Harvick is Happy

"That's why you don't ever give up, ladies and gentleman..." -- Kevin Harvick, after winning Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout

The ol' Two-Niner team (and the boss... well, actually the bosses' husband) won the Shootout in an unlikely finish, while his protege Ricky Carmichael had a rough day in the ARCA crashfest, getting smashed in the first multi-car episode of carnage of the day.  Harvick comes to play in the glitzy events - as he has victories in the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the All-Star race and now the Budweiser Shootout.

The #33 Monster/Kevin Harvick Inc. team worked hard to weld, hammer, grind and tape the car back together after the crash, earning Carmichael a 21st-place finish. It was an almost-Dale Jr.-like atmosphere around Carmichael before the race, as the Florida native was surrounded by reporters, cameras, fans, and a couple of drivers named Harvick and Montoya.

Random rants:  The ARCA boys and girls need some lessons in patience - but won't learn 'em from the Cup guys... Someone on this blog predicted a wild Shootout. If I could only remember who... AJ Allmendinger deserves a full-time ride... David Stremme was a weapon in the Shootout, but I like the new Verizon paint scheme. The Verizon promotions include the key cards at local hotels. They include shots of the car - but no mention of the driver... The other David, this one Ragan, was taken out early in the race, but seems poised for a breakout season if he improves nearly as much as he did last season... I know to never, ever mention the weather again in this blog... and I also know not to blog after having a big can of Monster Energy drink (the no-carb variety) owing to the mis-spellings and poor punctuation... and speedy recoveries for the three drivers sent to the hospital as a result of ARCA incidents...