Happy29BudFan's Blog

It was good to see 43 “Mad Men” and “crybabies” take to the track to pick up where they left off in Atlanta.

I am sure I am not the only one that was tired of hearing about Carl v. Brad, which we know was not Brad’s fault.

Anyway, I would like to personally congratulate Justin Allgaier on his first, and as he said “many more to come”, win. It was a pleasure to see someone in the Nascar Nationwide Series that is well deserving of that all elusive win, win.

I would also like to mention that I was proud of Brad Keselowski not pushing the envelope with Justin to get the win himself. That may have just earned both drivers a bit of respect.

I don’t think, however, that i have seen so many problems on tires and engines in one weekend on a short track. I think Goodyear should keep records, and an idea of what they assemble for tires each year and each track, which I am sure they do, but there is no excuse for this past weekend. There had to have been a dozen or more blown tires that caused accidents and broken parts, that gave contenders a chance to be non-contenders. For example, in the Sprint Cup, the right front became a issue for Kyle and Denny as they both blew a tire and hit the wall coming out of a turn. Kyle did not know or find out until after the race that they had a broken shock. Had the tires not been an issue, maybe it was the camber? If they were the only two teams that truly had tire issues, and the other teams did not, could Denny and Kyle have had to much camber in the right front to hinder tire performance?

Of course, no one on ESPN or in the booth mentioned it, but it might come up in Martinsville. The call at the end of the race could have been made either for two or four tires and anything could have gone wrong on that pit stop. I am honestly tired of seeing a driver, yesterday, Kurt Busch, be so dominate, and lose the race. It just doesn’t seem fair for someone like Jimmie Johnson to come out of no where and lead the last 6 laps and just sweep what Kurt Busch had done all day under the rug.

I hate to say it, but expect the same thing this Sunday in Martinsville. Look for Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson to be the dominating duo. I am thinking we are going to see a better race this weekend, but the two tracks cannot be compared.

If Lance can keep Dale’s head on, Junior might just have another outstanding performance and move in to the top 5 in points, but will need to lead a good portion of the race to maintain the move up!

I want to make it perfectly clear that the Talladega incident 2009 was a racing incident as two drivers were going for the win. I dont care what Pemberton says as that incident being part of this newly found rivalry.

If you go back and watch the review of the race on ESPN or other sports channel, you can clearly see at lap 42 caution, Carl Edwards clearly came down on Brad thinking he(Carl) had room to take the low line, getting bumped by Brad, which is not his(Brad) fault. Carl then moved up the track and got in to Joey Logano.

After Carl took the car to the garage to make repairs, coming back out around lap 168, There was no need for him to race with authority as he was never in position to win the race.

More towards the end of the race, around lap 320, Brad was running in the top 10 for a pretty decent finish to a long day. Carl thought otherwise and felt that he needed to payback Brad for what Brad did. Well Carl, I have nothing against you as a person, but obviously you feel there is still “give and take” in Nascar. This “give and take” went out the window a long time ago and “rubbing is racing” is still in effect. What you did was uncalled for, not only for yourself, but for Brad as well.

I know and feel Brad totally stood his ground and kept his line, as keeping the tires on the yellow line, had momentum off turn 2 when Carl came down and nudged Brad’s car. Therefore, Carl truly caused both incidents, and as many drivers, feels that he did no wrong.

With Nascar ruling that drivers have a “open-driving” policy to police their own actions, I feel that Nascar made the right decision to park Carl at the end. Of course they will keep an eye on these two and will dock points and owner points as needed, as well as put under probation if anything were to happen again.

It’s great to see a struggling driver on the Pole Position at a track that hasn’t treated him so well. Yes I am speaking of Dale Earnhardt Jr.!

This is the best start Dale has had this year, upping his 2nd place at Daytona.

We were in ATL 3 or 4 years ago when Dale had been penalized for hitting the cone, and had come in 2 other times hitting it on purpose. That had to be the funniest moment at any race that we have attended.

So far in my mind this season is off to a wonderful, but slow start.

I haven’t been to impress thus far however with Las Vegas and California. We havent been back to Las Vegas since they have raised the banking and dont plan on going to California as it is a track to big for it’s own good.

Anyway, on to Atlanta!

Dale Junior is on the Pole and Kyle Busch is on the outside. Other than baseball, this has to be the hardest sport to pick the right people, or drivers, for your Fantasy Leagues.

This week out of my four leagues or games, I have picked Dale Jr, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, and Kevin Harvick.

Everyone is expecting Jimmie Johnson to run the field and win his 5th Championship. Well, I hate to tell you all, but this is not his drive for 5 nor Jeff Gordon’s. This is the year of Tony “Smoke” Stewart. Eventhough Tony has had a sub-par beginning, I feel that he will continue the dominance from last year!

We shall see what todays Kobalt 500 brings from Atlanta!!!

Have a great race weekend everyone!

Well the first week is over, and it was something spectacular!

I am not going to go in to details about the past two weeks, but I will Congratulate Jamie McMurray for winning the Daytona 500! It was great to see the unexpected of many to put their name on the Harley J. Earl Trophy and soak their hands in cold concrete for the Daytona 500 Experience!

This weekend teams are headed to California. Home of a track that doesn’t have great attendance due to location and size. With the seating attendance totaling 92,100, the lowest recorded attendance is around 60,000. Everyone has stated in the past years that the Auto Club Speedway/California Speedway should have been built as a 1 1/2 mile track or relocated to a larger populated area. Either way you look at it, I think everyone is correct. It’s not to far from Los Angeles, but Riverside, Ca. is a bit too far south to me. I know track representatives in the past have stated they would not relocate and will do everything in its power to keep it’s spots in the schedule. We shall see what this weekend brings for NASCAR to keep the two races in tact.

I haven’t been to pleased in past years with how the racing has gone. It seems a bit like Texas Motor Speedway, who ever is out front stays out front and wins. Let’s hope this weekend turns out to be a fuel mileage race or another G-W-C repeat!

This year I don’t see a repeat or past winner outside of the Rousch-Fenway group. I do however see Carl Edwards or Matt Kenseth winning, as well as someone that hasnt had great luck at the 2 mile track, Dale Jr.

After last weeks performance, I truly believe Junior has pulled the wool over his head to see the light this year and will make all fans proud this year!

My top picks to win:

Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano

Thank you to all of the readers and your comments! Truly Appreciated!