However before the weekend, what headline did I read on Wednesday afternoon from NASCAR PR but Vickers and the #83 Red Bull Team got caught shaving weight? Why doesn’t this surprise me, with the current Cup Series COT and no gray area to work with, NASCAR may be finding more and more teams trying to find that edge to make their cars just a little bit faster, even by a faction of a second, however isn’t there a safety issue with using downgraded sheet metal in the doors and fenders?
This is one area of NASCAR and building these cars that I am still trying to understand, but is it really worth a few faction of a second on the racetrack and at the same time worth risking getting penalized by NASCAR? Not in my opinion, I hate to say this, but I liked what Chad Knaus did at Sonoma last year, the bubble over both front tires like what you would find on a 1970 Plymouth Superbird, at least that creative, this sheet metal bit wasn’t.
So as a result, Brian Vickers and the #83 Red Bull racing team got hit with what now seems to the normal COT penalty of being docked 150 driver and 150 owner points, the crew chief was fined $100,000 and was indefinitely suspended after NASCAR officials determined during a random post-race inspection at Martinsville that the sheet metal did not meet the minimum thickness specifications. (Penalty details from NASCAR PR)
Anyway, starting on Friday for the Cup series at Atlanta, it was basically just what NASCAR fans have seen a total of 10 times this season, rain, rain, rain and no practice or qualifying for the Cup guys, which means once again fans are out of luck and so are go or go home drivers and for Joey Logano, that meant he wouldn’t get the chance to qualify yet again in the #02 Home Depot Toyota. Interesting note on him, according to J.D. Gibbs, the rumors on Logano not going full-time cup racing next season is false. I would be very surprised to see Logano not run full-time in the #20 Home Depot Toyota next season.
In watching the Atlanta action on television, it’s always interesting and yet sometimes you just want to click the mute button and it’s was no different during the Truck Series, Nationwide Series and Cup Series broadcasts, but would somebody please tell me why Memphis has a Nationwide Series event at Memphis or why NASCAR doesn’t create double header weekends at Memphis, Kentucky, Nashville, Gateway and The Milwaukee Mile for the Nationwide series and the Truck Series, this is ridicious for the fans.
Anyway, Memphis for the Nationwide Series was once again a nightmare and yet what gives with Bobby Hamilton Jr., does he get alone with any driver in NASCAR? Let’s just leave Saturday for the Nationwide Series at Memphis with Carl Edwards wins, Kenny Wallace gets a much needed 4rd place finish, good job Kenny and Bobby Hamilton Jr. can’t get along with any driver in NASCAR including Landon Castle period, oh yeah, is NASCAR going to fine him for his wife giving the bird to Castle on television, then again, don’t count on it, while Atlanta for the Truck Series was Ryan Newman wins as KHI gets a 1-2 finish, you see, that #2 KHI truck does run right, that’s all I am going to say about that.
The highlight on Saturday night was at the World Series, now let me just say that it takes something special for me to tune in to the World Series when the Boston Red Sox isn’t in it, however seeing the Rays vs. the Phillies works for me, plus it’s the World Series after all, enough said right, well game 3 had one huge draw for me as a country music fan and once the rains cleared, yeah Taylor Swift singing the National Anthem was perfect, I loved it, 2-3 minutes of heaven and now I am just waiting to buy her latest CD “Fearless” in a couple of weeks before the CMA’s in Nashville.
But you know, leave it to me to top an interesting weekend off with one of my passions in life, watching Motorsports on television, more so, NASCAR racing, last weekend it was racing at Martinsville, a tight half mile that produces good hard racing and yeah tires were an issue for some like Kyle Busch just to name one driver, while on the flip side, I was thrilled to see Dale Jr. back running up front finishing 2nd, but the man was Jimmie Johnson, who dominated and won that 500 lapper, so when it comes to this weekend’s 500 miles at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson would be the first one who comes to mind.However the story line was tires today, so I really don’t know what to say about the COT, the tires for this track, nor the racing at Atlanta this year, but damn, I will say that while the racing was better than the Spring race, it WASN’T because of the tires, these drivers really know how to hang on to these cars turn after turn, lap after lap and all that made a driver like superman was 4 doctor feel goods – that’s Darrell Waltrip’s term (4 doctor feel goods are 4 free tires).
Tires, Tires, tires, damn enough with the tires already, whoever had 4 free tires was superman today at Atlanta, so leave it to Jimmie Johnson to make a show out of it after going a lap down early because of a pitroad speeding penalty under green when the crew chief Chad Knaus made a late race call to give 4 fresh tires to Jimmie Johnson, can you say superman, damn the closing laps were a good one to watch, Johnson was coming in a hurry, passing Gordon, Hamlin, Kenseth, Dale Jr. and more, but while Johnson couldn’t caught the race winner Carl Edwards in the end, hats off to Jimmie Johnson in what should have been a bad day, that #48 team turned it around and in my opinion, their second place finish was not only a victory in my eyes, but that’s what championship are made of with just 3 races to go.
By the way, great to see former WWE Champion John Cena recovering nicely as he was in attendence at the Cup Series race at Atlanta and in victory lane with Carl Edwards.
I will have more on the chase for the championships in all three series later this weekend, so until then, see yeah! (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images via Yahoo! Sports)
- Racedriven
