ZuDfunck

No High Definition Coverage of Tonight's Nationwide Race

It’s Friday so it’s hard to find fault

But I do find fault all the same with ESPN’s decision to run the Nationwide race tonight on ESPN Classic due to the fact that there are three NBA Games tonight and something had to give and guess what, NASCAR gets the short stick tonight.

Now I can’t berate ESPN because they have been my primary pusher of sports programming and being a devout Sports Junkie they keep me satiated with all their great programming and I certainly understand that NASCAR fans gets slighted in deference to the NBA Playoff audience.

Being a High Def freak I won’t be able to see the race in High Def and as such will be groaning mightily. I can only hope the Cav’s/Wizards game runs short and the race runs long.

The fact the race is a night race and as you may already know ZuD is a fan of night racing over all others and it’s a short track so I have great excitement brewing even if it won’t be in wide screen, high-resolution splendor I am addicted to.

And as long as we are complaining HBO Saturday night has Oscar De La Hoya's warm-up fight at 10pm and that of course will conflict with Fox’s coverage of the Richmond Sprint Cup race.

It's on to Talladega's 'The Big One' and Let's Wreck There

One of the most popular races of the year is Sunday.
Anticipation of the Big One is a huge part of the race.
You know its like chasing women
Anticipation is the thing.
Random Quotes:

Sadler says: "Each driver has a different mentality going into Talladega where we're going to ride in line and we're going to behave until we get to the last quarter of the race, or we need to get to the front as soon as we can and keep the wreck behind or we're just going to ride in the back and let the guys fight in the front and let them wreck and then we'll go to the front. Each driver has a different strategy, a different mentality, and it's tough racing like that."

Jeff Gordon says: . "It's going to tighten the cars up that much more. The tighter the packs, the easier it is to make mistakes. We all make mistakes. At Talladega you make a mistake and there is a 20-car pileup."

Harvick says: "There is always a chance for somebody to make a mistake, and when that happens at Talladega, it's always big.

"What some people don't know is the banking at Talladega is like six stories high. When we round the corner, I can look to my left and see the roofs on campers in the infield."

The corners at 'Dega are banked 33 degrees, allowing drivers to almost slingshot their way around the track. But you have to stay with the pack or risk going to the rear.

"I know I catch flak for saying this, but I honestly believe that 99 out of 100 times, the Big One is started by driver error," said. "Some teams come in with a strategy on how to avoid it, but it's really a game of chance."

I have been longing for this weekends race because it is Talladega and the feature of that race is the fact the cars run at 200 miles per hour in a very confined space
Now that 200 mph isn’t reached quickly cause it is a restrictor plate race
And as they get up to speed after a caution and start closing in one another the announcers start going on and on about the big one and that any minute Boom Bang Bash Boom here it is.

Now the real dilemma is going to be how we juggle the race coverage and preliminaries with the NFL Draft. Two mega events not to mention that Game 4s of the NBA will be going on as well.

Such dilemmas for sports addicts such as myself!

Withdrawal Symptoms Setting In For This NASCAR Junkie

Starting to get a runny nose
Legs and arms starting to ache
Feels like the flu, but I know what it really is.

Withdrawal Symptoms
No, not for Dope, but for NASCAR!
Classic withdrawal symptoms realizing there will be no NASCAR worth watching.
Sure the Nationwide series goes to Mexico City Saturday, but road racing doesn't really count.

The only comfort I have is that when the Sprint Cup schedule does resume, we will be in Talladega and that being one of my favorites, I take great comfort, because 'The Big One' always looms. And that race, quite frankly, is about as good as NASCAR gets.

Not that I am a freak for crashes
But damn, thats what I call a wreck
The Big One
start drooling, just thinking 'bout Talladega.

But what do I do for this withdrawal pain? Here it is Wednesday and the next race isn't for 10 days. What will you folks do, fellow NASCAR Fans.
I am open to ideas. Any port in the storm.
Help me with my withdrawal.
I need a NASCAR fix fast!

Phoenix Aftermath, NASCAR Bloggers FT Digest Debut and FOX Sports Disappoints

I'm writing this post as the BoSox beat the Yanks for the hundredth, oh wait, the third time this weekend!

And I celebrate the victory of Hollywood Jimmy over WWE's Cena, I mean Carl Edwards Saturday night. Even though we missed the green flag drop and DW's Boogity routine because of Fox's inability to get their priorities straight.

Glad to see Hendrick back in Victory Lane for this so far paltry NASCAR Season. It was good to have a Night Race wasn't it? Love the way those cars shine and glow in the desert light of Phoenix Raceway.

I struggled to stay up, but I did thanx to the fact I am featured over at NASCAR Bloggers FT Digest. A site that has put together a fascinating collection of NASCAR Bloggers under one banner. Since joining that blog I have experienced dazzling traffic from all over the blogosphere and surges of super human strength and prowess. Hell even Charlie Turner from On Pit Row has visited ol' ZuD. Now that is cool!

If you too blog, you should go on over and look into signing up or if you just like to read NASCAR blogs you should bookmark or burn a feed and get in on the latest of NASCAR blogs. A list of contributors so far appear to the right of this post.

Ovalscream from NASCAR This Week reports this occurred:

In Central Florida, rioters in supercharged Monte Carlos tore up baseball fields on Saturday night, chasing Little Leaguers howling into the arms of their mamas. The Fox commentators, splattered with mud and pieces of turf, were not amused.

How Did Michael McDowell Survive This Wreck?

The Car of Today now establishes itself as a Safe and Reliable Race-car, when a driver can withstand this kind of destruction.

It's Onto Martinsville, and Let's Wreck There

The splendor of Martinsville begins today with Qualifying at 330 EDT, Nationwide is off but the Truck race will take its place on FOX Saturday at 3 EDT, and the dodge ‘emcar masterpiece will be Sunday at 130 EDT.  Haven’t had time to check the weather but here’s hoping we get a solid weekend of clear weather for a change.

As in previous post we will be pulling for a grand Blue victory for the NAPA/MWR team as it transforms from the Dale Jarret era to the new guy pictured on the right. As well as the UCLA Bruins march into Final Four Madness.

As to the new guy Michael McDowell, part of his prep included:

McDowell's immediate mission is making the most out of nearly $3,000 spent creating a "poor man's" computer simulator, with a steering wheel, pedals and chair. The Phoenix native and one-time driving school instructor is encouraged by how the programs have carried over to testing and can't wait to convert 750 virtual laps at Martinsville into the real thing. Source

Big Blue Weekend: Waltrip and Love

Blue will be the color but hopefully not the tone as Kevin Love faces off in NCAA Sweet Sixteen and Michael Waltrip avoids the walls of Martinsville.
Turns out Kevin's uncle is Mike Love of the Beach Boys and of course everyone knows Mikie's brother.
So the Blue of the Bruins and the Blue of NAPA will be the colors to wear and root for this fabulous weekend! 'Wouldn't it be Nice'

Random Thoughts on Bristol Race

Darrel Waltrip should of taken the day off, hard to listen to that voice when it got toward the end

Hard to balance the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tourney coverage, NBA on ABC and finally getting two DVD’s I had been hankering for:
No Country for Old Men & American Gangster

So we really didn’t see much of the Bristol Race
I did see Harvick take out Tony wish I had Sirius Radio so I could hear Kevin talk to Tony about it tonight.

We did however get some twelve new Followers to ZuD’s twitter account and although I know little or nothing about twitter I did find an iPhone application called PocketTweets that consolidates most transactions.

Tony Stewart Still Smokin' Over Tires

In a Martinsville press gathering Tony Stewart is still going on 'bout the tires used at Atlanta:

"You finally get to the point where, if you get frustrated enough, now it's gone from doing things in a nice, calm manner to I want to make sure I get somebody's attention about this," Stewart said Wednesday. He had called the tires "the most pathetic racing tire I've ever been on in my professional career."

"Guys are screaming at their crew chiefs that it was the worst car they've ever driven. Well, it wasn't the crew chief's fault. It wasn't the team's fault. These guys spend millions of dollars to build these cars. It was the tire we were running and tires should never, ever be the deciding factor in a race."

"For them to say that they were satisfied with the race, that's insane," Stewart said. "If they really firmly believe that, if they believe what they put out in their press statement that they were happy with the result, that scares me to death."

Source

Kobalt Tools 500 was Kobalt Tools 1000, The Reason, Tires

Not only did Toyota win their first race the race Sucked! To use a racing term.
The reason is simple read these quotes via USAToday:

Tony Stewart

"I'm going home and taking everything that has Goodyears off and put Firestones on and feel a lot safer," Stewart said. "It's a shame these teams that work so hard are being dictated by a company incapable of building tires fit for a street car."

"If they can't do any better than that, they ought to just pull out," he said. "I guarantee Hoosier or Firestone or somebody could do a lot better job."

Dale Earnhardt Jr

"I ain't going to put up with this," Earnhardt said. "I don't think any other drivers (are). ... We couldn't run side-by-side. We'd wreck. We had to let each other go by. Every time you got beside a guy, you were just like, 'Take it.' I couldn't go in the corner side by side. No one else out there really could, either."

Source: Nate Ryan USAToday