NASCAR- Darlington Dodge Charger 500 (Happy Mothers Day to All Mothers)

Self/NASCAR ^ | 05/04/05 | ChefKeith/WCG/Jack(the office helper)/NASCAR

[ChefKeith]

Welcome to:

2005 NASCAR Dodge Charger 500

Dodge Charger 500 FOX Sat. 7:10 p.m.
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 FX Fri. 8 p.m.
Dodge Charger 500 Bud Pole qualifying SPEED Fri. 5:10 p.m.

All Times are ET

This Thread is Dedicated to:

Our Military all around the World

(Click the pic)

And to All Mothers (thanks for putting up with us)

Click the Piggy!!!

Jr said that for the first time his Mother Brenda will be with him during driver introductions and giving the green flag command along with the other Mom's listed in the article.

Quote "She likes to stay out of the limelight but I told her I would try to get her a good starting position so she could be up front."

Darlington Raceway

Banking/Turns: 25° / 23° Distance: 1.366mi Shape: Oval

The Lady in Black is Back

[steveegg]

You think you could make it there? :-)

[steveegg]

Let's see; 1 blown engine (or is that 2?), 3 blown tires, in the middle of both The Big One and The Mini One last week. It's luck.

[WestCoastGal]

If someone sends their jet for me I could.

[steveegg]

If someone sends their jet for me I could.

Paging Dale Jarrett. Your chopper is requested :-)

Seriesly, figuring out the rain-out Busch lineup is not easy (they are scheduled to roll at 3:30, and they can't wait because it's Cup qualifying right after that with the Busch race following), but I think I got it - Top 35 positions (ending with the #0 of Kertus Davis, whose team is 37th in owners' points) by owners points (note; Joe Nemechek-24th in owners' points and Michael Waltrip-35th in owners points, did not enter).
Making it in on team wins from 2004-2005 (in order/positions 36 and 37) - Matt Kenseth (3 from 2004), Jeff Green (1 from 2004).
Making it in as a past champ (position 38) - Brian Vickers (no "raced in 2004 requirement" with rainouts).
Making it in on attempts, with owners' points breaking ties (positions 39-43) - Mark Green (10 attempts/38th in owners points), Geoffrey Bodine (10/41st), Jeff Fuller (10/42nd), Eric McClure (10/45th), Bobby Hamilton (4/43rd).

Missing the race with a rain-out - John Hayden (also 4 attempts, but 60th in owners' points), Gus Wasson and Robert Pressley (both 0 attempts).

[AGreatPer]

Our $ League

I think some of you would be interested. It is a fun league.

The name of the league is The Paxtang Grill NASHOLES League. It took me 6 years to get in it. Someone has to move or die to get in. I have been a member for 3 years, this is my 4th. I came in dead last the first year, won the championship the 2nd year and came in 2nd (first loser) the 3rd year. This year, hanging around 3rd.

There are 16 players. Each week we put up $100.
The first week of the season there is a drawing for your pick. After that your pick place is determined by the position you were in, ie: 1st picks last, 2ne picks 15th, etc. You are awarded points by the position your driver came in, ie: I had Stewart 2 weeks ago and got 33 points, I had Stewart last week and got 2 points for him coming in 2nd. At the end of the year, the LOWEST point total wins the big prize.

The money is broken down like this.
$1,600 pot.
$1,000 to the winner that week.
$300 for 2nd
$200 for 3rd
$100 goes to the pot for the champion at the end of the year.
If no one has the winning driver it is double up and a carry over week.

The first 5 people must pick by Wed at 5 pm. That gets the field picks started. All other picks must be done in order by Thursday at 5 pm. If your not there to pick, your skipped over and get the best available qualifier. We just have one more rule: No More Rules.

Believe me, this is fun. Its not the money, its the bragging rights. If you win the championship at the end of the year you get your name on a plaque that is a permanent fixture at the pub.

The mix of people in the league is unbelievable. We have a doctor, a shrink, a garbage collector, mailgirl, high school teacher, college professor, prison guard, tax collector, photographer, accountant, etc. The conversation is priceless but you better not be thin skinned. Be prepared to take the shots when you get 30-40 points for the week. Cheers has nothing over this place.

[NormsRevenge]

At the end of the year, the LOWEST point total wins the big prize.

--

sounds right up glock and tubebender's alley ;-)

[ChefKeith]

You're cruel;)

[NormsRevenge]

hee hee heeee.. It's the cat in me. I'll ban myself and put Angel, a very affectionate 5 year old mixed tortie/something/something on instead.

btw, cats don't pick drivers any better than dogs, no matter what ya feed'em. ;-)

[Nov3]

You know guys when you can turn a front wheel drive lumina into a RWD "stock car" it simply isn't Stock Car Racing anymore.

IT IS A JOKE STOP WATCHING THIS BS

Now if they start racing stock cars again like the pre mid 70's I will start watching again.

[NormsRevenge]

Too bad they can't revive the Dodge Charger .. used to be a big winner.

I hear ya re: pre mid 70s.,, Sadly, those days are gone.

We got what we got on our plate.

[ChefKeith]

lumina Monte Carlo

And we got Tayoter's in the trucks too.

[ChefKeith]

My 300 pound canary says "Here kitty, kitty. I won't hurt you"

[Nov3]

http://www.dodge.com/charger/
It looks pretty nice 425 hp in a relatively small coupe!

[Nov3]

And we got Tayoter's in the trucks too.

Yes that is more than a little disconcerting but hey they really aren't production cars anyway.

[WestCoastGal]

The Ladies Night
The grand old lady still has a few tricks up her sleeve
Some have whispered behind her back that perhaps she's too old. Send her to join her join her sisters, Rockingham and North Wilkesboro in retirement, they've said.



(AP)

Yet there she stands, despite the whispers and the odds, resolute in the face of uncertainty. Indeed there are younger, flashier, more modern venues, but we can never forget that this ageless beauty was been a mother to all of them; nurtured them, taught them how it was done.

Through the years the grand old lady, conceived in an old cotton field and fathered by a man with big dreams and a bulldozer, has been the first love to many. And while scores of suitors have tried to woo her, few have tamed her. Through the years she's left a trail of broken hearts and black stripes in her wake.

"You never forget your first love," once said seven- time NASCAR Champion Dale Earnhardt of her, "whether it's a high school sweetheart, a faithful old hunting dog, or a fickle race track in South Carolina with a contrary disposition."

In the past few years, her fans have been less than kind to the lady from whose lips we first heard the word "superspeedway". Like an old grandmother who's always just 'been there', fewer and fewer have come to visit her as she's aged.

So they took away her special day, then gave her what has historically been the worst day of the year to strut her stuff. Perhaps figuring that in doing so they would suck the very life out of her, then shuffle her off to the old folks home.

Ah, but not so fast. The grand old lady still has a trick or two up her sleeve.

Full Story Link

[WestCoastGal]

All practice has been canceled for today.


Cup will have practice tomorrow morning from 11:10 until 12:30. Busch will be right before that but I do not know about TV coverage yet.

[WestCoastGal]

Nascar has it up now.
******
Rain delays Darlington practice sessions
Thursday sessions moved to Friday morning
NASCAR.COM staff
May 5, 2005
04:25 PM EDT (20:25 GMT)




Steady rain at Darlington Raceway has forced NASCAR officials to move Thursday's Busch and Nextel Cup Series practice sessions to Friday.

The Busch Series will now have just one practice for Saturday's Diamond Hill Plywood 200 on Friday morning from 9:30 to 11 a.m. ET.

The Nextel Cup Series also goes from two practices to one. The lone session for Saturday night's Dodge Charger 500 is set for 11:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.

Busch Pole Qualifying remains scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET with Nextel Cup Bud Pole Qualifying to follow and the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 set to go green at 8:05.

That schedule may be put in jeopardy by weather, as well. The forecast is calling for an 80 percent of rain through Friday evening. The forecast for Saturday is much more promising. It calls for clear skies with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

Rain is no stranger to race weekends at Darlington. In each of the past four seasons, at least one qualifying session as been cancelled at the Track too Tough to Tame.

[WestCoastGal]

Hoping for qualifying tomorrow.

Go Happy!

[GRRRRR]

Its a RIVALRY!!!

From Yahoo..

Points leader Johnson under attack from rival drivers
By JENNA FRYER, AP Sports Writer

May 5, 2005

Photo
AP - May 5, 2:01 pm EDT
More Photos

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -- Pleasant and personable since bursting onto the NASCAR scene four seasons ago, Jimmie Johnson suddenly finds his squeaky-clean image under attack from his rivals.

He's been accused of aggressive driving, questionable blocking tactics and was called an ``idiot'' by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Johnson, the Nextel Cup series points leader, is trying to laugh off his critics.

``Hey, my wife tells me that every morning,'' Johnson joked Thursday. ``In the big scheme of things, if the worst thing I'm called is an idiot, I'm doing all right.''

But it's been a rough few weeks for Johnson, who has been battling on and off with Tony Stewart since the season-opening Daytona 500. He was criticized by Jeff Burton after wrecking Burton in Bristol, and many of his rivals have been piling on this week, blaming Johnson for starting a 25-car pileup in Talladega and a second accident that eliminated six contenders.

``If there was one idiot out there it was him,'' Earnhardt said Tuesday. ``To be honest about it, I think Jimmie Johnson caused about all the wrecks out there.''

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Johnson still has his supporters, who question whether the attack on Johnson has anything to do with how good he's been the past two seasons. Johnson won a series-high eight races last year and fell eight points short of winning the Nextel Cup championship.

He's been on top of the standings the past six weeks, and takes a 130-point lead over Kurt Busch into this weekend's race at Darlington Raceway -- where he swept both events last season.

``It has always been clear that whoever the guy is on top of the flagpole, everybody is going for him,'' said crew chief Robbie Loomis, one of Johnson's teammates at Hendrick Motorsports. ``Everybody is trying to get inside that team's head. But I promise you, it is going to take more than reading something in the paper to turn them upside down.''

But Johnson was showing a few cracks, unaccustomed to playing the role of bad guy after being so warmly embraced since he entered the Nextel Cup ranks as a popular driver on the verge of stardom.

``It definitely takes its toll on you and makes me think harder about who I am, what I am and the type of driver I am,'' he said. ``I believe in that person ... and I'm not going to let anybody's opinion change what I do or who I am.

``It's tough. As anyone can imagine, being in the center of bad press, it's uncomfortable.''

Jamie McMurray, one of Johnson's better friends in the Nextel Cup garage, said he didn't understand why Johnson is suddenly under attack for being aggressive on the track.

``It seemed like when Dale Earnhardt used to be aggressive, there were a lot of cheers in the stands and everybody kind of said `That's just the way he is,' `` McMurray said. ``Some people can get away with that more than others and Jimmie is very aggressive.''

But Jeremy Mayfield, who overheard McMurray's comments, quickly cautioned that Johnson is no Earnhardt.

``You've got to be careful because if you call it aggressive driving, then Jimmie is going to think he's doing everything right,'' Mayfield said. ``That's not the Dale Earnhardt aggressive style. Earnhardt would just nudge you and put it where it was supposed to be. You didn't see him just wreck everybody all the time or whatever is going on now with Jimmie.''

Johnson did block Stewart in the closing laps of the Daytona 500. And he did run up on Burton's bumper in Bristol, causing Burton to crash.

But in fairness to Johnson, he can't solely be blamed for Sunday's melee at Talladega. Yes, his car hit the side of Mike Wallace and the contact sent Wallace into the wall while collecting 24 other cars.

But Wallace would not have been alongside Johnson if he was not being pushed by Earnhardt Jr. at a spot on the race track where NASCAR had asked the drivers not to ``bump draft.''

``I don't see where any one person is at fault,'' Johnson said. ``It's an unfortunate thing, but it's racing. It's just guys racing two inches apart, 200 miles an hour. Two inches isn't much. Once that's gone, you have a big wreck.''

Updated on Thursday, May 5, 2005 5:39

[NormsRevenge]

FRom http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/

'That's racing and it's part of it,' Jimmie Johnson says

('Idiocy' aside, we just love it when they say ThatsRacin' in interviews)

Want to know what Jimmie Johnson thinks of comments from Dale Earnhardt Jr. this week, that Johnson was "an idiot" and blaming him for the wreckage at Talladega?

"Hey, my wife tells me that every morning."

More in the article at

http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/11573780.htm