Jason A. Jarrett

I am a little late getting a new post up this week but had to be back in Martinsville for the Camping World Truck Series race yesterday.  I like Monday races.  I know it doesn’t do much for the television ratings and the crowd that is able to take a day off of work and still show up but I have to say I like the feel of a Monday race.  Everyone seems more relaxed.  I am sure part of that is it was a truck race and not a Cup race.

5 Martinsville thoughts:

1.  The weather has seemed to come into play there for the past few races.  Anytime that qualifying is rained it shakes things up a little bit but NASCAR put in great effort when it came to track drying this past weekend.  I don’t want to hear anyone say otherwise this time.

2.  At one time during the Cup race I saw like the front 5 to 7 cars fighting for position.  They were beating on each other and it was not even close to the end of the race.  If you weren’t able to see good racing this weekend you will never see it.  There was some type of action going on somewhere on the track all day long.  When two of the top points guys battle it out like Hamlin and Johnson did you can’t accuse them of “points” racing.  They raced very hard as did everyone in the field Sunday.

3.  No one was talking much about it this morning as I scanned through a few websites and newspaper columns but I think that Kyle Busch’s mistake cost him a chance to win the Camping World Truck Series Race.  I guess he was trying to get his fender off of his tire by catching it on the wall or something but he definitely must not have known the pit road commitment line rule.  He was in second at the time and cost himself and his team the chance to beat Harvick in a Green, White, and Checker finish.  You have to know the rules and after calling his crew out last week, his truck series team should do the same to him. 

4.  While I am on the Camping World Truck Series I have to give a call out to Timothy Peters.  I have not looked to see what happened to him at the end of the race yesterday but he was running a good race.  He has done a good job this season and I hope he continues to show improvement.  I know his budget is not close to some of the guys he is running with but he is keeping his head down and steadily improving each week.

5.  You had to know that I was going to bring up the famous Martinsville hot dogs.  Well, I broke down and had a few.  Okay, more than a few, more like 5 for the weekend.  Have to hit the gym extra hard this week but the dogs were hard to resist this race for some reason.  I will blame my hot dog eating on the rain!

The winner of the Goody's 500 in 1999 

Jeff Gordon- Rest of top 5  (2.  Dale Earnhardt 3.  Geoffrey Bodine 4.  Rusty Wallace 5.  Kenny Wallace)

Find the 1999 rundown at MartinsvilleSpeedway.com

No surprise there and I think he has to be in the top 5 or maybe top 3 of the favorites to win this weekend.

The ARCA/ReMax Series is gearing up for Salem Speedway, less than 10 days until the drivers are back on track at the greatest half mile in the country.  They go from the high banks of Daytona International to the high, slick banks of Salem.  There are drivers that hate it and there are drivers that love it.  The main thing:  it will be exciting.

The points will start to take shape since there will be guys that were running Daytona that will not be at Salem.  There season will start to kick into gear after the break between Daytona and now.  ARCA will have a week off after Salem before they head to Rockingham and Talladega but everyone knows there cars must be ready by the time they get to Salem.  Everyone will have some work to do after Salem but the teams that can have a good points day at the Kentuckian Ford Dealers 200 will put themselves in a much better position at least for the next few weeks than the other teams.

Salem Speedway is tough on equipment, tough on the wallet, and tough on the drivers.  I am sure the place is not getting any smoother so it will be rougher than ever on equipment.

Look for plenty of cautions but with the amount of good cars out there now there will be plenty of fast cars as well.  Qualifying is usually tight there but the driver with the best set up that stays off of the wall, and keeps a cool head will come out on top.  Or, at least close to the top.

This race is not scheduled to be on television, which is a shame, so if you are in the area, or anywhere close, you should go to the famed track to watch the ARCA/ReMax Series race on Sunday April 5.

Every time I make the trip to Martinsville Speedway it brings me back to my childhood.  There are so many times I remember jumping in the car with several different family members and going to the Modified, Busch, and Cup races at Martinsville.  I remember sitting in my grandfather’s van.  I remember paying some attention to the races but for the most part we just hung out.  There were a few other drivers’ kids and I that would just throw football, watch the race, and then hurry back to where we were supposed to be before the race ended because we knew we were getting out of there as soon as the race was over.

The best part to me was the ride there and the ride home.  I would get car sick on the way there and fall asleep on the way home but it was a great feeling to go to the Martinsville Speedway.  I always felt like I was going real far from home.  I always felt like I could get so close to the cars and the track and the drivers.  It was such a cool feeling when I was younger.

One of the things that have not changed is my excitement when it comes time to go to Martinsville.  Back in the 90’s I would get really pumped up to go try and make the Late Model Stock race they have every year.  It was a tough race to make but at the time I felt like I was trying to qualify at Daytona or something.  Since those years I have only been back as a spotter.  Like spotting at Bristol, things happen fast at Martinsville.  When the cars check up or stop usually about the 5^th car in line gets the nose of his car wrinkled up at best.  The racing will be as tight as ever on the paper clip shaped half mile.

As I prepare to leave for Martinsville Speedway once again, I am starting to get excited about being there.  There are a few things that this spring trip to Martinsville brings back to my mind:  hard racing, spring is here, rain (it seems to always come into play at this track), track position, and of course hot dogs.

On my drive up there I am sure there will be more memories from the past that pass through my mind.

Today in NASCAR History

March 25

2001: Elliott Sadler becomes the third first-time winner in the first six races of the season with a triumph in Bristol's Food City 500. Sadler comes from his 38th starting position to nip John Andretti at the finish. It is the Wood Brothers' first win since 1993.

I like to think that I am a geek but I far from it.  Basically, I like computers and gadgets and know just enough to get myself in trouble on the technical side of things.  Anyway, a few months ago I found Geekbrief.tv and have been checking it out almost daily.  Cali Lewis always has some great product reviews, interesting guests, and much more from the world of the web.  Check her out and send me some comments.

Slumdog Millionaire

Rated R for some violence and disturbing scences 

Released on limited release late in 2008

2 Hours (keeps your attention)

For me, Slumdog lived up to all of the hype I kept hearing.  Although I had heard a lot about the movie in general, I didn't know much about what the movie was about.  It had my attention the entire movie.  I like when my focus never goes away once I sit down in the theater.  The movie was put together very well from the standpoint of mixing some "Hollywood" with the reality of living in the Slums of Mumbai.  Plus, I like movies that have perseverance and accomplishment elements added in to the story line.  

Once you see it you will realize the hype and awards were very deserving.

Last House on the Left

Released March 2009

Rated R 

100 Minutes and moves quickly

This was good "old school" horror or suspense!  There are the good old moments when you say, "don't do it." or "don't go in there alone."  Right from the beginning you can tell there are some bad people in this movie and they intend on hurting anyone that gets in their way of escaping prison.  I liked it, but I find something that I like about most of the movies I go see.  With Rogue Pictures making this movie it did have a few of the same elements we have seen from them from the Saw series of movies. 

DVD-Zack and Miri

This movie is Rated R!  When you watch it you will figure out why.  I think it is classic Kevin Smith and pretty much his usual cast of characters.  He even throws Jason Mewes back into the mix.

If you liked Seth Rogen in Knocked Up you will like him in this comedy as well.  The mix of sexually explicit humor and a little bit of seriousness.  Of course any seriousness it quickly followed up with sick humor or sarcasm.  Can't explain too many of the details on here but worth picking up at your local movie rental store.  

It's a funny movie, just watch it!

Kyle Busch is winning in anything he sits down in and he will be for a long time.  The only race this year that I have seen him not have a shot at winning was the Atlanta Cup race and there may be a few more but not many that I have witnessed.  It is great to have a dominant team and driver in the sport.  Not to mention, the “villain” character that he portrays.  And, it is great that he has so much drive and passion to win but I don’t get his attitude some days.  We all have bad days when we just don’t want to talk to anyone or even look at anyone but there has to come a time when it clicks in your brain that you are acting childish.

He is probably the best a lot of us have ever seen, although we will all argue who we think is/was the best until the end of time.  To me, the immaturity takes something away from the domination that I see on the days he does win.  Saturday at Bristol is only one example but there have been other times that he storms off and will not talk after the race or curses at his crew on the radio over a mistake they made.  Don’t get me wrong, anyone that has ever strapped into a race car has done this or acted like this at some point after a bad day.  I do have to say Kyle reacts consistently and when he gets mad we all know what is coming. 

I know he is on the top of his game right now and never wants to miss out on a win or at least the opportunity to out drive the competition at the end of the race but it seriously takes away from his persona when he storms off.  Everyone wants to compare him to some of the biggest most intimidating names from racing’s past but those drivers were better at knowing how to make comments and how to react to gain even more fans and haters.  He says he doesn’t care what other people think, but come on; it is human nature to care.  Some people can hide it better than others, but the way he reacts to adversity tells me he cares what others think.

Not one driver out there wants to lose and from what I have seen out of Kyle he is not going to have to worry about losing for a while.  I don’t want him or any other driver out there to like losing or even finishing second but there are ways to make strong statements without putting the entire team in a bad position as they try to come to their driver’s defense in the media.

Like everyone that enjoys racing, I will be watching, in amazement, the talent that Kyle has for many years to come.  I even like the fact that he puts on the persona of being the “bad” guy.  I just wish he would keep up that persona even in the face of adversity.  But, no matter what happened at the last race we all know we will be watching to see his next move.  Believe me; he will make it exciting no matter what we think of him.

Kyle Busch is winning in anything he sits down in and he will be for a long time.  The only race this year that I have seen him not have a shot at winning was the Atlanta Cup race and there may be a few more but not many that I have witnessed.  It is great to have a dominant team and driver in the sport.  Not to mention, the “villain” character that he portrays.  And, it is great that he has so much drive and passion to win but I don’t get his attitude some days.  We all have bad days when we just don’t want to talk to anyone or even look at anyone but there has to come a time when it clicks in your brain that you are acting childish.

He is probably the best a lot of us have ever seen, although we will all argue who we think is/was the best until the end of time.  To me, the immaturity takes something away from the domination that I see on the days he does win.  Saturday at Bristol is only one example but there have been other times that he storms off and will not talk after the race or curses at his crew on the radio over a mistake they made.  Don’t get me wrong, anyone that has ever strapped into a race car has done this or acted like this at some point after a bad day.  I do have to say Kyle reacts consistently and when he gets mad we all know what is coming. 

I know he is on the top of his game right now and never wants to miss out on a win or at least the opportunity to out drive the competition at the end of the race but it seriously takes away from his persona when he storms off.  Everyone wants to compare him to some of the biggest most intimidating names from racing’s past but those drivers were better at knowing how to make comments and how to react to gain even more fans and haters.  He says he doesn’t care what other people think, but come on; it is human nature to care.  Some people can hide it better than others, but the way he reacts to adversity tells me he cares what others think.

Not one driver out there wants to lose and from what I have seen out of Kyle he is not going to have to worry about losing for a while.  I don’t want him or any other driver out there to like losing or even finishing second but there are ways to make strong statements without putting the entire team in a bad position as they try to come to their driver’s defense in the media.

Like everyone that enjoys racing, I will be watching, in amazement, the talent that Kyle has for many years to come.  I even like the fact that he puts on the persona of being the “bad” guy.  I just wish he would keep up that persona even in the face of adversity.  But, no matter what happened at the last race we all know we will be watching to see his next move.  Believe me; he will make it exciting no matter what we think of him.

Check out these two sites: 

1.  www.Race22.com "The Home of Late Model Stock Car Racing"

See the latest stories on the UARA race at Bristol.  Jordan McGregor comes from back to finish in the top ten in first appearance at Bristol Motor Speedway.

2.  www.davidsmithmotorsports.com "The Motorsports Scouting Network"

See where David ranks your favorite up and coming driver.