You Can Never Get Enough

I got up early to clean my house on Sunday so that I oculd have the rest of the day to enjoy the racing that laid ahead. Just as I do every Memorial Day weekend, I take a moment or too to remember what Memorial Day is all about. I say "Thank you" to those who have served and are still serving to protect my freedom. Once again I want to "THANK YOU".

I sat down to watch the 91st Indy 500. I love the pagentry of the whole thing. I am hoping to attend an Indy 500 some day. I have a list of races I want to attend in my life time and well Indy is at the top of the list. This year's race was somewhat historic, there were 3 women in the race. I was saddened to see Jim Nabors was unable to attend Indy to sing the traditional "Back Home in Indiana", but he is getting up there in years. The race started off great. And then the rains came. I for one was not too happy. How long the delay would be was a serious concern? I mean I had this all planned out. Indy would be finished and not cut too much into the NASCAR coverage. But sadly the rain kept falling. Finally, they got Indy underway, unfortunately the rains came again. Congratulations to Dario Franchetti! I would have loved to seen it a complete race, but sometimes Mother Nature doesn't always play fair.

Now on to the Coca Cola 600. I thought it was going to be a long race when the first crash occured. I saw the whole thing even before it started. I saw that piece of tire go flying into the air. And then KABOOM! Carnage everywhere and Tony right in the middle of it all. I grabbed a cup of Kool Aid and poured some vodka in it. It was going to be a long night for me. At this point, I'm thinking, they ARE at LOWE'S Motor Speedway and it WAS JIMMIE's car the tire came off of...and MY driver has HOME DEPOT as a sponsor...it's a CONSPIRACY man! But hey, it was better than last year's showing at Charlotte.

I have to say WOW...on the Jeff Gordon crash. That looked like that hurt from my living room couch. But look at this way Jeff, you got to go home early to spend some time with Ingrid.

It was a long, long race for most of us. There were some teams who did well while the track was hot and slippery, but faded as the track began to cool. While others just bided their time and kept digging in...and look what did my wandering eyes see, but that #20 orange car leading the way. Unfortunately, gas mileage came into play.

Here's your top 5...it's rather interesting I must say.

1. Casey Mears
2. JJ Yeley
3. Kyle Petty
4. Reed Sorenson
5. Brian Vickers

And I can't leave out my man...Tony...nice 6th place finish. I do have to also give props to both Kyle Petty and Brian Vickers for having good runs on Sunday.

I am glad Casey Mears finally got over that hump of winning his first race. I have always believe it wasn't a matter of if, but win. I mean how appropriate that a MEARS wins on Indy 500 Day. CONGRATULATIONS CASEY!

I did get a chance to watch other sports this weekend. The most intersing of them was Lacrosse. I have to say it is an interesting sport. They play 4 quarters (similar to football). Try to score goals in a net (hockey, basketball, soccer). They use short and long sticks, not sure what that's all about, but I'm sure it matters. They get penalties for fouls (hockey). And it's fast paced at times. I watched the Duke/Cornell semi-final on Saturday. I had to root for Duke. After all they had been through the previous year I had to cheer the Blue Devils on. During the time I watched them, they rattled off 5 unanswered goals. I thought Duke would take the money and run with the game, but Cornell would have none of that. They came back to tie the game with a little run of their own. But just like in fairy tale fashion Duke scored with just seconds remaining. Duke went on to face Johns Hopkins in the finals. JH is a powerhouse in NCAA lacrosse having already won 8 championships. I saw the last quarter or so. I really wanted to see Duke win, but this fairy tale had a different ending. Duke had a chance to score in the last seconds, but was unable to conncet. JH won their 9th NCAA championship. Congratulations Johns Hopkins. Duke fought valiantly and have no reason to hang their heads. You rocked.

Well...the boys are on to Dover and the Monster Mile.

Have a safe week!

Charolotte Mania

Last weekend was interesting to say the least. Here are the highlights.

Crew chief race was funny...guess Kyle's crew chief took some pointers from Kyle?

Qualifying for the All Star race was interesting..way to go Killer Bees! Now that's a way to make a pit stop.

Congrats to Newman's crew for winning the Pit Crew Challenge.

The Open was exciting. Montoya got a little excited and took himself out along with a few others before they could even complete a lap. I thought Carl was going to run away with it, but here comes Truex and Sauter. Sorry Carl, but better luck next year. You didn't do too bad as a pit reporter though. Hey, if that racing gig doesn't work out...

Way to Kenny "The Shy One" Wallace for getting voted into the race. It was nice to see someone I voted for get win.

The open's new format was ok. I am glad they didn't have the invert. I don't like it. I did like the 4/20 lap segments and the final pit stop. Do you get tires/gas/or just do a stop and go? Made for some interesting action in the pits. I really thought Matt had the best chance to win, but that old speeding gremlin got him.

Way to go Kevin! I am so glad you beat that other home improvement driver. I am so sick of them saying it's his house. Enough already.

But for the biggest highlight and the one that got the most cheering in The Park was when Kyle took out his own brother Kurt. I guess when you are racing for a cool million all bets are off. I think I would take out my own grandmother for a million dollars.

Announcement of the week: COT will be the car of next year. Starting with the 2008 season the COT will be full time. The COT has grown on me. I think it has brought some better racing. They seem to be a little durable than the old car. Those who were spoiled by the aerodynamic car of right now seem to struggle while those who can drive anything (Tony) are doing pretty good.

Dale Jr. Lottery Update: Just still lots of rumors...nothing substantial to report.

Penske: Has the pole for the big races on Sunday. Both Newman and Busch will start in the front row Sunday. Looks like the Penske team may have turned the corner. They have had some good runs lately.

I would like to take a moment to wish everyone a wonderful happy Memorial Day weekend. Please take time out this weekend to remember those who are serving, served and ultimately gave the biggest sacrifice of all. Those are the ones we need to say "Thank you" to you this weekend.

Happy Memorial Day!

Someone hit the record player..it's skipping again

For those of you out there who remember...the record is stuck and keeps repeating. Someone go bump it so it can play the next song.

Once again, HMS won. This time at the hands of Jeff Gordon. Postman picked Gordon again this season. Last year if my husband picked some he was known as the car killer. This year, the exact opposite. It must be Gordon's year. He was overheating and spewing hot water and yet the damn thing managed to hang on until it was over.

What's up with Denny's pitcrew? Isn't this the second time a SNAFU on pit road has cost Denny a victory? He was clearly a dominate car in the field yesterday.

We get a break on Saturday from points and the championship. Saturday is the All-Star Challenge. No points, just pure racing! Can't wait! Did you vote? I sure did...I am voting for Kenny Wallace. I didn't vote in my local election, but I am voting.

News flash...teams are considering hiring team meteorologists. After two Saturday night rainouts, teams don't want to take any chances with the All Star challenge.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I have had a few days to think about what happened on Wednesday. Everything that Dale Jr does whether it's on the track or off the track it makes headlines. I was at work during his press conference so I didn't get a chance to watch it live on Speed, but I was I did get a chance to hear the first four minutes of the press conference on Sirius.

This decision was the hardest decision he will make in his life until he decides to walk away from NASCAR. I can't even begin to step into his shoes and to tell you the truth I don't want to. I believe this is a good decision for Dale. He wasn't, in my opinion, getting the equipment needed to compete on the level he should be. He is a talented driver. But talent will get you so far in the world of NASCAR. You need the car, the equipment and the personnel in place to compete and win championships in NASCAR. When Dale Jr. decided to follow in his father's footsteps, you knew his life would be under a microscope. His father is a Daytona 500 winner and a 7-time NASCAR champion. He was The Intimidator. To me there was no driver any greater than Dale Sr. As much as he would have liked to stay at the company his father built and created, it wasn't meant to be. Junior needs to carve out his own niche in NASCAR. He needs to step out of his father's shadow and become the champion, in my opinion, he can be. He will win one I have no doubt. I am sure Dale Sr. would support his son in whatever pursuits he chose to follow. But I believe this whole event would be moot if Dale Sr. was alive.

Now the Dale Jr. lottery begins. Dale Jr. wants to win a championship. He will need a team that will get him that championship. He wants to stay with Chevy. This eliminates several teams out there. He wants people around him who he feels can get the job done for him and whom he feels comfortable working with. Everyone's sentimental favorite would be Childress Racing, but if he is going to carve his own niche, RCR wouldn't be it. I would like to see him over at Gibbs Racing. What a team that would be! And of course...I hate to say...maybe Hendrick. But they are a long shot. HMS has 4 racings teams. There's Ginn racing, but it is not quite in the same tier as RCR, HMS, and JGR, but maybe Dale Sr. would elevate the team. From what they have done with Mark Martin, you might have to give them a shot. And last, he could just elevate JR Motorsports to a Cup team. No matter what Dale Jr. decides it will be one with careful thought and consideration. Good Luck Junior wherever you may land.

Tonight's race is rained out. This is the second week in a row the Saturday night race has been rained out. I am sick of rain. We had some serious deluge here on Tuesday and Wednesday. I thought I saw Noah putting up some scaffolding. I am going to say the HMS domination will end tomorrow. Go Tony!

Anticipation

Only a few more hours until we officially hear what's up with Dale Jr. Press conference begins at 11:00 am est.

Can't wait....

View from the Pit Box

It's been crazy times lately. I have somewhat off the radar for most people. It's just who I am sometimes. It's the way I work through things. I have been keeping track of "my other man". Whew...and he is wearing me out. But that's Tony...speaking his mind.

I would like to address those fans who feel the need to throw beer cans onto the race track. I have to say I am glad you were arrested and will not be allowed to purchase tickets for yourself. I know you can get others to purchase them for you, but still you might think twice about your actions next the time you attend a race. I am sure you are just as passionate about racing as I am, but there is a difference between you and me, I don't throw things onto the race track. I have respect for my fellow fans sitting around me at a race. I was not happy at the last race I attended at TMS. I ended up sitting around some not so nice fans. I felt sorry for the family in front of us with their two sons. This was the first race together as a family. What must they have thought when they left the track? I have a high tolerance for bozoes because that's just me, but about this family? Do you think they will think twice about bringing their sons to a race? That's a shame. I got a few minutes to chat with them prior to the start of the race and they were very nice people. I would hate to see these future NASCAR fans be turned away from the sport by a bunch of hooligans actions. I like taking my cooler into the race. It saves me from having to overpay for food and drink at the races. If you have even been to a race, you know how "close" you are to fellow race fans. It is not enjoyable when every 20 to 30 minutes people around you have to get up and get some refreshment. I hope the Talladega 14 get the message as well as the others who didn't get caught that day. I don't want you at the races. You can stay home and watch the race from your sofa. You can throw beer cans at your tv and have a grand old time.

Congratulations to Jeff Gordon on passing Dale Earnhardt Sr. I am sure if Dale Sr. was here today he would have been one of the first people to congratulate him in victory lane.

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson. He was Postman's pick this week for his driver draft. Hey...sometimes it's about the win. With today's Johnson, Postman has picked three winners. Harvick at Daytona...Gordon at Phoenix...and today's race winner Jimmie Johnson. Way to go Postman!

Hey Hendrick Motorsports...whatever you have can you pass it out and share with the rest of us?

Since NASCAR is moving to a new COT, why not me? I have made a name change to my site. Trixie's Trailer Park is the new View from the Pit Box. I hope I don't get banned from NASCAR for making a name change. It's the same place with the same content, but it's just a new name.