I had hopes of making the trip down to Times Square tomorrow, but sadly my schedule won’t allow it. There’s always next year. By the looks of things it’s very crowded. It’s elbow to elbow I’m sure.
All I am finding to read lately is Jimmy Johnson this and that. I don’t even bother reading it. I think this has effects on a lot of fans and the media should print some worthwhile stories. I’m sure there are plenty of other things going on other than Johnson getting crowned. Hey!! Helio won Dancing with the Stars!!
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Again this year the Sports Illustrated issue following the crowning of the NASCAR Champion has little more than a footnote on the cover about the Champ and the end of a long 36 race, coast to coast, NASCAR season.
Both last years and this years NASCAR Champion has been denied his cover by college football. The Champion for both years happens to be Jimmie Johnson. Yep, the NASCAR Champ was denied yet again, not by the NFL, NBA, NHL, or even MLS (which also got slighted this year too, but that is another story) but by college football. I don’t understand it. Really.
On any given Sunday the spectator crowd at one NASCAR event equals, or is bigger than, one game from each of these leagues put together.
So the question must be asked, “Is this because NASCAR isn’t big enough for Sports Illustrated, or is it because straight-laced Jimmie Johnson is the Champion?”
Makes you wonder what kind of cover they would have put on this past issue if Dale Jr were the Champion.
“Computer simulations and the seven-post shaker rig (a machine that simulates suspension dynamics) are far more reliable in determining what a racecar needs” (Reid Spencer) than any suggestions a driver might make to his crew chief about what to do with an ill-handling car.
When did this exactly become new news? They have been doing this with the now out dated race cars they were using up to, and including, the last race of the year. A seven post shaker is one of the reasons DEI scooped up Ginn racing in the first place. And what car were they using it on? Not just the CoT that’s for sure. Penske has had his seven-poster now for a few years, long before the CoT was in existence.
With each new change in equipment comes an adjustment period for everyone in the sport, all the way from the owners to the drivers and everyone in-between. This is just another one of those shifts in the accustomed paradigm. Everyone will get adjusted and the drivers will learn how to work, and recommend changes to their cars within the system, it will just take time.
They have quoted Greg Biffle as saying, “Whatever the computer says, whatever the seven-post shaker rig says is the best set of shocks, by God, it’s the best set of shocks — period. I’ve only found a couple of times where I’ve found a shock a LITTLE bit better than what the seven-post said, but I can’t beat it.”
Hmm … isn’t that what a bunch of you were wishing for a couple of years ago? To get a handle on your car before you get to the track so you can just tweak it a bit instead of trying to make the race with a bad set-up?
Jack Roush says, “Myself and all the drivers I know think two- or three-dimensionally. They certainly can’t think four- or five-dimensionally. They can’t go back and figure what the net effect will be of making the four changes that need to be made at the time. That has taken it out of the hands of the driver, not from the point of view of providing the information that’s required, but from making the determination of what to do.”
So what does this exactly have to do with the CoT anyway? Nothing. This technology (post-shakers, computer sim programs, etc.) would exist with or without the CoT. They have been using this technology on the old car and would still be using it next year even if the CoT wasn’t around.
Quit your whining Jack and spend some of Fenway’s money and get yourself caught up with Hendrick. That is what it is really about, isn’t it?
Ambrose Moves Up To Top Division Of Nascar
Now this is good news. Of course putting a rookie in the #21 Lil’ Debbie may not help the Wood Brother’s for ‘08, but it’s a smart move. Marcos is well liked by fans, drivers and the media. His debut in the Busch Series was darn good… lets just hope he can keep the wrappers on the Little Debbie car.
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I hope y’all had a good Thanksgiving weekend. Ours was good with plenty of food and desserts. Seemed to be lacking though and it’s probably from being the first off weekend of racing. I’ve found myself watching college football and a lot of movies. If you haven’t seen “Mr. Brooks” and you enjoy suspense thrillers, than I highly recommend it. Kevin Costner as a bad guy for a change. I have also been spending a lot of time with Flickr uploading photos that I have played with in my imaging software. Something to do.
Back to work tomorrow!!
Not much new at all on the NASCAR front.
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I’ve been experimenting with the new Blogger layouts and tools at my new site, The Works of Stephen King.
I’ve always wanted to start that site but I’ve never really gotten around to it. I also wanted to play around with the new Blogger stuff that they’ve added over the last 10 or so months but I did not want to mess up my NASCAR Blog in the process - too much time invested into it, if you know what I mean.
Here is a direct quote from Dale Jr; “Kyle (Busch) was being a jerk, running in to me and carrying on and trying to rile me up. I don’t know why he spun me out on pit road. I guess he was blinded by the sun too. Or he just can’t see at all. The integrity is what is important so that is what I am going to hang on to.
“I can’t wait to get to work. Get this over with, get past this, I want to win races.” - from Motorsports.com
You would think Kyle was finally over his release from Hendrick Motorsports, but I guess he isn’t mature enough to get past it. I mean what has he got to lose by running into Dale in the last race of the season anyway? Not much. What is Rick going to do, park him, suspend him, fire him perhaps (oops, already done that)?
Here is guy with sooo much talent that I bet it other drivers get envious of it, yet he is such a jerk. It is that attitude, or lack of maturity, or even better, that false sense of entitlement that both he and his brother share (and Carl Edwards for that matter), that is going to hurt him in the long run.
I guess it is hard to be a man, when you are as immature as he is. I know some 8th Grade kids that act more man than him, and they are girls!
At the beginning of the season I outlined my Top 12 finishers for this year’s NEXTEL Cup. Let’s see how I did.
Here is who I picked to be in the Top 12:
1. Tony Stewart (just keep him out of the Busch cars)
2. Kevin Harvick (just keep his mouth shut and focus on the big picture - Championship)
3. Jimmie Johnson (provided he doesn’t have a string of bad luck)
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr (maybe even as high as 2nd - no Championship, too many distractions off the track)
5. Jeff Gordon (marriage won’t distract him - much)
6. Carl Edwards ( getting it back together, but too much ground lost last year)
7. Greg Biffle (see Edwards)
8. Kyle Busch (as long as he isn’t stupid he could finish even higher than Jeff - but stupidity prevails)
9. Juan Montoya (this man ain’t no rookie, look out - as long as Ganassi gives him good cars)
10. Matt Kenseth (see Edwards - look for either his team to rebound or continue to blow up)
11. Kasey Kahne (needs to improve on intermediate tracks - and get that bad mojo gone)
12. Denny Hamlin or Jeff Burton (sophomore slump for Denny and not aggressive enough for Jeff)
Here is the actual Top 12:
1. Jimmie Johnson ( I thought he would do well, maybe even get 2nd, but not 1st)
2. Jeff Gordon (not as distracted with home life as I thought)
3. Clint Bowyer (considered him very briefly for the top 12, that was a mistake)
4. Matt Kenseth (rebounded from bad ending of 2006, but still not a contender)
5. Kyle Busch (stupidity prevailed)
6. Tony Stewart (stayed out of the Busch cars - almost - but faded fast in last half of season anyway)
7. Kurt Busch (seriously considered him, but I thought Penske was still getting his act together - well ok he still is, but they are moving along better than I thought)
8. Jeff Burton (close on this one, still not aggressive enough - I wonder if his sponsorship woes had anything to do with his decrease in performance?)
9. Carl Edwards (I’ll say this one is pretty much on the head here)
10. Kevin Harvick (glimmers at times of what I expected, but failed to live up to expectations
11. Martin Truex Jr. (this is supposed to be Dale Jr, and if not for 7 engines failures would have been - and maybe a little higher too - good job for Martin none-the-less)
12. Denny Hamlin (bang on baby!)
So who did I have that didn’t make it?
Juan Montoya - not a rookie Tony Stewart here, but still in the top 20. I was a little overzealous with this pick. Rookie of The Year though, which I did predict. Maybe Ganassi didn’t give him good enough cars like I speculated might happen, who knows? Maybe I’m just trying to save a little face here too.
Kasey Kahne - come on, you all thought he’d be there too. Didn’t you? Who would have ever thought they would read their computers wrong and screw up their areo packages so bad that they would have to go back to their 2006 front clips. So they say anyway.
The Biff - again, come on, you all thought he’d be there too. Didn’t you? Roush needs to look at hs drivers, and their equipment very seriously in the off-season or he’s going to find continued decline in the standings next year. Maybe he was telling the truth when he said they were behind in their testing schedules, because the decrease in performance, especially in the CoT races, really showed.
Dale Earnhardt Jr - see Martin Truex Jr above. Add to that the major distractions of track regarding ownership battles, sponsorship sagas, merchandising mayhem, and so on. Again, as predicted.
There you have it, my crystal ball isn’t what it used to be. Perhaps I’ll have to take it in with my mini van during the off-season for a tune up. I guess I’ll have to rely more on my psychic abilities for next year instead.
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Jeff Gordon fans are rabid right now. Why? Because under the old point system Jeff Gordon would be Champion instead of Jimmie Johnson. In fact, this Championship would make Jeff Gordon a 6 time Champ because he would have won another Championship under the old point system the very first year The Chase format was introduced.
With that being said, the question remains to be answered; “Is Jimmie Johnson really the Champ?” Yes. Yes, he is!
Why is he? Because he won under the current rules that is why.
But wait, shouldn’t the driver who is more consistent throughout the entire year be the Champ? Under the old point system; yes, but under the current one; no.
But that isn’t fair! Yes it is, because Jimmie and his team carefully crafted their race season to meet these rules. They realized that all they had to do was stay close to the current point leader in the first 26 races so that they could be in striking distance when the Chase was on. They played it to a ‘T’. They didn’t have to go out every week and try for the victory, and maybe crash or blow up, this way they didn’t have to show their hand to anyone until it was time for The Chase. Call it playing possum if you want, but I wouldn’t. I’d call it smart racing.
As most of you know, I coach volleyball and I play within the rules all of the time. What I do sometimes is work my team to get them in the best possible place within the rules that best helps them win. For example, my Boys Team was in a tournament last week and everyone in each group made the play-offs except the last place team. I looked at which teams were in my group and which teams were in the other group and assessed the teams and coaches.
Based on the modified tournament rules and play-off crossover I determined that I needed to finish 2nd in my group for a chance to get to the final. Once my team had secured 2nd spot I played the next 2 games with all of my weaker players to get them more experience and to not look that good in front of anyone that may be ‘watching’ my team. When it came time for playoffs I played my more skilled players and took other teams by surprise. While in the playoffs I then used the rules to my advantage by making substitutions, for example, at key moments in the game - not to better my team on the court but to disrupt the other team’s momentum. Time outs also did the same trick where I broke the other team’s momentum by freezing their server to get a side out for my team.
We made it to the Championship by the way, where we eventually lost to a better team than us. The team we lost to plays in a higher division than us and should have kicked our butts all over the floor, but we lost respectably. The other 2 teams we beat to get into the Championship game are also in the same higher division, but I used the rules to beat them. On paper we should have finished no better than 4th, but here we are in 2nd because we used the rules better than the other coaches.
What I did is no different than what he 48 team did. If they were racing under the old rules what makes you think that they wouldn’t have won anyway? I think they would have because they would have raced differently the whole season. Instead of concentrating on the last 10 races of the year they would have concentrated on all of the 36 races. All they had to do in the first 26 is stay close, which they did, and then dominate the last 10 races, which they did.
Jimmie Johnson deserves the Championship because out of all the other teams on the track every race, he and his team best adjusted to the rules and raced within them the best.
Does this mean I’m a fan of The Chase? If you are a consistent reader of this blog you’ll know that I’m not, but the rules are the rules and the team that races the best within them deserves the Championship and this year it was Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the 48 team.
You’ve got to give credit where credit is due, and it is due here - Congratulations Jimmie!
Winter has paid us an early visit or perhaps it’s a warning of things to come. It started about 4:30 am and by 11:00 am it was still falling. Luckily it did not accumulate much, but the roads proved a challenge with the usual number, more or less, of fender benders. This always amazes me. Every year on the first official snow day drivers have forgotten, from only 8 months ago, how to drive in it. Then of course the local media makes a big deal out of it with graphic footage of a couple of cars with nothing but some smashed up fenders. The talking heads have moved outdoors so they can wear their latest LL Bean parka’s on TV and tell us the exact same thing they told us last November. It’s so redundant, much like the snow and I feel like they are insulting our intelligence with their patronizing salute to the first snow. Yeah Baby… ya know if we got 24 inches of the crap today that would be news worthy, but hey… it gave me something to bitch about and you’re reading it.
This is all in jest of course… actually the snow is rather nice and will be gone tomorrow.
Times Square in NYC is one of the worlds greatest destinations. I grew up in small town USA on Lake Michigan, Grand Haven, which has it’s own little bit of fame. Pictured below [link] is the Grand Haven Musical Fountain. It has been a huge attraction for many decades. One would have to see it to fully appreciate the beauty. Picture Michigan - Grand Haven Musical Fountain
What’s this got to do with Champion’s week in Times Square? Well, really nothing other than what my memory serves on what was my first sight of Times Square. I was 18, it was in the late fall of 1975 and I ended up in Manhattan somehow. The view of Times Square at night in all it’s glory with all it’s color and sounds that seemed to blend all together reminded me of the Musical Fountain back home in western Michigan. Seems odd I know, but Times Square is like one big Bluetooth… everything is connected and in sync. Can you imagine the glass shattering noise that will upset this continuity when the Cup Cars roar through. It has got to be awesome.
In many ways I am happy that the ‘07 NASCAR season has come to an end. It has been a very strange season, almost overwhelming. It has had so many twists and turns, happy moments, sad moments, shocking moments and stupid moments. And for me it did not end on a good moment, because I am far from a Jimmie Johnson fan. ‘08 should prove interesting and I hope Toyota’s and Dodges dominate.
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Kasey Kahne is under investigation after a ‘misunderstanding’ with a security guard at the Homestead track. All the details can be found at NASCAR.com.
So the pretty boy has an attitude too. Good for him. Maybe he is trying to get more into that bad boy blue collar image to suit his new sponsor for next year, Budweiser. All he has to do now is transfer it to the track and we’ll just have to see what happens.
Farewell Busch Series, but at least you went out with a bang. The last Busch race yesterday at Homestead was anything but boring with several lead changes and plenty of action. My prayers were not answered though as one final “Buschwhacker” did take the win. Jeff Burton winning was better than some of the other likely Cup drivers. That #29 Holiday Inn paint scheme was awesome. For a short time it looked like Steve Wallace was going to stay near the front, but the inevitable happened and he ripped the fenders off it again. The guys in the booth sure gave young Steve a lot of plugs on the tele, but that was probably to keep Rusty from blowing a fuse.
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With Johnson on the pole there’s actually a chance he might not be in Victory Lane for the final race of ‘07. It’s not too often that a pole sitter wins. I’ve accepted his chances of this years Championship is all but owned, but I truly hope that we have a feel good race tomorrow with an unlikely or deservedly so winner. Like that of Ryan Newman or Mark Martin or even David Ragan for pete’s sake. If Johnson wins again, 5 in a row, I will blow a gasket. Will we have to see that TV commercial after this year with he and Knaus doing up that blue Camaro? The Camaro I swear I’ve seen in other TV ad’s, where Johnson says, with his pompous ass attitude, “We could always do my wife’s car” yeah OK Jimmy…since Chad’s probably doing your wife anyway he might as well do her car too.
I’ve been paying closer attention to Jeff Gordon lately. Earlier this week he was interviewed on NASCAR Now and I saw a different Jeff Gordon. He has changed a lot this year. It’s probably happiness coupled with fatherhood and maturity. It used to be I could not tolerate him and his nasal drawl, but somewhere in my heart I’ve found some new respect for him and I don’t believe it’s just me.
Mike Skinner proved that anything can happen in a close Championship race. Kudos to Ron Hornaday and too bad for Mike for losing a rear wheel. Perhaps Johnson will lose an axle tomorrow!!
Today will bring the final Busch race not only of ‘07 but forever. Please Lord, let there be a winner other than Shrub, Carl, Happy or Hamlin. And maybe Steve “Blinky” Wallace can keep the fenders on it. Amen.
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Homestead will mark the last race for Chevrolet’s Monte Carlo SS. “With 396 wins since its introduction in 1971, the Monte Carlo brand has set a benchmark in the series. Drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Benny Parsons, Cale Yarborough and Terry Labonte piloted their Monte Carlos to wins and championships. These icons in the sport passed the torch to today’s champions such as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart to bring Chevrolet’s total driver’s championships to 23,” said Ed Peper, general manager of Chevrolet.
Count them, 23 Championships since 1971, and that is including the brief time the Monte Carlo was replaced by the Lumina, where Dale Earnhardt won at least one Championship while driving that car. That says a lot about the car. It has changed a lot over the last 30 or so years, but it still seemed to run fairly well most of the time, especially after they came out with the ares-coupe in the early to mid- 1980’s. It is that version of the Monte Carlo that is my favourite.
It will be hard to watch races without any Monte Carlo’s in them, even though today’s race version is little more than a custom built machine with decals on it. It is the fact that the brand will no longer be present. I had a difficult time when the Lumina first replaced the Monte Carlo, but this will be be a little more difficult because I’m even more of a fan of racing than I was then (although there were some dark years there after Dale died) and seeing a Monte Carlo on the track has become even more ingrained on my psyche over time.
Heck, my first car was even a Monte Carlo. It was a 1973 Monte Carlo to be precise, and a piece of $500 junk that I bought with money I borrowed from my Grandmother. I borrowed the money from my Grandmother because my parents told me I couldn’t buy the car and wouldn’t loan me the cash. I love my Grandmother. Anyway, my plan was to buy it, keep it at my friend Gerry’s (the NASCAR virgin) house, fix it, register it, drive it home, and have my parents just try and take it away from me - it worked. A week and a $100 later I had that car fit for the road. I had it on the road legally for no less than 2 hours when I got hit by a truck. The damage wasn’t that bad and I settled with the trucking company for $600 and fixed it myself for $20. There was still some cosmetic damage that I never did fix, but in the end the car literally cost me $20 after everything was said and done.
One problem though, I had bought the car from a a known drug dealer at the time - known to every cop in town, but not to me. So after about 8 months of being pulled over for ‘routine’ checks the police finally decided I really did have nothing to do with the guy I bought the car off of and they left me alone. All my friends would make fun of me about it. More often than not whenever one of my friends would see a car pulled over on the side of the road they would always assume it was me and slow down to say ‘hi’. In my High School yearbook that year under “where most often found” it says, ‘pulled over at the side of the road’.
I ended up taking a hack saw to the roof of the car about 3 years later because I wanted a convertible. It looked nice as a convertible, too bad it drove like garbage after the roof was gone (the frame started to sag in the middle after a while), and whenever it rained I’d have to put garbage bags on the seats. I scrapped the car before winter hit. I miss it. I even have a picture of it, along with all my other cars I’ve ever owned (except that 4-door piece of crap Parisienne), on my desk at work. What can I say? I’m car guy, and I’m sure going to miss seeing a Monte Carlo out on that track every week.
If I remember, I’ll get that picture of my convertible from work and scan it to share it with you later.
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Lewis Hamilton did not win the Formula One championship. Or will he? The final race in Brazil ended with Hamilton in 7th place, much to the dismay of many fans. But as in most auto races there was a controversy.
In this case it seems that the 4th, 5th, and 6th place cars all had issues related to their fuel temperature violating the rules. Initially there was no penalty given to these cars (representing Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld). Now there is a FIA hearing to determine if they should be pulled and Hamilton moved up and awarded 4th. If that were to happen he would then get the championship.
My big question is should he get the championship, and would he want to get it like this? There is no doubt that winning would be a feather in the cap. But I can’t imagine that this is the way any driver would like to get a win. It just seems empty to me.
Obviously the rules need to be followed, and penalties need to be enforced. But when a driver fails to perform well in a race, I don’t think they should be retroactively rewarded because of those penalties being enforced. Penalties and their eventual reactions should be resolved during the race they occur in. In cases where they are determined afterwards, those penalties should apply forward to those drivers next race, or against the team that they drove for.
To give Hamilton the win makes it a hollow victory. It takes away the better performance of the cars that took the checkered flag well ahead of him.
I’m not the only one to hold this view. Michael Schumacher stated,
Even Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren chief executive, said
“Victory for us would be a clarification of the rationale behind the FIA stewards’ decision at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix - a clarification, indeed, that we regard as essential not only for us but for all our competitors, to enable all teams to race in compliance with the regulation regarding fuel temperatures throughout the 2008 formula one season.”
So this is what the drivers and teams thing. What FIA thinks is as yet unknown. But what to you fans think? Would a retroactive win be good for Formula One? Would you feel as elated for Lewis Hamilton if he wins on a technicality, rather than taking the flag on the track?
I for one have to say no, and I think FIA will agree.
This weekend’s race will be last one for Dale Earnhardt Jr and DEI together.
“It’s hard to imagine it was 1999 when we made our first Cup start with this team and with Budweiser,” he said. “I’m excited about the off-season and jumping right into my new deal, but it’s very, very important for me to end my time with Dale Earnhardt Inc. with integrity and with my head held high”.
As DEI and Dale Jr fast approach their white flag lap one pauses and wonders, “what if”?
What if, Dale Senior didn’t die?
What if, Dale Jr had a better relationship with Teresa?
What if, DEI kept pace with the other big teams and didn’t fall behind technology wise?
What if, Dale Jr did win a Championship?
What if, Dale Jr made The Chase more?
What if, … . What if, … . What if, … .
What if, Dale Jr and DEI never, ever get back together?
I can’t answer these questions, no one can, not even those who are involved. One thing for certain is, that no matter what happens, Dale Jr will do it with integrity and no matter what he accomplishes, and with who he accomplishes it with, he will do it on his own terms:
“When your career is over and you look back, I think that’s critical: A measure of your character is more important than the number of wins you have. That kind of thing will last longer than any driving career. ” No matter who you are driving for.
Another project near completion. The exterior is finished. It took longer than expected due to weather. I have some loose ends on the interior, but it will remain a shell until the home owner gets together another 25 or 30k to finish it off inside. It’s always a good feeling to walk away with a satisfied customer.
“Chase”
That’s the homeowner on the left getting his hands dirty.
I really can’t take credit for what you are about to see. Funnyanimalvideos.com was the site where I got this video from and I must say it is quite funny. A friend of mine saw this video with me, and as a major fan of NASCAR was just rolling with laughter.
I do hope the Petty’s can pull things together. The recent choice to move to the Yates garage in Moorseville may help. Richard was on the tele Sunday and said if after the 3 year lease is up with Robert Yates and things have improved he will consider building a new complex.
What a legacy, both incredibly impressive and tragic. Adam’s death was very sad and having myself lost a teenage daughter to a car accident I have nothing but empathy for this family. His death prompted the family to found the Victory Junction Gang Camp which is a Hole in the Wall Gang camp. These camps are sprouting up around the country with actor Paul Newman to thank for. We are fortunate to have one of about a dozen of these camps right in our backyard. Double “H” Ranch is located in the Adirondacks about 10 minutes west of Lake George. It has been established for about 15 years and has been an incredible attribute to our community. Prior to that it was The Hidden Valley resort. This place, a lodge, has it’s own snow ski hill and private lake and when I was a 21 year old I worked there one winter as a lift operator. The people that help Paul Newman build these camps are a Godsend to the children who need it so much.
I wish the Petty’s nothing but good fortune and I’d love to see Bobby Labonte drive a winning car.
Trust me, this will get to Jimmie Johnson, you just have to bear with me.
Today at work I had to attend a workshop at the High School in which my elementary school ‘feeds’ to. All of the other ‘feeder’ schools were there as well. All and all it was a good work shop and I always enjoying going to the High School - I think I will eventually take a High School position before I retire.
Anyway, during a break the High School’s Junior (grades 9 & 10) Girl’s Volleyball coach asked to meet with me after the workshop. Hmm .. my curiosity was peaked, as I have never formally met her, and I didn’t even know that she knew who I was.
After the workshop I went and met with her and what she told me blew me away. She had just finished holding try-outs for the Junior team and she has done something that is very rarely done - she is pretty much cutting all of her remaining players from last year (now in Grade 10) and making most of her team out of the Grade 9’s. What does this have to do with me? I’ll tell you, out of the 11 new players she is adding to her squad, 9 are from my last year’s elementary school team. Out of the 2 grade 10 players staying on the team one is also a product of my volleyball program. That means 10 out of the 13 players on the Junior Girl’s High School Volleyball Team passed through my Volleyball program. 10 out of 13!
If you recall I had a dream team last year and the team remains virtually intact, except for 3 players - two of which were cut and the third didn’t try out because it conflicted with her hockey schedule (she would have made it too - oh well). This team was undefeated for 2 years at our school (2 City Championships and numerous tournament wins) and now they are going on as a High School team virtually unchanged. Wow.
As much as I’d like to take all of the credit, I can’t. These girls are special, but they are also the product of other coaches (hi Dale), their parents, and their ability to put aside personal differences to keep their goal in sight, while working as a team to achieve it. I don’t know if I’ll ever have another team like that one again and their new coach is really really looking forward to this upcoming season. She won the City Championship several years ago, and she says this team right now as it stands, having not played a single match yet, is far better than that Championship team she had previously.
This former volleyball team of mine is just like the team Jimmie Johnson has. They have a uncanny way of putting things together, especially when it counts, to attain their goal.
This is not an uncommon thing in NASCAR, it has happened before. Cale Yarborough, driver for Junior Johnson, comes to mind (3 Championships in a row), as does Richard Petty’s incredible 26(?) win season, Dale Earnhardt in the early 90’s, and Jeff Gordon in the late 90’s. It happens, and when it does there are people who say they are cheating (well they might be just a bit, but the other teams are doing it too), or that NASCAR is playing favourites, or rigging it somehow. Not so. These teams are just putting it together better than their counter parts. Will it last? Probably not, all good things must come to an end, but you can still have a good dynasty.
Whether you like it or not, it is just the way that it is. Will Jimmie win the Championship? The odds are in his favour, but I’m not going to say yes just yet, there are just too many variables. If he does lose look who he looses to, his teammate Jeff Gordon, who is also a driver for Rick Hendrick.
It is about putting the right people in the right places at the right time and allowing them to do their jobs the way they know how to. Sounds like my volleyball team. Hendrick is the coach that puts it together and then unleashes them to do it and every so often you’ll get that 10 out 13 team that will do it, and do it well.
What a boring a whacked out race at Phoenix. Things could not have been more predictable. Well, other than The Biff charging forward near the end. That was the best part of the race. It was a replay of Texas. NASCAR should tweek the Chase format and move some of these flat tracks around. The drivers love these tracks, but from a fans POV it’s boring!! At least I think so.
Johnson or Gordon? I’m rooting for Jeff.
I’ve built a new blog site. ONE Loose Lugnut is now up and running. It’s just for fun and because I liked the idea of having two sites. But beware… I may not be so well behaved at the other site… my dark side may emerge over there, and I may write about anything I feel like other than racing.
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