Sofa Sideline – Pre-Race Ramblings
Well, it’s fairly late at night to be starting to write, but you do what you
have to do. I have the good fortune to be able to work part-time with Jason
Jarrett, ARCA RE/MAX Series driver, and have been sitting putting press kits
together. This team is set to go racing this week.
I happened to be on the South side of Charlotte around lunchtime today, and
got the "chill" of excitement as I saw about four or five motor homes
on their way south headed to Daytona. It’s here; the time is near, and I can’t
wait.
I have been thinking about the second round on predictions that I have yet to
put out; that’s mainly because I am somewhat clueless as to how this season will
go. Some predict that the Roush group will not have nearly the success we saw
last year – the other team’s have either caught on or caught up. I suspect we’ll
know the answer to that question fairly early on in the season.
I still think Jimmie Johnson will suffer the "sophomore" slump and
that Ryan Newman will not; other than that, I’m not going out on a limb at this
point, I’m sure, only to be sawed off.
I think that Dodge will be a major factor this year; but it will not be via
Ray Evernham’s group. I don’t see Jeremy picking up at all, and Elliott will run
about the same as he did this year; maybe a win, but then not much else of any
substance.
Terry Labonte; would love to see him pick up a win. I just read someone’s
fantasy list where Terry picks up the ride in Evernham’s car and gets
rejuvenated. I thought that was a pretty good idea.
Kenny Schrader; now there’s a guy who just loves to race. He just picked up a
win in the Winston West season opener out in Phoenix. Unfortunately, his Winston
Cup ride may leave a lot to be desired and in that arena, he’s liable to wind up
more frustrated than its worth. Let’s hope this team has something to show at
the end of the day.
Did not like seeing what happened up at the Petty camp – Robin Pemberton
leaving. I’m glad to hear that he was hired by Ford as a field consultant. He’s
a smart man, and we wish him well in this new venture, and I’m sure the Ford
teams will benefit from his expertise.
Curiosities:
It’ll be interesting to see how the Elliott Sadler/Dale Jarrett combination
works out. Jarrett can do a lot to help out Sadler, but vice versa, not sure if
there will be any gain at all.
Ricky Rudd, meanwhile, appears poised to strike with the new association with
the Wood Brothers crew. They are either going to score big time or just plain
flop. I’m betting on the scoring big scenario.
What will happen in the Richard Childress stables; will Kevin Harvick come
back to know there is life after probation; and I’ll even go so far as to say
that Robby Gordon, after improving toward the end of last season, might even
come up with a couple of decent finishes this year. I suspect Jeff Green will
pretty much stay "middle of the road." He’ll finish somewhere in the
middle of the pack, but seldom will tear up the equipment.
Other Stuff:
The ARCA RE/MAX Series race is this Saturday prior to the Shoot-out. There
are over 60 cars entered. Although there is no doubt that we’ll see the pack
split up in to about three groups, there should be some very heated racing at
the front of the pack. Gerhardt, Carelli, Kimmel, Fittipaldi, Howard,
Montgomery, Jarrett will all no doubt be right up there in that front pack. I’m
sure there’ll be others that’ll sneak into the group, including Andy Belmont –
if he gets that new Verizon machine dialed in.
It’s been a pretty sad week here in the United States. We sometimes forget
about the astronauts and what they’re mission is, until something happens like
this week’s tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these
seven brave people. God Bless.
That’s it for now.