THE DAYTONA 500

It goes off this Sunday. For years I've hosted a Daytona 500 party, my version of a superbowl party. Fortunately my bro picked it up this year and is hosting, as there's no way I'd have the time to do it this year. Thanks KK! While there is much about NASCAR racing I'd change, no one in power has asked, so I'll skip my laments for now.
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While I'd prefer to see something like the photo above, I still like the competiveness of today's NASCAR, and the TV coverage is unbelieveable. A multitude of cameras shoot from viewpoints I only used to imagine. Much better than the grainy, long shot from the infield which is all I used to see watching Wide World of Sports. I admit I still get a bit of a rush watching a field of 40+ cars come zooming down the front stretch, bumper to bumper, past the green flag for the start. I hope most of you car enthusiasts feel the same, and I hope you all can spend some fun time with friends this Sunday watching.
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As a follow-up to the radiator follies, I will tell you right out my budget fix failed miserably. Or failed fantastically, I'm not sure which. Anyway, it didn't work. I bought a new radiator and put it in Thursday morning. Yes it was over $300, but it's brand new. Also, it's physically HUGE, so at least I got a lot of radiator for my money. No wonder the truck would never overheat, even with a cracked radiator; it holds so much water it could never get hot enough. It didn't take long to change it, and I had all the tools required. I would have had it done in about an hour, but a balky lower radiator hose really gave me a fight. I never feel bad about the cost of putting a new radiator in a vehicle. Instead I feel a sense of security, like, at least I never have to worry about this again for as long as I'll own it. I often drive the truck on long trips, towing a trailer, so reliability is a primary concern. Thank goodness that awful smell of hot coolant is gone!
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photo: Somewhere on the HAMB