Welcome, gay NASCAR fans! Our guys tried hard on
Sunday but were no match for Kurt Busch, who ran away
with the Pocono race. Even so, big props to Mark
Martin (3rd), Carl Edwards (4th) and Ryan Newman
(5th). We're now down to just three guys in the top
10. Let's pick it up guys! Show these Gaytona.com fans
how bad you really want it!
I caught Sunday's race on the radio as I drove back
from Monkey Island, my new hideaway in the backyard of
Daytona International Speedway! (What a great time we
had there! Thanks to all our new friends and neighbors
in DB -- hope to see you again soon and often!) MRN's
signal coverage is so thorough that I was never out of
range of a station carrying the race, and their
announcers generally do burnouts around those lame-o
NBC yawn-makers. Now that we're back on Nothing But
Commercials, I may start letting MRN supply the
commentary for NBC's pictures.
The National Anthem on Sunday was sung by a lady with
the Air Force band. MRN ran an ad over the prayer --
bad form, fellows -- so I missed that. The start
command was given by the revolting Sen. Rick Santorum
of Pennsylvania. In a gross interview segment
during one of the race's many boring parts, Santorum
allowed that he loved the patriotic NASCAR fans and
their All-American culture -- even though he'd never
been to a race before! And if you really want to hurl,
check out how this anti-gay freak's communications
director (of 8 years!) is a black queen! GoogleNews
Robert Traynham and see what I'm talking about!
Stabbing your own kind in the back everyday for big
bucks -- man that is the LOWEST.
We caught qualifying at Racing's North Turn in Wilbur
by the Sea, and we were delighted to see Jamie
McMurray take the Bud Pole. But when the green waved
on Sunday, Kurt Busch grabbed the lead going into Turn
1, giving us an idea of how they day would unfold.
Most of the 11 cautions were for debris, and most of
the debris was from cut tires. The speedway had
installed a curbing to try and remedy the "bad
corduroy" ripple strips that everyone had a different
name for back at the previous Pocono outing. Except
for some exciting moments when Mark Martin -- a
six-time second-placer at Pocono -- got to the front,
and a lead by fellow retiree Rusty Wallace, it was
mostly all Kurt, all the time.
The action picked up late in the race: Twin spins by Mikey brought out the
caution twice, the last time setting up a green-white-checkers finish. Kasey got into the wall on lap 202 but the race continued to the end.
GETTING CAUGHT UP
There were several off-track developments while I was
on vacation:
Jamie is leaving Chip Ganassi. The announcement that
Jamie will drive the #6 car beginning in 07 set up a
flurry of speculation. Who will drive the #6 in 06?
Would Ganassi hold onto Jamie or let him leave next
year? And if Jamie stays in the #42 next year, how
will he keep his team focused when they know their
driver is packed up to leave? Later, we learned that
Jamie will indeed be driving the Havoline car next
year. Looks to me like Ganassi should have done more
to keep this spunky colt happy. Chip's loss = Jack's
gain.
In a companion development, Mark Martin announced he
will stay on as the #6 driver if he is needed. While
this is being viewed as a sign of Mark's tremendous
loyalty to Roush, we think it feels like a mistake.
Mark's retirement from the #6 was announced long ago.
We hear almost continually about how it's Mark's last
time to race here or race there (ditto, of course, for
Rusty). Mark clearly wants a dignified transition into
the next (non-driving) phase of his career and in
particular wants more time with his family. Why the
sudden vascillation about leaving? It's almost as if
now, well into the season's second half, everyone
suddenly realized that -- D'oh! -- the #6 will not be
able to drive itself next year. I think Roush should
get bold and give a high-profile one-year deal to a
rising star like Boston Reid or another young hottie.
If he makes it, set him up with a permanent Roush ride
and he can be Jamie's Little Buddy! Or give the #6 to
Mikey because...
Mikey is leaving DEI. Given the consistently
humiliating treatment of Mikey by DEI, this comes as a
shock to no one. In spite of enjoying a huge fan base
and being one of racing's most clever and charming
drivers on-camera, Mikey has had to endure a
management style best described as "all stick, no
carrot." While being entirely gracious in his
announcement, Mikey made it clear he hopes to take the
NAPA flag with him when he goes. Since the #1 Cup car
was parked this year, that leaves Miss Teresa with
just Jr. -- who clearly has major issues with the
company as well. We applaud Mikey's ballsy decision to
pull out of where he's not wanted and find a new
racing home. Good luck, Mikey!
BRIAN'S BEAUTY SECRETS!
The lad-mag Stuff has a cute interview with Brian Vickers in which he gives some of his beauty tips (Garnier Fructis, natch) and talks about not peeing in the racecar. Check it out at http://www.stuffmagazine.com
/articles/index.aspx?id=1080.
That's it for this week, friends. Next week, we'll
take a break before heading to Indy and diving into
the frantic final races before Richmond sets the Chase
field! Let's all meet up down at the Track Bar!
Love,
Betty Jack DeVine
E ME at Bettyjack@gaytona.com
