Congratulations to Dale, Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Image & Dale Earnhardt Jr Graphics

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans must have been practically foaming at the mouth with excitement watching last night's Nationwide race at Daytona.

I have to admit, that while I am far from being a Dale Jr. fan, I did enjoy his long-awaited trip to Victory Lane in  the #3 in honor of his Daddy's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It is easy to get caught up in such raw emotion, as the camera panned atop the pit box to see an emotional Tony Eury, Jr. break down in tears. When Jr. got out of the car, he was obviously elated by the moment.

What I am not excited about is that this win will likely carry over to the rest of the NASCAR season where the pundits and NASCAR's favorite talking heads will capitalize on Dale Jr.'s inherited fan-favoritism combined with this one win at this one race at this one time. We will be hearing about it for what will seem like forever.

It was rather nice when Junior wasn't winning races; the adoring commentators finally stopped gushing over him. I'm almost afraid to read my email or watch Fox Sports for fear it will have already begun.

Dale Jr. is not the first person to win a race and he will not be the last. I only hope that when I get back to my NASCAR world from the real one I live in, that I hear about some of the other drivers as well. After all, it is not only unfair to racing aficionados of all persuasions to freak out over just one driver, but it is unfair to that driver. I feel sorry for Dale Jr. sometimes because it can't be easy to be bigger than life when you are really just a regular guy trying to do your job.

The over-zealous reporters and longtime friends of Junior's father who spout endlessly about Junior's hoped-for driving prowess actually caused me to dislike Dale Jr. I have since looked past that and have developed an affection for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. the person who just happens to be a race car driver.

I congratulate him on this long-awaited win and am glad it came at this time, on this track, in this car. He deserves a pat on the back, albeit I will refrain from bows or curtsies.

Looking for a good Daytona finish

As a Ryan Newman fan, I'm excited about the upcoming race at Daytona.

I know, I know; Newman's past performances at Super Speedway tracks--except for one stellar performance when all the stars finally aligned for him at Daytona in 2008, have not earned him bragging rights. But he has little control over drivers banging him into the wall or flipping him into the infield or parts of his race car simply giving up.

I noticed a change at Louden. Newman and his entire team really stepped up their performance, with every lap being noteworthy. The speed is there. The desire is there. Newman fought for every inch on the track last week. I have every reason to be hopeful about this weekend's results as well.

Being just 15 points out of the top 12 has to be an incentive to alter past events that have marred Newman's super speedway stats.

Newman has momentum on his side. Stemming from his recent win in the Whelen Modified series and pulling out a sixth place finish at Louden, and even finishing 16th in a compromised race car at Sonoma, Newman has been on top of it. I have every reason to believe this will be a good weekend for him. Besides, he will get extra practice when he drives in the Nationwide event Saturday. Love that double duty driving.

Ryan Newman got robbed in All-Star race

From a fan's perspective, it appeared to me that Ryan Newman was trying to emulate the name of his sponsor--the tornado with its furious winds, speed, and potential devastation in the last laps of Saturday night's All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Newman was acting out the slogan from tornados--Bold is how we roll! Unfortunately, that was until NASCAR and its not-so-precise rules stopped him dead in his tracks.

Newman could smell victory. His foot had to be mashing the pedal with untold pressure as he tried to eke out every bit of horsepower from the car that seemed to have a mind of its own and had given him fits during the entire race. But in those last laps, Newman was charging toward the front. He went from seventh to fourth when Jimmy Johnson spun in front of him. There was no caution at first, so he kept charging. Then the yellow flag flew. When the field was reset, NASCAR positioned Newman in seventh position, behind Bobby Labonte, the #71.

That doesn't seem right to me, because if my memory serves me correctly, when Newman started the lap, he was behind Matt Kenseth, the #17.

Understanding the green-white checker rule, like so many of NASCAR's rules, has eluded me since it was instituted. Don't get me wrong; normally I like it. It brings excitement. But it has to be fair.

First, why did Labonte advance to his position but Newman didn't? It doesn't seem right that as the field advances, and there is a yellow flag, the entire field would revert to previous positions without restarting the entire 10-lap shootout. But that isn't what happened.

Furthermore, if the field was going to revert, why not just put Johnson back in third where he was running before he spun? Ah, because he pitted. Can we have it both ways? Johnson's current position was noted, but Newman's wasn't, even though Newman passed four spots on the last lap? Something is terribly wrong here and if anyone out there can help me understand it, I'd be real grateful.

My heartfelt congratulations to Kurt Busch on his win.

But, I will always wonder, if we could have seen another Newman/Busch finish like the one in Daytona, '08 that Newman fans will never forget.

Thanks,
Carol Henrichs,
http://www.ozarkattitude.com

Read about Ryan Newman

Read about Ryan Newman's racing history. To access this page, just click on "About Ryan Newman" above this post.

Tornados snacks, a great sponsor for Ryan Newman

A publicity tour, with a stop at the North Central Arkansas Speedway between Yellville and Flippin, AR on April 24, was to feature Ryan's #39 Chevy, along with samples of Ruiz Foods products. I was excited because this was pretty close to home.

Not only have I tried and liked Tornados snacks, but I was excited at the prospect of seeing Ryan's show car. I know this is a poor second to the real thing, but it is likely as close to his race car as I am going to get in the foreseeable future.

My husband and I got to the dirt track around 5 p.m. The event was supposed to be from 3 to 7. It was dead empty. We were very disappointed, but not surprised, since the weather had been pretty rainy in previous days. Storms threatened that morning as well, though never materialized. Disappointed, I wondered if rain really was the cause, so I emailed the track owners. Nice folks. They responded promptly that the show was canceled because of the weather.

I also emailed Ruiz Foods to ask the same question. They responded promptly also, apologizing for our trouble. Then yesterday, I received an envelope containing two 8 x 10 Ryan Newman cards, some coupons and collectible cards.

It is so refreshing when a company is responsive to its customers. It is also becoming rare, so I just thought I'd share.

Like just about everything associated with Ryan Newman, from his team, his family, his owner, and the passions of his life to name a few, his sponsor is quality as well.