It's the big race. The championship will be determined today. Jimmi Johnson, the 48 car, my favorite car, started all the way in the back. The only guy ahead of him (albeit only slightly so) in the points is Kurt Busch. Busch started in first place.
Oh, the drama.
On the first lap there was an accident. Normally not a big deal for me because Jimmie is generally at the front. But Jimmie was at the back and risked getting caught up in it. A couple seconds later I saw him OK. Good news.
Update 1:41PM: Race going green. Busch near the front. Jimmie near the back.
Update 1:49PM: Jimmie's moving up in the field. Up to 18th already. Fighting some traffic. Busch is back to third.
Update 1:53PM: After the internet woes, finally have the Trackpass java applet dashboard up and running. Also listening to Jimmie's in-car communications over the internet. Loving it.
Update 2:05PM: Jimmie's up to 15th. We got the yellow we needed to close some time between cars ahead. He's on the run. Gonna be up there in no time. Got a fast car. Rock the monkey!
Update 2:06PM: I've downloaded and am reading JSP-170, the Java Content Repository API spec. Looks like good stuff on initial review. Devil's in the details though.
Update 2:09PM: Chad Knaus, Jimmie's crew chief, over the radio: "Welcome to the top ten buddy! Same speed as the leaders. Lookin' good."
Update 2:25PM: WahOOoooooOOooOooOOOoooOoooO! Kurt blows a wheel! Jimmie's up front. Busch is in the back. That's the luck we needed! Now just Jeff Gordon stands between Jimmie and the championship. Still a long race to go.
Update 3:01PM: Jeff Gordon gets a low pressure tire and has to head to the pits. Luckily for him it's during a long caution, but still puts him in the back. Jimmie Johnson is officially leading the championship right now. He is third in the race. He's in control but still a long race left.
I've printed out the 183 page JSR-170 specification. Marking it up as I go. Getting into some details. Still looks good. Waiting for the thing that'll make it tough to implement.
Essentially I have four inputs right now. Tv. Internet updates of track positions and Jimmie's in-car radio. Java spec. My dad on ICQ. Information overload? Hardly.
Bug is asleep on the couch... not the couch I'm on... the other couch. Odd to see him out of the cage and not in motion.
Heather's still not back. Hoping she gets home soon for all the NASCAR action!
Update 4:08PM: It's been a long run of cautions. Not many laps at full race speed. Jimmie, Kurt and Jeff had traded spots back and forth a number of times. It's really close.
I've read up through page 38 of 183 on the JSR-170 spec. Lots of notes... still seems to be good stuff.
There are 73 laps to go. Cars can do about 65 laps on a tank of gas.
Damn, another caution.
So nobody can make it to the end. But it's close. Better mileage on caution laps. If one team were to gamble and not pit and we got a lot of cautions they may just make it.
All I want is some running time so that Jimmie can break away!
Update 4:13PM: Mark Martin, in the Viagra car, may be making the gas gamble. 67 laps to go. Martin came in for full gas.
Busch's team is debating whether to come in late in a caution period. Lots of animated debate. Jack Rausch has a degree in mathematics... team owner.
Yehaw! We gots us a race to the finish!
Update 4:16PM: Johnson, Busch and Gordon all come in for what they hope will be their final gas! Holy moley! This is hug-e-mongous!
Chad Knaus to Jimmie Johnson over race radio: "Just over sixty laps to go. You're just gonna have to haul ass buddy."
Let's go Jimmie!
Update 4:20PM: Busch is leading the championship points. He's a couple places ahead in the race. Jimmie needs to get in front of him and maintain some lead. Jimmie hasn't led any laps so he didn't get the lap-leading bonus. It's tight down to the end!
Update 4:23PM: Jimmie needs to beat Busch by about five or ten spots to win the championship. We're green again!
Update 5:07PM: It's tight. Three laps to go. Yellow. Jimmie and Gordon won't win the championship. They're vying for second. Busch can hold on.
Whoa!!! Newman hits the wall. How will they end it? Will they extend so that they can have a green flag finish? How much more dramatic could this be?
Update 5:15PM: On the restart Jimmie goes batXxxt crazy and passes like mad. He ends up in second! Gordon behind him. Jimmie secures second in the championship. It just wasn't enough to beat Busch though. Jimmie loses the championship by 8 points... 6506 to 6498... those points garnered over the entire season. Wow. That's down to the wire. So close!
Well, congrats to Jimmie and to Busch for the championship.
SufferFest 08 Day 4
