T'other day Cindy complained she didn't have time to read
the news at Jayski. So here's some highlights:

(Unfortunately, there's not much - since Jay joined the bigtime
corporate world, he doesn't get the rumours he used to.)

Goodyear did a tire test at Darlington. No details reported.

(comment: in the "they just don't get it" department, I see ISC
has decided to rename the spring race to "Southern 500".)

NASCAR is looking at the "start and park" teams, but as long as
they (NASCAR) think the team is working towards someday actually
being competitive, they're not going to do anything about it.

(comment: I actually think that's the right thing. While I
don't like the idea of start-n-park teams, and think the ones
doing it ought to be ashamed of themselves, the right solution
is for legitimate teams to show up & out-qualify the start-n-
parkers, not for NASCAR to make more goofy rules).

Kurt Busch wants someone to think up a cute name for his backward
victory lap - there's a prize for whoever has the best idea.

(comment: I'd go with "the end of the day unwind, sponsored by
Miller beer". But I think he's (for a change) looking for
something non-commercial.)

Atlanta TV ratings were down. FOX is trying to spin it by
claiming that the race was the highest rated show during it's
time period.

(comment: I doubt the spin will fly with advertisers. I also
note that, besides Atlanta, Vegas, Fontana, and Daytona were
all down. Mebbe at some point a light will go on about the
quality of the product, both the racing and the TV broadcasting,
being part of the problem).

John

(btw, altho Cindy was the inspiration for this post, everyone
else is free to comment on the comments...)

On Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:29:02 CST, John McCoy <igopogo (AT) ix (DOT) netcom.com> wrote in <Xns9BCCBF1522EE8pogosupernews (AT) 216 (DOT) 168.3.30>:

Agreed.

The teams win the last place money because they won a competition
on the track.

The folks who "really" want to race have got to figure out how
to go fast both in qualifying and in the race.

I'd call it Kurt's Prerogative. The winner owns the
track until he runs out of gas or gets shooed into
Victory Lane.

Much appreciated.

I actually did a little browsing myself during one of
my office hours the other day on Jayski. I like his
site best for noodling around.

Marty
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On Mar 12, 9:29*pm, John McCoy <igop... (AT) ix (DOT) netcom.com> wrote:
In general, testing teams liked the Goodyear product...according to
reports at Foxsports.

"All four drivers testing at Darlington — Kevin Harvick, Bobby
Labonte, Elliott Sadler and Denny Hamlin — felt the tires Goodyear
brought to the track had worked well so far, pointing to strong,
exciting racing when Sprint Cup returns to Darlington on May 9 with
the rechristened Southern 500."



N.

John McCoy wrote:
See how little time I have to read the news...I didn't even had time to
read your post until two days later! LOL


I started to disagree with you, but then changed my mind. I don't like
the start and park teams, but I think less is more where rules are
concerned. NASCAR has a proven track-record of over-legislating every
detail, and most of the time, they screw up stuff that wasn't really
broken in the first place. I actually think that if they streamlined
the rules a little more, some of these problems wouldn't even occur in
the first place.


continue to drop to the point where NASCAR is relegated to sub-prime
coverage in a "do the bare minimum to meet the contractual guidelines"
move and then the networks won't renew. All the while, fewer and fewer
fans will be attending races because the economy sucks and the races get
more and more expensive. Eventually, no one will be able to afford to
go. Advertisers are dropping like flies. When the economy's bad, one
of the first things you cut is your advertising budget. So there's
going to be less advertising (which makes NASCAR less valuable to the
networks) and less sponsorship (less money for the teams and tracks).
It's sad to say, but I think NASCAR has hit it's peak and is now on the
downhill slide. The question that remains is how long can it hold
out before it collapses entirely? I see NASCAR falling back into
obscurity within the next 10-15 years.....


Glad to be an inspirations to somebody...LOL

Cindy

On Sat, 14 Mar 2009 11:34:39 CST, Cindy Murray <c1ndyluhu (AT) tx (DOT) rr.com> wrote in <gpgm9n$fle$1 (AT) news (DOT) motzarella.org>:

Everything you've said has been taken down and
will be used against you.

We get to grade your RPG in 2019-2024 or
thereabouts.

Marty
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Cindy Murray <c1ndyluhu (AT) tx (DOT) rr.com> wrote in news:gpgm9n$fle$1
@news.motzarella.org:

I agree with that 100%. The fewer rules, the fewer violations,
and the less time and effort spent policing them. And the fewer
opportunities for ambiguously worded, subject to interpretation
rules, something NASCAR used to specialize in.

John

Martin X. Moleski, SJ wrote:
Ha! by then, USENET will be a thing of the past, the government will
own/control Google (Dept. of Homeland Security), and our internet use
will be taxed to pay for the new health care system. Sadly, only the
rich and the government will even have internet, though, because the
rest of us will be living in tent cities after the economy collapses.

Me...good luck finding me to hold all this over my head. I'll be holed
up in my compound with my Boy Scouts, rifles, shotguns, and enough food
to last until the next millennium. ;P

Cindy