Nascar Nextel Dodge/Save-Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on Fox , Sunday , 6/26 , 230pm ET

Nascar.com ^ | 6/23/05

[NormsRevenge]

Prayers for our troops in the field , their families and our nation and allies as we wage war against Terrorism locally and globally and our enemies, both foreign and domestic, including those serving in this nation's own highest institutions.

[Mr. Mulliner]

I just checked the latest points. That was a slick move on your part to get back to 5th.

I'm sure y'all are wondering why I didn't pick Boris Said. I know he's supposed to be good in road races, but something I read made me think he wasn't in the race for some reason.

Hmmmmm. Would it be wrong of me to wish he has bad luck tomorrow?

[WestCoastGal]

Hi S, how are you!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

[WestCoastGal]

Truex on Busch pole so far....

Just starting on Speed.

[budman_2001]

Hi All, joining from the couch again this evening, although could be in-and-out.

Off topic:

Helicopter crashes at Grand Prix of Cleveland

POSTED: Saturday, June 25, 2005 3:35:16 PM
UPDATED: Saturday, June 25, 2005 6:03:47 PM

CLEVELAND -- A helicopter pilot walked away uninjured today after crashing on an airport runway only a few hundred yards from thousands of racing fans attending the Grand Prix of Cleveland.

• Link: Grand Prix weekend roars into Cleveland

  
  
  

  The helicopter went down at the west end of Burke Lakefront Airport, where the race has been held since 1982.

  The accident happened at almost the same time that several cars in a Champ Car race got tangled up in a wreck on the first lap.

  Officials say the helicopter posed no threat to the airport or racing activities.

  It’s not clear who owns the helicopter. Race and airport officials are meeting and are expected to release more information later today.

  The airport is used mostly by small planes and news helicopters.

  

[WestCoastGal]

Busch qualifying so far...

Sauter
Keller
LaJoie
Stremme
Elliott
Fike
Jeff Fuller
Truex
Smith
Sorenson

[WestCoastGal]

Put Menard in second spot.

Ya got two Wisconsin boys up there so far.

[budman_2001]

IRL race coming up to the green flag on ESPN2. Right now.

[SouthTexas]

That's what I did last week too, then I fell on my head during the race. I really expected to fall out of the top ten.

I don't think you have to wish him bad luck, the regulars will step up and take the day.

[SouthTexas]

Thanks, I prefer round and round even if it is open wheel.

THE sexiest driver is in that race, Jeff and Jr can take a hike. ;)

[AGreatPer]

Quick change of subject.

Wow, local traffic is nasty here just now. Dave Mathews Band is playing 3 miles down the road. How are they gonna get 40,000 into a 19,000 stadium?

Now back to racing.

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks for the report :)

[WestCoastGal]

BUSCH LINEUP FOR TONIGHTS RACE

Pos.	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor	Speed	Time	Behind
1	1	Johnny Sauter	Dodge	Yellow Transportation	122.595	29.365	Leader
2	20	Denny Hamlin*	Chevrolet	Rockwell Automation	122.516	29.384	-0.019
3	11	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	Menards	122.341	29.426	-0.061
4	32	Ron Hornaday	Chevrolet	Win Fuel	122.125	29.478	-0.113
5	27	David Green	Ford	Kleenex Moist Cloth/Jewel Osco	121.794	29.558	-0.193
6	2	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	ACDelco	121.782	29.561	-0.196
7	22	Kenny Wallace	Ford	Stacker 2	121.774	29.563	-0.198
8	18	J.J. Yeley	Chevrolet	Vigoro/The Home Depot	121.774	29.563	-0.198
9	6	Tracy Hines	Dodge	Country Crock Spread	121.761	29.566	-0.201
10	60	Carl Edwards*	Ford	Charter Communications	121.429	29.647	-0.282
11	35	Jason Keller	Ford	McDonald's Big Mac	121.196	29.704	-0.339
12	34	Randy LaJoie	Chevrolet	Dollar General	120.907	29.775	-0.410
13	36	Stanton Barrett	Pontiac	TUCSON	120.882	29.781	-0.416
14	14	David Stremme	Dodge	Navy "Accelerate Your Life"	120.842	29.791	-0.426
15	64	Bill Elliott	Dodge	Miller High Life Light	120.822	29.796	-0.431
16	33	Tony Raines	Chevrolet	Outdoor Channel	120.728	29.819	-0.454
17	66	Aaron Fike	Ford	Scott Extra Soft	120.724	29.820	-0.455
18	38	Tyler Walker*	Dodge	Great Clips	120.651	29.838	-0.473
19	4	Ryan Hemphill*	Dodge	GEICO	120.534	29.867	-0.502
20	7	Jeff Fuller	Chevrolet	Big Boar Customs	120.405	29.899	-0.534
21	8	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker	120.373	29.907	-0.542
22	58	Regan Smith	Dodge	Glynn Motorsports	120.293	29.927	-0.562
23	41	Reed Sorenson*	Dodge	Home123 Corp.	120.228	29.943	-0.578
24	25	Ashton Lewis	Ford	U.S. Marines	120.204	29.949	-0.584
25	59	Stacy Compton	Ford	Kingsford/Bush's Beans	120.108	29.973	-0.608
26	5	Kyle Krisiloff	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Briggs & Stratton	120.096	29.976	-0.611
27	12	Tim Fedewa	Dodge	Supercuts	120.064	29.984	-0.619
28	40	Scott Lagasse Jr.	Dodge	Goulds Pumps	120.052	29.987	-0.622
29	47	Jon Wood*	Ford	Clorox/Wisk	119.984	30.004	-0.639
30	0	Kertus Davis*	Chevrolet	RaceGirl	119.904	30.024	-0.659
31	49	Steve Grissom	Ford	Advil Liqui-Gels	119.812	30.047	-0.682
32	23	Mark Green	Chevrolet	Vassarette	119.784	30.054	-0.689
33	167	Bryan Reffner	Dodge	Panasonic	119.280	30.181	-0.816
34	72	Wade Day	Chevrolet	Denver Mattress Company	118.882	30.282	-0.917
35	16	David Ragan	Chevrolet	31-W Insulation	118.835	30.294	-0.929
36	143	A J Fike*	Dodge	Channellock Tools	118.730	30.321	-0.956
37	56	Tim Sauter	Chevrolet	Lester Buildings	118.604	30.353	-0.988
38	44	Justin Labonte	Chevrolet	U.S. Coast Guard	118.585	30.358	-0.993
39	21	Brandon Miller*	Chevrolet	Reese's	118.421	30.400	-1.035
40	52	Eric McClure	Ford	Means Racing	118.370	30.413	-1.048
41	24	Brad Teague	Chevrolet	eaglejet.com	117.035	30.760	-1.395
42	10	Michel Jourdain Jr.*	Ford	ppc Racing	116.838	30.812	-1.447
43	28	Derrike Cope	Ford	Trans Global Waste Svcs	116.463	30.911	-1.546
Did not Qualify
44	194	Chad Beahr	Ford	Fidelity Printing	112.584	31.976	-2.611
45	191	Todd Shafer	Ford	TBA	-	-	-

+ Set by Owner Points

* Denotes Rookie

[GRRRRR]

Careful with the DM band BUS...when they were in Chicago last year, their bus opened up the bathroom waste tank and dumped thru the wire grated bridge over the Chicago River. NO big problem except for the tour boat under the bridge at the time...

Let's go racing!

[AGreatPer]

"Let's go racing!"

After keroke tonight. "Lord I Was Born A Ramblin Man".

[WestCoastGal]

I can't figure this out.......

Momentum
Date Created: Jun 24, 2005, 09:10 PM



Saturday update: While waiting for tonight's Arturo Gatti boxing match from Atlantic City, the mood is upbeat in the 8 camp. A great set of practices and a lucky break while scuffing tires. One tire didn't seem right to tire specialist Jim Bender, so he had the Goodyear folks check it out. After cutting the tire open, it seems the lining was being held together by a strip of duct tape. (I'll pause and let that sink in a second.) I shudder to think how lucky it was to be discovered after a single, slow lap of practice. It could have been a disaster if the problem had revealed itself while at speed.

[tubebender]

I hope Steve doesn't catch cold from the rain...

[SouthTexas]

He said it had been warm, so at least he get catch pneumonia.

[SouthTexas]

get catch

won't catch or get, one or the other. Time for bed.

[steveegg]

Quick race report while my camera and I dry out...

Thanks to a combinatin of leaving late, a stupid decision by the DOT to direct Brewer traffic away from downtown and past the track, and an accident on the freeway a bit before the exit for the track, I got there a bit late for the start of qualifying (missed about the first 15 drivers). Did show up in time to see Mini-Sauter break the track record though (and I used my pit/paddock pass to be down there instead of in the bleachers). Got some shots of him, Menard, Raines, Barrett, Awesome Bill, Kenny Wallace, and others, and of the cars, both as they left the track after qualifying (back of the pits) and where they ended up in impound (front of the pits).

The crowd booed lustily when Gov. "Diamond" Jim Doyle (who I call Craps; both names are for the unconstitutional infinite Indian gaming contracts the DemonRAT negotiated shortly after taking office) was introduced, and again when he gave the command. The biggest cheers went for the Wisconsin contingent, Truex and Kenny. Not realizing that the couple of "hot pit" signs were in error, I retreated to the paddock fence for the start of the race, and stuck behind the 27 pit (gave me the best vantage point at the time). After the first caution, and seeing my semi-bad attempts to capture David Green's stop on memory card, one of the security guys pointed out that "cold" passes were still accepted in the pits (thanks, NASCAR). I migrated down to Edwards' pit (I couldn't go all the way down to Sauter's front-row pit because that's where any cars coming back out of the Busch garage would come out of, and they had satellite), and caught the first two stops for Edwards on xD. One of the young Roush bucks kept us hangers-on informed on why Edwards kept on coming back in after the second stop (broken shock, which they replaced in 2 stops, attaching the bottom first, then the top). I did some meandering up and down pit road, found Truex's stall up at the top of pit road (the other reason I never did get a Truex pic; sorry).

Started feeling some drops about lap 180, then the clouds burst open about the time they brought the cars down pit road on lap 200. That rain was brief, but intense. I started wandering pit road again, and stopped by the 35 pit because they had switched to The Weather Channel. I asked if they could get the local stations (it was still news-time, and TWC was in Storm Stories), but they said they could only get satellite. I started wandering back, and some of the drivers were stering to wander to their pit boxes to review data and shoot the breeze while the track dryers went to work. I got Bill Elliot talking to Tony Raines, and then came the highlight of the evening.

The Stacker2 crew turned on the speakders on their war wagon, and were running NASCAR Drivers 360. There were Kenny and Michel Jourdain (yep, got a pic). Michel left after a short bit, but Kenny, some of his crew, and a small but growing knot of people stuck around, not only to watch the show, but to listen to Kenny's critique. I'm sure he knew we were there, but he didn't care; he just went on saying to the crew, "Watch this" and laughing. One part that cracked him up was when Harvick and company got their ATVs stuck in the mud, but the biggest laugh from EVERYONE was when he got to the diaper line. When FX went to commerical, he started signing autographs (got the back of my pit pass signed) and posing for pics.

They ALMOST got the track dried when the teams started packing up. NASCAR almost timed their word to the teams right, but most of them were still in the process of breaking down when the next frog-strangler hit. FX and the track announcer got the word out about the same time, but by that time, it was pouring again.

[steveegg]

It was a warm rain, but nowhere near as hot as yesterday (96 yesterday, didn't top 80 today). The "bad" thing was, by the time I got back to my car, my car thermometer was down to 67 (so I just cranked the heat on when I cranked on the defrost). At least I had pants on instead of shorts (seems NASCAR doesn't like shorts in their pits).