Ok well since I picked 3 months ago, I want to revise my predictions a little bit upon further intelligence learned.. I'm allowed to do that cause the season hasnt started yet!!LOL
In LLM I picked::: Jongen 1st, Keith McLeod 2nd, and Shepherd 3rd.. I am gonna stick by this order as I'm a firm believer in going with your initial impressions.. Made mention of The Stomper bumping Shepherd outta 3rd of he decided to run Barrie.. That doesnt look to be the case now, as I assume he would of been at practice the other night if BSW was in his 2009 plans. The one guy I think might spoil this for me is #48 Dwayne Baker.. Wasnt sure originally if LUMPY was gonna run the full year or not, and now that appears to be the case.. Dwayne looked to be the quickest of the LLM in practice the other night, although it was tough to get a read on McLeod as he spent much of the night in the #79 car and didnt have a watch on him when he drove his own ride... I feel safe with my outsider/darkhorse pick Jongen for the title though, as he too was a bullet in practice..
In Thunders I predicted Tremblay 1st, Davey 2nd, and Brandon 3rd... Now this is the division I want to make the biggest change in, as Tremblay wont be racing at all this season..I'm gonna substitute #44 Dave Doucette for him, and say that Dave will recapture the title he won in 2007.. Wasnt sure Dave was running Barrie this year but that now appears to be the case, so he's my favorite in this division.. Gonna stick with Davey for 2nd and move St.Onge into 3rd as he too was really quick the other night at practice.
In 4 cyl I called Ben Melenhorst 1st, Mike Meyer 2nd, and Billy Melenhorst 3rd.... Again some changes here, I will stick with Ben for the 2009 track title. Doesnt appear Meyer is points racing as he told me that much himself, and that the car wouldnt be ready until week 2 or 3.. So for 2nd it now becomes #99 Drew Stieler for me.. And Billy Melenhorst is unable to race BSW due to his age and NASCAR mandating you now have to be 16 to run at one of their sanctioned tracks..So for 3rd I'm now going with CRO's own CHARGER #90 Jim McDonald in hopes he runs a full season, something he hasnt done in the past.. If Meyer does happen to make it out tonight for the opener.. Make him 2nd and move everyone else down one slot.. Well there you have it now its final........ Last day to make predictions that will be looked upon as being legit... Anyone else????/
;D hows thoose predictions looking now after the first night is up there blkflagagain, lol
with the thunders heading for sunset :'( daveys and ginac are missing :'( good counts in 4cyl and late though
Well not too bad after 1 night I'd say JIMBO!!! My LLM picks looks solid, and that was my original picks..Although as I mentioned earlier Baker will most definitely spoil it for me, he's running great so far. I have Doucette, Davey, and St. Onge in Thunders, so with Frank in the south move Darryl up one, and will move Donny Brandon for 3rd as I had him tabbed originally so will stick with that.."The Deuce" had a rough night, not really sure what happened to him but I'd suspect front end damage after he ran into the back of Slavish, when Jerry slowed with troubles of his own.. Long year though and confident Dave will bounce back. In 4 bangers Melenhorst my call for the title won opening night so pretty solid there.. I did have Meyer for 2nd originally but then Mike told me he might not make it out till week 2 or 3 but he did indeed make the opener.. So I will move Mike into 2nd again (if I'm allowed to do that???) and Drew Stieler for 3rd... Would of stuck with you though Jim, but since your missing this weekend its pretty hard to do that knowing that in advance!!LOL Guess your happy with your start to the season eh??? 6 races between 2 tracks and nothin worse then a 5th!!! Good work my friend!!!
You very rarely have anything to say about Shepherd other than to plop him in your predictions. You seem to consider him as an also ran despite him being regularly close to if not at the front every night. Is that personal feelings creeping in?
With an even split of points between baker and Shepherd (one heat win and a feature win & 2nd place each) on the years opener and with Shepherd arguably the most consistent and faster of the foursome, I'd should think you might want to remove some bias from your reports.
Not at all Gordie and I get along fine...In fact I have known and been friends with his brother Vic since we were knee high to a grasshopper.. Had a great chat with Gordie this past Sat in fact. He has NEVER said he feels I have any bias either for him or against him in my reports.. So why would you ??? And for the record Baker didnt win a heat either this past Sat, it was Gordie and Garry Reynolds that were heat winners... Dwayne is ahead of Gord by 3 in points cause I'm guessin you get more points for winning that 2nd 35 lap feature as opposed to the first... Makes sense to me. I really do feel that Gordie has a legit shot at the track title, as hes bettered his point standings every year since becoming a full time Barrie LLM driver in 2006, where he was 5th in points. Gord finished 4th in 2007, and 2nd last year so if that trend continues you might just see the Ridge Road gang bring home the title in 2009.