Pit Stop Report

Howdy, dear readers!

I’m so very sorry - I did not mean to be away for so very long - what started as a few days away to accommodate travel for my full-time job, became two weeks away to take care of a VERY large project that desperately needed my attention. And oh yeah, the holidays!

Happy Holidays! For those of you who celebrate, MERRY CHRISTMAS! My Christmas wish for all of us here at the Pit Stop Report is that we’ll have an exciting year of racing to look forward to next year in 2008! With team switches, the Car of Tomorrow, the 50th running of the Daytona 500 and so much more to look forward to, I have no doubt that 2008 will keep us busy in the world of racing.

In my absence, NASCAR has been fairly slow – a few sponsors have been announced and a few teams have added people and a few crews have changed things up – but we really haven’t missed a lot.

Looking outside of NASCAR for a bit, let’s take a walk over to the Indy Racing League. Did you know that several IRL drivers will be making a jump to stock cars in 2008? We’ll talk about those drivers and others in both NASCAR and IRL as the New Year starts.

For now, I must take my leave of you again to head out of town with my family for another few days - I’ll be back just before New Year’s and will post for you one last time in 2007 before we start the New Year out with a bang!\

I leave you with images from the 49th Daytona 500, won at the very last possible second by KEVIN HARVICK!

All the best,

Tiffany

On the tenth day of NASCAR, the one Daytona pick
is number 29, Kevin Harvick.

Ok, not much rhymes with Kevin or Harvick, so I know this is particularly bad today…forgive me.

Kevin surpassed even my wildest imagine this year…between the win at Daytona that I predicted, and an excellent steady season all the way around, he’s starting to fill the big shoes Richard Childress initially tapped him to fill after the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr.

Let’s cut to the Chase…

KEVIN HARVICK
Rank: 10th
Poles: 0
Wins: 1
Top Fives: 4
Top Tens: 15
Winnings: $7,494,590

Watch Kevin’s speech on NASCAR.com.

What I liked in his speech: You know, I usually prize humility, but I actually like that Kevin listed out winning the Daytona and the All Start Challenge. His smile just said it all - how excited he was for this season. Talking about winning the Daytona for Childress was sweet. I really think that Kevin’s the only one who smiled all the way through his speech…and the only one to get an actual smile out of Richard Childress!!

What I didn’t like in his speech: There’s really just one word here I need to write: rogaine. It’s receeding badly, dude. You’re rich. Try it. Ok, but seriously, no real drawbacks to his speech. Kevin rocks…and I ain’t just saying that because my hubby loves him! I love him, too, for beginning his career so gracefully after Earnhardt’s death. He never pretended that he could replace that giant of all giants, but he’s persevered and created his own niche in the sport. Kevin, I salute you!

But oh, Delana…you know, you could actually SMILE when your husband mentions you!

Stayed tuned as we roll through the Twelve Days of NASCAR!

Until then, drive fast and turn left!

Kevin Harvick, NASCAR, Richard Childress Racing, 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
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