A change is coming!

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A change is coming, a change is coming!!  We have been hearing this on the political campaign trail for oh so long!  Well, this is my 100th post since the birth of this site and change is also coming here as well!!!  My tech people( aka Jason) have added a few new features/widgets to the sidebar that I/we feel will add value to this publication.

 

You will notice that I have added a NASCAR Race Countdown feature.  This will countdown to the next week’s race.  Also it wll list a few interesting items associated with that race (closely look at the background, it’s AMP!!).  The second new addition is the NASCAR Standings widget, which will keep us all up to date of the NASCAR standings.  Lastly, I have added a quotes widget.  It will post various quotes that I feel might be appropriate each week!  I will also, from time to time, have a poll on my web site so that you can cast your vote on certain items that are of interest.  This should make for, maybe, some intersting interaction and discussions!!

 

So as you can see this off season I have had my best people (Jason) working  diligently to try to make this site both informative and very user friendly!!!  That is ultimately my goal.

 

So as you can see, 2009  has brought/is bringing many changes to us, not only in Washington D.C., and in NASCAR, but to my web site as well!  I will not enumerate the changes in D.C., since we have been saturated with the campaign for about the last two years nightly.    

 

I tried to publish all the known changes in the Cup Series on my last post.  I am now going to try to update you on the changes to the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series !

Nationwide Series:

1.   Larry Foyt to drive the #56 MacHill Motorsports entry

2.   Verizon to sponsor the #12 Penske Dodge driver by Justin Allgaier(Penske PR)

3.   Michael Annett full season in the Germain Racing #12 Toyota  (AnnettPR)

3.   Paul Menard drives 16 races in the #98 Yates Ford (Yates PR)

4.   Fastenal sponsors the #2 RCR Chevy driven by Bowyer and Truex

5.   Scott Speed runs some races for Michael Waltrip Racing (nascar.com)

6.   Ruetimann runs four races for Braun racing( Bruan Racing)

7.   Stewart (The Smoker) attempts Daytona in HMS #80 Chevy (HMS PR)

8.   Kerry Earnhardt to run #8 EGR(DEI) in Daytona

9.   Joe Nemechek (Front Row Joe) in NEMCO #78 Chevy

10.  Michael Mc Dowell drives the JTG/Daughtery entry(scenedaily)

11.  Kyle Busch(TLVW)  18 races for JGR (espn.com)

 

 

Truck Series:

1.   Ricky Carmichael drives KHI #4 Monster Energy Chevy (KHI PR)

2.   Max Papis six races for Germain Racing

3.   Kyle Busch(TLVW) in #51 Ballew Racing Toyota (scenedaily)

4.   Mike Wallace drives #71 TRG truck

5.   Johnny Benson moves to #1 Red Horse Racing

 

As is my tradition, I will tie in the picture to my post.  The picture is the 1959 Chevy that Junior Johnson won the 1960 Daytona 500.  That is when, as the story goes, Junior discovered a thing later called “the draft“!!!  His Chevy was so much slower than all the other cars, running by itself.   But when he was out on the track with other cars he could “suck” up  behind them, then pull out and sling-shot past them effortlessly!!!  The next year “change” came to Daytona when everyone  figured out how to “draft”!!!!

 

As always, I looked it up so that you wouldn’t have!

GO#88!!

The Winds of Fate

Race cars 004 

THE STORY LINES:

1.   JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS @ KANSAS:

2.   WALTRIP COULD ADD AMBROSE? (SceneDaily.com)

3.   ALMENDINGER IS OUT OF #84 NEXT WEEK: (NASCAR.com)

4.   STANTON BARRETT TO IRL: (SceneDaily.com)

5.   MIKE WALLACE TO DRIVE #33 FOR RCR @ TALLADEGA: (RCR PR)

6.   PAUL NEWMAN PASSES AWAY: (ABC News)

7.   PAUL MENARD MOVES TO YATES RACING: (AP)

8.   KYLE PETTY OUT OF #45? (Winston-Salem Journal)

9.   DEI STRUGGLING TO FIND SPONSORSHIP:

10.  ARMY MOVES TO #39 STEWART-HAAS CHEVY: (captainthunderracing.com)

“The three horse race” just distanced themselves a little further from the pack Sunday.  It appears the Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Greg Bifle teams are turning up the heat on the rest of the “Chasers”!!  Sunday they all, in their own way, showed dominance during the Kansas race.  It was an extremely exciting final three laps!!  With Johnson leading the race, Edwards made up about ten car lengths down the back stretch of the last lap.  Going into turn three Edwards drove it so deep and blew by Johnson by approximately 3 car lengths, but couldn’t keep his Ford off the outside retaining wall.  Edwards just hit it hard enough to slow his momentum and Johnson went back by him as they exited turn 4 heading to the finish line!!!  What a finish to the race!!!!

 

Several driver changes were announced or hinted.  A. J. Almendinger has been released from the #84 Red Bull Racing Toyota.  The team announced that Mike Skinner and Scott Speed will share ther ride for the rest of 2008.  Next year Scott Speed, the former Formula 1 and possibly new ARCA champ, will be the new pilot of that ride.  Paul Menard will take his Daddy’s money, Menard’s Home Improvement Stores, and leave DEI for Yates Racing.  Speaking of DEI, the Army sponsorship is leaving and moving over to the #39 Stewart-Haas Racing Ryan Newman Chevy.  That leaves DEI in a quandry over sponsorship money!!!  The #8 and #15  have no sponsorhip money, likewise the #01 has only a 12 race deal.  There is likely a change of driver for the #45 Petty Dodge.  It appears that there is a power stuggle going on in that organization!  VP of Operations, Robby Loomis, is intimating that Kyle Petty has driven his last race in the #45 Petty Dodge.  However, Kyle doesn’t seem to be going along with that decision!!  Lastly, there is a rumor flowing through the garage that Michael Waltrip Racing may be interested in adding Marcos Ambrose and his sponsor Little Debbie’s to his stable.

 

In conclusion, this reporter would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the passing of Paul Newman.  Not only was Paul Newman an extrordinary actor, father, husband, entrepenuer, and philanthropist; he was an excellent race car driver in his own right and CART/IRL car owner.  To this reporter, there were several characters he portrayed that were memorable!  Newman played the title character in “Cool Hand Luke” and the phrase that resonates in my mind is “what we have here is a failure to communicate“!!!!!  His role in “The Hustler” and reprised again in “The Color of Money” were classic!!  Lastly his two pictures with Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, were classic Paul Newman!!!!Newman started the company, Newman’s Own, giving all the profits to charity!!! 

 

He was intrumental in starting “The Hole In The Wall Gang”, a non-profit camp for terminally ill children.  He gave to charity tens of millions of dollars in his latter years!  The Hole In Wall Gang idea was influential to Kyle and Patti Petty in forming THE VICTORY JUNCTION GANG CAMP.

Go rest high on that mountain, Paul Newman, your work here on earth in done!!