I ended up missing the end of the 24-hours of Le Mans – totally overslept. Booo. I got to catch a bit of it yesterday between NASCAR races. I find it a very enjoyable race. I miss the old SpeedTV days when they’d run pretty much the whole race. The overnight coverage would often be lots of fun. And watching the sun come up on the race – amazing. I miss the extended coverage Speed could provide that FS* doesn’t. They’re constantly overbooked it seems. Yesterday the beginning of Truck qualifying due to a baseball game which hadn’t concluded. The scroll indicated it was being shown in FOX Sports Go. I’m not sure of the value of that – tried to figure out Fox Sports Go – couldn’t – moved on. That was a few years ago. Now when I see that scroll it means ‘you can’t see it’, so its the equivalent of then simply not airing it. I’m getting a late start on my race day. I don’t enjoy the televised pre-race shows anymore since the folks on the desk tend to be incredibly aggravating and boring so I was watching some fun recorded stuff and forgot about the race until just before the green flag. Oops! I find that to be a bad thing. I have been a devoted fan. I watched the Speed coverage – usually all of it. Now I tend to often forget to watch or choose not to watch. It feels as though I no longer matter as a fan to NASCAR and the alienation is leading to less affection. The stages are 60-60-80 today.
Caution on lap 7 of 200 for debris. There’s a black garbage bag blowing along the track.
The competition caution originally scheduled for lap 20 has been moved to lap 25.
Restarting on lap 11 of 200.
Competition caution on lap 25 of 200.
Restarting on lap 30 of 200.
Martin Truex Jr has taken the lead on lap 32.
DW says a loose car is a no-no here ‘You don’t want to be turning right for any reason at this track’. An exception to loose is fast I guess.
They’re saying its a windy day in Michigan today. I see blue skies with fluffly white clouds. It’s cloudy here in the Atlanta metro area.
Not much action on the track so far in this race.
Martin Truex Jr wins the stage; his ninth stage win of the season.
Jimmie started at the back of the field with his backup car and finished this stage tenth.
Restarting on lap 68 of 200.
Seem to be a couple of green flag pit stops underway on lap 105 of 200. I have the volume down for the race break. I really, really have no interest in anything Michael Waltrip, Larry McReynolds or Jamie Little have to say. Jamie has improved since her ESPN days, but she’s such a long way from good. I miss Doc Punch and Marty Smith and, for that matter, Wendy Venturini. There are so many, much better, but I’m guessing she was cheap…judging by the performance and attire. I hope so. No need to waste good money on bad service.
Trevor Bayne’s wife Ashton is scheduled to get induced tomorrow. He’s been on baby-watch all weekend.
Martin Truex wins the stage – 10th of the season.
Please explain to me the value of showing the Monster girls in the bumps which usually show drivers. Is it to turn off half the audience? Even the NFL no longer show the half-time shows of half-naked girls parade for the titillation of ogling guys. Come on NASCAR if you’re interested in modernizing recognize that showcasing women strictly as sex objects is passé.
I love Mike Joy and DW and when Jeff Gordon isn’t babbling he’s becoming pretty good at that job.
Restarting on lap 127 of 200.
Dude Mike Joy just said Stephen Furst died this week – well he said ‘passed away’ but I don’t use that phrase. Bummer. I enjoyed his work.
I really don’t understand why the crank it up can’t be just the sounds of the cars. Why are we now subjected to the spotter chatter? 37 cars took the green flag. It seems the fields are getting smaller and smaller. I thought almost all of the changes have been to save money to allow smaller teams and single car teams to compete. It seems all the changes have simply resulted in the ‘haves’ having more and the ‘have nots’ being excluded. Well, everyone calls it a product. Maybe Amazon will buy it next.
Caution on lap 150 of 200 for a spin by Ryan Sieg.
Restarting on lap 46 of 200.
Mike Joy said it was a strong crowd at the race. That overhead shot tells a different story.
Caution on lap 179 of 200 for debris between turns three and four.
Restarting with 15 to go. A bunch of guys in the front stayed out.
Clint Bowyer brings out the caution on lap 186 of 200 banging the wall.
Restarting with 10 to go.
Chase Elliott is starting on the front row on the restart beside leader Kutey Kyle.
Caution on lap 190 of 200. The 21 of Ryan Blaney backed up the field and ‘Lil Dude’ ends up hitting the inside wall. The left rear of Blaney is down once Danica hits. Bubba Wallace got into the back of the 19 and turned him into Danica.
Likely the contact with Kevin Harvick killed Blaney’s tire. Suarez was alongside KHarv resulting in his squeezing Blaney and likely cutting down the tire.
Restarting on lap 195 of 200.
Smoke coming off the 11 after a battle with Logano who was side drafting Denny Hamlin.
Kutey Kyle winds and Chase finishes second. That race blew chunks – boring, boring, boring!
Not a bad horrible for Hendrick Motorsports:
Chase Elliott finishes second.
Dale Earnhardt Jr finishes ninth.
Jimmie Johnson finishes tenth.
Kasey Kahne seemed to have an issue of some sort with one of the late pit stops and finishes 21st.
Not a great day either.
Kyle Larson is doing a burnout in Victory Lane.
Motorsports News:
- Logano, Wife Brittany Expecting a Baby.
- Truex Adds More Playoff Points.
- Runner-Up Streak Continues for Elliott.
- Larson Wins Again at Michigan.
- Johnson, Allmendinger to Backup Cars.
- Hamlin Edges Byron for Michigan Win.
- Nemechek Gets Gateway Win.
- Porsche wins 24 Hours of Le Mans for third straight year.
- Steve McQueen and the making of ‘Le Mans’.