A week of disappointments.

The week looked so promising. A whole host of things to look forward to, and a whole host of things that didn't go as expected. It had to happen eventually. Life is full of ups and downs, and this just happened to be a little more down than usual.

Leading off is the Daytona 500. It looked like a great race at first, but once again rain decided to come marching by. The good part is, it waited til the race was halfway over to begin coming down. The bad part is Dale Jr and Brian Vickers, two lapped cars, got into a melee and wrecked a third of the field. So much for the "trouble only happens in the front at Talladega" rule. The best cars of the field, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin were essentially eliminated within seconds. They were all in the top 10 at the time of the incident.

Who was at fault? Surprisingly, most pepole seem to think Dale Jr is mostly at fault. I've watched the video several times and its definitely a tough call. I have to put most of the blame on Vickers not because he blocked, but because he didn't come back up the track after he blocked. He was still straddling the out-of-bounds line when Jr came up and tagged him. If you're going to block, you gotta get back in position.

Then the rains came, and Matt Kenseth, who led one (1) lap was declared the winner. Right place right time for Kenseth. At least Roush finally has a Daytona 500 victory now. Its hard for me to like that victory though.

Today is Friday, and qualifying was today. Vickers on pole and McMurray qualified 3rd, which is awesome. However, he was slow in practice, so I hope he and Wingo found something good for a race setup.

On Thursday, Tyson, Colman, Brig, and I tried to fix an Xbox 360 that Ty bought online. We did the same fix we did to Tyson's first Xbox. Unfortunately, it didn't work quite as good. In fact, it didn't work at all. Its okay, I spent invaluable time with the brothers I love, and we enjoyed our failure. Still, I was looking forward to having a 360 to play. /whimper

Also, Rick Santelli's comments on CNBC were priceless. Tell it how it is, Rick! This is a microcosm of what's going on out there. Glenn Beck also has a great way of putting complex things like federal money flow into perspective.

And finally, something that I hope will cheer up those who are as melancholy as myself. A random picture, taken June 7th, 2007 in Newport Beach, California.

The Green Flag

With the Daytona 500 10 hours away, I felt it was time to make my predictions for the 2009 season. Finally, something to write about!

Biggest improver: How about Kasey Kahne (9). We know he's good, but last year was dismal for him. Also, look for Mark Martin (5) to be good, now that he's with Hendrick. Also Brian Vickers (83) looks strong. Don't forget about McMurray(26) carrying tons of momentum. He's led laps in the shootout, and in the gatorade duel.

Biggest disappointment: I dont' think Clint Bowyer (33) or David Ragan (6) will be good this year. And look for one Hendrick team to struggle, though I can't decide who its going to be. Maybe Jeff Gordon (24). Also, one Gibbs team will struggle as well. Possibly Logano (20).

Making the Chase: Its tough to narrow it down to 12, but here goes. In no particular order: Jimmy Johnson (48), Carl Edwards (99), Kevin Harvick (29), Greg Biffle (16), Denny Hamlin (11), Jeff Gordon (24), Jeff Burton (31), Kasey Kahne (9), Kyle Busch (18), Earnheardt Jr (88), Jamie McMurray (26), and Tony Stewart (14). Sorry, Kenseth fans.

The winner: Give it Roush. Probably Carl Edwards (99).

Plug: McMurray has won at Daytona before (Pepsi 400 in 2007), and even came from a lap down to do it. The Daytona 500 has been bad luck to him in the past, but usually when running mid-pack. He'll start 21st, but he'll be in the top 10 before lap 20. If he can stay up front, there should be nothing to worry about. (Its the Talladega races where the front of the pack isn't safe.) McMurray now has Donnie Wingo as a crew chief, and together they have a reputation for top 10 consistency. Here's hoping it translates into a successful season.

Catching up

So its been more than a month since I updated. At least I got over that cold/virus/sinus-infection/et al. It was mid January when I finally started feeling better. Meaning that I was sick for nearly 7 weeks. What made it worse is that I separated from my girlfriend. I'm now falling back into my single, philandering ways. ¬.¬

Courney and Brigham's wedding went off without a hitch, but I was still sick at the time. More details can be found here. I can't complain about traveling, though. I'd travel for a living if I got paid for it.

I'm getting pumped for the new Nascar season. The Daytona 500 is coming up. I'll have more things to write about then. Winter is just so depressing.