Sunday, February 25, 2007

David Reutimann Bad Wreck

Bad wreck. He actually seemed to be passed out there for a moment on live TV. Good thing he walked away. Good thing for the SAFER Barrier too.






You could hear the worry in his spotter's voice over the radio. He moved pretty sluggish, but the safety crew was there in a flash to help him out and put out the fire. Even the TV broadcast was useful -- it is standard protocol that a driver drops his window net to signal he is okay. With David Reutimann not doing that, the best way to make sure he was ok was to go to the in-car view, where it was confirmed he was stirring.

It's a lot better than how it was when I first started watching racing, where you could go minutes without knowing the state of a competitor. Now with the safety emphasis, things are quite different. And with the introduction of the Car of Tommorrow, things will hopefully be even safer.

Dale Jr. Takes a Bow

Tada!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. spins out as his motor blows - the second time it's broken in the same race. He's got to be feeling embarassed after fixing his motor and having it go again. Still, his interview the first time showed some maturity. He kept it positive with an obvious eye on the morale back in the shop.


Friday, February 23, 2007

Ron Hornaday Spins Out Mark Martin On Restart

Mark Martin can't catch a break. Ron Hornaday just spun him out on the restart with a handful of laps to go. Despite the fact that the crash happened BEFORE the start finish line, NASCAR again does Mark injustice for the second time in less than a week. They apparently refused to either rectify what was at best an accident that could be easily corrected by redoing the restart, nor did they penalize Ron Hornaday, who went on to finish second.

After the inconsistency of the Daytona refusal to drop the yellow, NASCAR again has decided to take no action when action is required. Do they even pay attention to what's going on on the track anymore?









Daytona 500 Screenshots - Clint Bowyer On His Roof

Did you think I wouldn't grab screenshots? Clint Bowyer had probably the most memorable finish to a Daytona 500 that doesn't involve a win. His 07 Jack Daniel's car flipped onto its roof, burst into flames, and spun like a top before sliding across the finish line upside down and sliding back onto the grass, where it landed back on its wheels.

Remember kids, don't drink and drive.




More Daytona 500 Screenshots

Kevin Harvick wins by beating Mark Martin to the line while the field wrecks behind them.




Daytona 500 Screenshots





More Daytona 250 (Truck) Screenshots

Aftermath of Chase Miller's wreck, then oh yeah, there was kind of an exciting finish to the race, too. Actually, once again the trucks have shown that with their big bulky and boxy forms, they punch enough of a hole in the air to make restrictor plate racing fun and interesting. At least far more so than the entire Busch race or everything but the first ten laps and last forty laps of the Daytona 500 itself. They say the Car of Tommorrow with it's increased size and common template will drive more like the trucks at these tracks. And after the disastrous finish to the 500, we'll likely be able to see if that's true sooner rather than later.

Either way, the trucks have been stealing the show during speedweeks pretty much from the moment they let them on the track. If you don't watch them, at least catch the restrictor plate races. You might start wondering why they're not the ones running on Sunday.










I mean seriously. The anouncer was in the process of calling the race for Travis Kvapil before Sprague even made the move that won the race (thanks to Johnny Benson.) If it was a cup race, there simply wouldn't have been time to make a move like that. And if it weren't for the drama of the last lap wreck, I'm pretty sure most would agree the finish to the truck race was far better (in terms of actual racing.)

Daytona Truck Race Screenshots - 1

Sorry these are late. First up are of shots of that crash where the number 4 Dodge (Chase Miller) pretty much tried to take down the wall in the Daytona 250. Damn.





Thursday, February 15, 2007

Exciting Finish to the Second 150 Duel

Everyone, even the cameras, focused on that incredible strategic move back in the middle of the pack. Sterling Marlin lifted and bumped himself out of one of the spots (falling back on time) to allow his teammate Joe Nemecheck in. Then Mike Wallace (taking a break from his 60 Minutes Gig) blasted past him too to race his way in, bumping Jeremy Mayfield out of the 500. Seriously, for awhile the people on the bubble were 3 wide against each other!

All of this going on while Jeff Gordon pulls off a legitimately amazing (and unexpected) slingshot pass on Kurt Busch for the win, that we only saw on replay.





Team Redbull Will Not Be In The Daytona 500

Brian Vickers pops a tire, slams the wall, and both Team Redbull cars have wrecked out of their respective qualifying races. What will angry Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson fans have to fear now?

It's long been apparent that TRB has been in trouble - since the middle of last year. They are way behind the ball.



Harvick, Reutimann, Skinner out of the 150 Duel


Another Gasoline car out.

Meanwhile Joe "I got the shaft when Mark Martin took my car and sponsor" Nemecheck is looking pretty tight for this race. David Reutimann is out of the race, but in on time Skinner is out on engine issues too, and will probably not make the 500 on time BECAUSE Reutimann needs to use his time and is in the spot in front of him.

Juan Montoya Leads at Daytona

Juan Pablo Montoya takes the lead at Daytona then breaks a right front wheel and is out. He'll be in the 500 though. Watch out for him.