Full Throttle

I have had a couple of e-mails questioning my cesspool entries. Not complaints mind you. They are more along the lines of “what the hell is a cesspool?”

So for those that have been living the easy city life or too young to appreciate the usefullness of, or the… ah… fragrance of a cesspool here is a handy definition.

Cesspool: “A covered pit with a perforated lining in the bottom into which raw sewage is discharged: the liquid portion of the sewage is disposed of by seeping or leaching into the surrounding porous soil; the solids, or sludge, are retained in the pit to undergo partial decomposition before occasional or intermittent removal.”

So now you know. You may also realize why a trip thru the NASCAR Cesspool isn’t the ideal weekend getaway.

To be honest I can’t remember who made the comment - but - a breathless claim of some huge disadvantage Matt Kenseth labored under after being sent to the back of the field is, well… just stupid. The move amounted to four places at the time.

The Labonte family reunion at their home track was hardly an affair to remember. Bobby continued his string of being caught up in someone else’s crap and spent all afternoon wrestling a bent and limping wreck home to a 38^th place finish. Brother Terry packed it in early and finished 40^th.

Tony Stewart’s entire weekend was a dip in an Olympic sized cesspool. First he visited the TMS outside fence courtesy of Stanton Barrett, end result; a last place finish in Saturday’s Busch race. Insult was added to [real] injury Sunday. After being competitive all race and looking at a possible top five finish, Tony’s engine did an imitation of the Exxon Valdez and spewed oil, spit smoke and erupted into a rolling fireball that resulted in Tony suffering what are being called “minor burns.”

Finally, the most deserving entrant in this weeks cesspool, the crew of Johnny Sauter’s Busch car. After being caught with an illegal carburetor in post race inspection the team’s race results were wiped from the books via a NASCAR mandated DQ. No paycheck, no points and and most likely more fines, and or, sanctions to come.

That’s it for this week, if you feel someone has been left of this “illustious” list feel free to add your nominees in the comment section. Next week the series moves on to Phoenix where the desert heat should make for a very stinky cesspool.

My hot tip for this coming week is Ken Schrader. He leads the all time list of Phoenix winners counting all classes of cars and has been fairly competitive of late. Look for a top ten finish.