Well Dover is over...a welcome relief I'm sure. A lovely wreckfest weekend between the Busch race and the Cup race. The track promoters cutely refer to it as The Monster Mile and sell you stuffed toys...awww. I lovingly refer to it as the Human Crock Pot because it inevitably rains at least once and then you sit and cook in the aluminum and concrete bowl for hours. RG tactfully refers to it as a large toilet bowl...all a matter of perspective I suppose!
Nice to see RG in the Busch race...any chance to get out and learn something for the next day is a big plus even though the set-ups are different. About the only thing I saw in both races is how loose the cars were both days. And of course we all learned that Tony Raines throws like a girl...no, wait...I'm a girl...and I could throw a helmet better than that! Jeeze-louise, I know the COT's are small but how could you possibly miss hitting the car???? Well, it was funny anyway...poor Tony. Insult to injury. And it was big of RG to take all the blame...need to watch the replays..I didn't see it quite that way but if he wants to be the bigger man that's cool with me.
Sunday gave Team #7 another great starting position (*sigh*) but little by little the black #7 moved up through the field. Unable to tighten the car up all day the #7 ended up going down several laps...as did most of the field and even slapped the wall once, doing only minor damage.
But here's where today was noticeably different than the last few months; there was a sense of calm and purpose on the radio today. Normally there's a lot of panic, some chaos, a lot of questionning back and forth, some bitching and the tone of voice is usually up an octave or two (LOL!!). But today there was control- some noticeable teamwork and as a result a top twenty finish was gained with a lapped, wrecked, loose race car. Way to go!!!!
If this could be a sign of the way things will be for the next eight races there's no telling how good the finishes could be....when chaos rules nothing gets accomplished, but when heads are calm and cool then some clear thinking can happen and the results are usually much more rewarding.
Nice job guys!!
Jumping off the tailgate.....
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Well damn me if I didn't completely jinx the team in New Hampshire. Friday was a beautiful day for Quals but the #7 couldn't find enough in the car to barely keep it from being the caboose. Despite the dismal starting position RG was in his usual good mood for signing autographs at his hauler and the crowd there was out of control. There were simultaneous signings at Casey Mears and Reed Sorenson's haulers and the crowds at the concession stands were worse than in front of their haulers but RG's was a complete mob scene. The security guards just gave up on keeping the crowd moving. Don't know who's great idea it was to park him on the end of a middle row at a corner but they may want to re-think that next July. But we all enjoyed it and it always gets him new fans because people want to stop and see what all the fuss is about (lmao!).
Sunday was brisk and cool- jacket and hot chocolate fall weather and the race was it's usual sell-out crowd. To get to the track in time for driver signings and avoid the horrific traffic on 106 you have to get up excruciatingly early and luckily Nascar has given us the COT (Car of Tedium) so we can catch a good afternoon nap between 2pm and 5pm. It's hard enough to pass on that track to begin with and it's infamous for long green runs...so add to that the COT and you've got a thrilling taxi cab race.
What was even more thrilling was the shoddy work in the pits by the #7 crew. How is it you run your driver out of gas with 16 to go? I'm hearing there are some openings at RGMotorsports as of last Sunday.....very, very unhappy owner/driver. Completely inexcusable work all day in the pits boys.
Stuck in the low 20's in points is not where we want the team to be. The gains should have been coming weekly, not just a handful all at once and then stagnation and error after error after error. The whole team needs to re-group, re-organize and get their heads on straight. This team should be running way better than they are- there's just no cohesiveness there, no teamwork, no common goal. It's like they're all aiming for the target wearing blindfolds. Get it together.
RG, you need a team- a TEAM. That means they believe in YOU and YOU believe in them and YOU ALL believe together that that #7 car belongs up front- set up correctly, adjusted correctly, pitted correctly, driven correctly and a good finish is the COMMON GOAL. Not just salvaging whatever's left of the day after the screw-ups. Fix it.
Jumping off the tailgate...
Time for Loudon once again, my fourth race of the season and thankfully one I don't have to pack the truck for because it's just a short ride for me. I actually like Loudon, both for sentimental reasons (I saw my first Winston Cup race there) and also because I've actually seen some great races there!
I'm going to keep this short and hopefully upbeat. Let's hope that the #7 Team can avoid the typical brake issues most teams have here and have solved the alternator issues that plagued them in July. Perhaps we can have a repeat of the finish of 2001??Wouldn't that be sweet??
RG is usually so close here to hitting the set-up...this is a good track for him. He usually qualifies fairly well at Loudon and that's important at this track because it's a pain in the butt to pass. Avoiding the mess in the middle when everyone is loose on the first few laps is also pretty tricky.
Long green runs at the end and the dreaded fuel mileage green-flag pit-stops can kill a good finish at New Hampshire as well, so RG needs to listen to his Crew Chief, not his Owner.
To the Over the Wall Boys...kick their ass...you're as good as anybody on pit road. Get him in and get him out.
To the Spotter...hope the Optometrist visit went well.
Good luck in New Hampshire guys...I'll see you there!!
Jumping off the tailgate....
