Here we go again.

Here are my picks for today's Checker's 500. I predict Tony will win, but I couldn't afford him and still keep some of the others who are likely to be top finishers. So I am playing for points - maybe this strategy will pan out.

Jimmie Johnson, #48 24.4
Kurt Busch, #97 23.3
Jeff Gordon, #24 20.4
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., #8 18.9
Robby Gordon, #7 11.4

Total Rating 98.4
Available Rating 100.0

Difference 1.6

53 Laps on One Tank of Gas - Mayfield Wins Smart

Jeremy Mayfield's crew chief (Slugger) should be real proud of himself - he strategized a good car and good driver past better cars and better drivers, right into victory lane. . .

I don't know what happened to Michael Waltrip - but it must have been a fuel deal because he was in the top 5 in the 195th lap. . .
Here's my numbers this week.

Tony Stewart 155
Jimmie Johnson 134
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 119
Jeff Gordon 118
Michael Waltrip 82
Total 608

Tony Stewart is on a tear!

In the 29 days since my last blog entry, Tony Stewart kissed the bricks in Indianapolis, making a childhood dream come true, and dominated the Watkins Glen road course this past Sunday from beginning to end.

I hear Tony and some others will be at Eldora on Wednesday night, but I won't know if I can get there until late tomorrow. Maybe at the last minute I will head out - if anybody is interested in a last minute road trip from Tiffin, drop me a line.

Tony Stewart Climbs the Fence

Tony Stewart 190
Jimmie Johnson 124
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 138
Jeff Gordon 88
Sterling Marlin 61
Total 601

Tony stayed out front the whole time. Jeff Gordon ran strong until the end - even his crew chief thought he was going to get a top ten finish after his brakes went out. Junior was tired and sore when it ended from driving a brand new car. Jimmie Johnson slipped back at the end, and Sterling Martin hung in there.

This week's picks.

The roadrunner problem was weirder than I thought. Lightning traveled up the cable and blew the cable modem, the wireless router, and the 10/100 PCI card in my desktop. Fortunately it stopped there and the desktop still lives. Diagnosis was more difficult because I kept getting a wireless signal to my laptop which made me think I had fixed it when I was actually picking up my neighbor's wi-fi.

I can't blame roadrunner for the lightning . . .

So here are my picks:

Jimmie Johnson, #48 22.8
Tony Stewart, #20 21.9
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., #8 20.3
Jeff Gordon, #24 19.8
Sterling Marlin, #40 14.6

Total 99.4

Death by Roadrunner

On Friday I decided to put Junior back in the lineup and ditch Boris Said, along with some other changes I can't recall. After a week of problems with my Roadrunner connection, I realized today before the race that my changes never got in.

Needless to say, my numbers this week stink. But I was glad to see Junior in victory lane.

Picks for Daytona - Dark Horse Boris Said

Jimmie Johnson, #48 22.8
Tony Stewart, #20 21.9
Jeff Gordon, #24 20.2
Michael Waltrip, #15 19.9
Boris Said, #136 13.6

Total 98.4

I was about to dump Boris Said until I noticed he's running after all- and he qualified 4th! So I kept him in.

I wanted a DEI driver in, but as much as I love to root for Junior, I just couldn't bring myself to put him in, so I picked up Mike. I may regret dumping Mark Martin; he will surely run hard to get one win at Daytona.

Racing under the lights. . . .

Dream Team Dismantled in Sonoma.

Lots of bad tidings from Sonoma. So much for the dream team.

Jimmie Johnson 55
Tony Stewart 190
Jeff Gordon 69
Mark Martin 118
Boris Said 112

Total 544 - Ouch!

Next week: Daytona for the Pepsi 400 - Night racing.

Two in a Row for Paul Weaver.

Victory Lane this week at Attica was a great place to be. Paul Weaver was there last week and this week in the Coors Light 305 Sprints, also winning the Area Business Challenge. Way to go Paul.  

Road Course Dream Team

I made some changes in the lineup for the road course, and pulled in Tony Stewart and Boris Said to replace Kyle Busch and Michael Waltrip. Boris was so cheap that it gave me some spare change to get Tony into my roster even though he was high priced.

Jimmie Johnson, #48 23.2
Tony Stewart, #20 21.9
Jeff Gordon, #24 20.8
Mark Martin, #6 19.9
Boris Said, #136 12.8

Picks Rocked Pocono 500

Without making any changes to my Dover lineup, my picks rocked last week at Pocono Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson 150
Jeff Gordon 138
Mark Martin 146
Michael Waltrip 160
Kyle Busch 160

Total 754

(Best overall score last week at ESPN.com was 818, so I was in the 92nd percentile . . )

I didn't pick the top 3, but I did get 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th. With all the tire problems last week, I'm not complaining.

I'm keeping the same lineup this week for the Batman Begins 400 at MIS, even though I'd like to add Kasey Kahne or Dale Jarrett. . . I don't want to give away any of the guys I have.

Biffle Wins Dover.

I picked the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places, but Gordon hit the wall early and was out of the race, placing 39th. Michael Waltrip ran a respectable race, but never led a lap, which would have earned him (and me) some much needed bonus points.

4th Johnson 165 Point Leader
39th Gordon 46 11th
3rd Martin 165 6th
13th Waltrip 124 17th
2nd Kyle Busch 175 19th

Total 675

Dover Picks

Here are my picks for Dover:

Jimmie Johnson locked in at 23.2
Jeff Gordon 22.4
Mark Martin 19.9
Michael Waltrip 18
Kyle Busch 16.0

Chillin' With the Bug

 

Herbie on Tour

We met Herbie in Perrsyburg last Monday. Ethan had a good time, even though it was pouring rain.  

Sunday at Mid-Ohio

We spent the day watching THREE great races. First off was the American LeMans Series Race, which was televised by Speed TV, so we could watch the coverage on the big screen nearby, listen to it on 89.5 and watch the cars tear by us on the hairpin turn. Next up was the Porsche GT race and finally the Cooper Tire Mazda Open wheel cars. We had a spot of rain in the middle, but not too bad. All three races were fun to watch and the rain made things interesting, but not too dangerous. I posted some photos below of our day at the track. I left my camera in the car during the LeMans race though, so I have no photos of that one. The Sony Playstation truck was on the scene, so we chilled out during the worst of the downpour by chilling with Crash Bandicoot and testing out the new PSP handheld.

Cooper Tire Open Wheel Racing

Open wheel racing at the hairpin turn. 

Ethan and Daddy and Ford Visteon car

 

Porsche GT Pace car at Mid-Ohio running after the rain. They had a lot of fun trying to find the rain line.  

Fans on the Mound

Fans on the observation mound watching the Porsche GTs. These were the die hards who stayed even after the rain and after the American LeMans Series race was over.  

The Last Fan

We weren't the last to leave. This dude was still there when we left. We called him the Last Fan.  

The Last Fan

Ethan made sure the Last Fan wasn't dead. 

Victory Lane at Attica Raceway Park

Victory Lane with Byron Reed, his son, and my Dad. What a great night out.  

New Google benchmark!

Go ahead and google Supance & Howard and see what the number one hit is.
Thanks Race Fans!

Chillin' out.

Beth and Ethan kickin' it at the track. Great night out, with perfect weather - we paid our dues with those cold and wet nights last month. 

The 39 Truck

Who drives the 39 truck? The trucks were a blast. 

Love that Sticker

Another view of the Stiney's Three Oaks car - the sticker pops right out. 

Close but no cigar.

The Stiney's Three Oaks Bruce Robenalt car. Bruce got into the feature and was fighting hard. He picked a low line and John Ivy picked the high line. At one point, I thought Ivy was going to lap at least half of the field - but then the caution came out and on the restart, the competition was a lot tighter. Byron Reed, John Ivy, and one other duked it out right to the line for a very exciting finish with Byron Reed coming across first, but just by a tick. 

Best Sprint Car Accessory

The sticker looks great and it is also extremely aerodynamic. No self-respecting sprint car racer should be without one. Drop me an e-mail if you have my sticker on your car, and I will make a point of getting a photo next week and putting you on the blog. 

Dirt Trucks headed for hotlaps 

DIRT TRUCKS 

Mom and Dad at Attica Raceway Park 

Byron Reed wins an all out battle in the 410s

Here's Byron Reed with his family in victory lane. I got mine taken with him too - along with my Dad, so that was really special. As soon as I get that photo I will post it here. I'm sure Duane will get it to me soon. 

FRIDAY! FRIDAY! FRIDAY!

Four Divisions this Friday Night, May 6th, at Attica! 305 Sprints, 410 Sprints, Limited Late Models, and DIRT TRUCKS! What a night it is going to be! It's Martin Koop, Supance & Howard night at the races at Attica Raceway Park. Hotlaps will get going by 7:00. Once you get in, we usually sit in the grandstand near the pits. The forecast is getting better all the time. Thanks go out to Duane and everybody out at the track for putting this together.

Archive Links

Check the lower right corner for Archive Links by month which allow you to go back and check out the victory lane photos and other entries from prior months.

Collection Day at Talladega.

Gordon won by driving faster than everybody else and staying in front of the nasties. Jimmie Johnson crashed. Ryan Newman and Jason Leffler got collected in the Big One, and Jeff Burton hung in. 25 cars were collected in the Big One, and 6 more with 2 laps to go. I was cheering for Mikey Waltrip when he passed Jeff in the last 6 laps, but it was clear that Jeff had a really fast car and Mike wasn't going to be able to fend him off for long without help. Sure was fun to watch.

Talladega!

Superspeedway restrictor plate racing. Good clean fun.

I don't have my Talladega picks yet - Dale, Jr. didn't qualify well,so I am not tempted to add him, and I although am thinking of ditching Jason Leffler, there is no one in his price range that I like as well, so I may keep the lineup I've got, which at the moment is: Johnson, Gordon, Newman, Burton, Leffler.

Rained out during 410 Heats

Pepsi Night was a rain-out during the 410 heat races, so Ethan and I left just before last call. . . Looking ahead to May 6th, let's pray for a good night out. Weather.com calls for showers through Monday, then sunny and some clouds through Friday. Friday night looks like 65 degrees and partly cloudy/ sunny during the day. No rain until Saturday. If that holds, then we should be in for a perfect night out.

Hot Laps Rumble

Here are the 410's Lining up for HotLaps on Pepsi Night. Ethan and I had a great time, but we left during first heats because he was getting too cold and the rain started. There was no broadcast on Wolf FM tonight, so I don't know any winners yet. keep checking at Attica Raceway Park's website for results. 

Which one is the good cholesterol?

Two sausage patties smothered in kraut and mustard. Must be Friday Night at Attica Raceway Park.  

RACES ARE ON!

It's official! Attica races will run tonight! The track is ready.
The weather.com forecast calls for a balmy 46 degress, a high likelihood of intermittent showers - with full blown rain before the night is done. This could be PERFECT dirt track weather. Only the true blue will arrive and only the strong will survive. I can almost taste the sausage burgers already. . .

See ya there.

Jeff Burton finishes 3rd . . .

All my other picks finished well down the list. Jason Leffler broke my heart again by spinning out in the 13th lap and never coming back. DEI showed up in a big way. It was fun watching Mikey Waltrip chase Kurt Busch across the finish line.

Saturday Night at Phoenix (After the Jam)

Saturday night NASCAR makes you wonder what Sunday will be for. There is a Mazda race on SpeedTV in the afternoon Sunday. Here are my Saturday picks, for what they are worth: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton, and Jason Leffler. Jason is breaking my heart and I should toss him, but I think he can finish strong if he doesn't blow up. I tossed Junior, but now watch him go get his third Phoenix win. Kasey Kahne's Dodge is going to go whippity whippity through the doglegs, so I swapped in Jeff Burton.

RAINED OUT AGAIN!

We'll try again next week. That's okay, on Saturday evening you can weather the storm by joining me and some friends at
Saturday April 19 from 5:00 to 8:00 for a Traditional Irish Jam Session - Intermediate to Advanced Players are welcome to play - everybody is welcome to listen and enjoy. Every fourth Saturday we pretend that Java Rave is an Irish pub. Java Rave is located on N. Sandusky Street, Tiffin, in the same building as McCarten's Grocery and Rose's Diner.   See ya there.

The Stickers are done!

The final sticker design turned out just great. I think it will look good on most of the paint schemes. Thanks to Fran Steinmetz at Handy Grafix for all the hard work. The black background with white letters and blue drop-shadow was a color scheme that I picked up looking at some of the All-Star cars. I think this design will look great on most Sprint colors. Maybe not Stevie Smith's Purple and Yellow car. . .  

May 6th is Martin Koop and Supance & Howard Night at the Races

Its official. Check out Attica Raceway Park , scroll down, look left and there it is. May 6th is Martin Koop and Supance & Howard Night at the Races. And best of all, we will be FEATURING FOUR DIVISIONS! That's right, we get a DIRT TRUCK NIGHT! GIT R DONE! I couldn't be happier. The whole night is sure to be a lot of fun, so show up and help us to support these drivers and teams as they battle it out in Four Divisions.

This week, April 22nd will also be special as Attica hosts the Sprint Invaders, National Racing Alliance 360 Sprints, 410 Sprints & Limited Late Models.

Pit Passes: $25, Adults:$15, Seniors:$12, Ages 11-15:$10, Age 10 & Under:FREE!

Ticket price includes at least one adrenaline rush per person. See you at the races.

BIFFLE!

Greg Biffle dominated Texas Motor Speedway to a very deserving victory. Leffler crashed early and headed into the garage. Later, Kahne lost an oil pump and crashed, and so my fantasy line-up went down in flames. Junior got into the top ten, but I thought he'd do even better - kept waiting for him to make a move, but it never came. Jimmie Johnson continues to be my one and only dependable pick week after week.

Texas Change

I just watched Dale's practice laps and he looked so smooth, and he qualified just one position behind Tony, so I put him in. So the new lineup is Jimmie, Jr., Newman, Kahne, Leffler.

Fantasy Lineup for Texas Motor Speedway

Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Jason Leffler. I like Jason Leffler, so I keep taking chances with him, and I like Kasey Kahne after watching his moves in the Busch car yesterday. I came real close to picking Junior for Tony, because this could be Junior's week - he needs to get a strong finish to be in the Chase. We'll see.

Family Night at the All Stars

I packed up the family for part of the race tonight in Attica. We caught the end of hotlaps, then the heat races and some of the alphabet races, but we couldn't stay for the features because it was way past bedtime. Beth and Ethan had a ball and now they have a taste of the fun I had last week. Ethan thought the #8 car was Junior. I didn't tell him any different.

The black Curb Records Kasey Kahne car. 

Ricky Ferkel's 410 in the pits.