Probably not as good a topic title as the old one, but all I could come up with.

Let me kick off the re-launch of the thread with a comment on how refreshing it was to hear Alan Bestwick back in the play-by-play role on Saturday night. The race was actually enjoyable to listen to with the sound on.

I haven't been on the forums for a long time, so I was like "what, where did it go?"

Unfortunately, I've been working on Sundays, so I haven't been able to watch a whole lot of racing. I did get to see part of the IRL race this weekend.

In other good news, Kenny Wallace has picked up a new sponsor, Auto Zone, effective immediately.

Aw, good for Kenny. I was worried about him for a while there.

Where did the old thread go?

Tony Stewart Rulessssssssss!!!!! My God how great was that??? I've never seen Tony speechless, he was so overwhlemed.He's come so far in a couple of years....he may be chubby and old but I wouldn't turn him away. He wanted this race so bad. I hope he wins it all this Year. Tony Rules!!!!

I've never really paid attention to how much the drivers get when they win a race, but it seems like pretty much all of them get paid a nice chunk of change, even if they finish in last. Seriously, is finishing in 42nd place really worth $150,000? Not to mention the money they get from sponsors to drive the car. How much does it "cost" to run a race?

Let's give money to everyone!

The driver doesn't get the money the team does. The driver just gets a % of it.

About half a million dollars, on average. Substantially less than F1, but a lot more than it used to. A primary sponsorship is rumored to be in the $20M range for the 36-40 race Nextel Cup season, but the budget for a top-tier F1 team is in the $250M range for less than twenty races.

I forget who originally said it, but one of my more favorite quotes about racing is "The fastest way to a small fortune in racing is to start with a large one."

Tony Stewart rawks!!!! I'm so happy that he got to win at the Brickyard.

Who killed the old thread?

Yay for Tony! Cutest post race interview in a long time.

Kurt Busch is leaving Roush Racing. He has signed a contract with another team for 2007 and has asked to be let out of his contract for 2006. Reports are that he'll drive the #2 Miller Lite car for Penske.

Wow. (Star, running to NASCAR.com.........)

Guess things aren't so rosy at Rousch Racing! Who knows, maybe Ryan Newman can get along with Kurt much better than he does with Crusty!

Not only that, Jason Leffler has been booted from the Fed Ex car. I can't say that I'm surprised about that.

Tony Stewart That was a very bizarre moment when the camera showed Stewart laying down on the wall. With Stewart's bulging mid-section sticking up, it looked like Allen Bestwick was about to come over and induce labor.

From this weeks Power Rankings on Nascar.com,sometimes the guy just hits it.

As good as Tony's win at the Brickyard was,I still think he wants the big prize,500 miles of Glory,a swig of milk,a lap around the brickyard with a wreath around his neck,and his mug on the Borg Warner along with his hero AJ Foyt.

Either Kurt was pissed about Roush signing Jamie without talking to him like Matt was/is, or Penske threw a shitload of money at him. Let's face it, marrying NASCAR Barbie ain't going to be cheap for somebody that looks like Kurt.

I can't wait to hear what Benny, Allen, and Wally have to say about Kurt leaving Roush.

It looks like Kurt Busch and Jaime McMurry will both be driving pissed next year. And maybe Mark Martin if he gets stuck driving another season because of it.

It seems like Gordon's gf is always at the races but I rarely ever see her during the opening ceremonies. Do they just not show her? Or am I thinking of the right person? When they show him talking to other drivers before the race there is usually a tall brunette who can't seem to find a bra standing next to him. Is that her?

His girlfriend is a brunette model named Ingrid so that is probably her you're seeing. I think JG is pretty tiny so even if she's only 5'8" or so I bet she looks huge next to him!

Well, Jeffy boy's 5' 7", so... Maybe Ingrid wears heels? She seems a hell of a lot taller than by an inch. (It's pathetic, how I know all this, isn't it?)

Oh I'm not sure how tall she is, I was just saying that anybody can look pretty tall next to Jeffy. I bet he's not even 5'7". Just imagine her next to Bobby Hamilton Jr. though.
Anybody else find it refreshing to see Tony doing a little smacking around at the end of the Busch race today?

It scared me for a minute because his arm was out the window right when Vickers side swiped him.

I thought he should have been smacking Ryan Newman personally.

Argh! Damn that Dukes of Hazzard, forcing me to go see it and miss the race! What happened, what happened? Who smacked who?

Well.. The race was rain delayed for several hours and started under yellow so they could dry off the track. Once they went to green the race was pretty exciting. I hope tomorrow's cup race will be equally as exciting.

There were some wrecks but I don't regularly follow busch so I'm not sure who was involved.

At the beginning Tony's car was very on. Near the end Ryan Newman got into him and screwed up his car just enough to keep him out of contention.

Vickers was leading for a while and then Newman got around him. There was a late caution and the race went green again with only 4 laps to go and several cars, including Newman, unsure if they had the fuel to make it. Tony battled Viclkers for second but didn't get past him. It was just enough to give Newman a comfortable lead. Robbie Gordon managed to get around Tony and Vickers, but couldn't catch Newman.

After the race was over Tony and Vickers were beatin' and bangin' into each other. My guess is Vickers felt Tony's attempt at second cost him his chance to catch Newman. Uh, dude, it's a race, he's SUPPOSE to try to get around you.

Wally was in the Mr. Clean car so Kevin Harvick was in the booth. Kevin did OK in the booth. I don't mind listening to him but I can't stand looking at him, his face reminds me of that kid from Mask.

It was a pretty good race but Robbie Gordon and Ryan Newman are two of my least favorite drivers so I was a bit disappointed.

I think Ryan Newman is probably the most overrated driver. Sure he can get on pole but big deal. The guy hasn't won a cup race in 4 years.

It's still kind of pathetic that NASCAR refuses to race in the wet on a road course. I can understand them not wanting to race during a torrential downpour, but come on, everyone else races on damp road courses.

It's going to be a great afternoon of racing. The Nextel boys on a road course and Danica and Dan Wheldon on the front row of today's Indy race. I'll be taping one and watching the other.

Does anyone know what happened to the previous racing thread?

I suppose the driving in the rain thing is a saftey issue but if everyone else does it....

Well Junior went up another point in the standings... maybe he'll make it.

I don't really get how the points work. Gordon won 3 races this season and he's only 2 ahead of Junior. Biffle didn't even finish and he didn't fall even one place.

WTG Tony. He's really on a roll.

Ah, mucho amore, gadge. Thank you.

Did anyone see that stunt Kahne tried to pull that ended in wrecking Michael Waltrip? What was up with that? It was just so... wierd.

Nah, he won't make it and neither will Jeffy G. That's cool, though. We don't need them to make this year's Chase exciting!



Not only that, did you hear what Mikey said afterwards? "That boy in the 9 just wouldn't give me an inch. I can't wait until he needs an inch...." Kasey had better watch out!

What do you guys think about the controversy swirling aroung Jaime McMurray and Kurt Busch? Ganassi will be bitchy enough to keep Jaime for the last year on his contract. I think that Jack Roush will probably let Kurt go in 2006. I mean, why keep him if he doesn't want to stay?

The points thing is confusing as heck. Each place in a finish order is awarded a certain number of points, with an additional 5 points for leading a lap, and another 5 points if you lead the most laps. Tony won, Tony led a lap, Tony lead the most laps, so Tony earned the most points for tody's race. If you win 3 races, but don't finish 10 races (or finish 43rd), you won't have as many points as the guy who finished in the top 10 every week and led a lap in some of those races. Points and results from today's race. They say it rewards consistency. I say it only makes sense if you are drunk.

They have deals and signed contracts with sponsors who pay a lot of money for a certain driver to drive a car. Jack has said he isn't letting Kurt out of his contract. I say they need to honor the deals they already have. Can you imagine a football player saying, "Yeah I am going to play for the Redskins for this the rest of the year, but I have already signed to play with the Patriots in 2 years, so if y'all would just let me out of my contract at the end of the year so I can go ahead and play for the Patriots next year, I'd really appreciate it,"?

Jack started it and now that it has bitten him in the butt, the other owners are laughing. If the rumors about Matt leaving come true, they will laugh even louder. I think Matt has enough class to not announce anything, or sign anything untl his current contract runs out, or he is clearly out of the chase. All this will eventually result in a lawsuit. A sponsor is going to end up suing the life out of a driver and whatever team signed the driver before their contract is up.

On Around the Track this morning, Kenny Wallace compared it to a man telling his wife, "I love you, but after next year, I don't want to be married to you anymore."

I hope Tony wins the championship. I love Allen's interviews with him.

The guys should not be released from their contracts, that's the whole point of a contract. They shouldn't even be asking. If they want to buy out their contracts that's another story.

Does NASCAR penalize drivers for things said on their radios? I was listening to Junior's in-car audio and he dropped the s-bomb.

Speaking on in-car audio, why isn't Tony's in-car audio available, but Ryan Newman is?

Down here, we call that getting ready to go Western. And remember, Mikey's punched dudes OUT before. I'd be quivering in my size sixes (cause he's so tiny!) if I were Kahne.

Yeah, I'm fiercely loyal to Michael.

No, they don't. They can be penalized for what's said on live tv/radio, and in public. But they won't fine them for what happens on their team radios. Believe me - these boys swear a LOT. I've heard Sam Hornish over in the IRL go off several times.



Were you listening to TrackPass at nascar.com? Not all teams make their radios public to NASCAR. But all frequencies can be found at the track with a scanner.

In other news - way to go Scott Sharp, winning the IRL race in Kentucky. He's one of the true class acts in racing.

Junior sounds just like his Daddy on the radio! Makes me all nostalgic. Junior makes me laugh. I absolutely love when he gets mad at his crew. I wouldn't want to be them, but I love listening to him bitch at them. He can let loose on some cussin'.

I don't know how or why they would penalize the drivers for cussing. The teams are basically letting you eavesdrop on team communications. I know of no driver who hasn't let the f-bomb fly during a race. Even Jeffy can cuss up a storm! Kinda made me respect him a little bit. He always looked like a "Golly, gosh darn it," kinda guy to me. He isn't, at least not when things aren't going his way.

Now NASCAR will get you if you make a threat during a race, like, "I'm going to get him," like Kurt Busch did with Jimmy Spencer which led to Jimmy punching him. Mikey might have even been called to the red truck after the race to tell him to get over the Kasey thing and to warn him about retaliation. At the very least he'll get a talking to before Sunday's race.

If drivers were penalized for cussing on the in-car stuff, every driver would be penalized every race. Oh, some of the things I have heard on the scanners. I have always wanted one of the wives/girlfriends to pass a message like, "You know that thing you've been wanting to try? You win, you get to try it."

That is why they delay playing the in-car on the TV broadcasts, because you just do not know what these guys are going to say. Junior and Tony might be the least predictable. But I think it is a pretty safe bet that Junior will never say "shit" in a post race interview ever again.

Kurt and Jaime might have to buy themselves out. I don't want to see Mark Martin suffer through another year when he's supposed to be retired.



Is Around The Track a radio show? I saw Kenny say those same things on NASCAR This Morning on Speed Channel.

Kenny also said that this driver change wouldn't be an issue if the car owners had fired them outright. It's easy to say, "I don't want you." to someone. God forbid someone says that to you!

FYI Nascar fans: Jeff Gordon, Kyle Petty, and Rusty Wallace will be on Larry King Live tomorrow night. Luckily Bob Costas will be subbing for Larry so the drivers won't be asked dumb questions. I assume Bob will do more homework to prepare for his guests than Larry does.

I will NEVER forgive Larry King for his Junior interview after the 2004 Daytona 500. What an idiot, "Where were you when your father died?" Idiot.

I must have seen Kenny Wallace on NASCAR This Morning too. Around the Track comes on FSN and I think I was too busy watching Lifetime Movie Network when it came on.

I would be a little scared if I was Kasey too. Which race was it this year that Mikey blatantly got back at Jeff Green (I think it was Jeff Green)? I was surprised watching a highlight reel of NASCAR tiffs before and saw Mikey punch somebody HARD through their driver's window years ago. It was kind of scary. Now Mikey's in his 40's and all Christian and stuff, so he'll probably just bump Kasey during a race.

Regarding the Trackpass for Tony during races, I've read before that he never allows it because he feels it is kind of like eavesdropping. I bet he would be hilarious to listen to though.

Oh, Mikey was Christian even when he was punching people. I think his quote was, when the cameraman said "Why'd you just do that?", "Well, I'm a good Christian man, and he's a good Christian man, so I realize I'm already forgiven." Mikey rocks.

ooh, sjpard, since you saw it, who did he punch? On the "highlight," that I saw I couldn't tell who it was.

It was Lake Speed (which sounds so much like a porn name, it's not even funny).

Hey, speaking of porn... Anyone seen that old picture of DJ winning Indy? They loved playing it ad nauseum of "NASCAR This Morning" last week. It looks like a catterpillar climbed up onto his lip! Bow, chicka bow bow...

Dick Trickle anyone? David Seadris talks about Dick Trickle in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.

Yep, DJ used to have a big ol' 'stache. And Elliott used to have really short hair. I saw Elliott in the Bristol commercial (the footage was from 2001) and he looks like a different person. I see him in that Motorcraft car and uniform and it takes me back.

Speaking of feuds and tiffs-- I love the story of when Big E took out a gun and shot Junior's little Geoff Bodine car. If anyone else had done it I would be appalled, but it was Dale, so freepass.

eta: I just heard that when the Kasey-Mikey thing happened Kasey had no brakes.

Are you kidding me? What did Junior say? I hope it was "On the same track, asshole."



And peppered with gratuitous cussing, no doubt! He may be much calmer these days, but I'll bet he has plenty to say during races.

Junior handled it a lot better than most people would have. I was sitting there with my mouth hanging open praying Junior would go all redneck and say, "Banging your wife, bitch!" Or just get up and walk away since he was at home with a live feed. He handled it with class and grace and said something like, "About 100 feet away from him." Here's the transcript.

If someone asked me such a ridiculous question, I'd probably just slowly get up and leave. What an idiot! Costas was really good, he asked educated questions that would be helpful for die-hards and newbies alike. None of this stemming from my micro-sized crush I have on him.

Did anyone see "Inside Nextel Cup"? Might I say-- Bitch fit. Michael needs to calm down before NASCAR black flags him. He was threatening Kahne within an inch of his life! I half-expected him to start sharpening a knife like in the old Loony Toons. Which, sorry, but would have been hilarious.

Tony curses like a sailor from what I hear on my handy-dandy XM Satellite radio. It's fun, considering you also have plain-Jane Newman and Biffle on there too.

I saw Inside Nextel Cup. Michael needs a haircut and a bridge so he can get over the Kasey thing.

I caught the Bob Costas interview, or part of it. I certainly hope Larry watched it and picked up some pointers on how to research and interview. I got the biggest kick out of confrontation footage. For some reason that stuff just tickles me. Of course I was flying through my memory bank trying to remember what caused which confrontation. And I laughed and laughed and remembered why I hate Robby Gordon.

What's pretty crazy is that I just read a blog entry from one of Jr.'s PR guys (someone linked the site here before, his PR guys are funny) and apparently Jr. only agreed to the interview when he was assured Larry wouldn't ask about his dad's death. 5 minutes into the interview, "where were you when he died?" I remember watching the show. Jeff Gordon was the other guest and you could just tell he felt bad for Jr.
Awesome.

Bob Costas is a much better interviewer than Larry King. Asking Rusty about one of his first wins and asking Jeff about losing his power steering at Martinsville tells me someone did some real research. The fans who called in had some good questions as well.

Mikey is now my second favorite driver. He was in rare form last night! I loved every minute of it! Let's face it, Mikey did have a fucked up weekend (and season, to boot!). NASCAR shouldn't punish him for venting on his own show. As long as he doesn't pull a Jeff Green on the track, let him bitch.

I love watching the old footage where the guys are getting into brawls. I wish NASCAR would lay off and let them duke it out. That's more entertaining than the racing imo. Heck, if they were allowed to duke it out off track maybe they wouldn't take it back onto the track...well...maybe.

Of course, could you imagine a fist fight between Michael and Kasey? I think crying would be involved.

LOL! Like Kasey would stand still long enough to let Mikey punch that pretty face... Mr. Waltrip looks like he would be hardcore in a brawl.

The words "Kahne" and "crying like a little bitch" come directly to mind.

Ooh, yes, though, Michael needs a trim. Badly.

They won't punish him for venting, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time they warned a driver that if anything happens to another certain driver, he will be black flagged and held on pit road so he loses a lap or more. I like Mikey. He has always been one of my favorites. If he is smart he'll let it go. This kind of thing usually hurts the person trying to get revenge more than the person they are targeting. A fight between Mikey and Kasey would end in tears, but the way Mikey's season is going, he'd be aiming for Kasey, and take out Smoke, as well as himself.

What is that thing on Mikey's chin? At first, I thought he had missed a spot, but it has become apparent that it is there on purpose. It isn't dark like the hair on his head which leads me to the conclusion that he uses Just For Men on his head. I never thought I 'd see the day when drivers are their waxing eyebrows and washing the gray right out of their hair. Next thing you know there will be a Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: NASCAR Edition.

Speaking of what drivers look like, does Miller really think Kurt Busch will sell more beer than Junior? I mean seriously, do they? I thought Wind Tunnel was funny the other night with Rusty fans/Miller drinkers calling in and emailing that they were switching to Bud. The new Bud ad could be, "Ladies, if you drink Miller/Miller Lite you might be tempted to take someone who looks like this (picture of Kurt) home with you." The one aimed for men could be, "Do you want to drink the beer of spineless, whimpering asshats, or the beer of guys who date Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models?"

Kyle Petty needs to be in a booth somewhere. He is so well spoken amd he knows what he is talking about. He may not have a trillion wins, but he has been around the sport his entire life.

Proving I'm a Michael ho...

The quasi-hipster soul patch is indeed a Michael Waltrip classic, and apparently has been since Darius Rucker (or, ya know, Hootie) called Michael the whitest white man he'd ever met. So, in a half-joking-comment gone terribly awry, Michael (jokingly?) grew the little... stub of hair. And you know what? I've grown to like it. And there is some picture, I believe when you Google Image search "Waltrip", that shows that Michael's almost completely grey. I, for one, am incredibly thankful foor "Just For Men" when I see the pic, because homeboy looks old without the dark hair.

Now off I trot.