NASCAR’s Biggest Fan - Ron Ripple

I was glad to hear when Kyle Busch read my articles where I state he should stick to focusing on the Sprint Cup races and quit with the Nationwide and Truck series! He listens and wins a road race… That’s right people, Kyle Busch won the Infineon road race. It was lap 33 when Busch decided it was his time to take the lead and never look back. The battle was going on 2 to 4 seconds behind him as he cruised un challenged. He would go in for a pit stop and allow racers like Carl Edwards keep the leaders spot warm for him as he comes back on the track and retake the lead. You’ve got to give this kid credit, on Friday’s practice he was the 40th best car of 47. He qualified 30th and we all know it’s not easy to pass on a road course like Infineon.  Is there anything this kid can’t win?

I happen to be in the Winner Circle with Kyle Busch

The talk around the pits (and on this site) was all about last years Infineon champ Juan Pablo Montoya and his possible repeat. Montoya has had a rough season thus far with the last two races finishing in an incredible 38th place. As I’ve discussed in previous articles, team owner Chip Ganassi’s drivers have been struggling and his star Montoya was set to make an impression on all of the people doubting the teams capabilities. The start of the weekend wasn’t looking too great as team mate Dario Franchitti was unable to qualify for Sunday’s race. As anticipated, Montoya looked strong out there on Sunday. He was a solid top 10 throughout the entire race and working the turns towards the front of the pack. I personally believed he was going to challenge the dominating Kyle Bush if he kept up the incredible slicing and dicing through the field. His luck turned when “one race wonder” Marcos Ambrose decided to go too hot in a turn spinning the contender Montoya out. This would put Montoya 18th where he would have to fight his way back for a 6th finish. It was unfortunate but still a great finish for both Montoya and team owner Chip Ganassi.

It was unfortunate when Jamie McMurray who ran hard and strong all day went too hot into turn 4 taking out my boy Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and a name I haven’t talked about on this site Ron Fellows… as all were contenders in the top 10. Stewart restarted down in 19th place where he was not happy. Unfortunately he took his anger out on poor ol Scott Pruett as he rammed Scott from behind bringing out yet another caution. Pruett would be out of the race bring out the green white checkered would come out and making it that much easier for Kyle Busch to secure the win and my picks (pansy wine drinker) Jeff Gordon took third and Montoya 6th.  The Toyota Save Mart 350 was a nice change of pace.

There are some serious rumors going on throught the pits on driver Casey Mears leaving the number five car. Chip Ganassi’s driver Reed Sorensen being a pre madonna and missing sponsor meetings. Rumors going around that Reed Sorensen is too full of himself and why? He’s a NON performer on the track. More gossip going around about Mark Martin being a pansy and has his substitute driver race the races he sucks at…

Look for an update on the Nascar’s Hot Wives Club…  I think you’ll all be impressed with the hottie I got comin! Stay Tuned Ron Ripplers…

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Dale Earnhardt Jr must be on cloud 88 right now after a HUGE win at Michigan International Speedway! It took 76 races for Jr to finally get back in the winner’s circle and who does he have to thank but gambling man Crew Chief, Tony Eury Jr (and himself of course). Like any other race this season, it came down to strategy.  I was on the edge of my seat when I heard the Amp #88 was going to be staying out on the track with not enough fuel to finish the race. I thought at that moment, gas prices are up… try to conserve as much as you can and save the Hendrick’s team a buck! It was going to come down to a yellow flag for Earnhardt to conserve as much fuel as possible to coast for a win. All and all it was a well deserved win and I couldn’t have been more proud. Just watching him turning the engine off and on while coasting through the caution laps I for a second there didn’t think it was going to happen. Did I mention they tacked on two more laps for the green white checkered?

The one thing I love about NASCAR is the fact that every team is out for the win! It’s decisions like Sunday that show the true champions and just a top 10 finish. It’s not often you’ll hear a post race interview with a HAPPY second place or third place driver. They seem to always be disappointed and why not? They had the chance to take home the victory and they fell short.

Not everyone had a good day, Greg Biffle decided on lap 186 to come into the pits to change two tires and to also clip his tire changer knocking him over. We know the tire changer had a bad day, he might be a little sore for a while! We can’t forget Sam Hornish Jr as he was leading towards the end of the race battling with Jimmie Johnson. Hornish finished in 22nd after spinning out on lap 198 but fortunately being able to fire it back up and stay on the lead lap. Whew, a guy with an even worse day was team owner Chip Ganassi. His three drivers finished with a DFL which stands for dead f… last (Dario Franchitti), 38th place (Juan Pablo Montoya), and 34th (Reed Sorenson)… Ouch.

A big congrats to Joey Logano and his first victory after only 3 races in the Nationwide Series. He is officially the youngest driver to ever win a Nationwide Series Race. Eighteen years and 21 days old! We’ll be seeing a lot of this kid. What are your thoughts and what are the major events that stuck in your mind this weekend? Is anyone surprised I didn’t mention Kyle Busch? Oh wait I had too!

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Who would have thunk it? Not to sound cocky and obnoxious, but when I pick the winner of Sunday’s race you can guarantee that I put a little hop in my skip the next day! My pick last weekend for the Coca-Cola 600 was Kasey Kahne… and yes… he owned it. The young star was very consistant this past weekend and consistency was the key to winning. The Coca-Cola 600 was the longest race of the season and as the saying goes it was “survival of the fittest.” Kasey Kahne may not have had the quickest car or the fastest laps, but he definitely had the “fittest” car and survived the 600 laps.

I think the fastest car of the weekend had to be Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers or Dale Earnhardt Jr. Brian Vickers stole the lead from Kyle Busch early on in the race and continued to lead the race for 61 laps. If Vickers wouldn’t have crashed his car, he would have been a force to be reckoned with instead of being the force that “wrecked”. (?)Tony Stewart on the other hand has had some poor luck this season and this race was just proof as to what he’s been dealing with. He also had a strong car and didn’t make it to the front till late in the race, and just when you thought Tony was going to get his big win for the year with only three laps remaining, he blows a tire and ends up in the wall. You all know Tony is my boy, I was on the edge of my seat for all 61 laps he led. I guess the only negative that goes into Tony Stewart leading is the fact my beer gets piss warm because I hadn’t moved an inch.

Dale Earnahrdt Jr. was yet another guy with a fast car. When he shot out to the front the crowd was going absolutely crazy. Even I was excited when I saw him dominate the race for a solid amount of laps… I thought he had the race in the bag until the damn wall jumped out and tapped him on the side. He fell back and still finished with an impressive fifth, it just goes to show that the car was strong even with all the damage. These COT cars slip and slide all over the place! (in my opinion)

So the talk of the past few weeks has been Kasey Kahne and the lucky streak he’s been on. I have to admit, he didn’t have “THE” car of the race this weekend, but yet again he stayed consistant and strong throughout the entire race. I thought he was a contender throughout the whole race, but in reality he was probably a second or third place car at that. But Luck plays a big role in this sport we call NASCAR, just look at Tony Stewart. If the guy had even a 1/4 as much luck as Kasey Kahne, he would have won this race.

I had an incredible day watching this race, and probably had more beers than I should have. A case of beer… it could’ve been worse considering how long the race was, but when you’re on the inside of the wall and you have thousands of screaming fans with you… the beers just flow. What do you think about the race? Who do you think should have won? Tony? Earnhardt Jr? Biffle? I will say if Biffle had more laps he might be the one I’m writing this article about… but then again he didn’t! The man DID accept my beer after the race though…I also plan on getting into the big drama/fight that took place on Saturday… stay tuned Ron Ripplers! I have to make a few calls to some of the pit crew and make sure my story is straight. (photos compliments of Nascar.com)

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 This past Saturday’s race was an interesting race to say the least.  In my previous post I stated it was going to be one hell-uv-a showdown with some aggressive driving and some crazy personalities.  Unfortunately it was none of this… It was a fun race to watch because it was unknown as to who was going to be the victor, but it definitely wasn’t a showdown like I was expecting. From the very beginning, Kyle Busch shot out and dominated the race by almost a quarter of a lap, until the second segment when his motor blew up.  (Obviously the Gibbs team tested the Toyota package they had from the beginning of the year because almost everyone on the team blew a motor.)  But Kyle Busch did some serious domination with Carl Edwards not far behind him.  The first two segments weren’t all that exciting with most of the battling taking place in the 12th and 13th positions.  Once Kyle Busch’s motor blew up at the end of the second segment, it looked like it was going to be a Carl Edwards race since he had the fastest car on the track.

 I was comletely taken back when the third segment started and Carl Edwards lost four positions in the first couple laps.  It looked as if making no changes to his car in between segments was not such a good idea.  The third segment was dominated by Biffle, with a number of different drivers working their way up to the front.  Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, and Dale Earnahrdt Jr. were a number of racers that were working their asses off to get to the front.  All were running strong but it seemed as though none of them had enough because in each segment there was only ONE car that led most of the laps.

 The Fourth Segment was where all the hard work and strategy paid off.  In between the third and fourth segment, the teams had a decision to make.  “Take two tires, take four tires, or don’t take any tires at all.”  There were a few drivers that took “No tires’ and these driver’s ended up on top.  Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne were two of those drivers that decided to take no tires and these guys came out of the pits the fastest.  Greg Biffle, who was the fastest car for a majority of the race decided to take two tires and I can guarantee he’s regretting it now.  Kasey Kahne who was the “Fan Vote” jumped up to the front position and was tough to get around.  Greg Biffle who took the two tires was on his tail the whole segment and admitted he only had once chance to pass and couldn’t take advantage of it.

I think it’s huge a driver who wasn’t even supposed to be in the race took home $1,000,000.  The fans wanted to see him race and boy did he give them a show.  He passed a ton of cars to make it to the top 10 and when it came down to making a decision about tires, he made the right one and that’s all that counts.  He didn’t crawl his way up to the front and techinically “EARN” the #1 position, but his team made the right decision and they took advantage of it.  Kasey Kahne won the race and took home the money.  Congratulations to him!

Even though I’m a huge Tony Stewart fan, I was really hoping for a Dale Earnhardt Jr win.  He was in the top 5 throughout the whole race and looked like he was going to be a player at the end.   I guess the Hendrick Motorsports team just had nothing for them at this race.  I was extremely disappointed with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson… two racers that were supposed to OWN this track.  The only reason why Jimmie Johnson was in the top 5 was because he took no tires. 

 Overall I have to admit it wasn’t the most aggressive driving or exciting race I’ve ever seen.  There were no wrecks, no bumping, no fighting, and no drama.  This was supposed to be a race where the driver’s would let their hair down and do things out of character.  It was almost as if they were all being gentlemen!  I was shocked!

 What do you think about the race?  Obviously nobody won the contest from my previous post because Kasey Kahne was voted in last minute.  But look for a new contest maybe for the 600.  I like to see who people vote for.

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Anyone sick of hearing me talk about 23 year old NASCAR super star Kyle Busch? I’m guessing yes… so I’ll keep it short. Kyle Busch is dominating NASCAR! Every fan in those stands are on their feet when Kyle Busch crossed the finish line. Whether they’re booing or cheering, Kyle is being HEARD! Through all the boos from the crowd in the stands, Kyle was able to hear a jeer from one of Earnhardt Jr’s crew and in return Kyle flipped him the bird. Now that is funny!

I feel bad for one guy, Greg Biffle in the number 16 car. Wow! The man would have a couple more wins under his belt if it weren’t for the bad luck he’s been experiencing this season. Biffle lead 95 laps Saturday Night at Darlington until he had to pit a few times for loose tires and then coming into the pits for the last time with his first DNF this season. A blown engine would ripple through his mind as he went through the last few race frustrations. He wouldn’t take the ice cold beer I offered him after Saturday’s race… at this point I knew he was hurtin on the inside. Trust when I say that Biffle never refuses a beer after a great night of racing.

On a side note… My pick for Saturday night’s fastest race in history at Darlington didn’t do too bad. Carl Edwards didn’t get the win, but a second place allowed him to move 3 spots up in overall Sprint Cup Points sitting in 7th. Now let’s get ready for the BIG race, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowes Motor Speedway. I’ll have my picks later in the week… Tony Stewart has been quiet lately, I’m expecting something from him very soon. Should be one helluva race!

(kick ass photo from nascar.com, I can’t believe they caught me in the back.)

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What a race! It was the story of bad luck for many that lead Clint Boyer to a HUGE win in Richmond Virginia on Saturday night under the lights. It was the Crown Royal 400 and all about Denny Hamlin who not only won Friday night’s Nationwide Cup Race also lead 381 of the first 382 laps on Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race. He was simply dominating, the battle for second place kept Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Busch occupied so that Denny would not be challenged. This is where the story of bad luck snuck into the right front tire of Hamlin causing it to go down costing him the lead and the Win. It was unfortunate, he drove flawless and the team made incredible decisions on and off the track.

Last week I put my money on Earnhardt Jr as he hasn’t had a win in 71 races and the man had been driving strong all season. After Hamlin slowly drifted back the race for first became a battle between Kyle Busch and the current leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. For the first time in the race I was jacked up to see Jr in the lead and won’t lie when I say I had the “I told the reader’s this would happen!” mentality. The attitude I had was quickly taken away when not even a lap and a half after leading the race Kyle Busch and Jr got together forcing Earnhardt into the wall and all his hopes and dreams stolen. Bad luck and Kyle Busch hit Jr soo hard he finished 15th. Oh and that’s where Clint Boyer was able to slide into first and hold position to take the win. (not much to say about the win)

This brings us to the questionable wreck on who is at fault… before I give my two cents I would like to hear from ya’ll. It was quite obvious how the #88 fans felt… serious boo’ing and one of Jr’s crew ended up running over to Kyle Busch after the race giving them some sh!t.

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Congrats to Jimmie Johnson and the Hendrick Motorsports in their much needed win on Saturday night. It came down to balls and gas, and well…. Jimmie had the biggest balls and more gas than the remaining losers of the night! I’m sure I’ll get a thank you card from Jimmie in the mail this week as I believe the reason he won is because a) I didn’t jinx them with my typical “Jimmie Johnson/Hendricks Can’t Win” rants… and b) I did a beautiful post about his GORGEOUS wife Chandra Johnson!

The race in my opinion was great! I thought for a while that the story of the day was going to be all about Dale Earnhardt and his former #8 car Mark Martin. Those two were battling for first for theee longest time. But I must say overall this was one helluva race, the track conditions continued to change between sun up and sun down. Cars were too tight, too loose, too damn tough to control and pit strategies were key! I loved it. I was up till the end and can’t believe I was able to stay awake as I must have downed a case of beers in one sitting. What were your favorite moments? Do you think Chandra did anything different on race morning to give her husband the edge?

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