Find Whirlpool Deals at Lowe’sThere are some things in life that get better with age, and 50 year old NASCAR driver Mark Martin is (literally) living proof of this adage. Martin is arguably having the best year of his long and successful racing career, and the 2009 season seems to get better for Martin along the way. If you need proof, look no further than yesterday's thrilling victory at the first installment of the NASCAR Chase for the Cup at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The Sylvania 300 kicked off what many consider the "playoffs" of NASCAR, and it was one of the most exciting I've ever seen. At the 1:18 mark in this video, Dale Earnhardt Jr. catches some bad luck as he crashes into the wall and spins around, effectively making him a non-factor in the race. But this race basically belonged to Martin, who was the number one seed in the race and never seemed far from the lead. Toward the last handful of laps, Martin's Chevy goes nose-to-nose with young NASCAR whipper-snapper Juan Pablo Montoya. But in the end, Martin got the checkered flag, followed by Denny Hamlin in 2nd place and Montoya taking 3rd (with Montoya doing some sour-grapes trash talking at the end of this clip). You can't help but root for Martin, and it'll be interesting to see how he does throughout the rest of the Chase race series.
The results and fighting from this past weekend's Carfax 250 wasn't the only NASCAR-related news in the last few days. It's not a secret that many NASCAR drivers aren't happy with the modifications made to NASCAR vehicles, often referred to as the "Car of Today" (which is sometimes abbreviated as CoT). As recently as this last Friday, famed driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. addressed NASCAR sanctioning officials pleading for further development of the so-called "CoT" as a suggestion to improve the sport in terms of drivers' use and how the drivers compete. Despite Earnhardt's recent address and common sentiment among drivers, NASCAR president Mike Helton blew off this criticism, citing that Earnhardt was simply pissed off because of his lower than expected Sprint Cup stats and standings.
This video came out in 2008 when the "CoT" (which then was an acronym for "Car of Tomorrow") was being introduced to the sport, and it features a Car and Driver reviewer taking a Toyota Camry version of the new NASCAR standard vehicle out for a test run around the tracks (dig that engine roar at 1:11 mark!). Many of the comments by the reviewer have been echoed by several notable NASCAR drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, and even crew members. Some of the negative commentary made by the reviewer and/or NASCAR drivers has included criticism such as: the 800 hp engine is too much for the smaller rear tires, diminished traction and control, and a more even weight distribution from left side to right side of tires which makes taking curves and turns more difficult on an oval track. In fact, at a couple of points in this video you can see the reviewing driver having trouble navigating the curves and staying within the lines.
Yesterday I posted a video blog with highlight's from this year's Brickyard 400 that also included the somewhat controversial finish where a rule infraction by then lap leader Juan Pablo Montoya paved the way for Jimmie Johnson to make a run at the top spot and eventually got the win. While doing the search for video footage, I found an alternate video showing a different view of the chain of events that helped Jimmie Johnson pick up the victory in Indianapolis.
Right at the start of this clip you can see Dale Earnhardt Jr's vehicle going up in smoke and into pit row. Race leader Juan Pablo Montoya was in the middle of a green flag pit stop, and when Jr. came into the pit lane, Montoya's take off was ruled a penalty for speeding in pit row (supposedly he was only going tenths of a mile over). Throughout the race footage you can hear Montoya pleading his case against the penalty and cursing NASCAR. It was an unfortunate incident for Montoya, but a gain for race winner Jimmie Johnson.
The Brickyard 400 is usually one of the best events in any NASCAR season. This year proved to be no exception, as a penalty cost the majority lap leader which led to a face off between two cars for an exciting finish.
For most of the race, Juan Pablo Montoya (in the 42 car) was in the clear lead for well over 100 laps. Deep into the race, apparently Dale Earnhardt Jr's vehicle starts smoking and checks into pit row where Montoya was making a final pit stop. Then Montoya gets penalized for going BARELY over the speed limit for pit row. His loss was Jimmie Johnson's gain, as he managed to hold off Mark Martin and get the checkered flag. This marks Johnson's second win at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.
When we first saw the Rightway Spotter, Dale Jr. Edition GPS navigator, we thought we'd have a bit of fun testing it and, at first, we did.
The unit comes preloaded with the voice of NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. giving turn-by-turn directions and, if you're headed to the right place, offering colorful commentary about landmarks. There are also pictures and videos of Dale, Jr. that we could view directly from the device with its multimedia playback functions. Even the menu icons and the vehicle position marker have been replaced with Dale's #88 regalia.
We were having a blast, until we needed to get somewhere. When we tested the Spotter in downtown San Francisco, we ran into issues with slow start up times and inaccurate satellite reception amongst the tall buildings. Hardware and software interface issues also frustrated us.
If the GPS navigator was both fun and useful, we'd have no problem recommending the Spotter to fans of Dale, Jr. Perhaps users in the North Carolina area--where many of the Dale's Favorites points of interest are located--or those who do a good deal of freeway driving will have better luck with the satellite reception, but the rest of us should probably look elsewhere.
Check out the full review of the Rightway Spotter, Dale Jr. Edition.
In my blog yesterday, I commented about an article I was reading on MSN.com about the need for heroes and villains in Nascar. In the article, Buddy Baker comments that the best way to become a "bad guy" in the world of Nascar is "Bumping Dale Earnhardt Jr.," who is genetic Nascar royalty (being the son of racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr.).
I don't know if this wipeout officially made Brian Vickers a villain to Nascar fans, but I found this wild video of Vickers blocking Earnhardt at the 2009 Daytona 500, which led to Earnhardt's vehicle catching Vickers's car and a multicar wreck ensues. Several notable drivers are sent for a spin, including Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch (who I did a video blog on yesterday, coincidentally). If any Nascar fans reading this want to give me your observation on this crash (who's at fault, and so on), please leave a comment.
- prev
- 1
- next
