Blockheaded RacinDeals

TEN YEARS: What a difference ten years makes. The Speed Channel showed the
1998 Daytona 500 Saturday night, and ESPN Classic showed the 1988 Checker 500 at
Phoenix an hour later. I swapped back and forth between both. It’s pretty
amazing how much the cars have changed in ten years. In 1988, there were quite a
few more makes than there were in 1998. The cars in 1988 each had a distinct
look; some were even shorter than others. In 1998, the cars pretty much all
looked the same, i.e. like a jelly bean on wheels. 

Oh, and Ricky Rudd has lost his accent since then too.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH: It’s pretty amazing how these two logos are so
similar. 

One of these is the Valvoline logo, and one of them isn’t, in a major way.
Click on the logos to find out what product goes with what logo.

BOYCOTT NASCARDOTCOM: As of this moment, I’m no longer going to visit
NASCAR’s web site. I simply have no reason to. In the past I could listen to MRN
from their site. I don’t know how many times I listened to the races last year
on my laptop while at the track. But because of their agreement with Real
Networks, that’s no longer a free service. They’re charging for it, and no
matter what the charge, it’s too much. But it looks like you won’t even be able
to listen to it from a radio station’s web site either.

So, MRN sponsors, you can thank NASCAR for your advertisements not being
heard as much this year as last. I for one won’t be able to listen on the radio
on a lot of Saturday’s, and now I won’t be able to listen on my computer. Keep
it up NASCAR/Turner, and you’ll be following CART into oblivion.

BOYCOTT NASCAR’S BLOCKHEADS: The Daytona 500 finished about 10 minutes ago. I
don’t know what to say, except at this moment I’m ashamed to be a fan of the
Winston Cup series. Where to start…?

• AERO PACKAGE: When the drivers and especially the news media whined after
  the "big wreck" at Talladega in October, NASCAR removed the aero
  anchors. Well, guys, you got what you asked for. Are you happy?
• THE BIG ONE: Does 18 cars in one wreck count as a big one? Weren’t these
  new rules supposed to eliminate that?
• BLOCKING: Drivers drove more looking in the mirror than through the
  windshield. Blocking caused at least 3 of the wrecks. Is that really racing? 
• RED FLAGS: I’ve harped on this before, but what the heck. NASCAR knows the
  fans want to see races finish under the green flag. But in their infinite
  wisdom, they throw the red flag instead of extending the number of laps. The
  excuses they give are about the lamest I’ve ever heard. If you needed any
  proof of why they need to extend the race instead of throwing the red flag,
  you got it in the 2002 Daytona 500.
• HELMET ISSUES: NASCAR seriously needs to look at the helmets these drivers
  are wearing. Some (like Sterling Marlin, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick) obviously
  have helmets one size too small.
• RACING: What we saw today wasn’t racing. It was getting out front and
  blocking. If NASCAR doesn’t put the rules from last year back into effect
  before Talladega, I’ll go find something more exciting to do with three
  hours of my time.

LITTERBUGS: If I were ISC, I’d be embarrassed at how much litter was on the
track. In the rerun of the 1998 Daytona 500 Saturday night, I thought the trash
was bad. But it was just as bad today. Can’t they get some sweeper trucks to go
around the track and get rid of that stuff? And can’t they put up something that
keeps the trash off the track?

ALLEN WORSTWICK: I’ve never heard an announcer be more of an advocate than
Allen Bestwick in the final few minutes of the Daytona 500. NBC should seriously
consider reprimanding him or even replacing him before they come back next year.
There’s no place for that in a sport that wants to be taken seriously (of
course, there’s no place for the incompetence NASCAR has shown in the rule
making process this year either).

LEAD CHANGE REALITY: Wow, we’re supposed to be impressed that there
were a whopping 20 lead changes in the Daytona 500. Sorry, but half of those
lead changes occurred either under yellow or when the leader pitted. There were
only 10 passes for the lead all day (including when Kurt Busch got Sterling
Marlin loose).

LAP THREE SILLINESS: Hopefully, we’ve seen the last of the lap three
"tribute" to Dale Earnhardt. When Tony Stewart blew up, I wondered if
they were going to remain silent while the first big story of the day went by. Fortunately,
Benny Parsons broke the silence and they quickly followed up with what happened.

RATING THE ANTHEM: I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve heard the
Anthem singer need accompaniment, but apparently those big name opera stars
can’t sing without some type of instrument. On a scale of 1 to 10, the Daytona
500 Anthem singer gets a 4. At least she didn’t hit any sour notes and she got all the words right.