Wednesday, July 13, 2011

My Ideal NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule

Although NASCAR has made big changes for their current 2011 Sprint Cup Series schedule, I believe it could still be better.
My problem is not with the dates, but the fact that the sport visits way too many tracks twice a year- which doesn't add enough parity to the series.
With that said, I believe only the historical tracks on the circuit should be visited twice a year. Tracks that staples of the sport and have a long and lasting history.
I am also a firm believer that there are way too many 1.5 mile tracks that the series goes to, and that there needs to be a wider array of tracks that the world's best drivers compete on.
With that said, here is my ideal NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.

Daytona- Budweiser Shootout
Daytona- Daytona 500
Phoenix International Raceway
Auto Club Speedway
Homestead Miami Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Martinsville Speedway
Rockingham Speedway
Talladega SuperSpeedway
Bristol Motor Speedway
Darlington Raceway
Richmond International Raceway
Charlotte Motor Speedwat- All-Star Race
Charlotte Motor Speedway- 600
Dover International Speedway
Watkins Glen
Kansas Speedway
Pocono Raceway
Iowa Speedway
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve- Montreal
Kentucky Speedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Dover International Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway
Chicago Speedway*
Bristol Motor Speedway*
Darlington Raceway*
Infineon Raceway*
Charlotte Motor Speedway*
Indianapolis Motor Speedway*
Talladega Superspeedway*
Martinsville Speedway*
Atlanta Motor Speedway*
Las Vegas Motor Speedway*


* denotes Chase for the Sprint Cup Race

Friday, July 8, 2011

As America's Space Shuttle Program Comes To An End, Whats Next?

Friday morning's launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis marks the end of an era for the United States and their storied space shuttle program.
Since the inception of the program thirty years ago, we have seen the greatest of accomplishments and the absolute lowest of lows- but it's been a remarkable journey, and something that I wish I would have paid a little more attention to when I was growing up.
When I was a child, there was a period of time when I dreamed of being an astronaut- just like most young children do. I remember watching the movie "Apollo 13", and building my own "space shuttle" in my room and pretending to take a journey into the final frontier, but other than that, I never tuned in to watch the space shuttle launches or landings until I was older.
Seeing that technology was rapidly progressing, I never expected that the United States' space shuttle program would come to a halt and that our country would rely upon Russia- our arch-nemesis during the great space race of the 1960's, to take our astronauts to space aboard their Soyuz rockets.
For the United States, a country that beat the then Soviet Union to the moon, ending our space shuttle program and falling back on Russia is an absolute step backwards for our country. 
A decision such as this is almost as big and unexpected as NASCAR's Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough making up and joining forces after their memorable scuffle on the backstretch at Daytona following the 1979 Daytona 500. A story that is so unbelievable and far-fetched that it can't even be imagined.
The only difference is that the United State IS teaming up with Russia- a country that we fought for years during the Cold War and was our absolute enemy for decades. A country that we spent billions of dollars to beat to the moon in the 1960's during the space race.
Much has changed since then, and the Soviet Union has completely changed- becoming what is now Russia. Still however, there are many people in our country, including those of our "greatest generation", who lived through the Cold War and despite how the country has changed through the years, they still despise them- just like how certain WWII veterans still have issues with the Japanese, all these years later.
For a country that has grown with the "never give up" motto during the last 100 years, beating the Russians to the moon and flexing our space program muscles just to quit and rely on them almost isn't American in my opinion.
Despite the theories and my opinions, it still doesn't change the fact that when Atlantis returns to Earth on July 20th, our space shuttle program will officially be over for now and could possibly be the last time that we see American astronauts take the journey to space aboard their own vehicles during our lifetime.
With that said, godspeed to Atlantis and the entire space shuttle fleet. Thanks for the memories, including the bad ones. It's been an awesome journey and is one that I will never forget.






Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Thoughts On The Casey Anthony Trial And Today's Verdict

At 2:15 this afternoon, and three years after the death of Caylee Anthony, a verdict was handed down in the trial of Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony.
We are all aware of the case and the various issues that come along with it- or at least most of us do, judging by the immediate reactions that took place on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook.
In less than two days of deliberation, the twelve-person jury reached a verdict in the case, and surprised the world when they announced that Casey was not guilty of all charges except for lying to the police.
Most people, who after hearing the verdict, became extremely angry that justice was not served for the slain two-year-old and that the legal system of the United States is flawed. I couldn't DISAGREE more.
We Americans, who just celebrated the 235th birthday of our country- live in one that is free and unlike any other in the world. Along with those freedoms, is the right to a fair trial. Along with this, a suspect MUST be proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt for a guilty verdict to be handed down from a jury of our own peers.
Judging by all the things that the public knows about Casey Anthony and the days before and after the death of her daughter, the signs definitely point that Casey is guilty. Everything adds up and prior to the trial, everyone thought that Casey Anthony's trial would be a slam dunk for the state of Florida and the prosecution team.
Such wasn't the case however, as the prosecution team was never able to provide concrete evidence that Casey murdered her daughter- even though everything basically added up.
The Casey Anthony trial is one one of the rare ones in which a loop-hole was exposed and the obviously-guilty suspect was able to walk and be spared of all charges. Most of the time, our country's judicial system is one that almost always gets it right- minus a few examples (OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson, etc.)
To get the down-right point of this blog, DO NOT be mad at the court system of our country! Casey Anthony and her big-wig lawyer, Jose Baez, are extremely lucky- and find a loop-hole in the system and used it to their advantage. Just like when panning for gold, there always are some pieces that slip through the screen while others don't. Casey was one of the "smaller" pieces.
Also, there is an uproar from people who are disgusted that Casey's lawyer, Jose Baez, spent Tuesday night at a restaurant across the street from the courthouse- drinking champagne and "celebrating".
The popular issue that I'm hearing from this is that Jose and his cronies are celebrating that they "won" and that an obviously-guilty Casey Anthony was spared of all major charges in the long trial that took place in Orlando.
We need to understand that after a trial that lasted over a month, that Baez may have wanted to simply celebrate that the trial was finally over, and that he will finally be able to see his family again.

Introduction

Lately, I have found myself becoming very passionate and formulating unique opinions, current events and just random topics. Before now, I didn't have a platform to writer about these subjects, but only the website in which I cover NASCAR for.
With the creation of this page, I now have the ability to channel my thoughts and ideas and be able to look back at them down the road.