Harvick Happy With Kentucky...

By: Pete Pistone on July 8, 2011 | 11:02 A.M. EST

Harvick says NASCAR made a good move in scheduling the Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway. Count Kevin Harvick among those drivers excited about Saturday night’s first-ever Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

Harvick thinks bringing NASCAR’s top division to the 1.5-mile track was a wise move by the sanctioning body and brings a new-found energy to the sport.

“This is what our sport needs: new events, not necessarily new facilities, but a new facility for us to race on,” Harvick said. “Kentucky Speedway has been a great track over the years. I was fortunate enough to come here in 2001 and win the inaugural Nationwide race, so it's a place we have all been to and made a bunch of laps testing.

“A lot of us have run the Nationwide races here. It's a fun racetrack. The enthusiasm from the fans, the people and the sponsors is great. I’m excited about it.”

Part of Harvick’s enthusiasm might stem from the fact the Richard Childress Racing driver has a stellar record when it comes to first-time events. He went to Victory Lane in Kentucky’s first Nationwide Series race in 2001 and also won a pair of Cup races in the opening two years races were held at Chicagoland Speedway.

Harvick would like to add to that performance record by putting his name in the record book as the victor of the inaugural Quaker State 400 in Kentucky.

“I think everybody wants to win the first one,” he said. “You can’t ever do that twice. Every year you go back, you're always going to have another chance. But yes, there is really no bigger event than the first event you are going to have at a particular racetrack.

“So it's just a little added bonus that you can put next to that particular race and say you won the first one. We’ve been fortunate enough to win a couple of them and it's always fun.”

Driving around Kentucky Speedway might not be classified as "fun" for some - with the track’s numerous bumps causing a bit of a challenge in Thursday’s open practice session. But Harvick doesn’t mind the nuances of the speedway he believes differentiate it from other tracks similar in size and layout.

“A lot of bumps, that’s not a bad thing,” Harvick said. “Character is good in a racetrack. It’s been ground in a lot of places. The corners are shaped differently. There's really no comparison to a Chicago or a Kansas, or anything like that just because of the shapes of the corners. It’s definitely got its own characteristics.”

One of the charms of coming to a new track is the unknown factor. While Thursday’s test session was beneficial for teams and drivers to figure out what might work in both Friday’s qualifying session and Saturday night’s race, it won’t answer every question, according to Harvick.

“It’s obviously a very temperature-sensitive track and you have to keep that in the back of your mind while you're testing in the middle of the afternoon here,” Harvick said. “There are still a lot of things you won’t be able to figure out until the race is over.”
Related Topics:
NASCAR Sprint Cup

I'm back! Now for a BIG LONNNG NAP ZZZ!!!

G'm, EZ. We, we have no rain here, so can't send you any, sorry!...(((

K, got your, C)...an you pleeze send us some RAIN !?!?!?!?!

...: C) noted, thanks...))

Happy Weekend Eve to all ----- don't forget Nationwide race tonight and Sprint Cup tomorrow night !

Thanks, I won't forget, but I may nap off and on!~LOL!!!

About ready to hit the road for our BF, then the Bank, market. To buy the 5 things I forgot yesterday!~LOL!!!
Then Bi-Mart and car wash, a Washman's, in Sandy.

Just another tiring day for this old man!!!

G'm, Larry. I think your right!~LOL...K, got your, ( A )bsolutely SURE it's Friday, Ronaldooo ... eat 'em up out there .. !! . lite Misty-rain here now ..


...: A) noted, thanks...))

G'm Lizard friends. Here's today W & T...

Current Lizards weather...Dave: 68*, partly cloudy, 30% chance of showers, T-storms...EZ2: 72*, mostly sunny, sorry about that!~LOL...FATS: 75*, mostly sunny...Joe: 65*, partly cloudy...Lacy: 67*, partly cloudy, 20% chance of showers, isolated T-storms...Larry: 75*, cloudy, showere, T-storms...Ron: 51*...

Mt brain nailed todays WT!
GL 2 U'll!

Today's Forecast
Friday, July 8th - 6:05 am

Happy Friday! If you were hoping to see warm temperatures you'll have to wait at least another day. Onshore flow will be giving us quite a bit of cloud cover to start out this morning, but by this afternoon we'll be seeing more of the sunshine. Highs will only be getting into the low 70s...by tomorrow we come close to hitting the 80 degree mark.

Today's High: 73

Tonight's Low: 53

So far today...
High: 57° Precip: 0.00"
Low: 57° Normal Record
78° 98° (1952)
56° 45° (1981)
Sunrise 5:30am
Sunset 9:01pm

What kind of fog forms when cold air blows against warm water or warm air blows against cold water?

A) Radiation Fog
B) Valley Fog
C) Advection Fog
D) Steam Fog

BF out later...))

Here's todays WT-A...

C) Isohyet

EZ, FATS & Larry got it right!
Congratzzz to them!

Me: D)...((

Dave & Joe were: AWOL/DND!

GL tomorrow the TGIF day!!

G'm, FATS! Just got back from mega foodies shopping worth 96 beans and beer too!

K, got your, I'll go with C) Isohyet

...: C) noted, thanks...))

Si...ZZZZZZZ...LOL!!!

G'm, Larry. K, gor tour, ( C ) ... and a Grreat morning to all, Lizards .. !!

...: C) noted, thanks...))

G'm, EZ. K, got your, C)...an use some "rain" here ---- grass turning brownish!

...: C) noted, thanks...))

We B de GREEN state, mit lots of RAIN!!!...LOL...

G'm Lizard friends. Here's todays W & T what I'm doing UP so early?...LOL...

Current Lizards weather...Dave: 72*, mostly sunny...EZ2: 65*, sunny...FATS: 74*, mostly cloudy, isolated showers, T-sroems...Joe: 69*, partly cloudy...Lacy; 68*, mostly cloudy, 30% chance of showers, T-storms...Larry: 78*, isolated showers, T-storms...Ron: 51*...

My WAG blew todays WT!
GL 2 U'll!

Today's Forecast
Thursday, July 7th - 6:00 am

Hopefully you had a chance to enjoy the warm temperatures over the last couple of days, because our weather is going to turn a bit. We have a disturbance to the north of us that is going to bring cooler weather and increasing clouds. Highs today will be about ten degrees cooler from what we have been seeing getting into the mid 70s.

Today's High: 76

Tonight's Low: 51

So far today...
High: 63° Precip: 0.00"
Low: 60° Normal Record
78° 95° (2010)
56° 46° (1971)
Sunrise 5:29am
Sunset 9:01pm

What is a line on a weather map that connects areas of equal rainfall?

A) Isotherm
B) Isobront
C) Isohyet
D) Isobar

Time to ZZZ again...LOL...))

Here's todays WT-A...

D) Cirrusnirrus

Sorry to say, I was the only one the guessed to get it right!

Dave & FATS were: AWOL/DNG!

G'evening, Joe. K, got your: C) noted, thanks...))

What FATS needs...

Hi, EZ. Ya, can tou believe that SCHITT?

I also can't believe that any woman on that jury would vote that way? Tiz a very sad day for our jury system!...((

K, got your, C)..asey Marie Anthony is a 'free' killer !

...: C) noted, thanks...))

Hi, Larry. Thanks! K, got your, ( A )bsolutely NO idea, Ronaldoo ~~ Safe trip and enjoy, as I know you will .. !!

...: A) noted, thanks...))

G'm, Larry. Got'em! Thanks! GL 2 U!!!

G'm, EZ. Gotem! Thanks! GL 2 U!!! WOW! You and Larry are really super early birds!

G'm, Lizard friends. Here's todays W & T...

Current Lizards weather...Dave: 74*, partly sunny, 30% slight chance of showers...EZ2: 73*, 50% chance od T-storms...FATS: 69*, mostly sunny...Joe: 71*, partly cloudy...Lacy: 70*, sunny...Larry: 75*, partly cloudy...Ron: 51*...,

My brain nailed todays WT!
GL 2 U'll!

Today's Forecast
Wednesday, July 6th, 6:30am

We've had back to back days in the 80's, and it looks like we're in for a third on Wednesday. We could have the warmest day of the year so far. We'll hit 86 for a high in Portland and that's our high so far for the year, maybe a degree or two better than that for some of you around the metro area.

High pressure continues to hold across the Pacific Northwest and that means continued sunny and warm. The only spot to see clouds Wednesday will be the Oregon Coast. Temperatures in The Willamette Valley soar. Some locations might hit 90 degrees.

The ridge of high pressure bringing us the clear skies will begin breaking down Wednesday evening allowing clouds and cooler air to arrive. Thursday temperatures will reach the middle 70s under partly cloudy skies with a slight chance of a shower.

Today's High: 86

Tonight's Low: 59

So far today...
High: 65° Precip: 0.00"
Low: 60° Normal Record
78° 97° (1960)
56° 46° (1977)

What are cirrus clouds called when they forewarn of an approaching storm?

A) Cirrus Castellanus
B) Cirrus Uncinus
C) Cirrus Fibratus
D) Cirrusnirrus

We'll be hitting the road at 10amPDT to Sandy, Portland, Gladstone and Clackamas, with many things to do...))

Here's todays WT-A...

A) Dead clouds

Larry was the only one to get it right!
Congratzzz to him!

Dave & FATS: C), EZ & I: D), sorry guys, better luck tomorrow on the "HUMP" day!

Joe was: AWOL/DNG!

K, Dave. Got your: C) noted, thanks...))

G'evening, Dave. WTG!!!...))

Hey, dude! We're now the Pac-12, for the good, bad or indifferent, we shall see...LOL...

http://www.oregonlive.com/pac-12/index.ssf/2011/07/pac-12_roundup_just_how_many_schools_does_willie_lyles_work_with.html

Ron
))

Ok, FATS, thanks!. Was napin...LOL...))

***Next Race New point standings***! Saturday 7-9. 6:30pmEDT...

This is mainly for Vic! Who messed up picking his cars, very badly last time!...LOL...)

Race #17!
Quaker State 400@ Kentucky Speedway
Saturday, July 09, 2011 6:30 PM

Radio:PRN, 6:30 ET
TV:TNT, 6:30 p.m. ET

POINT STANDINGS
Rank Driver Points Behind

29-1 Kevin Harvick 586 Leader
99-2 Carl Edwards 581 -5
18-3 Kyle Busch 576 -10
22-4 Kurt Busch 570 -16
17-5 Matt Kenseth 564 -22
48-6 Jimmie Johnson 564 -22
88-7 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 534 -52
24-8 Jeff Gordon 519 -67
33-9 Clint Bowyer 505 -81
39-10 Ryan Newman 498 -88

11-11 Denny Hamlin 495 -91
14-12 Tony Stewart 494 -92

G'm, FATS. K, got your, I'll go with C) Non-precipitatable clouds...

...: C) noted, thanks...))

Was the booze shop open yesterday?

Dam, got up way to early the am, 6:30amPDT.
I'm in need of a very BIG NAP soon!~LOL!!!

G'm, Larry. Really? What happened to my WB weather in your area?

K, got your, ( A )bsolutely NO idea, Ronaldoo ... another Beautiful day here, so far .. !!

...: A) noted, thanks...))

G'm EZ. It's HISTORY in you area!~LOL...K, got your, D)..arn, where did summer go ---- the 5th of the month already!!

...: D) noted, thanks...))

G'm, Lizard friends. Here's todays W & T in late to bed, early to RIZE!~LOL...

Current Lizards weather...Dave: 70*, sunny...EZ2: 75*, mostly sunny...FATS: 73*, mostly cloudy, 50% chance of showers, T-storms...Joe: 69*, partly cloudy...Lacy: 73*, 50% chance of showers, T-storms...Larry: 73*, mostly cloudy, 50% chance of showers, T-storms...Ron: 47*...

My WAG blew todays WT!
GL 2 U'll!

Today's Forecast
Tuesday, July 5th, 5:30am

A ridge of high pressure will continue to keep all of the Pacific Northwest, sunny, warm and dry. Temperatures Tuesday will climb into the middle 80s. The perfect summer weather pattern will hold through Wednesday. Later this week temperatures will cool and skies will get cloudier, but should remain dry. Warmer again by the weekend.

Today's High: 84

Tonight's Low: 58

So far today...
High: 61° Precip: 0.00"
Low: 56° Normal Record
78° 94° (1960)
56° 48° (2010)
Sunrise 5:28am
Sunset 9:02pm


What are cumulus clouds called when they blot out the sun but can't produce precipitation?

A) Dead clouds
B) Precipitationless clouids
C) Non-precipitatable clouds
D) Precipitation-free clouds
\
Now to start our BF, cookin' thick, smoked bacon.
Later...))

Here's todays WT-A...

C) Sky Clear

Larry was the only one to get it right!
Congratzzz to him!

EZ, FATS & I: D), Joe: A), sorry guys, better luck tomorrow!

Dave was: AWOL/DNG!

G'evening, Joe. K, got your: A) noted, thanks...))

Very TRUE!...and...10 cities that will take a decade to recover...

10 cities that will take a decade to recover from the recession
Many were already reeling from job losses related to manufacturing

The city’s economy relies on gaming and tourism, two industries
which have been hit extremely hard by the recession.
By Charles B. Stockdale
24/7 Wall St.

July 4, 2011

The Great Recession officially began in December 2007 and ended in July 2009. This doesn’t mean that the economy has returned to where it was before the steepest downturn since the Great Depression and may not for years. According to a recent report by IHS Global Insight, employment is not expected to return to its pre-recession peak until 2014.

To be sure, parts of the U.S. are recovering. Experts expect the economy to grow an average of 3 percent in the second half of this year. Thirty metropolitan areas will have reached their pre-recession peaks by the end of 2011. More than half of the nation’s 363 metropolitan areas are expected to return to their employment peaks by 2014 or before. Others are not so lucky.

The IHS report lists 37 metropolitan areas which are not expected to return to peak employment until after 2021. These areas are facing a “Lost Decade.” Some may never fully recover, although it’s probably useless to try to predict what may happen a decade or more from today.

One trait shared by most of these troubled cities is that they were built on declining industries that will never regain their earlier glory days. Many of these metropolitan areas are part of the “Rust Belt,” an area covering portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest that was once an international center for heavy manufacturing. Cities such as Canton and Youngstown, Ohio were once hubs of the steel industry. Detroit and Flint, of course, were at the heart of the American automobile industry. These areas were decimated by the recession and some have unemployment rates in the double digits. Unlike other parts of the country, they have not been able to replace the old manufacturers with new businesses. According to IHS, unemployment has dropped in many of these areas since the worst parts of the recession, but “the current surge in manufacturing payrolls is not anticipated to last, and by the latter part of the decade the sector is expected to be in secular decline again.”
.
.
.
And the winners are...

10. Canton-Massillon, Ohio
9. Dayton, Ohio
8. South Bend-Mishawaka, Indiana
7. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pennsylvania
6. Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey
5. Toledo, Ohio
4. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina
3. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan
2. Flint, Michigan
1. Reno-Sparks, Nevada

Full article, including details about each city: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43551895/ns/business-local_business/

10 cities that will take a decade to recover...

10 cities that will take a decade to recover from the recession
Many were already reeling from job losses related to manufacturing

The city’s economy relies on gaming and tourism, two industries
which have been hit extremely hard by the recession.
By Charles B. Stockdale
24/7 Wall St.

July 4, 2011

The Great Recession officially began in December 2007 and ended in July 2009. This doesn’t mean that the economy has returned to where it was before the steepest downturn since the Great Depression and may not for years. According to a recent report by IHS Global Insight, employment is not expected to return to its pre-recession peak until 2014.

To be sure, parts of the U.S. are recovering. Experts expect the economy to grow an average of 3 percent in the second half of this year. Thirty metropolitan areas will have reached their pre-recession peaks by the end of 2011. More than half of the nation’s 363 metropolitan areas are expected to return to their employment peaks by 2014 or before. Others are not so lucky.

The IHS report lists 37 metropolitan areas which are not expected to return to peak employment until after 2021. These areas are facing a “Lost Decade.” Some may never fully recover, although it’s probably useless to try to predict what may happen a decade or more from today.

One trait shared by most of these troubled cities is that they were built on declining industries that will never regain their earlier glory days. Many of these metropolitan areas are part of the “Rust Belt,” an area covering portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest that was once an international center for heavy manufacturing. Cities such as Canton and Youngstown, Ohio were once hubs of the steel industry. Detroit and Flint, of course, were at the heart of the American automobile industry. These areas were decimated by the recession and some have unemployment rates in the double digits. Unlike other parts of the country, they have not been able to replace the old manufacturers with new businesses. According to IHS, unemployment has dropped in many of these areas since the worst parts of the recession, but “the current surge in manufacturing payrolls is not anticipated to last, and by the latter part of the decade the sector is expected to be in secular decline again.”
.
.
.
And the winners are...

10. Canton-Massillon, Ohio
9. Dayton, Ohio
8. South Bend-Mishawaka, Indiana
7. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pennsylvania
6. Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey
5. Toledo, Ohio
4. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina
3. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan
2. Flint, Michigan
1. Reno-Sparks, Nevada

Full article, including details about each city: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43551895/ns/business-local_business/

Good show, EZ. K, got your, D..efinitely a beautiful 4th of July in da' hood ---- and, a nice parade in our little town w/ lots of Vets marching in it!

...D) noted, thanks...))

G'afternoon, EZ. Glad you do too! Se did see a bunch of giant games, then they played AL times, Boston & Chicago.

K, FATS. Got your, I'll go with D) Cloudless Sky...

...: D) noted, thanks...))

G'm, FATS. We just finished our lunch. No, I don't think so!

Exotic, gluten-free grain grows in popularity -- enough to cause a dust-up in eastern Oregon.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/07/exotic_gluten-free_grain_growing_in_popularity_--_enough_to_cause_a_dust-up_in_eastern_oregon.html

Sheryl Crow "Black Betty"...