I think if we base predictions on what people are talking about now, this is the year of Danica. And rightly so after watching her strong 6th place run in the ARCA crashfest 200 yesterday. It was her first stock car race ever, she got spun, and ended the race with a very strong run with the ARCA boys. She ran top ten most of the race, got spun out, and when the end was near started moving to the front. I think she has answered all of the critics on if she could handle the heavy stock cars. She can, and will continue to, on what I believe will end up being the shortest stock car career before getting a top Sprint Cup ride. No cup owner will turn her down as she is an instant marketing machine with probably an endless batch of sponsors.
It seems like yesterday we saw Michael Schumacher racing a Ferrari Formula 1 car, but it was 2006. At that time during the off-season we all wondered, would the sport be better or worse without him? Who could fill such a huge void? Rookie Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain came in and made it all interesting again. Other drivers were racing for the win again, it wasn’t just the Michael show anymore. 2007 – 2009 were great seasons for the sport of Formula 1 and renewed my interest in seeing, what will happen week to week.
This off season became interesting when Michael Schumacher announced he would stop his retirement and come back racing with the boys. To make it even more shocking, he would not return to Ferrari, even though he was their pet for the previous three years. In what I believe is the first step towards the next championship, Michael defects from his long time family in Ferrari for Mercedes GP. This newly renamed outfit is actually Ross Brawn’s team that won last years championship. Even more of a coo is the teaming up of what was a very powerful duo of Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher. Together they have put together a handful of world championships already.
Well I am enjoying a nice Father’s Day weekend even though my kids aren’t here. They will be here shortly though. I intend to make Tyler watch the Cup race with me today, and I am not sure how he will like that.
I will be watching the Indy Car race from Iowa (if it stops raining), then F1 from England, and then finally the Cup race from Sonoma. Things to watch for today are:
Can the IRL stop the parade that has become ever so frequent lately. I knew there was a serious problem when they weren’t two wide, 10 deep all night at Texas. This particular aero package is just not working right with this engine. Maybe the shorter length of Iowa might lend itself to good racing with this package. Of course it has been a Penske and Ganassi juggernaut lately so the race to watch is the “Best of the Rest”. Danica would be my pick, but I would love to see Rahal or Andretti shake off their endless bad luck.
Continue reading about A Mix of Father’s Day, Racing, & Twitter
Well it actually has been on since early January with the Motorcross boys. Not really into that but we are finally here, the day of the first NASCAR race of the season. It is funny that just a few months ago I lamented about how long the season was, but here I am chomping on the bit, ready to see some action.
I think some of the fun is to see the new combination of sponsors, drivers, teams, and crew chiefs. 
It is also quite a relief to not have to endure the guys at ESPN. It’s nice to see the FOX boys back on Speed. They make it more comfortable to watch for sure.
I think one driver that I am a big fan of and will be watching very closely this year is Speed. Scott Speed has been in F1 and now he is running his first year in Cup. I always seem to gravitate to the open wheel/ Nascar drivers; the guys that have done it all. He had a good run last fall in a few cup races and I think he is ready for a rookie season in Cup. It’s going to be hard to pick among him and my other favorite driver.
Juan Pablo Montoya is the man, and I am sure he is going to run better this year, not being in a bogged down dodge. I just think it is so cool, that he won the Indy 500 in his first try, and winning the Monoco Grand Prix in F1. I found this little tidbit that celebrates his Indy win.
I understand that this season he is reunited with his sponsor, Target, which they won the Indy 500 together in 2000. I expect that Jaun will get his first Oval win this year and run top ten consistently. Good Luck Pablo! We will be watching!
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