Spending a day at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Linda and I went to Atlanta with only one real committed activity: attending the Kobalt 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Yes, we had other things in mind.) When I go to a race, it's pretty much an all day event. One of the activities that I enjoy is roaming around the various activities outside the tracks. Generally, I see at least some of the RaceDay television show live. I also wander the merchendise haulers to see what and who's available. Linda has developed a real knack for finding the haulers where drivers can be seen. Here are the drivers from Atlanta, the most I've ever seen at one race.

Of course, the main event is the race. These shots capture some of the images from the race. I don't know the guy in the lower left corner but he's clearly a character; not the norm for the crowd but certainly a fan. Bottom center is Greg Biffle's car going the wrong way up pit road after a pretty significant accident. In the lower right, a fan celebrates his souvenir: the rear panel from Greg Biffles wrecked car.

The blue car with the 2 on the side in the right center image was the winner and kept my streak alive: I've not yet seen any driver win twice. This time, Kurt Busch was at the wheel.

NASCAR: Richmond

Week 10 took us to the short track at Richmond. My guys didn't do so well.

Tenth Frame

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 32
Sprint Cup Points : 73

Kvapil, Travis Qualifying Points : 10
Sprint Cup Points : 115

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 28
Sprint Cup Points : 55

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 38
Sprint Cup Points : 67


Tri-Oval Grover 667 447 JLT Racing
DUI Racing 649 517 Hatethe8
League of Tomorrow 549 418 Tenth Frame
Team of Tomorrow 521 445 Left Side Rubber

NASCAR: Talladega

Week 9 took the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to Talladega. Sweet Home, Alabama! My team produced another win!

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 34
Sprint Cup Points : 129

Kvapil, Travis Qualifying Points : 30
Sprint Cup Points : 150

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 8
Sprint Cup Points : 146

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 18
Sprint Cup Points : 175

Tenth Frame 690 382 Team of Tomorrow
JLT Racing 640 542 Hatethe8
League of Tomorrow 531 261 Left Side Rubber
Tri-Oval Grover 453 400 DUI Racing

NASCAR: Phoenix

Week 8 took the NASCAR to Phoenix. My team produced another win!

Tenth Frame

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 37
Sprint Cup Points : 195

Kvapil, Travis Qualifying Points : 12
Sprint Cup Points : 97

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 14
Sprint Cup Points : 130

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 29
Sprint Cup Points : 115

DUI Racing 721 499 JLT Racing
Tenth Frame 629 467 Left Side Rubber
Hatethe8 578 411 Tri-Oval Grover
League of Tomorrow 510 465 Team of Tomorrow

NASCAR: Texas

Week 7 of the NASCAR season took us to the speedy track in Texas. The team scored a win!

Tenth Frame

Hornish Jr., Sam Qualifying Points : 27
Sprint Cup Points : 67

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 39
Sprint Cup Points : 175

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 33
Sprint Cup Points : 106

Riggs, Scott Qualifying Points : 31
Sprint Cup Points : 82


Team Score Score Team
DUI Racing 655 479 Team of Tomorrow
JLT Racing 586 507 Left Side Rubber
Tenth Frame 560 542 Tri-Oval Grover
Hatethe8 547 403 League of Tomorrow

NASCAR: Martinsville

NASCAR: Martinsville

Week 6 was at one of NASCAR's short tracks, Martinsville, Virginia. My team produced the win.

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 34
Sprint Cup Points : 165

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 5
Sprint Cup Points : 146

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 15
Sprint Cup Points : 124

Riggs, Scott Qualifying Points : 8
Sprint Cup Points : 40


Hatethe8 583 582 Team of Tomorrow
Tri-Oval Grover 571 569 League of Tomorrow
DUI Racing 552 370 Left Side Rubber
Tenth Frame 537 376 JLT Racing

Watching them run at Martinsville

The green flag fell and the race was on. There were a couple long green runs that let the drivers really race one another, working for their openings to make the passes. As you can also see, there were a couple of accidents but nearly everyone finished the race just fine. In the end, Virginian Denny Hamlin got the win. Linda and I were racing against one another in the fantasy league; my guys prevailed. It wasn't the best day to have been there but I thought it was still a good time; Linda enjoyed having been there with me.

Checking out the camoflage and Carhartt

Clearly, we were in the presence of folks who knew how to remain comfy through an afternoon in the chilly mist that settled over the Martinsville Speedway. I think the crowd shot in the upper left shows the general opinion that more layers might be better. The guy in the Carhartt in the upper right did a good job firing up the crowd. In the lower left, we have a proven veteran; he's got his camo cap, his headphones, and is holding one of about a dozen hard boiled eggs he brought for himself and his buddies to snack on during the race; nice. Yes, that's Linda and me in the lower right. I picked up the stocking hat, sometimes called a toboggan I guess, at Jimmie Johnson's hauler the morning of the race; nice, isn't it? At least Linda looked good.

Checking out the Martinsville Prerace

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, also known as Virginia Tech, sent their mascot and marching band to participate in the pre-race activities. The band marched the circuit of the track and did a nice job with the national anthem.

We were nice and close to the track and allowed to get right down to shoot photos through the chain link. These two shots, Kyle Busch and Tony Steward on the left and Virginia native Denny Hamlin and Aric Alimirola were nice to capture.

Getting to the gate in Martinsville

Race day morning looked like most so far: rainy and cold. The drive from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Martinsville, Virginia, went smoothly and took the expected hour and change. About twenty miles out from the track, we saw our first sign looking for tickets; I was a little surprised we didn't see more until we were within a couple miles of the track.

The weather improved... a little: the rain stopped. It was still only around forty... yes, forty degrees. When we finally found our parking place and got out of the car, we could see our breath... unless the wind was too strong. This was gonna be quite a day. Linda and I had a few hours before the green flag and we had things to do!

One of my favorite things to do is catch a little of the Race Day show with John Roberts, Jimmy "Mr. Excitement" Spencer, and Kenny Wallace; that's them across the top of the image. They were prepared for the chilly weather as well.

I also like to swing by the haulers to see if I can find a driver signing autographs. This time, we were fortunate enough to catch Kurt Busch signing autographs at his hauler; that's him in the lower left.

Linda shot a couple of photos of the haulers; the image in the lower left is from Kyle Busch's hauler; he drives for M&M's. Actually, Kyle and Kurt are on Linda's fantasy racing team so this was a little bonus.

One of the great traditions of Martinsville is found at the concession stand: the hot dogs. Linda and I each ordered one with "everything." For two bucks each, we got an uncommonly pink hot dog buried under chili, mustard, onions, and that vinegar cole slaw that showed up on the barbecue in North Carolina. Well... it's what you do here so we tried them. They were great! Unfortunately, we ate them up before we got a photo; sorry about that uncharacteristic slip.

Everything outside complete, it was time to find our seats.

NASCAR: Bristol

Week 5 was at NASCAR's version of the Coliseum, Bristol, Tennessee. My team produced decent points over all but came up short.


Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 43
Sprint Cup Points : 114

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 39
Sprint Cup Points : 37

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 23
Sprint Cup Points : 118

Riggs, Scott Qualifying Points : 13
Sprint Cup Points : 97


Team of Tomorrow 623 550 Tri-Oval Grover
Hatethe8 604 552 Left Side Rubber
League of Tomorrow 560 400 JLT Racing
DUI Racing 529 484 Tenth Frame

NASCAR: Atlanta

Finally! My team scored enough points to beat half of the other teams in the league... and I was racing one of them! Back on the winning track!

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 33
Sprint Cup Points : 124

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 5
Sprint Cup Points : 112

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 25
Sprint Cup Points : 115

Riggs, Scott Qualifying Points : 16
Sprint Cup Points : 109

JLT Racing 701 513 Team of Tomorrow
League of Tomorrow 642 470 DUI Racing
Tenth Frame 539 527 Hatethe8
Tri-Oval Grover 514 458 Left Side Rubber

NASCAR: Las Vegas

This week, the schedule didn't save me. Once again, my team only produced enough points to beat one team in the league; this time, I wasn't racing them.

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 11
Sprint Cup Points : 76

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 33
Sprint Cup Points : 124

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 13
Sprint Cup Points : 106

Smith, Regan Qualifying Points : 16
Sprint Cup Points : 61

Team of Tomorrow 655 490 Left Side Rubber
DUI Racing 554 427 Hatethe8
League of Tomorrow 548 440 Tenth Frame
Tri-Oval Grover 485 471 JLT Racing

NASCAR: California

This year is starting with my team producing just enough points to beat one other team and the schedule has be facing them. I'm a nervous 2-0.

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 43
Sprint Cup Points : 180

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 39
Sprint Cup Points : 37

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 23
Sprint Cup Points : 103

Smith, Regan Qualifying Points : 27
Sprint Cup Points : 70


Team (Code) Score Score Team (Code)
League of Tomorrow 617 590 Left Side Rubber
Hatethe8 573 567 JLT Racing
Tri-Oval Grover 565 538 DUI Racing
Tenth Frame 522 456 Team of Tomorrow

NASCAR: Daytona

Well... we're under way! My team won... but only because we were racing the one team we could beat. This isn't a great way to start the year.

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 43
Sprint Cup Points : 87

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 35
Sprint Cup Points : 52

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 29
Sprint Cup Points : 67

Smith, Regan Qualifying Points : 15
Sprint Cup Points : 55


Team (Code) Score Score Team (Code)
JLT Racing 675 509 DUI Racing
Tri-Oval Grover 659 497 Hatethe8
League of Tomorrow 602 587 Team of Tomorrow
Tenth Frame 383 356 Left Side Rubber

NASCAR Fantasy Draft

NASCAR.COM changed the rules for the fantasy league so some changes had to be made.

We now have eight in the league, up from six in prior years. Along with that, two teams merged so we needed three new participants. Fortunately, we were able to fill those spots.

We also were to expand our teams from four drivers to six; that's a lot of drivers! Six drivers on eight teams is forty-eight drivers on teams. Only forty-three start any given race. Fortunately(?), we only start four of the six so all teams SHOULD be able to have a full team start each week.

We learned that qualifying was also going to contribute points. Now, a good finisher that qualifies poorly might not be as valuable as they were last year. Lots to think about.

The draft ALSO changed to a real-time chat room type draft. We no longer could do our picks in advance and enter them into their system as we saw fit. Things were gonna change!

When the draft was complete, my team, Tenth Frame, had Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears, Juan Montoya, Regan Smith, Sam Hornish Jr., and Scott Riggs; should be a nice team.

Reporting the Homestead Results

#1 Bear Down Racing 401 vs. 256 #2 Overdue
#3 Desert Denny 360 vs. 405 #6 Red Neck Racing Academy
#5 Blue Bayou 327 vs. 503 #4 halffastracing

#6 Red Neck Racing Academy was 22-13; won; finishes 23-13
#5 Blue Bayou was 20-15; lost; finishes 20-16
#1 Bear Down Racing was 18-17; won; finishes 19-17
#4 halffastracing was 18-17; won; finishes 19-17
#2 Overdue was 18-17; lost; finishes 18-18
#3 Desert Denny was 9-26; lost; finishes 9-27

It's over and I took third! My string of wins and Overdue's string of losses made for the unlikely order of finish.

Jimmie Johnson didn't win the race but did successfully defend his championship.

Reporting the Phoenix Results

#2 Overdue 206 vs 354 #3 Desert Denny
#5 Blue Bayou 403 vs 470 #1 Bear Down Racing
#6 Red Neck Racing Academy 447 vs 290 #4 halffastracing

I'm in a three way tie heading into the last race of the season!

#6 Red Neck Racing Academy 22-13
#5 Blue Bayou 20-15
#1 Bear Down Racing 18-17
#2 Overdue 18-17
#4 halffastracing 18-17
#3 Desert Denny 9-26

Reporting the Texas Results

#1 Bear Down Racing 510 vs. 345 #6 Red Neck Racing Academy
#4 halffastracing 317 vs. 439 #3 Desert Denny
#5 Blue Bayou 396 vs. 322 #2 Overdue

#6 Red Neck Racing Academy was 21-12; lost; 21-13
#5 Blue Bayou was 19-14; won; now 20-14
#2 Overdue was 18-15; lost; now 18-16
#4 halffastracing was 18-15; lost; now 18-16
#1 Bear Down Racing was 16-17; won; now 17-17
#3 Desert Denny was 7-26; won; now 8-26

Reporting the Martinsville Results

#1 Bear Down Racing 487 vs. 342 #4 halffastracing
#3 Desert Denny 394 vs. 396 #5 Blue Bayou
#6 Red Neck Racing Academy 350 vs. 367 #2 Overdue

#6 Red Neck Racing Academy was 20-11; lost; now 20-12
#5 Blue Bayou was 18-13; won; now 19-13
#4 halffastracing was 18-13; lost; now 18-14
#2 Overdue was 16-15; won; 17-15
#1 Bear Down Racing was 14-17; won; now 15-17
#3 Desert Denny was 7-24; lost by 2 points!; now 7-25