Cale Yarborough speaks as he is inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame during the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Charlotte Convention Center on January 20, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

By: Hunter Thomas – Guest Contributor

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After a long, rough career, Timmonsville’s Cale Yarborough was finally inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday, January 20.

From farming in nearby Sardis, S.C. in the hot summers, to racing underneath the Friday night lights at Florence Motor Speedway, Cale Yarborough was able to capture three championships, 83 victories and 69 poles in NASCAR’s premier series, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. During his 31 year career, no moment was more memorable than at 9:05 p.m. on Friday night when he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“I’m going to remember that this was one of the best days of my life,” Cale Yarborough said. “This is what I have — I didn’t know I was working for it, but I’ve worked for all of my life, and it just happened tonight. I’m just so proud to be a part of it and been so blessed to climb that long ladder from the bottom step, now I’m standing on that top step. Can’t go any higher, but can’t nobody push me off, either.”

The night started off with a red carpet ceremony on the NASCAR Hall of Fame Glory Road. Photographers and journalist lined the way snapping a few pictures and possibly getting a quote or two before the jacket presentation dinner. Once in the Crown Ballroom, the electric atmosphere started to engulf the inductees along with their families. Multi-colored lights were flashing everywhere and the epic music set the tone and got everyone’s adrenaline flowing.

Former broadcaster Ken Squier kicked off Yarborough’s induction by giving a little background information about his early days in the Pee Dee area, eventually leading up to his NASCAR career. When the time came for Yarborough to hit the stage, the nearly packed room stood up and erupted in a deafening outburst of cheers and claps.

When Yarborough was on the stage, he couldn’t help but grin, and it was easy to see the sparkle in his eye as the entire NASCAR community took a little over 10 minutes to honor the South Carolinian. Yarborough kicked off the speech with a joke about his wife Betty Jo buying an expensive dress for the occasion, but what really made everyone laugh was his true story about a few cans of black eyed peas. Yes, black eyed peas!

Cale Yarborough reacts to getting his NASCAR Hall of Fame jacket. - Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

The story brought on a few laughs, but it’s a strong reminder on how far Yarborough has actually come in his career, and he certainly hasn’t forgotten that. After the black eyed peas story, Yarborough continued to thank everyone who helped him get to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. As soon as the ceremony was over, Yarborough went to the media room. While talking with the media, he was asked to reminisce on the night and put it all into perspective.

“Well, I sure hoped I was going to get to this point because working in the back of the fields in that hot sun would make you want to do something else, I’ll tell you that,” NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Yarborough said. “I always dreamed of doing what – ending up where I have ended up tonight. Very blessed.”

Yarborough’s weekend ended on Sunday with the induction of his historic No. 28 Hardees sponsored race car along with the Granite Market Photo Opp, and the Presentation of Lifetime Membership.

Yarborough wasn’t the only Sandhills icon getting attention form the media and fans. On Saturday, an estimated 75 to 80 fans camped out along the busy streets of Charlotte in the pouring rain to get an autograph of their favorite driver at the Charlotte Convention Center for the conclusion of the NASCAR Acceleration weekend. Darlington Raceway had a very vibrant display as they sold tickets for Mother’s Day weekend, and Rockingham Speedway set up shop to promote the return of NASCAR on April 15 for the Good Sam Roadside Assistance Carolina 200.

Chad Hackenbracht

So as I’m sitting here writing this blog entry I am chewing on a piece of deer jerky from my recent hunting trip to Ohio and unwinding at home. Besides for my trip to Ohio and trip to Las Vegas for the SEMA show not much has happened since the last blog.

First was the SEMA show out in Vegas for a week. It was a ton of fun and I saw a bunch of neat things out there. Aside from all the glitz and glam that come with the SEMA show, we met a ton of great people, created some new contacts and relationships for the upcoming 2012 ARCA Racing Series season. We spent about the first three days of the show wandering around meeting people and seeing some we had existing connections with. There is a lot of things looking up for the 2012 season, and a lot of things still left to figure out and piece together.

When we got home from the SEMA show I turned around the following week and went to Ohio for a hunting trip. I try my best to make it up to hunt for about one week a year if the schedule allows for it during the right time of year. I go up about an hour from my hometown and stay with my uncle on my dad’s side of the family. It was a really good time and I wound up getting one deer, which I am satisfied with. It wasn’t the big buck that we all hope for, but nonetheless it was a deer and some good meat! I spent an entire week in Ohio and even went and saw an old friend of mine that I haven’t seen since around fifth grade, it was pretty crazy but all in all, my trip was good.

Now, it’s hard to believe that it’s Thanksgiving week! I’m thankful for a lot this year, as I am sure you all are as well. From being able to race, to having a supporting and loving family, you try and take in the true meaning of Thanksgiving. We’re going to be together as a family on Thursday, so it will be nice.

Chad Hackenbracht

Our schedule slows down just a tad as I’ll be back in North Carolina for a couple of days before we head to Covington, Kentucky for the annual ARCA Racing Series championship awards banquet. I attended last year as a proud ARCA driver but was just a normal attendee. This year, we’ll be on stage accepting our eighth place championship effort.

I’m still working on a speech, but I’m hoping that recently with my three-day experience at the Dale Carnegie conference, the strategies I learned will pay off.

I’ll be back soon to catch everyone up on these upcoming experiences and talk about the three-day test coming up for the teat at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in mid-December to prepare for the 2012 season.

Count Your Blessings and have a safe, happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Chad Hackenbracht

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Traxxas Toyota, and Ron Hornaday Jr., driver of the #33 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, hit the wall after an incident in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350k at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. - Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR

There has been a lot of “discussion” about comparing Kyle Busch’s actions to what others have done in the past. But, in this situation, what some people seem to fail to realize is that they are comparing apples to oranges .

People are trying to put the “bump-n-runs” gone bad, the “boys have at it ‘bump of displeasure’” under caution and what transpired between Busch and Hornaday, into the same barrel.

What Kyle did, IS NOT the same thing, as he took the “boys have at it ‘bump of displeasure’” to another level; a level that NASCAR has now deemed “crossing the line.”

Kyle got in his “bump of displeasure” under the caution, but he didn’t leave it at that and kept going. It was the actions of him to keep going until he wrecked Hornaday intentionally, and in such a manner, that if it wasn’t for the HANS and SAFER barriers, that  Hornaday could of seen his last race, and that is the issue.

There wouldn’t be this issue if Kyle had just spun Hornaday out, but he kept banging, and banging, and banging until he focused his angle of impact to the right corner of Hornaday’s truck, that sent him head-on into the outside wall (hitting the left corner would of sent Hornaday into the opposite direction with a greater chance of recovery).

Now throw on-top that it was between two drivers, which for one was driving for a driver’s championship and a owner’s championship for the other; as well as, it was so early in the race, that it makes what happen even worse.

With all that being said, I would hope NASCAR will be consistent on the “line” that they have now “drawn in the sand,” and have deemed to be the line crossed. There is now an answer to the question of how far is too far with “boys have at it,” and there is a distinguishable boundary leading up to that “line.” And now, NASCAR should put it in writing as a specific rule (a safety rule violation at least) in the official NASCAR rule book (for all the series).

Speaking of rules, don’t be surprised that there are going to be more penalties coming (for Busch) as the one rule that always accompanies the other rule violations under the NASCAR rule book – Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) hasn’t been mentioned yet. You can probably count on it being mentioned after Monday’s meeting, and this rule is so broad that it can cover just about anything and it’s fines are unlimited.

As for Kyle, I side with Rusty Wallace’s position (which his statements from SPEED’S NASCAR RaceDay can be read here) of recognizing the talent he possess, but can’t condone the actions that he took Friday night (or some of the others that have happened this year). There was a lot of people that were hurt indirectly by his actions, as I could see that hurt and disappointment in both Coach Gibbs and Mike Helton’s faces. The damage spreads deep, but I speculate that he is going to get one more chance with everyone involved, and with possible fines and probation by his sponsors and Joe Gibbs Racing (not just NASCAR). So if that is the case….don’t blow it!

Granny Grump

The Nationwide Series was off this weekend which saved them a lot of stress, mad fit throwin’ and repairin’, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. So that freed up Saturday for the Trucks and another race shortened weekend. Duck and I were real excited about this race weekend. Martinsville is one of those tracks where the drivers have at it whether they are supposed to or not and get away with it most of the time, at least while it’s happenin’. For those who want to know, Hotrod Todd and teammate Papis get our vote for the top have-at-iters for that race. Anyway, Duck and I decided to have our lunch early as to cut down on our own fit throwin’ durin’ the race messes. So with nothin’ on the crates we settled in on the divan and cheered and quacked as the green flag waved for Crafty Matt, Handsome Hornaday (back in the #33), Hamlin, Rock’em Sock’em and Buescher. For those who want to know Happy Man started 6th in his #2, Hotrod Todd started 7th and WOG started 10th. The rest you can look up.

Those trucks were made for this kind of racetrack as far as Duck and I are concerned. 200 laps of pure hard racin’ is just what we like for Saturday. Yessirree! And with no Flippin’ Carl in this race Duck was free to just enjoy himself and so was I, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Things got intense immediately like they always do there. Course that’s what gets everybody’s blood a pumpin’. Know what I mean? There was jostlin’ passin’ and repassin’, beatin’, bangin’, donuts on the sides of the trucks, front and rearends gettin’ crunched, trucks spinnin’, walls bein’ hit, drivers gettin’ ticked and even more. Absolutely great racin’ there to my way of thinkin’ with no one gettin’ hurt thank our good and gracious LORD.

And some people might even say that Todd and his teammate Papis took that old sayin’ “tit for tat” in to overtime, but to that Duck and I say whatever! Look here. They are teammates. They know each other’s racin’ ways and even Duck and I know if you mess with Hotrod you’re gonna get hotrodded. And Papis didn’t back down to Todd, neither, so good for him I say! In the end though all they did was tear up their trucks and didn’t win. Denny Boy, drivin’ Rowdy’s usual #18, made a late race pass on Handsome and WOG while they were battlin’ and won the race! That was his 1st truck race win and he now has joined the ranks of the 23 drivers who have won in all 3 top NASCAR series. GOOD for him I say! Handsome came home 2nd ahead of WOG, Rock’em Sock’em and Coulter. For those who want to know Hotrod Todd got the best of that ‘twixt teammate tantrum stuff and finished 11th while Max wound up 18th, Crafty finished 12th, Happy finished where he started and the rest you can look up. Frankly Duck and I were amazed that 23 trucks finished on the lead lap. As for the points standin’s WOG still leads by 11 over Buescher and Handsome who moved up a spot and Rock’em Sock’em fell a spot to 4th. The rest you can look up and there are only 2 races remain’ on their schedule.

Now for Sunday’s Cup race. Duck and I were so ready. In fact Duck could barely sleep Saturday night knowin’ His idol, Flippin’ Carl, was on the pole. Course the weather forced the field to start accordin’ to the points but that didn’t bother Duck none. I had to smile at his wild eyed duckly excitement. So with our tummies full from a late breakfast we quacked and cheered as Carl lead Robo, Good Bad, Smoke and Happy Man. For those who want to know Same Champ (who may not be again this year) started 7th, Jeffie started 10th, JR started 9th and the rest you can look up.

Bow howdy were we excited to get this race a goin’. Right off the bat Duck was upset cause Roba passed his idol but Flippin’ Carl took it back pretty quick. The first caution came with a big ‘ol mess involvin’ 8 drivers includin Jeffie, JR and Brian Vickers which was only the first of many mishaps for him let me tell that one somethin’ right now. I tell ya this much Vickers seemed to be a wild man runnin’ into pert near everybody. I’m exaggeratin’ some but he was involved in a whole bunch of stuff. Anyway I think Jeffie got the worst of that deal. By lap 65 there had been 4 cautions but Vickers wasn’t involed in the 4th one. Anway there was all sorts of jostlin’, rubbin’ and bangin’ goin’ on. Then low and behold caution 5 on lap 85 involved Vickers again and Cute Jamie who tried to pay Vickers back would up endin’ his day when he hit the wall instead! Sad for him I say, but Vickers was still goin’. And for some reason Duck’s idol was havin’ one heck of a bad race day initially and even at one point went a lap down. Various drivers had the lead at one time or another includin’ Same Champ, Jeffie (I think), Smoke, Flyin’ Ryan, Allmendinger, Rowdy Boy and Hamlin. I may have missed some for all I know. What I do know is by race end there was 18 cautions, the last comin’ on lap 492 involvin’, yep you guessed it, Vickers. His car was just plain torn up. Mercy sakes I remember thinkin’ he was drivin’ like he did when he started racin’ runnin’ into or over pert near everbody, but I guess that’s neither here nor there. Anyway the final green came with 3 laps to go with Same Champ leadin’ but Smoke made fast history with that and took the lead with 2 to go and after bumpin’ it up with him on the last lap Smoke won that race! Yessirree it was an awesome finish. Good for him I say! Same Champ finished 2nd followed by Jeffie, Happy, Hamlin, Burton, JR, Truex, Jr, Flippin’ Carl and Flyin’ Ryan. The rest you can look up. There was so much goin’ on durin’ that race that I failed (most of the time) to noticed a dejected Duck. But he rallied up some when he realized his idol still had the points lead by 8 over Smoke who moved up 2 spots with that win. Happy is in 3rd 21 points down and the rest you can look up.

Now for some other stuff. Seems durin’ a taped instruction to Same Champ from Crew Chief Chad Knaus, master Crew Chief got himself in a bit of a dilly. He told Same Champ if he won the race to spin the car and damage the rear. Interestin’ stuff there. Course with him and JR waitin’ too long to move forward that wasn’t even close to a problem for them, but Chad’s mouth was. The 48 cars gets taken to the Tech Center for the last 4 races thanks tothat statement. Guess he forgot about the in car equipment. Open mouth, insert NASCAR’s boot there Chad! Bet he minds his p’s and q’s for a short spell. If not someone needs to tape up his loose lips.

And by the way, JR said that hangin’ back stuff at Talladega and Daytona ain’t happenin’ anymore. Uh, smart deal there, JR. Yessirree!

Additionally Smoke had a message for Duck’s points leadin’ idol. He said these last 3 races are not gonna be easy wins for Flippin’ Carl. I am sure that is oh so true and we will all see very soon now, won’t we?

Also a crew member on the 38 team was hit on pitroad by Mark Martin, bless his heart, but is gonna be ok thank our good and gracious LORD. Goes to show Hotrod Todd was right about those crew members bein’ in harms way when he was goin’ off on his teammate.

And finally sad news for the Wallace family. Rusty, Mike and Kenny lost their father unexpectedly this past weekend. Remember them all in prayer. Rest in peace Mr. Wallace.

That’s it for now. Email, comment or don’t. Granny Grump over and out.

Granny Grump

Since the race started late afternoon Duck and I ate our main meal of the day early so with our tummies full we settled in on the divan with some hot chocolate for refreshment and cheered and quacked as the green flag waved for 94 laps and James Buescher as he led them to the line followed by Piquet, Jr., WOG, 3 Wheels Now, Handsome Hornaday and Middle Wallace. For those who want to know Crafty Matt started 12th, Rock’em Sock’em started 20th, Rowdy Boy started 17th and Jeffery Earnhardt, Kerry’s boy started 34th. It was good to see that boy racin’ again. Anyway, the rest you can look up.

It was excitin’ from the get go let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Handsome was drivin’ the #2 truck again and Middle Wallace was behind the wheel of the #33. Duck and I thought that was interestin’ for Mike to be drivin’ that truck cause Curly Sadler usually drives it but his wife is expectin’ their 2nd baby so Duck and I were pleased to see Middle get this chance. Duck and I like those Wallace boys and we hadn’t seen him in a truck race in quite a long spell. Handsome and Middle worked real well together. Two veterans like that? Yep we were excited to see it and those boys worked right well together. No learnin’ curve there, nossirree.

No lap by lap deal here but 23 trucks finished on the lead lap. There was a wreck or two but nothin’ too major in the grand scheme of it all. Course you wouldn’t feel that way if you were one of those involved in an accident, but I’m just sayin’. And what a choice Happy Man and wifey made in stickin’ Middle Wallace behind the wheel. He, with Handsome pushin’ him, won the race! Oh my good and gracious LORD it was so good to see him win after all this time. This was Middle’s 5 overall victory and 1st since he won the mid season race at Daytona in 2004. GOOD for him I say! So instead of him and his wife celebratin’ their anniversary on some exotic island somewhere they were whoppin’ it up in victory lane. Handsome seemed real happy for him, too, congratulatin’ him in Victory Lane. Anyway Handsome finished 2nd followed by Buescher, 4 Wheels Now and White. For those who want to know WOG finished 7th after NASCAR penalized him with 5 laps to go and sent him packin’ to the back after he was shuttin’ the engine on and off to conserve fuel and couldn’t maintain speed. He was not a happy camper let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now, but ya can’t fight those powers that be. Know what I mean? Anyway Rowdy Boy finished 9th, Rock’em Sock’em finished 15th. WOG is still the points leader but only by 3 points followed by Buescher, Rock’em Sock’em down 14 points and Handsome Hornaday now only 16 points behind WOG. The rest you can look up.

Now for the Cup race yesterday. Once again Duck and I were wonderin’ how the dancin’ duet deal was gonna work. Lots of racefans, Duck and I included, have been critical of this lately type race happenin’s at Daytona and Talladega. But again we decided to wait and see. Course this late in the race season and with so much on the line for so many, we figured there would be some who would look at the “big picture” more than earlier in the season and go for safe, no problems finishes which appears to have happened. Can’t say we blame ‘em none, more or less if ya know what I mean. Anyhow Cutie Mark Martin landed the pole followed by Same Champ Jimmie, Bowyer, Baby Face, Jeffie G and JR. For those who want to know Flippin’ Carl started 9th, Good Bad Brad started 16th, Rowdy Boy started 34th and Big Brother Busch started 14th. The rest you can look up.

Course Duck was excited to be cheering for his idol but I warned that boy to be mindful of that “big picture” deal we have discussed since the chase started. He said he would so with lunch on the crates and us on our usual ends of the divan we quacked and cheered as the field took the green go ahead for 188 laps of the unknown.

Course everybody knows how the drivers have to pick a draftin’ partner before they start the race. For those with teammates it’s usually an easy choice but for those without such it can be difficult if not impossible. Duck and I expected Same Champ and JR to do the usual and draft together with Jeffie and Markie doin’ the same and they did. Smoke and Flyin’ Ryan tried it this time, too, but that changed up when Ryan got banged up. That’s one of the bad sides of this 2 by 2 deal as y’all know. Anyway with no lap by lap report on NASCAR’s website I can’t give ya one even if I wanted to, which I don’t and can’t remember it all anyway, but I can tell ya that the jostlin’ up front was impressive and constant. When JR pushed Same Champ to the lead the roar in the grandstands was amazin’ but when Same Champ pushed JR to the lead the roar was deafenin’, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Duck and I were woohooin’ all over the place. I was hopin’ for this to be JR’s day to win and Duck was hopin’ his idol would win. Neither one of our wishes came true, sadly for us and those drivers. Course everyone on every lap was expectin’ the “big” one and while there were a few wrecks nothin’ on the scale of years past happened thank out good and gracious LORD. Bobby LaBonte had a pretty nasty hit front, back on the inside wall and then finally on the side when Big Brother Busch couldn’t slow down in time fairly late in thw race. Sad for both of ‘em I say. That sweet Bobby hurt his foot and came out of the infield care center with no shoes and only one sock on.

Jeff Burton teamed up with teammate Bowyer and that was a match made for Victory Lane. Except for the last lap Bowyer was the pusher but as we have all seen so many times each driver wants that win and if the timin’ is just right it can work out to pull out and go for the win. That is exactly what happened and Clint was the winner with Burton in tow. GOOD for him I say. That is a great partin’ of the ways gift he gave himself right there wasn’t it now? Anyway Blaney finished 3rd followed by Good Bad, Vickers, Kutie Kahne, Smoke, Hamlin after all his problems, Mikey (so good for him I say) and Truex, Jr. For those who want to know Flippin’ Carl finished 11th, Markie finished 20th, Baby Face in the Woods Bros #21 finished 15th, Robo finished 18th after leadin’ a spell, JR came home 25th with Same Champ followin’ and Jeffie followin’ Same Champ. The rest you can look up. I was able to keep Duck in emotional check by tellin’ him his idol is still leader by 15 over Robo. Good Bad moved up 3 places to 3rd 18 points behind the leader with Smoke in 4th up 1 spot and Happy Man in 5th down 3 spots. The rest you can look up.

Now for the other stuff. I read where Brad Daugherty’s team is leavin’ his affiliation with Mikey. He has got some good people goin’ with him and Duck and I hope all goes well with all those involved.

And did y’all see that smoke comin’ from the hauler in the garage area after the race? Seems some crew members were dumpin’ unused fuel into a storage can and somehow, someway it caught fire. The back of the Truck itself was damaged with hoses melted and what not but noone was hurt thank our good and gracious LORD and the fire was put out real quick like by some crew members. The truck and hauler have now become the haulees, if ya know what I mean.

And finally I have to say the calls for JR and Same Champ Jimmie to hang back in the pack were just like the last restrictor plate race and that was WRONG. They waited too long then and they waited too long yesterday to get their keesters headin’ up front. I kept tellin’ Duck they were waitin’ too long cause it was gettin’ too late and sure enough even JR said he thought they had. Well JR was right and so was this granny. Sure seems unlike Knaus to not learn from his past booboos. Maybe that boy is just tired or somethin’ but when do the drivers take control and do what they think is right? Oh yeah, they are just the ones drivin’. Maybe there is some “big picture” reason goin’ on but WHATEVER this granny says. What do y’all think?

Anyway there ya have it ’til next time. Next week Cup and the Trucks head to Martinsville and Nationwide is off for another weekend so email, comment or don’t. Either way is fine cause I’m a very busy woman and even more so with Freezie May back in these parts. That’s one needy baby sister if ya know what I mean. I’m not tryin’ to complain ya understand, I’m just sayin’. Anyway, Granny Grump over and out.

Granny Grump

Now to racin’ stuff. This weekend was another one of those changed up kind of schedules. Friday had the Truck race in Vegas and the Nationwide race in Charlotte and then Saturday was the Cup race in Charlotte. There was no NASCAR race on Sunday but the INDY cars raced at Vegas with oh so tragic and sad results, but more on that later, as well.

First up was the Campin’ World Trucks with Handsome Hornaday on the pole. I was so proud of the man. WOG started 2nd followed by Kligerman, Rock’em Sock’em and Crafty Matt. For those who want to know Hot Rod Todd started 13th, Peters started 11th and the rest you can look up. So when the green flag waved Duck and I were on our feet quackin’ and cheerin’ for you know who. This was the Handsome Man’s show for sure. He won the race so GOOD for him I say! What a way to show he still has what it takes while lookin’ for a ride next year. Yessirree he was amazin’! There were 10 cautions durin’ this race but drivin’ the #2 truck again he lead 107 of the 146 laps! Now that is the biggest piece of the pie any way you cut it! That was 2 victories in a row for him, his 4th win this season, his first Vegas win ever and his 51st career victory. Yessirree that man is amazin’! Course for Duck and I he always has been but that’s neither here nor there. Crafty Matt finished 2nd followed by Peters, Rock’em Sock’em and Hot Rod Todd. For those who want to know WOG finished 17th and that girl Jennifer Jo Cobb finished 18th and the rest you can look up. WOG is the points leader by 5 points over Rock’em Sock’em followed by Buescher who is 7 points down and Handsome who is 21 points down. The rest you can look up and there are 4 races remain’.

Later that day we changed states and tracks and headed to the excitin’ Charlotte Motor Speedway. Duck was real excited to have his idol in this race again and so was I. I like that boy. He’s a good racer, cuter that a kitten and not only can that boy drive but he is an amazin’ flipper. Yessirree Duck and I were excited, worn to a frazzle from helpin’ Freezie May but excited. Menard started on the pole followed by Stenhouse, Jr, Good Bad Brad, Wide Smilin’ and Flippin’ Carl. Rowdy Boy started 6th, Sam, Jr started 7th (good for him I say!), Curly Sadler started 12th and the the rest you can look up. Just for a note of possible, but not necessarily to all, interest, 6 trucks failed to qualify and 7 Cup drivers were entered in this race.

Anyway, with the green flag a wavin’ Duck and I were once again on our tired achy feet cheerin’ and quackin’ for our favorites. Menard was out in front for quite a spell and the 1st caution was called when Front Row’s engine blew up on lap 25, which after pit stop cycled around put Stenhouse, Jr in the lead and Flippin’ Carl fell to 8th. Course Duck was frustrated but it was early and he held it together. Just 2 laps later Good Bad got the lead then the 2nd caution came out for debris but he still was the leader at the green and by half way Rowdy Boy was in 2nd. Somewhere in there another caution came out for Sorensen’s mechanical problems and the wall seemed to be a menace to some drivers. Did they move that or what? Anyway, after pitstops followin’ caution #4 Rowdy Boy was the leader but Carl seemed to be improvin’ slowly which had Duck in a much better frame of mind, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. But on that same restart lap Good Bad took the lead back so good for him I say! So several more drivers hit the wall and produced another lead change or a few. There were a total of 7 cautions the last bein’ with 8 to go. Rowdy Boy was the leader on that restart followed by Flippin’ Carl. Duck was crazy quackin’ as y’all can imagine. Course so was I for those who want to know cause Rowdy and Flippin’ have that stuff betwixt them. So Flippin’ Carl got by Rowdy Boy and held on to the lead for the win. Good for Flippin’ Carl I say! And good for Duck and me too! Made the rest of our day much more enjoyable if ya know what I mean. Anyway Rowdy finished 2nd followed by Baby Face, Curly and Brain Scott. Stenhouse, Jr is the points leader with Curly trailin’ by 15 points. 3 races remain on the schedule and the rest you can look up. For those who want to know Duck and I had a wonderful night’s sleep, mine interrupted occasionally and enjoyably by Duckly chuckles.

So Sunday mornin’ Duck and I got our chores done early so we could rest up for the evenin’ race. We had an early enough supper so we only had, but really didn’t need, buttered up popcorn and that tasty and curious Coke Zero for snacks which were divided (Coke and popcorn) in 2 bowls for Duck on the crates. Smoke had the pole followed by Robo, Flippin’ Carl, Allmendinger , Biffle, Flyin’ Ryan, Menard, Kutie Kahne, Same Champ and Ragan. For those who want to know Markie started 13th, JR 15th, Big Brother Busch 20th, Rowdy Boy started 25th but didn’t and Jeffie 23rd. Also Baby Face was runnin’ the #21 in this race. It’s always great to see that car and team runnin’ Cup. The rest you can look up but as a possible point of interest to some it was great to see Hermie Sadler on the startin’ line up. I love to hear that boy talk and he is just so precious to this granny. Course that’s neither here nor there so we rose to our feet and cheered and quacked as the field took the green for 334 laps and the 5th Race For The Chase!

Tony got a good jump and a good lead from the get go and for a spell the top 3 were runnin’ just as they started. There was the usual jostlin’. Same Champ moved up a bit early on. That Baby Face was doin’ a great job and had moved up in the top 10 by lap 34. Good for him and that team I say! After the first tound of pit stops Tony got the lead back but 5 laps later Bif passed him for the lead but the first caution flag on lap 77 changed up the runnin’ order with Flyin’ Ryan out front but eventually Bif took the lead back. After another round of pit stops Robo was the leader with Smoke and Same Champ Jimmie in tow. Course Duck was havin’ a fit but after a couple more cautions Tony was back out front. Some where in all that racin’ stuff Flippin’ Carl took the points lead and when Duck heard that he decided to be one happy Duck. Yessirree he got pretty doggone perky! After another round of pitstops and after startin’ dead last because of an engine change, Rowdy Boy was the leader at the half way mark. Good Bad was not runnin’ his usual good and actually never did get over that bad bump. Sad for him I say. Then on lap 238 somehow someway Baby Face ran out of gas. Oh so SAD for him I say. He was doin’ such a great job but wound up back in the race 3 laps down. The JR took an unscheduled pit stop and wound up 2 laps down.

After caution number 5 when Blaney’s car blew up Rowdy maintained the lead. Then a few laps later the 6th caution came out when Jeffie, Ragan and Kutie Kahne tangled up. Then pretty quick like caution #7 came out when Bif blew a tire and hit the wall but that didn’t change the lead neither. Then on lap 310 Robo Matt did it when others couldn’t and snatched the lead from Rowdy. Good for him I say. A few laps later Same Champ hit the wall hard and tore up his car. Robo held on to the lead to win with that same ‘ol stuff betwixt Rowdy and Flippin’ who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Guess they agreed to disagree again but good for Robo I say. Kutie finished 4th followed by Aussie Ambrose so good for them all as well I say. The rest you can look up. So Flippin’ Carl is the points leader by 5 points over Happy Man and Same Champ fell 5 spots to 8th and the rest of that you can look up too. 5 races remain for the season.

Now for the other stuff. I hope to ward off some unnecessary email about my baby sister’s name. Yes her real name is Freezie May. She was a mid life child for my folks and was born on a freezin’ winter’s night. My mama, bless her amusin’ heart thought it would be a funny and appropriate name for that little bundle of stuff. Freezie hates the name, however, but she has no right to complain cause while her daughter was restin’ after a difficult delivery she named that grandbaby Ethanol. That’s right she did! Can you believe that? She said she wanted to make an environmental statement. Whatever this granny says. Course she did give the baby a common and regular family middle name of May, thank our good and gracious LORD but enough of this mess!

And finally there was a horrible tragedy at Las Vegas Motor Speedway yesterday. On the 12th lap of the INDY car race a star on the rise died from his injuries suffered in a horrible 15 car wreck. Dan Wheldon, a handsome and well loved 33 year old racer, a husband and father of 2 small boys lost his life. The race was officially called some 2 hours later and a 5 lap tribute was given him by fellow drivers. Race car drivers do put their lives on the line each and every time they climb in the cockpit but in this day of such safety measures and soft walls we tend to forget that this can and still does happen. Thoughts and prayers for his family and friends.

So there you have it. Email, comment or don’t. Granny Grump over and out!

Chad Hackenbracht

It’s been a few weeks since the last edition to the blog here, but here comes another blog. Since last time, we’ve been to Salem to race and Kansas to test. Both went fairly well for us.

The Salem race I had high expectations of because we ran so well in the spring. Sure enough we unloaded and we were very fast off of the truck, at one time being the fastest in practice. We worked on the car just a little bit, but wound up changing back to close to what we unloaded at. After practice Kevin and I discussed different changes we made and what they did. We also talked about our qualifying effort coming up, and our expectations and goals for the run. Going out to qualify third was not the best way to start off, because as the day went on the track would get cooler and faster. However, I laid down one heck of a lap and qualified fourth surprising most everyone on the team and maybe a few people in the garage as well. Starting the race I was looking forward to starting up front again for the second week in a row. Everything seems to go a lot smoother when you are racing around cars more your speed. After the drop of the green flag, I started to pick off a position or two. Around lap ten, the 25 car and I got together racing for position off of turn two, eventually leading to a flat tire for the 25 going into turn three. The incident was a racing incident in my eyes, being that I gave him plenty of room coming off of the corner and we both sort of came together. Moving forward in the race we ran second for over half of the race keeping pace with the leader. After a pit stop I was taking my time coming back up through the field until the car became wicked loose all of a sudden. I was slipping and sliding like I was on the dirt track for two laps until the car finally hooked and sent me into the outside wall in turn two. This brought out the caution and I came down pit road, at this point we realized we were leaking oil. The eventual cause of the problem was a hole in the bottom of the oil cooler, dumping out all of the oil in the motor. This ended our night and put us finishing in seventeenth position.

From the Salem race, we went straight to Kansas for the open test on Tuesday. I was looking forward to the test because I knew we would be fast. We were fast in Chicagoland earlier in the year, and Kansas is a similar track so it was bound to be fun. Also for this test we had data acquisition on the car to give us useful information about the car and what it was doing on the track, as well as me. After a few runs we were third on the board and making different changes not worrying about speed, just about learning different aspects of the car and myself. The morning went extremely well and so did the afternoon session. A few cars went out and made some mock-qualifying runs, but we decided not to worry about our overall time and try to win practice. This put us fourth out of twenty-one cars that were at the test between the morning and afternoon sessions. I’m very excited to head back for the race, as is the team.

Chad Hackenbracht

Until next time,

- Chad Hackenbracht

Granny Grump

The Nationwide and Cup guys were at The Monster Mile in Dover this weekend and the Truck drivers were in Kentucky. The Nationwide and Trucks ran on Saturday and Cup ran on Sunday. With a mixed up schedule like that was it sure kept Duck and I on our toes let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now.

Curiously the Nationwide race was the first to run on Saturday. Duck and I got our chores out of the way and settled in with snacks and drinks on the crates waitin’ for the race to start. Course Duck was excited cause Flippin’ Carl was racin’ in this event along with 6 other Cup drivers. He was all smiles and duckly giggles as we sat down on the divan and quacked and cheered as the race got underway. Cutie Elliott started on the pole followed by Duck’s idol, Wide Smilin’, Bowyer, the younger Truex. For those who want to know Baby Face started 9th, Good Bad started 8th, Kutie Kahne started 7th, Stenhouse started 6th, Jamie McMurray (that precious boy) started 15th and Speedy Reedy started 19th. The rest you can look up.

Bein’s that this was a 3 race weekend and Duck and I have some plumbin’ repairs to do today, I will just have to give highlights today. There were 4 cautions durin’ this race. The 1st happened on lap 6 for debris. On the restart Flippin’ Carl took the lead. Oh the cheerin’ goin’ on from Duck’s side of the divan! Course I was cheerin’ too ya understand cause I like Flippin’ Carl Well that and when he’s runnin’ good my race viewin’ is more enjoyable. Know what I mean? Anyway, soon after Cutie Elliott started to fade, bless his curly headed heart. There was a competition caution on lap 40. Good Bad won that race off pit road with you know who in 2nd. But Good Bad didn’t hold it long. Nossirree! Flippin’ Carl was the one to beat. Long story short here, no one could beat him. He led 179 of the 200 laps. Good for him Duck and I both say! Good Bad came in 2nd followed by Bowyer, Kutie Kahne, Stenhouse and Baby Face. For those who want to know Speedy Reedy finished 7th. Stenhouse is now 22 points ahead of Cutie Sadler with Speedy Reedy 49 points behind the leader. The rest of that you can look up too.

We didn’t have much time between that race and the Truck race out in Kentucky. That blue grass there agrees with some of those drivers. With all the Cup drivers in Dover this was a purely runnin’ Truck race. Good for all of the Truck drivers I say. Course that left me with less worry about Duck’s behavior so I was real ready for a no poutin’ Duck enjoyable event here. Yessirree, I was! Duck and I did eat a pre-prepared supper before the race started. Twasn’t much but with our bellies full we cheered and quacked as WOG led the field to the green followed by Handsome Hornaday, Piquet, Jr, Ickler and Loftin. For those who want to know this was the 1st NASCAR race that WOG’s younger brother, WYG raced in with his older brother and he started 15th so good for him I say, but more on that later. Course their Grandpappy Winemaker was present and all puffed up with pride and I don’t blame him one little bit! And curiously Handsome Hornaday was runnin’ the #2 truck for this event. Seems owners Happy Man and wife wanted to have a better chance winnin’ the owners championship than they would have had with someone else in that truck. So out of a job now Handsome complied. I mean, wouldn’t you? You sure as shootin’ would. Anyway with so much for Duck and I to remember and pay attention to the race was underway.

Have to get right to the point here cause my pipes are waitin’ on us, so Handsome Hornaday won his 3rd race of this season that night. That cagey soon to be unemployed to my amazement 4 time Truck Champ did it! He led a total of 42 laps of the 150. GOOD for him I say! This was a real good race to my way of thinkin’. 18 times the lead changed up with 11 different drivers claimin’ that top spot. WOG finished 2nd followed by Buescher, Piquet Jr, and Ickler. For those who want to know Rock’em Sock’em finished 14th and in his 1st ever truck race WYG finished 18th. Good for him Duck and I say. He’s gonna be a star like his brother. Yessirree he will. Know what I mean? Anyway, WOG is the leader in the points 3 ahead of Buescher. Rock’em Sock’em, Peters and Handsome round out the top 5. The rest of it all you can look up.

Duck and I slept real peaceful like. Mild happy sounds could be heard comin’ from Duck’s room from time to time and that was real pleasin’ to this Granny. He loves his Flippin’ Carl and I try real hard to be understandin’ when things fly south for that boy and Duck so I’m not complainin’ this time, I’m just sayin’ thank our good and gracious LORD for pleasant, peaceful sleep.

Anyway next day we were all ready for the 2nd Race For The Chase. Yessirree we were! No snacks today. We just needed that 400 laps of speed! Martin Truex led the field followed by Big Brother Busch, Menard, Flippin’ Carl and Rowdy Boy. For those who want to know Happy Man started 22nd, Jeffie started 34th, Same Champ started 6th, JR started 21st and Smoke started 28th. The rest you can look up. So with Flippin’ Carl who the day before won the Nationwide race and said his Cup car was even better and with Duck excited at the possibilities, we cheered and quacked and the green flag waved and hoped the rain would stay away!

As I have already said, and I hate to chew my cud more than once, no lap by lap deal here today. Our pipes are a callin’ us real loud now, so with 10 cautions 2 of which were for light rain and a competition one at lap 40, the race found Big Brother Buch celebratin’ in Victory Lane. I’ll tell ya one somethin’ right now, this race was tough on Smoke, Flyin’ Ryan and JR. Those boys just had it rough all day. JR started back in the field but was really improvin’ workin his way up to 12th place at one time but one somethin’ or another went against him and he finished 2 laps down along with Smoke and his teammate. We felt for them, Duck and I did. Anyway good for Big Brother Busch. That boy was really good pert near all day. Course same Champ Jimmie was too but he finished 2nd! Flippin’ Carl had his problems too includin’ a pit road speedin’ penalty but he worked his way back up to finish 3rd followed by Kutie Kahne and Robo Matt. Rowdy Boy was an unusual so so. I mean he finished 6th but just wasn’t his usual stuff out there. Harvick would up 10th behind Aussie Ambrose, Jeffie finished 11th. Flyin’ Ryan finished 23rd, JR 24th and Smoke 25th all 3 laps down repeatin’ my still shocked self here on that point. SAD for those 3 I say! Anyway Happy Man is now the points leader tied with Flippin’ Carl. Course that fact made Duck’s idol’s 3rd place win easier to handle for us both thank our good and gracious LORD! Smoke fell to 3rd place, Jeffie fell 4 spots, Same Champ Jimmie moved up 5 points and JR fell 2 spots to 10th. The rest you can look up.

Now for some other stuff . Did y’all hear Bowyer is movin’ to Mike’s team? He’s probably gonna drive a third car for that stable. Well good for all of ‘em I say. Don’t know who will fill his seat over at RCR but guess we will all know when they do.

Handsome Hornaday is still without a ride next year as far as this granny knows. Amazin’ dumb happenin’s there!

And the announcers this week didn’t have to apologize for any driver havin’ a potty mouth. Course Big Brother Busch’s car didn’t have inspection problems either. I’m not sayin’ no one else did have a potty mouth, it’s probably just that they didn’t flub up and broadcast it. Course I don’t really know if anyone did, I’m just assumin’ and sayin’.

And finally it was so cute to see the segment on Saturday betwixt WOG and WYG. Why those boys are best friends as well as brothers. Warms this granny’s heart to see such as that, it does. Course once they are rubbin’ and racin’ permanent like in CUP they may not always feel like best buds but they will always be brothers so I think they both will be stars pert near real soon like.

Next weekend the Trucks are off while the Nationwide and Cup will be in Kansas, so hang on to Toto there little Dorothy, the winds of speed are a comin’ your way honeybunch. So there ya have it folks. Email, comment or don’t. You know the rest. Granny Grump over and out.

Granny Grump

The Nationwide series was off this weekend which put the Truck Series in that normal most of the time spot. Uncommonly only 2 Cup regulars raced in that event. Those were Happy Man and Rowdy Boy. The race started midday so Duck and I decided to combine lunch, supper and snacks together on the crates and have that in front of the TV instead of just snacks. We decided on soup and sandwiches which was easy enough, just cut Duck’s sandwiches in 6 pieces and give him a bowl and we settled in to watch Rowdy Boy start on the pole followed by Happy Man, Coulter, WOG and Handsome Hornaday. For those who want to know Rock’em Sock’em started 14th, Crafty Matt started 10th, 4 wheels now started 22nd and Bodine started 11th. The rest you can look up. So with BFFs Rowdy and Happy startin’ side by side and Duck and I expectin’ some oh so friendly competiton betwixt the 2 we quacked and cheered as the green flag waved. Yessirre we were expectin’ some excitement from the get go! I’m not encouragin’ the friction ya understand, I’m just sayin’.

Anyway that betwixt and between never happened. In fact it was a mild race by our standards if ya know what I mean. Don’t know how y’all felt but Rowdy led 165 laps of the 175 and the 10 he didn’t lead was because of pit strategy which if memory serves this granny correct was lead by WOG. Anyway only 6 trucks finished on the lead lap and Rowdy Boy won. Good for him I say. WOG finished 2nd followed by Happy, Handsome, Rock’em Sock’em and Crafty Matt. Good for all of ‘em I say since they were the only ones on the lead lap.WOG is now the points leader with Buescher in 2nd, Rock’em Sock’em in 3rd, Peters in 4th and Handsome in 5th. At least it was a safe race for them all thank our good and gracious LORD. The rest you can look up.

So Sunday Duck was more interested since you know who was doin’ you know what. We just decided on those curious but nice tastin’ chili Fritos and lemonade. It was great for Duck and I to see Steve Park’s name on the qualifyin’ list earlier that day but when the race started we realized he didn’t make the field. Duck and I were both so very sad for him so we hope he keeps on a tryin’. Anyway Flyin’ Ryan landed the pole followed by Kutie Kahne, Vickers, Biffle, Big Brother Busch (more on that later), Happy, Jeffie, Rowdy, Truex, Jr and Same Champ Jimmie. For those who want to know, JR started 12th, Smoke started 20th and Flippin’ Carl started 23rd much to Duck’s dismay. The rest you can look up and ya know what I mean. Anyway with snacks on the crates and Happy and Rowdy startin’ infront of and behind each other and Duck and I again expectin’ some somethin’ betwixt the 2 and with 6 of the Chasers startin’ in the top 10 we cheered and quacked as the pace car pulled off the track. Yessirree we were expectin’ some excitement this time!

Seemed to be excitin’ from the get go with a lot of 2 wide stuff goin’ on back in the field but the upfronters were single file. Flyin’ Ryan lead ‘em off. Smoke was amazin’ too. That boy was movin’ up fast. Why before lap 20 he had cracked the top 15 and JR had moved into the top 10 while Rowdy was fallin’ back some. Flippin’ Carl had moved up just a tad bit but Duck remained optimistic. After pit stops Kutie Kahne was the leader of the pack and lappin’ cars right and left. Course it doesn’t take long for that to happen and continue at Loudon if ya know what I mean. After a caution and pitstops for some and not for others cutie Mark was leadin’. Now I was excited for him, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. He was doin’ so good on those old tires. Yessirree he was! He held that lead for 45 or so laps. Good for him I say! Somewhere in the mix and laps later Robo Matt and Flippin’ Carl got together which ruined their chance for winnin’. Course Duck was in one foul fowl mood after that! I sure wasn’t lookin’ forward to what that meant for the rest of the day.

Anyway after that caution and pitstops Jeffie was leadin’ while Duck was grumblin’ on the divan. He likse Jeffie and all but he loves Flippin’ Carl so I just ignored him as best I could. After final pitstops with around 50 or so to go for some, which meant some couldn’t make it all the way, Bowyer took the lead and he wasn’t one of ‘em who pitted. Same Champ Jimmie and Rowdy Boy had a bit of a bang up and Rowdy came out the winner on that deal while Smoke had moved into 2nd and workin’ Bowyer hard like. With 2 laps to go Bowyer ran out of gas and Stewart won! GOOD for him I say. But poor JR had a flat tire on the last lap and both Duck and were wonderin’ who finished where. Sad for JR I say!

Anyway, Good Bad finished 2nd followed by Biffle, Jeffie, Vickers, Robo, Ragan, Flippin’ Carl, Juan-toya and Smith. For those who want to know Rowdy finshed 11th, Happy finhed 12th, JR finished 17th and Same Champ finished 18th. The rest you can look up. At least Duck was pleased that his idol finished in the top 10. Course he grumbled most of the day cause Carl didn’t win but Duck loves him so whatever this granny says. Smoke is now the points leader. Good for him I say! Happy is 2nd 7 points down followed by Good Bad down 11, Flippin’ Carl down 14 and Jeffie down 23. For those who want to know JR fell from 5th to 8th down 26 points and the rest you can look up.

Now for some other stuff. Handsome Hornaday is still without a ride. What in Sam Hill, whoever that is, is goin’ on? Guess every owner wants a young gun these days but that man is a great racer, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Another whatever this granny says!

And finally it seems that Big Brother Busch’s car had some prerace inspection problems. I don’t remember what it was but a serious lookin’ Penske was shown chattin’ with a serious lookin’ Big Mike Helton. It all got worked out and Big Brother was allowed to start where he qualified but while the drivers were on the warm up lap that cutie Allen Bestwick was apologizin’ for Big Brother Busch’s potty mouth that was aired. I didn’t hear it and neither did Duck. We must have been on a prerace potty break outside or somethin’, but shame on him I say! Course I guess one of the worst potty mouths in recent racin’ history was that good lookin’ Rust Wallace who got fined for that often enough. Wonder if Kurt will get fined? Maybe but this granny thinks if they are gonna listen in on the radio conversatons of a madder than all get out driver known to have a potty mouth, which Big Brother was and is, then perhaps they ought to tape delay and cut the nasty part out before airin’ it. Know what I mean? Makes sense to this granny, anyway.

So that’s it for now. Next week Saturday is a switched up race day with 2 races. The Trucks will be at Kentucky and Nationwide at Dover. Cup will be at Dover on Sunday. Email, comment or don’t. You know the rest. Granny Grump over and out.

Granny Grump

Course 1st off was the Truck race Friday. Only 2 Cup regulars competed in this race. The surprise pole winner was Steve Arpin (his first career pole), followed by Happy Man, Kligerman, 4 Wheels Now and WOG. Rowdy Boy was the other Cup regular who started an unusual 14th. For those who want to know Handsome Hornaday started 16th, Buescher started 6th, Rock’em Sock’em started 13th and the rest you can look up. So with no snacks or refreshments on the crates Duck, somewhat excited, and I quacked and cheered as the green flag flew.

I think Happy Man was the favored to win this race cause he has won the last 3 truck races and his team has won the last 4. Duck and I discussed this before the race and with Duck’s idol not competin’ in this here event his mind was free to think other ways so Happy was who we thought might be the winner. It seemed as though we were gonna hit that nail smack dab on the head, too, cause that boy was out front most of the race. He was just a rocket, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. But that track is as fickle as those barber shop bozos around here and gives us all some excitin’ and unexpected results sometimes. This here race was one of ‘em. Yessirre it sure was. I didn’t actually count ‘em so I looked it up and Happy had led 99 laps when the last round of pit stops began. But that poor boy developed a vibration so when others chose 2 tires to get track position Happy had to take 4 which sent him to 3rd place after all that stuff cycled around. WOG came out first and Rowdy Boy 2nd. Course Happy and Kyle were battlin’ each other for the spot while WOG pulled away but Happy took second, Piquet, Jr finished 3rd, Kligerman finished 4th, Rowdy finished 5th and WOG won. Good for him I say! Ya know streaks always have a beginnin’ and an end and this just happened to be Happy’s. For those who want to know Rock’em Sick’em ended 6th, Crafty Matt 7th, and Handsome Hornaday finished 10th. Buescher’s points lead dwindled to 3 points and WOG moved up to the bridesmaid position with Rock’em Sock’em in the 3rd spot just 3 points behind WOG. Now that’s a real close call there. Yessirree! The rest you can look up.

Saturday was the usual schedule for the Nationwide Series. 6 Cups boys ran in this event. Course one of ‘em was Flippin’ Carl so you know who was pullin’ for, well, you know who. Brian Scott (his first ) took the pole followed by Good Bad Brad, Menard, Ryan Truex and Cutie Sadler. For those who want to know Almirola started 6th, Cutie Jamie started 23rd, Baby Face started 9th, Wide Smilin’ started 8th, Flippin’ carl started 10th and Kutie Kahne started 22nd. The rest you can look up. So again with no snacks on the crates one excited Duck and I quacked and cheered as that green flag waved. Yessirree the excitement was in the air!

Scott’s lead only lasted for the 1st lap cause Good Bad took the lead on the second lap. He was basically the one man show up front with a really good lead until lap 90 when lapped traffic gave Flippin’ Carl the lead and he had a good bit of space on Good Bad but when the other upfronters pitted Flippin’ Carl didn’t and that boy ran out of gas on lap 123. Shame on his crew chief I say! Shamey, shamey! Anyway even with a slow pit stop he managed to get in the 5th spot after all was said and done. The Good Bad ‘un was just the star of this show. He was out front and amazin’. Course Flippin’ Carl was amazin’, too. Duck and I were right proud of that boy. Anyway after 3 cautions and only 10 cars on the lead lap and a very healthy lead over Duck’s idol, Good Bad Brad won the race. Good for him I say. Duck’s idol finished 2nd followed by the pole sitter Scott, Almirola and Hornish, Jr. For those who want to know Cutie Elliott finished 6th, cutie Jamie finished 7th, Menard finished 9th and Baby Face came home 11th. Oh and I forgot to tell y’all Kutie Kahne had an accident and only finished 65 of the 200 laps and finished 33rd. Sad for him I say! Stenhouse, Jr leads Cutie Elliott in the standin’s by 14 points. 3rd spot through 5th is Speedy Reedy, Almirola and Allgaier. The rest you can look up.

So Duck was somewhat calm and collected. The only sounds I heard on any regular basis was some low duck grumblin’, thank our good and gracious LORD! I was hopin’ that was a good sign for the Cup race on Sunday, if ya know what I mean.

Sunday we had chores to do and didn’t turn the TV on until race time. Rain, rain and more rain. After a spell I decided to cook up some cabbage and onions and smothered that in bacon. Oh how tastey that was. Duck was still settled on the divan in front of the TV. I took his to him. Course it was still rainin’ so I decided to clean under the beds and do some laundry. After a long day of me cleanin’ and Duck waitin’ they called the race and rescheduled it for Monday mornin’. Actually I was fairly glad. Cabbage affects Duck and I both in certain negative ways, though we love it but you may know what I mean. It was best held on Monday. I know the Cup boys wanted to get that 1st Chase race out of the way and I’m not dismissin’ their wishes but with cabbage effects, rain and all I’m just sayin’.

Anyway Monday mornin’ I fried up some corn cakes then buttered ‘em up and poured honey over the top, cut ‘em up and placed them on the crates with cold, fresh milk to wash it all down. We were ready for racin’, no doubt about it. Robo took the pole position followed by Menard, Big Brother Busch, Flyin’ Ryan and Flippin’ Carl. For those who want to know Good Bad started 6th, Same Champ started 12th, Jeffie started 23rd, JR started 19th and Rowdy Boy started 9th. The rest you can look up.

So with sticky lips and duckbills we cheered and quacked as the race finally got underway. Robo held the lead until the first competition caution on lap 30. Rowdy Boy took the lead after pit stops but 11 laps later Big Brother Busch took the lead. Even after a caution for debris Kurt was still leadin’. I was glad to see that boy doin’ so well. That team has really come alive of late. Yessirree he was just pullin’ away from the rest of the field. And Smoke who started 26th was movin’ up like a man on a mission. Well come to think of it, he was of course. By lap 87 that boy took 10th spot. He was amazin’, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Flippin’ Carl was in the 2nd spot so Duck was havin’ fits on his side of the divan. I was a tad bit more quiet. I was watchin’ some 3 wide racin’ at times and some wigglin’ cars that made me nervous. JR had moved up too. He would move up, fall back and move up again. I was gettin’ dizzy watchin’ that but I was cheerin’ for him. I can tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Anyway can’t do a lap by lap deal here but on lap 164 Cute Jamie’s car blew up. Sad for that darlin’ I say! After that Good Bad was the leader but Same Champ took it away from him a few laps later. There are a couple more cautions and a lead change or 2. And then on lap 237, oh my good and gracious LORD, Smoke took the lead and JR was in the top 10! There was talk about some drivers not havin’ enough gas so the end of this was gonna be excitin’. Then on the last lap all kinds of cars were runnin’ out of gas includin’ Same Champ Jimmie, Rowdy Boy and even Jeffie! Smoke won this race! From the outhouse to the penthouse…that boy won! GOOD for him I say! Happy Man finished 2nd and JR finished 3rd. Good for both of them I say. The points standin’s were all shook up at that point. Yessirree we have ourselves on hot Chase!!! Happy Man took over the points lead with Smoke trailin’ by 7. Flippin’ Carl is now 3rd 10 points down, Big Brother Busch is 4th 11 points down and JR is 13 points down in the 5th spot. The rest you can look up. Wow I was so excited to see JR jump 5 spots and Duck was excited to see his idol jump 2. Oh my good and gracious LORD I am gettin’ all excited again just reportin’ it here. GOOD for all of ‘em I say!

Now for a little other stuff. Handsome Hornaday is still lookin’ for a ride for 2012. Makes no sense to me or Duck!

And how about that Caveman givin’ the command for the Cup race? That was interestin’! Those cavemen remind me of some relatives of mine…inlaws and blood. I enjoy those commercials. Course I like that little green lizard gecho too. Then of course I like the fact that Nationwide is on my side. Well they would be if I had Nationwide, but I don’t. I couldn’t decide so I just stayed with our town guy, “Gus Is A Must”. He handles all our insurance needs and those of most of this area I am told.

And finally this has nothin’ to do with racin’ but is a concern to Duck and I and maybe y’all as well. Ya know some space junk is gonna crash down here on earth somewhere on Friday. They can’t say where or exactly what time that day but said there is a 1 in 3200 chance of someone gettin’ hit. Now that concerns me. The last time somethin’ around here fell from the sky was about 10 years ago. Duck and I were havin’ breakfast one mornin’ and we heard a big crash. We ran outside and the hens were havin’ a fit and some strange ringin’ sound was to be heard. Duck and I ran out there and right smack dab in the middle of the hen house was an alarm clock goin’ off. The big hole in the roof was the tellin’ of what happened. Those poor hens were so scared they stopped layin’ eggs for a couple of weeks. Breakfast was all changed up durin’ that time, I can tell ya that one somethin’ right now. To this day we have never learned of that alarm clock’s origin. Weird happenin’ it was. “Gus Is A Must” came through for us, however.

So That’s it for now. Next week the Cup and Trucks head to Loudon. The Nationwide Series is off. Stay safe and remember to look to the skies. Granny Grump over and out.

Chad Hackenbracht

Blogs are beginning to get a little spaced out these days, but I always follow up with one that covers all of the lost ground. This time it’ll be Springfield, Madison, and DuQuoin. All of these races were a blast and unfortunately most of them didn’t go as planned starting with Springfield.

Springfield I was looking forward to because my crew chief Kevin Reed had run so strong at the dirt races last year. At Springfield I talked with a few drivers on what to do and what to expect being that I had never been on dirt before, and an ARCA car on dirt was something totally different. I was told to try and keep the car as under control as possible and not to run it sideways like you see the normal dirt cars run.

Practice went fairly decent and we were all pretty satisfied so far. We qualified eleventh which was alright, but we were hoping for a top ten qualifying run. In the race we just wanted to get a solid finish with a clean race car to take to DuQuoin. The race was crazy; I have never been in a race where I cannot see the car in front of me until that weekend. Going down the back stretch the dust cloud was so bad, that I was two car lengths behind someone and I could not see them in front of me. This made it difficult to hit your marks going into turn three, but everyone made it work. Wound up scraping a top ten finish out of the day with a fairly clean race car to take to DuQuoin.

From Springfield, we went straight up to Madison, Wisconsin. We decided to not go back to North Carolina and just head straight to the next race. Also, because we had an appearance for our partner, Hampton Farms. The Wednesday after Springfield, we showed up to a Copps Supermarket with the hauler and unloaded the car in front of the store. I was there handing out samples of the SmokeHouse flavor peanuts, and signing autographs with the car on display. We hung out and did a lot of nothing until Thursday when we unloaded at the track in preparation for Friday morning. Friday morning rolled around and we showed up to the track, ready for tech and practice to begin. I looked at the track on Friday and realized it was going to be a tough little bull ring.

The corners were extremely tight and the track was hardly wide enough for us to be side by side. Practice began and we made minor adjustments, finishing out the practice sixth overall. Going into qualifying I had hopes and expectations of qualifying in the top-five without a doubt, unfortunately we slipped back a few positions to a ninth starting position. I was at least happy that I qualified on the inside row because of how tight this race track was. After the autograph session on the track, we began the race under the lights. I personally really like the night racing for some reason. During the race I held my own on track and saved my brakes for the end of the race, knowing that the track was hard on brakes. Unfortunately, on a restart I got spun going into turn one, and then hit in the right front by a lap car. We came down pit road to fix the damage and went one lap down during the process. I went back out on track in the lucky dog position, and ran away from the leader until the motor blew eight laps later. We think that when I spun in turn one, that I spun the motor over backwards, causing it to blow up later. Another night that didn’t go our way, but we kept our heads up going into DuQuoin.

Chad Hackenbracht

However, when me and the 39 (Kelly Kovski) were able to keep up with him I second guessed myself. We got a caution not too long into the race and I restarted third, knowing that I was a top-three car at the time. On the restart, I jumped to the outside and passed both the 39 and 41 by the time we got into turn one.

I then kept the lead and tried to drive away. When we got to lap traffic, the 41 passed me, and then I passed him back. The 39 started to get in the mix and we were all just swapping the lead back and forth having a blast. After we pitted, I couldn’t make up any time in traffic and slowly started to slip away. Then with three laps to go, I spun off of turn four and side slapped the outside wall, never losing a position. This set us up for a green white checkered finish. At this point, we had a tire rub and I was just trying to hold my position in the top-10, unfortunately I got shuffled back into finishing 14th. It was a day of ups and downs but overall fairly good.

Onto Salem Speedway next and I am very excited for the race on Saturday night. We were running third in the spring race until a transmission took us out of the race just past halfway. Having past success at Salem, I’m really looking forward to going back. There’s also still a slight chance I could get the Bill France Four Crown, but it’s not a very big shot, however I’m still excited about it and aiming to take it away.

So, that’s catching you all up on what’s happened with me within the past couple of races. I just wanted to remind everyone that our contest on Race Talk Radio continues every Tuesday night where the Thunder Crew will ask a question pertaining to myself or our race team. The show starts at 8:00 p.m.

The first person who correctly answers receives one of our “What’s A Hacken-bracht” tee-shirts plus some of our very own Tastee Apples. The contest lasts until mid-October, so please tune in and win!

Until next time,

- Chad Hackenbracht

Granny Grump

The Truck series had an off week but that series wasn’t lackin’ in news. More on that later.

Anyway Friday’s usual racin’ spot was for the Nationwide Series. Good Bad Brad started on the pole followed by Flippin’ Carl, Rowdy Boy, Baby Face and Funny Man. For those who want to know Stenhouse started 6th, Curly started 8th and Speedy Reed started 17th. Oh and the unzipped one started 32nd. The rest you can look up.So with cheese and quackers (a little Duck humor there) and iced tea on the crates Duck and I cheered and quacked as the green flag waved for 250 laps of crazy enjoyment! Course Duck was on his webbed feet quackin’ like a crazy duck for his idol, but that’s neither here nor there and no big surprise. By somewhere around lap 10 Duck’s main man took the lead. Oh the feathers that were flyin’ let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Duck took that AFLAC Duck pose he has learned to mimic from the commercial with the pigeons. I hate that pose and those nasty pigeons but Duck is dramatic when it comes to you know who so I said nothin’ at that point cause I was excited for Flippin’ Carl too. You know it doesn’t take long for the leaders to start lappin’ the end of the field and on lap 65 the first caution flag waved. Then a few laps later Caution 2 came out when Good Bad Brad hit the wall which basically ruined his chance at this win. Well that and the unziiped one rear ended him. It’s Richmond after all folks. Know what I mean?

Anyway the lead spot changed back and forth between Rowdy and Flippin’. Several more accidents happened which led to caution 3, 4 and 5. Flippin’ Carl was the leader at that point but he and Rowdy Boy were still battlin’. It was excitin’ for Duck and me let me tell ya that one somethin’. Yessirree! Lap 209 = caution 6, the last caution of this race thank our good and gracious LORD!. Seems that one was for some bump and rebump stuff between Happy and Baby Face. Again Richmond usual stuff, but excitin’ none the less! After that Rowdy Boy was the one to beat. Oh Flippin’ Carl tried. He really did and was gainin’ some space but in the end Rowdy Boy took the win. Good for him I say against Duck’s wishes, but he was the winner and he deserves it. I couldn’t tell what Duck was truly thinkin’. I mean I know he was disappointed and all, but he just had this dazed look on his face, glassy eyed stare it was. Bit on the spooky side if ya want to know what I thought but there was no fit throwin’ or uncontrollable quackin’ so I just set about cleanin’ up the snacks and feathers and let him do his duckly thingie. Anyway Stenhouse came home 3rd followed by Ryan Truex (not the only Truex that can drive the wheels off a good car) and Funny Man. Good for all of ‘em I say! Stenhouse is still the points leader over Curly by 16 and the rest you can look up. Sleep came late for us but it did come thank our good and gracious Lord.

So on Satarday mornin’ we got up and set about gettin’ the chores for the day out of the way. Duck was still actin’ weird. I admit I was a bit on the concerned side, but what is a granny to do? He did his chores and I did mine. I just talked to him in my usual manner and when race time approached I put the cheese and crackers back on the crates with fresh cold tea. Rueti Tootie was on the pole followed by Cutie Jamie, Same Champ Jimmie, that cute Mark Martin and Bowyer. For those who want to know Flippin’ Carl started 8th. Happy started 7th, Juan-toya started 10, Rowdy started 13th 2 spots behind big brother, Jr started 27th and Smoke started 22nd. The rest you can look up.

The retired Marine/actor Emrey gave the commend to start the engines. I thought it was a bit unusal to hear him say “let’s get crackin’” but later I saw his Wonderful Pistachios commercial and then I understood. Oh well I say! Anyway with 400 laps ahead of us I cheered and Duck just sat there as the green flag flew. Jamie got a great start and snagged the lead on the first lap. These boys we serious and the 1st caution came out on the 2nd lap when Andy Lally hit the wall. Then just 6 laps later Bowyer and Reuti wrecked and involvin’ JR and Denny along with a mess of others. Crazy racin’ I say! There was a lap of silence on lap 9 in remembrance of 9/11. I thought that was wonderful. Duck was already silent but I know he thought it was good, too. Green flag waved 11 laps later with cutie Jamie leadin’. There were 3 more cautions by lap 51. That last caution got Vickers upset with Aussie Man and he blamed him for a wreck with Kutie Kahne which ended his night. Vickers got parked by the powers that be. More Richmond madness, literally! I’m tellin’ ya that race was excitin’ to me at least. Duck was still in lala land somewhere. Mercy me he was actin’ strange like. Anyway, Robo Man lead the field at that restart but eventually Happy Man took the lead. Several rounds of pitstops changed up the lead. And oh my good and gracious LORD there were a total of 15 cautions. Imagine that! Why by that 15th caution at lap 384 I was just wantin’ it to go green and stay green if ya know what I mean. And it did! Happy Man was leadin’ Flippin’ Carl by just a short bit of time and space and held him off for the win. Good for him I say!

There was still very little reaction from Duck. I was beginnin’ to think I just might have to take him to his quack doctor, no pun intended. I had finally had it. I let loose on that boy. I told him I wasn’t gonna take this silence anymore and that the chase for the chase was over and that now only the chase itself remains. I said, “I mean good grief Duck, Flippin’ Carl is in the 5th spot just 9 points behind Rowdy Boy and he is tied with Same Champ Jimmie, Big Brother Busch and Flyin’ Ryan for cryin’ out loud. He has a chance to win the championship. So say somethin’ “! Well I asked for it! He took to quackin’ and liked to have never stopped. It’s an interestin’ sound, the woohooing in duck quack but I was grateful for the noise! I need to wind this here race report up so the rest of the race and standin’s points you can look up.

Now for some other stuff. Same Champ Jimmie and Big Brother Busch still have that rivalry goin’ on. But shoot fuzzy, it was Richmond and expected. Course they were not the only ones renewin’ or makin’ rivalries. That day it appears most of the “have at it” was allowed. Wonders do never cease, it seems. in NASCAR at least. I’m not complainin’ ya understand I’m just sayin’.

And I am sure you have read about the sale of Harvick’s Nationwide and Truck teams to bossman and Winemaker Childress. That makes sense from a performance and financial standpoint if ya know what I mean, but with different drivers for those series between the current different owners it means some somebodies have to go. Course I’m thinkin’ first of Handsome Hornaday. His website said he will be lookin’ for a ride for 2011. Sad for this multi champ winner I say. Someone smart with good equipment and business smarts needs to snatch this veteran driver up and now! Know what I mean?

Also read where Johnny Benson is returnin’ to the Truck Series next year. GOOD for him and the series I say!

And finally I hope yesterday brought fond personal memories to those who lost loved ones on 9/11/2001. I also hope we all felt pride in our nation, pride and thankfulness to all emergency personal who aided in rescue and recovery and who place their lives on the line each and everyday. And I hope we all resolve to never forget. NEVER!

Til next time, email, comment or don’t. Granny Grump over and out.

Granny Grump

So I will give a short run down here on the racin’ events, but, there are other pressin’ matters to discuss to my way of thinkin’.

First off, the Truck race went off without a hitch on Friday. 4 wheels Now Carmichael started on the pole. Good for him I say! Bowyer was drivin’ for Happy Man this time and he started 2nd followed by Buescher, Kligerman and Flyin’ Ryan as the top 5. For those who want to know Handsome Hornaday started 17th, WOG started 8th and Rock’em Sock’em started 12th. The rest you can look up. So, Duck and I stood up and cheered and quacked as the green flag waved!

Bowyer really was the class of the field leadin’ 97 of the 130 laps. But we all know that best durin’ a race isn’t always the best at the end. Sometimes it takes a driver with a lot of experience and caginess to pull off what seems to be the impossible and that is exactly what happened. But let me back up for a spell and tell ya that It was an excitin’ race. Yessirree! Rock’em Sock’em entered this race as the points leader but had one problem after another. He wound up finishin’ 29th, 22 laps down and lost the points lead to Buescher. Handsome Hornaday planned ahead and conserved fuel from the get go and with a well planned pit strategy which gave him the edge he needed at the end, he won the race even with a damaged truck. Amazin’ and good for him I say! Yessirree that man knows his drivin’ and it was just wonderful to see him in Victory Lane again. This was owner Happy Man’s 4th win in a row with the 3 previous races bein’ his own wins as the driver. So good for him I say, too! Since Duck’s idol wasn’t runnin’ this race he was cheerin’ for Ron right along with me. Bowyer finished 2nd followed by Rowdy Boy, Blake Feese (we hadn’t seen that boy run in quite some time so good for him I say!), and Flyin’ Ryan. For those who want to know WOG finished 6th. You can read all about the race pert near anywhere so if ya want to know more you can look it up.

Next up was the Nationwide race on Saturday. This race was 195 laps. Yessirree Duck and I were excited. Flippin’ Carl was competin’ in this here event and started on the pole followed by Good Bad Brad, Rowdy Boy, Ryan Truex and Stenhouse, Jr. For those who want to know Happy Man started 8th , Kutie Kasey started 7th and Curly Sadler started 9th. The rest you can look up.

So of course with Flippin’ Carl leadin’ the pack we cheered and quacked real loud like as the green flag flew. Flippin’ Carl was amazin’, but after the first caution and pit stops he had to go back in cause he left the pit stall draggin’ the air hose and gun. Duck was fit to be tied, I can tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Course he restarted back in the field but after several different leaders he was back in the lead by lap 94. It was back and forth for various leaders but in the end Flippin’ Carl won. Good for him I say! Why Duck was so doggone happy he took to quackin’ and jumped up on the crates and tried to do a flip like his idol. He didn’t make it and hit his cute little duck head on the corner of the crate. Oh that scared me right out of my socks, let me tell ya that one big somethin’ right now. Duck was a bit dazed but quickly recovered thank our good and gracious LORD. After the Victory Lane speech I chewed Duck up one side and down the other. Crazy fool Duck! Why that best not happen ever again! Anyway Rowdy Boy finished 2nd followed by Stenhouse, Jr, Happy Man and Kutie Kahne. Good for all of them I say! Stenhouse, Jr is now the points leader by 15 over Curly Sadler. The rest you can look up.

Next up was the Cup race which was supposed to be run on Sunday but all that rain and storms that had caused so much sufferin’ and destruction out that way made it to Atlanta and after tryin’ and waitin’ hours to get that race underway they called it and rescheduled the race for Tuesday so everyone could enjoy the Monday holiday. Good for the Daytona powers that be but so sad for the race fans who couldn’t stick around til then.

Anyway the skies did look a little forbodin’ as the race got underway. In fact the tack had to be dried to get the race started. Kasey Kahne landed the pole with Bowyer, Rowdy Boy, Vickers and Jeffie roundin’ out the top 5. For those who want to know Robo started 6th, Flippin’ Carl started 7th, JR started 29th and same champ Jimmie started 17th. The rest you can look up. So as the the green flag waved Duck and I quacked and cheered bein’ so glad the race was finally underway for 325 laps of excitement. Yessirree we had ourselves a race goin’ on!. Oh the jostlin’ that was goin’ on for 1st place. We had Kahne, Rowdy Boy, Bowyer, Vickers and by lap 47 Jeffie took the lead. Flippin’ Carl faded some much to Duck’s dismay but he was still excited over Saturday’s win for his idol. Oh he had the lead at one point but it didn’t last. Followin’ pit stops others lead but Jeffie was the one to beat. Yessirre and after 9 cautions and a red flag for rain Jeffie beat same champ Jimmie after an amazin’ fight to keep the lead. Why it was as excitin’ as it gets let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Same champ just couldn’t get it done. Even Duck was quackin’ up a storm for Jeff. I was right proud of him! That win made Jeffie’s 85th career win and his 3rd this season. Good for him I say! Jimmie finished a hard fought 2nd followed by Smoke, Big Brother Busch and Flippin’ Carl. For those who want to know JR finished 19th and the rest you can look up includin’ the points standin’s which got interestin’..

Next up, the Trucks have an off weekend and the Nationwide and Cup drivers head to Richmond. That’s gonna be fun with a BIG Ol’ F! Yessirree.

Now I know this here race report isn’t as thorough as usual but I feel I need to take some space here regardin’ the 10th anniversary of 911 on Friday, the worst attack on our beloved country’s soil. All over the country people will be rememberin’ those who lost their lives on that horrible day and those who fought to save lives. Nearly 3000 people it was that died between the 3 crash sites! And then I read where that Bozo Bloomberg didn’t invite the fire fighters and first responders to the ceremony cause there was no room for ‘em. What in blazes has that man been drinkin’ for heavens sakes? What? That has got to be the biggest slap to the faces of New York’s finest! I read that 72 first responders died that day and so many more are comin’ down with serious and life threatenin’ diseases regularly. Forgive my language but that’s a hell of a way to show appreciation and respect. They weren’t invited to go to the Twin Towers that day either but what would have happened if they hadn’t? Oh my good and gracious LORD I shutter to think about it. I’m as mad as a dry duck to hear all this ridiculous nonsense. Why I can’t believe that mayor’s ridiculous way of thinkin’. Anyway, I know everyone else has more respect for those heroes than that Bozo! He may be in a position of authority but he is a small, small man in my eyes. Duck agrees with me. What do you think?.

There have been reports of potential attacks in this country on that day. God forbid that city needin’ more help on that day from those who have been slighted and disrespected, but they would be there if needed and I bet there would be room for them then. I’m just real upset by all this. How about you?

Stay safe and well loyal readers and other folks. Email, comment or don’t. You know the rest. Granny Grump over and out.

Granny Grump

This was one strange racin’ schedule week to my way of thinkin’. The Trucks raced on Wednesday, the only such day race this season. Imagine that. Why Duck and I had been so busy durin’ the early part of the week that we pert near missed the race. We just got lucky, thank our good and gracious Lord. Curly Sadler landed the pole followed by Piquet, Jr, Handsome Hornaday, that Gaughan Boy and Buescher. For those who want to know Happy Man started 6th, Rock’em Sock’em started 12th, Rowdy Boy started 7th and WOG started 17th. To Duck’s dismay Flippin’ Carl didn’t run this race. The rest you can look up. So with last minute knowledge of this race and no snacks prepared Duck and I piled on the divan and quacked and cheered as they waved the green flag.

Course we all know what a wild, excitin’ place Bristol is and with Happy Man and Rowdy Boy runnin’ this race ya just don’t know what to expect or when to expect it if ya know what I mean. More on that later too. Anyway, this was an action packed event as is the usual at Bristol. 200 laps goes pretty fast at Bristol. Can’t do a lap by lap deal but Handsome Hornaday wrecked on lap 10. Seems his bad luck this year just keeps on comin’. Paludo’s engine blew up on lap 90 and then on lap 100 Rowdy Boy’s day ended when he hit the wall while he was tryin’to pass Curly Sadler. Sad for Rowdy and Paludo I say! Anyway this is an interestin’ deal here with Rowdy and Curly cause Curly who usually drives for Happy Man was drivin’ for another guy. Seems they both had different takes on the accident. Nothin’ new about that cause each driver sees that stuff differently but I gotta say more on this later, too. Anyway Happy Man took the lead from Jason White on lap 98 and held it to the end. Good for him I say. This was his 3rd Truck race in a row and his 3rd win in the Trucks Series in a row. This might be one of the reasons Rowdy Boy was all bent out of shape. Well that and the fact that he didn’t get the chance to battle his best buddy Happy but like I said more on this whole thingie later. Anyway, Rock’em Sock’em finished 2nd followed by Bodine, Buescher and Peters. For those who want to know WOG finished 3 laps down in 23rd, Handsome Hornaday finished 24th and Curly finished 9th. Rock’em Sock’em kept the points lead by 8 and the rest you can look up.

Next up we waited until Friday when the Nationwide drivers took to the track. Now Duck was a happy critter cause his idol was racin’ in this here event. We got our snacks of deep fried chicken liver bits and fresh made lemonade on the crates and quacked and cheered as Rowdy Boy lead the field to green followed by teammate Wide Smilin’, Curly Sadler. Funny Man Wallace and Leffler. For those who want to know, Flippin’ Carl started 6th, Bowyer started 9th, Baby Face Bayne started 7th and the rest you can look up. So with that lineup Curly started right behind Rowdy Boy. Duck and I were so interested to see what was gonna happen between those two that we nearly busted a gut quackin’ and cheerin’ as they waved that green flag. Wasn’t much to that concern cause Rowdy boy goosed that car and jotted out in front of Wide Smilin’ immediately.

On lap 35 Reuti Tootie spun out after he and Kutie Kahne got together. Not sure about that deal. May have been an on purpose thingie. Looked that way to Duck and me, course that’s neither here nor there and that wound up bein’ the first caution. They ran green until lap 125 when Clements had a flat tire. Pit stops put Bowyer in the lead. Then the 3rd caution came out when Funny Man brushed the wall and Bowyer was still leadin’. Caution 2 was on lap 145 when Kligerman spun. Kyle took the lead again on lap 178. Another caution on lap 191 had Wide Smilin’ in the lead cause he stayed out but on 206 Rowdy took the lead again makin’ him and teammate 1 and 2 again and they finished that way! Good for them I say! Bowyer finished 3rd followed by Bowyer, Flippin’ Carl and AA. For those who want to know Curly finished 8th, Speedy Reed finished 12th, Baby Face finished 13th and the rest you can look up. Stenhouse, Jr maintianed the points lead over Curly by 5 and the rest you can look up too. Duck handled his idol’s finish right well. I just never know what to expect from Duck anymore. Course that’s neither here nor there.

So Saturday we were ready for 500 laps of action. Yessirree! With left over chicken liver bits and freshly made lemonade on the crates Duck and I were on our feet quackin’ and cheerin’ as Flyin’ Ryan lead the field to the start/finish line followed by Flippin’ Carl, Robo Kennseth, Jeffie Boy, and Cutie Mark Martin. For those who want to know same champ Jimmie started 13th, JR started 22nd and Good Bad Brad started 8th. The rest you can look up.

The action started from the get go and Jeffie took the lead on lap 5. By lap 12 Flippin’ Carl moved into 2nd. Duck was havin’ himself a quackin’ fit, I can tell ya that one somethin’ right now! Oh it was excitin’! By lap 19 Jeffie started lappin’ the field. First caution was for debris on lap 32. Good Bad Brad stayed out and was the leader on the restart on lap 37 but on the next lap Robo Man took it away from him. By lap 72 Bowyer and Smoke went a lap down. Doesn’t take long at this place if ya know what I mean. Another caution for debris came out on lap 103 and same champ Jimmie won that race off pit road. Kvapil blew an engine on lap 128 so caution 3 came out. Same Champ still was the leader. Jeffie retook the lead on lap 183. That boy was doin’ great to my way of thinkin’! By lap 208 only 24 cars were on the lead lap. Like I said it doesn’t take long!

After pitstops Robo and Jeffie were the top 2 racers on lap 257! Jeff retook the lead on lap 266, though. Again that boy was like greased lightnin’! Duck and I pretty much think he is the one to beat! Can’t do a lap by lap deal here. It’s gettin’ late and you can look it up just like I did. But I will say 3 more caution flags waved. Good Bad Brad took the lead on lap 421 and stayed there to win that race. Now that boy is the perfect example of how fit thee drivers are. After his accident and racin’ with a broken ankle that boy has come back to win at Bristol. Good for him I say! Burns my buttons when those Barber Shop Bozos say the drivers don’t need to be fit cause all they do is drive. Course they sure notice how fit that Go Daddy unzipped girl is! Personally I think that goop they put on those few hairs on their heads sinks in to their brains and makes them stupider than they used to be. I’m not sure but I’m just sayin’. Anyway Truex, Jr finished 2nd followed by Jeffie, same champ Jimmie and that darlin’ Jamie McMurray! Good for all of ‘em I say. For those who want to know Flippin’ Carl finshed 9th to Duck’s dismay, Jr finished 16th, Rowdy Boy finished 14th and the rest you can look up. Rowdy and same champ Jimmie are tied for the top 2 spots in the standin’s and Flippin’ Carl is in 4th 35 points behind. I am still tryin’ to get Duck to look at the big picture here. He stomped off to his room followin’ the race and I heard a big bang and then a whole lot of very low, grumblin’ soundin’ quacks. Serves him right if he was kickin’ stuff in there. So as the noise continued on in to the night I chuckled my way to peaceful slumber.

Now for some other stuff. Guess y’all heard Go Daddy Danica’s news about next season. Good Bad Brad tweeted this, “Her assent up the ladder of the sport thru various branding techniques only serves to undermine the … future credibility of female racers who wish to make it based on skill, mental toughness and a never give up attitude.” He said somethin’ about openin’ a pandoras box and that if she doesn’t make it that could very well close the door for other female racers for years to come. GOOD for Good Bad, I say! That boy is as smart as he is tough!

And for the next other stuff I want to comment on the Rowdy Boy/Happy Man/Curly Sadler issue. Oh my good and gracious LORD how silly can one great driver be? Well quite a bit to this granny’s way of thinkin’. Rowdy Boy is claimin’ that Curly wrecked him because his owner/usual bossman in the Nationwide Series is his biggest rival Happy Man Harvick. Now I guess if ya stretch your imagination a good bit you could come up with that line of thinkin’ but if ya look at the footage it sure appears that Busch cut down on Curly and then hit the wall. Course Rowdy had to get even and rammed Curly before goin’ behind the wall. That’s a whole lot of damaged cars and money involved in all that Tom follery. And it aint even Rowdy’s or Elliott’s vehicles and therefore money for cryin’ out loud. I’m thinkin’ Coach Joe (Busch’s Nationwide & Sprint Cup boss) needs to take that boy out behind the shop shed, if they have one, and straighten out that boy’s tail feathers a bit. Know what I mean?

And finally I want us all to pray for all those people affected by Miss nasty Irene. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected. People have lost their lives, homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, lost all they own, hearts broken and lives changed forever. If ya don’t know how to pray just say this, “Our good and gracious Lord please grant strength and love to all those affected durin’ the horrible destruction of this past weekend and we ask this in your son’s most precious name. Amen.”

So that’s it for now. Next week is Atlanta. Email, comment or don’t and you know the rest. Granny Grump over and out.

Matt Carter

“I went with Rick Ware and did a few start and parks a couple of times this year for him. I may do some more. Maybe Bristol will be the next one I will go to,” he began. “To me, if you look at the current situation, the only teams that have any money are either teams that are the most popular in the sport like Hendrick, Gibbs and the big Cup teams. Then the most popular Nationwide teams are the Cup team owners, basically. Even Roush doesn’t have (adequate) sponsors for his Nationwide teams now. I think even Jr (Dale Earnhardt Jr., JR Motorsports) struggles and has cut back on cars. And then some of the other teams either have money themselves or have drivers who have money or their family has money to bring to the team so they don’t need as much sponsorship. It’s tough. It’s tough for everybody.”

“I believe (with adequate sponsorship and the right opportunity) I could do well in racing. The reason I say that is because I know what I’ve done since I started racing and the people I’ve raced against, the crew men I’ve had and what I’ve been up against. I’ve gotten better and better every year and not being able to go racing for the past two years, I mean, man that’s tough. Even the last year I ran ARCA I was getting better and better the whole year and learning more and more. Now maybe that’s the last year I’ll be able to race but I didn’t think that at the time. I’m still trying. I don’t want to give up. I’m not ready to quit. I know a lot of people who get to where I’m at right now and give up, but I’ve made this decision to keep trying so that’s what I’m going to do. I could name 20 guys I’ve raced against who could do a good job and they’re not getting opportunities either. Obviously there are more racers without money than there are with money. I don’t think there are too many with both, in my opinion. I’m not making any money, I can tell you that, but I don’t have to have a lot of money to be happy. I believe I can do a good job. I just wish I could get an opportunity in some decent equipment to show what I can do. I wish that had happened five or six years ago. I didn’t even get to test back when that was real big. (laughing) I know people who couldn’t even ride a bicycle in a straight line and were getting tested right and left for whatever reason. I don’t know if it had something to do with Dad being who he is. Maybe they thought they didn’t need to give me a shot if Dad couldn’t do it, that maybe I must be really bad. I don’t know, I think a lot of people have the misconception that we have a lot of money which is not true. That might hurt things, but who knows.”

Speaking of his father, I mentioned I have spoken with Travis several times, and asked how he is doing in his retirement.

“He’s doing good, not doing a whole lot but kind of taking it easy,” Matt explained. “That’s about it. I think he would like to have more things to do. I think it would be different if he quit (racing and working) on his own when he did and not because of the money. It’s not like he chose to quit when he did. I think he would be happier now.”

We discussed the fact that he traveled to races with his father when he was much younger and had a chance to learn work ethics, loyalty and so many other old school ways. Therefore, I would have thought that bringing old school ways to new school technology would have been an advantage to his current efforts.

“There are so many new people in this sport right now that didn’t even know what racing was 10 years ago, and there’s a lot of back stabbing people,” stated Matt. “There’s always been that but now I believe it’s really bad. I’m not an extroverted person, I’m kind of shy but when you do talk to some people, if you’re not on their team or whatever they just ignore you and stick to themselves. It’s not like it used to be and the team owners need money to operate, to pay their bills so they need a driver with money. It’s a shame but it is what it is.”

He told me about going to Martinsville in 2003 with the Truck Series as a driver for Carl Long. He qualified 14th with Jimmy Spencer ahead of him and Darrell Waltrip behind him, two drivers that had driven for his father at one time. In his first and only Truck Series event he finished 17th. That is quite telling of his capabilities.

Talent is talent but it takes quality equipment to succeed and it also takes determination, commitment. knowledge, pride and a belief in oneself to do this job and do it well. Take any of the top drivers today and put them in much lesser equipment and the results will speak volumes. I’ve interviewed a lot of up and coming young racers and believe I have gotten a feel, so to speak, for the sincerity they may or may not possess. I truly believe Matt is genuine and that this young man has it all. He just needs the money to show what he can do. In addition to all of the above he has a BIG additional advantage to offer someone who would like to become involved as an owner or sponsor.

He explained, “My goal is to get some stuff together to start our own race team. I figure if nobody else is going to hire me then I’m just going to try to do it myself. We’ve got two 20,000 square feet race shops with paint booths, fab shops, a chassis dyno, full of equipment with trailers, carts, tools and anything you need to go racing except the cars, the people and the money. People come there who don’t have anywhere to work, they don’t have anything. That aggravates me more than anything because we have everything ready to go. All we need is the money to buy some cars, hire some people and we could go to the race track in 2 weeks, pretty much I think, and run the Nationwide Series. I think that’s pretty realistic really. I know we can do it a lot cheaper than some people do (with all the equipment, shops, etc.). We could have a small number of employees and a few cars and run descent to start off anyway. I just want to put that out there so people will know. I don’t even have to own the team. If we could find an investor to come in here and make this possible then they could own the team and call it whatever they want. Whatever is the best way for this to happen I’m all game for. I just want to race. That’s what I care about.”

The cost to attend any race today is prohibitive for some race fans, but I believe one of the reasons for the empty seats in the grandstands is the missing “magic” we used to see like Dale, Sr.’s “pass in the grass,” and the time he came from 18th with just a few laps to go to win the race. Magic can come in many forms. Remember Trevor Bayne’s win at Daytona this year for the Wood Brothers? That was amazing and with the right sponsors and opportunities perhaps Matt can bring a little magic of his own to this sport and put the name Carter back in Victory Lane. I truly hope so.

Anyone wanting to bring some potential magic to this sport with a talented young racer or to learn more about Matt’s plans for starting a team can contact Carter’s management company, Knight Motorsports Management or chris@chrisknightpr.com

And be sure to visit Matt Carter’s new site too at MattCarterRacing.com.

Good luck Matt. I’ll be watching, pulling for you and waiting to report your dream come true!