After last night's caution-fest at Lowes Motor Speedway, I can't say as I blame Kyle Busch all that much for losing his cool. He was riding around, making circles and all of the sudden, he gets taken out in one of those racing deals that's hard to swallow towards the end of a race. Now, if he had pulled a Jeff Gordon, whose mind has been out in la-la land anyway lately, and slapped the wall with 40 to go, then I would say he was way out of line, but to get taken out like that...well, let's just say that I have seen far greater stunts pulled than that, that went unpenalized and I don't believe he should be penalized either. In fact, I think NASCAR should start policing themselves a little better. Calling drivers into the big red trailer for showing any kind of emotion, whatsoever, is just plain ridiculous. Drivers are competitive, adrenaline gets going, and the "old school" drivers used to do it all the time, so what's wrong with it , now? Speaking of "old school", Kyle should take a look at what some of the veteran drivers do in situations like that to help himself out a bit more, too. Just look at Mark Martin, as an example. Mark gets around drivers he doesn't feel comfortable with, or drivers who are hell-bent on getting him loose and passing him, and he just lets them go. He doesn't race them at lap 320 of 400; he comes back at lap 375, or so, and then lets them have it. Kyle and a few of the other hot-heads need to view some footage and learn from their mistakes. And, a final slam on Jeff Gordon. Jeff has a new crew chief this year who seems bent on giving Jeff a decent race car, and Jeff seems bent on smashing the darn things up. I think 4-time Cup Champ needs to get his priorities straight and leave the safaris, fishing trips and television appearances to other people and start focusing on driving. I know he's been trying to debunk these allegations through words, but his actions show otherwise. Mr. Hendrick may want to have reconsidered signing into a deal with a 4-time ex-champ, who wants to wreck his cars, collect a paycheck and live the high life. Kyle Busch may be a little raw and rough and impatient, but at least he's got the fire. Give the guy a break.

Hey folks! I respect those with dissenting opinions from mine, just as long as they are not profane, or mean-spirited. If you tell me that you lump me in with the likes of so-and-so and that you don't respect my opinions, then so be it. I can deal with that kind of stuff. But, if I comment on your blog site and tell you that I disagree with you, that your facts are wrong, that your opinions are misguided, etc., don't think for a minute that by you retaliating against my comments, that it makes a hill of beans to me. There is a delete button on your blog; if you don't like what I have said and don't want it on there, then press the button. But, don't come here to my blog and start writing crap about me and my thoughts and opinions and that, "I suck", etc., so forth, and so on. That kind of crap is akin to two 5-year olds facing off and calling each other "doo-doo head". "No, you doo-doo head!" "Uh, uh, you doo-doo head!" It's ridiculous! Everyone is entitled to their opinion and if you don't like someone else's opinion, then either reply intelligently, or press "delete", it's that simple. I ripped into a couple of people recently for their slanted, misguided and mis-informed opinions concerning Barry Bonds; I told them that if they are going to report facts, they need to be prepared to cite their references. Well, at least one of those folks has decided to call me a "doo-doo head". Dude, I am not going to stoop to your level. If you've got a beef, then put it on your own blog, but make sure you cite facts before you do. Until then, if I come across your blog and you're spewing unsubstantiated venom at people, then be prepared for what you get in return. RapidRoy

This is an open letter to Brian France, the brain-child behind NASCAR's rise to the supposed top of the sporting world. Where were all of your fans tonight? I watched the Nextel Cup Open and the All-Star Challenge and guess what? Your show stunk up the joint! First of all, it wasn't nationally televised (only on FX, which not everybody gets), and secondly the stands weren't even half full. How do you explain that? I know, I know... the weather. Well, if you'll excuse me, I believe the stands have been pretty packed before on nights similar to tonight. And, as far as the FX thing, I would have thought that you would have learned not to do that a few years ago when the Daytona 500 was broadcast on FX and about 500 got to watch the thing. The bottom line is this, Brian. Fans are onto you. We can't afford your high prices, number one, and we've had enough of your "retooling" NASCAR, for number two. If want to keep taking Southern tracks away and messing with a formula for good racing that worked for years and years and years, then fine. We'll take our time and our money and go elsewhere and you can find another way to pay your bills. I looked very closely at race attendance last night and though I don't know the exact attendance figures, I can tell you that there were a lot of empty seats at Lowes Motor Speedway last night. I say we fire Brian France and replace him with Richard Petty, in the front office. Let the Kind decide what's best for NASCAR; he should know, he's been doing this an awful long time and should know what works best. King Richard for NASCAR president!

You know, there comes a defining moment in history, in every sport, where something has to be said and a stance has to be taken to one side or the other, but today, ESPN crossed the line. Outside of the San Francisco Bay area, there is little to no support for Barry Bond's supposed homerun record, yet I sat in a bar, in Chicago tonight, and listen to the idiots on ESPN sing Bond's praise like he was Jesus Christ, himself. Never, in my whole life, have I heard such blasphemy. You would think, that after all the reporting about the steroid abuse, the bad rep with the press, the derogatory statements about a man who helped baseball to achieve the greatness it has enjoyed over the years, that this day would pass without much fanfare. But, nooooooooooo! ESPN had to come to the rescue and make Barry Bonds seem like a freaking angel. Hey, let's run that clip of Barry hitting his 500th, 600th, and 700th homers again. I don't think I have quite puked enough. Actually, their footage did a world of good, because you can compare Barry's stature and physique for the first 12-15 years in the majors, compared to the last 5 or so, when he got the majority of his homeruns and other stats. Amazing, huh? Usually people slow down and start losing muscle mass and power, etc., when they hit 40. Not Barry, though. Its a special diet regimine he's on. What he's on is a steady diet of steroid a la mode, that's what he's on. Barry Bonds is everything that is wrong with baseball and those who cannot see that don't deserve to watch it anymore, because I put you in his category. Something needs to be done about people who chemically alter themselves to cheat history, and quick, before baseball starts going the way of the ABA in becoming extinct. Personally, I would test Barry Bonds for steroid usage tomorrow, just to see if he's thumbing his nose at authority, because I believe that he is. I think that because he is under the microscope, he feels that people believe he is being every day; and, because he's not being tested, he keeps right on juicing. I say test him. In fact, while you're at it, test them all. Test every MLB player in what the military would call, a "unit sweep". Then and only then, will we really get to the bottom of all of the controversy.

Ever watch an IROC race? IROC is the International Race of Champions series, and it is truly some of the most boring racing you'll ever see on television, or in person. How better to describe it? Let's see, hours and hours of sheer boredom, accented by fleeting moments of actual action. That is to say, the cars all look the same, are built the same and geared the same; everything on these cars is the same except the driver. The concept was a novel one, but makes for boring racing for the fan. Make all the cars the same and se just who is really the best driver out there. While this is great for bragging rights for the drivers, but lousy for the pit crews and the fans. Fans see a ho-hum race and the pit crews are relegated to spectators for the most part, as there are few adjustments that can be made to these cars to actually help out the driver. Well, guess what? The much ballyhooed Car-of-Tomorrow, or COT, as the press likes to call it, is of the same concept. Right now, there are three makes and models of cars allowed on a NASCAR track, the Ford Fusion, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and the Dodge Charger (although some teams still run an Intrepid now and again). Under the sheet metal, the cars are all pretty much the same, except for the engine blocks themselves. Outwardly, the cars must fit a template of their "stock" or showroom street car counterpart (sort of) and pass a rigorous inspection in order to compete. Well, as I understand it, the COT is the same car, across the board, except for the nameplate on the dash. They all have wings, they are all set up the same way; it's basically an IROC setup. It'll make for really close racing in large packs and ho-hum until somebody screws up and takes out half of the field. Oh, and by the way, all of you Toyota detractors, take note: it doesn't matter. It does not matter, one iota, whose name plate goes on the car; it's not really a Toyota. Nor is it a Ford, A Chevy, or a Dodge. It's an it. Its vanilla. Its blech! And on top of all of this, Brian France is going to raise your ticket prices to pay for the COT. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, what I wouldn't give for a race with old Buick's, Dodges, Plymouth's, Oldmobile's, Chevy's and Ford's. Man, what a sight! Bumping and beating and banging, Earnhardt, Petty, Waltrip, Gant, Pearson, Shepard. Oh, for the glory days!