Category: my thoughts on

By David G. Firestone

I’ve got a couple things to discuss today. First, I want to discuss the arrival of spring. We all have identifiers for the beginning of Spring. When you live in an area of the country where winter brings lots of snow and cold weather, you look for anything that means that spring is coming. Some people look for flowers, or the traditional robin. Some look for warmer weather to start, no matter how briefly it lasts. My two identifiers are the racing season beginning, which it already has, and the other one, which started this week, SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL!

Spring training baseball is the greatest baseball on earth, because it’s the most laid back baseball played at the professional level. Watching spring training is so much fun! It’s baseball with the pressure off. No playoffs, no divisional championships, records don’t mean anything, it’s great! The teams are laid back, and the fans are laid back as well. It’s just fun to watch.

Spring training baseball is like getting the neighborhood kids together and playing a game in the street. That is when baseball is fun. Neighborhood baseball is just a fun afternoon. Once the regular season starts, it stops being as fun to watch, because the pressure comes on. Suddenly, those 162 games become important, records become important, the playoffs are a factor, divisional championships become a thing, and the relaxed, low-pressure atmosphere goes away right quick.

The other thing I wanted to discuss is something that has been on my mind for a while. I’d like someone to explain to me the process of coming up with a new fast food sandwich. Let me explain the backstory here. The other day, I went to lunch with a long-time friend of the family, and we went to Chili’s. While there, I saw a burger called the “Southern Smokehouse Burger” which is described as:

“Topped with 4 slices of applewood smoked bacon, melted sharp cheddar cheese, house-made garlic dill pickles, spiced panko onion rings, fresh leaf lettuce, tomato & Chili’s Signature sauce. Served with a side of Chili’s classic BBQ sauce. “

I get that Chili’s isn’t “fast food” but, the point is that they rotate different kinds of burgers in and out of the menu. Red Robin does the same thing. What I would love to know is what goes into the creative process for making one of these new burgers. It’s obvious that some burgers are created with typical ingredients. Obviously a restaurant that makes onion rings could put them on a burger.

Other burgers add more unusual ingredients. Take the “Philly Cheesesteak Thickburger” from Carl’s Jr. for example. You would expect that something with that name would have traditional Cheesesteak ingredients, but no, this is literally a “charbroiled 1/3-pound, 100 percent Angus beef patty, topped with thin-sliced steak, sautéed peppers and onions and Swiss and American cheeses on a seeded bun. “ A burger with sliced steak on it? Do cheese steaks need more beef? Wouldn’t the cheese, pepper, and onion combo work by themselves? I think it would.

I would love to sit in on the whole process, from start to finish. I really would. Every sandwich that a restaurant releases has to go through many people, and market research. I’ve done the occasional survey, and I always wonder what wen into the design process for everything I take. Sometimes it’s obvious, other times, it seems so odd, and so weird that I wonder why it even exists. It’s an interesting thing, at least to me.

Oh by the way, the Southern Smokehouse Burger at Chili’s is really good.

By David G. Firestone

We’ve all had days where nothing goes right, and Friday was one of those for me. Friday SUCKED! I knew it was going to ahead of time, but when it actually got to Friday, it was worse. But there was one aspect that I really looked forward to.

I had gotten info that starting at 9AM, the power would be out, because ComEd, our power company here in Chicago would be doing work near my house. This meant that from 9AM to 1PM I had no heat, no power, no stove, and no microwave. I decided to spend the day getting errands done.

After getting the errands done, I had lunch at Chili’s, and then tried to get to a medical appointment on time. Since I use public transportation, this is easier said than done, and I was late for my medical appointment. After suffering through my medical appointment, I had to get to work, which, at the end of the terrible day I was having, was just insult to injury. After work, I go home, try to have dinner, and I notice my George Forman grill had died. Just another kick to the groin.

It was an awful day, but there was a bright silver lining. We’ve all had days where the world is against us, and the best part of those days is the fact that you get the best sleep ever after the day ends. I don’t know what it is, but you get an amazing night of sleep after an awful day, and you feel better for the next day, come what may.

By David G. Firestone

Winter in Chicago SUCKS! The cold can get to be unbearable. This year, it hasn’t been that bad, and earlier last week, we were all looking forward to the warmer weather predicted for the Chicago area scheduled for Friday. Going from 30 degrees to 65 degrees over the course of a week seemed like a great treat.

Well be careful what you wish for. When the serving of warm weather arrived, it came with a large side of high winds. I had my windows open, and I was scared the wind would blow over my TV set, that’s how powerful it was. It wasn’t just me. In Downtown Chicago, a number of buildings had to be evacuated, there was a lot of damage to buildings. Trees were uprooted. The CTA had to suspend elevated rail service in some areas due to the wind.

I’ve been through a few wind storms in my life, and if you’ve ever experienced one before, you understand. Years ago, March 9, 2002 to be exact, I went to the Museum of Science and Industry for the day, and was going to go on a date that night. As I left the Museum, the winds were insane! I took the bus to Downtown Chicago from the MSI, and decided to take the scenic route, the #147 bus from Downtown to Howard Street. It was about 4 in the afternoon, and traffic on Michigan Ave was solid, not moving at all. As we got towards Watertower Place, we learned that the high winds had knocked a scaffold off the side of the John Hancock Tower, and had crushed an occupied car. As a result, my bus went on the most overly complex reroute.

The winds made the trip down Lakeshore Drive quite interesting, as the bus driver wasn’t comfortable going over 30 MPH, and rightfully so. As I watched the winds outside of The Hauler, I was thinking about that day. Thankfully, nothing really serious, aside from some debris damage. I was worried about work that night, as I work outside, and it was as bad as I thought it was going to be. I could have been worse, as I’ve seen signs at stores nearby blow off by wind before.

The weekend was much less windy, and much more fun, as I got to watch NASCAR again! Hopefully when it warms up again, the winds won’t.

By David G. Firestone

The start of the 2016 racing season has brought a number of changes. In the NHRA, the Pro Stock division has new car designs, and the broadcast team has a new color commentator in the form of Tony Pedregon, and a new deal with Fox. In NASCAR, for the first time since the 1992 Hooters 500, Jeff Gordon will not be in a car, but in the broadcast booth.

A lot of people didn’t like Tony Pedregon as color commentator for the Circle K Winternationals. He didn’t seem as relaxed and natural as Mike Dunn did. I’ll say this, Mike Dunn was a broadcaster for 14 years, and was used to playing the role of color commentator. Tony Pedregon isn’t used to his new role yet. He did a good job, in my opinion, and he will get better over time.

Jeff Gordon, on the other hand, seemed much more comfortable in his new role. I’m thinking it has something to do with his acting roles. He’s done commercials, movies, tv shows, and the like. He is used to being in front of the camera. Again, like Tony, he will get better over time. I like the chemesty that Darrell Waltrip and Jeff have with each other, and Mike Joy works well with them both.

My biggest gripe was Pro Stock. The teams did not, in my mind, have a good event. The teams didn’t have the time to do proper testing, outside of dyno testing, and it showed. I like Pro Stock, but watching that event was painful. There weren’t that many good runs, and the ones that were, you could tell, that the drivers were somewhat apprehensive about their cars. What should have happened was that the announcement last year should have been that the fuel injected Pro Stocks should have started in 2017, so that proper testing, and proper development could have been done.

While I have my gripes, I’m looking forward to the racing season, and I can only wait for IndyCar and F1 to start back up.

By David G. Firestone

The term “game changer” is thrown around an awful lot these days. It’s a new buzzword. It’s been thrown around so much that it has more or less lost its meaning. It’s really sad, because when a real game changer happens, it’s overlooked. The three point line, deferring the coin toss, the DH rule, and the goalie mask were all game changers. A new kind of wing sauce, an action movie, and a new car are not game changers.

I say this because last week, just before I went on Vacation, The NHRA made a huge game changer of an announcement. Starting in 2016, the “Back Up Certification Rule” which requires a run within one percent of a record setting run to certify it as a record has been eliminated. So, effective immediately, any run that is a record setting run is automatically the record.

I’ve never like the 1% rule, I thought is was pointless. However, in the early days of drag racing, the automatic timing equipment was far less reliable than the CompuLink systems we have today, so it was needed to work around that. Since 2009, the CompuLink system has been very effective, and the 1% rule was a dinosaur of a rule.

This is really going to change the game. Remember Brainerd last year? Oh yeah, how could you forget? There were six different record setting runs in the nitro categories. Yet only Jack Beckman and Antron Brown came away with a set record, because they backed it up with 1%, so two of the six runs were for naught. With the new rules package, all six of those runs would be record setting runs, and Matt Hagan, not Jack Beckman would have the national ET record, with a 3.879, instead of Jack Beckman’s 3.883.

With the Winternationals this weekend, could we see new national records set? Well the conditions are hotter than Brainerd, but if Nitro Spring Training is anything to go by, there is a lot of speed coming from the various teams. John Force Racing, Don Schumacher Racing, and Kalitta Motorsports had a lot of good showings, so it would not shock me if at least one record is set this weekend.

As a part of this rule change, the 20 point bonus for setting the national ET record has also been eliminated. Again, this is a real game changer of a rule. The key to winning the countdown is to get as many points as you can during those six events. Remember “The Run” in 2006? The record ET point bonus is what gave Tony Schumacher the title. This will have a definitive effect on the championship standings. I’ll be interested to see how this works out.

The other game changer is scheduled to be announced tomorrow. It’s the NASCAR charter system. I haven’t discussed my feelings on it yet, but I’m going to say that I think it’s pointless. I’ve heard it described as similar to a taxi medallion system, where the teams purchase the charter from NASCAR, and if the owner chooses to leave the sport, they can sell it. It seems like a pointless change, designed to get more cash out of team owners. Then again, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Brian France.

Above and beyond that, if the rumors I’ve heard are true, the races will only feature 40 drivers instead of 43. Why? What could this possibly accomplish? Were there any short fields in 2015? I don’t remember any, and even if there were, it really didn’t matter that much, as there are a number of “start and park” teams that will occupy the bottom. I’m not sure that this will change that much, then again, I’ve been wrong before.

I’m going to reserve my judgment on the Chase format for the Xfinity and Truck Series, as it could actually work out quite well. That said, I understand a lot of people hate the new system, but I like the idea of taking away mulligans and keeping the pressure up. I think there will be an interesting championship scenario this year.

By David G. Firestone

The worst part of a vacation is coming home. The second worst part, at least to me, is packing and getting ready. I do not like waiting to the last minute to do anything. We booked the tickets back in October, and the majority of stuff that I’ve had to do I’ve gotten done since then. At this point, all I need to do is pack a suitcase, pack my laptop, and go to Union Station. Other than that, I’ve gotten everything done.

As I write this, my thoughts turn to those on the East Coast, who have had their lives affected by Winter Storm Jonas. Winter sucks, we can all agree on that. The cold and snow can get to be too much. Many people, my parents included travel south for the winter. On Friday, I’m going to go visit them. I’m not worried about the train trip down, I’m more concerned about the plane ride home. I haven’t gotten on an airplane in 11 years, and I’m really worried about it. It’s going to be at least three hours I’m in the air, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it. I’m hoping that booze will alleviate my stress…

While I will miss the Rolex 24 at Daytona, I will DVR whatever I can of the race. I’m not an endurance racing fan per se, but it’s the beginning of the racing season. I’m waiting for the racing season to begin and I can hardly wait!

I have Throwback Thursday and Friday Feature articles ready to go, I’m not going to worry about the Tracker and Grades until I get home. I may or may not do a My Thoughts On, but it really depends on a few things. I will also do a couple of things down in Tucson that I will write about when I get home. Stay tuned.

By David G. Firestone

I was going to review the new Verizon IndyCar Series logo earlier, but then Mello Yello came out with a new logo, and I quickly realized that there would be a new logo for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, so I figured I’d hold off until the new logo came out. Well, last week, the new logo was released. Normally, I don’t swear on this blog, but for these new logos, I’m going to, because they are just shit.

Let’s discuss the new Verizon IndyCar Series logo.I new it was going to be awful, since Verizon’s new logo looks like shit. But it was even worse than I could have predicted. It looks generic. Seriously, it looks like a cheap knockoff logo sold on counterfeit merchandise. When I first saw it, I sincerely thought I was looking at a beta version, or a test version, but no, this is the new logo. It looks like there was maybe 5 minutes worth of thought to this new design. There was no effort whatsoever. If it were a badge, like the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series logo, maybe I could get behind it a little more. I didn’t like the old logo either, but at least I gave them credit for putting some effort into the logo. With the 2016 logo, it’s the IndyCar logo, with some generic text. I’d like to bash it more, but there’s nothing to bash.

I hate the new IndyCar logo for not putting enough effort into the design. For the new NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series logo, they put much too much effort into it, and it looks even more like shit:When I saw the new Mello Yello logo, my first thought was that the new logo had Peter Clifford’s fingerprints all over it. Peter Clifford was elected the new President of the NHRA, and instantly began suffering from a very common disease commonly known as “Newly Promoted Managers Syndrome.” Newly Promoted Managers Syndrome or NPMS is a temporary condition in which a newly promoted manager feels the need to prove he or she is worthy of the promotion, and will begin to make changes to show others he or she is. These changes can be minimal, a slight change to the dress code, a procedural change, or small rule changes. Sometimes, as in the case Peter Clifford is showing, these changes can be very massive, in redesigning the Pro Stock class, along with new television contracts and logos.

It would also make sense considering the timing of Mello Yello’s logo change, which came at the end of last year. Since these logo changes take months to design, and survey, it very easily could have corresponded to Peter Clifford’s election to NHRA President. Outside of the NHRA, Mello Yello doesn’t really sponsor anything, and the NHRA is their big marketing deal. As such, it does not seem that far fetched that the NHRA and Coca Cola worked together to come up with the new logo.

I liked the old Mello Yello logo, because it had a vintage look, but had a modern feel. The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series logo had a unique look, that was a little bit modern, and a little bit retro. The pipes and fire worked well, and it was a great looking logo that fit well wherever it was used on a car, uniform or apparel.The 2016 logo is so overdone, it’s not even funny. While on the old logo, the pipes are cleary exhaust pipes, and the fire represents the fire coming out of the pipes during a fuel car run, the “pipes” on the new logo are poorly defined, and look really bad. It looks like it is trying to car-themed, but failing. The Mello Yello lettering would work better if it was only one line of text, instead of two. The fading of the silver is ugly, and does nothing to help the logo. The red, white and blue NHRA logo looks out of place on the yellow, black, and silver logo. It’s just a mess.

One thing I have to give the NHRA and Mello Yello credit for is that the new logo will work with their My NHRA campaign. I do think this new promotional campaign will bring more people into the sport as fans. The NHRA is very fan-based, and they give you access to the drivers, that no other racing series does. I go to the Route 66 Nationals every year, and I can say that I’ve gotten a lot of autographs, met a lot of drivers, and always had a great time. I’m hoping that aspect of going to a race never changes.

My conclusions are that the Verizon IndyCar Series logo was a cop-out. It’s a cheap, watered-down version of a racing series logo that had no thought behind it. The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series logo on the other hand, is much too over-designed, and poorly thought out.

By David G. Firestone

I just want to say that I HATE cleaning! I really, really hate cleaning. I say this as a 34 year old male who lives, at the moment, by himself. I’m the classic bachelor, who just leaves dirty dishes in the sink, until he runs out of clean plates and silverware, and then does the dishes. I do laundry once a week, and that’s only clothes. I couldn’t tell you when the last time I vacuumed my office. The point is, I hate cleaning.

As much as I hate cleaning, I like clean surroundings. I like my office and house clean. I’m really organized. I don’t really go anywhere most of the time, except to my real job. So I have plenty of time to clean. I just hate to do it.

I was thinking about some of my idiosyncrasies as a person, and I’m realizing that we all have things about us that seem odd to other people. Take some of my examples:

-I HATE peaches and raspberries, and will go out of my way not to eat them.

-Since age 16, I have had some kind of facial hair, to the point, I feel insecure without it.

-I take fiendish pride in the fact that I haven’t flown on a plane or had a cup of coffee in over 10 years.

-I sleep on a couch, not a fold out one.

-On my desk, there are two stacks of poker chips. One is 15 chips high, 3 of five different colors, red, green, grey, blue, and black in that order. The small white lines on them align at all times. The other is 13 chips high, three different colors in no order, and I will occasionally pick them up while watching TV.

-I use 4 different body sprays over the course of a week.

-I enjoy video taping rainstorms…I don’t know why.

-Under no circumstances will I ever go to a theme park anymore.

-I have tied a tie on my own 3 times in my life.

-I always have at least one poker chip on me at all times.

-I HATE politics, and go out of my way not to get involved.

-Closed businesses that have illuminated Open signs annoy me to no end.

-I will not have tomato sauce on pasta.

I have no problem admitting any of this publicly, because I am comfortable with who I am. Bullies can only win if you let them, and I don’t let them. Be who you are, and don’t be ashamed.

By David G. Firestone

I think that we can all agree that vacations rule…and it sucks when they end. Well, I have come to the end of my winter sabbatical. Well, it’s 2016, the holiday season is over, and I’ve got back into the grind. I’m coming back to The Driver Suit Blog with a slightly new setup. I’ve moved the videos to Mondays, which will start in March. The other major change will be Throwback Thursdays are coming back.

Videos will be on Monday, because I NEVER post articles on Monday, and at least there will be something. I’ve got a great set of videos ready for 2016. They cover a lot of items, many I have already talked about, some I haven’t. I’m looking forward to them, and I like the way they turned out.

I’m also proud to announce that Throwback Thursday has returned! I’ve decided that I wanted to do something, and I thought that I should use the way I grade paint schemes. So, starting this Thursday, I will feature a vintage car design and describe what I like and don’t like about the paint scheme in question. I will also discuss design aspects of the car I notice. I’ve done a number of them already, and I like what they come out.

The Tracker will still be on Wednesday, the Friday Feature will stay as is, and the Grades will still be on Saturday. The only day that will be free will be Sunday, because I want my readers to watch the races, rather than read my blog. I’ve got six days worth of stuff every week. I’m really excited for 2016.

I’m also implementing a new rule for comments. From here on out, I would prefer that if you comment, please use a real name. I HATE people who make up fake names to comment on web pages. Look at everything I’ve done on The Driver Suit Blog. Everything I have done, the first line of text has always been “By David G. Firestone.” If you only want to use a first name, I have no problem with that, but I reserve the right to deny a comment if it’s an obviously fake name. I don’t care if you disagree with me, just own up to it.

I’m really looking forward to 2016, it’s gonna be a great year, I have a lot of things planned. Stay Tuned!