Category: my thoughts on

By David G. Firestone

On June 5, 1981, a seemingly insignificant trade between the Indiana Pacers and the Portland Trailblazers took place. The trade of Tom Owens to the Pacers from the Blazers in exchange for a first-round draft pick a few years later would unintentionally set in to motion a moment of infamy that, 30 years later Blazer fans are still fuming over. When that draft pick in question came to pass, it shocked the sports world, and changed the NBA forever. This change would involve the Owens trade, a stand out center from Kentucky, two front office heads who would play critical roles in the beginning of the situation, and a point guard from UNC who would change the sports world forever.

Let’s look at the center of the trade first, Tom Owens played from 1971-1983 in the ABA and NBA for a number of teams. He had a rather unremarkable career, never playing in an all-star game, but he did end up winning a championship in 1977 for the Trailblazers. His season in 1981, prior to the trade was just as unremarkable. The Blazers traded Owens to the Indiana Pacers on June 5, four days prior to the 1981 NBA Draft. The Blazers got a pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, the Pacers got Tom Owens, who played one season, got traded to Detroit, and then retired.

During the 1980-81 Kentucky Wildcats season, a center had attracted a lot of attention, and was quickly added to the 1980 United States Olympic Basketball team, but the United States would boycott the Olympics, and he would never see Olympic competition. He would return for a second season, and he was still an impressive player for his sophomore season. What happened next would have a major impact on the events to come, and would help leave Blazer fans with terrible nightmares for decades to come. He began to suffer injuries to his shin bone, including a stress fracture. In total, he missed two seasons with this injury. He would come back for the 1983-84 season where his stats were somewhat less impressive, but he did earn a cover on Sports Illustrated. After that, he decided to turn pro, and enter the draft.

Two of the key players are General Managers for the two NBA teams that would make decisions that would make the legend, and destroy the franchise. The first GM, for the Chicago Bulls, was a former player who had been a stand-out rookie, and worked his way to GM by the histocial event. The second GM at the time was the Trailblazers not great in the draft. He was drafted by the Chicago Stags, but never played in the NBA. He helped bring the Trailblazers into existence, and helped draft players from the ABA after the league folded. He is not remembered for the right moves he made, but he is remembered for the move that we are discussing.

The final player in our cast of characters is a young point guard from UNC, who would change basketball and sports forever. He was a standout at UNC, a first-team All-American, who during the summer of 1984, went to the Olympics, and won a gold medal. His stats were amazing and he won numerous awards as well has having numerous accolades, and memorable moments in his college career.

With the cast of characters in place, the stage was set for one of the most infamous events in sports history, the date: June 19,1984, the location: Madison Square Garden in New York City, the event: The1984 NBA Draft. As a direct result of the Tom Owens trade 3 years prior, the Blazers had the 2nd pick in the draft, and the Bulls had the 3rd pick. The first selection went to the Atlanta Hawks, who selected Hakeem Olajuwon. The stage is now set for the event that would change basketball. The 2nd pick goes to Portland, where GM Stu Inman used this pick to select the Kentucky center who was plagued by injuries, Sam Bowie. The Chicago Bulls GM Rod Thorn had really wanted Bowie, and had to select a different player for the third pick. In a move that ensures that he never has to buy a drink in the city of Chicago again, Thorn selects the UNC standout and former Olympic Gold Medalist, Michael Jordan. The Blazers were thrilled with their pick, Sam Bowie who wound up being named the worst first-round draft pick in American sports history, and is really nothing more than the answer to a trivia question. Jordan is one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, and has become a living legend.

But there is one more twist to this story…a twist that would make M. Night Shyamalan happy. Speaking to reporters after the draft, Rod Thorn, the Bulls GM made a comment that has been lost to history, but would prove a point that before the season started Bowie was still the coveted pick. Speaking to a group of reporters, Thorn said that “I only wish he were 7-1. The fans will enjoy watching him play and we expect we’ll have an easier time signing him than we have had in signing other draft choices.  We would like to sign him as soon as possible. If we had received good offers for a trade we would have made it, but it would have taken an overpowering offer.”

The trade requests never materialized, and the Bulls had a dynasty, whereas the Trailblazers still to this day are bitter. And to think, it all began with a trade on June 5,1981 between the Trailblazers and the Pacers!

By David G. Firestone

I’m not as into video games as I am into racing. I’m not into racing games at all. The games I have tried didn’t impress me. I’m a first person shooter man myself. But I learned about a drag racing game I didn’t realize existed until last week.

Released in 1980 for the Atari 2600, Dragster was released by Activision. Depending on who you ask, it may or not be the first third party game in video game history. The premise is that you are racing a dragster, and to play, is as follows. You take control of a dragster, and when the race starts, you hold the button, and move the joystick to shift gears. You are competing for a low elapsed time.

I became aware of this game because of a controversy that erupted last month, that I completely missed. There are professional video gamers out there, and there are guys who have made a career out of setting video game records. The video game records are kept on a site called Twin Galaxies. The oldest video game record was in Dragster, where Todd Rodgers earned a 5.51 ET, after he “started the race in second gear.”

I say it WAS the oldest record in video game history, because last month, it emerged that a 5.51 ET on Dragster was impossible. After examining the coding, and using various methods, it was determined that the lowest possible score to get on Dragster was 5.57. Rodgers’ claim of starting the race in second gear was also proven to be impossible.

This revelation opened the floodgates, and all of Todd Rodgers’ records were examined. His records were either improbably high, or impossible. After this news broke, Twin Galaxies, under pressure, removed all of Rodgers’ records, and banned him from the site for life. His 1700+ video game records, and his Guinness World Records were all lost, and he’s been exposed for the fraud he is.

If these records were impossible, why were they in place for so long? Well because Rodgers’ knew how to cheat the system to his advantage. He had a “referee” who was supposed to be an independent third person enter his scores. The problem is that Rodgers’ referee was a man by the name of Ron Corcoran who was in Rodgers’ pocket. It also alleged that Rodgers added in his own scores to Twin Galaxies.

The fact that this fraud has been exposed for the cheater that he is, and has lost every one of his ill-gotten gains makes me smile. I love watching frauds getting exposed. He isn’t a legend anymore, and now he’s just a middle-aged guy who plays video games. He has to get a real job now, and he can’t coast by. I hope he spends the rest of his life working at Walmart for minimum wage.

By David G. Firestone

I’m not going to talk about what happened in Parkland, Florida this week. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? I’m not going to talk news, or politics on The Driver Suit Blog. I don’t like writing about it, nobody wants to read it, so I’m going to do my normal article.

Yesterday, I watched the Daytona 500. The race was great, as Daytona races are. As a Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan, it was nice that 20 years after Dale piloted the #3 to his only Daytona 500 victory, Austin Dillon won in the #3. I also watched the Xfinity Series and the Truck series this weekend. NASCAR is back at Atlanta and the NHRA is at Arizona. I’m also waiting for Formula 1 and IndyCar to start, which they will do in March.

I recently discovered something, and for the life of me, I can’t understand it. When did Funko Pop figures become a thing? Why are Funko Pop figures a thing? I don’t go to toy stores, I don’t pay attention to many things besides racing memorabilia, so I tend to miss these things. I don’t get why these things are popular. They look strange, they don’t appear to be pose-able, they are expensive, and they make scary characters, such as a Xenomorph, and Pennywise.

Toys for children make sense. Toys for adult collectors make no sense. Let’s make a toy that you can’t play with, and you can’t even take out of the box, and sell it for more than a parent would ever pay for a child’s toy. How is this profitable? Apparently it is profitable, but I still don’t get it.

Lastly, while I’m not a die hard basketball fan, I did watch and enjoy the NBA All-Star Game, with the exception of the National Anthem. Fergie sang an awful rendition, complete with odd hand gestures, questionable pitch changes, and odd dancing. To paraphrase someone on Twitter, it sounded like a drunk aunt singing at a backyard cookout. As soon as she finished, she then took the opportunity to awkwardly shout “Let’s play some basketball!” which just made things more uncomfortable for everyone.

While many say she sang the worst rendition in history, I wholeheartedly disagree. Christina Aguilera sang a bad version at the Super Bowl a few years ago. John Michael Montgomery and Scott Stapp both had bad renditions, however John Michael Montgomery can be forgiven, since at the time, he was suffering from acoustic neuroma, an inner ear nerve condition. Track star Carl Lewis, whose ego stretches from sea to shining sea sang a horrific version. One of the oddest versions was Madison Rising’s rendition at the 2014 DRIVE4COPD 300, which has to be heard to be believed. But the all-time worst was Roseanne Barr. While Roseanne was trolling the fans, Fergie was taking it seriously. So, to all singers…JUST SING THE ANTHEM, AND STOP GETTING CREATIVE. I’m David G. Firestone, and I approve this message.

By David G. Firestone

The NASCAR and NHRA seasons started up again. The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series started their new season with the Winternationals at Ponoma, and The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series had the Advance Auto Parts Clash. The Clash was a pleasure to watch, and I had a great time watching it, and the qualifying for the Daytona 500.

But the NHRA was marred with a decent amount of engine explosions and crashes. On Friday, John Force suffered an engine explosion, and was taken to the hospital for observation. The worst one of the bunch was Brittany Force. On Sunday, during her first elimination round against Terry Haddock, Force suffered a scary crash. While she escaped serious injury, she was taken to a local hospital for observation.

While both are fine, it should be noted that the NHRA made the correct decision to err on the side of caution, and send both to the hospital for observation. The safety culture of racing is always improving, and this is another example. Concussion protocol needs to be in all sports, not just contact ones. Brain damage is a dangerous thing, and the will to compete can and will override the fear of further damage.

The ability of race car drivers to compartmentalize has been well documented. When the driver climbs into the car, every other worry goes out the window. The driver is solely focused on the race. In a situation where a driver has a concussion, whether they realize it or not, that mindset can be dangerous, and maybe even fatal. In some situations, the driver has to be forced out of the car, for their own good.

Let’s go back to 1996, specifically the Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sonoma, then Sears Point. Ricky Craven had suffered a wreck at Talladega the previous week. While Craven suffered a concussion, he decided that racing for the championship was more important than being healthy. The original plan for Sears Point was for Craven to race the first lap, and was supposed to be replaced by Ron Horniday Jr. after the first lap. He raced a second lap, and was promptly black flagged, and was replaced. Similarly, in 2014, Angelle Sampey suffered an off-track injury in Las Vegas, and the pain and damage forced her to withdraw from the event, and she missed the rest of the 2014 season.

Auto Racing is one of, if not the most dangerous sports for competitors, and safety should be the main focus. Don’t listen to the fans, do what is best for the drivers. No real race fan wants to see a driver die. IndyCar and F1 have learned this lesson the hard way in the last few years, and I hope that most sanctioning bodies do what they have to to keep from learning the hard way.

By David G. Firestone

Got a few news items I want to discuss this week. First, I need to discuss the NHRA Summernationals situation. I discussed the shuttering of Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. Last week. I even got a statement from Cruz Pedregon. At the time, he thought that there wouldn’t be an event added to the NHRA schedule for 2018. I thought that it might be too soon to add to the 2018 schedule.

Within hours of that being posted, it was announced that the NHRA would be adding the Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Richmond, Va., to the schedule on June 8-10. So instead of a week off after Route 66, the teams will travel to Virginia Motorsports Park. The drive from Route 66 to North Dinwiddie, Virgina is about 13 hours, and since many teams are headquartered in Indiana, they could stop at the shop and refill parts and equipment. Virginia has hosted NHRA national events before, so it isn’t that difficult. The one thing I’m wondering is how well the teams can adapt to a track that they haven’t raced on since 2009.

Moving on to IndyCar, I learned recently that IndyCar is testing a windshield. With the new car being debuted this year, safety is the focus, and the windshield is 20 years overdue. The less of a driver that is exposed, the safer the car is. This new test is a major step in the right direction. I’m glad this has finally been addressed

The next thing is there was a news story that Formula 1 has decided to eliminate the so-called grid girls. Grid girls would stand at each spot on the grid, wear a sexy outfit representing the host country, and hold signs indicating which spot on the grid they are. According to Sean Bratches, Managing Director, Commercial Operations at Formula 1: “While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula 1 Grands Prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms. We don’t believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula 1 and its fans, old and new, across the world.”

It’s nice to see that Formula 1 finally figured out that in 2018, women are more than sex objects. With women becoming more involved and having more success in auto racing, it’s time to start treating them as racers as opposed to bikini models. Granted that racing is a male-dominated sport, but more and more women are getting involved. It’s only a matter of time until a woman races in Formula 1, and I’m glad they joined the rest of the racing world.

Finally, I have to take Dodge to task for their ill-advised commercial at the Super Bowl. Who in their right mind thought that using Martin Luther King Jr., one of America’s greatest citizens, to sell trucks was a good idea? It came across as tasteless, and given King’s thoughts on capitalism, it’s amazing to me that this even made it past the idea stage.

What really amazes me here is that King’s family, who is very protective of King’s speeches and trademarks, allowed this to happen. Documentaries and historical museums can’t get to use King’s speeches because the family has a tight grip, but a freaking Dodge commercial can? Why in the world did this happen? Dodge should be ashamed, and King’s family needs to focus on his legacy, not profit off of it.

By David G. Firestone

So I spent the entire weekend watching sports, including the Rolex 24,  and the NHL All-Star Game. While I watch racing on a regular basis, I don’t always get to watch IMSA, so I’m not as polished with the rules and regulations and nuances of sports car racing as I am NASCAR, and the NHRA. I do enjoy it when I watch it.

I was perplexed when the officials executed what was termed “the nuclear option” on one of the race teams. “The nuclear option” is a five minute stop and hold penalty. This was apparently executed on the #29 Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 because the refueling time was shorter than allowed.

According to Autoweek, IMSA’s stance is as follows: “To measure refueling times, each entrants autonomous fuel tank is fitted with a mandated IMSA fuel level sensor and refueling restrictor, which are inspected and sealed prior to the race. During a standard, in-race data review, IMSA observed a consistent and beneficial variance of the No. 29 car’s refueling times compared to the GTD class average. Based upon IMSA’s current and past event refueling data, this was deemed to be unacceptable. The entrant was informed of IMSA’s position and a penalty was administered.”

It should be noted that while 5 minutes seems like an eternity in many forms of racing, the #29 only lost a lap. Due to the lack of full-course yellows, they never got the lap back, and their day ended with 29 minutes to go, due to a tire issue. Not the best end to a race, but it could have been different.

 

Then I watched the NHL All-Star Game via DVR. I have to say that because NBC and the NHL royally messed the All-Star Game up. On Sunday afternoon and evening, the Pro Bowl, the Grammys, and the WWE Royal Rumble, in addition to the NHL All-Star Game. The NHL is not going to win that ratings battle. Why wouldn’t you have the All-Star Game on Saturday night? Instead of fighting a battle that you couldn’t win, why not move it back a day, and be the top dog in the ratings? Unwinable fights aren’t worth fighting, so instead, make the move to Saturday night, move the skills competition to Sunday, and everyone wins.

Another thing I noticed about the All-Star game was the jerseys. The NHL has four divisions, Metropolitan, Atlantic, Central, and Pacific. Why was the main crest an NHL logo? Why wouldn’t you have the division logo as the crest, and the NHL logo on the shoulder, as opposed to the other way around? This is not a minor issue, because the game is three 20 minute 3-on-3 games between divisions. Who thought that the NHL logo worked better than the divisions? It just looked odd.

I thought that the games were good, but there are a lot of places for improvement in them. I hope these problems will be fixed.

By David G. Firestone

Last week, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey announced that they would immediately cease holding drag racing events effective immediately. This has led to the cancellation of the 49th annual NHRA Summernationals. The decision was announced as a “reorganization of the company’s business operations.”This news came as a shock to a lot of people involved with the NHRA.

Old Bridge Township Raceway Park has been operating since 1965, and has held the Summernationals since 1969. It’s been a destination for drag racing fans on the east coast for years. While New York and New Jersey drag racing fans can still go to Epping and Maple Grove, Old Bridge had a history and fan attachment that most strips could only wish for. There are many second and third generation drag racing fans that visited Old Bridge on a regular basis.

Part of the reason that the track closed is because of the fact that the track can’t expand. The end of the track is shorter, because at the end, there is a street, and across the street is a private farm. The track is also bordered on the east side by an airport. If the track tried to expand, it would be impossible. This is not a small issue, because the NHRA is gaining popularity. The Summernationals sold out last year, and had very high ratings, for the NHRA.

The timing of this announcement placed the NHRA in an odd situation. While the schedule was announced last summer, this removes a scheduled race from the set schedule. The NHRA has said that there won’t be a Summernationals this season, but 2019 is still open. While this news isn’t that much of an issue for the top teams, the smaller teams lose a chance to get a win, and some valuable points. I asked Cruz Pedregon, a driver and team owner about that, and this is what he said:

DGF-”On Thursday, the NHRA released a statement about relocating the Sumernatonals. They stated that they are not exploring the possibilities of moving the event. From a driver’s and an owner’s perspective, how does this affect team planning for 2018?”

Cruz-”My guess is that they are probably not going to replace the race, at least not try to replace, I think this year, and then worry about that next year. But that could change. Last year, we had a similar situation with Topeka, supposedly off the schedule for some kind of reason, I’m not sure. Then, a couple months later, the race was on. Could that happen here? I have no idea. For now, we’re going to skip until we’re told otherwise.”

The loss of Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is a sad situtaion However, I look forward to seeing where the NHRA goes from here. I’m wondering where the Summernationals will go from here. I wish the best to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park and the The Napp family

By David G. Firestone

Recently, I decided to go to a mall in Schaumburg, to redeen a few free coupons I had. I hadn’t been to the mall in some time. After walking around the mall for a while, I realized why I don’t go to malls anymore. Malls annoy me on a profound level. Sometimes it’s the people, sometimes it’s other things. I’ve done mall rants before, but I’ll do one now, all original gripes.

*How much demand is there that an entire store devoted to Alpaca made products exists?

*There are a total of 3 stores devoted to either LEGO or LEGO ripoffs.

*Why is the mall playing Christmas music ON JANUARY 7, please? The only store that should be playing Christmas music is the Christmas store that’s going out of business.

*Speaking of the Christmas store music, dubstep Christmas music should NOT exist!!!

*Also, to the Christmas store, I can buy a full-size street light for a lot less than the one you are selling, and I can add my own fake snow and still save money.

*When it comes to Teavania closing, I don’t feel bad. I know they were full of shit when they claimed that they offered me a free sample of what they claimed was “the rarest tea in the world.”

*I’m wearing a NASCAR jacket, and an NHRA hat, I do NOT want a mani pedi.

*To the store that has a sale logo inside a disco ball…that’s actually pretty cool. I would have never thought of that, and it looks awesome.

*Dear Panda Express, if I’m eating in a closed restaurant across the hall from you, I DO NOT WANT TO SMELL YOUR ORANGE CHICKEN!!!!!

*It’s nice to know that a mall that has been around since 1971 is finally getting a food court in 2018. Why did it take that long to install something that has come standard in every other mall everywhere has ever had.

*If you are over the age of 12, you should not be wearing LED shoes, unless you are the person selling them.

*You are the ones who named your restaurant “Kin Fork,” so don’t be surprised when I quip “Kin fork said Jed move away from there.”

*Why the fuck is the hot sauce store selling balloon animals?

*It doesn’t look suspicious when a man walks into a woman’s bathing suit store by himself…not at all.

*Dear males over the age of 12, there is NO REASON to walk into a Hot Topic store.

*Forgive me for wondering about the quality of macaroons sold in a mall kiosk…Mall kiosks are not exactly world renowned for quality.

*So apparently there is such a demand for pretzels, that there are three different stores that sell them, two of them the same company…

*Michael Jordan has his own store, and it doesn’t have that much stuff in it.

*It shouldn’t be this hard to find a bathroom. WHY DO YOU ONLY HAVE THREE BATHROOMS?

I’m sorry I went, and I won’t go back for a while.

By David G. Firestone

For my first My Thoughts On for 2018, I’m going to focus on some news stories and other things that got my attention while I was on sabbatical.

The big story, at least to me is the indication that the NHRA is throwing in the towel on Pro Stock. It was announced that starting in 2018, any legal body may be used with any legal engine. This goes against one of the principal rules of the category, where the engine and body must be made n the same place. In short, a Chevy engine could be used in a Dodge, or a Ford, and vise versa.

If destroying one of the core tenants of a specific category to boost competition isn’t a move of desperation, I’m not sure what is. The NHRA is trying to extinguish a tire fire they themselves started, and now they are resorting to extreme measures. It may actually work in the long run, but it’s not a good look for a category that has been thrown to the wolves for two years.

While we are on the subject of the NHRA, there was an article by NBC Sports’ Jerry Bonkowski concerning changes that he thinks need to be made by 2019, when John Force’s contracts will expire, and he turns 70.

He makes some valid points, but a couple of points that he makes seem tone-deaf at least to me. For example: “Do we REALLY need three-day pro race weekends? Do Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock teams REALLY need four qualifying passes (typically two on Friday and two others on Saturday) in every national event weekend?”

Yes Jerry, we do. Remember that fans go to national events to watch their favorite drivers race. The two passes bring and keep fans in the stands. I’m not going to pay $50 for a ticket to see the national drivers and only watch them race once on a Saturday afternoon, and I’m not the only person who thinks this way.

Here is another gem: “Plus, the NHRA’s old business model of mixing the pro ranks with sportsman classes simply isn’t working any more. Don’t believe me? Have you been to a NHRA national event over the last few years? What happens when the pros finish up a particular round and hand the track over to the sportsman drivers?

Answer: the stands typically empty by at least half. Usually the only folks left in the stands are either fans or friends of some of the sportsman drivers. When the sportsman drivers attempt to show their skills, most other fans go out to the food court or product midway. Sure, those racing fans eventually go back to the stands, but usually not until the next pro round of qualifying or eliminations.”

According to Jerry’s “logic” I paid for my ticket, but I’m not allowed to do what I want when I go to a national event. I’ll check out the sportsman categories, but if I want to get something to eat, or buy some stuff, or go to the bathroom, I’ll do it during the sportsman categories.

Also, if you take the two points he made above into consideration, splitting the sportsman from professional categories, and reducing the number of runs,, going to a national event wouldn’t be worth the time or effort. Sure Sunday would be fun, but Saturday would be slow. Also, what would happen between rounds? What would be done to keep the racing fans attention? I don’t see this working out well.

Moving on to Danica Patrick. Danica announced that she will run the Daytona 500, and the Indy 500 in 2018, and then she will retire. This was followed by an article on IndyCar’s website about how she should be sent off with appreciation, not troll comments.

Reading the article, it’s clear the author, Jeff Olson, is a Danica fanboy, and he doesn’t like that people say bad things about her. He tries to compare the achievements of Brittany Force, Shirley Muldowney, Hellé Nice, Pat Moss, and Michele Mouton, to Danica Patrick. Here’s the difference between them and Danica, every other woman has found success by winning, as opposed to crashing, and racing in the mid-pack. Danica Patrick was always more hype than talent, and as a result, fanboys like him think she is better than she could ever be.

Here is a line from the end of his fanboy rant: “Someday, a woman will win consistently in motorsports. She’ll win multiple championships. She’ll drive for the best teams, race the best cars and beat the best competition. Hopefully when that day comes, gender won’t define her. She’ll simply be a racer.” Have you paid any attention to the NHRA in the past few years? In the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Series, between the 1976-2017, women have won 145 national events and nine championships in four categories:

Shirley Muldowney-TF-18 wins-3 championships

Lucille Lee-TF-1 win

Lori Johns-TF-4 wins

Shelly Anderson-TF-5 wins

Angelle Sampey-PSM-42 wins, 3 championships

Cristen Powell-TF-1 win

Karen Stoffer-PSM-8 wins

Melanie Troxel-TF/FC 5 wins

Peggy Llewellyn-PSM-1 win

Ashley Force Hood-FC-4 wins

Hillary Will-TF-1 win

Erica Enders‐Stevens-PS-23 wins, 2 championships

Courtney Force-FC-9 wins

Angie Smith-PSM-1 win

Alexis DeJoria-FC-7 wins,

Brittany Force-FC-7 wins, 1 championship

Leah Pritchett-FC-5 wins.

If Jeff Olson did more than five minutes of research, he would have realized that women are very well established in the NHRA, and that’s just the top 4. He mentioned Brittany Force and Shirley Muldowney, but failed to mention any other woman in the NHRA. How could you not even mention Peggy Llewellyn, the first woman of color to win in the NHRA? He’s a fanboy, and he is upset that the public doesn’t respect his driver.

Fanboys annoy me on a profound level. Let me be clear here, there are differences between fans and fanboys. A fan is someone who roots for a certain driver, but is able to understand that said driver isn’t always going to win. Fanboys worship their driver, and whenever they don’t win, they can’t stand it. Their favorite driver is the best driver, and nothing can convince them otherwise.

Some of Matt Kenseth’s fanboys really got on my nerves at the end of the season last year. Many of them were up in arms because Dale Jr. was getting a bigger sendoff. First off, at the beginning of the season, nobody knew that Kenseth would retire. Second off, Dale Jr. getting a bigger send off than Matt Kenseth is for one simple reason: merchandise sales. Dale Jr. was always the big guy at the merch table. Of the 10 best selling die casts, 5 of them were Dale Jr. cars. Matt Kenseth didn’t make the top 10. Kenseth also didn’t make the top 10 in terms of top selling drivers.

Dale Jr. is to racing what Hulk Hogan was to wrestling. Kenseth is more along the lines of Bret Hart. Kenseth and Hart were more skilled in their respective careers, but Dale Jr. and Hogan were more popular, and sold more merchandise. NASCAR celebrated their most profitable driver, because, in the end, they are out to make money. Kenseth is a better driver than Dale, Dale sold more merchandise, that’s why Dale got the big sendoff. That’s why fanboys are aggravating.

That’s enough for now, I’ll be back next week.

By David G. Firestone

The 2017 racing season is behind us. We’ve all watched racing and we enjoyed it. We had highs, we had lows. We laughed, we cried, we yelled in anger, and we yelled in joy. We are racing fans, and we love watching racing.

Some of the observations I’ve made I’ve discussed here on The Driver Suit Blog, but some things I haven’t. So before I take my December sabbatical, I have a few things to discuss. I’ve been waiting for the season to end to discuss some things.

First off, I’m a fan of the NASCAR Playoff system, I know many people aren’t. But the bracket system keeps the pressure on the drivers to perform. The final race of the season has 4 different drivers who can win the championship. That final race is pressure packed, and the best driver won. Martin Truex Jr. won 8 races, including the final race and the Championship.

I was wondering who would win the Xfinity Series Championship, and it was William Byron. This does not bode well for his Cup career. Historically, drivers who perform well in the Xfinity Series will come to the Cup Series and flame out. This list includes David Green, Steve Grissom, Joe Nemechek, Randy LaJoie, and Johnny Benson. Martin Truex Jr. is the second driver to win the Cup championship after winning the Xfinity Series championship before he was an established Cup star.

Ford pulling out of the NHRA to focus on other racing series was a really dumb move, especially since Chevy won all three Mello Yello Drag Racing Series four-wheeled championships. They also came up short in NASCAR and the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Ford made a really bad decision in this respect, and I hope their racing division is proud of themselves.

If you aren’t familiar with Bill Burr, that’s a shame. He’s a Boston-based comic who watches Formula 1. He did a podcast where he discusses his Formula 1 feelings. He is hilarious, and his observations are great. Even if you aren’t a racing fan, his podcast is great. Bill Burr’s Malaysian GP rant is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.

Starting next year, Formula 1 will move from NBC to ESPN. I’m going to guess that Fox didn’t offer a contract. ESPN has made it clear in recent years that they have no respect for auto racing fans. ESPN had to bring some kind of auto racing back, to boost their sagging ratings. NASCAR and the NHRA weren’t on the table, Formula 1 was on the table. Good luck ESPN, good luck Formula 1, you are going to need it.

Finally, there have been some shake ups in schedules for 2018. NASCAR has moved the Daytona 500 up a week. As a direct result, the next nine races have also moved up a week. The first Dover race has moved from June 4 to May 4. Chicagoland has moved from September to the first week in July, and the summer Daytona race has moved from the first week of July to the second week. Kentucky and New Hampshire have moved up one week. Charlotte’s second race has been moved up, and will use the road course instead of the oval course.

In Formula 1, France and Germany will both host new Grand Prix races. The Chinese and Bahrain Grands Prix have switched places on the new schedule. The Malaysian Grand Prix has been dropped from the schedule all together. IndyCar has decided to replace Watkins Glen with Portland. In the NHRA, the Route 66 Nationals and the New England Nationals have switched places, due to NASCAR’s schedule change.

That about does it for 2017. I will spend December working on projects, and will come back in January, ready to go. I look forward to seeing you then.