1-22

Having a few words with Ford Motor Company at the moment... They think, alternatively; that 4-wheel disk is not really necessary, and, if it is, it should be priced appropriately.

I think; if rear drums are priced -appropriately, I may buy a Ford.

1-25

Hurling Insults

Photo Credit: BlackFlag.com

Before writing the final contract, I went over to the parts dept. and bought a

sway-bar for the Fiesta (the two-wheel drive without the paddle shift).

As soon I bought the car I took the keys to the service manager and introduced myself and gave him the keys and requested they put the pre-purchased sway bar on.  He called a couple hours later and said it already had one.

So -   Ford's service manager didn't know if car already had one.

Pictures next week after I get skins.  Meaty Big and Beefy Pirelli's.

Unsatisfied With Massa's return, Wehrlein attempts to re-retire Massa

in an empty stadium in Florida when no-one is looking.

1-25 Pm

Place your bets!  The're Rabbit!

I wasn't gonna give that out, being TRUE Irish.

1-30-17

Detroit

If you go there, be careful, and don't drink the Water.

Something Arizonans have always said about visiting Mexico.

2-16

Great videos!

A huge thanks and cheer to Juan Pablo for saying what most everyone is thinking.

If your in the best car and win, you may not be the best driver.

If your not in the best car and win...

3-08-17

Image Credit:  © Motorsport.com

There is resolution to my dilemma -

excluding Americans, whom show intent to abuse and destroy everything they can touch and anything they can't,

while calling attention to the IndyCar Series as exemplary of their imbecilic ways; and

attempting to observe and enjoy what remains of this Gentleman's sport.

These test times reflect that and should reassure everyone of continued success.

3-09

3-16

3-22

4-3-17

20650.21             (-) 13.01

  5894.68                  17.06

  2358.84                    3.88

Best described as a multi-faceted conversation; Yes, I am driving and no, I do not drink.

Health considerations are ruling out Bonneville, and only health considerations.

Best to Sir Stewart.

4-7-17

About six...

About six people in the world

that know that smile.

4-8-17

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova was once asked by a male reporter in an interview 'Your a Lesbian?' Posed as a question.

She quickly responded ' What's the alternative, you? '

She is a legend in her venue.

Such questions detract from the greatness to which we all aspire.

4-3-17

20650.21             (-) 13.01

  5894.68                  17.06

  2358.84                    3.88

4-13

A student of the sport

Can Alonso win Indy.  The short answer is yes, I think he can do anything Dario can do.

A closer examination reveals that there are 32 other entrants, and his chances are 1:33.  He can be taken

out at any time in the 800 left hand turns, or, as we have seen in the past, on the parade lap.

I invite everyone to look closely next month at turn 4.  Flowers will be placed on the wall.

The same wall and the same flowers that are the impetus for the Columbine essays.

The essays are in the process of being transcribed

onto the archives site.  Expect 5 words for this years

essay.

4-15

here's a quarter

4-23

University of Utah footage from 1964.

Footage of the 400 MPH Club run from 2010.   422.6 MPH  (680 KPH)

Note the orange cones set 1Mile apart during the run.

Adult Onset Asthma?

Truthfully, the doctors don't know.  I was hospitalized for a couple of days at the first

the month and left incapacitated for a week.   Now I carry an Inhaler and have a

wait and see attitude.  Bonneville and racing in general is out of the question.

Curiously, the Salt Flats and the Climate might be part of the cause.

5-28-17

I don't know if Wehrlein will remember that 'racing incident', but I will!

6-18

A reminder that my ex-wife was pointedly told, the birth of a child during the zenith of racing season could result in a solo stint in the hospital.

With that, highlights of Le Mans

The face of the Borg Warner trophy for Sato,

and now the world record for Kobayashi at Le Mans.

Ferrari :   Blue flags are for sissies

TDS Racing :  Excusez-moi, mon croissant fait froid.

TDS Racing   1

Ferrari            0

For you non-racing types, blue flags are warnings that faster cars are overtaking

(look left at :04 seconds), and that was a French team overtaking in a very, very

French celebration of motor skills.  A quick survey of TDS's website revealed 'no comment'.

6-24

Hemispheric Considerations

6-25-17

Having logged more than two million miles as a Professional Eighteen Wheel Driver, the equivalent of a trip to the moon and back;

I am extraordinarily proud that I have never put a even the slightest bruise on anyone in the course of my work.

What I saw today at Baku, a collection of impetuous overpaid jerks littering the track with debris;

then, to add insult to injury, smashing each other in petty games while continuing to purposely

delay a contest was - and will remain to be, untenuous and a despicable display of childish nonsense.

There is no shortage of capable and safety minded professional drivers, and further,

there is no shortage of Leadership within the Mercedes Benz team.

Canceled Driver Contracts are in order.  Complete disregard for safety is not.

July 6, 2017

Ich sprechen.

Having reviewed everything available except F1's own telemetry, and noting that F1 considers

the Baku incident closed (with Vettel's Superlicense at risk); I have the following conclusion:

"The second place car following the Safety Car has the rightful place of 12 car lengths following

  the safety car; and the distance should not be determined by the first place car."

7-15

7-28

Please pass this note along to Jolyon Palmer...

This is not a mathematical equation for the apex of a turn, nor is it a indication

of possible oversteer while not under load or speed (see: incar camera/steering wheel indicator), nor is it a indication of loss of downforce at low speeds;

it is simply a map of Paris (see comparison).

Coach Kimi

8-26

Sense shines with a double luster when it is set in humility. An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.

                                                        - William Penn

9-1-17

Memo # 21 in a series

9-16-17

9-17-17

The ultimate garage band.

I lived in Charlottesville from '02 to '05, studying at the foot of Monticello and Jefferson's

legacy.  I had the opportunity to visit Dave's house a few times while he was building his

5000 sq. ft. garage.  Dave is very happy with who he is; I am too.

Credit: Chicanemotors

South African Grand Prix 1977

Much of the '70's was marred by crashes, and South Africa is no exception.  With more

pronounced safety measures, South Africa is not only possible - it's a yuge step in the worldwide expansion of the Formula 1 image.  I would enjoy the return of this venue.

It's summertime in Johannesburg in November, and the views are spectacular.

Best to everyone at Formula 1 and Sutton Images.

10-5

Formula 1 and the competitiveness of Manufactures is at the crux of this sport, and often the persona's of

the drivers seem to overshadow this facet of the series.  I cannot recall a point in time over the last few years

where McLaren Honda left a set of pistons laying on the track somewhere.  I can recall a point where someone,

or anyone on some team or another has fretted about being more competitive; and perhaps, that has more to

do with McLaren picking up Renault than anything else.  If next year Toro Rosso with the Honda engine suddenly finds themselves on the podium then their victory will be overshadowed by that particular drivers persona.  And so it goes.

A reminder, should the weather become such a burden as it has a tendency to do during Typhoon season,

then perhaps Formula 1, whom put on such a wonderful show race after race-year after year, could stop for coffee?

I am doubtful that the Japanese would mind.  They're not going anywhere, it's a island.

There is a multi-faceted ancillary discussion.

10-6

Quotes we'll forget.

Myself as RCM:  It's right where you left it.  Go get it.

                           We don't have an agreement with Suzuka on keeping debris.

                           Refer to Rule 9, Paragraph 340.

10-8

Did someone say Bosch?

Headline Suzuka

        Geman wonderkind Vettel robbed at Sukuka by discount spark plugs. Mercedes likely

        to claim 2017 Championship on superior equipment and driving skills.

There was a time when I chose the Auto Parts store based solely on their likelihood of

having a stock of Bosch spark plugs, all the while cussing the dual Stromberg carbs

because I knew they would consume more of my weekend than driving would.

Really miss that, although I am not missing those Stromberg's.

Lights out at 2:00 PM CST?

1-30-17

10-20-17

Reuters/Tim Winbourne

The thought that Canal F1 Latin America can only purchase Official F1 two seater

photos from Sutton is reassuring, and least from the spectators point of view.

10-18

Could we consider this 'Penske's Handicap'?

10-21

Gotta Pee.

Our nations Interstate system, the greatest in the history of the world suffers woefully.  We haven't had major upgrades in decades. While the population continues to grow, the interstate system is rarely expanded, with the exception of of urban interchanges and

bridge modifications.  I-10, shown here has only been expanded in the urban areas and remains the four lane highway it was when it was originally built in the fifties and sixties.

A handful of drivers (truckers) and I left El Paso on Saturday evening, headed east.  880 miles to Orange Tx, just before the Louisiana

state line.  It was decided-after dinner, that breakfast would best be served in Orange, not in San Antonio or Houston. That decision

arose out of a discussion (mostly cussing) about the speeding tickets we had received and where.  Off we went.

Thats about 1400 Kilometers, overnight.  And that was in the mid-1990's.

We can't do that now, the highways are far too crowded, even at night.

So the routine has changed.  The revenue hasn't.

The highways too crowded, the reward too small.

The drivers that could do this, too few and far between.

The 308 kilometers (190 miles) of Sundays race in Austin,

for America's truckers-that is just a warmup.

10-22

10-23

dailymail.uk

There is pomp and pageantry in all the major races, at times many more tasteful

than others.  There are those with grandeur and those without.

Promotion however, in particular promotion of the sport, is best left in the hands of

those who participate in the sport, those whom livelihoods are at risk.

10-27

¿Que?

10-30

Mexico:  Post-race forensic analysis concluded

              that this was Raikkonen's sombrero.

              Renault refused to issue a statement.

11-09

Guess which luxury car I will not purchase.

11-17

This article found it's way to the in-box this morning.

11-17-17

I guess I am a different sort, leaving NASCAR and leaving it the way the France family

runs it is nothing to cry about.  Grand National Stock Car racing made a name for itself and what you see today in NASCAR in nothing of the same, except for people selling things you would not otherwise give a second thought to buying.

I do not think any less of Danica for staying or leaving, and especially for having or not having interest in either NASCAR or the IRL Series.   She kept good company in a tough sport, stayed out of trouble, and went toe to toe with everyone.

Drivers have their own language.  All too often it's colorful.  Ask Danica, or ask Milka Duno.

An example of what I understand, and many do not (including the broadcasters) is this:

      I am at my leisure to tell any member of the France or Hulman family to perform something anatomically impossible.

     These drivers are not.  Especially so when they are held to a gender specific standard.

So I never really judge a professional driver by their win/loss record, and in Danica's case,

not in NASCAR under the direction of the France family.

Happy retirement Danica, the I-10 in Phoenix might change your mind !

11-23-2017

  At Magnum Ingenium / Genius At Large

Umberto Eco

McStuff

That's what all the truck driving instructors called him, McStuff.  An unkempt lard-ish imbecile with the attention span of

an endangered fruit fly.  We were obligated to attempt to teach him the fundamentals of semi-driving, and the probability

of his failure was openly discussed with the management at Maury Rose's Truck Driving School, on a hourly and daily basis.

Enrolling in a trade school, or any school is not an indication of success, and there are instances where people have higher

expectations that what would openly be called -realistic.  This was the case with McStuff.  The collective opinion of the entire staff at the school was that he was a fail.  He was counseled, cajoled, and openly berated to change careers.  To no avail.

Management decided that he had paid for the course, and the staff was stuck with him until he passed the driving test or

wandered into traffic, whichever came first.  We were unable to even get him through the open book sections of testing.

None of the staff had answers, none of us wanted to put him on the highway with a tractor trailer, we knew the outcome.

One day I overheard him complaining about having to back up in a semi to some other students.  As a result, he spent the

next several days driving around the course in just the tractor, and only in reverse.  He bitched and complained, and we

pointed out the nearest McDonalds, we left convenience store job applications in the classroom, we left him standing

everywhere he went.

Early into the second semester, when the first semester students had all found employment at the various companies

we supplied, McStuff appeared to get the picture.  One of the newer instructors was cajoled into giving him a road test,

(I had openly defied management and vowed to fail him) and the new guy just simply passed him, despite misgivings.

A few weeks passed, and we heard back from an employer whom had attempted to hire him.  They were openly concerned.

It seems that his Company paid hotel room during his orientation had suffered damage.  Feces had been smeared

everywhere after he was rejected by the prospective employer.  Management at the School shrugged, and raised tuition.

11-24

Dakar just announced, and Simona de Silvestro signed a three-year deal with Nissan, and the supercars just keep on keeping on.    She's the tannest Swede in Oz.

12-07

Quote of the day

Barn find of the year - '34 Marmon.

Nobody asked if I wanted it.  Um...sure.

Happy Holidays!

1-09-18

The questionnaire from Hill and Partners was an outright fail.  Looped out for lack of sophistication.

$14 a race or 18 a month ?

With or without commercials, is a no-go.

Throw in a Mayfield-Lewis Hamilton and I still would not pay...

Back to Earth - someone.

What I feared when Bernie left.

2-22

Today's inbox

Linked, and objective rather than subjective.