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.”

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Even though the first race of the NASCAR season is still 37 days away — the prestigious Daytona 500 — racing has begun. Sort of.

Officially titled NASCAR Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder at Daytona, teams began testing their cars for the upcoming season. Teams that were in odd-number positions in the car owner standings as of July 12, 2006 tested this week. The even-numbered teams will test next week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest car in practice on Tuesday but of course that was overshadowed by the so-called drama between him and his step-mother Teresa Earnhardt.

Teresa was originally quoted as saying this to the Wall Street Journal. Junior then said this at a press conference on Monday. To which Ricky Rudd gave his two cents on Tuesday (he was asked for his opinion, so it’s not like he just busted out with it).

I just hope that this all blows over, Junior renews his deal with DEI and we can all get back to racing and trying to win!

In other news…

– Greg Biffle got engaged over the holidays to his kick-ass girlfriend Nicole Lunders. She’s the woman who got so pissed with Kurt Busch, after he put Biffle’s car into the wall at Texas last year, that she stormed over to Busch’s pit box and chewed out his fiancée Eva Bryan. That was the coolest thing I had seen at a race in a very long time.

– This year’s NASCAR Day has been set for May 18th.

Fans interested in participating in NASCAR Day can purchase a pin, sign up his or her company and even purchase NASCAR Day apparel by going to www.nascar.com/foundation. NASCAR fans, corporations, schools and organizations across the country are encouraged to donate $5 and all participants receive a collectible 2007 NASCAR Day lapel pin for their donation.

Kasey Kahne signs autographs for fans during NASCAR Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway. (All Photos Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Merry Christmas Eve!

I had intended on posting an entry about great Christmas gifts for those racing fans on your list this year, but of course I was sidetracked by other things (work). I’m in La La Land (aka Los Angeles) and finally have some time to sit down and knock out at least half of the list.

1.) “Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby” DVD — This movie is an instant classic. Will Ferrell is hilarious as Ricky Bobby, a cocky NASCAR driver who gets knocked down a few pegs by newcomer, French race-car driver Jean Girard (played brilliantly by Sacha Baron Cohen of “Borat” fame). It’s a fun movie, full of jokes that poke fun at NASCAR. There are tons of memorable quotes, but my personal fave comes from Ricky Bobby himself “Hi. I’m Ricky Bobby. If you don’t chew Big Red, then f%&! you.” The movie also includes cameos from Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray, and Darrell Waltrip amongst many others.

2.) “Cars” DVD — I’ll be honest with you. I haven’t actually seen this movie yet. I know, I know, where have I been? I know this movie is good, I mean duh it’s from Pixar. Has there been a bad Pixar movie yet? Plus I’ve heard from very good sources (my three nephews) that this movie is a winner and that’s good enough for me.

3.) Calendars — I have to have calendars, and in different sizes. I have a small one for work and then a big one at home. Since Dale Earnhardt Jr. is my driver of choice, his calendars are the only way to go. But you can find them for pretty much any driver you happen to love. Some new things I’ve found this year is a calendar that honors women in motor sports. It’s called the 2007 Women in the Winner’s Circle and proceeds will go to charity. For those Dale Jr. lovers out there, there is a cool new calendar that shows his life “Off the Track.”

4.) “Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Inside the Rise of a NASCAR Superstar” Book — Love photos? Love photos of Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Well then look no further, this is the book for you! I have personally checked this book out for myself and it’s great. There are awesome photos of Junior in and out of his #8 Chevrolet.

That’s all for now, I’ll post more great racing related items you should own later.

Here are a few things that you may have already heard but I’ve just been slow to write about:

– Jeff Gordon and his new wife Ingrid announced last week that they’re expecting their first child in July. This comes as no surprise to me because she’s been looking preggers ever since they first got together. It was only a matter of time before it was real. I kid, I kid. I wish them all the best. (photo credit: AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

– Rumors are swirling that Dale Jr. might wanna hightail it out of DEI in light of recent comments made by Teresa Earnhardt. Teresa told the Wall Street Journal that Junior needed to decide “whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or whether he wants to be a public personality.”

All I can say is this: Can we please just let the guy win a championship before we speculate about him leaving DEI?? Puhleese!! I mean, ok, so he has a rocky relationship with Teresa, but he’s just gotten back with Tony Eury Jr. as his Crew Chief in 2006 and they’re finally working on winning again. His confidence is up, leave him alone! Alone I tell you! I’m sure Kyle Busch would rather have all of the media’s attention right now, why doesn’t someone go do a story about him.

– Since we’re on the subject of Dale Jr., and since he’s where most of my traffic comes from, you have to check out his latest business endeavor. It’s called InfieldParking.com, a MySpace-like website for racing fans. It’s in a pre-launch beta phase, which means they don’t have all the bugs and features figured out, but they want your input so sign up. Once you do be sure to add me as your friend.

It’s not fair to say that NASCAR isn’t a sport. It’s a game, it’s a competition. It takes more than just physical strength to win a race. It takes strategy, planning, engineering and stamina. It’s not just the one guy in the car turning the wheel that makes someone a winner either, it’s an entire team.

A writer from Michigan wrote a column about NASCAR and how he thought that it wasn’t a sport, after only watching ONE race. There are a million ridiculous points to his argument but I thought I’d point out this little nugget of insanity:

According to Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of “athlete” is: a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.

If that definition still doesn’t clear things up for you, I offer you this rule of thumb - if taking performance enhancing drugs (i.e. steroids) won’t make you better at your sport, exercise or game, than you are NOT an athlete!

Seriously? If that’s the case then I’m glad that my favorite drivers don’t need to take drugs to compete. And really, performance enhancing drugs don’t help everybody (if you don’t know how to hit, catch or run with a ball a drug isn’t going to teach you).

The problem is that people tend to put sports like basketball, football and baseball up on pedestals they don’t deserve. I hate to break this to you but professional athletes aren’t curing Cancer. They run around with balls trying to put them in baskets or in end zones. They’re playing the same game that my 5-year-old nephew plays with his friends. It’s not rocket science. Making it seem like athletes are some amazing super human beings is stupid. They’re just people, like you and me, who get to spend everyday practicing their craft.

Let’s all take a step back and stop taking sports, and ourselves, so seriously.

I squealed with delight when I checked my email the other day. There was an email from Harlequin, the publisher of romance novels, touting a special Speed Dating event at Daytona International Speedway in Florida during next year’s Speed Week.

Here are the details from the Harlequin site: (link to it here)

On Friday, February 16, at the Daytona International Speedway®, we invite you to heat up your Speed Week with Harlequin and NASCAR. Get your heart racing with Speed Dating — NASCAR style!

What is Speed Dating? How can I get involved?

Speed dating is a fun way of meeting people with similar interests — did someone say NASCAR?!! If you will be at the Daytona International Speedway® and are interested in connecting with new people who share the love of NASCAR then this is a do-not-miss event. Spend an hour on our SPEED DATING track, racing through 5-minute mini-dates with other singles!

Just sign up at the e-mail address below — you will be contacted with more information in the coming weeks.

Click speeddating@harlequin.ca to register for this exciting event. Please be sure to include your name, daytime and evening phone numbers and your email address. We will be contacting you shortly with details of the Speed Dating event.

I’m more than interested in this event. Being a single woman that’s into racing it’d be nice to meet a guy who shares my love for NASCAR. I can’t tell you how annoying it is to meet someone and have their face scrunch up when I mention Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The likelihood of me getting the chance — the most amazing, glorious and wonderful opportunity — to trek down to Daytona for Speed Week and the Daytona 500, is pretty low.

But nevertheless I urge all of you single ladies in the Daytona area to attend this event and then tell me all about it.