8 - Earnhardt - winner- And it won't make a damned bit of difference.
12 - Newman
2 - Ku. Busch
1 - Truex
29 - Harvick
20 - Stewart
24 - Gordon
48 - Johnson
5 - KY Busch
11 - Hamlin
All the drama surrounding the Chase aside, this is a pretty solid but predictable list. I took a chance on little Reed Sorenson last weekend and got burned. It won't happen twice. I hate to see the 8 win, because his fans are obnoxious, and also the "what might have been" stories will be more than any thinking person can bear, but it is what it is.
By the way, if Harvick and Busch make it into the Chase with Junior on the outside, please see this post from July 30 by, well, me predicting exactly this. It is good to be clairvoyant.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
It's Official: Wed. NASCAR wrap
Gibbs to Toyota: It's a done deal.
NASCAR's power rankings out for the week: Busch on top.
Scenarios for Earnhardt to make Chase. Doesn't look pretty.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Gibbs to Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing will announce tomorrow that it is trading in its Monte Carlos for Camrys effective next season. This is by far the biggest coup for Toyota in its NASCAR recruiting efforts. JGR is a really big fish.
The effects of such a NASCAR powerhouse switching to the foreign manufacturer are unknown. A few questions yet to be answered:
The effects of such a NASCAR powerhouse switching to the foreign manufacturer are unknown. A few questions yet to be answered:
- How do Tony Stewart and Danny Hamlin feel about this move?
- How will the legion #20 fans react? Will Tony lose fans? Toyota has not been well received by the NASCAR fan community.
- And the BIG question: Toyota has underperformed this year. Will Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin be able to make the cars go fast? Tony Stewart, for one, will not accept losing because of a bad car. He is likely to spontaneously combust if he gets as far as say, Indianapolis, next year without a win.
More reaction tomorrow...This is a very big deal in NASCAR.
From the "embarrassing demotions" dept, J.J. Yeley will race for Hall of Fame racing next year. What happens to Tony Raines? (Does it matter?)
The Earnhardt Domino effect continues:
Earhardt to Hendrick / Kyle Busch fired / Kyle Busch to Gibbs / J.J. Yeley fired / Yeley to HoF / Tony Raines fired...My guess is that that is the last domino. Raines is not exactly a hot free agent.
Hillary Clinton as Goldilocks
Incredibly disciplined campaign, opines Roger Simon at Politico.com. Even imparts the brothers Grimm.
ARG is out with a new round of polling showing large Clinton leads in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. I want to believe these numbers, but ARG is notoriously wrong. The NH numbers particularly are out of line with all other contemporaneous polling.
Sen. Obama- the "experience is overrated" candidate- was subliminally insulting Hillary all Labor Day weekend in Iowa and New Hampshire. Change, change, change, bad foreign policy judgement- the typical and tired Obama mantle.
On the GOP side, Senator Thompson will miss the FOX News debate in NH tomorrow, but will officially enter the race on Thursday. The big question that the talking heads are debating is whether he missed his moment, by waiting so long to enter. And also whether it was wise to wear Gucci loafers to the Iowa State Fair. It was clearly August in terms of news cycles.
Now that Labor Day is behind us, the primaries are officially in full swing. Should be a very interesting autumn.
ARG is out with a new round of polling showing large Clinton leads in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. I want to believe these numbers, but ARG is notoriously wrong. The NH numbers particularly are out of line with all other contemporaneous polling.
Sen. Obama- the "experience is overrated" candidate- was subliminally insulting Hillary all Labor Day weekend in Iowa and New Hampshire. Change, change, change, bad foreign policy judgement- the typical and tired Obama mantle.
On the GOP side, Senator Thompson will miss the FOX News debate in NH tomorrow, but will officially enter the race on Thursday. The big question that the talking heads are debating is whether he missed his moment, by waiting so long to enter. And also whether it was wise to wear Gucci loafers to the Iowa State Fair. It was clearly August in terms of news cycles.
Now that Labor Day is behind us, the primaries are officially in full swing. Should be a very interesting autumn.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Johnson Wins at Fontanta; Earnhardt still Looking in
Pursuant to my Friday prediction, Jimmie Johnson won the Nextel Cup event in Fontant, CA last night. This is unfortunately his 5th win of the season.
Earhardt is still in 13th place, with a Chase berth now exceedinly unlikely. Harvick fell to 12th place after a very mediocre performance. Though not mathematically eliminated, Junior is 128 points behind 12th with only Richmond left to get into the show. NASCAR wrap
This is not a good position for Earnhardt to be in: If Kurt Busch finished 36th or better at Richmond, he's in. If Harvick finishes 32nd or better, he's in. All of that regardless of what Earnhardt does.
ESPN.com Chase coverage.
Yates will keep the #38, after all. Doug Yates, courtesy of Jayski.com:
Yates not interested in giving Dale Jr. #38: Doug Yates confirmed his team has been approached by a representative of Hendrick Motorsports about securing the #38 for Dale Earnhardt Jr. next year, but if Yates gets his way, there will be no such transfer. Earnhardt recently was denied the opportunity to take the #8 from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick and now is considering other number options. The #38 currently is being used by David Gilliland. "Dale Jr., since he can't have what he wants, he might want the 38," said Yates, president Yates/Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. "They're asking for the 38, and the 38 and 88 are our numbers. It's almost a little strange. It's like somebody asking if they can take your girlfriend or your wife out. We feel we're going to have the 38 and 88 [next year]." While Yates said he is not interested in parting with the number, doesn't everything in the sport have a price tag? "That's my dad's side of it," Yates said, referring to his father, Robert Yates. "But for me, these are our numbers, and we're set with them."
Earhardt is still in 13th place, with a Chase berth now exceedinly unlikely. Harvick fell to 12th place after a very mediocre performance. Though not mathematically eliminated, Junior is 128 points behind 12th with only Richmond left to get into the show. NASCAR wrap
This is not a good position for Earnhardt to be in: If Kurt Busch finished 36th or better at Richmond, he's in. If Harvick finishes 32nd or better, he's in. All of that regardless of what Earnhardt does.
ESPN.com Chase coverage.
Yates will keep the #38, after all. Doug Yates, courtesy of Jayski.com:
Yates not interested in giving Dale Jr. #38: Doug Yates confirmed his team has been approached by a representative of Hendrick Motorsports about securing the #38 for Dale Earnhardt Jr. next year, but if Yates gets his way, there will be no such transfer. Earnhardt recently was denied the opportunity to take the #8 from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick and now is considering other number options. The #38 currently is being used by David Gilliland. "Dale Jr., since he can't have what he wants, he might want the 38," said Yates, president Yates/Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. "They're asking for the 38, and the 38 and 88 are our numbers. It's almost a little strange. It's like somebody asking if they can take your girlfriend or your wife out. We feel we're going to have the 38 and 88 [next year]." While Yates said he is not interested in parting with the number, doesn't everything in the sport have a price tag? "That's my dad's side of it," Yates said, referring to his father, Robert Yates. "But for me, these are our numbers, and we're set with them."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
