Making the best of a situation......that sums up Greenville, for us.
We had a really good race car for about 50 laps and then the rear tires just decided to just stop working.
The problem with Greenville is that it is absolutly a "one groove" racetrack, that being said, when your running in 5th and you lose all rear grip.....you become a sitting duck.
You can protect the bottom pretty easily at Greenville, as long as you have forward bite......we didn't
Matt did an incredible job to bring it home in 8th and in one piece. He just gets better every week and thats scary considering what we were able to do last year.
On the flip side, Ickler had the most incredible race car I have ever seen. With that body, the thing just looks fast even when its in the garage....and then they threw the green flag, and sadly for everyone else, his car was even faster on the track.
Other quick notes:
Good to see fellow Auburn, Mainer, Troy Crane back on the officiating staff for 2009.
The spotters area was very busy pre-race, Ken Schrader was spotting for Josh Richards and the Greenville faithful just couldn't beleieve he was in their midst. Sean Caisse also was pretty popular, he was tutoring ASM's Brett Moffit.....Sean will be running the ARCA race at The Rock this weekend, he will be stout. Also, in spotting attendance was the father of the 3-time Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson. Gary was absolutly nothing like you would expect, he could have just been a fan in the stands and no one would have known any different.
Gibbs' new driver, Matt D. (im not gonna try) is definatly someone to watch in the future. The kid is super smooth and more importantly a very bright kid.
ASM is incredable at Greenville, Ickler had already put his first pole award of 2009 on his wall when young Brett ripped off an incredable lap....he went on to run a very good race.
29 cars, I was pretty impressed....I hope Tri-County brings the same pleasent suprises.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Greenville Inspection Day
TORNADO WARNING:
Please evacuate all high areas and non-secure places, as well as, stay away from all windows or glass.......
Thats what the lady in the lobby told us as the tornado warnings were going off all over the tv at 7:00pm tonight.
So what do we do?
Get in the van....and run!
Yes, it was a calculated move and maybe the calculations were off but a move none-the-less.
I firmly believe that we actually drove INTO the tornado zone as the winds nearly tossed the van onto its side but......we got to a hospital and waited....the ridiculously strong winds and rain passed and we drove back to the hotel, where......
Everyone is having a good ole time in the lobby, completely not knowing that a storm even existed....
life on the road...gotta love it.
As far as the track goes, it rained and rained hard all day..
We had some inspection and it all went well, the car count looked good but I can't say that I actually counted any cars....my guess would be somewhere around 25
We'll be turning laps tomorrow under sunny skies and warm temps...I can't wait
Please evacuate all high areas and non-secure places, as well as, stay away from all windows or glass.......
Thats what the lady in the lobby told us as the tornado warnings were going off all over the tv at 7:00pm tonight.
So what do we do?
Get in the van....and run!
Yes, it was a calculated move and maybe the calculations were off but a move none-the-less.
I firmly believe that we actually drove INTO the tornado zone as the winds nearly tossed the van onto its side but......we got to a hospital and waited....the ridiculously strong winds and rain passed and we drove back to the hotel, where......
Everyone is having a good ole time in the lobby, completely not knowing that a storm even existed....
life on the road...gotta love it.
As far as the track goes, it rained and rained hard all day..
We had some inspection and it all went well, the car count looked good but I can't say that I actually counted any cars....my guess would be somewhere around 25
We'll be turning laps tomorrow under sunny skies and warm temps...I can't wait
Thursday, March 26, 2009
CWES Silly Season
The Traveling Circus has learned that Ryan Truex is officially running full-time in the Camping World East Series in 2009.
Not much of a surprise, right?
Well you may be surprised to hear that Ryan will be driving Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota’s, for his 2009 CWES campaign.
That’s funny, I’m pretty sure that Michael was talking retirement at this year’s Daytona 500, and handing over the reins to a younger driver for 2010.
What also is interesting is that Martin’s DEI deal is up at the end of the year.
Maybe Martin Sr. just saw a good deal at MWR for Ryan……or are the plans MUCH bigger for the Truex family?
All just speculation on my part, but the pieces do seem to align.
Not much of a surprise, right?
Well you may be surprised to hear that Ryan will be driving Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota’s, for his 2009 CWES campaign.
That’s funny, I’m pretty sure that Michael was talking retirement at this year’s Daytona 500, and handing over the reins to a younger driver for 2010.
What also is interesting is that Martin’s DEI deal is up at the end of the year.
Maybe Martin Sr. just saw a good deal at MWR for Ryan……or are the plans MUCH bigger for the Truex family?
All just speculation on my part, but the pieces do seem to align.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Post race
Some Showdown post race notes……
Ickler- had another stout piece but he pissed off the wrong guy I guess. Brian was bringing the field to the green very slow, very, very slow and he was doing brake checks. About 60 laps before Hornaday wrecked him, he drove up to him under yellow and rubbed his rear quarter for his restart games. Apperently, Hornaday felt he would police Ickler himself….
Trevor- got screwed bad. Nascar called him a lap down even though he never went down a lap. Nascar even admitted with 20 to go that Trevor was wronged but there was nothing they could do at that point. I can’t say it enough, the kid is the future of this sport and I hope everything works out for him.
Mayhew- it’s cool dude, we know you didn’t mean to almost destroy our 2nd car.
Hornaday- a complete weapon, nothing like I expected from a “Big 3” Champion. Hopefully, he was just having a bad night and that’s not a sign of things to come for Truck drivers this season.
Peyton- another great effort without the result to show for it. He can be “super” aggressive on the track at times but I don’t think Saturday was one of those nights. Yes, he bounced off us a couple times and fenced Joey on the last restart but he defiantly deserved to be treated with more respect. Peyton and his guys are good friends of ours and we wish them the best of luck in 2009
Joey- what can you say? He owed us one from Adirondack in ’07. Joe is a great kid and a good friend, we spent a lot of time with him over the rainy weekend and he’s a genuinely good person. That being said, what he did to Peyton was uncalled for and it was so obvious that it was coming that I told Matt to let Joey go get him and we’ll win this thing with 3 to go. His interview was unapologetic and that was not the way to go, he is young and will learn to take the blame for his mistakes, I guess he’s just not ready yet.
Ickler- had another stout piece but he pissed off the wrong guy I guess. Brian was bringing the field to the green very slow, very, very slow and he was doing brake checks. About 60 laps before Hornaday wrecked him, he drove up to him under yellow and rubbed his rear quarter for his restart games. Apperently, Hornaday felt he would police Ickler himself….
Trevor- got screwed bad. Nascar called him a lap down even though he never went down a lap. Nascar even admitted with 20 to go that Trevor was wronged but there was nothing they could do at that point. I can’t say it enough, the kid is the future of this sport and I hope everything works out for him.
Mayhew- it’s cool dude, we know you didn’t mean to almost destroy our 2nd car.
Hornaday- a complete weapon, nothing like I expected from a “Big 3” Champion. Hopefully, he was just having a bad night and that’s not a sign of things to come for Truck drivers this season.
Peyton- another great effort without the result to show for it. He can be “super” aggressive on the track at times but I don’t think Saturday was one of those nights. Yes, he bounced off us a couple times and fenced Joey on the last restart but he defiantly deserved to be treated with more respect. Peyton and his guys are good friends of ours and we wish them the best of luck in 2009
Joey- what can you say? He owed us one from Adirondack in ’07. Joe is a great kid and a good friend, we spent a lot of time with him over the rainy weekend and he’s a genuinely good person. That being said, what he did to Peyton was uncalled for and it was so obvious that it was coming that I told Matt to let Joey go get him and we’ll win this thing with 3 to go. His interview was unapologetic and that was not the way to go, he is young and will learn to take the blame for his mistakes, I guess he’s just not ready yet.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Showdown Champions
Nascar Toyota All Star Showdown Champions…….again
No we didn’t have the fastest car and no we didn’t cross the line first.
What we did was work as championship team, turned a backup car into a winner with ZERO practice laps and a had a driver who raced every one of the 250 laps like they were the last.
For those who don’t know, we blew a right front tire at 11 pm pst on Friday night and stuffed our race car in the fence causing us to go to a back up car.
By the time were able to leave Friday night it was Midnight and to get the car ready for Saturday we need to be at the track at 5:45 am.
We opened the track at 5:45 am on Saturday and closed it after post-race tech at 3:30 am Sunday morning, we had to take the motor apart for them………we passed with flying colors.
And the race itself............I don't even have enough time right now to get into it
No we didn’t have the fastest car and no we didn’t cross the line first.
What we did was work as championship team, turned a backup car into a winner with ZERO practice laps and a had a driver who raced every one of the 250 laps like they were the last.
For those who don’t know, we blew a right front tire at 11 pm pst on Friday night and stuffed our race car in the fence causing us to go to a back up car.
By the time were able to leave Friday night it was Midnight and to get the car ready for Saturday we need to be at the track at 5:45 am.
We opened the track at 5:45 am on Saturday and closed it after post-race tech at 3:30 am Sunday morning, we had to take the motor apart for them………we passed with flying colors.
And the race itself............I don't even have enough time right now to get into it
Friday, January 23, 2009
All Star Showdown Friday Part 1
Rain.
Pretty much sums up whats going here.....the radar is a bit more hopeful for later today and definatly for tomorrows race
Logano came by and watched the replay of the '07 Showdown in our lounge. Joey has always been a friend to us and the Home Depot orange hasn't changed any of that.
We are ready to practice....we just need some sun and a jet dryer
Pretty much sums up whats going here.....the radar is a bit more hopeful for later today and definatly for tomorrows race
Logano came by and watched the replay of the '07 Showdown in our lounge. Joey has always been a friend to us and the Home Depot orange hasn't changed any of that.
We are ready to practice....we just need some sun and a jet dryer
Thursday, January 22, 2009
All Star Showdown Thursday
Tech.....
Rain.....
More Tech....
The shaft!......Our left front fender and the front fenders of most of the fast East cars came into question. But the real question was.....what is the rule? Well there is in fact no template or rule regarding the area in question of these cars. It didn't, in their opinion, "look right"......ahhh the old judgment call......We fixed it in record time and will be a half a second slower tomorrow because of it..........probably not
More Tech....
Finally, I got to dry the track for Late Model practice in Penny Aicardi's Mustang.......The bottom groove was really working for my Ford and picked off a bunch of cars with the good grip I had down there.....I didn't recieve a trophy though.
It's off to dinner at Outback and to bed.....gotta be at the track for 7am.
Rain.....
More Tech....
The shaft!......Our left front fender and the front fenders of most of the fast East cars came into question. But the real question was.....what is the rule? Well there is in fact no template or rule regarding the area in question of these cars. It didn't, in their opinion, "look right"......ahhh the old judgment call......We fixed it in record time and will be a half a second slower tomorrow because of it..........probably not
More Tech....
Finally, I got to dry the track for Late Model practice in Penny Aicardi's Mustang.......The bottom groove was really working for my Ford and picked off a bunch of cars with the good grip I had down there.....I didn't recieve a trophy though.
It's off to dinner at Outback and to bed.....gotta be at the track for 7am.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
