Cheers and Jeers Chicago

http://www.racejournalonline.com/index.php?page=read&article=855


CHEERS to a race on Monday which we can now appreciate in a new way after the last rain delay pushed it to Tuesday. We’d hoped for awhile that Chicago was going to have a night race this year just as before, but it wasn’t to be.

CHEERS to the Geico Caveman sticking around for a second day (but as race sponsor, it’s not like he had a choice), because that poor man sat in make-up for two consecutive days. We don’t begrudge him a few extra words to give the command.

CHEERS to an all-Wisconsin front row. There’s an odd stat to start the day. Anyone else wondering which guy from row two will be first to cut the cheese after the green flag?

CHEERS to a race broadcast with just a three-man booth. If they can do it on Monday, I don’t know why they can’t do it on Sunday. Do we need a second booth?

JEERS to leaving Dave Burns out of the pit crew rotation on the first go-round. We were about to blame Vince for that, but as the cars came to the green flag, we realized it was likely a production call. But if that’s the case, why would that same producer cut over to Dave’s camera just to see him register his displeasure?

JEERS to bringing Montoya into that “whoa!” just now. It was Allmendinger and Bowyer, but because JPM was in the camera view he somehow gets dragged into it?

JEERS to giving a lucky dog lap on a competition caution. Something feels wrong about that.

CHEERS to the number of race fans that came back on Monday. I’ve never understood why a family vacation that is as pricey as a NASCAR weekend doesn’t make more people think to take Monday off work, too.

JEERS to running your two-tire experiment early in the race. One would wonder what can be learned from that. Any knowledge he gains from a green track with 30 laps on it won’t likely help him two hours from now, when the track will be seasoned, and the sun will likely be out.

JEERS to a debris caution. Anyone see the debris?

CHEERS to a well-positioned Gatorade bottle on a pole with familiar G facing the camera.

JEERS to the grey of the Doublemint color scheme because it’s so light that it just makes the team uniforms look like they need associate sponsorship from Clorox.

CHEERS to “Get ready” being good news or bad news, depending on who says it. But you’re a Chase team and “We may have left a wheel loose”?? Get ready to say goodbye to your hopes for a championship, Denny.

CHEERS to Tony’s migraine gone away. Maybe it wasn’t a migraine at all. Perhaps Kurt Busch was in his head.

CHEERS to the affect of the newly arrived sun. “The guys that are loose will probably get looser; the guys that are tight, probably get tighter.”

JEERS to a bubble on Biff’s tire. When you make something on your tire that Goodyear hasn’t ever seen before, I don’t know if my concern is more for the 16 team or more for everyone else on the track driving Goodyear tires made by guys that are so easily stumped.

CHEERS to Bob Osborne serenading his driver.

JEERS to Kurt Busch’s on-board camera looking at Carl’s car simply because… did you see how dark those clouds are?!

CHEERS to Brad Keselowski, “Don’t want it, don’t need it, can’t use it. If we can’t race with it, don’t put it on my car.” Well that seems pretty clear.

CHEERS to the split window with Sprint. Did you like how just as soon as the guy in the ad climbed into the back of Carl’s car, the 99 wiggled on the track? Perfect!

CHEERS to Jeff Gordon in his pit perfectly. ‘Course there wasn’t anyone else on pit road at the time.

CHEERS to Matt Kenseth back to his purple car.

JEERS to ugly tires taken off the 24, and then hearing from Jerry Punch that the Goodyear engineers “really don’t know what happened.” Seems to be a theme. Is this because it’s Monday? Are these the intern engineers or something, and all the REAL ones have gone back to work?

CHEERS to Allen calling it like it REALLY is in the Kurt Busch – Jimmie Johnson settlement. “It’s over until one of them bumps into the other one. Then it’s on!” It’s never really over. Shake hands all you want. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch shook hands, too. Y’think THAT’s over?

CHEERS to the mowed patterns on the frontstretch grass. Nicely done, Chicago!

CHEERS to Tony’s racing strategy of “just staying away from the idiots,” but then saying he’s adopted the same strategy. So that makes you… an idiot, too? Race every lap like it’s the last lap? Maybe they’ve looked up in the sky and seen the clouds.

CHEERS to Tony following that interview with an illustration. And a word for the TV viewers, “I told you guys I wasn’t kidding!”

CHEERS to Kevin Harvick’s radio promises. Classic Harvick right there! “I’m tellin’ ya, I don’t wanna do it, but I’m gonna have to. And you know what I’m gonna have to do.” And Gil Martin: “10-4”. Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch… it’s all the same, really, when you’re Kevin Harvick.

JEERS to a blown-up McDonald’s car for Jamie McMurray. From a top-ten to parked in the garage. Next year, Jamie, it’ll all come back around.

CHEERS to Andy Petree, “If you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly bear.” Reminiscent of our old friend Buddy Baker.

CHEERS to Marcos Ambrose who hit the wall, shook it off, and stomped right back on the gas!

CHEERS to Denny’s apron pass on the 24… almost.

CHEERS to the pollen theory. Jimmie runs better when the pollen count is down? Yeah, that’s what it is!

JEERS to a caution for JJ Yeley when there wasn’t one for Marcos Ambrose. How were those two incidents different?

CHEERS to debris we can not only see, but that we can analyze on slow-motion replay from multiple cameras. And just for the record, Benny Parsons could have identified that on the first view, AND told you whose car it came from. Probably what it smelled like, too.

JEERS to more bad news for Denny, and a destroyed left front tire. I wonder if the Goodyear engineers can figure that one out.

CHEERS to an angry Kurt Busch again. Maybe he shouldn’t have called a truce with Jimmie, because while he was still in his head, things seemed better for Kurt.

CHEERS to “Let the 14 go.” Is Jimmy Fennig expecting Tony to run outta gas, or is he settling for second?

CHEERS to the wild card, the #56 car. Can he make it on fuel? Tony’s worried, but his crew chief is certain that he doesn’t need to be. And if the 56 makes it? What an upset! But that was short-lived. Truex pulls in for fuel.

JEERS to nobody sure if Kevin Harvick can make it on fuel. Just go for it? What kind of leadership is that?

CHEERS to Tony Stewart, fuel to spare, and the rest of the field running out. At least he’s finally won a race this year, so maybe he’ll feel more deserving of his spot in the Chase.

CHEERS to pointing out that last-lap pushing is against the rules. What will NASCAR do to the 17 team? First car a lap down, that’s what. I wonder who dropped the ball on that one. Did the 38 see him out of gas and take it upon himself to push? And if so, and you’re Matt Kenseth, how do you stop it? But if it really was all the way down the back straightaway through three and four, that’s plenty of time for him to steer away from the push to indicate a “no thank you”. If the 17 had made any attempt to wave off the 38, I’m guessing even a last-lap push would have been forgiven.

JEERS to the 17, 39, and 48 all driving the wrong way on pit road when other guys would surely be headed in their direction, but CHEERS to the 17, 39, and 48 looking a little like they were having a race among themselves to that white line. And the winner is Matt Kenseth!

CHEERS to Tony catching the flag, because if he’d missed, it would have fallen in the gap of the SAFER barrier, and then he’d have to climb in to get it.

CHEERS to Junior finishing in third. See how important fuel is? And good pit stops, too, but if I were him, I may think twice about bragging about his pit crew. They may not be your pit crew next week if they’re that good. Chad’s probably already getting Lowe’s uniforms embroidered with the names of the 88 crewmen.

CHEERS to Carl’s day, “It was really good. Then it was really bad. Then at the end it was pretty good.” But after his interview, reading lips we see, “Hi Kate, I love you!”

CHEERS to “NAPA Victory Lane.” That explains why it says Gatorade everywhere, including painted on the ground. And after Tony’s TV interview, the first thing we hear is the track announcer, “And let’s go down to the Gatorade Victory Lane…”

And finally,

CHEERS to (though delayed a day) a great outcome to the first Chase race! Tony gets his win, Kevin Harvick walks away leading the points, Junior Nation has to be ecstatic that he’s move up to fifth in points, fans who want a Champion not named Johnson may be pleased to see JJ fall two spots to 8th, and anyone that remembers the pattern of Kyle Busch’s Chase performances sees how consistent he is. Not so happy, though, will be all of the beleaguered Jeff Gordon fans whose hopes were so high and now have fallen to 11th in points.

So True........


CHEERS to Junior finishing in third. See how important fuel is? And good pit stops, too, but if I were him, I may think twice about bragging about his pit crew. They may not be your pit crew next week if they’re that good. Chad’s probably already getting Lowe’s uniforms embroidered with the names of the 88 crewmen.