TMMC Words of the Week

Yes, I'm still doing Words of the Week. I would like a bit more feedback here on EFR like I've been getting at AARO, but at least you guys are reading, so that's good enough for me. If the old EFR ever comes back up, I'll repost all the old stories (or the admins can do so if they wish). I'd like to keep the history of this thread intact if at all possible.

Thank you guys for reading and enjoy the future reviews.

You'll just have to hope the old one comes up and copy paste them here. I read them on a regular basis though.

The Words of the Week Archives

From the old forum. Don't really feel like copy-pasting them, so there's the link. I'll post the Daytona review in a little while.

you might have a handful for the Daytona review....

Hello, and welcome to another great edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're gonna cover the Round of Daytona for the TM Master Cup Series, which, I'll be honest here, was probably the worst race of the year, for a number of reasons.

IT'S OFFICIAL: DURBIN & WHITMORE HATE EACH OTHER: We've all seen the Durbin/Rainsford rivalry and how interesting it was. Well, it looks like we have a new rivalry brewing between the Team SAAR USA teammates Mike Whitmore and Tony Durbin. The two started on the front row, and it was looking pretty good for Team SAAR USA, at first. But then, for some weird reason, Durbin forces Whitmore onto the apron. Whitmore spins the 33 car, and before all is said and done, more than half the field is wrecked before they even complete a lap. Turn two looked like a junkyard. I don't know what the hell happened between those two, but their little squabble ruined what could've been a great return to the schedule for Daytona. Of course, this isn't the first time these two have tangled. Durbin sideswiped Whitmore at Carbondale while trying to take out his archrival of the past several years, Alexis Rainsford. Then, in Russia, Durbin and Whitmore tangled and crashed midway through the race. This is the third incident this season, and I can't imagine Peter Keyes is very happy with his drivers. Of course, this is just the latest chapter of a miserable season for Tony Durbin, who is probably already looking to build on next year's efforts, because this season is pretty much lost for him.

................: Of course, the Durbin/Whitmore incident paled in comparison to the incident that occured on Lap 22. Coming down the backstretch, Woody Watts hooked the lapped car of John Parker, Jr. in the 53 car that sent Parker onto the apron. When he tried to merge back onto the track, he collided with the left front of Watts' car and pushed him into the path of Chris Johaanes, which took all three cars into the wall and nearly collected the #7 of Jacques Bouvier. Watts' car tumbled down the backstretch a mind-boggling, and I'm not kidding here, 41 times, before finally coming to a stop at the entrance of turn 3. But as his car was coming back down on all four wheels, the #29 of Leslie Riggs, who was unable to see Watts' #6 car due to being behind another car, slammed into the underside of the #6 at full speed, sending the #6 car tumbling several more times before coming to rest upside-down on the apron in turn 3. Everyone was stunned by what they had just seen, and I was certain there was no way Watts survived that crash. Amazingly, he did survive, but due to the injuries he sustained, he will be out for the remainder of the 2011 season and possibly the beginning of 2012 depending on how physical therapy goes. Leslie Riggs is also out for the rest of the season, as she also suffered serious injuries in colliding with Watts' car. This is the second time Riggs has been injured this season. She was also injured at Blue Ridge about a month ago that forced her to sit for a race. With possibly another concussion from this accident, is Leslie's racing career in danger? It would really be a shame if her career came to an end due to injury, because she is one of the best drivers in the country. We're all hoping for the best for Woody and Leslie.

WAIT A SEC. WHO WON?!: Amidst all the chaos, what was forgotten about this race, due to the Whitmore/Durbin and Watts/Riggs incidents, was the fact that we had a first time winner, and it was the first time thatan Independants Trophy candidate had won a TMMC event. Jose Luis Martinez stayed out of trouble, avoided the two big wrecks, and held off Jacques Bouvier to become the first Mexican driver to win a TM Master Cup Series race. Even more to the story was the fact that he won with a modified Omecha chassis. Some of the other teams were like, "OH MY GOD THEY CHEATED THEY CHANGED THE OMECHA CHASSIS THEY SHOULD BE DISQUALIFIED! ". Dudes, quit your whining, sprout a sack, and get over yourselves. The #8 team was within the confines of the rulebook. Why can't you accept the fact that Martinez won fair and square and move on? Do some of these TMMC teams just look for things to whine and b***h about? Well, I'm not gonna be like those guys. Congratulations, Jose Luis Martinez and the #8 team. Good win.

Well, that's all for today's edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're signing off.

James Spalding reminds me a lot of Jimmy Spencer. In fact, I always read this in a Spencer voice.

PKligBKFan wrote:James Spalding reminds me a lot of Jimmy Spencer. In fact, I always read this in a Spencer voice.

so I'm not the only one.....

Hello, and welcome to another great edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're here to give you our review of the Round of Ohio at the Ohio Motor Speedway. It was the TM Master Cup Series' first race in the Buckeye State since 2007 at Mansfield. Let's get started.

HOMETOWN HEROES STUMBLE: A couple of native Ohioans, Anthony Griffith for Team SAAR USA, and Packer Carroll for the Volpi Racing Team, who both also drive for Gravity Racing, Inc. in ARLA, had very dismal days at Ohio. Griffith's car was not very good all day and finished out of the points, while Packer was involved in several incidents and finished 2 laps down outside the top 30. Certainly not the performance those guys wanted for their home race.

HE'S BACK... FINALLY: It took 11 rounds, but Tony Durbin is finally back on the podium when he finished 2nd, right on the bumper of Michael Sykes. In fact, it's his first top 10 of the entire season, which shows how badly Durbin has struggle this season. But I was very impressed with how Durbin raced Sykes. He could've given him a bump to get the win, but he raced him clean, and I think he's earned back a lot of the respect that he lost over the past two seasons. We'll see if he can continue this momentum at Road America. And speaking of Michael Sykes...

THE INDEPENDANTS TROPHY CHAMPION GETS MAIDEN WIN: It was a glorious day for Michael Sykes, who certainly made his fans in Wales extremely proud when he scored his first TM Master Cup Series victory at Ohio, holding off a very sprited challenge from Tony Durbin at the end of the race. I understand he and his crew celebrated long into the night. Enjoy it, Syksie. You've earned it.

Well, that's all for today's edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're signing off.

navycook75 wrote:

PKligBKFan wrote:James Spalding reminds me a lot of Jimmy Spencer. In fact, I always read this in a Spencer voice.

so I'm not the only one.....

Minus the Cigars and Crying Towels.

Hello, and welcome to another great edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're gonna cover the controversial Round of Wisconsin at the famous Road America road course. Man, there were some tempers flaring at the end of this race...

HOT ROD PENALIZED?!: Yes, believe it or not, Leonid Roderick was penalized 15 points for pulling out in front of Mike Whitmore in the pitlane while both were running in the top 5. Roderick slammed into the inside wall and was knocked out of the race, while Whitmore went on to challenge for the lead. This is a surprising mistake from the four-time champion, but you can't be perfect all the time.

KNOCK KNOCK. WHO'S THERE? CONTROVERSY.: Of course, the RED HOT topic which has been talked about all week leading up to Grand Detour was the incident that occured with 15 laps to go. After a round of pit stops, Adrian Devereux was right on the back bumper of Chris Johaanes for the lead of the race. Then coming up to the left-handed turn 5 at Moraine Sweep, Devereux made his move. Johaanes arched his car into the corner, while Devereux took a line a little bit lower. The result was contact between the 26 and 64 which sent Johaanes spinning out of the lead. Devereux was slapped with a 30-second active time penalty, which Devereux and the Hodges-Walter Racing team vehemently protested, saying that Johaanes had cut in front of the 26 and that there was nothing Devereux could do. In the meantime, Mike Whitmore had passed Johaanes to take over the lead of the race, but on the final round of pitstops, Johaanes' crew helped him retake the lead, but coming through Bill Mitchell Bend, Whitmore powered by Johaanes and kept his gap to Devereux under 30 seconds to take his first victory of the season. Johaanes finished in 2nd, while the ATP dropped Devereux to third, and there was a very loud argument between Devereux and Johaanes on the podium, where it got to the point that both drivers had to be restrained by TMMC officials. After further reviews, the results stand as they are. I'm pretty sure Devereux isn't too happy with that.

PACKER'S REDEMPTION: Lost amidst the chaos between Devereux and Johaanes was a great run put together by Packer Carroll and the #1 Lynxe Volpi crew. After a disasterous outing at the Round of Ohio, his home race, Packer was certainly having some doubts about being able to run the #1 car up front. I think he quelled some of those doubts at Road America, where he earned his first top 5 finish in TM Master Cup competition when he finished in 4th despite starting outside the top 20. The #1 crew made the car better and better as the race went along, and some attrition among the top runners allowed Packer to move within range of the podium. He fell one spot short, but he'll have more chances, and he's especially looking forward to Grand Detour, where he has a stellar track record. Will that continue? Only time will tell.

Well, that's all for today's edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're signing off.

Cynon wrote:

navycook75 wrote:

PKligBKFan wrote:James Spalding reminds me a lot of Jimmy Spencer. In fact, I always read this in a Spencer voice.

so I'm not the only one.....

Minus the Cigars and Crying Towels.

So I'm guessing that's a good thing?

Hello, and welcome to another great edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, here to give you the review for the 13th race of the 2011 TM Master Cup Series season, the Round of Quincy at Grand Detour. Let's get started.

DROPPING LIKE A ROCK: What happened to the Gesslers all of a sudden? After Franz Redlich and Avery Holtzmann got into each other on Lap 34, everyone's wondering what has happened to the early season form that the two Gesslers had. Holtzmann is still top 5 in points, but he's now way out of the points lead. Hopefully, Indy will be of some help, considering it's a double points event.

DURBIN BACK ON THE PODIUM: Seems the short tracks are suiting Tony Durbin just fine. After a runner-up finish at Ohio, he had a mechanical problem at Road America that took him out of a top 5 run, but he bounced back with his second runner-up finish of the season at Grand Detour. Looks like we're finally seeing the Tony Durbin we're used to seeing: the one who runs up front. His image has changed as well, for the better, so things are starting to look up for the 2007 champion.

DEVEREUX THINKS HE WON TWO IN A ROW... UGH: On the flip side, here's a guy who's public image is... not so flattering. He took his first TMMC win on an oval and the fourth of his career at Grand Detour, but he thinks he won two in a row, and he had T-shirts printed that said such a thing. (sigh) I'm gonna be the first guy to admit that I don't like Adrian Devereux. Don't get me wrong, he's a great talent, and he's now the championship leader by a wide margin, but the guy's attitude makes me want to sink my fist into his face. He is constantly whining and b***hing and moaning, and Road America was just the latest episode. Even on the top step of the podium, he was still whining about Road America. Dude, shut the f**k up and get over it. You won the damn Grand Detour race, so enjoy it instead of whining about what happened last week. Seriously, this guy reminds me of Otacon from Metal Gear Solid. He probably pisses his pants like Otacon does, too. Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

Well, that's all for today's edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're signing off.

Hello, and welcome to another great edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, here to give you the review for the Round of Indianapolis, the second crown jewel event of the season. Let's get started.

HUH? HOW'D HE GET 15TH?: I'll be honest, Packer Carroll was totally non-existant for the first 95% of the race, and then, out of nowhere, he finishes 15th, and earns 20 valuable points for Volpi in the manufacturers championship. Seriously, where'd he come from?

DURBIN DNF'S... AGAIN: Once again, Tony Durbin had a great run going, up in the top 5, and once again, he suffers a mechanical problem early in the race. This season has just been complete disaster for Durbin and the #33 team, and I don't see any end to their suffering in sight.

RESURRECTION OF IAN COOPER: After five long years without a visit to victory lane, or even running in a decent car, Ian Cooper, in a bright orange #777 car, pulled a shocking victory in the third Team EFR Journey LSX, which will undoubtedly resurrect his TM Master Cup Series career. The last five years haven't been kind to Cooper, as he has bounced from ride to ride looking for a home. Well, it looks like he's found a new home at Team EFR, who earns their first victory of 2011.

Well, that's all for today's edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're signing off.

Hello, and welcome to another great edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, here to give you the rundown on the 14th race of the TMMC season, at Michigan. Here we go.

#1 IS THE FIRST 1 OUT: This was supposed to have been Packer Carroll's final start in the #1 Volpi this season, but mechanical problems kept him from even taking the green flag. Hopefully, the Volpi Racing Team will iron out the mechanical glitches before next season.

DUFF VS. JOHAANES: Chris Johaanes is not making too many friends this season. First was the incident between himself and Adrian Devereux at Road America, and now he and Zach Duff got into several scraps at Michigan, one during the race and one after the race. Duff was excluded from the race, which I think is bulls**t. Once again, the officials giving Duff crap. One of these days, I'm gonna let the officials have a taste of my fist.

DELGADO BACK ON THE MIDDLE STEP: The last few months have been a struggle for Tom Delgado, but he found his way back to victory lane at Michigan, using a bit of strategy to secure his second career Cup victory. This win puts him right back in the hunt for the championship with just 5 races to go in the season.

Well, that's all for today's edition of Words of the Week. I'm James Spalding, and we're signing off.

(OOC: I apologize for taking so long to get this up. Haven't really been motivated to get it up lately, but here it is.)