I finally watched the NASCAR Awards Ceremony last night. I Tivo’d it on Friday, when it originally aired.
All of my worst fears came to life. Jay Mohr, part-time comedian/part-time actor, was the host and Bill Weber, NASCAR on NBC host, was the announcer. Yea I don’t get that either. Why they needed two people to do the job of one I will never know.
Jay Mohr. Jay, why do you do it? Why do you host the Awards Ceremony when you know that all of your jokes, no matter how funny they are, will always bomb? I don’t know what it is but those people do not want to laugh. Maybe it’s just because there aren’t a lot of people in the audience that it just seems like his jokes are falling flat. For Jay’s sake I hope that’s it but really I’m thinking it’s because NASCAR peeps aren’t really used to being roasted at their own shindig.
The funniest moment of the night was courtesy of Kyle Busch. Because he finished tenth in the standings he was the first from the top ten drivers to give their speech. When he went to thank his girlfriend Erica for her support over the year, he used his brother’s wife’s name, Eva, instead. Needless to say every driver after that ribbed Kyle by making it a point to use the correct name of their significant others.
The awkward moment of the night was brought to us by Jewel. Like I predicted she didn’t sing any songs that had to do with racing or winning or feelings about winning. No, instead she sang “Stephenville, TX” and “Foolish Games.”
Here are some sample lyrics from “Stephenville, TX:”
Housewives told to recapture their youth
By wearing floral print and suede
Fixing their hairdos with PC, chemical-free hairspray
Martha Stewart taught ‘em to make on TV
I was raised a farm girl
Now, I’m too far from home, all alone on the road
Trying to figure out who I am now that the stardust has turned to sand
And the sand has turned to stone — I’m the star making machine
So I think you can understand why I was cringing all the way through the song (and then through “Foolish Games”, where she sings about a love gone awry). I love the song and Jewel in general but not so much at a stock car racing awards ceremony. I mean this is like Mariah Carey singing “Vision of Love” before a NHL hockey match. It just doesn’t work for me.
In terms of the fashions on display I was very disappointed. There wasn’t much to look at, all of the ladies seemed to opt for black, except for Kevin Harvick’s wife, Delana who wore a green Vera Wang gown. You can’t go wrong with Vera.
You’ve gotta check out the video of the “yellow” carpet at the event. The correspondent asks the women who they’re wearing and you get some interesting answers. I recognized two designers Vera Wang and Ungaro, the other ones I have no idea. You have to remember these women don’t have stylists like Hollywood A-listers do. Yes they have a ton of money but they’re not spending all their time shopping on Rodeo Drive.
Jewel performs at the NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship Cup Series Awards Ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, Friday, Dec. 1, 2006. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)
Mark Martin, left, jokes with host Jay Mohr after accepting his award for finishing ninth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship Cup Series at the awards ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, Friday, Dec. 1, 2006. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)
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For what feels like the fifty billionth time, but really it’s only been four, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won the the NASCAR NMPA Chex® Most Popular Driver award today at the NASCAR Myers Brothers Award Luncheon in New York City. (photo credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)
All I can say is doesn’t that trophy look like they’re playing Ring Around the Rosie? Instead of giving him some big bronze trophy that’ll take up space, why not just make a box of cereal with his photo on it? It could be a special commemorative box they can hawk in supermarkets all over the country. I’d buy it, which isn’t really saying much, but still.
It should be noted that Bay Area native Jeff Gordon came in second in the voting, followed by Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Michael Waltrip, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Elliott Sadler.
In local news… Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday, December 1st) for the 2007 Big O Tires Racing Season at Infineon Raceway. Get online and buy tickets early for the NASCAR, NHRA, AMA, and IRL race weekends.
A note to the ladies: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is growing a goatee again. Yes, say it with me, “hotness.” hehe. Apparently he hasn’t renewed his deal with the Gillette Young Guns campaign so he is free to not shave again. (photo credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
In other Junior news he told reporters this week that he wrote his own speech for the Championship Awards Ceremony this Friday.
“[The banquet is] such a high-pressure deal,” Earnhardt said. “You’re trying to represent your own team and company. I chose to write my own speech and found out that I’m only one of a few. I thought everybody wrote their own speeches.
“So I’m a little nervous now that I’m going to represent everybody well with my speech and that everybody’s acknowledged. It’ll be fun to get up there; it’ll be nice when it’s over. Nobody really likes to get up on stage to talk to that many people, but we’ll get through it.”
The thing that I find odd is that the other drivers are having people write their speeches for them. It boggles my mind. How hard is it to write something that basically just says thank you to your team, your team owner, your wife and/or mom, your family and the fans? You’re not the President, jeez.
And now for some photos from the day’s festivities in New York:
The top 10 drivers in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series pose for a photo in Times Square. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
NASCAR’s annual Champions Week is under way in New York. There are a bunch of festivities set up and I wish I was there. But the next best thing, ok, the tolerable next best thing, is watching it all on TV.
So I’m going to make sure I set my Tivo to tape Good Morning America tomorrow morning at 8:50am to watch the top ten NEXTEL Cup Series drivers drive their stock cars through Times Square. According to the press release this is a “moment not to be missed.” Mmm right. Let me see, they’re in their cars driving less than the speed limit in Times Square. Big whoop. I’m sorry but that’s kinda boring.
But of course I’ll still watch it ’cause I’m addicted.
Friday is the big day, the day of the Awards Ceremony at the Waldorf=Astoria. The SPEED channel is broadcasting a live Awards Ceremony pre-show called “NASCAR Takes Manhattan” at 7pm EST. The Awards Ceremony will air on TNT at 9pm EST and then again on NBC on Sunday (Dec. 3) at 2pm EST. (check your local listings for exact times and channels)
Jewel is the musical guest this year who will hopefully sing a song that has something to do with what it feels like to win a championship. I doubt it though. I love Jewel, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know if “Good Day” or “Again and Again” are appropriate songs for men who drive race cars for a living. Those songs are more apt for say, uhm, I dunno, that new Cameron Diaz/Kate Winslet movie, The Holiday. They’re chick flick songs.
At any rate, it’ll be fun to watch.
After the debacle that was Talladega last month, I was quite upset, as you can read in my post entitled ‘are you serious?? c’mon!’. I was beyond mad when Brian Vickers spun out his own teammate, Jimmie Johnson, and the leader of the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the last lap of the race.
But apparently I wasn’t as mad as some other Dale Jr. fans. Actually I was but it wasn’t caught on tape. WARNING: This video contains some strong language, so don’t play it when your kids or your boss are around.
But here’s the kicker, this video found it’s way to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin… They laughed about it during a press conference before the race at Homestead. Apparently Jimmie Johnson hadn’t seen it yet, but Junior said he’d send it to him. Enjoy Jimmie!
So Jimmie Johnson is the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Champion. Congratulations to him and his team. I’m honestly happy for him and overall I’m happy for Dale Jr. too. He finished fifth in the points and had an awesome year considering he didn’t even make the chase last year. So I think there’s more good stuff to come for the #8 team, his Championship is just around the corner.
And lets not forget about Denny Hamlin. I think it’s pretty amazing that in his rookie year he ends up in third place overall.
All of the racing is over but we’ve still got the awards ceremony and dinner in New York to look forward to in the coming weeks. It’s one of my favorite things to watch. You get to see everyone all dolled up in their tuxes and evening gowns. I really think they don’t show enough of everyone walking down the red carpet before the festivities begin. I want to see the dresses, the shoes, the hair, etc. They never spend enough time just showing everybody.
This is the first photo I looked at from this Sunday’s race and I just thought it was cute.
Chandra Johnson, wife of driver Jimmie Johnson, reacts as her husband thanks her during a news conference at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. Sunday Nov. 19, 2006. Johnson won the Nextel Championship trophy. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
