NASCAR chicks with tats and some F1

Well I have been neglecting the blog for a bit, trying to focus on my daunting job search, and getting my school work done. Luckily the school work has been going great, but the job search continues. Anyways, this post is about some randomness from the end of the NASCAR season, and I am going to touch on a little bit of all of it.

 Crossfit athlete Christmas Abbott warming up. Check out her ink... Photo from Tumblr. 

Today while thumbing through my twitter feed, I come across a tweet from Ashley Parlett (@Just_AP) that says if I haven't googled Christmas Abbott yet, then do it. She has good insight and opinions of the sport. She is a former road mechanic, currently works for Speed on the show Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain, and was touted by Matt Clark (@MattClarkMC) as the woman in line to break the barrier of a female Crew Chief in NASCAR. If that isn't enough street cred, then I don't know what is. Anyway, when I find the pictures of Christmas, this was the first one I came to below. 

 Christmas Abbott is working her way into NASCAR with Turner Motorsports. Photo courtesy of Corey Lowenstein from thatsracin.com. 

            Here is the article that this picture was pulled from by Scott Fowler. "Is NASCAR ready for Christmas?" In the article, Christmas has an awesome quote when asked if she wants to be the pit crew version to pit crews as Danica is to NASCAR drivers. 
            “I’m going to say no,” she said, “because I want to be the best and she hasn’t proven to be the best yet. I don’t want anything given to me because I’m female. I go in there and I have to work twice as hard just because I am female and because I look a certain way. I want this because it’s an opportunity that intrigues me.”
            She has competed in Crossfit in the past, and you can tell that by her making it this far that she is serious about the sport. I am all for it, she is certainly easy on the eyes, covered in tattoos, and in my opinion is on the verge of having the one of the best jobs in the World. Good luck to Christmas. 

 Alexander Rossi is the closest American driver to making it to F1. Photo courtesy of theaustingrandprix.com.

            With the Grand Prix of the United States concluding Sunday, and Lewis Hamilton taking the win in the successful return of the series to America, Alexander Rossi comes to mind. He is working his way up the ladder on his way to race in Formula 1, and proudly represent the United States as the only driver in that series. Scott Speed was the last American to compete in the series, but was released because of performance. That leads me to this interesting point. Through one of my random searches of Kyle Busch the other night, it led me to articles about him trying out an F1 car. I guess I was under a rock when all this happened, but I was astonished and actually saddened that he never got the chance in one of those cars. His initial test with Toyota in 2010 was stopped by NASCAR, when they ordered him to the Nationwide banquet instead. The US F1 team that wanted to have him in their car ultimately folded and he is still successful in NASCAR. I like Formula 1, but having an American in the series to cheer for would make it that much more exciting to watch and follow. 

The good of NASCAR often goes Unnoticed

Kimi Raikkonen won the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi Sunday. This was his first win since 2009. Photo from Speedtv.com.

           

            This isn't going to be a normal post about how NASCAR should change, and do something different as far as the racing is concerned. This post is about the actual good that goes on in NASCAR, and how the fan looks for the bad so they can continue to hate certain drivers. After procrastinating from my homework all day Sunday by watching the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi on my DVR, then immediately switching over to the Sprint Cup race at Texas, I was fairly successful at putting that off.            

            Anyway, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was one of the most exciting races I have seen from F1 this year. It had plenty of rough racing, wheel to wheel, bumping, cars flying, and so much controversy. Sebastian Vettel, the championship leader was penalized and had to start from the pit lane, in 24th position. Somehow throughout the race he ended up on the podium in 3rd place. Even though that was such a great drive, it was overshadowed by Kimi Raikkonen taking his Lotus to victory lane, his first since returning to F1, and first victory since 2009 in the sport. He held off a hard charging Fernando Alonso, which made for some exciting final laps. Here is how all this comes into play.

 

Kimi Raikkonen making his Craftsman Truck Series debut for KBM at Charlotte in 2011. Photo from bleacherreport.com.

           

Kimi Raikkonen on his hiatus from Formula 1 dabbled in NASCAR for a few races. He was thinking about making the jump, but wanted to run some races first. He shopped around for a ride, and ended up landing with Kyle Busch Motorsports to run 3-5 Craftsman Truck Series races. The deal was for $100,000 a race, but by the sounds of how everything went down it was more on a handshake contract. Kimi finished 15th in his first truck race at Charlotte, and decided to try the Nationwide Series out. KBM built a car, and partnered with Joe Nemechek to field the car for Kimi, but he finished a disappointing 27th. Kimi had a horrible time in that race, and decided he would hold off on any more races, especially since he was competing in the World Rally Car championship at the time. Kyle Busch felt cheated by this, and went to the media with his displeasure with Kimi. Well Kimi came back and said it was a misunderstanding, and that Kyle had been paid in full for what was raced. The fans had already made up their mind.

Kyle Busch losing his cool with Ron Hornaday after a racing incident. Fall 2011 Texas Craftsman truck race.

           

Kyle Busch was known as the bad boy of NASCAR by ruffling more than a few feathers that was until his brother Kurt took the crown. Kyle had issues with Richard Childress stemming from a truck race when Kyle roughed up Joey Coulter. That led to blows, and Childress getting someone to hold his watch, so he could teach Kyle a lesson. That incident led to Kyle getting into it with Kevin Harvick at Darlington. Harvick drives for Childress in the Sprint Cup series. Both were put on probation, but that didn't stop Kyle from punting Ron Hornaday at Texas and ultimately getting sat for the rest of the weekend. This incident led many to become worried about Kyle Busch's future at Joe Gibbs Racing, and in NASCAR as a whole. There are plenty of other incidents with Kyle I could go into, including numerous times this year he has refused comment after a bad race. One race I will say that he was available for comment, but the reporters were too worried about getting interviews with the chasers, and left Kyle out.

Kyle Busch in his KBM Monster Energy Camry at Texas where Kyle finished 3rd. Photo from therepublic.com.

 



            This is what the article is really about. Thumbing through twitter after the Texas race, I came across this article from Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) on sbnation.com. Here is a link to the article, click here. Kyle has been trying all year to get a win in his Monster Energy Camry in the Nationwide series. It looked like it was going to happen at Texas, up until the end when Harvick's car took off, and young Ryan Blaney passed Busch late with fresh tires to relegate Busch to 3rd. Last year, Kyle would have been angry, and would have said something he probably shouldn't have. He has shown a lot of maturity this year, and the feel good part of this story is with Ryan Blaney. Ryan is only 18, even though he is racing in the big leagues now close to Sprint Cup, these guys are still his idols. Kyle got out of his car, and before he even took his helmet off, walked over to Blaney and gave him a bro hug, and congratulated him on the great finish. They both joked about it after the fact in the media center, but these are the stories that need to be written about Kyle, and many others. The good sportsmanship, and comradery between the drivers.
            Even though we as fans see the bad week to week since that is reported, these drivers have big hearts and give back to a lot of people.  I will leave you with video proof of Kyle and his wife Samantha's heart of gold from ESPN. Kyle Felver is an eight year old who loves racing his go-kart, but is in a battle with illness. His one wish was to meet Kyle Busch. Take a look at the video it will shine some better light on both Kyle Busch, and Kyle Felver. If this video doesn't make you tear up, then you should probably get checked to make sure you have a heart still. After seeing this, Kyle will always receive the benefit of the doubt from me from now on. Kurt Busch along with his girlfriend Patricia do a lot of work with wounded soldiers. This year I have found myself rooting for Kurt more, because of the equipment he has been in. I hope he can turn Furniture Row into a contender week in and week out. While both Busch brothers are misunderstood by most, they still use what they have been given to ultimately give back. Until next time.

ESPN Sportscenter special My Wish with Kyle Felver meeting his favorite driver, Kyle Busch.



Breakthrough Nationwide Driver of the Year

           

            NASCAR racing as a whole has been a male dominated sport from top to bottom; there is no question about it. A few females have broken through the gender gap, and have had success in stock car racing. Names like Janet Guthrie, Shawna Robinson, Patty Moise, Tammy Jo Kirk, and Danica Patrick. No, this article isn't about Danica Patrick, even though I am a big fan of her driving style, but she has a lot to learn in a stock car. This article is about a young girl from Pensacola, Florida. This driver's name is Johanna Long.

Johanna Long celebrating her 2010 Snowball Derby Victory. Photo from 5flagsspeedway.com.

           

            I first started to pay attention to Johanna Long during the 2011 truck race at Atlanta. She was a good looking girl, and she was working her way up in the ranks. Unfortunately she had an accident during that race, and finished 31st. Just being the way I am, I started to do some research on her racing resume, and pedigree and she is quite impressive already at the young age of 20. At age 15 she was the youngest and first female track champion at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. This track is famous with the Pro Late Model crowd in being the site of the prestigious Snowball Derby. 2008 was the first year that she raced in the Snowball Derby as well. 2009 was a banner year for Johanna as well. She tallied 5 wins, 18 top fives, and 27 top tens in 38 races across the southeast. That is amazing, especially when you think about all the guys who are putting a bulls eye on her back, and trying their hardest to not get beaten by a female. In 2009, she would also win the pole for the Snowball Derby, and made her first two starts in the ARCA series.

Johanna Long in her ML Motorsports #70 at Kentucky Speedway. Photo from Getty Images from Zimbio.com.



            2010 for Johanna was probably one of the best years in her young career in my opinion, until 2012. Johanna was the Snowball Derby Champion at Five Flags Speedway. If you are unfamiliar with this race, let me give you some of the finishers from the finishing order. Landon Cassill finished 4th, David Stremme-13th, Casey Roderick-16th, Chase Elliott-17th, Ross Kenseth-19th, Grant Enfinger-20th, Cale Gale-21st, Ryan Sieg-26th, and David Ragan-27th. These drivers are either in NASCAR's top three series (Trucks, Nationwide, or Sprint Cup), or on their way with Chase Elliott, and Ross Kenseth. This race routinely attracts top NASCAR stars, notable in the massive list of past winners including Kyle Busch, Steven Wallace, Rich Bickle Jr., Jeff Purvis, Tammy Jo Kirk, Rick Crawford, Ted Musgrave, and Darrell Waltrip.

2010 Snowball Derby 3-way fight between Stremme, Cassill, and Long.





            Let’s fast forward to 2011 and 2012. 2011 brought her a best finish in the Craftsman Truck series of 11th at Texas, and a best start of 5th at Daytona in only 17 starts. I feel her best year to date has been 2012. She has made 19 starts this year for ML Motorsports in the #70 Chevrolet. She has started a best of 8th at Richmond, and finished 12th twice at Daytona and Kentucky. Considering the budget this team operates on, she along with the small number of team members get the absolute most out of what they have. I am glad that everyone is taking notice of what she is doing from the commentators at least. Kyle Petty gave her a shout out today during practice at Texas, which triggered this blog post. Johanna needs to make a bet with Kyle Busch to get a ride in either his Craftsman Truck, or his Nationwide car. Maybe the Snowball Derby this year? I can only hope a big name ride will become available to her, because with the talent she has behind the wheel, I think she can knockdown some wins and possibly fight for a championship one day. Only time will tell, keep an eye out for her. Check out johannalong.com for more information on Johanna. If you are on twitter, follow her @JOHANNALONG. Also, you should check out SPEED51.com for more information about short track racing around the country, including the 45th Snowball Derby from Five Flags Speedway on Nov. 28th - Dec. 2nd. Bob Dillner (@bobdillner) owns and runs the website, and is also an awesome on air personality for all things NASCAR on Speed. Until next time.

Landon Cassill (@landoncassill) after the 2010 Snowball Derby. This guy is nothing but class, even if he doesn’t wash his jeans.