Loudon...it's like London, only different

Well, it's kinda like London. It's foggy and rainy here this morning. I wonder if we'll get the race in today. Chance of rain is 50% all day long.
BREAKING NEWS....Bill Webber has been fired by TNT this morning. He will not be doing play by play for todays festivities. He'll be replaced in the booth by TNT pit reporter Ralph Sheheen. It's gonna be a big story...not Michael Jackson's death size story, but big none the less in NASCAR circuits. It has been said that he whines and throws tantrums quite often and today's tantrum pushed them over the edge. I have no first hand knowledge of the situation, but the scuttlebutt is flowing in the compound. How often have you got to use the word "scuttlebutt". I like it!
In other news...Zach, Andy and Alex may have started a side business. Last Tuesday night, I took them with me to help our friends, David and Sharon Graham, move a bunch of boxes and such to a storage unit in preparation for a move. The boys went again Friday night and Saturday to help complete the move. They did a stellar job. David and Sharon couldn't believe how hard they worked, how they did not complain and how grown up they are. I couldn't be prouder!
On West Coast news, Sandy completes her recertification today for TaeBo in Los Angeles. She said that it may be as early as 5:30am pacific time, which is right now, so I am waiting on an update. Billy Blanks wanted them to do their routine that early. Sandy didn't really want to do it so early, but we'll see. She has been spending time with Billy's daughter, Shellie, who is in the process of moving to Franklin, TN, so that is a great God connection. Sandy was driving thru LA by the UCLA medical center on Thursday when all the Michael Jackson stuff was going down...she said it was a zoo!
Back to racing...Kyle Busch won the Nationwide race here last night and I look for him to repeat here today...if we race.
Predictions for today:
3). Jimmie Johnson
2). Greg Biffle
1). Kyle Busch
Have a great raceday!

Turn Left, Turn Right, Stand Up, Sit Down, Fight! Fight! Fight!

It's road course racing time here at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. The weather is beautiful and it's time for the first road course of the season. Yesterday's practice seemed pretty tame. The only big issue was David Gilliland rear ending John Andretti on pit road. David looked down to check some gauges and just plowed into Andretti who was waiting to enter the track. Wow, maybe these guys are mere mortals. Oh, and from the land down under, Marcos Ambrose blew an engine and had to go to a back up. Marcos will still do well today, I predict.
Last year, Kyle Busch won this race and looks strong for this one, too. Brian Vickers won the pole and feels like he can do well today. One who usually stinks in this race is Jimmie Johnson. I think he'll stink again today. Juan Pablo Montoya won the race two years ago and should do well again today. The road course ringers, ie Ron Fellows, Boris Said, PJ Jones always make a nice showing, but never seem to be able to make that big of a difference and get into Victory Lane. Jeff Gordon is the road course king. Tony Stewart is also a master at turning left and right. Who do you think will end up in Victory Lane today? Do you like road course races? Do you think a road course race should be included in the Chase?
Well, here's my take...I do like road course races. It takes a much better driver to master all kinds of tracks. I think it would be great to have one road course in the Chase and here's my picks for today:
3). Tony Stewart
2). Jeff Gordon
1). Kyle Busch

Happy Race Day and Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day from Sonoma

It's a first for me today. For the first time in my 43 years, a Father's Day is here without my dad. It seems like yesterday when he passed away and it seems like forever since I've seen him. What a great dad! He made it hard to rebel. He had long hair, tattoos and wore an earring. So what's a teen boy who wants to rebel to do? Go to more youth group meetings at church? There are so many great memories I have of my dad. I try to remember what made me feel the best growing up as a kid with my dad and I try to implement those things in my kids lives. I loved fishing with my dad and being out in nature, so I try to do the same thing with my boys. There are a ton more distractions today that keep us all inside, but I grew up outside. My dad taught me to appreciate the outdoors. I try to instill the love of the land and the genuine love for people my dad had into my own boys. I hope they get it. I think they do. I miss you, Dad!

Wine Country

Man, there's a lot of grapes out here. We had a great grape arbor at our house growing up. I loved it when the grapes were ready and I'd eat them for days! Well, out here in Sonoma, California...nobody eats 'em. They just squish 'em. Wait. Then drink 'em.
I'm not wine guy...I am a whine guy. That flight across the country was long! And now they don't have pillows on Southwest because of the swine flu. I had to ride in the back of the car from Oakland to Sonoma and felt quite car sick. See, I'm a whine guy.
This road course is fun. It is pretty out here and the drivers seem to like the change of pace. The new double file restart will be huge this weekend. Coming out of turn one and into turn two double file will cause all kinds of problems all day. Now there generally aren't a lot of yellow flags during this race, but when there are some, lookout!
It's been awhile since I've updated on the boys and Sandy. The boys are out of school for the summer, but have been having wrestling practice 4 or 5 days a week...sometimes two-a-days. I really think that all three of them can wrestle varsity this year. It will be a huge year for Zach. His confidence is high and he is focused on being in the best shape possible when the season starts. Alex and Andy are the new guys on the team, but have been to so many practices, that they are already accepted. Zach will probably wrestle 145 this year. Oddly enough, Andy is about that same weight. Andy has lost a lot and has grown so much taller. He wants to get lower, around 140, so he and Zach can both wrestle on the varsity team. The coach is wanting Alex to go at 112, but his natural weight right now is 119. I think he'll stay at 119, but he could tighten up and make 112, if he'd just stop growing. Sandy plans on wrestling at....wait...wrong topic. Sandy is in Texas this week preparing a recertification routine with some other ladies for the TaeBo class in California next weekend. Shelley Blanks, who now runs TaeBo International, just moved to Franklin...about 5 minutes from our house! Sandy is renewing her friendship with Shelley and could be instrumental in helping Shelley get TaeBo headquarters started in Nashville.
I, of course, am still out every weekend...watching cars turn left...and, for this weekend, right, too!!

Lifelock 400 @ Michigan

Great day for racing here in the Irish Hills of Michigan...I am thinking there is a chance that a "feriner" car could win the race today in the backyard of all the US car manufacturers...Brian Vickers sits on the pole and has a strong car this weekend. The other force to be reckoned with is Team Roush.
My predictions for today:
3). Brian Vickers
2). Carl Edwards
1). Greg Biffle
Have a great raceday!

The Irish Hills of Michigan...

Michigan International Speedway hosts 3 races this weekend. ARCA on Friday, Trucks on Saturday and Cup on Sunday. The wide open track lends itself to great speed. The winner of the first Michigan race last year was none other than the immortal Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Junior is finding it quite hard to get into Victory Lane. He won this race last year with a gas mileage maneuver and was pushed across the line by Kasey Kahne under yellow. I really thought that with his move to Hendrick Motor Sports last season, he would win his share of races. That has not proved to be true. Two weeks ago he changed crew chiefs with little results to show for it. Will he be proven to be just a regular driver with a legendary racing father, ala Kyle Petty? Junior's teammate, Jeff Gordon, has been suffering with great back pain the last few months. Some say it is from carrying Junior!! I was so happy last week to see my personal favorite driver, Tony Stewart, get his first win as a driver/owner. In reality, he gets his engines and bodies from Hendrick, so he is kinda a 5th HMS team. But it still takes skill to pull off a win.
It looks like rain in the forecast today, so we may get the truck race in, but I'm not counting on it.
Tomorrow looks like a great day, so it should be a beautiful day to run the LifeLock 400 at Michigan.

Raceday in Pocono

It's another beautiful day in Pocono, PA! Looks like we'll get the race in today, but rain is coming tonight...Let's get a green flag quickly!
We're preparing to go on the air with Raceday, a 2 hour live broadcast on SPEED. It is the flagship program of our weekend that is filled with interviews, features and fun stuff.
Yesterday during practice Tony Stewart wrecked his primary car and had to go to a back up. Oddly enough, he said he likes the back up better and wishes he would've wrecked the primary earlier so he would have had more track time in the back up. He and his teammate, Ryan Newman, were both very quick in Happy Hour, so I think they'll both be guys to keep your eye on today.
Here's my predictions for today:
3). Ryan Newman
2). Denny Hamlin
1). Kyle Busch

Speaking of Kyle Busch...he gave me another reason to dislike him last night. He won the Nationwide race in Nashville last night. That is not why I dislike him. He's a great driver. What he did in Victory Lane was, in my eyes, pretty classless. The trophy for winning in Nashville is a custom made Sam Bass Gibson guitar. Gibson guitars are manufactured in Nashville. All the Gibson brass come to the track and are there at the presentation. Kyle took the trophy, went around the front of the car and smashed it on the ground twice. He said he was going to do it like a "rock star" and give pieces to his crew. Those guitars are one of a kind...I just don't think it's cool to smash the trophy that so many people spent hours putting together. He said he meant no disrespect and has ordered two new ones for himself and one for his crew chief. I understand it is a fun thing to smash guitars and pretend you're a rock star, but it just didn't seem right. He probably wouldn't smash any other trophies he wins all season. Just my humble opinion. What are your thoughts?

Honeymoon Haven...Pocono

We've arrived back in Pocono, PA. This tricky triangle of a track is always an interesting race if for no other reason than the shape of the track. The triangle cuts down one corner and the frontstretch is over 6 football fields long.
We are once again staying at the "haunted" Mt. Pocono Inn. So far, so good. I walked their golf course last night for some exercise. I did get a bloodblister on my pinkie toe, but I don't thinks it's anything evil. I still sleep with TBN on the tv just to be sure.
The big news in NASCAR this week is that all restarts are going to be double file shootout style like they use in the All Star race. This will put the lap down cars back farther in the restart and put the front runners all together. It's a great move by NASCAR and something the drivers and fans have wanted for a long time.
Are you looking forward to this big change? What other changes would you like to see at the race track? What is your favorite color?
I'll update tomorrow with my picks and other exciting "insider" information...how's that for a tease?