Here’s the Testarossa:

And here’s the freakin’, sigh … “TESLA”, the junkbox Speed Channel actually had the audacity to … AHEM … entirely bum me out about the future of “clean”, um, “RIDES” with:

I mean, seriously … if I’d ever even WANT to think about something like this? I’d rather glue a bunch of my son’s old matchbox cars together and run the vacuum while I coast down the driveway, just so that maybe it might at least SOUND like a real ride … WOW.

And I thought that MY Dad used to be protective …

Nelson Piquet Sr is threatening to take Flavio Briatore to court in order to prevent his son from continuing to pay the disgraced former Renault team principal 20 per cent of his earnings.

Briatore resigned on Wednesday after apparently ordering Piquet Jr to deliberately crash his car in last September’s Singapore Grand Prix … full story

Could I just ask the smallest question here, tho? Really … it’s sincere …

What. The. HELL??

I don’t care if GOD “Himself/HERself” ordered me to crash my car. Unless I had a REAL damned amazing insurance policy for my son that said, EXPLICITLY, “hey, it’s ok if you screw yourself up beyond repair {ON PURPOSE} for your son, we’ll still pay him mega-freakin’-bucks,” SORRY … NOT HAPPENIN’.

Not even “F1″ is THAT badass of a reason to fly hard into … anything.

I’m just sayin’.

WOW.

Somehow, bitchin’ about tires and the COT[non-COT-in-2009] … sigh … it just gets old.

No wonder why I haven’t posted for so long.

So, maybe I could, instead, bitch about this grainy nascar.com pic that doesn’t even come close to the snooze -fest that the last ten laps [I can never get back of my life] of this Atlanta night race felt like … but what’s the point?

Or should I go on about Hornish losin’ it more than once in a race (again), or about that UPS dude I refuse to name because he wrecks everything he drives (only tonight, thankfully, it was only a pit road entrance cone), or … ???

It’s all been done. It’s all been WELL done.

It’s freakin’ fried. And so am I, after yet another season of … mediocrity, except for such a select few. (Thank God for Smoke and his new team, or I wouldn’t even watch anymore, to be honest … because, believe it or not, NASCAR fans, there’s REAL racin’ EVERYwhere.)

However, in all sincerity: Congrats, KK … nice to see you at the top of the board again.

Whew. I’m exhausted.

[That's about all of the enthusiasm I had left after trying so damned hard to stay AWAKE during tonight's "race".]

Sigh.

The IndyCar series is taking its season-opening race to one of its best training grounds next season — Brazil.Terry Angstadt, president of Indy Racing League’s commercial division, confirmed Tuesday the series intends to race next March in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, about 200 miles from the capital of Sao Paulo. A date is not expected to be announced until late July, when the entire schedule is released.

Although final details are still being worked out, Angstadt is confident the series, which split from CART in the mid-1990s, will make its first foray into South America next year.

“We thought we were off the radar screen too long when we started in April this year, and that was one of our goals, to start in March,” Angstadt said. “It’s a great economy down there. Has the world economic crisis affected them? Yes, but not as much as the U.S.”

The move makes sense from a strategic perspective. Full Story

Yeah, ok.

I’m just sayin’.

{Sorry I didn’t explain myself more clearly, but, well … just didn’t want to insult your intelligence by talking about trade (legal, illegal – you know … TRADE), or our American automakers’ demise(s), much less the otherwise pretty much political, societal and moral toxic waste spewing between the U.S. and maybe 99.99999999% of South American countries, etc., what with all of the …….. SIGH …. never mind ……..}

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

Max Mosley may run for a fifth term as FIA president after Formula One teams announced plans to break away from the sport because of a dispute over a planned budget cap. Full Story

No … really.

Seriously?

[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.

This years edition of the Great American Race was a stinker. No one outside the Roush-Sox headquarters will remember this one fondly. The money changers rung the last dollar out of the ad market. In an effort to make the race go into prime time on the east coast market, they gambled with the Weather Channel and lost.

*BTW for some reason, my media button is not working. I can’t post a dang picture. Gotta find out what is up with that.

So much for Grumpy’s rant tonight. The full post mortem on the Daytona 500 may come later.