NASCAR off-week

This weekend was the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series off-week. So what did yours truly do in NASCAR's absence? Went to church and puttered around the house afterwards, bemoaning the fact that there was no Sprint Cup this weekend. There was a truck race yesterday but yours truly was very busy cleaning up the yard at the new house. (With much higher than normal rainfall weeds crop up all over the place!). Kasey Kahne, driving for Kyle Busch, won the Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington. Matt Crafton (whose hometown, Tulare, CA, is half an hour away from me) extended his points lead with a solid top 5 finish.

With no Nationwide Series or Cup Series, I got down and dirty yesterday, tackling weeds, draining out murky water from the koi pond in the back yard, and planting new flowers. There's nothing like tackling yard work on a sunny and cool day; you could be outside for hours on end and not complain about it. Despite all that was accomplished, not everything is finished. But it's getting closer. Needless to say, I was exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time. It was close to 5 pm when I called it a day and sat outside enjoying a beer or two. (I drink just enough to enjoy the beer without getting a buzz.) Dinner consisted of BBQ chicken breasts, mixed veggies, rice, and garlic bread. (Yummy!) The time change really screwed up my sleep pattern, though.

Today consisted of church in the morning. (I go to the first service--early bird gets the Word!) The associate pastor challenged us and exhorted us at the same time. Then I got some cupcakes at a nearby cupcake shop prior to returning home. I puttered around most of the day and squeezed in a nap as well.

Next week, the crew will be refreshed and ready to go from Bristol aka The Bullring. (Picture the Roman Colosseum on steroids and you have Bristol.) Ya think there will be some short tempers, especially with the new points system and EVERY point at a premium? I look for some guys to be called out, other guys to be called idiots, morons, etc., and the puntees into the wall to call the punters idiots, morons, etc. I'll even go out on a limb and predict the winner at Bristol: Juan Pablo Montoya. JPM gets his first NASCAR win on an oval at an unlikely venue by holding off a hard-charging Carl Edwards. (I may well be wrong, but I can dream. He won at Sonoma in 2007 and at the Glen last season.) While he's done well at Martinsville, he's not done well at Bristol, but this is where he changes his luck.