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12/18/09 PIT NOTE: “Christmas” has become a word of contention for some in America: (1) atheists try to remove it from our very thoughts; (2) many Christians engage in the ‘fight’ for the ‘truth;’ and (3) others who seldom darken the doors of a church seek to preserve their family traditions. Television news shows cover the controversy, the anger, and the frustration that each side exhibits. The actual day quickly passes, and the issue will lie silent again for the next eleven months. For most of my 58 Christmases that I can remember, I have witnessed this pattern and I even participated in it when I was younger. This year, I have joined a Facebook group for the ‘cause.’ However, the ‘click’ to join was the only action required. No one has contacted me, and there does not seem to be any expectation of my getting more involved. I doubt any of the atheists or legislators will be impressed with the numbers who have joined, but it is a group with whom I want to associate. |
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11/24/09
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
- Denny Hamlin won the Homestead race and finished 5th in the Chase. His fourth win of the season came in what was one of the best races of 2009. For the entire race, the 10 to 20 degree banking allowed side by side racing for positions throughout the field. For most of the race, the television coverage showed split screen coverage of this exciting racing. Denny finished 5th overall, even though, he had three DNF’s during the 10 Chase races. He vowed to be on the Champion’s stage instead of Victory Circle within the next two years.
- Mark Martin finished 10th and maintained his 2nd place position in the Chase. Now, Mark has finished 2nd to a champion five times, and he was in 3rd place three other times in his 25 year career. He praised his team and expressed how much fun he is having. He will be back next year, and when he wins his first race in 2010, he will become the oldest person to ever win a Cup race.
- Kurt Busch led several times during the race and actually would have finished 3rd in the standings if the race had ended at various points of the race. His departing Crew Chief, Pat Tryson, called for two tires with 37 laps to go, which got him back in the lead, but Kurt fell to 3rd in the final finishing order of the race.
- Final Chase standing is - Johnson, Martin, Gordon, Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Stewart, Biffle, Montoya, Newman, Kahne, Edwards, and Vickers. The only changes were Hamlin (+3 positions), Stewart (-1 position) and Montoya (-2 positions). Montoya and Stewart became involved in a personal grudge match during the race, which resulted in a two lap penalty for Montoya after he retaliated against Tony for sending him to the garage for 16 laps of repairs.
- Six drivers who won in 2008, but did not win this season are: Edwards (who won 9 times in ’09), Biffle, Burton, Bowyer, Newman, and Dale, Jr.
- Eight drivers, who won poles in 2008, but did not sit on the pole in 2009 are: Kahne, Biffle, Dale, Jr., Edwards, Nemechek, Carpentier, Menard, and Kvapil.
- Richard Childress Racing teams did not win even one race in 2009, but Harvick and Burton both ran well the last four races of the year.
- Michael Waltrip finished his last full season as a Cup driver. 2010 will be the first time in 36 years (since 1973) that either Michael or his brother, Darrell, has not been full-time in the series. Michael will still be at the track as an owner each race, and eight times as a driver.
- Kyle Busch won the Nationwide Series Championship title.
- Ron Hornaday won the Camping World Truck Series Championship for the fourth time.
- Jimmie Johnson made history in Homestead with his fourth straight Cup Championship title. Jimmie finished the race 5th to secure the championship. He now joins Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon as the only four-time or more champions. Jimmie has only been in the Cup series for eight years; he has won the title half of those years, and the other four years he finished in the top 5 of points. In the five years that the Chase format has been used, he has won 18 of the 50 races and almost $60,000,000 dollars. He was presented a check for $6,520,800 by Sprint after the race. While he entered the race with a 108-point lead over his teammate, Mark Martin, and he only had to finish 25th or better to secure the record, he had to race to the very end of the race. At the end, there were 29 cars still on the lead lap and five more drivers just one lap down. If Jimmie had gone out of the race anytime before 3 laps to go, he could have lost the title to Mark. Jimmie was his usual low key self during the interviews; taking time to first acknowledge Rick Hendrick’s commitment to family, and then thanking everyone on his team. His Crew Chief, Chad Knaus, had just as few words to describe how he felt by saying he was going to enjoy celebrating tonight and then start thinking about Daytona in February. He would not comment on “5” in row.
- Rick Hendrick won his ninth Cup Championship in 25 years. In addition, he is the first owner to ever have four titles in a row and teams in the first three positions in the points. Rick started his company in 1984, and he was trying to sell it because he did not have any sponsorship. However, when Geoff Bodine unexpectantly won a race that year, the attention brought sponsorship. Then in 1993, he went against the prevailing logic of the sport and hired a very young driver by the name of Jeff Gordon. Since then, Jeff has won four titles, Terry Labonte one, and Jimmie Johnson four titles. Nine titles in the last 16 seasons (56.5%), 36% of the titles in the company’s existence. The media questioned Rick, his drivers, employees, former employees, and other owners about what makes Rick so dominant. The analysis centered on Rick himself. Rick is a calm man who inspires everyone who has, or does work with him. He is a fair man who asks for what he expects from each person, who rewards for good performance, challenges those performing below expectation, and makes changes when someone can no longer perform to expectations. A man who respects his employees. So, the most used word to describe the experience of working at Hendrick was - FUN!
PIT NOTE:
The most common words heard by consolers are “I just want you to be happy.” It is heard in conversations about marriage, child rearing, careers, and addictions…in every type of counseling. Why? Because it is true. People really want to be happy. It is not a selfish statement; it is reality, and it is true around the world. There are champions who are happy. There are rich people who are happy. There are poor people who are happy, and there are people who will never even walk who are happy. What is not true is that the only way to become ‘happy’ is to forsake the people with whom you are involved. Becoming ‘happy’ is usually found in changing what happens to yourself, which will involve exhibiting the characteristics mentioned above about Rick Hendrick: calmness, fairness, respectfulness, clear expectations and clear communication. It is fun working and living with people like this, because you know what to expect in good and bad times. They challenge and reward you, as well as, forgive as needed. Stress is not the operative word in such relationships; fun is the natural byproduct.
Since this is the PIT NOTE, I hope you are asking - ‘Now where is God in this?’ In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” In Timothy 6:17, Paul says, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” However, calmness, fairness, respectfulness, clear expectations and communications are not characteristics for which we are to strive to create and therefore earn the favor of God and happiness in life. These are characteristics of believers who “…put their hope in God…” (I Timothy 6:17 above). Complete “hope in God” is by your faith by which you are declared ‘justified’ (Galatians 2:16-21). That is, God declares that because of our faith in Jesus being our substitute who suffered the punishment for our personal sin, we are no longer under condemnation from God. That realization provides happiness in all things. That reality allows us to face the victories and trials of life (Rick Hendrick was not even in Homestead for the celebration of the 9th championship because a niece was having a liver transplant) with the same attitude of joy, because we see our lives in the light of what Jesus provides, not what we can cause by our works of righteousness. It is not Rick’s style of leadership we should emulate in order to be happy; it is embracing Jesus as our Savior that guarantees happiness.
PERSONAL NOTE:
While most everyone in NASCAR, except the top three Hendrick teams, are glad this season is over; I am not. God revealed Himself to me through my cancer treatments this summer to a depth I have never experienced. I pray that I will forever, daily experience the ‘tuning of my heart to sing,’ which became my reality in Florida, and has continued. I thank each of you who prayed for me and the healing of my body, which extended to my spirit. While I may write an update from time to time during the off season, I will not on a regular basis until February.
2010 will be the seventh season we have written the “Did You Know?” with MRO. I am blessed to write it, but Cheryl Shore is the editor and without her faithfulness it would not have continued. Also, Billy Mauldin, President of MRO, has dedicated staff time and a location on the MRO web-site for this effort. Please express to them your gratitude if this is something you would like to see continued.
Finally, we are justified by faith in Jesus alone. There are no works that we can do to obtain more of God’s love. He freely gives it all in his Son. If you have faith, you are freed by the Good News that Jesus died as a sinner, so you do not, nor ever will, have to die. Jesus was raised by the power of his Father and that same resurrection power is what will produce the joy of living holy in Him in our natural bodies until the day we see Him face to face. May you and your families experience this great joy every day, but especially during this Christmas season. If I can ever help you in anyway, please contact me.
To His Glory, the Good of Others, and our Enjoyment.
Ron
rpegram@samaritansfeet.org
704-905-0667
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends!
| CHECK OUT THIS OUR DAILY BREAD ARCHIVE - GIVING AWAY HAPPINESS |
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11/18/09
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
- It’s all about Jimmie Johnson - his trouble at Texas, his dominance at Phoenix, and this weekend for winning it all in Homestead! Last week, Eddie Gossage, President of Texas Speedway, had the “Fat Lady” (literally) singing prematurely as the #48 team crashed on lap 3. This week, Jimmie led the most laps and won the race taking the most possible points. Now, he can only lose the 2009 title to Mark Martin. However, that can only happen if Mark picks up 109 points. With 131 points, the maximum that a driver can pick in one race, and just 3 points between each finishing position after 10th place, Jimmie has only to finish in the top 25 to claim his fourth straight championship. The Phoenix win was Jimmie’s 7th of the season.
- Mark Martin has picked up over 108 points on Jimmie Johnson nine times in his career. Each time, it was a combination of a great finish by Martin, or either a crash or mechanical problem for Jimmie. Neither of these is likely; which only leaves the possibility of Jimmie getting caught up in another driver’s crash. Not likely, but it did happen in Texas…and it could happen again…maybe this week?
PIT NOTE:
Why so little news this week? It illustrates how dominating the story of Jimmie Johnson is in the NASCAR world now. This year, he is best by the number of his wins. He is not only leading in points by the five year-old Chase system, but he is also leading under the old system. The new system is designed to resemble a play-off system and create excitement as a limited number of drivers compete against each other, while still part of a larger field, for the top honor for the year. It worked this year; the final race has only two drivers left who are eligible to be the champion. This is just like two teams going to the Super Bowl, or any other stick-ball sport. However, in racing, the other 41 teams are still competing this week. Yet, Jimmie will get all the headlines, regardless of how exciting the race may be. NASCAR will try to honor the race winner (assuming it isn’t Jimmie) by holding the champion on the back straight-away until the race winner is given the traditional (yet abbreviated) Victory Lane celebration. The reporters will be waiting for Jimmie’s arrival, so they can get to the BIG STORY of who is the champion. Whether this is good or bad for the sport is not the point in this article. My question is: What is the BIG STORY in your life?
What do you focus on each day –your kids, work, being perfect, TV programs, sports, food, and/or your health? During the eight week sabbatical my Lord provided for me during my prostate treatment, He re-tooled me and changed my focus. I returned with ‘the joy of my salvation’ being restored. I am truly enjoying life, which comes from focusing on loving God. Loving God in every aspect of life; not just in a praise and worship time on Sunday, not during a ‘daily devotional’ time, and not when I get through with my day’s tasks, but loving God in everything He provides, presents, and allows. This enjoyment in life comes from having my heart “tuned” daily by the Gospel. It comes from finding the reality of Jesus on every page of the Bible and daily purposefully reminding myself of the freedom that I live because of the life and death of Jesus. I am filled with joy as I focus on Jesus, not as my example, but in the provision of total forgiveness and acceptance. I am focusing on the power of His resurrection, which is the power that provides LIFE, ABUNDANT and FREE. Before the cancer, I focused on me and what I had to accomplish. I unintentionally focused on my sins and sought ways to avoid or overcome them. I was into Christian ‘self help’ books. I found that Jesus is all the help I need. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Enjoyment of life is found when Jesus is my focus, instead of when I strive to live a life that He can be pleased with. Are you enjoying life? It’s just a matter of daily focusing on THE STORY that Jesus died for your sins and you are justified and sanctified by faith, not by your own works.
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11/10/09
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Kurt Busch wins at Texas, and he moves from 6th to 4th in points. Kurt got better gas mileage than anyone; however, he basically coasted the final lap to claim his third win of the season. The whole race was dominated by the Busch brothers, as they led (combined) 313 of the 332 laps. Actually, Kyle Busch dominated the race before running out of fuel with three laps to go and finished 11th. After the race, Kurt was asked about Pat Tryson, his crew chief who is leaving at the end of the season. At the beginning of the Chase, Tyson’s announcement resulted in his being allowed to come to the Penske shop only once per week for debriefing of the driver, with the car chief running the day to day preparation of the car. Kurt had thanked most everyone in his ‘Victory Lane Celebration’ when the reporter asked about what he thought of Tryson’s role in the win. Kurt responded that “neither Pat nor I know what either of our futures hold, so we both have to get what we can now.”
- Jimmie Johnson finished 38th and lost 111 points to Mark Martin. Jimmie will still be champion if he finishes 4th or better in the last two races, regardless of what any other driver does. The improbable happened to the #48 team on lap 3. The #00 car barely touched the right rear bumper of the #77 car; which then wiggled into the side of the #48 car. Jimmie’s car turned sideways, almost straightened out, then lost control and hit the #77 on his way to a big crash into the inside wall coming out of Turn 2. The damage took one hour and eight minutes to repair, a total of 112 laps since there were only green flag laps during this period. When Jimmie returned to the race, he was in 43rd place but finished 38th. The diligence of his team to return him to the race saved him 15 points as each position is worth 3 points. After the race, interviews revealed that Jimmie had sat in the car the entire time of the repairs contemplating why the crash had happened, and what he could have done differently until he saw the ‘spirits of the team members pick up who were working on the car.’ Once he saw their positive demeanor, he changed his thoughts from what he was losing in points, to what he could save in points once he was back in the race and what he needed to do to make it happen.
- Hendrick before individual teams. The top three spots in the Chase are all Hendrick cars. If they finish that way, it will be the first time in NASCAR history that one owner has ended the season covering the top three spots. Everyone in the organization will split the overall winnings in their bonuses and their ‘names will be on the trophy. With Jimmie in the garage and Jeff Gordon leading the race at the time of the crash, Jeff was only 31 points out of the points lead at that moment. Mark Martin was only 87 out of the lead. Yet, in the garage were members of Jeff, Mark and Dale Jr’s. teams helping with the repairs on Jimmie’s car. In fact, Jeff’s car chief was in charge of one section of the repairs.
- Mark Martin is now only 73 points behind after finishing 4th and picking up 111 points, Jeff is 112 points behind with a 13th place finish. Mark’s post race comments centered on the unlikelihood that Jimmie will have another bad race that would actually cost him the title, but that the reverse had happened last week in Talladega, thus “it isn’t over.” Mark also pointed out that positions 2 through 6 have always been close, and that the press has focused too much on Johnson’s big lead for the title and not enough on the good races for the next 5 positions. Once again, Mark revealed that a true racer’s attitude is that every race matters. Titles are about the season average, but life is lived one race at a time and every position counts. See Pit Note.
PIT NOTE:
Kurt’s response was so non-committal, and also absolutely true, that one may wonder if he had contemplated his answer as he took his backwards victory lap. However, the truth he spoke is worthy of contemplation for each of us as we consider our own lives. Jesus reveals the truth of honoring life in the ‘now,’ each day sufficient in itself, not living for some future that may not be realized. Far too many people seek only to survive another work week, so they can “party” on the weekend. Kurt’s statement that neither he nor Pat know their future is true for their careers; however, it does not have to be true of their ultimate future in heaven or hell. Each person can be sure of God’s forgiveness, forever, by simple faith in Jesus. Everyone who believes in the Good News that Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law, therefore satisfying the holiness of God, is assured of eternity with Him. Then, there is the truth of “we both have to get what we can now.” While this could be taken in the sense of ‘eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die,’ or ‘go for the gusto, for you only go around once;’ Jesus gives us the Good News that we do not need to worry about tomorrow. We are to trust Him for our daily bread and enjoy the life that He provides day by day. The Gospel that we should daily ‘preach’ to ourselves celebrates that by simple faith we get both a secure eternity with God and the freedom to live every single day until we leave this world with a smile on our faces as our hearts are tuned to sing with the assurance of His blessings daily.
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10/28/09
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
-Denny Hamlin won the battle at Martinsville, and Jimmie Johnson expended his points lead with a 2nd place finish. After two frustrating weeks with bad finishes, which took him out of a chance for the title, Denny took the inside position on two restarts in the last 14 laps to survive and win the Martinsville race winner’s Grandfather Clock. Denny ran well the last two weeks, but failed to finish in the top 10 when he crashed on the restart at California, as he spun himself out by turning in front of Montoya while leading.
- NASCAR “let ‘em race” back to the finish-line, even though John Andretti sat on the line after spinning out with one lap to go. The leaders had just crossed the Start/Finish line under the White Flag as John spun coming out of Turn 4. He hit the inside wall and stalled his engine. NASCAR could have ended the race by throwing the caution flag and freezing the field, as the final lap had begun. They chose not to freeze the field; they felt there was room for the cars to cross the line and not involve Andretti in any way. As Andretti saw the field coming at him for the checkered flag, he had to be more than a little concerned. Crew Chiefs were a little concerned for their cars and drivers; and they were probably a little confused, since this was the exact situation in Loudon a few years ago that resulted in the change to the green/white/checkered finishes. The fans were both confused and glad that NASCAR let the race end under green.
- After six races, Jimmie Johnson’s 118 points lead is the second largest in the history of the Chase. Last year, on his way to his third title, Jimmie was 149 points ahead. He has now won three of the six Chase races and finished in the top 5 in the other three. Mark Martin is still 2nd in the standings, but he lost 28 points to Johnson with his eighth place finish. He is now 118 points behind and 34 points ahead of Jeff Gordon in 3rd. These two Hendrick teammates are the only drivers who could overtake teammate Johnson in just one race.
PIT NOTE:
So, is it over? Will Johnson win his fourth straight Chase Championship; is it just a matter of going through the motions until he receives the crown at Homestead? Probably, but it is not guaranteed. In the past 32 races, Jimmie has 11 wins, 20 top 3’s, 22 top 5’s, and 28 top 10’s. This proves he and his team are good, not just lucky. It reveals that they know how to prepare, set a strategy that will win, and adjust to climate and on-track situations in order to finish well.
However, it does not assure Johnson the Championship for 2009. Each lap must be run by him and all competitors until someone has a lead that cannot be overcome or the checkered flag flies at the last race (assumed to be in Homestead, however, if one of the remaining four races is postponed, i.e. Loudon in 2001, then at another track after Thanksgiving).
Right now, Las Vegas would set high odds that Johnson will be the champion, but ‘odd’ things happen in racing and in life. After the Martinsville race, Jimmie said that it was “too early to think about points,” as if it is not all that is on his mind! He spoke of the “wild card” coming at Talladega, where the “Big One” many times determines the race winner, and could dictate the champion. He will hang back in the race and try to avoid the “Big One,” but I have witnessed the pack that hangs back, ends up being in the “Big One.”
Having a goal is sometimes fun, many times stressful. In our culture, we are prompted and pushed to set and reach goals. Retirement has been presented as the ultimate goal; a title to be obtained, and then real living to begin…, sadly, at the end of one’s life. A sign on my desk says, “Grabbing the Brass Ring is not much fun, if you don’t enjoy riding the Merry-Go-Round.”
Did you enjoy yesterday? Are you enjoying today? Or, are you just enduring the weekdays, longing for the weekend, a holiday or vacation? Is Sunday the only day you enjoy, because the Cup series has a race? While in Florida for my cancer treatment (I am fine by the way if you missed my note a few weeks ago, thanks again for your prayers and support!), I started enjoying EVERYDAY! For most of my life, I have prayed that God would be glorified in what I do, and others would be blessed at the same time. However, during those eight weeks, I added to my prayer “and may I ENJOY what I do to glorify God and bless people.” As I walked on the beach each day, I was reminded that God and eternity were constantly present as I looked at the ocean and the horizon. On my other side were houses where people who needed me to love them were near at hand. For most of my time on the beach, I was just looking down for sea shells and not enjoying God or people. During the sixth week, I experienced that I do not have to wait to enjoy life when I die and go to Heaven, but that in Jesus I have life and it is abundant (John 10:10). I stopped looking at my feet; I raised my head and could see the Eternal on one side and people on the other! I started ‘dancing’ with God, praising Him, enjoying Him, reveling in the Truth that I am free in Him! I am not condemned by my sin, for I live by faith and God sees Jesus instead of me. I received the truth that I cannot do anything to make God love me more. I realize that the Gospel is not just for those who do not have faith in God; it is also for Christians, that each day I need to be reminded, or remind myself of the Good News of real life found in faith in the substitution of Jesus for me in the judgment of my sins.
Are you full of JOY today? I hope so. If not, email me. Let’s talk. Let me share with you what happened to me because of God’s love.
THE MIND OF CHRIST: CELEBRATING THE JOY OF THE CHRISTLIKE DIFFERENCE |
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10/20/09
LOWES MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Jimmie Johnson wins for first time in four years…at Lowe’s Motor Speedway….his third win in the five Chase races this year! Jimmie now has a 90-point lead over Mark Martin, increased from just a 12 point lead before the Lowe’s race, as Mark finished 17th. Jeff Gordon moved to 3rd, but he lost ground in the points and is now 135 points behind. Jeff is followed by Tony Stewart at 155 points back (he would be 117 ahead of Jimmie in the old system). Kurt Busch is over a whole race of points behind in 5th place, and Montoya fell to 6th, 195 points behind after finishing 35th.
Does Jimmie have his record setting 4th straight title in the ‘bag?’ No, if Martin can fall 78 points by finishing 17th in one race, and Montoya even more with a 35th place finish, either can reverse the results in one race. If Jimmie can do it, it can be done by others. That is the technical truth, but no one expects Jimmie to have such a finish. Montoya spun his tires on a restart; Mark Martin was behind him and did not spin his tires, and thus Mark ran into Montoya. Montoya’s damage to his right rear quarter panel reduced his down force and destroyed his performance. In addition, he caused more damage when the repairs made in the pits came off. Martin’s damage was not as bad, but it proves how just a little damage can affect the cars performance a lot. Mark started 2nd, but being back in the pack on the restart doomed him. Meanwhile, Johnson kept his car up front and never faced such problems. In the end, Johnson winning the pole and having the 1st pit position, may have been the biggest factor that allowed him to beat Kasey Kahne out of the pits on the last stop by just a fraction of an inch. That gave Jimmie the choice of starting rows, and he never had to fight to pass Kahne.
Yes, Jimmie can lose the title, IF he messes up, gets in someone else’s crash, or some part breaks on his car. However, with five races to go, the fact that everyone is talking of the title already being his to ‘lose,’ not having to ‘win’ the title, testifies to how remote these possibilities are.
- Where the 2009 Chase Drivers started at Lowe's Motor Speedway: (by the drivers Chase standing)
1) Jimmie Johnson #48 - started 1st on the pole
2) Mark Martin #5 – 2nd
3) Juan Pablo Montoya #42 – 18th
4) Tony Stewart #14 – 5th
5) Jeff Gordon #24 – 9th
6) Kurt Busch #2 – 15th
7) Greg Biffle #16 – 23rd
8) Carl Edwards #99 – 28th
9) Denny Hamlin #11 – 17th
10) Ryan Newman #39 – 6th
11) Kasey Kahne #9 – 3rd
12) Brian Vickers #83 – 30th (10-15-2009)
- France, Petty, Earnhardt, and Johnson are the biggest names in NASCAR history, and they are now the first to be enshrined in NASCAR’s Hall of Fame.
• Bill France, Sr. - Convinced a bunch of racer/moonshiners that working together would give them more opportunities to race, and they voted for him to make it happen. He did, and they got to race a hundreds of times a year under the NASCAR sanction. I bet they wish they had been more of businessmen than racers; the France family got all the stock in the company, and they just got to race ‘stock’ cars.
• Bill France, Jr. - Realized that races were events, ‘competition shows,’ if orchestrated correctly (the logistics of the event, not the outcome) would build a fan base, and with TV would spread across the country. His business decisions cut the number of opportunities to race, but the purses got bigger and attracted sponsors for the racers.
• Richard Petty - Piggy backed on his father’s success on the track and in business. He attracted the first big sponsorship in NASCAR, STP. “Petty Blue” sat in victory circle with Richard kissing the trophy girl (yes, they actually did that in the ‘old’ days) 200 times and 7 championships. The trophies got bigger, they added championship rings, the “Big Apple” became the site of the celebration, but Richard never changed; he only traded his helmet in for his signature hat and permanent pair of sun glasses.
• Dale Earnhardt, Sr. - The best driver of all times? (See Pit note below). Dale had seven titles, less wins than Petty, but a better percentage. He was the face of modern NASCAR in the 90’s, proven by T-shirt sales that remained #1 in the world for several years after his death. A giving, prince of a man, who enjoyed the persona of being the “Intimidator,” betrayed by his sly smile and laugh.
• Junior Johnson - A moonshiner who made good in NASCAR. He won 50 races and retired young. He won 132 races and 6 championships as an owner, and he still makes moonshine today…only legally and taxed now. He changed NASCAR when R.J. Reynolds wanted to sponsor his team. He unselfishly introduced them to the Frances. That one act moved NASCAR into the ‘modern era.’ He stayed in his hometown, North Wilkesboro, and still smiles and enjoys life as he did everyday at the track.
PIT NOTE:
The "first class" of the NASCAR Hall of Fame; what an honor to be one of the five inductees. 50 individuals debated the merits of the 25 nominees. They each voted, and one vote was given for the top five vote getters of the 670,000 fans who voted on-line. These five will be inducted on May 23, 2010. A few others received votes, but only one driver, David Pearson, became a center of controversy at his not making the first class. How was the man second only to Petty in wins (105 wins in 574 starts [18.29%] vs. 200 in 1,185 starts [16.87%] was left out, was the question. Pearson, known as the Silver Fox, ran super speedways which are still hosting races for the most part, while many of Petty’s wins were at short tracks that have long been growing weeds.
The question most raised is “why Bill, Jr. instead of Pearson” is in the first class of inductees? The question is not why Bill Jr. should be in the Hall of Fame, just when, and why over David Pearson. However, the question is not even about them. The questioning ultimately concerns the judgment of the voters. Even with 50 voters with long histories in NASCAR (from the media, sponsors, and track owners), discussing each candidate before they voted, their combined wisdom still left a controversy.
Judgment. I’m glad that my eternal home is not being determined by a vote concerning my performance and its worth to God. I sing with joy that each day of my life is joyful and peaceful to the degree I embrace what God has done and is doing, and that what I do today does not determine how God views me and blesses me. I celebrate with great wonder, amazement and humility that God judged my sin, once and for all, in his Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. I thank Him every day that the life I now enjoy, and will continue to do so in Heaven for eternity, is secure because it is the life shown in Jesus’ resurrection from the grave.
Personally, I thank you, Father, that none of us face a vote, because we would all fall short of your glory. Thank you for justifying me based on your judgment of sin through you Son. For those reading this, along with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I ask you to embrace what Jesus did at Calvary, because God promises to justify anyone who has faith in Him (Galatians 2:16).
CHECK OUT THIS OUR DAILY BREAD ARCHIVE - GOOD DEEDS OR THE CROSS? |
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10/14/09
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
- Richard Petty Motorsports had four cars in the race…until all four were involved in the wreck that caused the next to last caution flag of the race.
- Tony Stewart finished 5th after coming back from almost two laps down when he was caught speeding on a green flag pit stop.
- Denny Hamlin may have ended his chance for the title when he cut in front of Montoya’s nose going into Turn 1 on a restart. Denny had taken the lead by virtue of his crew’s performance in the pits, only to make what he termed “a rookie mistake’ as he did not wait for his spotter to call “clear” before moving to the inside lane on the track. The error moved him to 9th in the points, over a whole race worth of available points behind Jimmie Johnson.
- Jimmie Johnson dominated the race, won the race, and leads the Chase after four races. Jimmie is the only driver to race in every Chase race since the new championship format was established five seasons ago. He has won three of these five championships. In the history of the Chase, there have been 54 Chase races. Jimmie has won 16 of those races and finished in the top 5, 29 times. In forty (40) of the 54, he finished in the top 10 and had led almost 3000 laps. This year, he has two wins, his lowest finish is 9th, and he leads his teammate, Mark Martin, by 12 points with six races to go.
PIT NOTE:
WHY does the Lowe’s team have such dominance in the Chase system? Even if they don’t get their fourth straight championship this year, the above numbers will still be better stats than whoever does win. If you look at the last two seasons, the Lowe’s team did not dominate in the summer, but “peaked” in the “play-offs.” They are consistent and make their way to the “big show,” and then ‘show off’ in it! Montoya seems to have figured out the same thing. He admitted his team played it safe for the first 26 races, had only two top 5 finishes, made the Chase and now is the only team to finish in the top 5 in all four of the Chase races (yet, they are 54 points out of the lead, mostly because of not earning bonus points for wins in the regular season).
So, uninspired consistency may get a team into the Chase; but to win the title, performance must increase and making that switch is the specialty of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, his crew chief. After the race, Chad explained that he learned from last week’s race why the car got slower as the race progressed. This week, Chad used that knowledge, and his car gained speed thought out the race. He declined to share what they had learned; but, whatever it was, it took boldness to take the risk to use newly discovered information, change the way you have made decisions, and this week “close the deal” whereas he fell short last week. Chad also mentioned that he is “one of the most penalized crew chiefs in the garage” (although there have been very few fines this year, as NASCAR has raised the penalty of points to over 100; and therefore, made the risk of being caught too heavy to test the limits). At the same time, Chad has not backed off pushing the measurements to the very edge, and NASCAR has taken his car back to the NASCAR Concord Tech center for review three weeks in a row. They warned three weeks ago that there was very little tolerance left for his car to pass inspection; but, Chad correctly believes “inside the bar, is absolutely legal” and therefore the closer you go to the line, the more advantage you claim. He simply has the confidence in his measurements and his team’s ability, that he does not leave as much safety margin as other crew chiefs.
Racing has more variables than any sport; and just one spinning car at the wrong time could mean a 43rd place finish and a loss of over 100 points to the winner of the race, therefore conceivably putting Johnson back to 6th place in the standings this coming weekend, if this happened. Or, a 25-cent piece in the engine could destroy an engine and have the same affect on a teams’ title Chase. But, barring such a rarity, Mark Martin, Juan Montoya, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart (the only drivers with a realistic chance to contend with Jimmie for the title) will not likely win the championship this year.
All this pressure to be so close to perfect for 10 straight weeks with what you can control, while being alert to what you can not control that could doom your bid for the title, is exciting to the fans, nerve racking to the teams involved, frustrating to the losers, and exhilarating to the champ. Then it is over, the celebration happens…and the competition starts all over 75 days later.
GOOD NEWS! No one is competing for God’s attention, with only one champion being crowned. There is no competition with others for a small slice of God’s limited love. There is no penalty that has not been revealed by God that will doom us at God’s judgment seat. There is not condemnation from God because of ‘quilt by association,’ which happens when a driver is caught up in someone else’s crash.
GOOD NEWS!! Jesus overcame death and the grave once, for all. Jesus was punished for every sin for every person, once, for all. Jesus competed with Satan, the father of all lies, and revealed the Truth of God’s love, forgiveness and favor!
GOOD NEWS!!! We are justified (set right with God and each other) by FAITH (Gal. 2:16) ONLY!!! Once that amazing truth is received by faith, our “heart is tuned to sing.” Life is no longer filled with competitions and pressures. There is joy and peace. All from simple, child-like faith, in Jesus.
GOOD NEWS!!!! You can know that relief right now. Call me if you don’t, and let’s talk. 704-905-0667.
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10/5/09
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
- Tony Stewart won the Kansas Cup race and moved to only 67 points behind Mark Martin in the Chase for the Championship. Tony took only two tires with 26 laps to go, and he held off Jeff Gordon (103 pts. behind) to win for the fourth time this season. Tony (who would be so far ahead under the old points system that he could sit out a race and still be in the lead) was the only one of the three drivers who took only two tires to maintain his restart position. Tony indicated that he was preserving his tires in case there was a green-white-checkered finish to the race, even as he watched Jeff make up over two seconds of his lead in the last 20 laps.
- Chase drivers take 10 of the top 11 finishing positions; only David Reutimann breaks into the top 10 at #8. This was the first time in 53 Chase races that nine of the top 10 were Chase contenders. Only Ryan Newman (22nd) and Brian Vickers (37th) were outside the top 11. Mark Martin increased his lead by 8 points over Jimmie Johnson with a 7th place finish, while Jimmie was 9th. With six Chase drivers in front of Martin in 7th place, there are now seven drivers within 114 points of the points lead.
PIT NOTE:
It is almost impossible to win Cup races. It is extremely hard to get in the top 5’s, top 10’s (deserve great celebration), and top 20’s (difficult). Yet, the top 12 teams after the first 26 races of the year are afraid that one finish out of the top 15 could doom their chances for the championship. With seven of the ten Chase races to go, any one of the Chase contenders can mathematically win the title, but the pressure is incredible. In the first two years of this format, it was assumed that drivers could have at least one bad finish in the 30’s and still win the title. Then, it was assumed that you could just be consistently in the top 12 and win the title. So drivers concentrated on consistency, not winning. Sunday’s race proved that this year every position counts; every phase of the race is critical, and that one position in one race may make you a champion, or not. It proves that for the next seven weeks there is no rest and no relief. There is immense pressure on every driver, crew chief, and crewman every day from now to Homestead.
Yet, after the win, Tony said that he knew on Friday that he would have a great chance of winning because “when I got to the garage the whole crew was laughing, cutting up and joking with each other.” So, in the midst of the pressure it was the light hearted, relaxed attitude that indicated proper preparation and great possibility of success.
When Jesus walked the earth, the religious leaders had added so many stipulations to the revelation of God’s love and grace to the point that few anticipated the glorious appearance of the Messiah (Jesus) and the deliverance from sin that His first coming to earth would provide. Just thirty years after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, the Apostle Paul wrote in the book of Romans and Galatians concerning specific misrepresentation of the work of Jesus on the cross. Religious leaders were once again adding to the Gospel a system of rules for believers to follow if they were to be truly born again. While Jesus said he had been sent from his Father and that any and every person that believed would have everlasting life (John 3:16), they added requirements of personal works to obtain that which Jesus revealed to be an absolutely free gift. One of few times Jesus showed anger is recorded in Matthew 11 where he confronted the religious leaders about their misrepresentation of who and what he was here to do. In Matthew 11:27-30, Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor does one know the Father the way the Son does. I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen. Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (The Message)
When you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have eternal life, and the right and ability to “live freely and lightly” until heaven is our home. What a relief! Yes, we are in a ‘chase’ of our own. There are pressures of life to be faced daily. But, if your religion requires you to be or do anything in order to receive God’s blessings daily or eternally, then those to whom you are listening to are not revealing the Jesus who walked this earth. If you are under a sense of bondage, instead of celebration of Jesus, take time to read Romans 8:39 - “…nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”
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9/22/09
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- Jimmie Johnson won in practice, the pole, the most laps led, and the race, i.e. EVERYTHING at Dover! He is now just 10 points behind Mark Martin for the title. This was Jimmie’s 15th win of the total 52 past Chase races. It is also the earliest race he has ever won in a Chase.
- In New Hampshire, Mark Martin won the Cup race because of his good restarts. This week, his restarts cost him laps each time. Once he had five laps on his new tires, he would start passing cars. On the final restart, he was in fourth position, which put him in the outside line and allowed him to maintain his RPMs. Therefore, he did not lose any positions and moved to second place at the checkered flag, which put him in the Championship points lead by 10 points.
- Does Kasey Kahne have a chance at the title since he is now in 12th place and 189 points behind? Even with his 8th place finish, he still lost 21 points to Mark. However, in 2006, Jimmie Johnson came from further back to win the title. He finished the first race (New Hampshire) of the Chase of that year with a 39th place finish. He did not have a finish in the top 10 until the fifth race of the Chase.
- The top 10 was dominated by Chase drivers throughout the Dover race, with at least six of the Chase drivers in the top 10 on all laps of the race. On lap 256 of 400, Denny Hamlin (finished 22nd, lowest of all the Chasers) was the first of the 12 to go a lap down, with eight of the Chase drivers in the top 10 at that time. Brian Vickers was the only other Chaser to go a lap down, but he returned to the lead lap by way of the “lucky dog” on lap 279 and finished 18th.
- Tony Stewart finished 9th after being involved in the Joey Lagano crash in the beginning laps of the race. This was the first top 10 finish in the last six races for Tony. He would have over a full race worth of points lead under the old system; he is now 5th in the points and 109 points behind.
- Kurt Busch finished 4th, and he is 5th in the points even though his crew chief is only allowed to come to the shop once a week. Pat Tryson announced his move to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010 as the crew chief for Martin Truex, Jr. Penske Racing does not want Tryson to see the ‘secrets’ that they are developing for the 2010 season. Pat only attends the Tuesday debrief meetings with the Penske drivers, and then he shows up for the plane ride to the next race each Thursday. If Kurt wins his second championship under these circumstances, it will be the biggest story in NASCAR for years.
PIT NOTE:
Pat Tryson has a contract with Penske Racing to be Kurt Busch’s crew chief through the 2009 season. He chose to move to another team in 2010. His signing with a new team is not only legal, but it is also ethical. He chose to tell his owner and driver about his future plans right before the Chase began; and they chose to announce it, which is also legal and ethical. However, it was not necessary for Pat to inform Penske that he had signed with another team, even if his current team was asking for him to re-sign with them. He could have signed and hoped the word would not get out until the end of the season. However, the likelihood of such big news remaining out of the NASCAR rumor mill is almost impossible. So, Pat was honest with his current owners, and they chose to announce it and lock Pat out, which is also legal and ethical. The big question and discussion has been about the effect all this will have on the #2 team winning the championship with the crew chief locked out and leaving the team. As ‘professionals,’ we are told it will not affect the team’s performance. As ‘humans’ it will definitely add stress as the members on the team will spend energy thinking about, discussing, and responding to questions about the situation.
So, when would have been the absolute “best” time for Pat to agree to a new contract with a new team, and/or for the old team to announce it? If there is an absolute right answer, no one knows it. So everyone was simply honest with everyone else. How refreshing! No manipulating each other. No half truths to the fans through the press. Just facing of the facts and dealing with the good and bad as it comes.
Jesus did exactly the same for us, at exactly right time. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law.” (Galatians 4:4). Jesus left Heaven at the right time, came and fulfilled every single requirement of God’s law, and offers the blessing of living free from guilt and shame of sinfulness while on earth and for eternity in Heaven.
Wow! How refreshing! How honest! Will you be honest about your need for Jesus? If you already know him as your Savior, will you embrace the Spirit of God dominating your life and enjoying the life that Jesus secured for you?
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9/22/09
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Mark Martin is still in the lead for the title! Winning his fifth race of the season and the first race of the Chase places Mark ahead of all drivers in wins for the season, and he maintains the lead for his first Championship (in fact, he signed last week to run two more full seasons). Mark won the race by choosing the outside starting position on the last three restarts and held off the second place car each time. On the final restart, Juan Pablo Montoya started beside Mark; and based on his dominance during the race, appeared to have the car to beat. However, Mark held his line, and Montoya restrained himself from using his bumper on Mark as they went into Turn 1 on the restart. Montoya could have easily spun Mark out and taken the win, but after the race he said that he refrained because of his respect for Mark. Before the race, Montoya had given Mark credit as the most helpful fellow competitor in his maturing as a driver; and then, he proved his thankfulness on the last restart. Mark’s win expanded his 10-point lead in the points to 35 points over Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin. Montoya moved from 11th to 4th in the standings, just 55 points behind. Tony Stewart, who would be leading the standings under the old system by 187 points over Jeff Gordon, is now in 6th place, 74 points behind. Kasey Kahne was the big loser in the Chase; he lost his engine on lap 66 and finish 38th, leaving him 161 points behind Mark.
- Chase drivers dominated the top 10 finishing positions with seven of the spots, followed by four more in positions 11, 14, 15 and 17. Only Kasey Kahne finished out of the top 20.
- NASCAR got it RIGHT! NASCAR officials allowed the race to continue on the last lap, through the 4th turn, even though they knew they would have to throw a caution before the final lap was completed. Instead of throwing a quick caution and ending the race as the leader had already begun the final lap, NASCAR allowed the drivers to race every foot of track that was safe. Hamlin may have picked up a position over Montoya because of this decision. If Denny wins the title by 5 points, this could prove to be where he won it.
- Kyle Busch finished 5th and Matt Kenseth 23rd, and they are now 13th and 14th in the points. Last week, they were in the headlines because they had a chance to make the Chase. However, they did not make the Chase, so like the other 31 starters each of the last 10 races, very little will be heard about them…UNLESS they do something WRONG! According to the rules, Kyle’s car was too low after the race. This will keep him in the news, not his 5th place finish.
PIT NOTE:
One race does not predict the ultimate Champion. Sixty-three days and nine more races remain until that is determined. While Mark has won five times, he would only be 5th in the old system, approximately 451 points behind and totally out of the championship race. That is because his average finish is so much worse than Tony Stewart’s. In 2007, Jeff Gordon lost the championship to Jimmie Johnson even after averaging 5th in the last 10 races. This year, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson have been the most consistent drivers. Jimmie has been the most consistent for the last three years; therefore, he has the most realistic chance of winning the title. The NASCAR ‘play-off’ system rewards consistency; whereas, other sports have the winner take all, or best of seven elimination systems.
Some (most?) people view their relationship with God and their hope of eternal life on God having a ‘consistency’ system of judgment. They consider their own lives as being filled with more good than bad, and they are betting that God will give them the ‘benefit of doubt’ and ‘let them in.’
The truth is that God has an ‘all or nothing’ system.’ The sorrow is that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;” and therefore, they have no claim to the title of God’s friend and eternal life with Him. The great joy is that Jesus is “All in All.” Jesus was completely consistent in life, and He did not sin. He was able to satisfy the penalty of sin, i.e. death. He rose from the dead after three days, and He was crowned Victor over sin, death and the grave. The Good News (Gospel) is that our consistency is not being judged; Jesus was judged for every man. What Jesus did is sufficient for our salvation. We are justified in the sight and presence of God through faith in what Jesus did. What a relief; if you believe. Do you? Galatians 2:16 says, “know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (New International Version)
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9/14/09
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- Denny Hamlin wins at home, and Brian Vickers makes the Chase! As the “regular” NASCAR season came to an end and the Chase for the Championship (the final ten races) began, these were the main stories at Richmond. Once again, Denny dominated the race at his home track, but this time he was able to take the trophy home with him. However, just like the final race of the season in Homestead, the winner did not receive the most recognition. Denny celebrated on the track and in victory circle, but the real action and the reporters’ focus was with the “12” who are now in the Chase and hoping to win the Championship. By the way, Denny is one of the 12.
- Brian Vickers (making the Chase by 8 points), Kyle Busch (missing by 8 points even with a 3rd place finish), and Matt Kenseth (losing his 20-point advantage before the race and dropping to 14th in the points) were the big stories of the night.
Matt actually started the race “out of the Chase” since he qualified 28th. Over the course of the race, he never got back into the top 12, and Vickers and Busch stayed in the top 15 all night. In fact, Kyle was in front of Vickers for most of the laps of the race; but with Vickers starting the race 17 points ahead of him, Kyle could not maintain enough positions ahead of him to take the 12th and final position. Back and forth they went and in/out of the Chase throughout the event. By my observation of ABC’s tracking, it went like this: Kyle “in”: Lap 45,104, 140, 160, 181, 214, 278, and 385. Vickers “in”: Lap 1, 66, 122, 151, 237, 264, 286, 319, 326, 340, and 387 for good. In the end, 8 points separated the two. The previous closest margin was 15 points.
After the race, Kyle was gracious in congratulating Vickers while acknowledging his ‘broken heart’ and disappointment. His four wins, during the 26 races so far in the season, would have placed him in the #1 spot starting the Chase. Instead, he will only be racing for wins. He spoke of the mistakes he had made during some of those races that could have given him the 8 points he needed, as well as, the fact that mistakes made by his crew on pit road had cost him equally. Of course, great jobs by most had also rewarded him with points that he normally would not have received.
Matt was disappointed, but he noted that his team had not performed well since winning the first two races of the season; and, if they had made the Chase they would not have been a contender. His rational review of his team’s current status did not give any indication that they had figured anything out for long term performance. However, just last week in Atlanta, the team had repaired and worked on his car to the point that what looked like a performance which would have taken him out of the Chase a week earlier, left him with a 20 point advantage going into the race.
Vickers’ entrance in the Chase is the culmination of seven races in which his team obtained more total points than any other team. Two defining moments for his 8-point advantage were his stretching his fuel to win at Michigan and his pit crew changing a broken rear axle in Atlanta without going a lap down. An absolutely astonishing feat!
- The story of the Chase:
As the 10-race Chase for the Championship begins, I see four major stories: 1) Will Jimmie Johnson win his 4th title in a row?
2) Will Mark Martin, at age 50, win his first title after finishing 2nd four times in his career?
3) Will Tony Stewart win to be the first Owner/Driver Champion in 17 years?
4) Will Brian Vickers, with a team that is only three years-old, win the Championship?
Of course, whichever of the 12 teams win the title, there will be a remarkable story connected to the feat. Mark’s winning would be the most sentimental, and one I would love to write about. Jimmie’s would be the most historic; and Brian’s the most unexpected. I hope the Homestead race has even more than three in real contention for the title. The possibilities and changes that occurred during the Richmond race brought more excitement to a race in NASCAR than I have experienced since the final Busch race in 1995.
PIT NOTE:
Before the race, the main thoughts expressed about how the drivers and crew chiefs were approaching the final race were delivered with smiles, confidence and honest evaluations. Darrell Waltrip, three-time Champion, said, “It’s all about the car. Just like when you go a vacation, you change the oil and repair anything that might break before you start; the main thing is to prepare your car as best you can for the race.”
Then, each crew chief responded that they had not made any special preparation or reviews; and, they trusted their crews and knew each man would do their individual preparation jobs thoroughly and professionally. They each were confident in the machines; what they ‘feared’ was what they could not control. Such as, what the other 42 drivers would do, wrecks that occurred in front of their drivers which could not be avoided, and the tires. Would their tires have a flat, or have another driver hit their car and cause a valve to pop off, or a fender to rub a hole and blow out? The drivers all expressed confidence in their crew chiefs and the preparation of their cars. They praised all that their pit crews had done during the first 25 races. They did not mention their own ability, but did not offer any false humility either. In general, they each saw this as the 26th race of the season, the need to do the same that got them to this point, and they were looking forward to the final 10…and hoping what they could not control, would not put them out of the Chase.
Well, the set up of the car turned out to be Matt’s undoing, and Kyle could not control how well Brian preformed. So, Matt’s team is out; they will race for wins and money, but the lack of having a possibility for the title will dampen their full enjoyment of either.
Last Tuesday, my wife said “I’d like for you to be ‘giddy’ as a result of this 8 week sabbatical God has provided. I immediately said, “Would you settle for ‘cheerful?’ Being ‘giddy’ (i.e. bubbly, excited, can’t wait to tell you what I just…did, heard, thought, said, etc., basically means to be more like my wife, “Miss Jackie”) felt like a TON of pressure at that moment. However, on Wednesday as I read the Bible, paddled my Kayak in the ocean, and wrote in my journal (which has become the norm for the first hour and a half of my day, and I do not know how I will find time to work into my schedule when I return to work), my Lord revealed to me that I do get ‘giddy’ when I am involved in creating things. I thought of how we are made in the image of God. God did not just create the earth and mankind and then remove Himself, but He creates each new day, creates new beings, and creates opportunities for each creature to be creative each day. He is the one and only God who delights (‘gets giddy’) in providing for you and me. The one Who is revealing Himself in all we think and do if we only seek Him. I got ‘giddy,’ a smile came to my face, and a skip in my step as I walked the shore and felt the water run under my bare feet! I stayed ‘giddy’ as I dealt with some situations that were not pleasant (the prostate treatments are not painful, nor do I have any side effects, but the daily set up for the regimen is not exactly pleasant, and it is embarrassing). I stayed ‘giddy’ because I have the truth of the Gospel in me, and it not only saves me from an eternity in Hell, it “tunes my heart to sing” in every situation, every day. The key is my reflection on the Gospel daily; instead of depending on how I perform in the situations I face each day to determine my mood.
This year, over 60 drivers have attempted at least one Cup race. Only 35 are assured of racing each week. Only one will win each week. Now, only twelve have a chance to become the Champion. He, the Champion, his team members, a few racing historians and a few of his current fans will be able to tell you who the 2009 champion was, 20 years from now. No one will even care 100 years from now. Depressing? Not at all, just the reality of life. However, every person reading this will be somewhere 100 years from now. What will matter is your eternal Spirit. It will be conscious of where you are. It will be full of regret if you are in Hell, or it will be ‘Giddy’ in Heaven. Today you are offered “giddy,” not just when you get to Heaven, but every day of your life, for the Gospel will “tune your heart to sing.”
Please email me at rpegram@samaritansfeet.org or call me at 704-905-0667 if your heart is not in ‘Tune’ today.
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9/10/09
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Kasey Kahne and Richard Petty Motorsports received their second win of the season. Kasey was good on new tires for 10 to 15 laps, which is just what he had to run when the last restart of the race occurred with 11 laps to go. Kevin Harvick was passed to get his first win since February 2007, when his teammate, Clint Bowyer, spun and brought out the last caution flag. Kasey was running second; and even restarting on the slower inside lane, he was able to pass Harvick (on the first lap after the restart), whose car was the opposite of Kahne’s and only began to run good after 10 to 15 laps. Kahne pulled out to win by a little over a second, and Harvick could only hold on to second place. Harvick’s crew chief, Gil Martin, tried to address Harvick’s slow restarts by adding a pound of air in each of the four new tires, but it was not enough to overcome the restart problem they had had all night. After the race, Richard Petty commented that the new Cup car is so temperamental that minute changes on a pit stop are causing cars to move to the front or back based on those changes and it is hard to maintain a car in the front all race, on any track.
- 11 Drivers still in race to the Chase, with 8 of 12 spots still open. Next Saturday night in Richmond will be just what NASCAR “ordered” when they instituted the Chase format. At Atlanta, Kyle Busch(14th- 37 points out) and Brian Vickers (13th-20 points out) where each ‘in’ the top 12 at some point during the race, with Matt Kenseth (12th) and Greg Biffle (11th) ‘out’ of the Chase. However, at the end of the 500 miles Kenseth had come from 31st to 12th with the help of a “lucky dog’ pass and GREAT work by his team to fix his car after he got into the wall. Brian Vickers did even better, finishing 7th with his pit crew changing his broken rear axle in less than one lap under caution, thus not losing a lap. Kasey Kahn had the greatest jump in the standings with his win, going from 11th to 6th, now 96 points ahead of 13th.
Although mathematically 11 drivers have a chance, the realities of there being only 3 points between each finishing position from 11th to 43rd means that only Matt Kenseth in 12th position should be in jeopardy and only Vickers and Kyle Busch have serious chances to take the 12th spot. Any other drivers falling out would have to lose 65 or more points, which can be avoided regardless of how Kyle or Brian finish, if they finish no worse than 11th. This being true, Richard Petty with Kasey Kahne and Chip Ganassi should have their first ever entries in the Chase, with Richard Childress having no cars in the Chase.
- Below is an article from www.jayski.com detailing what each of the 11 drivers must have happen if they are to make the Chase.
Chase Clinch Scenarios for Richmond: Eight spots remain in the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and 11 drivers are mathematically in contention for securing one of those spots. Below are the clinch scenarios for Richmond, the final race before the Chase field is set:
• #99-Carl Edwards is currently 105 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
24th or better
25th and leads at least one lap or
27th and leads most laps.
• #9-Kasey Kahne is currently 96 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
21st or better
23rd and leads at least one lap or
24th and leads most laps.
• #2-Kurt Busch is currently 95 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
20th or better
22nd and leads at least one lap or
24th and leads most laps.
• #42-Juan Pablo Montoya is currently 88 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
18th or better
20th and leads at least one lap or
21st and leads the most laps.
• #39-Ryan Newman is currently 81 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
16th or better
17th and leads at least one lap or
19th and leads the most laps.
• #5-Mark Martin is currently 69 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
12th or better
14th and leads at least one lap or
15th and leads the most laps.
• #16-Greg Biffle is currently 68 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
11th or better
13th and leads at least one lap or
15th and leads the most laps.
• #17-Matt Kenseth is currently 20 points ahead of 13th place. Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
2nd and leads at least one lap.
• #83-Brian Vickers currently sits 13th, 17 points ahead of #18-Kyle Busch. He would need to gain 21 points on Kenseth and stay ahead of Busch to clinch a Chase spot. Busch, 37 points behind 12th, needs to gain 17 points on Vickers and 37 points on Kenseth to clinch.
(NASCAR Public Relations)(9-7-2009)
PIT NOTE:
After the win, Richard Petty said that the last 12 months have been hard with the merger of Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises to form Richard Petty Motorsports. He spoke of the many systems and personalities having to learn to work together, and that changes were still being worked out. However, he said Kasey’s two wins, and the fact that Kasey may make the Chase, has eased the transition. Petty spoke of RPM having “one team, with four drivers,” and that the success of the #9 team is in fact helping the current and future performance of all the teams. Petty said, “winning makes all things right.”
While that is not totally true in racing (many times the emotions just cover the base problems), it is absolutely true in spiritual concerns. The Gospel is the message that each person who believes in Jesus is therefore justified with God. That is a period at the end of the sentence. There is nothing to add to anyone being set right with God. Jesus did it all. God presents that The Good News in His Word, and those who believe it, WIN. Not because of any good works; not because they give a percentage of their income, or do or refrain from doing certain things; and not because they can bargain better with God for ‘more of God.’ No, it is simply because of the grace and mercy of God. Simply stated, it’s because God satisfied his own righteousness, and the just penalty for sin in the impeccable life and the substitution death of His Son for each of us.
Celebrate with me; join in the celebration of the angels, and shout out the praise from our emotion of the realization of true and complete freedom in Christ. How can we restrain ourselves as we realize that Jesus won, and ‘winning makes everything right.’
On a personal note: After a brief time at home, I returned to Jacksonville (Tuesday, September 8th) to begin my last two weeks of treatment. I am so appreciative of all the prayers you have said on my behalf. While you have prayed for my physical healing, I believe God has responded with spiritual healing, growth and renewal also. I am tempted to start planning my return to work, but am reminded that just as 75% of my Proton therapy remains, so does the spiritual work that our Lord is doing in me. The Pit Note today reflects the tone and focus that God has provided me these first six weeks. I sincerely pray you will be celebrating the resurrected life we have in Christ wherever you are, just as I am as I walk the beaches of Jacksonville, lay in the treatment gantry these last 10 times, and interact with whomever I interface. Thanks to His grace and your support, God is blessing me with all the healing(s) I need. I can not overstate, nor adequately express to Him and you - Thank you!
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8/26/09
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Kyle Busch dominated Bristol last week by winning the Truck and Cup races! Kyle had not won a Cup race since the May Richmond race. He was out of the top 12 in points, and it appeared his late season decline of 2008 had started early this year. However, on Wednesday night, he dominated the Truck race and found his way back to Victory Circle. Kyle was encouraged and the great run renewed his confidence. On Friday night, in the Nationwide race, he fought his way from mid-pack to crash with a back marker as he made his pass for the lead. Unfortunately, this took him and his very strong car out of contention for a decent finish. On Saturday night, he held off Mark Martin to win the Cup race and move to within 34 points of Matt Kenseth, who is now in the 12th position, the ‘bubble’ position in making the Chase.
- Marcos Ambrose finished 3rd and picked up a new sponsor. Proving that he is not just a ‘road course ringer,’ Marcos finished 3rd at one of the most difficult tracks to ‘tame.’ At the track on Friday, it was announced that Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex) will sponsor Ambrose’s car for the 2010 season; they will be the primary sponsor for four races, including the Daytona 500. After sixteen years, Kleenex’s move to Cup racing with JTG Daugherty Racing from Baker Curb Racing in the Nationwide Series is one of the few current examples of how the Nationwide series has always been expected to work. Both of Ambrose’s teams and new sponsor have been in the second level of the NASCAR’s series for over 15 years and now they ‘graduate’ to the ‘big show.’ While this is sad and a blow to Baker Curb Racing, it does show some life in the business side of NASCAR.
- It’s all about the Chase. With two races left before the final 10 races to determine the 2009 NASCAR Champion, we are not hearing much about those at the top of the points right now. It is all about those in positions 7 through 15 who are separated only by 162 points, which could be overcome in just one race! Tony Stewart (1ST in points/finished 33rd) is leading the points and had his worse race of the season, and his second bad finish in two weeks. Jimmie Johnson (2nd/8th) was the second best car at Bristol, and he might have won if not for a problem on pit road on the last pit stop. However, he still moved ahead of Jeff Gordon (3rd/23rd) who had a bad night. Denny Hamlin (4th/5th) needed a “Lucky Dog” pass and good strategy to get back on the lead lap. In case you didn’t hear anything about Carl Edwards (5th/16th) and Kurt Busch (6th/7th), they were at Bristol. All these guys appear ‘locked into the Chase,’ thus, there is little attention paid to them.
On the other hand, Ryan Newman, who is in 7th position, is just 103 points out of 13th. Juan Montoya lost two positions, and he is only 64 points out of 13th. He ran in the top 5 for most of the night, but unfortunately had a problem at the end. Kasey Kahne lost three positions with an 11th place finish, and he is 52 points from 13th. Brian Vickers dropped to 14th and 34 points behind 12th with a 14th place finish after last week’s win had pulled him to within 12 points of making the Chase. Then, there is Clint Bowyer, the last hope for Richard Childress Racing to have a car in the 2009 Chase. He was moving up in the standings until Michael Waltrip had a tire problem and spun. Someone behind Bowyer didn’t slow, so Bowyer was turned around and slid into Waltrip. He still has a chance, but at 112 points behind, not a big one.
So, at this point it isn’t all about winning. It isn’t even ALL about where you finish; it is also about where everyone else finishes. The combinations are too numerous for even a computer to figure out. That’s what makes it so good!
- Mark Martin led more laps than anyone in the Bristol Cup race. However, he finished 2nd when he chose to race Kyle for the win instead of exercising the ‘bump and run’ final lap strategy that has determined a lot of the 97 previous races at Bristol. Kyle had the preferred outside re-start position with three laps to go, but Mark quickly moved behind him and he had the faster car. However, he could not get more than his front wheels even with Kyle’s rear tires and pulled behind him as they crossed the finish line. Kyle acknowledged that Mark was the better car in the race. Kyle hated that Mark didn’t win, but it definitely felt good to ‘be back.’ Kyle indicated he would have understood if Mark had used the bumper to move him over and take the win.
PIT NOTE:
Many times in the 1990’s, I waited in Bristol’s Victory Circle for the Nationwide and Cup winners. Most winners were not the car that had been leading with 3 laps to go. I was in the middle of Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. when neither won the race, but instead were throwing water bottles at each other just outside the Circle. ‘Bump and Run,’ using the ‘chrome horn’ became the expectation on the last restart of the race. Tempers would be shown by the victims; “just racing” would be claimed by the victors. Then, the track was reconfigured and there became two distinct lanes for racing. Side by side racing became the norm, not the exception, with the graduated banking. The racing has been better, while the fans were less enthused, as the use of the bumper to move cars has become less ‘necessary,’ not only at the end of the race, but during the race also.
Then, there is Mark Martin in the driver’s seat. He likes to race. He knows that it is the driver who controls the dominant car. It is his choice to use his skills within the stated rules of NASCAR, the ‘accepted’ rules of the racing culture, and the principles of life he has embraced. The first two of these choices would have allowed him to move Kyle out of the way, and Mark would have been holding the winner’s trophy and now be 9th in the points instead of 10th and have a 20 point greater cushion over Kyle who is in 13th position with two races left before the Chase. Mark’s values of life won and he settled for second.
Mark is 50 years-old. He has never won a championship in NASCAR. He has been second at least four times. He lost one championship because of a penalty given by NASCAR, which would not be a penalty today. He deserves a championship. He was honored for his 1,000th start in NASCAR by the Bristol fans holding up cards in the 1st and 2nd turns when he was introduced before the race. He cried. It was Mark’s night. He started on the pole, he led the most laps. He was one fourth of the way up beside Kyle in the final turn of the race. The difference between 1st and 2nd was $117,500. BUT…He was smiling after the race. He would not have been smiling, if he had been standing in Victory Circle and Kyle was sitting in a crashed car.
This is what we call character. This is a man who has values of life. This is a man of Faith.
If you are a racer, I hope Mark is your hero and you seek to follow his example of character off the track as much as on it. If you are just a fan like me, I hope you celebrate this man for who he is as much as for what he can do with a car. He is worthy to be honored and emulated.
In some fashion, times are hard for most of us. For most of us, it is not because of bad choices we made. Compromises are available for most to ‘get by’ a little easier, and probably there are not TV cameras recording our choices as it would have been for Mark. What are you going to do? Will you be a man, woman, girl, boy of character? Will you wait on God to lift you up, or just bless and use you where you are? The Apostle Paul said that all that mattered was being where and doing what Christ desired for him to do. May each of us join Mark in being able to say the same thing.
On a personal note: Thanks so much to each of you who have prayed, called, sent cards and/or provided other means of support during my first half of prostate cancer treatment. Today, I start the final 19 proton treatments. As advertised, this treatment does not have any major (or minor to this point) side effects. Jackie and I are blessed in so many ways by you and our Lord. This 8-week ‘sabbatical’ is not only healing the cancer, it is providing me with a relationship with Jesus that I cherish. I was told to come here and ‘do nothing.’ I have become good at doing ‘nothing’ (except writing the Did You Know). As we now start the second half of this process, I ask you to pray that God’s direction for our future will become clear, and that we will be more effective because of our time here. Blessings to all!
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8/18/09
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- Brian Vickers won at Michigan after Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas with three laps to go. For the second time this year, Jimmie Johnson dominated the race at Michigan, only to lose the race when he ran out of gas. Brian’s Victory was his 2nd career win and the first for Toyota at the two-mile track. He also moved to 13th place in the Chase standings, just 12 points out of making the ‘big show.’ Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers finished 2nd (Gordon) and 3rd (Earnhardt), followed by Carl Edwards, Sam Hornish, Casey Mears, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer (now 14th in the points, 58 points out of 12th), David Reutimann and Denny Hamlin. Except for 2nd place Gordon, 4th place Edwards, and 10th place Hamlin, the other seven of the top 10 finishers were not expected to finish this well.
- Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer moved to 14th, 58 points out of the Chase. RCR had appeared to be totally out of the Chase picture until the good finish of Bowyer and bad finish of Martin narrowed the margin. Bowyer is known for being good on short tracks and 2 of the final 3 races are on short tracks, (Bristol and Richmond). Rumors circulated in Michigan that Elliot Sadler might be in one of Richard’s cars in 2010, but I’m sure Richard was more concerned and focused on his grandson, Austin Dillon, who started 37 in the Nationwide race on Saturday in Michigan and finished 19th, on the lead lap. Look for him in a Cup car at RCR within 3 years.
- Who will make the Chase? Stewart, Gordon and Johnson will make the Chase for sure; Edwards, Hamlin, Kurt Busch almost definitely. Then comes is Montoya in 7th, just 108 points out of 13th, followed by Kahne (105), Newman (66), Biffle (42), Kenseth (32), and Martin (12). Finally, there are Vickers, Bowyer and Kyle Busch who still have a chance.
- In 2009, the top 36 in points have all won over $2 million and the top 41 over $1 million each. Brad Keselowski is in 39th, and he has only made eight races, but has over $1 million in winnings. Brad won the Nationwide race on Saturday, after Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch forgot he was in contention and let him slide by for the win. That win was worth $46,000, giving him a total of $925,000 in the Nationwide series for 2009, some $100,000 less winnings in 23 Nationwide races than in 8 Cup races.
- Dale Jr. got his first top 5 finish since the May Talladega race. This was just two days after Dale proposed that NASCAR should allow for major changes in the Car of Tomorrow (COT), which would give the teams more flexibility in the adjustments to the cars (and one day after NASCAR President Mike Helton responded in the negative). Nevertheless, Dale had a great run, and he actually led the race at one point, and was gaining on the top 2 cars by the end of the race. His suggestions would have given the crew chiefs the ability to make aerodynamic changes, which could fit the style of their drivers, more than the drivers having to figure out how to drive the car ‘as is.’ After the race, Dale commented that his car was a new car and it was “like the ones driven by the other three Hendrick drivers.” How much these cars vary from team to team, or within an organization, I do not know. However, even on Sunday, there were major variances in Gordon and Earnhardt’s cars, and Johnson and Martin’s cars; specifically, regarding the gas mileage. While the former two finished 2nd and 3rd, Martin finished 31st and Johnson 33rd after both ran out of fuel. Jimmie’s failure was taken without much worry, as he revealed after the race that the only thing that mattered to him was winning these last three races before the start of the Chase. He is most interested in the 10 bonus points awarded for each win of those making the Chase. Meanwhile, Martin fell from a top 10 finish, which would have kept him over 100 points out of 13th (instead of the current 12 points). The five wins he has for the season will be worthless, as far as bonus points, if he fails to be in the Chase.
PIT NOTE:
- Brian Vickers won at Michigan after Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas with three laps to go. For the second time this year, Jimmie Johnson dominated the race at Michigan, only to lose the race when he ran out of gas. Brian’s Victory was his 2nd career win and the first for Toyota at the two-mile track. He also moved to 13th place in the Chase standings, just 12 points out of making the ‘big show.’ Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers finished 2nd (Gordon) and 3rd (Earnhardt), followed by Carl Edwards, Sam Hornish, Casey Mears, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer (now 14th in the points, 58 points out of 12th), David Reutimann and Denny Hamlin. Except for 2nd place Gordon, 4th place Edwards, and 10th place Hamlin, the other seven of the top 10 finishers were not expected to finish this well.
- Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer moved to 14th, 58 points out of the Chase. RCR had appeared to be totally out of the Chase picture until the good finish of Bowyer and bad finish of Martin narrowed the margin. Bowyer is known for being good on short tracks and 2 of the final 3 races are on short tracks, (Bristol and Richmond). Rumors circulated in Michigan that Elliot Sadler might be in one of Richard’s cars in 2010, but I’m sure Richard was more concerned and focused on his grandson, Austin Dillon, who started 37 in the Nationwide race on Saturday in Michigan and finished 19th, on the lead lap. Look for him in a Cup car at RCR within 3 years.
- Who will make the Chase? Stewart, Gordon and Johnson will make the Chase for sure; Edwards, Hamlin, Kurt Busch almost definitely. Then comes is Montoya in 7th, just 108 points out of 13th, followed by Kahne (105), Newman (66), Biffle (42), Kenseth (32), and Martin (12). Finally, there are Vickers, Bowyer and Kyle Busch who still have a chance.
- In 2009, the top 36 in points have all won over $2 million and the top 41 over $1 million each. Brad Keselowski is in 39th, and he has only made eight races, but has over $1 million in winnings. Brad won the Nationwide race on Saturday, after Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch forgot he was in contention and let him slide by for the win. That win was worth $46,000, giving him a total of $925,000 in the Nationwide series for 2009, some $100,000 less winnings in 23 Nationwide races than in 8 Cup races.
- Dale Jr. got his first top 5 finish since the May Talladega race. This was just two days after Dale proposed that NASCAR should allow for major changes in the Car of Tomorrow (COT), which would give the teams more flexibility in the adjustments to the cars (and one day after NASCAR President Mike Helton responded in the negative). Nevertheless, Dale had a great run, and he actually led the race at one point, and was gaining on the top 2 cars by the end of the race. His suggestions would have given the crew chiefs the ability to make aerodynamic changes, which could fit the style of their drivers, more than the drivers having to figure out how to drive the car ‘as is.’ After the race, Dale commented that his car was a new car and it was “like the ones driven by the other three Hendrick drivers.” How much these cars vary from team to team, or within an organization, I do not know. However, even on Sunday, there were major variances in Gordon and Earnhardt’s cars, and Johnson and Martin’s cars; specifically, regarding the gas mileage. While the former two finished 2nd and 3rd, Martin finished 31st and Johnson 33rd after both ran out of fuel. Jimmie’s failure was taken without much worry, as he revealed after the race that the only thing that mattered to him was winning these last three races before the start of the Chase. He is most interested in the 10 bonus points awarded for each win of those making the Chase. Meanwhile, Martin fell from a top 10 finish, which would have kept him over 100 points out of 13th (instead of the current 12 points). The five wins he has for the season will be worthless, as far as bonus points, if he fails to be in the Chase.
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8/11/09
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
- Tony Stewart won for the fifth time at Watkins Glen and it was his third win this year. Not only did Tony extend his lead in the points, he now has 30 bonus points as the Chase starts. Only Mark Martin is ahead of him with four wins and 40 bonus points. Of course, with four races to go, either one could add to their totals; they have won one of every three races this season.
- Hendrick did not have a car in the Top 10! Johnson finished 12th (started on Pole), Martin 23rd, Gordon 37th, and Earnhardt is 39th. When was the last time that happened?
- Only four races to the Chase and…
• 6th to 12th are separated by only 96 points
• Kyle Busch, with 3 wins, is still in 13th and 58 points behind Matt Kenseth (2 wins) in 12th.
• There are no RCR cars in the top 12, and only Clint Bowyer in 15th, 99 points out of 12th, has even a remote chance of making the Chase.
• 16 of the 22 races have been won by 8 of the 12 who are in the Chase as of today.
• 4 have not won a race
- Two rain-outs in a row…when was the last time that happened?
- Marcos Ambrose finished 2nd, with many ‘second guessing’ his strategy.
Road racing strategy dictates that a driver makes his last pit stop as early as he can. This allows him to be on the track when others, without as good of fuel mileage, pit and he gains track position as he will make up time on the field with better tires. If the leader can be the first to pit, it can assure him of victory (at least in the past without the double file restarts that we now have). So crew chiefs figure the race backwards and determine on which laps they will make their three stops, based on the fuel mileage they had in practice, before the green flag falls on the start of the race. Of course, caution flags during the race cause debate of whether the predetermined strategy should be altered or followed during the course of the race.
Yesterday, all the leaders, except Marcos, altered their strategy when the first caution happened 10 laps shy of their plans. This put Marcos in the lead on the restart, but in 26th when he made his second pit stop after everyone else, and then third when he made his final stop. This was the same position he was in when he did not pit with everyone else on the first caution. So he should have won, right? But he did not. The issue was “tires;” and Tony’s strategy gave him fewer laps of wear on his tires, and Marcos did not get the fuel mileage he had anticipated from practice. So, with three laps to go, and Marcos unable to pass Tony in the previous 15 laps, he backed off and assured himself of finishing 2nd, his best finishing ever in a Cup race (he won the Nationwide race on Saturday for the second year in a row).
PIT NOTE:
There was not a ‘perfect’ strategy for this race. This is competition, which always involves variables, and therefore choices. God created competition, and I believe he enjoys observing us compete. Even if it came down to tires, there were other variables, not just how many laps were on the tires. Goodyear makes the tires as close as possible to the same, but EVERY tire varies just a little, and little becomes much as speeds increase.
King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 8: 6 - “There is a proper time and procedure for every matter.” Each man’s (crew chief and driver) responsibility is to take the information they have from practice and past experience and create strategy, and then during the race to adapt as they choose. However, he also reveals in Ecclesiastes 9:11- “…but time and chance happen to them all.” That is God’s part. Ultimately, we can not know all the variables. We are limited, God is not. At the end of the race, we have more knowledge to use next time. We do our best and leave the rest to God, assured that He has our best in view on every ‘lap’ of every ‘race’ in which we compete daily. That makes life both exciting and secure in Him. Just where we live, by Faith.
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7/28/09
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Jimmie Johnson won for the third time this year and for the third time at Indy. Jimmie passed his teammate Mark Martin with 34 laps to go, and then held him off on the final restart with 24 laps to go. That caution was created when his other teammate, Dale Jr., blew his engine as he slowed to enter pit road. After Dale Jr. parked his car, he confessed to his team that he had downshifted wrong in order to slow down to the pit road speed of 55 MPH and over revved the engine to 11,000 RPMs. Such an action is more common than usually reported, because most drivers do not confess such a mistake.
- Mark Martin started on the pole and finished second, thus continuing to have a ‘fairytale’ season. With four wins, it is the first time he has won more than once since 1999. He is now 10th in points.
- Kyle Busch is out of the Chase…as of now. On lap 59, Kyle had the only tire problem of the day (a cut tire). By the time he made it back to the pits, his fender was gone. The ensuing repairs put him 47 laps down at the end of the race. More importantly, he is now in 14th place in points, 87 points out of twelfth place, which is the last driver to make the Chase. He will not only need great finishes the rest of the way, but he will need other drivers now in the top 12 to have some bad finishes also.
- No significant tire problems at Indy – this was the best news of the weekend for NASCAR and Goodyear. In 2008, NASCAR had to throw a caution every 10 to 13 laps to be sure the tires did not blow and cause injury to the drivers. The NASCAR problem followed a similar problem in 2007 at the track that caused 2/3 of the F1 field to park their cars instead of risking injury. For the past twelve months, Goodyear had tested many tire compounds with many different teams at Indy. Normally, when they change compounds for a track, they do only one day of testing with two teams. Tony Stewart, who historically has been the most outspoken critic of Goodyear when their tires do not hold up, went out of his way to compliment them for all the expense and effort they put into developing this tire. The problem seemed to revolve around the groves that were cut in the track surface to provide better grip for the open wheel cars.
- Juan Montoya should have won Sunday’s Brickyard 400 to become only the second driver ever to win Indy in both a Cup and open wheel car. However, he was penalized for speeding on pit road, and he did not get to ‘Kiss the Bricks.’ Instead, Juan was required to do a ‘pass through’ under green flag conditions; and he could only make it back to 10th place, which dropped him one position in the Race to the Chase. After the race, on his team radio, Juan declared that NASCAR had to be wrong; because the light on his dashboard that comes on when he exceeds the speed limit for pit road never came on. After the race, NASCAR explained that they have eight different timing ‘loops’ or segments on pit road. The pit speed was 55 MPH, and even after giving the drivers a 5 MPH grace (60 MPH), Juan was still over that limit. How much you ask… 60.09 and 60.11 in the two segments in which he exceeded the limit by more than 5 MPH. So, after the penalty, and leading 112 laps in the fastest car for most of the day, he lost the race. That .09 doomed him. Was NASCAR’s equipment calibrated correctly? Was Juan’s equipment correctly set? No one knows, but all that matters is that NASCAR’s equipment showed a violation, and grace ended at 60.00 MPH per their reading.
PIT NOTE:
Shortly after my wife and I were married, I received a speeding ticket while on my way to pick her up to take her to lunch. Since I had wasted most of her lunch hour, we decided to go to a nearby cafeteria. The two policemen who had given me the ticket twenty minutes earlier were in line in front of us. We acknowledged each other, and then went to different parts of the cafeteria to eat. Midway through the meal, one of the police officers came to our table and asked me to come with him. Nervously, I did so; only to be told by him that they had not calibrated their radar gun that morning, and it could have been off, so for me “to just tear up that ticket.” I have never had happier moment in the presence of an officer of the court. Calibration, or lack of it, saved me a fine and higher insurance costs!
NASCAR will not have such a discussion with Juan. He will not be given any more grace. They will not move his name to the top of the list. He will not get to ‘KISS THE BRICKS.’
God is Love. God is gracious. He is forgiving and just. He is Truth. He has absolutes. It is up to us to ‘calibrate’ ourselves to His absolutes. The first and basic calibration is to accept that we are sinners who deserve death because of our sin. His grace is found in Jesus dying for our sin on the cross. By faith, accept that combined gift of justice and forgiveness, and we will have eternal life. Secondly, as a child of God through our relationship with His Son, we can find real joy, peace and fulfillment for the remainder of our earthly life as we ‘calibrate’ our lives to the way of living he reveals in scripture.
I have been a child of God now for 39 years, but at 7:53 a.m. on July 28, 2009, I am starting a ‘calibration’ of my Christian life as I write these words. I am in Florida for Proton Therapy to rid my body of prostate cancer, without the possible bad side effects of surgery. I am embracing the ‘good’ side effects that are possible if I relax and allow this imposed ‘sabbatical’ to recalibrate my life. I am embracing the revelation from God through the Apostle Paul in Romans 3: 27 – 31 (The Message translation) “…my life gets in step with God and all others by letting Him set the pace, not by (me) proudly and anxiously trying to run the parade. …by SHIFTING the FOCUS from what we do (for God) to what God does…”
“Shifting the focus” is the way we can calibrate our lives. Most of us in our spiritual life are just like Juan; we are “close” to being ‘right on the mark,” but just a little off. Our pride and fear of various things result in our trying to ‘run the parade,’ when real joy and success will only be discovered when we are on the mark He sets. Oh, but that really does put Him in control of the pace of our life; many times, a scary thing to do. This is something I am embracing in this ‘forced sabbatical,’ something I trust will be a spiritual ‘habit’ eight weeks from now.
How about you? Are you ready to ‘shift your focus?’ Notice that this is just a ‘shift,’ for one who is a believer (any number of years) it is not getting a new prescription for your glasses; it is adjusting the ones you already have so that you are seeing through the lens correctly. Many times, we are just a little bit off; maybe just .09, not even a tenth of a MPH. But, because of it, Juan will not have the 2009 Brickyard 400 trophy. I wonder what we are missing by just being a little out of focus with God?
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7/14/09
CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
- Mark Martin wins for fourth time this season! He is now in the 11th position in the points race. Fifty year-old Mark Martin moved from 13th to 11th in the Chase; however, he said he still sees himself as 13th, just as last week. He admitted that having four wins just half-way through the season is far more than he dreamed he would ever have again in one season at his age, but he is focusing on making the Chase. If the Chase started today, he would move from 11th to 1st in the standings. Mark has one more win than any other driver. In the Chase, each driver gets 10 bonus points for every win. Mark is now 11 points out of 13th and only 89 points out of 7th. In fact, from 5th to 13th is only 162 points, less than one race in points. With only eight races until the Chase begins, presently there are three Hendrick cars, two Roush, two Stewart/Haas, two Gibbs, one Richard Petty Motorsports, one Penske, and one Ganassi car in the top 12. No RCR teams are in the top 12, whereas all three cars were this time last year.
- The double file restarts are making the races more exciting. Mark Martin was dominant at Chicagoland. He led 195 laps, but when Jimmie Johnson chose to restart on the outside with 30 laps to go, Mark quickly fell to 3rd and looked like he was out of the running for the win. Then, when Kyle Busch blew an engine with Mark in the lead, Mark had to choose who he would pick as a partner on the restart. He and his crew chief chose to go with Jeff Gordon behind them, even though Jeff had 38 lap newer tires. Then, Mark used the advantage of having the right to restart anywhere between two marks on the wall coming toward the Start/Finish Line. Mark took off as soon as he got to the line and pulled away from Jeff and the race was his.
However, Mark did want Jeff to finish second. They had finished 1st and 2nd at Michigan, and LifeLock had offered a $1 million prize to a fan, if Mark and Jeff repeated that finish at Chicagoland. The fan chosen was Donna Musgrave, a convenience store worker, who claimed she was still going to work on Monday!
- Kurt Busch finished 17th while Jimmie Johnson finished 8th after another run-in on the track. Jimmie and Kurt differed on the cause of their second on-track incident in three races, with Jimmie once again appearing to be the aggressor. Kurt responded by hitting Jimmie back this time and damaging his car more than Jimmie’s car.
- Mark Martin said of this race season, “why would you quit if you can win.” However, he also noted that racing is a lot harder today than when he first started his career. He said in the early days a lot of the race was spent just “making laps” until the last 100 miles. Now, drivers can “never give up a single lap of the race, and they can not even give up a lap in practice. Drivers are digging every lap.”
PIT NOTE:
NASCAR focused its attention on the championship by changing the format to 12 teams competing in their own race within the final 10 races of the season. They added a bonus of 10 points per win in the first 26 races for those who make the Chase. However, as Mark pointed out, unless one makes the Chase on the accumulation of the current points, the wins will not matter. Four of the top 12 have no wins this year. Mark Martin (4 wins), Kyle Busch (3 wins) and Matt Kenseth (2 wins) are 10th, 11th, and 12th respectively; whereas, the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th place drivers have no wins at all, while two drivers outside of the top 12 have wins.
Jesus admonishes everyone to pray asking, “give us this day our daily bread.” In many other places in the Old and New Testament it tells us we should live in the “now.” Too many people spend all their lives planning for ‘tomorrow,’ dreaming about ‘what I will do when ______.’ However, we are told to temper every plan by respecting the words given in James 4:13-15 - Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
This gives us the proper ‘focus,’ i.e. TODAY. If we take care to seek the Lord every day in everything, the ‘Championship of Life’ will take care of itself. The Lord has simplified life by promising to provide for our needs daily, while we focus on Him and allow His Spirit to work through us.
Only one driver will be crowned the Champion in Homestead. However, every person can have these words said about them when they stand before God, “Well done, you good and faithful servant.”
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7/6/09
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- "It's just a bad situation," Tony Stewart said. "It's not bad because we're put in a bad position. It is just what it is. I don't feel as much gratification from winning this race as I probably should; I guess, because I don't like the way the outcome happened."
This is what Daytona winner, Tony Stewart, said after Kyle Busch tried to block him just 400 yards from the checkered flag. Kyle ended up being hit twice before finishing 14th, and once again as he came to a stop. Kyle had passed Tony for the lead after working with Tony most of the race to keep both of them near the front. Then, coming out of the 4th turn, Tony tried to pass Kyle on the inside and was blocked. Tony then moved up the track,and when Kyle moved to block him, Kyle hit Tony’s right front fender and then the wall. It seemed everyone hit Kyle, especially Kasey Kahne at full speed, which raised Kyle’s car off the ground for the second time. As Kyle came to a stop, just past the checkered flag, Joey Logano hit him at near full speed in the drivers’ door. Kyle climbed from the car, walked half-way down pit road and was finally picked up by NASCAR and taken to the infield care center. He declined to talk to the press after the race.
Tony further remarked about the end of the race, “I don’t know that I was real proud of that,” Stewart said in victory lane. “But I don’t know what else I could have done. He [Busch] did what he had to do, and I did what I had to do. I don’t like winning them like that. When he went to block me, I was already there. I worked really good with Kyle all day long, and Kyle was the guy that I chose to have restart behind all me day, and we worked really well together. You know, you don't want to see somebody who ran up front all day lose that many spots and lose an opportunity to win because of an accident like that coming to the checkered flag."
- Jimmie Johnson explained the reality of restrictor plate racing by saying, “There is nothing to do to stop it; it's plate racing.” This was the second race in a row that ended with the 2nd place car winning by virtue of a front stretch crash on the last lap. Johnson said, “We're damned if we do, we're damned if we don't. They're just racing. Tony didn't mean to dump him. Same thing with Talladega. It's just the product of restrictor-plate racing. Every time we leave these restrictor-plate tracks, there's questions about how we can keep from having the big wreck and things like that, and you just can't. When you run plates and run wide-open all the way around the track, situations like this come around."
- This was the second “Big One” of the race. Thirteen (13) cars were involved in the first one mid-way through the race. However, two cars involved in that ‘big one’ finished in the top 10, and two more in the top 20.
- Mark Martin caused a crash coming out of turn 2 on lap 10 and finished 38th, falling 65 points out of 12th place in the points standings.
PIT NOTE:
Tony Stewart’s pit crew stood on pit wall as their driver crossed the start/finish line as the winner of the race. Immediately, they jumped in the air and onto pit road celebrating, only to scurry back across the pit wall, cutting their celebration short. They realized that the #1 car was using pit road as the racing surface in order to avoid the melee on the track and that several of the spinning cars were coming at them. The warning given to children to “look before you cross,” and NASCAR’s one lap penalty when a crewman crosses the pit wall without a helmet, do not generally apply as soon as the winner passes under the checkered flag (though NASCAR may instigate a new rule based on this finish). However, the crew defiantly changed their attitude of celebration and ‘threw caution to the wind’ as soon as they recognized the possibility of injury, or even death.
1 Peter 5:8 says, “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.” Christians need to be aware of what is happening around them and to them spiritually. The tendency is to ‘fit in’ with society and ‘celebrate’ just like everyone else. We get involved in things that look ‘normal’ and then suddenly realize that we are about to get run over, or hit by a spinning car. Peter warns us that a literal devil not only exists, he seeks to destroy you; he never sleeps, and he is looking for opportunity to influence us when we least expect it. “Stay alert” is the admonition to believers. Stay alert to what? Everything! The devil deceives by taking a ‘good’ thing and giving it a slightly different ‘slant’ than what God meant the good to actually be. Are you resisting the devil? Or, are you napping?
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6/30/09
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Joey Logano became the youngest Cup Series winner in the history of NASCAR. At only 19 years-old, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver eclipsed the record of Kyle Busch, who won his first race at age 20. The win came 28 miles short of the published distance of the New Hampshire race, as rain allowed for ‘a first-time winner’ for the second time this year. His crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, used Joey’s flat tire and spin out earlier in the race (it brought out one of the record number of cautions) to his driver’s advantage. Joey was able to run 10 laps further without pitting because of the multiple stops under caution for repairs, which also gave him additional fuel. When NASCAR red-flagged the race with 28 laps to go, Joey was the only driver who had not pitted; and, once again, Jeff Gordon was a ‘bridesmaid’ in 2009.
- The double file restart impacted the outcome of a race for the first time. Under the new rule (which will expand to the Nationwide series next week), cars that do not pit and are a lap down by means of being passed by the leader are allowed to circle the track and join the cars that pitted and had been a lap ahead of them. In the past, these cars would have restarted the race just in front of the leader, who had already proven to be faster; therefore, generally reposted them and put them a lap down again. UNLESS, there was a quick caution. As in the case at New Hampshire, the nine cars who had been a lap down did not pit and were put back on the lead lap. Then, just 15 laps later there was a caution, and they got the gas and tires that they needed. This also put them off sequence in the pitting and allowed them to finish higher than some who had been ahead of them. The choice given to the leader to start either inside or outside also affected the race as the outside was faster; however, twice, the leader chose the inside and was passed for the lead.
- Kyle Busch caused the biggest wreck of the day, affecting eight cars, and possibly taking Jeff Burton out of any chance of being in the Chase. Dale Jr. evidently spun his tires on a restart. And, instead of staying in line, Kyle attempted to move up the track and spun out Martin Truex, Jr. when he clipped his bumper. Seven cars were involved in the wreck, and the race had to be red-flagged long enough to ultimately cut the race 28 laps short. After the race, Kyle confirmed what Martin and Brian Vickers had said on TV as they were interviewed exiting the infield care center, that Kyle was at fault for the incident.
- Tony Stewart was allowed to start on the pole; even though, he had to go to his backup car. When qualifying was rained out and the lineup was set per the points standings, points leader Stewart received and kept the pole because his backup car was presented for inspection before qualifying. If the cars had actually run laps for qualifying, he would have started at the back of the field, but maintained the pit location that the position he qualified in would have allowed him.
PIT NOTE:
Did NASCAR pick the winner of the New Hampshire Cup Series race? If they had waited a couple more laps before displaying the red flag, Joey would have run out of gas and Jeff would have won the race. If that had happened, many would have said they did it just for Jeff to win. Did they throw it so Joey could be the youngest or so Jeff would not win?
The answer is NO. NASCAR has always been committed to the fans seeing every lap they paid to see. They will not start a race that they know can not be completed with the total miles that has been advertised. For instance, they have waited hours before calling off a race at a track that has lights. I have sat waiting for the cancellation of a race until they were certain it could not be completed. For years, I have also observed them sending the jet dryers onto the track, and then removing them. Sunday they pulled the cars off, and put the jet dryers out when the track color changed. They knew they were ‘losing’ the surface; that is when the track gets so wet that the heat from the exhaust of the circling cars is not enough to maintain a racing surface if the rain continues. They also knew that if they used the cars’ exhaust, they would just use up all the laps. So, they simply used the same judgment, same policy, same practice that has been demonstrated for years. That is called integrity. Who was in the lead was not on their minds; the fans were on their minds. The fans ‘won’ from the calling of the race, since they did not have to get wet, or sit in their cars wondering if they should leave.
God has the same integrity. He operates out of justice; He does not change. He does not consider the person seeking him, and chose to answer the prayers of only His ‘favorites,’ or give eternal life to only a chosen few. He determined that mankind could not come to Him, unless He went to them. He did that through His son, Jesus. God provided life to every man who will receive it. He gave his only son to take the punishment of sin due every man. Because Jesus never sinned, his death for sin became a substitute for the penalty that every person deserves. He only asks that you ‘believe.’ John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world (every person) that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him shall have everlasting life.” Have you received God’s gift to you yet?
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6/24/09
INFINEON RACEWAY
- For the first time in a decade, Kasey Kahne got Richard Petty to Victory Lane! Kahne was a ‘surprised’ winner, since he has never finished better than 14th in a road course race. It was Kahne’s first win of the season, and it was a strong weekend for the other two Richard Petty Motorsports cars as well. A.J. Allmendinger and Elliott Sadler finished in the top ten, 7th and 10th respectively. After celebrating in Victory Circle, Richard was overjoyed; yet, he reminded everyone that in racing it is what you do in the NEXT race that matters, not the race you just won. Commentator, Jimmy Spencer, proclaimed, “The King is Back,” a development that may do NASCAR as much good as anything, except for a win by Dale, Jr.
- Tony Stewart expanded his points lead with a 2nd place finish. Marcos Ambrose finished 3rd, the same as he qualified. However, he came from 43rd since he changed motors after qualifying. Marcos was asked if he had fun, and he replied ‘no.’ He said it was nerve-racking to have to do the Green-White-Checkered finish with Jimmie Johnson behind him in 4th place. He expressed that with the close, double file restart, he had more to lose than to gain by over driving. With over two miles back to the finish line, a mistake would have moved him from 3rd to finishing in the 30’s.
- The double file restart was a non-issue in the race. Many had speculated that since the 1st turn was a LEFT turn, followed quickly by a RIGHT turn, the drivers would never be able to negotiate both without a major crash on at least one of the restarts.
- There are now five drivers within 123 points of 12th place. Juan Montoya moved into the top 12, while Jeff Burton fell out (15th). Kasey Kahne is now only three points behind Montoya for 12th. Richard Childress Racing would be without a car in the Chase, if it started today; but two of their teams (Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer) are within 65 points. In 2008, all three of the RCR teams made the Chase.
- Regarding the General Motors cutbacks - How much will it hurt the teams? All the teams are very positive about their desire to work with GM in the cutbacks. As is standard practice in a bankruptcy proceeding, Richard Childress Racing has made a filing which is common among creditors in these situations. However, RCR is proud to be associated with GM, and they are working closely with them during these difficult economic times.
PIT NOTE:
Celebrating Father’s Day during the weekend of the Infineon race displaced a 15-year tradition of MRO. In 1994, “Miss Jackie,” held the first “Father’s Day Olympics” in the corner of the RV compound for the drivers’ and crewmen’s children. At first, the drivers were reluctant to come ‘play’ with their children, but they were promised that no images of them in ‘childish’ situations would be allowed, so they came.
That first event was won by Robert Pressley. He used chewing gum in the bottom of his spoon to hold his raw egg in place as he ran a relay with his son. The revelation of his taking advantage of a ‘gray’ area in the way Miss Jackie stated the rules met with applause by the other racers. However, Miss Jackie’s attempt to nullify his ‘win’ was booed by the drivers as they high-fived Robert for his manipulation of the rules. Following that day, Dale, Sr. never failed to have the rules repeated for every game, while listening closely for the next ‘gray area’ that would give him an advantage.
Dale was always cooperative, but he was also determined to win for his daughter Taylor. His “intimidator” status showed itself one time when a chair in the musical chair game was crushed as he and another driver fought for a seat. After that, the game was always played in two halves, one with the dads and one with the children playing by themselves to avoid being injured by their dads. Dale and all the fathers were great ‘sports’ as they endured being wrapped in toilet paper as a mummy, having a whipped cream and cheese ball bread built on their face, dunking for worms (gummy) in a kiddy swimming pool, and wearing lipstick and having their toe nails painted (yes, at one Pocono race there were over 15 drivers with painted toe nails, including Dale, Sr.!).
After each annual humbling of these famous drivers by ‘Miss Jackie,’ Dale Sr. and Kenny Schrader always got her back (retaliated). She fashioned a wet t-shirt look after the gummy worm event, a clown’s red face after the lipstick and toe nail painting event; and after the mummy event, our RV was wrapped with toilet paper!
This year, MRO will have their big event at a race in the fall. The fathers will face the same humiliation, which will make their children giggle to see their fathers on their level. The moms and dads will feel joy in their hearts, and they will create memories. It will be viewed as a special moment in their lives. At various times, it will be recalled in their memories, and it will be discussed when the ‘good old days at the track’ are discussed at family gatherings. Laughter will return; for moments like these are frozen in the minds of all who were there.
Are you making special, positive ‘moments’ with your children? That is really what they need and what they want. The toys will wear out, get lost or destroyed, or outgrown; but “moments” will last forever.
Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.”
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6/10/09
POCONO RACEWAY
-- The LEADER will now always be in the lead! This weekend at Pocono, NASCAR implemented the new “Double-File Restarts – Shootout Style” format. The leader of the race on restarts now has his pick of inside or outside to restart the field, with the second place car beside him. Then, the drivers in the odd number positions will always be on the inside and the even ones on the outside, just like at the start of the race. There will still be one ‘lucky dog’ free pass for the first car a lap down, and this award will now extend through the end of the race; whereas, it was not previously awarded with 10 laps to go in the race. The other big change resulting from the rules change is that those cars who in the past have stayed on the track when a caution flew so they could be “on the tail end of the lead lap,” therefore in front of the actual race lead, will be allowed to go around the track and line up behind the leader - thus “the leader will always be in the lead.” In the past, these cars were hoping for a quick caution after the restart, so they could make up the lap. Many times, these cars would be passed again and few were ever a factor in the race. Now they will be.
- Kyle Busch won the Nationwide race in Nashville. Then, he celebrated in Victory Circle by attempting to smash the guitar like rock stars do at the end of concerts. The seemingly act of extreme disrespect of the winning trophy, a tradition of a Gibson guitar going to the winner, was explained as a great jester of recognition by Kyle. Besides Martinsville’s trophy of a grandfather clock, Nashville’s guitar is the most unique and special trophy in NASCAR. Kyle had promised his team members each a piece of the trophy if he won the guitar at Nashville. However, he was unable to break the guitar in Victory Circle, so it will be cut up by a ban saw on Monday with each team member getting a piece.
- Tony Stewart is the fourth driver this year to come from the last place starting spot to Victory Circle. With 6 laps to go, Tony said, “I hate racing like this.” “This” was slowing down over 5 MPH and backing off so early that he did not need to use his brakes in any of the corners in order to save fuel. Racing in a way he “hated,” won him the race; making him a winner as an owner/driver less than half-way through his first year as such. He answered one question about how special the win was by saying is was more special as an owner/driver because of all the people that he is working with. As usual, he acknowledged his sponsors; and then, he spoke of his appreciation of Hendrick Motorsports for the engines and chassis. He then thanked his employees and teammates. As a young driver, Tony’s impatience was expressed when anything went wrong with the car; however, as an owner, he is expressing more appreciation for all those who work for Stewart-Haas Racing. He seems more forgiving, while personally setting the standard of excellence for his company.
Tony crashed in practice on Saturday, after ‘earning’ the pole position as the points leader when qualifying was rained out. Tony took the lead with a great pit stop which put him in front of Carl Edwards who had dominated the race to that point. Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Dale Jr., Kasey Kahne, and many others pitted with 15 or less laps to go, and hoped the others would run out of gas and give them a good finish. All these finished out of the Top 10.
- Ryan Newman (Tony’s teammate) restarted from the rear of the field twice after speeding on pit road and finished 5th. He also had to pit early because of a skip of his engine.
PIT NOTE:
“If I had just known, I would have…” How would you finish this statement about something in ‘hindsight’ you could have done which would have changed maybe your whole life?
After finishing second at Pocono, Carl Edwards would have finished it with “I would not have backed off as much; I believe I had over a gallon and a half of gas left in the tank.” If he had only known, he could have won the race; in fact, he probably would have. God has perfect knowledge of all things. He is omnipotent, i.e. ‘all knowing.’ Most men would like that attribute. But, like Biff in “Back to the Future III,” where he obtained knowledge of the results of sporting events, and used that knowledge to obtain personal wealth through betting on sure things, man with his sinful nature would use it to manipulate life. Whereas, God uses it in connection to his grace and therefore “works all things to the good of those who love Him.”
God has given each person the right to make choices in life. He has chosen to not give us clarity before we make the choices. The first choice you need to make is to seek God, and then obey Him. That one simple choice sets you on the right path, but still does not make all things easy for you. You still must interact with other men/women who have not made that choice. Also, human nature makes us prone to make sinful choices, even as our hearts desperately desire to follow God. John 1:8 tells us that every person who comes to know the Lord as Savior will also continue to commit sins from time to time. We are told we are in fact a liar if we “say we have no sin;” but our God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, if we confess them to him.”
"If I had just known, I would have…” is living your life in the past. Accepting that you are in a life-long ‘race’ and no one event determines your spirituality after you accept Jesus as your Savior, will free you to seek the Lord in all things, make a decision, and live a positive life regardless of the mess your decision may have caused. In fact, such honest, humble acceptance of our own limited knowledge is the very thing God will bless. Carl Edwards will have another chance, so will you. He will make the wrong decisions sometimes, you will too. He will win more races, and you will win the ultimate race of an ‘abundant life' with Jesus Christ.
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5/19/09
LOWES MOTOR SPEEDWAY - ALL STAR
-Tony Stewart won the All-Star race with a pass for the lead with two laps to go in the final 10-lap segment. Tony won over $1.058 million; however, winning as a team owner was even more important to him. He joins Geoff Bodine as the only other driver/owner to win this race.
The All-Star night began with an open race among 35 drivers, who had started at least one Sprint Cup race since the last All-Star race, competing for two ‘open’ spots in this year’s All-Star race. Sam Hornish Jr. and Jamie McMurray claimed those two spots by finishing 1st and 2nd, and Sam claimed his first NASCAR win of any kind. Joey Logano won a spot in the ‘big show’ by winning the “fans' votes,” which allows one other driver into the field. Jimmie Johnson won the first segment, Kyle Busch the second, and Jeff Gordon the third (winning $125,000 for that segment, the first two paid $25K each). $85,571 was the least paid to anyone in the All-Star race.
As the last segment of 10 laps began, Jeff Gordon was challenged by Kyle Busch. Then, Ryan Newman pulled alongside both of them on lap 3 in the middle of Turn 4. As they came out of one of the most narrow and tricky turns in NASCAR, Jeff lost traction and slipped into Kyle. Jeff spun out and ended up nosed into the wall just past the Start/Finish line; his night was over. Kyle started on the pole on the restart, but he faded as Kenseth pulled into the lead, only to be run down and passed easily by Stewart, which put the new Stewart-Haas team in Victory Circle just five months into the season.
PIT NOTE
IT’S ONLY MONEY$$$. Jeff Gordon got out of his mangled car and waved to the fans as he entered the ambulance for the mandated ride to the Infield Care Center. A quick check up was followed by anxious reporters looking for a ‘big story;’ such as a statement about Kyle and/or Ryan being ‘jerks’ or ‘not worthy’ to be racers, anything controversial. Surely they could get something to ‘stir things up’ at the end of the race with the other two drivers. Maybe, they could get Jeff to say something “whiney.” But, not this time; Jeff just talked about the fun he had in this race. He said this was ‘real’ racing and that three wide in Turn 4 was not smart, but with only 10 laps in the segment, all three knew they could not back off. Jeff did say that Kyle could have given him a little more room, but he indicated that he would not have given more room to Kyle.
The ‘600’ comes this weekend. Let’s say there are seven laps to go and the same situation happens. Do you think the interview would go the same? I don’t think so. I believe there would be talk of why Ryan tried to make it three wide. I think Kyle would complain about Jeff not backing off, maybe complain about Jeff’s spotter, and/or complain about how it ‘cost him the race.’ I am sure something more would be said and more complaining would be heard.
Why do I say that? Because ‘it’s only money.’ Sure the winner got a million dollars, and the second place was paid only $200,000. But, it was not ‘life or death,’ because there were no ‘points’ at stake! This was a fun night! It was just half the distance of a Nationwide race, four segments, with a 10 minute break before the last 10 laps. The whole team was introduced; and special qualifying rules showed how important the whole team was in this race. Families got to come to the race, and crewmembers who only work in the shop also attended this race. It was a Saturday night race, and most team members only had a 30-minute ride to their homes (the drivers still used their helicopters!). No points, no pressure, just FUN. Push the car and self to the limit. Win it all, or come back on a wrecker! Use the laps as a test, try things that you could not afford to try if it had been a ‘points’ race.
POINTS - They determine the teams in the Chase; they determine the Champion. The points determine the portion of the bonus fund each team receives (if you are in the top 25 in points). They determine if you have to qualify for a race (the top 35 don’t). They determine if you have to qualify for the first five races in 2010. POINTS – they make you conservative, thoughtful, controlled, and patient. You can not afford to fall out of a points race. You can not afford to try something that would cause NASCAR to take ‘points’ from you, if you were caught.
POINTS - NASCAR lives by points; they even line you up in the garage and let you out for practice based on points. POINTS are ‘life or death.’ Money does not matter!
So, Jeff could walk away without winning, acknowledging he had fun and not have a worry on this mind, for it was only money, not POINTS.
Someone has said, “If money can fix it, it is not a problem.” Ecclesiastes 10:19 points out that – “…money is the answer for everything.” It is not saying that money fixes everything or it is all you need. In fact, it is saying that humanly thinking, when we think we do not have money issues, we do not think we have any problems. When we think we can buy something, or pay someone something and all will be fine, we smile.
‘Crashes’ are just bumps in the road of life. We assume we will overcome whatever we face. We will even adapt our lifestyle to fit our financial situation and keep on smiling. But, when ‘points’ get involved, it is different. In real life, ‘points’ become evident when there is an illness that the doctor can not cure with a simple pill. ‘Points’ are when an injury impairs your ability to live ‘normally.’ ‘Points’ are when someone dies, and you can not bring them back. ‘Points’ happen when someone you love commits a crime which you can not ‘buy them out of.’
So, many people worry about real life Monday through Friday. They pretend there are no ‘points’ on Saturday night, and they recover on Sunday (at home, not at church). Then, they do it all over again, week after week. This is so sad.
When you turn your life over to God through Jesus, your past is forgiven...this is the beginning of real freedom. He tells us not to fear. Yes, this life counts and we will live forever, but we now have an ‘abundant’ life. That is Saturday night racing without thinking about ‘points.’
You may have an illness that is worrying you. You may have bills that need to be paid that worries you. You may have relationships that worry you. Does Jesus mean more to you than any of these? Knowing, loving, honoring, glorifying Jesus, the ultimate “All-Star,” will give you the joy and peace you desire - nothing else will.
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5/11/09
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
- Mark Martin wins for second time this year, and he has signed a contract to drive again in 2010! Mark Martin is probably afraid to ask if he is dreaming. Two poles, two wins, and Mark is in the top 12 going into the second half of the Chase qualifying season. This is probably more than he could have thought about realistically at the start of the season. However, his crew chief made the fuel mileage call and the caution flags fell right; and Mark was as humble as ever in Victory Circle. Jimmie Johnson, Mark’s teammate, finished 2nd in his backup car after starting 42nd. Tony Stewart was 3rd, continuing to out-perform any startup team in NASCAR’s history. Tony’s teammate, Ryan Newman, was 4th. Matt Kenseth won the pole and came back from a lap down to finish 10th, after winning the night before in the Nationwide race.
- Clint Bowyers’ finishing streak ended at 83 races, one race short of the record!
- Jeremy Mayfield has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR after failing a random drug test (3, of approximately 15 tested that same day in Richmond, failed). He is the first Cup driver to be in this a position. He claims it was a combination of over the counter medications mixed with some prescription medications, nothing illegal. NASCAR’s test results say it was a banned substance, and they do not want people driving regardless of how a substance gets into their bloodstream. At Darlington at 190 MPH, I would want the other 42 drivers with extremely clear heads regardless of the illness. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. did black out at Darlington because of the combination of power drinks, tomato sandwiches and headache medicine in the 1990’s; so, NASCAR has a record of being able to figure out what is in a substance. I certainly do not know any more details than anyone else, but here is my take:
We don’t know what Jeremy took.
We don’t know what NASCAR found.
We don’t know what illness Jeremy had.
We don’t know about his health history.
We know he failed the test, twice.
We want to believe his story.
We know NASCAR’s test is true.
We know NASCAR is very diligent with the rules.
We know they enforce what they announce.
We know Jeremy will have to go for treatment in order to be given consideration to drive or be allowed to come into the garage as an owner.
I know I hate that there is even any doubt.
I know I want Jeremy to get better from the illness he was treating.
I know I’m glad that NASCAR is checking, and isn’t afraid to act
PIT NOTE:
-The only race at Darlington for 2009 is over. In my mind, it was the best race of the year. This is one race I would brave the traffic and pay for a seat. It was always a great race, now with the new pavement and speeds, it is unbelievable! However, we only get to experience it once a year. I just had a birthday, a once a year event. At my age, I am glad that only happens once a year!
This race is now on the Saturday night before Mother’s Day; the only way they could even keep one race, as no other track will run on Mother’s day. Since Darlington is so close to the homes of most of the teams in Charlotte, it works out. The only modern Cup race attempted on Mother’s Day weekend was in 1989 at Richmond as a makeup race for the one cancelled in February (yes, back then they went from Daytona to Richmond, both good Southern locations). It was a huge flop; Mr. Sawyer, the track owner, never let that happen again. Mother’s day is the biggest flower and card day of the year. I suppose those business owners would like to have more than one a year, but then it would just dilute the business I suppose.
Of course, Mother’s Day is a big church day also. In my childhood church of Goodwill Baptist, which is about four miles from Kevin Harvick’s home, it was a big day. All the mothers wore hats and flowers. I wore a red rose in honor of my living mother; dad wore a white one as his mother died at an early age. Big Ma, my other grandmother, wore a white orchid, and the church always had a white corsage for the oldest mother, and a red one for the youngest (who always blushed when she had to go have it pinned on in front of the church). Big Ma never won for being the oldest, because another lady from the community always managed to come to church on Mother’s Day (she also came on Easter and Christmas), and she was 31 days older than Big Ma. I always felt sad for my grandmother, but she just said ‘that’s racing’ (in grandma words of course).
Once is just not enough when it comes to Darlington…or Church. Why not make it two in a row at the church of your choice this Sunday?
HOW TO RECOGNIZE A GOOD CHURCH
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5/5/09
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Kyle Busch! You won both races at Richmond! For only the second time in NASCAR history, a driver has won a Cup race on his birthday. Is this BIG news, the win, or the fact it happened on a particular day? Early last week, when someone realized that Kyle’s 24th birthday was on the same day as the Richmond race, the media started reporting the fact that Cale Yarborough was the only other driver to win on his birthday. Cale actually did it twice, in 1977 at North Wilkesboro and in 1983 at Atlanta (on March 27th).
- Six of top 13 finishers were in a crash or spun out on their own. The new car is TUFF.
- Who will be in the Chase?
When the next race in Richmond ends, the twelve Chase drivers will be locked in. There are 16 races until we know who those twelve will be; but statistics reveal that a minimum of 80% of those who will actually qualify after the 26th race at Richmond will be the same who finished the race of the season Saturday night in Richmond in the top 12. Listed below you will find the current standings (from Jayski.com).
UNOFFICAL Driver Points Standings [after Richmond, race 10 of 36]:
1) #24-Jeff Gordon 1441 [1 win]
2) #2-Kurt Busch 1431 -10 [1 win]
3) #14-Tony Stewart 1402 -39
4) #11-Denny Hamlin 1321 -120
5) #18-Kyle Busch 1314 -127 [3 wins]
6) #48-Jimmie Johnson 1290 -151 [1 win]
7) #31-Jeff Burton 1257 -184
8) #33-Clint Bowyer 1212 -229
9) #99-Carl Edwards 1204 -237
10) #39-Ryan Newman 1198 -243
11) #16-Greg Biffle 1193 -248
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 1187 -254 [2 wins]
Contenders for the Top-12/Chase:
13) #00-David Reutimann 1156, 31 points out of 12th
14) #42-Juan Montoya 1152, -35
15) #5-Mark Martin 1126, -61
16) #83-Brian Vickers 1118, -69
17) #9-Kasey Kahne 1106, -81
18) #88-Dale Earnhardt 1100, -87
Based on past history, no more than three of the twelve listed above will drop out of the top 12; and if they do, they will probably be replaced by those within 100 points of them after Richmond, which are the six listed as ‘contenders.’ My guess is Mark Martin will replace either Clint Bowyer or Ryan Newman. The rest will stay as it is.
PIT NOTE:
Kyle’s third win of the 2009 season earned him 10 bonus points going into the Chase this fall (which appears he will not have any trouble making – as shown above), and it is probably the “gift” he will appreciate most about the win. The fact that Cale was the only other driver to have won on his birthday is an oddity, but not an earth shattering statistic. Yet, from the TV and radio booths, it was a fun thing to talk about. It had a hint of a ‘magical,’ ‘lucky’ quality about it. These “qualities” influence many individuals to place bets on sporting events; just like playing the lottery on your birthday gives some an extra ‘lucky’ feeling.
Does it work? Is there a mystical power in the day of your birth? According to the World Clock web-site, 6,746,912,076 people were alive at 7:49 a.m. on Sunday May 3rd. That means that on an average, everyone shares their birthday with 18,484,691 people; and many of these are in third world countries who do not even know the day or year they were born, as official records are not emphasized as much there as they are in Europe and America.
There is no special power on your birthday; the ‘stars’ are not aligned especially for you on that day. Do things go better for you on your birthday? Often times they do. But, people have a predisposition to the notion that they should be given a little ‘break’ on their birthday. Some people feel and act especially ‘up’ on their birthday, and their attitude toward life and themselves gives them special ‘favor’ with people. It’s the same ‘favor’ that people who maintain such an attitude daily, experience daily.
It is not mystical; it is attitude. It can be due to positive thinking or another self-help teaching. It can be due to ‘religious’ training and formulas. Wherever upbeat, positive expectations come from, the person giving off such an attitude will benefit. However, ‘doing’ formulas becomes tiring, and at the end of the day one realizes they are living a ‘façade.’ Living a life of active faith in Jesus, who is alive in you, is ‘being.’ No longer are you ‘trying’ to ‘do good;’ good comes from you. Blessings go out from you to others. God gives you the blessing of joy and peace regardless of physical and financial realities. It’s not a one day a year ‘lucky charm’ thing. It is being born again and having God ‘renew’ you every day of your life.
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4/28/09
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
BRAD WHO?
Keselowski
DID WHAT?
He won a Cup race.
WHERE?
Talladega
HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
Talladega was Brad’s fifth Cup race in a James Finch owned car. Brad drives in the Nationwide Series for Dale Jr. Mr. Finch enters occasional Cup races, and he has finished in the top 5 several times with various drivers. This was Brad’s and James’ first Cup win. It was not a complete surprise, as anything can happen at a restrictor plate race.
Many drivers have won their first (and only) race at restrictor plate tracks. Derrick Cope’s win at the 1990 Daytona 500 was the most unexpected win before this one. Brad did have to qualify on time, since his car is not running the full season and it is not in the top 35. However, it was a Hendrick car and engine. Rick Hendrick sold them to his friend, and then ended up with his driver, Dale Jr., finishing 2nd to him. Brad was running fourth on the final lap as they came out of the tri-oval and made their way to the start/finish line which is located almost in turn one. This unique placement allowed for this dramatic finish. If the line had been in the normal location, the center of the front stretch, Carl Edwards would have been celebrating in Victory Circle instead of crossing the finish line on foot. After his car flew into the catch fence, Carl climbed out of his demolished car, just as Bobby Allison had done some 21 years ago. Bobby’s crash was the reason NASCAR requires restrictors on the cars.
Brad’s enthusiasm in Victory Lane was refreshing, as was seeing Dale Jr. congratulate and ‘kid’ Brad a little. Dale had pulled up to Brad on the ‘cool down’ lap and rubbed the side of his car in congratulations. Once Dale pulled away, Brad pulled right, right in front of another car, and promptly spun out. However, his joy was so overwhelming that he did not show any embarrassment over the incident.
- Scott Speed finished 5th, but he started the race a lap down because he pitted to make changes before the green flag at the start of the race. Scott was one of the cars that had to qualify on speed for the race, and had ‘tricked’ the car up for qualifying, but it would not have made it far in the race in ‘qualifying mode.’ The penalty was overcome just 8 laps into the race, as he was the ‘lucky dog’ on the first caution flag. By the way, some of the tricks were: brakes held back = 2 HP, light fluids for gears, transmission, rear end, engine = 3HP, lower oil pressure to 20psi = ½ HP, removed belts from rear end or power steering = ½ HP each, and left off the alternator = 1HP. Also, taping up the grill to restrict air flow under the hood, clear coating the paint, changing the ‘timing’ of the engine helped. The result for every 7HP you gain = 1 MPH.
- Jeff Burton finished 10th after going three laps down as a result of the ‘big one’ on lap 7. He got two ‘lucky dog’ passes and made up the final lap on his own.
- Jeff Gordon lost the points lead after the ‘big one’ ruined his day. He is now 5 points behind, having lost a 162 point lead in only two races.
- Mark Martin went from 1st to 43rd in finishes at Phoenix and Talladega.
- NASCAR emphasized ‘aggressive driving’ would be penalized during the race. They had a better view than I had on the television, as it appeared many times that the cars were pushing cars the whole 2.66 miles around the track. Brad Keselowski holding his line when Carl Edwards tried to block him at the end of the race was not aggressive on Brad’s part. He was playing by the rules. That said, if Brad had gone below the yellow line and had gotten to the line first, he would have been penalized and Carl would have won. It was up to Carl to hold his line and ‘side draft’ to preserve the win. All around, it was just good racing by the rules for most of the day.
PIT NOTE:
NASCAR has spent hours and hours on research, as well as millions of dollars to make the drivers and fans safer than they were when Bobby’s car flew into the Talladega fence. The fence is better and stronger, the overhang of the fence was redesigned twice, the cars have more flaps, and the tires, hood and trunk are all secured by tethers to keep them from flying into the stands. If human engineering could protect the drivers and fans at the speeds they run at Talladega, then this would not have happened again. (‘At these speeds’ is the key, without the high banks the speeds would fall and the cars would not fly). But, human engineering and understanding will always still be human. If Carl Edward’s car had not clipped Ryan Newman’s car, it probably would have just fallen on the track surface and fans would not have been injured. However, the energy of Carl’s car at over 190 MPH striking Ryan’s car redirected the flying 3400 pound object into the fence and injured eight fans.
Regardless of how much we study and come to understand God’s creation and the ‘laws’ of science (which we are commanded to do in Gen. 1:28 - “…fill the earth and subdue it…”), there will always be variables that humans cannot control. Since we cannot control the variables; we have a choice of fear or faith. If we fear the ‘ifs’ to the “extreme,” we will probably stay indoors, praying a tornado does not hit our house. The majority of us overcome that extreme fear, and we ‘risk’ the variables to some degree. Most even come to believe, like race car drivers, “it will not happen to me.” The degree to which you live in faith, trusting God not just to protect in the present, but to provide even if death results from the variables, will determine the ultimate joy you will in this life.
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4/20/09
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Mark Martin on the Pole and in Victory Lane…SWEET!
For only the fourth time in NASCAR history, a man over 50 years of age won a Cup race. Mark Martin joins Morgan Shepherd, Harry Gant and Bobby Allison in this select group. But, age is not the defining notation for this win. Mark is often described as the “best driver to have never won a championship.” He actually retired from full-time racing three years ago. That year, he missed his first start in over a decade while in the top 5 of points. He referred to his honoring his commitment to his wife and son when he stepped away. In Victory Lane, he honored his wife once again when he thanked her for allowing him ‘to do this.’ This was Mark’s 37th win in the Cup series, but his first-ever not in a Ford and not in a Jack Roush car. Mark dominated the first part of the race. He ran in the top 5 for the middle part of the race and passed Ryan Newman for the lead on the final restart. Ryan stayed on the track with worn tires, so Mark knew he would overtake Ryan quickly (Ryan was running 14th when the caution flag came out; he was just trying to ‘steal’ some positions). The unknown for Mark was Tony Stewart who was right behind him. Tony had not been able to catch Mark before the restart, but Ryan is his teammate, and Ryan could have blocked Mark, thus allowing Tony to pass both at the same time and “steal’ the win. However, Mark drove hard into turn 1, took the high line and powered around Ryan coming off the 2nd turn. Tony never had a chance!
On the cool down lap, Mark came on his radio and thanked his team and told them he would not do a burn out. Maybe no burn out, but he was definitely elated to win after over three years without one. Victory Lane reminded me of the year Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 and pit road was lined with competitors congratulating him on his way to Victory Lane. At Phoenix, Mark’s interview was interrupted numerous times with visits from Jack Roush, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, and other drivers and crew chiefs. Respect, always given by Mark, was returned by those to whom he has shown respect.
- Tony Stewart’s 2nd place finish was his third top 5 in a row in his own car. From the start of the season, Tony has been consistent with his new team; and he should be in Victory Circle soon. Tony indicated in the post race interview that he did appreciate Mark’s age and that Mark’s victory gives hope to the older drivers who have began to believe the talk that the Cup series is for ‘young men.’
- Kenny Schrader lost the Rockingham ARCA Race. Why is this a worthy news item? Because of the wisdom Kenny gave in his post race interview. Kenny dominated the race, but he ran out of gas with three laps to go and still finished 7th. The interviewer asked his question in a consoling way about having ‘the car to beat’ and being disappointed with such a small thing as fuel mileage. Kenny said two important things. First, “I have had a lot worse days than this,” acknowledging this is literally ‘just racing’ not life and death (he was with me in the hospital once when a mother giving birth died, just one example he could give). Second, “I was the best car for 197 laps; the winner was the best car for 200 laps.” There is a Pit Note in that statement. Take time to write your own today.
PIT NOTE:
In Luke 6:31, Jesus says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This is a simple principle. It is not about manipulating results in your life; it is about loving others like you love yourself.
When I was in my sophomore year of high school, I didn’t like myself very much, and I wasn’t well-liked by others by the actual count of the number of friends I had. One day, between history and math class, I stood at my locker and had a decisive moment. I decided I would live by the principle “do unto others as I would have them do unto me.” Based on that choice, my life changed. I started thinking of others before myself. Amazingly, people opened up to me, and I started enjoying life more. I stayed with that decision for eight months. Then, when summer break came, I went to work each day between 4:00-5:00am, played golf by myself in the evening and I eventually got back in a rut.
It wasn’t until May of my senior year, that I came to understand why just having a life philosophy based on a Bible verse did not work for me (or you if you have adopted a verse). It is because you really can only adapt a biblical principle until you first know the author of the verses. Principles of the Kingdom of God found in the Bible can make your life better in finance and relationships, from marriage, to parenting, to being a child, or to standing before a judge in court. However, there will not be the power of the principle active in your life and behind your actions until you have a personal relationship with the King himself; and that is Jesus. That relationship comes when you confess that you are a sinner, unable to love as Jesus loves, and believe that Jesus died on the cross in payment of your sins. Please do that now; and find the abundant life of joy, fulfillment and peace that you read about in the Bible. Do it at any age. It will be better than even Victory Lane for Mark Martin.
EXPERIENCING INTIMACY WITH GOD
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4/7/09
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- With his 82nd Career win and 47 races in the making, Jeff Gordon broke the longest winless streak of his 16-year Cup career with his first win ever at Texas Motor Speedway. He led the race on six different occasions and held off his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, for the last 23 laps after regaining the lead when his pit crew picked him up two spots on the last caution flag. Jeff quickly pulled to a commanding 25-car length lead, only to wear out his right front tire and thus created a ‘push.’ This allowed Jimmie to pull to within five car lengths at the finish line. In post race interviews, both drivers admitted that if the race had been five laps longer, Jimmie would have been in Victory Circle instead of Jeff. Jeff has now won on 21 of the 22 Cup tracks. The Homestead trophy is the only one he is missing. He could close out the season with a win and his 5th championship trophy at that very track.
- Roush-Fenway Racing teams run well again. After four races with the four official and two unofficial Roush teams being ‘missing in action’ following Matt Kenseth winning the first two races of the season, the four official teams all ran well at Texas. Matt, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle all led the race at some point. In fact, Carl seemed to have the race won until a problem with a lug nut on the final pit stop relegated him to restart 11th. In the end, the Roush teams finished 3rd, 5th, 10th and 38th. The four Hendrick teams also finished well at 1st, 2nd, 5th and 20th; and their two ‘satellite’ teams (Stewart and Newman) were 4th and 15th. Dale Jr. finished 20th after hitting the wall with a cut tire as he was passing for the lead.
- Michael Waltrip Racing continues to run well with David Ruitemann winning the pole and finishing 11th. Marcus Ambrose, in a car prepared in the Waltrip shop, started 11th and ran in the top 15 until he had engine problems two-thirds of the way through the race.
PIT NOTE
Even racing becomes monotonous when viewed with a 47 race winless streak over an 18 month period. Each of those 47 races, Jeff did not win but he still had intense moments. Some were ‘almost’ wins, and there were many ‘saves’ when his car was sideways. In addition, there was the side by side finish with Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville; and several races, which were called because of rain, that he would have won, if he had not pitted. But, taken as a whole, there was a long period of frustration and the ultimate thrill of racing did not happen for him.
Life is much the same. There are many exciting moments in a month, a year, several years, but when we stop to review any specific 18-month period as Jeff just ended, most of it would seem ‘monotonous.’ Only ‘wins,’ such as vacations, holidays, a birth, a special birthday party, or a promotion, which often seem to ‘count’ as a ‘win.’ Only a few people are always ‘up.’ They are always responding to the greeting “how are you?” with words like ‘amazing,’ ‘wonderful,’ or ‘blessed.’ ‘Most’ people generally disregard those people as just ‘positive thinkers’ or someone trying to be ‘spiritual.’
However, such measurements are humanistic, not Godly. When God finished each day’s work of His creation, He reflected on his days work and called it good. In Psalm 118, we are told to ‘rejoice in each day.’ Jesus taught us to pray for ‘our daily bread.’
This weekend, I washed the feet of a 50 year-old man who confessed he had “no job, no skill, no home, and no family;” yet, he did not say, nor act as if he had ‘no hope.’ I was tempted to talk to him about how he could obtain ‘things’ as I spoke to him of faith, but he had ‘peace’ and was quick to ask for prayer for overcoming the sins that he had chosen in life which resulted in his lack of ‘things.’ I was struck with the fact that this man, without any ‘wins’ as acknowledged by the world system, was not bitter or resentful. He did not whine or blame others. He did profess his faith in Jesus and his lack of self-control. His demeanor, in a small church basement in Washington, D.C., reminded me of the same attitude I have seen among the impoverished people in Peru and South Africa. The common factors are: 1) profession faith in Jesus for eternal life, and 2) acceptance of their life and taking one day at a time.
God does not promise anyone health, wealth or a long life. He offers salvation and a promise that He will never leave you. Therefore, we have nothing to fear. Things afforded by this world are nice, but acknowledging the Lord of All everyday and in all things is the ultimate ‘win!’
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3/31/09
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
- Jimmie Johnson and Rick Hendrick CONTINUE to dominate MARTINSVILLE! On the 25th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ first NASCAR Cup win (Geoff Bodine was the driver), Jimmie Johnson won his fifth of the last six races on the same start/finish line of the very first team celebration in 1984 in the Martinsville Victory Circle. This was the eighteenth time the team has taken home the treasured Ridgeway Grand Father Clock, which goes to the winner (10 of the last 13). However, it was only the sixteenth time Rick Hendrick was there for the celebration. He learned of the very first win on a 25-cent pay phone call to his mom who was at the race. Rick and his wife did not attend that race, but called after leaving a church service. Rick revealed that his memories of Martinsville go all the way back to 1963 when Richard Petty signed his autograph and passed it to him through the 4th turn fence before a race. Hendrick cars finished 1st, 4th, 7th and 8th in the race.
- Jimmie Johnson’s win was classic Johnson. He started the race with a badly handling car, and stopped on the first two caution flags to make major changes. In Johnson’s words, “we opted to lose positions to get it right.” It was lap 430 of 500 when all the changes took him to the lead, and only then with the help of his pit crew getting him out of his pit first.
- Denny Hamlin, who dominated the race from lap 159, when he took the lead until lap 430, made a bold move on the lap 455 restart to retake the lead. Denny timed the restart just right and dove to the inside of Jimmie and out braked him to move back into the lead. Jimmie was able to gain on Denny in the middle of the turns, but Denny would pull slightly away on the straight-aways. With 16 to go, Jimmie got inside of Denny as they entered turn 3 and both drivers fought to hold their positions. Both slid up the track and had to put on brakes to avoid spinning out. Jimmie, on the inside, had the advantage and dragged raced Denny back down the front straight-away and was never challenged again.
- Tony Stewart, in 3rd place, was too far back to overtake either of the cars. He finished 3rd in the race. His teammate, Ryan Newman, finished 6th to give Tony’s new team their first double top 10 and first top 5 of the year.
- “…honored to be on the same track with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart,” was Denny Hamlin’s only comment after the disappointment of finishing 2nd once again. When asked about the ‘fairness’ of Jimmie’s “bump and run,” Denny confessed that it was classic ‘short track racing. Denny said he would have (and will) do the same given the chance in the future.
PIT NOTE:
|
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Brakes and ‘the curb’ were hardly mentioned during the race, as these two elements had less to do with the outcome of this Martinsville race than any I can remember. |
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3/24/09
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Kyle Busch won at Bristol (Sunday only). For the second time this year, Kyle won a Cup series race. He already has two Truck series wins and a Nationwide win. He dominated the Nationwide race on Saturday; only to lose the race because of an error by his pit crew. Sunday’s was the third win in a row this year for the Busch brothers. Bristol is the first track where Kyle has a repeated win. His previous thirteen wins were all at different tracks.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin finished 2nd after the third Gibbs’ car blew an engine and force a Green/White/Checkered ending. The next three spots were taken by Hendrick cars, with only Dale Jr. not in the top 10. He finished 14th after receiving two ‘lucky dog’ passes during the race.
By the way, even in Victory Circle, Kyle mentioned his disappointment with not winning the Nationwide race before he thanked his sponsors and team for the Cup win. During my time in racing, Mark Martin is the only other driver I have ever heard do that. Both are winners because of that attitude.
- Tony Stewart’s two teams are guaranteed a starting spot at Martinsville, as they are now in the top 35 in owner points. Tony and Ryan Newman have had to qualify on time for the first five races of 2009, as neither car was in the top 35 in the final Owner Points standings of 2008.
- On the other end of the spectrum…Yates Racing’s two cars are out of the top 35 after five races, as is the #8 car (formerly DEI, now merged with Ganassi = Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates). Those three former dominant teams will now have to qualify on time, until they move back into the top 35. In fact, due to a lack of sponsorship, the Yates #28 team has announced it will not race next week in Martinsville. The announcement came from Geoff Smith, the president of Roush Fenway Racing, which partners with Yates. These teams not being in the top 35, and the president of Roush-Fenway Racing speaking for Yates Racing, reveals some major changes in NASCAR in the last four years.
- Marcus Ambrose finished 10th. (Not earth shattering news, but I used to work there (now JTG/Daugherty Racing), and I am glad for him and his team!)
- Mark Martin got the pole and finished 5th at Bristol. It was his second pole in seven years, but second in a row for 2009. His 5th place finish thrilled him, according to a post race interview. Mark said he was not good in Saturday’s final practice, and for the first time this year, the changes made during the race kept improving the car. Only the final adjustment was a little “off,’ pushing the car “over the hill.” The 5th place finished moved his team to 31st in owner points, from 35th. That gives him a guaranteed starting spot at Martinsville as the top 35 are now determined by 2009 points, instead of reverting to last years’ points.
PIT NOTE:
“Rhythm is the key to racing at Bristol”, so said three drivers in their interviews with FOX Sports before the race. Jeff Burton explained that ‘consistency’ (rhythm) was just as important as being ‘fast’ at the Bristol track. In 1994, I first heard a discussion about ‘rhythm’ being a key to winning races. I had not even considered it until that time. I just saw drivers going fast and doing whatever necessary to win the race; sort of the toughest driver winning, not the ‘smoothest’ driver. Then, on the road courses, I heard you have to go ‘slow’ to go ‘fast;’ which made no sense to me. All this seemed to be saying that racing was just like other sports. I play golf, and I understand that swing rhythm and control allows short, light weight players to hit drives further than more muscular players. Baseball swings, basketball players’ follow through, even ping pong players needing ‘rhythm’ made sense to me, but racers just needed to focus on passing the car in front of them. But, closer observation of Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson revealed that hitting the same mark each lap, saving their tires and being consistent allowed them to overcome those who initially drove away from them, IF there were enough green flag laps in a race. I learned that changing one’s ‘line’ involved changing the point at which the driver let off, and then ‘picked up’ the throttle. I came to appreciate that it was not just finding the ‘edge’ at which the car would spin out and stay on this side of that line. It was ‘finessing’ the 3400 pounds of metal and horse power to the conditions and ‘taking’ what the track ‘gave,’ not just ‘bullying’ one’s way to the finish line.
Rhythm applies to life also. “The Message” translation of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Then the Apostle Paul spoke in Ephesians 4:7 of how Christians are to be trained “until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.”
Everyone faces ‘difficult’ things in life everyday. It ‘rains on the just and the unjust equally.’ “Life isn’t easy” is commonly heard, regardless of our faith. Others try to ignore the facts and deny that the challenges of life exist; they appear ‘spiritual’ when inside they are full of worry.
Jesus does not deny these realities of life. He faced them fully; He was tempted in every aspect of life, just as we are. But, Jesus provides ‘grace’ for every situation. Your ‘track’ may often change, other ‘cars’ may get in your way and force you to alter your ‘line,’ but Jesus will provide grace in every change as we ‘walk’ with Him, ‘work’ with Him, and learn by ‘watching’ Him. Mark Martin finished well at Bristol, after starting 1st and falling to 16th, because he understood that it was a 500-lap race, and he adjusted until he found and followed the right rhythm. Jesus is patient with you. Keep your focus on Him, and you will find the rhythm of grace that you desire for every situation you face in your life.\
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3/4/08
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Matt Kenseth did not get a chance to become the first driver to win the first three races of the season; his engine malfunctioned on lap 7! Unfortunately, Mark Martin also experience engine trouble for the second week in a row, and he now finds himself 34th in the points standings after three races. His Hendrick teammate, Dale Jr., is just slightly better (29th).
- Jeff Gordon finished 5th after missing pit road as he tried to slow down approaching the entry line. He slid his tires, causing the right front tire to blow out and destroy the fender. However, the damage, which in years past would have relegated Jeff to a car impossible to drive to a high finish, still allowed Jeff to finish 5th. Even though the fender was missing, the nose of the car was not affected, leaving the critical down force in place. Jeff was not the only driver with pit problems. Jimmie Johnson also slid through his pit on one stop, and eight other drivers either messed up a pit stop or were penalized for an infraction on pit road. Jeff did lead the race for most of the laps, and now he has led over 20,000 laps in his career. Only six other drivers have led more laps.
- From POLE, to LAST, to VICTORY CIRCLE…Kyle Busch wins at his home track! Kyle Busch got his first win of the season, his first since August 2008 at Watkins Glen. Kyle started the weekend changing engines after just five practice laps, and then he won the pole three hours later. The rules state that if you change an engine you must go to the “back of the pack” on Sunday. So, with Kyle and five other Toyota teams having engine trouble, they all had to fall to the back after receiving the accolades during driver introductions. Kyle moved steadily toward the front as many other fast cars swapped the lead and experienced troubles. Finally, with 57 laps to go, he passed for the lead, then maintained a slight lead over surprise front runner, Bobby Labonte, as both tried to save gas in anticipation of a ‘fuel mileage’ ending. However, a caution with 21 laps to go ended that possibility, and Kyle was second on the restart with 18 laps to go. He quickly moved around Clint Bowyer, and it was “Good night Gracie;” then on a final restart, he moved away again to an easy win.
PIT NOTE:
Kyle Busch won twenty-one times in 2008, eight in the Cup series and thirteen in the Nationwide and Truck series. That got him into the Chase, but crashes in the first two of the ten Chase races destroyed any opportunity for him to win the Championship. Victory Circle was “fun” each time; he ‘mocked’ the fans who booed him as he bowed at the start/finish line after each victory. His talent became so obvious that the fans began to reluctantly show some appreciation. Three weeks ago at Daytona, he was back in form, but he was taken out by Dale Jr.’s crash while he was leading the race. Now, he wins at his home track, Las Vegas, with a reminder of George Burns’ famous close to the comedy skits he performed with his wife, “Say goodnight, Gracie,” coming over his radio from his spotter.
Regardless of your personal feelings about Kyle, may I suggest that his talent is undeniable? His seemingly fearlessness is a refreshing reminder of the beginnings of NASCAR; and his celebrations of victory are justified. In short, he is fun to watch!
I usually explore the weekend events to discover a more serious truth to illustrate, but what about ‘fun?’ I have the basis of a book, ‘Finding THE FUN in FUNctional” in my mind. I may even write it one day. The economy we are facing in NASCAR and our own world is not FUN. I ran into a veteran team member (he started on the road the same year I did) who still has a job. He said “it’s amazing how little complaining I hear among those who still have a job in NASCAR!” A media commentator commented about Kyle being more serious, ‘composed’ and mature this year. He suggested that those ‘improvements’ may just be what allows him to become the Champion this year.
Maybe so; but Kyle’s enjoying what he does with rejection is also a key ingredient. I suggest the same is needed in our personal situations. The book of Ecclesiastics suggests we find ‘fun’ in all aspects of life. Jesus instructs us not to worry or fear at anytime. The Apostle Paul wrote that we should never worry; but instead we should turn our worry into praise of our Lord.
Winning is ‘fun!’ Kyle experienced winning twenty-one races last year, but he did not win over 75% of the races he ran. Philippians 4:13 tells us that, “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” Romans 8:37 says, “…we are more than conquerors (they are the winners) through him who loved us.” Therefore, we have the capacity in Christ to ‘win’ every day, every race. That is FUN!
THE MIND OF CHRIST: CELEBRATING THE JOY OF THE CHRISTLIKE DIFFERENCE |
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2/25/09
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
- Matt Kenseth wins again! For only the fifth time in NASCAR history, a driver has won the first two races of the season. It is only the fourth time that the winner of the Daytona 500 won the next week’s race (Daytona has not always been the first race of the season). After the restart following Kevin Harvick’s wreck, Jeff Gordon followed Matt Kenseth for the last 36 laps of the race. With 19 laps to go, Jeff pulled within three car lengths, but Matt moved back to a 7/10th second lead with 12 laps to go. Then, with 5 to go, Jeff moved down to the apron in the turns and started cutting into the lead, but Matt’s consistency in holding his line kept Jeff at bay to the end. After the race, Jeff said that his car got ‘loose’ when he got close to Matt, and Matt just would not make a mistake that would allow him to end his losing streak. The win is the fifth straight February California race win for the Jack Roush team.
- Hendrick loses two cars to engine failure. Mark Martin, Dale Jr. and Jimmie Johnson all reported engine problems on the same lap with Mark and Dale having to park their cars with eventual failures. Not since Talladega, over four years ago, have Hendrick cars had so many common failures.
- Kevin Harvick blew an engine and failed to finish a race for the first time in 81 races. This is the longest streak of finishing races in the ‘modern’ NASCAR era. His teammate, Clint Bowyer, now has the longest streak with 75 races; so a record that has stood for 37 years could fall in just 42 days.
- Kyle Busch won both the Truck and Nationwide races on Saturday. No driver has ever won two of the top three series’ races in NASCAR during a race weekend on the same day. To top it off, Kyle finished 3rd in the Cup race.
- Greg Biffle should have won the Cup race, but he slid over his air hose on his last pit stop. He was required to back up and get the hose out from under his car before starting his pit stop. This put him in the rear of the field and resulted in his finishing 4th.
PIT NOTE:
Just sixty miles away, while Hollywood celebrated ‘make believe’ with the Oscars, NASCAR teams returned to ‘reality’ after the anomaly of Daytona ended. Daytona is not ‘reality’ in the world of NASCAR. Teams are there for almost two weeks. Qualifying is totally different from the other 35 races; there is an out-of-bounds line, and there is ‘drafting’ and restrictor plates that keep the cars within inches of each other. The rest of the season, starting with this race in Fontana, it is basically cookie-cutter 3-day ‘shows.’ Teams arrive on Friday and practice for two hours, followed by qualifying. Saturday has a ‘happy hour’ and Sunday is the ‘big show;’ and we do it all again four days later, except for three weekends out of the next 40. Daytona is so different and intense that everyone is tempted to make changes to their plans for the year based on the Daytona experience. We had a saying at Motor Racing Outreach, “you don’t make any decisions or changes based on Daytona.” Wait until you experience the same thing at multiple other tracks before you start adapting your program.
Many people make spiritual decisions the same way. They have a great experience at ‘Daytona’ (as Matt Kenseth, RPM teams) or a bad one (Kyle Busch), and they begin to change things that will take them the wrong way. Such a move can send a good team on a ‘wild goose chase’ for weeks; until they say, “OK, let’s just go back to the basics.”
Jesus took three of his closest disciples with him to one such spiritual ‘high,’ and they had to be reminded of the same thing. Matthew 17:1-8 says, “Six days later, three of them saw that glory. Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light. Then they realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him. Peter broke in, 'Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?' While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: 'This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.' When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. ‘Don't be afraid.’ When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus.”
This is the key; we must “open our eyes and see Jesus, only Jesus.” Your feelings will fool you. Formulas for spirituality are not found in the Scripture, but they sell a lot of books for authors. Building a memorial for a moment of spiritual bliss will not maintain one’s memory of the moment and the power felt. We need Jesus, only Jesus, fresh and new each day. He brings newness and life each and every day. I pray you will be refreshed every day in Jesus.
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2/18/09
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- Matt Kenseth gives Jack Roush his first Daytona 500 win! Matt was pushed to the front by 2nd place finisher, Kevin Harvick, with 54 laps remaining as they entered the 3rd turn. The Caution flag that had been anticipated for over 50 laps was waiting for Kenseth as he crossed the start/finish line as the leader for the first time in the race. Two laps later, the Red flag stopped the race because of rain. Matt sat in his car on pit road as the other drivers exited their cars in anticipation of a long red flag. However, just 20 minutes later, Matt emerged from his car as the winner of the biggest race in NASCAR. The officials determined that even if the rain stopped at that moment, it would be almost 11pm before the race could be restarted, so therefore, they called the race complete. Matt started the race dead last, 43rd. The previous lowest start for a winner was 34th.
- Elliott Sadler was the most disappointed at the call of the race. Elliott had moved his Richard Petty Motorsports car to the front of the pack with pit strategy. However, he was passed by Kenseth and three others on the last half of what became the last green flag lap of the race. He was especially upset that he had chosen to ‘block’ the lower line of cars and not moved up to stop what was the faster line of cars. If he had chosen differently, he would have been in Victory Circle instead of Matt. However, it was a great night for Richard Petty Motorsports overall. Gillett Evernham Motorsports bought/merged with Petty Enterprises in the fall and took Richard Petty’s name. Their three Dodge cars (of four Dodges in the top 10) finished 3rd (#44 Allmendinger), 5th (#19 Sadler) and 9th (#43 Sorenson).
Allmendinger was the most interesting of this group for several reasons. Two days before check-in for the 500, he learned that he would have to qualify for the race instead of having a guaranteed starting position as one of the top 35 cars in points from the 2008 season. Several teams, of which RPM assumed they would be one, merged with teams not continuing in NASCAR this year and ‘inherited’ their points. In this case, NASCAR determined their merger did not qualify. Thus, Allmendinger had to sweat through his Duel 150 race on Thursday and wait for the results of the second race for it to be determined that he had a spot in the 500. He was the last car to get in. Allmendinger drove the #44 car with the same paint scheme that Kyle Petty used in his very first race at Daytona in 1979 in the Arca Series. He won that race. Kyle issued a statement that he was personally offended that RPM had used the paint scheme as he was not driving it, and he questioned that RPM is not in fact connected to the Petty family racing business that he knew. Meanwhile, Richard was present during the entire Speed weeks as part of the new company.
- Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch won the Duel 150’s on Thursday. Jeff finished the 500 in 13th and Kyle in 42nd. Kyle also led the most laps, 82 of 148.
- Sad news…Kyle Petty and Ken Schrader were not in the 500 for the first time in over 20 years. Sad for me anyway; just another indication of the advancement of time. I believe this leaves only Michael Waltrip as the only driver to now have competed in every restrictor plate race.
- Single File Restarts with 20 laps to go: NASCAR will use single-file lineups for restarts with 20 laps remaining in all three national series this year, NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said today. The previous rule called for single-file restarts with only 10 laps remaining. All other restarts had lapped cars on the inside lane. NASCAR is still allowing for the first driver one-lap down [Lucky Dog] to get back on the lead lap until there are 10 laps left in the race. Pemberton said the rule was to allow the leaders more room to race following a caution in the waning laps. “We’ve been talking to the crews, teams and drivers and we felt like it was a time to make a change,” Pemberton said. “We haven’t taken away the lucky dog and haven’t hurt anybody from getting a lap back.”(SceneDaily)(2-22-2009)
PIT NOTE:
- Dale Jr. was the center of biggest story of the Daytona 500. He led a lap and finished 27th…and now the rest of the story. Jr. had a bad week in the pits. On Thursday, during the Duel 150’s he slid through his pit. In the 500, he missed his pit and had to go around the track and stop all alone, which put him last on the restart. He said he missed the pit because of all the signs showing him where to pit were all the same color, pink. Then, he pitted and parked his right front tire one inch on the white line, an infraction that his tire changer ignored even as the NASCAR official waved his arms and pointed it out. A one lap penalty was assessed, which put him a lap down, and restarting 2nd on the inside line of cars, right behind Brian Vickers who was also a lap down.
On the backstretch, Dale Jr. got a ‘run’ on Vickers and pulled down to pass, and Vickers pulled down to ‘block’ Dale. Dale was forced below the double yellow line (NASCAR’s ‘out-of-bounds” where a car can run but must not pass anyone when they return to the official racing surface). Dale then turned right quickly, clipping Vickers, who then hit someone else, thus the BIG ONE commences, resulting in eight cars being out of the race, including Kyle Busch. NOW THE QUESTIONS:
Did Dale do this out of frustration caused by his miscues on pit road that resulted in him being a lap down? He said he was not frustrated at the time. Was he racing too hard because he and Vickers were racing for the “Lucky Dog” (NASCAR rule that allows the first car a lap down to return to the lead lap the next time a caution flag comes out)? He said he didn’t even know Vickers was eligible for the free pass. So, what was it? He said he simply got a ‘run’ off the second turn which meant he was much faster than Vickers at that point, and that he pulled down to pass and Vickers’ block attempt forced him below the yellow line and he was headed straight for the grass, therefore he had to pull back up and he did not have time to consider if there was enough room to make the move without wrecking someone. In other words, that’s “just racin.”
What about the ‘Yellow Line’ rule itself? NASCAR put the rule in for safety. Drivers were ‘blocking’ cars and forcing them into the grass or off the banking onto the apron, and it was causing wrecks when they returned. Footage of such moves includes the 1979 move that really put NASCAR on the front pages of national newspapers and gave it the push it needed to become a national sport (Allison v. Yarborough).
What about the blocking move of Vickers? Blocking is an accepted practice at restrictor plate races. The cars do not have enough horsepower to provide good throttle response; therefore, once a car gets up to speed, a driver keeps his foot on the floorboard and uses his brake to vary his speed. He just taps it, or ‘drags’ the brake for minute changes. So, drivers watch their rear view mirrors more in these races than any others. They look for cars with ‘runs,’ for lines of cars in a ‘draft’ where the speed of a large group is greater than one could obtain alone, for cars that may receive a ‘bump’ and be propelled an additional one to three miles per hour. When they see these things, they move up or down to ‘block’ such moves, knowing the driver will have to slow down to avoid a crash or going out of bounds. Todd Bodine won the Truck race over 2nd place Kyle Busch on Friday with just such a move in the 3rd turn.
What about NASCAR’s role in this? On Friday night, Todd Bodine was black flagged for passing a car by going beneath the yellow line. Todd thought it was the other driver’s fault, because Todd had been ‘forced’ down there. But, while NASCAR can make the call that the driver blocking is at fault, that is a rare call. Thus, when Todd was being forced down later in the race, he simply moved up instead of going below the line, resulting in the BIG ONE in the Truck race, taking out ten trucks. Todd’s reward…he won the race. Then, on Saturday, NASCAR ruled that Jason Leffler was ‘aggressive’ in his move that forced a car below the yellow line and caused a wreck. He was penalized five laps for his actions. So, some would say NASCAR is inconsistent, thus causing confusion.
PIT NOTE:
So what is the answer? First, the real problem is INTENTION Intention is involved with every question above. At some point, the person’s INTENTION is being judged. Rules generally do not consider the INTENTION of a person. (I know that intention plays into the degree of a charge or the sentencing in courts. However, these are written tightly and the judge’s orders to the jury are given to specifically limit how much these can be considered. All illustrations have limitations, so work with me a little here!) Blocking is not only an accepted practice, it is a vital and encouraged action by the written and natural laws of restrictor plate racing. Until unlimited horsepower is restored, blocking is the natural, logical and practical response. The Yellow Line is just as practical and logical for these races. There must be a stopping point to the blocking or there will be chaos. Avoiding the block by running over people is not the answer either. That is destructive and aggressive driving, and since ‘blocking’ is natural (i.e. not aggressive) in these races, the aggressive driving should be punished, thus the need to ‘drag the brakes.’
So to take INTENTION out of the decision making, what would I do? I say any driver that is blocked and forced below the line must take whatever action necessary to return to the racing surface without passing a car, nor causing a wreck. He chose to move down; the ‘blocker’ has the right of way. If he passes, he is penalized one lap. If he causes a wreck, it is considered aggressive driving and would be penalized five laps, and should pay each car damaged $20,000. INTENTION would no longer be a part of the decision. Thus, blocking is ruled legal; making a move out of line has known, defined consequences. The driver knows the risk and rewards (positive and negative). The only time the ‘blocker’ is penalized is when his initial block moves him into the car he is trying to block, thus ‘aggressive driving’ (see above for penalty).
So, that’s my ‘answer.’ So what? Even if NASCAR read this and thought it had merit; so what? However, I did get you thinking about INTENTION. And, hopefully you have already had some thought of INTENTION in relation to God.
Just about everyone has ‘good intentions’ in life. Even those who don’t’ believe in God generally have ‘good intentions’ toward their fellow man and to some degree seek to ‘help’ the less fortunate. Many show it though their political views and hope government programs will ‘do well.’ Many show it by monetary and time donations.
Why do we have ‘good intentions?’ Many times because of the recognition we will receive (how many times does a ministry offer something if you join their cause? How much more likely are you to give if you also receive for giving?). Often times, we feel it will give us a better standing with God (if he really does exist and judge us is an unspoken thought many times). So, what does God say about our INTENTIONS? Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."
Man, even at his best, still cannot fully understand his INTENTIONS. But God does, and He rewards accordingly. So, it is by pure faith in the grace of God in providing His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins that anyone receives eternal life. God has taken the INTENTION out of this basic need of each man, woman, child, or fan. Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died, was buried, and is coming again? If so, God forgives you and gives you eternal life.
But what about the rewards in Heaven? Does it matter how I live, if I believe. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 says, “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
Good INTENTIONS just don’t cut it with God. His way is clear. Believe in Him, Obey Him TODAY…EVERY DAY!
2/11/09
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- Kevin Harvick wins the Shootout. Kevin Harvick was hardly mentioned until the back stretch of the last lap when he moved from 5th to 1st and won it all for Richard Childress Racing. For the first time, the Bud Shootout was not based on who won poles the previous year, but it was the top seven cars from each car manufacturer. Jamie McMurray was the strongest car for most of the second segment of the race, and he finished 2nd. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and A.J. Allmendinger were the next three finishers. Robbie Gordon raced in a Dodge as he qualified from 2008 when he drove a Dodge, then switched to a Toyota for the 500, which he will campaign in 2009.
- It is an all ‘Martin’ front row for the 500 (Martin Truex and Mark Martin) Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing is off to a great start with their merger. Martin Truex, Jr. won his first pole at Daytona; while Mark Martin, in 2nd place, was the best of the Hendrick drivers. Both held their breath as Bill Elliott, in the Wood Brothers #21 car, made his run late in the afternoon. Bill had been the fastest in both practice sessions, but held back a little by his own admission to be sure he did not wreck going for the pole. The famed #21 car is outside the Top 35 in points and had to make the race on time, thus ‘playing it safe’ probably cost him the pole.
- Now on to Thursday for the rest of the story….
For the Daytona 500, NASCAR has a unique qualifying system. Only the first two cars are guaranteed their starting positions on the first day of timed qualifying. Tomorrow (Thursday) there will be two 125-mile races to determine both the final starting field and the starting spots for the remaining 41 cars. Because the top 35 are locked in, there are 21 teams racing for eight spots. However, the top 3 of these (Elliott, Kvapil, and Stewart) are in the show because they were the fastest of those 21 in Sunday’s qualifying runs. Terry Labonte is in the show because he is a past champion; therefore, there are really only three spots open in the two races. The highest finishing non-top 35 from each race will get in, plus the next highest finisher from either race according to their qualifying time, unless, Terry is one of the two highest finishers of this group in this race, in which case there will not be a past champion provisional used. Thus, someone will be pulling for Terry, someone against, as that will probably determine the last qualifier.
PIT NOTE:
Most people do not like things to be complicated. Because there are so many variables, the Duel 125’s on Thursday is usually the best racing of the season. There are so many things that can happen at a restrictor plate race. The “Big One” can happen on the last lap of one of the races and change the makeup of the field. Twenty-one extra cars showed up for two reasons; the Daytona 500 pays over $125,000 even if you finish last, and there are so many other ways to make the race even if you are the slowest car in the race on Thursday, you may still start 43rd on Sunday. In other words, this is one race where it’s not HOPELESS!
HOPELESS is never true of your life either! Regardless of what you are facing or where you are right now, the ‘odds’ you are facing, the people standing in your way, what you have messed up, how sick and sorry you feel, or how much you are disliked by those you have hurt, you are still in the race. You are not HOPELESS! God has open arms for you. His love is eternal. He is forgiving. He will never leave you. He will provide for you. The way you drive may not be impressive, your car may not look pretty, you may not have the best skills, and you may never win a race, but YOU ARE IN THE RACE!
The only difference is that when the checkered flag drops, the ‘race’ does not end. At the end of all the 38 races this year, one car goes to Victory Circle and the others go to the garage. In the race of life, after the last lap of our earthly life, there will be eternal life…in Heaven or in Hell. The way you drive is not what determines that location. It is all about what Jesus did on the Cross for you and your acceptance of the free gift of life in Him. That is real HOPE. You are not hopeless now, or in eternity.
Start the season right. Trust Him today.
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RON'S PIT NOTES ~ 2009
