After a road trip that consisted of over 500 miles, one prison, and 50 Lance Burton billboards, I made it to Las Vegas on Friday.

I checked in to the hotel I went straight to the track to pick up my credentials. Traffic was crap.

Here’s the thing you should know about me. I’m a rule follower. I don’t like to break rules. It bothers me when others break rules. If we all say we’re going to do it one way I don’t like it when people disregard all of that and do whatever they want. So with that being said, I thought I was prepared.  Well as much as I could be given the fact that when you’re given credentials nobody tells you anything about where anything is. It’s all up to you to figure it out. Of course you can ask (and I have), but I don’t understand why they don’t have some sheet that just outlines basic stuff, like here’s how you get to the media center, here’s what those symbols on your credentials mean and what they give you access to, here’s why you’re not getting a parking pass, etc.

So back to Friday, My first mistake was getting off at the exit for general parking, there was another exit designated for people picking up credentials but I didn’t find that out until yesterday when I was on my way to the track again.

After exiting the freeway, I went in the direction that should have taken me to another road where I should have been able to turn left. Mm, no. All of the cops in the world were out in force and were diverting traffic to the right. So I went right. But I still needed to get to the credential office before it closed. So because my hands were tied, I did what the other people who were pissed that they couldn’t go left like they needed to did, I made what I’m sure was an illegal u-turn and headed back up the road. I crossed in front of oncoming traffic to turn into the credentials gate, no help from the cops there.

After I got my credentials I decided to just go back to the hotel. There was no way I was going to figure out how to get into the track at that point. Besides, I was tired and qualifying was over.

The navigation system in my car said that it should take 25 minutes to get back to the hotel. It actually took an hour. Traffic in general on the city streets was slow and then once you were on the highway there were two accidents to contend with.

So that was Friday. Saturday I made sure I got up early to be at the track as soon as the gates opened so I could get a good parking spot. Here’s the problem with that plan. There’s like thousands of other NASCAR fans who had the exact same plan. My spot ended up not being that bad but it was still a bit of a walk to get to the track entrance.

This was my first time to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I was in awe of the Media Center. In the first floor lobby there’s this big wall of glass looking out at the start/finish line and pit row. I think I might have actually said “whoa” out loud.

It’s a beautiful, pristine building. But you know there’s a gripe coming right? The Media Center has three floors. The first has a lounge, a big meeting room (for drivers meetings and the like) and direct access to pit road. The second floor is where the deadline media have their view of the start/finish line and it’s where all of the PR materials, schedules & stat sheets live. The third floor, complete with roof access is where the VIP suites are situated. I’m not deadline media so that means I can sit in one of the workrooms and watch the race on a TV. I just think there’s something off about that. I’m here at the race with all this access and yet I still have to watch the race on a TV? Why not let me have access to the roof with the high rollers? I’ll promise to not eat anything from their platters of food.

I have no idea where I’ll be watching the race from today, but I can guarantee you it won’t be solely from a TV.  The more I think about that the more it irks me. Ugh. Anyway…

Below are photos from Friday and Saturday. I’m posting my photos tomorrow as I forgot to bring my USB cord with me today. Lame.

Kasey Kahne retreats to his hauler after he was one of six Dodge drivers to find the wall during Friday’s practice for the UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images)

Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Indy Racing League Indy Car Series champions Jimmie Johnson and Dario Franchitti chat while looking for shade from the hot Las Vegas sun during qualifying for the UAW-Dodge 400. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Tony Stewart motions to his crew what he’s experiencing on the track during practice for the UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images)

Kasey Kahne was fastest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice on Saturday for Sunday’s UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Doing the double this weekend, Greg Biffle qualified his NASCAR Nationwide Series car and then hopped in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ride for two practices before racing his Nationwide car on Saturday. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Mark Martin (No. 5) slides by after making contact with Carl Edwards (No. 60) who collided with Brad Keselowski (No. 88) late in the Sam Town’s 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates the first win for JR Motorsports with Mark Martin taking the No. 5 to victory lane. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images)

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It feels like I haven’t written here in forever. I’ve been busy with working on the redesign of the site and playing with my Christmas presents. I received a sweet digital video camera from my sister and the iPod Classic that I wanted from my fabulous mother. It holds 80GB of music and so far I’m up to 20GB. I spent the last week or so chained to my computer at home uploading all of my CDs. It’s a beautiful thing.

Anyway, in NASCAR news the off-season is officially over as teams began testing their cars at Daytona. Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed up and surprised everyone — even his new teammates — because his testing session isn’t for another week.

As always I’ve got photos for ya, I was mostly interested in seeing those drivers that changed rides for this year in their new uniforms. It always takes me awhile to remember who’s driving what and for which team.

Kyle Busch gets ready to take his first laps in his new No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

New Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. greets teammate Casey Mears in the garage on the first day of Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing crew chief Brandon Thomas meets with his new driver J.J. Yeley in the garage. (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Not a new team, but a brand new paint scheme and uniform for Greg Biffle

On the first day of Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway, Greg Biffle helped unveil an American Red Cross paint scheme that he’ll drive at two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this year. (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood / Getty Images for NASCAR)

We have a Busch down, I repeat, a Busch is down!

Kurt Busch checks out the bottom of his New Car during the first day of Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR)

Congratulations to Greg Biffle and his new wife Nicole Lunders! They were married on Wednesday in South Carolina and Matt and Katie Kenseth were included in the wedding party. Very cool, love the photo! It’s just too bad you can’t see more of the dress — I’d love to see more of it and the wedding in general. I’m nosey when it comes to this stuff.

Greg Biffle Marries Longtime Girlfriend Nicole Lunders in Southern Style

Concord, N.C. (October 19, 2007) – At just around 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17th, Greg Biffle and his longtime girlfriend Nicole were pronounced husband and wife in a little white chapel at the Palmetto Bluff Resort in South Carolina.

The couple met in the spring of 1998 and began dating officially later that summer. Last Christmas, Greg decided it was time to propose and Nicole happily accepted. Plans were made for an autumn wedding at the southern resort located about 20 minutes from Savannah.

Greg and Nicole exchanged vows with just over 100 of their family and friends on hand for the ceremony. Katie Kenseth served as the matron of honor and Rodger Ueltschi, a childhood friend of Greg’s, served as the best man. Also included in wedding party were Michele Lunders (sister-in-law of the bride), Kris Rondeau (friend of the bride), Amy Wilson (friend of the bride), Jeff Biffle (brother of the groom), Tony Lunders (brother of the bride) and Matt Kenseth (friend of the groom). The newlyweds also included three other family members, Foster, Gracie and Savannah (two boxers and a rescue dog), in the post-wedding photos.

The bride was escorted down the aisle by her father Russ and wore a custom backless white dress with a Chantilly lace overlay by Bonaparte NY and designer Junko Yoshioka. The bridesmaids wore lavender dresses by Vera Wang. Following the ceremony, guests were invited to have cocktails on the lawn where the setting could well have been the backdrop for a scene in “Gone with the Wind”. Guests were treated to a six-course dinner at the Palmetto Bluff Inn and a reception with drinks and dancing followed.

The Biffles would like to extend their sincerest gratitude to everyone in the NASCAR family for their best wishes at this joyful time.

I know that I should be writing something about the insanity that was the race at Kansas last weekend but I’m kinda not in the mood for it. That race perfectly illustrates one of the things that has always puzzled me about NASCAR. The rules and how NASCAR chooses to interpret them at any given time. It never seems to be the same all the time and I’m always confused. I don’t know why it isn’t cut and dry, like why didn’t they just call the race in the first place? And if they were so concerned with giving the fans and the drivers a complete race why not just move the race to Monday like they’ve done before? And then there’s the fact that Clint Bowyer should have been the winner of the race and not Greg Biffle. What was that about? At the end of the day NASCAR always has the last say and you can’t get around that, even when they’re wrong. It’s just stupid.

Ok, maybe I was in the mood to write about it after all.

Anyway… my real reason for writing today is because of this news item (if you can really call it that) about Alyssa Milano supposedly being done with dating athletes. On behalf of all of the single women out there that would love to date her sloppy seconds — Barry Zito in particular — I say thank you!

Oh and since I’m already off topic and on to baseball, I must share that I met Mike Piazza at the Virgin Megastore in San Francisco a few weeks ago. I was agog. I was shaking! Normally I don’t get that way about celebs for the most part. After all, they’re humans just like you and me, but this was Mike Piazza! He has always been one of my favorite baseball players (he wears my fave number 31 too) and so I felt like I couldn’t just leave without saying something to him. So I did and I was talking so fast he probably thought I was crazy. But that’s ok, it totally made my day.

Are you shocked? I’m not. There are worse things he could do.

And now I give you some things that you might want to know:

– If you’re a San Francisco Bay Area IndyCar fan you’ll be happy to know that Fior d’Italia Restaurant is giving $25 gift certificates to the first 40,000 fans that enter Infineon Raceway for the Motorola Indy 300, presented by Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel on Sunday, August 26. So make sure you get there early!

– NASCAR driver Ryan Newman will be a guest on the “Best Damn Sports Show Period” live from Lowe’s Motor Speedway on August 7th to announce the finalist for Kodak’s “Ink Ryan’s Ride” contest.

– Walk the track with Kurt & Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Ernie Irvan at Pocono Raceway on Saturday:

Kurt will join brother Kyle and four-time Cup champ Jeff Gordon in Saturday’s LAPS Walk with Ernie Irvan at Pocono Raceway. Irvan, Gordon and the Busch Brothers will unite with NASCAR fans, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivors, and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard for a walk on the racetrack to raise awareness and needed funding to conquer TBI in America. The LAPS Walk festivities will kick off at 2:15 with a Q&A session and presentation to the top fundraiser of a signed helmet to recognize his/her outstanding effort for TBI awareness and prevention. Following the Q&A session, all participants, including Irvan and Kurt & Eva, will move down to the track where they will be joined by members of the National Guard for the opening ceremonies and a walk on the racetrack. For more information, please visit www.lapswalk.org or call the Brain Injury Association at 800.772.4323.

– I find this quote from Jimmie Johnson to be very interesting indeed. It’s about the resetting of the points once the Chase kicks in for the final ten races of the season.

It certainly looks like I’ll be a big beneficiary of it (resetting the points) and with the way that it is, I’ll take that forgiveness the way the point system is structured right now and try to capitalize on it. But when you look at Jeff’s (Gordon) point situation and how strong he has been, deep down inside there is still a part of me that says, ‘Man, the guy’s had a great year and deserves to be the champion and have it re-racked with everybody on top of him again probably isn’t fair.’ But it’s the way it is. The Chase does a lot of positive things for our sport. I’m in a position where I could capitalize on a tough summer. So you deal with the situation, as it exists. Just falling back on the way racing has always been and the way we’ve all raced through the season and had every point add up to equal a champion, if Jeff doesn’t win the championship I’m sure he’ll have a lot of heartburn over it. And I think us racers, deep down inside, might not think that it’s exactly right. But it’s different racing today than it was years back.

– Greg Biffle will be running a special “Dog the Bounty Hunter” paint scheme on his No. 16 Ford Fusion at Pocono. Uhm, yea, I’ve got nothing.

– All I can say about this is that I hope either A.J. Allmendinger or Brian Vickers can make it into this race or else this visit will be kinda awkward and embarrassing. I got my fingers crossed for ‘em!

Two members of the New York Red Bulls, the MLS team that plays its home matches at Giants Stadium, will make the 90-mile journey from East Rutherford, N.J., to Pocono Raceway to absorb the sights and sounds of NASCAR racing.

Midfielder Joe Vide and midfielder/forward Clint Mathis will get a true taste of what stock-car racing is all about. They’ll hang out on the grid and in the pits, and the fleet-footed duo will meet Red Bull Racing’s two drivers for lunch Sunday morning.

Why thank you Greg Biffle for speaking out about the Michael Vick case. It brings it into the world of NASCAR so that I may put in my two cents on this insanity. I just think it’s sad that someone with Vick’s talent has wasted it on something so stupid. I can’t believe he’d do this to innocent animals, no wait, I can believe he could do this to innocent animals, but it doesn’t make it ok in the least bit. I just think it’s a complete waste in every way.

The one thing I want to say though is that his behavior off the field has nothing to do with his QB career, and I don’t think it reflects negatively on the NFL. The only thing that would shine a negative light on the NFL is if they fail to act. It frustrates me as a sports fan to see things that have nothing to do with the sport at its core interfere with its reputation.

Ugh. Anyway, I hope we can all move on from the dog killers & cheating scandals and get back to just pure unfooled-around-with competition.