Ultimate Race Day

Ultimate Race Day is building a network of top NASCAR bloggers. We look forward to introducing you to our contributors over the coming weeks!

Guest Blogger:

By Katey Dietz

Dover Post Race Thought: We as fans so often forget the level of risk drivers face each time they take to the track. Sunday’s big one reminds us that without innovations such as the COT and HANS devices, wrecks would still be season/career/life ending. Whatever you think of the COT, everyone loves a happy ending.

My NASCAR Tour

View NASCAR in a larger map

It occurred to me that though I live in the capital of NASCAR-nation, I’ve only been to one raceshop. So my goal between now and the end of the Chase, is to visit as many as possible. I won’t have to travel far, just further than the 3 miles from my front door to JGR’s.

To help track my efforts, I’ve put together a map. I have started to build my list of teams to visit, and will update the icons as I visit them.

Since Ultimate Race Day is about community, tell me where you would like to ride-along to. I’ll be taking pics, video, talking to whomever I can and sharing it all with you here. Since I came up with this plan about 5 minutes into writing this post, I’m not sure who I will be visiting this week, but I will tweet it out in advance & live tweet my adventure.

Tailgate Recipe – Salt Potatoes

These gems are good hot, cold, even 1 day old & great with burgers, brats or BBQ.

1. Visit a local farmer/ farm market & enough buy small (2 bite size) potatoes for your crowd to snack on. Any variety will do, but well textured skin works best.
2. Fill a large pot of water with twice as much salt, I you think necessary to make the water salty. I like kosher, but table salt will do.
3. Add potatoes and boil until your spuds float.
4. Remove from heat and drain in a colander. Do not rinse.
5. Allow to cool. A salt film will appear on the skin.
6. Enjoy!

By: Chris McCaffrey

Photo Credit:  DailyPress

Just two races into the Chase for the Sprint Cup and the Hendrick Motorsports dynamic duo of  Jimmie “Superman” Johnson and Mark “The  Kid” Martin raise the bar again and emerge as the two teams to beat for the 2009  championship.  Jimmie Johnson took the pole for the start of the AAA 400 at The Monster Mile of Dover International Speedway and dominated 271 of the 400 laps for his 4th checkered flag this season.  If the #48 teams past performance winning four of the last eight races of the 2008 season is any indicator, you can bet that this NASCAR dynasty has its sights on a 4-peat for 2009.   If there is anyone that can unseat this championship team, it will be from the same stable of racers and the #5 of Mark Martin and his Crew Chief Alan Gustafson.  With a second place finish at Dover and a win at Louden, New Hampshire last week, Mark remains in the top points position for the Chase with Johnson, Montoya,  and Bush trailing -10, -65, and -75 points respectively.  Jimmie will be the one to beat at the next stop on the calendar for the Price Chopper 400 in Kansas City.  I wonder if Carl Edwards has perfected the Banzai move he unsuccessfully tried to pull off last year to pass Jimmie Johnson for the win.

Chad Knaus nailed the set up off the hauler at Dover and made no changes during the first pit stop during the competition caution at lap 25.  Jimmie was dialed in.  Shortly thereafter on lap 31  after a double file restart the #20 of Joey Logano got caught up in a monster wreck after checking up and getting hit from behind by Tony Stewart. Logano spun to the lower part of the track, then slid up and hit the wall before the #43 of Reed Sorensen broadsided the #20 sending it into a series of 7-8 slow motion rolls down the track.  Thankfully Logano emerged from the car shaken, though unscathed… a true testament to the safety of the COT.  Robby Gordon and Martin Truex also got caught up in the wreck that brought out the red flag.

Kurt Bush pushed the blue duece out front for 99 laps midway through the race to finish in the top 5.  Bush was the only other dominating leader all day other than Johnson.   It would appear that the #42  – Juan Pablo Montoya had the fastest car at times and was the one to challange the #48 for the win.  After qualifying second and running in the same position for the majority of the race, Monotya and Brian Pattie could not match the mastery of Johnson and Knaus.

Smoke, Hamlin and Newman are still in the hunt for the Championship, though with 8 to go and at lease 100 points behind the leaders, they just don’t seem to have enough juice to surpass the class of the field,  Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson.  Be assured Juan Pablo will not go down without a fight, especially after getting pinched down on the bottom of the track at Louden by Martin in the final laps.

On to Kanas City.

By Stephanie Agresta

I never thought I would be in a fantasy sports league.  Football and baseball leagues always seemed so hard – participating in a draft, building your own team, etc. I’m sure some people find that the best part — personalizing your own NFL or MLB organization.  For the NASCAR league I’m in (my first ever, as I’m a NASCAR newbie), it’s a little more straightforward: Just pick the winners! My competitive nature likes this a lot. Of course, there is some strategy to it – you can only use each driver a certain number of times, and all drivers are put into 3 categories (A, B or C). I am learning.  So here’s the most exciting part – last week I moved into first place. I’m not bragging b/c you can drop and rise quickly – depending on how your drivers do each week. I’m just really proud of myself. GEEK GIRL RACING FTW!

Thanks to @awesomewreckage for inviting us into his world! I find it so much more enjoying watching the race when I’ve got skin in the game.

@chrismccaffrey and I (and our family members that joined as well) even made a side bet and the winner will be getting a trophy and the cash purse at our Thanksgiving celebration.

Things in this league are heating up. As we inch into the Chase, the competition is getting tighter. Stay tuned b/c Geek Girl racing is planning on winning.

Ultimate Race Day is building a network of top NASCAR bloggers. We look forward to introducing you to our contributors over the coming weeks!

Guest Blogger:

By Katey Dietz

Fall is my favorite season! The smell of leaves, fresh apple cider & fry cakes, football, crisp air, and best of all – The Chase!

Autumn weekends find me cheering on the local high school football team on Fridays, helping my parents clear leaves from their yard and catching the ACC match ups on Saturday, and routing for my Bills and cheering like crazy for every left turn on Sundays.

(Photo credit: Bleacher Report.com)

This season I’m finding it hard to pick a fave to take the Cup. I’m not a strategic fan, a sentimental fan, or some waffle-belly who only roots for single drivers with big bank accounts. I like good people and good stories. I’ve got my team, Joe Gibbs Racing, because they’re the “hometown” team and I’m a proud Huntersville resident, but more significantly it’s Joe Gibbs! It’s impossible not to admirer him and how he runs his business & manages his teams.

Then I have my drivers. Yes, plural. I’ve been a fan of Denny Hamlin since his rookie year and enjoyed his consistency and solid no flash racing. So many young drivers become reckless and wreck prone searching for points and wins. When Hamlin has the car, he’s got her out front. When it’s not his day, he drives it as hard as he can, but doesn’t risk what car he does have. My second driver? David Gilliland. This is only my second season following him, but I’m sure there are many more too come. I enjoyed him last year with Yates, but have been blown away by his determination and professionalism as a journeyman and with TRG this season. It takes more than media training to handle being dropped, having multiple start & parks, lack of sponsorship, and being bumped by a veteran with the class and decorum Gilliland has showed. Adding to his appeal for this Gibbs Girl is the news that he’ll be piloting the fourth JGR car for a few races.

While I always pull for Hamlin and Gilliland over everyone else, this year’s Chase offers several compelling drivers to back. It would be Hamlin’s first Cup, and is there a fan alive that wouldn’t be thrilled to see Mark Martin finally take one home? A Tony Stewart or Ryan Newman win would make a great bookend to a stellar first season for Stewart-Haas Racing. Part of me even wants to see Kyle Busch play spoiler a rack up a bunch of late season wins (can you imagine Stewart’s in-car if that happens!?).

So Sunday, before I watch my Bills rout the Bucs to make up for Monday night’s heartbreak, I’ll be cheering for the first chapter of a great story. You?