Radio Show Debut

Just received the following message from Indiana Bureau Chief and Infrequent guest columnist Danny B whose making’ his big Radio Show debut this Sunday… You can check him out on The Fan, Indiana’s AM1070. (9-11AM EASTERN)

You’ll have to tune-in as I have NO idea what he’ll be talkin’ about besides how BIG of a Princess Danicker fan he is… (NOT!)

EVER WANTED TO HOST YOUR OWN SPORTSTALK SHOW? HERE'S YOUR CHANCE!
This Sunday at 9am, 1070 The Fan debuts our brand new show - "The Voice of the Fan." Three Fan listeners will host their own 2-hour sports talk show!Chuck Bredl, Leah Henley, and Dan Bridges are the lucky 3 who will be our first-ever hosts. In future weeks, we'll have other listeners take their shot at broadcasting glory! And yes, it could be you!
Those we really like will be invited back for subsequent shows. If you have ever dreamed of hosting a sportstalk show like Kravitz & Eddie or Mike and Mike, here's your chance!

FOR MORE INFO - AM1070

FAR OUT!

As Y’all may know by now… I’m NOT a huge fan ‘O Princess Danicker’s… And while she may be the most popular driver in Indy Car, with Milka Duno potentially being the Hottest, by far the MOST WAY COOLEST! Is none other then Sarah Fisher.

As I was totally flabbergasted to receive a hand written Thank You card in the mail from Sarah just the other day… Holding the car to open it, I noticed there was a small bulge in the envelope… HMM? Wonder what that could be as I opened the card. Then there was a very nice personalized note from Sarah saying how she’d hoped to have an excellent month at Indy this year, but obviously things didn’t turn out quite so well and enclosed was a piece of her racecar which we all recall was heavily damaged when collecting a spinning Tony Kanaan… Along with Sarah saying she hoped to see me at Kentucky.

That just really made my day! As I was bowled over by this gesture on Sarah’s part! I mean C’mon; would Dan-Dan-Danicker ever do such a thing for me?

YOU ROCK SARAH!

Only wish I could afford the price ‘O petrol to go to the Blue Grass state… Good Luck in Kentucky!

Who’s Dat?

With the recent roasting of some ‘Ol curmudgeon, Err soothsayer journalist extraordinaire Robin Miller… As My Name is IRL has asked the burning question… Doesn’t he look like Mauri Rose? In his thinly guised report on mustachioed wanderers, I thought I’d alert all of uze Miller-pyles that Robin will be keeping self centered windbag Dave Despain company this Sunday evening as co-host…

Despain has billed the show as; “Two Millers for the price of one!” With said co-host and Kevin Miller of USAC as a guest, while Wind Tunnel’s burning question of the week is… What would you say or tell Robin if you met him in a bar? Send your questions/quips to Wind Tunnel…

As I’m sure that Jeff will be riveted to his TV set this Sunday evening, as Mr. Despain asks; Pardon mwah… Aren’t you Booby Ruble?

Broken record

As I’ve previously mentioned… The Google Monster has once again struck havoc upon the No Fenders site and it’ll be in a state of flux for the next few days, as I anxiously await the return to normalcy(?) as soon as my esteemed Blogmeister can complete his daunting task of rebuilding the site…

So, as Derrick Daly would say; “Hang on to your Holly-Hocks!” As hopefully he’ll have the Technical glitch fixed soon…

Thank You for your patience and continued reading…
Tomaso

GREMLINS!

FREAKIN’ GREMLINS!!!

As you may have noticed, the No Fenders site is currently experiencing a RASH of Technical Difficulties… Which it’s most esteemed Blogmeister is feverishly trying to eradicate…Perhaps it has somme-thun’ to dooze with my RASSCAR badgering, eh?

Thank You for your patience.
Kudos Blogmeister…

Washington Dry lands

(Whale it certainly AIN’T DRY here today!)

Just an escape artist, Racing against the night, A wandering hermit, Racing toward the light.

From the white sands, To the canyon lands, To the redwood stands. To the barren lands, To the barren lands...
(RUSH: Vapor Trails, Ghost Rider lyrics)

Or as perhaps RUSH would say; “Tastes like Chicken!” In deference to the three rotisseries on stage preparing said fowl while being basted by a “Roadie” in Chef’s regalia…

Otay, as I’ve already mentioned, I’m back from another very enjoyable outing in the Great Pacific Northwest’s abundance of wilderness… Having just spent the past eight days “On the Fly,” after having to partake in another FANTASTIC concert performed by The Kuh-Naidiun Power Trio, a.k.a. RUSH!

And somehow I feel that I should have been awarded double bonus points… As look Ma, NO Hands, Err… NOT only did I use my anxiously awaited “$timulus” check to pay for my outing, but I was seeing a neighboring countries performers and thus promoting Foreign Country relations, eh? Although I suppose some would argue that the moohlah that the Federal Re$erve has been printing up for said occasion was supposed to stay stateside… But DON’T worry you DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue… As unfortunately the bulk of my overly impressive $timulus check (If it ever arrives?) went straight back into the NASTY hands of Darth Vader, a.k.a. DICK Cheney… As Y’all know what the price of a gallon of petrol has been doin’ lately… SHEISE-KOPFES!

And riddle me this? Why in the HELL is the price of gasoline INFLATED 20 cents per gallon just because you’re in the cute little German Tourist-trap villas ‘O Leavenworth? As they’d jacked up the price to $4.29 per gallon, but I digress…

Having arrived at the Gorge around 5PM, we proceeded to the campground area to secure our location and set up our tent… Yet as the winds “Were A Blowin’” Mary Ellen and I laughed out loud when a gust of wind collapsed our tent, knocking it straight down after about only five minutes… And thus decided to leave it collapsed until after the concert was over, while our neighbor’s tent was trying to walk away all by itself! As somebody finally dragged it back towards us, asking; “Is this your tent?”

And like all outdoor concerts for RUSH, its always entertaining to hear the various sound systems blarin’ out their particular choice of the Kuh-Naidiun Power Trio’s vast library of music… As our next door neighbors were crankin’ out a live performance from the 2004 R30 Anniversary tour recorded in Germany…

Finally it was time to make the long walk from the campgrounds over to the venue, which is set against the perfect backdrop, as the mighty Columbia River snakes behind the stage, of which Mary Ellen informed me had three Semi Haulers directly next to it, while she counted a total of five “Newell?” Custom tour coaches and a further three semi’s parked nearby… HMM? Wonder who’s pickin’ up the tab for fueling this fleet of vehicles, eh? (Yeah, I’ll stop GROWLIN’ over those BASTARDOES SCREWING US!) As we sat on the grassy hillside, which seemed moderately filled by concert goers… And oh yeah… Guess what the price of a Schlitz Malt liquor beverage will run yuhz… $12 US Greenbacks…

The concert started promptly at 8PM with the first song being Limelight, a popular cut off of RUSH’s GRATEST Album; 1981’s Moving Pictures… Followed up by a long forgotten song off of the follow-up album Signals; Digital Man, which seemed appropriate in today’s age of portable electronic devices…

And it must be quite daunting to try and decide what 20+ songs to play, when you’re massive library contains hit songs from three decades; 1970’s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s, as the band did a fairly decent job of mixing up songs, although they managed to push the boundaries of overplaying their latest studio release Snakes & Arrows by playing eight tracks off of it…

During Geddy’s first obligatory crowd callout; Hello (Insert venues name here) How are uze doin’ out there? Geddy noted that they’d try to play a whole ton of songs if they didn’t get blown off the stage… As the winds were so strong that they actually blew the sound around! Yet, the boyzs would ultimately end up playing the entire side one of Moving Pictures: Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ and Limelight… As it was another truly impressive three hour cruise thru the annexes of RUSH’s music…

Afterwards, Mary Ellen and I used our patented follow the leader technique of helping me navigate bumpy, gravel/dirt surfaces in the darkness of night, where she simply guides me along by pulling my white cane… Which several concert onlookers were most curious about… As one slightly inebriated man approached us… Asking if he could hug me? To which we were most curious about and asked him why?; “Because I’ve NEVER hugged a Blind person before!”

Otay, I’ll play along and we briefly hugged, to which led into his telling us his whole life’s story in about five minutes… While asking me for repeated hugs…

Can I Hug you?

You guys probably don’t like people who kill deer? Do you like cabbage? I’m a tree murderer… Yeah, I’m a logger from Aberdeen and my wife’s a beautician who paints nails,

Can I Hug you?

I’m 41, how old are you?

Can we hug?; To which I replied; “Dude, we’ve already hugged!”

As we bid our farewells, a second man approached us and asked me if I’d enjoyed the concert? Why yes I did, as I was afraid to mention that it was actually my 16th time to see the venerable Kuh-Naidiun Power Trio…

Yet, after having spent over one hour scouring ze internets for a FRILLIN’ Concert review by our esteemed local newspapers, I’ve given up, as apparently they deemed RUSH NOT WORTHY of said review… And thus I’ll leave you with a review from The Great White North, held two nights prior to The Gorge performance…

RUSH ROCKS GM PLACE

UPDATE:

Here's a great review sent to me via AZ Bureau Chief Mary Jane; Greatness, thy name is Neil Peart

Back to the WET Stuff

Having just returned from an enjoyable week’s outing in the High Desert Dry lands, a.k.a. the other side of Washington State… Don’t uze just luv makin’ mistakes? As I’ve just spent the early hours of the morning busily hackin’ away at the keyboard, with much knucel bangin’ word butchery in my quest to crank out a story ‘bout Rubino “Officially” breaking Ricardo Patrese’s all time Grand Prix starting record of 256 starts… Only to discover at the end of the story that its still NOT a done dealoe… As although some sources claim this to be the ageless Brazilian’s 260th Grand Prix, they only recognize it as his 256th career start and hence, the definitive 257th GP start will be made at the French Grand Prix in a fortnight from this weekends outing on the Il Notre Dam at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve…

And with the plethora of motor racing this weekend, I’m already behind the eight-ball, having not yet reviewed Friday’s practice session as Qualifying looms on the horizon… Although I do intend to watch this evening’s frivolities at TEXX-ARSE Wurld Motor speedway

HMM? Wonder if promoter extraordinaire Edward “The Goose” Gossage will be putting’ out any bounties for Princess Danicker to toss her helmet?

Kuh-Naidiun Crunch

Some of you may have heard by now that John Rutsey is “No longer a Working Man…” As the following story was sent to me by Indiana Bureau Chief Danny B, whose favourite RUSH song is Working Man… Since I didn’t hear of the “Kuh-Naidiun Power Trio” until 1979, I never saw the band perform with their first drummer…

John Rutsey, Rush's First Drummer, Dies
AOL
Posted: 2008-05-14 18:10:52
Filed Under: Star Obituaries, Music News
(May 14) - Rock drummer John Rutsey, who co-founded progressive rock band Rush but left because of health reasons after recording the group's debut album, died over the weekend at age 55, their management company said.

Yet… We’re only immortal -- For a limited time
As; Time is a gypsy caravan that steals away in the nightTo leave you stranded in dreamland

And; Distance is a long-range filter and Memory a flickering light
(Lyrics: RUSH; Roll the Bones, Dreamline)

The Power Trio
Although it was just one year ago that I saw the band perform twice; White River & Clark County Amphitheatre’s… With an EXCELLENT show performed at Vancouver, WA, I just cannot seem to resist hearing my most favourite rock band perform…

Thus, I’m off once again to see RUSH KICK ASS at the Gorge Amphitheatre… And to do some camping with Mary Ellen for a few days, as there’s a storm a brewin… NO WAIT! That was some STUPID Indy 500 Pre-race banter... But!

As sun goes downOn the western shoreThe wind blows hard from the eastIt whips the sand into a flying spindriftAs the sun goes downOn the western shoreIt makes me feel uneasyIn the hot dry rasp of the devil windsWho cares what a fool believes
(Lyrics: RUSH; Snakes and Arrows, Spindrift)

I Am What?

Last night on Wind Tunnel, Dave Despain wouldn’t let intrepid Indy Car reporter Robin Miller leave without addressing the current SEX tape video of IRL Pitchman Gene “I AM INDY” Simonize… As Mr. Despain said wait a moment, do I hear something as the much ballyhooed I Am Indy song gently serenaded us in the background, as Mr. Despain said we’ll get to that Sir Maxxum business some other time… Now, this was entertaining as Indiana Bureau Chief Danny B had previously mentioned to me said video tape and a legal wrangle ensuing over the likeness of Mr. Simonizes jewel’s…

To which Miller gleefully deadpanned on camera, this is an SPEED exclusive Davey; I hear that the IRL is changing all of the I Am Indy decals to I AM INDECENT! To which Miller further noted how Tony George had shut down the renowned Snake Pit in order to end the full frontal nudity that was prevalent, also noting the incessant use of foul language by the current Rock bands gracing the infield section and how Mary Holman George would probably be offended by this…

Miller then urged George to re-open the Snake Pit where Mr. Simonize could perform, unless his current video was helping to sell out the Speedway? To which a chuckling Despain said; I’ve seen the still shots of the video and there’s NOTHING there to be overly impressed by…

So, be sure to get your I Am Indy memorabilia, which is destined to soon be a collectable, eh?

Indy videos

WOW! How COOL is this? As I’ve just received the following three videos from Tom of IgotShotgun.com. Although I’ve never heard of this particular video entertainment channel, Tom was kind enough to send the following videos they’ve just produced for GM.

Personally I’d go for the 180MPH ride around the Brickyard with Massimiliano (“Mad Max”) Papis… Although perhaps Massimiliano DOESN’T like being compared with Sir Maxxum, better known as the “Littlest Curve,” but then again, its NOT everyday you can have a former Formula 1 driver (Footwork, 1995) as your chauffeur in arguably Corvette’s “BADDEST” Ever production model!

Thanks once again Tom

Happy Mother’s Day

This weekend as usual is quite busy as Y’all gear up for another festive Mother’s Day… While there’s racing on both sides “O the Pond… As briefly mentioned, we’re left with only 10 Formula 1 teams for the time being, who are busy concentrating upon the four apexise of Turn 8 at the Istanbul Ring, while here stateside in Indiana, there’s a hella-lot ‘O “BOOMPIN’” going on over the first 22 grid slots…

Happy MUM’s Day, Y’all!

Chrome Horns

Well, Good Day from the Great White North… Actually it’s almost over now, as another Border crossing took almost the entire day to complete.

And its funny how there wasn’t any news about Mr. C.H. Not to be cornfuzed with Canadian Hosers… But instead that loveable Torontan… a.k.a. Paul “Chrome Horn” Tracy, as the Top Sports story from CBC News was that the Kuh-nuck’s defeated the Yanks 5-4 in the World Hockey Championships…

Thus, the only low down I’ve heard recently on any possibilities to see the Thrill from the West Hill is to have ‘Ol PT pony up $500k large in order to buy a ride with Derrick Walker’s beleaguered outfit, which apparently still has a slightly used “Whoosh Mobile” Dallara in its possession?

Hopefully Robin Miller will indeed win the lottery! NO, NOT so he’ll quit covering motorsports Jeff, but instead so he can pay for Tracy’s ride this Month ‘O May. Of course there’s always that vacant #77…

Now I’ve got to Take Off, Eh? Has anybody seen my Touk?

Great White North

OTAY, I know it’s a bit backwards to be heading North today instead of making a Run for the Border on Cinco de Mayo…

But, nevertheless I’m off to the Great White North, eh? For the next few dazes… So if there AINT’s NO New posts, you can simply “BLAME KANA-DUH!”

Dan-Dan-Danica spotting

There’s No place like home, There’s No place like home, There’s No place like home, right Toto?

DAMN! Having to hit the MUTE button so many times last weekend as there she is… It’s Princess, Hail Dan-Dan-Danica… I wore out the batteries in my remote… And every time I turn on the radio or TV there’s another talking head telling me all about the magnanimous feat she’s accomplished! As I growled listening to two bobble-head DJ’s wrestle over whether you needed to pose half naked before or after you win your first motor race first thing Monday morning… Aye Karumba!

So, while Dan-Dan-Danica is making’ the talk show rounds… Look there she is giving us cooking tips with Regis and Kelly… And was that Princess on the View swapping beauty secrets with Bah-bah Walters? And then next she’ll drop by Elaine Degenerous before wrapping up the day with the Queen Bee Oprah…

So, Ize can’ts takes its NO More… And thus I’m off to check out some cute Tibetan Puppies for the next few days…

Miles to go

Hello Mr. Castro Neeves…
Can I have your autograph, please!
Fill ‘er up?
Check your oil Sir?
Check your wipers Sir?
Do the windows for you?
Check your tires Sir?
OOH! Are those the Majic Rings?
No, just a gallon of petrol please, I’m in a bit of a hurry…
Did you see who just went by?
Princess Corni-coppa
But I’m the winner of Dancin’ with the Stars!
I’ll just have to click my heels three times and hope I’m in Kansas...

There’s No place like home, There’s No place like home, There’s No place like home…

Late Nite comedy

And I still don’t quite get the moniker; “Son of Stash,” a.k.a. Darrell Rahal Jr/Rahal 2.0… But I did indeed stay up late to catch the young Messer Graham on the Late Show with noted funny-man/hack David Letterman…

First we were treated to the usual opening monologue frivolities, of which Letterman seemed to be on a roll, being the first time I’ve tuned into his broadcast this year. Then after a somewhat entertaining Top Ten of Pope Sayings; “Did you bring the wife?” it was time for Dave’s first guest Ulma Thurman…

But hey, Dave… We want Rahal! And talk ‘bout the ultimate tease… As for some reason there was a very stupid mid-show break involving fixing the TV’s reception, which I didn’t get at all. And this allowed for another onslaught of commercials, as we kept hearing, coming up next (Trust me) is Graham Rahal…

Who finally made his way onto the Late Show set, as I sat poised to count how many times Letterman said Newman Haas Lanigan, which oddly enough never happened. But at least Dave did correctly mention a few times that Rahal was the current winner of an Indy Car series race… Well actually as we all know by now, he’s the YOUNGEST Ever winner of an Indy Car race.

And I found Graham to be fairly poised during his interview as Dave never mentioned he was part team owner, instead always playing up the father-son angle… These kids used to steal tires in the pits… Yuck-Yuck-Yuck.

And who was that guy you had on your tail at the end of the race? Did he win some dancin’ thingy? Yeah, Castroneves scares me… I’m not sure when Helio “Blue suede shoes” is ever gonna come down off cloud nine… And I was worried about finishing the deal, since last year Dan Wheldon was leading at the end and Castroneves hit him on the restart to take the win. So, I knew that Helio wouldn’t be afraid to hit me...

And I passed somebodies car for the lead prior to that, a car I think you’re pretty familiar with Dave? As I had a smile on my face from ear to ear when I passed my Dad’s car on track for the lead! Now I wonder what my Dad’s thinking. And it’s pretty good when you get your first win, well even better yet when you get it in your first start, eh?

And then Letterman made a comment ‘bout how they wouldn’t allow Graham any champagne on the victory podium since he’s under age, so we got you a bottle of Dom Paragon… go ahead and give it your best shot… To which Graham proceeded to share the spray ‘O success with various audience members…

Well done Graham!

Scrambled!

Boo hoo hoo… As I’ve just spent the past two weeks frolicking about the Lone Star state, our Nation’s capital for a whole two hours, an aborted farewell send off to Albin, a nightmarish attempt to fly home along with missing the first Grand Prix of the season, which is extraordinary for me!!! As I cannot remember the last time I wasn’t firmly affixed to the captain’s chair in front of the boob tube to watch the season opening round that I wait all winter for…

I’ve just managed to finish watching several hours of Memorex via the ‘Ol School VCR, which has left me gasping for air as I’ve succumbed to the dreaded aeroplane sickness… Better known as Economy Cabin Fever! As I know Y’all will be sheddin’ a tear for me, eh? While still trying to digest the INSANITY of the season opener from Oz.

Aw, the life “O Riley, eh? As in Radar O’Reilly! Now somebody pass me a Halls cough drop! Or perhaps the Easter Bunny will bring me some Nyquil; you know the put you into a coma cough syrup relief medicine. Yeah, don’t worry, I’m NOT operating any heavy machinery right now…

Watch the birdie

Okay, so we’re still waiting for that REALLY-REALLY-REALLY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Right, now lets see, Robin, can you pick up Kevin from the airport tomorrow? Uhm, Tony, have you kissed Super Tex’s pinky, Err, has anybody seen Gerald? And where’s that pesky Cabin fella. Right, I’ve got it! We’ll hold a press conference on… Somebody hand me the darts, BRILLIANT!

Actually the on again, off again press shin-dig is now tentatively slated for sometime this Friday?

"We're (down to) just grinding out the details," (Kevin Kalkhoven) said by telephone from London. "You know what happens when you get attorneys involved."

(Source: My Name is IRL)

Is today the day?

I’ve seen multiple reports on le Blogosphere indicating that today is the day indeed that we’ll have a REALLY- REALLY- REALLY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT regarding the much ballyhooed consolidation of Open Wheel Racing, although there still seems to be an ridiculous air of plausible deniability from the Champ Car’s Northern Indiana HQ, See;
Champ owner sees few teams in IRL

Of course, let’s consider the source of this protagonist, as it’s none other than Paul Gentilozzi, who’s the “Goofy” of the Four Moosketeers Kalkhoven and Forsythe have been letting run Champ Car into the weeds according to Robin Miller.

So stay tuned, keep ‘dem rabbit ears pointed towards the SPEED channel. Gotta run, the Bat phone’s ringing… Apparently Kevin Kalkhoven wanted to know what Robin Miller’s number was.

And it’ll be interesting to hear what the OWR Wanderer has to say tonight on Autosport Radio…

Blogger Spin Cycle

Ah, NOTHING like sharing the LUV… On Valentines Day, eh?

As for reasons unknown, we here at No Fenders are still experiencing the wrath of Technical Difficulties being caused by Blogger.com, which have been occurring since the beginning of Valentine’s day!

Hhopefully we’ll return as soon as possible! Sorry for the delay! As apparently there was too many Valentine's being sent over ze internets...

More to follow shortly...

In a New York minute

So, did y’all watch that monstrosity known as the STUPOR Bowl yesterday? Weren’t it GG’RRRRRRRRRRRRR-Great!!!

Actually, it panned out quite whale for me, as I finally broke down and turned on the boob tube to watch the last three minutes and fifteen seconds of the game, which turned out to be just the right amount ‘O pigskin action for me.

Of course I’m a little cynical ‘cause once again our Seattle Seahawks (nee Sea Chickens) got blown outta another year’s playoffs, as our beloved coach Fuzzy Zellar, err Mike Holgrem got blown out at his Alma matter, known as the place that some dude named Vince Lombardi built, better known as Lambeau Field. Yet, at least the NFL Champion NY Giants sent Green Bay packing, as now we can focus upon motor racing once again…

Back again

“Whale,” I’ve managed to return thru the snow from another enjoyable outing at the “Hobby Farm” where I successfully managed to pet three of the four Llamas. Which seem to be very sensitive animals, who don’t appreciate us Humans getting to close to them, although Jefford tried to convince me that you need to spit at them in order to gain their trust, funny guy, eh?

Now I suppose its time to get back to the “Rat Race” of scouring the newswires & internets for the latest happenings in the land of OZ. Perhaps Tony George and the Four Mooseketeers sang “Coom-bi-yah over the weekend? Hmm? Wonder how my mate Robert did this past weekend in Daytona…

It’s Alive!

There are reports coming out of Scottsdale, Arizona, that the Barrett-Jackson tent has gone up in flames… Apparently while the most outrageous piece ‘O iron was strutting towards the block…

Perhaps you’ve heard of it? Its name is Robosaurus and it’s a mere forty feet tall and is known as the king of all Transformers. Apparently it runs on a steady diet of Lincoln’s, Cadillac’s and Subaru’s too…

Yet, apparently when demonstrating its fire breathing abilities it caught one of the numerous dizzying chandelier disco balls on fire, which in turn set the big top’s roof ablaze…

Yet, the Scottsdale darkness was broken by the shooting star (afterburner) of Batmobile 1 that Craig Jackson & Steve Davis were spotted speeding to the Wells Fargo Bank across town in. As “Bat One” blew past Sherriff Joe in his Sherman tank while being clocked at 133mph on Scottsdale Boulevard…

Scottish spunk

This morning I received a story from Indiana Bureau Chief Danny B. Talk about starting your day off with a bang… As apparently Dario “REO Speedwagon” Franchitti did his best Mel Gibson Brave heart impersonation… As the feisty Scot took off after a would be admirer in his boxers…

Let’s see, Indy Car has Helio “Dancin’ Fool” Castroneves and RASSCAR counters with Brave heart Dario. Talk ‘bout trying to get sagging ratings back up, eh?

To read the full story, see; Dario Franchitti Fights Crime without Pants

Kubota power

Yes, it’s NOT a name I’m familiar with either. Yet when I was in Minnesota this past July, while awaiting my very first ride aboard a Dodge Viper roadster, (fortunately I didn’t use the bathroom at the airport and run into Larry Craig!) as noted; I checked out some of the “Toy’s” in the owner’s garage, like a Honda CB50 “Mini-scooter” with a CBR500 engine stuffed into the frame as well as a truly unique contraption. A one of a kind built from scratch knee dragger motorcycle.

Yet the amazing thing about this Scooter is that it’s powered by a Kubota diesel tractor motor, hydraulically actuated. Which is no small feat of engineering, since the bike has neither chain nor shaft drive propelling the massive rear wheel, hung on a single sidearm!

I’m told it’s quite the head turner when Mr. Parker makes the rounds at Sturgis…

Freak nation

So, I managed to tune into another episode of Speed Freaks via the internets Sunday night. And it was a fairly entertaining show, albeit the over indulgence of commercials.

They were missing one of the crew, (Lug nuts) which was actually nice as the “Stat-man” and Crash Gladys got to talk much more. They began the evening by discussing the Chilly bowl in Tulsa, which they talked-up the hell outta it! Then they went to their first guest, Damien “The Devil” Gardner, who was this year’s winner. He seemed quite low key and it was refreshing to hear him say he’d be happy to drive anything, i.e.; Indy Car or RASSCAR; he just wanted to keep honing his trade as a Sprint Car driver…

The next guest was Graham Rahal, who’d just finished doing demonstration runs aboard a BMW Sauber F1 chassis at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I got a little ticked as “Stat-man” didn’t have a clue towards what they called Champ Car when Graham’s father raced in it, nor how many championships he’d won, finally settling on two… As I bellowed out it was CART and he won three titles!

Graham, who at the tender age of 19 was also quite refreshing, saying that you needed to be able to drive anything, Especially since Champ Car isn’t real secure right now, when he was asked about if he enjoyed also driving Sports Cars? Graham noted how the TRUE Legends like Mario Andretti & Dan Gurney not only drove anything with wheels, they kicked butt!

Stat-man asked him if it was true that he enjoyed selling cars. Yes, I get a certain satisfaction out of selling cars at my Dad’s dealerships. Ohm, I don’t think I exactly wanna go to dinner with a used car salesman, Stat-man replied. No, you’ll get a friendly deal, just give me a call, replied Graham…

Then after an oddity section of various “Entertainment Tonight” news, they delved into Dancin’ with the Fools, talking about who Helio had recommended for a future show. Gladys said it was none other than the “Princess,” (Danica) to which Stat-man said she’s too short and her legs aren’t long enough…

Gladys noted how they do real ballroom dancing and that Princess thinks she’d be considered too serious for the show, to which Stat-man chimed in; She’s got the STOMP down real good. Then Kenny Sergeant said do you know we’ve just spent 10 minutes talking about Dancing with the Stars…

Next up was a conversation with Mike Peterson in regards to the cancellation of this year’s Dakar, to which I found a bit annoying hearing Kenny pronounce as Dack-kar. Mike is part owner of Peterson/White Lightning, which has won the 24 Heurs du Man,
Baja 500 & 1000, 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans.

Peterson was fairly succinct in his opinions towards the Dakar organizers, saying he just couldn’t understand why they did NOT have a “Plan B.” As he’d spent two years and countless man hours preparing a brand new buggy for the race, which all went up in smoke in a five minute meeting called to announce the cancellation. And the amounts of money lost are staggering, although Peterson wouldn’t give exact figures; I believe that Robby “Dirtman” Gordoun said the entry fee alone was $360,000! Peterson said he’ll try to possibly compete in some other rallies since his equipment is already over there…

Last, but not least was James “Don’t call me Bubbah” Stewart, who’d just won the Phoenix round of the AMA Superbike championship. James is all of 22yrs old and is a very entertaining interviewee…

New "Schues"

For the past few weeks I’ve been driving my Most Excellent Blog Meister nutty, requesting a few additions to the No Fenders site, to which he’s complied with. You’ll notice that he’s added a slew of categories under the headings F1 Team Links and Other Open Wheel Categories, which should enable Y’all to hunt ‘N peck for your favourite stories a little quicker.

Also, he’s fixed the RSS feed which apparently wasn’t working earlier. Yet I’ll have to admit I’m a bit fuzzy on how exactly RSS feeds work, along with who in the HELL is Atom? (Is that Atom Ant?) But if you’re more “Tech Savvy” than your poor ‘Ol story writer is… Then please, by all means go ahead and sign-up for this!

Where’s Santa?

So, once again, Santa seemed to forget my request for a Ferrari… Guess he knows who’s been naughty or nice? Probably just wouldn’t fit in his sleigh? Oh well, I suppose there’s always next year, eh?

HOLY JOKER PLAYING CARD, BATMAN!

WOW! WHAT A FREAKIN’ NIGHTMARE!!! Sorry for the site’s sporadic behaviour the past few dazes!

As I’ve previously mentioned (If the story has finally shown up?) My Blogmeister has spent the past few days TIRELESSLY working thru a litany of Technical Difficulties regarding the intricacies of how the FRILLING Internet works…

Apparently Blogger.com did NOT enjoy my story titled Tora Tora Tora! As it appears that not only did the Zero’s strike Hickman Field 66 years ago on December 7^th, but have also strafed the No Fenders site, knocking it clean off the map multiple times…

And I’m still guessing that Go Daddy DON’T like me calling their top pitchman, err pitchwoman “Princess!”

Hopefully No Fenders will be back to regular broadcasting for the foreseeable future. KUDOS Blogmeister!!! Who’s spent hour after hour trying to rectify the Blogger (Coding ‘N Scripting issues) before completely rebuilding the site…

This Bud’s for you!

Web Site Changes

We have been forced re-install the blogger script due to errors that we encountered with the blogger platform. We appologize for the time the site was down this weekend. Racing links and site navigation links as well as site graphics will be coming online as we recover from this most excellent experience. In the meantime, posts will continue as usual. Thank you for your continued support!

Technical Support Team
www.nofenders.net

Arizona Postscript

Ah, isn’t it wonderful when you tell the Airline check-in “Ticket-Jockey” that you hope it snows while you’re away playing in the sunny, warm climes of Arizona… And if there was any silver lining in Champ Car canceling its planned inaugural Phoenix Grand Prix slated for the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 2. It had to be missing out on the massive deluge of rainfall which would have surely cancelled qualifying at the very least.

While Washington and Oregon State were declaring emergencies due to 120mph Hurricane blast winds, snowfall, flooding and a massive pelting of precipitation, with 3 to 6+ inches blanketing the coastlines and outlying towns, Bremerton was flooded with a humongous 10.8 inches! Which would certainly help Georgia along with other parts of the south and southwest that are currently experiencing droughts.

Yet Arizona, known as the Valley of the Sun did not escape the storm as it too was hammered by record amounts of rainfall, as fortunately we sat inside listening and watching the sheets of rainfall flooding the entire backyard as gallons of water spilled off the roof, while nearly overflowing the swimming pool! Scottsdale was deluged by a record 3 inches of the wet stuff in a scant half day, breaking the mark that had stood for 25 years…

Alas, as its almost time to return back home to the “Artic” climes of Seattle, things are pleasantly back to normal in the Arizona desert, having just returned from another enjoyable hike out in the North Mountain Preserve, where we ran across the most amazing sight.

Off in the distance against the ridgeline were a vast pack of horses with about 50 saddled stallions being ridden by a group of women. As we continued our hike the posse of horses suddenly reversed course upon us, appearing to be headed back our way. So we attempted to hightail it back to the trail’s heading before we were overtaken by the stampede of prattling women… As we could hear their banter and the sounds of hoof beats as they closed the distance to us. Finally we attempted to take a side trail, yet we were unable to outrun our pursuing posse ‘O saddled mares… And thus we finally had to stop, sitting down upon some discarded concrete blocks while waiting for the entire posse of 50+ female riders to pass us; which is a sight I’ve never seen before… As some of the lady folk even said “Howdy” too us while we were waiting for the heard to pass.

Reaching our vehicle to return home, we were once again cut off by the massive gathering of horses, before we were allowed to pass. Further down the street we encountered “Trailer-City” where both sides of the street as well as every open spot were filled with horse trailers awaiting the return of their precious cargo.

Blending back into traffic we noticed a sign saying “Arizona Cowgirls.” (This way) Ah-Ha! We’d just been overtaken by the Arizona Cowgirls Pardner… But make NO mistake these Arizona Cowgirls had nothing in common with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, as suddenly the Beach Boys tune "I wish they all could be California girls" pops into my head…

Red Flag?

Apparently Stop ‘N Go was the WRONG title to use for my story today… As for reasons UNKNOWN! The service I use has decided that I should NOT pass Go today… Nor should I be allowed to work on any further stories while we’re apparently under Red Flag conditions. As Blogger has been most UNCOOPERATIVE the past two days, being very persnickety. Hopefully the posts will show up once again after the green flag has been unfurled…

OH SHIT!!! Quick post a story... I think its working? Err, may be I'd better recycle the ignition...

Matched out!

? Funny how this title speaks volumes to me right now, as I’m still experiencing the heavy duty “Spin Cycle ‘O Jet Legg… (Doesn’t anyone wanna shed a tear for me?) Now let’s see… Japan = +17 hours. Carry the 5, subtract 3, divide by 2.125… Err, what day is it? Oh never mind!

And alas, I’ve just finished watching SPEED’s re-airing of this past weekend’s Brazilian GP, so now it’s fairly safe to wander the internets, although I’m obviously way behind over the past two weeks motorsports news… Including the interesting tidbits regarding BMW Sauber and WilliamsToyota race fuel temperatures being too low.

Previously while hangin’ about Chez Sadie Manor; Geez that seems so long ago, yet time flies by when you’re havin’ you know what? Thus while in New York I overheard SPEED’s Professor Matchett extrap-O-latin’ over his recent visit to The Glen!

During the Italian GP Friday practice session, Steve (“Professor”) Matchett chimed in while Bob Varsha was talking about Lake Como in the distance: “Speaking of rolling hills…” Over the previous weekend he’d been invited to Watkins Glen for his very first time by the Empire State & New England regions of the Ferrari Club of America. The event was superb and all of the spectators and participants there were adamant fans of Formula 1.

Matchett then confessed a new found respect for drivers while Varsha said quick get a tape recorder for David Hobbs…
(That’s why I’m saying this now…) Claiming how many hundreds of times he’d pulled, yanked and forced drivers into their six point harnesses. But when the shue was on the other foot and his friend had offered him a ride around The Glen aboard a Ferrari 360 Modena Challenge Car… And the Helmet had been affixed, he became claustrophobic… And told his friend “NO DICE!!!” I have to get out now…

To which guest host and ex-driver Townsend Bell replied that he preferred having the belts synched as tight as possible in order to feel completely secure with no flex in his movements along with feeling the carbon seat and chassis. Saying there was no better feeling to him then being strapped in!

Geez, I’d Killed for a chance to ride around Watkins Glen in that 360 Challenge car, while I guess Matchett would have never tried riding around Indy in the Sinden 2X Seater, eh?

Hey Matchett, I think Scott “Nose” Speed needs some help with his belts!

Home sweet home

Otay, so it’s the price “Juan” must pay for frolicking about the globe, as I’ve just returned from another very enjoyable trip abroad…

And did you guess where I’ve been? As I think I made it pretty obvious with all of the recent scribblings about Japan. Yep, that’s right! I’ve just visited the land of the Rising Sun with stops in Sasebo, Tokyo, Nagoya, Nagasaki and Fukuoka …

And I found it HILLARIOUS that I would be arriving home 2 hours, 40 minutes PRIOR to LEAVING Fukuoka, Japan on the SAME DAY…

Having spent the past two weeks completely devoid of ALL electronic media, I’m still unaware of the previous weekend’s race outcomes… And will try avoiding the lure ‘O ze internets in hopes of obtaining the BRA-Zillian GP & Surfers Paradise Chump Carzs races from Captain Kirk shortly?

Special thanks to my most helpful Blog Meister for manning the tiller while I was away in the Orient.

More stories to follow, as soon as I remember how to use this blast it confuzer… As my wonderful hosts in Sasebo might say, right now I’ve got two LEFT hands. As well as having lifted off from Tokyo at 1:23AM Pacific Coast time…

Which seems destined to be followed by a little Jet Lag, eh? And what the HELL! It’s even SUNNY here today, sayonara…

Plucking strings

Interestingly I ran across an article about the new way of doing business in the Pit lane, with a String Quartet being hired to Perform during a Formula Nippon event held at Mount Fuji earlier this season.

Funny thing, I didn’t notice this quartet serenading any of the F1 circus during their recent visit to Mount Fuji…

And why all the “hub-bub” about Honda and Japanese F1 drivers? Well I’ll let you try and guess where I’m off to spend another Holiday…

while having my capable blogmeister fill in for me.

(You may wish to also check out his site: Sporty Blog)

Back again

So what better way to celebrate your first Birthday on the internets… Then by going on (another) holiday, eh?

As I’ve just returned from a very enjoyable week in New York along with attending the Zippo Historics at Watkins Glen International Raceway.

More details later, now back to watching the Italian Grand Prix...

One year Old!

Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me, I look like a…

Today marks the first Anniversary of the launching of No Fenders. And it’s been a pretty hectic year. Of which I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts on the Wurld der Motorsports with all of you…

And it seems like I’ve come a long way from the debut story of Christian Klien rejecting “Deeter Majestic’s” offer to race in Champ Car, eh?

I would like to thank everybody who encouraged me to try this endeavor. My most excellent Blogmeister Mike and Artiste Supremo Dave. Along with story ideas from Mary Ellen as well as the great articles penned by Danny B.

Most of all, I’d like to thank everybody for reading my scribblings over the past year… Especially all of you who are regular readers as well as those who’ve commented on my stories…

Gratzi, Tomaso

Penske does Detroit

Although I swore I wasn’t gonna listen to this week’s Autosport Radio broadcast… Some-thun’ ta doo with the guests religious affiliations. Nevertheless I decided to drop-in and see what Words ‘O Wise-dum Mr. Donald could soldier up as he’d billed the show’s guests as The Three Wise Men. Father Phil, Bob Hills, and Fred Jones.

And I know Mr. Donald is heavily biased towards the Indy Racing League… And was almost fawning over The Captain, but I did find his remarks right on the mark in concerns to Roger Penske’s tireless efforts to bring motor racing back to the Motor City after a six year absence. As I came to the conclusion a couple of years ago after visiting the Penske Racing Museum that Penske is truly a class act.

Interestingly Don Kay pointed out that he was truly amazed over the city’s renaissance compared to the old Detroit of 15 years ago while Father Phil commented on how it used to be scary to go downtown before. (10yrs ago) And he believes Penske is personally responsible for part of the change after bringing Detroit the Super Bowl in 2005. (Which I’m still sore about our Seahawks getting a raw deal from the Officials!)

Mr. Kay pointed out that Penske not only organized the Indy Cars and American Le Mans Series double header, but also invested his own cash to the event. In the tune of $12-14 million...

And Mr. Donald raved about the outstanding “Detail to Excellence” which has become The Captain’s trademark being applied to the Bell Isle event as Roger was personally on hand at the circuit every morning bright ‘N early at 6AM. Going from team to team and making sure everything was Ok four days straight.

Reportedly they had OVER 1,000 volunteers for the event and they all received training prior to the kick-off on how to do their respective “gig’s” as well as the Downtown corridor is clean and the people friendly and courteous.

Don told a tale of how Penske had bought Detroit Diesel when it was in the dumps and the very first thing he did was pay every employee a bonus… Which hadn’t happened in years and as they say the rest is history.

While Penske truly seems to have the Midas touch, it was refreshing to hear Father Phil chime in and tell us how generous Penske is along with noting that Roger doesn’t need to be doing anything he’s doing now, i.e.; personally showing up at the track every morning, etc. But then again this is how The Captain got to where he is as Mr. Donald claimed that Penske had even been seen pushing a broom at Belle Isle…

And Mr. Kay noted that Penske is the US’s LARGEST Automobile dealer. Saying while the “Big Three” are taking’ their lumps, Penske set his record for sales in 2006 and expects to be only down 2% this year. With Father Phil noting Roger had changed his holdings fro