Welcome, gay NASCAR fans! Huge and fabulous congratulations to the DeVine 9 1/2's own Kasey Kahne, who took his first-ever Cup victory Saturday night at Richmond! After so many poles, so many second-place finishes and so much tough luck, it was a total thrill to watch this hot dude sail to Victory Lane! Way to go, Kasey!
It was a great week for our team: We had five boys in the top 10 at Richmond. We also have five guys in the top 10 in points, with Jr. lurking just outside in 11th place.
I'd like to thank your race pals Amy and Amanda for their hospitality Saturday -- we really enjoyed watching the race with y'all and wish you a grand and lucky Vegas vacation!
Saturday's race began without the benefit of prayer -- always a mistake, if you ask me. Instead, Ms. Viola Jackson led the Pledge of Allegiance. Her daughter, Specialist Leslie D. Jackson is the youngest member of the armed forces to die in Iraq: She was just 18 when she was killed by a roadside bomb. So many deaths, so many broken hearts, all so Bush and his corporate cronies can get even richer. Bush should be impeached right this minute.
Courtney Jaye sang the National Anthem so slowly we thought she might drop off to sleep before she finished. We nearly did. Thank goodness there were four F-16s to wake people back up for the race!
Rain was out in the area to the West, so the start was rushed-up to beat the storm. Luckily, once that magic racing rotation got to going, the rain stayed away. Kasey was on the pole and outraced Tony for the first lap. These guys swapped back and forth a lot before the end, when Kasey realized his dream -- which he articulated in the "10 Laps With..." segment -- of beating out Tony at the last.
The first caution came out at lap 64 when Johnny Sauter cut down a right front and tagged the wall. The next yellow was at lap 81, when Jimmie Johnson spun into the fence after a teeny tap from Travis Kvapil. JJ was not heavily damaged -- but when he came onto pit lane, his steering locked left hard and he roared into the wall and his car was trashed!
This was the first of the "Bristol Paybacks" I predicted for JJ in a previous column on Gaytona.com. If you've misplaced the handy "Clip N Save" I provided then, you can click here to refresh your memory as to which driver Jimmie can expect a smacking from next. At lap 91, Kasey took the lead again.
Everyone got nervous at lap 126, as Jeff Green was chasing Mikey, who was chasing Jr. Amy and Amanda, big Mikey fans, kept a replica of the #43 car nearby to stomp on, voodoo style, in case Green looked like he was gunning for Mikey again. At lap 127, the third caution flew when Scott Riggs spun after a tap from Kyle "Why Am I Here?" Petty. In the pre-race ceremonies, we saw Scott holding his baby and the baby does not look as chimpy as Scott does and is adorable too. Later, Kyle stayed on the track despite smoking like a Smoking Monkey. The fourth caution was at lap 165, when Bobby Labonte spun Rusty. Jeff Gordon had contact with the fence and hurt his car, eventually going behind the wall.
The next caution came at lap 234, when Tony spun himself out. Coincidentally, this helped Jr. stay on the lead lap. The special friendship between these two is something to see. Kasey grabbed the lead on pit lane! Just before the restart, Kurt Busch was back in for a problem with his nuts. Jeff came back out, 52 laps down, and rode around and around.
With 120 to go, Kasey lost the lead to Tony when the #9 car was slow to pull its way past the lap cars. But Kasey was still faster, and with 105 to go, took the lead back. Dave Blaney had tire trouble and came in under green and got a rough break when Robbie Gordon spun to bring out the yellow.
Again, Kasey was first off pit road! Caution was out again with 48 to go for trouble involving Travis Kvapil. The eighth caution flew with 23 to go after Hermie' Sadler's car shot oil all over and Mike Bliss hit the wall hard. The final caution came with 12 to go as Dale Jarrett and Robbie Gordon got into it. After the restart with 7 to go, Jamie made a surprising run up to, I think, 3rd place before falling back after contact from Kyle Busch.
After sealing the deal over Tony, Kasey did what we (quoting Hammond) always refer to as "a series of burnouts," ending with a backwards lap. It was pure joy to see this handsome lad take his first Cup win! You never forget your first time, hey hey.
HOW CAN WE HELP YOU, MA'AM?
At this year's banquet, there should definitely be a special recognition for these NAPA "shopping channel" commercials. In the latest installment, the goofily merry Jr. and Mikey take a call from a senior lady who sings the praises of the featured product, a door bushing kit for a Buick Regal. But the caller was obviously a dude imitating an old lady -- he reminded all of us of the old lady that Jonathan Winters was famous for. I have a feeling it must have been one of the guys themselves -- but which one? Anybody know?
ELLIOTT'S COOL NEW CAMPAIGN
There was a lot of "home track" attention on Elliott, and there was disappointment that he lost the lead at the end of the Busch race after contact with Carl Edwards, who then won. On the bright side, however, Elliott announced his involvement with a new campaign in Virginia to encourage high-school non-completers to get their GED. What a smart idea, and how nice of Elliott to promote it! But here's what's really cool: Elliott is doing this with Virginia Governor Mark Warner -- a rich Democrat who some say could be a strong candidate for President in 2008! Go Democrats!
BIG THREE SMACKDOWN
Last week, USA Today ran an article that said the Big Three automakers may have to reconsider their commitments to NASCAR -- estimated at $125 million each annually -- in the light of their dismal financial outlooks. The car companies, of course, are getting slammed by low SUV sales as customers react in horror to the insanely high price of gas. Given the unseemly degree to which NASCAR promoted Bush's re-election, wouldn't it just be too ironic if Bush's economic trainwreck slammed right into NASCAR's front door? As I've said before: First you feed the monster -- then you're monster food.
SEXIEST DRIVER UPDATE
This week's match-up is between smooth boy-man Kasey Kahne and grouchy cuss Dale Jarrett. As I write this, more than 714,000 votes have been cast, and the race is even-steven. Gaytonans, you know what to do! Vote now, and often, through Wednesday!
That's all for this week friends. Next week's race is the All-Star event; as I only report on points races, I'll be taking the week off. We'll be back right after Memorial Day with coverage of the 600. Let's all meet up down at the Track Bar!
Love,
Betty Jack DeVine
E ME at Bettyjack@gaytona.com
