Pocono Raceway with the Rain Out Hat Trick...

And I can't return on Monday :(  

I did manage to frog the horrible pink tunic I wasn't happy with before the rains came:

Went to Indy Car's test session at Pocono Raceway

Had a lot of fun, and look Pocono does have gorgeous summer days!!

Continued Rant - NASCAR this time

Sad that yesterday's rant was not the only problem at the NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway.  Like I said - I used to spend a lot of money at the merchandise haulers at the track.  They were lined up in rows, some drivers have their own, some teams have a bunch of drivers in one hauler, some independent merchants had haulers and tents to buy stuff at ( that's where Curt got Min's FAVORITE EVER Christmas gift - a Jimmy Spencer t-shirt - heee heee hee hee) So you had some haulers with little crowds, others not so much - the people working the haulers could answer questions, and get you the size you asked for - if you weren't sure about the size they let you take it out and look.  Here's a pic I slurped off the web as an example:

Now some genius - and I mean cost cutting profit obsessing moron - came up with the plan of one giant tent store:

With drivers having little "booths" in the tent - there was a women's booth (nightmare to shop - I'll explain in a bit) but that tiny tent in the background? That's the checkout tent.  With a giant roped line and the cashiers couldn't figure out the registers - and when a cashier was free they'd wave a flag and you had to figure out which row they were in since the cashier's were in rows lined up back to back.

You had to rummage around to find the size you wanted.  The booths that were brand oriented had hats or other stuff on a shelf with shirts/jackets on hangers underneath.  BUT if you saw a row of Jimmie Johnson hats, there might be Denny Hamlin shirts underneath.  As someone who hates shopping, despises shopping sales because of the disorganization that ensues and is really hard pressed to shop clearance or other "bargain" outlets because of the need to keep flipping to find sizes or styles - this was my worst nightmare.  And not just that  - those Denny Hamlin t-shirts - were mixed with Donkey face t-shirts - not even the same manufacturer of car much less team!!  And they were mixed up in quantities that you can't blame the fans shopping - like I tell the guys at work - if there is 1 or 2 things that don't belong - ok a customer dropped it there. If there are case quantities in the wrong place - some moron packed it out wrong!

While I admire the fact that it seems they helped out the local economy by hiring locals, instead of having the people that drove the rigs selling the products - no one that worked there could answer any questions!  They all admitted there were boxes of more products behind the shelves - but didn't know where to look if someone wanted a size that was sold out on the hangers!  And mind you - with the no reentry policy, it's not like you could come back later to see if more got stocked out!

I cannot tell you how many people I over heard saying they'd go online to buy, or go to a local store.  Some took pictures so they'd know what they were looking for.

THE WORST PART--- yup the above was just a prelude to the horror.  Here's a picture of the interior of a booth - from Friday, when there are not that many fans at the track yet:

Look at where that lady is standing.  Now imagine several people, with backpacks and coolers (because they can't shop and then come back in, they had everything with them as they shopped) trying to turn that corner while one person tried to look at the stuff.

It was impossible. I had a backpack, but I'm spoiled and Curt carries the cooler filled with more than people at a Saharan oasis could drink, and I was constantly getting jostled by people hitting my backpack, and hit with coolers as people next to me got jostled.  I just gave up.  And I'm pissed.  I actually look forward to my new Tony Stewart wear each summer.

I won't be buying at nascar.com that's for certain.  I'll still buy from SHR and Tony's website.  Maybe I'll see if Realtree sells online.  I can tell you this - there won't be as much purchased.

So if you see me in the future, I will probably be wearing more Devils, 49ers and Mets gear.  The Devils make it easy to shop, since I don't like going into the city I expect to order Mets stuff online - or it's sold in a lot of local retailers since they are one of the local teams ( Devils too - but some of it has been contaminated by proximity to Rangers, Islanders and Flyers stuff in stores) and since I'm on the opposite coast I know I have to order the 49er stuff I want.

Hmmmf.   

Rant - at Pocono Raceway

This picture is from my phone on Saturday... hopefully before the races next year, I'll get the pic's I want to share from Curt's camera.

First I want to say that Pocono was my favorite racetrack.  Been going to race weekends there forever.  Will be there in 2 weeks again for the Indy race. But lately they have been adding and changing rules faster, more often and with less sense than NASCAR changes it's rulebooks!

Last summer, they wouldn't let you bring in aerosol spray sunscreen.  Yet there was a tent in the fan fair giving them away?  So if you liked that brand you could just bring your freebie in.  This June, some of the bag screeners were stopping aerosol sunscreen and others were letting them in ( I would have been livid if I just lost a can and saw other people in the stands using it)  Then last weekend, people were allowed to bring it in.  (realistically since I itch if I encounter SPFs over 12-15 - I'd rather not get hit with overspray - but it's the principle)

This June - they said once you enter you can't re-enter if you leave. This totally screwed up a lot of peoples' shopping plans.  My original plan is I tailgate breakfast, and around 8:30 we go in and check out the shopping.. buy some more coffee ( I'm usually done with the coffee I bring with me at that point) and go back out to the tailgate to ponder.  Then around 10:30 when my brain decides that I want all of it, I go back in and buy (basically the majority of my non-work wardrobe) and bring the bags out to the car.  Then we break down the tent, and go in the track at around 12 - buying lunch at one of the stands and heading up to our seats. So in June I bought 1 shirt, because I didn't want to have to lug stuff around.  Last weekend  I bought one toddler shirt.  


Mind you - they said it was for "security" reasons.  How exactly??  Curt, who always  has his pocket knife with him, had it in his back pocket.  Glass and umbrellas are pretty much what they looked for at the bag checks.  And they weren't stopping anyone from leaving.  So it isn't like a potential "badguy" could do his damage and not escape.  In today's world of suicide killers would no escape even matter?

Basically, a pointless rule.  Supposedly advised by law enforcement -- yeah I've seen them dealing with traffic -- not impressed.  Many of us tailgating thought it was to force more concession stand sales.  If that was the case, it was a fail - my unscientific survey showed that everyone was under the impression that lines were shorter not longer, and it wasn't like there were more vendors spreading people out.  I think that without re-entry more people stayed outside the track longer.

I thought I was dealing with this change rather well, until around 1130, when I started seeing people heading back to their cars with shopping bags.  Not just one or 2, but a bunch of separate groups of people!!  I finally asked one... he apparently asked 4 or 5 people that worked the gate and discovered --- you could leave after your ticket was scanned as long as you weren't in side for more than 45 minutes!  And then they gave you a re-entry ticket that could be scanned for you  to get back in!!!!

What the fuvk???????  Other people in our tailgate area had tried and were told there is no re-entry ticket!!! Because clearly, between Saturday and Sunday someone realized what a boneheaded plan it was, and since they can't reprogram all the ticket scanners this reentry ticket was  devised.  Only not only did the fans not know - the people working the gates didn't know!!  When Curt and I went finally went in  - the guy who scanned our ticket informed us there was no re-entry!! 
 

Grand Am / Rolex

Catching up here... On Mother's Day, Curt and I went down to Millville - almost 3 hours- a lot for a tiny state like NJ, to New Jersey MotorSports Park for the Grand Am/Rolex race.  In the GrandAm series there is basically one driver for me - Max "the Ax" Angelelli.  (ok in the GP cars I have a lot of respect for Dempsey - he loves racing, created a team... but can actually drive- so props, but not stalk worthy)  Yes, I stalked Max-  outside his hauler



In the garage:



I had a brief laugh at the fact that Scott Pruett's team have custom (matching the car) bikes.



Decided this dude was just a little to comfortable with a heat gun... hand him the hairspray.



Caught some hijinks as the crew locked Max's co-driver Ricky Taylor out of the hauler



I had my picture taken with Ricky



Finally, success!!



He even smiled for my camera!



Of course the stalking didn't end there.

That's Wayne Taylor - the team owner and Ricky's dad  next to Max in the garage



Ok - the actual race later

Through the fog.

At Pocono for NASCAR qualifying and the ARCA race today.  Just as Tony's luck would have it the sun started peeking out over turn 2 during his qualifying lap and slowed his speed down a bit :(  

The ARCA race was kind of good between the 17, 25, 31 and 41.  I was rooting for Tim George Jr.  As the race went on "fog" (seriously more like a dense cloud hitting the mountain top) kept rolling in, easing up a tad then coming back in.  There were 2 red flags (where the race is temporarily stopped) because the spotters were repeatedly telling the ARCA officials, their crew chiefs and drivers that they can't see from the middle of turn 1 until the exit of turn 3. 

This was my view of turn 1 (or more technically non-view) at one point



Not only could I not see turn one, I couldn't even see the exit of pit road!!

Here was my non-view of turn 3



As you can see the scoring tower was barely visible which is about the halfway point on pit road on the start/finish line.  I couldn't see the start of pit road much less turn 3.



This was directly in front of me.  You can see the garage, but not the haulers parked on the other side, not the infield, and definitely not turn 2.  Usually when you look over the garage you can see for 20 miles to the next mountain top!!  (if you're reading this Thom - I may need to use one of these pic's for your Muffed Target!)

It was Knit in Public Day today, and I did bring knitting as I anticipated a lot of wait time.  I finished one item and started a second.  It's a beer bottle cozy.  You'll see a better pic after I finish the set,

Saturday at the track.

Angie had a bunch of stuff to do to finish final projects due next week. So she exercised some 18 year old freedom and stayed home while we went out to Pocono.  Even though the clouds looked threatening from time to time, the rain held out ( and as I thought it would rain didn't sunscreen - so a little burn - not bad - on my shoulders)  and it was a great day.  Tony finished Happy Hour with a top 10 speed, he's starting 6th so not a bad day.



The ARCA race started a bit after one, does Clark Lewis have some kind of contract with Pocono Speedway?  It's the one track that doesn't use pathetically untalented "singers" with recording contracts that can't do the National Anthem if their lives depend on it!  The first 50 laps were a snooze fest.  I think I actually nodded off for a while.  The driver of the 25, Mikey Kile just passed one car after another ( he qualified 3 miles an hour faster than the rest of the field) the other cars didn't really even put up a fight.   The driver I've been rooting for most of the season, Patrick Sheltra put the biggest fight up and held him off for over 10 laps, with Kile coming up side by side on each lap.  At one point there were only 3 cars on the lead lap - and car 3 was 3/4 of a lap behind- that's over a mile and a half!  There were no cautions for wrecks - only 2 cautions for cars with engine issues.  James Hylton - who will be 76 this year- finished 21st!!  

With 10 laps to go, the second caution flew and Kile came in for a splash of gas.   The only car that was even close to him the 81 of Craig Goess did not.  The race went back green with 5 laps to go and Kile COULDN'T MAKE THE PASS!!!  So Goess only leads 5 laps and wins the race!








My driver the green 60 - Sheltra finished 4th - last car on the lead lap.

Random stuff from the weekend - warning there is some mockery

So here's some random stuff from the weekend.  IF MOCKERY IS GOING TO OFFEND YOU YOU MAY WANT TO CLOSE THIS WINDOW NOW, AND TRY AGAIN TOMORROW!  This is my official disclaimer!  No complaints about the mockery if you actually read the whole post!  Also - NOT EVERYTHING in this post is mocking.  Please be intelligent enough to know the difference.


So on Friday, I got my swap package from my hockey swap.  Apparently I need to wear more green and purple as the last two swap packages I got included green and purple based scarves!

On Saturday, Curt went to one of his computer nerd conferences, so I did a lot of laundry.  Blech, I hate laundry.  I was getting ready to relax and watch the race when a little past 6 our power started blinking. ( Did I mention just how windy it was this weekend?)  then out power went out completely.  Now my laptop battery is kinda shot - and I'm not entirely sure if my woreless would work at the wall without power anyway.   I did use my phone a bit longer online, but decided to shut it off as this new phone of mine seriously sucks power.  I mean my last phone I used constantly and I charged it every 2 or 3 days.  This phone, I think I need a car charger for as it is on yellow or red each day when I get home.  Fortunately, the transformer that our power is on, is also the transformer that runs the traffic light on the corner of Main St and the highway.  SO the cops were directing traffic, which obviously pushed our problem to the top of the power company's list.  I have to give them credit, they had the power back up in under 2 hours, closer to 1.5 hours actually.








Back to Sunday.  The track wasn't very crowded, but there were still a bunch of "don'ts" there.


First, the should be extinct, but is merely just endangered - Mullet



Dude - it's seriously time to cut the tail.


 Pit Lizards?



Finally - this is for "you know who you are"  It is seriously annoying that you read my blog, never deigning to comment on it.  You also don't have the nerves to tell me yourself, your opinion of my blog and/or its contents. Do I actually care?  Do I ever care about any of your "correctness" opinions?  Realistically - you do not need to read my blog.  You can keep up on Angie much more directly if you chose.  but if you do read the blog - please refrain from telling A to tell B to tell me your opinion.  because I don't care.  

If you had actually read Thursday's blog post ( and if you are going to read my blog I would consider the Thunks a surprising choice of posts)  It asked what the oldest picture in my house was.  Not for ALL the old pictures in my house.  Nor did it ask for the oldest picture of my parents in the house.  But to make you happy - Here is a picture of my father, my grandfather and my great grandfather ( whom I called grey grandpa, because I thought it was grey for his hair - yes I was so dumb it could be confused with cute)


  I'm thinking it was around 1938 or so.


 

SCCA Trans-Am and Robin spoilers

Or how I froze my butt on Mother's Day.

Curt and I drove (forever) down to Millville on Sunday morning.  We stopped at the Club Diner  in Bellmawr, NJ for breakfast.  Ever since we decided to leave early to beat shore traffic one weekend on our way down to the track, and look for breakfast closer to south Jersey, this has become our breakfast stop.  It's a cute small diner, very friendly staff, and a great breakfast.  ( although being from North Jersey, the "pork roll" on their menu makes me shudder)  Previously, we got off at a different exit of the turnpike and drove about 40 miles down 295 to stop at the diner.  the exit after the diner is the one that takes you to 55.  For whatever reason, maybe Curt programmed it as a way point on his gps, the gps took us to exit 3 on the turnpike and the diner is like right in between the turnpike and our next exit on 295.  YAY!


We got to the track early, for qualifying and tech inspections.   20 cars registered, but only 8 showed up. ( hey top ten finish for everyone!) Here's the start of the line for qualifying laps. 


"My driver" is Tomy Drissi.  his car ran a Marmaduke movie paint scheme.




This ATV cracked me up.  The honda ATV with the Jaguar logos from Rocketsports. BTW - for those of you who follow racing - the guy with his back to the camera is Paul Gentilozzi - of Rolex, Trans-Am, Grand am and Imsa fame.  Better pick later.


Drissi - debriefs after his qualifying run.




RJ Lopez, Drissi and Tony Ave wait for their cars to go through tech.  After looking at Ave's lack of grooming - I really don't want to hear anyone picking on Stewarts scruff anymore.


The temperature for most of the day didn't get out of the low 50's.  When we had first arrived the temperature was 45 degrees.  Add to that a very windy day, with gusts reaching 40 miles and hour, and you will understand how I spent most of the day frozen.  Do you know how you kind of hunch up a bit when you are really really cold?  I was doing that all day!  My shoulders were soooo stiff when I woke up this morning I had to spend an extra 5 minutes just under the hot water in the shower!
  Garage bathroom - picture for Min


After the race - and we were near turns 12 and 13, we had to seriously hustle to get to the victory lane podium.


Drissi, Lopez and Ave really were the class of the field - it was like watching 2 separate races.



Gentilozzi in victory lane - dude your car won, lets not get too excited.


Of course my camera takes so long between pictures I missed them spraying the champagne at each other, but oh well



Ok this post is long enough, that if you "accidentally" scrolled this low and you didn't want to see Robin's progress it's your own fault.


So here is a close up for clue 4.

i did make it 1 20 row repeat smaller, because it is getting longer than I would consider a "shawlette"  and because the beginning 3 clues leading up to this section used one skein.  SO I am assuming the end piece will use one skein.  And I really didn't have enough from skein 2 to do another repeat.


Here is Robin as she stands now.

Yes I have been knitting again.

This past week, I have been able to stay awake and knit again.  I think the sinus infection has finally passed, although I am still drinking my herbal "witch doctor" tea 3 times a day.  I cast on a new pair of socks with some yarn that my friend Grace gave me the last time we met up for breakfast.  They are in my car, as I have been working on them on my lunch at work.  At some point, I will bring them inside to take a picture.  I made 3 projects for swaps, but as I only mailed them out yesterday afternoon, I can't post a picture until my swap partners receive their packages, so as not to spoil the surprise.  

I started working on Robin again,  I had finished clue 3 on my cotton shawl.  I am now working on clue 3 on my stormy shawl.  I will then work clue 4, first on the cotton and then on the Stormy.  Clue 5 came out this past Wednesday, so I am 2 clues behind.  I am considering doing Clue 4 and 5 on the cotton so one shawl can be caught up, but I am a bit nervous that if I get too far ahead on one, the second will start to languish and turn into an UFO.

Anyway, no knitting pictures today, hopefully by Tuesday I'll have some pics for you.  In absence of knitting pic's I'll give you this:

For those of you who aren't race fans - Talladega is THE track to party in the infield and there are t-shirts sold that say " Obnoxious Talladega Race Fan"  I told my father in law that he committed the ultimate redneck heresy.  He and my husband are bowling singles and doubles in the Essex county bowling tournament.  This runs for a few weekends and you sign up for time slots.  HE SIGNED CURT AND HIMSELF UP FOR THIS AFTERNOON.  DURING THE RACE!!!  Seriously how am I going to turn Curt into a proper race redneck like me if his father does things like this???  F1, Rolex and TransAm are fun but not as good!!

You Are Trashy

You are a wild child, and you're proud of your crazy antics. At least you keep it real. You know how to be the center of attention. Even if that just means people are pointing at you! You don't worry about being classy. Anyone who cares about manners is boring and uptight. If someone tries to tell you to mind your manners, you'll probably just burp in their face.

Are You Classy or Trashy?

Blogthings: If Quizzes Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Take Quizzes

        

Racing Yay!!!

The wait is over - racing is returning!  yay!  This weekend had the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona.  Grand Am racing is more Curt's thing than mine  - although I had fun the last 2 years in South Jersey when they ran.  I just have a few issues with 2 completely different kinds of cars, that go 2 completely different speeds being on the track at the same time.  But by now, I'm so jonesing to just hear the revs of a racecar engine that I actually caught myself watching snowmobiles the other night!

Last night was the Camping World West ( kinda like the minor leagues) Toyota All Star Challenge from Irwindale in CA.  Other than Joey Logano hogging the spot light it was a good race until I fell asleep- lulled to sleep by stock car engines- what could be sweeter?

Then this afternoon, Joey (again geez)  won gold and Melanie Troxel from Drag racing took silver at the Bodine Bobsled Challenge.  It's really a great fundraiser to support out Olympic Bobsled team.  The Bodines started it after they found out that the US team was buying sleds from overseas and not necessarily getting the top of the line.  They now manufacture the sleds used by our team in this country.  Racing celebrities from all manor of racing show up for the 8 days of the challenge and really out it out on the line.  The funniest thing this year was a hat Logano wore that made him look like he had Boris Said's ( road racer)  hair!