WITH ALL OF THE EXCITEMENT, WRECKS, AND TRIPS TO THE TRAILER THIS WEEKEND EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S TIME AGAIN TO GO RACIN, BUT AS I WATCHED THE SHOOTOUT LAST NIGHT, GIANT YEEHAWW FOR JR., I COULDN'T HELP BUT THINK, "A LOT OF THOSE PROBLEMS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED IF THERE HAD BEEN A LEADER."
BACK IN THE EARLY 90'S GEORGE JONES RECORDED A SONG WHOSE GONNA FILL THIER SHOES WHERE HE TALKS ABOUT THE LOSING OF MANY OF THE GREAT COUNTRY MUSIC SINGERS AND WHO IS GOING TO COME AFTER AND FILL THEIR SHOES. WELL, IT'S MUCH THE SAME IN NASCAR RACING, EXCEPT WE HAVE A TON OF DRIVERS WHO WILL TAKE THE PLACE OF MOST OF THE GREAT DRIVERS OF THE PAST.
BUT TO ME IT APPEARS THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVER HAS NOT BEEN REPLACED YET, THAT BEING DALE EARNHARDT SR., AND I DON'T DON'T MEAN AS A DRIVER, BUT AS A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DRIVERS.
FOLKS IN MY OPINION, THERE WILL NEVER BE A DRIVER WHO WILL REPLACE BIG DALE AS A DRIVER, THAT ERA IS GONE, NEVER TO BE REVIVED. THE THINGS THAT MADE DALE WHAT HE WAS HAVE ALL BEEN REPLACED WITH NEW, BRIGHT, SHINY THINGS. BUT WHAT DOES HAVE TO BE REPLACED IS A LEADER OR SPEAKER FOR THE DRIVERS, SOMEONE WHO CAN WALK IN THAT TRAILER AND SAY " MIKE, THIS IS BULL S___ AND HAS TO STOP OR BE CHANGED."
I DON'T KNOW WHO IS GOING TO DO THAT, ALTHOUGH DURING HIS INTERVIEW LAST NIGHT TONY DID SHOW A SIDE THAT ISN'T SEEN VERY OFTEN. WHEN ASK ABOUT HARD FEELINGS TOWARD BUSCH, HE TOOK TIME TO EXPLAIN SOME OF THE THINGS WITH THE CARS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH, AND STATED THAT TO CARRY HARD FEELINGS WAS FOOLISH OVER SOMETHING LIKE THAT. NOW ALL THAT MAY HAVE COME FROM HIS MOST RECENT TRIP TO THE TRAILER, I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT DID SOUND GOOD AND VERY MATURE. ALSO DURING HIS TIME IN THE BOOTH LAST NIGHT KEVIN HARVICK PUT FORTH SOME VERY GOOD INSIGHTS AS TO WHAT IS GOING ON. JUST MAYBE HE WILL BE THE ONE TO STEP UP, DOWN THRU HISTORY ANY GREAT LEADERS HAVE COME FROM NO WHERE AND GOTTEN THE JOB DONE.
I KNOW THAT SOMEBODY NEEDS TO STEP IT UP AND FILL A PAIR OF SHOES, CAUSE RIGHT NOW THE DRIVERS ARE JUST OUT THERE, SWINGING FROM THE OUTHOUSE DOOR, WITH NO PANTS ON, AND THAT AIN'T A GOOD THING.
FOLKS, RIGHT NOW THE SUN IS STARTING TO RISE, AND IT PROMISES TO BE A FINE DAY, WITH THE TEMP. IN THE HIGH 50'S AND QUITE ABIT OF SUNSHINE. NOW MOST OF YOU WOULD WONDER WHY THIS IS GOING TO BE SO GREAT, SINCE IT IS THE DAY OF SOUTHERN CINDI'S FUNERAL SERVICE.
WELL HERE IS HOW I SEE IT, SHE LOVED SUN AND WARM WEATHER, WHICH SHE IS GOING TO GET, SHE LOVED PEOPLE, AND THERE IS GOING TO BE LOTS OF PEOPLE THERE, AND SHE LOVED MUSIC, WHICH THERE WILL BE, RANGING FROM A FANTASTIC VERISON OF AMAZING GRACE BY CARLOS SANTANA AND JEFF BECK, TO IN THE GARDEN BY THE STATLER BROTHERS , TO SEVEN BRIDGES ROAD BY THE EAGLES.
I TALKED WITH HER MOM LAST NIGHT, AND BY AND FAR SHE AND THE REST OF THE FAMILY IS DOING WELL, MOM SUE AND CINDI'S SISTER-IN-LAW HAVE GONE THRU AND COLLECTED IN HARDCOPY ALL OF THE BLOGS AND POSTS THAT YOU FOLKS PUT ON HERE IN THE LAST FEW DAYS AND PLAN ON MAKING A BOOK OUT OF THEM. SHE DID ASK THAT I ONCE AGAIN EXTEND THE FAMILY'S THANKS TO EACH OF YOU FOR CARING AND THE KIND WORDS.
SO NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE TODAY, AT 1:00 THIS AFTERNOON, STOP FOR JUST A SECOND, KINDA LOOK TOT HE SOUTHEAST AND SAY "SEE YA AROUND, LITTLE LADY", CAUSE FOLKS SHE AIN'T GOIN' FAR.
GIVE'EM HELL GIRL. AND KEEP THE CAUTION FLAG IN YOUR POCKET
WELL, IT IS JUST A LITTLE OVER A MONTH BEFORE DAYTONA, SO I THOUGHT I WOULD START MY GRIPPING EARLY AND AVOID THE CROWD. MANY OF US HAVE YELLED ABOUT THE POINT SYSTEM BEING HARD TO FOLLOW, UNFAIR, ETC., ETC., ETC. AND AS YOU KNOW I HAVE ALWAYS SAID IT SHOULD BE ABOUT REWARDS FOR THE WINNER AND THOSE THAT DO THE BEST.
ANYWAY, I HAVE PUT TOGETHER A POINT SYSTEM THAT I AM GOING TO TRACK THIS COMING SEASON JUST TO SEE HOW CLOSE I COME TO NASCAR'S OUTCOME. THERE WILL BE NO BONUS POINTS, AND WHEN THE FINAL 10 RACES START THE CHASE DRIVERS WILL ALL HAVE THE SAME NUMBER OF POINTS, BUT 250 POINTS HIGHER THEN THE 13TH PLACE DRIVER. EXAMPLE: IF NO. 13 HAS 1000 POINTS THE CHASE DRIVERS WILL START WITH 1250.
AFTER THE 36TH RACE THE TOP 12 WILL BE PUT IN PLACE BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THAT RACE. THIS IS THE WAY MY POINTS SYSTEM WILL RUN FOR THE SEASON.
WINNER = 250 POINTS
SECOND = 200 POINTS
3 - 10 = 195 DOWN TO 160 POINTS
11 - 20 = 154 DOWN TO 100 POINTS
21 - 32 = 95 DOWN TO 40 POINTS
33 - 43 = 35 POINTS
FOLKS, THERE MAYBE A 1000 HOLES IN THIS SYSTEM, BUT I THINK IT WILL BE FUN AND WORK AS WELL AS NASCAR'S. ALSO ALMOST FORGOT, POINTS TAKEN AWAY FROM DRIVERS BY NASCAR WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM THE POINTS HERE. WE HAVE TO KEEP IT FAIR, EVEN IF WE DON'T AGREE WITH THE LOSS OF DRIVER POINTS.
GOOD MORNING FOLKS, JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN AND GIVE YOU WHAT INFO I HAVE ON CINDI'S SERVICES. THE SERVICE IS TO BE SATURDAY THE 19TH AT 1:00 IN THE AFTERNOON, AT BEYERS FUNERAL HOME IN LEESBURG FLORIDA, THEN THE INTERMENT WILL FOLLOW AT HOLY TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH. ANY OF YOU WHO ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO ATTEND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO AND MEET THE FAMILY, CINDI WOULD GET QUITE A KICK OUT OF THIS TURNING INTO A GIANT MEET AND GREET.
ONCE AGAIN I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU WHO LEFT SUCH KIND WORDS ON MY LAST POST. CINDI'S FAMILY HAS READ THEM AND THEY WERE TOTALLY JOYED BY YOUR WONDERFUL WORDS.
I KNOW SEVERAL OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND CARDS, BUT FOLKS DUE TO THE FREAKS OUT THERE I WILL NOT GIVE OUT THE HOME ADDRESS ONLINE. THERE ARE A FEW FOLKS WHO I HAVE GIVEN IT TO AND THEY CAN E-MAIL TO PEOPLE THEY THINK WOULD WANT TO SEND CARDS, ALSO CARDS CAN BE SENT TO THE FAMILY VIA THE FUNERAL HOME IN LEESBURG. IF IT SEEMS I AM BEING AN #### ABOUT THIS I AM SORRY BUT CINDI'S FAMILY DOES NOT NEED ANYMORE PROBLEMS RIGHT NOW. YOU GUYS AND GALS THAT HAVE THE ADDRESS YOU KNOW WHO YOU CAN TRUST SO SEND IT AT YOUR DISCRESSION.
FOLK, HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT CINDI HAS ALREADY STARTED INFLUENCING THINGS, I MEAN JOE GIBBS GOING BACK TO RUN THE TEAM, KYLE IN A TOYATO LEADING THE TESTING AT DAYTONA AND YOU KNOW TONY ISN'T FAR BEHIND. THIS CAN NOT BE JUST A COINCIDENCE. I AM BEGINNING TO THINK THAT GIBBS RACING MAY VERY WELL HAVE AN ANGELIC ADVANTAGE THIS YEAR.
FOLKS I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO KEEP YOU UPDATED ON OUR GIRL SOUTHERN CINDI. WELL RIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS SHE SORT OF WHEN DOWN HILL. NO THAT IS NOT RIGHT SHE WENT DOWN HILL.
RIGHT NOW SHE IS AT A HO####E HOUSE AND IS FIXING TO HAVE MORE TESTS RUN TO SEE IF THEY CAN DO MORE TREATMENTS. SHE IS HAVING REALLY EXTREMELY BAD HEADACHES, AND IS SLEEPING MORE THEN SHE IS AWAKE.
I TALKED WITH HER MOM YESTERDAY AND SHE SAID CINDI STILL HAS THAT WONDERFUL SMILE WHEN SHE IS AWAKE AND TALKING ABOUT HER FAVORITE THINGS SUCH AS HER TRIP TO DEGA AND TONY STEWERT.
IF AND WHEN I GET ANYMORE INFO I WILL LET YOU KNOW, BUT UNTIL THEN A FEW PRAYERS MIGHT DO ALOT OF GOOD, SO IF YOU HAVE A SECOND SAY ONE FOR HER AND HER FAMILY.
I REALLY DON'T WANT TO BE A DOOM AND GLOOM TYPE OF GUY, BUT I AM REALLY GETTING SCARED, BUT THEN SHE HAS SURPRISED US BEFORE AND SHE JUST MIGHT DO IT AGAIN. WE CAN ONLY HOPE.
The roots of this thing we call NASCAR took hold in the dark and starry nights of the South. Anyone who has watched "Thunder Road" knows the excitement of a late night road chase. For me, these are signs of where and when racing should take place.
There are many advantages to moving more races to the twilight hours. The first and maybe the biggest would be driver and fan comfort. The temperature would be lower; therefore, it would not take near the toll on fans, drivers, or crews. It would also lower the track temperature thus providing better grip and better racing. Now, making the assumption that NASCAR would continue to run their night races on Saturday it would allow fans to return home and recuperate before going to work on Monday morning. The television networks would benefit by having a larger home audience, because both the guy and gal fans would be able to get their weekend "honey do's" done early in the day on Saturday and then relax and watch the race on Saturday evening. Last but not least the sponsors would be able to get their products introduced during prime time, which is normally reserved for more mundane things like various internet services and cheap travel tickets.
Folks the visual and audio effects of a night race are enough for me to wish for more night races. Any of you who have ever attended a sporting event during the day and then attended the same type of event at night know what I am talking about. The fans are more into the action, the colors are more vivid, the noise is louder, the action appears faster and the ending just seems more exciting. It's like the difference in seeing a 4th of July fireworks display during the day, then seeing it done at night.
The biggest drawback I see is the impact Saturday night NASCAR might have on the smaller local tracks in the area. But with a little planning and coordinating, the impact could be reduced to almost nil. If it were coordinated, where the smaller tracks would run on Friday night before the Cup race NASCAR could contract Cup drivers to do autograph parties at the track. Another thing they could do is donating 10 or 20 pairs of tickets for the Cup race, to be given away on Friday night. I think that the increase in fans, hoping to get an autograph or a pair of Cup tickets, would more then off set moving that one week's race to Friday night.
I'm sure there are other disadvantages, but being a kid at heart I don't want to see them, because I want what I want: more color, noise, action, and cooler temperatures. What more could you ask for?
I GUESS I AM JUST GETTING TO PICKY IN MY OLD AGE, WHAT THE HELL DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE IF YOU CALL IT CINGULAR OR A####mp;T IT IS THE SAME COMPANY AND IT IS THE SAME COMPETATION THAT NEXTEL HAD WHEN THEY AGREED TO THE SPONSORSHIP OF THE RACE PROGRAM.
IT'S NOT REALLY ANY DIFFERENT THEN IF LOWE'S BOUGHT OUT HOME DEPOT AND TONY'S SPONSOR BECAME LOWES HOME DEPOT, SAME COMPANY ONLY TWICE AS BIG.
I UNDERSTAND THAT NEXTEL WAS CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING A LOAD OF OTHER PHONE COMPANIES PUT UP SPONSORSHIP WHILE THEY WERE TRYING TO HOCK THEIR WARES AS THE TITLE HOLDER OF THE NASCAR SERIS, BUT IT ISN'T LIKE THERE WILL NOW BE A THIRD CELL-PHONE COMPANY PLASTERED ALL OVER A RACE CAR, RUNNING AROUND THE TRACKS OF THE UNITED STATES. WHEN NEXTEL TOOK OVER THERE WERE 2 COMPANIES GRANDFATHERED IN ALTEL AND CINGULAR AND NOW THERE ARE STILL ONLY GOING TO BE THE SAME 2 COMPANIES ONLY ONE WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT NAME.
BESIDES I'M BETTING THAT NEXTEL KNEW ABOUT THE BUY-OUT BEFORE SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AT CINGULAR AND FOR THEM TO WAIT UNTIL THIS CLOSE TO THE START OF THE 2007 SEASON TO RAISE THE QUESTION IS JUST PLAIN STUPID.
THIS MOST LIKELY MAKES NO SENSE TO ANY OF YOU, BUT I FELT THAT IT HAD TO BE SAID.
I AM FROM OKLAHOMA AND HAVE WORKED IN THE FIELD OF YOUTH SPORTS AND RECREATION FOR OVER 25 YEARS.
I AM A FAN OF NASCAR, AND OU COLLEGE FOOTBALL. THINGS THAT ARE PUT ON THIS BLOG WILL USUALLY BE BASED ON THESE SUBJECTS , BUT NOT ALL THE TIME.
