Faster, Faster, Don't Stop Now

NASCAR Notes

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...apparently the first bitchy entitlement tirade of the season goes to Greg Zipadelli. I was watching the first NASCAR Live from Sunday and they asked Zippy how Joey dealt with that wreck that took him out early in the Shootout. Seems Joey was second guessing himself, wondering what he could have done differently, and they reassured him that in that instance, there wasn't anything. It was just a wreck that happened and he was caught up in it.

Simple, right?

Then Zippy proceeds to say that the fault lies with the guys up in front of him driving like idiots early. That they were being too aggressive. Now, pardon me if I'm wrong, but it's not a points race, the wrecks usually happen in the back, so you don't want to be in the back, all the people in front of him weren't rookies, and the cars were handling like crap. I think the part where the cars, which had not been on track for anything more than practice, were bouncing all over the place and everyone was a bit freaked out by it...you'd think THAT would be a solid explanation for all the wrecks. Since that's what everyone and their brother in the booth (DW being the brother in question) saw from the start of the race.

Zippy, honey, no one's going to step aside and let the sainted Sliced Bread go just because. He has to earn it. Get used to having a guy that will run at the back for a while.

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Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Stephen Leicht have a bet going. Whoever has the most wins by the July Daytona race in the 29 Nationwide car gets their name on the for the rest of the year. That means if Clint wins the most races between now and July, Jeff and Stephen have to live with driving a car with Clint's name on it.

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Full races on DVD!!!! 2003 at Darlington! 2001 Pepsi 400!!

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Visual proof of Tony's send off from Joe Gibbs Racing. Yep, Tony taped to a flag pole.

NASCAR Chase Drivers On Letterman

It begs noting, the Chasers on Letterman to read the top 12?

1. Biffle was freaking HOT. Seriously. He was hotter than anyone else. His outfit was way sexy. And talk about some shoulders!

2. I don't know who dressed Junior, but I'm scared.

3. Suits are slimming on Tony.

4. Bowyer looked like a frightened Ken doll.

5. Denny looked like he was having fun with his line. Thank god. It didn't make sense, but for some reason I found it amusing.

Sometimes things don't make any sense. These pictures are evidence of those things.

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

( Waiting for the fighting to start )

Picspam #2 - The Chaser Edition

The Chase Is On: The Top 12 In Pictures

( The Entire Lot Of Them )

Meet The Chasers

( El Numero Uno (For Now): Jimmie Johnson )

( El Numero Dos (Until Next Week): Jeff Gordon )

( El Numero Tres: Tony Stewart )

( El Numero Quatro: Clint Bowyer )

( El Numero Cinco: Kyle Busch )

( El Numero Seis: Martin Truex Jr. )

( El Numero Siete: Matt Kenseth )

( El Numero Ocho: Carl Edwards )

( El Numero Nueve: Denny Hamlin )

( El Numero Diez: Kevin Harvick )

( El Numero Once: Jeff Burton )

( El Numero Doce: Kurt Busch )

My day has sucked, how about yours? (Walked in the door and immediately they had me running.)

So some things to share, because damn it, I'm going to journal at least once today!

NASCAR

1. Only three drivers have finished every single race this year. Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Elliott Sadler are those three. Dear Ray - please note that even though your cars suck, having a driver who can finish the races is way awesome. It means he's good at missing crap. Unlike Kandy.

2. Kyle Busch showed his ass again (and thereby confirmed that I REALLY need to be his PR rep). So basically, he called Junior out of shape (bottom of page). The things about this that won't win him friends or influence people? First, when he made sure to point out that Junior was out of shape. Dude, it doesn't earn you brownie points to point fingers at someone else unless they've done it first. (Just ask me to explain why Kandy Kahne's comments about Stremme were out of line.) You can make fat jokes about Stewart or Newman because they made them first. But also, what is the cardinal rule of NASCAR? Don't make fun of Junior because you'll put your fans in danger.

3. Montoya is really upset that his bestest friend EVAR, David Stremme, may be out of a ride for next season. Woes! You think I kid? Montoya's not just unhappy that Stremme is without a ride at Ganassi, he's unhappy that Stremme may be without a ride period. Heck, using the picture there? And the knowledge that Stremme has a special bed at his house all for Juan? Yep. THEIR LOVE IS SO PURE.

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American Idol Concert Tour

Things learned from getting free tickets to the latest AI concert tour.

1. Jordin is pretty and can sing. But child has absolutely HORRID stage presence. And she dances like a really uncoordinated white girl.

2. LaKeisha has a beautiful voice. Sadly, LaKeisha still hasn't gotten much of a stage presence and she doesn't bring anything original to a song. (I'll still take LaKeisha being unoriginal over any of the guys, though.)

3. Hayley of the long legs only managed to flash them four times. Apparently wardrobe insisted on a few longer outfits. (But she massacred Martina McBride. AND she's still too Disney Princess to sing anything that isn't a Disney Princess song.)

4. Gina was one of the few that was overall better than she'd been on the show. Partially because she was more relaxed and her voice was more suited to a big coliseum.

5. Chris Sligh is even scarier with the dancing than Jordin. And was fairly boring. Although he did sound the best on "Hey Jude".

6. Sanjaya's first song made me think they'd taught the boy to sing. Alas, they had not. Thankfully they cut his bits short. Yay!

7. Phil, while still having one of the best male voices and singing songs that suited his voice, was awkward and uncomfortable in his singing. Weirdly enough, he "hosted" the concert and did better than anyone else at the hosting job. You could actually HEAR him when he talked to the crowd.

8. Chris R. had one moment of genius (when he sang "Heard It Through The Grapevine" with LaKeisha and Melinda - the boy has a nice voice when he goes lower), but he kept insisting on singing Maroon 5 and Rascal Flatts. The beat boxing competition with Blake was cute, though.

9. Blake was a shocker because he was boring as hell. Why was Blake boring? Because almost all of the songs he did, he'd done on American Idol. Also, he seemed to get distracted by having fun with the audience and forgot to actually place his mouth near the mic, which meant we couldn't hear him. Also, the one song he did well on that was original was "Hey Jude", which, unfortunately for him, was a song that worked well for all the guys, except for Sanjaya. Chris S and Phil sounded the best on that song, with Chris R then Blake right behind them.

10. But all of this brings us to...MELINDA MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER. I kid you not - when Melinda was in a group song, it was ten million times better. Why? Because most of the singers have never sung in a group before this show, or they haven't sung with voices that are different from their own sound. Most were successfully taught to harmonize, but there's a difference between harmonizing and blending. Melinda could bring her voice to the right level to blend with the lead voice, and it influenced the others by example.

Plus we got Melinda and LaKeisha singing "Baby Love", which was awesome. Melinda sang "Proud Mary", but someone was sadistic and made Sanjaya join her on that song. Melinda sang "Everlasting Love" (think Natalie Cole) with Jordin and it was great. Melinda also sang a solo and played off the backup singers perfectly. Twas awesome, folks. Awesome just to see Melinda proving how superior she is to everyone.

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Now I have to go treat a bunch of grown men and women like five year olds since they obviously can't be responsible on their own.