Robby Gordon, Jeff Hammond, Brendan Gaughan, NASCAR

I am so glad to see Robby back in the running of the Dakar. He is making progress according to his web site. Let's hope he can get back to the front of the pack. I wish I could see this, shame on Speed and or OLN. I don't have satellite, but I imagine people who have that might be getting some coverage of Dakar. I have not had any response from OLN or Speed about the lack of daily coverage. If inclined drop them a comment about the lack of coverage.
The other day I gave opinions about NBC's Nextel coverage. Today I will start on Fox. My favorite announcer on Fox is Jeff Hammond. He always has great stories and a keen eye for what is going on on the track and off of it. Also he seems to be very sincere. He loves NASCAR, has lived and breathed it for years and knows it and its personalities well. I also enjoy him on Trackside and appreciate how he interacts with the drivers and other guests. Jeff is also very patriotic. He has visited the Troops overseas and supported them in other ways. He has also supported many other charities. Jeff is someone I believe I would enjoy having a conversation with. I miss his announcing, and look forward to hearing his commentary at Daytona soon!
I am so sorry that Brendan Gaughan is not driving in Nextel this year. He went back too soon. He was daring, and I believe he was finding his groove late in the season. His performance early on is in my opinion what hurt him. I wish his team owners would have given him more time; he definitely has promise. I wish him well in the Truck Series and look forward to his return to Nextel sooner than later, I hope.
Could have used some good racing today for entertainment. Instead I caught up on some movies I missed this year. They were all good, but strange! (Napoleon Dynamite, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Before Sunset). Also listened to the sad news about Brad and Jen. Can't wait until Daytona!!!!!!!!!!!!

January 6 Martin Truex JR., JR., Michael Waltrip, NBC Nascar announcers, Wally Dahlenbach, Allen Bestwick

Great article in the Atlantic City Press today about our Martin Truex Jr. And Chance 2/JR. The Press is going all out in covering Martin. If you are a Martin Truex Jr. Fan (I am) then check out the Press occasionally for articles. Today's was fun-here is the link-http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/sports/010605TRUUEXWEBB.cfm
to access The Press- http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
I am not affiliated with the Press except for being a daily reader and subscriber. Coverage of Martin is one thing they have right.
I am still reeling about Dakar. I want to see it like I did last year. I miss it. All year I had looked forward to it. Please write to OLN and Speed about the lack of coverage. Go Robby.
I am still wondering why NBC is swapping Allen Bestwick with Bill Webber. I like both of their announcing (much better than Benny's), and just do not understand why that is happening. Is it a punishment because Allen broke his leg playing hockey? I am just not sure that it will work.
I came to appreciate Wally Dahlenbach this year. In 2003, I did not think he had found his stride in the booth. But 2004 proved to be a different story. I began to look forward to his commentary. I also enjoyed it when he was racing. Wally brought a great amount of color to the broadcast as he was driving in and out of one calamity to the next! Hopefully he will be even more in stride both in the booth and in the car in 2005. And hopefully Wally will be the dominant anchor in the booth during NBC's tenure.
I am still considering going to Operation Marathon which is a charity event put together by Michael Waltrip and his wife. Their goal is to raise a million dollars for Victory Junction. The event is in Las Vegas at the end of January. Information is on his web site: http://www.michaelwaltrip.com Clark Travel (links on Mikey's site) is running a trip deal along with the full marathon of events. It sounds like great fun as well as being helpful to a great cause. Steve Park is the celebrity host, and there are events with Michael and a concert. Las Vegas testing will be going on during the event, so my guess is that other drivers may pop in and out. Let me know if you are planning to attend!

January 6 Martin Truex JR.

January 5, 2005 Dakar, Jeff Gordon, Benny Parsons

I was very excited to see that OLN would have Dakar coverage. I found this info on Jayski. I set up the VCR. Well, guess what-it was some motorcycle tryouts for Dakar. The tryouts were held in California. Now obviously this is not current; it was sort of like a reality show. How disappointing is this-shame on OLN. I heard Robby Gordon had an accident, but is okay. I would have liked to have seen all of this as I would have last year on Speed. Why aren't we able to see this???
Right now Jeff Gordon is on Leno (I am a diehard Letterman fan, but switched over just to see Gordon). I like Jeff. He talked about Jimmie's wedding; he wasn't even in it!! Oh well. Jeff signed the motorcycle that Jay has to earn money for the Tsunami-that is a good thing.
Benny Parsons is a great guy; however, he is my least favorite announcer. I have heard rumors on various websites that he may retire, not this year though. Does his announcing annoy anyone else. He is always yelling, oh no, then nothing happens. He is so excitable. I think he is a great guy, and I do like his Benny and the Pits segments, but not his play-by-play. Perhaps Rusty Wallace will take over Benny's position. He is out there promoting himself. I thoroughly enjoyed his spot on Letterman last week. He is a lot of fun, and I would like to see him have a go as an announcer. He would certainly be interesting to listen to whenever Ryan Newman was involved in something. They still have not talked about the incident according to Nascar.com today. Why should he talk to Newman???
Back to Benny-I just read an article he wrote about Kurt Busch and his maturity-will it remain through the new year? I could find much better things to write about than that. Give Kurt a chance. So far, he has done quite well. He is in my top three to win the Daytona 500-more on that as the time nears.
Well, it has been a long, rainy day. Geoffie and I have been out three times in the rain today. I am exhausted and ready to curl up in a nice warm, dry bed. Thankful I can.

Robby Gordon, Ward Burton, Atlantic City Indoor Midgets Martin Truex and More

Mom is all better. Tomorrow she is having major service on her beloved VW, a 1990 Jetta. It has about 60,000 miles on it, and she is the only driver of the car. So, of course she was thrilled to see Robby in his VW. She is convinced he will win the Dakar since he is driving a VW. Go Robby. I taped the OLN coverage tonight and will watch it in the AM. I noticed they have another spot at 5:30 PM (EST) tomorrow. Hopefully OLN will cover more of it. They do such a fabulous job with the Tour de France.
I am so sorry that Ward Burton does not have a ride. I hope he gets something. He is far too talented to sit on the sidelines, and a great guy to boot. I really enjoyed his segment on Nascar 360 last season. I was so inspired I sent a donation to his Wildlife Foundation. I hope to visit that area soon.
I am still trying to find out if Martin Truex will drive or appear at the Atlantic City Indoor Midgets. He mentioned in an interview last year that he hoped to attend. It is very close to his home. If anyone has heard, please post. I saw my Mom's beloved Tony in a midget race the other day. Who knows maybe he will come to Atlantic City. Believe me, it is now a happening place. Better than ever with lots of new things to do. We even have an Imax now at the Trop which just happens to be showing the Nascar movie. It is a beautiful new theater, and there are lots of restaurants right there.
On a lighter note, I saw on Jayski.com today that Animal Planet is airing a special on February 17 at 8PM (EST) about Nascar drivers and their pets. Geoffrey the dog, will love that!

Robby Gordon, Martin Truex, Kyle Busch & More Nascar

Well, I missed my post last night. Hopefully I will have 2 today. My 77 year old Mom had a bout of MSG. A pet peeve of mine. I told the Chinese takeout place-no MSG-we are allergic. Oh well. Something had MSG in it.
I am so thrilled to see Robby Gordon's team back in first place in the Dakar. I am grateful for the web sites (I was directed by a reader-thanks!) At least I can keep up to date on that. Shame on Speed TV and OLN for not doing the half hour daily updates on this famous and fascinating race. I am a huge fan of Kurt Busch as you know. I believe Kyle has learned a lot from Kurt as well as from the powerful Hendricks organization. I am also a huge fan of Martin Truex. His Mayetta, NJ home is about a half hour from my home. I am grateful to JR and Teresa for keeping Martin in Busch fulltime. He is so talented, and I believe the second year in Busch will train him even better for Nextel. Plus he will drive in Nextel sporadically. This decision was made even though Martin swept the Busch series (unlike Brian Vickers who barely squeaked in as Champ and was moved up to Nextel). It was not pleasant to watch Brian Vickers struggle on the Nextel track. Then the poor soul had to deal with losing his best friend. I just ached for him all year.
Kyle Busch on the hand, will go fulltime Nextel. I will wait and see. I would have preferred to see Kyle run Busch again. What a great race for the Busch Championship that could have been-another Martin Truex/Kyle Busch match-up. I just hope I do not have to ache for Kyle as I did for Brian. And he is coming into Nextel as his brother is the reigning champ. Well, we will see. I am not optimistic.
I am happy to report that my Mom is better. So hopefully I will be more on track today!

January 2- Kasey Kahne, Nascar Points, Jeff Gordon

Yesterday, I introduced myself and talked about my favorites. Another favorite for me is Kasey Kahne. I am eager to see what he does in the first couple races. What has he learned over the winter? I was pulling so hard for him to win a race last year. He came close so many times. I also was hoping he would get in the Race for the Chase 10. But I don't know who I would have bumped. He was in my Fantasy team for the Victory Junction Camp on jayski. But in all seriousness, I do think he will be someone to watch in 2005.
I believe Kurt won the Chase because he never looked at the points system as it was in 2003. He and his team immediately adopted the new points' system. They were the early adopters. I never heard him whine or question anything about the new system (unlike another driver-you know who I mean-who was still whining after the Homestead Race even though he did not win under either points' system). Jeff Gordon on the other hand, who would have won under the old points system. Did not whine about not winning the Championship. He did make a joke or two about it and was disappointed, but was one of the first to run up on the stage at Homestead and totally and honestly congratulate Kurt. He moved up in my book for that move.
Well, I am still turning the dial looking for Dakar coverage!
Stay tuned-

Day 1-NASCAR Fan-2004 retro and intro

I am still in shock that my driver won the Nextel Cup. Yes, Kurt did it. I knew it all along. He is brash, but so talented. From the first time I watched him drive, I knew he was fearless and persistant-traits of a champion.
In December 2003, I happened to be in NY during NASCAR Championship Week. I had the great opportunity to see Jeff Gordon at the Wall Street Borders. He signed his book, and was nice enough to say hello to my then 76 year old mother (she is the other Track Potato Lady) on my cellphone. He was kind and signed many books for over 2 hours. The following day I went to the NBC Experience. I was able to say hi and get autographs from Matt Kenseth (who was busy listening to Jaimie McMurray), Jaimie McMurray who was talking non-stop to Matt, Travis Kvapfil (who was amazed that I knew who he was) and Brian Vickers. These were the Champions and Rookie of the Year. It was so exciting to see these great drivers that I had only previously seen on the small screen. An hour or so later, MY DRIVER, arrived. Kurt Busch arrived via limo wearing a well tailored suit. Although he is so young, he was confident and poised. He had the swagger of a champion. After waiting for some time, I walked up to the table. I told him he was my favorite driver because I thought he was the best and most exciting driver on the track (he was still coming off the Spencer incident). I also told him I was so sorry he did not make the top 10-just missing that by a few points to Terry Labonte. He looked at me, like Travis had. Then was looking down signing my cap. I told him, Kurt, I believe you will win the Nextel Cup Championship in 2004. He looked up at me with a twisted smile, and said you really think so. I said, yes I do. I walked away.
Almost every week during the first 26 races, I sent Kurt an email telling him I believed he would win the Championship. In the last ten, it was every week no matter what. I cannot even tell you the joy the races brought me, particularly the last one. The only sad part was the plane crash at Martinsville. This tragedy affected everyone in racing and all who love it and beyond. I could see how much this affected Kurt; although, he was quiet about it until winning the Championship.
I believe Kurt will win other championships, if he remains in the Nextel series. I hope he wins in 2005, but I believe this might be Junior's year. He is my second favorite driver. I will decide after the first couple races.
Right now I am excited that Daytona is not far away, and I am also hoping the Dakar Rally will be covered on TV like it was last year. Last I heard Robby Gordon was going to drive in it.
I want to introduce myself-I am 53, single, semi-retired and have been going to stock car races since I was 7 or 8 years old. I met early on AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, the Unsers, Johnny Rutherford, Eddie Sachs, Parnelli Jones and many others. Those were the days when anyone could go into the pits. I also love Football, Baseball, Hockey, other car racing divisions, Olympic Sports, Tour de France cycling and much more. I am an avid reader, walker, cook, and create various forms of paperart. I also love the computer. I am attempting to write a daily blog here about my love of racing-my feelings, my perspectives. I am a Nascar news junquie.
My Mom, who will be mentioned from time to time is an avid Nascar fan. She is very active albeit retired. The only time she sits down to watch TV seriously during the day is the minute she hears, "Gentlemen (Drivers) start your engines!" And yes, I look forward to seeing more diversity in the lineup.
The other name who will be mentioned in this blog with regularity is Geoffrey. He is our beloved black lab who will turn 7 next week. He was abused and abandoned. He was rescued by us from the SPCA. He sits with me through every race.
Happy New Year! Cannot wait to hear-"Boogity, boogity, boogity-let's go racing!"