Streak To The Finish...Just The Bare Facts at LVMS

Instead of reviewing the trials and tribulations that occured at LVMS, I wanted to write about this weeks performance by Toyota and the #44 Team.

Needless to say that the racing at the new and improved NEON experience track shows you can spend millions of dollars but the overall results are horrendous and LVMS wants to try and get a second race, good luck on that one, no pun intended.

Three down and three to go. No we are not talking football here folks. DJ has used 3 of his 6 alloted championship provisionals to make the first 3 races of the season. He has failed to make a race on speed and if they do not figure out the downforce issues with these Toyota's, DJ might be joining his two other teammates at home watching the race.

The #44 battled loose conditions the entire race and could not move up through the field. The only reason the 44 moved up was with all the other cars being involved in wrecks or other mechanical problems. Tire issues were also a factor with the balance of the car. Okay, am I missing something here? Things don't seem to be going the way Toyota wanted it to go.

I hope that they figure out what these issues are and do it quickly, otherwise you might not see any Toyota's in the field for the races.

Should NASCAR take lessons from the DMV?

I have recently read numerous articles about the inspection process that the teams have to go through before they can put their cars on the track and I must say that NASCAR needs to re-evaluate their program. The biggest issue is how the inspections are conducted by order of point standings. Is this fair? Does it mean that the drivers sitting 19th, 34th, or even 45th in points should have equal time on the track as the driver sitting 1st in points? Heck yes!!! As much as NASCAR says it is fair with their rules, this is one rule that needs to be put through the House of NASCAR and revamped. Come on, if the DMV can move vehicles like clockwork through their inspections, don’t you think NASCAR could do the same? Heck, at least NASCAR doesn’t have to worry about the alignment of the headlights.

All cars should be inspected first before anyone gets out on the track for practice. The teams sitting lower in the points are losing valuable practice time while the top teams are taking advantage of the situation. If a car does not make it through inspection the first time, well that is the teams fault and so they should wait but that should not be the case if you make it the first time. Does this mean that NASCAR would have to start earlier in the day for the inspections? Oh my gosh, it may cut into their sleep time. Give me a break, these inspectors are more then likely making big bucks for what they are doing so who cares if they have to start early. The teams that are really hurting are the ones that are just starting out like the Toyota teams. Okay, we all know that the teams get to come to certain tracks and test well that is what it is, testing. They take back to their shops what they learned from their testing to apply for the upcoming race. Well things can change with track conditions and things need to be looked at but if these teams are not getting the time required, i.e. because of the inspection process, is that really fair?

This is an issue that fans really don’t care about but come on now, lets be fair to all the teams. Being a diehard fan of the sport, it is just my opinion that NASCAR really needs to take a hard look into this problem and yes I call it a problem. NASCAR would probably come back and say it is an inconvenience. Typical answer from the office.

Can Toyota Make It?

Well it has been two races now for Toyota and it is still really too early to tell if they will make it in the Cup Series. They are still compiling data and taking lessons learned from the races back to the shops. It has been difficult for them due to all the teams with the exception of Bill Davis do not have any owner points and are sitting on the outside looking in. Two teams really hit hard is that of A.J. Allmendinger of Team Red Bull and Jeremy Mayfield of the #36 which have failed to make the first two races putting them in a really deep hole which will be almost impossible to climb out of.

We all knew this would be a very steep learning curve but give these teams time to find their stroke. Look at Brian Vickers with his 10th place finish at the Auto Club 500. Dave Blaney was on his way to a great finish when his oil pump belt fell off. All the teams are feeling the hardship, it was to be expected. Of course, everyone wants to finish the race and even bring home the checker flag but I believe it will take a lot more time before Toyota brings that flag home in the Cup Series.

Now, if you take a look in the Busch series, well Toyota is doing rather well. Dave Blaney is showing that the Camry has the horsepower to drive to the front and the #99 Aaron's Dream machine is doing much of the same.

There are plenty of fans out there that despise Toyota being in the Cup series. Heck even people in the garage do not like the idea. Jack Roush was even stated as saying he can not wait to hand Toyota their head on the track. This comes from a man with a 5-car team that had to reach out to a baseball team for co-ownership. I just feel bad for the drivers when they have to thank the sponsors of the car...Like Matt Kenseth..."Yes, the Roush-Fenway-Red Sox-Dewalt Ford Fusion ran really well tonight."

Give Toyota a break. You don't see fans bashing the truck series but of course we are not talking about the top level of racing.

Just my opinion.

10 Things to Ponder in 2007

Which is your Favorite?

#10 Life is sexually transmitted.

#9 Good health is merely the slowest rate at which one can die.

#8 Men have two emotions: hungry and horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.

#7 Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

#6 Some people are like a slinky... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.

#5 Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital dying of nothing.

#4 All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

#3 Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars, and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents???

#2 In the 60's, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

AND THE #1 THOUGHT FOR 2007: We know exactly where one cow with mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America, but we haven't a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.

The Submariner by Dr. Joyce Brothers

First off, I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. Did you make your resolutions? I know the biggest one is the people who say they will go to the gym. Well I am a member at a gym so I guess the attendance will increase for about 4 weeks and then die off...LOL

For those of you that don't know, I retired from the Navy after 20 years in the submarine service. Here is an article by Dr. Joyce Brothers which I felt I had to share with you all so you can possibly understand what we go through in the submarine force:

The tragic loss of the submarine Thresher and 129 men had a special kind of impact on the nation....a special kind of sadness, mixed withuniversal admiration for the men who choose this type of work. Onecould not mention the Thresher without observing, in the same breath how utterly final and alone the end is when a ship dies at the bottom of the sea......and what a remarkable specimen of man it must be who accepts such a risk. Most of us might be moved to conclude, too, that a tragedy of this kind would have a damaging effect on the morale of the other men in the submarine service and tend to discourage future enlistment.

Actually, there is not evidence that this is so. What is it then that lures men to careers in which they spend so much of their time in cramped quarters, under great psychological stress, with danger lurking all about them?

Bond Among Them

Togetherness is an overworked term, but in no other branch of ourmilitary service is it given such full meaning as in the so called"silent service." In an undersea craft, each man is totally dependentupon the skill of every other man in the crew, not only for topperformance but for actual survival. Each knows that his life dependson the others and because this is so, there is a bond among them thatboth challenges and comforts them. All of this gives the submariner aspecial feeling of pride, because he is indeed a member of an elitecorps. The risks, then, are an inspiration rather than a deterrent.The challenge of masculinity is another factor which attracts men toserve on submarines. It certainly is a test of a man's prowess andpower to know he can qualify for this highly selective service.However, it should be emphasized that this desire to prove masculinityis not pathological, as it might be in certain daredevil pursuits, suchas driving a motorcycle through a flaming hoop.

Emotionally Healthy

There is nothing daredevil's about motivations of the man who decides to dedicate his life to the submarine service. He does, indeed, take pride in demonstrating that he is quite a man, but he does not do so topractice a form of foolhardy brinkmanship, to see how close he can getto failure and still snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. On thecontrary, the aim in the submarine service is to battle danger, tominimize the risk, to take every measure to make certain that safetyrather danger, is maintained at all times. Are the men in the submarine service braver than those in other pursuits where the possibility of sudden tragedy is constant? The glib answer would be to say they are. It is more accurate, from a psychological point of view, to say they are not necessarily braver, but that they are men who have a little more insight into themselves and their capabilities. They know themselves a little better than the next man. This has to be so with men who have a healthy reason to volunteer for a risk. They are generally a cut healthier emotionally than others of the similar age and background because of their willingness to push themselves a little bit farther and not settle for an easier kind of existence. We all have tremendous capabilities but are rarely straining at the upper level of what we can do, these men are. The country can be proud and grateful that so many of its sound, young, eager men care enough about their own stature in life and the welfare of their country to pool their skills and match them collectively against the power of the sea.