BLOG: Time for Spring

It's Martinsville week here in the Southland, and you know what that means.

It means, as far as I can tell, that the darn groundhog was sniffing something when he made his prediction last month. I swear, it's like he meant six months left in winter, not six weeks.

Be that as it may, we're ready to roll into the concrete corners and tight confines of Martinsville Speedway this weekend, and I'll be packing a tent, those chemical hand-warmers and a sled dog for the weekend.

How cold was it in Charlotte this past week? It was so cold...people were making Tony Stewart mad just so they could generate some warmth!

Just kidding, Smoke...could you yell at me from over here? Again, just kidding.

Even out at Auto Club Speedway, it was a bit nippish. Highest temperature of the weekend was in the low 70s. Not what I expected at all from the land of In-N-Out Burger and creosote bushes.

Thought of the day: Goodyear came out of the race last weekend without damage. They made the tire the way it should have been made. It was operator error that caused them to break down more than my father's old MG Midget. Know what the MG stands for? Mostly Garaged.If you're going to undercut the minimum air pressure by 10 pounds, you get what you deserve. Yeah, the cars make several hundred pounds more downforce than they used to, and the sweet spot might be harder to find than an honest politician (that's a hip reference in Charlotte this week), but you have to check yourself before you wreck yourself.

The tires will be fine this weekend at Martinsville. Trust me. The teams don't mess with the pressures so much because they can't afford to, and the downforce isn't as big a factor. Beads, now, they're a factor, but if it remains on the cool side, it should be just fine.

If you want to look me up at Martinsville, I'll be in the fourth igloo from the entrance to the driver motorhome lot.