This just in. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is selling his silver 2002 Mini Cooper on eBay.
As I type this the top bid is $33,700.00 with 12 hours left to go.
The following are the details of the sale from the eBay site:
Dale Jr. is looking to upgrade his car collection, so he is auctioning his 2002 Mini Cooper. This vehicle, which was purchased new by Dale Jr. in 2002, has been completely modified to provide the ultimate in performance and appearance. With only 3124 original miles, it is equipped with an upgraded computer, exhaust, transmission, clutch, and suspension. In addition, it has an installed super charger providing high-end torque to the 270 hp engine. The interior is custom carbon fiber and chrome plated. All modifications were completed by Mini Mania, the leading tuner in Mini Coopers. Dale Jr. has personally autographed the sun visor, and he is willing to autograph the dash if desired by the new owner. The winning bidder will be given the opportunity to receive the vehicle personally from Dale Jr. at his home in North Carolina. This vehicle is being offered through Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s company, JR Motorsports. In addition, the payment method will be processed through JR Motorsports. Once the auction is complete, we will contact you by phone with further instructions regarding acceptance of loan check or money order, and we will arrange a time and date for you to come and receive your vehicle personally from Dale Jr. You can bid with confidence, and we will be willing to answer any questions regarding the vehicle.
Notice how it says that the winner has the opportunity to receive the vehicle personally from Dale Jr. at his home? Uh yea, who wants to give me the money to bid on this? Anyone? Anyone?
A couple more things to talk about regarding the race weekend at Infineon. After the race was over I stuck around to watch Jeff Gordon receive his trophy and to see if I could catch another glimpse of Dale Jr.
I saw Jr. climb out of his car but I lost track of him after that. The garage area was insanely busy with teams packing up their haulers as fast as they could. You’d think that was a race too.
After the race I went to my car which happened to parked near the larger helipad area. A somewhat small group of fans were stationed there hoping to catch drivers before they jumped on a helicopter. When I arrived Boris Said, who finished 9th overall, was hanging around signing autographs and talking to fans. He was relaxed and in an obviously good mood.
A little girl with long blonde hair, who wore a red and white Dale Jr. outfit, and seemed to be about 11, wandered over to me. She was eyeing my credentials/garage pass. Since she was obviously a Jr. fan I asked her if she’d seen him, but she didn’t hear what I said, she told me that she and her mom had been at the helipad since there was about 25 laps left in the race. She was thrilled that she managed to get a ton of drivers to sign her visor, which she explained to me had been completely empty before now it was covered in black Sharpie signatures. I asked if Jr. had been by yet (I’ve got a one-track mind) but she said that she heard that he was driving out, not flying. Phooey! Foiled again! How’d she know that anyway?? At any rate, the little girl and her mom were going to wait for Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart to show up.
The prima donna arrived shortly thereafter and proceeded to ignore all of the fans that were calling out to him for autographs. Yes folks, I’m talking about Tony Stewart. Could there be a bigger tool?? It wasn’t like there were hundreds of fans out there wanting something from him. There were only a handful of kids really wanting to get his attention. But no, Tony ignored everyone except Boris Said.
I don’t dislike Tony. I’m indifferent I guess. I never really want him to win though. He seems a bit fake, or maybe just completely full of himself. Ya know I have yet to see a woman sitting on top of his pit box or standing next to him during the national anthem. Hmm. I wonder why that is. 
So the winner of the Dodge Save Mart 350 is Jeff Gordon. ugh. I so did not want him to win. But what can you do? Apparently he has another reason to celebrate today. He recently became engaged to his longtime girlfriend. I have no idea what her name is and honest I don’t really care. I’m not trying to be mean but ya know whatever. For those of you who care, and you all should, Junior finished (unofficially) 26th. This is exactly where he started at the beginning of the race. Looks like he’s lost a spot in the top, this bumps him down to 5th in the race for the chase.
Now for some stats…
At the end of the race there were 31 cars on the lead lap. There were 9 lead changes amongst 8 drivers. There were 7 cautions for 12 laps. Pit crew members are super buff. Seriously ladies, some of these guys are even ex-football players. Hello! That wasn’t really a stat so much as it was a very keen observation on my part.
All in all this was a great race weekend. Infineon is a great place to see a race. You can bring the entire family, there’s something for literally everyone to see and/or do. Plus no matter where you’re sitting around the track you’ve got a great view of any number of the turns. I wish that I could have covered more of it, but it’ll just have to wait until next year.
So I’m thinking my little miracle isn’t going to happen. There are ten laps left and Dale Jr is in 32nd spot. That’s not so good.
Yet another caution flag is out, the sixth one of the day, and I’m hoping that Jeff Gordon doesn’t win. I don’t dislike him so much as I just want someone else to win. It’s much more interesting when someone who everybody isn’t talking about wins. I hope they can make these final laps interesting and give Gordon a run for his money. At least make him work for it.
From my seat in the media center I overlook Jamie McMurray’s pit stall. Here are a few photos from my point-of-view. This is so cool.
At about the 38th lap the caution flag has come out and Ryan Newman is leading the race.
The race has begun and stopped, only for a little bit. On the first lap there was a big pile-up involving Sterling Marlin, Tom Hubert and Ken Schrader. All three guys are ok and their cars are in the garage.
This race can be done with only two pit stops. I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that, let the caution flags fly!
