■ 28 July 2009 | 10:37 AM
A few odds and ends and other things.
# In case you missed it, NASCAR has filed court documents asking the federal district judge to permanently do away with the injunction he granted Jeremy Mayfield. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the injunction. The federal judge can reaffirm his decision or reverese himself. Either way, this issue will continue in the courts. NASCAR claims that Mayfield is lying about the chronology of the second random drug test.
But among the documents NASCAR entered was a statement that read: "There are several other witnesses who have confirmed that they will testify about Mayfield's methamphetamine use. Because of Mayfield's defamatory tirade against Lisa Mayfield, these witnesses are reluctant to testify unless subpoenaed. Mayfield has apparently contacted at least one witness to convince the witness that despite her recollection, he never used drugs. As soon as NASCAR is able to subpoena these witnesses, NASCAR will supplment this record.''
# I've read and heard a lot of people question why Juan Pablo Montoya would even put himself in position to be caught speeding while having like a 5-second lead in Sunday's race at Indy.
Folks, this racing. It's not ballroom dancing. What do racers do? They race. The same people questioning why he was trying to get all he could on pit road -- as all drivers try to do -- would be questioning him if he just coasted into the pits and then had a slow pit stop, costing him more time. I've heard drivers and crew chiefs discuss before the race the tach setting for pit road speed on the radio. I've heard a number of times that when they're going pit road speed (based on the pace car running at that speed on one of the pace laps) and the driver reports a tach reading that the crew chief tells him that he can raise it a bit. Look, it's so competitive, these guys are doing everything they can to gain a tenth of a second. Montoya was just doing what they all do. Maybe he was a bit overzealous on that stop with the lead, but to lollygag into the pits is not something a driver is going to do.
# 6 races until the Chase. Who will be in and who will be out?
Considering that Kyle Busch has won this season at two of the remaining six tracks before the Chase (Bristol and Richmond), he seems a good bet to race his way back into the Chase from his spot at 14th in the standings now.
Who Busch would knock out? It's easy to pick Greg Biffle (11th in points) or Matt Kenseth (12th) and it could be one of them with the inconsistency they've had. Thing is, Kenseth has been struggling lately with only two top 10s in the last seven races. If he can't turn it around soon, he could miss the Chase for the first time since its inception in 2004.
Think it's going to be a challenge for David Reutimann, who is 13th, to climb into the Chase. Three top-10s in the last eight races. Needs to be a bit stronger.
Key to who makes the Chase and who doesn't could be just who gets collected in an accident (espeically off these double-file restarts as Jeff Burton is well aware of) and who doesn't.
# NASCAR should be making an announcement soon on the Nationwide COT cars and what they'll be. It won't be a surprise when they are the pony cars everyone has talked about.
# Had an interesting conversation with someone in the garage Sunday before the race who knows a thing or two about crew chiefing. Says that Greg Zipadelli is doing a masterful job working with Joey Logano this year. Says he's listened to Zipadelli talk with Logano and work with him and help him diagnose what can be done to help the car improve. It's easy to overlook Zipadelli's skill since he's not with a driver in the top-10 in points but he may be doing one of his best jobs as crew chief this season.
# Lot of complaints about boring racing at Indy. So is it worth it for NASCAR to keep going there? Would you go to a race there? Also, NASCAR Nation, what else is on your mind? Who among the top 12 will fall out and not make the Chase? Who will climb into the top 12?
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Montoya
Remember a year-or-two ago at a road-race in Mexico when Juan wrecked his team-mate on the last lap to win the race. NASCAR didn't utter a sound because they wanted the " Hispanic " all-star-boy to win, especially in Mexico. It was all about TV ratings "south-of-the-border ". Well race-fans THIS IS BEAUTIFUL KARMA!
Random Answers
#Jeremy Mayfield - Too much press about this subject. I think he's just trying to win an out of court settlement, but I don't think NASCAR will give in this time.
#Juan Pablo - Did you notice that after all the rounds of green flag pit stops ESPN compared the total time on pit road and during the stop. Juan was always 1-2 seconds faster than the rest. I'm not surprised he got caught. Juan deserved to get caught because he was obviously trying to hit that right on 59.99 mph, instead of settling for 58 or 59 MPH.
#The Chase - Mark Martin will be in it. He's showed the kind of drive that will make it in. I also predict he'll have at least one more win. At Indy he could have pushed JJ harder at the restart, but he had more to lose and JJ knew it.
#Nationwide COT - I hope they are pony cars. It will be good to have a separate identity to the series. I also hope it will make it more appealing to other foreign makes.
#Joey and Zippy - right on! Great combination. Kyle B. could learn a lot from them.
#Boring Indy - I don't think the race was boring, but I think the telecast was. They missed a lot of stuff that went on. I'd like to know how Bill Elliot g
Random Thoughts
Mayfield. OMG. I'm subjected to random drug testing due to the occupation that I made my career in. In my 20 plus years of experience with drug testing policies, Mayfield is exhibiting all the classic signs of a user who is busted. Although I think of Nascar as a dictatorship that ruthlessly runs it's business, I just don't think that Nascar would use a drug testing company that would mess this up repeatedly. The subject is way to sensitive to peoples lives. I think that Nascar is justified in what they are doing to protect the general public and the other competitors. Going after relatives and witnesses to testify about personal eye witness accounts, that is just the dirty side of this battle. Enough said, I hope this goes away soon, tired of hearing about it. Already put my two cents in about speeding on pit road. Update to modern technology. Who makes the chase? Gordon's in so far, doesn't matter to me who the rest of the competition is going to be for the chase. Just looking forward to it. Sentimental fav: Mark Martin, even though I don't think he's aggressive enough to fight for the title. That's why he finished second so many times. What else? Races are getting pretty boring.