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Monday, June 16, 2008

Putting the Tin Foil Hat on

Going to try my best and put the tin foil hat on and share some deep thoughts.

What happened to the end of the longest line penalty?
Why was the 88 car allowed to not once, but twice, pass the pace car while conserving fuel on the last caution? Maybe Junior was just 'contesting' his position after the last green flag scoring loop and felt the 88 should restart on front of the pace car!

Why didn't NASCAR admonish Richard Petty?
In 2006, Richard Petty publicly spoke out against 'women in NASCAR'. "I just don’t think it’s a sport for women,” Petty can be quoted in an AP interview. I wonder if King Richard's ever greeted or commented about Mauricia Grant in the same manner that he did about Janet Gruthrie by saying, "She’s no lady. If she was she’d be at home. There’s a lot of differences in being a lady and being a woman."

Elliott Sadler speakith with forked tongue!
From his post race quotes:
"We had to start in the back and pretty much drove our way to the front to finish ninth." So I guess Elliott Sadler is saying he 'drove' up to the front, meaning that the cars they passed for position were done on the track? I might agree but there is one problem, What Sadler says later on in his post race quotes. "Strategy, that’s what it should be about. That’s why crew chiefs make the big bucks; you have to know when to stay out, when to take two or when to get gas only." Last time I checks, 'driving to the front' and use 'race strategy' are two different things. The 9 and the 19 cars were basically equal most of the race, the 9 chose to pit and stretch the fuel window(as the 88 did), the 19 chose to stay out. 'Good luck', probably gave the 88 a win, the 9 about 10 or so spots, and the 19 5 or so spots. Yes, it was good strategy on all parts, but not 'driving up to the front'. Driving up to 15th or so maybe (and remember, the 19 started in the mid 20s), but you would have never known listening to the 'give up' by Sadler with about 30 or so laps to go. Lets just call this on of those 'good luck' weekends, and Sadler was due for one of those. (and don't forget, the 19 'gave up' 5 bonus points by choosing to pit when they could have run just one more lap and inherit the lead)

In Defense of Sadler:
com·mu·ni·ca·tion Listen to the pronunciation of communication
Pronunciation:
\kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən\
Function:
noun
a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior

Now I have often criticized Sadler for has lack of clarity with his communication to his crew chief, but when he asks a question as simple as "How long till we pit?" One would expect a simple answer. What Sadler got was 'We are on lap xxx and we will pit on lap yyy'. Understand we are dealing with a college dropout who is doing his best to make a 3500 lb missile go as fast as it can in a circle. All the while dealing with 42 other 3500 lb missiles. Making him 'do the math' is just one other unnecessary thing for a driver to do. Thankfully, Brett came to the rescue after a moment and said "15 more laps buddy just keep hitting your marks". Maybe GEM can add a calculator to the dash in the future!

Just shut up and drive:
So NASCAR puts the clamps down on driver criticism of the C.O.T. I have seen that some feel that this was not NASCAR's place as the drivers "don't work for them". Well if not for NASCAR most of these guys would stroking their craft of some local track for pennies. Don't bite the hand that feeds ya!

Be thankful that Michigan does not produce a lot of cautions:
As the final round of the U.S. Open broadcast was looming and Tiger was going into the round leading the field. We all know what that does for TeVee ratings. Speaking of Tiger, did anyone else notice that most of the time he winced in pain from his bum knee was after a 'bad' shot?

Taking that tin foil hat off, it gives me a headache!

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