Hey gang, the first segment picks for the 2012 NASCAR race season have been uploaded into this website and are there for all to see. I must admit that with all the silly season seat changes that occurred in the off-season, there is some real consternation that has filtered down to those of us who are participating in NASCAR fantasy leagues throughout the USA.
For instance, now that Kurt Busch has gotten himself fired from his second premier car owner, Roger Penske, Busch fell into a bucket of crap and came out of it now drives for a very under-funded James Finch owned Phoenix Racing. Notwithstanding Kurt’s prowess as a race car driver, he will be driving for an organization that, in spite of the fact that they get their chassis and engines from Hendrick Motorsports, and his results for the 2012 season will be somewhat questionable. Phoenix Racing not considered an upper tier race team. However, as I uploaded your picks, I noticed that there are still a few people who have faith in KuBu, and picked Kurt in their fantasy picks.
Likewise, there are few of us who now found that the move by “The Dinger”, A. J. Allmendinger, to replace Kurt Busch in the Penske Racing #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, has elevated that driver into some of our fantasy picks. For “The Dinger”, could this be the uplift in stability, and funding that has been lacking in the duration of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career? While speaking of Penske Racing, “Blazingly Bad” Brad Keselowski came from out of nowhere to be a viable threat in the 2011 Chase for The Cup. His performance did not go unnoticed among our fantasy league. I noticed that several of us included “Blazing Bad” Brad K in our first segment picks!
Some of the other notable changes that occurred during the off-season was the move of Mark Martin over to Michael Waltrip Racing driving the Aarons#55 Toyota on a part-time schedule. He will be sharing that ride with his Boss Michael Waltrip. Additionally, MWR will have another new driver onboard for the season. New to the organization will be Clint Bowyer behind the wheel of a new third team. Bowyer will piloting the MWR 5-Hour Energy #15 Toyota.
Probably the most publicized and minimally kept secret was that Danica-mania is alive and well! She will be driving fulltime in the Nationwide Series for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., JR Motorsports. Additionally, Patrick will be driving a 10 race schedule for he 2013 employer, Stewart-Haas Racing. Be prepared for the media to clamour and over do the coverage of her in 2012!
Ousted from Michael Waltrip Racing, David Reutimann landed with another under-funded team, Tommy Baldwin Racing. However, a breaking story from last week has added some spice to Reutimann’s 2012 ride with TBR. It was reported that Stewart-Haas Racing has purchased the points of the TBR #36 so that Danica is guaranteed a spot in the 2012 Daytona 500. That was a move that, most likely was urged by the Danica Patrick’s sponsors. With the points purchase by SHR, that gave TBR a partnership in the SHR #10 GoDaddy.com Chevy, thereby allowing Reutimann the opportunity to drive that car when Patrick is not behind the wheel!
So race fans, that is just a small tidbit of the notable changes we have to deal with for the 2012 season!
Now back to this website, even though the picks have been uploaded, there is still much work to be done before this website is fully functional.
It is my goal to try to make this website a user-friendly, interactive, and as fun-filled as possible. As we get this website fully functional, I will be relying on your inputs, and you interactions to make this a success!
So let us all get involved!
PULL THOSE BELTS TIGHT, FLIP THE VISOR DOWN, AND LET’S GO RACING!