theStewartFan: December 2006

Amateur Fishermen Win Inaugural Ryan Newman Foundation Celebrity Charity Fishing Tournament STATESVILLE, N.C.- NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart shared big fish stories with over 300 fisherman at the inaugural Ryan Newman Foundation Celebrity Charity Fishing Tournament at Blythe Landing in Huntersville, NC on Saturday, December 16, 2006. Make sure and go read the entire article.

# posted by theStewartFan @ 9:06 AM

3 Comments:

TalkGeorge adds:
If people are fish...Tony is a manatee, my favorite!

Happy vrooming 2007!
Thanks TalkGeorge for your comment.

Clance' McClannahan adds:
Is a manatee a fish or a mammal? I think if Tony were a fish, he would be a Whale shark...Large Presence, Gentle yet vicious...sucks up what he devours until he is full.
Love'em!!
Thanks Clance' McClannahan for your comment.

Anonymous adds:
Ya'll can say what you want about Tony, but we have a saying here in Trenton, NJ... if you get a plate of hot wings, what do you do with the skinny ones? Set them aside, right? Ya eat the big ones first with all the MEAT... ;)

Sookie Sookie Tony! ;)
Thanks Anonymous for your comment.

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Why not, I'ts Christmas!

What's your name?	Dave
Do you watch NASCAR?	Yes
If yes, which series?	All Cup, some Bush (or whatever it will be), a few Truck
Who's your favorite driver?	Tony Stewart
What's your favorite team?	JGR
What's your favorite sponsor?	Home Depot
What's your favorite make and model?	Chevy MC, although I drive Chryslers
How long have you been watching NASCAR?	Since 1998
Do you like restrictor plate races?	No
If yes, which is your favorite track?	N/A
What is your all-time favorite track?	Atlanta
Do you like the road courses?	Not really, but I watch.
If yes, which one is your favorite?	N/A
Would you rather watch a 2-mile track race, or a half a mile track race?	In person: Half. On TV: 2m
Have you ever made plans for the weekend based on the NASCAR schedule?	36 times a year
Which do you like the best : Superspeedway, short track, or road course?	unrestricted superpedway=Atlanta
Is your TV always on the Speed Channel?	yes, accept when the race is on
Are you obsessed with NASCAR?	yes
Are you obsessed with one or more of the drivers?	I'm theStewartFan;...your call
If yes, who?	see above
Are you obsessed with cars?	yes
Would you give up your left nut to get to drive around your favorite track with your favorite driver?	Since the Vasectomy, why not?
What do you think about Rusty and Mark's retirement?	Good timing
Who do you think will be the next to retire?	Robby Gordon, I hope.
Do you think Martin Truex Jr. would be an AWESOME driver for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series?	yes
Since NASCAR had the "NASCAR'S sexiest driver" thing.... who do /YOU/ think is the sexiest NASCAR driver?	Dave Marcis
Is NASCAR your favorite sport?	yes
What do you think it would be like to race for a living?	Very busy and stressfull, but I'd do it.
What's the fastest you've ever gone in a car?	150
What's your /DREAM/ car?	Too many to list, I'd own 100s if I had the means.
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

# posted by theStewartFan @ 10:32 AM

4 Comments:

Anonymous adds:
I was doing this survey in my head until I came to the "Would you give your left nut.." one. I don't have a left nut. Maybe I'd give my left ovary, or boob..or something.

=D
Thanks Anonymous for your comment.

Clance' McClannahan adds:
Ditto with Brit...except I don't have any ovaries any more, I want to keep both my boobs, I am left handed, I need my left leg cuz the right one is broken, I want both my eyes cuz they are my best feature. Ok. I would give my left ear.
Thanks Clance' McClannahan for your comment.

Tiredawg adds:
What's up Dave??? I am with ya on the last question. But if I had to pick just one besides one of Senior's Goodwrench Chevy's, I would want a Tucker.
Thanks Tiredawg for your comment.

Anonymous adds:
I love the blog that you have. I was wondering if you would link my blog to yours and in return I would do the same for your blog. If you want to, my site name is American Legends and the URL is:

www.americanlegends.blogspot.com

If you want to do this just go to my blog and in one of the comments just write your blog name and the URL and I will add it to my site.

Thanks,
David
Thanks Anonymous for your comment.

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Time Magazine has recognized myself, and everyone else who uses the web to project pieces and parts of themselves as their "Person of the Year". So If you're included in this group (and you know who you are), join me in taking a bow and trying to do a little better that Kyle Bush with our acceptance speeches.

# posted by theStewartFan @ 10:52 PM

2 Comments:

TalkGeorge adds:
Congrats back at you StewartFan!
Thanks TalkGeorge for your comment.

Tiredawg adds:
Props to ya and as I was taking my bow, ohhhh my back!!!
Thanks Tiredawg for your comment.

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I love looking at numbers, and this definitely qualifies. Thanks to USATODAY for this insight into what a crash means to NASCAR. You can go their to see the big picture, I'm just going to dig out what was interesting to me.

Over the last 5 years the rate of accidents hasn't changed all that much, but it was highest in 2005 and came down slightly in 2006. It might be a larger influx of rookies the last wo years; and if that's the case it shouldn't go down in 2007.

Accidents cause the highest percentage of DNF's. Doesn't seem a strange thing to say, but an accident doesn't immediately result in not finishing. You blow it up (2nd largest cause of DNF's), and you're on the trailer for sure. But if the car isn't toast, seams like most teams try to get it back out there for as many points as they can get. Maybe I'm wrong on this one, or maybe it's just the teams actually going for a championship that get the wrenches out. No other cause of DNF's had more of a 5% chance of resulting in an early trip home.

Turns 2 and 4 is where the drivers get back on the gas hard, and where all the action is. That's where you get your seats if you want to be able to see the sheet metal fly. It's where I enjoy seeing the drivers recover from what seems like a sure wreck. Biffle, for one, is great to watch as he's rarely pointed in the right direction coming out of turn 4, and can some how bring it back from certain doom. I've seen him so sideways at Dover his team started to pack up his pit, only to watch him get up on the wheel and finish the lap.

No surprise that the short tracks lead in the number of accidents followed by the two 1 mile tracks. The big tracks are right in the middle all grouped together, and the cookie cutters are all through the list. Las Vegas and California seem to be th easiest on the fab shop.

The tab labeled Crashes by Driver tells the story of who had a good season almost as well as the points. The chasers are at the bottom of the list (least amount of crashes). It might have been interesting to see the stats after 26 races, as some people did better in the chase (Tony), and some people didn't do so well in the chase. It definably tells the story on Yeley, Nemecheck, Mears, and Robby Gordon. Yeley leads that pack with 17 crashes in 2006. I felt that I was being a little critical of J.J. throughout the season, but he wrinkled up a bunch of race cars, and here's the stats to prove it.

The tab marked Cautoins by Lap has some interesting figures in it, also. The two races at Martinsville had 194 caution laps, while both Pocono races don't add up to 60. The biggest difference I see is the amount of cautions between the Bristol race early in the season, and the Bristol race in the Chase. Seems like a lot of points racin' going on along with people being much more cauttiuos around the Top 10.

All and all a great job of compiling stats for me to dig through and blog about. Don't take my word for it. Go check it out for yourself.

# posted by theStewartFan @ 9:49 PM

6 Comments:

Anonymous adds:
Can you email me at rantingandraving_4ever3@hotmail.com as I have accidently deleated your email address and I need to get in contact with to you.

Thanks,

4ever3
Thanks Anonymous for your comment.

TalkGeorge adds:
Cool stats...and Kurt Busch has the biggest ears!
Thanks TalkGeorge for your comment.

David adds:
Great stuff. I have added a link to your site on the Porch Crew's blog. Enjoy your blog very much!
Thanks David for your comment.

Anonymous adds:
You failed to mention the mishap between Tony & Kasey K, remember the one during the Chase when Tony in one stroke destroyed Kasey's chances of winning the Cup. In addition, at the start of the season, Tony, as is typical of his temper, wrecked Matt Kenseth.

Prior to each of these incidents Tony told the world that he was concerned that other's poor driving would be detrimental to the Chase players. In regards to Matt, Tony pontificated at the begin of the season that, and I'll paraphrase, "....we all just need to get along and driver like gentlemen."

What a crock.
Thanks Anonymous for your comment.

theStewartFan adds:
Harold, Did you watch the Dover race? If you had, you'd have seen Tony wreck by himself and then Casey hit him. This obviously flawed observation on your part doesn't lend much credibility to the rest of your comment, but thanks anyway. I'd get cable and start watching the races if you'd like to comment on them.
Thanks theStewartFan for your comment.

Anonymous adds:
Funny Harold,

Kasey couldn't win the cup if you spotted him 1000 bonus points. He didn't deserve to be in the chase this year. He's always been a streaky driver--at best. Sucks what happened to him at Dover but If he'd even won that race, he'd still been out of contention.
Thanks Anonymous for your comment.

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Thanks to SportingNews for bringing us the story on our VA boy Ricky Rudd returning to the seat. I normally wouldn't blog about such news, but I think it's a bright spot in the what seems like a week of only bickering about rules and ratings. I spent the majority of my younger days in ole' Virginie, even if it was inside the DC beltway, and still refer to it as home. I've watched many a NASCAR Weekly Racing Series race at the Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, VA. I've always been a fan of all the VA boys in the sport, regardless of team or car. It was a great day when Jeff Burton freed himself from Rousch and Ford, so I didn't have to hold back the cheers. Even with Ricky in a Fusion, I'll be gunnin' for him.

# posted by theStewartFan @ 8:56 AM

4 Comments:

TalkGeorge adds:
I'm happy for us pappy's...an old gray beard is back in the vroom! Go #28!
Thanks TalkGeorge for your comment.

Snafam adds:
I am hopeful that Ricky can help bring Yates out of the pits!
Thanks Snafam for your comment.

Mike adds:
Rudd will be a big help for Gilliland too.
Thanks Mike for your comment.

Anonymous adds:
I'm happy for Ricky...I think it's a great opportunity for him!
Thanks Anonymous for your comment.

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My favorite sign these days is "Welcome to Delaware". Even when visiting the sunny gulf coast of Florida, it's nice to come home. Even if it is 34 degrees and windy. My flight was changed a few times, but not really delayed more than an hour. That seems to be better than average these days. We actually had to change the type of plane we flew in on so it could land in the windy conditions.

While I was about, I used the opportunity to view my page from different computers and browsers. I adjusted the page so each was viewable in their unique combination. It resulted in a little less reading area, but better viewing in the different combinations.

I joined the new forum on Infield Parking as StewartFan1. It didn't let me use theStewartFan 'cause it's too long and StewartFan wasn't available. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on that; but not to the point I'll slack off here. Maybe I'll see you over there, although I much prefer the blog format to Myspace.

# posted by theStewartFan @ 11:20 AM

3 Comments:

TalkGeorge adds:
Welcome home Stewie! We missed your blogating this week. I too have ventured to the infield (Gvav1). Hopefully it will add to our blog readership. I'll check your space out. Vroom!
Thanks TalkGeorge for your comment.

RC adds:
That's quite a flash back, seeing that Welcome to Delaware sign. I haven't seen one of those in almost a year, but I will be heading back home in a few weeks, so I'll see it then. :)

I joined Infield Parking also. It seems there isn't a website I don't like. I'm BrandyRC over there, feel free to add me.
Thanks RC for your comment.

Loralai adds:
Hey (the)StewartFan(1) I'm shocked anyone would prefer any place to a Florida beach! I loved Florida, even skanky Key West.

How come your page keeps hopping up and down? It's almost like it has a heartbeat. Is it because of the Daytona 500 countdown ticker? (Pretty cool btw, I loved living in Daytona!)

You seem puter/blog savvy just thought I'd ask...oh also, I can't reply or comment on the Infield site, not even on my own page, so I'll leave my thanks here for adding me to your friends list!

Loralai
http://www.infieldparking.com/Loralai
http://stopitquitfollowingme.blogspot.com/
Thanks Loralai for your comment.

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I definitely found this years banquet more palatable than the last. The drivers didn't use the teleprompter as much this year, as evident by Kyle not getting his girlfriend's name on the first try. Tony didn't use it at all, as he chose to bring his speech to the podium on paper. Jay made a comment about him missing rehearsal, don't know if that was true or not. I love Jay Mohr. I think he's hilarious. I hope he's back next year. And his impression of Christopher Walken was the greatest. Everyone in the room is so out of place in there fancy get ups, they couldn't get the jokes. That didn't change from last year. Jewel put on a great performance, but it seemed to be lost on the crowd also.

I had planned to listen to what Tony had to say and call it a night, but stuck around until sleep took over after Denny's speech. I have a feeling we better get used to him being up there for many years to come.

I'll be out of town for the week on biz in FL. If I can get to a non-Govt. computer, I might be able to chime in. Most of the training we do in my job is miles from anything.

# posted by theStewartFan @ 8:36 PM

4 Comments:

TalkGeorge adds:
Have fun in the sunshine state...it's 80 degrees and palmy here!

I didn't see the entire show, I did hear the speeches on XM, short and sweet...sounded much improved.

I did see Mikey on the pre-show...he and Melissa Rivers are 2 of a kind.

I'm watching the show recap on the telly today!
Thanks TalkGeorge for your comment.

Anonymous adds:
The only part I liked of Mohr's stuff was the dead-on Walken impression. It was interesting seeing the drivers dressed up for the occasion. A little weird, but that's NASCAR for ya. :)
Thanks Anonymous for your comment.

RC adds:
I think the banquet was improved over the last few years, but I still tuned out after Juniors speech. I enjoyed not having the sponsors speeches and all of that non-sense this year.

Some of Mohr's jokes crashed and burned because he made jokes about Burton's engine and stuff like that. There's nothing less funny to a crowd of racers than an engine blowing. Especially because they know the guys who don't see their families to build them.

Some of it was funny but Mohr needs to understand his audience better than that. IMO

Have fun in Florida!
Thanks RC for your comment.

David adds:
I generally don't like to watch the banquet just because the speeches tend to get a little long. One of the guys who posts on our blog gave a good blow by blow commentary on it though. Check it out here.
Thanks David for your comment.

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