Local racing this weekend

For those that don't know, Cleveland County Speedway (formally known as Thunder Valley Speedway) will be hosting the Twister 100 this weekend. A picture of the track taken by ace photographer Brittany Randolph can be found at left. We ran a front page story today about the event, which is expected to draw racers from as far away as New York, Kentucky, Missouri and more.

I, however, will be unable to attend this weekends races since I will be working all weekend. Bad for me, but that doesn't mean you local folks can't check it out.

As local driver Richard Clew said in the story today (found at http://www.shelbystar.com/articles/track_29150___article.html/clew_drivers.html) everyone starts at this level, even the most experienced NASCAR guys had to get their start somewhere. So who knows, you might just see the next Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards or Matt Kenseth this weekend.

For more info check out http://www.clevelandcountyspeedway.com/. Also, if anyone has any results from this weekends races feel free to email or call with that info, the sports department would be glad to run them assuming someone lets us here at The Star know.

Viva Las Vegas NASCAR Style

NASCAR is heading to the bright lights of Las Vegas this weekend for the UAW-Dodge 400. Las Vegas has always been a great race track for finishes and i'm betting 2008 will be no exception. As far as my choices to win this weekends event, it again comes down to two teams, Roush-Fenway and Hendrick. Why? Math once again tells the entire story. Roush-Fenway has five wins at Las Vegas (2 for Kenseth, 2 for Burton and 1 for Martin) while Hendrick has 4 (3 for Johnson and 1 for Gordon). So that really should narrow down my choices to win here this week, right?

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)Last Week: 2nd place finish in the Auto Club 500

Career at Las Vegas: 6.0 Avg. Finish, 3 wins, 3 Top 5's, 4 Top 10's

Why he could win: Well, besides the fact that Johnson is the 3-time defending champion of this race, he's Jimmie Johnson. Plus he has the best average finish of all active drivers in the Sprint Cup Series at Las Vegas.

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 DEWALT Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)

Last Week: 5th place finish in the Auto Club 500

Career at Las Vegas: 7.6 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 4 Top 5's, 5 Top 10's

Why he could win: Kenseth has always been good at Las Vegas, winning two events at the track before Jimmie Johnson became the "King" so to speak. If anyone in a Ford is going to win this week, Kenseth is the man that could do it.

Mark Martin, No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.)

Last Week: 16th place finish in the Auto Club 500

Career at Las Vegas: 11.2 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 5 Top 5's, 8 Top 10's

Why he could win: Mark Martin has made a career out of winning at tracks much like Las Vegas. He won the first Sprint Cup race ever held at the track and can more than hold his own against the powerhouse teams from Hendrick and Roush-Fenway. Look out for Mark this weekend.

So who is this week's underdog? Hmm.....

Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge (Chip Ganassi Racing)

Last Week: 37th place finish in the Auto Club 500

Career at Las Vegas: 35.5 Avg. Finish, 0 Top 5's, 0 Top 10's

Why he could win: Does anyone remember who the only team was to win at Las Vegas that WASN'T a Roush-Fenway or Hendrick car? That's right, Sterling Marlin driving a Chip Ganassi backed entry in 2002. While Sorenson has never exactly had great success at Las Vegas I wouldn't be surprised to see him run up front Sunday.

California thoughts and observations

Carl Edwards won the oft-rain delayed Auto Club 500 this afternoon at the Auto Club (formally California) Speedway. He took the lead for the final time with 13 laps remaining and drove away from Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon to secure his eighth career Sprint Cup victory and Roush-Fenway's sixth victory at the Auto Club Speedway as a team.

Thoughts and observations:

I thought it never rained in Southern California, I guess I was wrong. Needless to say the wet conditions made a mess of this weekend at the Auto Club Speedway and a few teams payed the price. NASCAR should have waited out the wet conditions rather then starting the race on Sunday with water still seaping out of cracks on the track. The picture at left is a direct result of that water. It's no wonder Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and others were upset after wrecking early Sunday.

If Kyle Busch does well enough in tonights Stater Bros. 300, he could become the first driver to lead all three of NASCAR's top racing divisions at one time. He already leads the Sprint Cup and Craftsman Truck points standings, meaning a good run this afternoon will give him the Nationwide points lead. Even if it is just the second weekend in the NASCAR season, that is still pretty impressive.

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson looked like the class of the field for a good chunk of the race, but once Carl Edwards found the handle on his car he took off like a rocket. Anyone else not all that surprised by that?

After two races, Denny Hamlin sits a dismal 31st in the Sprint Cup points standings. Not the way he, or anyone else really, expected to start the 2008 season. Casey Mears isn't really doing much better, after two consecutive early exits he sits all the way back in 42nd in points. John Andretti has more points right now then Casey Mears for goodness sake! These two better get it together quick or they may be on the outside looking in to the top 35 in owner points.

Robby Gordon had a pretty good race again this week, running well and finishing a decent 18th. Of course it really doesn't make much difference after NASCAR fined Robby 100 driver and owner points for an unapproved nose on the front of his Dodge at Daytona. It may have been an honest mistake, which all sides seem to agree on, yet it appears NASCAR is going to stick to its guns and not take back the penalty. I hate that for Robby, he really looks like he might have something in that No. 7 Dodge this year.

Dave Blaney needs to catch a break, just one. The poor guy never seems to have any luck going for him and when he finally does get a good finish (like his 3rd place at Talladega last year) his momentum just dies during the next race.

The best rookie in this week's race was Regan Smith, who came home 31st. Dario Franchitti snuck in behind him in 32nd and poor poor Sam Hornish Jr. ended up dead last. Let's hope next week is a little better for the 2008 rookie class.

NASCAR is California Dreaming

This week marks the first week i'll be posting my predictions for each upcoming Sprint Cup event. I'll be choosing the Top 3 drivers to win and the underdog of the race. I wonder how close i'm gonna get...

This week NASCAR heads out west as they make the first of two stops at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Historicly, California Speedway has been owned by two teams. Hendrick Motorsports (which has 6 wins with 4 drivers) and Roush-Fenway Racing (5 wins, 4 drivers). So two of my three choices will come from the Hendrick and Roush-Fenway camps. The third is a driver I feel like has a ton of momentum coming out of Daytona. With that being said, my picks to win this week at California are:

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 DEWALT Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 36th place finish in the Daytona 500
Career at California: 10.3 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 4 Top 5's, 8 Top 10's
Why he could win: Matt is the two-time defending champion of this race at California, not to mention his career stats at California are outstanding.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last Week: 4th place finish in the Daytona 500
Career at California: 11.1 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 2 Top 5's, 5 Top 10's
Why he could win: The momentum Kyle has going for him after such a dominating run at Daytona could very well prepel him to victory this week at California, where he picked up his first career win.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24, DuPont Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Last Week: 39th place finish at Daytona 500
Career at California: 11.8 Avg. Finish, 3 wins, 7 Top 5's, 7 Top 10's
Why he could win: Well, besides the fact that he is Jeff Gordon, he's won this race three times in his career, which gives him the most wins at California by any driver. Need I say more?

So who is the underdog this week? Let's go with a "Go or Go Home" driver...



Brian Vickers, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota (Red Bull Racing)
Last Week: 13th place finish at Daytona 500
Career at California: 17.9 Avg. Finish, 1 Top 5, 3 Top 10's
Why he could win: Last year after he missed the Daytona 500 he came out and picked up Toyota's first Top 10 in Sprint Cup history. I wouldn't be surprised to see him do even better this year.

So that's it, those are my predictions for this week's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know!

Daytona thoughts and observations

Ryan Newman broke an 81 race winless streak Sunday night by winning the Daytona 500, the first for both him and his car owner Roger Penske. Newman only led eight laps all day, but he led the one that counted. It was also the first one-two finish for Roger Penske in the Great American Race, as Kurt Busch pushed his teammate Newman to the victory.

Thoughts and Observations:

People are already starting to wonder if Tony Stewart is ever going to win a Daytona 500. Sunday's race was Tony's 10th attempt to win and his 10th failure. He was obviously upset after the race and he had every right to be. He was running first when he took the white flag and he ended up third. I'd be upset too.

Did anyone else notice Kyle Busch trying to lay the blame on NASCAR for not catching drivers laying back on the final restart? Granted, Kyle had the car to beat all night, leading a race high 86 laps, but blaming someone else for not closing the deal really isn't gonna work. It's Daytona, things happen.

Regardless of how the race ended for the Joe Gibbs machines, they proved they were the class of the field most of the day. Out of 200 laps, Joe Gibbs Racing cars led 134 of them. I'd be very afraid of those three cars when they return here for the Coca-Cola 400 (formally the Pepsi 400) in July.

How about Robby Gordon coming home an impressive 8th in his first run under the Dodge flag. Not bad considering he made that change less then a month ago.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn't nearly as impressive as I, and I imagine a lot of other people, thought he was going to be. In fact, Hendrick Motorsports as a whole had a bad night. Earnhardt Jr. was Hendrick's lone bright spot. The rest of the Hendrick drivers finished well outside the top 10 (Johnson 27th, Mears 35th and Gordon 39th).

Was anyone else impressed with how well Sam Hornish Jr. did during the race? Not only did he run with the leaders most of the day but when he fell a lap down he didn't give up and rallyed to a 15th place finish, the best finish by a rookie.

Where did Reed Sorenson come from? We didn't hear a word about him all day and then when it came down to it he was right in the thick of things and ended up with a top 5. Too bad his two teammates, former open-wheel stars Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti, couldn't do the same.

Nice run for the Gillett-Evernham Dodge's of Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler. Both drivers ended up with top 10 finishes. Let's hope they can build on that and get one of those cars back into victory lane this season.

What happaned to the Ford drivers in this race? Last's year's Pepsi 400 winner Jamie McMurray was a non-factor and the only Ford's to get out front at all were Matt Kenseth (for one lap) and Greg Biffle (for seven).

Summing it up:

The first race at Daytona for the Car of Tomorrow (now the Car of Today) was better then I had thought. The drivers did a good job keeping the race interesting and the finish, while not as good as last years, was still an exciting way to end NASCAR's biggest race. Here's hoping we get more finishes like that in the year's to come.

Bad news for Jacques Villeneuve

Looks like former Indy 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve's venture into the world of Sprint Cup Racing might be over before it really begins.

Bill Davis Racing announced today that unless they can find a sponsor in the next 24 hours they would be forced to replace Villeneuve in their No. 27 Toyota next week at California with NASCAR veteran Mike Skinner. They still plan to keep Villeneuve in the fold and if a sponsor becomes available Villeneuve will be returned to the car ASAP. However at this time it's not looking very likely.

This is a big blow for Villeneuve, who at one point thought he had a sponsor lined up for the entire 2008 season. Now however, after missing Sunday's Daytona 500 after crashing out in the second Gatorade Duel, Villeneuve has been relegated to watching and waiting for something to develop.

In other news.....

Tony Stewart captured the pole for Saturday's season opening Nationwide (formally Busch) Series race at Daytona while Erik Darnell is on the pole for the Craftsman Truck Series race tonight. If you aren't planning on watching the Craftsman Truck race, I suggest you rethink that decision. Last year's finish to the truck race at Daytona may have been better then the 2007 finish to the Daytona 500, depending on who you ask of course.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s start to the 2008 season has been perfect, with one minor exception. NASCAR confiscated the trunk lid and spoiler from his No. 5 Nationwide Series entry after discovering the team altered the spoiler to give the car an aerodynamic advantage. Expect a fine for both the team and its crew chief, Chad Walker, who I also expect to be suspended.

Bill Elliott finally appears ready to retire for good. He announced today that after his 2008 schedule he will hang up his helmet. As a long time Bill Elliott fan i'm glad he made this announcement. It's been hard for me to watch him struggling day in and day out after watching him return to victory lane in his last few fulltime years on the circuit.

Speaking of Bill, when he missed the Daytona 500 it was the first time in the history of the Daytona 500 that a Wood Brothers car FAILED to make the race. The last time Daytona was without a Wood Brothers car in the Daytona 500 was 1962 when the team didn't enter the race. Of the previous 49 Daytona 500's, the Wood Brothers entered and succesfully got a car in 47 of them. They also didn't attempt to make the 1960 edition of the race. So on the 50th anniversary of NASCAR's biggest race the Daytona 500 is going to be without one of its most legendary teams. Disapointing doesn't quite cover it.

Puppy!

So my dad had been talking for awhile about getting a new dog, a beagle to be exact. I'd heard it, but sorta let it pass by my ear. My dad, years ago, had a beagle called Lady. I didn't know Lady, but I know stories about her. When my dad and mom got together Lady's seat in my dad's truck got taken away. They ended up having to go buy her a pillow to sit on so she could see out the window of the truck (she sat in the middle between my mom and dad, dad had bucket seats in the truck).

Anyway, a few weeks ago I decided i'd do something about it and try and track down a beagle for my father. I told my dad what I wanted to do and he was all for it. Everyone in the house was a bit excited, except my little brother. I can't blame the kid really, every animal we let in the house seems to like bouncing off his door at 2 a.m. I'd be worried if I were him too.

Anyway, yesterday we found our puppy. She's a beautiful thing really. Found her down in Lyman, SC (about an hour drive from my home in Polk County). She was the runt of the litter but she is cute as a button. Fifty dollars later and she was riding in my dad's lap on the way home. She's gonna be a beautiful thing to be around when she gets older.

The best part was watching our cat, Gizmo (the one who likes to bounce off my little brothers door), examining the new addition to the house hold. He didn't know what to do. He looked like a spy hovering around the dog, trying to determine if it was a friend or foe (as seen in the picture at left).

And before anyone asks, no, we haven't named her yet. We have to get to know her first. Anyone got any suggestions?

NASCAR Tidbits

A few NASCAR tidbits floating around the world wide web:

Robby Gordon switches to Dodge, will run GEM motors

It was announced today that Robby Gordon will team up with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports in 2008. The agreement calls for Gordon's self-owned team to switch from Ford to Dodge and to run GEM prepared motors.

Adam's thoughts: While probably a smart move, I can't imagine its a good financial decision for Gordon. Remember, he switched to Ford last year from Chevrolet. How much do you think that move caust him? Now he's switched from Ford to Dodge? Robby, come on buddy, make up your mind.

Texas Motor Speedway takes down billboards referencing Earnhardt, his step-mother Teresa

Texas Motor Speedway announced today that they would be removing four billboards that referred to the hostile relationship between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his step-mom and former car owner Teresa Earnhardt. The billboards (seen above) were designed to promote the April Sprint Cup race weekend at the track. Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, Earnhardt's sister and business manager, objected to the images and asked that they be removed.

Adam's thoughts: Who's bright idea was this anyway? Promote your race, that's fine, but for goodness sake don't start picking on families when you already know the situation is volatile to begin with.

Yates Racing finally lands a sponsor?

Rumor has it Yates Racing finally landed a sponsor. Freecreditreport.com is rumored to be sponsoring David Gilliland for the first six races of the 2008 season. Teammate Travis Kvapil still appears to be without a primary sponsor.

Adam's thoughts: It's about time! Now, all they need to do is find a few more sponsors to fill out the schedule for both teams and then they can focus on getting back to their winning ways (which might take awhile).

Hamlin, Toyota fast during California testing

Denny Hamlin and Toyota continued to prove that Daytona's test session speeds were no fluke this week after posting top speeds during test sessions at California. Hamlin toped 182 MPH in his Toyota, the only driver to break the 182 MPH mark. Toyota's also placed 3rd (Kyle Busch) and 7th (Waltrip). The fastest Dodge was Ryan Newman (2nd), the fastest Chevorlet was Mark Martin (4th) and the fastest Ford was Carl Edwards (5th).

Adam's thoughts: What I thought when Toyota entered the Sprint Cup last year was that it would probably take them a year, two tops, to get it right. Once they did it would be hard to stop them. Seems like such a predicition might actually be true.

Other minor notes:

Claritin will sponsor Carl Edwards in a few races (Adam: Great, that means another paint scheme to keep up with).

Hornish probably won't run Indy 500 in 2008 (Adam: Well, it might be his best shot at winning something in 2008, so I suggest he rethink that one).

John Andretti to drive No. 34 Front Row Motorsports entry at Daytona (Adam: Sorry John, I don't care if you are a former winner at Daytona, you won't be in the race).

Front Row Motorsports lands sponsorship for its Daytona entries (Adam: Sorry, it won't matter anyway, they won't be making the Daytona 500, whoops, said that already).