Always Moving Forward

Yes, you have to remember to always move forward in your life despite what has happened in the past. The past is the past and there is nothing you can do to change that and we all have to live with our decisions.

Can anyone out there really say they have never made a mistake in their lives? I have made my fair share but I have learned to deal with those and move on with my life. It is too much energy wasted to keep harping on events that have already happened so what is the use of always reminding people of them. I find it funny that the people that are the ones that sit back and judge us for those mistakes are the biggest culprits and are just to blind to see that they to also have faulted in their lives. These types of people are so righteous in their ways and obiviously have nothing better to do in their life then to sit and throw stones. It is totally pathetic and you really have to feel sorry for these people. Did they do something in their past that scared them for life? Did they rob a bank? Did they try and steal their best friends girlfriend/boyfriend? Were they the ones that use to take money out of dad's wallet when he wasn't looking? Did they have to serve time? Were they afraid to admit they had a drinking problem?

We all need to just move on with our lives and truly appreciate the wonderful things we have and how lucky we are to have the ones in our lives that love us the most. I know that I have the most wonderful and amazing woman in the world. Lori has shown me what true love and happiness is all about and that no matter how tough things can get, at the end of the day you both have each other to hold in each others arms. My family is another important part in my life. They are the ones that I can confide in and not worry about saying or doing anything to try and bring hurt or harm upon others. We just need to forgive and forget and move on with our lives.

It is time to Move Forward...

The Biff Bounces Back...Streak To The Finish from the Sylvania 300 at Loudon

Way to go Greg!!! Hats off to Greg and the #16 Team for an impressive win at Loudon this past Sunday.

Am I alone when I say this but wasn't it nice to see someone else win a race, especially one of the drivers that has not been talked about all that much during the regular season and now into the Chase? Biffle has been flying under the radar this season and was like a submarine getting into the chase, he is silent and deadly. Out of the 12 drivers in the Chase, he is the most under rated. I am sure eyes have been opened after this race and they now realize that the Biff is not playing around anymore and is going for a Championship.

Some of my observations from the race:

1. Break out the Tissues: For all of your Kyle Busch fans out there, however many that there really are, how did it feel to see a driver that won 8 races during the season, had such a demanding lead coming into the Chase and now fall from 1st to 8th in just one race? It just goes to show that anything can happen in this sport and no matter how good of a driver you are, you can not help mechanical failures. Kyle is not out of the Chase one bit and will be surely back next week ready to redeem this ugly incident at Loudon.

2. Oh No Joey: For such an impressive driver at the young age of 18, how in the heck does he get a POS to drive during a cup race? Do you mean to tell me that Hall of Fame Racing could not give this kid a better piece of equipment? Are you trying to keep this kids spirits down? Don't you get your equipment from JGR? Someone needs to break out the calibration tool and use it on the #96 Team Crew Chief and owners. Don't worry about it Joey, you have the talent and persistence to take a horrible day like this and turn it around into something positive.

3. Fizzling Rocket: What is going on with Ryan Newman? He starts 17th and finishes 36th. His teammate, Kurt Busch, who started 20th and finished 6th definitely had the right set up. These two teams always seem to share their set ups with one another. Is it because Newman is leaving at the end of this year? Does Ryan have a short timers attitude? Maybe Penske should start docking his pay for his performance, do you think that would get his attention? Ryan is an outstanding driver but I just think that these drivers that are going to be with different teams next year, just really want to get this season over with and move on, this is just an assumption but stats always speak for themselves.

4. Stewart remembered his Ridlin: We saw a totally different Tony this weekend compared to his blow ups last week. He was very calm on the radio the entire race and even when his pit crew made two mistakes, he never once snapped at them for the errors. We even heard him joking on the radio during the race with Zippy, a big time 180 from last week when Tony chewed Zippy up one side and down the other. We all know this is a very emotional sport and the pressure of getting into the Chase just adds to it but lets face it, yelling and screaming will not get you no where. I am wondering if Joe Gibbs put Tony in a time out last week?.

5. Worst Hands Move of the Race: Allstate might have the Good Hands move of the race but this week we have a tie for the Worst hands move and the award goes to the two drivers, DRUM ROLL PLEASE........Robby Gordon for punting the #10 and Michael Waltrip and his little antics he played with Dale Jr. Okay so Robby was fighting to stay in the Top 35 in owners points but what in the hell was Mikey thinking driving that hard and aggressive with one of the Chase drivers? Yes, it is a race and everyone is entitled to try and win even though they may not be in the Chase but you have to draw the line somewhere and Mikey truly stepped over it. Tisk Tisk Mikey, maybe you can make a NAPA commerical out of that one.

Yes, it was an entertaining race this week and not as boring as most have been this season. We can see the attendance, despite being the first race of the chase, is still down and lets not try to blame it on the weather now folks, that is just a poor excuse. Diehard fans will show up no matter what the weather is like.

Next week we visit the Monster at Dover. Who will be victorious and who will fall prey to the Concrete Monster?

Lori's Summer 2008 Visit

Oh Whoa Is Me!!!

Okay, What I thought was going to be a brief business trip to Key West, Florida has now turned into a hurry up and wait state for me. Hmm, perhaps I need to fill in the blanks here...


Well I flew down to Key West this past Saturday afternoon and was suppose to meet one of the submarines down here to conduct some testing. A call comes in that evening saying that the boat had a material issue (in other words, the boat broke) and had to pull into port to get it fixed, no problem. Yes, it was a problem because the boat had to go to Kings Bay, GA to get fixed. Now, since it does take time for a boat to travel up there and back, our team has been stuck here since Saturday and we are really not sure when we will get on the boat.


Now, this is big money for me when I go out to sea and right now I am losing money just sitting here and soaking up the harmful UV light...LOL while keeping my body hydrated with every color drink in the rainbow. Sure, it is a beautiful place to visit but I would not want to live there. If any of you have ever been here and visited, you will know what I am talking about. You just have to try and visit this place one time in your life, walk down DuVal street and watch the sunset at Mallory Square. Trust me people, these folks take their sunsets very serious down here, they even set off a cannon every night before the sunset.


All in all, I have gotten some sightseeing done while renting out a scooter (easier to get around and cheaper) and did my souvenir shopping for my family at Ron Jon's. Heck, I didn't even know they had a Ron Jon's in Key West. The only ones I knew of were in Long Beach Island, NJ and in Cocoa Beach, FL. I have to get out more often!


Well my friends, if all goes well I will be out to sea in the next couple of days. I was going to say that I did get to watch the race this Sunday but I am not going to brag too much about that one. As usual, it was the typical road course race with the exception of a few nasty crashes and some really close near misses. As George Carlin said, why do they call it a near miss? Shouldn't it be called a near hit?


Sure, Kyle Busch won again, there is a real shocker and Tony Stewart once again played second fiddle to his teammate. Do you think Tony had anything for Kyle or do you think Tony laid back to run blocker?


The young guy that I have been watching and talking about had yet another good finish at Watkins Glen and that is AJ Allmendinger taking 11th on the day and hey, guess what else, that brings the #84 team into the Top 35 in points so this week AJ will not have to worry about qualifying on time! Way to go AJ!!! Heck, the kid is racing his heart out cause he knows his job is on the line but I am taking bets that he will be with this team next year.


Sorry for not writing my Streak to the Finish column this week but it wasn't really a streak to the finish, Kyle won it hands down, AGAIN!!!


Till next time folks. I will write and let you know when I am back from sea. That is if I ever get out there...LOL

Streak To The Finish...The Brickyard 400

First off, lets hear your best caption for the picture above, I am sure some of you can figure out some witty comments for this one.

I am not going to beat a dead horse because all the talk about the tire issues at Indy have run thin and it is water under the bridge, so to speak.

Building Something Together: Did anyone think that Jimmie Johnson and the #48 Team would not win a race this year? Come on people, this is the two time defending champion and they are just gearing themselves up for the Chase. They are not showing their hand and I expect that this team has some surprises in store for everyone. Stand by.

Money Spent: Can you imagine paying $1400 for a set of four tires for your car? Now, take that number and times it by a factor of 12 and you have a bill for $16,800 for race day. You know that has to hurt the one car teams. Hmm, do you think Goodyear has a replacement policy?

Taking the Bull by the Horns: Big Kudo's goes out to AJ Allmendinger!!! This is a kid that most people wrote off and thought would end up looking for a job but I have said it in the past that he is one to keep your eye on. He and his team showed they have what it takes to run out front and finish strong. AJ led 4 laps and got his first Top 10 finish coming across the bricks in 10th. I know he is sitting 40th in points but they are making it into the races on time, doing it the old fashioned way since they are outside the Top 35 in owners points. He is one to watch.

Watch What You Say: Mark Martin did say before the start of the race that he was going to win it but alas, he who talks smack ends up going to the back. Luckily, he didn't go to far in the back and finished 11th.

Disappointment: For one of the biggest races of the year besides the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 turned out to be a series of 10-12 laps sprints. What kind of race is that to put on for the fans? You really can not fault Goodyear. Yes they do make the tires but remember it was NASCAR that opted not to test here. A lesson learned but too much, too late.

Can You Say, OH NO! : Kevin Harvick was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he got slammed by Kurt Busch after Busch's car got loose and collected Harvick. Matt Kenseth, who did have a car capable of winning, fell victim to the failing tires. That is probably the worst damage I have seen from a blown tire. Heck, it even blew out the side rear window. Last but not least was Brian Vickers whose engine let go, at least it was not a tire and it was a great move on Vickers part to keep his car up high to avoid laying down oil all over the track. That should be the Move of the Race.

Got a Snickers Bar: This was one race that really dragged on and it was almost painful to watch. All the excitement came in the last 20 laps of this race. Not really what I expected to see from a race at the Brickyard.

Safety First: Yes, NASCAR did throw all the competition cautions to avoid any disasters but come on people, this was totally unnecessary if NASCAR would just take the time to do testing. Are these people really that ignorant?

To sum it all up, it was not the greatest race to watch for one of the biggest of the year but there were some lessons learned here. NASCAR and Goodyear need to put their thinking caps on and come up with a solution. Great job by the drivers to try and put on the best race they could with what they were given.