Mixed Bag of something

So Darlington proudly announces that the track has successfully "sold out" it's third straight Cup race date. While the Nascar fans from the East Coast should be proud that they are finally supporting this track the way it should be, lets put a few things in perspective. The old 'Lady in Black', has grandstand seating totaling a little over 65,000. Compare that to the Texas Motor Speedway which has a capacity of almost 155,000 permanent grandstand seating. But for some, seeing a couple thousand 'empty' or covered up with advertising seats at TMS is somehow grounds for criticism. What they don't understand is that TMS can boast a greater attendance for a 'non race day event' such as Friday Cup qualifying (sometimes reaching the 90,000+ mark)




Junior just wants to go fast and turn left:
But just not in the current configuration of the C.O.T. The problem for him is that another race team using the same manufacturer doesn't seem to be having the same 'issues' as Junior. The simple truth is that the Hendrick's organization have discovered something that is making the C.O.T. turn better than others. It won't be long before other teams also find out how to make the car turn better either. Asking Nascar to change the rules because your race team didn't do their homework and take advantage of the R&D and testing when the car was in its developmental stages for what ever reason, is simply asking for trouble.


Fan Suicide watch(s):
I mentioned this topic a couple of weeks ago, time to update.
Of course "Jet Fuel's" fans must feel like their world is coming to an end, and have to begin wondering if their boy will ever make a race. Add a new driver to the list, the 21 team has failed to make the last two races, and some 'long time' fans have been jumping ship. The finger pointing continues with in Sadler fan camp, but I find it hard to believe that last week's problems can be solely blamed on lack of equipment and poor crew chiefing. (see below) The official Ricky Rudd fan forum has this message: "Sorry, but this board is currently unavailable. Please try again later." Need I say more?




Going in the wrong direction?
While I am not holding my breath for some miracle turn around and see the 19 car make the Chase. I for one was not expecting much in terms of results when it came to Sadler racing at Richmond last weekend. Simple put, he is just not very good there. Never has been. I will say that I don't think it has much to do with ability or lack there of, but more to the track's nature and how it does not fit his driving style. To me, Richmond is a track where aggressive drivers can thrive. Three grooves of racing, provides ample room for those 'burn em up' drivers while the size of the track also provides enough cautions to get fresh Goodyears. Flash forward one week to Darlington, where the opposite seems to be true. A track where driver patience seems to pay off in the long run. Sadler has been successful at Darlington in both good equipment with RYR, and for better terms, not so good equipment with the Wood Brothers. Sadler's career best average finish at non-plate ovals comes at Darlington (17th). While that is not an Earth shattering stat, considering the majority of those starts came with the Wood Brothers, shows that he can 'run good' here. Unlike last week, this week's race at Darlington could give his fans a good indication of just which direction the team is going.

on the Auction block:
Yes, the 'Southern Gentleman' and his posse after a full years hiatus conducted another auction. While the item auctioned clearly wasn't intended for the 'everyday' fan (and for good reason), and seeing the winner's name of the auctioned helmet. I guess that answers the question of where all those 'expired' Tylenol Gel tablets came from in the 'Fan Club Packet'. Was this the 'special gift', that the SFC fans were told to be patient and wait for? Anyway, the helmet did retrieve a nice price (although I personally thought it would go for almost three times that) and the auction did what it was intended to do. The deadline to file Form 990's from 2006 has past and should be made public record any week now and the truth concerning the now infamous 'Fire-shirt action' could be known. And some thought that nightmare was over......... and oh yea, The claim now is to have another auction monthly beginning on the 19th of every month. Go HERE for more details. (do I get any finder's fee for this plug?)