My Take: NASCAR should have gone back to a 70 lap (3 segment) format for the 2012 All-Star instead of this...

Earlier this week, NASCAR unveiled yet another format change for this year's 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star race. The description is below in the image.

(Photo Credit: Sprint Nextel Motorsports PR/NASCAR)

"My Take: As fan myself of the All-Star race, I love the concept behind the All-Star including the fan vote, but not the ever changing formats. And that goes for the addition of four or five segments to the race, its like the term "playing god", I just want to see real racing period. Of course I would also like to see this race at Iowa Speedway or another short track, but that isn't going to happen.

So here is my preferred format for the All-Star Race:
70 laps divided up into three segments. 30 laps, 30 laps, 10 laps. (Yes this format was used from 1992-2001) NASCAR can even include the only green flag count. Even an elimination would cool. Maybe after the second 30 lap segment, only the top 12 advance to the final 10 laps. Yes its bold, but that's what the All-Star race is all about. Keep in mind that the first All-Star race back in 1985 has been just 70 laps flat out.

Photos: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya learn to drift at Charlotte Motor Speedway, smoke them if you got them.

Earlier this week, NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a #88 Chevrolet Camaro and Juan Montoya in a #42 Chevrolet Camaro tried their hands at drifting as part of a commercial shoot at Charlotte Motor Speedway and in judging by the photos (not only below, but on  Charlotte Motor Speedway Facebook Page), both of them really nailed drifting...in another words, smoke them if you got them.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. drifting the #88 Chevrolet Camaro.

Juan Montoya drifting the #42 Chevrolet Camaro

American Chopper: Sr vs Jr: Paul Jr Designs unveils Chevrolet Camaro at the 2012 Daytona Bike Week.

Originally published early last week after actual unveil
Updated and republished: 3/27/2012

After watching last night's episode of American Chopper Sr vs. Jr., two things struck me:

1. An entire hour episode on just Paul Jr. Design that featured this special muscle car build from the concept, through the build to completion and the unveils at Daytona Bike Week on March 17, 2012. I knew that if Discovery Channel featured just PJD, not OCC and PJD together in a one hour episode that it would be a hit and entertaining for fans. And yes this special was entertaining for me. PJD has a lot more content then Discovery shows in just a 22 minute normal episode. (Keep in mind that PJD gets around 22 minutes and OCC gets around 22 minutes of content in a normal one hour episode. The rest is filled with commercials)

2. Obviously the muscle car build itself. I remember watching the build off with PJD's Mustang plane inspired chopper  and thought it was an interesting creation for sure. They went outside the box. But now to see someone take a brand new Chevrolet Camaro and customize it in such a way that it's never been customized before...namely with adding a Whipple supercharger, custom exhaust, 22 inch rims, flat black paint, prop wheels with nose cones, plating and over 1000 pop riveting in aluminum panels and 580 HP for the "fighter jet feel." that's cool. It's original, its different and in some ways it works.

(Photo Credit: American Choppers Paul Jr Designs on Facebook", its a fan page.)

(Photo Credit: Paul Jr. Designs/Discovery)

Personally I'm getting more into the flat black paint job style on muscle cars than ever before and I have to say that I like this Camaro especially with 580HP on tap. And I will say that Trans American Muscle shouldn't have any problems selling all 77 of these limited editions Camaro's, of course that's at $84k each.

Playing Angry Birds Space is very weird and challenging, but this is a cool game on Android.

I've been a big fan of both Angry Birds and Angry Birds Rio since each one was released separately and playing them on my 7 inch Acer Android Tablet because of its challenging levels and it unique characters. But in playing Angry Birds Space, this isn't like the first two and you really have to pay attention and adapt. But damn this is a cool game, 4 stars.

Angry Birds Space on Android device, taken by Brian Vermette with LG Thrive Android Smartphone, 3.2MP camera.

My Take: I completely disagree with Bruton Smith on the poor crowd at Bristol and I believe he should keep the "NEW" configuration.

Originally published: 3/22/2012
Updated: 3/29/2012

Ever since last Monday morning, I have been reading a few articles and hundreds of comments on last Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and whether or not Bruton Smith should change the track from its current "new" configuration with progressive banking in the corners back to the "old" configuration.

I read one article called "Bruton Smith ‘embarrassed’ by poor crowd at Bristol, vows to change track, bring back old-style racing" on SceneDaily.com that details it pretty well including according to Bruton Smith, 70% of the fans or the people he's talked to have said they would prefer the track being put back to the "old" configuration.

"My Take": I'm thinking about this for a little while and five things come to mind:

1. As a fan who found last Sunday's Food City 500 Cup race very entertaining, naturally I prefer the "NEW" configuration over the "old" configuration hands down. The "NEW" config gives you more quality racing with side-by-side racing, good battles for position and more passing. Besides I really don't like follow the leader or the bump and run or crashfest type races they use to have. And yes I have watched several of the races for the 1980-90 and they were ok, but not like what we have now.

2. When is 100k fans in the grandstands on a Sunday afternoon "embarrassing"? Homestead would be thrilled considering they seat 55k fans and in this economy.

3. Why not wait until after the Aug 25th's Bristol Cup race before you make changes to the track because I believe that the hot weather and NIGHT race will bring more fans in. According to Jayski.com, the August Night Cup race attendance has been 155k (Aug. 2011) to a sell out crowd since 2008. Those are some pretty good numbers for this economy and what some call poor racing. Keep in mind, the track was configured in 2007 after the Food City 500. Yes that was before the 2007 Sharpie 500.

4. A better Cup date like May or June would be better for Bristol and of course under the lights night race is a must.

5. It's not a track issues so much as its an economy issue too...ticket prices are one thing, but you have to factor in the tough economy, the price of food, gas and oh yeah several hundred dollars a night hotel rooms are what is going to keep fans away, not the better racing we see now.

Bottom line, I think Bruton Smith is wasting millions of dollars changing this track again and I believe it will create single file racing period. And keep in mind that the "old" config featured the old race, not the new COT we have now. So the racing on whatever configuration will be different no matter what. However if this is what Mr. Smith really wants to do and if that's what fans truly want, then it is what it is and they pay to attend this race.

Of course this is my opinion and this is my insight. I've been watching NASCAR for around 20 years now and covering it since 2005 as a blogger, I've seen this movie before, you will not please everybody.


UPDATE: Bruton Smith has made his decision and he has decided to go ahead and make the changes to Bristol Motor Speedway. He will bring in the equipment within the next two weeks and will have the new racing surface ready for the Auguest 25th Cup Series race date. (Read press release)

Personally I'm disappointed, but not surprised in the least. Now I just have to wonder what type of racing are fans going to see in August? I ask that because this is the a different race car, the advanced COT and you don't know what you're going to get with this new track surface. Are we going to see a single-file race with the bump and run or something different? Let's just hope its good racing.


I wonder what's next for other SMI tracks?
(Photo Credit: Wikipedia - Bristol Motor Speedway)

Top Gear USA creates even worse limousines than Top Gear UK did in this challenge years ago.

Oh brother, I remembered watching Top Gear UK's presenters build limousines years ago to transport celebrities to an award show and I thought they were terrible especially Jeremy's and nothing could top them.

However wow while I thought that this episode of Top Gear USA was funny, these presenters versions of a custom build limos were even worse especially Rutledge's VW Rabbit Truck and Adam's Lincoln. Although I do have to admit that I've always wondered what a four-door Chevrolet Corvette would look like, but just not as a limo. Yes Tanner did transform a 1987 Chevrolet Corvette into a limo. I wish I could find pictures damn. And of course interesting celebrities to say the least...

But personally a four-door, front wheel drive car with a good v-6 would make a good limo, just saying, of course there are exceptions and I'm no builder. Just a thought.

NASCAR #48 Hendrick Motorsports/Knaus Daytona Penalty has been overturned in 2nd appeal except fine, everyone is shocked. Part 2

Moments ago, it was announced that the 2nd appeal that was heard by the Chief Appellate Officer, John Middlebrook has been overturned except for Chad Knaus' $100k fine and the crew chief and car chief probation. Jimmie Johnson moves to 11th in the Cup Series point standings and Crew Chief (Chad Knaus) and Car Chief (Ron Malec) will be in the box at California Speedway as normal.

Personally congrats to Hendrick Motorsports on winning their appeal, but I have to say that I'm shocked, but in a good way. I never would have expected this at all. One word to describe this one "incredible". But this also shows that NASCAR does need to do more work in their inspection process and the appeals process. I know it sounds weird, but the 1st appeal was upheld, while the 2nd appeal was overturned.

And with that, in the words of Chad Knaus: "it's been a tough 30 days. It's not about vindication. It's time to move on." I like that, time move on, now Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team, it's time to win yourself a race at California Speedway, good luck.

Related Article:
- NASCAR: No big surprise here as the appeals board has upheld the #48 Hendrick Motorsports penalties and that HMS will go to 2nd appeal. Part 1

NASCAR says Matt Kenseth legally beat Brad Keselowski to line on Bristol restart, wait what?

Shared Link: NASCAR says Matt Kenseth legally beat Brad Keselowski to line on Bristol restart | From the Marbles - Yahoo Blog.

"My Take" Here's what I said in the comments section of this article: Amazingly enough I would actually be thrilled with this call considering it was the right one to make, but since it's not in the rule nor its not something NASCAR's every used before it, they get no dice with me. You see, this issue is all about NASCAR's inconsistency, plain and simple and it's hurting them badly. And it's just like what more and more fans have said over the years, NASCAR just makes it up as they go, so I'm not surprised at all. They made up this at the right time, they made up the penalty on the #48 Hendick/Knaus Daytona penalty and they will continue to make it up as they go. I believe we call it "Yes, playing god". (End of comment)

It's pretty sad that its actions like this that over shadows a good, entertaining race. But I just wish the NASCAR would write a real rule book and stick to it. And add to it when they see they need to and not just make it up as they go.

Of course NASCAR could also work on a more fair inspection process and appeals process which will be talked about tomorrow when the almost useless 2nd appeal of the #48 Hendrick/Knaus Daytona penalty is heard and most likely upheld despite the fact that NASCAR didn't follow their own rules.

Bottom line, I will give NASCAR credit when they deserve it, just like I gave them credit for the new points system, that worked.

Amazing photo of Bristol Motor Speedway following the 2012 Food City 500 from the air courtesy of Jimmie Johnson.

When I first saw this amazing photo, I just had to share it on ThinkingBrian.com. This photo is Bristol Motor Speedway from the air following yesterday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 courtesy of Jimmie Johnson. The Food City 500 was an entertaining race, that saw Brad Keselowski capture his second Bristol victory and Jimmie Johnson finish in the 9th spot. It works.

(Photo Credit: Jimmie Johnson's Facebook page)

NASCAR: Brad Keselowski captures victory and MWR finishes 3-4-5 in Food City 500 at Bristol.

Oh yeah, its Bristol baby and it doesn't really matter what configuration Bristol Motor Speedway has, the good old short track racing still shines through as this was one good race to watch. Congrats to Brad Keselowski on winning the Food City 500 at Bristol.

However I do have to say that Brad Keselowski won last August here and people said that was due to him taking advantage of the timing lines, but it wasn't, he won because he had the best car for most of the race. And now Brad has won here again and did it's also because he had the best car for most of this race. Hats off to Brad Keselowski, hell of a win for him and the entire #2 Penske Racing team not only today, but last August as well.

And also congrats to Michael Waltrip Racing with Martin Truex Jr. finishing 3rd, Clint Bowyer in 4th and Brian Vickers finishing in the 5th spot.  Now its off to California Speedway.

NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr./Jeff Gordon incident was an unfortunate accident, but nothing more during the Food City 500 at Bristol.

After some good side-by-side racing for several laps between teammates Jeff Gordon up high and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the low side for a top 7 spot, on lap 359, Dale Jr. and Gordon came together coming off turn 2 down the back straightaway and make contact with Gordon’s left rear tire hitting Dale Jr.’s right side tailpipe and cutting Gordon’s tire down and he spun out hitting the wall. The cut tire would send Gordon to the garage for repairs, but would return several laps down.

In watching the incident, to me it was just an unfortunate product of some good side-by-side racing and dead-on contact between the tailpipe and rear tire. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those type deals. It sucks for both Gordon who had to go the garage for repairs and Dale Jr. considering it suck light contact. Of course as Dale Jr. said over the radio afterwards, at least they wouldn’t be talking about me and Mark Martin anymore. And I would say he’s right. Now we look towards California Speedway.

Washington State's proposed electric car tax is a terrible idea and would be considered double taxing.

According to the AP, Washington State's senate has passed Senate Bill 5251 that would impose an annual $100 fee for all electric cars that would cover the gas-tax that electric cars don't have to pay. The Washington State house of representatives will vote on it next. - From Autoblog Green)

"My Take" While I don't know if Washington State has truly passed this bill or not, I believe the proposed bill should be illegal and considered a double tax. Think about it for a moment, when you have a gasoline car, you pay the gas tax when you fill up at the pump.

But while electric cars in fact don't have to pay the gas tax by way of gasoline, electric cars do in fact pay taxes, but instead of the gas tax, they pay taxes on the electricity they use from home and other sources to fuel their vehicles. The same goes for Natural gas vehicles, hydrogen vehicles and just about any other fuel that is available to everyone right now, we all pay taxes one what fuels are cars in one way or another.

So I really hope that consumers take notice of this double tax bill and start voicing their concerns over these types of bills. What a joke and its just another way of getting money out of people no matter what. 

Oh hell yeah is right, Elliott Sadler wins at Bristol as NASCAR Nationwide regular drivers are four for four in 2012 season.

First things first, hell of a job to Elliott Sadler and the #2 RCR race team on winning an entertaining Ford EcoBoost 300 and their second victory of 2012 in the Nationwide Series. Elliott Sadler leads the points by 25 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who finished 6th today. Kasey Kahne finishes 2nd followed by Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. round out the top 5.

And second, one thing I like to see in watching the NASCAR Nationwide Series races is Nationwide regulars actually win the races themselves and not just a bunch of Cup Regulars winning them all and frankly that's the way it should be. Next is California Speedway, that should be interesting and it will be later in the day so I can watch the race live instead of DVR'ed considering I like to go shopping if needed on Saturday.

NASCAR: Bruton Smith building a Nurburgring replica in Nevada would be a good attraction, but I don't see the real need for it.

According to SPEED:

Bruton Smith said earlier today in the Bristol Motor Speedway media center that he is looking to build a 13-mile Nürburgring replica in the state of Nevada on state land that will serve as a testing track.

Personally the first thing that came to mind was oh great Bruton Smith wants another Cup Series date outside of Las Vegas, but after hearing that he wants to use it as a test track, that could be a good attraction for car enthusiasts to pay and run laps on, but I just don't see the need for that track considering there are dozens of road courses throughout the United States already including Road America, Road Atlanta, Laguna Sega, Sears Points, Willow Springs, VIR, Lime Rock and more.

I just don't know if the phase "if you build it, they will come" will actually work in this case.

(Photo Credit: HolidayGermany.com)

Predictions: Who do you think will win the 2012 Formula One Driver's Championship and who to watch?

As the 2012 Formula 1 season is about to kick off this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix from down under. I figured this would be the perfect time to make some predictions on the upcoming season.

1. I really only see four drivers contending for the Driver's Championship and that would be the Red Bull team of Vettel and Webber vs. The McLaren team of Hamilton and Button. Honestly Vettel is the odds on favorite to win the championship, however while Button will contend as well, I'm going against the two time champ and picking Lewis Hamilton to win the championship in 2012.

2. There are three drivers in the field besides the four that I mentioned above the fans should keep in eye on. First would be the Ferrari team of Massa and Alonso. Massa has to improve in 2012 or he's all but finished in this ride. And Alonso is looking for success especially a World Championship for Ferrari.

The other driver is Kimi Raikkioen in the Lotus who is making his return to Formula 1. But I really don't know what to expect from him in 2012, so he is the wild card in my eyes.

Now this should be an interesting season to say the least, but one thought...these race cars are ugly, why is it that there are millions of dollars spend in F1 and yet fans are stuck looking at this ugly thing. How about F1 invest in some designers as well. Just a thought.

Rush Limbaugh Should Be Fired For Sandra Fluke Comments, but it won't keep Rush off the air for very long.

One of the biggest hot topics going around is: Should Rush Limbaugh be fired?

I truly believe that censoring the first amendment of Free Speech is wrong, people have the right to their opinion. But with that said, there is a limit to what people can say under free speech and in the case of Rush Limbaugh, he has gone well beyond the lines of free speech and right into defamation of character. And because of that, yes I do believe that Rush Limbaugh should be fired for his comments on Sandra Fluke. Rush's comments went well too far and the consequences should be, being fired.

However there are two things to keep in mind:
1. I don't listen to Rush Limbaugh, so him being on the radio or off the radio doesn't matter to me.
2. While firing him is the right thing to do in this case, I also believe that Rush will be back on the air in no time at all. Some companies want to sponsor him as well as a lot of people want to listen to him. So he has several options including satellite radio as well as webcasts or podcasts and a podcast is world wide. Just don't be surprised if he returns.

Welcome to the new ThinkingBrian.com (v3.0) Blogstream

Over the past two years now, I have wanted to create a more personal blog for myself. I had tried a very different concepts in what I call the first two versions. v1.0 was a personal blog to return to my roots and v2.0 was a Tumblr blog. But both just didn’t do it for me and neither did the Tumblr or Posterous services. It was sad to scrap or reset those blogs, but neither made me happy.

But it wasn’t until I started getting more into social media over the past several months especially Twitter that I discovered that I wanted a blogstream. So over the last six months, I have been working on my new blogstream project that I nicknamed "third times a charm for TB", and even soft launching it one month ago, but today it's officially here, so I give you ThinkingBrian.com: Blogstream.

The concept behind ThinkingBrian and the blogstream is a combination of several things including an extension of my social media presence (Facebook, twitter, Google+ and more), a timeline, a one stop feed for my readers and a hub for all my online information like the celebrity site WhoSay.com has. And of course a rebooted blogging experience.

ThinkingBrian.com: Blogstream is where I share my insight using long blurbs (blurbs are messages or tweets if you will) and photography. The site is really optimized for social media. Think of it as a long tweet in some cases where the title is the tweet and the link goes to the rest of the message over 140 characters or a long note on Facebook.

Keep in mind, this isn’t a niche blog, so the subject’s are wide open for the most part including Automobiles, NASCAR, Motorsports, Entertainment (TV, Movies and Music), Electronics, Hot Topics and more. However there are two subjects that are restricted or not discussed at all.

I live my personal life by the 50/50 rule where I talk about 50% of my personal life, while the other 50% is kept private. Not everything including family needs to be discussed, nor will be.
But I won’t discuss the workplace neither. Nothing good comes from talking about the company, work environment or anything else work related and in most cases, it will get you fired. A good rule of thumb, don’t talk about where you work good or bad.

I'm really excited about this new project, but this is the most personal project I've ever done to date and I can't wait to see where this new journey takes me and hopefully just like my first blog RaceDriven.com (that I created 7 years ago on March 12, 2005) that I found a lot of success on, it too will open new doors for me as well.

Finally goals and future expansion:
Goals: I want to build ThinkingBrian.com into my personal brand and go well beyond blogging one long blurb and photo at a time. ThinkingBrian will be my main online focus from here on out when it comes to my personal life, NOT a career.

Expansion: As the years go on and from my past experience, ThinkingBrian might include volume numbers for archives, just a thought. I also want to build my other site BrianVermette.com into my professional site, my career side of life. But you never know where life is going to take you, this should be fun and a lot of hard work.

Top Gear USA: Donald Trump goes supercar shopping and ends up back in the boardroom, who didn't see "Your fined" coming???

Especially for this new season of Top Gear USA, the show seems to have broken away from the average car shows and entered into a more entertaining TV show with the unique challenges that the producers through at the three hosts and this was no different.

Time for Rutledge, Tanner and Adam to go supercar shopping for a celebrity. Rutt chooses a Lambo Roadster, Tanner chooses a cool black Porsche 911 Turbo S and Adam choose a Bentley Continental GT and drove them to New York City for the celebrity to test.

But I have to admit, it wasn't until Adam pulled up in front of a tower in NYC, I thought the celebrity was a New York Yankees player, not Donald Trump. However once it was revealed that it was Mr. Trump, I know despite the fact that Tanner led the competition, Adam with his Bentley GT won this challenge hands down.  I just couldn't see Mr. Trump driving around to the golf course in a Lambo or even a Porsche.

Of course when Donald Trump is involved, you know the Celebrity Apprentice will play a little bit of a role in this one as Mr. Trump puts these three into the boardroom and fires Rutt and Tanner and hires Adam for his Bentley GT for his new supercar.

Personally I like The Porsche 911 the best, but that's just me considering I'm single with no kids, but the Bentley, yeah I choose that if I wanted something bigger and of course later in life (with kids) especially if I'm a golfer.

NASCAR: No big surprise here as the appeals board has upheld the #48 Hendrick Motorsports penalties and that HMS will go to 2nd appeal. Part 1

Please Note: You can read part 2 of this article at "NASCAR #48 Hendrick Motorsports/Knaus Daytona Penalty has been overturned in 2nd appeal except fine, everyone is shocked.", Thank you.

Well ladies and gentlemen, moments ago, NASCAR announced that the #48 Hendrick Motorsports and Chad Knaus penalty has been unanimously upheld. Personally I would have thought that the appeals board would have cut the penalty in half, but I should have known better.

But right afterwards, Rick Hendrick said "we are going to go ahead to the next level and make our case one more time." So now here we go again, but you know RCR found some success in their next level of appeal back in September 2010 when they appealed their penalties over #33 Clint Bowyer ride, maybe Hendrick Motorsports will too. And yes Chad Knaus will be on the pit box for the #48 Jimmie Johnson on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. But I think Knaus should just start his suspension now.

But even more, I think the appeals process needs a complete overhaul and NASCAR needs to explain to the fans why they penalties a particular team. Well that's it for this round, let this circus go to round 2, serious...

Penalties:
- Car Owner (Jeffrey M. Gordon) – Loss of 25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Car Owner points;

- Car Driver (Jimmie K. Johnson) – Loss of 25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Driver points;

- Crew Chief (Chad A. Knaus) - $100,000.00 fine. Suspended from the next six (6) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Events. Suspended from NASCAR until April 18, 2012. Placed on NASCAR probation until May 9, 2012.

- Car Chief (Ron P. Malec) - Suspended from the next six (6) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Events. Suspended from NASCAR until April 18, 2012. Placed on NASCAR probation until May 9, 2012.

Photo: Dodge unveils their 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racecar at Las Vegas and it does look more like the Dodge Charger street version.

Earlier today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dodge unveiled their 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car that is designed to look more like the street version Dodge Charger and just like Ford with its Ford Fusion, they have both hit the mark. Except, all of the manufacturers should have made it look like it has four-doors inside of a coupe considering the Dodge Charger and the Ford Fusion are both four-door sedans. But again I like what I see.

(Photo Credit: Autoblog.com via Dodge and NASCAR)

Related Article:
- Ford unveils the new 2013 NASCAR Ford Fusion during the NASCAR Media Tour. | RaceDriven.com

NASCAR: Good to see Trevor Bayne get a top 5 finish in the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas, but sad that he wouldn't be racing in Bristol due to lack of sponsorship.

A shout out to Trevor Bayne who finished 4th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Sam's Town 300 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But it was a mentioned during the ESPN telecast  that (as of  3/10/12) Trevor Bayne wouldn't be racing in next weekend's Nationwide Series race at Bristol due to lack of sponsorship.

It's sad to see an up and coming and talented driver like Trevor Bayne not racing due to sponsorship, but I know Roush-Fenway Racing is trying to find sponsorship in this tough economy and hopefully sponsorship can be found soon so Bayne can run some more Nationwide Series races this season. It's a nature of racing, no sponsorship, no racing.

UPDATED 3/14/12: Trevor Bayne will be racing at Bristol thanks to a sponsor, but the team is still searching for sponsorship for more races.

NASCAR: Congrats to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on winning the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas, way to beat the Cup regulars Ricky.

It's always great to see a NASCAR Nationwide Series regular pickup a victory in a Nationwide race and that goes double for an up and coming driver. Congrats to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on out driving one the series greatest Mark Martin to pick up his third career Nationwide Series victory and first on a Superspeedway at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That was a good race.

Also a shout out to Mark Martin who finished 2nd (first time in JGR car), Elliott Sadler finished 3rd, Brendan Gaughnan gets a top 5 finish and Kenny Wallace finished 11th.

Just a thought: Some people are even worse at pushing shopping cart than they are driving a vehicle, unbelievable.

In my regular weekend travels to go shopping including food shopping, I encounter a lot of people and it has become very apparent to me that after doing this for so long, I have become a full supporter of NO cell phones while driving period because drivers can't watch the road and have a conversation on a cell phone at the exact same time, nor have a conversation with the person next to them in the passenger seat either. Let alone be able to signal when changing lanes or turning. One of these days, I'm going to mount a dash cam and tape the journey's, damn would be cool.

However in going food shopping at Sam's Club, BJ's Wholesale Club, Walmart or a grocery store every weekend, let alone just going to the local Target which is the worst, I have also noticed the hard way that people can't seem to push a shopping cart around a store neither.

But instead of just blasting my thoughts here, I have come up with a few tips when shopping:

1. When pushing a shopping cart, watch where you're going, nobody wants to get hit with a shopping cart
2. Move your shopping cart to one side of the aisle when shopping so others can move past you.
3. Don't block isles so people can't get by.
4. Stop with the dirty looks to other people trying to get by.
5. Stop with the dirty looks to other people trying to stay clear of your kids. If you let your kids run around a store, they will hit something or someone sooner or later.
6. If the item is on the shelve, its for sale and NOT yours. People think because they see an item first, it's there's and no one else can buy it despite the fact that they haven't taken it off the shelves and put it into a basket or cart yet.
7. Stop standing in the middle of an isle talking to your family while others are trying to move past you. I have encountered this countless times and I've even said to one person "what a great place to stand" and I could care less what your response back is.

I know there are more tips to be had while shopping, but this is a good starting point for now.

Survivor One World: In 24 seasons, no winning tribe has even given up immunity until now, what a first that ended in outwit move.

Ok, I'm officially shocked and somewhat speechless at what I just watched on Survivor: One World. In the game of Survivor, immunity is the most important thing that you can hold and only really a few times have I seen a single person give up immunity to protect someone else. But never I have seen an entire tribe (8 guys) give up immunity that they just won in order to go to tribal council to vote off one of their own.

Yeah you read that right, the men's tribe gave up immunity by a unanimous vote and went to tribal council to vote off one member due to so-called betrayal. Correct if I'm wrong, but isn't this game about outwit, outlast, outplay everyone else to win and that includes back stabbing people? This was a first and stupid too. One head strung person says let's go to tribal council and vote this guy out and the next thing we know, it happens, you got to be kidding me. But in the end, it was all a joke as Colton played half the tribe and voted out Bill, not Lief.

Time for Colton to go home next, otherwise there is no telling what this guy will do next, but Survivor fans may be in for a season of firsts for sure with this guy in charge.

Apple fans rejoice over the unveiling of the third iPad early today, while I just look on as a tech guy seeing what the latest gadget is and wonder what the future will hold…

Yes ladies and gentlemen, there is a huge uproar today as Apple unveiled its third version of the iPad that seems to be described in the tech world as a giant iPhone 4S. The new iPad will include an upgraded processor, 2048 x 1536 retina display, a new 5MP camera, record video in 1080p, LTE on some models and more and it all starts at $499 for 16GB model up to $699 for 64GB models. The LTE versions start at $629. So will you buy one on March 16th or just keep what you have for now? (Read more at TechCrunch, Mashable or even better Engadget)

But personally I have to admit that even though I’m a Google Android user as well as a Microsoft Windows 7 user including running Android on my smartphone and tablet, I still find new Apple products to be very interesting. Why, because I love new technology especially new gadgets or electronics. I always like to see what newest gadgets or better yet, electronics are hitting the market either later this month, later this year or simply what’s coming in the future.

And yes that does include seeing what new gadget or electronic Apple is bring out despite the fact that with the exception of using iTunes, I don’t actually own one single Apple Product. However I will add that one day I do want to own a less expensive Apple product that is mobile for me to watch several of the TV shows I buy on iTunes on the go and get some new apps too. Hay I like different things too.

Of course right now I’m more interested in waiting for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) to come to my Acer Iconia Tablet A100 or one day upgrading my 720p HDTV to a 3D television that doesn’t include having me wear 3D glasses to get the full effects of 3D.

Top Gear USA: Are you kidding me, find the best minivan by crossing the Rocky's? Continental Divide

I thought I had saw everything in the form of challengers from the original one, Top Gear UK, but this one take the cake. Having Tanner, Ruttledge and Adam drive minivans across the Rocky's to find the best minivan was one hell of a funny episode. But everything is in the vehicle that you choose and I thought Tanner was nuts to buy an old Ford Airostar minivan with a standard transmission, rear wheel drive and no ground clearance was the worst over Rutt's Chevy Astrovan and Adam's Chrysler Town & Country minivan. Both Rutt's and Adam's minivans had automatics and AWD. And then once you cross the Rocky's, you had to cross a lake...Clearly for the first time in while, Adam had the best vehicle, in this case a minivan convertible and he didn't break it. Just a thought and funny.

FYI: I have a Jeep Liberty and last year, it too has was in limp mode. To fully fix it, a machanic had to change the sensor on the transmission at about $200+ dollars because of labor. It sucked because despite the fact that there was nothing wrong with the transmission, the Jeep was useless, all on the count of a junk sensor. I'll remember that one including money, money, money going out the window.

Congrats to NASCAR, the Subway 500 at Phoenix was a good race as Denny Hamlin returns to victory lane.

Damn, while last Sunday-Monday-Tuesday's Daytona 500 was a complete nightmare for so many including a two-hours red flag for Montoya hitting the jet dryer, several wrecks, the #48 penalty and more. The Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway was a complete 180 degree race as this one was one hell of a race to watch. I said it earlier this week, "goodbye Daytona, hello to the real start of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season at Phoenix" and I was dead on with that one.

The Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix saw a good old fashion short track racing with real racing throughout the 312 laps and in the end it was Denny Hamlin with his new crew chief Darin Grubb picking up their victory lane in 2012 over Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski..

And a tip of the hat to Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team, what a way to rebound after a bad start to the season at Daytona with a 4th place finish at Phoenix and now JJ has some points on the board. Next up is Las Vegas and I'm looking forward to that one. Should the former back straightaway dog leg be called evil bend? Maybe, I'll have to think about that one.

Congrats to Elliott Sadler for holding off Brad Keselowski to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix.

Hell of a job to Elliott Sadler on holding off a hard charging Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series Bashas Supermarkets 200 race at Phoenix. Also congrats to Austin Dillion in nipping Kevin Harvick at the line for 4th position. All in all, good Nationwide race at Phoenix and that was a hell of a lot better racing than last week at Daytona and it wasn't a crashfest neither. But I would like to see Phoenix International Raceway add something in the back dog leg section so drivers who don't have at go way below the line while racing don't.

(Photo Credit: Phoenix International Raceway Facebook Page)

MLB officially adds two new playoff slots for 2012. But NASCAR doesn't need to add more drivers' to its playoffs, the chase.

Earlier today, MLB (Major League Baseball) has announced they are going from eight playoff teams to ten playoff teams by adding two more wild card slots, that's one more wild card slot for each league. (Read More at MLB.com)

However once MLB made that announcement, leave it to a few in the media or public relations to automatically ask the question, "Does NASCAR need to add more drivers' or more wild card slots to NASCAR's version of the payoff, namely the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship?"

As a NASCAR fan who doesn't even think that NASCAR really needs the chase anymore since the introduction of the new one point per position NASCAR point system back in 2011, the fact is, since NASCAR does have the chase, I believe that 12 drivers (which is made up of the top 10 in points after 26 races and two wild cards slot based on either how high up in points not in the top 10 a driver is or the driver/drivers' most wins and inside the top 20 in points) is perfectly fine at 12 drivers' in the chase.

NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup is suppose to award the best drivers with the best results over the first 26 races of that season to be able to complete for a chance at winning the Cup Series Championship, not drivers with mediocre performances. The top 12 works for me, as a matter of fact, I like just having the top 10 too. But I wouldn't like the top 15. The top 15 would just reward mediocre performances, not good performances. So the answer is no.

Penske Racing moves from Dodge to Ford in 2013, but where does that put Dodge in 2013?

Yesterday, at first I was surprised when Penske Racing announced that they would be moving from Dodge to Ford starting in 2013. But the more I read and heard the interviews, I understand it and I believe that Penske Racing moving to Ford is a good thing for the team especially to win championships. Manufacturer support is big and Ford has a good NASCAR program especially with Roush-Fenway Racing leading the way.

So that just leaves one question, where does that put Dodge in 2013? 
Dodge now has a major problem, they don’t have any top tier teams lined up for 2013 yet. And even worse, Hendrick, RCR, JGR, Roush, MWR are all taken and only EGR or a new team might be available.

However I see Dodge not as a NASCAR manufacturer in 2013, but still staying in NASCAR to showcase their products. Dodge has options including sponsoring a racetrack (i.e. like the former Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte), sponsoring NASCAR races, supplying NASCAR with vehicles if they can as well as becoming a sponsor of a NASCAR series.

I just hope that Dodge does stay in NASCAR in someway, shape or form that works for them considering I hate seeing a good sponsor (i.e. Verizon and AT&T) leave NASCAR.