Petty’s Legacy-Kyle

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Kyle Petty doesn’t have a Sprint Cup ride so far this season, and he certainly won’t be a part of the Petty- Gillette merger plans for 2009!  Nevertheless, the legacy that Kyle Petty leaves behind is just as monumental as the one that his father, “King Richard” Petty leaves!

 

Kyle Petty’s legacy is born out of tragedy, not triumph!  His son, Adam, died May 12, 2000 (Mother’s Day weekend) from injuries sustained in a crash during practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  Kyle Petty refers to his son’s death as “Adam’s accident”.  Adam was just two months short of his 20th birthday, and was a very young and energetic teenager.  As a driver, Adam was to take the Petty banner into the 21st century under the tutorship of Kyle and his grandfather, “King Richard”.

 

From that devastaing loss of his son came The Victory Junction Gang Camp, which Kyle and his wife Pattie established in Adam’s memory!  Through this camp, which serves children  ages 6-16, Kyle and Pattie have welcomed thousands of children into their extended family.  In actuality, the core of this idea came from Adam prior to his untimely death.  According to Pattie, it was Adam who had discussed the idea of helping out terminally ill children.  This idea from a teenager, obviously a well grounded young man!

 

For reasons too many to list, Victory junction, as a concept, has resonated throughout the NASCAR community and now throughout the corporations sponsoring the NASCAR teams!  The focused commitment of  Kyle and Pattie Petty is a powerful magnet, one that attracts support from NASCAR’s top stars.  Tony Stewart stages a race at his race track, the famed Eldora Speedway, in support of Victory Junction.  That race, Prelude to the Dream, is the who’s who of racing.  Stewart invites the stars of NASCAR, NHRA, and dirt track legends to race each other with all the proceeds going to TheVictory Junction Gang Camp.  This year Stewart donated ONE MILLION DOLLARS  to Victory Junction!  The Jimmie Johnson Foundation donated $600,00.00 for a bowling alley at the camp.  Mike Helton, NASCAR president, auctioned off his prized Harley for Victory Junction.

 

Kyle had announced that another Victory Junction Camp will be built in Kansas City to compliment the facility built in Randelman, N.C.  Even though the economy is slowing, Kyle is still committed to building that facility.  He further boosts that he committed to establishing facilities throughout the USA! 

 

For Kyle, his tenure at Petty Enterprises ended with close of the 2008 season and the merger of Boston Ventures with Petty Enterprises.  He will, however, be remembered for what he has accompolished off the track more than his racing prowess.  While his father excelled in the racing game and IS NASCAR, Kyle has excelled as a human being and humanitarian!!  The vision of his son, Adam, and the drive and desire to make Adam’s dream a reality, is very impressive. 

COMMENTARY:

 

When this reporter reflects on the Petty family and and their contributions to NASCAR  the two men stand out head and shoulders above all their peers for very different reasons.  For Richard Petty, there are no comparisons in his accompolishments of winning races.  He accumulated 200 wins over his storied career.  His closest competitor is “The Siver Fox” David Pearson at 105 victories.

 

On a different stage, Kyle Petty has become a huge fund raiser for many charities, and the founder of The Victory Junction Gang Camp.  He and his wife have brought to fruition Adam’s dream and it has flourished bigger than anyone could have dreamed.  The Victory Junction Gang camp invites these children to attend camp for one week at no charge.  These children are around other children who also suffer from some of the same afflictions and enjoy one week of fun and laughter.  They are able to, at least temporarily, forget about the seriousness of problems and just have fun!!

 

Kyle Petty’s fetes may just out  live anything that his father did on the race track!  As you can tell, this reporter is a huge fan of, and contributor to, The Victory Junction Gang Camp.  After having two grandaughters that lived only a few hours, I have made a commitment to donate each year to this wonderful organization so that children will have a chance to be children.  If you need more information on The Victory Junction Gang Camp go to the link, http://www.victoryjunction.org/ .

 

For those of you who are trying to tie the picture to the post, once again I will help you.  That picture was taken by yours truly at The California Speedway.  It is Adam Petty’s Busch Series car being pushed out on the pit road.

 

AS ALWAYS, I LOOKED IT UP SO THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO!!!

One To Go At The Line!

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THIS WEEEK’S STORY LINES:

1.   AIR FORCE LEAVES WOOD BROS. FOR GEM #10: (jayski.com)

2.   DEI-GANASSI MERGE OPERATIONS:(espn.com) (gannassiracing)(AP)

3.   BB&T SPONSOR #33 RCR CHEVY IN ’09: ( RCR pr)

4.   RED BULL TEAMS SWAP DRIVERS FOR LAST RACE: (redbullracing pr)

5.   BRIAN FRANCE’S TAKE ON SWITCH TO ESPN2 FOR FINAL MINS. OF PHX RACE: (jayski)

6.   KESELOWSKI TO RACE @ HOMESTEAD

7.   AAA SPONSORS HORNISH IN ’09: (penske racing pr)

8.   FURNITURE ROW RACING RUNS A LIMITED SCHEDULE IN ’09:(furniturerowracing)

No I haven’t completely gone off the deep end!  There really is a corelation between the NYC Naked Cowboy and NASCAR.  How can that be, you say??  Well folks, take a closer look at that picture.  He is standing all alone on the island in the middle of Times Square in New York City for everyone to see!!  He is unique and has no peers!  He is vunerable yet he journeys on with total disregard to personal security!!!  That, my friends, is just exactly what the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion is!!  He is unique, has no peers, extremely vunerable, yet he sojourns on with total disregard for his own personal safety!  And in December, he will in fact be on a stage for all to see at the NASCAR Banquet at the Waldorf-Astoria!!!

 

It is very obvious that the last man standing for this year’s Chase will be Jimmie Johnson.  He has but one race left before he marches into NASCAR history. All the #48 Lowes Chevy has to do is finish 35th or better and he has the 2008 Championship lock, stock, and barrell!!  In the 60 years of NASCAR racing there has been only one individual to win three consecutive championships in a row, that being “the Timmonsville, S.C. Tornado”, William Caleb (Cale) Yarborough.  That feat was accompolished in the period of 1976-1978 with the car owner and crew chief, Junior Johnson!

 

 

 

COMMENTARY

 

This reporter has been following many forms of racing, Indy Car, NHRA, local short tracks dirt and paved, as well as NASCAR for more than 45 years.  What the entire #48 Lowes HMS Chevy team is about to accompolish is of historic proportions!  It is a dynasty pure and simple, similar to the NY Yankees in baseball.  You might remember those days with “the Mick” Mickey Mantle (my boyhood hero), Yogi Bera, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard,”Moose” Skowron, Roger Maris, and Bobby Richardson.  The Boston Celtics with “Big” Bill Russell, Bob Cousey, K.C. Jones, and Sam Jones were equally a huge dynasty in the NBA.  These two sports franchises stand head and shoulders above all the rest in “stick and ball” sports!!  They are what legends are made from!  So observe this weekends event, soak this up, because it may not come our way again for another 30 years!!!

 

The one thing that we, as fans, learned this season was a reinteration of the old story of “The Hare and The Tortise”  Just because somebody starts off the season fast and dominates for 2/3’s of the season, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going be there in the end!!!  Ol Kyle Busch started off “smokin”hot”, but completely fell apart in the Chase!  It was bound to happen, a team just absolutely cannot dominate all 36 races in the season, PERIOD!!!  Somewhere, someplace, somehow, mistakes and bad luck will come to haunt you!!  It happened just as the Chase started for the #18 M&M’s JGR Toyota this year.  Will ol Kylie, aka TLVW, be a factor next season, you better bet on it!  That team will be better next year than they were this year, if for no other reason than “SPERIENCE”(a DWism for experience)!!!

 

This off season will be a time of great turmoil and upheaval in the garage.  It started this week with the announcement of the DEI-Ganassi “merger”.  The sponsorhip dollars are tight and the teams are feeling the pinch.  There are still rumblings in the garage of Petty and GEM looking to merge.  There are even Penske merger rumors!!!   The possibilites are truely endless!!!!

 

GOD SPEED, JIMMIE JOHNSON!

 

Stay tuned, ’cause God knows it is going to get interesting!!!!

 

 

Got Something For Johnson??

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THE STORY LINES:

 

1.   JOHNSON WINS AGAIN!

2.   QUALIFYING RAINED OUT FOR 9TH TIME:

3.   HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DOMINATES @ MARTINSVILLE:

4.   DEI AND PETTY ENTERPRISES MERGER? ( espn.com) (nascar.com)

5.   PETTY RESURRECTS #44:  (espn.com)

6.   JEFF GORDON CLOSING IN ON 20,000 LAPS LED:

7.   ROCKINGHAM RACEWAY BUILDS A “LITTLE ROCK” ON PREMISES:

8.   AMBROSE IN #47 (WAS #44 MWR) REST OF YEAR:(MWR PR)

Well folks, it happened again!  The #48 Lowes Chevy dominated the race.  Jimmie Johnson led over 330 laps of the 500 lap race, a true sign of domination.  The Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) Chevys all had a good day at the track.  Just to let you know how the HMS teams have done over the years at Martinsville, here are some facts.  Prior to Sunday, HMS  had posted 11 victories and 78 top 10’s there!!  Now make that 12 victories and 82 top 10’s!!  They have completed over 96% of all laps entered.  Jeff Gordon has posted 7 victories there alone!   They have now won 9 out of the last 12 races at Martinsville!!  HMS now have a total of 174 wins and 7 Sprint Cup Championships in NASCAR!!!!  These numbers are staggering!

 

The merger rumors are running rampant in the garage area this week.  There are talks rumored between Petty and DEI.  There are rumors of talks between Petty and Ganassi.  There are rumors that Gilette-Evernham (GEM) are leaving Dodge and heading to Toyota.  It is truely “The Silly Season”!!!  IT APPEARS THAT NOT ONLY IS “JOE THE PLUMBER” HAVING TOUGH FINANCIAL TIMES, THE CUP TEAMS ARE EQUALLY FINDING THE TIME A ROUGH GO!!!!  There appears to be  a changing of ownership coming to the garage area.  Financial partners and mergers seems to be the key to suviorship here in NASCAR!

 

COMMENTARY:

Remember the first 26 races of this season???????   Ol Kylie Busch, aka TLVW, was truly dominating the entire field each and every Sunday.  What happened??????    Everyone was singing the praises of TLVW, how he was running away with the championship lead!  Well, did everyone forget how the #48 Lowes Chevy came from the cellar last year to put the BIG WHOOP on the other 11 contenders in the Chase??????  DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT HE IS ABOUT DO REPEAT THAT SAME FEAT THIS YEAR!!!!!!! 

This reporter was one of the naysayers this year.  I repeatedly said that the #48 Lowes Chevy team could not possibly win 3 championships in a row!  After all, it had only happened once in the history of NASCAR, so that by itself shows the difficulty of that feat.  By the way, that one feat was accompolished by one William Caleb (Cale) Yorborough from 1976-1978.  But don’t look now, it is about to happen again!!!!  

 SO THE ANSWER TO THE TITLE OF THIS BLOG WOULD BE A RESOUNDING NO!!!!! 

ONCE AGAIN I LOOKED IT UP SO THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO!!!!!

Lowe’s Results

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THE STORY LINES:

1.  JEFF BURTON WINS @ LOWE’S:

2.  ONLY NIGHT RACE IN THE CHASE:

3.  PICTURES OF HARVICK AND EDWARDS:( captainthunderracing)

4.  GM AND CHRYSLER DISCUSS MERGER: (NY Times)

5.  PETTY AND GANASSI MERGER? GEM TO TOYOTA? (winston-salem journal)

6.  ARMY IS OFFICIALLY # 39 SPONSOR: (jayski team scheme)

7.  CHASE STANDINGS: (nascar.com)

For about half of the teams Saturday night, the Sun has set on their chances of winning the Sprint Cup championship for 2008!!!  It would appear at this juncture of the Chase that it is down to quite possibly four teams only.  Quite honestly, it is Jimmie Johnson’s championship to loose.  Jeff Burton has really been performing quite well during the first half fof the Chase.  He has been flying under the radar very nicely so far.  But, his win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway Saturday night has jumped him up into second place in Chase standings!!!  Burton must now be considered one of the remaining favorites.  “Cousin Carl” has hit upon some hard times in the last two races.  His adventures at Talladega not only landed his team a poor finish, but apparently he got to “visit the hood of the #33 KHI Nationwide car”!!!  (Check out the link in the #4 of story lines!!)  Meanwhile, “The Bif” is still performing at a very steady pace.

COMMENTARY:

This reporter still has “MAJOR HEARTBURN” with the way NASCAR handled the finish of the Talladega race!!  The rule states,” you can not advance your postion by going below the yellow line or you will be penalized”( RULE #1).”  It also states,”you can not force someone below the yellow line or you might be penalized“(RULE #2).  It also states that if you can see the CHECKERED FLAG WAVING the rules do not apply (RULE # 3). 

First and foremost, if what Tony Stewart did does not constitute forcing a competitor below the yellow  line then I don’t know what does!!  There is no arguing the fact that Regan Smith was below the yellow line, ‘ cause  both of Stewart’s left side tires were down below the yellow line and Regan Smith had a fender on Stewart’s left quarter panel (RULE #1)!!!!  So this reporter’s point is that if you are going to penalized Smith for passsing below the yellow line, you must also penalize Stewart for forcing him down there ( RULE #2)!!!!  If you are going to apply the first two rules, you must apply them fairly and consistently.  With those thoughts in mind, it would appear to this reporter that Paul Menard should be declared the winner!!!  Now if you are going to not penalize Stewart for driving below the yellow line and thusly forcing Smith below the yellow line because they can see the “CHECKERED FLAG WAVING”(RULE #3), THEN OBVIOUSLY REGAN SMITH WINS THE RACE!!!

Therein lies the crux of this reporter’s heartburn!!!!  Thank God I have an abundant supply of Prilosec in the medicine cabinet!!!  I also have a large tube of, you guessed it, “BOUDREAUX’S BUTT PASTE”!!

The Coliseum of Collision!

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STORY LINES FOR THIS WEEK:

1. “Cousin Carl” wins two in a row:

2.  NASCAR announces 2009 schedule:

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2009/data/schedule.html 

3.  Logano Cup debut at Richmond in #02:

http://www.joegibbsracing.com/2008/news_nscs/08_august/080825_jl_2009.php 

4.  It’s official, Logano pilots #20 in ’09:

5.  Hall of Fame Racing looking at options:

http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Hall_of_Fame_Racing_exploring_merger_or_acquisition_opportunities.html

6.  Mears to RCR #07- Bowyer to #33:

http://www.rcrracing.com/messageboards/trans/displayShortMsgRpt.asp?type=1&id=2988

7.  Kylie could be penalized:

8.  Sorenson possibly to GEM:

http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Sorenson_to_replace_Carpentier_at_Gillett_Evernham_in_09.html

9.  Red Bull exploring 3rd team:

http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/jensen-food-city-500-blog1/

 

Just when everyone was thinkin’ that TLVW (aka ol Kylie Busch) was gonna run away with the championship, Carl Edwards gets hot again!  But I may add, not as hot as ol Kylie was after the race!!!!  See it appears that TLVW can run deep into the turn and bump you out of the way, get into your door and crash you, get into your quarter panel and spin you, but he really doesn’t like someone to race him in the same fashion!!!  It appears that ol Kylie is gonna have to write a check and loose a few points for his shenanigans after the checkerd flag fell.  I guess NASCAR doesn’t take lightly to bumpin’ and bangin’ after the race is over!!  This reporter suggests that ol Kylie purchase some Boudreaux’s Butt Paste and keep it in his race car!!!   That will help to heal his “CHAPPED BUTTOCKS” when he looses a race!!!!

 

Now that Bristol has been reconfigured to a progressive banking, and the running of the COT, there is more side-by-side racing and less beating and banging. It is still a very fast paced race, with laps turning in the low 16 seconds.  But it is a race, not a destuction derby!!!  The tempers still flare and the feelings still get hurt!  As Larry Mc and DW say, “you need to leave your feelings and your temper at the front gate”!! 

 

With just two races left til the Chase begins, the race teams are feeling the heat.  With positions 6-14 separated by just a few points, those teams really have to step up their game a few notches to secure a spot in the Chase!!  It is time to throw caution to the wind!  If you got something for ’em, it is time to let the big dog eat!!!!