My brother picks the winners in NASCAR

Even though my brother is not a NASCAR fan, he can barely tolerate it, every week before the race he gives me his picks. Yesterday he gave me Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards as his picks. And you know how they finished. I don't know how he does it, but he is right at least 60% of the time. I'm usually wrong, because my pick is always Little E.

I'm still trying to get him to give me some winning lottery numbers.
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The end of tax season can't come fast enough

I can't wait until April 15th. I had a BRUTAL return yesterday. I spent 2 hours on it and I'm not even close to being done. I still have the state part to do. I'm in Florida, so I normally don't do state returns. I have today and Monday off, then it is straight through until the 16th, which happens to be my Dad's birthday. He passed in 1992. I do nothing all day that day, just answer the phone. And I'm that much closer to getting out of Florida.

It has been a crazy tax season this year. I had difficult returns very early in the season, and that has never happened to me before. And this stinks, so far I have made A LOT less money this year than last. I have only worked 20 hours a week since peak season ended. My bonus should be pretty good though.

At least I'm going to opening night at the Trop Tuesday, to welcome home the Rays after spanking the Yankees this past weekend. I won't have many chances to see them after mid-May, when I'm moving. We are going to tailgate first out there in the parking lot before the game.

Speaking of baseball, I have a baseball blog with links to updated headlines, updated daily. Tampa Bay Rays and Ohio State categories are there also.
http://downpaymentblues.net/Baseball/


Oh yea, Dale Jr. is going to get his first win of the season today. I expect him to dominate, provided is motor does not blow up or any of the other million things that can happen, including bad pit strategy at the end and bad pit stops.

Today is the day I always wear a Dale Earnhardt Sr. shirt. His birthday is April 29th.




And a shout out to Carmelita's on Park and 54th in St. Pete, the food last night was incredible!!


A few other of my blogs that are themed. All are updated with the top headlines of the day.

http://downpaymentblues.net/computer-hardware/

http://downpaymentblues.net/football/

http://downpaymentblues.net/Nascar-blog/

http://downpaymentblues.net/hockey/

http://downpaymentblues.net/taxes/

Have A Drink On Me!

Cheers

Tim
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NASCAR and AT&T Reach Agreement

By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer 1 hour, 21 minutes ago

RICHMOND, Va. - NASCAR reached an agreement with AT&T, and its logos were being put on Jeff Burton's car following Friday's practice at Richmond International Raceway.
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NASCAR and top series sponsor Sprint Nextel scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference to discuss the details of the arrangement, which should end months of legal wrangling over AT&T's sponsorship.

Dean Kessel, director of Sprint Nextel's marketing, said the agreement does not give AT&T lifetime inclusion in the Cup Series.

"Our agreement with NASCAR ensured that we would be the only telecommunications sponsor beyond the two grandfathered brands," Kessel said. "Today's agreement protects the integrity of that deal by putting a firm end date on AT&T's sponsorship in the Nextel Cup Series.

"We are giving RCR and Jeff Burton an appropriate amount of time to transition to a new sponsor while remaining focused on winning the championship. That is the best solution for RCR, NASCAR, Sprint and racing fans."

Read the Rest

Tony Eury Jr. Following Dale Jr. to Hendrick

Sep 4, 1:37 PM (ET)

By JENNA FRYER

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Tony Eury Jr. will be Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports.

"Tony Jr. and Dale have a successful history working together," team owner Rick Hendrick said Tuesday. "They have trust in each other, which is the biggest part of the relationship between driver and crew chief."

Eury has been vocal in his desire to follow Earnhardt, who is also his cousin, to Hendrick. Earnhardt said in May he's leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of this season, and Eury has been trying to get out of his contract with DEI since the announcement.

Hendrick said Eury signed a multiyear contract to join the organization as a crew chief.

"Dale Jr. and I are both excited to continue working together," Eury said. "With the resources we'll have at Hendrick Motorsports, it's an opportunity to consistently run up front and be in title contention every year. The goals are winning races and winning championships."

Read the Rest

I'm happy to hear this. I feel Eury Jr. is the crew chief Earnhardt needs. And hopefully next year there will not be as many blown engines.

On the Bubble in the Chase For The Cup

Shop Talk: California

Loop Data shows Dale Jr. can still make the Chase, if ...

By Official Release
August 29, 2007
04:10 PM EDT

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- One story will dominate the thoughts of NASCAR drivers and onlookers the next two weeks: bubble drivers.

There's a four-driver battle for the final three spots in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Though currently only five of the 12 spots have been clinched, a four-for-three scenario looks likely to play out come Richmond.

The four: Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Currently, Harvick is the most secure, but not by much. He is 167 points up on Earnhardt. Truex is next at 166, then Busch at 158.

Though an Earnhardt comeback seems improbable, the stats say a "one race at a time" approach might prove successful.

California, which is notably tough on engines, has caused headaches for at least two of the three drivers he is attempting to catch. Below are the stats from the past five races for Harvick and Busch, and the past three for Truex:

Loop Data: California Speedway

Kevin Harvick

Date	Finish	Avg. Running Pos.	Driver Rating	Laps / Top 15	Led
2/05	6	8.1	104.8	226	23
9/05	14	22.5	72.4	74	0
2/06	29	27.4	53.3	20	0
9/06	15	10.9	90.3	227	0
2/07	17	6.8	100.3	226	3

Martin Truex Jr.

Date	Finish	Avg. Running Pos.	Driver Rating	Laps / Top 15	Led
2/06	15	20.1	72.0	37	0
9/06	18	18.1	74.6	78	0
2/07	42	38.8	37.1	13	0

Kurt Busch

Date	Finish	Avg. Running Pos.	Driver Rating	Laps / Top 15	Led
2/05	3	10.2	107.1	192	11
9/05	12	7.5	108.9	227	39
2/06	16	9.1	88.9	218	7
9/06	27	18.1	73.1	95	11
2/07	7	15.3	87.3	171	0

Though his finishes don't exactly impress, Harvick's stats show that he's performed well. In the past two California races, Harvick has averaged a solid 95.4 Driver Rating despite an average finish of 16th. A third consecutive solid finish should solidify Harvick's Chase spot.

Busch and Truex are a different story. In the past two races, the two have struggled. Busch did score a finish of seventh in February, but had only an 87.3 Driver Rating and one Fastest Lap Run.

Truex, though inarguably an improved drive since February, suffered a DNF and 42nd-place finish in February and hasn't finished better than 15th in three career California races. His best Driver Rating at California was a 74.6 at this race last year.

Below are Earnhardt's stats in the past five California races:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Date	Finish	Avg. Running Pos.	Driver Rating	Laps / Top 15	Led
2/05	32	36.7	47.6	0	0
9/05	38	27.6	47.2	6	2
2/06	11	16.0	78.9	87	1
9/06	2	6.5	119.1	246	6
2/07	40	35.6	49.6	19	0

Clearly, what Earnhardt needs is a Labor Day repeat of last season. By far his best California performance, Earnhardt scored an impressive Driver Rating of 119.1 (second-best in that race to winner Kasey Kahne), an Average Running Position of 6.5 (fifth-best) and a race-best 56 Fastest Laps Run.

Davey Allison

It was 14 years ago today that we lost Davey Allsion from a helicopter crash at Talladega Super Speedway. He was an great young talent, and I think he would have won at least 2 titles.

I have a 1993 Allison 1:43 scale car hanging on my wall, never been opened.

R.I.P Davey

Martin Truex Jr. Gets First Nextel Win

Congrats to Martin Truex Jr on his first NASCAR Nextel Cup win! I'm an DEI fan, seeing how I have 2 Earnhardt tattoos, so I'm really happy to see this. It is bittersweet though, with the passing of Bill France Jr.

It was a good race, too bad Earnhardt Jr. did not have a great race though.

Bill France Jr passes away

I'm watching the race while surfing a couple of traffic exchanges, and they just announced Bill France Jr. passed away about 1 pm this afternoon.

My thought go out to the France family and everyone innvolved in NASCAR.

Tim