Lily's Spot

Congrats to Dave Reutimann!

Lily — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:18:34 +0000

A BIG CONGRATS TO DAVE REUTIMANN FOR GETTING THE POLE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOR THIS SUNDAY’S SPRINT CUP RACE!!!

I watched qualifying yesterday and it was so exciting to see David get the pole and hold the position all through qualifying. This is the second pole of David’s career and it’s going to be nice to see the Aaron’s Dream Machine on the front row again! WTG David and MWR!!

Artisteer – New program I’m using to make my own WordPress themes..

Lily — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:07:13 +0000

First, I love WordPress and have been using it since 2006. The only problem I ever had with WordPress was finding the perfect theme. I would find themes I loved, but there would always be something I wish I could change, i.e., header picture, no header picture, font, only one sidebar, only comes with two sidebars on the same side, etc. I think you know what I mean if you have ever searched for that perfect them no matter what blogging program you might use. I know, many are adept enough to change the style sheet, etc., but I’m not one of those people.

A month or so ago I was browsing the web looking for a WordPress theme generator and came across Artisteer! I downloaded the trial version and began to learn how to design my own WordPress themes. It’s easy to you and has a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface. It’s easy to add your own artwork or photo to the header, change fonts, colors, etc. You can also design themes for Drupal and Joomla too.

Dale and have 2 sites on which we have installed WordPress – Black Pearl Motorsport, and this blog – and I made themes for them with Artisteer.

If you are interested in creating your own themes for WordPress, Joomla or Drupal, download the trial version and see if this program will work for you. Link is below.

Martinsville – March 29, 2009

Lily — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:42:26 +0000

Well, I haven’t posted in a few weeks….not much to say I guess. I didn’t find Bristol too exciting last week but I want to say congrats to Kyle Busch on the win there.

Today was the usual at Martinsville, Jimmy Johnson won. Congrats to him. Funny how the same people winning at the same place all the time sure makes the race kind of boring for me. The Hendricks cars seem to always win at Martinsville. *yawn* BTW..I don’t care for that scruffy look on Jimmy Johnson and I think he would look better clean-shaven. However, I don’t have to look at it every day, so whatever floats his boat.

A big congrats to Tony Stewart for his third place finish today! I’m so hoping Tony does well with Stewart-Haas Racing this first year.

Congrats also to Ryan Newman for his sixth place finish! Good going Stewart-Haas Racing for two cars in the top 6! WTG! I think it would be really great if both Stewart and Newman finished in the top 10 this year. Keeping my fingers crossed for them.

Another congrats to Mikey for finishing 13th! Good going Mikey for making a top-15 finish!

Well, I’m going to settle in and watch Wind Tunnel…Ken Schrader is on and I love Ken Schrader! Next week, on to Texas.

Las Vegas – February 27th, 28th and March 1, 2009….

Lily — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:37:47 +0000

I’m finally getting my butt in gear and posting about our weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway! This is the only race we go to all year and as it got closer, we got more and more excited about it. We sit in the same suite every year and it’s fun to see people that come in every year from out of town. This year we planned on walking in the track walk on Sunday too (more about that later). Generally speaking, we had a good time over the three-day event and lots of good food!

—————————————————–

Friday, February 27, 2009, Cup Qualifying: Kyle Busch and his brother, Kurt Busch, were in the front row with Kyle taking the pole. David Reutimann qualified 4th and Mikey qualified 15th. WTG MWR!! We didn’t walk around at all on Friday. My arthritis was kicking up for some reason and my back was very painful. We also learned of a shortcut we could take that would get us from Nellis Blvd onto 215 by weaving in and out some back streets. We checked out the streets on our way home to look for the turnoff and then we decided to try the new shortcut on Saturday morning on our way in to LVMS.

———————————————–

Saturday, February 28, 2009, Nationwide Qualifying and the Sam’s Town 300: We used the new shortcut and breezed in to our parking lot at LVMS in record time! Hooray! The real test will be on the way home when there is a lot more traffic. They had a nice continental breakfast for us at the suite. Those breakfast pastries they serve sure are yummy!

Again, Kyle Busch got the pole but he wrecked shortly after the beginning of the race. After qualifying, we had 3 hours to wait till the race started. We decided to go down to the car and take a bit of a nap.

Unfortunately, the Sam’s Town 300 looked more like a demolition derby than anything else! Eighteen cars did not finish and another five were more than 26 laps down. A big CONGRATS to Greg Biffle who came through and won the Sam’s Town 300 this year! He’s now #1 in the points standing for the Nationwide series too. WTG Biffle!

———————————————————

Sunday, March 1, 2009, the Shelby 427: It was a beautiful morning. We left the house in plenty of time to get to the suite, have breakfast and get ready for the 1.5 mile Track Walk.

We're on the track and ready to start!

Here's my Tallguy with "Pit Boss."

Now we're heading around Turn 1!

Now we're walking down the back Nellis Straightaway! See all the motor homes on "Motor Home Hill."

I'm walking behind Dale as we head into Turn 3!

Now we're rounding Turn 4, going on to pit row and off to the Neon Garage.

Lunch in the suite was good and we all had enough time to socialize before the start of the race. Kyle Busch had to move to the back due to an engine change, so the first row at the start was Kurt Busch in the #2 and Jimmy Johnson in the #48.

Here they are at the green flag!

Well, Kyle Busch did it….came from all the way in the back to win the race! He said he would make it to the front during driver introductions and he did! Congrats to Kyle Busch for winning the Shelby 427 at LVMS this year.

Our trip home was perfect!! We took our little shortcut and made it home in 35 minutes….record time so far! A good time was had by all till next year.

Fontana – February 22, 2009

Lily — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:10:13 +0000

Well, here I am, at 4:00 p.m., watching this race and we’re on lap 30. First, the race was scheduled on TV to begin at 2:00 p.m. ….but we had to sit through over an hour of BS before the green flag dropped. Second, on lap 6 or 7 it started to drizzle…..so they drove around for several yellow laps and just barely started racing again. So, I’ve been sitting here for 2 hours twiddling my thumbs…not a happy camper here. You know, if they had started the race shortly after 2 p.m. when broadcasting started, we could have been watching a lot more racing. Don’t get me wrong, I love the commentators on Fox, but I would really rather listen to them as the race is going on……no wonder TV ratings are dropping. As it is, this race cuts into the Academy Awards (not smart scheduling). Thank goodness for the remote control so I can flip back and forth. Okay…now there’s another caution for rain (lap 42) and it’s time for a nap. *yawn*

BTW…Jimmy Johnson really needs a shave.

Update: It’s now lap 101 and the race had gotten underway fairly quickly since the last caution for rain. David Reutimann is running 14th and Mikey is 20th. They’ve both moved up from the back of the pack rather nicely.

Oh yeah, Jimmy Johnson really needs a shave.

Second Update: Well, the race finally ended shortly after 7 p.m. and a big congrats to Matt Kenseth for winning the first two races of this season! I’m really happy for Matt. He’s a good racer and deserved the win. Davit Reutimann came in 14th and Mikey came in 15th…WTG for 2 top 15 finishes for MWR.

The 2009 Nascar season has begun……..

Lily — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:12:55 +0000

Okay, I’m a week behind here and I failed miserably with posting last year. I hate to say it, but I got a bit bored with Nascar last year. Right now we are a week away from our yearly visit to LVMS for the Nascar weekend and I’m started to get excited again. I’m not sure specifically what it was about last season that dulled my interest….the races just didn’t seem as exciting. Plus, I have never liked “The Chase” since it’s inception…but that’s another issue and I digress.

There are some new teams this year which promise to add something to the old mix and I’m really excited about Tony Stewart’s new team. I’m really hoping he does well this year (Ryan Newman too) and shows that owner-drivers are not totally a thing of the past. He faired well at Daytona last week and now is 7th in the points standing at Nascar.com. Go Tony!

Speaking of Tony Stewart, last September I happened to be channel browsing and notice QVC was having their Nascar Fans Only show. I tuned in just as they were selling a pre-order of Tony’s new Old Spice car. My husband still wears Old Spice and I’m partial to the scent…so I pre-ordered one. The 1:24 car arrived a couple of weeks ago and it’s a beauty! I’m really happy we ended up pre-ordering it.

A big congratulations to Matt Kenseth for winning the Daytona 500 last Sunday! I was hoping that if Mikey Waltrip didn’t win, then someone who hadn’t won it before would win, and Matt did. I didn’t mind that they stopped the race due to rain, as sometimes that just doesn’t work out at all and I was glad to not have to sit around waiting forever for the rain to stop and the track to dry. I was really happy for Matt winning the race and it touched my heart to hear him so choked up during the interview in the Winner’s Circle.

As far as the big wreck (Dale Jr. and Brian Vickers), it’s hard to say who was right and who was wrong. Did Brian Vickers block and force Dale Jr. below the double yellow line? Yes….but Nascar seems to tolerate blocking a lot more than other race series, i.e., SCCA and other open wheel venues. Should Dale Jr. have let up just a bit to fall back in behind Brian Vickers? Yes….but would that have caused a wreck behind him? We’ll never know……we just know a lot of cars got taken out of the race with the contact Dale Jr. made with Brian Vickers as he came back up above the double yellow line. Is there really only one of them to blame? Probably not. However, I will say Dale Jr. certainly wasn’t at the top of his game during the Daytona 500 and if he wants to win at least one championship, he needs to figure out how to focus better than he exhibited last week.

And a big congratulations to Mikey Waltrip for coming in 7th in the Daytona 500!!! Way to go Mikey! All of your fans are cheering you on this 2009 season and we’re hoping for a good season for you and all of Michael Waltrip Racing.

Okay…I’m going to close this epistle for now. Qualifying for the Camping World Truck Series is about to begin in 20 minutes and I want to get settled.

Oh one more thing….this race season I’m going to crochet some afghans for the Victory Junction Gang Camp and I’m hoping to post some pictures of them as I get them finished. Wish me luck in getting them done.

PS…Jimmy Johnson really needs to shave.

Rest in Peace Eight Belles….

Lily — Sat, 03 May 2008 23:11:11 +0000

I know this blog is generally about car racing, but I’m really upset about what happened at the Kentucky Derby today. I have tears rolling down my face as I write this. Eight Belles, the only filly in the Kentucy Derby, who came in second, was euthanized minutes after the race. She collapsed with compound fractures of both front ankles after crossing the finish line. She was the only filly running in a field of all boys, never having raced that way before. The poor horse. To me, it looks like they stressed that poor horse way too far. I don’t think I will ever have the heart to watch the Kentucky Derby again. Piss on horse racing.

Danica Wins!!!!

Lily — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 04:15:32 +0000

Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300!!!!

History is Made!!

What a weekend!! Danica wins her first race and the NASCAR Nationwide Series is racing a road course in Mexico City! I wait all year for when any NASCAR series runs the road courses. They’re our favorites races to watch.

Biopsy this morning….

Lily — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:57:50 +0000

I’ve been a bit stressed out and haven’t kept up with last couple of weeks. I had to get a biopsy this morning on a lesion in my hairline on my forehead. Just a bit a crab grass on the lawn of life but nonetheless a stressful one. I have some things I want to add about Dale Jarrett’s retirement and will get to that sometime this week.

Congrats to Toyota…………

Lily — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:57:15 +0000

Here it is Wednesday already and I’m just getting around to writing about the race last Sunday. I guess I didn’t find the race really exciting. Dozed a lot through it. However, I was happy to see a Toyota finally in Victory Lane. I know lots complain about Toyota being in Nascar, that it’s an American race. I could accept that if every part on every car made here in the U.S. had totally all U.S. made parts. However, that’s not the case. We are living in a global economy and it’s not going to change anytime soon. Besides, many Toyotas are made right here in the U.S. provided thousands of jobs to U.S. citizens. Toyota supports U.S. economy and I’ll happily support their entering Nascar. Just MHO that nobody else has to agree with or think like me.

A big congrats to Kyle Busch for getting the #18 Gibbs Toyota into Victory Lane.