VA kid wins in his home state

Hamlin crossing the finish line in the Goodys Cool Orange 500 (pictured left)
Denny Hamlin, the driver of the number 11 fed ex freight car has won today at Martinsville Speedway in the Goodys Cool Orange 500. On this small 1/2 mile track Hamlin was able to take patient-aggressive approach, by conserving fuel and brakes. A driver who was less fortunate, that fell to gas problems was Carl Edwards, driving the 99 Claritin Clear car, dropping back from 5th to 9th with 200 feet left in the race. Carl raced well, but mistakes by the crew chief cost him valuable points that he desperately needs standing in the 14th points position. Hamlin has gotten the win that he deserves, falling to gas problems at Bristol motor speedway two weeks ago, while in the lead. Right behind Hamlin was Jeff Gordon, who yet again finished second at Martinsville. Jeff Burton finished third in the race, and has taken the over all points lead. So now do you believe me? Childress must be ecstatic with his drivers. Like I said earlier championship is now in the picture for Childress racing. After Burton was Jimmie Johnson, another Hendrick car. Hendrick this week has picked up their speed, but not enough for any of their drivers to win. After was Tony Stewart, another Toyota, then Ernhart Jr., after was Casey Mears, yet again another Hendrick car. Next was Jamie McMurray, a Roush Fenway car, and then following him was his teammate Carl Edwards. To round up the top 10 Clint Boyer a Childress car finishes after Edwards. Kyle Busch had a rough day, getting tangled with his brother Kurt, and blowing a gear 2/3 of the way through the race. He has dropped from leading the points to 5th. Gordon and Johnson are now present in the top ten in points which seems to show light on their problems. Also Kevin Harvick, last years Daytona 500 winner has moved into second in points, only 39 points behind Burton. Although Harvick his high in the standings he still is without a win. So Kevin Harvick looks like he may be a contender for the chase championship. The racing was great on the short track; although, its tougher than super speedways, because of the constant breaking. The weather was also fairly bad, slightly raining the whole afternoon. But over all it was a great race day. Congratulations to Denny Hamlin claiming his first win in 2008, winning the first time in his home state. Until next week when the sprint cup series travels to Texas motor speedway.

Movie intro's: how its related to Shakespeare

In most movies now a days the plots are extremely predictable. within the first 30min. of the movie you're able to know the general idea of what's going to happen. For instance a movie that just came out recently, Dan in Real Life. The plot starts out with a single father of three daughters named named Dan (played by Steve Carell.) His wife had passed away a couple years earlier. Their plan is to go up to his parents house for a family reunion for the weekend. During his stay he meets a woman in a book store named Marie (played by Juliette Binoche.) They talk for a long period of time, and she gives him her number. Later in the movie you find out that the woman he meets is his brothers girl friend. After that point you can guess what happens. Dan falls in love with her, makes his brother upset, and Dan and Marie live hapily ever after. The End. I wasted 16 bucks on that peice of junk. The first time too see how it was, and the second because we couldn't get into any other movie. Bad the first time, horrible the second. I highly recomend you to not see this movie. It may look funny because Steve Carell is in it but it is not. There's about two funny one liners in the film, and that is it. Although many movies follow this format, not all do. For example, a movie I saw about a year and a half ago, The Departed. This great movie with Matt Damon, Lenardo DeCaprio and Jack Nicolson, has more lying, back stabbing, action and twists than any other "inside the box" movie you have seen. Two men graduating from the same Massachusetts Police Acedmey are on opposite sides. At first you think Matt Damon is the "good guy" and Leonardo is the "bad guy." As it turns out Mat Damons character is purpitrating the Massachusetts Police force, and Leonardo is purpitrating the Irish mofia. If you like action pact movies with drugs, sex, and violence, watch this movie. My prediction on Macbeth is that we really aren't expecting what's coming. It will be, more bloody, gruesome and twisted than we think.

NASCAR Nationwide Series at Nashville

Scott Wimmer pulling across the finish line in Nashville this Sunday (left.) Clint Boyer and Kyle Busch race each other(Busch in the black, Boyer in the red)

This week the Sprint Cup series has a week off, so the Nationwide has taken the spot light of my NASCAR report this week. Scott Whimmer of Childress Racing came up with the win on Sunday afternoon. A full time Nationwide driver, he is glad to take the win. After so many weeks of big time Sprint Cup drivers winning he felt greatly rewarded to beat them out this sunday. Childress Racing continues to be dominant in NASCAR, claiming both the Sprint Cup race and Nationwide race at Bristol. Could this be a sign for championship for Childress racing? With Both Jeff Burton and Clint Boyer in the top 10 of the Sprint Cup points, and Boyer holding the number 1 spot in the Nationwide series it just may be so. It seems pretty early to tell, but Childress is on fire. In the past three weeks all of their drivers, Sprint Cup and Nationwide Cars, have finished in the top 10 or higher, giving the well payed Hendrick motorsports drivers a run for their money. Last years champ Jimmy Johnson has been slipping, only finishing in 1 race above the top ten, which was at california where he finished 2nd. Holding a 13th points position he's on the bubble of the chase. This may mean a championship for a team other than a driver with the last name Johnson. It seems that Hendrick has lost their speed because right below him is Jeff Gordon in 14th. A rare sight to see, two Hendrick cars below the top ten. The only Hendrick driver to stay in the chase is the new guy to the team. Dale Ernhart Jr., showing much sucess after the move from DEI. Holding the 5th position in points he currently is a contender for the championship. It just goes to show, with the right equipment a good driver becomes great. Also contenders for the championship are Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. Driving for Gibbs they both are now racing Toyotas. Tony who said "The car of tomarrow drives like a box with wheels" is making the new Toyotas go faster than ever before. Kyle Busch is also a terrific contender. Holding first place in the Sprint Cup points he claimed Toyotas first win ever in the Sprint Cup series since they were introduced last year. All these guys and their race teams are contenders in the points race for the Sprint Cup series and Nationwide Series. Although it seems disapointing Toyota seems to be a dominant force in NASCAR now. In the next 5 years almost all race drivers will have Toyatas in their cars, like todays Craftsman truck series. Watch the races to see who will come out on top. You can get the race on ESPN2, SPEED, or ABC.

Opener at H'town: a disapointment

Tim Fuller, the winner of last years opener(above)
Yet again for the third time in nine years the Hagerstown 100 has been canceled. Normally the opener for the Advance Auto Parts super dirt series, is canceled and will not be made up. Due to bad weather and track conditions were the reasons why the race was called off. Although it was a disappointment, the track officials were able to call the race on friday so any drivers who were to travel extensively did not have to drive to the track to find out there was no race. Last years winner, a great driver by the name of Tim Fuller from Watertown, NY has been with the series for many years. Along with being the runner up in The Super Dirt points behind Brett Hearn, Aka "Brett the Jet", he also drives in the World of Outlaws Late Model series. Where he is also fairly successful. The series will meet again May first at Virginia Motor speedway, where it will now start. I will say again, any cool ideas for my blog please throw them my way. Any criticism then get the hell out.

Racing is a true sport: no matter what you think

Everyone always says "well it's not that hard, all you do is turn left. I could do that." When people tell me that racing isn't a "real sport" I go CRAZY! First of all your insulting something that I enjoy, which is showing disrespect to myself, secondly I didn't ask for your opinion on racing, and lastly you are wrong. Racing requires leadership, team work, focus, stratagey, mental and physical stress, practice, practice, practice, and risks. Like all sports, racing has leaders, your crew chief, driver, and car owner are all examples of leaders in racing. The crew chief is like your catcher, he is a veteran to the sport, he knows what he is doing, and he can see everything throughout the race. The driver is the captin of the ship, so to speak, he drives the car without messing it up, he tells you how the car feels, loose or tight, and he and that car are all your hard work, time and effort go into that whole week. The pit crew are your team mates. They practice all week long, filling the tank, changing the tires, and jacking up the car. They all have to be a well tuned machine, one mistake can change the whole race. Many races are won and lost on pit road. the difference between a 13 second pit stop to a 30 pit second stop could be 10 positions or more. Pit stops are used to improve the cars, grip, the the looseness or tightness of the car, to repair damage to the car or replace flat tires, fill the gas tank, and clean off the wind shield. Local dirt racing is similar, but there are no pit stops. Dirt is much harder to race on though. Track conditions, tire size and preassure, gear ratio, and engine power can effect on how fast you can go. I prefer dirt racing to NASCAR because the races are shorter. NASCAR averages around 300 to 500 laps, where as racing at local dirt tracks range from 30 laps, to a once a year 100 lap race. Dirt racing has been around for a long long time, since prohibition. Starting out in the hills of North Carolina when illegal moonshiners raced away from police. It began escalate to sundays all the "shiners" would show off their hot rods. Just a little racing history there for ya. The last reason why I feel racing is a sport is that drivers are physically exterting themselves out there. They are driving for 3 and a half hours at the least to five hours strait during a time period. During the summer months that can take a toll on a driver, which is why they have a gatorade rig to their helmets. Why would race car drivers have to drink gatorade if they weren't athletes? The answer is that they are atheletes, and I've given you enough proof for you to believe that. If you still think otherwise please tell me your reasoning by commenting on this post, and if you do feel that racing is a sport, good for you. To those who agree, welcome to the biggest spectator sport in our nation.