When I was at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. on Sunday I talked to some of the crew members from David Gilliland’s No. 38 FreeCreditReport.com team. I wasn’t prepared to talk to them; I did it on a whim to see if they’d be willing to talk to me at all since A.) They were busy doing something and B.) They didn’t know me from Adam.

I was delighted when I found that not only were they totally fine about talking to me, after checking out my media credential, but they were also really cool, nice guys. Young, really cool, nice guys I might add. They were all under thirty and this fact kinda caught me off guard. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I wasn’t expecting them to be around my age. I suddenly thought “hey, these are guys my friends could date!” and in my head that brought everything back to reality for me. At the end of the day they’re just any other dude you’d see in a bar or event. Usually when I see drivers, crew members, and team PR people at the track, I always think of them being so “official.” Like they’re untouchable or something and you shouldn’t dare speak to them unless you have an “in.”

Jason, Ben, Greg, Bryce, Kyle and Tim were more than willing to answer my questions. I asked if they ever get hit on by groupies and Jason remembered how he’d seen three sets of women’s breasts on the glass of the garage at Daytona this year. I was shocked. What are those women thinking?? The guys are just going to drop everything and ask for their number? Weird.

I asked if they ever get to hang out with Gilliland. They see him mostly at the shop and sometimes he takes ‘em out to dinner. The resounding response overall though was that he was a really nice guy.

As I was standing there, talking to these guys, a small crowd started to gather around us. Apparently everyone wanted to watch them “clean their nuts.” They needed to clean the inside of the nuts, that would later be glued to the tires, so that they’d run on and off the studs easier during tire changes. The process involved a drill and a really long bit of some sort.

If any of those nuts fell on the ground during the process they had to be tossed. It’s bad luck to put it on the car after it’s been on the ground, so a couple lucky kids got to have the undesirables as souvenirs.

If I get the chance to talk to them again, when they’re not busy, I’ll take the photo of them that I forgot get the first time!

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I think it’s weird to forecast the season or a drivers performance abilities based off of ONE race. I think that at least ten races have to pass before I can tell you if someone is having a sucky or great season. I know people have to write about something other than Tony Stewart’s hair but c’mon.

So I’ve been checking the weather down in Southern California and it looks like there’s a chance of showers on Sunday in Fontana. I’ve never been to a race with a rain delay. So if the rain does come down during the race that could be interesting. I’ll have to figure out where Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s coach is located. Just kidding. Sorta. No, I’m kidding. Maybe.

In other news…

– California Speedway is no longer California Speedway. It was announced this week that it is now to be called The Auto Club Speedway of Southern California. California Speedway was a lot easier to say, but whatever.

– MomLogic has posted an interview with Pattie Petty, wife of Kyle Petty and mother to Adam Petty, a 4th generation NASCAR driver, who was tragically killed in an on-track accident in 2000. How Pattie Petty Honors Her Son’s Memory

– Kurt Busch will be signing autographs at The Palms Hotel & Casino in Vegas next Friday the 29th at 7:30pm, in the Palms Food Court. The Food Court??

– IndyCar driver Danica Patrick made a trip to The Ellen Degeneres Show this week. Her sit down with Ellen airs today. Check your local listings for times.

– It was announced today that the IndyCar Series and Champ Car World Series have reached an agreement and are merging in time for the 2008 racing season. Michael Andretti says this:

“This is a huge day for the IndyCar Series and for our sport as a whole, for sure. Over the years, whether I was in the role of driver, team owner or promoter, I have always wanted a unified sport. That has been my only goal throughout this entire process and I applaud everyone who played a role in making this happen. So many people have worked tirelessly, both publicly and behind the scenes, to get this done. Everyone can now focus on taking the IndyCar Series to new heights for the good of our sport and everyone involved in it.”

There was a poll last year that showed that 29% of NASCAR drivers thought that Athena Barber (Clint Bowyer’s girlfriend at the time) was hotter then their own girlfriend or wife. I think as soon as those guys take a look at Ingrid Vandebosch’s (Jeff Gordon’s wife) photos in the latest Sport Illustrated swimsuit issue they’ll be singing another tune. Her body is ridiculous, especially when you take into consideration that this woman gave birth not that long ago. For more photos of Ingrid check out the photo gallery at SI.com.

Oh and before I forget, IndyCar racer Danica Patrick also graces the pages of the 2008 SI Swimsuit edition.

In other news…

– I knew something was up when I came across Michael Waltrip’s driver page in the NASCAR Media Guide. See, they always list a driver’s marital status and if they’re married they list their wife’s name too. Well when I came across Mikey’s there wasn’t a line for marital status at all. Was it a typo? Turns out it was no mistake at all (I guess), after consulting the website of the queen of NASCAR gossip, I found out that Buffy & Michael are indeed getting a divorce.

– I knew Ashley Judd would make a big impression on NASCAR but I didn’t think it would happen this fast. I mean technically the season hasn’t started yet. Ashley wore a dress to the qualifying sessions for the Daytona 500 on Sunday which is a no-no in NASCAR garage rules. Women can’t wear dresses or open toe shoes. She got the shoes right at least. So now there’s talk of a double-standard. She shouldn’t be allowed to do it, and I’m betting (hoping) that maybe she just didn’t get that memo. With all the talk of this incident floating around the internets I’m sure NASCAR will do or say something.

– Oh, did you hear? Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday. Yea, I’m just kinda happy about that. It was a long time coming and it felt great to finally see that team in victory lane. This Sprint Cup season is going to be so much fun.

– So here’s something kinda fun and quirky. A guy named Ryan Parker wrote a song about NASCAR. It’s set to the tune of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire.” Check it out below!

Ya go and try to do something different and everybody’s a critic. I still don’t know how I feel about it, but at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter. I just think it’s funny that there are message board threads dedicated to this topic and that for the past week the number one search term for people coming to my site has been “Tony Stewart’s Hair.” So if that’s what you came here for, who am I do deny you?

In other news…

– Kurt Busch secured the pole for tomorrow night’s Budweiser Shootout in Daytona. He managed it even though he was sick with the flu. I think this quote from his crew chief Pat Tryson is pretty funny:

“He’s a skinny little dude, but he’s as tough as nails,” Tryson said of Busch late Thursday night. “I told him this morning that his health is the number one priority and after seeing him laying there earlier today, I can’t believe he’s done all they tell me he has since then.”

And now more photos…

(Left to right) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teammates Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch share time together before the Charlotte Media Tour event at Joe Gibbs Racing. (Photo Credit: HHP / Harold Hinson)

(Left to right) Chandra Johnson, President George W. Bush and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson visit for the second consecutive year to celebrate back-to-back championships. (Photo Credit: Mitchell Layton / Getty Images for NASCAR)

(Left to right) Rick Hendrick, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson share a moment during NASCAR’s visit to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photo Credit: Mitchell Layton / Getty Images for NASCAR)

2007 Daytona 500 winner Kevin harvick gets behind the wheel of the 2008 Daytona 500 pace car in New York City’s Times Square. (Photo Credit: Jonathan Fickies / Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kasey Kahne takes a break during Preseason Thunder testing at California Speedway (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

In the off season some NASCAR drivers took vacations or spent time just hanging out at home, but one guy decided to use the time to make the biggest commitment anyone can to another person.

Nationwide Series driver Johnny Sauter married his longtime girlfriend Cortney Owen on Saturday, December 15th, 2007. The couple exchanged vows in front of 300 guests at St. Monica Parish in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. Cortney wore an elegant strapless ball gown by Alvina Valenta while Johnny wore a classic Calvin Klein tuxedo. Both were supported at the altar by their family, Cortney’s father, Francis Owen, walked her down the aisle and her sister Leslie was her maid of honor. Johnny’s brother served as best man.

The wedding took on the impromptu theme of “winter wonderland” as 5 inches of snow fell during the day. “We hadn’t had that much snow in Wisconsin in December in years,” said Cortney. “It turned out to be such a beautiful day for a wedding!” For their honeymoon the couple spent a week at the Resort at Paws Up in Montana.

Actually, his wife did the majority of the work.

Sam and Crystal Hornish welcomed their first child this morning. Addison Faith Hornish was born at 6:24 a.m. on Monday, February 4th. Baby Addison weighs 7lbs 2oz. and measures 18 inches. Both mom and baby are doing well.

Congratulations to the Hornish family!