Pit Stop Report

As promised, I’m going to bare all here at the Pit Stop Report and lay out the predictions from my ill-fated magazine article, and then compare them to reality. Some are funny, some actually on target. Either way, get your fill here!

Prediction
One more driver to watch in 2007 is Kevin Harvick. Originally tapped in 2001 to fill the seat vacated by the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr., he has posted only ten victories in six seasons. It bodes well for his future, however, that five of those ten victories occurred just in 2006, a feat that propelled him into the Chase with a solid points standing. Now that he’s figured out how to consistently win, look for that to continue in the future. Harvick has never won at Daytona – 2007 could prove to be the year!

Reality
When I’m on, I’m just so totally on. Really, when I wrote this prediction, I didn’t think there was a snowflake’s chance in LA of Harvick winning the Daytona. Truthfully, I added that snippet in there because my husband decided he was a Kevin Harvick fan after his beloved Rusty Wallace retired. But Tiffany’s patting herself on the back because she is just that dang good! He made the Chase for the second time after just slamming his way into victory lane at the Beach…that was his only win, but with fifteen top tens, it was enough for him to lock up tenth place in the Championship. Yay for Kevin!

Well…those are my PvRs folks - let me know what you think of my crystal ball! Before we know it, it’ll be time to roll out my guesses for ‘08 - I’d love your comments to help me get started!

Don’t forget about the Awards Ceremony tonight on ESPN Classic. My stupid satellite plan doesn’t include that channel, so I’ll watch it online after the fact…and be back tomorrow to start my next series, The Twelve Days of NASCAR, looking at the Chase’s twelve contenders, their “performance” at the Awards Ceremony, and their season over all.

Until then, drive fast and turn left!

Kevin Harvick, NASCAR, Awards Ceremony

As promised, I’m going to bare all here at the Pit Stop Report and lay out the predictions from my ill-fated magazine article, and then compare them to reality. Some are funny, some actually on target. Either way, get your fill here!

Prediction
Speaking of drivers that fans either love to love or love to hate, Jeff Gordon has failed to live up to predictions that he would soon overtake the milestones set by racing champion Dale Earnhardt, Sr., and has not won a championship since 2001. Gordon needs a major infusion of both consistency and luck to revitalize his career so that he can truly chase after the seven championship mark set by both Earnhardt, Sr. and Richard Petty – a mark he’s still shy of by three. Since he’s tamed down his whiny/bad boy image, his career has slacked…perhaps Stewart and Gordon can exchange attitudes and both can find success.

Reality
Gordon found an extreme amount of success in 2007 with (count ‘em) 6 wins, 30 top tens and 21 top fives. In addition, Jeff was on the pole SEVEN times this year. For consistency, he definitely had teammate Jimmie beat, but he just didn’t have enough wins when it counted: during the chase. Man, Jimmie just seemed untouchable near the end, didn’t he? Gordon drove his absolute heart out and it really looked like he might get his next championship in 2007, but it just didn’t come true, as he ended the season 77 points back. In what is now a recurring mantra…maybe next year, Jeff.

One last PvR coming up: come back in just a few to check on Kevin Harvick!

Until then, drive fast and turn left!

Jeff Gordon, NASCAR

As promised, I’m going to bare all here at the Pit Stop Report and lay out the predictions from my ill-fated magazine article, and then compare them to reality. Some are funny, some actually on target. Either way, get your fill here!

Prediction
A driver who had high highs and low lows in 2006 was Tony Stewart. The bad boy many fans love to hate and others religiously cheer will surely redeem himself in 2007, pulling together a more consistent season with fewer breakdowns and more top-ten finishes. Stewart has never lacked for wins; now he just needs to place higher than a DNF on races where he doesn’t capture the checkered flag. Perhaps his finish in 2006, without even making an appearance in the Championship, will bring the humility he needs to become a more likeable driver in the future.

Reality
Apparently, my crystal ball likes Tony better than Toyotas, because was I right on, or right on? He made the Chase, he finished 6th over all, he had 3 wins and TWENTY FOUR top tens. Tony, oh Tony. I still am not a big fan, but drive, baby, drive. Apparently, 2006 was truly a fluke season for Tony, because Bad Boy got his groove back a la 2005 in ‘07. What will ‘08 bring???

Stay tuned to see if my crystal ball stayed clear for my ‘07 Jeff Gordon predictions…

Until then, drive fast and turn left!

Tony Stewart, NASCAR

As promised, I’m going to bare all here at the Pit Stop Report and lay out the predictions from my ill-fated magazine article, and then compare them to reality. Some are funny, some actually on target. Either way, get your fill here!

Prediction
Friendly Lowe’s driver Jimmie Johnson is coming off the highest of highs, having just won the Chase for the Championship in 2006. Perhaps one of the most consistently successful drivers since the inception of the Chase, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jimmie roll into the 2007 season with a win at Daytona, which he also won in 2006. Even without a win at Daytona, it would be hard to imagine a Championship without Jimmie this coming year.

Reality
Ok…I was wrong on Daytona, obviously, but dang what a season! Back to back Championships - go, Jimmie, go! I was expecting Jimmie to be successful this season, but this level of success just blew me away. Despite some issues early on, Jimmie just continued on. Win upon win upon win. Whew! What more can I say?

Next PvR - Bad Boy Tony Stewart…what did I guess for him?? Check back to find out!

Until then, drive fast and turn left!

Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR

As promised, I’m going to bare all here at the Pit Stop Report and lay out the predictions from my ill-fated magazine article, and then compare them to reality. Some are funny, some actually on target. Either way, get your fill here!

Prediction
Watch the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. camp carefully in 2007, as affairs heat up between star driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and the team owner, who is also his step-mother, Teresa Earnhardt. Given the ultimatum of choosing between a career in racing and a career as a public personality, Jr. may find the impetus to finally achieve his first championship season. Although qualifying for the Chase in two of the three seasons since its inception, each finish has been lackluster at best. As he struggles over deciding the best route for his future, which may well include eventually driving the Black #3 made famous by his father, this could turn out to be a breakthrough year.

Reality
Well, I was right about one thing: DEI needed close watching in 2007, and now it’ll need even closer watching to see what’ll become of Teresa’s baby in 2008. She may have given Jr. an ultimatum to race instead of be a celebrity, but he gave her the ultimate ultimatum when he asked for a share of the company and was denied…and so decided to depart for Hendrick. What a lousy season…didn’t qualify…again. How many blown engines? I can’t barely stand to think about it. I’ll admit to you, dear audience, that I’m way disappointed that Jr. went to Hendrick instead of RCR, but I am anxious to see how he’ll perform in the #88 in 2008. All those 8s…bound to be good luck, right?

Next up…Jr’s new Hendrick teammate, Jimmy Johnson.

Until then, drive fast and turn left!

Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR

As promised, I’m going to bare all here at the Pit Stop Report and lay out the predictions from my ill-fated magazine article, and then compare them to reality. Some are funny, some actually on target. Either way, get your fill here!

Prediction
A large change will be coming to NASCAR in 2007 – the introduction of a new vehicle to a field that has been held down for years by Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge. The long-awaited debut of Toyota vehicles will occur at this year’s Daytona 500, with drivers Michael Waltrip, Jeremy Mayfield and Dale Jarrett. All three drivers have had triumphs and heartbreaks in previous seasons and all are at different places in their respective careers. Perhaps this willingness to become poster children for Toyota’s first year will pay off in gold, allowing careers that haven’t been spectacular in recent years to rebound with style. The Toyota team is rounded off by Dave Blaney, Brian Vickers, rookie David Reutimann, and former open-wheel racer AJ Allmendinger, but any potential victories will likely not come from their camps. Toyota’s best bet for victory in 2007 will appear in Jeremy Mayfield, whose career should become totally revitalized with the move to a new team and a new car, redeeming him from the misery he endured in 2006. Don’t count out Dale Jarrett, either, as he looks to show that his career is still moving forward and he continues his strategic partnership with UPS. Michael Waltrip may have an early victory in ’07, but seems to be more involved in the business end of bringing Toyota to Nextel Cup racing than in actually racing a Toyota.

Reality
Jeremy Mayfield as the brightest hope for Toyota? What the heck was I smoking? Jeremy Mayfield finished the season in 45th place, 1 place behind Michael Waltrip, who raced in 3 less events! ACK! Mayfield didn’t even spend the whole season in his Toyota, jumping to a Chevy ride in October.

And speaking of Michael, it seems that I was right about him being more concerned about business than driving. Not sure where the talent went that was present when he won the Daytona 500 in 2001, but I can’t even see it with binoculars these days. Mikey, Mikey, where have you gone?! His season started out miserably with penalties, and didn’t get any better from there.

Dale Jarrett, despite his continuing popularity due to his partnership with UPS, disappointed me this year as well, finishing 41st with only 24 starts. Seems I didn’t count him out enough!

So who was the brightest start in a Toyota this year? Dave Blaney, who finished the season in 31st. That’s miserable at best.

So…now that you know that my crystal ball was obviously broken in 2007, you’ll definitely want to hurry on to my next post, look at predictions versus reality for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Until then, drive fast and turn left!

Dave Blaney, Michael Waltrip, Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota Racing, NASCAR, Dale Jarrett, David Reutimann, AJ Allmendinger, Brian Vickers

Good morning, NASCAR fans!

My name is Tiffany Aller, and I am the brand-new host for the Pit Stop Report - and I can’t wait to get started!

With the 2007 racing season just barely behind us and the 50th running of the Daytona 500 only 3 months in the future, we’ll have a lot of ground to cover in this off-season!

A little about me: I am a full-time HR professional employed by a major airline who enjoys blogging and writing web content in her free time. I’ve been a lifelong fan of NASCAR and grew up a stone’s throw from Pocono Raceway in beautiful Long Pond, Pennsylvania. I now live in Texas, quite close to the Texas Motor Speedway…a venue that fills a lot of my time while taking a lot of my money!

My vision for this blog is to not only cover the latest news from the world of Cup racing, but also take a look at what’s happening all over the world of racing - trucks, ARCA, IRL - you name it, and I’ll hit it every so often. My main focus will remain on Cup…but I’ll tackle any topic at least once!

I’m very open to suggestions and thrive on feedback, so feel free to throw your ideas my way…you may just see them develop into articles for the future!

Here’s where we’re going to get started together:

Back in early 2007, I wrote an article for a new sports magazine that unfortunately folded before my work could be published. Within that article, I made a number of predictions for the upcoming Cup season…and so with the Pit Stop Report, I’m going to go ahead and expose my predictions to the world, and then compare them to what actually transpired. Let’s just say that I’m EXTREMELY disappointed in Michael Waltrip! I do agree with former PSR writer Scott that Michael is hilarious in his ads, but I wish to heck he could drive! (Waltrip and Napa)

We’ll hit a comparison of my predictions versus reality for the first couple posts. That should lead us up to the awards ceremony on Friday, and then we’ll take a nice long look at how the ceremony progresses. We all know who the top 12 are - but after the ceremony, we’ll take a recap look at speeches by driver as well as anything noteworthy. Since the recap will start on December 1st, I foresee calling it “The Twelve Days of NASCAR”.

Going forward to the end of the year, we’ll look at current happenings with Cup teams, and then also start look at off-season happenings within other racing leagues. After the first of the year, we’ll begin a series of predictions for the 2008 season, and then take a nice long look at the legacy and legend that is the Daytona.

I’m so happy to cyber-meet all of you, and I look forward to your continued readership in the future! I’m busily setting up a MySpace page to go along with the Pit Stop Report and I hope that you’ll wander over to see it and become a part of my friends list! If you’re on my friends list, you’ll be able to see a list of all posts on the Pit Stop Report, delivered live through your bulletin board listing! You’ll find this to be a great reminder of when to come visit new posts as they go live. WARNING: the MySpace page is still in development - I only found out that I was selected to host the Pit Stop Report a few days ago, so there is a lot still in development!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you again soon!

Tiffany

NASCAR, Michael Waltrip, Daytona International Raceway, Champions Week, Awards Ceremony