Posted on 06/16/2009 1:02:55 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
I did the same, I went with Boris instead of Ambrose.
I went with crash and he figured a way to crash on the last lap...
2 6 9 24 today
could have been a 2 3 6 9
dang
YOU DID GOOD TODAY NORM! 300 points moved you up four spots. I am happy to garner 283 and fourth place despite Robby’s last lap crash. Thanks for the thread and the great weather for the fans at the track...
JR Motorsports moving to Cup?
Car owner Rick Hendrick said before the race that such a move is being examined by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelley. Hendrick mentioned that as he discussed possible teams be working with next year through engine programs, chassis programs or technical support.
One report has stated that Red Bull could leave Toyota and join Chevrolet and be aligned with Hendrick like Stewart-Haas Racing is. Hendrick also said his organization could handle it if Stewart-Haas expanded to three teams as Tony Stewart said could happen this year.
Hendrick also noted it’s possible Keselowski could ended up in the third car at Stewart-Haas. Keselowski is a Hendrick development driver and Hendrick is looking at where to place him for next year since his four-car team is full with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
+++++++++++++++
I’m wondering why RB would leave Toy for Chv?
Hendrick defends Junior
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was involved in a late incident, lost several spots and finished 26th. He fell two spots to 20th in the season standings. He’s 277 points out of 12th.
Car owner Rick Hendrick defended Earnhardt before Sunday’s race.
“He’s had all his racing career doing things one way,’’ Hendrick said. “Talking to the crew chief and communicating. Now, all of a sudden we’re saying with a new crew chief and working more hands-on with the engineers, this is the way they’d like for you to break it down.
“If you heard him on the radio, he’s doing a heck of a job. He’s trying to change to give them better information so they can do a better job. These cars are not like fix it and I’ll drive it. You’ve got to be a part of it.
“I couldn’t ask him to work any harder than he’s working. I don’t care what anybody says. He’s committed. He’s dedicated. And he’s showing up and he’s trying. That’s all I can ask him to do. I feel we’ve let him down, maybe I’ve let him down by not probably pulling the trigger (on the crew chief change) earlier for his sake and for Tony Jr.’s sake. I think both of those guys are going to be better off.
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We had a hell of a run going yesterday - up to 9th and then taken out by a dive bomber - I was just sick. It was so unnecessary - but the rest of the race was pretty interesting. Hmmmm, who is that person in first place in the league again?
That is one heck of an endorsement from the boss. With equipment and commitment like that it has to get better from here on out.
I was always “ho-hum” about road-course racing even though Leguna Seca was (literally) in my back yard for many years. This year it “clicked” w/me - I loved the different challenges, the bumping and thump’n, (”dive-bombing”, is that a new NASCAR word?) and I’d love to get back to Sonoma too. Mrs. Happydog says we can go next year, Lord willing.
Riverside which used to be in S Cal was part road course and was always fun racing. Of course they needed another shopping center there and tore it down which was a huge mistake.
It was going to be such a good finish for Jr - and then someone else makes a dumb move and we all felt like someone stuck a pin in us and we all deflated.
AND, lookie what the spotters up on the hill had to put up with!!
RIRInsider Hey fans don’t forget, you can take a ride in a two-seater IndyCar this week in Richmond. http://bit.ly/5v9LG
Wow that would be fun!
What is that? I don’t see rattles....”red on black, get back”? It looks evil and I think I see a white question mark on its head with a black cross on the snout.
My brother in law from next door brought over a scorpion he found in his back yard on Saturday. My wife stepped on one with her sandals a few years ago when she was going out the back door. Crunched it good!
I used to find scorpions in the house I first moved into here all the time. I never walked barefoot in that house, and checked my shoes before I put them on.
As for that snake, I looked for rattles too because TJ said there were rattlesnakes up on that hill. They’ve had a lot of snake problems in No Carolina too.
David Ragan’s spotter also complained about snakes.
I don’t think most fans and such realize how heavy these CoTanks are and how hard they are to wangle thru Esses and hairpin turns.. they are not built for road racing.. but designed to not flip and such.
I guess no one nailed the gravel pits this year.. I dozed thru a good portion of the race. :-) I doubt just flooring a CoT would have gotten it out tho..
Junior needs to just keep pluggin’..
It was a shame that Jr got Dive Bombed along with a few others near the end. That Dodge of KK had the perfect gear combination for restarts. Shades of Ray Everham...
After a bit of photo research I’m starting to suspect it’s a falsifca plastica.
A certain kind of Milk Snake in California has more pronounced red & black splotches but the bluish color and head don’t match well. A juvenile snake?
Never seen one on a plane...
From Jayski:
Speculation is increasing that Dodge driver #9-Kasey Kahne, who runs for Richard Petty, could switch to a Toyota by the July 11th Sprint Cup race at Chicago.
RPM doesn’t have enough finished engines for Kahne to use it weekly, so Pocono and Michigan were a flip-flop of engines with only average results. Then came the road course, which Kahne freely admits is not his strong suit. He again had the old version of the Dodge motor, but his confidence was soaring based on the improvement he’d seen in his race cars.
“We need to figure out how to make the Chase and just be consistent,” he said. “We’ve run strong for the last six races … top-five, top-10 material. Haven’t finished there, but we’ve been there, and [Sunday] we did. I know we have a great opportunity if we keep showing up and working as hard as we have been to make the Chase.”
He’ll still be handcuffed, however, by RPM’s uncertain future. The team has to negotiate either a split from Dodge or a secure support package, or figure out if it can partner with Toyota. AJ Allmendinger’s car is still unsponsored for the final 10 races of the year, so the potential to contract to three cars is always hanging above the organization.
Crew chief Kenny Francis said the business issues have been unsettling.
“It’s definitely tough times right now economically, everybody is feeling the pinch,” Francis said. “What we’ve tried to do is not let it distract us. It’s been difficult, really, to not let that distract you.”
But they’ve managed of late, and if the No. 9 team can stay focused, Kahne may just find his way into the top 12.
Toyota appears ready to withdraw its financial support of NASCAR Truck and Nationwide teams, though continuing engineering support, in the wake of General Motors’ decision to join Ford and Chrysler in withdrawing all but engineering support for those two NASCAR tours. There has been no specific comment on that yet from Toyota executives.
http://autoracingsport.com/nascar/report-toyota-to-withdraw-nationwide-and-truck-support/
If these car manufacturers can coordinate their NASCAR interests (without violating NASCAR rules or anti-trust provisions) it would seem to be in their best interest to present a common front to the challenges before them. Maybe the Obama administration is giving too much “advice” but, to state the obvious, this sport could be in very real jeopardy.
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