Garrett Duke

I really wish when I came to this thread that I would have some super good news to share with you about and be happy with. Sadly that is not the case for today. The only good NASCAR news I heard today was that Kevin Harvick will be racing for JRM next year in the Nationwide Series. In other words, Harvick will be racing for Dale Jr in the Nationwide Series. And for the sad news... A few years back, Brian Vickers had to sit out for most of the season when they found blood clots in his leg and they had to put him on blood thinners to take care of it. They can't race while they are on blood thinning medicine. Well they found a small blood clot in Vickers' hip. Vickers will now be out for the rest of the season (2013) due to being put back onto blood thinners. Though they are optimistic that he will be able to return in the beginning of the 2014 season. (Vickers would be out next week at Talladega anyway since Michael Waltrip will be in the car. So it will affect Vickers for four races...) Still bummed out to hear about Vickers. What rotten luck! I hope he will get it taken care of quick and be back in the car as they hope in 2014... And for more Michael Waltrip news... Since NAPA has left the team, it has left a big dent financially it seems. Michael Waltrip will drop from three full time drivers to two full time drivers...with a third team in only a few races (I assume it will be in the restrictor plate races where Michael will race.) Which will leave Martin Truex Jr without a ride for next season. Personally I don't feel bad for MWR through all of this. They are the ones that had made that call to manipulate the Chase points back in Richmond and even if it was a last minute call as Waltrip says it was, he should have stopped and thought about the consequences it would have. His sponsors. His fans. His team in general. I do feel bad, however, for Martin Truex Jr. Where it seems like when it rains, it pours. First he was put in the Chase by Bowyer's spin, then NASCAR seeing that the spin was intentional, took Truex Jr out of the Chase to put Newman in the Chase. Then NAPA (Truex Jr's main sponsor) after getting complaints by fans by what Waltrip had done, has came forth that they don't want to be associated with a team that doesn't play by the rules...has came forth saying they are leaving the team after the 2013 season and bringing their money with them. Which led to Waltrip telling Truex Jr that he would be free to find another team if he wishes, but wants him to stay. But now has been shown to the door due to the lack of funds/sponsorship due to the whole ordeal. Personally, I feel like the wrong driver/person is being the one punished. Truex Jr knew nothing about the spin or Waltrip's call. Yeah it was to help him out, but he had nothing to do with it. And yet he is the one, in my opinion, getting punished for what MW and Bowyer had done. I hope Vickers a speedy recovery and hope that Truex Jr will find a great team in 2014...

That sounds like a great compromise. I have never seen the Duke cartoons...are they good as the real thing?

Thanks Roth Potter. Have to admit, it makes me smile every time my computer comes on and I see that pic. I agree, think it is a great picture of Jeff Gordon.

Well I hope that works...otherwise that is the only way I know how to insert images from my computer. Thanks for the help Roth. Sorry it isn't any bigger...but you should get the idea of what it looks like at least. Isn't it awesome or what?!

Really Roger? You traded in the race for Dora and cartoons? LOL. You are better than me...when my niece comes over she knows that when Blue Bloods is on or the race is on, the TV is off limits since I will be watching Blue Bloods or the race. I mean, she has plenty of toys to play with...what possibly could she want with the TV? (Though she also knows that and does watch movies / tv when the race or Blue Bloods is not on...so she has her turn. ) You are all very welcome. I enjoy writing about the race...would rather be writing about a Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson win, but I have to settle with what they give me. HA. I totally loved how the race started out...just too bad it couldn't end that way. Not that I have much room to complain since three of my drivers got a top ten out of the race. Bummer about Jr though. Tough luck. Though there are a lot of people on FB complaining about Gordon's finish and their rant for a new crew chief has started up again. (I have friended lot of JG fans as well as in a few JG groups...) Which I see where they are coming from...to a POINT. They are upset at the last pit stop with twenty or so laps to go, Gordon's crew chief went with two tires over four (he went with four for the rest of the race...) while Keselowski, Johnson and others went with four. Kasey Kahne went with two as well. I think the fans think that if Gordon went with four fresh tires over two he could have a chance at the win...instead of finishing seventh. . .which maybe the case. But if you ask me...which no one has as of yet...but crew chiefs are paid to take chances and to gamble on pit road. If you go with what everyone else is doing, you won't do anything different than them! Gustafson (Gordon's cc) gambled with two and once he got out of fresh air, fell back due to everyone else having more fresh tires than him. I see their point of being somewhat disappointed with seven when he started up front and so forth, but it could have been a lot worse. And Alan didn't know until he tried. I have seen him go with four fresh tires at the last pit stop while everyone went with two and he was passed by everyone on pit road due to that and being shoved in the back didn't have time to go to the front to contend with the win. Which case I am sure Gustafson got criticized for that too. It is darn if you do, darn if you don't. Personally, I love Gustafson as his crew chief...no he may not make the perfect calls every time. May fail once here and there, but he is just as human as the rest of us is. Gordon is so positive of him and his crew...can't see why his fans can't be. Ah well...that is what is so great about NASCAR. Every fan is a die hard fan and is passionate about their driver and their sport (most of the time) and is willing to voice their opinion over such stuff.

Well I couldn't find a print screen tab on my desktop when I tried to follow the instructions....so I am still lost on how to get a picture of my AWESOME desktop picture. So I guess I will have to just tell you what it is...bummer. I reset my desktop picture every time Jeff Gordon wins. So my current picture is of Jeff Gordon celebrating his win at Pocono last season...and even though I REALLY love my desktop picture right now, would love a new one seeing how that would mean that Jeff would win again. If I wasn't such a dummy I would be proud to show you my AWESOME Jeff Gordon desktop picture...

Well y'all the race has JUST ended...and Brad Keselowski got his first win of the season. Though I guess that is jumping ahead of my review, though have to admit not a whole lot has happened in tonight's race. I think the biggest moment of excitement of the race was in the first half of the race when Brad Keselowski decided to take off of his pit stop before the jack dropped and he took the jack for a ride around the track. And then once back in his pit stall, he let his crew take the jack out before starting off again before they could get his car fixed and he had to stop band back back in to his stall. But guess that didn't stop him from winning the race. Mark Martin didn't last much over a hundred laps when his engine blew and took him out of the race and spread oil all over the track and onto Jr's and Johnson's windshield. Kyle Larson made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut tonight but ended early with a engine failure as well. Jeff Gordon led at first before giving it up to Kasey Kahne who led the most laps. Dale Jr led several laps for his 500th start. Johnson led a lot of laps. Brad Keselowski passed Kahne with twenty or so laps left due to having four fresh tires over Kahne's two fresh tires. 1. Brad Keselowski 2. Kasey Kahne 3. Matt Kenseth 4. Jimmie Johnson 5. Kyle Busch 6. Kevin Harvick 7. Jeff Gordon 8. Ryan Newman 9. Denny Hamlin 10. Carl Edwards 11. Clint Bowyer 12. Juan Pablo Montoya 13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr 14. Kurt Busch 15. Dale Earnhardt Jr 16. Greg Biffle 17. Marcos Ambrose 18. Joey Logano 19. Jamie McMurray 20. Danica Patrick 21. Jeff Burton 22. Martin Truex jr 23. Aric Almirola 24. Paul Menard 25. Brian Vickers 26. David Reutimann 27. Brian Scott 28. Bobby Labonte 29. David Gilliland 30. David Ragen 31. Casey Mears 32. Dave Blaney 33. Landon Cassill 34. Cole Whitt 35. Travis Kvapil 36. Timmy Hill 37. Kyle Larson 38. Blake Koch 39. Joe Nemechek 40. Michael McDowell 41. Josh Wise 42. Mark Martin 43. JJ Yeley We will be going plate racing next week at Talladega...where anything can happen. Have to admit having 'Dega in the Chase makes me worried...

Well here is Travis Kvapil's interview about this week's events. He doesn't say what happened or anything, but it is good to hear from him and to see him taking it seriously and worrying about his family. Am disappointed this has happened but am hoping for the best for Travis. For his family. That they can work through this and put this behind them. http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2033674580001?bckey=AQ~~,AAABhoRWB6E~,ZDbvWmt 9qUdMhw6nZpuKT1dS8wBM5AtL&bctid=2735863407001 Also an interested opinionated article that displays both sides of the argument of what NASCAR should do... Travis Kvapil As I said before am disappointed in what I read about Kvapil...and do admit have thought he should be without a ride due to his actions. But do see BK Racing's view as well as NASCAR's in wanting to hear the verdict before jumping to conclusions. It is hard to say what happened. Only people that knows what happened is Kvapil and his wife. So far all that is being said is his wife's story and Kvapil saying he is embarrassed and ashamed of what had happened. Just hard all the way around and am hoping for the best for both Travis, his wife, and his kids.

Well Hoss perhaps I worded it wrong, but I did say he was innocent until proven guilty.

Hoss - Dario broke two vertebrae's? I heard he fractured them. Knew he had surgery on Monday for it. Tony Stewart had surgery for the third time on his broken leg last Monday as well... Sorry to hear about Maria. Very sad news. As for NASCAR news... There was a crew member at Hendrick that had failed the drug test. Don't know which driver he was a crew member for...but Rick Hendrick has said he agrees with NASCAR and has fired the crew member. Full time Sprint Cup driver Travis Kvapil got arrested earlier this week for domestic assault and for false imprisonment. His team, BK Racing, has said he will race this Saturday night and will support Kvapil until the law says he is guilty...or something like that. While NASCAR has made a statement that they do NOT condone what Kvapil has done...but don't know as of yet if they plan on doing anything against Kvapil. Kvapil is set back in court sometime in mid November for it. Personally am very disappointed in Kvapil and what he has done. Guess he is innocent until proven guilty, but still...sad that he would risk his career for such horribly act of violence. Or his freedom. Dang this thread has turned pretty depressing pretty quickly...think we are in need of some good news... Jeff Gordon has earned / won his 74th career pole. His nineth pole at Charlotte. Better yet...exactly twenty years since his first career pole ... at Charlotte. Dale Earnhardt Jr celebrated his 39th birthday yesterday and will be starting his 500th NASCAR race tomorrow night. BTW...thanks Hoss for keeping us updated on the qualifying order. Sorry I haven't been on HNet...or signed in at least. I got a new smartphone so have been playing with that as of late. Will promise to TRY to do better.

Know that this is a Chicago Bears thread and Adrian Peterson may not be a Bears player...but right now I believe the world of the NFL and it's fans is pretty shaken by the latest news. Adrian's two year old son was choked and beaten last night and was found with no brain activity. His son died of his injuries as of a couple of hours ago. The man accused of beating this innocent child is the mother's 27 year old live in boyfriend. My heart aches for that child, Adrian Peterson, and his family. Will never understand how anyone could hurt a child like that...what a sad world we live in when an innocent child is hurt this badly by someone he lives with. Just so horribly sad, sickening...and depressing. My thoughts and prayers are with AP and his family during this difficult time.

Woo hoo I can now see my post(s). For a long time I couldn't see my posts at all. Anyway it was way scary for Dario. My thoughts and prayers are with him. As for Ricky. I can't recall what happened. I remember something had happened and thought Hoss won't be happy with that. I remember seeing him going in for a pit stop when no one else went in...sorry Hoss for my poor memory. Do remember something happened...perhaps a flat tire or engine problem? UGH.

Well for some reason Hnet is not letting my post show when I refresh the page...see if this helps. Hoping you can see this...don't feel like retyping it all. HA.

Well the race has just finished and what a crazy race it was with at least fourteen cautions if not more. Several of the cautions was for single car spin outs, a few debris cautions...and one for a grass fire in the fan area in the stands. Kansas has been rotten for Kyle Busch and once again it came back to bite him. First when Juan Pablo Montoya spun him out...later on Kyle spun out and hit the wall hard to take him out of the race. Finished 35th and drop from third in points to fifth. Kevin Harvick had earned the most points by starting from the pole, led the most laps, and won the race. Jeff Gordon had a pretty good race as he would be in the top ten then would fall back due to bad luck and be able to race his way back up. Had an incident with Kurt Busch who ended up hitting him into the wall. (Bet y'all can guess who was NOT happy with Kurt Busch today! ) Jeff held on to finish third today. Jeff also confronted Kurt after the race about the incident and do believe they left each other agreeing to disagree. It was a civil conversation between the two and both had interviews afterwards where they talked about it calmly. Hope we can move on from that... Official results at Kansas: 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Kurt Busch 3. Jeff Gordon 4. Joey Logano 5. Carl Edwards 6. Jimmie Johnson 7. Paul Menard 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 9. Marcos Ambrose 10. Aric Almirola 11. Matt Kenseth 12. Jeff Burton 13. Greg Biffle 14. Clint Bowyer 15. Kasey Kahne 16. Jamie McMurray 17. Brad Keselowski 18. Juan Pablo Montoya 19. Martin Truex Jr 20. AJ Allmendinger 21. Case Mears 22. Mark Martin 23. Denny Hamlin 24. David Gilliland 25. Dave Blaney 26. Travis Kvapil 27. JJ Yeley 28. Timmy Hill 29. Tony Raines 30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (Sorry Hoss he didn't have the race you were hoping for...I was hoping for more out of him for my fantasy team too...if it makes you feel any better. ) 31. Cole Whitt 32. Brian Vickers 33. Landon Cassill 34. Kyle Busch 35. Ryan Newman 36. David Ragen 37. David Reutimann 38. Michael McDowell 39. Justin Allgaier 40. Josh Wise 41. Joe Nemechek 42. Reed Sorenson 43. Danica Patrick (Danica wrecked out on the first lap ) Our next race is next SATURDAY NIGHT on channel ABC at Charlotte. . . With that said, my thoughts and prayers are with Dario Franchitti and the ten fans at the IZOD race as he got in a horrendous accident that tore his car apart. Very scary to watch and am hoping Dario and everyone will be OK. Last I heard Dario was in the hospital complaining of his back and ankle hurting. Just soooo very scary! OK just heard or read on a Facebook page that Dario has a concussion, two fractured vertebras, and a broken right ankle. So horrible and yet it could have been worse.

Well I lied...not intentionally. I was able to stay and watch the end of the race and it was a great race, but nothing too exciting to report about. Jimmie Johnson led the most laps and was able to hold on to win the race...he now holds the record with the most wins at Dover with eight. Dale Jr was chasing him down and was close to the win. Joey Logano came in third and Jeff Gordon came home in fourth. 1 Jimmie Johnson 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3 Joey Logano 4 Jeff Gordon 5 Kyle Busch 6 Kevin Harvick 7 Matt Kenseth 8 Ryan Newman 9 Greg Biffle 10 Clint Bowyer 11 Jamie McMurray 12 Brian Vickers 13 Kasey Kahne 14 Jeff Burton 15 Martin Truex Jr. 16 Marcos Ambrose 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 18 Paul Menard 19 Mark Martin 20 Denny Hamlin 21 Kurt Busch 22 Aric Almirola 23 Juan Pablo Montoya 24 Casey Mears 25 David Ragan 26 A J Allmendinger 27 Cole Whitt 28 David Reutimann 29 Danica Patrick 30 David Gilliland 31 Travis Kvapil 32 Ryan Truex 33 Dave Blaney 34 J.J. Yeley 35 Carl Edwards 36 Timmy Hill 37 Brad Keselowski 38 Landon Cassill 39 Joe Nemechek 40 Tony Raines 41 Reed Sorenson 42 Josh Wise 43Michael McDowell We are going to Kansas next week...1:00 EST on ESPN.

Well Roger...looks like both our teams have lost today and you are currently beating me in our fantasy team. Now I am left to rely on Jeff Gordon to win the race with 64 laps to go. So far sitting third...fingers crossed!

Well I have missed the first half of the race and may miss the end. Went in and got a new phone and that took longer than expected and may go meet my sister. So I will have to do my review as of what I read about. So far JJ led all the laps I have seen...though just went into pits and Dale Jr is leading...except now he is in for green flag pit stops. Gordon is in lead right now, but am sure he will be called in in a lap or two. Seeing how my Bears got their first loss of the season...Jeff Gordon better have a GREAT finish today! So far, he is looking good.

Hope your Steelers will beat the Vikings. But as for our matchup...I have been looking forward to beating you a long time! Good luck in your baseball match up. Did horrible once again in all three of my leagues. So sad today is the end of the regular season.

Wow Roger first the depressing story about the young football playering being killed on the field and now your cousin/friend. :cry: Just so horrific on both accounts. Sorry you had to go through that Roger with your cousin. Just so hard. Especially when it happened so close to your home like that. I can't even begin to imagine. So very sorry, Roger. Yeah I never knew a football thread about the Chicago Bears could turn so depressing like this...I thought last week's Bears' game was pretty awesome, Roger. Though I agree, I wasn't very cheerful when I saw Henry Melton being taken off the field like that. Glad to hear you were that concerned for him. Bears play the Lions today...of who they are tied to in their devision. And after hearing the Lions say how much they hate the Bears...well I hope the Bears will run all over them today. (Not literally...) Plus a Packers fan at work has said he will be going for the Lions...just another more reason why I want the Bears to WIN BIG today. BTW Roger and MM the Steelers and SeaHawks can win big too today.

Wow...what incredibly sad news, Roger. Can't imagine being on that team or his family...it is suppose to be for fun.

You are welcome...love writing anything NASCAR. You are not a Dale Jr fan...thought you were. So who is your favorite driver? No more Dale Jr left on your team? What?! LOL. Think I am pretty much there with Kyle Busch. Think I may have one more start left with Kyle. I have two more starts with Jeff...have been trying my best to save him. It has been hard! Wish I could pick him every week. As for what week to pick Jeff Gordon...Hmmmm. He has won at Talladega before, but I wouldn't risk using him there. Anyone can win at Talladega and anything can happen at 'Dega. I would either go with the Martinsville race on October 27th or the Charlotte race on October 12th. Though Jimmie Johnson is also always good at Charlotte. Gordon has won at Texas before though and he won at Homestead last year. So I guess I would probably use him at Martinsville and use JJ at Charlotte...but then again, don't go all by what I say. Yeah I wish I chose Jr for this week...think I have a couple or so races I can use him at. Didn't even consider him for this week...

We are racing at the Monster Mile...Dover. And all of Junior Nation (Roger, let me hear you!) will be proud and excited to know that Dale Jr has won the pole for Sunday's race. Starting line up for AAA 400 at Dover: 1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2 Matt Kenseth 3 Ryan Newman 4 Carl Edwards 5 Aric Almirola 6 Brad Keselowski 7 Jamie McMurray 8 Jimmie Johnson 9 Kurt Busch 10 Martin Truex Jr. 11 Joey Logano 12 Kevin Harvick 13 Juan Pablo Montoya 14 Kyle Busch 15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 16 Jeff Gordon 17 A J Allmendinger 18 Denny Hamlin 19 Greg Biffle 20 Kasey Kahne 21 Paul Menard 22 Brian Vickers 23 Clint Bowyer 24 Marcos Ambrose 25 Jeff Burton 26 Casey Mears 27 David Ragan 28 David Gilliland 29 Mark Martin 30 Travis Kvapil 31 Danica Patrick 32 J.J. Yeley 33 Cole Whitt 34 Michael McDowell 35 Reed Sorenson 36 Ryan Truex 37 Landon Cassill 38 Josh Wise 39 David Reutimann 40 Dave Blaney 41 Joe Nemechek 42 Timmy Hill 43 Tony Raines The Dover race will be on Sunday at 100 ET on channel ESPN.

No I didn't see Staley got hurt...hopefully he is OK. Some of those accidents on the field are real scary. Glad he was able to walk off on his own. What a scary story you told...so young to be injured so badly like that. I bet that was a shock for everyone. Yeah it is too bad about Melton...but compared to your story, it could be worse. It is only a torn ACL. He will be missed on the field that is for sure. Didn't know that about Kendall. Must be quite the athlete.

Love this song and what it has to say. Then again, I love Mandisa's music...

Thanks Roger. I didn't think it would be either...saw him get taken off the the field on the go cart or whatever they used and was upset to see him injured but didn't think anything like this. Hate to see him hurt and finished for the season. Yeah I hope his back up is good too...don't know much about him. If it helps, Roger, I will be hoping your Pirates win the whole thing too. Pretty cool if the under dog team can do it. After all, if the Pirates can do it this year, then the Cubs can do it next year.