ZuDfunck

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!

There's A Rotten Egg In ZuD's Easter Basket

Lord only knows what will be on Fox this Sunday at mid afternoon.

It certainly won’t be cars zooming 'round an oval in all their splendor and majesty.

Maybe because they don’t want to be going against March Madness or they are all busy find Easter eggs but one things clear, NASCAR Sprint Cup will be silent!

And like the rotten eggs that no doubt will be prevalent on that day so will sad fans everywhere miss the best sport going these days.

Now some may say the Lords rising out of a cave trumps stock car racing but I am selfish and narrow focused on what I want when I want it.

So I would suggest Speed Channel unwrap one of their highlight packages or rerun some great race of recent time and give us NASCAR junkies something to watch besides the twenty seventh running of The Ten Commandments.

I suppose I could record the Nationwide race and not watch it until Sunday but no doubt I would learn the winner by Sunday AM and have that spoiled so I am opening this post up to you to see what you will be doing this Sunday to placate your addiction.

Send me an email or put it in a comment and we will at least have hope. In lieu of that Happy Spring and have a lovely first day of March Madness!

NASCAR Fans Get on Twitter

Lets meet on Twitter! The video below explains the concept and how easy it is to Join. Yeah it's free so what's stopping you from joining this year old phenomena. And if your on it already or soon to join add ol' ZuD to your follow list and I shall do the same.

I am trying to get fellow NASCAR fans on it cause right now there are mostly just Techies and Geeks.
Let's get the NASCAR nation Twittering!

What Do You Do During NASCAR Weather Delays?

Every weekend I spend some 20 hours viewing Qualifying, Practice and Racing. When weather interrupts that viewing and endless replays of “Back in the Day’ come on I typically go over to the news channels and get caught up on what the political news is. But what do you do fellow Zuddies? If your lucky enough to have a mate you might indulge in cuddling or do you leave the house and go shopping or does your mate force you into long ignored chores or errands?

For me It’s a tough choice because the networks love to keep you in suspense not specifically saying if the event will continue or if it will cancel it altogether. The most recent example of being held in suspense was California when we spent all of Sunday waiting and waiting to have the race rescheduled for the following day.

So do tell, either in the comments or in an email what do you do during weather delays?

ZuDfunck, Whats A Oil Reservoir Cap?

Glad you asked. I have images of what it looks like on an old car courtesy Stock Car Science but I think it is basically the same on the new as far as the advantage it creates her blog has this:

First, the location.  Unlike your car, the oil in a NASCAR car isn’t stored in the engine (which would be a wet sump system).  NASCAR uses a dry sump system, in which oil is stored in an oil tank reservoir. The oil tanktank. You can see a picture of the oil reservoir in the Stock Car Science Building A Car section. The sheet metal plays an important role in minimizing heat radiating into the car, traps fumes from the hot oil, and serves as an additional firewall. This function is so important that NASCAR doesn’t allow the top of the tank to be attached using quick connect fasteners. The teams usually duct tape the lid on. The picture below shows the location of the oil tank with respect to the chassis. It doesn’t show the cover, which would sit on top of the tank. (added) The oil reservior itself is closed and pressurized.

So if the oil tank cover plays such an important role, why would you leave it loose, much less leave it off? The answer is aerodynamics. The air exerts forces on the car in different directions. We give different names to those forces depending on the direction in which they act. Drag is the force air creates along the length of the car. Air creates drag when it hits the front of the car, but it also creates drag when it gets inside the car because there is no way for it to get out. Drag always acts opposite the direction the car is trying to move, so you want to eliminate as much drag as possible.

US Armed Forces Using NASCAR to Solicit Young Men

According to this article in last months’ NASCAR.com it does. The demographics of NASCAR fans match up well with the recruitment target of the United States Armed Forces. So that’s why you see so many military branches of the government going after the top racing teams in NASCAR.

ZuD is a bit beyond that demographic group but I can tell ya there are racing days that I used to get an uncontrollable urge to buy Reese’s peanut butter cups cause Harvick was up in the top 10 most of the day. So why not attract the attention of kids leaving high school and seeing few options ahead for employment, do what dad or uncle Jed did and join the Army?

I think that’s what makes some of these fine, intricately decaled cars do to us subliminally, so amazing. Drawing us into all kinds of involuntary attractions for products and services we may or may not need. I just hope the end result is good for these young men and women and don’t get confused with corporate greed or military staffing levels that may not be the best for America’s young.

Dan Patrick a NASCAR Fan?

ZuD is always curious of who is and isn't a true NASCAR fan. Mr Patrick being the consummate interviewer makes it difficult to judge, but based on the rapport he has with some of these dudes, I would say he is. Click on the image to hear his interview and you be the judge.

Now that Dan Patrick has aligned with Sports Illustrated, he has an all new website. There is a lot going on on the site, beyond the ability to listen to his show live from 9 to noon EST, there is on demand options of interviews, among them are several NASCAR Drivers:

ZuD's View on HBO's The Wire, Salem Witch Trials and 2008 Presidential Primary

Forgive the off topic, some say inappropriate and in bad taste post:

When I look at what's happening on the Wire
And see what is about to happen
The ill begotten wire tap frees Marlo and his Crew
I think back to why we need these constitutional protections

It wasn't that long ago in this country
If a man suspected a woman of being a Witch
all he had to do was claim it
and BOOM! One less woman in town

Say today
If Obama was to loose his cool on some debate tactic gone wrong
He could yell to Brian Williams
WITCH!

Hillary would be off the stage
Up for Trial
And Bill Clinton would be partying the next day
at some local TGIF, picking up strays.

Awaiting California Events to Begin, ZuD Looks Ahead

As we look ahead in the schedule to upcoming races I am most excited about the short track events, Bristol Sat, Mar. 15 & Sun, Mar. 16 and the Talladega Superspeedway Sat, Apr. 26 & Sun. Apr. 27. Then the Night races that follow in May. Here's a sample with the focus on the Nationwide Series:

Sat, Mar. 1 4:30 PM ET	NASCAR Nationwide Series at Las Vegas Las Vegas Motor Speedway		Tickets Travel
Sat, Mar. 8 2:00 PM ET	NASCAR Nationwide Series at Atlanta Atlanta Motor Speedway		Tickets Travel
Sat, Mar. 15 2:30 PM ET	NASCAR Nationwide Series at Bristol Bristol Motor Speedway		Tickets Travel
Sat, Mar. 22 3:00 PM ET	NNS at Nashville presented by Tractor Supply Company Nashville Superspeedway		Tickets Travel
Sat, Apr. 5 3:00 PM ET	NASCAR Nationwide Series at Texas presented by Yamaha Texas Motor Speedway		Tickets Travel
Fri, Apr. 11 9:45 PM ET	NNS at Phoenix presented by Cici's Pizza Phoenix International Raceway		Tickets Travel
Sun, Apr. 20 2:00 PM ET	NASCAR Nationwide Series at Mexico City Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez		Travel
Sat, Apr. 26 3:00 PM ET	Aaron's 312 at Talladega Talladega Superspeedway		Tickets Travel
Fri, May. 2 7:30 PM ET	NASCAR Nationwide Series at Richmond Richmond International Raceway		Tickets Travel
Fri, May. 9 7:30 PM ET	NASCAR Nationwide Series at Darlington Darlington Raceway		Tickets Travel

NASCAR: And Now It’s On to California, and Lets Win There

To Quote RevJim a top NASCAR Blogger:
Who first DIsclams:

Those who have been with me for awhile already know this, so the following disclaimer is for those who may not be familiar with this blog:
This blog is not so much about racing as it is about the love of racing. It presents the views of a fan who does not claim to be an expert, but who has long been bitten by the NASCAR bug. "How bad have you got it" is not a question to me but a statement of fact. I hope to present my views in a way that some may find interesting and entertaining enough to keep coming back, and--by accident usually--find something useful in what is written here. Thank you all for your continued support.

But then provides this from the Daytona 500:

Granted, the Daytona 500, being unique in both qualifying and in car set-up rules, and is not a true barometer of what is to come the rest of the season, but we saw an indication of the level of competition that we can look forward to. As the teams find ways to make the car handle better, and to preserve the tires better, the racing will become better. Thus we will be likely to see some of the best racing ever in the coming weeks and months.

So, as far as what ZuD could add to that, there is nothing but the mere and maybe obvious view that the coming season has much to offer for the new or diehard fan and that we are about to witness some fine racing.  As the season unfolds, I look forward to the first night race and short track race, cause I just love the bumping and bashing of shiny, fast, stock cars attempting to get through the night and onto victory lane…