It was a disappointing race for a couple of drivers, but it sure made for an exciting finish! There’s more than one crew chief kicking himself for not calculating fuel more accurately.

Jimmie Johnson led the most laps and managed to get past Greg Biffle on the last couple of laps. Then everyone was passing Johnson at such a rate that it looked like he was going backwards. Johnson had run out of gas. Chad  Knaus took the rap for that mistake, making his apologies on the team radio.

Things were then looking good for Greg Biffle, who inherited the lead when Johnson ran out of gas. But in turn three of the last lap, HE ran out of gas. Mark Martin, who was closely followed by Jeff Gordon went flying by for first and second place.

Mark Martin has got to be lovin’ his new ride. He’s got three wins this year, and is tied with Kyle Busch for the most wins this season. He’s got more wins than Johnson (2) or Gordon (1). Who would have thought? If things keep up like this, it will be a very tight Chase at the end of the year.

A couple of seasons ago, people used to tell me that it was next to impossible to win from the back, especially at certain tracks. It was also said that winning from the pole was extremely difficult. Then Kasey Kahne got his string of poles and wins. Then Jimmie Johnson seemed to do that quite a bit.

Tony Stewart got sent to the back of the pack, because he wrecked his primary car on the infield during practice at Pocono this past weekend. It didn’t seem to phase him a bit. There were also some reports that Tony liked his backup car better, after he got into it. He was able to work his way through the pack for his first points-race win for Stewart-Haas Racing.

As for the HMS pack, Jeff Gordon seemed to be just fine all day long, and managed to work his way to finish of fourth. The 48 team didn’t have an awful day, but they did have a pit issue at one point, and had to work themselves back up to the front from the mid-point. Jimmie Johnson was able to finish in seventh.

Mark Martin had a not-so-good day. He was only able to capture a 19th position. Junior just seemed to go from bad to worse, and ended up 28th.

The HMS crew should have a fun time at Michigan this coming weekend.

The big news of the past weekend came from the Nationwide race in Nashville. In vicory lane, Kyle Busch decided that he would play rock star and smashed the trophy! A custom Gibson, with artwork by Sam Bass. Busch tried to tell everyone that the stunt was “okayed” by Bass and the folks at Gibson. In a later interview Bass said that he hadn’t heard a thing, and that he was heartbroken that Busch busted up the guitar. But he took the high road and said he wouldn’t blame Busch, or tell him off, or anything. He said that maybe next time Busch really should say something ahead of time, and they’ll give him a dummy guitar to smash up.

I’ve believed that the people in Washington DC are an elitist bunch for quite a while. But ever more increasingly the people that we elect to represent us are showing how they “know better” than we do, and we “don’t know how to (insert anything here)”

In recent months, law makers from east of the Mississippi, with a few from Arizona, and Washington state have been trying to lock up the Northern Rockies behind a glass wall. It’s difficult enough to “manage” the forest with their silly rules in place, but the Northern Rockies Environmental Protection Act would shut off most all access to what we used to be able to enjoy. Remember the old days when Mom would tell you “look but don’t touch”?

One of these law makers has stooped to name calling in several of the affected state’s newspapers.  Paul Richards has written op-eds that were printed in several Montana newspapers. These op-eds have referred to opponents of the NREPA as “anti-wilderness rednecks.”

Representative Denny Rehberg of Montana has taken a cue from Jeff Foxworthy, and compiled a “You Might be a Redneck if….” list, pertaining to Mr. Richards saying that anti-NREPA folks are “anti-wilderness rednecks”.

If you think the people who live in the Northern Rockies are better equipped to manage federal land in the Rockies than Washington, D.C. bureaucrats, you might be a redneck.

If you, like the entire Montana congressional delegation, are worried about gun bans on federal lands, you might be a redneck.

If you can’t afford an airplane to get you to inaccessible camping or hunting grounds, you might be a redneck.

If you own private land that would be surrounded by new wilderness without any guarantee of access to your land, you might be a redneck.

If you want to ease the challenge in fighting wildfires, you might be a redneck.

If you support an active response to 1.6 million-plus acres of dead and dying trees from pine beetle infestations, you might be a redneck.

The problem with our forest is that we’re not allowed to “touch” them already. A sawmill that I was working in shipped in logs from Colorado and New Mexico. The forest needs to be responsibly thinned so that dead and dying trees are removed.

The way that people “enjoy” our forest lands is by camping, hiking, hunting, and responsibly using that land. Preserving a thing for the sake of “preservation” is wrong. How can people “enjoy” our forests if they are treated like the ship in the glass bottle. “You can look, honey, but don’t you touch it.”

Jimmie Johnson beat the monster! Hms has had some better showings, though. Mark Martin got 10th, Junior got 12th, and Jeff Gordon came in 26th.

Johnson led several times to dominate for almost 300 laps of the 400 lap race. He lost the lead once due to a slow pit stop, but was able to fight back through traffic. Towards the end he and Chad Knaus decided to take four tires when everyone else took only two.

The last few laps were really great. Johnson was battling it out with Tony Stewart - who wound up in second. There was some great racing, with Johnson giving Stewart a nudge shortly before he passed him. It was great to see some great racing by two competitors who respect each other.

What a horrible week-end. Two races rain delayed, and Mother Nature gave the race away twice. Mike Bliss and David Reutimann. Some say “a win is a win”. That may be true, but that didn’t seem to be the case this past weekend.

One article on NASCAR.com was talking about how Reutimann’s win brought Michael Waltrip Racing up out of the “joke” category. I don’t think it did. If it hadn’t been for the fact that there was a yellow flag flown and the leaders had all gone in to pit, Reutimann wouldn’t have been in the lead. (Whatever happend to the “Toyotas have more horesepower” conspiracy? It seems to have disappeared because Kyle “the Wonder Shrub” hasn’t been winning as much. MWR has never been a factor anyway, so how could “Toyotas have more horsepower”?)

Hopefully there are some good things in store for for the boys from HMS next week at Dover. Mark Martin does well there.

Go HMS!

What a great weekend! It was clear and warm, and barely any breeze. (A near miracle for this corner of Wyoming, in itself!) I took my two boys to a 4-H sponsored “Fun Shoot”. We went not knowing what to expect, since we had never attended one before. It was good to see that there were just as many girls as boys there. There were 22s available, in case you couldn’t bring your own - which most people did. And the kids could also learn how to load and fire a 50 caliber muzzle loader. Shotgun was also available for an additional fee.

The Range Director finally called out “Range Open” and the shooting commenced. It didn’t take long for gun powder to fill the air. Erik noticed it, too. It added to the feeling of the day, making it more interesting.

I’m not in 4-H, and I’m not a leader, so I left the shooting to the kid. OK. So I shot two magazines full. (Ruger 10/22 - 10 shots per magazine.) I couldn’t help myself! I love shooting!

I also found that ammo is “communal” at these events. We brought about a box and a half of one of those 550 round Federal boxes from Wal-Mart. My 12 year old was concerned about other kids dipping into our supply, but I told him not to worry about it. We did manage to come home with a half box left! One kid did ask if he could “borrow” some ammo from our box. I told him to go ahead and help himself. I didn’t inform him that to “borrow” something implies that at some point there will be a return of property. I’m not worried about it, though. I have seen “what goes around, comes around” more times in my life than I can count. In both good ways and bad ways.

After we got home, I had to go out and do some more shooting myself. A while back I had finally got the idea to collect the 20 ounce water and pop bottles. I filled up about 20 of those. It had occured to me that the pop bottles would make smaller targets, and help make my aiming/shooting more accurate. I took my daughter, who stayed home, out for her turn with the 22.

In my wife’s blog, she wrote that she was wondering if the boys were bonding with me or the guns. So as I was going out the door to do some shooting myself, I told my wife I was going out to “bond with my guns”.

Especially with my 270 WSM, the recoil was good enough that I couldn’t see the hit, but I could see a satisfying spray of water drift away in the wind with each exploding bottle. I don’t think we found one single lid when we were cleaning up! I’m pleased with myself, as well. I don’t think I shot more that 30 rounds trying to decimate those 20 bottles. My daughter was pleased with what she was doing to “found” items at the range. Sticks, an old chair cushion, the sole of an old shoe.

Now I need to do some more reloading so I have more cartridges to shoot. Is it cheaper to just empty out more cartridges that I already have, and reload them, or to go ahead and buy some more new brass, and load them? Reloading spent brass that I already have would be quicker. It sure would be nice to reload some shiny new brass, though.

I didn’t get to follow much of the Sprint Challenge. But I do know that Sam Hornish won his way into the All-Star race, with Jamie McMurray in second. The fan vote put Joey Logano in the All-Star race? Come on! An  18 year old rookie? There were several drivers more deserving than “Stale Bread”…er, excuse me….”Sliced Bread” Logano.

At least all of the HMS boys were running up front, for the most part. Jimmie Johnson led the entire first segment of 50 laps. Way to go Jimmie! Then an unfortunate rub of the wall in the second segment cost him the Top Ten. Oh, well. The race doesn’t count in the points struggle.

Jeff Gordon came on strong in the second and third segments, only to be turned by Kyle “Pee Wee Herman” Busch, by trying to squeeze inbetween two cars in the corners - making it three wide. I wish someone would just……..nevermind. I try to keep this blog PG at the worst.

Mark Martin did well, until a third segment wreck. Junior was good for the most part. Then things fell apart towards the end….as usual. What’s up with that team?

Tony Stewart was able to get himself his first win as an owner/driver. It’s the HMS technology that helps….right? Both he and Ryan Newman were doing good. Until Busch took out Newman in the same “squeeze play” that took out Gordon.

When our forefathers formed this nation, their objection was that England was ruling from across the sea. Taxing the goods and services over here, while they sat over there, across several thousands of miles of ocean. Today, we’re in a very similar situation. We have a bunch of representatives who want to designate Federal lands within Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming as “wilderness areas” with HR 980 - the Northern Rockies Environment Protection Act (NREPA).

This isn’t the first time this legislation has been before the Natural Resources committee in the House of Representatives. This same bill has been pushed every session, and this is only the latest incarnation. None of the Representatives who are sponsoring this bill are from the effected areas. All of the sponsors are from either east of the Mississippi or California - Although one Representative from Washington is listed as a sponsor.

When we first moved to this area, the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest was just as green and beautiful as any other forested land. But after missing a few hunting seasons, and hunting in other areas, it was a couple of years before I saw “my” old section of the Medicine Bow-Routt forest again. I had heard talk of the Pine Beetle blight, now I get to see it. There are lots of trees up there that are dead and dying. If the trees were of the variety that were supposed to change colors, then it would be as beautiful as Fall in New England. But looking at evergreens in various shades of brown, and somewhere in between dead and dying is truly a sad sight to see.

The hearings in committee have been posted on YouTube, and are also quite a sight to see. The lead sponsor of NREPA, Rep Carolyn Maloney from New York (New York?) is trying to tell the western states what to do with their land. When Rep Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming asked her if she had ever been out west, Rep Maloney said she had spent two weeks out here. Rep Lummis kept pressing to know exactly where Rep Maloney had been. “Well I’ve been to Cheyenne”, was her reply. Rep Lumms said “that is where I live.” On top of that Cheyenne is in no way connected or near the effected areas. Rep Bishop from Utah remembered that the legislation had come up two years ago, and couldn’t understand why none of the wording had been changed since the last time. Rep Maloney didn’t have an answer, but kept suggesting that Rep Bishop suggest some language to put in the bill. Rep Bishop thought that the responsibility belonged to the person who wrote the bill. (Imagine that!)

I worked at a sawmill that is within the effected area. Because of the hoops that logging companies had to jump through in order to do ANY logging, we were not cutting any “local” logs. Everything that we cut was brought by train from Colorado or New Mexico. We couldn’t even sell our chips locally. The were all shipped to wood plants out in Washington (state).

What the sponsors of this bill fail to understand is that in order to have healthy forests, we need to do responsible cutting. There is no cutting around here, and  the area has been a “forest fire waiting to happen” for years. The undergrowth, and dead and dying trees need to be cleared out, if it’s not too late already.

If NREPA passes, then the forest would be virtually untouchable. Access would only only be on foot or horseback. The city of Pinedale (and Farson as well?) would be left without a water supply. There are two Boy Scout camps that would be left virtually inaccessable. Bill supporters claim that these areas will be “grandfathered” in, and access will remain open. History proves that when a bill neglects to guarantee this, that it may start out that way, but access will quickly and quietly be withdrawn.

In the hearings it was told that grassy areas in Central Park are behind a fence. What enjoyment to people get from a park or a forest if there is no access whatsoever? What good is it to preserve our forests if our children and grandchildren won’t be allowed to enjoy it anyway? The forests will be there, but no one will be able to use them.

There is no doubt that some areas need to be protected from excessive off-road vehicle use, irresponsible camp fires, and lumber theft, but it is equally clear that it needs to be done in a way that ensures responsible management, and not in a way that locks it away from being of any use.

What a night! With a carnage almost reminiscent of Talladega, and a record 17 caution periods, several drivers earned their “Darlington Stripes”.

Jimmie Johnson wrecked his primary car while qulaifying on Friday night, so he had to start from the back of the pack.  His story was almost better than Mark Martin’s win. Johnson suffered several set backs, and seemed to see-saw through the 10th to 20th places. He finally seemed to get his act together at the end of the race, when it really mattered, and was able to keep nose-to-tail with Mark Martin through the final yellow and green flag sections of the race. Johnson finally told Chad Knaus over the radio that he “didn’t have anything” for Martin, and Knaus told him to save the car. It was looking like Johnson might have been able to take the win, because Martin had “fuel issues” as the last laps wound down.

Dale Junior seemed to do fairly well throughout the night, but he seems to be “missing his pit” at least once per race lately. Once is a “rookie mistake”. Once every race for several weeks in a row. Maybe the boy needs to get a new perscription for his eyeballs.  A wreck in the last part of the race ended his chances of having a Top Ten finish. Junior was the only HMS driver that finished outside of the Top Ten.

Even though Stewart-Haas may be an HMS “satellite” team, they are running HMS equipment. Both Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman ran well, to finish 3rd and 4th. Jeff Gordon finished 5th, and Brad Keselowski, who is running a part-time Cup schedule came in 7th. That makes six Hendrick cars in the Top Seven! A great night for all of those teams.

What a crappy night for Hendrick Motor Sports.  Jimmie Johnson who entered the race as one of those favored to win, or finish well, had a lousy night. He got black flagged for lining up wrong during a yellow flag, he lost his brakes, got penalized for speeding and got caught up in someone else’s wreck. It was an uncarachteristic night for the 48 crew.

Mark Martin looked like he was going to carry the banner for HMS and lead their charge.  Then it was up to Jeff Gordon. But they both had problems that they couldn’t overcome, although Martin ended up in 5th and Gordon in 8th.

I don’t think I would want to be on the Hendrick campus during Monday meetings. It wasn’t pretty. And PeeWee Harris (also known as Kyle Busch) won another one. I was actually cheering for Tony Stewart to catch him at the end, alas it wasn’t to be. Shrub had too much of a lead. I hope he had a happy birthday. What a gift.