GGW Racing SYMT On Who Gets What Car

There's been some talk that some are getting the better cars,

motors etc for why they have not done so well this year and how 4 drivers have 2 wins and that there cars came from Hendricks Motorsports. First let me say I know for a fact YeeMum would not let any motor out unless it has passed the even- steven test.

Now about who gets what cars all I can say is we try and get the best hand me downs from many great teams and here is one truck load we got of fine cars,



Well maybe not the best truck load of cars to show you all but now for who got what on this truck load or any of the others. I can not tell cause before I paint them they are striped and prime for me by Fred No-Look as he trys to make sure even he can't tell.



I know this might be hard to beleave and this comming from the one who won the first 2 races this year, but it was going to be the cars for Klvalus. I hope this helps out as to who gets what. We are having a chase as well and it just might help out for those who had the clunkers.lol


Cheers2All

GGW Starting Grid for Indianapolis

For all you GGW fans and racers, here is how they will line up at Indy.

1. Mark Martin= JokersWild
2. Juan Pablo Montoya= Tsfanpc
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.=Aero13
4. Bill Elliott= Klvalus
5. David Reutimann= YeeMum
6. Brian Vickers= Outlaw/LeCrab
7. Tony Stewart= frevr3fan
8. Kasey Kahne= SoCa24fan
9. Reed Sorenson= Moseby
10. Clint Bowyer= HotFootLori
11. Marcos Ambrose= Hanahan
12. Greg Biffle= CR Racing
13. Martin Truex Jr.= Tezgm99
14. Denny Hamlin= Gerrel
15. Sam Hornish Jr= Gunaquat
16. Jimmie Johnson= SpeedBeagle
17. Ryan Newman=RLGuido
18. Joey Logano= go9car
19. Kevin Harvick= storkjrc
20. Kyle Busch= Volfan69
21. David Stremme= Ask_Forensic2

Felipe Massa in Hospital after "Groundhoy Day" accident

Have you ever had one of those moments when something you’ve only just heard about suddenly comes up in a random conversation?

Maybe it’s just me.

But the same thing was only just avoided in the world of motorsport this weekend.

Six days after we lost F2 driver Henry Surtees after he was struck on the head by a loose wheel from a car that had hit the barriers ahead of him, we seem to have frighteningly close to a Groundhog Day like follow up in Formula 1.

In the final minutes of the second part of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix TV pictures cut away from showing the normal range of angles following drivers through the final corners, and over the finish line, to show a Ferrari embedded in a tyre wall, in an state similar to Heikki Kovalienen’s crash at Barcelona last year.

As marshalls poured over and round the wall to attend to the car, it became apparent that all was not well. One marshall signalled frantically for the medical car as it lapped the track at the end of the session.

Massa wasn’t out of the car.

One ambulance pulled up, then another. TV cameras focused in the normally unimportant scene of a track doctor walking down the pit lane.

No replays were being shown, everything was speculation. Just as motorsport was getting back to normal, fans were thinking the worse again.

Then, facts began to emerge. Massa had been struck on the head by a piece of debris.

Oh no, not again, we can’t do this again.

Track workers scoured the track walking in search lines as if searching for a murder weapon in a field.

Mass was out of the car, the pictures showed him moving. Rubens Barrichello, Massa’s countryman had spoken to him.

The fears abated.

However, Massa is possibly the luckiest man on the planet right now.

Disagree? Take a glance at the top picture on this Finnish website - , which despite my lack of Finnish language skills, at this point may be taken as genuine,

As you can see by the soft tissue (sorry, getting medical) damage the relatively thin visor appears to have afforded very little protection from the suspension spring that has been revealed as the culprit by TV replays.

If that spring had hit him in the centre of that visor, rather than a glancing blow to the side of the helmet, then. Well, I would be writing a totally different article right now.

By latest update, some three-and-a-half-hours after the event, while the official F1 website reports Massa as “safe” there are still some rather worrying words being used in updates. He remains in intensive care in a Budapest hospital, where he will be kept in for observation.

It is expected he will need surgery on the injury, which includes bone damage to the brain, and a serious concussion.

Thus he will not take the green flag tomorrow, while the rest of the his season is unclear, especially with F1 taking a month break before the next round.

Jay Adamczyk (A.K.A. Jayski) Congratulations on a Job Well Done

We as race fans are very fortunate to have so many websites that cater to the sport; the variety that’s out there is like trying to choose a favorite place to eat, shop, or even a place to enjoy our leisure time.

Now it’s no hidden secret that the everyday fan will always choose a website that has everything from statistics, latest news & rumor headlines, race day information, driver tributes, paint schemes, and anything under the sun that pertains to NASCAR.

And if you search hard enough, you could even find a site that would help you with the proper way to display the American Flag.

Jay Adamczyk, better known as “Jayski” to us NASCAR junkies, has been an icon in the online community since 1996.

What Jayski has done with the site since then, is open up a whole new world for the veteran as well as the newest of NASCAR fans.

Jayski’s Silly Season Site as it is known, is a smorgasbord of detailed, up to date information, and tidbits which covers the entire NASCAR world.

Jayski’s prominence, along with his popularity within the NASCAR community has catapulted him into the number two spot, just ahead of Foxsports.com.

Jayski’s faithful readers account for more than a quarter million unique visitors, and nearly 11 million total minutes per month just behind number one ranked NASCAR.com.

Hosted by ESPN, Jayski has been able to take the idea of NASCAR internet surfing to whole new and exciting level, with the new site design that has just been launched.

Some of the new features that can be found are, a new global navigation bar has also been added across the top of the page for quick navigation to some of Jayski.com’s most popular areas.

Jayski.com has also added new executions on the front page and index pages, and features cleaner, bolder ad units for more engaging ad solutions.

The redesign also features newly enhanced advertising opportunities with more options and increased flexibility for marketers.

It started as a class project by a Federal Aviation Administration programmer in 1996, by December of 1999 it became a full time job, and by April of 2007 it was acquired by ESPN.

Today 13 years later, who better to help launch the new site than Amp Energy in conjunction with the 16th running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard?

One mans dream, and one mans journey deserves a big congratulations on a job well done.

Are the Dodgers Baseball's Cavaliers?

In my opinion, yes, the Dodgers look alot like the Cleveland Cavs of baseball. They are a team that is built for a very successful regular season, but not necessarily for the short series that playoffs offer.

The Dodgers have a big star, Manny Ramirez. The Cavs had LaBron. The Dodgers and Cavs also both score a lot and play good enough defense to win the vast majority of their games.

That being said, the Cavs didn't have what it took to win in the playoffs. They competed, but fell short. In the NBA playoffs, you need more than one or two guys stepping up and scoring big. You need toughness and a dominant big man in the middle.

The Dodgers have a batter or two who will have success whenever they play. However, they do not have the dominant big man (or men in baseball's case) in the middle to take charge of a series. In baseball, that big man is the pitcher. In my opinion, the Dodgers don't have pitchers who intimedate the other team. I'm talking about guys who are almost a sure win.

Remember when the Diamond Backs had Schilling and Johnson in their rotation? Every game that they pitched in the World Series, the D-Backs won. The games they didn't pitch, the D-Backs lost. I don't see the Dodgers having anyone like those two in their rotation. Even the San Francisco Giants are a scarier opponent in a short season. They have pitching coming out of their ears (and we all know how painful that is).

So, you tell me. Do you think the Dodgers have what it takes to go all the way? Do you think they need to make some moves to win the whole thing?

Athens Speedway: the Early Years

Unless you read ROADHAWG, you might not know what's going on with this blog. So read it first! lol I got the idea from Roadhawg (Tommy Logan) to do a Myspace called REMEMBERING ATHENS SPEEDWAY. There are about 50 dirt track drivers there but only 2 of them are old enough to remember Athens Speedway. lol I found this article online and thought it might be good reading. (not sure who wrote this but it came from this link - http://www.decal-man.com/Speedway.htm)

Athens Speedway: the Early Years

This article is based on what I have found in the Athens Banner (the local paper) and a program loaned to me by Hugh Blackstock of Gainesville, GA. The program is from 1966. Years ago Joe Cawley sent me copies of photos from cars in the program plus a couple of pages from that program. The quote that follows is from that program. Now you know why it is so important to save these items.



“During the winter months of 1958 and into the Spring of 1959 an idea was formed that was to change the terrain of the land on the Jimmie Daniel Road and that would also change the Saturday night entertainment for many racing fans. This idea grew and plans were finally made to bring to Athens the first auto race track for this area.

"Bill Cooley designed and planned the race track. He checked with various organizations, insurance companies, and many other sources for all safety specifications and included them in his design for Athens Speedway.

“The grading, grandstand construction, etc. was started in May (1959) and tons and tons of clay were hauled in for the surface of the track, which measures a quarter of a mile on the inside of the circumference. Although the work was completed by September (1959), the enemy of all dirt tracks - Rain - postponed the opening until November. Four straight rain outs in October put the first race on the new track on November 9, 1959.



“The program for the opening race was for Super Modifieds and Amateurs in a 135 lap program. The winners of the first feature race on the clay oval were:

1st Tootle Estes Knoxville, Tennessee

2nd Bud Lunsford Gainesville, Georgia

3rd Herman Wise Lavonia, Georgia

4th Charlie Padgett Marietta, Georgia

5th Charlie Burkhalter Athens, Georgia

6th Roy Roberts Chattanooga, Tennessee

7th Truman Padgett Dalton, Georgia

8th Leon Sells Atlanta, Georgia

9th Carl Stonecyper Eastonalle, Georgia

10th Doris Sosebee Anderson, South Carolina

“Super Modifieds and Amateurs were the competing racers at the track until the Spring of 1962 when the program was changed to include the jalopy events, This popular addition to the program was combined with a change to the Sportsman racers, and with the Amateurs gave the fans three divisions of competition in a varied program. 1962 was an important year in the history of Athens Speedway for not only did the program undergo a major change, but it was the first and only year the Speedway operated without a rain out.



“During the history of Athens Speedway many drivers have competed at the track and have moved up in the racing circuit. Sam McQuagg, winner of the 1965 Daytona Firecracker 400, competed at Athens Speedway.

“The Sportsman racers were changed from restrictions on flat heads in 1963 and each year has seen them make additional improvements. Wings, “Skeeter” type bodies, modification in fuel, etc., have increased the speed and interest in the program.

“The Two Special 100 lap Championship events scheduled each year have been won by:

July 4th Mid-Season Championship Labor Day Championship

1960 _ Charlie Mincey, Atlanta, GA

1961 Freddy Fryer, Chattanooga, TN Tootle Estes, Knoxville, TN

1962 Donald Brooks, Center, GA Bill York, Toccoa, GA

1963 Claude Maldin, Tucker, GA Charlie Burkhalter, Athens, GA

1964 Charlie Padgett, Marietta, GA Charlie Padgett, Marietta, GA

1965 Charlie Mincey, Atlanta, GA Charlie Padgett, Marietta, GA

1966 Charlie Padgett, Marietta, GA ? ? ? ?


“As the speeds increase each year, the officials at Athens Speedway try to do all things possible to afford the drivers the maximum in safety features. Each year additional improvements are made for the safety of participants and spectators.

“Much time is devoted by Bill Cooley and his staff to provide the fans with the best racing program possible and it is hoped that in the future as in the past that the fans and drivers will continue to support Athens Speedway with their interest and cooperation.”

By the way, Charlie Padgett won the 100-lap Labor Day Championship race in 1966. Charlie Mincey trailed Buck Simmons for the first 97 laps but finally got by for second. The late Dub Meeler and Tommy Roberts followed Simmons.



Where did all this start? Bill Cooley was born and raised in Athens. His father, M. S. Cooley, was an accountant who loved to go to the races. Bill says, “The first race I can remember was at Lakewood.” But his father carried the family all over North Georgia to watch all the early pioneers of Georgia. In the mid-fifties, Bill and some friends bought a car that was built to run on the Beach in Daytona. They figured this would be a “real” stock car. Problem was the car was geared too high and wouldn’t handle besides that. What was built for the Beach wouldn’t work at the small tracks in North Georgia.

Their second try was with a bit more success but Bill discovered he was no Bud Lunsford nor Charlie Padgett nor anyone else running up front. He was what has become known as a field filler. He was always there and always ran the top class (flathead modifieds at the time). “One time at Twin Lakes Raceway (near Elberton), all the top dogs had dropped out and I had a chance of winning the consolation race. I really started pressing the pedal and before the checkered flag fell I spun out. What was so bad, all the guys in the pits had stopped what they were doing and were on the edge of the track rooting me on. That was as close as I ever came to winning a race.”

Then Bill and friend “Dynamite” Cole had the idea of building a track on some property off US Highway 78 west of Athens on Jimmie Daniels Road. The property was owned by Dynamite’s family. They secured a long-term lease in the spring of 1959. “That had to be the hottest summer in history in Athens,” was how Bill remembers the work. “Mr. Cole had some construction crews that worked from about seven in the morning until noon. They would kick off until late in the afternoon and then return to work. We moved dirt from the side of a hill to form the back stretch.”

This went on until late September. At that time the rains that didn’t come during the summer started. Bill relates the biggest problem, “ The clay we had moved to make the second turn was completely washed away one night as it rained locally about nine inches. We went back to work and reformed the turn.” The final product was ready to put before the fans or was it?



Bill suddenly realized that none of his people had ever run a race track before and hired a few notable officials from North Georgia. His mother would run the concessions (“sometimes if it wasn’t for the money she made at the concessions, we would have never made money.”), his sister Janice was the ticket taker while his father ran the pit gate. But for the first few races, Bill hired Jimmy Mosteller as race director. “Whatever Jimmy said we needed to do, we did.”

And this caused the worst accident of Jimmy’s over 50 years of involvement in racing. As a Amateur heat race was about to start, Jimmy told Bill that they should not run the race but water the inside of the track. The racing surface was okay, but as all racers do, some were trying the short way around and that was the very bottom. When Bill had watered the track, he had not paid that much attention to the inside. “As I started to walk over to the truck, I heard the crowd groan. I turned to see one of the cars run over what looked like a hundred-pound bag of flour. “ It was Jimmy. He had come out on the track to direct the cars to the pits as the track was watered. In a deposition that Bill gathered for his court case towards the law suit filed, it is noted that Bill Galloway of Baldwin, GA was the driver that had run over Jimmy. PART OF STATEMENT.

As a result, Bill hired his own crew not because the others had done a bad job but because he wanted his “Own people” doing the job. Howard Sims was his flagman from the beginning. Howard was a long time friend

Harold Fryer of Chattanooga, TN won the second race a week later on November 15th. Bud Lunsford of Gainesville, GA won the 50-lap feature on Sunday afternoon, November 22nd. Tootle Estes had led for 32 laps until Bud got by him. Tootle held on for second and T. C. Hunt finished third. There were several pile-ups and one engine fire but no serious injuries. Wendell McFarland of Toccoa won the 30-lap Amateur event over Wendel Roach of Lavonia and Billy Bowman of Winterville. This was suppose to be the last race but another was run on Thanksgiving Day. Bud Lunsford again won the modified feature. Lunsford went through the same scenario as the week before only he waited until lap 36 to pass Tootle Estes. T. C. Hunt again ran third. Harold Fryer ran fourth. Wilton Watkins of Baldwin won the amateur race, with Wendel Roach again finishing second. Bob Derrick of Walhalla, SC was third.

The first full season of racing at Athens Speedway opened in late April 1960 the late Howard Corbin of Duluth, GA won that opener. In the first four races there were four different winners. Howard then Bud Lunsford then T. C. Hunt then Tootle Estes won the modified feature events. Then Bud Lunsford took possession of the speedway with 7 straight wins. From early June until late August, Bud beat everybody that came to Athens Speedway. On August 20th, T. C. Hunt beat Bud but did not get the bounty offered by the speedway as Bud dropped out with mechanical problems. Charlie Mincey won the first 100-lap championship race at the track on Labor Day. Bud again had mechanical problems, as did Tootle Estes, who led for 88 laps. Bud then went back to winning with four more victories. In early fall, they went to Sunday afternoon racing and finished about mid-November. All together, Bud won 11 races; T. C. Hunt and Tootle Estes won four main events each with Howard Corbin winning the opener only. This is speculation, as there didn’t seem to be too much information in the paper. One of amateur college teams takes up all the sports pages in Athens during the fall. A third division of racing was started at the speedway with the addition of the Jalopy Division, giving Athens a three-division race card each week.

Bloggers Unite! Update3

Happy Friday Everyone!

Welcome to our most recent additions...Top, Rev, stork, Hoosier, JBroomy, Vol and F2. We have 30 "authors" with 18 open invitations still out there. We can have up to 100 authors on here so if there are others I am missing (I am sure there are!) get me the emails. (klvalus@yahoo.com)

I am aware we are getting the SPAM message (thanks Bev) and have requested the review...shouldn't be a problem since I *think* our stuff is slightly better than SPAM.

This weekend I would love to test out the comment capacity with a race chat blog but am not entirely sure if I will be around on Sunday to start it. Someone get one up and lets put this puppy to the test!

Great to have the Trifecta up -- Thanks SpeedBeagle! We need to do a search party for WW...

At this point do we have all the GGW racers over here F2? I think we are missing JW and TSFan - I know they have outstanding invites. Who else is missing? I would like to suggest we start posting the rest of the SYMT season here...

Is anyone having any problems on here doing anything? I know RL can't "blow up the blogs" with his pictures b/c of the format we have but we would lose the updated blogs and members along the side to do so.

Any requests for changes?

Let me know!

--Your fearless instigator...

PS! For those of you with individual blogs not linked to this blog (see right hand side of blog --------------->) please leave a comment with your blog http address and I will get you all linked up so we always have a way to read your stuff!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly--Inaugural Brickyard 400

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew went back to the archives (black and white stills, mainly) to dissect the inaugural Brickyard 400. This is what The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly would have looked like at the inaugural Brickyard 400.

THE GOOD

Jeff Gordon: as the race winner, he automatically gets first billing. He led the most laps en route to etching his name in the history books as the inaugural champion of the Brickyard 400. Great calls by his crew chief Ray Evernham throughout the race. Quite a feat for the second-year driver. Good job Jeff!

Brett Bodine: he was stout, and led laps in the race, but didn't quite have enough for Gordon and the Rainbow Warriors.

Bill Elliott: another stout driver, he led laps and was pretty much in contention throughout the race.

Rusty Wallace: he started 12th and climbed and clawed his way into contention. He got stronger as the race went on, but didn't have quite enough to get the win. Still, fourth is a very good showing.

Dale Earnhardt: the Intimidator got the five bonus points for leading a lap. He started third and stayed in the top 5 for much of the race. He was very consistent throughout.

Honorable mention: Todd Bodine, Lake Speed, Ted Musgrave, Ernie Irvan (who might have won if he hadn't cut a tire late in the race), Greg Sacks, Rick Mast.

THE BAD

Mark Martin: he had issues throughout the day, making it a long one for the Roush Racing driver. What made it even worse is that he started 10th. He finished 35th, 20 laps down.

Harry Gant: Handsome Harry was bad from the time the crew unloaded the car until the race was over. He qualified 42nd. The team totally missed on the setup and in spite of leading a lap, the car had issues later in the race. He would finish 37th, 27 laps down.

Jeff Purvis: his day went south when he had issues. Although his crew was able to fix the car and he was able to finish, he finished 34th, 18 laps down.

THE UGLY

Jimmy Spencer: his day ended early when on Lap 9, he was involved in an accident. Jimmy, we hardly knew ye. He finished DFL. Dead Freaking Last.

Geoffrey Bodine/Dale Jarrett: these two were involved in an accident that ended their days on Lap 99. Bodine was running well at the time, having picked up five bonus points for leading at least one lap, and had started in the top 10. Very unfortunate for both drivers, as both were on their way to solid finishes.

That was the analysis of the Crappafoni Pictures crew as they pored over the archives of that race. What struck the crew was the number of Ford drivers there were. About half the field were running Fords. Pontiac was running five cars in that race, and the remainder were Chevrolets. What also struck this observer was how Jeff Gordon has been able to transition from one era to another smoothly. At the time of the inaugural race, Gordon was running with Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Dave Marcis, Harry Gant, Morgan Shepherd, and several other great drivers of that earlier era. There was no COT, no SAFER barriers, and the racing was freer. Now, Gordon is the grizzled veteran and statesman. He runs with young bucks like Kyle Busch, Joey Logano (who was only a toddler at the time of that inaugural race), Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski. The COT is here. There are SAFER barriers throughout the track. It remains to be seen how good the racing will be on Sunday.

DEWALT Will Not Return To Roush Fenway #17 Cup Team In 2010

With the economy still in a downswing, and sponsorship in NASCAR not as strong as it was a few years ago. One of the biggest industries that’s been hit the hardest is construction. Home Depot along with Lowes, which happen to be the country’s two largest home improvement warehouses, have seen their share of the declining economy. Home depot alone has already closed numerous stores, along with letting go of thousands of employee’s in the process. So its no wonder that the domino effect that always follows when hard times hit, was not that far off the horizon.

As sad as it may it seem since NASCAR does generate more of the advertising dollar, because of the different teams that race in the series. Now when you look at each of the different teams, how many of them run the same sponsor on each of their race cars? Now how surprising is it that Roush Fenway Racing who is NASCAR’s largest team operating nine Motorsports teams, was informed today that DEWALT Power Tools will not renew its sponsorship of Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 team for the 2010 NASCAR season.

For those of us who know anything about the construction industry, or that have done their own home improvements already knows that DEWALT along with Makita, Skil, Bosch, Milwaukee, and Porter-Cable are the biggest suppliers of power tools to the construction industry. So with the construction industry steadily declining, it was just a matter of time before the power tool end of the industry would be hit. Especially since we are already witnessing the home improvement warehouses, steadily disappearing from the horizon.

Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith, who oversees all nine of the Roush Fenway teams which include five in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; three in the Nationwide Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Ragan, Erik Darnell, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Colin Braun; and one in the Camping World Truck Series with Braun.

Smith had this to say when he was told that DEWALT would no longer be part of the team in 2010, “We would like to thank DEWALT for serving as a great partner for the past 10 years. During that time we have seen great success for both their company and marketing program, as well as with Matt on the race track. They will always be remembered and honored as the sponsor of Jack Roush’s first Sprint Cup Championship team.”

The decision that DeWalt made was not because of Kenseth’s performance, especially when take into consideration that DEWALT has served as the primary sponsor on the No. 17 for the past 10 seasons. During that span Kenseth and the team matured into one of the most successful in the sport; winning 18 races, the 2000 Rookie of the Year Award, the 2003 Sprint Cup Championship, the 2009 Daytona 500 and qualifying for the Chase every year since its inception in 2004.

But instead the decision was based on the struggling economy said Smith. “Despite this success – in the face of the significant world-wide economic decline in the construction industry – DEWALT’s decision to not return is not a great surprise to us.”

“Fortunately, we have several great companies interested in taking over and we expect to begin finalizing those sponsorship arrangements in the very near future. All of us at Roush Fenway Racing remain committed to keeping the No. 17 DEWALT car running up front, winning races and to put them in a position to contend for a second championship this season,” Smith added.

The Trifecta- Superfecta Edition, Take 2

Well, here it is- the first official Blogspot Trifecta. This week, we'll once again try the 5 race Superfecta(I was going to make it 6, but Lance decided to work for the good of the team and forego an 8th win at the Tour de Lance)

The races for this week are:

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Race from Indianapolis Friday night.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series Race from Indianapolis Saturday night.
The F1 Hungarian Grand Prix from Budapest Sunday.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Race from Indianapolis Sunday afternoon.
The IRL race from Edmonton Sunday afternoon.

THE RULES

Pick any driver you want- no restrictions.
Ties go to the first to post.

Good luck, and let's go racing.

Hall of Fame will have a Fox in the Hen House

This October the Nascar Hall of Fame selection committee will announce the first five entrants into a special realm that has been a long time coming. So many that are deserving will not be in this first group but those that will be enshrined are at the top of the mountain.

It will be extremely difficult not to have this man in the first Hall of Fame Class. He is considered by many to be one of, if not the best Stock Car racing driver ever. Born in Whitney South Carolina, this Spartanburg native's accomplishment's in racing kinda sneak up on you. His fellow competitors had another way to put it, he is The Silver Fox.

David Pearson's winning ways started in 1961 with a surprise victory at Charlotte in the World 600. David would go on to win the Firecarcker 400 at Daytona and finished with a checkered flag at Atlanta in the Dixie 400.

After going winless for the 1962 and 1963 seasons it was time for Pearson to establish himself as one of the elite drivers in Grand National competition. Although known as a superspeedway specialist it was on the short tracks that David cut his teeth. This was no real surprise as the Nascar schedule was predominately filled with the shorter venue's.

From 1964 to 1969 Pearson won 54 races with 49 victories coming on the short tracks. David's consistency with a knack for finishing in the top five or winning brought him the championship in 1966 driving Cotton Owens Dodge. Teaming up with the powerful Holman and Moody stable early in 1967 would bring more success with two Grand National titles for the 1968 and 1969 season's. At the end of the decade David Pearson was the number one driver in Grand National racing. There was another cat from North Carolina that was taking a real good look.

In 1970 David cut back his schedule after several years of the brutal Nascar grind. Anyone who thought that Pearson was going to fade away were mistaken to say the least. The coming years would solidify Pearson's place in the annals of Nascar history.

It was a dream come true for any driver to hold the steering wheel of the famed Wood Brother's Mercury. For David Pearson and the Wood Brother's it was a destiny that would only add to the legends of both.

David's first race with the Wood Brother's was the Spring event at Darlington in 1972. Pearson sat on the pole and led 202 of 293 laps winning by over a lap with Richard Petty finishing second. David would win six races in 1972 including victories at Talladega, Michigan, Daytona and Dover. The competition quickly found out that Pearson and the 21 team were for real.

Pearson was unconscious in 1973 winning 11 times. During a 13 race stretch David finished no worse than 3rd with only a 2nd place finish at Charlotte preventing him from winning 10 races in a row. David's run from March through September included a 5 race winning streak and a 4 race winning streak. The other drivers looking for superspeedway success in 1973 had an eye full of the white and red Mercury and were happy with second place.

The legendary rivalry between David Pearson and Richard Petty is well documented and for many years they raced each other clean and hard. What is most memorable with these two masters is their classic duels on the superspeedways. The two Titan's hard fought finishes that we remember most on the big tracks actually took place over a period of about two years culminating with Pearson surviving a last lap crash to win the 1976 Daytona 500.

Pearson won 10 times in 1976 including Nascar's triple crown by winning at Daytona, the World 600 at Charlotte and the Southern 500 at Darlington . Petty was the brides maid in all three events but the famous finish at Daytona would be the last time that Pearson and Petty would fight it out for the checkered flag on the last lap.

David and Richard were respectful of eachother on the track and friends off of it. Petty once said that his trust of Pearson's driving ability was such that if David turned right going into a left turn, he would follow him. Anybody fortunate enough to see these two in action have memories of a lifetime.


David Pearson's impact on Nascar was to win and win big. His mastery of Darlington with 10 victories has yet to be equalled. Pearson could also drive Charlotte Motor Speedway blind folded. From 1973 through 1978 David won 11 consecutive pole positions at Charlotte with 4 career wins at the track.

Late in his career Pearson showed that he was stil one of the best by winning the 1979 Southern 500 at Darlington driving in relief for an injured Dale Earnhardt. David drove a four race stint that summer for Rod Osterland finishing in the top ten in every start with three top five's. To prove his mastery of Darlington once again Pearson won the Spring Darlington event in 1980 driving for Hoss Ellington.

Pearson was never much for words or the lime light, he spoke with his driving on the track. Buddy Baker once said that if David was on the lead lap near the end of a race it was over. It is hard to dispute Baker's remark as Pearson grabbed the checkered flag 105 times.

David never formally retired as a driver eventhough the record books show his last race was in 1986. In his words he said, "I didn't retire, I just quit drivin".

While he was driving David Pearson had the attention of every other on the track. Most of the time they did not notice he was there until it was too late.

The Silver Fox

=======To see some pic's of the Fox go directly to the "Old School" blog=========

I'm having a L'Oreal moment

Since our beloved and esteemed leader, klvalus, suggested we write something reasonably regularly (even if it's a short post), I figured I might as well get into the spirit of that and get the tyre rolling; diecasts.

Yes, those tiny little lumps of metal, plastic and rubber that some of us lovingly stare at due to who the driver of it is/was or what that particular car represents. I don't own many diecasts, indeed I could probably count all of them on both hands (and nearly hold them all in both hands as well since the majority are 1:43 scale *laugh*) but I'd have to say the one I perceive to be my 'best' is Jacques Villeneuve's 1997, championship winning, Williams Renault.

So why the odd title? Jacques' car has been demoted in ranking as of today.

I have been searching for a particular diecast for quite a while but, unlike some racing series, this wouldn't rate highly with diecast manufacturers so I knew there wouldn't be that many around. However, thanks to the wonders of ebay (which I still don't like by the way, New Zealand's trademe is loads better) I managed to snag it at last; a 1:43, 1999 Players Forsthye Reynard Merecedes-Benz, as driven by Greg Moore...all mine for a grand total of around 120 bucks.

Considering how much trouble I've had finding his 1999 car, I very much doubt this will ever make my collection...be mighty nice though if it did!

Hence the title; was it worth it?

Well, it hasn't arrived yet obviously...but I'm going to skip ahead to the day it (hopefully) does, and in tact...and considering most 1:43 diecasts sell for less than fifty, the price alone didn't exactly inspire me much. But this was the final car Moore ever drove (that said, I believe there are some #99 fantasy Penske diecasts floating around...say, you don't happen to have Roger's email anywhere, klv?) and as I've mentioned in a previous post, he was my racing idol, so I'd have to say that yes, it is worth it.

And so we come to the reason I posted this...what diecasts, assuming you had a blank slate and squillions of dollars to work with, would be the first one to be added to your collection?

A Touch of Grey; But Still Kicking Butt!

One weekend in July, 2009, two men, gave all of us, young and "old" something to think about.
Are we, as old as we feel?

This past weekend, some of us in the over 50 crowd were drawn to a little golfing event over at the Turnbury golf links in Scotland. What we saw was 59 year old Tom Watson playing as if age had no limitation on mind, spirit, and physical control in a game that can bring the best to their knees in submission. Each day of the four day British Open found Tom at the top of the leader board, while others fell to the winds of the Irish Sea. At the end of Friday's round, we saw Tiger Woods had missed the cut. It wasn't his weekend, and he packed his bags. Saturday night, there was one name at the top of the leaderboard.

Tom had shared the lead on the other days. Tom Watson, alone... A few months shy of being 60... Sports writers, and commentators were jumping all over this story. Final round; Tom came to the 18th tee with a one shot lead over Stewart Cinc, who had made a birdie putt on the 18th green to put him in contention. Tom hit a beautiful tee shot, and an equally beautiful second shot. Unfortunately, the second shot was too beautiful for the golfing Gods, and they let it roll past the hole, and off the back edge. Tom ran his next shot 8 feet past the hole, and Tom made a feeble putt that came short of par. The play off was all Stewart Cink, and he deserved the win. But Tom, Tom gave us all a show! Tom was asked at the end, if he expected to win the tournament from the start. He said "yes". "When I play at the Masters, I feel like a ceremonial golfer. I can't win there. But at Turnbury, I knew I had a chance."



Portland International Raceway; 81 year old Hershel McGriff strapped himself in his Camping World West Series car, and fired it up one more time. Hershel was the reigning champion at the Portland road course, the only other time the series, then known as Winston West, visited the track was in 1986. He had to start one lap down because of a carburetor change after qualifying 26th in a 26 car field. He said "I really didn't have a lot to lose. I didn't want to go out there and flop around". Hershel finished the race placing 13th. Jim Inglebright, who won the event, said "there were a lot of other cars out there that were a lot slower. I followed him for awhile, and I couldn't get around him. He did a great job". Hershel, who last raced in 2002, broke his own record for NASCAR's oldest driver to race. McGriff drove his first race in the family sedan at Portland Speedway in 1945 when he was 17. In 1950, he won the Pan American road race in Mexico and met Bill France. He ran in the first Southern 500, and raced 85 Cup races with 4 wins. He won the 1986 Winston West series championship, was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers, and was inducted in the the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006. He retired twice, in 1954, and again in 2002.

Now the sports pundits will argue that Golf, and Auto Racing are not "athletic" sports. I say hog wash! It takes skill, and athletic endurance to perform at a competitive level in either of these fields, and I for one, was amazed at both of these guys! Thanks Tom and Hershel, for not giving in to the natural order of what others expect. You both are Champions!

Jeff Gordon. The Drive For Five At Indy

“The straightaways are really long and you build up a lot of speed. You have this tunnel vision, and all you see is wall and grandstands. The corner appears to be extremely tight and extremely narrow – and it is.”

Wow!!!! What a freaking thrill it must be to be able to not only read these words, but to actually live them out on one of America’s most historical tracks that any racing series could ever visit. Jeff Gordon, NASCAR’s version of the Unser family who have nine Indianapolis 500 victories of their own. Just about put NASCAR into a tailspin when asked about what its like to drive a 3800 pound, boxy, unpredictable race car, around a track that was designed for the more narrow, sleek, and the ultra gripping power characteristics of an Indy car.

Gordon, who was born in Vallejo, California farther than a stones throw away from Indianapolis, Indiana where his life long dream lived. Had an ambition to someday get the chance to become an Indy champion. “And earn you that special, gritty kiss with the bricks that’s what we all want,” was the only thought that bounced around Gordon’s mind. Gordon’s family would eventually make the move to where their son could be closer to the real world of racing, which was also a place that had more opportunities for the younger generation driver to make a name for himself.

Even though Gordon was winning championship after championship driving in the U.S.A.C. series, which would have been the stepping stone to a dream he was hoping someday would come true. Gordon instead would make a switch, and decide that NASCAR would probably be the better choice to make his living on. Along with the move, also went his chances of living out his childhood fantasy of becoming an Indy 500 champion.

So as the days and months continued to slowly trickle right by him. Gordon still had his mind set on someday getting the chance to kiss that old set of bricks, which many of his childhood idols had already conquered. It wasn’t until 1994, that Gordon would finally get the chance to test his skills on a track that had been a lifelong dream of his. Tony George was finally going to break tradition, and allow of all things, a stock car onto his hallowed race track. Gordon would take full advantage of the opportunity and win the inaugural Brickyard 400, which is what NASCAR and George decided would be the appropriate name for the race.

Gordon would not only win the inaugural race, but he would add another three wins to go along with his three poles, nine top-fives, 12 top-10's and an 8.6 average finish in 15 starts – all tops among NASCAR drivers at the 2.5-mile track. Gordon would also lead a track record 440 laps – 225 more than his closest competitor. Gordon who will be making his 16th start at the historic eight turn 2.5 mile oval, still talks about how intimidating the track is that he used to stay up late at nights thinking about as a young up and coming driver.

After thousands of competitive laps and four trips to Victory Lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, what will Jeff Gordon feel as he takes his first trip around the historic speedway this weekend? Intimidation. “You always snap out of the gas way too early and use too much brake because the corner is intimidating at first. But you realize the track can handle more than that and the car can handle more than that.” “After a few laps, you get back into the groove and regain a level of comfort.”

Jeff Gordon the driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet has his own agenda when he enters into gasoline alley this weekend. Gordon already knows that he will be the odds on favorite to win this weekend, and there is no other driver that knows how to race this track better than him. “The entry into each of the four corners is different, and I look at the exit of each as a different corner, as well. Exit speed is important, especially leading onto the long straightaways.” Gordon also brings with him many years of racing experience and knowledge, to a track that is unique in its own way and should be treated that way. So it shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise if Gordon gets to once again kiss the bricks for NASCAR record fifth time.


“There is no other track like this, and it has four unique corners,” said Gordon, who is second in point standings, 175 behind leader Tony Stewart. While he is the lone stock car driver with four wins at the famed track, Gordon – who grew up in nearby Pittsboro – understands each win here is not the accomplishment of one individual. “More than most race tracks, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is about the team,” said Gordon, “It’s about good communication prior to the race in setting up the car. It’s about the pit crew being solid throughout the race. And it’s about good communication during the race while tuning on the car that will hopefully get you to victory lane.” Im Out

Graham Rahal: Racer

Graham Rahal has used driving skill rather than marketing or branding to become one of the stars of the IRL series. Now in his third season of driving the 02 car for Newman-Haas-Lanigan Racing, Rahal has become more comfortable with the team and the series. While doing so, the 20 year old Ohio native has set three rather impressive records in open wheel racing.

In April of 2007, then 18 year old, Rahal finished second at Houston to become the youngest Champ Car driver to earn a podium finish ever. In his first IRL start, on April, 6, 2008, at the age of 19, Rahal became the youngest winner of a major open wheel series race when he took the trophy at St Petersburg. This April, Rahal became the youngest IRL pole winner ever when he qualified first at St Petersburg as a 20 year old.

Rahal is chilling in Canada this week, preparing for this weekend’s IRL race in the Great White North. He took the time to answer a few questions for SRM.

What has to be your biggest moment in racing, so far?

“Winning at St. Pete in 2008, to become the youngest winner ever!”

Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

“My father, without a doubt.”

The father is, of course, 1986 Indy 500 winner, Bobby Rahal.

What do you consider your highlights so far this season?

“It would have to be being on the podium at Richmond and a strong series of qualifying efforts all year.”

Any special projects?

“Yes, my charity, The Graham Rahal Foundation.”

Now, we have something new for the drivers and fans to have some fun with. Until we come up with a better name it’s being called the ‘Eight to Debate’. These same eight questions will be posed to different drivers in this forum.

Graham Rahal’s ‘Eight to Debate’.

Foyt or Andretti?

“Mario Andretti specifically. He is a great man and has accomplished amazing things.”

Petty or Earnhardt?

“Earnhardt, you have to respect what he accomplished.”

Indianapolis or Daytona?

“Indianapolis without a doubt, doesn’t compare.”

Monaco or LeMans?“

LeMans. The history and cars are incredible, as is Monaco, but LeMans is a wonderful event.”

Dirt or Asphalt?

“Asphalt.”

Oval or Road Course?

“Road Course.”

Goodyear of Firestone?

“Firestone. Doesn’t compare.”

‘Days of Thunder’, or ‘Talladega Nights’?

“Talladega Nights, because, sadly, I haven’t seen Days of Thunder.”

We won’t hold that against you, Graham. Thanks for being the first in this series on young driving stars, and good luck in the future.

Customizing your Blog

I'm pasting a link to a video here that will show you how to customize your own blogs at blogspot. It shows how to do your own header and how to customize the margins. Look up Google Gadgets for a lot more info.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUIdl1xC5eA&feature=related

Bloggers Unite Update!

Ok - we have 17 bloggers as authors on here as of now with 15 invites outstanding. If you don't see your buds on here get after them to join up and/or make sure I have their email's so I can send an invite to join.

Once you find us, remember to "follow" this blog so your avatar goes up in the right hand corner -- its easier to find the blog that way, get updates on the latest posts and it is the only way to tell who is registered on here for now.

Feel free to start loading music into our Groovy Tunes player and making the site home in any other way. I figured we would "vote" on the bigger issues (ie. make this public or private blog etc) once the bulk of us find our way here. Also I would like to do a test run at some point to make sure many of us can be logged on here at once commenting for things like race chats or live blogging.

Thanks to Gene and Beverly for the heavy advertising over at Foxsports to find our lost friends....

And last but not least...our own HotfootLori predicted this blog was gonna be EPIC! (LMAO -- sorry Lori I had to do it! I got into a spat the other day with hubby b/c I was making fun of one of his motorcycle shows b/c they kept using the dreaded word, so really I hate it too)

[Photo] pThis is Cracked Crankshaft from North Carolina reporting with the latest news flash. As you all know there are no Sprint cup races this week end so we had a chance to interview a few drivers and we came up with a new entry for the Indianapolis race next week. Of course non of the regulars had time to talk because they were busy. However, we did come up with a new hot shot and up comming driver that had time to talk to us. p

CLEM CORNBALLRACE CAR DRIVER[Photo]

This is Clem Cornball the latest new commer to NASCAR fresh off a victory at his home track in Hogs Holler Mississippi. He plans to try out for the time trials at Indianapolis next week end.

Clem you just popped up out of no where, why do you think you can run with the big guys in NASCAR?

"Cuzz I says so. Besides one of dem big shot officials ben datin my sister an hein says I got a chance to race."

Oh! I see. Well Clem you know those other teams have big buck operations and plenty of money. You have only won at your home track many times. How do you think you can compete with that?"

Cuzz I want to. I ben a practicing at Hogs Holler Satate Route 13. Exactly the same size as that thar Indy thang. My pa is thuh deputy thar".

I don't think it is the same thing Clem but I have to give you credit for trying. What are you driving?

"Thuh Mayah gave me two clydesdales to pull my car to thuh track."

No I meant to say what kind of car are you racing at the track?

" It is a hum dinger. I fixed it all by my self. Thuh big shot racing official thats ben datin my sister gave me all the figers to build thuh car."

Clem I can hardly wait to see this creation He. He.

"Well thar see be. Ain't she a perty one?"

Clem that is a 1949 Packard ! You can't race that as a COT at Indy.

"Cracked that is jest thuh out side. This funny lookin guy in a monkey suit gave me thuh irony particul germinator for a motor. He says it can go faster than honey attractin bees."

Well Clem I don't think you got a chance of racing that thing at indy. What about the inspection and the track officials.?

" I gets that covered. Member dat big shot track official datin my sister? His'm name is Ben sumpin Frenchy. He isn sayin I can race what evah I brung. "

Well there you have it race fans. The latest news from NASCAR. A Clem Cornball the hot shot local home boy goes big time at Indy next week. Will he make it or will he break it? Odd things have came out of NASCAR before but this has to be the grand daddy of them all.

Kyle Busch Wins At Gateway

I like what Hanny wrote! So,lets get this show on the road, and kick it off the right way.

Race fans at Gateway International Raceway Saturday night saw what the rest of NASCAR Nation has seen the past two years: a dominating win by Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team. Busch won his sixth NASCAR Nationwide Series race of 2009 when he took the checkered flag at the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Presented by Ventrilo, finishing a full second ahead of runner-up Reed Sorenson.

Two-time race winner Carl Edwards finished third with Mike Bliss and Brad Coleman rounding out the top-five. With the victory, “Shrub” pads his lead in the Nationwide Series standings to 212 over second-place Edwards. “Things went really well for us tonight,” Busch said after the race. “The car drove really well. We didn’t qualify as well as we would have wanted to…but it right at the start at the green flag, it ran like a rocket ship.”

Kevin Harvick, making his first start here since 2006, led a race-high 105 laps, seemingly poised to become the first NASCAR driver to win three races at GIR. It wasn’t to be for “Happy,” however, as he ran out of fuel during a long green-flag stretch of racing in the closing laps. He would finish the night in 17th, two laps down.

“I feel for him,” Busch said. “I feel like if we could have pressured him, we had a little better car at that point in the race. But I had no point in going up there and racing him because we were racing our own race to make it until the end. If I would have went up there and passed him and wasted fuel, it would have been for no point.”

Edwards came into the night as the two-time and defending race winner and while he was disappointed that he didn’t take home a third race title, he made it clear that he would be back to try again.

“I wanted to win this thing so bad. These wins here are really special, but we put out our best effort and gave it 110 percent,” Edwards said on pit road following the event. “There at the end, if we would have had a caution, we would have had four fresh tires and (Busch) would have had two and we would have had something for him. Just not the way it went, but I’ll be back next year. I love racing here. We’ve won every other year, so maybe next year will be the one.”

The race saw several strong battles, including some back-and-forth between Scott Lagasse Jr. and Steve Wallace that ended when Lagasse got loose going into Turn 1 and moved up into Wallace’s US Fidelis machine, putting it into the wall. Wallace was able to re-fire his car and followed Lagasse around the track under caution, earning the ire of NASCAR. He was penalized two laps and ordered to the NASCAR hauler following the race. The event saw seven cautions for a total of 34 laps.

The day started with both Sorenson and Brad Keselowski breaking Scott Wimmer’s 2007 qualifying record with identical speeds (135.714), but Keselowski got the pole award and the record since he was higher in owner’s points. Keselowski led only the first lap before being passed by Harvick and never led again.

Justin Allgaier, driver of the #12 Penske Racing Dodge, had more than 1,000 fans in the stands Saturday night, many of whom traveled from his hometown of Riverton, Ill., via bus to see him make his NNS debut at Gateway. Although he ran in the top-ten for most of the night, the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series champ finished the race in 11th.

Now if only Kyle can take some this racing karma with him up to the Sprint cup series. Kyle just might be able to show the rest of the racing world, that he is a legitimate contender to bring home the championship at the end of the season. But with only two top 10 finishes in his last nine races, that is not how a driver sets himself up for the final 10 races that will be deciding factor. But right now as it stands, he needs to first stay within the top 12 to even have that chance. Im Out

Test Drive

Thanks to Kristen for putting this all together and making it happen. Evidently, Fox P.O.ed the wrong person...LOL.

I'm looking forward to some live race chats here, the trifectas, and some good-natured back and forth dialogues once the Chase starts. Or, before it starts...lol.

It will be great if we get this site big enough where we always have new posts to read everyday. So, some of you folks that haven't been writing so much lately need to start churning a few out. Writer's block? Doesn't matter, write about something, anything (think kellyscott...lol). If you have to keep it short and sweet, that's OK, we love your stuff. So, get with it.....unless you want me to start writing a daily column? Didn't think so.