I was a betting man I’d take a 2 to1 ticket on that, but maybe not.
Hey, is just a fans opinion I may be wrong, or not.
It would be arrogant of me to think Joey or anyone in his camp would read this “al asifyouknow” article but I’m going to give him a plan that would make everyone involved in this incident happy:

1: Personally apologize to Kevin Harvick and Mrs. Harvick for your comments on TNT.

2: Also apologize to your boss for those inappropriate comments while representing the JGR brand.

3: And last , don’t forget what happened at Pocono, don’t retaliate now, if you don’t make the chase Loudon might be a great place for a pay back , there nothing more rewarding than opening the chase with a back forty finish.

Agree?
 
If Joey Logano apologizes to the Harvicks for his comments, most folks would look at him in the same light as they do the MLB umpire who blew Armando Galarragas perfect game last week.
Joey need to show he understands that trash talk about family menbers is out of bounds in racing.
And as always is just a fans opinion and from what I understand everybody has one and I thank god for that.
Enough said.
 

 If my name was Chip Ganassi, I would certainly be very disappointed at the results Brian Pattie and Juan Pablo Montoya have been able to achieve this season.

I have to give the 2010 season a grade of “unacceptable.”

After a great 2009 season, most fans were expecting a team with more experience and faster cars for the 2010 cup chase.

I can agree with that.

Well, we could say they got plenty of speed and experience this year and even though I think this team finally “got it,“ there is still something missing.

What’s would that be? Here is my best guess.

I was looking through some of Montoya’s video clips going back to Indy and F1 and one thing came to my attention, his face had a serious look, had that “eye of the tiger,” if you will, even his walk looked determined.

I don’t see that this year. He looks almost too relaxed, with an “oh well its racing,” attitude every time something bad happens.

It may be a different story if I could see him in person, but the “I’m going to give them hell attitude,” is just not present this season.

Again, this is just a fans perception, I may be wrong or maybe not.

Maybe Chip needs to have a talk with the No. 42 team, it appears they got all the equipment they need to be at least in the top 12, instead they’re hanging out in cheap seats, 12th in the standings.

It’s undeniable they have as good a car as any of the top ten teams, they are topping the speed charts in every practice this year.

Actually, if they gave points for practice times he may be leading the standing, but of course we all know points are only earned on race day. Apparently, that is the problem— somehow they can’t get it done consistently, when it counts.

Time is running out fast for Juan Pablo Montoya.

They are about 175 points from the chase, realistically they’re about 250 points from being in a spot where the No. 42 can be certain to make the chase. If your in 12th spot you’re just a bowling pin waiting to get bumped off at Richmond.

The next 13 races will take Montoya to some of his best tracks, so it will be up to him and his team to decide if they want to be a player or just another team burning fuel so they can fill out the chase field, in other words become an irrelevant racer.

Agree?

They say big time players play big in big times games. What a great opportunity for the No. 42 team to step up and prove to the NASCAR community that Juan Pablo Montoya is a big time driver.

I believe he is, and I believe he will make the chase.

Enough said.

This morning on ESPN I heard the most naive statement made by anyone in sports, Corey Pavin who is the captain of the USA Ryder cup team, actually said he would treat Tiger Woods like anyone else when deciding who to pick for the cup team.
I guess Mr. Pavin doesn’t understand the “Tiger Woods” concept in golf, everyone knows he is not like anyone else and that’s how he should be treated.
The PGA is making more money by not treating Tiger Woods like everyone else, the marginal pro golfer can now afford to sleep in hotel rooms rather than in their cars because Tiger Woods is not treated like anyone else.
Mr. Pavin is probably making a better living and everyone in Pro-shops throughout the country is doing better financially because Tiger Woods does not get treated like anyone else.

Agree?

We actually can say this about many superstars in various sports.
Lebron James does not get treated like anyone else, Wayne Gretzky did not get treated like anyone else, Michael Jordan did not get treated like anybody else.

In NASCAR Dale Earnhardt jr. does not get treated like anybody else, in this case not because he is a great driver but because he is the most popular figure in the sport.
I don’t have to be a genius to figure out what all those players have in common, lets see if you agree with this concept.
Tiger Woods and others like him deserve to be treated different because they have made their sport better, and when I say better I don’t mean a dime better but millions better, not to mention the worldwide exposure they personally provide to their sport.

Their impact has changed their sport, so “they are not like everyone else”
Can we agree on that?

Why would Corey Pavin or anyone else even have to think twice about picking Tiger Woods for a golf team.
Are you kidding me!

It is golf and he is one of the greatest golfers alive, there should be nothing to think about, half of Tiger is better than no Tiger at all.

Am I wrong?

Point is simple, Tiger Woods is like no one else in golf, you could say he’s had the biggest impact on a sports since “the great one” (Gretzky) had on the NHL.

He is “the great one” of golf, so treating him like anyone else is totally unacceptable.

Mr. Pavin pick the Tiger, that’s a cat you can’t do without.

Enough said.

Racing, as I know it, is a series of good long runs , is also working to keep your car up front and taking care of your equipment so that hopefully in the end you get rewarded with a win, a top five or at least a top ten..
That was the past.
Here comes NASCAR with their multiple green-white-checkered finishes, a rule that at times will reward a driver who has been running in P-15 to P-30 with a chance to win or gain multiple spots, all in just a few laps.
I may be off base here but running in the back forty sucking up everyone’s exhaust during 99 % of the race should not be rewarded with an opportunity, up to three times, no less, to get up to the front. That is not racing.
Let's call it what it is: A ROAD SHOW AT A COUNTY FAIR !
This makes no sense, the teams that have done the best job during the zillion miles of the race get rewarded by a good kick in the butt by this rule.
Can we all agree on that?
I do understand the multiple green-white-checkered scenario might only play in about a third of the races, but it will have a huge impact on the chase.
Just look at what Dale Earnhardt Jr. did at Daytona, he was in P-17 before the multiple green-white,-checkered got him to P-2 with a chance to win it.
We can all agree the races could become just a shootout, a last minute dash for cash, a sprint to the finish if you will.
Some folks will argue that it is a dash, a sprint to the checkered flag, there is some truth in that, but the sprint should be a reward for the teams running "the good race".
There will be many winners this year who will not be deserving a P-1 finish.
The Phoenix race should’ve been won by the team who had the best overall race , No. 24, No. 18 and No.42 among others were the best cars in the field.
This new rules forces a team running in P-1 to have to win the race up to three times !
There is no reward for running a good race with this rule, so far two guys got royally punked by NASCAR, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch.
I know NASCAR is thinking about the fans and that’s good , but sometimes they have to make decisions based in good sound thinking and not just looking at the latest polls as politicians often do.
This rule is terrible!
The old one was fine!
If the sport is going to become a series of last minute sprints, why not just pick the top 25 qualifying cars on Friday and have a sprint for cash race on Sunday.
Maybe have a five round green-white-checkered start with wrecking optional.
Hey! it would save teams tons on money, imagine all the fuel they’ll save by not having to run that 400 lap warm up.
Believe me! If this continuous the race will become a warm up for the dash for cash.
This rule has to go. Just saying!
Again, this is just a fans opinion and from what I understand everybody has one and I thank God for that.                                                                                               
Enough said.

Lets bring back the old Boston Garden , you know where the Celtics played with all the dead spots on the floors and all the slippery spots from the leaks.

Here one I’m familiar with, Cleveland Municipal stadium , where at times fans needed top bring rubber boots in case they had to go to the bathroom, you know flooding with funny things floating in the water.

I could go on and on but I think you get the point, old is not always good, even if they did a multi million dollar renovation.

As I watched Darlington all my focus was on who was going to hit the wall next, for me the race was not about racing but about who was going to survived the so called “Darlington stripe”

Did any of you feel the someway?

I know I’m stepping into holy grail territory when talking about Darlington, but I did hear the broadcast experts point out how narrow the track was, so why can’t this track be modernized , that may not be the proper word, but you know what I’m saying.

How can NASCAR make “the wrecking wall” irrelevant?

Would making this track wider stop the “Darlington stripe” and thus stop the multiple repairs and back up cars teams have to use?

The “run a few laps and repair gig” has to cost this teams lots of money .

Agree?

Something else I noticed during the race, passing is almost impossible at this track, the recurring advise by the racing experts (DW) was that drivers should be racing the track .

What ? Whatever that is! That most be race talk well beyond my understanding.

As a fan I understand drivers need to be aware of the idiosyncrasies of the track their on, but you still got to race other cars , it is a automobile race , isn’t it?

Oh well ! I know that with all the investment they've done on the track the last five or six years, the track will stay as it is, a wall waiting for someone to hit it and single file racing .

It is what it is !

Actually I got up early to watch the GP2 and then the Formula 1 race, so I’m okay with single file racing.

Just saying !

And as always I’m just a fan with an opinion and from what I understand everybody has one and I thank God for that.

Enough said.