| | | | | | | | |  | | | |  If 43 of my favorite drivers were given ice-cream trucks to drive through the suburbs of Boise, Idaho, I would watch. - Lori Munro
Sit down, strap in, and get ready to sound off as Doin’ Donuts radio show joins the blogosphere! Let Lori Munro and Dennis Michelson know your opinion on the topics below then tune in Monday night at 8pm ET on RaceTalkRadio.com for more "Doin’ Donuts."
CONCENTRATING ON THE CUP
Dennis says...
"If he had raced in only the Cup races Kyle Busch would be undefeated by now! See what happens when Kyle Busch doesn’t fly from city to city racing in Nationwide and Craftsman Truck races?" It sure didn’t take long for that nonsense to start! I wanted to jump through the television screen when TNT announcers brought up the fact that Kyle is about to win on the first week he is concentrating only on the Cup series. Doesn’t anyone believe in something called "coincidence?" Kyle Busch didn’t win on Sunday because he didn’t race on Friday and Saturday. He won on Sunday because his team used the best strategy and he drove a great race!
Lori says...
I have to admit, I am now a believer of what the TNT announcers stated and what a lot of fans and Kyle Busch haters have come to assume. Busch’s head definitely wasn’t "in" the Cup series until this weekend when he won his first road course race. The TNT announcers are paid professionals and certainly have more knowledge of not only the sport, but of human dynamics than I do. Next on their chopping block has to be Kevin Harvick. He’s not had his head fully in the Cup series either and has paid the price by not winning every week. His mental time is divided by both his Craftsman Truck Series and Nationwide teams, as well as his duties helping his wife run KHI and not to mention, his own ride with Richard Childress Racing. Carl Edwards was just one of the few Cup regulars to run double duty this weekend and I’m quite certain that if he only focused on the Cup series, he would have won the Nationwide race in Milwaukee by a much wider margin of victory, such as lapping the entire field 2 or 3 times. Clint Bowyer ran the Nationwide race as well and I’m very certain that if he wasn’t so focused on getting back and forth from Infineon to Milwaukee, he wouldn’t have wrecked when Edwards hit his car for the win Saturday night. Yup… the TNT boys got it right. Kyle’s focus is back where it should be.
ROAD COURSES IN NASCAR
Dennis says...
Yes I think we need road races in NASCAR. Maybe these do not give us the best race product for television but road races give the sport a change of pace. It is fun seeing if the road course ringers can compete with the best stockcar drivers in the world! The races are turning into fuel mileage strategy races on the ovals anyway so why not have a road course race too! Please do not put a road race in the Chase for the Championship and two road races each year are plenty too. But the best drivers in the world need to be challenged on some of the trickiest tracks in the world.
Lori says...
If 43 of my favorite drivers were given ice-cream trucks to drive through the suburbs of Boise, Idaho, I would watch. A race is a race is a race. Here’s a tip for folks who jump on the bandwagon to dislike anything they don’t agree with: Pretend for instance, that the race weekends at both Infineon and Watkins Glen are actually non-race weekends. It’s a day off for everyone. No racing. Period. There are things you can do to fill your dismal existence: Go to church. Clean the sink. Talk to your bitchy neighbor and sweep his/her driveway as a gesture of your undying goodwill and brotherly love. Change the kitty litter box (use Heathcliff’s because scooping more turds puts T.J. Bell in the seat for another race). OK, got the visual of meaningless tasks? Now pretend that you’d do anything to see 43 cars race. Watch a road course race and compare it to how your day WAS going.
CALIFORNIA AND NASCAR
Dennis says...
Southern California could care less about NASCAR but Northern California loves their NASCAR. Each and every year we see this split personality from the great state of California. Could it be that the track in Southern California is lousy? Could it be that the track in Southern California doesn’t know how to market to their fan base? Each season Infineon Raceway packs the fans into their facility. Each season California Speedway can’t draw a decent Nationwide-sized crowd for their Sprint Cup date! Maybe this should be a wake up call to change management at California Speedway since California seems to be NASCAR country!
Lori says...
Isn’t there data somewhere that says that the entire population of the world could fit into California? Yes, I thought so. Basically, if that is the case, there are more good race fans in California per capita than the entire world combined. There are also more surfers, silicone implants, dyed pink poodles, 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood’s and Jesse James bike-builder wannabes but THAT DON’T MAKE IT RIGHT MAMA! For the love of God, please let there be an earthquake* before the next race at California Speedway to send that track straight to blazes and Satan can have the front row seat he deserves and in temperatures that can only accommodate himself, George Hamilton’s tan and Carrot Top’s career.
*Disclaimer – only after all the small children and pets are safely evacuated
WOOD BROS. CAN STILL RACE
Dennis says...
It was great seeing the No. 21 of the Wood Brothers running up front on Sunday afternoon! The only battle we have seen involving the Wood Brothers lately comes on Friday afternoon during qualifying. Each week unless the No. 21 has the past champion's provisional to fall back on they have been struggling to even qualify for the race. But Sunday Marcos Ambrose in his first Cup race ever was able to run up front with the best stockcar racers on the planet! Yes he is a road course expert but he has looked pretty racey on ovals in the Nationwide Series too. The Wood Brothers should put Ambrose in that car for the rest of the season!
Lori says...
Ambrose doesn’t have a kookaburra in this game. What The Wood Brothers need (note: there is no "s" in Wood Brothers unless it’s Henry and Ferdinand Woods of the tight-rope walking family of Woods) is another National Enquirer or maybe Penthouse type of investor such as Petty Enterprises recently acquired, in order to provide a partner with copious funding and a pouch on their kangaroo big enough that could hold the combined fortunes of Donald Trump, his ex-wives and their new partners. Then and ONLY then, you should:
Stir in 1 Tasmanian Devil (i.e. Marcos Ambrose)
12 Little Debbie snack cakes (to taste)
4 sticker tires
36 past champion provisionals
9 months of good luck
Even with the perfect recipe, I truly believe that the Wood Bros. best years are in their rear view mirror.
SILLY SEASON SHUFFLE
Dennis says...
The first two dominoes in this year’s Silly Season have signed with their existing teams! But the biggest domino is Tony Stewart and the more time that goes by the more it looks like he will be in a Chevy next season. The rumor that Casey Mears was losing his ride at Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the year adds just one more crazy twist to this whole Chevy deal. Could Stewart end up at Hendrick next season with part ownership in Haas CNC…one of the satellite teams of Hendrick Motorsports? Rick Hendrick could have a dream team with three former champions and the sport’s most popular driver all in his stable! Ryan Newman and other dominoes are waiting for Tony Stewart to choose his team for 2009.
Lori says...
Rick Hendrick couldn’t deal with Kyle Busch’s "attitude" or he desire to actually race cars on days that aren’t on the Cup schedule. Tony Stewart’s antics over the past few years makes young Busch look like Howdy Doody. I can’t imagine Rick Hendrick agreeing to Tony hopping in the odd midget car or dirt late model, racing in the Chili Bowl or even climbing a fence to celebrate victory. I don’t get a warm and fuzzy vibe thinking of a Hendrick/Stewart driving relationship. A word of advice to Rick Hendrick however, let Mears know on a regular basis that his ride could have someone else in it. It seems to enhance his performance on the track. | | | Permalink | Comments (0) | | | | | | | | | | |
