Do you miss Miss Winston? I don’t — I was satisfied when her position was eliminated. Which is why I’m irked at the fact that California Speedway feels the need to recruit Umbrella Girls for this weekend’s race in Fontana. Check out the video of the girls over at the AOL NASCAR Fanhouse, if you’re first reaction isn’t to gag then I just don’t know you anymore.
The problem that I have with this is that we don’t need them. They bring nothing to the event except T&A, and while I’m sure men will find that appealing in general, overall it doesn’t add any excitement to the races. I seriously doubt that knowing that these “models” will be at the race would make someone buy a ticket for the first time. Especially in a place like southern California where it’s not hard to find a lot of people that are either models or aspiring actresses or women that are just trying to look like one of the two.
California Speedway’s other marketing ploy is a celeb-filled party they’re throwing at a club called Avalon in Hollywood tonight. While I don’t know that this will automatically translate into more butts in the seats for the race weekend, it could help with buzz — maybe, possibly, sorta.
All I know is that the last time I was in L.A. for my youngest nephew’s birthday party, one of the parents in attendance told my mom (after my mom told her about my blog) that she’d never met a NASCAR fan before. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I mean I know NASCAR isn’t the most popular or talked about sport in our country but I’d put it on the same level as hockey. I know the major players, the general lay of the land, but I don’t follow it. But there’s no way I could ever say that I’d never met a hockey fan.
In other news…
– IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves has been added to the cast of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The new season starts September 24th.
– You can still get free tickets to this weekend’s race at the California Speedway, check out the details from Kodak:
As part of a promotion for its KODAK EASYSHARE All-in-One printers, Kodak is giving race fans something to “thINK” about.
To celebrate the winning entry in the company’s “Ink Ryan’s Ride” contest, Kodak will unveil a never-before-seen, custom-designed paint scheme for Ryan Newman’s No. 12 KODAK Dodge. The winning design was selected from over 3,000 contest entries, which were judged by driver Ryan Newman, NBA alum and TV co-host John Salley from “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” and online votes. After its unveiling, Newman will drive the newly inked car in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Sharp AQUOS® 500 race on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007, at the California Speedway.
As further promotion of KODAK EASYSHARE All-in-One Printers, the first 75 fans to bring an old printer to the unveiling will receive two free tickets to the Sharp AQUOS 500 race, complements of Kodak, along with a coupon for dollars off a new KODAK Printer. All old printers will be sent to an electronics recycling center.
All attendees will receive a picture of the newly designed No. 12 KODAK DODGE, printed on the new KODAK Printer.
The Kodak Theatre
Hollywood and Highland Center Awards Walk
6801 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA. 90028Saturday, September 1, 2007
11:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.
– Carl Edwards is always up to something, good that is, and tomorrow he’ll be at the Rancho Cucamonga Office Depot store for a backpack donation event:
Edwards will participate in his second Office Depot Foundation backpack donation event of 2007. He will be at the Office Depot store at 8160 Day Creek Boulevard in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. on Thursday, August 30 from 5:00-7:00 PM. An autograph session will immediately follow the backpack donation. Fans wishing to participate may pick up a wristband starting at 7:00 AM at the store. Only the first 200 people will receive wristbands.
– Ok, I’m officially sad that I’m not going to be at the race this weekend. The band 30 Seconds to Mars will be performing in the California FanZone on Sunday (at 1:45pm, the show is free with admission to the race) and I have to miss it! Gah. They’re a great band you should definitely make a point to check them out if you’re going to be there. Tell the lead singer, Jared Leto, I said “Hi” and feel free to give him my phone number.
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I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.
I gotta thank everyone that has left comments and/or emailed me regarding my last post about my plans for next year. I really appreciate it. It’s very encouraging to me and it lets me know that I’m on the right path with this. It’s my favorite thing to think about these days. I relish the thought of getting to be at the track every week and possibly getting to meet all the people that read my blog. Wouldn’t that be cool?
Ah, ok, so enough of that — for now — I have to talk about Bristol and how boring the race was. I’m not afraid to admit that I did in fact fall asleep during this race. I woke up in time to find out that Carl Edwards had won and that Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 5th. It sucks that we can’t enjoy that 5th place finish more because of this whole Chase stuff.
More than anything I want that guy in the Chase but it won’t be the end of the world if he doesn’t make it. I want that guy to win a friggin’ race. Gah! I am happy that Clint Bowyer looks to be set for the Chase and I really want him to succeed — and win a race too! Those two guys are so due for one it’s ridiculous.
I think someone needs to sit down with the folks at ESPN and talk to them about their race coverage. It’s getting to the point now where I don’t even want to watch the pre-race show. I mute them! They’re killin’ me! Too much stuff is repeated. I couldn’t believe they actually had analysis on Junior’s motives for not wanting people to talk smack about his step-mother. Could it just be that he’s a nice guy? And that people calling her names isn’t going to change anything?
I usually long for Darrell Waltrip after Fox’s NASCAR coverage is over, but I’m going through some serious DW withdrawal right now. There’s nobody like him and Rusty Wallace makes me roll my eyes like fifty-million times throughout the race. Maybe he’s just trying to hard, I dunno.
And now for some photo fun:
A sky diver holds an American flag as he descends into Bristol Motor Speedway prior to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Sharpie 500 on August 25, 2007 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Do you think Jack is happy??
(Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson (left) and Casey Mears (right) talk out on pit road prior to the start of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 25. (Hendrick Motorsports/Autostock)
Finally a sponsor that matches the driver…
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 5 Hot Shot Chevrolet, out on pit road during NASCAR Busch Series driver introductions at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 24. (Hendrick Motorsports/Autostock)
Everything is going on lately… You’ve got the chase standings to consider, team mergers, fines and all of the on/off-track accidents & incidents. There’s so much to digest. There’s so much stuff to read that actually getting around to read all of it could seriously be a full-time job. I wish I had enough time to devote to that.
So with that thought in mind, get this! I have this insanely awesome idea to go to every single race of the 2008 NASCAR Nextel Sprint Cup Series season. While I’m at the races and in between I would write in my blog as usual, and document the whole thing on video too. I’d then turn that video into a documentary.
The thing that you should know about me is that I am a true spectator. It’s what I’m good at (that and writing, of course). As a kid I had to go to all of my older sister’s sporting events. My sister is the athlete in my family. She did track (she was this close to going to the Olympics in the heptathlon), volleyball, and basketball. I was always content to sit in the stands and watch, or help out and take down the stats. I love events, it’s in my DNA. And I love sports in general, I appreciate and respect athletes and I love to root for them. Of course I’ve always thought about what it would be like to be an athlete myself, but I always knew that it just wasn’t me. I am the the person holding the finish line tape, not the person running through it.
This very simple, but yet totally complicated, idea came to me one day when I was sitting at home watching a NASCAR race. I was feeling frustrated with my life and the fact that everyday my job seems to move further out of line with my interests. I just thought to myself, “Where do I really want to be right now?” and the next thought that popped into my head was “I want to be there, at the races.”
It was like a ginormous light blub went off over my head and I felt instantly better knowing that that’s what I really wanted.
I got to thinking about those guys that went to all of the MLB parks (30 in total) in 38 days in 1998. I’ve always thought that that would be such a cool thing to do. Just the thought of having nothing holding me back, being able to devote each and everyday to one thing that I’m seriously passionate about. It makes me sincerely giddy just thinking about it. I’m excited about the thought of traveling, going from hotel to hotel and track to track and seizing the opportunity to meet people that I’ve only seen on TV.
So now I’ve put together the details.
This would be a life-changing event for me. The goal here is to make the leap from my current day job to writing for my blog full-time. I’m currently seeking sponsors to help fund this endeavor, and that’s where you come in.
If you know anyone who works for a company that’s looking to target the NASCAR fan population or you work for a company that you think could benefit from the exposure my blog (and eventually the documentary) can give them then please feel free to forward this blog post to them. You can email or call me. The deadline to become a sponsor is October 31st, 2007. All of my contact information is on my new sponsorship page.
an angel loses its… ah, nevermind.
Much to my dismay Martin Truex Jr. wasn’t able to skip past Kurt Busch for the win today. Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to jump up to 13th in the points with his 12th place finish but he’s still a ways back in the points. Which, for the record, sucks a big one. Ugh.
Even though I only got to listen to the last 30 laps or so of the race (and at work no less) I still had fun listening to Dale Jr.’s scanner chatter. This exchange between Junior, Tony Eury Jr. and spotter Steve Hmiel was very funny (synopsis courtesy of Jade Gurss):
The Bud car started each run after a pit stop with very loose handling characteristics, and then would eventually get tighter as the run went along. Sometimes the transition between the two conditions was an abrupt one. Dale Jr. spoke with Tony Jr. during a late caution period on lap 189.
Dale Jr: “I was (expeletive) wreckin! What place are we in?”
Eury Jr: “12th. The 83 (B. Vickers) is your next spot.”
Dale Jr: “I’m gonna tell ya, I was spinnin’-out looooooooooose! I don’t know why - maybe it’s that spring we put in the right front, but it’s loose loose loose the first six laps or so, and then I go into the next corner and all of a sudden, it’s tight! (to spotter Hmiel) “I know the 07 (C. Bowyer) is mad at me, but I didn’t hit him! He was loose on his own! Tell his spotter!”
Hmiel: “I know, I told him.”
Dale Jr: “I’m not sure I believe ya. I mean, I was on the brakes too.”
Eury Jr: (laughing) “Lemme tell ya, my wife will be proud of me. She always gets on me and says I can never make you loose…”
Dale Jr: “I’m so loose, I should be fast…”
Hmiel: “Boy, that 17 (M. Kenseth) cleaned the 24’s (J. Gordon) clock!”
Dale Jr: “Well, he had it comin.’”
Hmiel: “Yeah, that’s the truth. And I’d take a lie detector test on that.”
In other news…
– People have commented on my blog and expressed their dislike of Teresa Earnhardt for being stingy with the No. 8, but I have to say one thing: If you’re going to call the woman an expletive at least spell her name right. I love you guys but lets make sure we get it right the first time.
– All of the photos that I have access to from the extra-long race weekend were pretty boring and pedestrian — I didn’t think anyone wanted photos of drivers talking to each other — except for this one of Clint Bowyer and his girlfriend Athena Barber. They’re so cute together.
(Getty Images for NASCAR)
How bad have I got it?
I’m sitting here at work with a window for NASCAR.COM’s Live Leaderboard open, along with the TrackPass Scanner window. I’m listening to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. channel. This is what I must do because as tempting as it was to call in “sick” today so that I could watch the race live on TV, I couldn’t go through with it.
Is it just me or do Dale Jr. and his crew chief/cousin Tony Eury Jr. sound alike? It’s kinda freaky.
Anyway… all I can say is that Kurt Busch must be stopped!
Wednesday night I stayed up past my bedtime (my workday bedtime) and watched NASCAR in Primetime on ABC.
Today I read a review of the show from the New York Times and I think the reviewer got it right — this documentary isn’t covering any new territory. But it’s still entertaining nevertheless.
I dig the fact that it follows lesser known teams — in the first episode we saw Johnny Sauter’s team struggle at Atlanta — and that you get to hear & see real fans talk about why they love NASCAR. That kid with the Carl Edwards hat on was so cute, and very knowledgeable about the drivers.
Oh and who knew Mark Martin was so freaking buff?? Jenkies Batman… I think he’s better looking now than when he was younger, and the same goes for Dale Jarrett. They’re total hotties as older gentlemen. Plus it’s not like they’re that old. Ah I’m rambling.
So overall I dig the fact that this documentary is even on TV at all, but at the same time I was hoping there’d be more to it. Something we haven’t seen before, or some other angle. I dunno… Maybe I’m asking for too much.
