It was definately a very eventful Nationwide series race today. I was afraid to get up and get a drink in fear of missing something,Thank God for Tivo. From cars running out of gas,pit road mistakes,fiery crashes, and just plain over driving the car. I don't like to see anyone tear up their equipment,but it sure does add to the excitement. I was really pulling for Kevin harvick to get his first win in his own equipment,I thought Kyle busch was going to end up collecting him when he lost control, but he wouldn't be so lucky next time when Jeff burton would collect him in an accident. It was still good to see biffle break his long standing winless streak. Dale Jr. didn't have a car to win the race today but had a very solid finish.I can't wait to see tomorrows cup race. There was so much action today we can only expect tomorrow to bring even more excitement,suprises and let downs. Will the toyota engines hold up? Will we see more of what we saw today with drivers just completely over driving their cars? Lets watch and see.
Greg Biffle was caught speeding on pit road, had another bad stop, and ran out of gas while leading — twice.
He overcame all of the miscues Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to snap his 76-race winless streak, partly because almost every other driver had similar issues while leading.
"It was definitely not short of action," said Biffle, who last won a Nationwide race at California in February of last year.
Biffle ran out of gas while leading with 54 laps to go, re-claimed the lead after other drivers had their own issues, and then lost his fuel pressure on the final restart. Carl Edwards, his teammate, surged into the lead for a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish, but Biffle was able to regain the gas pressure and snatch the lead back from Edwards.
Edwards, who nearly lost control of his car as Biffle passed him, finished second despite losing a tire earlier in the race and speeding off of pit road on a late pit stop.
"Man it was a wild day from the beginning," Edwards said. "We had a great race car. There were a lot of wrecks. We had that tire go down and we had a speeding penalty, all sorts of things happened and luck was on our side and we had a chance to race up there for the win."
Brian Vickers, who was penalized for a missing lug nut after a pit stop while he was leading, finished third.
"All the fast cars were having problems," Vickers said. "You are out here on this track trying to run wide open, and that's going to lead to problems. But it seemed like everybody that got in the lead had a problem."
Jason Leffler, who ran out of gas on the final restart, finished fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fifth. He was followed by Michael McDowell, Brendan Gaughan and Justin Allgaier. Scott Lagasse and Jeff Burton rounded out the top 10.
It seemed for a stretch that nobody wanted to win the race, evidenced by a slew of problems to the top contending cars.
The first sign of trouble came early, when Denny Hamlin spun just nine laps into the race. Later, teammate Kyle Busch wrecked while racing Kevin Harvick for the lead. The accident also collected pole-sitter Scott Speed.
"It was just 100 percent my fault for racing for the lead that early in the race," said Busch, a Las Vegas native who is seeking his first career win at his home track. "I shouldn't have been doing that that early in the race. I should have just rode around in second place all day and waited to make the move on the last lap."
Biffle ran out of gas as the leader, which put Hamlin out front. Then Hamlin was too fast exiting pit road, had to return for a pass-through penalty, and was too fast again.
Hamlin's mistake gave Vickers the lead, but he coughed it up when he left his pit stop with a missing lug nut.
Gaughan inherited the lead, then he spun trying to enter pit road to give David Ragan the lead. Edwards, who had rallied to third from an earlier punctured tire, was penalized for driving too fast off pit road. But as he tried to argue his penalty, Ragan wrecked on the track to take NASCAR's attention.
"The team was really good and I just screwed it up for them," Ragan said. "Just driving it too hard for the situation I was in."
Allgaier, who had stayed out of trouble to put himself in position to make a late challenge for the lead, then scuffed the wall while running in the top 10.
When it was done, Biffle had cycled through to retake the lead. Hamlin, who had rallied to 11th, then brushed the wall to create damage to the front of his car. The damage ultimately caused his tire to burst as he drove in front of Mike Bliss, who ran into the back of Hamlin, sending him hard into the wall in a fiery wreck three laps from the finish.
The Hamlin accident set up the two-lap overtime sprint to the finish.
"I guess it just ends a day that I don't understand," Bliss said. "I can't wait to go home."
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
It's no time to push the panic button
This article was written by Larry McReynolds and I agree with what he has to say. I have been saying all along it is to soon to be making any solid predictions but the time is coming soon to make or break.
It's still early, but let's take stock through the first two weeks of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
One organization that has impressed me is Penske Racing. They are really starting to show some good results. Kurt Busch dodged a bullet at Daytona and finished well plus was a top-five car all night long. So the No. 2 car is off to a good start. David Stremme had a top 15 finish at Fontana. Sam Hornish continues to struggle, but the measuring stick at Penske Racing has always been that No. 2 car.
Once again it looks like the Roush Fenway group will be solid all year long. That statement covers all five of their teams. Matt Kenseth has obviously won the first two races of the year. Greg Biffle finished fourth at Fontana but clearly had the car to beat if he hadn't had the mistake on pit road. Carl Edwards was strong too.
Las Vegas weekend
The Toyotas were pretty impressive too. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were as strong as ever. Brian Vickers won the pole but had to start in the rear when they changed his motor. He drove back up through there and finished 10th. The other two Toyotas that have been really impressive are Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann. Actually right now, Michael Waltrip Racing has two cars in the top 12 in points.
It looks to me, though, that the normal characters, Roush Fenway, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing are rising to the top. I have to say that Jeff Gordon looked the strongest I have seen him from green flag to the checkers in a long, long time.
When it comes to the testing ban, I still can't sit here and tell you that it's made a difference one way or another. Would there be other teams up there if we had our normal testing policy in place? I can't say that. I just don't think we are seeing a huge effect one way or another yet. Like we always say, no matter the rules, testing or the car -- the haves are still going to be the haves and the have-not's are still going to be the have-not's.
Someone else we need to shine the light on even though it's only been two races is Tony Stewart. He's had two top 10 finishes in the first two races of 2009. On the flip side of that is his teammate Ryan Newman. That bunch seems to be struggling right now. They lost a couple cars at Daytona and then they really weren't very good all weekend at Fontana.
If you take Daytona out of the equation, probably the most disappointing normally top-performing team at Fontana was Richard Childress Racing. Their best finishing car was only 18th. Granted, no one needs to hit the panic switch yet. I do think these next two races will definitely tell us who is in good shape and who has some work to do.
I think the points positions will continue to shake up every week even beyond the first five races. Look at Dale Earnhardt Jr. The hole has been dug early. So they have work to do and unfortunately Las Vegas this weekend has historically not been one of his better race tracks. We do know how well he runs at Atlanta and Bristol, so that's a positive thing for them. They and the other teams out there have to take what they learned from California's race and sort through what they got.
If we get through these next three or four races and if you are still struggling or having bad performances, then yes, people are going to be reaching a little closer for that panic button.
The good news is that for the most part we have one team from most of the operations performing pretty well. Roush-Fenway actually has more than one, but you have Jeff Gordon carrying the Hendrick banner. We got the Gibbs and Penske guys up there. We have some other Toyotas up there. We even saw Juan Pablo Montoya out of the DEI-Ganassi camp have a good solid night at Fontana.
Probably the group that came out of Daytona looking the brightest, but then left Fontana looking the dimmest was Richard Petty Motorsports. There are teams that are concerned after California but again, it's way too early to even remotely say, "Oh boy, we are in trouble."
It's still early, but let's take stock through the first two weeks of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
One organization that has impressed me is Penske Racing. They are really starting to show some good results. Kurt Busch dodged a bullet at Daytona and finished well plus was a top-five car all night long. So the No. 2 car is off to a good start. David Stremme had a top 15 finish at Fontana. Sam Hornish continues to struggle, but the measuring stick at Penske Racing has always been that No. 2 car.
Once again it looks like the Roush Fenway group will be solid all year long. That statement covers all five of their teams. Matt Kenseth has obviously won the first two races of the year. Greg Biffle finished fourth at Fontana but clearly had the car to beat if he hadn't had the mistake on pit road. Carl Edwards was strong too.
Las Vegas weekend
The Toyotas were pretty impressive too. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were as strong as ever. Brian Vickers won the pole but had to start in the rear when they changed his motor. He drove back up through there and finished 10th. The other two Toyotas that have been really impressive are Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann. Actually right now, Michael Waltrip Racing has two cars in the top 12 in points.
It looks to me, though, that the normal characters, Roush Fenway, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing are rising to the top. I have to say that Jeff Gordon looked the strongest I have seen him from green flag to the checkers in a long, long time.
When it comes to the testing ban, I still can't sit here and tell you that it's made a difference one way or another. Would there be other teams up there if we had our normal testing policy in place? I can't say that. I just don't think we are seeing a huge effect one way or another yet. Like we always say, no matter the rules, testing or the car -- the haves are still going to be the haves and the have-not's are still going to be the have-not's.
Someone else we need to shine the light on even though it's only been two races is Tony Stewart. He's had two top 10 finishes in the first two races of 2009. On the flip side of that is his teammate Ryan Newman. That bunch seems to be struggling right now. They lost a couple cars at Daytona and then they really weren't very good all weekend at Fontana.
If you take Daytona out of the equation, probably the most disappointing normally top-performing team at Fontana was Richard Childress Racing. Their best finishing car was only 18th. Granted, no one needs to hit the panic switch yet. I do think these next two races will definitely tell us who is in good shape and who has some work to do.
I think the points positions will continue to shake up every week even beyond the first five races. Look at Dale Earnhardt Jr. The hole has been dug early. So they have work to do and unfortunately Las Vegas this weekend has historically not been one of his better race tracks. We do know how well he runs at Atlanta and Bristol, so that's a positive thing for them. They and the other teams out there have to take what they learned from California's race and sort through what they got.
If we get through these next three or four races and if you are still struggling or having bad performances, then yes, people are going to be reaching a little closer for that panic button.
The good news is that for the most part we have one team from most of the operations performing pretty well. Roush-Fenway actually has more than one, but you have Jeff Gordon carrying the Hendrick banner. We got the Gibbs and Penske guys up there. We have some other Toyotas up there. We even saw Juan Pablo Montoya out of the DEI-Ganassi camp have a good solid night at Fontana.
Probably the group that came out of Daytona looking the brightest, but then left Fontana looking the dimmest was Richard Petty Motorsports. There are teams that are concerned after California but again, it's way too early to even remotely say, "Oh boy, we are in trouble."
Busch brothers claim front row at home track
I just finished watching qualifying for Las Vegas. It's a pretty interesting front row with brothers setting 1 and 2. To bad for Kyle that he will have to go to the back of the field after the engine change. What about our 2 in a row winner Matt kenseth? He will be starting all the way in the back,but as close as the qualifying times were I think he could still win it from there. Not that I will be cheering for him to do that I'm just saying it can be done. We will just have to wait until sunday to see what happens.
The Busch brothers claimed the front row at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but an engine change will prevent Kyle and Kurt Busch from starting next to each other Sunday.
Kyle Busch blew his motor during Friday's practice session, forcing him to change it before qualifying. The new engine helped him post a pole-winning lap of 185.995 mph.
That was better than older brother Kurt's lap of 185.707. But Kyle Busch will have to drop to the back of the field at the start of the race, and third-place qualifier Jimmie Johnson will slide into the front row.
The Busch's are from Las Vegas, and neither has won a NASCAR race at their home track.
The last time brothers qualified first and second was in 2000, when Rusty and Kenny Wallace swept the front row at Martinsville.
The Busch brothers claimed the front row at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but an engine change will prevent Kyle and Kurt Busch from starting next to each other Sunday.
Kyle Busch blew his motor during Friday's practice session, forcing him to change it before qualifying. The new engine helped him post a pole-winning lap of 185.995 mph.
That was better than older brother Kurt's lap of 185.707. But Kyle Busch will have to drop to the back of the field at the start of the race, and third-place qualifier Jimmie Johnson will slide into the front row.
The Busch's are from Las Vegas, and neither has won a NASCAR race at their home track.
The last time brothers qualified first and second was in 2000, when Rusty and Kenny Wallace swept the front row at Martinsville.
Schatz wins World of Outlaws Show in Las Vegas
I have always been a fan of Donny Schatz, even though I think he is kind of an ass when you meet him in person. I'm always a very big fan of Steve Kinser. I do have to say that I was getting to the point where watching Steve Kinser win all the time was getting kind of boring. Donny Schatz has always been a threat to take a win but his odd's have increased by ten fold since he started driving for Tony Stewart Motorsports. He has been on a roll and is now more of a sure contender for the title and the King has his work cut out for him. Another one of my favorite drivers is Joey Saldana. He is a very nice person to meet in person and his determination and driving skills always make the racing exciting. Congrats to Donny on the Vegas win. I am excited that the racing club that I race with will be racing with The World of Outlaws at Manzanita Speedway on March 28th in Phx Arizona.
For Donny Schatz, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been a special place. He won the final World of Outlaws race of the millennium at the half-mile in 1999 and also was victorious in the series last visit to the track in 2006 when he capped his first series title with a victory. The three-time and defending series champion continued to add to his impressive resume at the track, picking up the win in the World of Outlaws return to Las Vegas on Thursday night before a packed grandstand.
Schatz lined up third in the Armor All J&J and fell back to fourth early in the race before getting around Jason Sides and Craig Dollansky to move into second. He then used heavy lapped traffic to his advantage to pass three-time series champion Sammy Swindell on the low side of turns one and two on the 16th lap. He would endure three cautions over the final 15 laps, including one on the white flag lap which set up a green-white-checker finish. By way of World of Outlaws rules, two consecutive green flag laps have to run to finish a race. Schatz used a strong restart each time to distance himself from Swindell.
The win for Schatz was his third of the season in World of Outlaws action. He now has 91 career A-Feature victories, which is fifth best all-time. He also extended his lead in the series championship standings to 37 over Jason Sides who moved back into the second spot.
“It was great,” said Schatz after celebrating his win with his Tony Stewart Racing team. “We set fast time and got a win. We won the race in traffic. I had a good race car, but so did the guys in second, third and fourth. I’m glad we had those long runs. We were able to get to those guys in traffic and get by them.”
Schatz is the only driver that has competed in all 45 events that the World of Outlaws have contested at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway dating back to 1996. He now has six wins and 26 Top-10 finishes at the state-of-the-art half-mile in the desert.
“I think tonight the fans saw that we want to be here and they want to be here to watch us,” said the North Dakota native. “That’s good to see. It’s good to see our sponsors here as well. They did a great charity deal with Tony (Stewart) during the day and were able to come out here tonight and we got them a win. We are feeling very good now.”
Craig Dollansky started on the pole of the 30-lap event and led the first seven laps on Thursday night, before Swindell dove to the low side of turns one and two to take the top spot on the eighth lap. A caution two laps later gave Swindell some clear track to work with as he looked to add to his strong record at Las Vegas. He wound up second in the Tom Rolfe Trucking Maxim.
“I made a mistake,” shared the native of Germantown, Tennessee. “I caught a car in the wrong place in (turns) three and four. I didn’t get a good run off four and I didn’t think I was close enough to slide across and then he got out of the gas so I was stuck in the middle. Being in the wrong place and then my lack of not being out here was part of that. I have to be more aggressive in traffic. They said I had 10-15 car lengths before I got to those guys. I’ll just have to be a little more aggressive with lapped cars.”
Dollansky paced the field early in the race and then did everything he could to track Swindell down in the late going as the pair battled for the second spot. He tried a slide job on a late restart and nearly snagged the runner-up spot. The native of Elk River, Minnesota came home third in the DirecTV Maxim for Kasey Kahne Racing.
“It’s definitely not what we were hoping for,” said Dollansky. “I felt good the first few laps. After about 10 laps I developed a serious vibration. I’m not really sure what was going on there, it felt like maybe a motor was going down on us. Fortunately we made it to the end. Near the end, we knocked the radiator cap off and really couldn’t see those last few laps.
Late in the race on Thursday, a number of drivers suffered flat right rear tires, including 20-time series champion Steve Kinser and Jac Haudenschild. Tire wear was definitely on Schatz’s mind as the laps wound down.
“It always is, when you see the guys that were having trouble,” he shared. “I poked a hole in the tire in the heat race and we plugged it and poke another one. Sometimes you have to be more lucky that good. Tonight was one of those nights where we came home with air in all four tires and picked up a victory.”
Swindell also erred on the side of caution late in the race as he looked to conserve his right rear tire en route to bringing home a season-best second place effort, which helped vault him into the fourth spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings.
“That was part of my problem on the starts and that would let Donny (Schatz) get away,” he explained. “On the starts I would get a lot of tire shake and that would make the car real tight and kind of loose at the same time. I had to move the wing all the way ahead just to help make up for some of that and help the car turn. It seemed liked after the third or fourth lap though, I was just as fast if not faster.”
Jason Sides continued his strong start to the 2009 season finishing fourth in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim. Danny Lasoski picked up his first Top-Five of the season aboard the Casey’s General Store Maxim.
Kerry Madsen was sixth in the TK Concrete KPC. Terry McCarl was seventh in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. Steve Kinser worked his way back up to eighth in the Quaker State Maxim, after losing a tire with just six laps remaining. Daryn Pittman was ninth driving the No. 83JR machine for Dennis Roth’s team. Kraig Kinser rounded out the Top-10 in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action with the Mini Gold Cup on March 13-14 at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California.
For Donny Schatz, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been a special place. He won the final World of Outlaws race of the millennium at the half-mile in 1999 and also was victorious in the series last visit to the track in 2006 when he capped his first series title with a victory. The three-time and defending series champion continued to add to his impressive resume at the track, picking up the win in the World of Outlaws return to Las Vegas on Thursday night before a packed grandstand.
Schatz lined up third in the Armor All J&J and fell back to fourth early in the race before getting around Jason Sides and Craig Dollansky to move into second. He then used heavy lapped traffic to his advantage to pass three-time series champion Sammy Swindell on the low side of turns one and two on the 16th lap. He would endure three cautions over the final 15 laps, including one on the white flag lap which set up a green-white-checker finish. By way of World of Outlaws rules, two consecutive green flag laps have to run to finish a race. Schatz used a strong restart each time to distance himself from Swindell.
The win for Schatz was his third of the season in World of Outlaws action. He now has 91 career A-Feature victories, which is fifth best all-time. He also extended his lead in the series championship standings to 37 over Jason Sides who moved back into the second spot.
“It was great,” said Schatz after celebrating his win with his Tony Stewart Racing team. “We set fast time and got a win. We won the race in traffic. I had a good race car, but so did the guys in second, third and fourth. I’m glad we had those long runs. We were able to get to those guys in traffic and get by them.”
Schatz is the only driver that has competed in all 45 events that the World of Outlaws have contested at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway dating back to 1996. He now has six wins and 26 Top-10 finishes at the state-of-the-art half-mile in the desert.
“I think tonight the fans saw that we want to be here and they want to be here to watch us,” said the North Dakota native. “That’s good to see. It’s good to see our sponsors here as well. They did a great charity deal with Tony (Stewart) during the day and were able to come out here tonight and we got them a win. We are feeling very good now.”
Craig Dollansky started on the pole of the 30-lap event and led the first seven laps on Thursday night, before Swindell dove to the low side of turns one and two to take the top spot on the eighth lap. A caution two laps later gave Swindell some clear track to work with as he looked to add to his strong record at Las Vegas. He wound up second in the Tom Rolfe Trucking Maxim.
“I made a mistake,” shared the native of Germantown, Tennessee. “I caught a car in the wrong place in (turns) three and four. I didn’t get a good run off four and I didn’t think I was close enough to slide across and then he got out of the gas so I was stuck in the middle. Being in the wrong place and then my lack of not being out here was part of that. I have to be more aggressive in traffic. They said I had 10-15 car lengths before I got to those guys. I’ll just have to be a little more aggressive with lapped cars.”
Dollansky paced the field early in the race and then did everything he could to track Swindell down in the late going as the pair battled for the second spot. He tried a slide job on a late restart and nearly snagged the runner-up spot. The native of Elk River, Minnesota came home third in the DirecTV Maxim for Kasey Kahne Racing.
“It’s definitely not what we were hoping for,” said Dollansky. “I felt good the first few laps. After about 10 laps I developed a serious vibration. I’m not really sure what was going on there, it felt like maybe a motor was going down on us. Fortunately we made it to the end. Near the end, we knocked the radiator cap off and really couldn’t see those last few laps.
Late in the race on Thursday, a number of drivers suffered flat right rear tires, including 20-time series champion Steve Kinser and Jac Haudenschild. Tire wear was definitely on Schatz’s mind as the laps wound down.
“It always is, when you see the guys that were having trouble,” he shared. “I poked a hole in the tire in the heat race and we plugged it and poke another one. Sometimes you have to be more lucky that good. Tonight was one of those nights where we came home with air in all four tires and picked up a victory.”
Swindell also erred on the side of caution late in the race as he looked to conserve his right rear tire en route to bringing home a season-best second place effort, which helped vault him into the fourth spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings.
“That was part of my problem on the starts and that would let Donny (Schatz) get away,” he explained. “On the starts I would get a lot of tire shake and that would make the car real tight and kind of loose at the same time. I had to move the wing all the way ahead just to help make up for some of that and help the car turn. It seemed liked after the third or fourth lap though, I was just as fast if not faster.”
Jason Sides continued his strong start to the 2009 season finishing fourth in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim. Danny Lasoski picked up his first Top-Five of the season aboard the Casey’s General Store Maxim.
Kerry Madsen was sixth in the TK Concrete KPC. Terry McCarl was seventh in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. Steve Kinser worked his way back up to eighth in the Quaker State Maxim, after losing a tire with just six laps remaining. Daryn Pittman was ninth driving the No. 83JR machine for Dennis Roth’s team. Kraig Kinser rounded out the Top-10 in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action with the Mini Gold Cup on March 13-14 at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Top teams need to heed early season warning signs
Like I said before I don't think you can make any predictions at this point in the season. I do believe that how a person reacts to the situations that have arised the past 2 races can give you an idea how things may be headed. I don't think we can give up on anyone's chances at this point or make any solid predictions. But I do have to admit it sure has the press stirred up and they are the first to call you washed up,done,a has been. But i guess without the media we wouldn't have anything to complain about or argue about.
Danger!
Two races into the Sprint Cup season, and already there are teams in trouble. Top teams. Teams that have staked out an annual presence -- or close to it -- in the Chase.
Yes, the season is only two races old, and there's plenty of time for struggling teams to rebound. That doesn't mean, however, that teams with alarming starts to their 2009 campaigns should ignore much-needed wakeup calls.
• Jeff Gordon is second in the point standings, but none of his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates stands better than 19th. That's the position three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson occupies.
Now, no one ought to suggest that Johnson will fail to qualify for the Chase this year, since he has never missed NASCAR's version of the playoffs, but his ship is in need of righting after a 31st-place result at Daytona and a ninth at Fontana, where the No. 48 Chevy dominated early and faded late.
The problem for Johnson is that the series heads next to Las Vegas, unquestionably his worst track in 2008. Johnson fought his car all day and finished 29th without wrecking or blowing up. The 48 team needs to find a solution to the 1.5-mile speedway in order to begin moving in the right direction.
The other two Hendrick teams -- the No. 5 of Mark Martin and the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- simply haven't gotten the results to match the quality of their equipment. This year was to be Martin's resurrection, with the 50-year-old contending for the championship with Hendrick in his first full season since 2006. He's 27th in points after an engine failure at Fontana.
"We had a great race car [Sunday night]," Martin said after exiting the race. "It was fast, faster than the leaders most of the time. We were really trying to be careful and get up there when it counts. Then, after that caution, about two laps after [on Lap 179], we had a valve break."
The same happened to Earnhardt, who finished 39th, one position ahead of Martin.
After two bad weeks, Earnhardt is 35th in the standings, 252 behind Matt Kenseth, the winner of the first two races. Even more important is that Earnhardt's car is 35th in owners' points just three races before 2009 owners' points begin governing who has guaranteed spots and who doesn't. The top 35 are locked into Sprint Cup fields.
• The No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevy driven by Ryan Newman is barely ahead of Earnhardt in owners' points. Misfortune has been Newman's problem. At Daytona, he blew an engine and wrecked two of his cars through no fault of his own. At Fontana, a side piece fell off his rear wing, forced an extra pit stop and ruined what otherwise could have been an excellent run.
• Joey Logano's No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is 37th in owners' points. If the heralded rookie doesn't improve by the time the sixth race of the season (Martinsville) rolls around, he'll have to start qualifying on speed.
"I learned a lot," Logano said after Sunday's 26th-place finish. "Just working around the race track, different lines, different grooves make your car do different things. Working the bottom, working the top, coming in the pits, it's things like that that you go by race track to race track to keep learning and it takes time."
With three races left before 2009 owners' points kick in, time is in short supply.
• Kenseth is the only driver to post top-five finishes at Daytona and Fontana. Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart are the only drivers to post top-10s in each of the first two races.
Currently, there are six drivers in the top 12 who didn't qualify for last year's Chase. And there are six drivers who did make the Chase last year currently in positions ranging from 15th to 35th.
Before the season began, Juan Montoya predicted this year's Chase would be the most competitive ever. Chances are he's right.
Yes, it's early, but those who have struggled in the first two races can't ignore the danger signs -- getting back to the top of the standings will be more difficult than it has ever been.
Danger!
Two races into the Sprint Cup season, and already there are teams in trouble. Top teams. Teams that have staked out an annual presence -- or close to it -- in the Chase.
Yes, the season is only two races old, and there's plenty of time for struggling teams to rebound. That doesn't mean, however, that teams with alarming starts to their 2009 campaigns should ignore much-needed wakeup calls.
• Jeff Gordon is second in the point standings, but none of his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates stands better than 19th. That's the position three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson occupies.
Now, no one ought to suggest that Johnson will fail to qualify for the Chase this year, since he has never missed NASCAR's version of the playoffs, but his ship is in need of righting after a 31st-place result at Daytona and a ninth at Fontana, where the No. 48 Chevy dominated early and faded late.
The problem for Johnson is that the series heads next to Las Vegas, unquestionably his worst track in 2008. Johnson fought his car all day and finished 29th without wrecking or blowing up. The 48 team needs to find a solution to the 1.5-mile speedway in order to begin moving in the right direction.
The other two Hendrick teams -- the No. 5 of Mark Martin and the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- simply haven't gotten the results to match the quality of their equipment. This year was to be Martin's resurrection, with the 50-year-old contending for the championship with Hendrick in his first full season since 2006. He's 27th in points after an engine failure at Fontana.
"We had a great race car [Sunday night]," Martin said after exiting the race. "It was fast, faster than the leaders most of the time. We were really trying to be careful and get up there when it counts. Then, after that caution, about two laps after [on Lap 179], we had a valve break."
The same happened to Earnhardt, who finished 39th, one position ahead of Martin.
After two bad weeks, Earnhardt is 35th in the standings, 252 behind Matt Kenseth, the winner of the first two races. Even more important is that Earnhardt's car is 35th in owners' points just three races before 2009 owners' points begin governing who has guaranteed spots and who doesn't. The top 35 are locked into Sprint Cup fields.
• The No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevy driven by Ryan Newman is barely ahead of Earnhardt in owners' points. Misfortune has been Newman's problem. At Daytona, he blew an engine and wrecked two of his cars through no fault of his own. At Fontana, a side piece fell off his rear wing, forced an extra pit stop and ruined what otherwise could have been an excellent run.
• Joey Logano's No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is 37th in owners' points. If the heralded rookie doesn't improve by the time the sixth race of the season (Martinsville) rolls around, he'll have to start qualifying on speed.
"I learned a lot," Logano said after Sunday's 26th-place finish. "Just working around the race track, different lines, different grooves make your car do different things. Working the bottom, working the top, coming in the pits, it's things like that that you go by race track to race track to keep learning and it takes time."
With three races left before 2009 owners' points kick in, time is in short supply.
• Kenseth is the only driver to post top-five finishes at Daytona and Fontana. Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart are the only drivers to post top-10s in each of the first two races.
Currently, there are six drivers in the top 12 who didn't qualify for last year's Chase. And there are six drivers who did make the Chase last year currently in positions ranging from 15th to 35th.
Before the season began, Juan Montoya predicted this year's Chase would be the most competitive ever. Chances are he's right.
Yes, it's early, but those who have struggled in the first two races can't ignore the danger signs -- getting back to the top of the standings will be more difficult than it has ever been.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Despite '08 troubles, Gordon set to contend for title
I think it is much to soon to say whether someone is back or gone. Since they have added the chase to the mix it all comes down to where you are when we reach those last 10 races. In the past people who have started strong failed to close the deal and those who were pretty quiet came on strong in the chase. I will wait until the chase to make any predictions of my own. it's much to soon to tell.
For the last 17 seasons, NASCAR fans have watched Jeff Gordon grow up in front of their eyes.
Since winning his first Cup championship in 1995, Gordon's voice has held authority. When outspoken, his arguments are calculated and smoothly delivered. When he or his team's ability or determination is questioned, the response remains positive and upbeat.
Sunday night's postrace comments by the second-place finisher at Auto Club Speedway carried a similar tone, yet with an enthusiasm that was so genuine it was apparent that the old Jeff Gordon was back.
Gordon graciously congratulated winner Matt Kenseth, but the confidence of the four-time champion beamed with the expectation that a fifth title could be just 34 races away.
"We were awesome in every way tonight with this DuPont Chevrolet," Gordon said."I'm really excited on one side and I'm really upset on the other because I felt like we had an opportunity to win this race."
Gordon not only had an opportunity to win the Auto Club 500, he skillfully picked off one car at a time beginning with his teammate Jimmie Johnson on Lap 78 after the No. 48 Chevrolet had dominated by leading 74 laps prior to being passed in Turn 2.
Gordon then challenged both Kenseth and his teammate Greg Biffle, who led the charge among the Roush Fenway racers. Biffle radioed to his crew that Gordon "murdered" him through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 140 as he watched the No. 24 car carve its way around the track. When Gordon was in clean air at the point, Kenseth had similar issues catching him through Turns 1 and 2.
But a swift final pit stop with adjustments to improve the No. 17 car's grip enabled Kenseth to retake the lead out of the pits and maintain that position to the finish. Gordon couldn't get the car to turn in the closing laps, but his ability to work every groove on the track was amazing.
"I put a lot of heat on him," Gordon said. "I drove as hard as I've driven in a long time."
Gordon lost the battle, but the war is far from over. He was strong during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, showing signs of improvement from winning his Gatorade Duels qualifying race to leading 14 laps in the Daytona 500 before the rain-shortened event left him in 13th place.
As solid and competitive as Gordon's car was in Fontana, Calif., on Sunday night, there's a renewed promise for the driver who struggled trying to find a comfort level with the new model last season.
"It's bittersweet, but we've got to come away from this with a lot of positive feelings because man we're a long ways ahead of where we were this time last year," Gordon said following the race. "I'm pumped. I'm real excited about this whole season.
"I can't wait to get to Vegas. This car is awesome fast. We showed it at Daytona and we showed it here today. I'm so proud of (crew chief) Steve Letarte and all these guys. They work so hard and they've taken a lot of heat over the last year. Over this offseason, he restructured his engineering group. He went to work on the cars, on the setups, listening to me and what I feel like I need. Those guys worked hard. And they've got what it takes this year to give me the stuff and it is a privilege to drive."
Letarte was forced to reassess his program after the team went winless last season for the first time since 1993 — Gordon's rookie year. Despite qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and finishing seventh in the point standings, the No. 24 team did not experience the consistency which has been its trademark in the past.
Over 17 seasons, Gordon has only finished outside of the top 10 in standings twice. His worst showing was 14th his freshman year. While Letarte stayed away from that mark in 2008, he has come under fire in the past and 2008 served as a wakeup call.
"I think the biggest lesson I learned last year, it's very hard to evaluate a program when you have a successful program like we had in '07 (when they scored six wins), where last year it was easier to come in and change anything and everything when you really have no success to lean on," Letarte said. "No different than we did in '05. We missed the Chase. It was very easy to change anything. Nothing was sacred. There was nothing sacred. I think maybe me, including other people, but I'll take the brunt of it, maybe I got back on my heels and made some things a little too sacred that didn't need to be.
"We've since changed all those. Anything can change to make the car go fast. We'll change any of the above to make it go fast."
The adjustments have paid off. Gordon is second in the point standings and currently trails Kenseth by 81 markers. For Gordon, losing is the best motivation.
"It's called getting beat and not liking it," Gordon said. "When you're at Hendrick Motorsports, you see your teammate doing what they're doing, winning races, battling for the championship, winning the championship. It's inspiring to all the other teams. At the 24 Dupont Chevrolet team, we've been there before and we've experienced that, even in '07, as strong as we were. But '08 was very disappointing. Probably the biggest motivation we could have ever had. We just went to work."
Certainly, the champ has experienced tremendous change over the last year with a new wife and baby to enrich his life. Still, Gordon remains a competitor. His goal since the Chase for the Championship was introduced in 2004 was to win titles under the old and new formats. If his early results are any indication, then Gordon's potential for a fifth championship are promising.
"I changed my routine, too. I've worked harder over this offseason getting myself in shape than I have in a long time. I'm refocused. I'm a little bit more used to being a dad now. I'm just ready. I feel better today going in and after the race than I felt in a long time. I've battled some back issues and some different things. I've been working really hard on those things. It's paying off. I mean, I just feel good when I get in the car. The car is driving good. It's just starting off right. I think we only have room for improvement."
For the last 17 seasons, NASCAR fans have watched Jeff Gordon grow up in front of their eyes.
Since winning his first Cup championship in 1995, Gordon's voice has held authority. When outspoken, his arguments are calculated and smoothly delivered. When he or his team's ability or determination is questioned, the response remains positive and upbeat.
Sunday night's postrace comments by the second-place finisher at Auto Club Speedway carried a similar tone, yet with an enthusiasm that was so genuine it was apparent that the old Jeff Gordon was back.
Gordon graciously congratulated winner Matt Kenseth, but the confidence of the four-time champion beamed with the expectation that a fifth title could be just 34 races away.
"We were awesome in every way tonight with this DuPont Chevrolet," Gordon said."I'm really excited on one side and I'm really upset on the other because I felt like we had an opportunity to win this race."
Gordon not only had an opportunity to win the Auto Club 500, he skillfully picked off one car at a time beginning with his teammate Jimmie Johnson on Lap 78 after the No. 48 Chevrolet had dominated by leading 74 laps prior to being passed in Turn 2.
Gordon then challenged both Kenseth and his teammate Greg Biffle, who led the charge among the Roush Fenway racers. Biffle radioed to his crew that Gordon "murdered" him through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 140 as he watched the No. 24 car carve its way around the track. When Gordon was in clean air at the point, Kenseth had similar issues catching him through Turns 1 and 2.
But a swift final pit stop with adjustments to improve the No. 17 car's grip enabled Kenseth to retake the lead out of the pits and maintain that position to the finish. Gordon couldn't get the car to turn in the closing laps, but his ability to work every groove on the track was amazing.
"I put a lot of heat on him," Gordon said. "I drove as hard as I've driven in a long time."
Gordon lost the battle, but the war is far from over. He was strong during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, showing signs of improvement from winning his Gatorade Duels qualifying race to leading 14 laps in the Daytona 500 before the rain-shortened event left him in 13th place.
As solid and competitive as Gordon's car was in Fontana, Calif., on Sunday night, there's a renewed promise for the driver who struggled trying to find a comfort level with the new model last season.
"It's bittersweet, but we've got to come away from this with a lot of positive feelings because man we're a long ways ahead of where we were this time last year," Gordon said following the race. "I'm pumped. I'm real excited about this whole season.
"I can't wait to get to Vegas. This car is awesome fast. We showed it at Daytona and we showed it here today. I'm so proud of (crew chief) Steve Letarte and all these guys. They work so hard and they've taken a lot of heat over the last year. Over this offseason, he restructured his engineering group. He went to work on the cars, on the setups, listening to me and what I feel like I need. Those guys worked hard. And they've got what it takes this year to give me the stuff and it is a privilege to drive."
Letarte was forced to reassess his program after the team went winless last season for the first time since 1993 — Gordon's rookie year. Despite qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and finishing seventh in the point standings, the No. 24 team did not experience the consistency which has been its trademark in the past.
Over 17 seasons, Gordon has only finished outside of the top 10 in standings twice. His worst showing was 14th his freshman year. While Letarte stayed away from that mark in 2008, he has come under fire in the past and 2008 served as a wakeup call.
"I think the biggest lesson I learned last year, it's very hard to evaluate a program when you have a successful program like we had in '07 (when they scored six wins), where last year it was easier to come in and change anything and everything when you really have no success to lean on," Letarte said. "No different than we did in '05. We missed the Chase. It was very easy to change anything. Nothing was sacred. There was nothing sacred. I think maybe me, including other people, but I'll take the brunt of it, maybe I got back on my heels and made some things a little too sacred that didn't need to be.
"We've since changed all those. Anything can change to make the car go fast. We'll change any of the above to make it go fast."
The adjustments have paid off. Gordon is second in the point standings and currently trails Kenseth by 81 markers. For Gordon, losing is the best motivation.
"It's called getting beat and not liking it," Gordon said. "When you're at Hendrick Motorsports, you see your teammate doing what they're doing, winning races, battling for the championship, winning the championship. It's inspiring to all the other teams. At the 24 Dupont Chevrolet team, we've been there before and we've experienced that, even in '07, as strong as we were. But '08 was very disappointing. Probably the biggest motivation we could have ever had. We just went to work."
Certainly, the champ has experienced tremendous change over the last year with a new wife and baby to enrich his life. Still, Gordon remains a competitor. His goal since the Chase for the Championship was introduced in 2004 was to win titles under the old and new formats. If his early results are any indication, then Gordon's potential for a fifth championship are promising.
"I changed my routine, too. I've worked harder over this offseason getting myself in shape than I have in a long time. I'm refocused. I'm a little bit more used to being a dad now. I'm just ready. I feel better today going in and after the race than I felt in a long time. I've battled some back issues and some different things. I've been working really hard on those things. It's paying off. I mean, I just feel good when I get in the car. The car is driving good. It's just starting off right. I think we only have room for improvement."
Monday, February 23, 2009
Kenseth keeps Gordon at bay for victory at Fontana
I did find the race to be kind of boring. The leaders kept checking out from the field, and it didn't seem like there was a lot of hard,fierce, racing between the drivers. i was impressed with Matt kenseth's driving skills of turning out perfect lap after lap to hold off Gordon for his second win of the season. He definately made up for the freebie he got at Daytona and earned this one. I think it's an even split between himself and his pit crew for winning this one.
Matt Kenseth is making up for lost time -- with a lot of help from his friends on pit road.
Winless in 2008, Kenseth backed up his victory in the season-opening Daytona 500 by holding off Jeff Gordon in Sunday's Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
Auto Club 500
With a lightning-fast pit stop, Kenseth's crew made sure his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was first off pit road for a restart on Lap 216, after Kevin Harvick slammed the Turn 1 wall to cause the fifth and final caution of the 250-lap race.
"It's such a great team," Kenseth said. "I just thank these guys [on the crew]. They gave me a great stop and got me in clean air and that's just a huge difference."
Kenseth, who won for the 18th time in the Cup Series, stayed in front the rest of the way and beat Gordon to the finish line by 1.463 seconds to become the fifth driver in Cup history to win the first two races of a season. The last to do so? Gordon in 1997, at Daytona and Rockingham.
Kyle Busch finished third and fell short in his bid to sweep all three races in NASCAR's top series at the same track in the same weekend. On Saturday, Busch won both the Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series races at the 2.0-mile race track.
"It's never been done before, so you know it's a challenge," Busch said. "The last one's always the hard one to get. It's on Sunday and it's the biggest show. Maybe one day."
Busch never thought he had a winning car and was trying to hold onto third in the closing laps.
"I couldn't even challenge them," Busch said of Kenseth and Gordon. "I couldn't even keep up with the 17 and the 24 on that last run."
Greg Biffle recovered from a pit-road mistake to come home fourth, followed by Kurt Busch. Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers completed the top 10.
"They should fire me," Biffle said. "You just can't make mistakes like that."
Because Gordon had caught and passed him on the previous green-flag run, Kenseth wasn't confident he could hold him off.
"I thought he was going to pass us," Kenseth said. "As many laps as were left, I honestly thought we were going to be too loose at the end, and he was going to catch us."
Gordon was ambivalent about the result, which showed marked improvement over last year but left him winless since October 2007.
"I think we're head-and-shoulders above where we were," Gordon said. "I know we're just a couple races in, and this is one race, but I just loved the way the car was driving. To be able to battle and go to the front like that and have solid pit stops, I'm just really excited -- and also really bummed out we didn't win the race [Sunday night].
Matt Kenseth is making up for lost time -- with a lot of help from his friends on pit road.
Winless in 2008, Kenseth backed up his victory in the season-opening Daytona 500 by holding off Jeff Gordon in Sunday's Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
Auto Club 500
With a lightning-fast pit stop, Kenseth's crew made sure his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was first off pit road for a restart on Lap 216, after Kevin Harvick slammed the Turn 1 wall to cause the fifth and final caution of the 250-lap race.
"It's such a great team," Kenseth said. "I just thank these guys [on the crew]. They gave me a great stop and got me in clean air and that's just a huge difference."
Kenseth, who won for the 18th time in the Cup Series, stayed in front the rest of the way and beat Gordon to the finish line by 1.463 seconds to become the fifth driver in Cup history to win the first two races of a season. The last to do so? Gordon in 1997, at Daytona and Rockingham.
Kyle Busch finished third and fell short in his bid to sweep all three races in NASCAR's top series at the same track in the same weekend. On Saturday, Busch won both the Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series races at the 2.0-mile race track.
"It's never been done before, so you know it's a challenge," Busch said. "The last one's always the hard one to get. It's on Sunday and it's the biggest show. Maybe one day."
Busch never thought he had a winning car and was trying to hold onto third in the closing laps.
"I couldn't even challenge them," Busch said of Kenseth and Gordon. "I couldn't even keep up with the 17 and the 24 on that last run."
Greg Biffle recovered from a pit-road mistake to come home fourth, followed by Kurt Busch. Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers completed the top 10.
"They should fire me," Biffle said. "You just can't make mistakes like that."
Because Gordon had caught and passed him on the previous green-flag run, Kenseth wasn't confident he could hold him off.
"I thought he was going to pass us," Kenseth said. "As many laps as were left, I honestly thought we were going to be too loose at the end, and he was going to catch us."
Gordon was ambivalent about the result, which showed marked improvement over last year but left him winless since October 2007.
"I think we're head-and-shoulders above where we were," Gordon said. "I know we're just a couple races in, and this is one race, but I just loved the way the car was driving. To be able to battle and go to the front like that and have solid pit stops, I'm just really excited -- and also really bummed out we didn't win the race [Sunday night].
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Drivers never forget their friends ... or enemies
I really hope someone else causes a wreck or some kind of controversy this weekend so we can get off of this subject. LOL I guess as long as it sells they will beat it to death. But everyone knows that when it comes to the last lap that you really don't have any friends out there. it's evey man for himself.
With all the responsibilities a driver has behind the wheel, the last of his concerns should be keeping a scorecard on his fellow competitors.
Still, it happens.
Matt Kenseth gave Kevin Harvick the push he needed when the No. 29 Chevrolet won the 2007 Daytona 500. Harvick returned the favor last Sunday, helping to push Kenseth to the win in the rain-shortened race.
Kenseth was well aware of who gave him the assist. Drivers rely on their spotters not only for traffic reports, but the identities of their rivals. It's helpful to be conscious of allies, enemies and idiots.
Drivers often look for teammates to help their cause, but they'll take aid from other quarters as well. On restrictor-plate tracks such as Daytona, drivers have favorite drafting partners they trust not to dump their car into the wall. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have a level of comfort together that allows them to perform magic at Daytona and Talladega.
In the past two years, Kenseth and Harvick have discovered a similar bond.
"Kevin is a great racer," Kenseth said. "He's really good at this plate stuff and I've probably learned some stuff from him. I enjoy racing with him and it was cool that we ended up together."
Rivals of Dale Earnhardt didn't always feel that way. If "The Intimidator" was in your rearview mirror, you learned to anticipate the "chrome horn."
Two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte was leading going into Turn 2 on the final lap in the 1999 Goody's 500 at Bristol. But Earnhardt drew a huge roar from the fans in Thunder Valley when he "rattled" Labonte, sending him into the wall and passing him for the win.
"He never has any intention of taking anybody out,'' Labonte said after the race. "But it just always happens that way."
That was never Mark Martin's style. Martin has lived by the philosophy of racing drivers the way he wants to be raced. It's a mantra that many of his disciples have shared, including Earnhardt Jr.
Perhaps that's why Junior was adamant that his move on Brian Vickers last week at Daytona, which caused a multicar wreck, was not payback for a 2006 incident on the last lap at Talladega.
On the final lap at the Alabama track, Vickers clipped Jimmie Johnson, who then struck leader Earnhardt. As the Nos. 8 and 48 went spinning in Turn 3, Vickers' No. 25 sailed off for the finish line.
"The deal at Talladega was a hard, bitter pill but he was trying to win his first race," said Earnhardt, noting that he and Vickers have been friends "for a while.
"I don't think it was intentional what he did so it wasn't the worst thing in the world to get over.
"You don't forget things like that, but I mean after even a couple of weeks you get over it," Earnhardt said. "You're better off in the long run to concentrate on racing your race car and finishing the best you can. You're worse off in the long run if you concentrate on the grudges that you keep and somehow find a way to manipulate them every weekend. That's not going to get you as far obviously because you're not concentrating on the right thing."
Vickers called Johnson and Earnhardt the night of the Talladega incident to apologize. This past week, Earnhardt called Vickers to apologize for the Daytona wreck.
After winning the pole for the Auto Club Speedway 500 on Friday, Vickers reiterated that he didn't take out Earnhardt at Talladega.
"I didn't wreck Junior," Vickers said. "I wrecked Jimmie and Jimmie hit Junior."
That's a distinction that Earnhardt's fans are unlikely to share.
And you can bet they're keeping score
With all the responsibilities a driver has behind the wheel, the last of his concerns should be keeping a scorecard on his fellow competitors.
Still, it happens.
Matt Kenseth gave Kevin Harvick the push he needed when the No. 29 Chevrolet won the 2007 Daytona 500. Harvick returned the favor last Sunday, helping to push Kenseth to the win in the rain-shortened race.
Kenseth was well aware of who gave him the assist. Drivers rely on their spotters not only for traffic reports, but the identities of their rivals. It's helpful to be conscious of allies, enemies and idiots.
Drivers often look for teammates to help their cause, but they'll take aid from other quarters as well. On restrictor-plate tracks such as Daytona, drivers have favorite drafting partners they trust not to dump their car into the wall. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have a level of comfort together that allows them to perform magic at Daytona and Talladega.
In the past two years, Kenseth and Harvick have discovered a similar bond.
"Kevin is a great racer," Kenseth said. "He's really good at this plate stuff and I've probably learned some stuff from him. I enjoy racing with him and it was cool that we ended up together."
Rivals of Dale Earnhardt didn't always feel that way. If "The Intimidator" was in your rearview mirror, you learned to anticipate the "chrome horn."
Two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte was leading going into Turn 2 on the final lap in the 1999 Goody's 500 at Bristol. But Earnhardt drew a huge roar from the fans in Thunder Valley when he "rattled" Labonte, sending him into the wall and passing him for the win.
"He never has any intention of taking anybody out,'' Labonte said after the race. "But it just always happens that way."
That was never Mark Martin's style. Martin has lived by the philosophy of racing drivers the way he wants to be raced. It's a mantra that many of his disciples have shared, including Earnhardt Jr.
Perhaps that's why Junior was adamant that his move on Brian Vickers last week at Daytona, which caused a multicar wreck, was not payback for a 2006 incident on the last lap at Talladega.
On the final lap at the Alabama track, Vickers clipped Jimmie Johnson, who then struck leader Earnhardt. As the Nos. 8 and 48 went spinning in Turn 3, Vickers' No. 25 sailed off for the finish line.
"The deal at Talladega was a hard, bitter pill but he was trying to win his first race," said Earnhardt, noting that he and Vickers have been friends "for a while.
"I don't think it was intentional what he did so it wasn't the worst thing in the world to get over.
"You don't forget things like that, but I mean after even a couple of weeks you get over it," Earnhardt said. "You're better off in the long run to concentrate on racing your race car and finishing the best you can. You're worse off in the long run if you concentrate on the grudges that you keep and somehow find a way to manipulate them every weekend. That's not going to get you as far obviously because you're not concentrating on the right thing."
Vickers called Johnson and Earnhardt the night of the Talladega incident to apologize. This past week, Earnhardt called Vickers to apologize for the Daytona wreck.
After winning the pole for the Auto Club Speedway 500 on Friday, Vickers reiterated that he didn't take out Earnhardt at Talladega.
"I didn't wreck Junior," Vickers said. "I wrecked Jimmie and Jimmie hit Junior."
That's a distinction that Earnhardt's fans are unlikely to share.
And you can bet they're keeping score
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Busch adds Nationwide win to earlier Truck victory
I'm not a fan of Kyle Busch but I am a fan of Nascar and I have to agree that Kyle is definately in a class of his own so far this weekend at Fontana. It would be very impressive to see him pull off a sweep of the whole weekend with a win in tomorrow's Sprint Cup Race.
Kyle Busch added a dominating Nationwide Series victory to an overpowering truck win earlier Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.
The 23-year-old speedster, who led 95 of 100 laps in winning the Camping World Truck Series race, was out front for 143 of 150 laps on the 2-mile oval to earn his 22nd Nationwide victory. He became the first driver to win races in two NASCAR national touring series in the same day.
Former series champion Carl Edwards beat Busch out of the pits on the last pit stops by the leaders, but Busch powered back into the lead on the restart 16 laps from the end and pulled away.
"It's awesome," Busch said after climbing out of his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. "This is just a blast. It's pretty special to beat guys like Carl and Kevin [Harvick]. To win here twice in one day is even more special."
Despite building leads of up to 11 seconds at times during the race, it all came down to the restart on lap 135 after Edwards beat Busch out of the pits by the length of the hood on his No. 60 Ford.
On the restart, Busch nudged Edwards and dove under him as Harvick, in third, made it three-wide for several seconds before Edwards slipped all the way to fifth. Busch easily led the rest of the way, beating Harvick to the finish line by 1.011 seconds -- most of the front straightaway and almost the same margin he had in beating Todd Bodine in the truck race.
Busch's JGR teammate Joey Logano held off a determined bid by Edwards to finish third in the Nationwide event.
"You know, it's just racing," Edwards said of the winning pass. "I couldn't see behind me, but it felt like we were just racing real hard. I think I might have got touched, but he was going for the win and that's what the fans pay for.
"Man, Kyle was just in a league of his own tonight, so it was tough to be able to hang with him for most of the night."
The victory came in the first race back for crew chief Jason Ratcliff, suspended along with fellow crew chief Dave Rogers for the final 10 races of last season and Daytona after the Gibbs team was caught trying to manipulate the results of an engine dynomometer test at Michigan International Speedway.
"I've been dreaming about this," Ratcliff said. "It's a heck of a way to come back."
Kyle Busch added a dominating Nationwide Series victory to an overpowering truck win earlier Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.
The 23-year-old speedster, who led 95 of 100 laps in winning the Camping World Truck Series race, was out front for 143 of 150 laps on the 2-mile oval to earn his 22nd Nationwide victory. He became the first driver to win races in two NASCAR national touring series in the same day.
Former series champion Carl Edwards beat Busch out of the pits on the last pit stops by the leaders, but Busch powered back into the lead on the restart 16 laps from the end and pulled away.
"It's awesome," Busch said after climbing out of his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. "This is just a blast. It's pretty special to beat guys like Carl and Kevin [Harvick]. To win here twice in one day is even more special."
Despite building leads of up to 11 seconds at times during the race, it all came down to the restart on lap 135 after Edwards beat Busch out of the pits by the length of the hood on his No. 60 Ford.
On the restart, Busch nudged Edwards and dove under him as Harvick, in third, made it three-wide for several seconds before Edwards slipped all the way to fifth. Busch easily led the rest of the way, beating Harvick to the finish line by 1.011 seconds -- most of the front straightaway and almost the same margin he had in beating Todd Bodine in the truck race.
Busch's JGR teammate Joey Logano held off a determined bid by Edwards to finish third in the Nationwide event.
"You know, it's just racing," Edwards said of the winning pass. "I couldn't see behind me, but it felt like we were just racing real hard. I think I might have got touched, but he was going for the win and that's what the fans pay for.
"Man, Kyle was just in a league of his own tonight, so it was tough to be able to hang with him for most of the night."
The victory came in the first race back for crew chief Jason Ratcliff, suspended along with fellow crew chief Dave Rogers for the final 10 races of last season and Daytona after the Gibbs team was caught trying to manipulate the results of an engine dynomometer test at Michigan International Speedway.
"I've been dreaming about this," Ratcliff said. "It's a heck of a way to come back."
NASCAR-Sprint Cup-Auto Club 500 Lineup: Feb 22 2009
1. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 183.439 mph.
2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 183.164.
3. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 182.653.
4. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 182.556.
5. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 182.302.
6. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 182.209.
7. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 182.089.
8. (44) A J Allmendinger, Dodge, 182.048.
9. (82) Scott Speed , Toyota, 181.965.
10. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 181.919.
11. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 181.901.
12. (7) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 181.777.
13. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 181.726.
14. (47) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 181.653.
15. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 181.616.
16. (96) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 181.461.
17. (43) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 181.429.
18. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 181.264.
19. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 181.210.
20. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 181.173.
21. (33) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 181.137.
22. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 181.132.
23. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 180.836.
24. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 180.818.
25. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 180.773.
26. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 180.746.
27. (98) Paul Menard, Ford, 180.610.
28. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet,180.397
29. (07) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 180.374.
30. (66) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 180.320.
31. (8) Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, 180.248.
32. (71) David Gilliland, Chevrolet, 180.234.
33. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 180.176.
34. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 180.059.
35. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 179.991.
36. (36) Scott Riggs, Toyota, 179.721.
37. (28) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 179.632.
38. (12) David Stremme, Dodge, 179.390.
39. (41) Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota, 179.301.
40. (34) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 179.287.
41. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 179.109.
42. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, Owner Points
43. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 177.998.
Failed to qualify
44. (64) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 177.454.
45. (37) Tony Raines, Dodge, 177.405.
46. (51) David Starr, Dodge, 177.122.
47. (73) Mike Garvey, Dodge, 175.897.
48. (09) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 175.328.
2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 183.164.
3. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 182.653.
4. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 182.556.
5. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 182.302.
6. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 182.209.
7. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 182.089.
8. (44) A J Allmendinger, Dodge, 182.048.
9. (82) Scott Speed , Toyota, 181.965.
10. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 181.919.
11. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 181.901.
12. (7) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 181.777.
13. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 181.726.
14. (47) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 181.653.
15. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 181.616.
16. (96) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 181.461.
17. (43) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 181.429.
18. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 181.264.
19. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 181.210.
20. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 181.173.
21. (33) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 181.137.
22. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 181.132.
23. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 180.836.
24. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 180.818.
25. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 180.773.
26. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 180.746.
27. (98) Paul Menard, Ford, 180.610.
28. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet,180.397
29. (07) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 180.374.
30. (66) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 180.320.
31. (8) Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, 180.248.
32. (71) David Gilliland, Chevrolet, 180.234.
33. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 180.176.
34. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 180.059.
35. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 179.991.
36. (36) Scott Riggs, Toyota, 179.721.
37. (28) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 179.632.
38. (12) David Stremme, Dodge, 179.390.
39. (41) Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota, 179.301.
40. (34) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 179.287.
41. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 179.109.
42. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, Owner Points
43. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 177.998.
Failed to qualify
44. (64) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 177.454.
45. (37) Tony Raines, Dodge, 177.405.
46. (51) David Starr, Dodge, 177.122.
47. (73) Mike Garvey, Dodge, 175.897.
48. (09) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 175.328.
Mental toughness required to rebound from accidents
Drivers agree Junior, Vickers need to put Daytona away. I think another key word missing from this quote is MEDIA. The Media will push the issue until everyone is sick of hearing about it. Being a racer myself I know for a fact that Media,and others inability to drop a subject will just keep the bad blood flowing. Drop it already and lets move on. There are a lot more races to go and there will be a lot more wrecks and with that it will be someone elses turn on the hot seat.
Causing a wreck on the track is never a pleasant experience for any driver, but doing so in such a matter that takes nearly a quarter of the competition from the field really smarts.
Crawling into a hole or changing your last name sounds like a great idea at the time, but it's never an option for the at-fault-driver who is almost always greeted with a camera and a microphone minutes after exiting the car.
Causing the proverbial Big One on a superspeedway -- or the crash heard around the world -- is never an easy thing to overcome in a timely manner.
And as expected, fans and media types are still buzzing and dissecting the Daytona 500 wreck between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers where Vickers threw a block and Earnhardt's answer resulted in a 10-car melee which included the dominant leader of the race, Kyle Busch.
Avoidable, though not intentional, Earnhardt is looking to put the drama behind him before Sunday's Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
Mental strength, the ability to communicate and a bit of humility are characteristics required by any driver looking to land safely on the other side of a crash like Sunday's.
Carl Edwards can sympathize with Earnhardt. He caused a wreck during the Chase race at Talladega last season that nearly took out his entire Roush Fenway Racing team.
"It never feels good. It's not good to wreck at all. If it's not your fault, at least you can say, 'Hey I did the best I could do.' In the past, when I've caused a wreck I always feel the worst. You think, 'Great, I'm just going to go ahead and leave now and go home now,' Edwards said. "It's not the best feeling."
On the other hand, Edwards said if you're not wrecking you're not trying.
"If you don't ever make mistakes, you're probably not trying hard enough," he added.
That statement holds true for Earnhardt. He was racing to overcome his mistakes on pit road, racing to get his lap back and racing to beat the rain. In the process, he only beat himself.
"Well, I definitely could have used better judgment going back up on the racetrack," Earnhardt said. "It's hard to tell. There was rain coming. I was a lap down. I had to get my lap back if I was going to try to win the race. The race was getting ready to be rained out -- everybody knew that. When you're running really hard and there's rain coming, you race hard.
Nevertheless, Edwards' advice for all involved: "There's going to be wrecks for all different kinds of reasons. I've been involved in wrecks that I had nothing to do with, and I've been involved in wrecks where I've had everything to do with. I think that we all make mistakes and that's just what happened. So you've got to move on and tell everybody just to deal with it. It's part of the game."
Moving on might be easy for someone a little more forgettable than the sport's most popular driver. And from all accounts, Jr. Nation is disappointed with their favorite driver's performance.
"I don't think people ought to be critical of him," Jeff Burton said. "I think it is what it is. It's not like Junior is a constant problem. It's not like Junior causes a bunch of wrecks or like he doesn't have respect. He's one of the most respectful race car drivers out there."
Earnhardt said he regretted that so many cars were involved.
"And I hate that me and Brian had to get on bad terms with each other. Those things I regret, but I'm out there racing. I've made mistakes before, and it probably won't be the last one I make," he said.
Burton has been caught up and caused his fair share of melees and finds it most productive to have a sensible conversation with those involved.
"Emotion is a bad thing and you don't want to have a conversation in the midst of emotion. It doesn't do anything productive, but when you're willing to go to another driver and say, 'Look man, I screwed up and it was my fault, here's what happened, here's why I did what I did, I'm sorry.' And you're not a habitual offender then people are very responsive to that," Burton said. "They understand because they've been there too. It is a bad feeling. We've all done it, we've all been there and it's part of the sport and its just part of it."
Burton said he and Earnhardt also had an incident during Sunday's Daytona 500, but said the driver didn't do anything wrong.
"I got my feelings hurt like everybody does on restrictor plate races, but he didn't do anything wrong. It rests on me, not on him," he added. "I was upset about it, he and I had a great conversation because I respect him and he respects me. Junior has a lot of respect for the history of the sport, has a lot of respect for the other drivers, but he's going to make mistakes. The same way that Jimmie Johnson will, the same way Tony Stewart will, the same way I am. We make mistakes and the question is how many do you make? Junior doesn't make a lot of them."
Bottom line, no driver is immune to mistakes. How they handle them and move on sets them apart.
"All you can do is be honest with yourself and be honest with the people that you were involved in," Burton said. "We are people, we make mistakes. We are trying exceptionally hard to succeed in the sport. When you put a lot of effort and a lot of desire and a lot of dedication, you're going to have accidents. That's what happens."
And remember, it could always be worse.
It's unlikely any driver will beat the record of NASCAR largest wreck that came Feb. 13 1960, just after the start of the Daytona 250-mile Modified-Sportsman race.
Near the conclusion of the first lap, Dick Foley slid sideways through Turn 4. Foley was able to right his path and continue on, but the field stacked up behind him. As a result, 37 cars became involved and 24 were taken out of the race. A dozen cars flipped wildly and eight drivers went to the hospital.
Causing a wreck on the track is never a pleasant experience for any driver, but doing so in such a matter that takes nearly a quarter of the competition from the field really smarts.
Crawling into a hole or changing your last name sounds like a great idea at the time, but it's never an option for the at-fault-driver who is almost always greeted with a camera and a microphone minutes after exiting the car.
Causing the proverbial Big One on a superspeedway -- or the crash heard around the world -- is never an easy thing to overcome in a timely manner.
And as expected, fans and media types are still buzzing and dissecting the Daytona 500 wreck between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers where Vickers threw a block and Earnhardt's answer resulted in a 10-car melee which included the dominant leader of the race, Kyle Busch.
Avoidable, though not intentional, Earnhardt is looking to put the drama behind him before Sunday's Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
Mental strength, the ability to communicate and a bit of humility are characteristics required by any driver looking to land safely on the other side of a crash like Sunday's.
Carl Edwards can sympathize with Earnhardt. He caused a wreck during the Chase race at Talladega last season that nearly took out his entire Roush Fenway Racing team.
"It never feels good. It's not good to wreck at all. If it's not your fault, at least you can say, 'Hey I did the best I could do.' In the past, when I've caused a wreck I always feel the worst. You think, 'Great, I'm just going to go ahead and leave now and go home now,' Edwards said. "It's not the best feeling."
On the other hand, Edwards said if you're not wrecking you're not trying.
"If you don't ever make mistakes, you're probably not trying hard enough," he added.
That statement holds true for Earnhardt. He was racing to overcome his mistakes on pit road, racing to get his lap back and racing to beat the rain. In the process, he only beat himself.
"Well, I definitely could have used better judgment going back up on the racetrack," Earnhardt said. "It's hard to tell. There was rain coming. I was a lap down. I had to get my lap back if I was going to try to win the race. The race was getting ready to be rained out -- everybody knew that. When you're running really hard and there's rain coming, you race hard.
Nevertheless, Edwards' advice for all involved: "There's going to be wrecks for all different kinds of reasons. I've been involved in wrecks that I had nothing to do with, and I've been involved in wrecks where I've had everything to do with. I think that we all make mistakes and that's just what happened. So you've got to move on and tell everybody just to deal with it. It's part of the game."
Moving on might be easy for someone a little more forgettable than the sport's most popular driver. And from all accounts, Jr. Nation is disappointed with their favorite driver's performance.
"I don't think people ought to be critical of him," Jeff Burton said. "I think it is what it is. It's not like Junior is a constant problem. It's not like Junior causes a bunch of wrecks or like he doesn't have respect. He's one of the most respectful race car drivers out there."
Earnhardt said he regretted that so many cars were involved.
"And I hate that me and Brian had to get on bad terms with each other. Those things I regret, but I'm out there racing. I've made mistakes before, and it probably won't be the last one I make," he said.
Burton has been caught up and caused his fair share of melees and finds it most productive to have a sensible conversation with those involved.
"Emotion is a bad thing and you don't want to have a conversation in the midst of emotion. It doesn't do anything productive, but when you're willing to go to another driver and say, 'Look man, I screwed up and it was my fault, here's what happened, here's why I did what I did, I'm sorry.' And you're not a habitual offender then people are very responsive to that," Burton said. "They understand because they've been there too. It is a bad feeling. We've all done it, we've all been there and it's part of the sport and its just part of it."
Burton said he and Earnhardt also had an incident during Sunday's Daytona 500, but said the driver didn't do anything wrong.
"I got my feelings hurt like everybody does on restrictor plate races, but he didn't do anything wrong. It rests on me, not on him," he added. "I was upset about it, he and I had a great conversation because I respect him and he respects me. Junior has a lot of respect for the history of the sport, has a lot of respect for the other drivers, but he's going to make mistakes. The same way that Jimmie Johnson will, the same way Tony Stewart will, the same way I am. We make mistakes and the question is how many do you make? Junior doesn't make a lot of them."
Bottom line, no driver is immune to mistakes. How they handle them and move on sets them apart.
"All you can do is be honest with yourself and be honest with the people that you were involved in," Burton said. "We are people, we make mistakes. We are trying exceptionally hard to succeed in the sport. When you put a lot of effort and a lot of desire and a lot of dedication, you're going to have accidents. That's what happens."
And remember, it could always be worse.
It's unlikely any driver will beat the record of NASCAR largest wreck that came Feb. 13 1960, just after the start of the Daytona 250-mile Modified-Sportsman race.
Near the conclusion of the first lap, Dick Foley slid sideways through Turn 4. Foley was able to right his path and continue on, but the field stacked up behind him. As a result, 37 cars became involved and 24 were taken out of the race. A dozen cars flipped wildly and eight drivers went to the hospital.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Iraqi says he threw shoes at Bush to restore pride
I guess if throwing a shoe is all it takes to restore someones pride then we should all start being aware of flying shoes. Retaliation goes both ways. He would have never had the chance nor the thought of needing to restore his pride had it not been for the attack on the citizens of this great country. I know the country is divided on the subject and it's just my opinion but I believe by attacking the people of this country you in turn should get and expect the same in return. I personally think it is an unforgivable act.
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush did not apologize as his trial began Thursday, and instead struck a defiant tone — telling the judges he wanted to hit back at the humiliation Iraq had suffered at U.S. hands.
It was Muntadhar al-Zeidi's first public appearance since he was arrested in mid-December for hurling shoes at Bush during a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The act turned the obscure 30-year-old reporter into a cult hero throughout much of the Middle East.
"What made me do it was the humiliation Iraq has been subjected to due to the U.S. occupation and the murder of innocent people," al-Zeidi told the court. "I wanted to restore the pride of the Iraqis in any way possible, apart from using weapons."
He also said he had been tortured with beatings and electric shocks during his interrogation — allegations the Iraqi government has denied. The trial was later adjourned until March 12.
Dozens of cheering and ululating supporters greeted al-Zeidi as he arrived at the courthouse in western Baghdad in an Iraqi army Humvee. As the journalist walked into the courtroom, his aunt handed him a scarf imprinted with a red, black and green Iraqi flag, which he kissed. He wrapped the scarf around his neck and wore it proudly during his 30-minute testimony to the three-judge panel.
Many people in the region — angry over the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq — have embraced al-Zeidi. They have staged large street rallies calling for his release, and one Iraqi man erected a sofa-sized sculpture of a shoe in his honor that the Iraqi government later ordered removed.
When al-Zeidi threw his shoes at Bush, he shouted in Arabic: "This is your farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
The shoes did not hit Bush, who ducked, and al-Zeidi was quickly wrestled to the ground by guards and dragged away.
Al-Maliki was deeply embarrassed by the assault on an American president who had stood by him when some Arab leaders were quietly urging the U.S. to oust him.
Al-Zeidi told the court Thursday that he did not intend to harm Bush or embarrass al-Maliki, but he did not apologize for his actions.
He conceded he had recorded himself planning to insult Bush at a news conference in Amman, Jordan, two years ago but he ended up not going to the neighboring country.
"And, yes, I said that to the prime minister's guards after I was beaten and suffering from electric shocks," he added.
He denied, however, that the December action was premeditated, saying he decided to throw his shoes after becoming enraged as Bush spoke about his achievements at the news conference — held a little over a month before the president handed the war off to his successor, Barack Obama, who has pledged to end it.
"I was seeing a whole country in calamity while Bush was giving a cold and spiritless smile," al-Zeidi testified. "He was saying goodbye after causing the death of many Iraqis and economic destruction."
Al-Zeidi's lawyers say he has been charged with assaulting a foreign leader, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. They unsuccessfully tried to get the charge reduced, contending the act didn't merit such harsh punishment.
The defense argued Thursday that the current charge is not applicable because Bush was not in Baghdad on an official visit, having arrived unannounced and without an invitation.
"The visit was not formal because Bush is an occupier and he was received by the commander of the U.S. Army and it was an undeclared visit," lawyer Ghalib al-Rubaie said. "President Jalal Talabani and the prime minister did not receive him when he arrived."
Judge Abdul-Amir al-Rubaie recessed the trial until next month, saying the court needed time to ask the Iraqi Cabinet whether Bush's visit was "formal or informal." Visits to Iraq by foreign dignitaries are rarely announced in advance due to security reasons.
Al-Zeidi, who wore a beige suit and a black shirt, spoke confidently during his testimony and showed no signs of the injuries he allegedly suffered at the hands of security officers at the time of the incident.
The case's investigating judge has said the journalist was struck about the face and eyes, apparently by security agents who wrestled him to the ground.
Two Cabinet protocol employees denied this allegation Thursday, testifying that members of the audience beat al-Zeidi, but government security officers had not.
One of al-Zeidi's lawyers, Karim al-Shujeiri, said the court should have called independent witnesses, not government employees.
Supporters who rallied in front of the courthouse said al-Zeidi should be praised for confronting Bush, not punished.
"What Muntadhar has done is revenge for Iraqi widows and for the bloodshed caused by the occupation and policy of Bush," said al-Zeidi's aunt, Nawal Lazim.
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush did not apologize as his trial began Thursday, and instead struck a defiant tone — telling the judges he wanted to hit back at the humiliation Iraq had suffered at U.S. hands.
It was Muntadhar al-Zeidi's first public appearance since he was arrested in mid-December for hurling shoes at Bush during a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The act turned the obscure 30-year-old reporter into a cult hero throughout much of the Middle East.
"What made me do it was the humiliation Iraq has been subjected to due to the U.S. occupation and the murder of innocent people," al-Zeidi told the court. "I wanted to restore the pride of the Iraqis in any way possible, apart from using weapons."
He also said he had been tortured with beatings and electric shocks during his interrogation — allegations the Iraqi government has denied. The trial was later adjourned until March 12.
Dozens of cheering and ululating supporters greeted al-Zeidi as he arrived at the courthouse in western Baghdad in an Iraqi army Humvee. As the journalist walked into the courtroom, his aunt handed him a scarf imprinted with a red, black and green Iraqi flag, which he kissed. He wrapped the scarf around his neck and wore it proudly during his 30-minute testimony to the three-judge panel.
Many people in the region — angry over the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq — have embraced al-Zeidi. They have staged large street rallies calling for his release, and one Iraqi man erected a sofa-sized sculpture of a shoe in his honor that the Iraqi government later ordered removed.
When al-Zeidi threw his shoes at Bush, he shouted in Arabic: "This is your farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
The shoes did not hit Bush, who ducked, and al-Zeidi was quickly wrestled to the ground by guards and dragged away.
Al-Maliki was deeply embarrassed by the assault on an American president who had stood by him when some Arab leaders were quietly urging the U.S. to oust him.
Al-Zeidi told the court Thursday that he did not intend to harm Bush or embarrass al-Maliki, but he did not apologize for his actions.
He conceded he had recorded himself planning to insult Bush at a news conference in Amman, Jordan, two years ago but he ended up not going to the neighboring country.
"And, yes, I said that to the prime minister's guards after I was beaten and suffering from electric shocks," he added.
He denied, however, that the December action was premeditated, saying he decided to throw his shoes after becoming enraged as Bush spoke about his achievements at the news conference — held a little over a month before the president handed the war off to his successor, Barack Obama, who has pledged to end it.
"I was seeing a whole country in calamity while Bush was giving a cold and spiritless smile," al-Zeidi testified. "He was saying goodbye after causing the death of many Iraqis and economic destruction."
Al-Zeidi's lawyers say he has been charged with assaulting a foreign leader, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. They unsuccessfully tried to get the charge reduced, contending the act didn't merit such harsh punishment.
The defense argued Thursday that the current charge is not applicable because Bush was not in Baghdad on an official visit, having arrived unannounced and without an invitation.
"The visit was not formal because Bush is an occupier and he was received by the commander of the U.S. Army and it was an undeclared visit," lawyer Ghalib al-Rubaie said. "President Jalal Talabani and the prime minister did not receive him when he arrived."
Judge Abdul-Amir al-Rubaie recessed the trial until next month, saying the court needed time to ask the Iraqi Cabinet whether Bush's visit was "formal or informal." Visits to Iraq by foreign dignitaries are rarely announced in advance due to security reasons.
Al-Zeidi, who wore a beige suit and a black shirt, spoke confidently during his testimony and showed no signs of the injuries he allegedly suffered at the hands of security officers at the time of the incident.
The case's investigating judge has said the journalist was struck about the face and eyes, apparently by security agents who wrestled him to the ground.
Two Cabinet protocol employees denied this allegation Thursday, testifying that members of the audience beat al-Zeidi, but government security officers had not.
One of al-Zeidi's lawyers, Karim al-Shujeiri, said the court should have called independent witnesses, not government employees.
Supporters who rallied in front of the courthouse said al-Zeidi should be praised for confronting Bush, not punished.
"What Muntadhar has done is revenge for Iraqi widows and for the bloodshed caused by the occupation and policy of Bush," said al-Zeidi's aunt, Nawal Lazim.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Is the pressure finally getting to Junior?
I think every racer out there has a certain amount of pressure that he puts on himself, and I am sure when he is driving for someone else there is pressure from the owner as well as the team. How each person handles that pressure is what it comes down to. I don't think Jr. has anymore pressure than the next guy, he handles it in his own way,just as everyone should. I think he will have a lot more wins in his career. I don't think his lack of win has anything to do with pressure getting to him, we all have bad days, get into a slump,etc. It's just a matter of time until he hits on what it takes to shake him out of the rut he is in and he will once again be back on top. If there is any pressure that he may struggle with I would think it would be the pressure that people put on him as being Dale Earnhardt's son and expect him to be the same as his father. He may be following in his fathers foot steps but it was clear long ago that he is his own person and he is going to do it his own way. I am and always will be a Dale Jr. fan and support him when he is up just as much as when he is down.
It was as uneasy as 1-2-3.
1. One big, controversial wreck.2. Two inexplicable pit-road blunders.3. Three, at the very least, drivers called him out.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Daytona 500 began with promise. He ran up front early and passed Kyle Busch for the lead on Lap 53. But on his subsequent pit he missed his stall. Track position was gone.
A pitiful day
Daytona the pits for Junior
Video: Junior's pit mistakes
"If you look down this pit road, my sign is pink and every other sign is pink so it's hard to see," he summized. "They're all about the same color."
Later in the race when he came to pit, his tire was on the line, which is a no-no in NASCAR. Changes were made to the car anyway, resulting in a one-lap penalty.
"We had a pit stop where I was told the right-front tire was only an inch over the line," Earnhardt said. "I was held a lap for that and I don't feel like that was a fair trade. Maybe it's time to re-evaluate that rule."
And it was just a few laps later when things went from bad to worse. A collision between he and Brian Vickers triggered a multi-car crash that took out several lead cars. Both Earnhardt and Vickers were running a lap down at the time.
Vickers blamed Earnhardt, as did lap-leader Kyle Busch. Earnhardt was defiant.
"I got ran into 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?" he quipped. "Then what am I supposed to do? Stay down there? No. I got to get back up on the race track.
"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."
But Jeff Burton must not have thought so.
“
Matt won. Congratulations. He always says that he wants me to tutor him on these plate tracks. He finally got his damn trophy and can give me some damn pointers.
”
DALE EARNHARDT JR.
"I was trying to get my lap back and I think it was three-wide and [I] 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," Earnhardt said of Burton, before defending himself further.
"But rain's coming, time to try to win the race, you know what I mean? Time to try to get back on the lead lap. So I had to run hard and Vickers could have just held his ground. I had a big ol' run on him and I went to the inside. I didn't try to make no late move, 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. He drove us down in the grass almost and I didn't have much control over my car after that."
For NASCAR's most popular driver in NASCAR's most popular race, it was not a good day. Was Junior at fault for the wreck (watch video)?
But an even bigger question has emerged: Is the pressure of driving for Hendrick Motorsports, where there are no excuses, finally getting to Dale Jr.? Even he admits pressure led to his first pit-road mistake.
"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," he said.
He must not have been thinking good when he said this about Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth.
"Matt won. Good deal. Congratulations. He always says that he wants me to tutor him on these plate tracks. He finally got his damn trophy and can give me some damn pointers."
It was as uneasy as 1-2-3.
1. One big, controversial wreck.2. Two inexplicable pit-road blunders.3. Three, at the very least, drivers called him out.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Daytona 500 began with promise. He ran up front early and passed Kyle Busch for the lead on Lap 53. But on his subsequent pit he missed his stall. Track position was gone.
A pitiful day
Daytona the pits for Junior
Video: Junior's pit mistakes
"If you look down this pit road, my sign is pink and every other sign is pink so it's hard to see," he summized. "They're all about the same color."
Later in the race when he came to pit, his tire was on the line, which is a no-no in NASCAR. Changes were made to the car anyway, resulting in a one-lap penalty.
"We had a pit stop where I was told the right-front tire was only an inch over the line," Earnhardt said. "I was held a lap for that and I don't feel like that was a fair trade. Maybe it's time to re-evaluate that rule."
And it was just a few laps later when things went from bad to worse. A collision between he and Brian Vickers triggered a multi-car crash that took out several lead cars. Both Earnhardt and Vickers were running a lap down at the time.
Vickers blamed Earnhardt, as did lap-leader Kyle Busch. Earnhardt was defiant.
"I got ran into 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?" he quipped. "Then what am I supposed to do? Stay down there? No. I got to get back up on the race track.
"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."
But Jeff Burton must not have thought so.
“
Matt won. Congratulations. He always says that he wants me to tutor him on these plate tracks. He finally got his damn trophy and can give me some damn pointers.
”
DALE EARNHARDT JR.
"I was trying to get my lap back and I think it was three-wide and [I] 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," Earnhardt said of Burton, before defending himself further.
"But rain's coming, time to try to win the race, you know what I mean? Time to try to get back on the lead lap. So I had to run hard and Vickers could have just held his ground. I had a big ol' run on him and I went to the inside. I didn't try to make no late move, 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. He drove us down in the grass almost and I didn't have much control over my car after that."
For NASCAR's most popular driver in NASCAR's most popular race, it was not a good day. Was Junior at fault for the wreck (watch video)?
But an even bigger question has emerged: Is the pressure of driving for Hendrick Motorsports, where there are no excuses, finally getting to Dale Jr.? Even he admits pressure led to his first pit-road mistake.
"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," he said.
He must not have been thinking good when he said this about Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth.
"Matt won. Good deal. Congratulations. He always says that he wants me to tutor him on these plate tracks. He finally got his damn trophy and can give me some damn pointers."
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Kenseth wins rain-shortened Daytona 500
Matt Kenseth has ended a 36-race winless streak in taking out the rain-shortened Daytona 500 in Florida today.
Kenseth started the race in last place, starting in his back-up car after wrecking his other and only took the lead two laps before NASCAR stopped the event.
Drivers, parked in pit lane, were forced to wait some time before NASCAR officials declared the race over and Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, climbed tearfully from his car to celebrate.
"It's going to be really wet if I cry like a baby," the usually cool Kenseth told Associated Press as he choked back tears.
"I tell you what, after last year, winning a race means a lot to me."
Kevin Harvick, who used a push from Kenseth to win the 500 in 2007, finished second.
AJ Allmendinger, who had to race his way into the field in one of Thursday's qualifiers, finished third.
Clint Bowyer was fourth and Sadler was fifth, devastated he lost the lead moments before the rain stopped the race.
Kenseth started the race in last place, starting in his back-up car after wrecking his other and only took the lead two laps before NASCAR stopped the event.
Drivers, parked in pit lane, were forced to wait some time before NASCAR officials declared the race over and Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, climbed tearfully from his car to celebrate.
"It's going to be really wet if I cry like a baby," the usually cool Kenseth told Associated Press as he choked back tears.
"I tell you what, after last year, winning a race means a lot to me."
Kevin Harvick, who used a push from Kenseth to win the 500 in 2007, finished second.
AJ Allmendinger, who had to race his way into the field in one of Thursday's qualifiers, finished third.
Clint Bowyer was fourth and Sadler was fifth, devastated he lost the lead moments before the rain stopped the race.
Tony Stewart wrecks, unloads on Goodyear once again
I have to say that one of the things that makes Tony Stewart one of my favorite drivers is the fact that he is never afraid to speak his mind. Especially when it comes to goodyear and their racing tires. He once again had to let goodyear know what he thought of their tire after both of his cars were wrecked in saturday's final practice at Daytona.
The fun just keeps rolling on for Stewart-Haas ... and Tony Stewart's feud with Goodyear has a brand new chapter.
Saturday morning, new teammates Ryan Newman and Stewart ended up wrecking into each other, causing all kinds of headaches for Stewart-Haas before the season even begins. And anybody who had Day minus-1 in their "When will Tony Stewart's first blowup of 2009 come?" -- winner, winner!
The deal: In practice, Newman's right-rear tire blew, sending him spinning lengthwise up the track. Stewart, drafting behind him, hit him broadside. Newman's car -- his second this week, after the Duel wreck with David Reutimann -- was, by his estimation, "junk," and looking at it, it's hard to disagree. Stewart will have to go to a backup car for the Daytona 500. What that means for Tony is that he'll drop from fifth down to the back of the back to start the race Sunday. Smoke will be driving the car he finished third with in the Bud Shootout earlier this week, while Newman will be driving the car that had been designated the 14's secondary backup, a dedicated superspeedway car with a history of runs at Talladega and Daytona.
In an interview afterward, Smoke hammered Goodyear, saying "apparently this is their marketing strategy, to get press. I'm tired of talking about them, tired of it being an issue. Talking about them now isn't going to change anything; it falls on deaf ears."
Some unfortunate reporter decided to ask Tony the standard mindless media question -- "How's this going to affect your chances of winning the 500?" -- and Smoke shot back, "I don't know, rocket scientist. I'm sitting here with a backup car. What do you think?"
He continued on: "We've got a lot of work to do. I'm pissed. I'm not happy, I'm not cordial. If two guys wrecked, that's one thing, but the manufacturer has the sole deal, they don't have any competition, and they can't give us a tire to keep us from having wrecks."
Stewart said Newman will be going to his California backup car, the backup to his backup. And he finished off with some advice for Goodyear executives:
"Don't bring 'em anywhere near me."
UPDATE 1: When asked about the "deaf ears" comment, Stu Grant, Goodyear GM of Worldwide Racing, replied, "Tony is a passionate race driver and extremely frustrated right now with the condition of the race car and unfortunate circumstances...That's what you hear in his comments." However, he didn't exactly do anything to defuse Stewart's criticism. Grant added that "at this point in time, evidence points to a classic case of a punctured right rear [tire]."
UPDATE 2: An hour later, when told that Goodyear claimed the tire failure was a result of a puncture, Newman responded, "I'm sure they would." He added that "a punctured tire doesn't lead to [the damage] it did."
The fun just keeps rolling on for Stewart-Haas ... and Tony Stewart's feud with Goodyear has a brand new chapter.
Saturday morning, new teammates Ryan Newman and Stewart ended up wrecking into each other, causing all kinds of headaches for Stewart-Haas before the season even begins. And anybody who had Day minus-1 in their "When will Tony Stewart's first blowup of 2009 come?" -- winner, winner!
The deal: In practice, Newman's right-rear tire blew, sending him spinning lengthwise up the track. Stewart, drafting behind him, hit him broadside. Newman's car -- his second this week, after the Duel wreck with David Reutimann -- was, by his estimation, "junk," and looking at it, it's hard to disagree. Stewart will have to go to a backup car for the Daytona 500. What that means for Tony is that he'll drop from fifth down to the back of the back to start the race Sunday. Smoke will be driving the car he finished third with in the Bud Shootout earlier this week, while Newman will be driving the car that had been designated the 14's secondary backup, a dedicated superspeedway car with a history of runs at Talladega and Daytona.
In an interview afterward, Smoke hammered Goodyear, saying "apparently this is their marketing strategy, to get press. I'm tired of talking about them, tired of it being an issue. Talking about them now isn't going to change anything; it falls on deaf ears."
Some unfortunate reporter decided to ask Tony the standard mindless media question -- "How's this going to affect your chances of winning the 500?" -- and Smoke shot back, "I don't know, rocket scientist. I'm sitting here with a backup car. What do you think?"
He continued on: "We've got a lot of work to do. I'm pissed. I'm not happy, I'm not cordial. If two guys wrecked, that's one thing, but the manufacturer has the sole deal, they don't have any competition, and they can't give us a tire to keep us from having wrecks."
Stewart said Newman will be going to his California backup car, the backup to his backup. And he finished off with some advice for Goodyear executives:
"Don't bring 'em anywhere near me."
UPDATE 1: When asked about the "deaf ears" comment, Stu Grant, Goodyear GM of Worldwide Racing, replied, "Tony is a passionate race driver and extremely frustrated right now with the condition of the race car and unfortunate circumstances...That's what you hear in his comments." However, he didn't exactly do anything to defuse Stewart's criticism. Grant added that "at this point in time, evidence points to a classic case of a punctured right rear [tire]."
UPDATE 2: An hour later, when told that Goodyear claimed the tire failure was a result of a puncture, Newman responded, "I'm sure they would." He added that "a punctured tire doesn't lead to [the damage] it did."
Saturday, February 14, 2009
BREATHTAKING
One of the things I like to do from time to time is write poems. I thought since it is Valentines Day I would share one of my favorite ones.
I hear your sweet voice whisper in my ear,
awakening my heart and bringing a smile to my lips,
calming my nerves and driving away my fear,
as gentle as that of a mother to her newborn child,
my breath is takin when i hear your sweet voice in my ear,
I see your face,the beauty i love so much,
I feel the warmth of your breath as you kiss my neck
your sweet soft lips are a welcomed touch,
my breath is takin by your beauty i love so much
I feel the presence of your body against mine,
a fragrence of perfume mixed with lust and our body heat
make me gasp from desire,my heart skips a beat,
I feel our souls mateing and everything's fine
my breath is takin when your body is pessed against mine
I feel your lips touch mine,our first kiss i have practiced so well
love washes over me, passion and desire capture my mind,
sending me spinning out of control,my feelings for you are like a spell,
these feelings i have are the ones i thought i would never find,
my breath is takin when your lips touch mine
All the feelings and desires,the passion seem so real to me,
is it just a spell you have on me,or are these feelings meant to be
I take a chance,open my eyes to the unseen,fearing what i will see,
my feelings,my desires,my passion for you are so true,
My love..My breath is takin by you................
~by~me
I hear your sweet voice whisper in my ear,
awakening my heart and bringing a smile to my lips,
calming my nerves and driving away my fear,
as gentle as that of a mother to her newborn child,
my breath is takin when i hear your sweet voice in my ear,
I see your face,the beauty i love so much,
I feel the warmth of your breath as you kiss my neck
your sweet soft lips are a welcomed touch,
my breath is takin by your beauty i love so much
I feel the presence of your body against mine,
a fragrence of perfume mixed with lust and our body heat
make me gasp from desire,my heart skips a beat,
I feel our souls mateing and everything's fine
my breath is takin when your body is pessed against mine
I feel your lips touch mine,our first kiss i have practiced so well
love washes over me, passion and desire capture my mind,
sending me spinning out of control,my feelings for you are like a spell,
these feelings i have are the ones i thought i would never find,
my breath is takin when your lips touch mine
All the feelings and desires,the passion seem so real to me,
is it just a spell you have on me,or are these feelings meant to be
I take a chance,open my eyes to the unseen,fearing what i will see,
my feelings,my desires,my passion for you are so true,
My love..My breath is takin by you................
~by~me
VALENTINES DAY
I never know exactly what is better. Being single on the day of Love or having someone in my life to share it with. It seems that no matter what it never turns out to be a very good day for me. I really hate Holiday's like this, right along with Birthday's. Don't get me wrong I do like to be romantic and let that special person know how much they mean to me. Why do we need a special day to do that? Why should I/we have to pay over inflated prices for flowers and gifts when we can get for a very reasonable price on any other given day. I guess I just don't like to be put in a position where I am expected to have to give a gift,whether it be flowers,card,etc. To me it's just another day. Right up there with birthday's LOL I wish we didn't have to keep having birthdays,so i would rather not celebrate mine. My kids on the other hand I am always happy to help them enjoy their birthdays to the fullest. I just felt like complaining a bit about it, thats all.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Do You Watch American Idol??
I watch American Idol now and then but I don't watch each season from start to finish. I do enjoy watching the funny auditions,and the final 12 countdown to the winner. I do have to say that I can't believe the disqualified Joanna Pacitti. I really don't see what the big deal is. There have been contestants in the past who have previous experience in the music and entertainment world. Even if they have recorded before and only sold 16,000 copies of their album. If thats all they sold then I would not call that success. Isn't the whole point of the show to find the talent out there in this world and expose them to the public to choose their favorite and make them a star? I just think Joanna Pacitti isn't being treated fairly. What do you think? Here is the article I read about it yesterday.
American Idol semifinalist disqualified
An "American Idol" contestant who was among the show's top 36 was disqualified.
In its press released issued Wednesday night announcing the 36 contenders, Fox TV said that Joanna Pacitti was "ineligible to continue." No reason was given by Fox.
But a person familiar with the decision said Thursday that Pacitti was dropped to avoid any appearance of business impropriety. The person, who did not elaborate, spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized by Fox and the show's producers to talk about the dismissal.
Felicia Barton of Virginia Beach, Va., replaced Pacitti, a Philadelphia native, in the top 36.
The show announced the semifinalists Wednesday night, then later released an update saying it had cut Pacitti loose and subbed in Barton, a 26-year-old married mom.
Pacitti, 23, could not immediately be reached for comment.
A few of the contestants in Tuesday night's episode, including Pacitti, flubbed the lyrics but made it through to the next round.
Pacitti, who auditioned in Louisville, Ky., entered "Idol" with a show-biz resume. She had a record deal with Geffen and released an album in 2006. Billboard reports it sold more than 16,000 copies. "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi recognized Pacitti when she auditioned in Louisville, Ky.
She also starred in "Annie" on Broadway as a young girl, and sang on the soundtracks for the movies "Legally Blonde" and "Bratz." Britney Spears' tune "Out From Under," from her latest album, was first performed by Pacitti on the "Bratz" soundtrack.
All that experience was enough to draw complaints from viewers who thought she was too polished for the top-rated show, which purports to pluck raw talent out of nowhere and turn them into stars.
However, eight seasons in, "Idol" has selected singers who have spent time in the recording studio.
Pacitti's situation echoed the controversy over last season's finalists, Carly Smithson and Kristy Lee Cook, who had previous record deals.
Smithson had recorded an album for MCA Records, while Cook once had a deal with Arista Nashville. Other experienced seventh-season singers include Robbie Carrico, who was in the pop group Boyz N Girlz United, and runner-up David Archuleta, who won "Star Search" in 2003.
American Idol semifinalist disqualified
An "American Idol" contestant who was among the show's top 36 was disqualified.
In its press released issued Wednesday night announcing the 36 contenders, Fox TV said that Joanna Pacitti was "ineligible to continue." No reason was given by Fox.
But a person familiar with the decision said Thursday that Pacitti was dropped to avoid any appearance of business impropriety. The person, who did not elaborate, spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized by Fox and the show's producers to talk about the dismissal.
Felicia Barton of Virginia Beach, Va., replaced Pacitti, a Philadelphia native, in the top 36.
The show announced the semifinalists Wednesday night, then later released an update saying it had cut Pacitti loose and subbed in Barton, a 26-year-old married mom.
Pacitti, 23, could not immediately be reached for comment.
A few of the contestants in Tuesday night's episode, including Pacitti, flubbed the lyrics but made it through to the next round.
Pacitti, who auditioned in Louisville, Ky., entered "Idol" with a show-biz resume. She had a record deal with Geffen and released an album in 2006. Billboard reports it sold more than 16,000 copies. "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi recognized Pacitti when she auditioned in Louisville, Ky.
She also starred in "Annie" on Broadway as a young girl, and sang on the soundtracks for the movies "Legally Blonde" and "Bratz." Britney Spears' tune "Out From Under," from her latest album, was first performed by Pacitti on the "Bratz" soundtrack.
All that experience was enough to draw complaints from viewers who thought she was too polished for the top-rated show, which purports to pluck raw talent out of nowhere and turn them into stars.
However, eight seasons in, "Idol" has selected singers who have spent time in the recording studio.
Pacitti's situation echoed the controversy over last season's finalists, Carly Smithson and Kristy Lee Cook, who had previous record deals.
Smithson had recorded an album for MCA Records, while Cook once had a deal with Arista Nashville. Other experienced seventh-season singers include Robbie Carrico, who was in the pop group Boyz N Girlz United, and runner-up David Archuleta, who won "Star Search" in 2003.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Nintendo Wii.
After months of hearing from my children how much they just had to have a Wii. We decided to go ahead and get one for christmas. Sounded like a great thing for the whole family to do together. LOL I was right but did not expect it to be such a workout. While the Wii has proved to be a lot of fun and we have spent hours together as a family playing the game. The big surprise to me was the hours I would spend thinking I was not in as good of shape as I thought I was. I think of myself as a pretty active person,not overweight,get plenty of excercise,etc. I have to say that it has made my,wrist,forearm,elbow and shoulder very very sore. It has gotten to the point that I couldn't even hardly move my arm. I though about going to the Dr. but was embarrassed to say how I got into such a beat up shape. I don't play it as hard as I did when we first got it and over time it doesn't seem to make me as sore as it did when I first started playing. I decided to take a look on the internet and see what people were saying about their Wii's and was surprised at some of the injuries people have suffered at the mercy of the Wii. I am not knocking the game by any means, I am just sharing how it effected me and a little of what I found about it. The following article has a couple links to sites regarding Wii injuries.
INJURIES GROW ALONG WITH WII POPULARITY
Since its introduction in 2006, the Wii video game system from Nintendo has won praise from some health advocates for getting its users up off the couch, and at least getting some exercise while playing.
But some especially active users may be getting a little too much exercise, resulting in what can only be described as sports injuries.
“After a few rounds of Wii Boxing, Wii Tennis and Wii Bowling, I started to really feel sore in my right tricep and my right thigh muscles,” said Jared Brickey, a student at Middle Tennessee State University. “It wasn't so bad that night, but man, was I sore in the morning.”
Player warnings, in fact, are incorporated into game manuals such as the Wii instruction booklet, which advises, "WARNING — Repetitive Motion Injuries and Eyestrain. Playing videogames can make your muscles, joints, skin or eyes hurt.”
Wii Sports, the game package that features the boxing, tennis and bowling games that gave Brickey’s muscles such a workout, has been the culprit of most injuries seen on gaming Web sites that report injuries by users. In spite of the muscle strain that playing the system inflicted, however, Brickey said he intends to keep utilizing the Wii gaming system.
“I really do consider most Wii games to be more exercise than just about anything, at least with Wii Sports,” he said.
Some videogamers, though, are quick to concede that they wound up on the wrong end of a Wii controller and sustained injuries they don’t care to repeat.
Further, a perusal of gamer Web sites such as http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/ reveals pictures of injuries endured by players as a result of indulging in videogaming, including photos of injuries sustained by players who said they overexerted themselves while playing, became too involved in a particular game, and ignored their physical limits.
One Nintendo Wii gamer known simply as Fred, for example, relayed his gaming-turned-injury story via wiihaveaproblem.com, saying, "My left foot slipped mid-swing, and my body was being twisted at (that) time … and my whole body weight went onto my right ankle!"
Admittedly, wrote Fred, he was playing Wii’s Homerun Derby game in his socks when he tried swinging the remote "as hard as I could." Consequently, he lost his balance and his ankle paid the price, but it’s not as if the console’s creators don’t warn players to guard against overexertion.
Aside from the "take a 10- to 15-minute break every hour, even if you don't think you need it" precautions outlined in user manuals, the Wii Sports games feature a pause menu that encourages players to take it easy, with a "Why not take a break?" message. Still, many do not.
Brickey, for instance, said he never pays attention to the break messages that appear on game screens.
“I'm going to play for five straight hours in Zelda when a game is that good,” said Brickey, who’s been an avid gamer for 15 of 21 his years.
Meanwhile, Shandora Dorse, a physician’s assistant at MTSU’s McFarland Health Services, said that college-age gamers such as Brickey who’ve played for years may be able to handle physical videogames better than older players, but it’s important for individuals to know their own limits.
“Let pain be your gauge,” advised Dorse, who said any stretching related to the upper body, neck and shoulder muscles can help reduce the risk of soreness or possible injury during gaming.
The video game industry as a whole has progressed far beyond its initial “stereotypical skate punk in the basement playing Doom” and continues to rival the popularity of TV. In 2001 — for the first time ever — it generated more revenue than did Hollywood’s box office.
“Hollywood’s definitely paying attention,” said Dr. Bob Kalwinsky, assistant professor of electronic media communication at Middle Tennessee State University, who says gaming offers an experience users don’t get from other media.
“It’s a social experience, and we’re social animals,” Kalwinsky said. “We want to interact with others, but gaming’s appeal goes beyond the interactive aspect. With gaming, you can explore an environment that’s different each time you play it and you have a great degree of freedom to explore.”
INJURIES GROW ALONG WITH WII POPULARITY
Since its introduction in 2006, the Wii video game system from Nintendo has won praise from some health advocates for getting its users up off the couch, and at least getting some exercise while playing.
But some especially active users may be getting a little too much exercise, resulting in what can only be described as sports injuries.
“After a few rounds of Wii Boxing, Wii Tennis and Wii Bowling, I started to really feel sore in my right tricep and my right thigh muscles,” said Jared Brickey, a student at Middle Tennessee State University. “It wasn't so bad that night, but man, was I sore in the morning.”
Player warnings, in fact, are incorporated into game manuals such as the Wii instruction booklet, which advises, "WARNING — Repetitive Motion Injuries and Eyestrain. Playing videogames can make your muscles, joints, skin or eyes hurt.”
Wii Sports, the game package that features the boxing, tennis and bowling games that gave Brickey’s muscles such a workout, has been the culprit of most injuries seen on gaming Web sites that report injuries by users. In spite of the muscle strain that playing the system inflicted, however, Brickey said he intends to keep utilizing the Wii gaming system.
“I really do consider most Wii games to be more exercise than just about anything, at least with Wii Sports,” he said.
Some videogamers, though, are quick to concede that they wound up on the wrong end of a Wii controller and sustained injuries they don’t care to repeat.
Further, a perusal of gamer Web sites such as http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/ reveals pictures of injuries endured by players as a result of indulging in videogaming, including photos of injuries sustained by players who said they overexerted themselves while playing, became too involved in a particular game, and ignored their physical limits.
One Nintendo Wii gamer known simply as Fred, for example, relayed his gaming-turned-injury story via wiihaveaproblem.com, saying, "My left foot slipped mid-swing, and my body was being twisted at (that) time … and my whole body weight went onto my right ankle!"
Admittedly, wrote Fred, he was playing Wii’s Homerun Derby game in his socks when he tried swinging the remote "as hard as I could." Consequently, he lost his balance and his ankle paid the price, but it’s not as if the console’s creators don’t warn players to guard against overexertion.
Aside from the "take a 10- to 15-minute break every hour, even if you don't think you need it" precautions outlined in user manuals, the Wii Sports games feature a pause menu that encourages players to take it easy, with a "Why not take a break?" message. Still, many do not.
Brickey, for instance, said he never pays attention to the break messages that appear on game screens.
“I'm going to play for five straight hours in Zelda when a game is that good,” said Brickey, who’s been an avid gamer for 15 of 21 his years.
Meanwhile, Shandora Dorse, a physician’s assistant at MTSU’s McFarland Health Services, said that college-age gamers such as Brickey who’ve played for years may be able to handle physical videogames better than older players, but it’s important for individuals to know their own limits.
“Let pain be your gauge,” advised Dorse, who said any stretching related to the upper body, neck and shoulder muscles can help reduce the risk of soreness or possible injury during gaming.
The video game industry as a whole has progressed far beyond its initial “stereotypical skate punk in the basement playing Doom” and continues to rival the popularity of TV. In 2001 — for the first time ever — it generated more revenue than did Hollywood’s box office.
“Hollywood’s definitely paying attention,” said Dr. Bob Kalwinsky, assistant professor of electronic media communication at Middle Tennessee State University, who says gaming offers an experience users don’t get from other media.
“It’s a social experience, and we’re social animals,” Kalwinsky said. “We want to interact with others, but gaming’s appeal goes beyond the interactive aspect. With gaming, you can explore an environment that’s different each time you play it and you have a great degree of freedom to explore.”
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
They say JUSTICE is Fair ??
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses.
The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench.
In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers.
"I've never encountered, and I don't think that we will in our lifetimes, a case where literally thousands of kids' lives were just tossed aside in order for a couple of judges to make some money," said Marsha Levick, an attorney with the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, which is representing hundreds of youths sentenced in Wilkes-Barre.
Prosecutors say Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, Western PA Child Care LLC. The judges were charged on Jan. 26 and removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shortly afterward.
No company officials have been charged, but the investigation is still going on.
The high court, meanwhile, is looking into whether hundreds or even thousands of sentences should be overturned and the juveniles' records expunged.
Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before. Some were imprisoned even after probation officers recommended against it.
Many appeared without lawyers, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1967 ruling that children have a constitutional right to counsel.
The judges are scheduled to plead guilty to fraud Thursday in federal court. Their plea agreements call for sentences of more than seven years behind bars.
Ciavarella, 58, who presided over Luzerne County's juvenile court for 12 years, acknowledged last week in a letter to his former colleagues, "I have disgraced my judgeship. My actions have destroyed everything I worked to accomplish and I have only myself to blame." Ciavarella, though, has denied he got kickbacks for sending youths to prison.
Conahan, 56, has remained silent about the case.
Many Pennsylvania counties contract with privately run juvenile detention centers, paying them either a fixed overall fee or a certain amount per youth, per day.
In Luzerne County, prosecutors say, Conahan shut down the county-run juvenile prison in 2002 and helped the two companies secure rich contracts worth tens of millions of dollars, at least some of that dependent on how many juveniles were locked up.
One of the contracts — a 20-year agreement with PA Child Care worth an estimated $58 million — was later canceled by the county as exorbitant.
The judges are accused of taking payoffs between 2003 and 2006.
Robert J. Powell co-owned PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care until June. His attorney, Mark Sheppard, said his client was the victim of an extortion scheme.
"Bob Powell never solicited a nickel from these judges and really was a victim of their demands," he said. "These judges made it very plain to Mr. Powell that he was going to be required to pay certain monies."
For years, youth advocacy groups complained that Ciavarella was ridiculously harsh and ran roughshod over youngsters' constitutional rights. Ciavarella sent a quarter of his juvenile defendants to detention centers from 2002 to 2006, compared with a statewide rate of one in 10.
The criminal charges confirmed the advocacy groups' worst suspicions and have called into question all the sentences he pronounced.
Hillary Transue did not have an attorney, nor was she told of her right to one, when she appeared in Ciavarella's courtroom in 2007 for building a MySpace page that lampooned her assistant principal.
Her mother, Laurene Transue, worked for 16 years in the child services department of another county and said she was certain Hillary would get a slap on the wrist. Instead, Ciavarella sentenced her to three months; she got out after a month, with help from a lawyer.
"I felt so disgraced for a while, like, what do people think of me now?" said Hillary, now 17 and a high school senior who plans to become an English teacher.
Laurene Transue said Ciavarella "was playing God. And not only was he doing that, he was getting money for it. He was betraying the trust put in him to do what is best for children."
Kurt Kruger, now 22, had never been in trouble with the law until the day police accused him of acting as a lookout while his friend shoplifted less than $200 worth of DVDs from Wal-Mart. He said he didn't know his friend was going to steal anything.
Kruger pleaded guilty before Ciavarella and spent three days in a company-run juvenile detention center, plus four months at a youth wilderness camp run by a different operator.
"Never in a million years did I think that I would actually get sent away. I was completely destroyed," said Kruger, who later dropped out of school. He said he wants to get his record expunged, earn his high school equivalency diploma and go to college.
"I got a raw deal, and yeah, it's not fair," he said, "but now it's 100 times bigger than me."
The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench.
In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers.
"I've never encountered, and I don't think that we will in our lifetimes, a case where literally thousands of kids' lives were just tossed aside in order for a couple of judges to make some money," said Marsha Levick, an attorney with the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, which is representing hundreds of youths sentenced in Wilkes-Barre.
Prosecutors say Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, Western PA Child Care LLC. The judges were charged on Jan. 26 and removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shortly afterward.
No company officials have been charged, but the investigation is still going on.
The high court, meanwhile, is looking into whether hundreds or even thousands of sentences should be overturned and the juveniles' records expunged.
Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before. Some were imprisoned even after probation officers recommended against it.
Many appeared without lawyers, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1967 ruling that children have a constitutional right to counsel.
The judges are scheduled to plead guilty to fraud Thursday in federal court. Their plea agreements call for sentences of more than seven years behind bars.
Ciavarella, 58, who presided over Luzerne County's juvenile court for 12 years, acknowledged last week in a letter to his former colleagues, "I have disgraced my judgeship. My actions have destroyed everything I worked to accomplish and I have only myself to blame." Ciavarella, though, has denied he got kickbacks for sending youths to prison.
Conahan, 56, has remained silent about the case.
Many Pennsylvania counties contract with privately run juvenile detention centers, paying them either a fixed overall fee or a certain amount per youth, per day.
In Luzerne County, prosecutors say, Conahan shut down the county-run juvenile prison in 2002 and helped the two companies secure rich contracts worth tens of millions of dollars, at least some of that dependent on how many juveniles were locked up.
One of the contracts — a 20-year agreement with PA Child Care worth an estimated $58 million — was later canceled by the county as exorbitant.
The judges are accused of taking payoffs between 2003 and 2006.
Robert J. Powell co-owned PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care until June. His attorney, Mark Sheppard, said his client was the victim of an extortion scheme.
"Bob Powell never solicited a nickel from these judges and really was a victim of their demands," he said. "These judges made it very plain to Mr. Powell that he was going to be required to pay certain monies."
For years, youth advocacy groups complained that Ciavarella was ridiculously harsh and ran roughshod over youngsters' constitutional rights. Ciavarella sent a quarter of his juvenile defendants to detention centers from 2002 to 2006, compared with a statewide rate of one in 10.
The criminal charges confirmed the advocacy groups' worst suspicions and have called into question all the sentences he pronounced.
Hillary Transue did not have an attorney, nor was she told of her right to one, when she appeared in Ciavarella's courtroom in 2007 for building a MySpace page that lampooned her assistant principal.
Her mother, Laurene Transue, worked for 16 years in the child services department of another county and said she was certain Hillary would get a slap on the wrist. Instead, Ciavarella sentenced her to three months; she got out after a month, with help from a lawyer.
"I felt so disgraced for a while, like, what do people think of me now?" said Hillary, now 17 and a high school senior who plans to become an English teacher.
Laurene Transue said Ciavarella "was playing God. And not only was he doing that, he was getting money for it. He was betraying the trust put in him to do what is best for children."
Kurt Kruger, now 22, had never been in trouble with the law until the day police accused him of acting as a lookout while his friend shoplifted less than $200 worth of DVDs from Wal-Mart. He said he didn't know his friend was going to steal anything.
Kruger pleaded guilty before Ciavarella and spent three days in a company-run juvenile detention center, plus four months at a youth wilderness camp run by a different operator.
"Never in a million years did I think that I would actually get sent away. I was completely destroyed," said Kruger, who later dropped out of school. He said he wants to get his record expunged, earn his high school equivalency diploma and go to college.
"I got a raw deal, and yeah, it's not fair," he said, "but now it's 100 times bigger than me."
DAYTONA THIS WEEKEND
One of my favorite things to do is watch Nascar. Being a racer myself I do wish i could attend races all year long but I generally will personally attend at least one of the races here in Phx and watch the rest of them from the comfort of my home. I always was a very big Dale Earnhardt fan and like many fans across the nation was very sad to see Nascar lose someone who had given everything he had to the sport and had a hand in making it what it is today.
With another Daytona 500 upon us again this weekend I will be watching and cheering on my favorite driver Dale Jr. Although I am not a fan of Hendrick Motorsports and hated to see Jr have to leave what, in my mind believe,was what his father intended to be his, I am still one of his biggest fans. I am not one of those fans who only likes one driver and hates all of the rest, Jr is just my favorite. I think it is awesome that Mark Martin is on the front row. I would love to see him win the Big One. With a track like Daytona where there is always a Big Crash or 3 you can never say for sure who has the best shot to win. It seems it's not the fastest but the smartest driver when it comes down to the end. No matter what I am sure it will be exciting for everyone to watch and see who is there to take that checkered flag first and be this years Daytona Champion. I pick Dale Jr. Who's your pick?
With another Daytona 500 upon us again this weekend I will be watching and cheering on my favorite driver Dale Jr. Although I am not a fan of Hendrick Motorsports and hated to see Jr have to leave what, in my mind believe,was what his father intended to be his, I am still one of his biggest fans. I am not one of those fans who only likes one driver and hates all of the rest, Jr is just my favorite. I think it is awesome that Mark Martin is on the front row. I would love to see him win the Big One. With a track like Daytona where there is always a Big Crash or 3 you can never say for sure who has the best shot to win. It seems it's not the fastest but the smartest driver when it comes down to the end. No matter what I am sure it will be exciting for everyone to watch and see who is there to take that checkered flag first and be this years Daytona Champion. I pick Dale Jr. Who's your pick?
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