Full Throttle

I will never understand Robby Gordon thinking. And I’ll repeat for possible cranial penetration, I’ll never understand Robby Gordon’s thinking. OR lack thereof for that matter.

According to Robby and ESPN, and via an appearance on NASCAR Now, he plans on doing the double in May if his current appeal process is turned down.

His thought process goes thusly: If his team loses the appeal, and is unable to rebound into Chase contention by May, he will attempt to run the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the same day.

My thought process, at times convoluted admittedly, goes this way.

Failing the appeal there is good reason based on past performance he may be also be in jeopardy of falling out of the top 35 come May (assuming he makes it in).

By competing in both the 500 and Charlotte he runs the risk of not only effecting this year but next if 2008 ends with RGM sitting out of the top 35 in the owners standings.

Gordon’s record at doing the double while respectable aren’t anything spectacular. In 2002 he completed his “double-duty” chores finishing 8^th in the 500 and and 16^th in the 600. In 2003 he finished 22^nd at Indy and 17th in Charlotte. In 2004 he turned the 500 ride over to a relief driver due to rain and scampered back to Charlotte finishing 20^th.

The best anyone has accomplished is Tony Stewart’s effort in 2001 when he finished sixth at Indy and third at Lowe’s.

And Robby is no Tony Stewart.

Gordon believes he has a good chance the Commission will overturn the original ruling. I remain doubtful. If so no harm no foul. If not it may signal the start of yet another boneheaded decision process on Robby’s part.

Either the French Grand Prix is held in Paris or it will not be held at all - that is the warning from Bernie “Wish I Were Sicilian” Ecclestone, as he insisted F1 would never return to Magny-Cours.

“I hope we can put something together,” the sport’s supremo told German news agency SID. “We need a place for the French Grand Prix because we are not going back to Magny-Cours. The government understands this.”

The Circuit de Nevers has hosted the French round of the F1 World Championship for the last 17 years, but due to its remote location it has never proved a great hit with either participants or fans, and last March it was chopped from the calendar.

Ecclestone’s arm twisting has met with some local disagreement that Paris - his preferred choice for the return - is indeed the place for an F1 street race and return of the French Grand Prix.

A dissenting voice to Bernie’s Parisian dreams (no not this kind, Champs-Elys

The recent merger (a/k/a marriage of convenience at the point of a financial shotgun) of CCWS and IndyCar has seen Forsythe-Pettit Racing fold its tent after 13 years of both CART and Champ Car competition.

The teams one last shot at glory, at least for the foreseeable future, is participation in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Champ Car finale, with drivers to be announced.

It’s with the “drivers to be announced” notation we open the Paul Tracy file.

Tracy expressed “shock” and felt “very disappointed,” Forsythe would close up shop leaving him looking for a job. “I want to be part of this new league, I want to run at Indianapolis again and I want to stay in open wheel racing.”

What’s Canadian for “too bad, so sad?”

Whatever it is it hasn’t stopped Tracy from looking, or owners showing a bit of interest in the driver. According to the Indianapolis Star, IRL founder Tony George wants to put the former Champ Car champion behind the wheel of one of his Vision Racing entries but the 39 year old is more interested in joining a championship-caliber team.

“He wants to drive for Penske or Ganassi, and he wants me to talk to them for him,” George told the newspaper.

Fat chance of that happening, and from the quotes issued by Michael Andretti he’s not headed AGR’s way either: “Paul is great and all, but he doesn’t have any experience in these cars and he’s getting a little old,” he tells SpeedTV.com. “We’re looking at 19- and 20-year olds, and he’s almost 40.”

“I hope somebody picks him up, because he’s always good for a story. He’s one of those guys you either love or hate, but he’s going to get the series out there. He gets press.”

For purely selfish reasons I would agree, Tracy is always excellent blog fodder whether it be “self-inflicted” injuries during a drunken escapade or a Rumble in San Jose the guys pure gold.

As proof his current job status hasn’t tempered him in the least Tracy is said to be seeking a minimum $1 million in salary this year. “(Oval racing) is pretty dangerous, and I’m not going to drive for hamburgers and hot dogs,” said Tracy.

Well now that’s interesting, especially considering he slammed A.J. Allmendinger when the later was first attempting the switch to NASCAR.

(NOTE, this is part of the Good Old Days series of posts. When applicable they will highlight various points of interest from that weeks Sprint Cup venue or geographic area.)

One would think LVMS wouldn’t be part of NASCAR’s history beyond the last ten events held under the auspices of Bruton Smith. One would be wrong.

There is a single dusty memory of the Good Old Days of NASCAR, the Desert Classic was held was on Oct. 16, 1955. The place was Las Vegas Park Speedway, a one-mile dirt track, now the site of a Hilton hotel.

Norm Nelson, driving a ‘55 Chrysler for legendary car owner Carl Kiekhaefer, won the dirt-track race. Nelson collected the grand sum of 4,745 dollar and averaged a tick over 44 mph. Primarily a USAC stock car star (three-time series champ) the Vegas event was his only Cup win in five career starts the last at Riverside in 1968

The event, was the 43rd of the 45-race season. Scheduled for 200 laps, it was shortened to 111 due to darkness caused in part by a 12-car accident early in the race.

Interestingly, this event didn’t have any of that years championship contenders in the starting field. That honor went to Martinsville, VA where Speedy Thomson won on the same day, Oct. 16, 1955.

In a special kick in the behind to the “NASCAR is dominated by one team” crowd that is so prevalent today, Tim Flock won the Cup in ‘55 and set a record that will never be broken. At the wheel of the powerful Carl Kiekhaefer Chrysler 300 D’s Flock won 16 events, 11 times leading from flag-to-flag!

On the other hand I don’t think the Frontier Casino featured Bikini Bull Riding then. So you have to take the bad with the good I guess.

Herd Racing, a West Virginia based NASCAR Nationwide Series team, approached officials at Marshall University officials last November proposing a Marshall themed Nationwide Series car for the 2008 NASCAR season.

This week saw that idea’s fruition as West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin introduced the car from the steps of the State Capital.

The cars number is in honor of the 75 football players, coaches and Marshall supporters killed in a November 1970 plane crash.

Barboursville, WV native Brett Rowe is scheduled to drive with the first event targeted as the Sharpie Mini 300 at the Bristol. Rowe has one start this year for Wayne Day this past week at Fontana and bounced between owners Day, Daniel Kinney and James Rowe for a total of 9 starts in 2007.

The Thundering Herd-themed car is the idea of Marshall alumnus Dana Tomes . While the university isn’t involved in sponsorship he says nearly $100,000 has already been invested of the $300,000 needed.

Marshall University President Stephen J. Kopp is excited about the unique opportunity to reach new audiences and tell Marshall

Red Bull Racing has announced that Scott Speed will take in a limited number of races in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year.

Speed, who is currently competing in the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series in the #2 Red Bull Toyota run under the wing of Eddie Sharp Racing, will drive the #46 Morgan-Dollar Motorsports entry.

Speed’s #46 will carry a Red Bull paint scheme for his NCTS debut at Atlanta Motor
Speedway on March 7, followed by a second NCTS race at Martinsville Speedway on March 28. Speed will get additional seat time participating in the NCTS open test at Martinsville Speedway on March 12-13.

That’s the story on the surface, but what’s underneath is the back story how Speed obtained the seat that’s of interest and answers the question; “Why is Red Bull, a Toyota team, bankrolling Speed in a Silverado?

It’s not a very pretty answer. In fact it could be called Red Bull[shit].

Lets play the Predict What the Media Will Print Come the Monday After NASCAR game.

The rules are simple you pull on your Nostradamus Chapeau and hazard a guess how the ink-stained wretches headline this Sunday’s Sprint Cup event at “Los Wages.”

Here, I’ll start with two examples: 1. “LVMS Fails to Sellout, NASCAR Continues Attendance Tailspin.”

2. “Las Vegas Motor Speedway Attendance Lowest Since 2004.

They won’t be wrong, but what they won’t tell you is LVMS decided not to erect a 10,000-seat temporary grandstand above the third turn as they have in the past.

Nope they won’t highlight that at all. Not a bit, but it is fact Sunday will be a sellout.

Also slipping under their radar is the Sam’s Town 300 Saturday at the speedway is expected to top 100,000 for the third consecutive year.

Go ahead ink-stained wretches, spinwalla ’til your blue in the face. I know your game and I ain’t buying it.

For those that by some strange convergence of common sense and a terminal case of boredom have hung out at Full Throttle for the past four years - or the time it took to read thus far - hear’s your chance to say thank you in a touching and meaningful way.

As one who lives in a house populated with a wife and two daughters the feminine smell at times overwhelms. A touch of a manly smell is just the thing to counter the odor of all that foo-foo juice that lingers in the air. Your giving mood can be sated with a gift of Mandels the candle for manly men. And really, who doesn’t like manly?

You can view the selections available in Full Throttle Gift Registry in the video below. Enter your gift selection in the Registry by dropping a note in the comment section.

Also included below is a short retrospective of events occurring in the month of February.

Four years ago nearly to the minute and second this outpost of partial insanity was born with a humble (?) introduction. That week also featured the ultimate in video game/NASCAR simulators using an actual Cup car raced by 2002 Cup champion Matt Kenseth.

February 2005 I detailed Rusty Wallace’s then new venture in the corn fields of Iowa that has progressed to the point many are calling for a Sprint Cup date for the Iowa Speedway.

Coincidentally Feb. ‘05 mimicked this past weekend. Greg Biffle called his shot at Fontana-California-Auto Club something or other race track and pulled it off. And like this week Roush Fords dominated the top spots.

Greg not only predicted he’d take the checker before the green flew but also what lap he’s assume the lead on.

February 2006, oh what a shock! Fontana was a CessPool officially (I sense a pattern here) and Brian France’s head was exploding.

February 2007: Ugly it was. The month ended with ass-hatted politicians in Washington State doing what they do best, showing their ass. There was a horse named “Cheating” that was again being beaten dead and more Toyota/DW hate than you can stuff in a burlap sack. And to end the month there was some wild assed dreaming going on in Razorback land.

The Half-Vast Staff @ Full Throttle thanks each and everyone of you who not only send their best wishes on this most auspicious day, ’cause you know you will, but also dig deep… deep into your pockets to reward the staff on past and future nonsensical ravings found around these parts.

First the leftovers from LaLa Land.

Valle, who is making a valiant attempt to blog the NASCAR season complete with official credentials and unfortunately, not enough sponsors, reports from Fontana she witnessed David Gilliland

“?? ????????? ??”" (”We will bury you”) - Bernie “Khrushchev“ Ecclestone.

The former manager of formula one circuits in Austria and Bahrain has been appointed to oversee the construction of a F1-standard venue near Moscow.

Hans Geist will oversee the new F1-standard venue near Moscow in Russia.

The site is in Volokolamsk, 80 km west of Moscow, and will be designed by renowned F1 circuit designed Hermann Tilke. However there is no guarantee that once built, the circuit will host an F1 Grand Prix.

“The track will be designed by Hermann Tilke to formula one standards. But the operator may not necessarily have a grand prix, even if the opportunity would be accepted if presented,” Geist told the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten.

Bernie Ecclestone is said to keen to bring Formula One to Russia and was rumored to have visited St. Petersburg earlier this year in order to discuss future plans.