What Was He Thinking ???

Brian Vickers suffered second degree burns to his feet when an exhaust pipe broke half way through the Food City 500 race at Bristol Motor Speedway last Sunday. Team officials say he will be prepared to race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. "We think that a piece of the tail pipe came off, so heat was blowing directly onto the floorboard," Vickers said. "The guys tried to put some lining in the car to protect my feet, but it didn't really help that much. I basically had to run the whole race with my feet burning that was painful." Brian said.

I have an idea Brian, why didn't you get out of the car and call it a day, rather than suffering second degree burns ??? I know, I know, to get a race car driver out of the racecar during a race is tougher than pulling teeth out of his head at 200 mph !!!

Problems With Car Of Tomorrow/Today ???

NASCAR officials are scrambling to solve a couple of ptetntially serious issues with the COT. Denny Hamlin and several others complained about the unusual amount of carbon monoxide in their system after Sunday's race. Some teams had issues with the protective foam on the right side door overheating, melting and producing toxic fumes. Some had springs that failed for on apparent reason, which may have been the reason for Biffle's car being too low during post-race inspection. There were no fines or penalties issued to the #16 machine. Yes, Larry McReynolds you were right, but please, I don't want to hear how right you were for the rest of the weekend at Martinsville !!!

NASCAR officials plan to talk to crew chiefs before they arrive at Martinsville on Friday to discuss solutions to these issues. They will look at adjusting the tolerances for minumum height until it is determined what makes the car settle. They will also suggest that teams use a thicker exhaust pipe after determining those that had exhaust system failures used a thinner pipe to conserve weight.

NASCAR officials have already talked to Roush Fenway Racing about putting a heat shield over the pipe near the right door and notching the foam highter around the pipe to keep heat from compromising it. What a shock - - - NASCAR playing nice ??? Do they realize how many fans are steamed with thier recent antics and mistakes made by them recently ??? Yeah, right !!!

The DuPont Dummy said they used more brakes than normal in last week's car of tomorrow debut, Martinsville is harder on a stock car's brakes than Bristol so be expecting a lot more whinning. I guess I better buy some extra cheese. I wonder what he'll have to say after they repave the track at Bristol, he never seems to run out of items to complain about. Soon he will be able to complain about getting up at 2 AM with his daughter - - - Right DaddyO ??? I suggest you complain to her, maybe she'll listen ???

What's up with the critical comments made by the Car of Tomorrow Inaugural Race Winner, "Shrub" Busch ???
I think that young man needs an attitude adjustment and a lesson in respect. Enough said.

As for Casey Mears starting off slow at Hendricks Motor Sports, I say what a surprise that is - - - I'm surprised that they even gave him a car to compete with since everything worth anything goes to "The Golden Boys". I have said all along that Casey should not have gone there, why did he think Brian was leaving ???

Give It Up ??? - - - - - I Think Not ! ! !

There's an article written by Tim Tuttle from SI.com dated March 29th, Mr. Tuttle believes that Michael Waltrip should, and I quote, "Fire Himself" ? ? ? Where do these sports writers get off spewing this non-sense all over the Internet ??? No, it's not just Mr. Tuttle, either, but I think they are shooting themselves in the foot and making a lot of fans angry, after all Michael Waltrip and all his fans, along with the rest of the world KNOW that we are having hard times trying to get a brand new team up and running with a car manufacturer that is new to Nextel Cup, we don't need to be reminded every single day of the week !!! They should spend their energy writing something good and uplifting and cut the negative energy stuff. Just my opinion, but then what do I know ???

I am an avid NASCAR fan, who just so happens to be Michael's #1 Fan. Since when have I lost my right to support whomever I want and, more importantly, when has Michael Waltrip lost his right to participate and compete ??? I love all of these sports writers and armchair quarterbacks that try to say that Michael should "fire himself". I for one believe that Michael has just as much right to participate and compete as the next guy (or gal) and I have the right and the privillege and the honor of supporting him 1000%

I believe that the real issues for the Michael bashings are two fold: Number one is the fact that Michael is a Christian and makes no bones about it. The second reason is the hatred for TOYOTA coming into NASCAR. I cannot believe the hate that I have seen because of this, it boggles the mind !!! But as my Driver would say, "Get over it." !!! Because TOYOTA is here to stay, just like the Car of Today is here to stay, so deal with it !!!

In his article Mr. Tuttle mentions drivers that he feels Michael could find "at mid-season" to take his place, first of all since when are we in "mid-season" with only five races run so far ??? Anyway, here's his list of possible replacement drivers: Mike Wallace, John Andretti, Mike Skinner or Bill Elliott, EXCUSE me but Michael is not looking for a driver for the #55 NAPA Auto Parts TOYOTA Camry, much less a driver to qualify the above mentioned TOYOTA, which Michael has mentioned on Inside Nextel Cup, what part of that don't you understand Mr. Tuttle ???

That's all I have for now. Have a wonderful week and check back next week for another edition of NASCAR News !!!

The Wal-NutzManiac