Blog del Burro Syndication Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:51:14 +0000 wez@totalf1.com (TotalF1.com Forums) IP.Blog 60
Keep your thoughts and prayers with Cameron Dodson. Dodson races USAC (midget racing, awesome stuff) for Carl Edwards (NASCAR driver). He was involved in an accident in his road car and is seriously injured.

Dodson wasn't wearing a seatbelt. If you don't wear one, you really should.

I wouldn't mind Congress passing a law saying no woman can drive a minivan with kids in the backseat while on a highway off-ramp.

I like bad 80s music. I'm listening to "Girls on Film" right now and I'm totally okay with that.

I was tempted to start a thread a few weeks ago titled "Ankit Jain Exposed" after an interesting MSN conversation. Did you know he has fantasies about three of TF1's women having a catfight over his spicy Indian love and his thousands of rupees?

It's something like -4 C outside. It's November. I am terrified of what January is going to be like.

The Bruins won 7-4. Can you imagine a soccer match where the winning team scored 7 goals? That'd be epic. 7's a good number, not too many that it's mundane, not too few that it's mundane.

I think I dropped more f-bombs today than any day before in my life. ****ing fun day.

Girls on film (two minutes later), girls on film, girls on film (got your picture), girls on film...

Where did George go? Don't tell me he actually has a life in the off-season. KFC isn't open 24/7, either, so he's gotta be here somewhere.

Why do people not post in the off-season? They really should. It's fun to talk about non-F1 things now and then. Or all the time, in my case.

I saw a fat guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt pick up two very attractive women at a Burger King today. And it made me wonder: why wasn't that me, and what the hell was I doing eating at a Burger King?

My girlfriend's 1995 Mustang kicked the bucket today. True fact: my Acura's 4 cylinder (not even the S version) had 10 more horsepower than her Mustang's 6. But the rear wheel drive definitely made a difference. So I feel better about myself because my car works. (It all started with her being two inches taller than me...do you know how much of blow to the balls it is to date a woman who is 6'2"?)

I'll stop laughing when she asks me to help her pay for a new car. If she wants a new car, I want a new girlfriend

I played a video game today. That's not like me. FIFA 06. PS2. I suck. I eventually just cheated and turned offside calls off so I could score more. And then lost 3-2.

Which was no better than my last outing in real soccer. I got punched in the nose "accidentally." Not sure how much of an accident it is when a guy sticks a clenched fist out at a defender in the general direction of their face.

I should've tripped him.

There's something strangely addictive about "Electric Feel" by MGMT. And I hate pop music.

There's also something strangely addictive about chewing gum, bitching, and worrying that "optimizing efficiency" means your a## is grass.

If anyone's made it this far, hello.

And goodbye.

(Maybe a real entry next time, and maybe not).]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:46:00 +0000
So a lot of employees will be without jobs. Maybe, just maybe, I can justify one, small bailout to give the US gov't time to create more jobs. Those jobs should be, at first, reserved for unemployed autoworkers. The possibilities of government-funded jobs are endless; everything from making every road in America under construction to making a better system of public transport to developing, manufacturing, and installing "green" energy systems. I'd much rather spend that money and get those results that will make America a better nation than see three companies just become another outlet to waste my tax dollars upon.

Bailout won't solve anything in Detroit, and there are ways to help ensure the wellbeing of the current autoworkers. I'll compromise and give them one small bailout because you can't do everything overnight, but that's it. I hate to see the Big Three collapse, but they've done it to themselves, and it shouldn't be the US government's job and the taxpayers' jobs to fix that.]]> Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:42:00 +0000

I've been watching racing for 19 years, which means this has been the 20th season of race-viewing for me. Narrowing God knows how many laps of racing into just 20 events isn't exactly easy, but in chronological order: the 20 most memorable things I have witnessed in professional racing, with a few videos if anyone wants to relive my youth with me

May 28, 1989 - The day it all started. The 73rd running of the Greatest Spectacle in Auto Racing was the first race I ever watched, and honestly, I don't think my dad could've picked a better race to have us watch. The battle for the win between Emerson Fittipaldi, the seasoned veteran from F1, and Little Al, the aggressive home-grown youngin still was one of the best things I have seen at racing's greatest track. The ending of my first auto race.

February 18, 1990 - He just couldn't win Daytona. Best stock car driver of all time and he just couldn't win Daytona (until, of course, he won Daytona in 1998 ). The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat...a real underdog, and a guy that I can confirm is a complete class act and a stand-up fellow, Derrike Cope wins in Daytona's biggest upset. The audio is out of sync, but...

May 26, 1991 - The Andretti name returns to Indianapolis glory! Oh wait, it didn't. Andretti and Mears stage another duel at Indy, with the latter taking a historic fourth win at Indy, tying him with AJ Foyt and Al Unser, Sr. Some of the action. And while I doubt anyone reading knows who he is, that is a younger, more excited Bob Jenkins at the end (to his credit, Bob's one of the greats, and a combination of age, lack of chemistry, and lack of interest in road course racing certainly don't make for good calls. If you listed to him on the radio, he's still got it. But we'll talk about Bob and his colleagues a bit later...)

May 24, 1992 - Do you see a trend? Face it, a race like Indy just asks to be on my list a lot. And since I really didn't watch much other than Indy, and since I don't have a kick-a## memory, I really only remember things that YouTube helped me unforget up until the late 90s . So, the closest Indy 500 ever (well, the record held for 14 years at least). Canada Dry and Little Al. Having barely lost my racing virginity, and being an exciteable 9-year-old, this was epic.

November 15, 1992 - Finally, one that isn't a big race. Then again, with a name like the Hooters 500, it should have been a tradition. Atlanta Motor Speedway for the final round of the 1992 Winston Cup Series season. First, a cool factoid: this was "The King" Richard Petty's last start after a career that included 200 wins and 7 championships, and the first start for a kid named Jeff Gordon, who would go on to win 4 titles and 80-something-ish races as of today. Now, the reason this race stands out: three car championship fight. One of my favorites, Davey Allison, had 30 points on my other favorite and first real racing hero, the Polish Prince Alan Kulwicki, and 40 points on Awesome Bill from Dawsonville Elliott. Which, for the 100% of you who do not know the NASCAR points system, is pretty close. Allison crashed out early, leaving Kulwicki and Elliott to fight to the title. Elliott won the race, with Kulwicki in second, but because Kulwicki got the 10 point bonus for leading the most laps (having led only 1 more lap than Bill), he scored the same 180 points as Elliott, leaving him with the title by just 10 points. Alan was the last owner-driver (as in team owner and driver) to win the Winston Cup. He was a true underdog. And I hate the fact I have to use the word was there. But we'll get to that.

April 1, 1993 - As I had said earlier, my two favorite drivers at the time were Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison. Kulwicki was fresh off of his Winston Cup and things had never looked better for one of NASCAR's brightest stars. Until April 1, 1993. Alan was on a Hooters (his sponsor) plane flying from an appearance at a restaurant in Knoxville, TN back to Bristol for the upcoming race. When landing, the plane hit some ice, and we lost Alan Kulwicki at the age of 38. A nice tribute

July 13, 1993 - And now the entry gets even more melancholy. Just months after my favorite driver had passed on, my other favorite, Davey Allison, also lost his life in an aviation accident. At 32 years old, Davey, the son of NASCAR legend Bobby Allison, had never won the championship, but even Dale Earnhardt admitted that he wouldn't have 7 championships if Davey had lived. I can't find a good tribute for Davey on YouTube, which is a shame, but I'm not sure I can stomach another tribute video after the Special K one.

Seven down and it's time to call it a day, but I'll be back with the remaining thirteen tomorrow. And then we can move on to better things than someone who is only 25 and yet more nostalgic than anyone here besides DOF ]]> Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:45:00 +0000
1. Bobby Labonte winning one last Sprint Cup race. Because 21 isn't enough and he hasn't won in five years. I don't even care how he wins it. He could do it in an illegal car and have the other 42 drivers all retire and him being the only one left. I just want him to win.

2. A US American in F1 who can actually win races and score podiums. Alex Rossi, get your a## to Europe right now.

3. The Chase get killed and then raped.

4. The idea of spec cars in pro racing get killed and then raped.

5. Bobby Santos in an IndyCar.

6. Danica Patrick winning the Indy 500.

7. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal, and Marco Andretti working out their inconsistency issues and giving the US a reason to watch open wheel.

8. The return of Indy-only specials (as in cars, not just teams and drivers and sponsors and things).

9. Two Indy 500 tickets, top row of Section E, for the 100th Running of the Greatest Spectacle in Auto Racing.

10. NASCAR to crash, burn, and start over again.

11. Mark Martin to retire. Right now.

12. Kyle Busch to McLaren.

13. Scott Speed to realize he's white.

14. Paul Tracy.

15. Allen Bestwick, Wally Dallenbach, and Kyle Petty to split time with Eli Gold, Dale Jarrett, and Buddy Baker on the NASCAR coverage.

16. A Delta Force intro at Indy.

17. Max Mosley to resign, the FIA to crumble, and someone who likes auto racing takes over F1.

18. Fat slicks, big wings, clean sidepods, V12s, V8s, turbo I4s, various fuel types, and drivers with balls in F1.

19. A car that can turn right and left in IndyCar.

20. Michigan, Fontana, Cleveland, Road America, and Laguna Seca in the IRL.

21. 15 ALMS dates instead of 11.

22. The 24 Hours of Daytona with real prototypes and not those silly DPs.

23. More on-track action. In all series everywhere.

24. Drivers running one-offs in all sorts of series like the old days. Screw the sponsors, I want true all-star lineups at Indy, Monaco, Le Mans, Daytona, etc.

25. Dirt racing on TV.

26. The Prelude to the Dream...with more open wheel drivers.

27. Modifieds on TV.

28. More fights. Without the helmets.

29. Tony George to admit he has no clue what the hell he's doing, and never did.

30. James Allen locked on a remote island where there are no British drivers.

31. Less bulls##t, more racing.

32. BTCC on US TV.

33. Nationwide to have a few guest drivers from Cup each race for sponsorship and ticket purposes, but have them be ineligible for championship points and prize money.

34. Someone other than Penske, Ganassi, or AGR as the IRL champion.

35. Indy Lights and Atlantics drivers actually getting rides in the IRL.

36. All my favorite drivers in ALMS.

37. IRL reinstating Marty Roth.

38. A Mild Seven livery on a Renault.

39. Fernando vs. Michael take two. Just because.

40. Danica learning to turn right.

41. Danica's Honda test getting uncancelled.

42. Danica setting a faster time than Jenson Button just to prove a point.

43. Rubens and Jenson winning.

44. Mark Webber winning.

45. More Scottish and Australian drivers.

46. Sébastien Loeb in a sprint car.

47. The Race of Champions featuring more nations and better drivers.

48. Tony George say "just kidding" and put New Hampshire and Vegas back on the schedule.

49. Two USGPs: one on the old Champ Car course in Vegas and one at Logan Int'l Airport.

50. ALMS at Edmonton.

51. The Washington DC street course...revived.

52. Montoya in F1 again.

53. Don Panoz start an F1 team with the DP01 as the chassis and two US drivers.

54. Short track racing thrive.

55. Paul Stoddart: president of all forms of racing everywhere.

56. An F1 race on an oval.

57. An F1 race in the snow.

58. Bobby Labonte in the Interstate Batteries Pontiac once more.

59. NASCAR races shortened to 300 miles.

60. More Robin Miller, less Ed Hinton.]]> Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:27:00 +0000