A Little Jagermeister for Thanksgiving

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Here's a little Jagermeister to go with your Thanksgiving meal. Matt took this picture at the IndyCar weekend at the Glen in 2006. This was one of the cars in the F1 vintage support race.

Here's wishing you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Monday Musings, 11/21/11

Yesterday at Homestead, there was a changing of the guard. Yeah, there was the obvious changing of the guard as Jimmie Johnson turned the Sprint Cup crown over to Tony Stewart. But we also got to see a new side of Tony Stewart.

This is not the same Tony Stewart who won the first two championships. He still was confident, but it was different. Tony was so calm and relaxed on the radio on Sunday. A hole in the grill? Won't they be ticked when we come through the field. A broken air socket? We'll get it back, boys. The old Stewart probably would not have been so nice. Where did the change come from? Is it because he's an owner now? Is he older and wiser? (I'd like to think it's that one because Smoke and I both turned 40 this year.)

I admit I like the "bad boy" Stewart. But yesterday and throughout the Chase, he showed a different confidence. And it worked for him too. Whenever a challenge was thrown his way, he didn't get angry or give up. I'm very interested to see whether this Stewart is going to stick around and what he can do next year.

Some other thoughts:

• Jimmie Johnson will have to be content with the nickname Five Time for at least another year. Congrats to Jimmie and Chad Knaus on their five-year run. Now it's time to share the wealth.
• Thank you to Carl Edwards for being so classy in defeat. I've been a Carl fan for a long time, and yesterday he confirmed why I like him so much.
• Smoke passed 116 cars during the race. That means he passed every car in the race almost three times (although I have a feeling he passed some more than others).
• Is NASCAR imitating baseball? Carl Edwards (the Red Sox) is strong all season, only to succomb to a last-minute surge from Tony Stewart (the Rays) at the end of the season. The only difference between the Red Sox and Carl is that Carl's average finish during the Chase was 4.9 and didn't fold like a cheap suit (and I say that as a Red Sox fan). I'd imagine that John Henry and Roush Fenway probably don't appreciate this comparison.
• I'm disappointed that one of the stories coming out of Homestead is that the crowd booed Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden.
• Congrats to Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse for winning the Truck Series and Nationwide Series championships. This was the first year that drivers could earn points in only one series, and this new format produced two champions who could play a big part in NASCAR's future. Hopefully they will be allowed to develop their talents until they are ready to make the jump to the big stage.
• Perpetuating my love for V8 Supercars, check out this video. Maybe we just need to lighten up a little bit here in the United States.

One more race to go for 2011. I seriously won't know what to do with myself once the F1 race is over next Sunday.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Jumpin' Jeff

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

When Matt and I first learned to drive at Watkins Glen, we were told to stay off the turtles (curbs) in the bus stop. Apparently that rule doesn't apply to Jeff Gordon. Matt snapped this photo in the bus stop during Sprint Cup practice in 2005. But if you think that's a lot of air underneath that tire, scroll down.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Now THAT'S some air. David Stremme, who was subbing for Sterling Marlin, really got that thing off the ground. Looking at this picture, I realize how much I miss the Coors Light car.

Monday Musings, 11/14/11

My denial is really starting to kick in. The NHRA season has ended. I can't believe that there's only one more week of NASCAR and one more F1 race. I suppose the one consolation is that the Sprint Cup Championship race is so tight. But then it's only a couple months until the 24 Hours of Daytona, right?

NHRA: First and foremost, BIG congrats to Eddie Krawiec on his second Pro Stock Motorcycle championship. I've know Eddie for a long time, and it's so great to see the success he's achieved. Is it too early to start talking repeat for next year?

I've only been an NHRA fan for a couple years, but even I understand the significance of the fact that neither Tony Schumacher nor Larry Dixon won the Top Fuel Championship this year. After Del Worsham's strong start to the season, I would have been surprised if he didn't win the championship. I always found it odd that Del was running Larry's car from last year and that that car was so much more successful than Larry's car this year.

I was SO glad to see Matt Hagan win the Funny Car Championship. After what happened at Pomona last year, he could have crumbled under the pressure this year. But he got the job done.

Nationwide Series: Elliot Sadler, I'm sorry I rooted for you to win the championship. Because you were doing pretty well until I did. But I think I feel even worse for Morgan Shepherd. The 70 year old had a good run going until he got caught up in a wreck. For a team on a limited budget, I'm always glad to see Morgan put the best effort forward in every race. And that was his engine for Homestead so he's not sure he can run next week. It's heartbreaking. I was glad to see Sam Hornish get his first NASCAR win. But I was not so glad to see the Tennessee/Arkansas game because I never got to see Hornish's victory lane interview. Good incentive for Sam to win again.

F1: I've never seen so many replays for a blown tire. Especially since Vettel had clinched the championship weeks ago (or so it seems, anyway). There were a lot of questions and talk about Lewis Hamilton, his personal life, and its effect on his on-track performance. With everything going on, I don't know what could help more than a win. I like Lewis, so I hope he's turning the corner.

Sprint Cup: So we're in the same place as when we started in Phoenix -- Carl has a three-point lead over Tony. Speaking purely as a fan, I've been a Tony fan ever since he was driving in IRL, and I followed him to NASCAR. That was until this young kid Carl Edwards started stirring things up in the Truck Series and made a big splash in the Sprint Cup Series. Tony has had such a great comeback the last couple months that I'd love to see him win. But Carl has been "my guy" as of late. What's a fan to do? I guess either way I'll be happy on Sunday night.

Leapin' Lizards!

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

One of the most popular teams in the ALMS paddock is the Flying Lizard team. And it's one of Matt's favorites as well (so much so that he bought a pair of special edition Flying Lizard Oakley sunglasses). Needless to say, the Flying Lizard Porsches were some of his favorite subjects when we went to the Baltimore Grand Prix this year. There's been some mention of financial troubles with the Baltimore race, but here's hoping they can resolve those problems so we can catch some ALMS (and IndyCar) action not too far from home.

Monday Musings, 11/7/11

A trip to Southern California can’t keep me from sharing my thoughts on the weekend in racing. It’s still Monday (barely), so here are my musings.

Before I get into what happened with NASCAR this weekend, I want to start this blog entry out on a positive note. Congrats to Alex Zandari on his win in the handbike division at the New York City Marathon this weekend. I’ve always been a big fan of Alex. Just last week, I was watching the old Target commercials with Alex and Jimmy Vassar. Alex and Jimmy appeared at a Firestone hospitality, where Alex said, “Jimmy going to tell you some lies now.” Years later, I still quote Alex. My mom also was lucky enough to go on a ride along with Alex at a trade show in Las Vegas. I’ve always loved Alex’s personality and his positive attitude, even after his accident. This win couldn’t have happened to a better person.

On to this week in NASCAR…

The Kyle Busch thing has been talked to death, so I’ll keep it short. I preface all my comments with this --  I don’t agree with what Kyle did this weekend. But being a lawyer, I rely on precedent and apply what happened in the past to the present. So if NASCAR is going to sit a driver for the weekend, it needs to clearly state why it’s imposing that penalty.

In Kyle’s case, was he parked because it was an act of retaliation? Was it because it happened under caution? Was there something in particular about his actions? Was it because of his reputation or history?

If I’m a driver, I want to understand what factors lead to Kyle being parked. Because I want to make sure that all penalties, including being parked for the weekend, are being imposed fairly.

As far as what’s happening on the track, congrats to Trevor Bayne on his first Nationwide win. And Tony Stewart just keeps on rolling. We’ll see if the new pavement at Phoenix is a factor in the Chase.

Where the Dirt Meets the Pavement

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

My new favorite motorsport is Rallycross. We attended our first event two years ago at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and I've been hooked ever since. The good news is Rallycross is tentatively scheduled to return to NJMP next year.

Matt's photo of Tanner Foust at the NJMP Rallycross event is just an appetizer. Later this week, I'll tell you why I love Rallycross.