So Jimmie Johnson is the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Champion. Congratulations to him and his team. I’m honestly happy for him and overall I’m happy for Dale Jr. too. He finished fifth in the points and had an awesome year considering he didn’t even make the chase last year. So I think there’s more good stuff to come for the #8 team, his Championship is just around the corner.
And lets not forget about Denny Hamlin. I think it’s pretty amazing that in his rookie year he ends up in third place overall.
All of the racing is over but we’ve still got the awards ceremony and dinner in New York to look forward to in the coming weeks. It’s one of my favorite things to watch. You get to see everyone all dolled up in their tuxes and evening gowns. I really think they don’t show enough of everyone walking down the red carpet before the festivities begin. I want to see the dresses, the shoes, the hair, etc. They never spend enough time just showing everybody.
This is the first photo I looked at from this Sunday’s race and I just thought it was cute.
Chandra Johnson, wife of driver Jimmie Johnson, reacts as her husband thanks her during a news conference at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. Sunday Nov. 19, 2006. Johnson won the Nextel Championship trophy. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
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This is a big weekend for NASCAR fans. This Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami is the last race of the 2006 season and it will decide who will win the NEXTEL Cup Championship.
Jimmie Johnson leads the Chase and has to finish 12 or better to clinch the title, but at the same time there are 4 other drivers that are still mathematically eligible to win the Cup.
I really, really want Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win, this should come as no surprise, and he still has a slim chance of at making it happen. I’m not saying that I want Johnson’s car to run into some problems, but I am. 
I will say this though, I do agree with Matt Kenseth when he compared Johnson’s team to the Indianapolis Colts. They’ve both come so close to winning the championship in the past but always seem to get in their own way and can’t seem to close the deal. And for that reason I won’t be completely irked if the Lowe’s team comes out on top this year.
Since this is the last race of the season I should probably be sad, but I’m not. NASCAR isn’t like football or baseball when you have to wait for months and months for the season to begin again, so long that you forget who got traded where. With NASCAR it’s basically two months and we’re back in the game again.
Sunday also marks Juan Pablo Montoya’s first ride in a Cup car. I can’t remember which race it was earlier this year but they interviewed JP during a pre-race show and asked him how he liked NASCAR so far. He said that he found pit road to be a bit scary, with the crew members jumping out in front of his car as he made his stop. I was sooo glad a real racer said that, because those Formula 1, Indy Car peeps have it easy. They’re already in place for their stops, they don’t have to run and carry big, heavy tires.
But then again, it’s still dangerous, check out this F1 pit stop:
Seriously, I have. There a bunch of things that I’ve meaning to write about but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. So, in the meantime, I’m going to list some of the things that have been rattling around in my head and then one day (soon) I’ll write in length about said subjects.
– I had a dream last night where I met a guy who was mentally Clint Bowyer but was physically soccer star (or football star if you’re from outside the U.S.) David Beckham. I have no idea what that means, if anything, but I just wanted to share.
– I was in Las Vegas this past weekend helping my sister celebrate her birthday. It was the same weekend that there was a big boxing match (between welterweights Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Carlos Baldomir) and a bull-riding competition (Sean Willingham is hot). So there was this interesting mix of cowboys and celebrities (ok, ok, so I only saw Charles Barkley and Jim Lampley).
– While leaving Las Vegas I happened upon the Budweiser Racing Track Bar & Grill inside McCarran airport of all places! There was a huge photo of Dale Jr. in one of the displays in front and of course I snapped a photo of my own. I wanted to stay and get food there, but we had to rush to get through the security checkpoint. Lame.
– I received a lovely email from woman who reads my blog. It’s great to know that people read my stuff and actually like it! Imagine that. But I totally appreciate it, more than you know. Here’s the letter from Cindi:
I’m not too much of a commenter on your site but I do enjoy it immensely and would like to tell you why I like Jr. so much.
First, Tony Stewart is the driver I cheer on, and Jr. was actually looked upon as a son. He still is. But since he made the Chase, and Tony didn’t, it has become so much fun to cheer on Jr. as I did his father. You see, I stopped watching races after his daddy crashed into the wall. I’m from Florida and I was devastated. I always kept one eye out on Jr. with thoughts and prayers but would not sit down and watch a race.
Then one day as I was walking through my living room to the kitchen, a race was on. I picked up the remote control to change the channel, but this bright orange car passing cars left and right caught my eye. I stood there staring for a moment, and then sat down and watched the first race in more than five years. I will always be grateful to Tony Stewart for bringing me back into racing, and I love Jr. and Smoke both. I found out that you CAN really care for people who you haven’t met, and that you can easily cheer on more than one driver. And since I am old enough to be their mother, there isn’t that “hunky” thing going. They are both men of good character, who show their kindness in many ways. I love racing, I always have. I just now have learned to not only love it, but live with it as well.
Sincerely,
Cindi
A while back I wrote that I didn’t think that the barrage of advertising messages that are thrown at me every second that I watch NASCAR affected my shopping decisions.
I’ve had to take that back. I was at Home Depot (#20 Tony Stewart) last weekend with my mom, she was buying a new refrigerator and a washer & dryer. We walked by the power tools section and I realized that if I suddenly had to buy a new power screwdriver I’d probably go for one from the DeWalt line. Why? Because DeWalt sponsors the #17 Matt Kenseth team. Even though Kenseth isn’t my favorite driver I know that DeWalt supports NASCAR which makes them good guys in my eyes.
The same goes for VitaminWater, they’re one of many sponsors for Kasey Kahne, and Little Debbie, the sponsor for Ken Schrader’s #21 car, who doesn’t love those Nutty Bars?
I’m a buyer of Tylenol in general for all of my pain medication needs, but when I saw the new Team Tylenol commercials touting the new Rapid Release Gels that were being hawked by none other than Dale Jr., Elliott Sadler, Dale Jarett, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon, I had to try ‘em out. They are fast.
I still despise beer in general, but if I have to buy it for a party I’m throwing I’ll always go for Budweiser. I’d be ashamed to give money to Miller Lite and you know who.
Now there are some grey areas. For example, UPS (#88 Dale Jarrett) vs. FedEx (#11 Denny Hamlin). I like them both equally, so it’s a toss up as to which shipping service I’d use on any given day. The bigger point is that I’d use one of those before using some nobody like DHL.
So yes, I can be swayed by an advertiser’s involvement in NASCAR but it’s not absolute. It’s just one of those things that sits in the back of your mind until you’re about to make a purchase, and then you use it as another tool in making your decision.
I think about this stuff way too much… But that’s why I have a blog.
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun out at the end of the race last Sunday at Martinsville I was very disappointed. Worst of all, I had no one to blame except Junior himself. In a post-race interview he took responsibility for his mistake. Noble, but irritating. I don’t want to see him mess up; there is a Championship at stake after all. I’m just being honest, which isn’t to say that I don’t get that he’s a human being, he’s not Superman.
Anytime anything happens to Dale Jr., good or bad, the media always turn to his large fan base. They’ll usually say something along the lines of something like this from the NASCAR SceneDaily Blog:
Which bugs me too… Why? Because I’d much rather have a favorite driver that only 5 people liked instead of 5 million. Plus I like Junior because he seems like a good guy, someone you’d… uhm… I’m not going into this. Anytime anyone tries to explain why they like someone they’ve never met it starts to sound really … weird.
So, moving on… Going into the race at Atlanta this weekend, Junior has had one win and eight top ten finishes out of the last 14 races there, so he’s got a good chance of having an excellent finish.
You may have heard of a lil’ reality show called Driving Force on A&E. I’ve got a season pass for it on my Tivo and I try to watch it whenever I can. It’s one of those shows I have to be in the right mood for because, well, I just do.
The father is John Force, a drag racing superstar. He is so funny, and loud and just completely honest. He’s the first to admit that maybe he’s made some mistakes in his life, in his marriage in particular, and he’s aware of them. He kind of just talks and talks and then deals with whatever damage his words have caused later.
Overall I think he’s a great guy. His heart really seems to be in the right place, especially when it comes to his daughters, Ashley, 23, Brittany, 19, and Courtney, 17. He’s interested in them, in their lives, and he’s proud of ‘em too — even if he’d kill to have a son.
It’s a very cool show that gives great insight into the day-to-day life of a family whose world centers around racing. Oh! And they also have the best TV theme song ever because they use the Wolfmother song “Woman.” I love that song right now. Check out a clip from Driving Force below.
