World 600

4:02 PM
Did you see the end of the Nationwide race last night and Denny Hamlin running into Brad Keselowski? Denny's on my list of idiots now after the interview he had about that. Basically, he said that Keselowski should have let him go because he's Denny Hamlin. Denny said that he would clear Brad except for 2 inches and Brad wouldn't let him go. AFAIC, if you're 2 inches short on clearing somebody, that means that you haven't cleared him. Keselowski was well within his rights to not let Hamlin go. Hamlin needs to quit it with the arrogant attitude. Until that happens, he's been put on the List of Idiots in Cup racing.

4:23 PM
I don't think it bodes well for Kyle Busch that he doesn't have friends in the garage. This is not a good thing. I think that if it were anybody else who said that, DW would say that this is a bad thing, but since it's Kyle, it passes with nary a comment.

4:30 PM
Huh. Fox has cut down on the length of their pre-race. Interesting.


4:31 PM
Have you ever heard the time when Harry Caray started to lead "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and he pretty much forgot where he was? He meant to say "1.. 2... 3..." to start the song, but what he actually said was "1.. 2.. 3.. strikes..." and then he realized where he was and he started the song right. That's kinda what Robert Schuller just did in forgetting the Pledge of Allegiance.

4:34 PM
We really liked "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes. We really liked "Taps". We didn't really like the national anthem from the "look at me" singer.

4:42 PM
And I surprise nobody by picking Dale Earnhardt Jr to win this race.

4:47 PM
This conversation with DW and Kasey Kahne is tiresome. Here's how that conversation could have gone.

DW: Are you ready to run up front?

Kasey: Yes

We would have learned just as much as we actually did.

4:59 PM
You know why everybody hates the cable companies? Because when we call them, we sit on the phone forever. The last time I talked to my cable company, before I switched to Dish Network (not that network, Dish network!) I was on hold for an hour and a half. Completely ridiculous.

5:00 PM
Fake laugh sighting by Larry on DW's "Hey, there's Digger. He's digging."

5:03 PM
Doesn't look like Hornish even touched the wall. He got up there really close, but didn't touch it.

5:07 PM
Dover next week. That will be a great race for catching a nap. Next to Loudon, Dover's my least favorite track.

5:11 PM
The "problem" with Kyle may be a thing where Kyle says, "Nobody can pass me unless I have a problem, so when I am passed, the car must have a problem."

5:11 PM
Larry Mac: [Jeff Burton] is always a factor in this race.

Really, Larry?

In 2007, Jeff Burton started 25th, finished 24th and led 0 laps.
In 2005, Jeff Burton started 40th, finished 22nd and led 0 laps.
In 2004, Jeff Burton started 34th, finished 22nd and led 0 laps.

That's 3 races where Jeff Burton wasn't a factor.

I wish I understood why these guys say dumb things like this.

5:20 PM
Hey, what's up with that? Larry Mac just said "David Ragan led and got 5 points" but he didn't say what car he was driving. Should I take that as a shoutout? The thing is that I don't believe for one second that somebody from Fox Sports is reading this drivel.

5:21 PM
So, this poor guy's car dies in front of a jewelry shop with his creepy, clingy girlfriend of 1 month who's ready to marry him. I'll say this for him. If her cats love him, he's in. I'm not sure I want to know what would have happened if my wife had a cat back then and the cat didn't like me.

5:25 PM
Nascar was obviously desperate for a caution to throw it for Robby Gordon scraping the wall.

5:26 PM
Prediction: No matter who gets out first, it will be because of pit road location than anything else.

5:28 PM
Cool commercial of the soldiers going through the airport being applauded.

6:24 PM
This car takes a pretty hard lick and keeps ticking. Is there a copyright or something on using the right phrase?

6:30 PM
One car doesn't make a big wreck there, ol DW.

6:43 PM
These guys have toned down their man crush on Kyle Busch a little bit, which is much more pleasant on the ears.

6:44 PM
Does DW think that blinking your eyes is a lack of focus? He just said that Jimmie Johnson doesn't blink his eyes and is all focused. Blinking is involuntary and has nothing to do with being focused. If I ever meet somebody who doesn't blink, I'm going to think it's extremely creepy.

6:46 PM
Man, I hope nobody got hurt by that wheel going over the fence there on the inside.

6:52 PM
There was a rash of the center hub breaking out of wheels in the mid to late 90s. I think they fixed it by not reusing wheels. Apparently, there was just too much stress put on them from however many times they ran them.

7:02 PM
"Look at Dale Earnhardt Jr in the 88 car"... Ahh, there's the Larry McReynolds we know and love.

7:04 PM
If that was Kyle Busch getting loose, they'd go on and on about how great of a save it was. Since it was Kurt, it wasn't as good of a save.

7:09 PM
My wife asked if Junior was going to be in front 195 laps from now. I heard the odds were 4-1 of Junior winning and I think those odds still hold true.

7:23 PM
Man, I love Junior's chances right now.

7:24 PM
I do believe Sam's figured out this stock car racing stuff.

7:27 PM
Wow. What a lead for Junior. My goodness.

7:46 PM
My wife asked me what DW is talking about with pop tarts and all that. Yeah, I really don't know either.

7:53 PM
Pop quiz, hotshot. Every driver who's won their 1st race in the World 600 has this thing in common. What is it? Answer below.

8:03 PM
Would somebody tell me why in the world Yeley slammed into him? Failure to communicate?! Junior's right in front of him!

8:12 PM
The Nascar loves Junior conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day with rescinding the penalty.

8:14 PM
I don't know... I don't see any way for Junior to win.

8:16 PM
Let me guess. Junior was involved in the wreck on the restart.

8:17 PM
I guess not. Good thing.

8:21 PM
Add JJ Yeley to the Idiot List.

8:24 PM
What does running well in the Nationwide race have to do with running well tonight? They're totally different cars.

8:27 PM
There's our "night time is the right time" phrase. Took them awhile to say it.

8:28 PM
Hate to see more cautions, but that's what it's going to take for Junior to get up front, if his car is even capable.

8:28 PM
DW: "I'm a Kyle Busch fan" Really, DW? You are? I couldn't tell.

8:34 PM
It's kinda weird, because Kyle Busch hasn't gotten out first on pit road at all, but he has the first pit stall. I wonder why that is? I mean, if having the first pit stall is everything like Larry says, then Kyle should have gotten out first everytime, but he hasn't.

8:43 PM
I am curious about Nascar's efforts in Mexico. I mean, just because we just saw an advert doesn't mean anything. I do wonder if Nascar's on the radar at all for the average Mexican.

8:44 PM
I haven't completely given up on caring, but my interest in the race really dropped. I know you're so surprised.

8:45 PM
Speaking of Kyle Busch and DW supposedly seeing himself in Kyle, I really don't have anything nice to say about that, so I'll just let that alone.

8:53 PM
It may have hurt Michael for Nascar to park him, but maybe he shouldn't have run over Casey Mears.

9:08 PM
My wife will be happy if Smoke wins, especially since he got his hair cut. Yes, you may deduce that she would be less happy if Smoke and his long hair won.

9:15 PM
Those last 3 laps were crazy.

9:19 PM
I guess a 5th is good considering what happened, but when is a win coming? So frustrating.

 

Yep, I still call it the Firecracker 400. It wasn't until late 2007 that I finally stopped calling it the Winston Cup series and I still call the all-star race The Winston.
Old habits die hard, I guess.