Silly Season And Other Anomalies 10/31/2014 |
DAYLIGHT SAVING
TIME ENDS AT 2:00 AM ON SUNDAY. TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK BEFORE YOU GO TO
BED ON SATURDAY!
I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and to you as well, our NASCAR reader du jour.
Please make yourself comfortable, as we sometimes tend toward being just a tad
on the long-winded side here. As you'll see, that's
the readers, not the scribe. She is always short and to the point. (Ahem)
Well,
being asked today when daylight saving time will end brings me to the
conclusion that our 2014 season is almost at a close. Once upon a time, that
thought would have made me sad, but these days, I find myself rather looking
forward to the break. It gives us a chance to rest up and rejuvenate before
taking on the 2015 season and whatever mysteries it holds in store.
For
anyone wondering, Race Fans Forever will be open for business all through the
long, cold winter. We'll keep logs on the fire and cocoa on the stove, so
you'll all have a place to come warm your feet and your soul as well. (They
don't call me Mama for nothing, you know) But... it's not snowing here in
Georgia. In fact, the temperature as I type is a balmy 82º and that's not bad
for the week of Halloween. Truth is, I hope I never
see snow again, and to those that will tell me how "pretty" it is, I
wish you all you can handle... but it's not for me.
Now
then, as she started to say... it's time for us to begin taking a look at what
and who is doing what to or with whom next year. Last year, it seemed as though
there were hundreds of changes all heaped one upon the other. This year, I
don't see as much of that, at least yet. There always seem to be one or two
unpleasant surprises that take folks aback when they remain unknown until all
available positions have been filled, but let's hope their number is few or
none this year.
The
first major change we'll be seeing is the return of the #6 car to Roush-Fenway
Racing. The #6, made famous by Mark Martin, will be piloted next season by young
Trevor Bayne, who has spent the last three years or so in purgatory as it were,
waiting for that seat to become his. No my Darlings, that is not a slam on the
Wood Brothers, whose car has been driven by Trevor on a part-time basis in the
Cup Series. It merely is one more indicator of the lack of viable sponsorship
at the upper levels of the sport. Since the departure of David Ragan, the #6
car has been idle as a team with the exception of four races run in 2012 by
Ricky Stenhouse, for lack of those illusive sponsors willing to invest in
NASCAR.
The car,
with Bayne at the helm, will be sponsored by Advocare,
and that is said to be a multi-year sponsorship. There has not yet been a crew
chief named, though speculation would have Jimmy Fennig moving from what was
Carl Edwards' team to that of Bayne. Of course, Roush-Yates will provide the
engines as is that case with all Roush-Fenway cars. One interesting note here
is that at this time, Bayne is the only declared candidate for 2015 Rookie of
the Year honors. How does that work? Well, it seems that despite the fact that
this young man won the Daytona 500 in 2011 and has sort of "been
around" ever since, he never competed "for points" at the Cup
level in excess of the elusive 7-race maximum a driver is said to be allowed
and maintain eligibility for ROTY. Clear as mud? Yep, to me as well... but
that's the way it works I'm told.
Another
seat in the game of musical rides was filled recently when Sam Hornish was tapped to become the new driver of the RPM #9,
replacing departing driver Marcos Ambrose, who will be returning to Australia.
Marcos, it was fun while it lasted, and you will be missed; that's a promise!
Oh, and do tell Dick Johnson I said, "G'day!"
Sam will drive next year with sponsorship from Twisted Tea, replacing departing
sponsor, Stanley Tools, which masquerades at times as Black & Decker, DeWalt or Mac Tools. Look for that company to display their
wares on the JGR Toyotas of Carl Edwards (12 races) and Matt Kenseth (6 races)
next year. Until we hear that Drew Blickensderfer is
leaving, we'll assume he's staying on with IndyCar Champion Hornish.
Next comes word from Stewart-Haas Racing that there will be a
crew chief swap, effective immediately, between the #10 team with driver Danica
Patrick and the #41 team with driver Kurt Busch. This puts Daniel Knost with Patrick as of Texas, and Tony Gibson with Busch.
Since I've read or heard nothing to the contrary... yet... we'll assume this is
merely an attempt at gaining better productivity (finishes) for both teams.
It's confirmed that Gibson will remain with Busch through 2015. No word on
whether Knost will be permanent in the position with
the #10 team.
In the
sponsor version of a dos-y-dos and a grand right and left all around, long-time
sponsor 3M leaves the Roush-Fenway #16 of Greg Biffle to adorn the hood of Jeff
Gordon's #24 next year, while Ortho and Cheez-It move
to the #16. Teammate Ricky Stenhouse will add Fastenal as that sponsor migrates
from the departing Carl Edwards #99. Being such a clean-cut kid (sometimes I
can't resist) Ricky keeps Zest as primary sponsor.
Next, we
move to Joe Gibbs Racing to welcome Carl Edwards, driving the brand new #19
with new sponsor Arris on the hood for 17 races. Add
that dozen mentioned earlier from Stanley Tools, with the remainder
"probably" going to Subway, long associated with Edwards over the
years. No crew chief has been announced as yet for this team. JGR driver Matt
Kenseth, #20, will reunite with an old friend, carrying the DeWalt
label on his hood for 6 races next year, completing the Stanley Tool move from
RPM to JGR.
One team
presents an interesting enigma, as it could go many ways next year and none have yet been confirmed
or denied to my knowledge. That would be the #33 team, which in 2014 has run
something of a split schedule, which I'm assured is legal...ish.
Sometimes it presents as a Richard Childress owned car and as such has hosted
drivers Ty Dillon, Bobby Labonte and Brian Scott. At other times it's entered
as a Joe Falk (Circle Sport) owned car with a whole host of different fannies in the driver's seat. Once or twice, it was
mislabeled, much to the dismay of Fantasy Auto Racing fanatics, as it's either
one of the fastest car in the race or one of the slowest. This was the car in
which Morgan Shepherd slipped up into Joey Logano at Loudon It's one worth
keeping an eye on as the new season nears, as the possibilities are many and
some could prove interesting.
Two important
changes have been announced to the Hendrick Motorsports #88 team with Dale
Earnhardt Jr. at the wheel. Compliments of Washington D.C., it appears National
Guard will not be returning for what we'd understood was a contracted year in
2015. Instead, Nationwide, departing Series Sponsor of NASCAR's second tier
series will migrate to Dale Jr.'s hood as primary sponsor next year. Also,
replacing crew chief Steve LeTarte, who departs to
join NBC in the broadcast booth next year, will be Greg Ives. If you're not
familiar with that name, please allow me to introduce you. Greg Ives is the man
behind the #9 car in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports driver, point
leader and ROTY candidate Chase Elliott... son of the Awesome One, Bill
Elliott. Greg also spent 5 years as race engineer on the Hendrick Motorsports
#48 during Jimmie Johnson's run of five straight Championships. Smooth move Junior. I don't believe you could have come up
with a more impressive candidate, and all of Junior Nation has something to
look forward to in 2015.
I do
believe that's quite enough for today gentle readers, so let's make way for our
Classic Country Closeout. Today I thought we'd stroll back in time to the land
of the singing cowboys and listen to a sampling of the story songs recorded
then. Most of what we'll hear are songs that date back
to at least the 1920s, though most I'm sure can be traced to the 19th century.
These are the songs of the trail; the songs of the cattle drives; the songs of
the battles between Indians and white men for land that belonged to one but was
desired by the other. These are the songs of "The Old West" as we
romantically refer to it these days. The land was tough and the life was hard,
but the music... oh, the music was touching and told many a story of many a
love and many a death.
First up
today is an oldie but goodie entitled "When
the Work's All Done Next Fall." I've heard this one at least as far
back as Vernon Dalhart and Carl T. Sprague in the 1920s, but it was already old
then. This version is one I've owned for more years than most of you have been
alive. From his "Blood on the
Saddle" album, please enjoy Tex Ritter, doing it best, in my opinion.
Next up
is another sad tale of the trail. I have this one by Tex Ritter and Roy Rogers
as well, but I think that Marty Robbins' version is my very favorite. Please
listen as Marty regales us with, "Little
Joe the Wrangler."
I was
quite torn as to which version of this to share with you, and I finally came
down to two, each very different from the other. This is Johnny Cash,
beseeching all to "Remember the
Alamo."
And this
is Marty Robbins another time, singing "The Ballad of the Alamo", very different from the other, but
so compelling. After all, it's Marty Robbins, and I plead guilty to being
partial.
This is
a bonus number, since your scribe couldn't choose between those two. According to
the all-knowing, never-mistaken
encyclopedia of the Internet, Wikipedia, it dates back to 1872. It's a poem,
not a song. All I know is that it was already old when I was young. This Tex
Ritter recording is one of two I own; the other is by Hank Snow. As a teen, I
learned to recite the entire thing, (No, before you ask. I can do much of it
still, but need prompting) but no one... no one... does it like
Tex Ritter. Please enjoy as Tex spins you a tale called, "The Face on the Bar Room Floor."
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay