2009 NASCAR running thread

[2muchcoffeeman]

Kentucky Speedway ... cost $152 million to build, sale has officially finalized at $78.3 million.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-nascar-kentuckyspeedway&prov=ap&type=lgns

I still think the only way it gets a Cup date is if Bruton moves one of New Hampshire's dates there.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Boogity boogity boogity boys! Let's go racin' on ice! [/Jaws]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-bobsledchallenge&prov=ap&type=lgns

http://www.bodynbobsled.com/index.php?page_id=11

 

[imjustagirl]

Sweet Christ. Just reading "next month's Daytona 500" makes me want to puke. NASCAR: GET AN OFFSEASON!

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Sweet Christ. Just reading "next month's Daytona 500" makes me want to puke. NASCAR: GET AN OFFSEASON!

They have an offseason.

Well, they do this year anyway.

 

[imjustagirl]

I know. But still. Two months? Yikes.

 

[sportschick]

Go Gordo?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

RIP Sam McQuagg, 1965 Rookie of the Year.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-obit-mcquagg&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

ESPN.com's David Newton has learned that Elliott Sadler is probably going to drive the 19 Dodge this season, which fact he promptly hid inside the story on the Petty-Gillett Evernham merger.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=3819892

 

[playthrough]

From a Yahoo! cuts thread on the journalism board:

NASCAR side was gutted -- Jerry Bonkowski (big loss) and Bob Margolis (not so big loss) didn't have their contracts renewed ... Jay Hart, who was brought on just a few months ago to be the section editor, was kept on, but I understand he's having to oversee stuff other than NASCAR now ... now, all their content is coming from NASCAR.com and AP ...

Yikes.

 

[GB-Hack]

With all of these mergers, and the rising costs it takes to be competitive, is there going to be a point soon where Sprint Cup and Nationwide races can't gather the traditional 43 starters for every event?

 

[playthrough]

The start-and-park money in Sprint Cup is enough that there should usually be field-fillers to get to 43. Nationwide, maybe not. I think we'll find out right away -- Daytona will have plenty of cars, but will everyone head for California the next week?

 

[imjustagirl]

From a Yahoo! cuts thread on the journalism board:

NASCAR side was gutted -- Jerry Bonkowski (big loss) and Bob Margolis (not so big loss) didn't have their contracts renewed ... Jay Hart, who was brought on just a few months ago to be the section editor, was kept on, but I understand he's having to oversee stuff other than NASCAR now ... now, all their content is coming from NASCAR.com and AP ...

Yikes.

Rephrasing to be kinder: I think it's completely unfair how those two are classified. Margolis is a big loss. One of the best guys in the garage.

 

[playthrough]

Thanks. I meant to do that too (wasn't my quote copied from other thread). Suffice to say having a contract not renewed isn't anywhere near the worst news Margolis has had in recent years. What a fighter.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Three-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson underwent surgery to repair a tendon and nerve after cutting his left middle finger with a kitchen knife Sunday, while preparing to compete in the final segment of the Rolex 24 sports car race.

A statement released by Johnson on Monday said the injury occurred above the knuckle and happened while the Hendrick Motorsports driver was attempting to cut a small hole in his firesuit in order to feed a tube from a cooling shirt through a pocket.

Johnson, whose GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley finished seventh in the race, flew to Charlotte, N.C., for further evaluation and outpatient treatment with a hand specialist at Carolinas Medical Center.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-nascar-johnsoninjured&prov=ap&type=lgns

By the way, if you didn't see the Rolex 24 at Daytona coverage on Speed this weekend .... that might end up being the best race of the year, period.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-grand-am-closestfinish&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AsYaCFDyH4FXhvF8NMcDOKDov7YF?slug=ap-grand-amrolex24&prov=ap&type=lgns

Great driving by David Donohue in the final hour.

 

[imjustagirl]

OK, my feelings about Denny Hamlin are not exactly a state secret.

So why did I have to stalk three years worth of doucheocity when he's suddenly decided to be human?

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=newton_david&id=3861563

Oh wait, maybe he hasn't really changed at all.

"I look around and say, 'Well, my life hasn't changed that much. How many of the race fans have had their lives changed in the last year or so because of fuel prices, anything like that?'" Hamlin said.

He genuinely feels the pain of the race fan, recalling the tough economic times his family went through to put him in this position. His parents mortgaged their home several times, sold cars, let bills slide and stayed on the brink of bankruptcy to keep him on the track.

But not enough to pay them back, or to fly to Richmond (when they lived there) IN HIS PRIVATE JET to pick them up. No, he made them drive to Charlotte if they wanted to go to races because "fuel is expensive."

Hamlin was a bit perplexed when he pulled his Range Rover up to the gas pump a month ago.

"I [didn't] even know how to open up the gas cap," he said.

It had been 10 months since Hamlin had put gas in one of his vehicles. He has somebody at his palatial home on Lake Norman who does that. But as he thought about all the other people who don't have it so lucky, he experienced a new sense of appreciation for fans who have to choose between buying a ticket to a race or filling up their car.

Yeah, that doesn't come across poorly at all. Guess what, Denny? You got to live next door to Joe Gibbs and contemplate getting HEATED MARBLE FLOORS THROUGHOUT YOUR HOUSE precisely because of the choices others make.


Christ. I'm not sure he's capable of understanding how he presents himself. His publicist, Jon Mason, does yeoman's work.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Are you saying it's perfectly acceptable for me to continue making fun of Denny Hamline? Cool!

If somebody put Denny and Juan Pablo into the same car in the 24 Hours of Daytona, I'd root for it to slide into Lake Lloyd.

 

[imjustagirl]

I got four texts the day the media tour went to JGR to tell me some good interview, nice person had taken Denny's place. If that ****'s what I missed, then I'm guessing that tells you how LITTLE people expect of him. "I don't know how to pump my own gas" makes you a nice person now?

Ack.

 

[GB-Hack]

Denny takes a bath while someone else pumps his gas....

 

[imjustagirl]

Awesome.

 

[Drip]

Three-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson underwent surgery to repair a tendon and nerve after cutting his left middle finger with a kitchen knife Sunday, while preparing to compete in the final segment of the Rolex 24 sports car race.
Does this mean a changing of the guard?