WOO HOO!!! HEY HEY!!! It's Sunday and welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR updates and other fast stuff. Saturday night was the All Star race which I haven't watched. Just didn't feel like trotting over to mom & dads to watch it. Really am irked at the fact that I can't watch the race on my computer like I used to before they started booted you off Justin.TV. Grrrrrrrrrr. Wondering if FOX will make good on their promise of watching online. Guess we'll have to wait till August when FOXSports1 debuts to the web-o-sphere. 

PASSING OF A LEGEND

The picture above is of a short track legend. The winningest short track racer in history. Richard Leroy Trickle or as most know him as Dick Trickle passed away of a self inflicted shot gun blast on Thursday May 16th. He was 71 and had been suffering from unexplained chest pains for quite some time. He made a call to 911 explaining where he was and that there would be a suicide. They found his body next to his '93 pickup truck.

Dick was from Wisconsin Rapids in Wisconsin. He traveled the midwest racing the dirt tracks and small speedways. He amassed over 1000 wins.

Career high lights--->In 1989 he became the oldest rookie in NASCAR at the age of 48. He also won rookie of the year. 

----> Won 7 ARTGO championships between 1979 to 1987

----> 1984 & 1985 he won ASA championships

----> 67 wins in 1972

----> NASCAR Cup career stats---303 races---15 top 5's---36 top 10's and a pole @ Dover

----> NASCAR Busch Series (now Nationwide) 158 races---24 top 5's---42 top 10's---2 W's

Dick was a smoker and NASCAR allowed him to smoke in the car during caution laps. He had cigarette lighters installed in his race cars. He could always be seen with a cup of coffee and his cigarettes around the track.

Back in the 90's ESPN personalities Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann would give their NASCAR update on Sports Center and always end it with where Dick finished the race. It was sort of a running gag which Dick enjoyed. He wasn't as good in NASCAR due to not having a power house ride. As I recall the guys in the broadcast booth would be mentioning Dick during the race too. They never missed an opportunity. He had a fun name to pronounce.

Matt Kenseth a fellow Wisconsin native said the last time he spoke to Dick was right after he had announced his switch to JGR. Matt said Dick poked his head in the trailer and asked for a beer. They talked for over an hour with Dick telling Matt what a great opportunity moving to JGR would be for him. 

Mark Martin was heart broken and said that he, Alan Kulwicki and Rusty Wallace would not be the racers that they became without Dicks influence. He was very giving. He shared his race setups and driving wisdom. It was Dick who told an 18 year old Mark Martin---"In order to finish first, first you must finish."

I saw Dick at Watkins Glen one very hot humid summer. It was Mark Martin's 3rd win in a row at Watkins Glen that day. At the race start all the cars rolled by. As it progressed you'd hear the pack roll by and then a solo rumble a couple seconds later. It was Dick. About lap 10 the crowd would roar when he buzzed by after the pack. This went on for about 30 laps till the pack caught up with him. He even waved to us in the grass where I was standing and he had a cigarette lit too. Don't know where he finished but my man Mark got the W. 

R.I.P. Richard Leroy Trickle. 

Carl Edwards will have Dick Trickle above his door instead of his own name to honor his passing at the All Star race. He also has the pole too.

MAKE-A-WISH MOMENT

Last weekend on Mothers Day the truckers convoy carrying Make-A-Wish kids rolled up Rt 222 and collected money for the kids. This week a 16 year old young man named Jacob Entrekin who suffers from muscular dystrophy got a wish granted from those donations. He was taken to the All Star race as a guest of Richard Petty Motorsports. He got to meet Richard Petty and Marcos Ambrose. All made possible from the donations to Make-A-Wish. Hope it was a good one.

WIN A PAIR OF SHOES

If you go to Dalejrfootwear.com you can enter for a chance to win a pair of Dale Jr shoes. Amazing. He has his own potato chips and now shoes. Is there no end to this guys entrepreneurialship? I entered to win a pair and got a 20% coupon for shoes.  Didn't check out the merchandise yet but I might later.

NO NEW RULES THIS WEEK

Well yeah, there was. In the past a car had to be on the lead lap at the end of the qualifying event for the All Star race to be eligible for the fan vote. This year they only need to be running and in race shape to be eligible. Guess who this will benefit the most? That's right folks. It's Danica. She seems to keep her cars in semi good shape in the back so it's conceivable that the fans will vote her into the main event and her car will be in running race condition. I can't say for sure about what happened because I'm writing as they're racing. That is if it's not rain delayed right now.

Last week at Darlington there were suspended crew chiefs for the #22. #2 and #20 cars. When a crew member is suspended from a race this means no radio chatter and they must be off the track. This didn't deter the teams effected. They used Face Time and texting while the team members were at the team shop. NASCAR says they don't plan to change any rules to deter that in the future. My question is, how could they? Ain't technology grand?

DARLINGTON RECAP

Hey there's Kasey Kahne again. No he didn't win but he should've. He got into it with this guy. Kyle Busch.

With 35 to go on a restart Kahne and Kyle are out front. They do some fancy cross over moves on each other as well as the side by side stuff and then Kyle goes down on the apron which he had been making it work all race long till this one time. Up he came and seemingly missed Kahne. You couldn't fit a piece of paper between them. Kahne got squirrelly and off he goes for a spin. His radio chatter had lots of French in it. He didn't crunch any fenders but needed tires. Kahne ended his night in 17th. He of course expected a phone call and apology. Supposedly they talked. Kyle says he didn't mean it and expected his car to stick which it didn't. He doesn't see Kahne exacting revenge but understands if it does happen. 

Other happenings in the race were that there were a lot of green flag laps. In fact the first caution didn't come out till lap 124. Darlington is not a nice track. She gives out stripes to unaware drivers left sides. This track was built when cars raced at 70 mph. Now they go around 170 mph at this track and the only way to do it is at the top of the track up close to the wall. Concentration is a must. 

This was Denny Hamlin's first race back full time. He looked spent at the end of the race but he pulled a 2nd place out of his helmet. 

Gordon did his usual whining through the race. With 35 to go and in 5th place he was still whining. I'm so sorry for his CC Alan on top of the box.

Kyle dominated this race but came up short. No win. The cautions at the end of the race put 17 cars on the lead lap. At one point only 9 cars were on the lead lap.

Top 15 finishers - Kenseth - Hamlin - Gordon - Johnson - Harvick - Kyle B - Edwards - Montoya - Dale Jr - Newman - Bowyer - Truex - Biffle - Smith - Stewart

FIRST SEGMENT REPORT CARD

So we've ended the first 11 races. For those of you in my fantasy league, you will have to pick new drivers by next Sunday. Johnson has been the smoothest or most consistent with only 3 races outside the top 10. That's why he's first in the points. Edwards, Kenseth, Keselowski & Dale Jr had 4 races outside the top 10. Kyle, Bowyer & Kahne have 5 races outside the top 10. This is why these 8 drivers are your top 8 at this time. The Chase Champ will most likely be one of these guys.

Almirola, Harvick, Menard, Gordon, Biffle, Truex and McMurray are the 9th thru 15th drivers. Almirola only has 3 races where he was worse than Gordon. Wrap your head around that one. Gordon needs to Step it up. He's had 4 REALLY bad race finishes. If he keeps it up he'll be fighting over a wild card spot again. Harvick is starting to come to life. I expect him to be at least in the 10th spot come Richmond. Biffle started strong and has dropped off. I think he'll be in the top 10. Truex lost his consistency of last year. No top 10 for him in my opinion. McMurray won't make the Chase but it's nice to see him and Montoya finishing better in their new HMS rides.

Hamlin is back but unless he wins a few races and gets into the top 20 we won't see him in the Chase. There is a chance. He sits 27th and 61 points out of 20th. He's got 15 races to do it in.

The 15th thru 21st positions are Stenhouse, Newman, Kurt B, Logano, Burton & Stewart. Stenhouse would be a great filler after you pick 3 top drivers. Don't know what happened at SHR that Newman & Stewart can't figure the new cars out but a 19th average won't cut it. Logano has dropped off. Not sure why. Kurt just expects way too much from his equipment and over drives it. He wants a win so bad he can taste it. All these drivers are worth a pick on your team.

So when you pick 3 top drivers & a mid tier driver, you'll need a C lister or lower equipment challenged driver if you want to be politically correct. Casey Mears, David Ragan, THE DANICA, Bobby Labonte, Dave Blaney, David Gilliland, David Reutimann and Landon Cassill always get in. Mears 25th and Ragan 26th have the better records. Cassill is in the #33 fielded by Richard Childress. He's young and it's my guess he's the one in the experimental set ups. The Danica has SHR equipment and at least tries to finish the race. Very important for points. Bobby is right there with her. He's a veteran. Don't expect more than a 20th to 30th place finish from these drivers. They can surprise you like Ragan and Gilliland did with the 1-2 finish at Dega some times or Danica's 8th at Daytona.

Mark Martin, Ragan Smith and AJ Allmendinger are good choices but they only run limited schedules so you'd have to keep an eye out for the days off to make a switch. 

So good luck in your picks. I hope this helps and if you have questions there's a box some where below to write your query. As always, it's Sunday and hopefully the sun is shining where you are and the weather is warming up for grilling. Take care, hug you pets, honey, kids, teddy bear or your beer. And....

I'm outta here.......

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING!!!!! Happy Mothers Day. Welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR updates and other fast stuff. Moms like stuff from Lowes and Home Depot just like dads. So that picture would be your reminder to run off after breakfast if you forgot about Mothers Day.

GIBBS PENALTIES UPDATE

As you all might remember Kenseth got penalized for one of his connecting rods being 2 tads too light. JGR didn't like the fines and penalties so they appealed.

The stock car panel reduced the penalties.

----> Car owner Joe Gibbs had his points loss reduced to 12 instead of 50. He will be getting his ability to get points for the owners points race as well.

----> Crew chief Jason Ratcliff will still pay his $200,000 fine but his suspension was lowered to 1 race and probation for the next 3 points races.

----> Driver Matt Kenseth had his points loss lowered from 50 to 12.

----> Toyota's manufacturers points race loss went from 5 to 7 points.

So I guess the appeals panel felt Toyota was at fault for Matts engine issue. Toyota also recalled engine from Bowyer at MWR just to check them out. They promise going forward that attention to detail and quality control will be an even bigger priority.

KURT BUSCH BUCKET LIST GETS A CHECK

This week our fiery tempered stock car driver Kurt got to put a check mark on his bucket list beside the Indy Car rookie test line. Driving a lap of 218 mph and keeping his car under control at Indianapolis Speedway gave him the honor of the being the first driver to pass his rookie test at that track. Now of course it fueled rumors that he's be driving the double on May 26th. That would be driving the Indianapolis 500 and then hopping a plane to Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600. 

Kurt says he's not physically ready for that challenge this year. He wants to log in more laps in the Indy Car first. Tony Stewart says he has not doubt that Kurt could qualify and race in Indy Car. He said he plans to call Kurt and offer to help if he can. 

Kurt loves motor sports in general and has done some quarter mile runs too. So his bucket list is a long one.

JAMES FINCH IS QUITTING AGAIN

The owner of Phoenix Racing is calling it quits again. Sponsorship is just not showing up and he can't keep running the race team out of his pocket. He says he still has a few cars that aren't torn up so they can race for a while yet but he's not building any more. 

His plan is to not enter any more races after the Brickyard 400 in July. He will try to help his employees find jobs in NASCAR as he raps up operations by the end of August. 

MENARD PLANS TO STAY WITH RCR

Crew chief Slugger Labbe has already reupped with RCR and Menard says he too is close to getting his deal signed. The past 3 seasons with RCR have seen major improvements in Menards career stats. He's in the top 10 since the beginning of the season. That is a vast improvement from when he first showed up on the NASCAR scene. 

TALLADEGA RECAP

The Cinco De Mayo race was almost washed away before it got started. Drivers were complaining of rain drops before the drop of the green flag. But wave it they did. Ewards had the pole but Truex took the first lap. By lap 6 Kenseth took the lead. Hamlin dropped to the back for safety reasons. On lap 23 Blayne's motor went poof and out came the first caution where Hamlin went into the pits to switch with Brian Vickers. 

Off we go again with Kenseth still leading and Kyle taps Kahnes rear and it's caution #2 on lap 43. There were 16 cars in that one. Biffle finished 36th & minus 51, Kyle 37th & minus 54, Kahne 42nd, Harvick 40th and Vickers limped to a 34th & minus 44 laps because of that wreck. Because of NASCAR pushing the start & park teams to finish the teams had REALLY bad days. No cushion.

Hamlin thanked Stewart for riding in the back with him. Stewart said no problem. I ride back here every Sunday. He has been horrid lately but summer is coming. 

So Kenseth keeps the lead for the most part till with about 64 laps to go and big black clouds rolling in Stenhouse Jr takes the lead. Then with 66 to go Edwards gets his nose just ahead of Stenhouse Jr at the scoring loop right as the caution comes out for rain. And then the red flag. All cars to pit road as it begins to pour. 

It was a short one but as track drying was taking place a 2nd storm rolled through with hail. It was a long red flag.

But things got back up and after pit stops Bobby Labonte who did not pit led them to the green flag. Was nice to see Bobby lead a few laps.

Gordon is still struggling along from the lap 43 wreck. He even goes down a lap at one point. But he fights back. With 15 to go he's in the free pass (lucky dog) spot when McDowell scrapes the wall and brings out a caution. Gordon will restart 25th and on the lead lap.

With 9 to go Johnson is on point with Kenseth in 2nd. They're off. Regan Smith finds himself in first a lap later. Johnson and Kenseth make a sandwich out of him. Stenhouse Jr comes up beside the wall making it 4 wide and it just didn't stick. He bumps Yeley who comes down on Kurt Busch who rolls on top of Newman. This one ended Danica's day. She was in and around the top 10. 

So now it's getting dark. NASCAR says 1 green/white checker only. Kenseth who sits in 1st says it's way too dark. Green flag. Edwards in 2nd gets a push from Almirola. Gilliland pushes Ragan. It's a drag race to the finish. David Ragan wins. David Gilliland is 2nd. A 1,2 finish for Front Row Motorsports. An under funded team takes 1st and 2nd at Dega. 2 Davids beat Galiath. See I told you ANYONE can win the crap shoot at Dega and that these 2 Davids are usually there to take advantage after the big wrecks. 

Brad Keselowski got on Twitter and blasted David for getting an advantage on the restart by lining up incorrectly. The Twitter folks all told him to grow up and act like a champion. The next day he issued an apology and his congrats to David and FRM for their win. He had found out NASCAR told David to line up there and he had missed the message in all the commotion. 

Top 15 finishers - David Ragan - Gilliland - Edwards - Waltrip - Johnson - Smith - Truex - Kenseth - Speed - Almirola - Gordon - Stremme - Stenhouse Jr - Ambrose - Keselowski

DARLINGTON

Tonight was Darlington. A very tough track and I'll tell you next week what crazy stuff happened. Next week is our All Star race. Lots of pageantry and $1 million, a trophy and a ring to the winner. No points are involved so the guys will just go for it. Not sure if I'll watch it. It's a cool race though. Fans vote drivers in and they have a show down race to get other drivers to the main event. 

So any who, it's Sunday. I worked lots of OT this week and I still was able to stay up for the race. I'm beat right now though. Hope the weather is breaking for every one. Happy Mothers day to all the mothers out there in Gabland and beyond our fair cyber world. Hug your mom and make her a sandwich. Enjoy your day and take care. And...

I'm outta here.....

WOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! HOWDY!!!! Good day and good morning. Welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR update and other fast stuff. It's Sunday. It's Cinco De Mayo too. I think that means have a drink with your chinchilla in the carport. No oblo espanisho. So I really can't tell you what it means but I think my chinchilla would love a drink in the carport. Just can't let him near the grill. His fur would go up in seconds. Safety first you know. So how are all your fantasy leagues doing? I was checking out teams and their DL's. Did you know the NYY have $46 million on the DL? Jeter and A-Rod are $45 million of that. INSANE!!!!!!! EL STUPIDO!!!!!!! Add in Teixeira and that's another $23 million. OBSCENE!!!!! AND AGAIN EL STUPIDO!!!! What do these guys do to earn that much? The rest of the team is over paid too. 

KYLE PETTY CHARITY RIDE IN PROGRESS

Kyle Petty, son of Richard Petty is on the move. As of April 27th he started his 19th charity motor cycle ride to benefit the Victory Junction Camp which is a hospital disguised as a camp ground. More than 7650 children with chronic medical issues have attended this special camp at no cost to the families due to the donations from Kyle's ride. 

There will be more than 175 motor cycles riding from Idaho to Wyoming to Colorado and on to Arizona on Friday the 3rd of May. 

Kyle says it started out as just a small group of friends out riding from track to track across the country. Hershel Walker of NFL fame is on his 8th ride this year. He enjoys the camaraderie among the riders and watching Kyle interact with the fans and donors along the route. 

You can check out the charity ride through....www.kylepettycharityride.com or facebook.com/KP charityride.

On May 12th it's the 24th annual Mothers Day Convoy for Make A Wish. Truckers compete to see who can get the most donations. Kids get to ride in the trucks as they make their way from Lancaster to Ephrata and back along the Amish Autobahne, Rte 222. It is the coolest thing to sit on the shoulder of a highway and watch the trucks go by. 

On May 18th it's the 60th annual Sertoma Chicken BBQ at Long's Park outside of Lancaster, PA. It's a Guiness Book certified event. Over 25,000 chicken dinners will be served. For $9 you get a half chicken, beverage, roll, chips, banana, candy and ice cream. 

Profits benefit upkeep of Long's Park, it's petting zoo and amphitheater which has free summer concerts. 

So if you're bored and in PA for the 12th or 18th you can see clowns chasing people before the trucks take off for the convoy or go get a chicken dinner. Nice choices.

RICHMOND RECAP

This would be a picture of the squirrel that took out my Yahoo fantasy league. Yup. He took himself pretty much out along with Mark Martin and Brian Vickers. Like I said before about Kasey Kahne. He's a talented squirrel. He's either brilliantly winning the race or he's wrecking. The week I pick him he drives like a squirrel possessed and takes out my fantasy team. BOOOOO!!!! ROCKIE YOU ARE NOT!!!!! Go crawl inside Bullwinkle's hat. Bad squirrel.

Actually almost every driver was possessed last week. It looked like Bristol and not Richmond. I was in shock watching it. Kurt Busch was a ping pong ball. I think he bounced off everybody. He almost got the win but pit stops were not in his favor. He did ping pong his way to a 9th place finish in the ensuing Green/White Checker finish as well as a run in with Stewart, Kenseth and Truex on the track, Stewart on pit road and Stewart in the garage area. Christmas card bets anyone?

I really thought it was Montoya's night. Montoya stayed out of the pits and inherited the lead at caution #8 with 74 to go. He ran away from Harvick and it looked like it was his race. His day. He kept the lead through 2 cautions and 68 laps but the last caution with 6 to go was it. Harvick snatched his win away with the last restart. He was a good sport about it though. A 4th ain't so bad considering how bad his season was last year. I mean he did blow up the jet dryer at Daytona.

Top 15 finishers - Harvick - Bowyer - Logano - Montoya - Burton - Edwards - Kenseth - Almirola - Kurt B - Dale Jr - Gordon - Johnson - Menard - Allmendinger - Newman

PENALTY UPDATE

Penske lost their first appeal of the rear end housing debate. They get one more appeal and it's with the top dawg at the National Stock Car Racing Panel. We'll see how that goes.

NASCAR SAFETY MEETING

NASCAR called a crew chief meeting to talk about safety at the track. In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing NASCAR wanted the crew chiefs to get with their teams and other personnel to keep a closer watch in the garage area as well as the pits and any where someone could leave things that don't belong there. If it looks out of place then say something. A broader focus on safety and awareness is now on. 

TALLADEGA SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

Remember this car? You may have forgotten since it hangs out in the back all race long. This would be Danica. Speed is her thing so this 2.5 mile track is up her alley. I expect her to get a top 10. She was 8th at Daytona. So...it could happen.

It would be Bobby Labonte's 700th career start come this Sunday. Cinco De Wow - O. His record at Dega is 1 pole - 1 win - 6 top 5's - 13 top 10's and he's led 154 laps. GO BOBBY!!!!

So last years top 10 finishers were - Keselowski - Kyle B - Kenseth - Kahne- Biffle - Bowyer - Ragan - Bayne - Dale Jr - Burton 

With 7 to go Kurt B took a spin then on the restart Allmendinger blocks Hamlin who bobs and weaves and takes out everyone up front. 

So in the present it's been raining all week in Alabama. There's a 60% chance of rain on race day. Qualifying was rained out so the field was set by practice speeds, owners points and champions provisionals. Edwards gets the starting spot but it's not considered the pole. I can not begin to explain how you get the first spot and no credit for a pole position. NASCAR confounds me with all the twisty turny stuff sometimes. Lets move on now. Shall we?

Hamlin has gotten medical clearance to start the race but the first caution he must exit the car and let Vickers drive. The reason for him even starting is that if he starts the race, he gets the points. Not the relief driver. So if any one still has Vickers you best drop him. His points will be Hamlin's. It takes a good 3 minutes to switch out drivers so he may go down a lap under caution. Since it's been raining I'm betting NASCAR has a competition caution around lap 30 or so. Either that or a phantom debris caution just so Hamlin can get out of the car. I'm sure they're nervous about him being in the race.

This is a crap shoot as far as races go but there are some guys you can expect to be there in the end on most speedway races. Johnson is one of them. Dale Jr, Keselowski, Edwards, Kenseth, Kyle B, Stewart, Bowyer, Truex and Biffle.

Others that are there after wrecks cause opportunity are Burton who has benefited on numerous occasions after a speedway wreck. Almirola, Gilliland, Ambrose, David Ragan and Mears. 

Avoid Gordon and Kyle B. Both had issues last week. Looks like a rerun of last year. Who will screw up one point less than the other to get in the Chase. 

Logano is still hanging in there. He has a 4th place start. 

Michael Waltrip starts 14th in the #55. Martin is vacationing away from the Dega Crap Shoot. If you need a C lister he'd fit the bill. 

I'm still expecting a break out with McMurray and Montoya. They're both getting closer every week.

My Yahoo picks this week? Kenseth, Edwards, Dale Jr & Patrick. I'm hoping my race winner and top 10 picks aren't sitting on the bench like last week. Kahne needs to stay away from my team. 

This would be Gordons Dega car. Nice huh? I like it Don't pick it though. 

REPORT CARD FOR 2013 GEN 6 CAR

------>1,203 more green flag passes than last year after 9 races.

------>Average margin of victory .634 seconds compared to last years 1.759 seconds.

------>49.9% of cars finishing on the lead lap. Up from 38.2% from last year.

------>83.2% of the cars running at the end of the race. Up 3% from last year.

So I guess the car is doing what it's supposed to. Go really fast and turn left. The reason there's more cars running at the end is because NASCAR made rules to discourage Start & Park teams. They all try to finish now. It's good and bad. Good for competition and bad if a power house team car has a bad day. They can't count on gaining a whole lot of spots any more from the back. It used to be you knew there'd be 6 to 10 cars out by lap 75 so if you had a bad day you wouldn't be worse than about 30th. Not now. Tough racing.

COOL FISH STORY

If you look this up on You Tube or Grindtv.com there's a great video. These guys were out swordfish fishing and they hook a 600 lb swordfish. Problem is an equally huge Mako shark decides he wants that swordfish too. He body slams the boat. He also mauls the swordfish. Great video. Wish I could figure out how to move videos. Worth a look up. 

Kirk and James of Metallica played a great rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at a SF Giants game too. Also worth a look up.

Any who, it's Sunday. We got Gabbers traveling. I hope they're safe. Hope your day is filled with the happening of your choice. Be it swordfish fishing, Yuengling guzzling, bear hugging, grilling, chasing your neighbors pet flamingos out of your yard or breakfast with great company. Do it well and enjoy your day and....

I'm outta here.....

Hey Hey Hey!!! Howdy and good day. Welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR updates and other fast stuff. It's been a whirlwind of activity in NASCAR this past week. I'm overwhelmed. Not sure where to start. I knew this year would be different and unpredictable with this new car but this is off the charts.

KANSAS LAST WEEK

So here we go. At Kansas last week, Kenseth had the pole and led the most laps and won the race. Then he flunked post race inspection. Seems one of his connecting rods was like 2 grams lighter than the other 7. BUT all together they weighed more than they needed. This in my opinion didn't give Kenseth an advantage. In my opinion NASCAR is nit picking. Going at 200 mph with a connecting rod that's a tad lighter than the rest would make the engine unbalanced and be a motor death waiting to happen. There has to be more to it I'm sure.

But long story short there were huge fines, suspensions and Kenseth lost 50 points as well as not being able to use that win toward the championship. Toyota apologized and took full responsibility. JGR is appealing. The guys at National Stock Car Racing Commission will be busy this and next month. Keselowski and Logano go in for their appeal this week.

It was a tough race last week for many. Kyle kept spinning out. Said he had no indication it would happen. The last time he spun out was lap 103 and he took out Logano with him. 

Mark Martin kept scraping the wall but ended up with a 9th. 

Ms Danica was doing her usual bumping off other cars. Her and Gilliland got into it at one point and she was threatening to take him out. He had his people tell her people to tell her to shut up and drive. That of course is the clean version. 25th and minus 2 laps.

Keselowski got into some trouble and had rear end damage. Some how he didn't draw a black flag from NASCAR to get it fixed. He lost a large chunk of sheet metal with 50 to go and it brought out a caution sending a lot of drivers a lap down or to the back. Of course it benefited him. He got an 11th out of it. Guess NASCAR didn't want to hear him cry that he was being singled out.

The top 15 finishers - Kenseth - Kahne - Johnson - Truex - Bowyer - Keselowski - Almirola - Martin - Menard - Stenhouse - Harvick - Gordon - Newman - Kurt B

RICHMOND THIS WEEK

Despite Kenseth having an appeal waiting on the penalties from last week he was on a hell bent to rebound mission and he nabbed the pole for Richmond. He didn't win but he got a point for leading the most laps. We'll see if his car passes post race inspection. 

My fantasy leagues were all blown out of the water. It was full moon and all the drivers lost their minds or turned into werewolves inside their cars. Just incredible and stupid. Bristol is the place you see the craziness that went on here tonight. No patience or brotherly love.

Gordon was 2nd until about lap 15 or so he started complaining of an illhandling car and dropped back. Wayyyyyyyyyyy back. Back into the 20's. Took most of the race and the crazy bumper car eliminations in progress to get him back up front.

Kenseth had a dragging piece of metal and NASCAR told his crew to take care of it. It cost him his top spot. Bowyer led 113 laps then. 

Keselowski smacked the wall at one point. He did recover only to lose a cylinder with 20 to go and was black flagged for not keeping up to speed.

Stewart, Johnson and Kyle were a caution. Stewart claimed responsibility.

Kahne and Newman were beating on each other at one point. Then Kahne and Martin get into it with Martin getting the losing end of it and back to the garage. Vickers ran into Martin during that spin and he managed to limp along but with 6 to go he loses his steering and the wreck turns the race into a green white checker ending.

At this point Montoya was on his way to a win with Harvick it close pursuit. All pitted for tires except McMurry, Burton and Allmendinger. The restart was off the charts with cars bouncing off each other and going 3 and 4 wide. 

Unofficial top 15 - Harvick - Bowyer - Logano - Montoya - Burton - Edwards - Kenseth - Almirola - Kurt B - Dale Jr - Gordon - Johnson - Menard - Allmendinger - Newman

After the finish line drivers were still slamming into each other. Stewart and Kurt got into it on the track, on pit road & in the garage area. 

So Chip Gnassi's cars are coming to life with those new Hendrick motors. Montoys led about 61 laps and McMurry was peeking in on the top 10 too. Hello guys. 

Almirola gets 3 top 10's in a row. Score one for Richard Petty's team.

And how about Burton? A 5th place for the old guy. Not too shabby. 

Next week it's Talladega. Fast and furious. Wild and wicked. And totally unpredictable. I'll have better updates next week. Hamlin didn't get the clearance to race this week and is considering scrapping his season for surgery. He's had some bulging disks which he was meaning to get fixed but put it off. Now would be the ideal time. I know one thing for sure. As soon as they lift the no trading on my fantasy leagues, Vickers is gone. Don't know what the hell happened to him but you'd think he never drove before after seeing him these past few weeks. I'm actually sorry for Hamlin. He has a front row seat to watch it. Cringe worthy.

Hope the draft went well for your favorite NFL teams. I'm making my draft list up early. I'm kind of excited for fantasy football because NASCAR fantasy is sucking right now.

But any who. It's Sunday. Baseball, sunshine, and hopefully some warmer weather. I froze mowing the lawn this week. How does that happen? You all enjoy your Sunday. Hug your best friend, your kids, your waitress, your dog, your teddy bear or whoever. Just get those hugs going. The world needs them right now. Take care, stay safe and...

I'm outta here......

WOO HOOOOOO!!!! Hey Gabbers and others!!! Welcome to my NASCAR update and other fast stuff. It's late late late. Just got back from the club. Walked down memory lane. The 3 amigettes (my sisters & me) got tickets for a local band from back in the day and off we went. Want to give a shout out to drunk UFO t-shirt guy. Lights out in London and maybe you later. Shout out to troll doll head guy. Yes, he had troll dolls standing all over his head. Amazing. Great evening. My heads pounding, my throats scratchy and dry and I think I might be deaf. 

TEXAS CONTROVERSY CONTINUES

So there was a race in Texas last week. Then there were penalties handed out on Tuesday to the #56 team of Martin Truex, the #2 team of Brad Keselowski and the #22 team of Joey Logano. Truex was had for failing post race inspection. His front end was too low. Crew chief Chad Johnson got a $25,000 fine and probation till June 5th. Truex loses 6 points and Michael loses 6 owners points.

If you remember last week I wrote that Keselowski and Logano had some issues getting to the grid on time to start the race. Well, NASCAR impounded their rear end housings. Both crew chiefs got $100,000 fines, suspended for 6 points races and probation till Dec 31st. Keselowski and Logano had 25 points taken and Penske loses 25 owners points.

Penske Racing has decided to appeal. That means they go to the National Stock Car Racing Commission. Keselowski says the parts were approved. NASCAR says nope. All those in the garage say that NASCAR warned them all during the offseason not to alter the rear end housings in any way.

It was rumored that the #48 & #24 teams ratted out the Penske teams. Jimmie had a press conference to address this. He stated his team did not rat them out. He also said watching other teams in the garage is a routine thing and Keselowski's team has people just for that. Jimmie said that a team has 2 choices when they see another team do something new. They can try to copy it and make it work for their car or they can go to the truck and tell some one. He said Brad is a huge talent and we all know he says things and after he's in the garage for a while he'll figure out when to be more careful.

So the mystery is....Who told on the #2 & #22 teams. 

I think Keselowski is whining too much. I guess he thought he was coming in to this sport and would be above reproach? Untouchable? My teams integrity is so huge? He needs to sit back, relax on the bench with Jimmie and Chad and.....have a Snickers. It's going to be awhile in that tech inspection line. Take it as a sign he has arrived. Take it as a compliment. Take it as a challenge every week. But quit whining about being targeted or that your team has the most integrity in the garage.

HAMLIN IS CRAZY

Hamlin is going in for a scan on his back. He really thinks the doctor will see new bone growth and let him race next week. Richmond is a mild track but the Talladega race after that is NOT so mild. He says he'd consider driving the first 6 laps and then pit to let the relief driver take over. Maybe he's not so crazy. 

SUPPORT OF BOSTON VICTIMS

Swan Racing #30 will have a Pray for Boston paint scheme on their car.

Roush Fenway Racing will have B-Strong decals on all 3 cars (#99 - #16 - #17).

MWR racing will have bib number decals on their 3 cars (#15 - #55 - #56). Michael ran the marathon in 2000 and was proud to finish so he asked his sponsors if he could put the special decals on to support the victims.

KANSAS SPEEDWAY STP 400

We are off to the races once again. Kenseth has won the pole. I was hoping he would because I picked him in my Yahoo league. Points for me. Last year he came in 4th. I expect another top 5 from him.

Gordon. Just stay away from Bad Luck Schleprock. Just do it. He burns up his right front hub 28 laps before the end of Texas and in practice for Kansas this week he wrecks the car. He will start from 43rd in his back up. Last year in this race he was black flagged with 20 to go for not maintaining speed....STAY AWAY.

Johnson had a 3rd here last year. Always a threat is my motto with him.

Truex dominated this race last year only to see the win get blow out by the sun coming out of the clouds and giving Hamlin the edge. Hamlin is out this year. Could this be Truex's day? Could be.

Biffle. Top 5 last year. Doable for the Biff.

Edwards is coming back from last years slump. Top 10 last year.

Keselowski is probably distracted by the appeals mess or not. Had an 11th here last year. He too is always a threat.

Kyle B pan caked the right side of his car in practice and had to get the back up car. He did take his motor and swap it into the back up so that saves his 5th place starting spot. He's been hot again. 

Break out star? Almirola has been knocking at the door. Had a 7th place at Texas. 

Dale Jr has had 2 bad weeks in a row but he could turn it around here with a top 10.

Vickers will be in the #11 for Denny. Good equipment plus Vickers means a good finish.

Hornish is in the #12 this week. Good C list option folks. Possibly Kvapil or Mears.

So there you have it. It's almost 3:30 am and I'm beat. I got a breakfast date tomorrow. Maybe I'll ship my pants or ship my drawers or ship my bed. Funny video to watch...Dog Wants A Kitty. You won't be disappointed if you go to YouTube and look that up. I want a vintage troll doll. Maybe just a shower and a nap instead. Take care all and...

I'm outta here....