I find it offensive, digrating, and disrepecting when "NASCAR FANS" taunt drivers and fans just because of where they are from ie the SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, the way they talk  ie their use of the english language (just because a person does not say things the way you do DOES NOT MAKE THEM STUPID AND UNEDUCATED).  What this is to me is a full blown BIGOT who does not have the respect of people around them to see that.  I am the daughter of a southerner and have many friends that are from the south and they were just at offended as I was when I read the comments by 24x2 under my blog Junior's Doubters.  Do not compare Junior to his father because he even knows that he will not be any where near his father in talent.  But as for smarts he is a lot smarter than many people think he is, though he has a different way of saying things.  I say a lot of things much like Junior does though most of the time I do correct myself or someone tells me I did say something wrong.

Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were up to their usual on Track and Pit Lane tirades in Charlotte Memorial Day Weekend and Who got into trouble?  Tony Eury Sr. Crew Chief of the #88 Nationwide JR Motorsports Chevy and a couple of his crew members for their part in the pit lane fight between Denny Hamlin and the # 20 Nationwide JGR Toyota Crew. 

Denny did not like the fact that Brad Kesolowski and Dale Jr. were racing him hard for position in the final laps of the Carquest 300.  WHAT DO YOU EXPECT YOU WHINER.  It does not matter if Brad is just a Nationwide regular and you and Junior only do the Nationwide Series part time.  YOU HAVE TO EARN THE POSITIONS YOU GET and RACE HARD to get them.  That is why Dale Jr. has TWO NATIONWIDE (FORMERLY BUSCH) Championships and is CURRENTLY AHEAD OF DENNY IN THE CUP SERIES POINTS.  Junior and Brad do not go and WHINE when the other 42 drivers they are against race them hard because that is the reason for the RACE.  That is why Brad bumped Denny is Brad did not like the fact that Denny was trying to take him out before Denny knocked the left front in on Brad's car.  Then Denny found out the hard way YOU DO NOT #### OFF JUNIOR.  And then Denny and his crew had the gall to go after Brad's crew and NASCAR just punished Brad's crew WRONG.  NASCAR NEEDS TO PUNISH DENNY and the #20 JGR CREW for their actions on the TRACK and on PIT LANE as well.  If it is any one who will be throwing concrete blocks and not rocks I think that it will be Junior during the Cup races against Denny and Kyle B, and Brad during the Nationwide races against Denny.

Kyle Busch confronted Jeff Gordon on Pit Lane after the Coca-Cola 600 because Kyle did not like his former Hendrick Teammate racing him for third at the end of the 600.  AGAIN WHINER what does Kyle B. expect all the other 42 drivers to get out of his way and when are theses PUNKS going to learn HAVE TO EARN THE POSITIONS AND RACE HARD TO GET AND KEEP THEM.  YOU DO NOT #### OFF A 4-TIME CUP CHAMPION in that manner who knows that racing hard is part of the game. Neither Kyle B. or Jeff have gotten into trouble with NASCAR for this altercation because on  punches were thrown. 

What NASCAR needs to do with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin is do what they did with Jimmy Spencer, Kevin Harvick and Ted Musgrave.  Suspend them from racing in any NASCAR Series not just for one race but until the start of the Chase and maybe Kyle B. and Denny may learn that what they have been doing on the track and in Pit Lane is not safe but STUPID.

For all you Dale Earnhardt Jr. doubters out there here is something that you may or may not like.  He is not a self-centered it's all about me racecar driver like Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, or Denny Hamlin.

Though Dale Jr. is the most popular driver in NASCAR he was not allowed to act the way the three aboved mentioned drivers acted when they were children or even now on and off the race track.  He got into trouble one to many times with his dad and ended up in Miltary School that straightened him out in a hurry.  Besides his mom and dad raised him to be a gentleman and not a WHINER or a SPOILED BRAT.  Though by listening to Teresa Earnhardt you might thing that is what she thinks of her youngest stepson.  All he has wanted to do was race and he had to prove that to his dad the hard way by owning, towing, and working on his race cars from the time he was 17 years old.  It was not until the fall of 1997 that Dale Sr. decided to put Junior into a DEI car full time.  What did Junior do but go and win two consecutive (Busch) Nationwide Series Championships in some of the best equipment that series had.  The problem has been DEI's Cup Series equipment over the past ten years and the fact that Dale Jr. has been in a constant rift with Teresa for almost 30 years.

 I have been a Junior fan since 1997 and I am not saying that he is the best driver out there by any means.  I greatly disagree with  a lot of what other JR NATION fans think, say, and do because I do have respect for most of the drivers that race in NASCAR.  The reasons why I like Junior is he a true racecar driver though he has a lot of outside interests.  Give him credit as well he could have quit racing after his dad died but he did not and he is not full of himself.  He finally got into some good equipment and is the lead Hendrick driver so far this year.  He does just like his dad when it comes to charitable things he does it quietly and it does not always come out what he does with Make a Wish, Victory Junction Gang Camps, supporting our troops (sending care packages on a regular basis to Iraq and Afgainstan), and various other charities.  Where as with Tony, Kyle B. and Denny they have to let it be known what they are doing a majority of the time.  When Junior is not doing TV for one reason or another, an apperance, testing, or a race he tries to keep himself low key and his private life away from the media and fans.  That is why he has not talked much about his rift with Teresa and how he has dealt with his father's death or even why he made the decision to leave DEI and go to Hendrick Motorsports.

My problem is that there are drivers out there like Tony, Kyle Busch, and Denny think they OWN the RACE TRACK and expect the other drivers just to get out of their way when they are racing.  THAT IS NOT RACING you have to earn your positions.  Tony, Kyle B.,  and Denny feel that if the other drivers race them hard, the drivers should not be on the track including Junior, Jeff Gordon, and Brad Keslowski (Nationwide) just to name a few because those three JGR drivers think that all other drivers are below them.  I am saying is that Tony, Kyle B. and Denny need to get off their high horses and GROW UP are realize that they are at this level becasue they are good drivers and have to compete against some of the best drivers in the WORLD on a weekly basis.  Dale Jr. has realized this from a young age watching his dad and as he became a driver at this level as well.

I just want to say this THANK YOU to all the MEN and WOMEN who are serving or have served in the MILITARY at any time.  I even send up a quiet THANK YOU to the MEN and WOMEN who died in the line of duty and to the ones who died days, weeks, months and years later as well.  They are the ones who have sacrificed themselves to make sure we have the freedoms we have today.  I try to do this every day of the year but it is especially important the next 10 days to do this since May 17, 2008 is ARMED FORCES DAY and May 26, 2008 is MEMORIAL DAY.

This is done in Memory of my Grandpas Norman S. Strasser Sr. (US ARMY WWII) who passed away in 1975 and Ted Teske (US ARMY WWII) who passed away in 1993.  Plus honoring my dad Norman "Butch" S. Strasser Jr.  (US NAVY VIETNAM 1960-1980) THANK YOU ALWAYS

I have grown up with Auto Racing being a big part of my life especially NASCAR.  My first experince at a racetrack was at the old paved San Jose Track in California as an infant and toddler  watching the Old NASCAR WEST Modified Series from 1969-1972.  Then it was the mid-west dirt short tracks at Waukeen Speedway (IL) and Kenosha County Fairgrounds (WI) watching winged Modifieds and Sprint Cars from 1977-1980.  Then it was to Skagit Speedway and Everegreen Speedway in Washington State where I saw Sprint Cars, Modifieds, Midgets, and Stock Cars from 1981-2000.  I even have been to Manzinita Speedway and Phoenix International Speedway in Arizona and more recently to Vegas.   Sadly over the past several years (since 2001) because of a disablity, lack of money, and moving I have not been able to go to races except Vegas in 2005 for the then Busch Series and Cup Series Races.  The closest racetrack to me now is Meridan Speedway in Idaho and that is a five hour trip one way.  I have been glued to a TV just about every weekened to watch a NASCAR race since 1979 and if I missed a race I found a way to get the results as fast as possible.

I have watched Dale Earnhardt since Dale Sr. was a full time rookiee in 1979 and then even now I knew I was witnessing something special and I became a IRONHEAD fan in an instant.  Since I had been following racing before 1979 I had heard of Ralph Earnhardt and was saddened when I had heard of his death in 1973.  Dale Earnhart came into the sport full time at the right time since NASCAR was being brought to the NATION on a regular basis.  Though Dale had his way of getting past someone you could tell he was trying hard to prove himself those early years since Ralph had won so many races and won the 1956 Sportsman Championship.  Ralph made Dale work on the cars and earn his keep and in the 30+ years Dale raced he more then earned his keep and got out of Ralph's shadow by the time the Intimidator died in 2001.  With seven Cup Series Championships and 76 wins Dale Earnhardt died a legend just as his father Ralph had passed away a legend in his own right. 

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided he wanted to follow in his grandfather's and father's footsteps and become a racecar driver Dale Sr. took the same approach with his son as Ralph had done with him.  Dale Sr. made Junior work his way from the bottom up on his own until 1998.  I remember that February day in 1998 (it was Valentine's Day) watch the Busch race and seeing that #3 AC Delco car with Dale Jr. in it then all of a sudden seeing Junior flying through the air and ending his day early.  To think about it, it was interesting the next day seeing Dale Sr. win his only Daytona 500 and by the end of that season Junior coming back from that season opening wreck to win the Busch Series Championship and follow it up with the 1999 Busch Championship as well.   It was Junior's ability to come back from a wreck and win the back to back Championships that made me a fan of his.

Though Junior has the two Busch Championships he has had some success in the Cup series just not recently.  The hardest thing that Junior has had to deal with is the loss of his dad in 2001 and you have to give him credit for staying with DEI for six years afterward.  Junior as most of us know by now never has gotten along well with is step-mom Teresa Earnhardt and it was to a point in their relationship personally and professionally that a change needed to be made at DEI.  That relationship with Teresa, and the fact that Junior felt that he was not with a team that could consistantly vie for a Cup Championship, Junior decided to leave the only Organization he had run full time for since 1998 in the top two NASCAR Series'.  Junior now is with Hendrick Motorsports and though he has won the Bud Shootout and a 150 qualifying race for the Daytona 500 he has yet to win a points race for the first time on over two years.  I think the points wins will come this year for Junior he is still getting used to the Hendrick Way and having an owner that ACTUALLY CARES for him again.  Junior has grown up a lot in the ten years since he took that wild ride at Daytona in the Busch (now Nationwide) Series, especially since his father died.   Also remember that when Dale Sr. went from Bud Moore's team back to Richard Childress' team it took a couple of years before they had a lot of success.  Junior will have that success at Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Sr. would have wanted that for his son no matter what team Junior raced for.