This is my long overdue post about Las Vegas. This post is already so old that tomorrow is qualifying for this weekend’s race at Atlana. Geesh! I apologize, there has been a lot going on lately but now I will entertain you with my thoughts on the race in Vegas.

– First off, Monday was Casey Mears’ (left) birthday. He turned 29 and received a lousy gift from Robby Gordon in the form of a crash that took him out of the race at Vegas on Sunday for a little while. He ended up finishing in a very unhappy 40th place. (photo credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)

– Overall, I kinda felt like the race at Las Vegas was boring. I know there were a bunch of crashes but it still didn’t seem very exciting. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Jimmie Johnson won for the third straight time at the track. It’s just boring when the same people win. I just want a newbie (or semi-newbie) to win one finally! Ya hear that Clint Bowyer? J.J. Yeley??

– There was a lot of star power at this race in the form of Mark Wahlberg (promoting his new flick “Shooter”), MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo, singer Nick Lachey (who is dating Vanessa), Magic Johnson and the wrestler Goldberg. The only person I ever saw on camera during the race was Mark Wahlberg who mentioned something about wanting to do a movie about racing. I’ll totally take you up on that one Mark! Great idea. He’d make a hot race car driver.

– This point has nothing to do with the Cup race at Vegas, but everything to do with the Busch Series race on Saturday. I don’t like ESPN’s coverage of the races because the only guy in the booth that really knows anything is Rusty Wallace (former Cup driver). The other guys in the booths are asking him questions like, “What’s that?” “What does that do??” OK, so I’m exaggerating but it comes close. And to be fair, it’s not all of the guys on the ESPN team, certainly not the pit road reporters, but it’s enough to make me wonder how they got their jobs.

And now on to the photos…

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Apparently Kevin Harvick hasn’t seen the animated movie “Cars,” because if he had he would have let Mark Martin win!

I know, I know, Kevin Harvick won the Daytona 500 fair and square, but still. Mark Martin has done everything but win the 500 and a Cup Championship and this is his last year racing in the Cup series. Harvick has a million years left in his career; this was Martin’s last chance.

Honestly my heart hurts for Mark Martin, I wish he could of edged out Harvick. He was so freaking close.

My other disappointments for the day included Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer who both ended up in big crashes late in the race.

Overall there aren’t many highlights of note. Kelly Clarkson’s pre-race mini concert was just OK. She sang “Since U Been Gone”, “Miss Independent” (during which they unfurled a big picture of the Statue of Liberty, can you say lame?) and some new song that I’d never heard of before.

Country duo Big and Rich sang the national anthem and Nicolas Cage gave told the drivers to start their engines. I don’t know if it was just me but his hair looked a little weird (see below). At least his movie “Ghost Rider” was tops at the box office this weekend.

“Happy” Harvick himself

Winner Kevin Harvick, left, rookie David Ragan, center, and second-place Mark Martin speak during a news conference following the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

Luckily Clint Bowyer walked away from this mess without any problems

Flames lick from Clint Bowyer’s car, while Carl Edwards (99) passes by on the track following a crash on the last lap of the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

No autographs for you Jeff Gordon fans!

NASCAR fans peer through the windows into the garage area as Jeff Gordon watches preparations for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Glenn Smith)

Am I right or am I right? Scary hair for Nicolas Cage

Actor Nicolas Cage, grand marshal for the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race and who appears in the upcoming movie “Ghost Rider,” speaks during a news conference at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

Speaking of scary hair, here’s Kelly with extensions

Singer Kelly Clarkson entertains prior to the start of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

And here’s Kelly with just her real hair

Singer Kelly Clarkson, right, talks with driver Martin Truex Jr. at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007, the day before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

insert a clip of the annoying song “bad day” here

Car parts lie outside a garage following the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

I’m watching NASCAR Drivers: Non-Stop on ESPN2 right now. The show follows Clint Bowyer, J.J. Yeley, Casey Mears, David Gilliland and Jeremy Mayfield , amongst others, on and off the race track. The footage is from last year’s race season. It’s great! Take my word for it.

What’s better than seeing Jeremy Mayfield sitting at home completely frustrated that he’s not out there racing with everyone else? Ever since he was ousted from Evernham in August I was dying to know what he was doing with himself and this show answered all of my questions. Besides watching the races he spent time bowling with his wife, building a new massive house and, as i’ve noted in the title, he spent some time blowing up watermelons.

Jeremy will be back this year in the #36 360 OTC Toyota Camry for Bill Davis Racing.

The show also confirmed my feelings about Clint Bowyer. I once compared him to Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the suggestion of sports writer John Dugan. But I think that Clint really bares a striking resemblance to actor Steve Martin. What do you think?

Also on ESPN2 today is Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era. Here’s some info from the show’s press release:

Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era is an 11-episode, documentary television series that chronicles Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota’s new partnership in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

In the premiere episode, Waltrip breaks ground at his new fabrication shop and announces to his staff that ESPN2 will document all of the exciting developments for the new race team. He also visits Toyota Racing Development to see the new Toyota Camry stock car and Toyota executives explain why the company is partnering with the team and entering NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing.

“This show was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to build a race team and give the fans an inside look into everything that goes into it,” said Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner. “From hiring the crew, to applying information about rules and competition, and seeing how it all comes together — that’s what this story is about.”

Seriously, I have. There a bunch of things that I’ve meaning to write about but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. So, in the meantime, I’m going to list some of the things that have been rattling around in my head and then one day (soon) I’ll write in length about said subjects.

– I had a dream last night where I met a guy who was mentally Clint Bowyer but was physically soccer star (or football star if you’re from outside the U.S.) David Beckham. I have no idea what that means, if anything, but I just wanted to share.

– I was in Las Vegas this past weekend helping my sister celebrate her birthday. It was the same weekend that there was a big boxing match (between welterweights Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Carlos Baldomir) and a bull-riding competition (Sean Willingham is hot). So there was this interesting mix of cowboys and celebrities (ok, ok, so I only saw Charles Barkley and Jim Lampley).

– While leaving Las Vegas I happened upon the Budweiser Racing Track Bar & Grill inside McCarran airport of all places! There was a huge photo of Dale Jr. in one of the displays in front and of course I snapped a photo of my own. I wanted to stay and get food there, but we had to rush to get through the security checkpoint. Lame.

– I received a lovely email from woman who reads my blog. It’s great to know that people read my stuff and actually like it! Imagine that. But I totally appreciate it, more than you know. Here’s the letter from Cindi:

I’m not too much of a commenter on your site but I do enjoy it immensely and would like to tell you why I like Jr. so much.

First, Tony Stewart is the driver I cheer on, and Jr. was actually looked upon as a son. He still is. But since he made the Chase, and Tony didn’t, it has become so much fun to cheer on Jr. as I did his father. You see, I stopped watching races after his daddy crashed into the wall. I’m from Florida and I was devastated. I always kept one eye out on Jr. with thoughts and prayers but would not sit down and watch a race.

Then one day as I was walking through my living room to the kitchen, a race was on. I picked up the remote control to change the channel, but this bright orange car passing cars left and right caught my eye. I stood there staring for a moment, and then sat down and watched the first race in more than five years. I will always be grateful to Tony Stewart for bringing me back into racing, and I love Jr. and Smoke both. I found out that you CAN really care for people who you haven’t met, and that you can easily cheer on more than one driver. And since I am old enough to be their mother, there isn’t that “hunky” thing going. They are both men of good character, who show their kindness in many ways. I love racing, I always have. I just now have learned to not only love it, but live with it as well.

Sincerely,
Cindi

This is the first in a series I’m calling Long Overdue Posts (LOP). There are a lot of things that I’ve thought to write about but for some reason I never get around to it.

So here’s the first:

At the NASCAR race at Infineon, back in June of this year, I met John Dugan, a sports writer for the Marin Independent Journal. We chatted in between the garages & haulers about different drivers and whatnot. Somehow we got on the subject of Clint Bowyer and how John seems to think that Bowyer resembles Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

John says: “The biggest similarity between Bowyer and Roethlisberger is the protruding jaw and close-cropped hair. Unfortunately, since Big Ben’s little motorcycle faux pas, his face is all puffy and weird. But pre-accident, pre-beard, Big Ben had the same high cheekbones as Clint.”

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a photo of Roethlisberger without facial hair, so here’s the best I could do… What do you think? I see some of the similarities, but I wouldn’t call them the next DoubleMint Twins.

The layout of California Speedway is simplistic in theory but not really when it comes to actual application. Walking from the media center in the infield around to the midway section behind the grandstands is a trek indeed. When you add in the heat you’ve got a serious cardiovascular workout. I swear I lost 5 pounds on Friday just walking from my car to the pits.

After the seating debacle on Friday I was hesitant to ask if there was space upstairs in the press box during the race. ‘Cause here’s the thing, I didn’t fly to La La Land and then drive an hour and a half to watch the race on TV. So I asked and of course there was already a seating chart in place, which is totally ok, I get it, but the thing I didn’t appreciate was being treated like the complete nobody that I know that I am. I will say this, certain staffers were very nice but others were not. The thing about it was that the attitude from certain people was so unnecessary, so I have to mention it.

Once the race started I couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in the room downstairs all night, so I went up to the press box to see if I could stand in the back. Turns out the whole back row was empty. I sat there for the entire race with a great view of the start/finish line.

The race wasn’t that exciting in terms of crashes & cautions, but it was extremely fun to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. continually move up through the field every lap. Usually the top three finishers are available after the race for a press conference. This was my best and LAST hope of seeing Junior in person this weekend. On Friday before and after qualifying he bypassed the fans assembled outside the garage during qualifying. He also managed the same feat on Sunday before driver introductions. I did a couple laps around the garage and couldn’t catch a glimpse. So all my hopes were pinned on him getting into the top 3 and being in the press box after the race.

My Hopes = Dashed

They held the press conference with Clint Bowyer, who came in third, and Junior in a room I had yet to find but knew that it was in somewhere in the garage. Unfortunately for me the garage area was hot at that time and I couldn’t get in because I only had a cold pass.

The only driver that I saw in plainclothes after the race was Tony Stewart. He’d just hoped on a golf cart and was being whisked away to a helicopter or plane somewhere. Was it too much to ask for that to have been Junior? C’mon!
One of the bright spots of my trip was getting to meet tallglassofmilk, the woman behind the website/blog Answer This. I’ve mentioned her site’s plentiful details on the love lives of NASCAR drivers before, and on Sunday we got to dish in person about the latest scandals.

Overall I had a great birthday weekend at the races. There were pluses and minuses but I still love NASCAR and what it’s about. I can say that this experience renewed my spirit to do more with my blog. Stay tuned.

Oh! This has nothing to do with the race at California specifically, it’s just good stuff. Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.