Hello loyal readers and other folks. Well this certainly was a changed up race weekend. Yessirree it was. The Nationwide group raced Friday, the Cup Series raced on Saturday and the Trucks raced on Sunday. Why I couldn’t get over such a change and lost a little bit of sleep over my confusion. Did I read that right or what I kept askin’ myself. Just didn’t seem natural to Duck and I, nossirree it didn’t. Sort of felt like someone moved the days around if ya know what I mean. But afterwards we rather enjoyed the changed up weekend.
So Duck and I had a sort of but not completely relaxed mornin’ before Friday’s race. We had plenty of time to get our chores over and done with, eat our main meal of the day and get our races snacks and choice of drink prepared and on the crates.
Menard Man started on the pole followed by Denny Boy, Ricky Jr, WOG and Curly Sadler. For those who want to know JR started 20th, That Girl started 17th and G/B Brad started 13th. Another girl, Johanna Long also raced that day. She started 15th and 6 Cup drivers raced that day. The rest you can look up.
So with Flippin’ Carl not runnin’ in this Nationwide race, Duck and I were relaxed, excited and on our feet cheerin’ and quackin’ while the green flag flew for 200 laps of fun! Ricky Jr was on a mission. Believe this one shockin’ somethin’ but.Ricky was the only Roush car in that race! I don’t believe I can remember somethin’ like and that boy was aimin’ to give Mr. Cat in the Hat the win. So by lap 4 Ricky took the lead, and stayed there
until after the 1st round of pit stops durin’ the ist caution when he wound up 6th. Then G/B Brad took his car to the garage when somethin’ or another broke. Sad for him I say!
There was a total of 5 cautions durin’ that race, the last one bein’ on lap 186 when Big Brother Busch’s car engine blew up. Sad for him too I say Ricky had been hangin’ out up front all day and got the lead back with just 6 laps remainin’. And that boy stayed there to won that race. Good for him I say. He seems like a nice young driver and as cute as he can be! Anyway Menard Man finished 2nd followed by Kutie Kahne, Denny Boy and WOG. For those who want to know That Girl finished 8th…best finish for her and GOOD for her I say, Curly Sadler finished 12th, Jr finished 14th and the rest you can look up.
We both slept well that night but I did wonder, more than once durin ‘the night, how Duck would do if you know who didn’t you know what if ya know what I mean. Anyway next mornin’ we set about to do the daily chore stuff to be ready on time for the race So we did and we were and with snack stuff on the crates we cheered and quacked as they waved that green flag for Smartin’ Martin T, followed by Robo Matt, Biffle Boy, Handsome Mark and Kutie Kahne. For those who want to know JR started 16th, Flippin’ Carl started 20th, Rowdy Boy started 17th and the rest you can look up.
I tell ya there ain’t no need in doin’ a break down on this race. Why there were only 2 cautions durin’ that whole race and the 1st one was for debris. There was jostlin’ up front of course but it was obvious Biffle Boy was the one to beat and no one did. Oh some others lead while most others didn’t but it was so good to see Biff win. Looked like to Duck and I that Not same Champ Jimmie was Greg’s biggest threat but nothin’ was meant to ruin the day for Biffle Boy. He won with Not same Champ in 2nd followed by Handsome Mark Martin, Jeffie and Robo. For those who want to know Flippin’ Carl finished 8th, JR finished 10th and the rest you can look up. There’s really not much more to say about it other than there was a green/white/checker finish and Biffle ended a year and a half dry spell so GOOD for him I say!
Duck kept his cool with his idol’s 8th place finish thank our good and gracious LORD so all in all it was an ok race day. We cleaned up our race mess and turned in early in preparation for the wierdness truck schedule of the followin’ day. I just felt like I was in a followin’ Cup race day fog if ya can grasp what I mean. Oh well that’s neither here nor there so we prepared to watch the truck race at Rockingham and were excited, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now.
Why that place used to be one of the most excitiness places the races went to. Why I remember my late husband Elmer gettin’ so excited durin’ the end of watchin one of the races there that he reared back in his rockin’ chair, fell over backwards and went slidin’ right out the front door! I kept watchin’ til the race was done and realized Elmer hadn’t come back inside. I took to lookin’ for him and found him dazed and in a heap on the ground below the front porch. Poor fool Elmer, he never did rear back like that chair again. Course come to think of it we threw the rockin’ chair away cause it was all busted up, but that’s neither here nor there, I’m just rememberin’ and sayin’.
After Rockingham was axed from the NASCAR schedules it went up for sale. Andy Hillenburg, well known ARCA racer and a fine lookin’ man I might add which is neither here nor there, bought the track a few years ago and wound up enticin’ NASCAR to bring the trucks back there. So for the first time in 8 full years the fans of “The Rock” got to experience the thrill of a NASCAR event. GOOD for everybody I say!
Duck and I were so excited we decided on no snacks but plenty of cold applecider on the crates and we cheered, quacked and woohooed all over the place as they waved the green flag for Piquet Jr, Harraka, TP, Leffler and Kutie Kahne. For those who want to know Ward Burton’s son Jeb was racin’ in this race and started 27th, WYG started 12th . Just so ya know Brad Sweet actually qualified the #4 truck but Kutie Kahne hustled his bustle to the Rock from Texas, started in the back because of that driver change and ran all 3 races this past weekend The rest you can look up.
Rockingham is one of those one mile tracks that just does it all for the drivers, the fans in the grandstands, the race reporters, and the fans at home watchin’ on their TVs. Sounded like the veteran racers there yesterday were excited to be back even though the track is different and it had been so long since they had raced there that noone knew what to expect. And the newbies were excited to try to figure it out.
Anyway Kutie Kahne pretty much won the race on lap 155. He took the lead then and just kept it. Buescher finished 2nd followed by Crafty Matt, Rock’em Sock’em and TP. For those who want to know Ward’s boy Jeb finished 11th, Handsome Hornaday finished 12th and the rest you can look up. Good for all of ’em I say!
Now for some other stuff. This year is findin’ some usual winners experiencin’ some hard times. For example…Not Same Champ Jimmie has no wins in 7 races. Seems shockin’ doesn’t it and everybody is makin’ a big deal of it but looka here folks, out of the 43 drivers who race in Cup only 6 have wins…that means 37 don’t! Everybody is makin’ a big deal of that fact Jeffie and JR have no wins but with JR they are all sayin’ he is close. Course I said that all last season but no more! Nope, now how no way. I don’t pick a driver cause they win all the time. I pick a driver that I like. And look at JR…most popular driver out there and look how long it’s been since that boy won. And Rowdy Boy and Flippin’ Carl and so on. Sometimes it’s enough for the fans to know their driver is tryin’ every possible way. And JR is 3rd in the points! All I’m sayin’ is it takes more than winnin’ to make a race hero to a fan. Know what I mean?
And here is a pure-d-o shocker. NASCAR is makin’ a change under the hood at Dega, Who would have thought it, huh? And Smoke is headed to the White House for a pat on the back. I sure have some questions I’d like Tony to ask Mr. President like who is his favorite driver, what is his favorite dessert and some other stuff but I guess that’s not the place, nor here nor there.
Oh well there ya have it. Email comment or don’t. Either way I don’t care cause I’m a very busy woman. Next week the Nationwide Series is off again and Cup and the Trucks head to Kansas. So, Granny Grump and Duck over and out.
