How Does Rosie Know?

Rosie O’Donnell is convinced…..that Tom Cruise isn’t gay!

The other night on Piers Morgan Tonight Rosie told America that she was super-sure Tom isn’t a big ole’ homo – wanna know how she can be sooo certain. Turns out, Tom drives race cars. Rosie said:

“A lot of people have said to me oh you know so and so…are they gay? I personally don’t know a star who I have come to know and become intimately friendly in my life with who is living a false reality. I don’t, I really don’t. People say to me all the time ‘Tom Cruise is gay.’ I’ve been around Tom Cruise a lot. Tom Cruise drives race cars. I do not think Tom Cruise is gay.”

The video is not online – but you can hear the audio here in a segment from The Gary and Dino Show. Gary and Dino played the clip from CNN and you can hear how, even Piers is incredulous at Rosie’s comment.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Not all gay dudes are into hair dressing, decorating and musical theater – not all lesbians are into home improvement and drive dual axl trucks!

I was kinda shocked to hear such an ignorant statement coming from Rosie. Rick Santorum maybe, but not Rosie!

All stereotypes are based somewhat in reality – otherwise they wouldn’t exist. But maybe Rosie could come up with better reasoning.

Perhaps if she really thought about it – Rosie could come up with other reasons she knows Tom isn’t gay. If for instance – she had seen him spend time lovingly with his wife and children or if she had never seen him having sex with a dude….. those might be more concrete examples of how she “knows” he isn’t gay.

Rosie needs to meet Evan Darling and read the recent story on Q4G about openly gay F1 Driver Mike Beuttler – heck, she should just add Queers4Gears to her bookmarks. We even welcome straight readers like…. Tom Cruise. (allegedly)

(thanks to the Gary and Dino Show for the Audio – everyone needs to listen to their show online or on iTunes.)

Q4G Interview: Meet Luke Lucky Huff

Luke Huff

Luke Lucky Huff is a professional motorcycle racer from a small town in Ohio. He now resides in Los Angeles with his partner and is the owner of Lucky Management helping to promote careers in motorcycle racing. Luke plans to run a full season of AMA as well as the WERA Motorcycle Roadracing & Willow Springs Motorcycle Club. The racing season begins this coming weekend, Jan 7 & 8 at Autoclub Speedway in Fontana, CA. Queers4Gears’ Adam Lovelace sat down to ask Luke a few questions:

Q4G: Where are you from?

LH: I was raised in the small rural farming community of the Village of Berkey, Ohio. I attended school in the same building from preschool, kindergarten, and 1-8th grade. I went on to St. Francis de Sales High School in the city of Toldeo, Ohio (our neighboring metropolis). After graduating, I wanted to pursue my passion at the time, filming professional skateboarding (and skateboarding myself). My parents helped me find an apartment and a job in San Diego and I was on my own on the other side of the country at age 19. After less than a year I yearned for more action than the sleepy town of Ocean Beach had to offer, so I moved north to Hollywood in the year 2000. I stayed in Hollywood for about 6 years during which time I had asked my parents to help me find a used motorcycle (my parents had owned a used car dealership in Ohio since 1982). When I found the one that I felt suited me, they surprised me by paying for it as a combined x-mas/birthday present in 2004! From then on, I slowly leaned toward sport bikes and learning how to go faster and began to love sport bike racing. In 2009, I was hit on the freeway and it forced me to re-think what I was doing on a bike. I had been riding canyons aggressively and knew I should probably start going to the track where aggressive riding belongs. This was the wake up call that I needed.

Q4G: What series do you currently race in?
LH: I currently participate in the following race series: AMA Pro Racing, WERA West, Willow Springs Motorcycle Club (WSMC), American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM), California State Championship (CSC).

Q4G: Did you really just start racing in 2010?
LH: I bought a used Yamaha R6 in the summer of 2010, about a year after my accident on the street. I did a handful of trackdays in Aug/Sept. of ’10 and then picked up my novice race license that September.

Q4G: Do you race full-time?
LH: I would say I do race full-time in that I compete in some of the above mentioned series for their full seasons. Next year, I plan to attend the complete seasons of AMA, WERA West, WSMC, and CSC barring any conflicting dates between series. That should keep me busy from January till October in 2012.

Q4G: How did you get started in racing?
LH: Before I had the accident on the street, a friend of mine who had brought me under his wing to show me the ropes on how to ride a sport bike well had begun his own sport bike racing career. Jeremy Simmons had previously raced dirt bikes in his younger years and decided “why not see how far I can go with road racing motorcycles”. Due in part to that ideology and my recent accident, I thought I should adapt that idea and see if I can answer it on my own.

Q4G: Do you follow any other racing series?
LH: Sometimes I think I follow too many race series! haha. I’m pretty much up-to-date on the goings on in MotoGP, Moto2, 125s (soon to be Moto3), WSBK, WSS, BSB, AMA, Australian SBK, South African SBK, TT racing, TTXGP, and then there’s the 4-wheeled racing… WRC, ALMS, F1, etc.

Luke Huff and Marco Simoncelli

Q4G: Your Facebook page has a photo of you with Marco Simoncelli who was killed in October, 2011 in the Malaysian MotoGP race. How has his death affected you and/or the sport of motorcycle racing?
LH: Many feel Marco’s death has put somewhat of a dark cloud on the risk involved. Just this past weekend, I had organized 2 screenings of the new MotoGP documentary, “FASTEST” with director, Mark Neale. In the documentary, Marco Simoncelli is interviewed and shown repeatedly because it was finished before his passing. Many said they find it more difficult to watch and it makes it somewhat sad to see. I find it the exact opposite. Marco clearly had a love of life and his life was centered around his love of racing. Many pictures, quotes, etc demonstrate his passion for racing and seeing him on the screen again, being shown more of his personality, and watching him race one more time just invigorates my soul and makes me want to live my life as much as he did. I had the chance to meet him very briefly when the photo was taken and he was more than happy to allow a whole crowd of fans take pictures and ask questions during an impromptu visit to his garage at Laguna Seca in 2010.

Q4G: Not only do you race, but you also own your own management company where you represent other riders? Tell us about that and how that is going?
LH: My entire life I’ve always held management positions in various lines of work. I always find myself somehow directed to management whether I do it consciously or not. When I had decided to go racing myself, I think I had 3 sponsors before I had my race license. My brain just can’t stop thinking like a business, so I address those issues before silly things like having a license. I had 13 sponsors on my list by the time I held a novice license for just 2 months. Many of my friends I raced against didn’t understand how I did it because most racers have the mind-set of “I go fast, then sponsors come to me”. Using this knowledge, I noticed many incredibly talented riders were struggling with obtaining sponsors and more importantly, funding. I thought to myself, I seem to have this innate ability to make the business side of anything work, so I took on one racer that was destined for greatness, Bryce Prince. As a purely voluntary effort, I wanted to help Bryce gain more sponsorship and help direct his career as he began his transition from winning multiple club racing championships to racing on the Pro level in AMA for 2012. As I started to explore what he would need and how to get him the proper funding, I realized there are a lot of people in the same situation, and none of them seem to understand the complexity of their situation. At that point, I decided to form Lucky Management where I could represent a variety of racers and hopefully enable them to go racing at the pro level. I just recently launched my new website: www.Lucky-Management.com which is a B2B website to help facilitate my goals of drawing out funding for my riders. The initial response has been wonderful and I’m in discussions with numerous companies to make this work for 2012. I’m taking a new approach to sponsorships where the companies are forming partnerships with the riders and their team managers to fulfill whatever needs the companies have specific to them. Gone are the days when a fast rider can slap a sticker on his bike and ask for a big chunk of money. Now we must be open-minded and get creative to bring those companies a better and more real return on their investment. The roles have changed and we are now given the responsibility of pleasing the needs of the partners (sponsors).

on track action......

Q4G: You are putting together a fund-raising charity race to benefit cancer research. How is that going? Do you have any details that can be released yet?
LH: I can tell you the fund-raiser is a motorcycle race event which will be held at Willow Springs International Raceway after the end of the 2012 AMA Pro Racing season has ended. The beneficiary is www.CancerResearch.org. The event is tentatively scheduled for September 30th, 2012 but the exact date has not been confirmed. The idea behind the event is to bring together motorcycle racers from across the country to raise donations for cancer research and do what we know (racing) to give back to the community. I’m expecting a lot of participation from racers of many different series including, AMA, WERA, WSMC, AFM, CSC, CVMA, etc. We may even have a guest or two from outside of the US. As soon as more details are established, a website and Facebook page will be set up and the word will go out in force.

Q4G: What are your future aspirations?
LH: My main focus is the management company. I view that as my long-term project that I will continue to fine-tune and operate for many many years to come. Over time, I would like to build the site much larger to include partnership opportunities with racers and teams around the world in various motorsports, not just motorcycle racing. For 2012, I’m planning to run my first season of AMA Pro Supersport to further push that idea of “how far can I go in road racing?”. I would like to win a couple club racing championships as well. I will always be working for the riders I represent, even when I’m at my own race weekend. IPhone in hand and laptop open constantly doing whatever I can to improve the business and help their careers. I also just had an article written about me in the December issue of RoadRacing World magazine on pages 76 & 77.

Q4G: Being openly gay in the series, have you had any negative reactions with competitors or the sanctioning body?
LH: Being openly gay in racing sounds like a difficult marriage of personalities, but it’s not really. One’s sexual preference rarely comes up at the race track other than an occasional cat call or comment about women in general. Since almost every race series also has women racers that regularly beat many of the guys out there, the comments are quickly dissipated when someone makes a remark about that same girl passing them and knowing how to race a bike better. The same can be said about negative comments about gay people in general. It’s very rare I’ve ever heard anyone act or speak with a homophobic tone at the track. Even then, the person who made the comment in poor taste would usually apologize later when word gets around to them that I or someone else in the paddock is in fact gay. I don’t feel that I have any larger hurdles to clear than any other racer in the paddock and the sheer fact that your performance on the track by you alone riding your motorcycle is one of the reasons I’m so drawn to this sport. No one can claim they are faster or better. They either beat you on the track or they didn’t. Lucky for me, not many have.

Q4G: I see that you are engaged. Does he race, or is he involved with racing?
LH: I put my status as “engaged” more as a joke because well, I can’t be engaged to another man in the State of California. I have been with my partner, Danny, for a few years now and he doesn’t have much interest in riding a motorcycle after dealing with my accident a couple years ago when our relationship was still new. Although it worries him to see me risk so much on the track, he knows it’s my passion and it’s not something that can be taken away. Danny is slowly accepting the idea that I’m going to be involved in racing more and more, so who knows; maybe we’ll get him on the track some day.

credit Luke Huff

Q4G: Will you come on the Queers4gears Radio show?

LH: Yeah, I’d be happy to come on the radio show!

For more info on Luke, please check out his website or links on Facebook.

http://www.Lucky-Management.com

http://www.facebook.com/LuckyManagement

http://www.facebook.com/LukeLuckyHuff

Interview by Adam Lovelace, follow Adam on Twitter (@aclovelace )

Aussie V8 Sydney Telstra 500 Preview

This weekend’s Sydney Telstra 500 marks the final event of the 2011 V8 Supercar season. The title is still up for grabs between Team Vodafone teammates Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.

Whincup enters the race with the advantage over Lowndsey, but the 888 Racing duo has never had much good luck around the challenging street circuit around Sydney Olympic Park. Last year the top three contenders in the championship were running nose to tail when the rain began to pour in Sydney, and all three crashed at the same time, in the same corner, from the same overcooked-it-on-slicks mistake. One of those drivers was Jamie Whincup, and the advantage going into that round was Dick Johnson Racing’s James Courtney who ended up taking the title in his battered Falcon. Lowndes also had an incident in that fateful race for the second consecutive year. Both Vodafone boys are hoping for better luck in Homebush this time round.

Either man can take the title by the end of Sunday’s second 250 kilometer sprint race, and the gorgeous Sydney street circuit always pans out to be an exciting weekend of the world’s top touring car series. Watch this space for updates as the weekend progresses.

On a side note: all month long the V8 Supercar circus has been supporting Movember, the growing of cheesy mustaches in honor of Breast Cancer awareness and research. This photo of DJR’s Steven Johnson makes him look more like a redneck American at a tractor pull (I speak from experience; I love tractor pulling) than a proper Aussie racing driver.

What really takes the cake, though, are the facial accessorizing done by Craig Lowndes and Ford Performance Racing’s Will Davison. I couldn’t find any good photos of them for this article, but if you get a chance, please go watch any video clip either man has appeared in this past month. Now those are some mustaches that must be seen to be believed! Seriously, both drivers are sporting some wicked ’70s porn-’staches. And if you think they aren’t overt porn-’staches then I don’t know what is! These two men have always been rather cute (to me at least), but damn… Turn OFF! (and I’m a bearded man myself, so that’s sayin’ something!)

Interview: Katherine Legge

I had a chance to chat with former Champ Car standout, DTM driver, and IZOD Indycar Series hopeful Katherine Legge. Although she was unable to put together a ride for 2011, Katherine has been hard at work to get back in an open-wheel car. Follow Katherine at @katherinelegge on Twitter to stay up to date on news and notes from this lovely lady. Queers4Gears wishes Ms. Legge the best of luck in 2012!

Credit Katherine Legge PR

The past couple of weeks have been very hard for Indycar and the racing community. Can you give some feedback on your thoughts about the incident in Vegas and Dan Wheldon?

KL: I mean…it was tragic. It was difficult to actually believe it happened in the way it did. It was such a huge accident…the way it happened was unbelievable. It was awful, and obviously all the thoughts and prayers are to the Wheldons. I knew him since I was 9. We raced go-karts together. He was older, and I followed his footsteps so to speak. I regret I didn’t know him better. From all the lovely things people have said about him he sounded like a fantastic guy. You realize as a driver things like that can happen, you take those risks knowingly and you prepare yourself and your friends and family for those risks…and how they would react if that happened. It’s a selfish sport in that respect.

You had a spectacular crash at Road America in 2006 in a Champ Car that you were uninjured in. Do you think something like a closed cockpit is needed?

KL: Gosh, I really don’t know. I’m not qualified to say. All of the drivers and officials are getting together to decide. Not having driven this current Indycar, I can’t really say. At the end of the day, there are things that can be done to increase the safety, but it is racing and will always be dangerous. But, I am for anything that will make it safer whether that be a closed cockpit or Plexi-glass over the catch fence or whatever.

You have been trying to pull together sponsorship to get back in the car, has 2011 been frustrating or has it motivated you to work even harder?

KL: It’s been really tough actually. I made the decision to come back here quite late and didn’t really start until January. I did think I would have gotten the occasional 1 off race, but it has been really tough. It has been a very long very difficult year. I cannot wait to get back in the car. One thing it has done, it has made me learn a lot about myself, my strengths and weaknesses, and I will be a better driver for it when I get back in a car.

Have you had any movement on the sponsorship front for 2012?

KL: Yeah, we are in talks with a number different people and teams. It is looking positive, but no contracts have been signed yet. It is hard to get the bits and pieces in place. You have to put together the primary sponsor, then associate sponsors, but you can’t sign associate sponsors until the primary has been signed and a team in place. There is a lot of positive interest though. Right now out of respect of Dan everything has been laying low the past couple of weeks. Hopefully before the teams take delivery of the new car (December 15th) we may have something in place.

How much do you think your experience in the higher-horsepower Champ Car cars would or will help you in the new 2012 Indycar?

KL: I am hoping it helps. I remember when we first got the new Panoz chassis and had to develop it. I hope that experience will come in handy. It has been a while since I’ve been in an open wheel car, but after a day or so I will be up to speed.

How would you sum up your DTM experience?

KL: Haha…hmm…good question! I learned a lot from going back over to Europe and doing DTM and learned a lot about myself, what drives me, racing, and driving different kinds of cars. It was a difficult experience, but everything that is difficult makes you stronger and more positive. It made me an all around better driver.

Credit Katherine Legge PR

What do you have playing on your iPod these days?

KL: Oh goodness, actually I need to update it because I am going to Paris for an FIA meeting and to visit my Dad, so I need to get that sorted. But actually, I just switched phones; I had an iPhone in England, and need to transfer everything over.

What is your perfect “girl’s night out”?

KL: Haha, would probably be a good restaurant, a few good friends, some drinks…just laughing and not having to think about racing, which I do 24/7. It would be nice to relax and find out what goes on in the normal world!

Who do you think is the most underrated Indycar driver?

KL: Me? (laughs)…I’m not sure. I’m just going to say me to be politically correct and not make anyone mad. I’m not on the outside and I think from the outside is where drivers get underrated. The people inside Indycar know that the drivers are talented.

I ask that question because a lot has been said in the media about Dario Franchitti being highly underrated by people despite all of his success.

KL: The people in Indycar know how incredibly talented he is. There’s no question about that.

What is your favorite road car of all time?

KL: The old Ford F40…definitely…and the gull-wing Mercedes. I had a poster of it on my wall as a kid. That’s kind of embarrassing to admit! Those are 2 very iconic cars. I like old American muscle cars as well. Anything from the 60′s and 70′s.

Credit Katherine Legge PR

Who is someone that inspires you?

KL: I get inspiration from a bunch of different people. My parents are obviously an inspiration for me. I run stuff by them and they haven’t had it easy in any way shape or form. My friends as well. It’s difficult to say there is any one person I aspire to be like, but growing up it was Aryton Senna for sure.

Is there anything you’d like to say or talk about that you are never asked about in interviews?

KL: No not really. I’m quite private, and I’m very careful about what I say on Facebook and Twitter because I don’t want to be taken the wrong way. I don’t want to put everything out there and leave nothing to the imagination. I like to have an air of mystery about me so to speak.

Ross (@driverswanted07)

Gaynalysis: The Talladega Tandem

The gaynalysis is just one gay NASCAR fan’s take on the race weekend. You can read the straight recap of the race from Talladega by clicking here.

credit: Kevin R Tengesdal

This week’s Gaynalysis is dedicated to Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli.

NASCAR had plans to break up the two car tandems this weekend but for the most part it didn’t work. The two car tandems still dominated the show but I think the lower pressure relief valve did create a “back pack.”

This “back pack” allowed cars to race in an old style pack and keep within view of the pairings that broke away. Lots of these guys were points racing and riding around in the back trying to avoid the big ones.

That’s not racing – but it is the reality of a points Championship…. for Hot Carl, this rear riding philosophy made sense…. but I don’t think it made much sense for the 48.

Jimmie came into the race 35 points out of 1st but his pussy-footing around in the back ensured he left Talladega 50 points off the pace…. there will be no six-time… JJ is done. Chad and Jimmie needed to bring it on Sunday and they didn’t.

There are some in the media who have said that the domination of the vanilla Johnson led to the stagnation and decline in ratings…. wonder who they’ll blame next year?

I have to admit a little guilt on this issue myself: I wanted anyone but Jimmie to win but now that he’s out… I realize I still want him in the hunt. I want the best Chase possible. In my opinion there are only 4 divas with a chance to win at this point. (Harvick is 25 points out… so I will add him as a 5th maybe…but only because we are heading to Martinsville)

The big drama came from who paired up with whom – and more importantly, who left “whom” in the dust. Trevor Bayne dropped Jeff Gordon like Tony Stewart’s dead weight.

There were team orders? Drivers chose teammates to pair up with? Why I’m shocked to hear there is gambling in this establishment!

Let’s review: Trevor Bayne lots his drafting partner after he rammed Robby Gordon in the rear once a little too often and ripped that pink thing apart! Jeff Gordon lost his partner after Mark Martin got involved in a late race caution with Little Orphan ~~Annie~~ Denny.

Over the radio the #24 and the baby ~~faced~~ butted Bayne decided to work together. As the green flag fell someone on Trevor’s radio let him know that fellow Ford driver Matt Kenseth needed a partner and Trevor and Gordon got an annulment.

After the race Gordon said, “He (Trevor) feels terrible about it. Listen, at that point you work with anybody that you can when you lose your partner then you’re desperate to find somebody. I was going to go with the No. 13 but Trevor lined up behind me and when he agreed to it and I said hey, we can’t go with a better person than that. He’s got a fast race car; we already have history of working well together and I thought it was a no-brainer. But I probably should have known better. I think everybody knew coming into the weekend, the Fords made it very clear about what they were doing in working with one another and helping one another out and all those things. So I didn’t expect him to commit to me on the radio. I expected him to say, ‘Man, I’m sorry; I can’t.’ And when he said, ‘Yeah, I’m pushing you; we’re good’; I believed him. But I think they had a different plan.”

Bayne took to Twitter, “I’m not happy about what this has become… It’s too premeditated. We should be able to go with whoever is around” After Wood Brothers, Roush and Ford officials were quick to say there were no team orders, Bayne tweeted (and since deleted),”I would have rather pulled over and finished last than tell (Jeff) I would work with him and then be strong-armed into bailing.”

Team orders have always been here….. so have incestuious pairings at plate races… this is nothing new. Is it racing? NOPE – but it is points racing and it’s plate racing. If the big bomb goes off – the only thing left on Earth will be cock-roaches and 2 fans complaining about plate racing…. one who hates the pack and one who hates tandems.

The one thing that really did tick-off my inner race fan was seeing the ~~drivers~~ divas go slowly on pit road on purpose. They were letting other drivers pass them in the pits so they could line up with their dance partner. After weeks of hearing about every hundreth of a second counting to the point where people’s jobs depended on it….. we find out…. not so much.

I understand the old adage, “you have to finish to finish first,” so some of the rear riding points racing is to be expected – but seeing car after car slow on pit road just didn’t “look right.”

Instead of a Q4G’s shout-out this week….. we are going to give out a few hugs. Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick….. you poor thangs. Kurt and Kevin bought losing numbers in the Alabama lottery.

Compete Magazine: Sports Diversity Expo and Awards

Our friends at Compete Magazine are hosting the Sports Diversity Expo in November 5th in Phoenix, AZ. You will have a chance to meet Ben Cohen the Founder of StandUp! Foundation and Rugby World Cup Winner! The expo is a part of Compete Magazine’s mission “to unite the gay and straight communities through sports.” This Expo is for You – Be part of it! Meet others interested in sports – meet athletes from the local teams – recruit for your team – find out about other ways to get involved. Learn more about the expo:

Gaynalysis: Kentucky Indy 300

For the “straight” scoop checkout the Kentucky Indy 300 recap here from Indycar.com. Otherwise, buckle up for the Gaynalysis!

Britney Spears winning a Grammy (ok, she has 1), Miss Maine beating Miss Texas for Miss America, Ralph Nader becoming president, Payless Shoes being fashionable, Ed Carpenter winning an Indycar race. All of those things are highly unlikely events, but one of them became reality on Sunday. Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher Racing beat Dario Franchitti and Chip Ganassi Racing by .0098 seconds at the line (6th closest finish in Indycar history) after a side-by-side battle in the closing laps to win the Indy Kentucky 300. Cue the fan love…glitter, rainbows, hearts, dancing unicorns, confetti, and techno-music.

For Indycar fans, this race was what makes us all love the series. Despite the abysmal crowd on a beautiful Kentucky afternoon, fans were treated to 217mph 2 and 3-wide racing, an insanely close finish, and an underdog/ fan favorite driver and team winning the race. There are few people in Indycar that are more respected and loved by fans than Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter, so to see the team triumph at their signature track is a beautiful thing. I will go on record in saying that barring any crazy antics in Las Vegas, this will be the most popular win of the season. The win and great racings comes as the question lingers if Kentucky will be back on the schedule next year due to falling attendance and a lack of a title sponsor and if Sarah Fisher Racing will return next year as Dollar General will not be returning to the team in 2012.

Despite leading the race early from the pole, Will Power finished 19^th after a pit road altercation with Ana Beatriz. Beatriz’s pit crew waved her to leave her pit as Power was entering his with the front wing of Beatriz’s car gashing the sidepod of Power’s. Yes, Ana should have been held in her pit until she was clear, but who is the Penske decision-maker that told the leader to pit when pit road was at its busiest? Pit stall selection in Indycar is based on the previous qualifying position at the last track of that type. The last oval was New Hampshire where Power qualified poorly which gave him a bad stall on pit lane at Kentucky. I’m pointing fingers at both crews for equally poor calls. Heading into the Las Vegas finale, Power now trails Franchitti by 18 points.

Unfortunately, the Power/Beatriz incident was not the only pit road issue for the day. It was apparently Whack-A-Crew-Member , Bowling-for-Tire-Changers, or Pit-Road-Bumper-Cars day. Pippa Mann reportedly ran into a Buddy Rice crew member, Simona de Silvestro lost control leaving her pit stall and slid into EJ Viso’s Crew Chief (they were having engine stalling/power issues which may have been the culprit), JR Hildebrand ran into crewman Eric Scheumann who sustained a lower leg injury, and Alex Lloyd was hit by Marco Andretti taking them both out of the race. There may be more I have forgotten, but I think that is enough regardless. The Indycar boys and girls better get their act together because there will be around 5 additional cars on pit lane at the finale in Vegas.

Late in the race, Ana Beatriz lost control and made a hard hit to the Turn 4 wall. Beatriz was assisted out of the car. She received a minor knee injury requiring stitches. This would be the only major on-track incident of the day with the other cautions being for debris and Simona’s pit lane spin.

Kentucky also proved to be a very good race for rookies and other part-timers as well. Wade Cunningham, making his 2nd appearance of the season, finished the day in 7th. Buddy Rice in the #44Fuzzy’s Vodka Panther Racing machine battled to finish 9th. And, in his first non-Indy 500 race since 2008, Townsend Bell climbed to finish 11th after starting 26th. Sidenote: Wade Cunningham is one good-looking little Kiwi. Call me!

Dan Wheldon, after failing tech inspection before qualifying, ended up starting from the rear of the field and finished 14th. I expected more from Wheldon, but I’m sure the #77 team spent most of the day getting all the bugs worked out for the Vegas race, or at least that is what I hope. Otherwise, the performance was certainly uninspiring.

With Kentucky in the books, the stage is set for the season finale in Las Vegas. The championship battle will be decided between Franchitti and Power, Dan Wheldon may split $5million with a lucky fan, and the weekend is packed with activity on and off the track that can all be found here. Expect the smoother Vegas track to provide even more 2 and 3-wide racing than Kentucky. Can you handle that? The race will be live on ABC at 3 Eastern and keep an eye out for ticket and paddock pass giveaways on Twitter from drivers and teams and make plans to see the race in person if you can. Tell a friend, tell your co-workers, tell your dog…watch!

Ross (@driverswanted07)

Gaynalysis: Dover Chase Race 2011

The Gaynalysis is just one gay NASCAR fan’s take on the race weekend. You can read the “straight” recap of the AAA 400 from Dover, Delaware by clicking here.

credit: Kevin R Tengesdal

Kurt Busch won at Dover – did I say Kurt won, I’m sorry – I meant to say that Hot Carl and Jimmie lost.

After a week of listening to pundits saying Jimmie and Chad were done – that the #48 had no chance – Johnson showed up at one of his better tracks and showed a little bit of what has led that team to so many championships.

The #48 led the most laps (156) but he admittedly screwed up the last two restarts and let Kurt Busch jump out to a huge lead.

Hot Carl lost it for himself much earlier in the race. He led early – 116 laps but then was flagged by NASCAR for speeding on pit road. After serving a pass-through penalty the #99 found himself 2 laps down. He did earn those laps back through the last few cautions – and it looked like he might have a chance to surmount the deficit and run for the win.

But the #22 was too good on the those last restarts. Johnson, Edwards and Kurt Busch were clearly the fastest cars on the track and they led the bulk of the laps – so it was nice to see the three best cars finish one-two-three. This race did not come down to fuel milage.

The three also shook-up the points race. After winning the first two races of the Chase – Tony Stewart finished two laps down and tumbled in the standings.

Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards are tied for the lead in the points. The top-9 drivers are within 19 points – so anyone of these guys still has a chance. I think that Hamlin, Newman and Earnhardt Jr. are too far back… the top-9 guys are simply running too well.

Earnhardt had a long day at Dover. Early in the race he went several laps down when a suspension part failed. Then the #88 crew failed and sent Dale out with a lose tire; it was too much to overcome.

Jeff Gordon had an awful qualifying effort and started 34th. He did manage to get back to a 12th place finish – but the #24 did not have the goods to run in the top-5.

There really wasn’t much drama on the track. Kurt was good and for once was not yelling at his team. The sharp words exchanged last week between Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were smoothed over. “You are doing a hell of a job,” said Knaus – with Jimmie replying “Thank you. Let’s do this, boys. Let’s get this.”

Looks like someone brought Chad and 5-time some cookies and milk.

This week’s Q4G shout-out goes to Kasey Kahne and the #4 Redbull Team – Heyyyyyyyyyy Kasey and Red Bull. They came home P-4 on Sunday. They ran in or near the top-5 all day. Recently the team announced that there still was no deal to sell the team – and most of the guys would be out of a job at the end of the season. Sure, Kasey has his seat next year at Hendrick – but it would be really easy for that entire group to check out early – and none of them quit. They bring a fast car to the track every week.

Lastly, I will close with some of the drama from the Nationwide Race on Saturday. During one caution, Reed Sorenson brought the #32 to pit road…..while pit road was closed. According to the rules – Reed needed to go to the rear on the restart.

But no one from NASCAR came over the radio and gave Reed orders to move back…. so he didn’t. After the race started, NASCAR stated that it was too late. They admitted that they messed up by not communicating to the #32 – but since the race restarted, there was nothing they could do about it.

Fair enough – a mistake was made and NASCAR admitted it. You can’t blame Reed for not moving back in line on his own – or can you?

Both Reed and his crew chief knew the penalty was coming – they were waiting for word to come from NASCAR…..and it never did.

Food for thought; what if NASCAR were like Golf. Golfer are expected to penalize themselves – even if no one sees their mistake. What if NASCAR drivers had to call penalties on themselves…. would that ever work?

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