Gosh darnit! Hamlin wins at Martinsvile.

I made many attempts to avoid all media today with the hopes of watching the race on my dvr with an element of surprise.

I lowered ESPN radio during all updates, I avoided Yahoo's homepage, and of course definitely did not log into NASCAR.com.

Come 5:00 I am still making it happen, keeping the dream alive. I begin to pack my stuff to go home and watch the race when an unnamed coworker (Ben Sandler) hipped me to the winner.

Denny Hamlin wins at Martinsville.

More to come after my viewing session is completed.

Michael Clark (emsea)

Thunder Valley recap: Johnson wins again!

Under the auspices of Chad Knaus, Jimmy Johnson and the 48 did it again. Running mid-pack all afternoon the 48, as usual made their hunt for the front with about 100 laps to go in the bull ring known as Bristol motor speedway.

What is so amazing about watching a team like this is the pressure they put on other teams with their mere presence. Kurt Busch and the blue deuce were far and away the team to beat on Sunday, but eventually found themselves in a familiar position, the rear-view mirror of the 48. This is beginning to get old for every driver on the circuit. Kurt Busch stated in a post race interview that he would have rather lost to any of the other 41 cars out there, but to watch the 48 doing doughnuts for the third time in five races was a bitter pill to swallow.

Not to worry myrmidons of Busch, there is one thing that is different about the #2 this year. A name that is synonymous with the surname Busch and winning, Steve Addington.
Addington took the helm of the Miller lite team this season after being unceremoniously told to pack his wrenches at seasons end last year by Joe Gibbs Racing. Addington and Kurt's younger brother Kyle were a tandem to be reckoned with the last 2 seasons in the #18 car, racking up 12 wins, and considered the team to beat week in and week out.

Kurt Busch looks poised to be one of the only drivers ready to dethrone the regal 48. Busch, a former Sprint Cup Champion knows what it takes to win a title, but what he possesses now that he did not as a champion is maturity. Kurt was known as rubber head, a colloquialism developed around his team 97's sponsor "Rubbermaid". Busch was an abrasive young talent known for his arrogance and intransigence. This attitude often left him with a target on the back of his fire suit.

Busch now knows the importance of earning the respect of his fellow drivers. Like the 48, Busch has cleaned up his on track conduct and tries hard not to rub anyone the wrong way. There is a reason that Jimmy Johnson does not get dumped into the wall every week, that reason, he races clean and hard. Nobody wants to lose to the 48 but everyone respects the hell out of him.

Johnson is a class act, unlike most sporting superstars of his magnitude (think Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, A-Rod, Kobe Bryant). In an interview on Showtime's Inside NASCAR, Johnson was asked by Michael Waltrip about how it feels to be the one guy no one wants to see with the checkered flag. Johnson stated how it's an honor to be "that guy", how he grew up watching the drivers hate loosing to guys like Earnhardt Sr., Richard Petty, and of course Jeff Gordon. Now he is that guy, and he loves the honor, but heavy is the head that wears the crown. It is now JJ that finds himself in the cross-hairs of the pack.

NASCAR is ditching the wing and reinstating the spoiler this week at Martinsville. A move long anticipated by the die hards out there. Before you go thinking that this will even the playing field, and bring the rest of the pack closer to the bumper of the 48, consider this, Johnson and the 48 team won a title in a full season with the spoiler, in a season where half the races were the car of tomorrow and half were the car of yesterday (COT with the wing, COY with the spoiler), and in a full season with the wing. Whatever you throw at them the wizardry of Knaus and Co. will figure it out with about 100 miles to go, and charge to the front. In 92 races with the winged car the 48 team won 23 of them! Time will tell how the 48 team will react to the new spoiler, but if history has taught us anything, this change will not slow them down.

Michael Clark (emsea)

Tynan the traitor: tenor to wear red stockings..

Finally some Yankee talk! I just heard that internationally famed tenor Ronan Tynan will ditch the pinstripes for red stockings?!?

I just watched the press conference where Tynan dons a red sox jersey and sings his spirited rendition of "God Bless America" including the unfamiliar first verse that he has made so popular over the past decade during 7th inning festivities in Yankee postseason play.

Yankee fans hypothesized that the long rendition would effect the warm weather teams visiting the Bronx on benumbed October nights. Now Yankee fans are left with a bitter taste for the tepid tenor.

Just another second rate move by a second rate organization in a second rate city. Boston enjoy yourselves, and to steal a line from Ron Burgundy stay classy!

Michael Clark (emsea)

WHITE GLOVES vs WHITE KNUCKLES

So we all have seen the footage over and over again, and just like Keslowski's # 12 car we are flipping out. But are we?

It seems to me that no one is overly concerned with the fact that Carl Edwards used his #99 Ford as a potentially deadly weapon. It seems to me that the only way any one would care is if this, god for bid, ended in a driver's death.

NASCAR stated earlier in the year that the cuffs were off, as stated by NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton, “Boys, have at it, and have a good time.” I agree the racing this year has been the best since the early part of the decade, but do we need to be reminded of our own mortality while leisurely watching racing? The Boys are having a good time out there for sure, but any more of this nonsense and we will be back to the sterile white gloves racing rather than the intense white knuckle racing we are enjoying on a weekly basis.

Another interesting point to make is the lack of remorse from Edwards. To be honest I kind of admire such candor. Edwards stated in plain English that Brad [Keslowski] knows the score between the two of them, and in no way alluded to this wreck being an accident. The guy is not going to lie to a couple million race fans in his post race interview, he could have "toed the NASCAR line", acted remorseful and not been placed on probation. Instead he spoke from the heart, although as heated as he was he still managed to plea the fifth in a way, he did not come right out and say "I wrecked him cause I hate him". Edwards was handed a 3 race probation for his on track antics.

In fact Edwards went on his Facebook page and waxed philosophically about the code he lives by, he stated:

“My options: Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyone’s safety or hard work, should I: A) Keep letting him wreck me? B) Confront him after the race? C) Wait til Bristol and collect other cars? or D) Take care of it now?”

“I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away,” Edwards continued. “Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.”

It is obvious that he chose option "D" and lives by a code not too far from that of Billy the Kid, but hey Carl this is NASCAR not The Wild West.

Michael Clark (emsea)

Is J.J. Nascar's M.J.? or perhaps D.J.

So it has been 2 weeks since the 48 teams hard luck 35th place finish at Daytona. Two weeks since the talking heads started the debate as to weather the 48's luck has run out. I know hind site is 20/20 but does anyone still think Jimmy and co. are done with their dynastic run?

Two weeks and two wins later JJ and the 48 team are right back on top of the mountain. For those of you who don't know NASCAR, you still know Johnson. He is on Sportcenter every week, and is clearly becoming the most recognizable driver in the sport.

I watched the California race with a NASCAR virgin, "The Bomber", and asked him who he thought was going to win? He said "I have no fucking clue what's going on but I would go with Jimmy Johnson", the only driver he has heard of besides Earnhardt Jr. He was right on the mark, and proclaimed that he was now a fan of the 48.

The problem with Jimmy is that he is so good at what he does off the track as well as on the track, leaving haters scrambling for any reason to hate on the 48. He says the right things. He conducts his business with poise and grace, answers all the questions the right way, and has a hot wife.

Remind you of anyone? Ever hear of a certain New York Yankee who wears the # 2 on his back? An athlete that says all the right things to the press, and wins title after title? Is never caught up in a scandal, or a lawsuit? Jimmy Johnson is NASCAR's Derek Jeter. A winner, A champion, and a great human being.

I know it is early but it seems like there will be allot of folks in the garage area trying anything they can to dethrone the Champ. Not only does the 48 win when they are running good, but they seem to just be plain lucky. In California a few weeks back the 48 was on pit road seconds before the yellow flag waived. Normally being on pit road during a caution is a disaster, pit road closes when the yellow flag waives resulting in pass through penalties for any one who enters before the pits re-open. The 48 was on pit road seconds before the caution, got fuel and tires and ended up in first place, leading the race with 20 laps to go. Johnson then held off a hot driving Kevin Harvick, who was poised to pass the 48. This is why JJ is a champion, he refused to let Harvick pass even though his car was inferior to the 29.

Yesterday, while most were watching the gold medal hockey game between the US and Canada, the 48 passed his teammate, the legendary Jeff Gordon, with 16 laps to go for his second win of this short season. Gordon led almost 200 laps but could not hold off the relentless Johnson.
With 8 cup titles between the two teammates, they are indeed the cream of the crop. Although Gordon's last title came almost 10 years ago he is still one of the toughest drivers around.

Gordon knew what he was doing when he convinced Rick Hendrick to sign Jimmy years ago. He liked Johnson so much he bought in, he is the half owner of the 48 team.

Speaking of Hendrick motor sports, they had a great weekend with the 48 winning, the 24 finishing 3rd, and Mark Martin in the 5 car finishing 4th. Great weekend for all at HMS with the exception of Dale Jr. who finished a meager 16th, battling a loose car all afternoon.

Michael Clark (emsea)

Pot holes get us all, Even at Daytona..

We have all experienced it, the uncertain feeling you get after you plow through a pot hole on your way to work. You hope first that your tires didn't blow, or that your axle is still in one piece, or maybe you are just left with a misaligned steering column. I was pissed off to all heck when I received a nice V shaped notch in the rim of my '88 Nova. I paid $400 bucks for that car, and after one pot hole disaster the cost of operating the fickle machine almost doubled.

These are the breaks, hey shit happens right? You move on, register in your files where the hole was and swerve like hell at the last minute every time you approach said pot hole. What if your car cost you several million dollars, and you are driving on the nonpareil circuit known as Daytona International Speedway? Yeah you would be pretty ticked off about a gaping hole conveniently located on the exalted track. Not only do you now have to repair the millions of dollars worth of damage to your car, you also have not won the big one, not taking home the big purse, not kissing your wife in the winners circle, not on Letterman the following Monday. That is a whole lot harder a pill to swallow than a dented rim on a Nova.

This is the scenario that played out for 4 time defending champ Jimmy Johnson. The 48 hit the hole, lost a tire and pretty much saw their Daytona 500 dreams fall through the cracks in the pavement.

While the race itself was spectacular, the best plate racing I have seen in years, these delays were almost too much to handle. Needless to say I ran out of DVR space as the final restart was shaping up. I set the dam thing for 3 extra hours thinking I was in the clear. Did my Valentines day diligence then sat down for the race. I had avoided all media up until that point, no facebook, no internet, and no television for the entire day. While in the grocery store I even managed to avoid eye contact with a man wearing a Jeff Gordon #24 hat. But this all came to an abrupt halt on lap 206, just as the third restart flag was waiving. I missed the 88's white knuckle driving and his stampede to the front. Had I seen these laps The edge of my seat would have been worn thin.

This brings me to my next gripe, all these restarts. Like Jr. said in the post race, its like the last few minutes of an NBA game, with all the fouling, and timeouts, and posturing for the minimal chance that you could erase that 9 point deficit in 34 seconds (flashbacks of Reggie Miller in the Garden just filled my head). Had the race ended under the old rules Kevin Harvick would have won, and Jr. would have finished in the high teens. But these are the rules and we love to follow them right?

On a side note Jamie Mcmurray won the Daytona 500.

Michael Clark (emsea)

Serious business

So we are in for a real treat this year judging by the performances in the duels last night. Both races were decided by less than 6/1000ths of a second, that is about the same amount of time it takes to blink your eye, literally. There, I just blinked, that was the difference in both duels at Daytona. In fact you have probably blinked 40 times already while reading this post.

NASCAR got it right this year with the new rule tweaks, pleasing race fans from coast to coast. A larger restrictor plates and a leniency towards the good ol' bump draft will have all 200,000 plus fans in attendance as well as the TV audience all on the edge of their seats come Sunday.

Talking with a co-worker of mine, Ben, who is new to the sport but quite enthusiastic about it, we have come to the realization that taking the cuffs off the drivers will help draw in marginal fans. Fans who want action not science. Most people look at me like I have two heads when I tell them how much formulaic science goes into the preparation and execution of a winning race team. And believe me the science part of the sport is as important as the tires themselves, but people want to be entertained not quizzed. We want to see the "sling shots" and the bumping, and the wrecks. Heck 9 out of 10 of us know and associate the legendary phrase "rubbing is racing", the phrase that Robert Duvall's character Harry Hogge made famous, with NASCAR.

So lets see it play out the way it was meant to. Put the race in the drivers hands and let them sort it all out. Give them an inch and they will take a yard, and that my friends is a good thing, a real good thing.

Michael Clark (emsea)