NASCAR's Biggest Fan – Girl of the Week | Ron Ripple

We’re getting so close to the end of the season and as I said at the beginning of the Chase, my money is on Greg Biffle.  Yeah yeah yeah… Jeff Gordon has a 7.0 rating at Martinsville, and blah blah blah… Jimmie Johnson has a 6.0 rating at Martinsville, well I’m not saying ”The Biff” is going to win Martinsville, but I am saying he’s going to be the champ at the end of the season.

As usual, the press constantly talks about the stars such as Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch or Jeff Gordon.  They’re always talking about “What color underwear they wear… what they ate for breakfast… how many times they dropped the kids off at the pool… who they’re dating… blah blah blah.”  And if you haven’t noticed, but before every race people are betting on these guys to win, and when they don’t, they still always seem to talk about what went wrong and why they shouldn’ve won. 

Jimmie Johnson… the Media Whore!

After my last Gas Card Giveaway contest, I realized there are a number of driver’s who don’t get the credit they deserve.  When I picked ”The Biff” to win the Championship at the beginning of the Chase, I picked him because I thought he was an incredible driver and he was an underdog in the eyes of the media.  So far ”The Biff” has been showing strong and staying in the hunt, right where he needs to be.

Another underdog who should never be considered an underdog is Jeff Burton.  The only time this guy gets any attention from the media is when he wins.  We never hear about his hobbies outside of racing, or his Garage drama at the race track.  I’m almost wondering if I should create rumors for these guys so they get more attention and get more fans behind them. 

How about this one… “Jeff Burton  lost 12 lbs for his Lowe’s win this past weekend.  Rumors are going around that he is throwing up his lunches just to stay thin and give him the weight advantage when he’s goes into turn 1.”  Pretty scary when the man only weighs 158 lbs… hopefully he passes his physical in the pre-race exam for Martinsville.

Ron Ripple has the pictures to Prove it!

Anyway… “The Biff” is still my pick.  If I have to make up rumors for him then I will.  Martinsville isn’t his track of choice, but if he stays consistant and gets a top 5 finish, then he’ll still be sitting pretty. 

Obviously this is Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson’s track… I think we need Jeff Gordon to get the win this weekend and make sure Jimmie Johnson stays out of the top 5.  Anything’s possible.

Who do you all think the Dark Horse is in the Race for the Championship?  Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Clint Boyer, Kevin Harvick?  Hey… we haven’t heard about Kyle Busch as much as we used to!!!!

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Yes Clint Bowyer is officially in the 12th position and back in the chase… but what I’m really talking about is Bowyer chasing down drivers in New Hampshire and handing out tickets.  What was Clint Bowyer doing chasing people and pulling them over?  Has he quit racing and become a police officer?

Nope… but he did help the New Hampshire State Police yesterday pull over law abiding citizens and handed out not citations, but tickets to attend the Sylvania 300 on September 14th. 

Clint Bowyer did a ride along with New Hampshire State Police and handed out tickets for those drivers abiding the new “Move Over” law New Hampshire set in place just this year.  He pulled over a number of motorists that moved over and slowed down when they saw official emergency vehicles in the breakdown lane. 

Clint Bowyer knows a little bit about slowing down when there’s an emergency… this past weekend he got caught up in a multi-car crash late in the race but ended up working his way back to the front and securing a top 10 finish. 

I believe the New Hampshire State police would have issued him a citation for following too closely and not leaving enough “braking” room to prevent an accident… but luckily for him, nobody called the cops. haha

Clint’s got his work cut out for him this coming weekend in California.  In his career, he’s only had one top 5 finish at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana California, so it looks like he’s got a lot of work to do.  Bowyer hasn’t been a big threat at the big tracks but they’re looking to at least secure a solid position and set themselves up for a win at the Sylvania 300 where he’s the defending champion.

Bowyer looks like he’s making his way back into the points… do you think he has a chance or is he going to get beat out by Kahne, Newman, or Ragan?

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We’re getting down to the wire in the Chase and it seems as though there are some “great” drivers who have not yet secured their spot.  You’ve got Kevin Harvick, Clint Boyer, Matt Kenseth, and David Ragen all within 54 points of each other.  Kevin Harvick is sitting in the 11th position but still needs to race well these last races in order to secure his spot.  It’s anyone’s game…

One driver I was 100% sure was going to secure himself a spot was Matt Kenseth.  In the beginning of the season he didn’t do so well… if you asked me after 10 races if he was going to make it in the chase I would have said “Fat Chance.”  In his first 10 races he averaged about 23.5th position which in my opinion is just straight up NASTY!  Now these past 10 races he’s done a complete 180 and has done nothing but impress me.   The second half of this season he’s turned that average finish of 23.5th into 10.1. 

Matt Kenseth looked like he was securing his position in the chase but these last two races (Brickyard and Pocono) looked worse than his first 10 races.  He went from being in 8th position overall in points to 13th position.  If he plans on racing for the money, he better figure out what he’s going to do.

It seems to me as though Matt Kenseth is either Hot or Cold and nothing in between.  He either has a top 5 car or he has a car that won’t get any camera time when it comes to race day.

 These last 5 races are going to be tough for Mr. Kenseth.  I’ve got a strategy I think he needs to hear in order to make it into the chase, so if he wants to e-mail me or call me to find out what it will take, then please do.

 (I’ll give you all a hit…. My strategy consists of him finishing top 10 within the next 5 races and pray that Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Clint Boyer, and Kevin Harvick have a horrible day.)  If he’s not close with God… maybe now’s the time. 

Haha… (sorry gotta cut this article short… I’ve got a keg party I need to make an appearance at)

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This weekend we’re heading down to Sonoma for an incredible road course with turn after turn after turn and I cannot wait.  This is going to be an awesome race to watch, and as much as I love to see these guys turn left, it’s going to be incredibly fascinating to see them turn right.  I mean… do these cars even turn right?  We’ll just have to wait and see. 

Wow… Did they seriously just take a right turn?

Sonoma is a track where road course racers are supposed to stand out and show the world what they’re all about.  Many times a team owner hires a road racer to come out here and show the world what they’ve got and in the end make a fool of themselves by getting owned by the true NASCAR racers themselves.  The statistics show (Nascar.com) only 1.5% of hired guns actually finish top 5 at the end of the day and usually get shown up by the true NASCAR (left turn only) racers. 

I love watching road courses and i’m glad NASCAR has a few on the schedule.  This course has a lot of history behind it and a lot of drivers really enjoy it.  Jeff Gordon is one of the guys to beat this weekend with having won 5 out of the last 10 starts here.  He hasn’t been dominating much this year but he’s been in the shadows and this could be the race that lights the fire underneath his panties. 

Another racer who has done well here is Juan Montoya.  This is his kind of course and he’ll be going out there trying to defend his title.  Juan won this race last year by basically driving by ever single car in the field.  He started in the 32nd position last year and is the first driver to win the race having started further back than 13th position.  I’m not a big Montoya fan but I think he’s going to be a driver to watch out for.  He obviously knows this course and knows how to pass… (Craig you better call your boy and tell him to step up his game because he’s going to make me look bad if he doesn’t)

Of course there is going to be a lot of hype behind other racers such as Tony Stewart, Boris Said, Terry Labonte, and many more due to the fact that they are great road racers.  But I think the guys that will need to shine and make a solid finish are those focused on making the top 12 for the chase at the end of the year…  Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Brian Vickers, Clint Boyer, Martin Truex Jr.

Of course an article on Ron Ripple wouldn’t be an article without mentioning Kyle Busch.  For once I have to say Kyle Busch is making a great decision and has decided not to race the Nationwide Series race this weekend in Milwaukee.  Sonoma is a tough course and takes a toll on these racers especially if they’re not in their prime come race day.  There are a couple racers who have decided to race both and those are David Reutimann, Clint Boyer, and Carl Edwards.  All are great racers and have a chance at Sonoma but I think racing both races is going to be a mistake. 

Who do you think will take home the trophy this weekend?  Is it me or are you excited about the road course as well?  Boy do I love NASCAR….

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These are the type of events that I get excited for.  NASCAR is going to introduce a new competition on May 17th where five allstars attempt to do two doughnuts and then enter into Victory lane.  The fastest time gets $10,000 and is the official BURNOUT KING.  NASCAR in itself is a very exciting sport but when you ad little things like this… it just makes my ears tingle.  Stuff like this will only make NASCAR victories more fun to watch because you know it’s going to be a show at the end. 

The funniest part about this whole new addition is when they asked Clint Boyer to test out the idea in front of the staff and media, let’s just say he didn’t do it flawlessly.  They let Boyer demonstrate the burnouts with a Richard Petty Driving Experience car and after the first two successful burnouts he then attempted to drive the car back into pit row and he kissed the wall.  Haha… Clint Boyer kissed the wall driving the borrowed car back into pit row.

 Here’s Clint’s response, “It was Practice man.  That’s what you’re here for – to see what to do and what not to do”

Let’s just hope this was a lesson on “what not to do.”

After I heard about this new competition I wanted to see how tough it would be to complete two doughnuts and then slide it into my driveway.  I ended up doing about a dougnut and a half before I almost flipped my car… then I decided it may not be such a good idea trying to slide it into my driveway.  I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed but I’m obviously not the dullest tool in the shed either.  Here’s a picture of my attempt… and YES my neighbors think i’m crazy. 

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Wow… Carl Edwards is kicking ass and taking names.  Three wins already this year is pretty ridiculous if you ask me considering it’s only been seven races of the season.  Carl Edwards held off Jimmie Johnson during the restart this past Sunday and prevented the Hendrick Motorsports team from getting into victory lane yet once again. 

The Samsung 500 was an eventful race to say the least.  Gordon battled an ill handling car which resulted in slamming into turn four on lap 109.  Dale Earnhardt Jr who sat on the pole also dealt with an ill handling car which caused him to to finish 12th and a lap down.  Kyle Busch battled it out throughout the whole race and ended up finishing third.  Clint Boyer and Denny Hamlin made contact with each other on the last lap which caused Boyer to hit the wall but still gave him a 10th place finish.

 Of course a Sprint Cup Race wouldn’t be a race without some sort of penalty.  Ryan Newman who finished fourth failed the post race inspection due to the right rear of his car being too high.  As usual the crew cheif was fined $25,000 and the team and owner has been penalized 25 points.  It just seems to me like this year is the year for penalties.  I don’t know if it’s the new COT’s or if these guys are just pushing the limits.

What has been your favorite race to watch this year?  I thought this one was pretty enjoyable.

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I’ve been dying to get to a computer since the crashes that took place during this past weekend’s practice.  I know NASCAR is trying to go back to the basics with letting personalities come out and not having such strict rules and penalties, but this past weekend was unbelievable.  I only have two words to describe how the 2008 season is going to be “Complete CHAOS.”

The first crash seemed as if was an accident and didn’t look like there were any hard feelings.  Clint Boyer simply went up and tapped Ryan Newman which caused a huge pile up including Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and a few others.  Obviously a lot of pissed off drivers but it didn’t seem intentional so I assume no hard feelings. 

The second crash is what in my opinion sets the pace for the 2008 season and of course you see who’s in the middle of it, Tony Stewart.  Tony Stewart was trying to sneak by Kurt Busch’s #12 car but taps his right rear bumper causing him to get up into the wall and destroy his car.  Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch already had some bad blood from last year’s Daytona 500 when Kurt Busch got up in the back of Tony Stewart during the race.  The difference was that they were racing for the lead, and this time they were just practicing.

The title of this article is what I think will continue to be a reoccuring incident throughout the 2008 season “Busch and Stewart’s Love Tap!”  Kurt Busch, who has been NASCAR’s number one driver for the past two years, was not scared this past weekend to show the world how he really feels.  He drove up to Tony Stewart after the crash and traded paint with him that was clearly intentional.  There’s nothing like a little NASCAR drama… it’s what makes this sport so exciting.  But I think trading paint intentionally is a poor way of getting back at someone.  Kurt Busch would have really earned my respect if he would have got out of his car and traded words with Tony Stewart instead of trading paint.   If you listen to the commentators from the video, they mention that Tony Stewart was trying to get out of his car which I think is the proper way to discuss your matters instead of tearing up the cars themselves.  I’m sure Stewart was getting out of his car to shake hands and apologize.  Yeah Right!  The CHAOS from this practice makes for an exciting season.  I’m so jacked up now that I haven’t been able to sleep and probably won’t sleep until they throw the checkered flag come Sunday.

Above is a video of the second crash for those of you who haven’t seen it.  Just remember… this is PRACTICE and not even a race.  It just goes to show you what a competitve sport this is and the different personalities this sport has.  What do you think about this crash?  Do you think Kurt Busch took it too far?  Do you think wrecking cars is the way to get back at someone or do you think racers should take care of their drama face to face?

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