NASCAR Random Thoughts

October 11, 2004
Although the end of the race was interesting, the rest was pretty dull. I think my
disinterest might be amplified by my lack of respect for the Chase. After all, Busch
doesn't "really" have the points lead to me, and all this false drama is boring.

Nice to see Joe win though. Good guy.

Also wanted to point out Jamie McMurray would be in 8th place if the Chase wasn't in
place, and Dale Jarrett would be in 10th. Sucks.

October 10, 2004
Interesting comments from Helton today...from the Gaston Gazette
http://www.gastongazette.com/Portal/ASP/sports/nascar/nascarDisplay.asp?ID=1202
Did I read this correctly?? So, drivers are still banned from saying dirty words, but if
the NBC/TNT/FOX/FX audio folks catch it the driver WON'T lose points? But if it airs
they will?

"Helton conceded, however, that NASCAR officials will not likely take away points
from a driver or owner whose profanity is bleeped out by TV censors."

What is this all coming to? So now Championships could be decided by some
recent college grad in a sound booth?

It gets more absurd by the day.

October 9, 2004
Interesting how Tony declined to be interviewed following his unfortunate wreck with
front row Joe. I think he's just had it all around. Wouldn't be surprised for him to head
back to open wheel. Not only would someone over there pay big bucks for him, but
he'd get a little respect.

October 8, 2004
Race prediction - Kansas
Kasey Kahne steps it up, Dale Jarrett runs up front, Dale Jr, still pissed about the fine
curses the whole day on the radio...because he's stuck with another DEI disaster 1.5
miler cars. But it's his birthday, so maybe turning 30 the birthday gods will give him a
decent car and a top 5 finish.

September 12, 2004
I just don't know what to do on Sunday when there is no race. Oh, wait...ARE YOU
READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL??!! Ok, all better :). I actually find I'm much more
energized about football this year than in the last two. While my Niners will suck, they
are a young team with some interesting talent. The only thing is...every time they
uncover a talent like TO they dump 'em. Ahhh, for the good ol' days.

Back to racing...wow there sure were a lot of commercials last night. I think TNT
missed like 3 restarts. Pathetic. At this rate I might be willing to pay for PPV if it
means no interruptions.

I'm the first to say I'm happy Mark Martin will have a shot at his first title after all these
years. But I was really irritated how he sent a member of the crew up and down pit
road asking for "consideration."This is one of the reasons I hate the Chase. All these
other teams are still racing for their sponsors, and have a responsibility to get the
best finish possible. Chase contenders in the pre-season or Chase competitors
during the final ten shouldn't get any more of a break than any other driver. For a
driver to expect that even further erodes the credibility of the sport. It was annoying.

I am glad the 400 mark didn't kick in. The fewer drivers in the Chase the better as far
as I'm concerned. One other thing...anyone notice how almost all the major teams
AND manufacturers have at least one car in the Chase. Hendrick: Chevy. DEI: Chevy.
Gibbs: Chevy. Roush: Ford. Yates: Ford. Evernham: Dodge. Penske: Dodge. The only
glaring ommision was RCR. A conspiracy? I don't know about that, but it sure worked
out well for NASCAR...

Hey, check out the new Classic Cup I'm doing. And let me know if you want to
participate!

September 11, 2004
Best wishes to everyone on this solumn day.

September 9, 2004:
Well, this weekend is it. I still think the Chase is bad for the sport, but I have to hand it
to Brian France. The media bought this new playoff system hook line and sinker. It's
phenomenal publicity. If it were more equitable to the teams who had dominated, I
might be more inclined to support the concept, especially since it does break some
of the monotony of the season.

Oh well.
Every So-Often Race Prediction:
Dale Jr's been on a roll with short tracks, so I'll give this one to him. Although a few of
the chasers could pull it off. From what I've heard, almost all tested at Richmond
recently in anticipation of this brace.

August 15, 2004
Been awhile since I've written here, since I've been writing more columns. But I just
have to say that I thought it was really unnecessary for the commentators to mention
after the race today that Tony needed to change his firesuit. It's called too much
information folks. Not to mention it was disrespectful to Tony.

Hendrick, we have a problem. Wonder what's going on over there.

The first look at the car of the future was interesting. That's all we need, something to
make racing SLOWER. I don't know about you, but to me speed is an integral part of
racing.

July 25, 2004
NBC, week 2. Seemed like more commercials this week. I have to say though I'm
enjoying the coverage more than I expected. I thought they did a nice job covering
Little E's driver change, giving fans plenty of info without overdoing it.

This week, look for a new Boxers or Briefs column. I'm a little behind on them, but I've
got more time on my hands these days so check back for more sass!

Have a great week...

July 11, 11:30 p.m.
Tony's in trouble again. Sound familiar? I'm a fan of his, and I enjoy watching him
race. But trouble seems to go with him wherever he goes. NASCAR can't bench him
for the incident with Kasey Kahne, but he needs to be careful. I was still glad he won.

Hendrick cars are almost unstoppable this season. Between Gordon and Johnson, I
think one of them will win the title. Gordon made a phenomenal comeback today.

July 5, 2004
What a race. Seriously, plate track detractors go their words handed back to them on
a silver plate. While plate tracks can tend to be a parade of cars with fans just waiting
for "the big one," Saturday's race proved that Daytona is absolutely capable of
delivering a truly thrilling race. I swear, I was on the edge of the couch the entire time.
Now NASCAR, that's what I call a race!

That being said, that green/yellow start was lame. They could have simply run extra
pace laps, and not eat into the race. After all, who knows what would have happened
if we'd had 8 more laps of racing?

Still, what a win for Gordon. I really think after the past few weeks that he's the man to
beat. Jimmie's showing amazing consistency, and Junior is doing what needs to be
done to stay near the top, Gordon is hot. And we all know what happens when
Gordon gets hot..

June 30, 2004
Stewart got off easy. Maybe there is something we don't know that justified NASCAR
not benching him. But I doubt it. Home Depot would have had a fit if Stewart was
benched from a night race at Daytona where he surely has a chance for a win.

June 28, 2004 - 11:20 p.m.
Apparently Stewart's in trouble again. He needs to calm down, but I also think that
Vickers should show more respect to older drivers. Laughing at someone trying to
talk to you will incite most people. At the same time, maybe it is time for Tony to meet
back up with his anger management class.

Interesting notes from Sonoma: Gordon (J.) got a considerable amount of cheers
during driver intros, much more than last year at the same track. Sure, it's sort of a
hometown track for him,but the real interesting thing came when Junior was
announced. He got almost as many boos as Gordon. Clearly, even though the two
drivers don't have a personal rivalry, fans are quickly segmenting into sepaprate
camps. It's too bad, because they are good friends, and race well with each other. I
was also surprised how many boos Robby Gordon got (more than anyone). Maybe
because of the way he won last year's race (the most "ungentlemanly pass of
Harvick under yellow).

Infineon has improved for the drivers considerably over the past few years with a new
configuration and new pavement. The track has a ways to go to make the experience
positive for fans. Parking continues to be a crawl, and the Gate 9 road to lots 4 and 5
is pathetic. Even in my 4x4 I was struggling to stay on the road. Also, the few times I
asked for directions, no one could tell me where to go. I even asked at fan care
where to go for ticket upgrades, and they told me I had to go to the other side of the
track. Actually, a tent was located less than 50 yards away. I'll write a full track review
net week, when my irritation won't cloud my judgement.

June 20, 2004
Well, another race ends under caution. NASCAR has to do something. What if, in the
final race of the Chase, drivers just a few points apart are battling for the lead on the
final lap and a caution flies? Will that determine a whole season's worth of work?

That being said, Newman deserves the win. Kasey was making a heck of a charge,
but I don't think he could have passed Newman.

The worst part was the fact that FOX is horrible. I used to love them! Today, I went to
Fox expecting a race, and lo and behold, the channel featured FOX News. WTF??
After calling Comcast (they claimed the networks control programming)and my local
affiliate (no answer), I started to pack up so I might find a bar with satellite. Only after
surfing over 75 channels did I find the race on some obscure channel. Thanks KTVU
FOX 2. Appreciate it.

June 10, 2004 - 10:10 p.m.
Sorry I missed the Boxers or Briefs column today, but I'm working on redesigning the
site (this was really just an interim design, and I've already gotten bored with it). I'm
hoping the new design will go live Monday. It's much nicer!

June 9 - 11:10 p.m.
One additional thought with regards to my Chase proposal: if teams has a win under
their belt, they wouldn't have to return with semi-mangled cars in races to get more
points. May help keep broken cars off the track.

Now...
Weekly Race Prediction:
Tony Stewart won this race last year, so he's a great pick. I'm really tempted to pick
him since he's way overdue, But I'm going to go out on a limb and go with Kevin
Harvick. He's been pretty quiet thus far, but he seems to be lurking, just waiting for
the right opening. I'll be keeping an eye on Jeff Gordon too...

June 8, 2004 - 12:06 p.m.
David Poole, in a really great column today on That's Racin, proposed a change to
the points system that gives race winners a 500 point bonus for their first race of the
season. The idea is to ensure that drivers who win are effectively in another class
from the other drivers, and have a much better shot at participating in the Chase for
the Championship. I really like the idea of encouraging teams to fight harder for a
win. However, I don't think that consistency should be overlooked.

So I propose a slightly different change: any driver who wins a race during the
26-race "regular season" is automatically eligible for the Chase, regardless of their
final points. Keep the rest of the system the same. So, the Chase would include any
driver within 400 points of the leader, all drivers in the top ten, as well as race
winners. Most of the drivers who have won would likely be in the top ten anyways, so
there wouldn't be too many drivers competing. But it would be a significant incentive
for teams to win, and could give veterans who may not always be able to keep up but
can win a race or two a shot at the title. As well as the occasional lucky winner. Mix it
up a little. Also, under Poole's system, drivers who exhibit a high level of consistency
could be screwed out of the top ten because the others fared worse during many
races, but got the big 500 point push, putting them either out of the top ten or out of
the 400 point cutoff. Under my system, we still wouldn't see more than maybe 15
drivers in the Chase, but frankly I'd rather see more than ten anyways. Just my
opinion :)

June 7, 2004
Wimmer got probation for the rest of the year from NASCAR. Apparently, driving
drunk, then running and hiding behind his bed is less serious than Jimmy Spenser
sucker punching Kurt Busch last season (Jimmy was suspended for one race). I
saw Wimmer on NASCAR 360 on FX the other day during the rain delay, and he
seems like a nice enough guy. But even mistakes have consequences, and
NASCAR dropped the ball on this one big time.

June 3, 2004 - 2:07 p.m.
Dale Jr. was quoted by That's Racin' today as saying if he ran NASCAR, he'd shorten
all races to 300 miles. WHAT? I love little E, don't get me wrong, but if NASCAR races
only ran 2 hours, I wouldn't bother to schedule my day around them. And I would
NEVER sit in hours of traffic and spend hundreds of dollars to see a 150 lap race at
Daytona or any other track. No way. While I agree that the Coca-Cola 600 this past
weekend was much too long (see this week's column), shortening all races to 300
miles is crazy. Sonoma is only 220 miles or so now, so that's fine for a road course.
But even the Daytona 500? Sure, it might be easier for the drivers, but my work day
would be a lot easier if I could work 5 or 6 hours instead of 8 too. But the people who
ultimately pay the bills (in NASCAR, the fans) demand a full day's work. And so do I.

June 2, 2004 - 12:03 a.m
It seems Craig Kilborn has accepted an invitation to the Sonoma race from none
other than Brian France. France called in the other night to call Kilborn out on making
fun of NASCAR (it may have been a repeat, but if it was it was recent). Anyways, it
should be interesting to hear the jokes AFTER he's actually seen all of us.

Wimmer was convicted yesterday of drunk driving, and despite early reports it
appears he's not going to appeal the sentence. Now the big question what should
NASCAR do? Wimmer may no longer have a driver's license, but he's still eligible to
compete. Personally, I think he should be benched, at least for several races.
Drinking and driving is no minor offense, and NASCAR needs to send a message to
fans and drivers alike. I feel sorry for Wimmer, but it wasn't like he just had a few
beers and misjudged his sobriety a little (we all question at what point we are
actually "ready.") He was more than double the legal limit, and his wife tried to hide
him from police. While I understand that it's up to the legal system to punish him and
not NASCAR, he DRIVES for a living. Is NASCAR going to give him a sobriety check
before he puts other drivers in harms way? What if he's just hung over? He needs to
get the message that behavior like that has consequences.

Johnny Sauter cracked a bad joke the other day, saying he was grateful Steve Park
would be racing so the crashes wouldn't be blamed on him. I have two words for
Sauter - rookie failure. Sauter isn't fit to mention Park's name let alone criticize him.
He certainly hasn't been around NASCAR's top series to have earned it. He will be
lucky to ever drive like Steve Park.

Weekly Race Prediction - Dover:
Ahhh...the feared tri-oval of Dover. Will Jimmy make it three in a row? Will Gordon
rebound from his dismal day a Lowes? Either one are possibilities, but this week I'm
going with Ryan Newman. This is the time of year he usually picks things up and
starts dominating, so he could easily do so at Dover. Dale Jr. hurdled Charlotte in
fine fashion, and I suspect he'll pull in another top 10 this weekend.

May 25, 2004 - 12:25 a.m
Wow, NASCAR admitted a mistake. In last week's Infineon 200, they flipped on the
caution lights, just for a sec, then turned them off, causing Carl Edwards to lose the
truck race. Okay, they made a mistake. No big deal. It happens. But the fact that they
DENIED it until Tuesday was a sorry display of arrogance. They claimed the review of
SPEED Channel footage showed the lights never came on, and they stuck with that
story even as several drivers reported seeing the yellow lights flash on. It was only
when footage from individual car cams came to light that NASCAR issued the mea
culpa. It was an attempted cover-up that has now backfired. NASCAR didn't need
video footage to know what happened. All they had to do was ask their own officials
in charge of the caution lights. They should do something to make it right, but of
course they won't. Ridiculous.

May 20, 2004 - 12:15 a.m
Weekly Race Prediction:
I wish it could still be called the Winston (doesn't seem the same otherwise), but this
weekend our favorite racers will once again take to the track in search of the coveted
million-dollar price in the Nextel All-Star Challenge.

Humpy's picking Gordon, David Poole of the Charlotte Observer picked Jimmie
Johnson, so Hendrick's got the bases covered. Junior's won before, so he'll be a
contender too. This type of all-out racing is right up his alley. But this week I'm going
with a bit more remote choice: Elliott Sadler. Elliott's done well so far this year, and
he could easily surprise everyone with the win.

For the open, I'm going to go with Ward Burton. For the fan selection, I predict Carl
Long. He has soldiered on despite a major crash earlier this year, and has
endeared himself to fans. I wish Boris Said was racing...he's so hungry to join the
top series and has a great deal of natural talent. He's a blast to watch and has so
much personality. Kind of like an intense Weird Al.

On the schedule change: it sucks. I'm happy to have more races closer to home, but
the best tracks on the circuit should be the ones to suffer. Sponsors are a part of
racing because of the exposure to the fans on TV, not because of track exposure. I
rearrange everything in my life to catch televised races at places like Darlington,
Richmond and the Rock, but am much less likely to do the same for Fontana or
Texas. But what do I know? The bigwigs at NASCAR have probably done their
research and are convinced that for every fan like me that could tune out, they can
replace me. Dammit anyways.

Hey, I made Last Lap ! That would be me...skibum. That's three times Marty has
quoted me in his weekly column. Nice.

May 17, 2004 - 1:22 a.m.
This week got away from me. Work was busy, so I apologize for going dark for,
wow...two weeks?? At least here. I've kept up the columns at least.

Last night's race was great! Except for the reported 21 commercials. I can't believe
I'm eagerly awaiting the return of NBC. Darn FOX for blowing it this year.

The Sonoma race is quickly approaching and I'm still debating whether or not to go.
Maybe I'll go Friday and Saturday but watch the actual race from home. After my bad
experience last year, I just can't justify the expense and the hell that is Highway 37. I
say this now, but somehow I suspect I'll catch race fever as soon as I get to the track
and end up going all three days. Maybe all four.

Check back more this week. I'll definitely be more active. I have a new Boxers or
Briefs ready for Thursday :) Have a great Monday!

May 1, 2004 - 11:35 p.m.
Last night, I went to a bachelorette party, so I'm a little slow getting started today.
Okay, tonight ;).

Weekly Race Prediction:
I'll admit, this is a little late this week so I have a bit of an advantage. Regardless,
there are several good choices for tomorrow. Kahne could take the checkers, but I'm
going to go with Kenseth. He'll want to bounce back from last weekend's race, so
he's my pick of the week. Also, look out for Newman...I suspect he'll be tough
tomorrow. Jimmy Johnson and Gordon will also be running up front, and Junior will
be looking to add to his point lead.

With the race being in Fontana this week, Monday's column will address NASCAR's
western expansion. Have fun watching the race tomorrow!

April 29, 2004 - 12:35 a.m.
Okay, ONE last comment about Talladega. Everything I'm reading seems to assume
that without the caution, Junior would have won the race. While I'm a big fan of his,
and I'll concede that he has in a great position, it was by no means a lock. Several
other cars were looking awfully racy, including Harvick, Jimmy Johnson and Gordon.
Mikey had fallen back a bit, so Junior by no means had a lock on the race.

On to this weekend: I'm still keeping an eye on things, but I'll make my prediction
tomorrow. I wish I was able to go, but I started a new job a few months ago and it's
not a good time to take time off. We so rarely get races out here in the West, it's a
drag...

I saw on Junior's website that they are no longer allowing fans to ship items to DEI
for an autograph. The site says they have a two-year backlog. They should set
guidelines if things get that out of hand, because the people filling up the warehouse
are likely brokers looking to have items signed to make them more valuable.
Perhaps they should institute a policy of having fans request an autographed photo
only...no merchandise...and each one has to be autographed to a specific person.
While it would take more time, it would also make the autographs worthless to
anyone but fans wanting them for personal reasons. By cutting it off completely, I
have to wonder if they will limit autographs to paid fan-club members only, or if they
will start hawking merchandise on eBay themselves since they have effectively dried
up the market. They could make a killing...(I don't like it)

April 27, 2004 - 8:44 p.m.
After a few days reflection, I think I agree with the decision to end the race. A shootout
would have been dangerous for the cars stuck in the middle of the pack. Would have
been fun to watch, but if a driver had been injured we'd all be blaming NASCAR for it.

On another note...Jaime got her Elliott Sadler autograph today! I have to give credit for
the fast turnaround. She's stoked! I'm from Cali, I'm allowed to say stoked...

Tomorrow night, NBC is airing a show called 10.5. I'd urge y'all to skip it. Every day,
everyone on the west coast lives with the understanding that a major earthquake
could hit at any time. And living in Northern Calif., we've lived through several
destructive quakes. We don't need to see what would happen. NBC shouldn't be
trivializing the possible danger we truly face. We already had to watch the real-life
destruction of New York during 9-11, do we really need to see this garbage?

April 25, 2004 - 2:24 p.m.
NASCAR could have had a shootout to end the race. They had over 10 miles! I
wonder if last week's Martinsville fiasco had anything to do with their decision...

FOX didn't tell us exactly what lap was the last red-flag lap. Either way, kudos to
Gordon, although he wouldn't have won without the caution. The boos and the beer
cans were just childish.

FOX "Race Update" cheesy line of the day - "Lap XX: Junior take the lead - surprise
surprize (sic)". Wow, not only are the headlines getting worse (someone gets paid to
write that crap??) but this guy can't even spell! FOX can at least afford a proofreader.
Never thought I'd actually look forward to NBC's commercial-laden broadcast.

Well, my race prediction wasn't all that far off. Busch was intimately involved in "the
big one", although he blamed Stewart. Tony would have been fighting for the win if
not for the scuffle with Jimmy Johnson. Junior lost Mikey and lost the win. And Jimmy
was near Gordon when the yellow flew, although I believe he was actually pushing
Junior. Let's see if I can improve my accuracy a little next week. :)

Steve Byrnes also chickened out by not asking Stewart why he t-boned Labonte after
the race (I think it was Steve...).

April 24, 2004 - 5:15 p.m.
I wonder, is 23 considered jail bait for a 32-year-old? Kasey Kahne is pretty hot. ;)

Decent Busch race today, the outcome not withstanding. Big E sure did leave an
amazing plate legacy.

So the hot topic right now is the 2005 schedule. More change is in the air and I don't
like it one bit. One of these days I'll write a full column on it.

More tomorrow after the race. Today I was unpacking during the race (sacrilege!) but
tomorrow's Aaron's 499
will have my full attention. Don't forget to stop by Thursday too for my new column,
Boxers or Briefs? It'll be a weekly feature profiling a different driver, plus my guess on
his choice of undergarments :).

Have a good night!

April 21, 2004 - 11:19 p.m.
Weekly Race Prediction (my first!):
This weekend is Talladega, so Junior is definitely going to be right up front. But
without his Daytona car (it's in the Daytona museum thanks to his 500 win) and with
less support from Mikey who desperately needs a win of his own, I'm going with Tony
Stewart. The Home Depot Chevy is usually strong at restrictor-plate tracks (3rd at the
last Talladega race, 2nd at Daytona) and after all his recent bumping and nudging,
he's clearly hungry. Harvick could be a contender too, but I think RCR has some
issues right now so he may not have the team support he'd need for a Talladega
win. Will we see "the big one"? I predict one early on (within the first 75 laps or so,
caused by Kurt Busch), but by the end of the race the fuel cells should keep things
less congested. Watch out for JGo too...he could pull off a win with Jimmy pushing.

I know people think the restrictor-plate races are boring, but they certainly keep me
awake for the duration...

April 20, 2004 - 6:45 p.m.
Finally, a great race. To me, the hour-long red flag was a blessing. Finally, we had
the chance to hear more from the drivers than the typical pre-race "we have a great
car" claims or the post-race "I was robbed" diatribes. The only time we seem to see
the driver's actual personalities these days are when FOX drops the scripts and
drivers have a chance to be themselves. I was beginning to worry that all of
NASCAR's changes had taken away all fun of the races.

That being said, the reason for the red flag was inexcusable. The track was falling
apart?? C'mon. These tracks make a fortune off these races. The least they could do
is get the track ready for the race. What happened to Gordon sucks, but for once
NASCAR did make the right decision not letting them make repairs under the red
flag. Helton et. al. change the rules mid-game enough as it is. Gordon handled it with
good humor though.

I haven't figured out is the whole Harvick/Kenseth rivalry is a set up or if it is genuine. I
know they've had a lot of run ins with each other in the past (especially in Busch
races and at Bristol), but NASCAR needs a good rivalry these days. I'm not saying it's
entirely contrived, but perhaps encouraged...

April 16, 2004 - 7:50 p.m.
I know NASCAR is talking about a Splash ' Dash race up in the Pacific Northwest
somewhere...rumored outside of Portland or north of Seattle. NASCAR...listen up.
Seattle won't work. Even if you give them a prime summer date, it could still easily
rain. Trust me, I spent one summer there and was kissing the ground in sunny
California when I came back. Plus, Seattle is just too far to drive from the Bay Area
market (like 17 hours). Sure you can fly, but add in hotel and rental car and suddenly
the race costs as much as a week in Hawaii. Add a race in Portland, and you'll get
folks from Northern California, Oregon, Idaho AND Seattle and Vancouver. Plus
much more stable weather.

April 15, 2004 - 9:20 p.m.
Wow, one weekend without and I've got severe withdrawal symptoms. Thank
goodness for Martinsville.

April 14, 2004 - 8:15 p.m.
If NASCAR gets rid of testing in order to bring down costs, will racing get worse? We
all saw what happened to Little E at Vegas. I wonder what happens if no one can
meet the minimum speed.

Also, the boys of NASCAR.com's Track Smack today were talking about the conflicts
between team and series sponsorships, but they left out one important point: the
effect of "official" series sponsorships on team opportunities. With NEXTEL taking
the lead for the Cup deal, no other telecoms can sign on with teams or tracks (a few
are grandfathered, like Cingular). If I understand correctly, it's the same with Sunoco
for fuel, Goodyear for tires etc. These industries are prime hunting grounds for
teams, and when NASCAR ties their hands with exclusive deals they seriously
undermine potential deals for teams. Let's all pray the France family doesn't name
an official beer of NASCAR... I wouldn't put it past them.

April 11 - 10:27 a.m.
I know hunting is popular among the NASCAR nation, but something about
Childress hunting polar bears doesn't sit right with me.

April 9 - 10:22 p.m.
Thank God Spencer is back. Now the season can officially begin.

April 7 - 7:33 p.m.
Junior is fun to watch. Junior is popular. Junior is having a great season. But can we
please see some commercials sans Junior? Biffle wearing khakis in Subway
doesn't count...

April 5 - 6:58 p.m.
Will FOX pul-eaze stop scrolling the cheesy copy below the race information? You
know, the "Race Updates" that say things like "Lap 50: Kahne is Able?" It's lame.

That's it!