I enjoy all forms of motorsports.  Believe it or not, I am also a very big NASCAR CUP fan.  The close racing and colorful personalities is a big reason why I’ve been a NASCAR follower since my childhood.  Two years ago I was really excited when my favorite driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, decided to leave the high glamour world of Formula One to compete in Stock Car Racing.  Montoya’s fearless demeanour and high level of skill has garnered him a dedicated following around the world.  As a Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500, CART & F1 winner, Montoya is regarded as one of the best all-around drivers ever. 

There are 36 races in a NASCAR CUP season.  After each race, points are rewarded based on the drivers’ finishing position, laps led, etc.  Montoya currently drives the #42 Target-Chevy for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing; a well known operation with successful Indycar and Sports Car teams. 

The “Chase” is NASCAR’s playoff season, where the top 12 drivers compete for the championship.  To qualify for the Chase, a driver must occupy a top 12 position after the 26th race.  Even though a driver does not qualify for NASCAR’s playoff season, he can still compete in the 10 remaining races.  However, only the drivers who qualified for the Chase can accumulate points to win the championship.  Montoya was able to qualify for the Chase this year, a first time for a non-American driver.  The Chase for the Sprnt Cup will start this week!

I personally feel Montoya will perform well during the Chase.  However, my first choice to win the championship is Mark Martin, the oldest driver in NASCAR.  Like Montoya, I’ve been watching Martin compete for a very long time.  It amazes me that he can still drive at a very high level, plus fellow drivers have the utmost respect for him due to his likeable personality and mannerisms on & off the race track.  He’s one of the few gentleman drivers left in any racing series.  Martin has never won the championship so it would be great to seem him finally claim the cup.  He currently drives the #5 Kellogs-Car Quest-Chevrolet for Hendricks Motorsports; a highly vaunted super team in NASCAR.

Regardless of who wins the cup, the 2009 NASCAR CUP season has been pretty exciting so far.  There’s bound to be some big changes next year as driver and personnel changes will occur from team to team.  Despite all this movement, NASCAR will always provide a thrilling spectable for true motorsport fans and gearheads who love to hear the rumble of those menacing V8 engines.

Since I only work 1 to 2 hours a day, there’s plenty of time for me to pursue other leisurely activities, like sleeping in every morning, watching paint dry, and most important of all, playing video games.  After a couple days of intense meditation and soul searching, I finally gave in to my evil desires (again).  Yes, I purchased another gaming laptop .  However, this is one laptop that you won’t find at a typical electronic store.

As a hardcore PC gamer, I need cutting edge technology to compete on the virtual battlefield.  Owning the fastest equipment is the only way to stay ahead of the competition.  This is why I recently purchased the hot looking Alienware M17x laptop.  Even though Alienware was purchased by Dell a couple of years ago, the company remains true to their roots by building super fast gaming machines for their respective audience.

A Monstrosity Known as the Alienware M17x

To be honest, the Alienware M17x is overkill for most computer users.  Don’t expect me to write essays, watch YouTube videos or post Tweets on this machine. With dual nVidia GTX 280M video cards and a beefy quad-core processor, this hefty amount of hardware is built for one purpose; to keep frame rates high and graphical settings at a maximum.  My previous gaming laptop is still very fast but pales in comparison to the Alienware M17x.

This is a bad-ass machine!  If you want portable gaming with the power of a high-end desktop, the Alienware M17x is a crazy perfect choice for hardcore enthusiasts (at least till the next upgrade cycle).

As a child of the 1980’s, I grew up watching a legendary Japanimation series called “Star Blazers“. It was a very mature cartoon for the time with thought provoking themes and political messages. The arc-based series was an epic adventure of intergalactic proportaions. Soonafter, spiritual successors like Robotech, etc, continued a wave of Anime properties that spawned huge storylines and deep character development.

Even after 30+ years, Star Blazers still has a big fan base. It remains a big reason why I’m a fan of Anime or Japanimation. And thanks to YouTube, past, present and future fans can view all of the episodes.

I recently ordered a DVD set of Star Blazers. It’s going to be a treat watching the entire series again!