Cheers and Jeers Richmond

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Richmond Meltdown
By Carol Einarsson | 09/13/2011
Category: Cheers and Jeers

CHEERS to 14 drivers with a chance for the Chase. That’s a lot of desperation to be driving around a short track on Saturday night.

CHEERS to the aerial shots of the track, the sun setting, and the roar of the whole place before any engines are even fired up being so loud that the reporters have to yell.

CHEERS to replaying the monumental 85th win celebration for driver 24. When Jerry Punch asked him and we saw the driver first realize what he’d done – one of the best moments in the Jeff Gordon chronicles.

CHEERS also to the candid sit-down, and Jeff Gordon recounting doubts he’s had, because it makes this resurgence mean even more.

JEERS to the local ABC affiliate in Omaha, Nebraska, for their continued belief that anyone would rather watch their local news at 6pm on a Saturday night instead of the NASCAR pre-race. If you want to watch news in this town, everyone knows that WOWT is the best news to watch! In fact,…

JEERS to ESPN/ABC for breaking the half-hour show out separately. If they would just call it all NASCAR racing in one programming block, the affiliates wouldn’t be able to continue doing this, and race fans would benefit. It can’t just be Omaha that does this to race fans.

CHEERS to online resources allowing me to see the pre-race show anyway.

CHEERS to the “I remember” montage that brought tears to our eyes as we all have our own “I remember” story. And while I’m at it, JEERS to anyone (and one in particular) that makes a living exploiting the emotions of that day. People profiting from such a thing will surely have a special place in hell.

CHEERS to the “This is why we drive” spot for the Sprint Chase for the Championship. Maybe when we see it next year, the guy hoisting the big trophy at the end won’t be Jimmie Johnson.

CHEERS to the “third group” and let’s call them the “please help me” or the “Brad Keselowski fan club”.

CHEERS to teams lining up and excitement building!

CHEERS to representatives from all branches of the armed forces. And to Danny Rodriguez singing God Bless America. I’m not the only one that got chills and a little dampness in my eyes seeing that flag over the shoulder of saluting soldier Thompson, am I? Very well done, Mr. Cameraman!

CHEERS to Rev Joe Ellison, but um.. policemessmen? One might argue that the many repeats and “oddities” (for lack of a better word) are the result of trying to read a prayer. Then again, Moses had a speech impediment, too.

CHEERS to the 19th Infantry Division Band. The Bristol kids might have some real competition. Dare I say… second place?

CHEERS to seeing so many little ones in the arms of their racer dads.

CHEERS to whoever the tall guy was under the flag, holding it up.

CHEERS to the firemen catching the flag as it descends, gathering as it falls, and ensuring it doesn’t touch the ground. Thank you for your diligence!

CHEERS to DJ noting that these guys are a bundle of nerves with their last hope to get in, because one of my longest-lasting memories of Dale Jarrett as a driver was the “desperate DJ” race.

CHEERS to R. Lee Ermey for his years of service, but that was some kinda crazy command right there.

CHEERS to the presence of fire trucks at the track because of how intertwined they will always be in our collective memories of that fateful day ten years ago, but…

JEERS to the sirens as they went around the track. Sirens don’t ever stir good feelings inside, and even as we know there is no danger or emergency, the sound of them brings about anxious feelings that aren’t at all pleasant.

CHEERS to using the team radio to thank all of the first responders at the track who are listening in on scanners.

CHEERS to Jamie McMurray leading the first lap of this race because we can’t help but appreciate the irony. This is the first time the Chase is opened to drivers who may be outside of the top ten (or 12) but who should be allowed in on the merit of wins, and that’s a new rule because of who? Jamie McMurray.

JEERS to caution and a wrecked car for Lally on lap two, courtesy Mike Bliss, who we wish was sponsored by Safe Driving instead of Safe Skies. And while we’re at it, what do luggage locks have to do with keeping the skies safer, anyway?

CHEERS to returning just as we go green, but JEERS to cautions breeding cautions, and a big wad of cars. How many? Looked like between nine and eleven to me.

CHEERS to silence from the booth for laps nine through eleven, and maybe especially fitting, those laps are under a pace speed. Would have been nice, though, if the pace car had been painted red, white, and blue.

CHEERS to using a closed pit road as strategy for extra time to work on the 88 car.

CHEERS to patching the 11 car, but did that one second of fuel really help anything?

JEERS to hopes crushed (along with the left side of his car) for Clint Bowyer. I wonder if anyone on his team is looking up historical finishes at short tracks where the winner’s car had already suffered crash damage.

CHEERS to “I’m not sure I’d block Kevin Harvick…”

JEERS to Kasey’s car all smashed up, but how fitting that the back of it says “Wawa”.

CHEERS to the patriotic theme on so many of the cars, but the hands-down winner is William Clements and the M&Ms team who wanted to revisit the paint they used right after 9/11. Maybe I should have a bag of M&Ms just to say thanks. Ken Schrader’s 2001 Dover car was my favorite paint scheme ever.

CHEERS to “Yellow Fever” at Richmond. I wonder how many cars will be left on the lead lap three hours from now.

CHEERS to short-track racing, but JEERS to Marcos spun. This is crazy.

CHEERS to Mike Helton visiting the booth. What a nice surprise! “What you really do is you take a race like this and you try to officiate all the other ones like this one.”

JEERS to two more in the wall. And both Red Bull cars? Was that angry Marcos we saw? CHEERS to ESPN aborting that commercial!

CHEERS to NASCAR parking the 83. That was not just poor sportsmanship, but flat out childish. You’re better than that, Brian. Well, apparently you aren’t, but you ought to be.

CHEERS to “Yellow Fever” of a different kind, with Kenseth and Kurt Busch fighting for the lead in two yellow cars.

CHEERS to Clint Bowyer, fastest on the track. Sometimes unexpected “modifications” to a race car can be a blessing in disguise!

CHEERS to the teams that took only two tires or even no tires at all. I think it’s safe to say from what we’ve seen so far that there’s likely to be plenty of cautions left to take on four tires.

CHEERS to no set penalty by NASCAR for Brian Vickers. Not a one lap or five lap penalty, but more fitting to the behavior exhibited, like sending a four year old to his room, and we’ll tell you when you can come out. When that happened to you as a kid and you thought your parents may have forgotten about you, did you ever send a sibling out to plead for your release? I wonder if Vickers will ask Kasey Kahne to go ask if he can come out now.

CHEERS to Safer Skies and now a safer race track, too. One less guy out there wrecking is a good thing.

JEERS to Clint Bowyer’s air conditioning not working either. It’s not just hot, but he’s gotta be having some carbon monoxide issues.

JEERS to it being news that Juan Pablo isn’t complaining. I wonder if he was also using polite language!

CHEERS to Tony Eury Jr. almost being in the race when Dale Jarrett couldn’t decide between Tony Stewart and Dale, Jr.

JEERS to letting Brian Vickers back on the track. He should have been parked for the night. I think he SHOULD have had to put something “up on the chalkboard” before he came back out. Maybe Mike Helton could at least make him write an apology letter to Marcos and the 9 team. Perhaps Kasey was a better negotiator than my sister ever was.

JEERS to the running order scroll because with the last chance race, it would have been better to have the locked-in guys in green, and the “hopefuls” in yellow. Or at least SOME special indicator for the hopefuls. ESPN dropped the ball on this one, I’m afraid.

JEERS to “The front end and the rear end are not working.” So how’s that midsection of the car workin’ out for you, Mr. Burton?

CHEERS to Travis Kvapil getting a lesson in payback from a guy named Earnhardt. Maybe Brian Vickers can watch that replay and find out how that payback thing is supposed to work.

CHEERS to NASCAR withholding the lucky dog from Junior. I bet he’d rather have that feeling of justice done than a free lap around anyway.

JEERS to no mention of what equipment Paul Menard removed from his pit.

CHEERS to not long to wait, and NOW Junior’s the lucky dog. I wonder if Aaron’s has considered an associate sponsorship on that 88.

JEERS to your car being so bad that you request to undo everything that’s been done tonight.

JEERS to trouble for Regan Smith that he couldn’t escape because he did such a fine job of avoiding that last wreck. At least he didn’t hit anything, and there’s one less car on the track that can gather him up in something that wasn’t his doing.

JEERS to no more chance for Paul Menard. It was slim to begin with, needing a win to make the Chase, but now at least the pressure is off.

JEERS to either a passenger in the car with Denny, or some kind of unreported multiple-personality disorder, as Nicole Briscoe just reported that “Denny are in 13th.”

CHEERS to caution #10, baby!! And this one is Juan Pablo and Jimmie Johnson, dual victims of the swerving 22 car of Kurt Busch. Move to the right, pause, move to the left, and that’s how you accomplish the seldom-executed “Double J Take-Out”.

CHEERS to the smashed up rear end of the 48, and Chad’s voice, “There isn’t anything really wrong with it.”

JEERS to “Whatever we’ve done to it, we’ve killed it.” So we know nothing’s working on the 88, or the 24, and the 48 has spun courtesy of Kurt Busch. I wonder how Mark Martin’s doing.



My Favorite
Pistachio Cherry Cookies
Tube of sugar cookie dough
2 handfuls dried cherries
3 handfuls of pistachios
1/2 a brick of cream cheese

Bake at 350 18-20 minutes

CHEERS to Wonderful Pistachios, not just because we happen to be a pistachio fan, but because how often do we see a race sponsor that pays for naming rights and then relies mostly on just the mention of their name in conjunction with the race? Wonderful Pistachios, rather, aired an entire series of short ads (most of which might be silly, but at least somewhat memorable) throughout the broadcast. And what do you think I’m having a yearning for right now? Next time I shop for groceries, there’s likely to be some pistachios in my cart.

CHEERS to Steve Addington who might well be the magic of Richmond with the knowledge of other Busch set-ups that worked well here for a different brother.

CHEERS to “I got your number! I got your number!” Quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever heard Kurt Busch say, while trying to sound tough. So you have his number. We all kinda do. It’s 48. So what’re you gonna do now, text his address to Boris Said?

CHEERS to Jimmie so unskilled at wrecking other guys that he wrecked himself just to pay back Kurt Busch. This is one aspect we hadn’t counted on in this race – all the guys that are already in the Chase and truly have nothing at all to lose, are fighting with each other.

CHEERS to Stephen Leicht in the 36 car staying out of trouble despite all the regulars wrecking one another. Wouldn’t that be an upset if he won just by attrition of all the other angry guys paying each other back?

JEERS to a blown tire and Burton in the wall. Maybe it was peer pressure and he just wanted to make his car look like everyone else’s on the track. And now I’m guessing even the midsection of his car is among the non-working.

CHEERS to a lucky dog for someone that isn’t Dale, Jr.!

JEERS to hearing that Robby Gordon is “back on the track after crash damage” because it’s lap 295, and he was in that lap nine melee. What’s he been doing all this time, fixing his car all by himself?

JEERS to a third problem for Marcos, and at the same time…

JEERS to a blown-up 20 car. But CHEERS to Joey for pulling low to go to the garage and shooting a discarded water bottle closer to the wall so it may not become debris on the track later. Then again it’s not like we’re in any need of debris cautions tonight!

JEERS to Reuti in the wall, but at least Marcos got the lucky dog. Of course it’s got bruises all over it now, but so does the 9 car, so it’s a good match. The replay of the 00 wreck almost made us feel bad for Clint Bowyer who seemed to be in a panic how to keep his car off all the others around him.

CHEERS to Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth not pitting. Again, when you have a caution every ten laps, why pit every time?

CHEERS also to Steven Leicht not pitting, but did he look just a little nervous up there with all the faster cars on fresh tires?

CHEERS to Matt Kenseth driving sideways and not wrecking. Okay, maybe new tires aren’t as overrated as I’d suggested. I don’t know how he didn’t just wreck himself and three cars around him!

CHEERS to random music and a commercial misfire.

CHEERS to new batteries and an honest crew chief, “If we don’t get another caution, we’re screwed.” And to the happy-go-lucky driver, “That’s fine, let’s just do what we gotta do.” Besides, there’s 44 to go; what are the chances we’ll run caution-free till the end?

CHEERS to the Gordon-Harvick battle for first.

CHEERS to sixteen pit stops (and three Lucky Dogs!) for Junior, and seventeen for Hamlin, and both still in the top ten? Gee, I don’t think either of them have a rotating pit crew, do they?

JEERS to suspicions abounding that Paul Menard’s car was made loose by Gordon’s lead over Harvick.

CHEERS to tying the record number of cautions, even though I had high hopes we could break it tonight.

CHEERS to Gil Martin and the crew of the 29 putting their guy out front of the pack when it really counted, with 12 laps to go. And CHEERS to Kevin Harvick doing his part, too, by pulling away from the pack.

CHEERS to “He’s gonna have to hit him to get by.” And “Based on what we’ve seen tonight, would that surprise you?”

CHEERS to Carl Edwards giving it the ol’ Jimmie Johnson try that we saw last week, sideways across the line, but not quite enough to take the win from Harvick. And smart driving by Carl, too, because heading into the Chase is no time to make an enemy of driver #29.

CHEERS to Kevin Harvick who started his Chase last week. Y’all better watch out!

CHEERS to Kurt Busch with not just one but both feet in his mouth this week. First he says that the guy that’s won the last five championships in a row needs to learn to race. Then he throws Dodge under the bus by saying that Jimmie’s equipment is better, and that if they swapped cars, Kurt would win. Right.

CHEERS to “I’ll go find him and talk to him and I’m sure he’ll run his mouth.” And also, CHEERS to the red sleeve cuffs on Jimmie’s uniform so when he wipes his mouth after drinking his red G2, it doesn’t show up.

CHEERS to Kevin Harvick winning the day before his mom’s birthday, and just two days before his crew chief’s son’s birthday, and wishing them both well from Victory Lane! Cake all around!

CHEERS to the melee in the media center following the race. After Kurt Busch had to be restrained from beating on (or trying to, anyway) one reporter, he had a complete meltdown in front of reporters and TV cameras that would have made any third grader proud.

And finally,

CHEERS to Richmond Saturday Night racing being just as good (if not…dare I say… better) than Bristol. No, there’s no catchy “It’s Richmond, Baby!” tagline, but the beating and banging on cars, the immediate payback opportunities, the patriotism, and the hot tempers flaring up at the most unexpected times all contributed to making this one of the best races of the season. Was it the drama of the 14 contenders fighting for the wild card spots? No, but rather it seemed to be one last chance for all of those drivers who already had a place guaranteed in the Chase to beat up on one another because they had nothing to lose. Here’s an idea: All ten races of the Chase to be held at Richmond on Saturday nights!