I guess I was the only person who wasn’t surprised to see Joey Logano sticking up for himself on pit road this weekend at Pocono. He had a similar, albeit less obviously confrontational, show of anger last year at Infineon in the Camping World West Series race when he sideswiped Patrick Long with his car on his way to the garage.

So if I had to pick a theme song for Joey it would be Britney Spears’ classic “Oops, I Did it Again,” because he’s “not that innocent.” Don’t let the big, cheesy “aw shucks” grin fool ya. The kid knows how to be pissed off. (more…)

On Wednesday my only goal for the day was to visit race shops. My first stop was JR Motorsports in Mooresville, NC. On my half-hour drive up to Mooresville I got to see the famous Lake Norman that numerous NASCAR drivers call home. It is absolutely gorgeous and now I totally understand why you’d want to find a house that sits next to it. I can extend the whole ‘gorgeous’ statement to the whole Charlotte area. It’s really flat, especially to someone like me who has grown up around mount this and mount that, but it’s also really, really green. I thought we had a lot of trees in Northern California but North Carolina has got a lock on ‘em too.

When I arrived at JR Motorsports, passing by Braun Racing in the process, I had another one of those “this is so coooooool” moments. I’m such a geek, but it was really fun to get to be there even though I knew I was only going into the JR Nation store to buy stuff and take a peek inside the actual race shop. I think, as a fan, it’s just as much fun to express your affinity for your favorite driver by buying a mug. I really did buy a JR Motorsports mug, and this cute Dale Jr. magnet notepad. There were a billion more things I could have purchased but I held back because I figured I might need some money to get back home and, ya know, to live. (more…)

The Monday after attending the inaugural induction ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame I had already earmarked as being a “day off” meaning that I wasn’t going to do anything except watch daytime television and go to the mall. This made sense because when I arrived I had two straight days of events to attend. I deserved it, plus I actually needed stuff from the mall.

Oh! I forgot to say that on Sunday night I had dinner with Jessica, Kells and Margaret. Margaret & Jessica I knew because they read this blog and are super active on Twitter, it was an absolute no-brainer that I was going to meet them while I was out in Charlotte. They’re awesome women and we had a fun time laughing it up at The Cheesecake Factory.

Anyway, back to Monday. I went to the mall with no expectations of any NASCAR related sightings but ending up spying Joey Logano shopping with his girlfriend. They were really cute. And no, I didn’t follow them. It was an interesting moment because I realized that if I lived in Charlotte moments like that would probably happen more often. Just something to think about.

On Tuesday my plan for the day was to check out the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I had taken a cursory walkthrough before the induction ceremony on Sunday and I really wanted to take some time to really experience everything it had to offer. (more…)

Shower thoughts are those great ideas, concepts or, ya know, thoughts that you have when you’re taking a shower. Usually I’m thinking about things going on in my world, things I need to do or what I’m going to wear that day, etc. But sometimes I think about completely RANDOM things like this:

Isn’t it awkward for NASCAR driver Chad McCumbee (left) to be around Dale Earnhardt Jr.? I don’t know if, or how often, they see each other seeing as how Chad has been running in the Camping World Truck Series lately. I ask because Chad portrayed Dale Jr. in ESPN’s movie “3: The Dale Earnhardt Story” about the life of the late Dale Earnhardt. Dale’s family didn’t really like the movie, but besides the supposed inaccuracies in the movie it’s just weird to play someone who’s in your world, who does what you do for a living. At least I think it might be, right?

Chad, feel free to email me and let me know if it’s ever been weird for you.

I know I should talk about Dover and the Autism Speaks 400 presented by Hershey’s Milk & Milkshakes but I’m way too excited about a new development!

I’m going to attend the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race this weekend and the Coca-Cola 600 the following weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This means I’ll be spending 10 days in Charlotte, NC and I get to attend the first ever NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony!

Feel free to join me in a quick dance of joy. *dance*

I’m sure I’ll have a ton of stories to share and I’m planning on writing while I’m there so there will be no delay, at least not a long one anyway.

And since photos are always a good thing here are some from last weekend’s races at Dover. Super huge congratulations to Aric Almirola who won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Dover 200! It was his first win in the truck series.

Aric Almirola celebrates his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in Victory Lane at Dover International Speedway. He called the win “a dream come true.” (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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At a press conference today, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Richard Childress, Teresa Earnhardt, and Kelley Earnhardt unveiled the No. 3 Wrangler Chevy that Dale Jr. will be driving in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in July in honor of the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

There was talk about things maybe being awkward between the Earnhardts, mostly between Dale Jr., Kelley and Teresa. Since Dale Jr. did leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. (and didn’t get to take the no. 8 with him) I’m sure it’s not all roses and kittens, but let’s all take a moment and think about it this way: Are they really all that different from us? The answer is no. Take five seconds and think about your own family’s issues and I’m sure you’d agree that we’ve all got our own stories, tensions and baggage. The only difference is they have to answer reporter’s questions about said baggage.

Anywhooo, besides all of that it was very cool to see all of Dale Sr.’s children together, Taylor and Kerry were also on hand for the unveiling. I think this — the No. 3 at Daytona — will be an awesome way to remember him.

Photos!!!

(Left to right) Teresa Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. share a smile Thursday during a news conference at JR Motorsports in Mooresville, N.C. unveiling the No. 3 NASCAR Nationwide Series car that Earnhardt Jr. will run July 2 at Daytona International Speedway.
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