Las Vegas - Nationwide Series: Cup Series Guys "Wreck" Havoc

If you wanted to see an accident on the track today was the day. It wasn't the inexperienced drivers who caused the cautions, but the guys who make the big bucks in the Sprint Cup Series.

Denny Hamlin spun in the opening laps followed by Kyle Busch hitting the wall hard while racing Kevin Harvick for the lead. Then you had Jeff Burton spinning and taking out Harvick. Later Greg Biffle ran out of gas 6 laps before his intended pit stop. Between Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards speeding through the pits and David Regan hitting the wall hard while leading, there were not many green flag runs. All this happened in a 300 mile race, imagine if they were racing a 500 mile race! I think the Sprint Cup guys should have just watched from the stands, everyone but the race winner.

Now it's time to mention the race winner: The Biff! After complaining of flu-like symptoms, Greg Biffle drove his #16 Citi Ford Fusion to victory. This win ended Biffle's 76 race winless streak in the Nationwide Series.

My Turn

Well since Katy already had the chance to share her story, I guess it’s my turn. I first found NASCAR in 2004 and since then, Kevin Harvick has always been my “go-to” driver. By the end of that season I was a card carrying member of his official fan club and managed to pick up quite a few pieces of memorabilia. That was the same year they instituted the Chase and when Harvick didn’t make the Chase, I turned my focus to Kurt Busch. Luckily for me, that was the same year he won his Championship.

As Katy already told you, we went to the Coca-Cola 600 in 2007, but what she didn’t tell you is that we saw Casey Mears win his first race ever. That same year I headed to Indianapolis with some friends for the Brickyard. We ended up camping at the track and I think everyone should do that at least once in their life. I made some friends that I still have! We saw Tony Stewart climb the fence on that one.

The next month I headed to Michigan International Speedway, which would go down as one of the more unusual races in history. Rain delayed the race until Monday and more rain pushed it back to Tuesday. That’s when I knew I was a real race fan. I headed north Tuesday morning to the track, the highway was closed due to flooding and I had to take the back way. It took me nearly 5 hours to drive the 3 hour trip, but it was worth every penny when I got to see Kurt Busch take the checkered flag.

This year Katy and I were lucky enough to spend an entire week in Charlotte for the Coke 600 where we saw Kasey Kahne walk away with the win. We also saw Kyle Busch win the Nationwide race that same week and we toured nearly every race shop possible. We also went to the Brickyard this year, where the tire situation went out of control and Jimmie Johnson won the race.

I’ve also been lucky enough to see the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora three of the four years they held it. I saw Kenny Wallace win the first year, Carl Edwards win the second year and Tony Stewart win this last year. I’ve also met more than my fair share of drivers including Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Elliott Sadler, David Ragan, Kyle Busch and David Stremme. I’ve even met The Biff a time or two in the past!

Today you’ll still find that I’m a card carrying member of the Kevin Harvick fan club, but I’ve also added both Busch brothers to my roster. I also like supporting the lesser known drivers like David Ragan and David Stremme. In the future you’ll probably find some tips and personal stories on here and who knows what else. Katy’s just about as random as I am so keep checking back because you never know what you’ll find here.

NASCAR: Rule of the Week

We all know there are some pretty crazy rules in NASCAR. I’m sure they make sense to someone, but sometimes I just scratch my head trying to understand them. It’s only Friday and NASCAR is making me scratch my head again. Why?

During Friday’s first practice for the Sprint Cup Series race in Las Vegas the #18 car lost an engine. Of course we all know if you blow an engine between qualifying and the race you have to go to the back of the starting grid. But what if you have to change an engine before qualifying? According to he commentators on Speed TV (don’t we all just love DW?) no matter where Kyle Busch qualifies this week he will have to start in the back for the race.

OH! Come on! Seriously?

I’m sure it’s always been like this and I just didn’t pay attention before, still, it annoys me. I'm sure Kyle and his team are much more upset than I could ever be. Kyle has been excused from qualifying due to the engine change...I guess that's a plus, that makes me wonder, does he just get the last pit stall available?...(Scratch that: Kyle makes a qualifying run with a great time of 29.03 though it doesn't really mean much)

What's your take on this rule? Do you thing the "back of the field rule" should only apply to changes made after qualifying or should it apply if you have to make an engine change prior to qualifying? Tell me what you think?



Photo of Kyle Busch's #18 taken during Sprint Cup practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway July 2008

An Obsession Begins

Hi, I'm Katy and I'm a NASCAR addict: This is my story:

Last week as I sat down to watch the Daytona 500 I remembered the very first race I ever watched on television. It was the 1993 Daytona 500. I’m not sure why my family was tuning in that day 16 years ago, but we were.

Like most 12 years olds, I probably wanted to watch something else. I remember thinking that watching these people drive around in circles for hours was going to be horrible. What could be exciting about that? The only interesting thing was the wrecks so what did I wish for? Yeah, I wished that someone would have a wreck and boy did I ever get my wish.

It was during the 93 Daytona 500 that I became addicted to NASCAR. As Rusty Wallace’s Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac went tumbling through the grass end over end I could not tear my eyes away. For me there was no turning back. Every weekend from that day until I went away to college was spent glued to my television. I became obsessed with racing. I kept notebooks with race results in them, covered my walls with posters, and cried at Christmas when my grandparent’s bought me NASCAR related merchandise. I wasn’t your typical teenage girl, not even a little bit. I dreamed of one day going to Charlotte Motor Speedway and watching my favorite driver Rusty Wallace (I owed it to him for wishing someone would wreck).

Over the years my NASCAR obsession went away. Instead of watching races on television I had to do the grown up thing and work on Sundays. I might have watched a few races here and there over the years, but nothing like I had back in high school. I knew who won the championships and who the top drivers were but I didn’t really follow anyone in particular. I left the NASCAR stuff to my best friend Jenn who I had met in college. She had developed a huge obsession with all things NASCAR and while I didn’t have a driver to follow she knew everything there was to know about NASCAR. (I’ll let her tell her story)

In the summer of 2007 my obsession was renewed when I had the chance to purchase tickets to the Coke 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for a discounted price. I figured this would be an awesome birthday gift for Jenn and it was. That May we loaded into a rented car and drove the 8 hours from my house to Charlotte for the race. That started a new tradition.

Since then we have attended 2 other race weekends together. In the 2008 we spent a week in Charlotte touring all the race shops, going to practice, qualifying, the Nationwide Series Race, and of course, the Sprint Cup Race. We also spent several days in Indianapolis leading up the Allstate 400. We have gotten sun burned, stood in long lines for driver appearances, and drank more Miller Lite than should be humanly possible.

Unlike most people I don’t cheer for Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, or Dale Jr. Instead you will find me cheering for Kurt and Kyle Busch on Sunday or maybe one of the underdogs that no one really follows. I drink Miller Lite and NOS Energy Drink, think certain drivers might be the spawn of the devil, and never, ever, ever miss a race on television these days.

Well that’s my story. Want to tell us how you got into following NASCAR? Leave us a comment!

You are probably still wondering why The Biff Files, right? I will save that until my next post.


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Katy Lindamood is a freelance writer, blogger, and self-proclaimed NASCAR addict. She co-authors The Biff Files with Jennifer Eblin her best friend and former college roommate. She's not Greg Biffle, doesn't know Greg Biffle though she did diss him once at an appearance.

Photo 1: Taken at Christmas sometime in the mid 1990's - That clock rocked!

Photo 2: Taken July, 2008 in Jenn's car on the way to Indianapolis for Brickyard Weekend.

Greetings

Hi! Welcome to The "Biff" Files. If you haven't figured it out yet the title of this blog has to do with our NASCAR obsession. If you ask either one of us who our favorite driver is neither of us would say Greg Biffle. So why name the blog The "Biff" Files? That's a long story that we will eventually get around to telling.

In the coming days and months you will see posts written by the two authors of this blog, Katy and Jenn. We are former college roommates and best friends who love to follow our favorite drivers, hit as many appearances as possible, and have a new tradition of attending the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.

Check back often for updates to the site.


Photo take at Lowe's Motor Speedway - Charlotte, NC - May 2008