Guy will let you call a race or two up their between Himself and Iron Head.
Jim McKay, venerated sportscaster for many a year, also passed away. I remember Jim from Wide World of Sports back when I first became a race fan. His voice was used for years with their intro, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” while you see some poor skier crashing. Our condolences go out to both McKay’s and Connell’s friends and families.
R.I.P. Mercury? There seems to be some discussion at FoMoCo about dropping the Mercury line, sort of like what GM did with the Oldsmobile. It wouldn’t take place til 2010. I was thinking back about some of the great cars Mercury had over the years. The original Marauder, the Comet Caliente, the Cyclone, and the original Cougar. All great cars and all had a niche of sorts in the muscle car market. With some of the Baby Boomers looking to recapture their youth through cars like the current Mustang, maybe Ford should take a look at using Mercury as a muscle car brand rather than a higher end copy of the Ford line like they’ve been doing for the last 30 years or so.
Along these same lines, GM is thinking about either closing down or selling off the Hummer line. Granted, most of us race fans can’t afford a Hummer and they are gas guzzlers. But the Hummer does have a great market outside the US which accounts for about 30% of the Hummer sales. In the US, GM could do something similar to what they did in the 1960’s when they pulled certain models of cars, like the Corvette, and sent them to an outside company to “soup them up” and customize them for individual customers. The prime example that comes to mind is the Mako Shark, which was a customized Corvette. It had a limited market, but the folks that owned them seem to have enjoyed them not so much because of their performance but because of the distinctive look. Take the military model Hummer, turn it over to one of those customizing companies, and turn it into a civilian model with all the bells, whistles, and bling that some folks crave. The Jeep came out of the evolution of a very successful military vehicle and the same could be done with the Hummer. It just takes some forward looking and different thinking by the auto execs.
For you folks who don’t get Speed Channel or who miss the Truck Series races, if you want to see what Martinsville and Bristol use to be like before the advent of the Uni-Car, you need to watch the Truck Series race at Mansfield. Beating, banging, and trading paint in the finest short track tradition. Lots of battling on the track that we don’t see much anymore in the Cup and Busch Series. Mansfield, unlike a lot of other tracks, keeps increasing their ticket sales year after year. They’ve also got a nice grassy spot in one of the turns that’s like the good old days when folks would sit in their lawn chairs and watch races. I know money’s tight for chasin’ racin’, but if you want to see a race with some good action, you might want to replace a Cup race with the Mansfield Truck Series race next year.
JPM has been complaining about how things are going at Ganassi and folks are speculating he might leave and take over Tony’s ride when Tony departs JGR. Well, the problems at Ganassi have been going on for many a year. Both Kenny Wallace and Jimmy Spencer said so, since they both have driven for Ganassi in the past. They’ve changed cars, crew chiefs, drivers, and yet the problems still persist. So if it’s not the cars, crew chiefs, or drivers, that pretty well narrows down what and where the problem is.
With Bruton buying Kentucky, the rumors of him starting up his own racing series, which I call the Burton Racing League for lack of an official name, seem to be coming back to life. I will say this about him forming his own series. If he puts the “stock” back into “stock car racing” and makes it more about racing than sponsors and hype, then he could have a success on his hands and pull in a lot of disillusioned race fans who supported NA$CAR for years. No charge for the idea Bruton.
I want to recognize a few folks who have been pretty helpful to me these last few months. John has been helping me out with info, DVD’s, and has been a good source for some great discussions. Also Mary and Chip. They’ve come through for me and my wife with some things and have been pretty helpful with the puppy we’ve got. Granted, the pup drives the cats crazy, but Mary’s given me some good tips on training and keeping the pup healthy.
I also need to thank my good friend Rex White for being at the highway marker dedication ceremony back on Labor Day weekend. Rex was “in the neighborhood” and he and his niece were nice enough to stop by. He had some words of wisdom about the old track and he’ll be talking to some folks in the hopes of doing something with “the old girl”. As he said at the ceremony, “It’s a shame nothing’s being done with it”. We agree Rex.
I have a suggestion for the folks at TNT to help liven up their coverage of their 6 race broadcast season. Every time one of the announcers says something stupid or shills for a product then the fans get to vote on whether or not the announcer who made the statement gets to receive some voltage sent through the bottom of their pants. Nothing lethal mind you, just something to get their attention and to keep their minds on the race. I know, most folks would be voting so often for Webhead that he’d be looking like he had a permanent Afro by the end of the race. But think of how many folks would tune in just to see that. Talk about putting the ratings through the roof. And 6 weeks of it, too. Folks would be tuning in just to see how frazzled he looked after the first week, much less by the 6th week.
I’m sure a lot of folks remember a certain politician screaming about a vast right wing conspiracy. Well, we seem to have one with our stock car racing. Anyone who says that a certain manufacturer is using illegal engines, has bought their way into the series, and/or thinks that it’s become more about money and sponsors than about racing is a member of this conspiracy and is a paranoid schizophrenic. At least that’s what the leading writers from the Kool Aid Drinkers Club, the ones who are owned lock, stock, and barrel by HRH, The King of All Things NA$CAR, espouse. So if you drop them a line and feel that they’ve insulted your intelligence because they keep spouting things from the Kool Aid trough and the official PR releases, don’t be surprised.
Two recent comments out of one of King Brian’s Court Jesters regarding the Uni-Car:
Darby says "that's the world we left" and indicates no changes are coming anytime soon. He says the car's parameters were decided upon after years of research and development.
"It's very easy for some of our resident experts to walk around and tell the world what would make the car run faster, but we don't really have an interest in making the car run faster," he said. "What makes a good race car is balance, and the car is balanced just fine."
The original design for the Uni-Car had it looking
like the old car with a bigger green house and
off-set bumpers. It still had some of the
manufacturer’s identity in it, like the grill
openings. Once $93 million was paid for “favors
to be named later” by a certain Japanese
manufacturer, the design of the car radically
changed into what we have now. While the
safety aspects may have been researched over
the years, the design of the car as it is today
sure hasn’t. As to the balance of the car, if it is
so well balanced, why do we still have problems
with the car’s aero? The design was supposed
to eliminate that problem. Instead, it’s continued
or even gotten worse according to some teams.
I don’t have a problem with the car not running faster, what I have is a problem with is a car that doesn’t handle, isn‘t balanced, and can’t pass. Not to mention that it was paid for by one manufacturer instead of being independently developed. But then, I forgot for a moment who made the statements. One who keeps telling the Emperor his new clothes look great when in fact the Emperor is naked. What a scary image.
I want to send a big thanks to the Patriot Guard Riders for all they do for our fallen troops and their families and friends. If not for their efforts, a lot of very disrespectful and unappreciative loony tunes would disrupt the solemn remembrances of our heroes.
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Motherhood, Apple Pie, and John Wayne
Mad Mikie
Curmudgeon at Large
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