Kahne’s win was one of the most popular victories this season and not because it was Kahne (though he is quite popular, too) that delivered it, but because he brought The King back to his rightful place — basking in the glory of a Victory Lane celebration.

Owens’ Full Story

[With thanks to roykeane11]

I can’t tell you that I watched the end of today’s Cup race without emotion. In fact, the last several laps were actually exciting, and that had a lot to do with double-file restarts. Kudos to Kahne for making it happen for Petty (et.al.), and kudos (can’t believe I’m saying this) to NASCAR for actually doing something worthwhile for the fans for a change.

However, as much as I was happy to see American (at least formerly Michigan) muscle in the form of Dodge take that checker, just in front of another rarity lately – an owner/driver, and who else could it be but Smoke-can-DO-this-this-year – AND, yet another cool deal with one helluva’ vegamiter in Marcos Ambrose rollin’ in third … wow … all VERY cool … BUT …

Has ANYone been following the rest of the world’s events this weekend … last week … last month?

I feel so blessed to even be able to watch such a race, no matter “who” won … no matter “who” ran well … no matter “who” entirely fucked up out there or in the booth or in NASCAR’s “imperial HQ’s”, which is normally what I gravitate toward writing about when I feel like writing here anymore, granted, grin …

Yet, enough grins.

Who knows who NEDA is?

If you do, then, good. If you don’t, then no doubt you should.

WE ALL SHOULD.

Her death in Iran is no less powerful than our own “shot heard ’round the world”. Simply because what is perceived there can often seem an entirely ludicrously different world-view (to us), and has happened in a part of the world we’ve grown to despise for many reasons NOT directly due to any circumstances the people forced to live there have created in and of themselves … doesn’t mean that this ’shot’ should not be felt by every single one of us.

Neda’s death resonates.

It fucking RESONATES.

Watch the footage. Watch news channels – search ‘Neda’ on YouTube or otherwise. Do NOT let your children see it unless they’re old enough and/or you’re fully prepared to explain it RESPONSIBLY … but SEE IT for yourselves, and then try to tell yourselves “that’s OK – it’s just Iran”.

Screw that prejudice RIGHT now, because NOW’S THE TIME. (Ummmm … might wanna’ take a look at North Korea and China about now, too, but I’m just sayin’ … sigh ..)

Neda, the name/word, is supposed to mean “voice”. The horrific fact AND footage of her death in Iran this weekend? Could not be more clear AS a voice for change.

Does everyone hear it?

I wonder.

Light a candle in your window every night, not just for Neda, but for ALL of those who seek freedom of expression – among so many other freedoms – UNTIL THEY HAVE IT.

Do we have to LIKE or AGREE with Iran, as it HAS stood?

Hell no.

Do we have to like what these brave citizens are trying to work out right now? Their freedom to say ‘NO – ENOUGH.’?

YES.

LIGHT IT UP.

Is this all we can do?

Perhaps, for now. But hopefully not for long.

On this Father’s Day Race Weekend, I salute the fathers of OUR COUNTRY – my ancestors and father, included. Those who fought and died for FREEDOM.

May we always, then, LIGHT IT BRIGHT, for those who follow in their brave footsteps.

* Edit Point: The name/word ‘Neda’ is also said to mean: calling and/or divine calling.

P.S. [much later] … LOL … you’ve really gotta’ hear what Chavez is now sayin’ about Iran’s election’s “triumph”, grin … sorta’ like … well, no, this is a racin’ site, and this shit is truly the sign of some VERY slow …. slllooooooowwwwwwww minds. But, hey … turn on a NEWS channel for a change, and laugh your ass off, at least at the idiots still clingin’ to dictatorship … because, I mean, uh … WOW. SERIOUSLY??

Grumpy’s take: One car was coming fast. One car moved to block. As the field hurled into turn 3 at, oh say 180mph. People, shit happens. If I am Brian Vickers, I will go to the hauler and kick myself in the ass for a reckless blocking maneuver that triggered the wreck that everyone knew was waiting to happen.

If I am Dale jr, I calmly step to the microphones and man up. No driver will deliberately take a shot at another at that speed just to punt the guy or ‘rattle his cage’. If NA$CAR thought there was clear evidence of that, they should have parked him for 5 laps.

Think of the last laps of the cup light race on Saturday. Here was Tony Stewart leading with Kyle Bush on his bumper. No, really on his bumper. Kyle admitted that he was doing everything he could to get Smoke ‘loose’. Most any driver but Smoke would have lost the car in turn 4. Had there been a crash, Kyle would have had a sheepish grin in Victory Lane and say, ‘well thats what the fans come to see.’

If you watched the truck series race on Friday night, you saw Todd Bodine come off the yellow line and make contact with a truck running to his outside and forward. The #10 lost control and collected the front of the field in a big crash. Bodine went on to win the race. Rather than offer any words of apology for causing the crash, he insisted that the #10 ‘came down on me’. Video replays clearly show that the #10 was steady and Bodine came up from the line to initiate the contact.

Bottom line. People will believe what they want to believe in all these incidents. If you already have a low opinion of Dale Earnhardt jr, my comments will not change your mind. Since I began contributing to this blog, I have had to try to be as objective as I can. I am no Rush Limbaugh. Still, at times my views tend to bleed with certain bias. (Grumpy shrugs) With my take, you get your moneys worth everytime. Nobody pays me to write it. Nobody pays to read it.

We saw Jeff Gordon return to victory lane by winning the first Gatorade 150. Hours and hours of Daytona practice coverage on SPEED TV. All the pundits have had their say. All the drivers have answered endless questions. Now, Grumpy will look at the ones who could win the Harley Earl Trophy. Unlike last season, I am just looking at the 500.

Jeff Gordon: Has his mojo back. Hard to bet against any Hendrick driver. His confidence is showing. He has all the ingredients to make it to Victory Lane. Maybe the new black paint will change his fortunes.

Mark Martin: Possibly America’s sentimental favorite. He is a racer to the bone. At age 50 he is as fit as most driver half his age. The guy has class too. Who knows what he could have achieved if he had left Roush 5 years sooner than he did. Martin would not wreck anybody to gain a win.

Kyle Bush: Put the black hat on this dude. It is a role he clearly enjoys. He has the talent to back up his swagger. The ‘08 season proved he can deliver the goods. Won the second Duel 150 on Thursday. The cup light race today proved he is willing to wreck a guy for the win.

Tony Stewart: The newly minted owner/driver has a bigger hill to climb. During the final practice session, the #39 driven by Ryan Newman had a tire failure with Tony right behind. Both cars were damaged beyond repair. Both drivers will have to start in the rear of the field in back up cars. Smoke won the cup light event driving an entry from Hendrick/JR  Mortorsports.

Bill Elliott: Got a lot of well deserved recognition during qualifying. Would have started well in the 500. A failed tranny during the Duel 150 put him deep in the field for the 500. Certainly a fan favorite along with Mark Martin, Elliott will only run about 12 races for the Wood Bros.

Carl Edwards:Like most of the Roush-Sox teams, Cousin Carl is just out there doing his thing. He is not calling attention to himself, nor is he hiding. Don’t overlook his ‘awe shucks’ demeanor.

Kevin Harvick: The ‘07 Daytona 500 winner opened Speedweeks with a win in the Bud Shootout. Backed by Richard Childress Racing, he is a player.

Grumpy’s pick: The dark horse has to be Smoke. Who else would Grumpy pick? The sports books likely will pick Gordon. Like your local weatherman, if my pick fails, I will have a good explanation on Monday.

Enjoy the race!

MARTINSVILLE has joined a long list of tracks controlled by INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY CORP. to reduce ticket prices for the ‘09 season.

Grumpy wants to think that I$C is responding to the pain felt by the little people who are faced with tightening budgets or job loss. Call it what you like. The phones are not ringing in the ticket offices. Folks are not renewing long held tickets to what has been for many a tradition for years. Even Bristol (GASP)  has tickets available.  The golden goose that NA$CAR has presided over for decades seems to be choking on the stacks of unsold tickets. It is about time! The day is gone when fans can plan a weekend at the track for a reasonable cost. The fault is not just the soaring ticket prices. It is the whole experience. Hotels, food, swag, you name it. A typical race weekend can easily exceed $1,000 for a couple even if they are within driving distance to the venue.

We are experiencing an economic time that is unprecedented in memory. Everyone knows the news about the stock markets and such. The impact all through the American economy is staggering. Just one year ago, we were eagerly anticipating the new season with the 60th running of the Daytona 500. there were some 50 teams to vie for the 43 starting positions. What a difference a year makes.  Teams that were well funded and seemed solid are now in peril. DEI and Ganassi combines to field what may only be 2-3 sponsored cars where once there were 7. Petty Enterprises now looks to be combining with Gillette (not Evernham). Bobby Labonte not signed to drive anything at this point. Just a week ago, it appeared that Elliott Sadler might lose his ride to A.J. Almendinger. Now, perhaps he is safe and A.J. could wind up in the #43.

Bill Davis Racing is gone. Tommy Baldwin racing is born. Furniture Row may only be a part time gig for Nemechek.  Yet from the ashes of Petty Enterprises, Richard Childress will debut the #33 Cheerios team. From the ashes of Bill Davis Racing, Childress will take the Caterpillar sponsorship for the #31 team. And in this uncertain time, Tony Stewart will step into the arena in his partnership team to field cars for himself and Ryan Newman.

The picture is by no means complete. We are all gonna need a program to get the drivers straight in our minds with their respective teams. Stay tuned.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Elliott Sadler may have lost his ride in the #19 GEM Dodge. Say it ain’t so! Kinda late in the process heading into the ‘09 season to kick someone to the curb. The popular Sadler joins the 2000 Cup Champ, Bobby Labonte in a growing unemployment line that includes; Kyle Petty, Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney and Scott Riggs. The list is by no means complete.

Sadler has 3 wins in the cup series, but has gone winless since the ‘04 season. Rumor has it that the seat in the #19 will go to A.J. Almindinger. A.J. filled the seat of the #10 for a few races after being released by Team Red Bull. The #10 team started the season with open wheel star, Patrick Carpentier. He was kicked to the curb and may be headed back to the IRL along with Dario Franchitti. Reed Sorenson is signed to drive the #10, coming from what was Ganassi Racing. No sponsor has been announced for that ride yet.

The pressure to perform at this level is going to be insane in the coming season. Teams are shutting down or being bartered into a merge. There is no indication if Petty Enterprises will be able to field the #43 or who will drive it. Bill Davis sold his operation off to investors and will persue other interests. Pretty sad for a guy who just won the Truck Series Championship. Grumpy wonders if congress could toss a couple of billion bucks to save NA$CAR teams with. There are a lot of good people out of work in the Carolinas, you know.

This brings to mind another of Grumpy’s pre-season predictions were, well….WRONG! Yes, Grumpy thought that fewer cup drivers would be running in the cup light series since there was little in common between the COT and the cup light car. I can see where I should stick to comment and forget about the crystal ball business.

If you missed the news about the cup light championship, let me see if I can explain it. Points are awarded to the driver towards a championship. A seperate point system is in place for car owners. Clint Bowyer won only the Driver’s championship. The championship CAR OWNER  is Joe Gibbs Racing.  

The #20 JGR Toyota won a grundle of races using different drivers. The wheel men that shared the seat and won include Kyle Bush and Tony Stewart. Joey Logano Also drove the #20 as well as the #18 entry. I don’t think he won in the #20.

Such is the way things happen in the cup light series. An outcome that would not likely occur in the top series. Just last season, Carl Edwards won the driver’s title while Richard Childress Racing won the owner’s cup with the #29 team in a ride share effort between Jeff Burton and Scott Wimmer.

NCTS: Ron Hornaday will line up tonight in the tightest contest for a championship in the top three divisions of NA$CAR. Trailing Johnny Benson by just 3 points, Hornaday must avoid a repeat of the first lap crash that nearly took him out of contention last week at Phoenix.

Grumpy thinks this will be the best contest of the weekend. It reminds me of the 1992 Winston cup final at Atlanta where Alan Kulwicki won the championship by leading just one more lap than race winner, Bill Elliott. The outcome was in doubt until the checkers were in the air as Elliott lost the championship to Kulwicki by just 12 points.

Ron Hornaday is a three time champion of the series and drives for Kevin Harvick, Inc. Johnny Benson is a past Bush Grand National Series (now Nationwide Series) champion.  Hornaday came to the national series in 1995 as the truck series debuted. A call from Dale Earnhardt brought Hornaday from the NA$CAR Southwest Tour to drive the #16 truck fielded by DEI at the time. Benson, the truck series most popular driver in ‘06 and ‘07 has a single win in the cup series at Rockingham in ‘02. Johnny B. won Rookie of the Year honors in the 1994 cup light series and 1996 cup series. Bill Davis Racing fields a Toyota for Benson. Johnny has announced that he will leave that team following the season final whether or not he wins the championship.

This is a race you are gonna want to see. It will be broadcast on SPEED TV at 8pm eastern.

The wilting economy has caused many big corporations to cut spending on things like NA$CAR sponsorships. Long standing sponsors like Texaco and Kodak have had ties in NA$CAR for decades, no more.

What once was 4 teams fielded from the ‘Garagemahal’ is in peril due to lack of funding. The #1 team will continue with Bass Pro Shops and driver, Martin Truex, jr. The #8 team will retain Aric Amirola, not sure who the sponsor will be. TARGET will return for the ‘09 season with Juan Pablo Montoya as the driver. A driver for the #41 team will be announced later. It has half the season sponsored by Wrigley’s.

“Having a partner like Chip who is heavily involved on the competition side of the business is an ideal situation for DEI,” owner Teresa Earnhardt said in a news release.

“He has a long history of managing championship teams in the IndyCar and Rolex Grand-Am Series and I share his passion and goals of winning races and ultimately championships in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“I think this is a case where we are stronger together than we are apart.”

The house that was built by the late Dale Earnhardt and Teresa is in shambles compared to how it looked just a few seasons ago. The team that captured 3 DAYTONA 500’s with Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, jr. came apart as Michael took his sponsor, NAPA along with him when showed the door.

The departure of NA$CAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, jr. and one of the top sponsors, Budweiser, left a dent. DEI combined with the former MB2/Ginn Racing to put the Army sponsorship on the #8 with veteran Mark Martin. The Army has announced that it will team with Stewart-Haas and driver, Ryan Newman for ‘09. Mark Martin will leave DEI to take the wheel of the #5 at Hendrick Motorsports.

 Now, Paul Menard is leaving the #15 and taking his dad’s sponsor dollars with him to join Yates Racing. That leaves the #15 with no sponsor and no driver for ‘09. We will have to wait until after the season final to see which car numbers will be highest in owner points between the current DEI teams versus the #41 and #42  Ganassi cars. The #01 team was part of the Ginn deal. No sponsor is on the horizon for that team and Regan Smith’s future with DEI is uncertain.

Looks like at least 100 jobs will be lost in this process. Not a happy thing for many families to face in these uncertain economic times.

Just to recap the pathetic journey at Ganassi/Sabates. They began the year with 3 teams going to Daytona. The #40 team with IndyCar driver, Dario Franchitti was the first to fall due to lack of funding. Franchitti, a former INDY 500 winner and IRL Champion looked promising until a crash at Talladega sidelined him for several weeks. It is presumed that Ganassi will put Franchitti back in the IndyCar Series for ‘09. Next we have  Reed Sorenson who has been under performing in the #41 TARGET entry. Sorenson will be moving to the #10 Gillette-Evernham team for ‘09. The #42 Texaco/Wrigley’s Dodge has only half of the ‘09 schedule sponsored by Wrigley’s. Texaco will leave as a major sponsor in NA$CAR. They have been a major sponsor with the Havoline brand of motor oil since the 80’s.

Grumpy thinks this is not the end of startling news. There may be other announcements at Homestead or during the awards banquet at the Waldorf in New York. The souvenoir vendors will be working overtime to bring all the new merchandise for China in time for Speedweeks.

Oh, there is a great line from the legendary Driver/owner, junior Johnson that I love.

“If you want to make a small fortune in racin’, start with a large one.”