{"id":353,"date":"2010-04-11T00:14:35","date_gmt":"2010-04-11T04:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/?p=353"},"modified":"2010-04-11T18:14:37","modified_gmt":"2010-04-11T22:14:37","slug":"2010-spring-phoenix-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/2010\/04\/2010-spring-phoenix-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"2010 Spring Phoenix Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I’m sitting here watching Race Day and getting revved up for the race.\u00c2\u00a0 I didn’t realize until last night that it was a Saturday night race.\u00c2\u00a0 Night races are not among my favorites, overall, but okay.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I was just watching Laila Ali and Carl Edwards.\u00c2\u00a0 Laila looks good and happy.\u00c2\u00a0 It seems the time out of the spotlight recently has been good for her.\u00c2\u00a0 Carl on the other hand looks tired, hot and aggravated.\u00c2\u00a0 This doesn’t bode well for his race this evening.\u00c2\u00a0 I think last night’s race took a lot out of him, bugs, wrecks, restarts, and all.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So this race starts an hour earlier and is 63 laps longer.\u00c2\u00a0 I was wondering why.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s been so much talk about shortening the races.\u00c2\u00a0 Kurt Busch, of all people, answered the question for me. \u00c2\u00a0Apparently the sponsor wanted an extra gimmick, so we now have the 600KM race.\u00c2\u00a0 One good thing about the longer race is that they will have an extra pit stop so it won’t end up a gas mileage race, which is just ahead of short-track races in my book.\u00c2\u00a0 Tonight is Elliott Sadler’s 400th career start.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s been a part of the sport for 12 years.\u00c2\u00a0 Yay Elliott!!!\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie said he doesn’t know what to expect, which makes me kinda hopeful.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie rubbed Chani’s baby bump and Hermie said he wasn’t going to talk about Jimmie’s glasses, because the last time he did, she didn’t like it.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Over to Fox and all I’m thinking is what happened to Hammond’s hair.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s so brown (and he’s so orange) that he reminds me of Johnny TV.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m missing some non-brown in his hair.\u00c2\u00a0 Denny and his knee are the hot topic.\u00c2\u00a0 He said he’s been able to stay off his feet today which should help.\u00c2\u00a0 He also had some stitches removed this morning and had it drained.\u00c2\u00a0 Denny said he’s tough, but he’s not dumb either” in response to DW’s question about whether the knee was worst than Martinsville.\u00c2\u00a0 Denny is a bit offended, since DW started out the question with, “My heroes are guys who play hurt.”\u00c2\u00a0 He’s much less hostile to Hammond.\u00c2\u00a0 I listened to his interview during practice yesterday and I could hear the pain (and the pain medication) in his voice and he said after practice he was really hurting.\u00c2\u00a0 Removing the stitches and draining the knee this morning was to allow for more range of movement and to reduce pain respectively.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s in no shape to be out there today.\u00c2\u00a0 That much is obvious.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s not able to cover the pain as well today as he was yesterday.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s going to start the race and said he should know at lap 50 whether he can continue, but he’s made it sound \"\"<\/a>unlikely all day.\u00c2\u00a0 The problem is that his sponsor is doing a big March of Dimes promotion today and therefore they’re really pushing for him to be in the car and for it to do well.\u00c2\u00a0 He keeps repeating that he’s tough, but he has to be smart.\u00c2\u00a0 Also during Race Day both Kyle and Kenny were proud of him for saying that and mentioning that he’s young and has a long career ahead of him, so he needs to take care of that knee, because if he doesn’t heal it well, his career won’t be as long.<\/p>\n

The race was rolling along mildly, and suddenly dadgum Kurt Busch got loose and slid into Kasey Kahne and knocked him into a wall before tapping Denny Hamlin.\u00c2\u00a0 So the first caution is out.\u00c2\u00a0 Kasey spun going into pit road.\u00c2\u00a0 Martin Truex Jr has come to pit road before its open.\u00c2\u00a0 Denny is going to stay in the car for now and will make another decision in another 60 to 70 laps.\u00c2\u00a0 Kasey took his car directly to the garage.\u00c2\u00a0 He didn’t stop at pit road.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 There are so many reasons to believe Kurt Busch is a child of satan (LOL).\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 19 laps are complete at this point.\u00c2\u00a0 Happy had to stop again because his transponder wasn’t transmitting.\u00c2\u00a0 NASCAR brought him in, so he’s allowed to get back into place where he would’ve been without that issue.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie was moving up through the field nicely.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Jamie Mc just spun into the wall on the restart.\u00c2\u00a0 Clint bumped into Jamie Mc a little bit and spun him out.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 So second caution is out.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>After a break I happened to catch a racebreak and see that Vickers has spun and Denny has had to be pushed back to pit road due to a battery issue.\u00c2\u00a0 Denny is still in the car and is now two laps down.\u00c2\u00a0 Casey is up on the box ready and waiting.\u00c2\u00a0 JPM is leading Jimmie Johnson according to Chris Meyers.\u00c2\u00a0 JPM has led 96 of 141 laps.\u00c2\u00a0 There are 234 laps to go.\u00c2\u00a0 It sounds like the race has been rather quiet overall.\u00c2\u00a0 Juan Pablo was challenging AJ for the lead just before I left the room and had just taken the lead when I left.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie had been in fifth or so, so his being in second isn’t surprising.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re under caution for Kurt Busch hitting the wall in four and leaving debris around.\u00c2\u00a0 None of the start and park cars have gone out yet, because nobody wants to be the first in, so they’re still running around.\u00c2\u00a0 Jamie Mc has been in under caution half a dozen times or so.\u00c2\u00a0 Denny is coming back out onto the track at two laps down following a battery change and a stall at the exit to pit road.\u00c2\u00a0 There are 25 cars on the lead lap.\u00c2\u00a0 David Ragan just got the free pass.\u00c2\u00a0 The sun is setting and causing some drivers to have problems seeing – like Kenseth.\u00c2\u00a0 Truex was just shown pulling off some tape on the inside of his car which is used to adjust visibility for the sun.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie just took over the lead from JPM.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fifth caution is out.\u00c2\u00a0 Apparently there’s something wet in turn two.\u00c2\u00a0 Blaney in the 55 went into the garage.\u00c2\u00a0 Scott Speed got the free pass.\u00c2\u00a0 185 laps to go.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie went in first and came out first.\u00c2\u00a0 Kyle Busch picked up a spot and came out second.\u00c2\u00a0 Sixth caution is out on the restart.\u00c2\u00a0 Keselowski hit the wall.\u00c2\u00a0 Bradley K slid up in front of the 56 and got hit in the bumper since he was too close.\u00c2\u00a0 Paul Menard get the free pass on this one.\u00c2\u00a0 Carl was apparently wearing sunglasses earlier, but has taken them off now.\u00c2\u00a0 Carl ate a sandwich over the past couple of cautions.\u00c2\u00a0 Apparently the bugs everybody is complaining about are fungus gnats.\u00c2\u00a0 171 to go on the restart.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regan Smith got the free pass after NASCAR re-checked the video.\u00c2\u00a0 Paul Menard is still one lap down.\u00c2\u00a0 Kyle Busch is catching JPM.\u00c2\u00a0 Carl and his crew are discussing what happened to his sunglasses.\u00c2\u00a0 He was sure he put them out the window, but they’re not on pit road and nobody has seen them.\u00c2\u00a0 Eventually Carl said he thought he felt them in the floorboard so he’s hoping they don’t get stuck under one of the pedals.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s thinking they’ll be “good and melted” by the end of the race.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie is not thrilled with his car, nor the changes that were made.\u00c2\u00a0 He said it’s leading, so he guesses its okay, but there has to be a better way.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s not thrilled.\u00c2\u00a0 I hope Chadley is listening and comprehending.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie didn’t seem too concerned though, so he may be unsure as to exactly which way he wants to go from here.<\/p>\n

Another caution – Reuti-tooty spun out and hit the wall.\u00c2\u00a0 Clint Bowyer had a good stop and JPM and Kenseth not so great, so Clint comes out in third.\u00c2\u00a0 The spoiler causes more damage to the rear of the car when it hits the wall.\u00c2\u00a0 115 laps to go.\u00c2\u00a0 Kyle Busch just took the lead on the restart and JPM followed him.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie is coming back on the outside of JPM.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>They’re showing Kyle Busch’s restart craziness with 67 to go.\u00c2\u00a0 That gives you an idea of how exciting the race is right now.\u00c2\u00a0 Kyle is leading and the race has settled down into laying down laps.\u00c2\u00a0 Caution is out for the eighth time tonight.\u00c2\u00a0 Travis Kvapil blew up.\u00c2\u00a0 He was 35th in owner’s points.\u00c2\u00a0 Robby Gordon is in sixth, so if he holds on, he may be in the top 35 next week.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie says the car is not where he wants it to be.\u00c2\u00a0 Chadley asked if it was okay in the center which is where they made the last adjustment.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie said yes, but its too loose off to do what he wants.\u00c2\u00a0 This makes me wonder if Chadley is understanding Jimmie or is he being Mr Super Crew Chief.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m hoping he gets his act together, but I’m not feeing very confident at this point.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just as an aside, today I have been mildly driven crazy by announcers giving urls on the air and saying back-slash.\u00c2\u00a0 I wish someone would a. explain to them what a backslash is and 2. Bar them from saying backslash period (nod to Paul on Mad About You).<\/p>\n

We’ve restarted and Jimmie is trying to come after Kyle.\u00c2\u00a0 Looks like Big Daddy is ahead of Clint in third.\u00c2\u00a0 Kenseth, Newman, Harvick and JPM are all trying to get fourth place, while Big Daddy and Clinton are battling for third.\u00c2\u00a0 JPM has caught up to them.\u00c2\u00a0 Stevie Letarte is still looking awfully skinny.\u00c2\u00a0 His weight loss just looks sickly on him to me and always bothers me.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t know anything about the hows or whys of it, but it makes me curious every time I see him.\u00c2\u00a0 Carl has mostly been hanging around tenth for the past few rotations.\u00c2\u00a0 36 laps t go as we head to commercial again with Kyle leading.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ve been watching the battle for tenth between Harvick and Michael Carl for the past few minutes.\u00c2\u00a0 Its amazing, when Kyle gets out in front of a Sprint Cup race it, more often than not, turns into a snooze fest. \"\"<\/a>15 to go, Kyle is still leading and Clint is still in fourth.\u00c2\u00a0 Big Daddy is closing on the 48.\u00c2\u00a0 Kyle has caught traffic now.\u00c2\u00a0 Clint felt his car was going away.\u00c2\u00a0 His spotter told him to charge the corners and use a lot of brake.\u00c2\u00a0 JPM just caught and passed Clint.\u00c2\u00a0 The 33 is too tight and won’t turn, which is more than likely why he lost that position to JPM.\u00c2\u00a0 Unless we get a caution, this finish will be very boring.\u00c2\u00a0 With seven to go Kyle is still leading the race.\u00c2\u00a0 Newman is coming up to pass Clint.\u00c2\u00a0 Scott Riggs has lost a tire and hit the wall.\u00c2\u00a0 With three to go the caution is out.<\/p>\n

The leaders are all coming into the pits.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie is getting four.\u00c2\u00a0 24 is getting right sides only.\u00c2\u00a0 Kyle is getting 4 tires.\u00c2\u00a0 Newman, Mark Martin, Kenseth, Allmendinger, and BooBoo all got two tires.\u00c2\u00a0 No one stayed out – everyone came in for two or four tires.\u00c2\u00a0 There are 25 cars on the lead lap.\u00c2\u00a0 Oddly now, there are five laps to go – somewhere along the line there were seven to go when the caution came out, though the scoring thing at the top of the screen said three – so I don’t know what was happening there unless I was seeing 9 as 7 and 8 as 3.\u00c2\u00a0 Whatever, three laps to go, two when they come to the line – its Green White Checker time.\u00c2\u00a0 Newman is the leader at the white flag.\u00c2\u00a0 Big Daddy is coming after him.\u00c2\u00a0Jimmie is in third.\u00c2\u00a0 Newman wins, Big Daddy second, Jimmie third.<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0 Kyle finished ninth.\u00c2\u00a0 Carl finished seventh, Clint ninth and BooBoo twelfth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I have a feeling Big Daddy is going to be dejected again for not winning that race.\u00c2\u00a0 Letarte seemed resolute and cautiously hopeful.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m bummed for Stevie.\u00c2\u00a0 I enjoyed Newman’s dive into the turn.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie finished better than I expected, I think.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t know that I had a finish in mind for him, but I didn’t expect him to win this one.\u00c2\u00a0 It just didn’t give me that feeling.\u00c2\u00a0 I wish SpankBoy would’ve really backed up that outside pole start with a top five finish – but I know that’s asking a lot too.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Newman said Smoke told him he loved him.\u00c2\u00a0 He said this is an emotional victory for him.\u00c2\u00a0 This was the track for his first start and this is his first victory at Phoenix and a win has been a long time coming.\u00c2\u00a0 Big Daddy said he spun the tires.\u00c2\u00a0 Kenseth jumped ahead of Biff in the points.\u00c2\u00a0 Clint is in sixth and Edwards is in seventh.\u00c2\u00a0 There are questions as to whether Kyle and Dave Rogers are having good communications.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie said the tires were a good call and were the right call.\u00c2\u00a0 He said he was thinking about Martinsville and the four tires.\u00c2\u00a0 Hammond said next week most likely owners, drivers, crew chiefs and engineers will be getting together and discussing how to make the right call in these situations, because they’re guessing at this point and making the wrong calls and costing themselves wins.<\/p>\n

I’m going to watch the 100+ laps that I missed to see if I missed anything, but judging from what I saw when I started watching again, I doubt it. \"\"<\/a>Phoenix is over.\u00c2\u00a0 The race was okay.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m glad there was a caution just before the end, in an attempt to add some excitement, but two cautions within the last 20 laps would’ve added more to the mix I believe.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmie said they needed one more caution and I believe if they would’ve had another one, he might have pulled that one out.\u00c2\u00a0 That tire strategy thing at the end is also getting to be a bit like gas mileage.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not sure what they can do, other than mandate the number of tires at the end, to make that less of a big deal, though it might level out once the crew chiefs get used to how many green\/white\/checkers are normal at various tracks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m sitting here watching Race Day and getting revved up for the race.\u00c2\u00a0 I didn’t realize until last night that it was a Saturday night race.\u00c2\u00a0 Night races are not among my favorites, overall, but okay.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I was just watching Laila Ali and Carl Edwards.\u00c2\u00a0 Laila looks good and happy.\u00c2\u00a0 It seems the time out … <\/p>\n

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