It's NFL Draft Time!

Trying to forecast the NFL Player Draft has become an interesting hobby for me over the years. I hate to admit how much time goes into this frustrating process that’s based upon the initial thought of “Who is my team going to get in the Draft?”

Unless your team is selecting number one in the first round, a dubious distinction “earned” by ending up with the worst record during the previous season, you’ve got to try and figure out who several of the other teams are going to take in order to have a look at the players still available by the time your team picks. The key to that process is based on what the top needs each team has. In other words, team X gave up more touchdown passes than any other team in the league so that team needs to overhaul their defensive backfield (most likely the cornerbacks) and possibly the players that pressure the opposing quarterback (defensive ends and outside linebackers). Team Y will probably have a completely different set of needs. Every team prioritizes their personnel needs in preparation for the draft. They pay a lot of people a lot of money in this process.

The next element in all of this is the quality of the players available coming out of college and if you think a lot of money was spent on determining the team needs, its nothing compared to the cost of this procedure. The young players are literally examined from every vantage point possible. Imagine you’re a personnel manager for a multi-billion dollar business and you’ve been empowered to select a young hotshot executive that’s going to cost your company millions of dollars whether the person pans out on the job or not… There are a fair number of young players that collect a lot of money and never live up to expectations on one hand while others, not highly thought of, end up being Hall of Fame performers. I guess what I’m saying is this draft process, for all the time, effort and money thrown at it, is an inexact process at best or a crap shot in the least.

So you’ve got team needs and a group of collegiate players available to fill those needs and a group of 32 teams that have “experts” who sit down together and wade through this draft selection process with millions of dollars on the line.

Then you throw in a wild card rarely seen. The 2011 NFL season is essentially on hold due to labor/ownership problems. The last collective bargaining agreement between the players' union and the NFL owners, which ended up being a boon to the players and a thorn in the side of the owners, ended in March. The two sides have been having a contentious time attempting to hammer out a new agreement that literally pits millionaires against billionaires ever since. As it stands today the Federal court system has entered the fray attempting to force an end to the situation (another example of where our government has become involved in matters better left to the private sector). Normally there is a trading and free agency period prior to the draft where teams and established players bargain with other teams for player services. A team’s success landing free agents or trading for players then dictates what other team needs must be addressed through the collegiate player draft. The 2011 draft doesn’t enjoy that luxury…

To add to the mystic of determining who gets who through the draft, and this really throws a wrench in the works, there are normally several draft pick trades between the teams. For example, in the last two years’ drafts there were 10 and 12 trades in just the first round in 2010 and 2009 respectively! And the trading continues on down through the draft.


The teams with the previous season’s worst records pick first in the draft. The reasons these teams get to pick first usually boil down to the lack of a top quarterback, unquestionably the most important player to a football team’s success. Those struggling teams also usually end up firing the head coach and his staff. So in 2011 there are 7 teams with new head coaches and 10 teams that list quarterback as their number one area of need. Here again, normally many of these teams fill their quarterback need through free agency or trades for established signal callers. That won’t be the case this year. The pressure to obtain a quarterback through the collegiate draft has taken a quantum leap as a result.

This Thursday evening, the first round of the NFL Draft will be held followed on Friday evening by rounds two and three. Saturday will feature the remaining four rounds.

So, for all you NFL football fans out there, here’s Dwindy1’s 2011 draft prognostication (with QBs highlighted in red and w/o any unknown trades ):

The Carolina Panthers are on the clock…
1. QB Cam Newton, Auburn.
2. Denver Broncos – DT Marcell Dareus, Alabama.
3. Buffalo Bills – OLB Von Miller, Texas A&M.
4. Cincinnati Bengals – WR A.J. Green, Georgia.
5. Arizona Cardinals – CB Patrick Peterson, LSU.
6. Cleveland Browns – DE Robert Quinn, North Carolina.
7. San Francisco 49ers – CB Prince Amukamara, Nebraska.
8. Tennessee Titans – DT Nick Fairley, Auburn.
9. Dallas Cowboys – OT Tyron Smith, USC.
10. Washington Redskins – WR Julio Jones, Alabama.
11. Houston Texans – DE Cameron Jordan, California.
12. Minnesota Vikings – QB Blain Gabbert, Missouri.
13. Detroit Lions – OT Anthony Castonzo, Boston College.
14. St. Louis Rams – DT Corey Liuget, Illinois.
15. Miami Dolphins – OG Mike Pouncey, Florida.
16. Jacksonville Jaguars – DE Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue.
17. New England Patriots (from Oakland) – DE J.J. Watt, Wisconsin.
18. San Diego Chargers – DE Adrian Clayborn, Iowa.
19. New York Giants – OT Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin.
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – DE Da’Quan Bowers, Clemson.
21. Kansas City Chiefs – OT Nate Solder, Colorado.
22. Indianapolis Colts – OT Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State.
23. Philadelphia Eagles – CB Brandon Harris, Miami (FL).
24. New Orleans Saints – RB Mark Ingram, Alabama.
25. Seattle Seahawks – QB Jake Locker, Washington.
26. Baltimore Ravens – CB Jimmy Smith, Colorado.
27. Atlanta Falcons – DE Cameron Heyward, Ohio State.
28. New England Patriots – OLB Aldon Smith, Missouri.
29. Chicago Bears – OG/C Rodney Hudson, Florida State.
30. New York Jets – OLB/DE Justin Houston, Georgia.
31. Pittsburgh Steelers – CB Aaron Williams, Texas.

And, as the reigning NFL champion, the Green Bay Packers get the last pick of the first round…

32. DE Christian Ballard, Iowa.

So I’ve only got 3 quarterbacks taken in the first round. What are those other 7 teams going to do?

Here are the picks for each team (presented alphabetically with any QB picks highlighted in red) in rounds two and three under the above circumstances:

Arizona Cardinals – 38. QB Andy Dalton, TCU & 69. OG DeMarcus Love, Arkansas.
Atlanta Falcons – 59. WR Austin Pettis, Boise State & 91. TE Virgil Green, Nevada.
Baltimore Ravens – 58. WR Randall Cobb, Kentucky & 90. ILB Colin McCarthy, Miami (FL).
Buffalo Bills – 34. QB Ryan Mallett, Arkansas & 68. OG Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh.
Carolina Panthers – 65. DT Phil Taylor, Baylor & 97. SS Ahmad Black, Florida.
Chicago Bears – 62. OT Marcus Cannon, TCU & 93. DE Allen Bailey, Miami (FL).
Cincinnati Bengals – 35. QB Christian Ponder, Florida State & 66. RB DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma.
Cleveland Browns – 37. OLB Akeem Ayers, UCLA & 70. WR Vincent Brown, San Diego State.
Dallas Cowboys – 40. FS Rahim Moore, UCLA & 71. CB Curtis Brown, Texas.
Denver Broncos – 36. TE Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame, 46. DE Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh & 67. CB Brandon Burton, Utah.
Detroit Lions – 44. OLB Bruce Carter, North Carolina & 75. RB Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State.
Green Bay Packers – 64. RB Daniel Thomas, Kansas State & 96. WR Greg Little, North Carolina.
Houston Texans – 42. DT Stephen Paea, Oregon State & 73. CB Ras-I Dowling, Virginia.
Indianapolis Colts – 53. WR Torrey Smith, Maryland & 87. SS Tyler Sash, Iowa.
Jacksonville Jaguars – 49. SS DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson & 80. DT Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson.
Kansas City Chiefs – 55. WR Jerrel Jernigan, Troy & 86. ILB Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina.
Miami Dolphins – 79. RB Shane Vereen, California.
Minnesota Vikings – 43. DT Muhammad Wilkerson, Temple.
New England Patriots – 33. C Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State, 60. RB Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech, 74. FS Quinton Carter, Oklahoma & 92. QB Ricky Stanzi, Iowa.
New Orleans Saints – 56. OLB Dontay Moch, Nevada, 72. DT Jurrell Casey, USC & 88. ILB Casey Matthews, Oregon.
New York Giants – 52. DT Drake Nevis, LSU & 83. ILB Greg Jones, Michigan State.
New York Jets – 94. DT Kendrick Ellis, Hampton.
Oakland Raiders – 48. OG Danny Watkins, Baylor & 81. CB Johnny Patrick, Louisville.
Philadelphia Eagles – 54. OT Benjamin Ijalana, Villanova & 85. RB Taiwan Jones, Eastern Washington.
Pittsburgh Steelers – 63. OT James Carpenter, Alabama & 95. RB Jordan Todman, Connecticut.
San Diego Chargers – 50. WR Jonathon Baldwin, Pittsburgh, 61. ILB Martez Wilson, Illinois, 82. OLB Mark Herzlich, Boston College & 89. Clint Boling, Georgia.
San Francisco 49ers – 45. WR Leonard Hankerson, Miami (FL) & 76. OLB Sam Acho, Texas.
Seattle Seahawks – 57. DT Marvin Austin, North Carolina.
St. Louis Rams – 47. WR Titus Young, Boise State & 78. TE Lance Kendricks, Wisconsin.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 51. CB Davon House, New Mexico State & 84. OT Orlando Franklin, Miami (FL).
Tennessee Titans – 39. QB Colin Kaepernick, Nevada & 77. TE Luke Stocker, Tennessee.
Washington Redskins – 41. RB Mikel LeShoure, Illinois.

Four more top ranked quarterbacks go in the second round and New England, enjoying the luxury of 6 picks in the first three rounds, picks up another QB late in the third round for back-up purposes to three time Superbowl Champion Tom Brady.

That's 8 quarterbacks in 97 picks...

The other teams with a quarterback at the top of their needs list (Jacksonville, Miami and San Francisco) will either stay the course with their current QBs or wade into the trade/free agency markets if and when the labor dispute comes to an end.

Have you got any questions? I’ll try to give you my reasoning if you do.
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Well, as usual, there were several surprises in the 1st round not the least of which was the lower amount of trades as compared to other years. Not having established player personnel available to sweeten the trade pot due to the ongoing labor unrest was undoubtedly a primary reason...

The biggest surprise came when Atlanta moved up to the 6th selection to take WR Julio Jones while trading away 5 picks (3 in 2011 and 2 in 2012). Included among those picks was their no. 1 pick in next year's draft. Time will tell, but that's a pretty steep price unless young Julio is directly responsible for winning the Super Bowl in the next few years... I think Mike Holmgren and the Cleveland Browns came out smelling like a rose!

Probably the second biggest surprise concerned the Vikings using the 12th pick of the draft to reach for Florida State's QB Christian Ponder. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The Vikes being WAY down my list of favorite teams, I'm happy that someone in their personnel selection process made the pick.

Finally, there were a couple of things that came down due to teams waiting for the last possible moment on the clock before making their picks. First the Seattle Seahawks waited and waited, hoping to trade out of the 25th
pick, but no call came through. So they finally jumped up and selected who I had rated as the 9th best offensive tackle (James Carpenter out of Alabama) while leaving my 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th rated tackles on the board... This for a guy to play right tackle opposite left tackle Russell Okung their first pick of the 2010 draft. Maybe the guy will pan out but it sure looked like they were sure they had a trade and their plan B wasn't very well thought out...

Then Baltimore waited and waited on their pick at number 26 for the same reason, hoping for a trade. It made me wonder if the same team was the potential trading partner with both of these teams and they were both left standing at the alter... Baltimore actually ran out of time so Kansas City jumped up and made their selection taking the 26th pick away from the Ravens. At least Baltimore knew who they wanted and the poor timing didn't hurt them in that respect as they selected CB Jimmy Smith, a problem child out of Colorado, but here again, it made me wonder. Then New Orleans pulled the trigger with the New England Patriots for the 28th pick in order to take RB Mark Ingram out of Alabama. It must have been New Orleans in the background with both Seattle and Baltimore... I'd think twice about dealing with the Saints down the road...

Well, on to the 2nd and 3rd rounds tonight!

The NASCAR Gods…

I’m just curious…

Who made the decision that it would be this at the end of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega last Sunday…


Instead of this?
There are a couple of possible answers to this question. First let me make it clear I don't think Richard Hendrick would demand a specific outcome, so let's throw out that theory right off the bat.

Do you think it was ultimately an agreement made between crew chiefs? Was it an agreement between the drivers? or... Was it just a matter of timing?

I'm leaning toward one of the drivers making a conscious decision to be a good teammate and if this is so, will Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ever win another Cup race?
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Leading to the first picture up above we all witnessed several hundred feet of this as HMS’s Johnson/Earnhardt tandem sacked their teammates…

How’s that rule about the yellow line go again?

You can tell me that while the 48 and 88 rode the yellow line they weren’t improving their position, but it doesn’t hold water… The simple act of moving to the inside while rounding turn four combined with two sets of cars racing in tandem immediately in front and on a headwind killing angle automatically set up “5 Time” and Junior to be sucked into the lead. The proof is that Johnson won the race…

What did Denny Hamlin do in the Shootout?

Oh… He was below the line at Daytona… Those HMS cars at Talladega were just on top of the line. I see...

You know what? There’s too much gray area involved here. The appearance is that NASCAR is doing a smoke and mirrors deal in terms of who it is, not what they've done. The grand hoopla of NASCAR has gotta revisit this “over the line” rule. I was reading somewhere that in the spirit of “Have at it” NASCAR should throw out their yellow line rule on the Superspeedways for the final, white flag lap of the race only. Let the drivers go for the gusto! This year alone it would have already affected the result on one exhibition race and would have eliminated any potential questioning concerning the outcome of the most recent Cup race…

Red Bull’s Post-Talladega News Release

THANKS, KURT

The following article is from Red Bull’s web site: http://www.redbullusa.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Article/nascar-talladega-sprint-cup-series-021242996983749

Two-car packs carrying the No. 22 were Goliath. The two Red Bull Toyotas carrying Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne were the Davids. One David took a beating; the other David got burned Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

After starting a season-best ninth, No. 83 driver Brian Vickers, for the fourth time in eight races, was collected in an accident that had nothing to do with him. In the early laps of the Aaron’s 499, Vickers and teammate Kasey Kahne had formed an all-Red Bull Toyota two-car pack — despite starting 22 positions apart — and that tandem was well on its way to front. “When I was with Brian before Brian got taken out, we were working pretty well together,” Kahne said. “We led laps, we were up front and everything was good and then we lost him.”

Enter the No. 22 of Kurt Busch, who on lap 28 shoved Landon Cassill’s No. 09 into Vickers’ Red Bull Toyota. Boom! The right side took a shot, broke loose, sliced back
across the track and careened head-on into the outside wall along the backstretch. That was essentially it for Vickers, whose car lacked the aerodynamic shape that’s critical at NASCAR’s widest, longest and, arguably, fastest track. Hard work by the No. 83 crew got Vickers back out, but the effort proved to be futile. After the wreck, Vickers exited the track in 40th, returned in 40th, left again for a driveshaft change in 40th and rode out the remaining laps to finish 38th. He slipped two positions to 28th in the standings — 36 points out of 20th.

“I was riding around minding my own business and we just got hit in the door,” Vickers said. “It looked like Kurt got into the left rear and turned the 09, and we happened to be the unlucky victim. Again, we’ve had a really good car — ran up front, like we’ve had many times this year and we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Enter the No. 22 of Busch again on lap 90. Busch’s car tagged his teammate’s car — the No. 2 of Brad Keselowski, who went spinning near turn three and collected the No. 6 of David Ragan. Ragan, of course, was a passenger and went up into the wall, down to the apron and up the track again. Smoke was everywhere. Behind that smoke was Kahne’s No. 4 Red Bull Toyota. Kahne bounced off the No. 6 and into the grass. He proceeded to roar through the infield with his tail on fire — literally. He was eventually forced to stop near the entrance of pit road, car on fire and thick, black smoke puffing everywhere.

In true Red Bull form, the No. 4 guys got cracking and got Kahne back out. And like Vickers, he rode out the remaining laps and ended up 37th. Kahne dropped two spots in the driver standings. He’s now 51 points out of 10th. “I actually didn’t really even get in that bad of a wreck. It was more the car just got some flames in the back,” Kahne said. “I sucked up a little bit of black smoke, but that was it. I stink, too.”
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After a horrendous day at the superspeedway, a day in which he was involved in three different racing incidents, Kurt Busch had the following to say: “Hell, I wrecked my teammate today just with the front bumper, just me not keeping track of it or it getting too gaulded up with crud."

“[It was] just really an odd day. Restrictor-plate racing and this two-car draft is really tough, and I was in the middle of a bunch of incidents,” Busch said. “I feel bad for wrecking a bunch of cars, especially my teammate, Brad.”

Defending what happened with Kurt, Brad Keselowski stated: “We made some great moves but got towards the back in the shuffle and when we did, we caught a big group that just stopped for some reason,” Keselowski said. “I heard that David Ragan blew up — I’m not exactly sure. We ran up on the group, and I just wasn’t able to stop quick enough with Kurt on my tail, and it just spun me right out.

“Just one of them deals here at Talladega. It’s just racing. I just got on the wrong end of it.”


Dave Blaney was another pushee that got rear ended by the yellow and red 22 but here again there were no hard feelings as Blaney admitted he had to check up leaving Kurt nowhere to go.

Groping for something positive, Kurt went on to say, “My car was really fast all day getting pushed. Once I had to push, the car didn’t seem as stable as I needed it to be.”

After Texas Busch stated, “We struggle to make adjustments as we go. We want to compete for top-fives and wins and we're only getting top-10s right now."

After Talladega, Kurt summed up the day with one word…”Frustrated.”

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In this day and age of "Have at it boys", it kinda makes me wonder if paybacks are coming...

Talladega Trivia Quiz

The races at Talladega, just as at Daytona, have become highly anticipated events. Here's a little quiz concerning the track's past history and what you think may happen this Sunday. ______________________________________________ The Really Big “Big One”! The 1973 Winston 500 at Talladega

______________________________________________ 1. Okay… What percentage of the starting field got taken out by that huge wreck on the 11th lap? A. 15% B. 21% C. 32% D. 27% ______________________________________________ 2. Following along, what percentage of the starting field actually finished that race? --A. 46% B. 52% C. 33% D. 28% ______________________________________________ 3. Since 1969 there have been 83 Cup races at Talladega. Which of the following manufacturers are correctly matched up to their number of wins at Dega? ______________________________________________1. Buick-- 2 - 2. Chevrolet-- 3 - 3. Dodge-- 36 - 4. Ford-- 3 - 5. Mercury-- 7 --6. Oldsmobile-- 6 - 7. Plymouth-- 18 - 8. Pontiac-- 6 - 9. Toyota-- 2 -______________________________________________ 4. How many races were run at Talladega before a Chevrolet was driven to victory?-- A. 11 B. 18 C. 3 D. 15 ______________________________________________ 5. Following along, who drove the first Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Talladega? ------A. Darrell Waltrip B. Dale Earnhardt C. Donnie Allison D. Cale Yarborough ______________________________________________ 6. Do you know what Talladega means in the Choctaw Indian language? ______________________________________________ Concerning the Aaron’s 499 race this Sunday… ______________________________________________ 7. How many lead changes will there be at the Aaron’s 499? _____________________________________________ Last year’s Aaron’s 499 set a new record with 88 lead changes but it was set due to extra laps on three tries at the green-white-checker finish. Last year’s Amp Energy Drink 500 in October had 87 lead changes in the regulation number of laps. _____________________________________________ 8. How many cautions will there be? _____________________________________________ Here are the last 4 races and the number of cautions at Talladega – _____________________________________________ 2010 AMP 500 – 7 Cautions --- 2010 Aaron’s 499 – 8 Cautions --- 2009 AMP 500 – 6 Cautions and 1 Red Flag --- 2009 Aaron’s 499 – 9 Cautions _____________________________________________ 9. Here are the makes of the last 10 Cup race winners at Talladega – -Aaron’s 499-----------UAW Ford 500--------Amp Energy 500 _____________________________________________ 2006 ------Chevrolet--------------- Chevrolet ------------------------------2007-------Chevrolet--------------- Chevrolet ----------------------------2008-------Toyota---------------------------------------------Toyota ---2009------- Chevrolet-----------------------------------------Ford ----2010------- Chevrolet-----------------------------------------Chevrolet- _____________________________________________ Will Chevrolet’s dominance continue this Sunday? ____________________________________________ 10. Will there be any en mass green flag pit stops this Sunday? _____________________________________________ 11. These are the last 10 race winners at Talladega – Alphabetically--------------------- Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers (Gordon won 2 times in the last 10 races). _____________________________________________ If you look at that list, there are two pairs of teammates. Knowing the importance of having a good draft partner at Talladega, do you think the Bowyer/Harvick or Gordon/Johnson combination will result in a winner? _____________________________________________ And finally, 12. Will Sunday’s race have a new face in Victory Lane like the Daytona 500 did? _____________________________________________ Knowing the NASCAR knowledge capabilities of all of you Lug Nuts... The answers will be posted only if necessary. Enjoy!

Off The Wall Racing News

There are two kinds of Indy car drivers: those who have hit the wall

and those who will hit the wall." -- Eddie Cheever.

Formula One

Controversy ought to be Formula One’s middle name. We’re one race into the 2011 season and already several contentious scenarios have unfolded…

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Red Bull – Coming out of Red Bull’s strong showing in Melbourne Australia, with last season’s champion Sebastian Vettel coming in first and Australia’s own Mark Webber placing fifth in Red Bull’s 2011 edition cars, there are a lot of questions concerning a supposedly illegal front wing/nose cone assembly. Last season the same accusations were made and F1A responded by putting the front wing through extensive testing but nothing came of it. These more stringent tests haven’t put a damper on the suspicions. The flex works to create more downforce on the front tires at high speed. It’s claimed that this in turn allows the Red Bull cars to make quicker turns resulting in seconds being cut off each circuit around the track. Here’s video evidence of the flexing nose wing:

Pay close attention to the nose camera position at top speed and after braking for the first corner. I’m not sure about this and maybe our resident engineer can shed a little light on the subject, but I doubt F1’s stringent rules include the type of materials used to manufacture the various body parts on these cars. It makes me wonder if the composite materials used by Red Bull’s engineers have some hidden qualities the other teams’ haven’t figured out.

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Sauber – Both of Sauber’s cars were disqualified for technical infringements after the post Australian Grand Prix inspections. The cars were in breach of technical rules 3.10.1 and 3.10.2 that deal with the rear wing. The disqualification took away Sergio Perez’ and Kamui Kibayashi’s seventh and eighth place finishes. The infringements concern the measured distances across the wings and the placement of the wing.

James Key, Sauber’s technical director stated, “This is a very surprising and disappointing result. It appears that there is a question over the top surface of the uppermost rear wing element, this area is not the working surface of the component and therefore relatively unimportant to its function. "Certainly this has not led to any performance advantage. We are checking the design of the parts now to better understand the situation and we intend to appeal the decision made by the stewards." _______________________________________________

By the way, the Lotus naming rights controversy continues to boil between Team Lotus and Lotus Renault with a court hearing now scheduled for after the 2011 racing season.

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F1 Makes Several Rules Changes…

The KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) has once again been allowed in 2011. First allowed in 2009, the KERS system was discarded with the thought that it actually slowed the cars down. Red Bull will run their version in Malaysia this Sunday.

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The 107% Rule (drivers must be within this much of the pole time to qualify) has also been resurrected in 2011 due to three different teams being deemed uncompetitive in 2010.

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2011 will also see the approved use of moveable rear wings that the driver can use at any time during practice and qualifying but only under certain conditions during the actual racing. Then the wing can only be moved when a driver is one second behind another car. In another controversial move, the ban on team orders has been lifted.

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F1A removed the ban on team driving saying the ban was near impossible to enforce as it stood. So 2011 will once again see team rather than individual racing… ____________________________________________________ 2011 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX

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IndyCar

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Guess who’s going to drive the pace car at the 100th anniversary of auto racing at Indianapolis… None other than “The Donald”… No not the duck, the Trump!

“It’s a great honor to be selected as the Pace Car driver for such an American institution as the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500,” Trump said. “The Indianapolis 500 has been the gold standard of motorsports for a century, and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Camaro and bring the famous field of 33 drivers to the green flag.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Donald Trump as the driver of the Pace Car for the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500,” said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer. “He is an iconic American success story, a business leader without peer who is a fitting choice to bring the field for ‘The Most Important Race in History’ to the green flag.”

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In a sidelight, Chevrolet wants everyone to know the new Camaro SS convertible pace car can handle the duty unmodified from the factory…

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So we’ve got an American built muscle car that flies in the face of the liberal green crew and it will be driven by a leader of American business, institutions under extreme pressure from the left. In addition, Donald Trump has been reported just this week to be running for the Republican nomination for President and is leading the New Hampshire polls…

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St. Pete Revisited…

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard has expressed elation at the television ratings the Honda Grand Prix received and the large crowd that attended the event. The fact that the event was shown on network television (ABC) meant a 100% increase in viewership over last season’s final race for the IndyCar title in Homestead Florida that was shown on cable TV (1.4 rating at St. Pete verses a .7 rating). "I'm very encouraged by the ratings for several reasons. First of all, it was a standalone. It wasn't in the late time slot, during which there typically is more household viewership. Second, it's our highest-rated non-Indianapolis show since 2007, but even that show [Mid-Ohio] had a great lead-in with the British Open...," shared Bernard.

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In organized racing for nearly 10 years now, Simona de Silvestro apparently is the real deal and IndyCar is more than happy to have her. All eyes will be on the young driver after her fourth place finish in St. Petersburg.

Will Gene’s proclamation that Ms. de Silvestro is the best woman driver in IndyCar continue to be backed up?

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Driver News…

Bryan Herta Autosport, in a move announced just before the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, signed Dan Wheldon to drive the team’s 2011 Indianapolis 500 entry. Co-owners Bryan Herta and Steve Newey are thrilled to have a driver of Dan’s caliber behind the wheel of their car…

Canadian James Hinchcliffe will make his IndyCar debut Saturday in Alabama driving for Newman/Haas Racing in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama next weekend. Newman/Hass will expand to two entries to accommodate young Mr. Hinchcliffe.

A.J. Foyt Racing announced the signing of Brazilian Bruno Junqueira to drive in the Indy 500 this year.

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The 100th Year of racing at Indianapolis…

The celebration is ramping up for the May 29th Indianapolis 500. I was surprised to run across this…

Painted by Thomas Kincaid, known as “The Painter of Light”, I was surprised since I’ve never seen him paint a scene such as that before…

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Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

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Enjoy the racing this weekend!

Junior Got Clocked!

There’s an old axiom that says “The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree…” and it’s used to describe how closely a person’s offspring resembles and/or acts like their parent. Evidently this isn’t necessarily true in NASCAR. The two greatest drivers in the sport were followed by sons who, for whatever reason, have not risen to the same heights. Yes, there are other examples of young drivers with well-known names who have performed very well at the top level of the sport (Dale Jarrett and Davey Allison immediately come to mind), but they are few and far between… This shortfall was excruciatingly evident in yesterday’s finale at Martinsville's Goody's 500. Just for a few moments in time (the final two laps), imagine Dale Earnhardt Sr. was behind the wheel of the 88 Chevrolet instead of Dale Jr. Given everything else being equal, who do you think would have crossed the finish line first? _______________________________________________________ But what we got was Kevin Harvick explaining on the post-race interview how sorry he was to be the bad guy for winning the race and then expressing thanks to Junior for driving clean. This while Junior was apologizing to Kyle Busch for bumping him and then hanging his head in his own interview wishing he had won the clock! _______________________________________________________ Man! It’s been what, almost 100 Cup races since Dale last visited victory lane? _______________________________________________________ I’m thinkin’ the Martinsville crowd would have literally gone bonkers if Dale had punted Kevin for the win, I know I would’ve been and I’m not what you’d call even a remote Earnhardt fan… My apologies to you Harvick fans, but that one move for the win by the sport’s most popular driver would have been like a tonic to NASCAR. Junior’s victory in a manner so reminiscent of “The Intimidator” would have been splashed all over the sporting news wires each and every day of the next week. The news would have done wonders for a sport that’s been floundering with fans starving for such a thing… A victory like that would have been remembered for years to come. ________________________________________________________ Yeah, I know. Then we would have been inundated by the whining conspiracy theorists.