Ugh: There’s a virus going round the office, and I think it’s got me. Started the day feeling really fatigued, and as the day wore on, aches and chills set in. Now have a slight fever. Whee. Coming up the stairs tonight was a delight – I could not step up with my left leg at all. Had to ascend two and 1/2 flights by stepping with the right foot, then bringing the left up. Awfully slow. My knees have been giving me more trouble as I work my way into my summer fitness program, so a friend who used to be a personal trainer is going to show me some exercises to help strengthen the knees, probably Wednesday evening. Meantime, I’m heading for a bubble bath and an early bedtime…

I’ve Been Thinkin’…: This whole blow up around Scott Dixon’s comments on Danica Patrick’s driving style after the Iowa race has been interesting to watch. There’ve been so many different responses to the comments, from all different corners, that seem to fall into three main categories:

• You’re Just Jealous – Lots of fans think any criticism of Danica equals jealousy that she gets all the attention. No doubt there is some jealousy – she was the face of the league long before she won her race – but that doesn’t mean that she’s incapable of making mistakes or driving in a manner that ticks off other racers. It’s been politically incorrect to criticize Danica so far – but in the spirit of “What’s good for the gander is good for the goose,” I think that should stop. She’s good enough to be out there and competing, and she has to take the good, bad and ugly as a whole, just like everyone else.
• What Do You Expect? She Sucks! – Uh, no. She’s definitely not the best driver out there, but she’s far from the worst. If you divide the current field into threes, she’s likely near the top of the middle tier. And for all the recent criticism of her style when protecting her spot, a lot of drivers will tell you that she has improved steadily as she’s gained experience in this series. Helio Castroneves in particular went out of his way to point out that she doesn’t overdrive her car like she used to, and makes good choices about how to handle on-track situations.
• Our Princess Gets Special Treatment – If she really is Princess Blocks-a-Lot, why doesn’t Race Control black flag her? Is there a separate rule book for her? I think there’s some complexity in this angle. Brian Barnhart has stated that he hasn’t seen any reason to black flag her for blocking, and some broadcasters and journalists agree that she isn’t blatantly blocking, just protecting her line within the rule book. Her own point of view is that she shouldn’t be easy to pass – why should she just pull over? “If you’re gonna pass me, earn it.” But I have to consider that there is likely a set of “unspoken” on-track rules of etiquette that develops in any series – especially one as small and dangerous as IndyCar. It’s pretty likely that the drivers’ definition of blocking is broader than the league’s rule book – we are talking about race drivers, here. They’re by necessity “lead with the forehead” types who are inclined to think you just need to get out of their way. And due to the danger inherent in close quarters open wheel racing, a driver’s perspective of “taking care of each other” is going to be different than that of Race Control as well.

My own perspective is that we probably have a case of Danica not adhering to the driving community’s “rules of etiquette,” yet not quite meeting the rule book’s definition of blocking. And that’s something she needs to be concerned with. “What goes around comes around” can strike you at just the wrong time if you haven’t built up much good will with your fellow competitors. Hopefully she can open and keep a dialog with her fellow competitors, to learn what they think she’s doing “wrong,” as well as to remind them where appropriate that she’s not going to pull over to the apron and let someone by every time they come up on her. That might also help keep the complaints about her out of the press, where her reputation takes a hit as well.

SmashUp: “What a wreck! Wait, there’s another one! Oh, no, someone just came ass-around and backed it into the wall!” The IndyCars at Richmond were better at demolition derby than they were racing tonight – by the halfway point, about half the field had wrecked out, with Tony Kanaan surviving the CARnage to win his first race of the season. Best to leave this one behind quickly and move on to Watkins Glen next week. Wish I could be there – such racing history at that track and in the town, and everyone raves about how gorgeous the area is.

TGI the Weekend!: Man, today was a brain shredder at work! Glad to have a nice weekend with a race or two and nothing else planned but a manicure. We’ll see if anything king-sized comes up…  *wink*

Pride (in the name of love): It’s Pride Week here in San Francisco, with a big celebration tomorrow and the huge parade on Sunday. I’m not one for big crowds and don’t have plans to attend, but am delighted to see all the marriages taking place here this week. Even though I’ve never been interested in participating in the institution myself, I firmly believe it should be for all who want it. I know some very happy, long term committed couples who are getting married this summer, and it just makes me smile.

Time for a Teensy Breather: It’s been a hectic but fun time since my last post. I’ve been following races, keeping in touch with old friends and fostering a nice new friendship. Also, planning my Sonoma vacation in August – my new friend will have the cottage next door  to me, and I’m looking forward to us having time to hang in the common garden and continue discovering just how “separated at birth” we are. I’ve also taken on a third direct report a work, a contractor who was reporting to my boss until this point. And I’m planning the complete purge, clean, paint and re-floor job I need to do on my apartment. I’ve been in here since 1997 and it’s time…

Back into the whirlwind!

Traffic Jam: Not quite as bad as the post-race road out of Indy last month, but there’s been a traffic jam here at BashUp – thanks to Curt Cavin posting a link to my Carb Night Burger Bash photos. Glad you all stopped by! There are three more pages of 2008 Indy 500 photos – you can find the links on the right side of the page. Also, if you follow my Bash*tography link, there are photos there from the race at Sonoma last year. I’ll be back at Infineon in August, so bookmark me and stop by again after that race if you want to.

RIP, Mr. Russert: Last week, Jim McKay. This week, Tim Russert – broadcasting has taken a huge hit in the last few days. Russert was the best in the business with a political interview, and his influence has spread through NBC’s coverage. I saw several debates between Obama and Clinton, and the ones involving Russert made the others look like bumbling amateurs. Huge loss.

Rest Weekend for Racing: Well, sorta. My IndyCars have a weekend off, so the focus will be on Michigan International Speedway for all the NASCAR goings on there. I have a friend who’ll be on location, so should hear some stuff from him to make it more interesting.

Prelude to a Rockin’ Great Time!: Man, I’d love to see Tony Stewart’s charity race in person. Watching it on pay-per-view was a blast. That and the Chili Bowl are now on the Bucket List. (Wait, I’m way too young to have a Bucket List.)

So Tempted by Texas: Last 3 days, I’ve quelled the overwhelming urge to hop a plane last minute and do the race at Texas Motor Speedway. Instead, I kept my responsible side to the fore and stayed home. I have, however, managed to exchange well over 100 emails with a friend who’s there covering it – just in the last two days. I almost feel like I’m there. Feels weird to have no ICS race tomorrow, though. I’ll have to go outside and play…

Stunner: Got out for a nice walk to run some errands today. It was perfect here in San Francisco, and will be a few degrees warmer tomorrow (that’s still perfect). Clear skies, low 70s, slight cool breeze. My city sparkled as beautifully as ever today.

Roll Call: Hands up – who’s gonna watch the HBO pay-per-view of Tony Stewart’s Prelude to a Dream at Eldora Speedway? I’m planning on sitting down with a soda and bowl of kettle corn and watching the dirt fly the minute I get home tomorrow night. Here’s hoping it’s not a complete mud pit from all the rains that have hit Ohio the last couple of days.

160 Gigs Enough?: I hope so! I have once again demonstrated an uncanny ability to destroy electronic devices, and my 30-gig video iPod hasn’t been spared. I have the bad habit of carrying my iPod everywhere – in my back pocket. Many times, the headphone plug will be caught on the lumbar support portion of open backed chairs at work, and the jack eventually gets pulled loose. End result is the plug doesn’t make good contact and one audio channel is lost. Yet again, I found my iPod faltering and stopped at the Apple store tonight for a new 160 gig video iPod and a nice little case that I can clip it to my front pocket. Between this and the case for my iPhone, it’s gonna look like I’m wearing a utility belt. (Well, sorta am, aren’t I?) The new iPod is syncing now – I included all podcasts this time, so I will have 3+ seasons of IndyCar races, Talk of Gasoline Alley episodes and lots of SpeedFreaks and Trackside with Cavin and Kevin. Plus some videos, all my music and photos. This is gonna take a while…

Fightin’ Traffic: It was a crowded Milwaukee Mile, with 26 cars starting the IndyCar race – largest field in quite some time. Ryan Briscoe got his first IndyCar win, which should divert some focus from his crash-filled career thus far. The trick for him will be to avoid reminding people with more carnage.

Indy winner Scott Dixon led a good deal of the race and finished 2nd.

High- and low-lights:

Graham Rahal is in danger of becoming Graham Ra-Wall. Two races in a row he’s tried to go outside slower traffic and skated into the fence on the marbles. A motor sports writer I occasionally correspond with says Graham is a real dream for his line of work and I can see why – he’s communicative, well-spoken, says what he thinks and it’s clear that he *does* think. He’s got skills on the track, as well, but he still needs a bit more practice picking the best time to make a move.

Townsend Bell started the race like a rocket – passed 11 cars on the first lap! He fell back mid-race but ended up 11th, a full 10 spots ahead of his starting position. A.J. Foyt IV made a similar gain on the first lap, as well.

Oriol Servia drove his way past his original starting place after going down a lap due to needed repairs to a damaged right front wing. Servia finished 6th.

Marco (low): got into another incident, this time involving three cars. (high): As Marco usually does, he manned up and accepted responsibility. Really admire that about him.

E.J. Viso continues to impress on track, even if he still has that little smirk that says “I’m better than this American oval stuff.” Perhaps. But he’s learning quickly and definitely isn’t afraid to make a move. A good 8th place finish for Viso.

Sarah Fisher was the clear recipient of a Bash “Den Mom” Hug for her difficult month at Indy. This week, the hug goes to Vitor Meira. Coming off a terrific 2nd place finish at Indy, Vitor had a rotten weekend at The Mile. He crashed during qualifying, and spent the entire evening (until about midnight) in the garage with his crew while they rebuilt his car. According to the IMS Radio Network, Vitor ventured out for 15 pizzas to feed his guys, and went out again for 30 coffees as the evening wore on and his guys grew tired. Vitor didn’t have a great car today and played it safe all race, just looking for a finish when he got collected in the Carpenter-Andretti crash with three laps to go. Panther has more thrashing ahead of them in order to get themselves ready for Texas next weekend.