Some Comments Deserve To Be Repeated
During the days that preceded and followed the NASCAR weekend at Infineon Raceway and Road America there were some eyebrow raising, and in some cases very funny, comments made regarding current NASCAR news stories and what happened during the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series road course weekend. Many of those comments bears repeating. The following is a list of my personal favorites observations from well known NASCAR personalities.
Let’s begin with Mr. Excitement. That of course would be SPEED Channel analyst Jimmy Spencer who makes regular appearances on the network’s “Race Hub” program. Spencer’s main gimmick on the show is the awarding of cigars, if a driver impressed him, or crying towels, if he’s not that impressed. The result is often some hilarious comments.
But there’s another element here that makes Spencer’s commentaries both interesting and funny. It’s that chalk board hanging on the wall behind him. Commenting on recent announcements that said Red Bull Racing is planning to leave NASCAR at the end of this season, Spencer’s chalk board said: “all you can drink Red Bull-going out of business sale !”
It was delightfully tacky and very funny. It was also one of the reasons Spencer adds so much to SPEED’s “Race Hub” program.
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[/media-credit]Then there was the matter of “Smoke”, better known as Tony Stewart. He had every reason in the world to feel a little on the cranky side following his road rage adventures during the Sprint Cup race at the Infineon Raceway.
However, Stewart’s cranky levels actually began to rise the day before the race during a press conference. A reporter asked him: “how does the heat inside of the race car affect you?” Perhaps perturbed with a question he answered a thousand times over the years, Stewart replied “it doesn’t” and then added “if you guys would get out of the media center, and away from the buffet table, once in awhile you’ll learn what it’s like to be in the heat.”
Sadly, there may actually be an element of truth to that statement. But the media should look on the bright side. At least Stewart didn’t chide them about their frequent, and sometimes over abundant, use of hair care products as he has so many times in the past.
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There were, of course, some observations regarding the double dose of road rage, during the Infineon event, between Stewart and Brian Vickers. The tire smoke from Stewart’s wrecked race car had barely settled when TNT Network analyst Kyle Petty told the fans ” contact NASCAR at have at it boys dot com.”
Once the Stewart car was towed to the garage area, his team immediately went into the repair mode. While the master plan was obviously about salvaging any championship points possible, there was a lot of speculation that said Stewart was planning a return to race with the intent of locating Vicker’s #83 Red Bull Toyota. TNT pit reporter Ralph Sheheen was covering the repair process and, when Stewart climbed back into his battered car, said “it looks like he’s out to open a Red Bull can of whoop ass.”
Later in the day Darrell Waltrip, three time Sprint Cup champion and Hall Of Fame inductee, sent a “Twitter” message that read: “racing is a beautiful thing when it’s done right, then there’s boys, have at it.”
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The other big issue, we’re all still debating, occurred during the Nationwide Series race at Road America in Wisconsin. It took three green-white-checker attempts, and a video review before it was determined that Reed Sorenson, and not road race ringer Ron Fellows, won this event.
Following the first green-white-checker restart, driver Jaques Villeneuve, another road race ringer in this event, made a dive bomber move from his fourth starting position in an effort to steal the win. Many observers felt this move was unnecessary because the result was hard contact that sent one driver spinning into a gravel pit while another driver slammed head on into a retaining wall.
Following this accident, Kevin and DeLana Harvick immediately grabbed their cell phones and fired up their “Twitter” accounts. They had every right to do so because the Max Papis driven car that was sent into the wall was owned by, you guessed it, Kevin Harvick Inc.
Harvick’s “Tweet” read: that’s why Villeneuve should just quit driving in NASCAR. No sense. I hope Max Papis punches this dumb ass in the mouth.” Kevin Harvick’s second “Tweet” read: “no respect here in NASCAR for Villeneuve. Same reason they kicked his ass out of F1”, (Formula 1 racing).
Meanwhile DeLana Harvick’s “Tweet” read: “I learned today: the 22, (Villeneuve’s car number), is a bonehead, fuel mileage races on road courses suck and U should NEVER congratulate yourself before crossing the start/finish line.”
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The final comment comes from “Race Central’s Whine Cellar,” an extremely popular racing forum hosted by Stickshift Transmissions headquartered in San Bernadino-California.
Using the keyboard name “Help”, the comment’s writer said: “does anyone have the racing attorney’s phone number? I need to sue all of you who can’t pass without taking someone else out. I would be in the Sprint Cup by now if it were not for all you fools.”
You just have to love something like that. It’s also why some comments deserve to be repeated.
Team Moore Racing Happy With Pair of Top Fives at Iowa Speedway
While the focus has been on Andretti Autosport and the win in the IZOD IndyCar Series, the Team Moore Racing teammates are also happy about their results at the Sukup 100 at Iowa Speedway last Saturday night in the Firestone Indy Lights division.
Gustavo Yacaman scored his best career finish of second after starting on the front row.
“This was the hardest frigging race I’ve ever driven, so close on so many occasions,” Yacaman said. “Between Bryan (Clauson) and I, a fly couldn’t be able to be there. We were running so close.
The second place finish marks his first Podium finish since Toronto last year where he finished third. The race wasn’t easy, though, for Yacaman after having to survive an early race incident with pole sitter Esteban Guerrieri, which almost sent him into the turn three wall.
“I was either going to go for the lead or go for the wall,” Yacaman said. “I told everyone on the team I wasn’t going to lift. You know, I didn’t lift. That’s what happened. I’m sure next time he’ll give me a little bit more space, maybe a foot or two instead of just chopping me right off. He knows I’m not afraid of taking both of us out. It’s how it works. You know, you’ve got to earn your respect. That’s what I did.
“Yeah, it was a lot of risk, but hey, it paid off. I’m pretty sure not even just on ovals but also on road courses he’s going to know I’m there and I’m not going to lift, and we’re not here to make friends, we’re not here to be careful. This is racing, and like they say, rubbing is racing, right?”
Guerrieri wasn’t as luck as he had to retire with damage several laps later.
For Yacaman, he says the thanks goes to his crew, and also team owner Mark Moore, who is working as the team’s engineer/strategist also.
“It was a pretty tight finish, and I really want to thank Mark (Moore),” Yacaman said. “We worked so hard. We’ve had a strong car so many times, but it’s really good to capitalize on that equipment he’s given me. We’ve just had so much bad luck at Indy, Barber. Long Beach was all right, but we want more, we want podiums, we want race wins. I’m working really hard with the team, and here we are, first podium, and I’m going to keep working just as hard to keep them coming.”
Meanwhile, Victor Garcia finished fourth in the race, despite starting at the back of the pack due to a fuel pump issue. The finish for Garcia also allowed him to move back up to third in the championship standings.
“We knew we had a car capable of being at the top but (in qualifying) we had a fuel pump problem,” Garcia said. “My team was telling me to relax and go faster and faster each lap. At the end I was catching people and overtaking.”
“I’m really happy for the team after they worked so late (June 24),” he added. “I have to thank everyone for all the hard work they did. I’m really happy because we are third in the championship now.”
NCAT: Jarred Whissell Scores Best Career Finish of 12th at Mosport
For some drivers, its about going for the wins while for others, its accomplishing those smaller goals. For Jarrad Whissell, he accomplished the lather of the two as he scored a best career finish of twelfth at Mosport International Raceway near Bowmanville, Ontario this past weekend.
“With all the little issues we had this week twelfth would seem like a pretty good finish, but when you’re running tenth and fighting for another spot or two it’s a bit frustrating too,” he explained.
The Calgary, Alberta native struggled in practice with his No. 44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford with mechanical issues as the team worked on diagnosing an engine miss.
“One of the fuel lines to the carburetor wasn’t hooked up properly,” Whissell explained. “We expected to be better in qualifying but never got the opportunity to try things out.”
Qualifying wouldn’t be an issue as it was rained out with the field lined up according to NASCAR rule book, which set Whissell in the 23rd starting position. Whissell knew he had to begin his march early, though ran into more mechanical issues.
“The car had a pretty bad vibration right from the start of the race,” he said. “We made a couple of pit stops and the team figured out it was a wheel bearing. Unfortunately we lost a lap while they made repairs.”
The problems would continue throughout the race as, “The car was a handful to drive throughout the race. The power steering would come and go as the wheel was turned and post race we found a loose tie rod end.”
Though Whissell would continue to work his way through and a caution came out, which allowed Whissell to get back on the lead lap, with another quick caution bunching the field up so he could try to gain more positions. Whissell kept working his way up through the field, though a battle with Howie Scannell, Jr. slowed his progress.
“I got a run on him and was looking to make the pass up the inside but he kind of pushed me onto the grass,” he explained after the race. “Instead spinning him out I gave way. When I tried again on the final lap he came across the nose of my car and to avoid him I spun and couple of cars got by me so we wound up finishing twelfth.”
Jarrad Whissell will be ready to tackle the next Canadian Tire Series race next weekend on July 9th at Exhibition Place in Toronto.
For more information on Whissell, check out www.jarradwhissell.com and follow him on twitter, @jarredwhissell. All of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races will once again be shown on TSN.
