Daytona Results

     Well, we waited 3 long months to hear those engines roar.  And they roared. But one engine roared louder than any other and wound up in victory lane on Sunday night.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. beat the rain and 42 other drivers to win his second Daytona 500 race.   After a six hour rain delay after lap 46, racing resumed at about 8:45 PM and it was on.  A couple of wrecks to thin the field, a few parts failures that took out major contenders such as Truex, Stewart and Bowyer, and then the final laps saw Junior move high and low, blocking both lines to run to his 20th victory in the Cup series.
     Brian had top score in the big pool by a slim margin sits atop the leaderboard after one race by one point.  John, not present to make his picks, sits in third, with a pretty decent team.  Colleen finds herself last, with her powerhouse team of Bowyer, Newman and Stenhouse.
     In the half pool, poor Debbie picks one of the favorites Truex, and winds up last so far.  Watching speedweeks, I saw that both Junior and Dillon had fast rides.  That paid off as I pulled a first and a 9th with those two.  Colleen sits 2nd with her Keselowski pick.  Janice, coming off of a terrible 1st season, looks to have a stellar sophomore season, starts off well with a 5th place finish to place 3rd. Newcomers John and Rich 4th and 5th respectively.
     Good luck to all for the rest of the season, and remember to try to recruit more friends or family for the half pool.  I want a record amount for the second half.  Put your feelers out now for later in June/July.
   Thanks, Paul

Countdown

     2 days and 8 hours until we pick our drivers for the first half of the 2014 season.   Our usual spot at Ocean Lanes bowling alley at about 5:15 PM.  Are you ready? Are you excited?   I know I am excited to take all of your money.  I have heard from all except for John and Gary. I am assuming you guys are coming.  Please send email or text to let me know for sure.
   Thanks and see you all there then,
Paul

2014 Nascar Pool

     Ok, here we go. This year, I predict some awesome racing and a great Chase to the Championship with Nascar's re-formatted playoffs.  This years field of drivers looks to be just as exciting.  Some of the lower tier teams have improved sponsorship and funding from investors plus improved drivers as well.  Check out my post regarding this years lineups from the "popular post" section on the right side of the page.  If you haven't heard yet, after the first 26 races, 16 cars will make the field for the Chase (based on wins and then points).  After the first 3 races of the Chase, the bottom 4 drivers are eliminated, and points reset.  After next 3 races, same thing, and then again, leaving only four drivers to fight it out at the last race.  Sounds exciting to me, knock-out rounds!!! Cool.  Now if only they can find a way to have only those drivers race instead of all 43 cars.
     Attached is this years first half pool sheets.  If you cannot download it and somehow send it back to me with your picks, just shoot me an email with your 18 picks in order of the races (remember, you can only use each driver once).  You can give me your entry fee when I see you next. (also remember, you can enter multiple times for multiple fees).  Trying to get many more involved this year to make it really interesting.
     Any questions, feel free to email me.
Paul

P.S. - For those of you in the Big Pool (you know who you are) don't forget, 2/15 at about 5:15 we will be gathering at Ocean Lanes for our driver picking.  If you cannot make it, I need to know asap.  I sent you guys an email a few weeks ago, and true to form, no one responded.  Need to know if you will be participating also.  Any ideas on changes you want to bring up, make sure we do so prior to picking.