HossC

The sun is shining and the World Cup is in full swing, so I thought the time was right for some Brazilian music. England are probably going home after the group stages, but Roth's team (the Netherlands) and Carlos-Argentino's team (Argentina) are leading their groups, and the USA are sitting in second ahead of Sunday's game against Portugal. If the weather's nice where you are, open the windows and enjoy ... Toda Menina Bahiana - Gilberto Gil

A couple of updates on recent stories: NASCAR team owner Gene Haas says his new F1 team will not be on the grid for the 2015 season, but they are committed to making it for 2016 - more here. Meanwhile, in a related story, Gene Haas has named Danica Patrick as a "dream driver" for his new F1 team. F1 teams all have two drivers, and he wants one with experience in F1 and an American driver. Danica spent several years racing open-wheeled cars in the IndyCar Series, so she'd certainly make an interesting choice. There hasn't been a female driver in F1 since 1992, but Williams' development driver Susie Wolff is set to drive in two practice sessions this year, and Sauber have said that they'd like their former IndyCar Series driver Simona de Silvestro to compete for them in 2015. More on the Haas/Patrick story can be found here. There's also news today about seven-times F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher. After no updates for several weeks, he has now been released from hospital in France nearly six months after his skiing accident. A statement says he "is no longer in a coma and has left intensive care". Other reports suggest that he's moved to a hospital in Switzerland (nearer to his family home). Although he is said to be out of his coma, very little has been released about his condition. I just hope that this is the beginning of some long-awaited good news. More info here.

I don't think so. It felt really odd writing the review last week . The commentators mentioned Father's Day so much before the race started that I thought I was watching the Hallmark 400 . I felt sorry for Travis Kvapil at the beginning when he had the side of his car ripped off trying to avoid Brian Vickers. Kyle Busch's main problem was a broken left rear hub. Garrett, now that JJ has three wins, do you think he can let Ricky Stenhouse Jr win one? For the last few races he seems to qualify over halfway down and not make much progress .

They used to say that all roads lead to Rome, but I think they all lead to Hazzard! Welcome back - I hope you get a chance to stop by on a regular basis. On a separate issue: why didn't you name your daughter Daisy? I'm a little disappointed .

I'm afraid I was already watching a comedy show and a soccer match when I remembered the qualifying this week, so you could say that I didn't give it my full attention. Nevertheless, here's a quick summary. After coming first in qualifying sessions one and two, it was no surprise when Kevin Harvick took the Coors Light Pole Award at Michigan. Jeff Gordon was third in session one, and sixth and session two, but in the one that counts he took second to line up next to Kevin Harvick. Jeff Gordon's team mate, Dale Earnhardt Jr, starts just behind in third. Jimmie Johnson gets another top ten start in seventh. Joey Logano only just scraped through session one in 24th place, but lines up in ninth. Kurt was the only Busch to make the top ten this week, so there was no risk of listing Kyle twice . Juan Pablo Montoya makes his NASCAR return this week with the first of two scheduled starts in the #12 Penske Ford. In an interview he suggested that a NASCAR race in China or Japan may prove popular, but didn't think there'd be many fans in Europe (comparing it to the number of F1 fans in the US). Here's the full lineup: 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Jeff Gordon 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr 4. Aric Almirola 5. Paul Menard 6. Brad Keselowski 7. Jimmie Johnson 8. Kurt Busch 9. Joey Logano 10. Brian Vickers 11. Jamie McMurray 12. Kyle Larson 13. Kasey Kahne 14. Kyle Busch 15. Clint Bowyer 16. Martin Truex Jr 17. Justin Allgaier 18. Greg Biffle 19. Austin Dillon 20. Marcos Ambrose 21. Matt Kenseth 22. Carl Edwards 23. Trevor Bayne 24. Ryan Newman 25. AJ Allmendinger 26. Tony Stewart 27. Danica Patrick 28. Juan Pablo Montoya 29. Denny Hamlin 30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr 31. Casey Mears 32. David Gilliland 33. David Ragan 34. Brett Moffitt 35. J.J. Yeley 36. David Stremme 37. Michael Annett 38. Josh Wise 39. Landon Cassill 40. Reed Sorenson 41. Alex Bowman 42. Cole Whitt 43. Travis Kvapil The Quicken Loans 400 from the Michigan International Speedway is this Sunday at 1:00 PM ET. It's live on TNT.

sideways A bit of drifting from the 2005 movie:

I thought I'd add some pictures to Hobie's observation. 1. As the car takes off, the lightbar becomes loose. 2. The front of the patrol car is just to the right of the tree. I've arrowed the lightbar, which is falling off. 3. The patrol car lands and rolls over without a lightbar. 4. A damaged lightbar is attached to the patrol car when Bo and Luke turn around to check on Rosco. A little later in the same episode, Rosco ends up in the Hazzard Pond. Even before his car hits the water, the lightbar is broken and covered with some sort black material (duck tape?). When Rosco climbs out of his submerged patrol car, the lightbar is pristine and still working. Just before the car sinks, there's a close-up of Rosco which shows that his door mirror has repaired itself!

It's amazing how many continuity errors they managed to cram into two minutes and twelve seconds. Did anyone notice the seat belts? They were never popular in the original series (or any other show from that era), but I assume someone insisted that the Duke Boys had to wear them here. In some scenes the belts come from the roof, while others show them going over Bo and Luke's shoulders and immediately disappearing out of sight. You'd have thought that a racecar like the General would have racing harnesses, but these are loose enough for Bo to lean out of the window (also note that his head is no longer out of the window when the camera angle changes). Just occasionally the seat belts disappear completely. One of the reasons for the seat belt changes may be that the General's roll cage constantly disappears and reappears throughout the commercial. The headlights are also visible for a short time in the middle.

My first guess was 'Southern Comfurts' because of the "rich relatives". That was the last episode in season 2, and was first shown on March 21, 1980. Also shown on that same night was the 'Dallas' season 3 finale 'A House Divided', which is the infamous episode where J.R. gets shot.

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Thanks for posting the video, Jason. I was beginning to wonder when they'd release it. Some of the other teaser pictures I've seen of the cars on a transporter showed the General complete with the flag on the roof, but it looks like the commercial was carefully shot from low angles so that it wasn't seen. I did like the Daisy's Denim Depot billboard. If AutoTrader had been a little more savvy they could've made a dummy site with the advertised URL and redirected people to their site. I'm sure there are plenty of people like me that will see if the site is real.

I thought Garrett or Lizzy might step in with a race review, but seeing as they haven't, here's a quick summary. I have to admit that the race clashed with a very exciting Canadian Grand Prix, so most of my attention was focused on the action in Montreal. The first half of the race was fairly uneventful. There were a couple of cautions for debris, one for Dave Blaney spinning (he didn't him anyone or anything), and a bizarre one for what they called "Fire in the exit of Turn 2 in the infield". From what I saw, there was a little bit of smoke coming from inside the barrier which was going nowhere near the drivers. During this time, Brad Keselowski spent most of the time in the lead with Jeff Gordon just behind. Jimmie Johnson also made steady gains up to the top 10. Jimmie's progress suffered a setback on lap 74 when he hit Marcos Ambrose as he was leaving his pit box - see the video here (in F1 this would be deemed an unsafe release and there would be some sort of penalty applied). Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also spent some time around the 10th spot in the middle of the race, but this seemed to be more to do with differing pit strategy rather than a lot of passing. He finished 15th, which is better than the last few races, but another top 10 wouldn't go amiss. Jimmie Johnson recovered from his pit lane mishap to lead a few laps before coming home in sixth. Danica Patrick started quite well, but hit the wall on lap 137. She then received a penalty for having too many crew members over the wall. At the end she was two laps down in 37th. Brad Keselowski led away from the final green flag, but picked up some debris on his grille that forced him to drop back. This allowed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take the lead with just a few laps left and take his second win of the year. Here's the full result. All the drivers down to Travis Kvapil in 29th finished on the lead lap. 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr 2. Brad Keselowski 3. Kurt Busch 4. Denny Hamlin 5. Kyle Larson 6. Jimmie Johnson 7. Ryan Newman 8. Jeff Gordon 9. Martin Truex Jr 10. Jamie McMurray 11. Clint Bowyer 12. Kyle Busch 13. Tony Stewart 14. Kevin Harvick 15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr 16. Greg Biffle 17. Austin Dillon 18. David Ragan 19. Brian Vickers 20. Michael Annett 21. AJ Allmendinger 22. Aric Almirola 23. Casey Mears 24. Marcos Ambrose 25. Matt Kenseth 26. Paul Menard 27. Justin Allgaier 28. David Gilliland 29. Travis Kvapil 30. Cole Whitt 31. Alex Bowman 32. Ryan Truex 33. Landon Cassill 34. Reed Sorenson 35. Josh Wise 36. Timmy Hill 37. Danica Patrick 38. J.J. Yeley 39. Alex Kennedy 40. Joey Logano 41. Carl Edwards 42. Kasey Kahne 43. Dave Blaney The result puts Jeff Gordon back to the top of the driver standings with Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski completing the top five. Next Sunday it's the Quicken Loans 400 from the Michigan International Speedway. For anyone who saw the 190 mph crash between Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez at the end of the Canadian Grand Prix, both drivers are fine, although Perez has been given a five-place grid penalty for the next race. Massa's impact registered at 27g, which is more than twice the maximum experienced during a turn in a fighter jet. Congratulations to Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who made some great late passes to take his first F1 win.

'Baa, Baa White Sheep' in season 3.

Thanks Lizzy - just checking that you're paying attention . It should have read "The top five in the second session were Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Kevin Harvick."

A very short scene at the end makes use of Western Street. The building with the tower at the end of the street is building #15 (using my original numbering scheme). It's the only one in this shot that's still standing. This building would've been just off the right side of the shot above. Now some more familiar buildings. This part of Western Street was seen in 'Mason Dixon's Girls' and as Shoveltown in 'The Hack of Hazzard'. I wish the quality of this final shot was better. It's a wider view of the same part of the street, but with one of the soundstages visible above the Western buildings on the left and Boss Hogg's house above them on the right.

This theater is also on New York Street. It was seen briefly as the Bijou in 'Big Brothers, Duke' (see post #84). Pappas moved on from selling hot dogs to owning theaters. This one is also on New York Street, about 100 yards left of the one above. Now a screengrab from Dukes. When I first saw this marquee sign in 'R.I.P. Henry Flatt', it had me confused. I fruitlessly searched IMDb and various other sources to try and find the origin. Well, it turns out that "The Bandit" is actually a play that features in 'The Dream Merchants'. This is the same building as the Pappas shot above.

New York Street actually gets to play New York! Another Dukes connection - they also use the Disney Golden Oak Ranch. I kept an eye out for the Duke Farm, but didn't see it.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine tipped me off to another show that made good use of the WB backlot. It's a 1980 mini-series called 'The Dream Merchants', and the full show is available on YouTube. The opening shot shows Midwest Street in the snow, although it's captioned "Albany, New York 1912; Where It All Began". Apologies for the quality of these grabs - they're from YouTube and probably come from a VHS copy. The corner drug store from Hazzard Square is selling hot dogs. One of the most underused buildings in Hazzard Square, the theater, becomes the focal point as Kesseler's Nickelodeon. Another shot of Brownstone Street in the dark (see the 'Vacation' pics on the previous page).

The qualifying for Sunday's Pocono 400 has just finished. The first session was briefly red flagged when Dave Blaney spun in turn 1, but he didn't hit anything or anyone. Kyle Larson spent a nervous couple of minutes sat near the end of the pit lane as the first session came to a end. He was in 24th and his team prepared him for another lap in case someone beat his time. Despite a few late runs by people like Matt Kenseth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr, he hung on to progress to the second session. Kasey Kahne was mystified by his lack of speed and was also knocked out in the first session. Not that it counts for pole, but the top five in the first session were Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick. The top five in the second session were Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Kevin Harvick. Jeff Gordon was back in eighth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr improved from 21st in the first session to claim eleventh. Sadly for Garrett, Jimmie Johnson went out at this stage, and will start in 20th. Danica Patrick also failed to make that last session, and starts in 16th. In the third and final session, Denny Hamlin took pole ahead of Kurt Busch. It was a disastrous qualifying for Brad Keselowski who starts all the way down in third place this week . Here's the full lineup: 1. Denny Hamlin 2. Kurt Busch 3. Brad Keselowski 4. Kevin Harvick 5. Jeff Gordon 6. Kyle Busch 7. Joey Logano 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 9. Brian Vickers 10. Carl Edwards 11. Austin Dillon 12. Tony Stewart 13. Greg Biffle 14. Kyle Larson 15. Ryan Newman 16. Danica Patrick 17. Martin Truex Jr. 18. Jamie McMurray 19. Clint Bowyer 20. Jimmie Johnson 21. AJ Allmendinger 22. Aric Almirola 23. Paul Menard 24. Justin Allgaier 25. Casey Mears 26. Matt Kenseth 27. Kasey Kahne 28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 29. Marcos Ambrose 30. Michael Annett 31. Landon Cassill 32. David Ragan 33. Travis Kvapil 34. Alex Bowman 35. David Gilliland 36. Reed Sorenson 37. Josh Wise 38. JJ Yeley 39. Timmy Hill 40. Cole Whitt 41. Ryan Truex 42. Alex Kennedy 43. Dave Blaney There were only 43 cars entered again this week, so no one was sent home. The race is this Sunday at 1:00 PM ET. Despite Garrett's protests, it will be live on TNT . Garrett, it looks like you could be watching Gordon and Johnson racing for many years to come. Just a couple of months ago Jeff Gordon's daughter took part in a quarter-midget kart race, and now Jimmie Johnson has said that he's thinking of letting his oldest daughter have a try at go-karts. Full story here. Just in case there's a rain delay, red flag or any other interruption to the Pocono 400, don't forget that the Canadian Grand Prix is on at 2:00 PM ET (that's the actual start time of the race). It appears to be live on NBC.

Before Christmas, TheGeneral01 posted a picture of what a modern version of the General Lee might look like [ETA. image now missing]. When I saw the post again during the week it inspired me to have a go myself. Because the new Charger is a four door, I based my version on the new Challenger. To give it a longer look I stretched the body by about eight inches. Other changes include: removing the sunroof and side markers; chroming the door mirrors, door handle and window surround; replacing the grille; adding a nudgebar and CB antenna; replacing the wheels and putting on the famous graphics.

This week it's the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks from the Dover International Speedway, and it'll come as no surprise that Brad Keselowski's on the front row for the eighth time this year. He took pole just ahead of Kyle Busch. It's also a good week for Garrett's drivers with Jimmie Johnson in fourth and Jeff Gordon in sixth. Jeff Gordon has said that his back feels much better this week and Regan Smith has not been put on standby. Ricky Stenhouse Jr seems to have had another average qualifying session and starts in 26th, two places ahead of Danica Patrick. With only 43 drivers on the entry list, no one got sent home today. The full lineup is: 1. Brad Keselowski 2. Kyle Busch 3. Joey Logano 4. Jimmie Johnson 5. Kyle Larson 6. Jeff Gordon 7. Denny Hamlin 8. Kevin Harvick 9. Brian Vickers 10. Clint Bowyer 11. AJ Allmendinger 12. Greg Biffle 13. Dale Earnhardt Jr 14. Ryan Newman 15. Paul Menard 16. Martin Truex Jr 17. Kasey Kahne 18. Brett Moffitt 19. Jamie McMurray 20. Tony Stewart 21. Matt Kenseth 22. Casey Mears 23. Austin Dillon 24. Kurt Busch 25. Aric Almirola 26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr 27. Marcos Ambrose 28. Danica Patrick 29. Carl Edwards 30. Justin Allgaier 31. Cole Whitt 32. David Gilliland 33. Josh Wise 34. David Ragan 35. Alex Bowman 36. Landon Cassill 37. J.J. Yeley 38. Reed Sorenson 39. Michael Annett 40. David Stremme 41. Ryan Truex 42. Dave Blaney 43. Blake Koch After a run of night races, we're back to a 1:00 PM ET start this Sunday. For the last time this year, the race is live on Fox.

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I thought I should include the full version of that Pizza Hut commercial. I wish Murray Walker was still commentating. Garrett will never believe that F1 is better than NASCAR, even with that look on Jeff Gordon's face . This was one of the recommended videos that I was offered after watching Jeff Gordon in an F1 car. It shows Jay Leno spending a day with the McLaren F1 team at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. He discusses the track design with one of the designers and gets to talk about some of the technical side of the sports before attempting a wheel change. He also drives the circuit in a McLaren MP4-12C.

batter Hey batter, batter, batter, batter, swing, batter .

OK, so this isn't Formula 1, but I came across this video again yesterday and thought it was worth posting. As far as I can tell, this is an Australian V8 Supercar race from about ten years ago, and the car that loses its wheel is driven by current NASCAR #9 driver, Marcos Ambrose.