Xmas Blogging

Well another Xmas has come and gone and 2009 is rapidly coming to a close. What will 2010 have n store? Who knows?. But hopefully Dale Earnhardt Jr. will win some races! He has employed Danica Patrick to race a limited schedule in 2010 in his Nationwise car.

Team Canada's Olympic hockey team is being anounced today so hopefully we will win olympic gold in hockey even though the NHL is being shutdown for a week.

On Xmas morning I was experimenting with my camera and took some morning pictures of teh sunrise. Here are a couple:

Backwards Calgary

It never ceases to amaze me the powers that be in Calgary how greedy they are. Just when they think they are giving you a break they take from you in another way. Take for example the new parking rates downtown. they give yo a .75 discount for the first half hour then raise it for any hour after that. It still averages 5.00 hour. Who would want to go downtown for that price. and then they want to charge for after hours and Sundays.The leaders of the city of "steers and queers" has once again flipped their wig and lined their pockets! Not to mention a stupid candy cane looking bridge that will cost millions of dollars to build which is not needed cause there are other bridges walking distance away.

48 unstoppable, NHRA kings crowned

Well it looks as though the 48 of Jimmie Johnson is a shoe in for his 4 th straight Sprint Cup title, although I think that the new chase format is a farce, it is what it is. Jimmie Johnson had it won before the chase started with he way he was running. Although mathematically Mark Martin has a chance to catch him the 48 has to finish 25 or better making Mark Martin's chances slim, but I hope he could do it. If anyone deserves a championship it is Mark Martin.


NHRA Champs crowned in Pomona






In Top Fuel Dragster Tony Shumacher won his 6th consecutive T/F title. A first in NHRA history. Alan Johnson was a major influence in those years but this year with new crew chief and crew he still pulled it off. Definately a threat in teh T/F dragster ranks.

The Funny Car title went to Robert Hight his first Funny Car title.






The Pro Stock Title went to Mike Edwards also his first NHRA Championship.






Congratulations to the 2009 NHRA winners.

Old bands get better with age

Well the old adage that things get better with age certainly holds true in the case of certain bands. I have seen alot of older bands and they all do well in their late 50's and 60's. And last night we seen KISS. A true pioneer band in the way stage performances and rock shows should be. And they still have the blood and stage show as always with breaking guitars and lights and pyrotechnics. They did alot of older songs and a few newer ones and they still can kick it when called upon. KISS with the leadership of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons is a marketing genius in the fact they had makeup in the 70's, sold dolls and KISS cards, all their KISS shirts and stuff plus comic books. Then in the 80's they took their makeup off and toured and made records and now with the absence of two key figures (Ace and Peter) they put all the old costumes on and amkeup and bring back the days of old with a modern flare. Genius. Of course they probably made millions in the 70's already but now they have more millions and millions of new fans young and old.

Rembrance Day thoughts

Well Remembrance Day is coming soon and and I wonder how many people and companies in Calgary will make their staff work this day and not pay them double time. C'mon Calgary, I know lots of companies are open for business on this day but if wasn't for the people dying for our country you woudn't have a business to run. If there was only one stat holiday to be observed this would be it. It should be mandatory to take this day off. I know the mentallity of Calgarians is to work til they die but this is ridiculous to think you can't take a moment out to remembe rthe fallen soldiers of Canada who have shaped the country.

Calgary blunders

Another October another snow storm and the city not prepared, hard to belive! I know for a fact that the winter shifts haven't started yet so therefore there was no sanders on the road til 6 am. And then they don't plow the roads just salt them and make a mess.

Oh and the city wants to save 50 million dollars on budgets but going to spend 50 million on two ugly bridges. Go figure.

Nascar Hall of Fame

Well the only time that I vote is during or for sports figures or teams hahah. So naturally I was one of a few hundred thousand voters wwho voted on the inaugural NASCAR hall of fame nominees. Yes I did vote for Dale Earnhardt sr. and Richard Petty, both who were inducted into the hall of fame's first year class. Three others were inducted as well. So 2 out of five were people voted for. Of course there is planty of drivers to choose from an dwill all probably be there in time but only allowing five at a time each year it may take some time for some of the origional drivers to make i there but I am sure thet will get there in time as they are all deserving of it!

Congrats to Chevy winning the manufacturers championship in nASCAR again!

A little bit of things

Well hopw about those Habs? 2 and 0 to start the season and in Calgary tonite. No need to know who I am voting for! How about that race in Memphis for teh NHRA countdown to 1. Could Tonu Pedregon get any hotter when he was on fire. Itblew the body right off and in the air. I seen Larry MInor do that in Seattle a few years back. And how about Jaun Pablo Montoya, 3rd in points chase and getting strong every race. Too bad for Dale jr. though, qualified 2 nd and ended up 36 after leading 41 laps. That's how the ball bounces I guess, or in hos case the lug nuts that weren't on tight.

I'm Jealous

So it seems to me that as big a HAB fan that I am that I would be entitiled to a new jersey that my wife won but to no avail!
So I guess I will have to order one. Hey it is also an aunthentic Reebok jersey!

My First Country Concert

Well let me just start by saying I am a total heavy metal fan who loves bands like SLAYER, METTALICA, TRIVIUM, GWAR, DEVIL DRIVER, and any 80's hair metal bands. But when the wife said she wanted to take me to Keith Urban I said "what the hell, I took you to see Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, but you will have to come see GWAR with me!" (we still in discussions about that one!)

So as we enter the Saddledome and walk thru the door I 'm waiting for some butchy lesbian to pat me down. Hey no security check , whats up with that? You mean I could have smuggled in a bottle of rum? Or some Roman Candles? Oh yeah I guess it is a country thingy. We get a alcoholic bevvy at the bar and find our seats. The crowd seems tamer than at a Megadeth show but I give it time. The first band that comes on is Lady Anabella. I thought it lacked a little energy although there was a smokin hot female singer there. Now don't get me wrong, some of the new country artists are good and country music today is not really country music it is more country rock per say with the hard rhythm sections heavy bass, drums but with a twangy guitar that reminds you it is still country genre. Once the first act is over I decide it time for another beer and a pit stop in the restroom.

Now this is where it gets interesting. I go to the restroom and there is no lineup but for the ladies restrooms it is lined up for ages. How can this be? When I went to see Iron Maiden I didn't even try to use the restrooms or would still be line up today waiting to get in! As I am in there (the restroom )I notice some females coming out of the entrance way. I had to check the sign on the door to make sure it was teh mens room. AS I go inside there are 6 other ladies in there, first thing I said was awesome! We finally have unisex bathrooms like in Ally Macbeal! But I guess cause the women's can was too long of a lineup....when u got to go........this was a switch though cause I am used to using the women's can in these situations where the men's room is lined up forever, and in a few local watering holes around town (that was another story though).

Finally Keith Urban starts his show with a riveting guitar riff by his electric guitar player and show carries on. There is a certain stench in the air that seems to be missing, a certain haze if you will, and seeing as there was no security check I figured it would look like Cheech and Chong were there. But no. Well the beer replaces all that missing haze effect and it still tastes the same and goes down the same and comes out the same as at a rock concert so say what the hell, on with the show. Now I have to admit Keith Urban is one hell of a guitar player and as I am self teaching myself guitar I appreciate more and more the efforts of players from all genres of music. So to see a country act like him shred out some solos like Steve Vai, well I had to be impressed. He kind of has a Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Vai kind of mix to him or at least that what I thought. I would love to see if could play with the likes of Kirk Hammett or Dave Mustane. Bet he could. So I was impressed by the show and his playing ability and hearing those songs on the radio doesn't do much justice but to hear him play live well it was a whole new world. Like a bunch of musician's who want to be hard rock but got left behind on the c-train station with a bunch of country hicks (well it is Calgary) and got introduced to Country music. But like I said before it isn't country but more of Country Rock.

I would defiantly go see him again and now the wife wants me to learn Keith Urban songs on the guitar! Well if it gets me the female fans knocking my door down then why not!
Sorry hun, you're my my only fan!

NASCAR'S COT Car is boring

Just My Opinion

Is it just me or is NASCAR getting boring. That new peice of crap car they have should be called the "Crap of Tomorrow" instead of the "Car of Tomorrow" (C.O.T) I mean really now, look at the restarts a car gets out ahead and it is in front til next restart cause no one can catch him. It
's all about "clean air" now and the drivers will even say that in victory lane, and during practices. So that means they are saying as long as they are out front in clean air they will have a chance to win barring some mechanical problems or something.
I feel this new car is taking some racing away from the drivers and they are at the hands of the car itself as it seems to do what it wants. The Indy race yesterday was boring as hell. No one did any passing especially up front. And how many time shave you seen a car struggle at the back and when he gets near the front on pit strategy takes off when the green falls and is gone?
The Nationwise series still uses the old style cars and their races are more exciting to watch, as well as the Camping World Truck Series (by far the best series in NASCAR). An dthese series still have old style cars and can pass each other more and that is waht racing is about. If they want single file racing for 500 miles they should call themselves "NASCARF1".

I have found several forums on nascar.com that show people feel like I do and are getting bored. I have been watching racing for years since I was 6 at our local track and on TV. ANd racing compared to 10-20 years ago, even 3 years ago before the COT came out was terrific! It is in trouble now I feel. You can't have 43 cars start a race and stay in line for 500 miles week after week. The 2 mile + raceteracks seem to spread these cars out more and make for a boring race. Maybe nascar should just race on Martinsville and Bristol every week. That would be cool.

Forum
Another forum

Of course this is just my opinion

2009 NHRA Northwest Nationals

Day 4 Sunday the Finals,
"the Shimy Shimy"

So we were walking around getting some photo ops with some people and managed to get pics with Graham Light, Rick Stewart and some people with the Safety Safari.
But what beauty day for for racing! Not as cool as I had hope for but still cooler. Had to wear my jeans as I got burnt the day before. In the morning we went to the set of NHRA today and hung around with MIke Dunn and Larry Dixon. It was a good day at the races and my wife invented a new racing term and Jeg Coughlin is pictured here showing it.










The "Shimy Shimy" she called it when a driver gets a little "slideways bothways". Jeggy perfected it here. Was close to rolling over.

Anywyay congrats to the winners of 2009 NHRA Northwest Nationals:

Pro Stock. Mike Edwards
Funny Car Tim Wilkerson
Top Fuel Antron Brown

Even John Force's daughter Courtney won in Alcohol dragster.

Click on pic to make bigger

We always have a good time in the bar after the races and here are some other Canadians we have met there in the last 3 years who always end up in there as well. It truly is a cool little bar to go hang out at and they make really good drinks to.

So a special thanks goes out to the special friends we have met in Meeker Street bar and grill and to the staff for putting up with our Canadian ways.

2009 NHRA Northwest Nationals

Day 3 Saturday,

We arrived at the track earlier today than yeterday and it is still hot outside even though the weather forecast said it would cool down a bit. We got to meet Bob Frey and say hi to him like we do every year as we helped us get married at the track that in 1998. There was some good racing on Saturday, not as much oildowns although I am still undecided about the 1000 foot race length for T/F dragsters and Funny Cars, but safety is safety. We also got pics of the NHRA safety Safari as they were cruisin thru the pits early before the races started. It was good to see some good times and even som etrack records were broken in Pro Stock.

At the end of the day during a small tailgate party and friendly family cooked us a burger on the little barbeque while we waited for traffic to die down. We still went to the bart when we got back for a quick salad and some drinks.

2009 Northwest Nationals

Day 2 Friday

I can sure feel the age thing kicking in as it seems to be harder to get up for the 6:30 am alarm now, but I was still ready before my wife was, hahah. Coudn't wait to go to the track in the Stanger ever got to open her up a bit on the freeway to the track.....pretty sweet.... The racing was cool as always alot of oildowns though, and the track was really hot so I think some cars were having trouble wiht the high track temps, especialy during the Alcohol car sessions. Speaking of alcohol, it sure a good thing we bought a $9.99 cooler last year for this race cause we had it filled with beer and water on icew for the end of the day tailgating sessions. It was a scorching ho tday and at the end of the day it was nice to have some cold beer waiting for us.

I will post more days events in the coming days and post pictures of this years event on my Flickr page.

2009 Northwest National trip

Day 1 Thursday

We left on Thursday this year to go to Seattle to watch the NHRA Northwest Nationals. We haven't done that since 2002! But this way we won't miss any Friday qualifying sessions and will be able to get to the track early on Friday morning. Also being here a day ewarly means one more night at Meeker Street Bar & Grill!
Airport security is getting pretty carried away these days as they took away a bottle of mouthwash from us and a threw it in the garbage! Oh well. Another person had her hair clip taken away , is sad to see your stuff going in the garbeg but htese are the days we live in I guess. Anyway once arriving in Seattle we went to the car rental place and was talked into renting a Mustang instead of the economy car I had originally booked. But it was cool to go to the track in a Stang! Reminds me of the days when we used to take my Camaro down there. Once we checked into our hotel we went for a cruise to Lake Meridian and walked around a bit and then to Safeway to buy a little food and beer. $11.98 for a case of Budweiser, Bargain compared to Canadian prices.
Oh well Off to dinner at Meeker St. Bar and Grill.

NASCAR FInishes

Well how about the 2009 NASCAR season so far? Mark Martin has won 4 races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn't done anything and the other two Hendrick cars are up there as always. But it seems as though the new "car of tomorrow" (COT)has thrown some teams for a loop. And some of the racing at some tracks has been bad. Single file racing, that like F1!
So Introduce double file restarts in NASCAR, which is what they did and it makes the starts interesting but once a car is out front it is hard to catch. Those new cars seem to be great in clean air but noone can ever catch them it seems. BUt how about that finish at Dayton a few weeks ago? Now that was NASCAR at it's finest!

Northwest Nat's time again

Well it's that time again that the NHRA Northwest Nationals are in Seattle again and we are leaving in two day to go watch it. I can't wait! It's the most awesome sporting event I have ever seen.
Although looking thru the entry lists on NHRA.com there may be only 16 cars in each pro class, but given the so called recession it is understandable. BUt it will cut sown on some drama like who will be bumped out of the top 16 qualifiers, as if only 16 show up then they will all make the show.
But it is still awesome to go see.

Oh by the way this us down infront of driver introductions on raceday.
AutoImagery.com

Shot by an autoImagery.com photographer

The Worst Mistake I ever made

The wife and I just came back from a vacation to my home town in Victoria to see my parents and I realize now that moving away from there 7 years ago was probably the biggest mistake I have ever made. As these pictures show Victoria is on beautiful ocean backdrop and surrounded by green grassy yards and colorful spring blooming trees. Too walk away from this I must have been out of my mind. No to say that moving to Calgary was not beneficial to us, we are financially well off better than before but for piece of mind just look at those pics! And we went on a trip up to Nanaimo and I must say the trip up island was nice to not have rocks flying up at the windshield like there is in Calgary. In Calgary everyone has broken windshields from rocks lying on the road from the winter sanding trucks. BRUTAL! In my mind.

Walking along the breakwater I realized right away what we were missing. The blue of the ocean or the brown of Calgary. My mind is made up to go back home as soon as possible. Hopefully within a year.

It is pretty tough not be able go for a walk year round or play sports outside with an environment like this. It is just awe inspiring! And I had all this and walked away from it all. What was I thinking? Anyway I have made it my goal to get back as fast as I can to Victoria as I realize now how much I really miss it and how much of a mistake it was moving to Calgary.

And after having lunch with my old working buddies I used to work with I realize how much fun I used to have here. Plus one of my old friends brought his new car when we all went for lunch which is what you can do 10 months a year, drive a hot rod around town without getting it wrecked by salt or sand.

As you may have guessed I really miss my home town and am in a hurry to get back even though I may have to start my life over again.

Speedweeks 2009

Well I just finshed watching the Nationwise race at Daytona this afternoon and you got to love those cars. The car of tomorrow is a little "iffy" in my books in terms of whether I like them or not. But it still was an exciting race and congrats to the winner Tony Stewart

Well with only a few weeks to go til the beginnigfn of the new NHRA and NASCAR seasons I find myself waiting impatiently til speedweeks in Daytona. Or maybe not..........I don't know how I missed this but apparently last August NASCAR change dthe rules on how the drivers qualify for the Bud Shootout at the start fo Speedweeks in Daytona. It used to be that if you won a pole position during qaulifying for a race during the previous year you were autiomatically in the Bud Shootout. PLus a few past champions and previous Bud shootout winners to round out the field. Now in NASCAR's infinate wisdom they decided to have the top 6 cars of each manufacturer in the race. Meaning that the top 6 Chevys, Fords, Toyotas, and Dodges would be in for a 24 car field. Which means a few drivers who won poles last year will not make the event such as Patrick Carpatentier and Joe Nemechek, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, to name a few. And rookies who have never raced a full season in NASCAR or even won a poel such as Joe Logana are indue to the fact taht they are in a car by an owner who has a top manufacturer car. Now 2 of Waltrip cars are in and they had not very good seasons last year but are still the top Toyotas, I mean you could be the top6 cars in Toyota and finish 31-37 in points last yeaqr but make the race cause you were the top 6 Toyotas.
Does this seem fair?
I was reading some NASCAR forums last nite and some fabs are steamed at NASCAR. Can't say that I blame them afterall the fans made NASCAR and old drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough gave the fan somethign to cheer for. A real life hero. Guys who made their way in racing from dimes and nickels to millions the old fashion way thru paying their dues. Now rookie drivers land on teams and instantly have success thru rich team owners and find themselves in allstar races wihtout even racing a handful of races in the premier division of NASCAR.
Oh well enough rambling about this......Dale Earnhardt Sr would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what has happened to his beloved NASCAR. And don't even get me started on the Race for the Chase...Me and Dale Sr would be bicthing for a years about this one as well as old time race fans like me. I liek racing the way it was 10 years ago, none of these made for TV rules and sponsoership ratings stuff. Just go out and race. Atthe end of 30+ races teh one wiht the most points is champion.

Here is a link to some stories on this from nascar.com
Nascar.com

Happy New Year

Well Happy New Year race fans. Hope all is well. I see Gillete Evernham Motorsports is merging with Petty Enterprises. That may be cool. Anyway just a couple months away from the Daytona 500 and the start of a new NHRA season.

Can't wait