potomacnews

Roush has a fine line to walk in dealing with Kenseth, Edwards

As it turns out, we didn’t have to wait very long to hear Matt Kenseth’s response.

Kenseth, involved in a heated post-race exchange with teammate Carl Edwards, shot back during a weekly chat with USA Today.

The money quote: “His behavior has been real erratic lately, honestly. You don’t know what to expect with him,” Kenseth said. “That’s the thing that’s a little bit troublesome. One minute, he has so much respect for you, and he’s real friendly and everything’s so much fun. The next minute he wants to kick your butt and he’s swearing at you. It’s a little scary. You never know what you’re going to get.”

Wlldfires hit home for Johnson; an explanation from Edwards? (UPDATED)

As wildfires rage across Southern California — 300,000 people evacuated, 1,300 homes destroyed and 425 square miles scorched, according to the latest CNN report — Jimmie Johnson reflected on what was happening.

Johnson — from El Cajon, Calif., less than 10 miles from downtown San Diego — said he hasn’t yet spoken with anyone back in California, but is hoping for the best for all involved.

“[Wildfires are] such a fear we have at the end of every summer,” Johnson said in a teleconference on Tuesday morning, adding he’s been keeping up with the news on TV and through newspapers.

Johnson, Gordon make it a two-man race; the France-Gundy connection

And now we’re down to two: Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

I know this is hardly revolutionary thinking.

But I wanted to give Clint Bowyer a real chance before cropping him out of the title picture. Now, after finishing ninth at Martinsville on Sunday, Bowyer is 115 points behind Gordon, who still leads. Ninth is a fine finish, but at this time of year against a tandem like Gordon and Johnson, if you’re only keeping pace, you’re losing ground.

Martinsville as anachronism

A nice little retrospective piece by Mike Mulhern today, talking about Martinsville.

With all the changes in the world of NASCAR — even over the past five or so years — Martinsville seems like an anachronism.

Is that a bad thing? Depends on how you look at it.

Martinsville: Less of a wildcard than we first thought

Funny how your perspective changes after a few weeks.

Right after Richmond, everyone pointed to two races as the Chase’s wildcards: Talladega and Martinsville. Talladega’s behind us; instead of being the wildcard, it was the complete opposite.

Several drivers entered that race knowing a good finish could get them back on track to a title. But instead of shaking up the standings, Talladega reinforced them, further separating those with a real chance from those that needed a miracle.

Could Martinsville wind up the same way?

Smith ups the ante in spat with Concord

The spat between Bruton Smith and the City of Concord just took an unusual turn: Smith told the Charlotte Observer that the chances of him relocating Lowe’s Motor Speedway are around 90 percent.

Smith is upset with the city after he started building a drag strip on speedway property. The city didn’t think this was right, and re-zoned the area to prohibit drag strips.

So Smith pulled a page from other sports’ playbooks and threatened to move.

Opinion Editor sounds off from the Board of County Supervisors meeting

7:15 p.m.
All right ladies and gentleman, boys and girls… I appreciate you all staying with me this far. Alas, I am now going to be leaving the county and heading home to Manassas. I had a good time opining and observing for you all. The speakers continue and it is unclear at this point when this will end or what the result will be. Check out the Potomac News or the Manassas Journal Messenger for the full story later. Thanks.

Opinion Editor sounds off from the Board of County Supervisors meeting

7:05 p.m.
For those of you who have never been to a Board of County Supervisors meeting, I wanted to tell you about the buzzer. People are given three minutes to speak during citizens’ time. The process of keeping track of the time limit has been mechanized.

Opinion Editor sounds off about illegal immigration

6:47 p.m.
The meeting goes on. The view from the press room is dark but clearer. The protesters who were standing across the street have moved to the back of the building. From where I’m sitting, if I turned off our television, it would appear that the show was over. But appearances can be deceiving.

Opinion Editor sounds off from the Board of County Supervisors meeting

6:23 p.m.
I talked to a guy from Help Save Manassas who was involved in a scuffle with the protesters across the street earlier today. He said that an American flag was being held upside down by some of the protesters, so he and three other guys went to grab it. He was held back by security. He was told by the police that if he did anything else he would go to jail and he should leave.