The Saturday of our 3M Racing Experience began with all of us gathering in the lobby of our hotel and then heading over to Charlotte Motor Speedway. Once there we were picked up and shuttled to the Fan Zone area, in spiffy 3M branded golf carts, at the entrance of the track.
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3M Racing Experience: roush fenway shop tour & nascar hall of fame
I was offered an all-expense paid trip to the Sprint All-Star Race weekend courtesy of 3M and I jumped on it. They even let me bring one guest so I brought my boyfriend of 5 months along for the ride. It was his first NASCAR race and so we were both excited about the whole thing. I can report that our relationship is still intact and probably better off from the experience. If you want to test your relationship, spend 6 hours on a plane together.
best thing ever: jeff gordon’s special message to me! ha!
Yesterday I received a large package in the mail. It was odd since I wasn’t expecting anything. The return label was from a PR company that I’d remembered from emails, but I didn’t remember sending them my address. So I opened it and found a large steel box with the Pepsi MAX logo on it. Inside of that I found three bottles of Pepsi MAX in pint bottles featuring three different Jeff Gordon designs. They’ll be in your grocery stores next week but they sent ‘em to me to early to get the word out, I’m assuming. Lord knows I’m not good with keeping fun secrets. Pepsi MAX is also planning some social media stuff for their “MAX It Now” campaign so keep an eye out for that.
but I’m supposed to care about talladega, right?
My recollection of Talladega includes Brad Keseolwski winning, Kurt Busch in his Talladega Nights themed “ME” car and Jimmie Johnson sitting in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s pit box after his car clunked out of the race.
shortcuts: attending the sprint all-star race, racing wags on pinterest
I have some super duper awesome news to share with you guys. Thanks to the wonderful people at 3M I get to go to the Sprint All-Star Race weekend in Charlotte! They’re paying for the trip and to make it more fun I get to bring my boyfriend. I’m really looking forward to sharing my passion for NASCAR with him, especially since it’ll be the first time he’s ever attended a NASCAR race. He’s also serving in an official capacity as my photographer.
givin’ it away: allmendinger 2012 shell pennzoil diecast!
Did you know that April is National Safe Digging Month? Well, it is and if you’re going to plant a tree (Earth Day was last weekend, but it’s still a good idea to plant a tree!) you should call 811 to make sure you don’t put yourself or others in danger.
kansas hits the snooze button
I’m not sure what I can say about Kansas except that it was a race and Denny Hamlin won it. So let’s leave it at that shall we?
boredom is bigger in texas
Hmm, what happened at Texas? Oh that’s right, NOTHING.
There was some good racing in terms of Greg Biffle snatching the win away from Jimmie Johnson, but other than that it was snoozeville.
fontana: it never rains in southern california, until it does
I woke up early Sunday morning to clear skies and no rain. When rain is a possibility during a race weekend I’ve taken the stance of not talking about it. At least not in the negative. You don’t know for sure what the weather is going to do, so why stand on negative side of the fence and go on an on about how it’s going to rain and we’re not going to get the race in, blah, blah, blah. I’d just rather not and deal with what’s actually happening.
fontana: joey logano reminds me of a young keira knightley
Before I get into Saturday at Fontana, I want to thank you for your well wishes. I’m totally fine and have removed a lot of stuff from my plate. It’s a lot easier to breathe now. 
fontana: racing therapy
I’m all apologies lately. I feel like I’m continually apologizing to you guys about being late and I hate that. I can say, with complete confidence, that I’m not going to be late anymore and I’ll be back on track posting stuff from here on out.
las vegas: tony stewart will not be denied
I was OK with not being in Las Vegas this year, which feels really odd to write but it’s true. I guess it’s because I know that I’ll be at more races this year, so it’s not the worst thing in the world if I miss one that I’d normally attend.
missing in racing action: where the hell have I been?
Where the hell have I have been? I keep asking myself this. Maybe you’ve noticed I haven’t written anything about the Budweiser Shootout or the Daytona 500 that turned out to be Mister Toad’s Wild Ride or even Phoenix.
t.j. majors (dale jr.’s spotter) got married
I’m SO excited to be posting MORE wedding photos! TJ Majors, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series spotter for Dale Earnhardt Jr., married his longtime girlfriend, Tamela Berry on December 10, 2011 down in Key West, Florida.
kasey kahne wins the 2012 hottest nascar driver tournament
Over 3,600 votes were cast in the final round of the 2012 Hottest NASCAR Driver Tournament. Kasey Kahne defeated Paul Menard for the title! With 99% of the vote going to Kasey it’s clear that you guys are all aboard Team Kahne.
david stremme got married
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Stremme met his future wife, Ashley Deihl, at a dirt track in 2007. While his first impression of her left him saying to himself “Wow, she is sexy,” the couple didn’t start dating until 2009. They fell in love because of their shared values, interests and love of racing.
2012 hotttest nascar driver tournament: the finals
Over 4,400 votes were cast in Round 4 and now we’re ready to reveal the two drivers that have made it to the Finals of the 2012 Hottest NASCAR Driver Tournament. Kasey Kahne faces Paul Menard for the title! Who is it going to be?!
2012 hottest nascar driver tournament: round four
Over 4,700 votes (whoa! that’s a record!) were cast in Round 3 and now we’re ready to reveal the four drivers that have made it in to Round 4 of the 2012 Hottest NASCAR Driver Tournament. It’s getting good now!
2012 hottest nascar driver tournament: round three
Over 1,700 votes were cast in Round 2 and now we’re ready to reveal the drivers that have made it in to Round 3 of the 2012 Hottest NASCAR Driver Tournament. Sadly, last year’s winner of the Hottest Driver Tourney has been eliminated from the competition. Clint Bowyer handily defeated reigning champ Tony Stewart.
2012 hottest nascar driver tournament: round two
Over 600 votes were cast and now we’re ready to reveal the drivers that have made it in to Round Two of the 2012 Hottest NASCAR Driver Tournament. Brian Vickers & Jeff Gordon were randomly seeded in to Round Two when the brackets were created, so that’s why they’re in. One of the closest results from the first round were between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton. Burton snuck past Dale Jr by just 2%. David Gilliland did the same thing in getting past Juan Pablo Montoya.
testing, testing: matt kenseth owes dale jr. $2,500
And so begins a new NASCAR season (sort of) and I couldn’t think of a better way to do it other than posting the best quotes I’ve read so far from the press conferences during Pre-Season Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway.
2012 hottest nascar driver tournament: round one
Where the hell have I been?? It feels like forever ago since I’ve written anything but there’s a totally awesome reason why: I met a guy! Yep, I went on a coffee date and the guy, his name is Jack, turned out to be pretty amazing, so amazing that we spent the next four days together. So, needless to say, I like him A LOT and he likes me A LOT. I wasn’t expecting it and it’s been the best thing ever. However, it’s totally thrown my whole schedule out of whack. I always had a ton of time to myself, pretty much any time I wasn’t working was my time to work on this site or do whatever. But now that I’m with Jack that’s pretty much all I want to do–be with him–so I’ve been prepping the 2012 Hottest NASCAR Driver tournament in bits and pieces, in small chunks of time, over the last few days and now I’m FINALLY ready to launch it.
a ‘fabulous’ 2011 year in review
The theme of 2011 for The Fast and the Fabulous has to be growth. We grew in traffic, content and opportunities. I am so incredibly thankful for everyone that reads this blog and receives any kind of enjoyment from it. You guys are the best! I had a “car thought” the other day (I do some of my best thinking while driving, this is also similar to “shower thoughts”) and I realized that the reason I read celebrity interviews & magazines in general is because I’m trying to learn something about myself or something that I can apply to my life. And I think that that’s something people can do when they read about my experiences at the track. You might find my stories funny but maybe you learn, or reinforce, something you already knew about yourself from one of my stories or from an interview I did with a driver. That’s what I hope, anyway.
interview: inside the actor’s studio with jimmie johnson
Five-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson was my final interview at this year’s Champion’s Week in Las Vegas. He’s also the only driver (so far) that’s actually met James Lipton who hosts Inside the Actor’s Studio on Bravo and asks these very same questions of his guests. So in a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon sort of way I’m now connected to James Lipton.
interview: inside the actor’s studio with kevin harvick
Another interview and another first. Now I’ve interviewed both a wife and a husband, first DeLana Harvick and now Kevin Harvick. I spoke to Kevin during this year’s Champion’s Week in Las Vegas (and let him know that I asked DeLana these same questions) and it was very clear — as he acknowledges at one point — that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to answer my random questionnaire. He still did a great job and I completely understand how my questions could throw him since they’re no where near the standard issue questions you get during that week (or at any time really during the season). Still, superfun (and funny)!
interview: inside the actor’s studio with ryan newman
Ryan Newman had never heard of Inside the Actor’s Studio but he said he’d “go with it” when I interviewed him in Las Vegas earlier this month. He was very nice and “go with it” he did. I think he earns the distinction as the first driver to spell out his favorite curse word.
interview: inside the actor’s studio with richard childress
Richard Childress is many things. He is the owner of Richard Childress Racing, the grandfather to up & coming NASCAR drivers Austin & Ty Dillon, the man that will make you hold is watch while he puts some guy in a headlock and the second NASCAR team owner I’ve had the pleasure to interview (Chip Ganassi is the first). I caught up with him in Las Vegas after he’d won the Buddy Shuman award at the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon and his answers to the ITAS questions are awesome. He didn’t hesitate or take a really long time to answer the last question, it seemed like something he’s thought about.
interview: inside the actor’s studio with denny hamlin
The following interview with Denny Hamlin took place in Las Vegas during this year’s Champion’s Week. You might ask yourself who “Bill” is while reading this and I can’t tell you who he is either, I didn’t stop to ask him before going on to the next question. Did I mention that getting interviews with all the drivers on my list was my top priority? So I was in full on autopilot mode of “Just keep going!!! There’s no time! No time!” Anyway… If you know the Bill he’s referring to please let us know in the comments.
david ragan is engaged
David Ragan confirmed via Twitter today that he is indeed engaged to his girlfriend, Jacquelyn Butler. You’ll remember that Jacquelyn won the first ever Better Half Dash earlier this year at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The wedding is set for December 15, 2012 in Charlotte, NC. Congratulations to David & Jacquelyn!
interview: inside the actor’s studio with dale earnhardt jr.
Not going to lie, it was very cool to get to interview Dale Earnhardt Jr. He’s a big part of why I have this blog and why I love NASCAR. I can’t even process the fact that I spoke to him and said, “Hi Dale” like I knew him or something. I spoke words to him and he spoke words back to me. He said, “Thank you” to me after I said,”Thank you” to him, when it was all over. Crazy, right?
interview: inside the actor’s studio with jeff gordon
So this is the first of several “Inside the Actor’s Studio” interviews I completed while I was in Las Vegas for Champion’s Week. Jeff Gordon’s birthplace is Vallejo, California which is only 25 minutes from where I grew up and still not that far from where I live now. So he’s obviously someone I’ve known about since I was a kid outside of the fact that he’s a four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. And obviously it was a HUGE deal to meet and interview him. He’s a very nice man who always gives thoughtful answers to any question anyone throws at him. So this was fun. Enjoy!
tony stewart can’t stop winning
Yep, he was at it again this weekend. Tony Stewart won the Indy Karting Classic on Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis beating both NASCAR and INDYCAR drivers in the process.
champion’s week: i’m probably forgetting something
This post is really about everything that I forgot. It wasn’t until I started unpacking that I realized I’d forgotten my evening bag/clutch. This was important because there was no way I could carry everything I’d need for the Awards Ceremony without a bag and taking my regular purse would have been ridiculous.
champion’s week: do you see what I see?
Thursday was decidedly less cab filled than Wednesday. I walked next door to the Bellagio for the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon. My table, number 31 (my fave number because it’s my birthday), was the designated NASCAR Citizen Journalists Media Corps table. We were a couple tables behind the Joe Gibbs Racing table where JD Gibbs and Kyle Busch were seated.
champion’s week: how many cabs can I take in one day?
I woke up ridiculously early Wednesday morning to catch my 6am flight to Las Vegas. I received media credentials to attend the 2011 Motorsports Marketing Forum presented by Sports Business Journal/Daily. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get see the entire program for that day, but I wanted to get in as much as possible.
regan smith got married
NASCAR driver Regan Smith, who won his first Sprint Cup Series race this year, married his longtime girlfriend, Megan Mayhew, on Saturday, November 26th in Florida.
champion’s week fan guide: bring money for tips & taxis
2011 Champion’s Week in Las Vegas is next week (squee!!) and some of you have asked about what opportunities you have to interact and see drivers. So here’s a post about it, along with a few suggestions on how to maximize your time.
tony stewart is the champion, my friends
And he kept fighting ’til the end!
What a race. The Ford 400 was pretty ah-mazing considering there wasn’t serious wreckage. It was all about Tony Stewart driving it like he freaking stole it to the win. Not only winning the race but his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. I’ve never seen anything like that, and it makes me wish we could have a race that looked like that one every weekend. I dunno but Tony certainly put on a show, his restarts were pitch perfect.
I’m oh so very happy for the Office Depot team, and I’m not just talking about the pit crew and Tony, I mean the PR peeps from Office Depot. They’re genuinely some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and have been so good to me over the past few years. All of my awesome moments & interviews with Tony have been because of them and I am so grateful. They totally deserved this win and I can’t wait to see ‘em all in Las Vegas!
Hats off to Carl Edwards for being his usual classy self. I know losing this Championship had to hurt, but he’s gotta be proud in knowing that he’s an elite driver in NASCAR. He’s come so far in following his dream, and like the awesome song “It’s Amazing” by Jem says, “Nothing can compare to deserving your dreams.”
Obviously Tony winning the Championship means that Jimmie Johnson didn’t, and of course leading up to Sunday’s race everybody was talking about how amazing Jimmie’s 5-peat was, and it is, but the thing that annoys the hell out of me is when people say that no one will ever be able to do that again. I just don’t like it when people rule things out. It’s possible. Anything’s possible. It’s also ridiculous to say that Jimmie will never win another Championship (insane that anyone even thought that). I feel like people say stuff just to say things because they have to fill in air time. Whatever.
And to all the douchebags that booed First Lady Michelle Obama you should be ashamed of yourselves. Regardless of your political beliefs she and Dr. Jill Biden were there in support of our troops and their families, show some respect. Idiots.
Anyway… I’m just going to put this out there: I really think that Tony winning this year’s Hottest Driver Tournament was a good omen for him. I might be slightly biased in that opinion, though. The 2012 Hottest NASCAR Driver Tournament will begin right after New Year’s on January 2, 2012. So stay tuned!
Up next… Champion’s Week in Las Vegas!
Jimmie Johnson takes in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice from a hauler-top vantage point at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 19.(Credit: By Jerry Markland, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kevin Harvick watches his crew adjust his No. 29 Chevrolet in the garage area at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 19. (Credit: By Tom Pennington, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kurt Busch (right) talks things over with crew chief Steve Addington in between practice runs Saturday, Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Credit: By Jerry Markland, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Team owner Richard Childress (left) and Austin Dillon (center) stand on pit road during prerace ceremonies at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finale. (Credit: By John Harrelson, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Johnny Sauter basks in the Victory Lane celebration at Homestead-Miami Speedway after winning a rain-shortened season finale in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. (Credit: By John Harrelson, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Austin Dillon celebrates his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with his Richard Childress Racing team at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Credit: By Jerry Markland, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6) and teammate Carl Edwards perform a head-to-head burnout in celebration of Stenhouse's NASCAR Nationwide Series title while race winner Brad Keselowski celebrates in the background at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 19. (Credit: By Todd Warshaw, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hoists a championship flag after clinching the NASCAR Nationwide Series crown at the Ford 300 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 19. (Credit: By Chris Graythen, Getty Images)
Carl Edwards introduces First Lady Michelle Obama (left) and Dr. Jill Biden at a Joining Forces pre-race event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 20. (Credit: By Chris Trotman, Getty Images for NASCAR)
First Lady Michelle Obama hugs a child as she greets military families at a Joining Forces pre-race event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 20. (Credit: By Chris Trotman, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Michelle Obama watches the Ford 400 action at Homestead-Miami Speedway after meeting with families of soliders for Joining Forces. (Credit: Larry Marano/Getty Images)
TV personality Mario Lopez interviews singer Pia Toscana on the red carpet at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 20. Toscano sang the National Anthem before the season-ending Ford 400. (Credit: By Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images)
2011 NASCAR champions Tony Stewart, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
shortcuts: carl edwards shops at the gap
Here’s my round-up of fun/interesting quotes from some of today’s press conferences at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
Denny Hamlin:
Have you ever run three races in the same weekend?
“Never. Nice birthday present from Kyle (Busch).”
Jimmie Johnson:
Earlier you were asked about your motivation for next year after this year, how expensive was that shopping trip with Chandra (Jimmie’s wife) yesterday?
“She did well. (Laughs) She can win trophies for her shopping skills. She is good at that.”
Carl Edwards (just after Jimmie made the comment above):
“I went to the outlet mall last night, so I feel for you, Jimmie. I’ve never been to a Coach bag store before. We got caught looking at little baby clothes at The Gap as well, but it was fun.”
Who is organizing the party if you win on Sunday?
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do. People are asking me who is organizing the party after this deal on Sunday. I don’t have a party organizer. Maybe Jimmie could be my party organizer. I knew when I went back to the motorhome, I think it was last year or the year before, and Nick Lachey and his entourage came out of Jimmie’s motorhome and they got in a limo and went somewhere, I thought, ‘That’s gonna be a party there.’ I don’t know what I’ll do. That might be one night you’d see the other side of me. That might be kind of fun. I need help with that, though, guys. You have to keep me in order.”
Kyle Busch:
Is there someone that you would recommend others should follow on Twitter?
“No. There’s nobody on Twitter that you need to follow.”
champion’s week in las vegas? yes, please!
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”
When I sing that song I’m not thinking about Christmas. I don’t get nearly as excited about Christmas as I do about NASCAR’s Champion’s Week in Las Vegas. I enjoy Las Vegas. It’s got everything and you never have to leave your hotel to experience half of it.
dear carl & tony, thank you for keeping it interesting
Homestead-Miami Speedway might want to ask Texas Motor Speedway if they can borrow that “Tale of the Tape” graphic for this weekend’s season finale. I am SO looking forward to it. Who do you think will prevail? I have entirely selfish reasons for why I want Tony Stewart to win the Championship over Carl Edwards. I have yet to interview Carl and I’m thinking that there’ll be less people gathered around him during the media session in Las Vegas so I’ll have a better chance of finally talking to him. Hehe.
Congratulations to Kasey Kahne and the No. 4 Red Bull team! I’m really happy for them. They truly deserved a win especially if this is to be their last year as a team.
Overall it was a great weekend filled with first-time winners, with Ryan Blaney, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dave Blaney’s son, winning his first race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and Sam Hornish Jr. finally winning in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Lots of emotion, which I love, love, LOVE.
Which is exactly what I want to see from Carl or Tony next weekend. I want tears! (Sidenote: That’s also the name of a great song by Michelle Branch that has nothing to do with racing.)
(Left to right) NASCAR on ESPN pit reporter Jamie Little, former NASCAR Vice President of Western Operations Kenn Clapp and NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick speak during the PIR West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Fundraiser at Frank & Albert's Restaurant at the Arizona Biltmore on Thursday in Phoenix. (Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images for Phoenix International Raceway)
Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Cole Whitt qualifies for his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. (Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Left to right) The cars of Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contenders Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick are parked in the garage next to each other during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday in Avondale, Ariz. (Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
(Left to right) Roush Fenway Racing teammates Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. get together on the grid before the NASCAR Nationwide Series Wypall 200 on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. (Credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Sam Hornish Jr. celebrates his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series victory on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. (Credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ryan Blaney celebrates with his team in Phoenix Victory Lane. (Credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The No. 4 Red Bull Racing Team celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. (Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)
little austyn rose sadler has arrived
NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Elliott Sadler and his wife, Amanda, welcomed their second child into the world today. Their daughter, Austyn Rose, joins her older brother, Wyatt Herman Fritts, who was born in February of 2010.
Elliott made the announcement, along with an adorable photo of Austyn, this afternoon via Twitter.
tony stewart steps on carl edwards’ toes during the texas two-step
Congratulations to the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team for their victory at Texas. Tony Stewart and crew are definitely making things anxious for Carl Edwards. But because I’m greedy, I really wish that Matt Kenseth & Kevin Harvick could get in the mix somehow and stir things up so that everything will be nice and crazy for Homestead. That would be fun, no?
Of course, there was that whole Kyle Busch situation that was covered AT LENGTH over the weekend, so I’m not going to go into it very much only to say that I hated it when they would recount what happened on Friday with Kyle and Ron Hornaday. They made it seem like it wasn’t OBVIOUS that Hornaday got into Kyle on accident, he got loose and it was plain as day. I’m probably nitpicking about this but saying “they tried going 3-wide and it didn’t work” doesn’t quite explain the situation accurately enough for me. Oh and one more thing, did you think it was interesting that in KyBu’s apology letter he didn’t name Kevin Harvick Inc. by name? I thought that was interesting. Douchey and interesting.
Ricky Carmichael signs an autograph for a fan during Keystone Light Pole Qualifying on Thursday at Texas Motor Speedway. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Austin Dillon poses with the #3 Advocare Chevrolet for the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Danica Patrick unveils her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for the 2012 season with team owner Tony Stewart following practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
David Ragan, driver of the #6 UPS My Choice Ford, climbs from his car after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ken Butler, president of Aaron Sales and Lease poses with driver Mark Martin and team owner Michael Waltrip after announcing Martin's move to the No. 00 Aaron's Toyota prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #2 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet, poses in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350k at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Kenny Wallace, driver of the #09 G-Oil Toyota, is congratulated on stage by Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage on his 520th NASCAR Nationwide Series race in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 5, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Team owner Jack Roush (right) congratulates Trevor Bayne, driver of the #16 RickyVsTrevor.com Ford, in Victory Lane after his win at the NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 5, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NASCAR TV commentator and former driver Kyle Petty rides a bull during a bull riding exhibition at the “No Limits” Garage Party presented by WinStar World Casino at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage (left) poses with Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, in Victory Lane after Stewart won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
interview: inside the actor’s studio with delana harvick
This is a sort of “bonus” interview I got to do with DeLana Harvick, wife of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver & 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship contender Kevin Harvick, during the Kansas Speedway race weekend last month. You can read my long-form interview with her here.
for some, martinsville was shaped like a pill — a bitter one
It was a fun race to watch because it eventually became a sophisticated 400-lap game of bumper cars, with Brian Vickers racking up the most points. What was that all about? Thought it was interesting that Brian’s friend (and former teammate) Jimmie Johnson even called him out on it during his post-race interview. Said Jimmie, “After a fourth, fifth time with the same car in the crash, you start thinking about maybe you’re the problem. Something is going on. You’re having a bad day. You need to stop crashing for whatever reason.”
With this win at Martinsville Tony Stewart now has 3 wins in The Chase and it’s totally possible that might not win the Championship. Isn’t that kind of weird? I guess consistency is key. No matter, I’ll be happy with whoever wins this thing as long as it comes down to Homestead. I adore the new points system.
I was shocked — just a smidge — by Tony’s post-race victory lane comments about how Carl Edwards needs to be worried and that Carl isn’t going to sleep for the next 3 weeks. Ha! I loved that. In general, drivers & crew chiefs need to talk more trash during this Chase. It’s fun, right?
(Left to right) J.J. Yeley and Tony Stewart sign autographs for fans at Martinsville Speedway on Friday. (Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR)
(Left to right) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick talk in the garage after the two drivers made contact on the track during practice on Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits in the cockpit during the one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice of the weekend on Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. With a 95.554 mph/19.817 seconds lap, Earnhardt Jr. was the third-fastest Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver in the session. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Denny Hamlin celebrates with his Grandfather Clock for winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday.(Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The North Carolina A&T State University Blue and Gold Marching Machine perform before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. (Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR)
No. 99 crew chief Bob Osborne and driver Carl Edwards talk before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus spends time with Genevieve Marie Johnson, the daughter of his driver five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, before the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing team works on Matt Kenseth's car in the garage late in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday as Kenseth dropped three spots in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Tony Stewart celebrates with his No. 14 Office Depot Stewart-Haas Racing team after getting his third win in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. (Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
shortcuts: paige duke’s new gig, kenseth’s spotter gets a tattoo, too
Paige Duke, a former Miss Sprint Cup, is now a contestant on the latest season of “Sweet Home Alabama” on CMT.
This time, women from big cities and small towns are vying for the affections of Tribble Reese, the handsome former Clemson quarterback and entrepreneur from Birmingham who was the runner-up in the series’ first run. Included in the Country Girl lineup is former NASCAR spokesmodel, Paige Duke. In each one-hour episode, set in the charming city of Fairhope, Alabama, ladies from across the country compete for time with this southern gentleman, while each week, Reese is forced to say goodbye to more bachelorettes in his search for true love.
The show started last week but if you missed the first episode you can watch it here and there are 8 episodes in total, so get back on track this Thursday at 9pm EST. Follow what’s going on with the show, and find out how Paige is doing, through the show’s Facebook and Twitter pages. When tweeting be sure to use the #SweetHomeAlabama hashtag.
Paige isn’t the only Miss Sprint Cup (former or otherwise) to be on a reality TV show. Current Miss Sprint Cup Kim Coon was on this year’s season of “The Bachelor.”
In other news…
– As I told you last week, Jeremiah Weed, sponsor of Matt Kenseth at Talladega, put out the word that they were offering up free tattoos to fans at the track this past weekend. Turns out they got exactly 17 takers! How perfect is that since it’s Matt’s car number.
The turnout inspired Jeremiah Weed to increase their donation of $100 for every tattoo inked to an overall sum of $5,000 to The Air Force Enlisted Village charity. The Air Force Enlisted Village is committed to providing safe, secure and dignified homes for indigent surviving spouses of retired Air Force personnel.
Not only did fans get tatted, but so did Matt’s spotter, Mike Calinoff. Check out the photos below.
Adult fans show NASCAR star Matt Kenseth (center with red hat) their tattoos featuring his signature, number 17 and Jeremiah Weed malt beverage cans.
Matt Kenseth's spotter, Mike Calinoff, looks on as he gets his own tattoo courtesy of Jeremiah Weed
this is talladega?
Maybe it’s because I watched Scream 4 (there was A LOT of stabbing going on in that movie) over the weekend that the old song by the O’Jays, “Back Stabber,” comes to mind when I think about yesterday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega.
I’m not saying that guys were being back stabbers on purpose, I just think that this whole two-car tandem racing thing puts them in that position. At some point you have to be selfish, or team-ish, or manufacturer-ish, and it’s not that enjoyable to watch. Clearly in racing you have to go for yours, and not worry about anyone else, but because of two-car craziness it puts people in awkward situations that they wouldn’t normally have to think about.
I don’t like what Talladega has become, it’s kind of boring and since we all know the drivers don’t like it, it makes it less fun. It’s just something they have to get through. It’s not really racing, it’s elementary school all over again trying to find someone who likes you enough to play with you. While strategy obviously plays an important role in every NASCAR race, the strategy that comes into play at Talladega becomes an annoyance.
That being said, I was happy for Clint Bowyer and Richard Childress Racing. And it was extra special because RCR scored their 100th win.
Anywhoo, can’t wait for Martinsville!
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Timothy Peters, No. 17 Ideal Doors/Menards Chevrolet, signs autographs for fans today at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. (Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)
NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton jokes with Michael Waltrip, who qualified 23rd in a tribute car to his brother Darrell's Hall of Fame Induction. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 The Home Depot Toyota, signs autographs during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 21 in Talladega, Ala. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet, signs autographs for fans during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 21 in Talladega, Ala. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Mike Wallace receives the checkered flag after winning the Coca-Cola 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
A fan signs the start/finish line prior to the start of the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Clint Bowyer celebrates winning the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, his second straight fall win at the track. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
shortcuts: get matt kenseth’s name tattooed on your you-know-what
You have a dirty mind, my friend! I meant your arm! All for a good cause, of course.
Matt Kenseth’s sponsor for Talladega, Jeremiah Weed® flavored malt beverages, is offering free tattoos to race fans (adults!) this weekend at the race track. For every tattoo inked Jeremiah Weed is donating $100 to The Air Force Enlisted Village.
The deets:
“We have some of the best fans in all of sports,” said Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Jeremiah Weed Ford Fusion. “They wear our numbers, fly our flags and sometimes even get tattoos to show their dedication. It’s incredible that Jeremiah Weed is doing all this for our fans and to support such a worthy cause as The Air Force Enlisted Village. I look forward to personally checking out the tattoos throughout the race weekend.”
On Saturday, Oct. 22 adults 21 and over will be able to sign up at the Jeremiah Weed event space in the Talladega fan zone to receive a free tattoo. A series of tattoos will be available for fans to choose from, including Matt Kenseth’s signature, a number 17, Jeremiah Weed logos and a Jeremiah Weed® Lightning Lemonade® can. The tattooing will occur at a local tattoo parlor approved by the Alabama State Health Board. Free transportation to and from the parlor will be also provided. For every tattoo inked, Jeremiah Weed will make a $100 donation to The Air Force Enlisted Village, a charity committed to providing safe, secure and dignified homes for indigent surviving spouses of retired Air Force personnel.
In other news…
– Joey Logano will be making his much anticipated appearance on the Travel Channel show “Man V. Food Nation” tonight at 9pm ET alongside the show’s host Adam Richman. Check your local listings for details. Do you think Joey can eat a three pound bacon double cheeseburger loaded with pulled pork and a meaty hot sauce over a pound of fries in ONLY 30 minutes??
– With everything that happened on Sunday I wasn’t in the mood to post photos from the NASCAR race weekend at Charlotte until now.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon, No 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, signs autographs for a couple of fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 13 in Concord, N.C. (Credit: John Harrelson for Getty Images)
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, walks in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 13 in Concord, N.C. (Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ryan Truex (right) and Casey Roderick (left) sign autographs for a fan during the NASCAR Nationwide Series autograph session on Oct. 14 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Carl Edwards, driver of the #60 Fastenal Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 14, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Elliott Sadler poses with Joseph Thornton and wife, winners of $100,000 in the NASCAR Nationwide Dash 4 Cash giveaway. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Actress Angie Harmon (R) and former NFL player Jason Sehorn (L), friends of Jimmie Johnson, attend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 15, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, stands on the grid prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 15, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 Fluidmaster Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 15, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)
my nascar year: never give up? never give up
The end of the NASCAR year is quickly approaching. With only 5 races left in the Sprint Cup Series season I figured this was the right time to assess where I am with the “My NASCAR Year 2012″ fundraiser. We’ve stalled at $5,419 which, needless to say, isn’t equal to my goal of $125,000. I am forever grateful to everyone who contributed!
shortcuts: david ragan’s girlfriend wins, kelley earnhardt baby news
I’m so happy I got to go to New Hampshire and Kansas over the past month or so. Getting to attend those races reminded me why I love writing this blog so much and how awesome it is to interact with you and hear your thoughts on my experiences. Your feedback means a lot to me so don’t hold back. Let’s just hope that someone reads this site, believes in what I’m doing and steps up to help it grow. I might create a quick link for you to click to Tweet brands that tells them to sponsor me. Ha! I seriously just thought of that while writing this and now I need to make it happen.
In other news…
– Today was the first ever Better Half Dash at Charlotte Motor Speedway, featuring the wives and girlfriends of NASCAR drivers, crew guys and personalities. The inaugural winner was Jacquelyn Butler, the girlfriend of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan.
Jacquelyn Butler, girlfriend of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan, won the Better Half Dash today at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Harold Hinson Photography)
“That was crazy,” Butler said from the frontstretch victory celebration, which was complete with a trophy presentation, interviews and a champagne shower. “That was fun. I’m ready to go out and do it again next week.”
Better Half Dash Finishing Order
1. Jacquelyn Butler (David Ragan)
2. Trisha Mears (Casey Mears)
3. Ashley Allgaier (Justin Allgaier)
4. Patricia Driscoll (Kurt Busch)
5. Wendy Venturini (Speed Network)
6. Beth Baldwin (Tommy Baldwin)
7. Sabrina Simpson (Joey Logano)
8. Jami McDowell (Michael McDowell)
9. Michelle Gilliland (David Gilliland)
10. Kristen Yeley (J.J. Yeley)
11. Nan Zipadelli (Greg Zipadelli)
12. Angie Skinner (Mike Skinner)
13. Shannon Koch (Blake Koch)
14. Melanie Self (Motor Racing Outreach)
– Better Half Dash Honorary Starter Kelley Earnhardt is expecting her third child. It’s her first child with her husband & race car driver, L.W. Miller III (who you can see in that Richard Petty energy drink commercial). Kelley has two daughters, Karsyn & Kennedy, from her previous marriage to NASCAR crew chief, Jimmy Elledge.
“Obviously as a former race car driver, I would love to be participating with the other ladies in this event,” said Earnhardt, co-owner and general manager of JR Motorsports. “But with a baby on the way, I am thankful they found a home for me as the honorary starter to be a part of the fun.
“It is fulfilling to be doing something positive while raising awareness and funds for Motor Racing Outreach (MRO) and Speedway Children’s Charities. MRO is a staple to our sport and NASCAR family and SCC has done so much for our community.”
– Montgomery Lee, daughter of former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Petty (and granddaughter of NASCAR legend Richard Petty) announced this week via Twitter that she and her country music artist husband, Randy Montana, are expecting their first child. The couple are expecting a daughter on February 29th of next year.
a nascar wife interview with delana harvick
I had the awesome opportunity to meet and interview DeLana Harvick at Kansas Speedway last weekend. DeLana is married to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick, who pilots the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). Kevin is currently 2nd in The Chase for the Sprint Cup Series Championship points standings, just ONE point behind the leader, Carl Edwards. Needless to say, this has been a big year for the Harvicks, one that included moving the racing side of Kevin Harvick Inc. over to RCR.
sunday: ‘hey baby, i’m in the garage’ and whatever that means
Sunday morning I got up super early so that I could get to Starbucks (a ‘real’ one that I scouted the night before) and beat any race day traffic that might rear it’s ugly head. I was delighted to find that there was no such traffic to fight and I even had time to take a couple pictures of the road I was on so you guys could see what I saw every morning. I did see a dead dear on the side of the road but I didn’t take a picture of that because it was sad (and gross). 
saturday: hanging out with (and eating) hunt brothers pizza
Saturday morning, with my iPod blasting The Civil Wars (don’t get me started, their song “To Whom It May Concern” perfectly explains the state of my love life right now), I headed to the track. Well, I should say that I was headed to Starbucks. Now here’s the weird thing about that area around Kansas Speedway which has everything from a full on mall to Target, Hooters, a movie theater, Chipotle, Red Lobster, the LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, a baseball field, and a bunch of other restaurants — there’s no standalone Starbucks. The only Starbucks is tucked inside Target and we all know that the Starbucks inside of any other store is not a REAL Starbucks. If I can’t use my Starbucks card there it’s not a real Starbucks.
givin’ it away: hunt brothers pizza swag signed by kevin harvick & elliott sadler
Who doesn’t love a giveaway?! I certainly do and the fine folks at Hunt Brothers Pizza gave me some good stuff to hand over to a couple lucky winners. I have a couple of HBP Racing hats, one signed by Kevin Harvick and another signed by Elliott Sadler, plus two HBP Racing t-shirts and some HBP Racing Hero Cards. Just fill out the form below (one per email address) and you’ll be entered to win!
interview: inside the actor’s studio with matt crafton
I met and interviewed Camping World Truck Series driver Matt Crafton during the hauler tour for SYLVANIA during the New Hampshire Motor Speedway race weekend last month. Matt drives the No. 88 Menards Chevrolet for ThorSport Racing. He’s currently 8th in the points standings and hails from Tulare, California which is the same hometown as my brother-in-law. I knew there was a reason why I liked Matt Crafton.
friday: the tale of the only yellow car in kansas city (both of ‘em)
I flew into Kansas City, Missouri on Friday in the middle of the day. I knew that I was going to miss out on all of the top-12 driver press conferences, as well as Clint Bowyer’s big, non-surprise announcement that he was going to Michael Waltrip Racing next year in the #15 5-Hour Energy car. I knew all of that going in and it wasn’t a problem seeing as how the fact that I was going to the race weekend at Kansas Speedway at all was a big deal.
juliet leigh speed has arrived
Scott and Amanda Speed welcomed their first child into the world today.
Scott announced their daughter’s birth via Twitter:
And posted the following photo with the caption: “The most beautiful thing I have ever seen!!!”
Congratulations to the Speed family!
dover, dover send kurt busch right over
‘Cause he won the race, you guys. I don’t miss playing Red Rover in elementary school, although Steal The Bacon was my absolute LEAST favorite game. I’m more of a Hopscotch/4 Square girl, no annoying boys yelling at you if you do something “wrong.”
Anyway, Kurt Busch’s win of the AAA 400 at Dover International Raceway was one big piece in the changed up Chase standings. I love that everything is still up in the air and we have no idea who will ultimately walk away with this year’s trophy. I hope Brad Keseolowski is right, he posted the following tweet last night:
After today’s race. It’s obvious the chase winner will be decided on the last lap at homestead. Every one is so close.
Did you see all of the babies on pit road during the pre-race coverage on ESPN? Adorableness times a million.
The best quote of the day (in my opinion) came from Jimmie Johnson. I like Sassy Jimmie
Q. You both (Carl Edwards) talked about essentially mistakes that you made today that prevented you from winning. How do you get over that? How long does that take? What’s that process in moving forward?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: If I was Carl, I wouldn’t get over that mistake.
JIMMIE JOHNSON: I maybe wouldn’t show up next week.
JIMMIE JOHNSON: (Laughing). Not sure we answered your question.
Denny Hamlin (left), driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, laughs with Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 30 in Dover, Del. Hamlin is 12th in NSCS point standings going into the AAA 400. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images)
Jeff Gordon (far left), driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, talks with crew chief Alan Gustafson (second left) while crew members listen in during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 30 in Dover, Del. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Tony Stewart (right), driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, talks over strategy with crew chief Darian Grubb (left) during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 30 in Dover, Del. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images)
Carl Edwards celebrates with fans in the grandstand after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series OneMain Financial 200 on Saturday at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kevin and DeLana Harvick stand on pit road before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 on Sunday at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. Kevin would end the day with the points lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. (Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Dover International Speedway. (Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports)
Kurt Busch celebrates in Sunoco Victory Lane on Sunday at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. after winning the third Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the 2011 season. (Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR)
dale jr. speculates on tony stewart’s “dead weight”
The best quotes I could find today so far from the top-12 driver press conferences at Dover are all from Dale Earnhardt Jr. See for yourself below. It’s good stuff.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF TONY STEWART’S REMARK LAST WEEK ABOUT ‘GETTING RID OF DEAD WEIGHT’?
“What was it?”HE SAID HE GOT RID OF SOME DEAD WEIGHT
“I wonder what he did.”HE WOULDN’T TELL US.
“Maybe I should go ask him (laughs).”IT JUST SEEMED KIND OF FUNNY TO THROW THAT OUT THERE
“Yeah, I don’t know what he did; whether he broke up with his girlfriend or he fired somebody, or who knows (laughter).”
And if you need more Tony Stewart content the following are photos from Tony’s day at ESPN yesterday.
The Scott Van Pelt Show with Scott Van Pelt and Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup leader Tony Stewart…Credit: Joe Faraoni/ESPN
SportsNation with hosts Lindsay Czarniak, Colin Cowherd and Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup leader Tony Stewart…Credit: Joe Faraoni/ESPN
SportsNation with hosts Lindsay Czarniak, Colin Cowherd and Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup leader Tony Stewart…Credit: Joe Faraoni/ESPN
sunday: denny hamlin has mad hops
I woke up at 6am Sunday morning in New Hampshire and willed myself to get up so that I wouldn’t get stuck in race day traffic. SYLVANIA gave us a tip that we (their invited media peeps) should get on the road by 7:15am at the latest in order to miss the traffic melee. It worked because the drive to the track only took 25 minutes. I have to say that NHMS is by far my favorite track to drive to because the scenery is beautiful, but more importantly it was (basically) a straight shot from the hotel to the track, with one left turn and one stop at the drive-thru Starbucks on Loudon Road.
saturday: changing out headlight lightbulbs, touring matt crafton’s hauler
On Saturday, my first order of business was to head over to SYLVANIA’s tent in the fan mid-way area for a demonstration on how to change out your headlights. I was particularly interested in this because I’m one of those people that will go to the dealership, or to whatever car repair place I’m going to these days, and have them do it because I’d rather it be done right for sure than by me.
friday: when i think of loudon, i think of madonna’s movie “who’s that girl?”
“Who’s That Girl?,” starring one of my heroes, Madonna, stuck in their brain. Louden was the uptight husband, that needed to loosen up, of the insanely rich chick in the movie that Madonna’s bad girl, Nikki, (but she’s really nice) character ends up with. Anyway, they said his name about a million times, so I guess it makes sense that I’d remember it. Loudon, New Hampshire is where New Hampshire Motor Speedway is located and it was the home of the 2nd race in the The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the Sylvania 300, on Sunday.
the case of the unpredictable ‘chase’
Tony Stewart claimed the first win in The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup yesterday. I have to say that was a pretty satisfying race. I’m not going to lie I watched it from home and kind of dozed off halfway through it but the ending was great. I, mean, hello, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 4th. How can you not love that? Now the points standings are all jumbled up and it makes going to New Hampshire this week all the more thrilling. I feel like I’ve mentioned this a ton already (on Twitter for sure) but I’ll be at New Hampshire this week, I leave on Thursday, and I’m beyond excited. It’s so early on in The Chase and the Championship is still up on the air, I can’t wait to get there and see what happens next. Although, I’ve been checking the weather forecast and there’s supposed to be rain on Saturday but not on Sunday. So let’s hope it stays that way.
During the rain delay coverage on Sunday I left the house to do something and I was listening to Claire B. Lang on SiriusXM’s NASCAR channel. She mentioned how people had been asking her what was going to happen in The Chase, who was going to win, etc. I wondered why people do that? Like, what’s the point? Have you ever watched the Super Bowl and thought “I’m SO glad I knew that the Packers were going to win because Terry Bradshaw said so.” No one EVER thinks that. (I have no idea what Terry Bradshaw’s actual prediction was, it’s just an example) So why should I say that I think this person or that person is going to win? I’m not psychic and I don’t want to be. I like not knowing and watching it unfold. Of course there are people that I’d rather see win than other people but that’s a given. Maybe it’s just because I don’t like counting people out because people constantly count me out and I don’t like that.
In other news…
Regarding the Camping World Truck Series race:
– How do you feel about Austin Dillon’s new celebration practice of sliding on the infield grass? I’m not really a fan because it doesn’t look that fun. It looks like it kind of hurts.
– Actor/singer Tyrese Gibson’s performance of the National Anthem was WONDERFUL. It was subdued but totally on point. The fact that I’m mentioning it at all is saying something.
Regarding the Nationwide Series race:
– Uh, I got nothin’
Regarding the Sprint Cup Series race:
– I feel bad that the Geico Caveman had to wear all that makeup and stuff for a SECOND day just to give the command to start engines.
– Loved the exchange over the radio between Carl Edwards and his crew chief, Bob Osborne, when Carl said that the sun was coming out and Bob sang back to Carl “Here comes the sun!! bababa!” So funny.
(Left to right) Actor Tyrese Gibson, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya and actress Jordana Brewster pose for a photograph in the garage area prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 16 in Joliet, Ill. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images)
Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fast Five 225 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 16 in Joliet, Ill. (Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 Powered by Coca-Cola at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 17 in Joliet, Ill. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The GEICO Caveman, who will serve as Grand Marshal, walks out on the grid as rain falls prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 18 in Joliet, Ill. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images)
Former NFL player Gale Sayers (center) signs autographs for fans prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 18 in Joliet, Ill. Sayers NFL career records include most touchdowns in a rookie season (22 in 1965), most touchdowns in a game (6, tied with Nevers and Jones), and highest career kickoff return average (30.56). (Credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Singer Darius Rucker performs on stage prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 18 in Joliet, Ill. (Credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
American rock band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus perform the National Anthem prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 19 in Joliet, Ill. (Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jeff Gordon (left) and Jimmie Johnson (right) look after Genevieve Marie, Johnson's daughter, on the grid prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept 19 in Joliet, Ill. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images)
clint bowyer: get out of my dreams, get into a new racing contract
Monday night Clint Bowyer was in one of my dreams. I have no idea why he would be but there he was confiding in me about his contract talks with Richard Childress Racing. I distinctly remember him being upset at not being able to seal the deal on a new contract and the number 4 was mentioned (don’t know what that means). I was telling him not to worry, that there were plenty of other teams that wanted him and would snap him up. I remember in the dream asking myself “Why are you telling him that?? You don’t know anything!” LOL
And then Tuesday morning there’s a report saying that Richard Petty Motorsports, who was reportedly interested in him if RCR wasn’t, is now reportedly NOT interested in him anymore. (That sentence alone is why silly season is so freakin’ silly). I remembered my dream and I felt bad that I gave the Clint Bowyer in my dream such bad advice.
I’m sure you guys have gone to sleep and had NASCAR drivers invade your dreams, please feel free to share what’s happened in yours so that I don’t feel like such a geek about mine (keep it PG!).
In other news…
– The top-12 drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, AKA The Chase drivers, were a bunch of busy little bees this week promoting themselves, NASCAR and The Chase for the Sprint Cup everywhere. I figured it was worthy of a photo spread. My favorites are the ones of Jimmie Johnson at the high school pep rally (Jimmie has to take that girl to the prom!) and Carl Edwards with the lobster (because he finally shaved off that goatee thingy, but now that it’s gone I kinda miss it).
Ryan Newman and Kim Coon pose for a photo with the Ft. Riley soldiers at Kansas Speedway on Sept 14 in Kansas City, Kan. Newman is seeded eighth going into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. (Credit: Kansas Speedway)
Denny Hamlin, (L), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Toyota Camry, and playing partner Fredrik Jacobson, (R), of Sweden pose for a photo during the Pro-Am round for the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club on Wednesday in Lemont, Ill. Hamlin is in town for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which begins this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. (Credit: Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski answers questions for fans who won a Facebook contest during a breakfast at the Arizona Biltmore on Wednesday as Phoenix International Raceway gets ready to host the penultimate race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. (Credit: Phoenix International Raceway)
ESPN Anchor Hannah Storm interviews NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the 9 a.m. SportsCenter on Wednesday. (Credit: Joe Faraoni)
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards works with the Portsmouth Lobster Company to trap Loudon the Lobster on Wednesday in Portsmouth, N.H. Edwards was in town to catch the trophy for the second race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Credit: New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson breaks through a spirit banner during a Texas football-style pep rally at Byron Nelson High School on Wednesday in Trophy Club, Texas. (Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
Byron Nelson High School cheerleaders react after seeing five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson during a Texas football-style pep rally at Byron Nelson High School on Wednesday in Trophy Club, Texas. (Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
Sarah Rusinko (R) had the chance to meet five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson after she asked him to homecoming during a Texas football-style pep rally at Byron Nelson High School on Wednesday in Trophy Club, Texas. (Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
‘the chase’ field has been set, might need a referee
And I’m not talking about on the track either. They might need to post security in the media centers for the next 10 races. A lot of interesting things happened Saturday night at the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway post-race press conference. Sounded like a good time full of ripped up paper, tension, verbal jabs that made no sense and the comedic talents of Matt Kenseth.
I guess Snookie has that kind of effect on people.
Anyway… The only thing I can/want to say about the media and it’s questions that always sound the same is to quote one of my favorite movies from the 80s, “Heartburn,” starring my one of the greatest actresses of all time Meryl Streep (I love her!) and Jack Nicholson (He’s great too!). The movie is about a couple who get married, have a baby and then the husband cheats and the wife loses all trust she had for the husband but tries to carry on in the relationship. During that portion of the movie Jack’s character says to Meryl’s character “You can’t take it’s temperature every five minutes.” He was referring to their relationship, us ladies always want to know where we stand in our relationships especially if things don’t feel “right.” (If you’ve ever had to ask a guy “where is this going??” it’s probably not going anywhere good) Anyway… I love that line and I think that it applies to the media when they keep asking drivers how they feel about making The Chase, being in The Chase, still being in The Chase, why are you in The Chase, what does it feel like to be in The Chase… it NEVER ends. They do the same thing with other storylines, whatever it is they will ask the same question in various formats every week until there is a resolution. But I say, you can’t take it’s temperature every five minutes, dude! Nothing’s changed and when it does change, ask a question then.
Moving on… Congratulations to Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team! It had to have felt great considering the announcement he and his wife DeLana made earlier in the week about shuttering the racing side of Kevin Harvick Inc.
Richmond was a great, caution-filled race and I can only hope that we get more awesome action like that in the next 10 races. I love this time of year right before the first race in The Chase when everything feels possible. I hope we get to hold on to that feeling for more than two races.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 7 GoDaddy.com/GetYour.net Chevrolet, stands with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 9 in Richmond, Va. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
From laps 9-11, fans honor the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, staying silent for three circuits and waving American flags on Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. (Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Members of the U.S. military hold the American flag during the prerace ceremony for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wonderful Pistachios 400 on Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. (Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. jokes with his No. 88 crew about the state of his Chevrolet Impala after clinching the 10th spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Kevin Harvick celebrates after leading 202 laps on his way to Richmond International Raceway's Victory Lane on Saturday. (Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
(Back row L-R) Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon (front row L-R) Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin pose after clinching spots in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
The 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field celebrates after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wonderful Pistachios 400 on Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. (Credit: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup after the race weekend at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. (Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports)
jeff gordon won but he missed ella’s first day at school, you guys!
So Jeff Gordon won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is totally great but he missed his daughter Ella’s first day at school. For some reason, for me, that overshadowed everything else he said in Victory Lane on Tuesday. Don’t get me wrong, winning the race is HUGE and it looks like he’s in a great position to contend for the Championship this year–which I love–but when you think about it from a personal/family perspective a part of me goes “Awww, he didn’t get to take her to school.” He probably would have had the race happened on Sunday when it was supposed to.
Anyway, congrats to the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger team! It was great to see the car that was CLEARLY fast all day win the race in the end.
There are things that I want to say about this next race at Richmond–the last race to determine the 12 drivers in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup–but I’m not going to because I’m afraid I’ll mess it up. I can’t even say/type/think the “J” word because I’m afraid just saying it will have some effect. Just know that there are certain drivers that need to keep themselves and their teams together to keep things good.
—
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick signs an autograph for a young fan at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 2 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: By Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole banner after setting the pole position of 186.196 mph (29.775 secs.) in qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 3 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ron Hornaday, driver of the No. 33 Armour/Ingles Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Good Sam Club 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 2 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Brian Scott, driver of the No. 11 Boise State Broncos Toyota, looks on prior to the NASCAR Nationwide Series Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 3 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 60 Fastenal Ford, celebrates in the grandstand with the fans after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 3 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: Brian Cleary/Getty Images)
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, walks with his girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, and her son, Houston, during driver introductions prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 4 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
The American flag is displayed by U.S. service members during pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 4 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NASCAR President Mike Helton presents a plaque to Jeff Gordon commemorating his 85th win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 6 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
millions of dollars on the line must wait ’til tuesday
(Wait, now that I’ve written “’til tuesday” I can’t stop thinking about their song “voices carry.” Great, now that’s stuck in my head. hush, hush, keep it down now… voices carry!!! )
Tuesday? Tuesday.
It’s crazy to think we’ll be watching a NASCAR race on Tuesday this week. I guess it’s what you have to do when Mother Nature won’t cooperate. It sucks because I was REALLY looking forward to seeing the outcome of the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway today, because there’s SO much on the line. There’s the matter of the $3 million Sprint Summer Showdown, that if you hadn’t heard about until today’s rain delay coverage you’ll never be able to forget it now, and the $1 million that could go to the “Official Small Business of NASCAR, presented by Office Depot” should Tony Stewart or Greg Biffle win the race.
Then there’s all of the Chase implications and you’ve got one race with a ton of responsibility.
Anywhoo, since I can’t talk about the race I’ll talk about other sort of random things I came across this weekend:
– Harrison Burton, the 10-year-old son of NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, has taken up his father’s profession as a racecar driver. Harrison’s parents made it clear yesterday at Atlanta Motor Speedway that his decision to try his hand at racing was ALL his idea and not something that they wanted him to do.
“I was hoping he’d be a lawyer and I could hang out at the country club,” Kim Burton said laughing. “It’s hard watching your baby out there, but he loves it.”
Harrison races quarter midgets with the United States Auto Club (USAC) in an all-oval series for 5-16 year-olds, and he’s leading in points in a lot of divisions.
“I have a passion for racing, and I love it, but he doesn’t have to,” Jeff said. “If he ever wants to quit, we quit. If he wants to play lacrosse, we play lacrosse.”
At the press conference today, father and son shared the stage with Harrison donning a Caterpillar firesuit just like his dads. It’s too cute.
(Credit: HHP/Harold Hinson)
– Samantha Busch, wife of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, has launched her own official website–samanthabusch.net. The site contains tons of photos, news and tips from everything from fitness to fashion.
– The following photo is just adorable. It’s too friggin’ adorable. That’s all I wanted to say.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. signs an autograph for a young fan at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 2 in Hampton, Ga. (Credit: By Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
office depot’s small biz sweeps reminds of this date I had a few years ago
I’m sure you’ve already heard about the finalists in this year’s ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot’ sweepstakes, and I’m probably the last person to write about about it, but I had to because their business names got me thinking.
First, when I read the name “Bales Mold Service, Inc.” I thought I would get to share the story of how I went on a date with a guy that had some serious mold allergy issues (we’re talking about an ENTIRE newsstand FULL of issues) and how we couldn’t really go anywhere on our date because everything gave him a reaction, he was so sensitive to ANY kind of mold (we couldn’t go to Starbucks = total deal breaker). Anyway, turns out Bales Mold Service, who will have their logo on the TV panel of Greg Biffle’s No. 16 3M Ford this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, don’t work in THAT kind of mold. Think “mold” as a verb, not something horrible that can ruin ones dating life. Bales Mold Service “represents the cutting edge of engineered coatings and finishes, and continues to be at the forefront of developing technology to service varied industries.” For the record, that guy had other issues outside of his mold affliction, so I’m not bagging on him just because of that.
On Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet will be HuckleBerry Pets which makes fashionable & customizable beds for your pets. HuckleBerry Pets “specializes in manufacturing comfortable, stylish and durable pet beds using orthopedic mattresses that help support a pet’s muscles and bone structure” which got me thinking about my mom’s two miniature schnauzers, Spencer & Sullivan (aka Sully), both of whom I love just as much as my mom does. They’re the cutest, sweetest dogs in the WORLD and I started wondering about their beds and if they needed orthopedic mattresses and how would we know if they did??
Anyway, I went to the HuckleBerry Pets website and I think their beds are so adorable and I REALLY want to get one for Spencer & Sully but where would we put it?? If they have their own bed, it stands to reason that they need their own room. This pet bed thing could be a slippery slope if you’re really into spoiling your dog-babies (yes, that’s what I call them).
Should Tony Stewart win this weekend’s AdvoCare 500 (which he REALLY needs to do if he wants to help his case for The Chase) then HuckleBerry Pets would win $1 million! The same goes for Bales Mold Service should Greg Biffle win the race. Whoever’s driver has the highest finish in Sunday’s race will be named the 2011 “Official Small Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot” and receive the use of the “Official Small Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot” logo for one year. And just for being a finalist, both businesses will receive a $10,000 small business makeover from Office Depot and a VIP experience this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
So let’s think REALLY good thoughts for these two small businesses, both run by women I might add, and hope that one of them gets to walk away with one million dollars!
Credit: Action Sports Photography
Credit: Action Sports Photography
bad brad breaks through at bristol
I don’t even know if people call Brad Keselowski “Bad Brad” but I needed “B” words and it sounded about right, so there ya go.
How did you feel about his reaction to winning the Bristol night race? I thought it was great. Except for the jumping off the car part, because his ankle is still HURT. I don’t know why I have such a complex about him not using crutches or sitting down when he doesn’t need to stand. It’s CLEARLY working alright for him. I wasn’t expecting him to be such a big winner this year. It’s pretty amazing stuff and this is just his second year in Cup.
If you follow me on Twitter then you already know the fabulous news that I’ll be going to at least TWO more races this year FOR SURE. It’s all thanks to Sylvania and Hunt Brothers Pizza. Sylvania is the title sponsor of the New Hampshire Cup Series race in September (the second race in The Chase for the Sprint Cup) and they’ve got some fun activities planned around that weekend that I will be attending & covering. Can’t wait to write about it all. I’ll also be at Kansas, where I will be hanging with the Hunt Bros. Pizza group for the Nationwide Series race. Be on the lookout for a great interview to come out of that!
On a very personal note… It’s my birthday tomorrow. I turn the big 3-1 and the greatest birthday present you could ever give me, besides just being yourself and reading this blog (which I totally appreciate), would be to donate to My NASCAR Year 2012 project (or get your company to do it!). Read all about it and donate here. You can give anonymously or not, it’s up to you. Even $5 helps me get to my goal of $125,000!
With no permanent garages, crew members work on their cars on pit road at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Kevin Harvick celebrates completing the hat trick of national series wins on Wednesday in Bristol Motor Speedway's Victory Lane, adding a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series trophy to his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series wins. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and wife Ingrid Vandebosch enjoy the prerace ceremony before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The No. 2 Penske Racing crew celebrates its third win of the season as Brad Keselowski crosses the finish line first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
clint bowyer doesn’t want a helicopter, tony stewart will let you know
This might become a regular thing. I scan through the press conference transcripts (I get Ford, Chevy & Toyota) and find the best quotes (at least, to me they’re the best).
So here we go:
– Tony Stewart’s press conferences are always entertaining. You only need to glance at the transcript to see how Tony’s feeling that day. If the answers are really short, someone’s not that happy. So when Tony was asked REPEATEDLY but in different ways, about what Danica’s schedule will be in the Cup Series next year, he was expectedly annoyed:
ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT DANICA PATRICK RUNNING IN A CUP CAR AT THE DAYTONA 500 NEXT YEAR?
“We’re worried about other stuff right now. We’re working on her schedule and when we have a schedule, we’ll let you guys know what those races are going to be. But right now, we have a lot of things to work on.”WHEN DO YOU HAVE TO START THINKING ABOUT PERSONNEL?
“A month ago. You don’t make decisions like this and not already start that process.”HOW FAR ALONG THAT ROAD ARE YOU?
“We’ll let you guys know. We’re working on it, guys. We’ve got a lot of stuff to do. There’s a lot of stuff not done yet; there’s a lot of stuff that has to be done and we’re in that process. We are in the middle of getting it all done.”WILL THE DECISION ON WHICH RACES DANICA PATRICK RUN NEXT YEAR IN CUP BE A SPONSOR DECISION OR WHAT WILL IT BE BASED ON?
“When we have that we’ll let you know. When we have the schedule, we’ll let you know. We don’t have it set yet. We’ll figure it out.”
I GUESS WHAT I’M ASKING IS…
“I know what you’re asking. I don’t have an answer to your question. When we have the schedule done, we will let you know.”
Dear Fellow Media People: TONY WILL LET YOU KNOW!! LOL
– And now Clint Bowyer who expressed his displeasure with media for interfering with his contract negotiations. You tell ‘em, Clint!
ARE YOU SURPRISED TO BE THIS LATE IN THE SEASON STILL DEALING WITH STUFF FOR NEXT YEAR, STILL HAVING STUFF UP IN THE AIR AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE CLOSER TO A RESOLUTION RIGHT NOW?
“You know, were just working on it. It takes time, those deals, you can’t just say YES, let’s do it. It takes time to put the sponsorships together, it takes time to have meetings, and it takes time to do all that. You have got to be patient. Unfortunately, the media gets a hold of it and it makes it even worse. Speculations, guesses, you guys need to stop and think sometimes about the situation and the detriment that it can cause to the situation. I think that is important, I think it’s good to be positive, it is good to give opinion but when it starts to show detriment to a situation one way or another, I think it is a problem.”ARE YOU GETTING A LOT OF PHONE CALLS FROM OTHER OWNERS, OR DO THEY REALIZE YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE AND LEAVING YOU ALONE?
“Man, I tell ya. I have been busy. We have two things. Obviously the future, we have to take care of that, just like I said last week. Then the Chase, the chase is item number one. I want to be in this chase. I think my team deserves to be in this Chase and we have a shot at it. We can make this happen. You have to stay 100 percent focused on that. The biggest thing is you have to work hard on keeping your team focused. A lot of rumors and things going on, it is hilarious, they call it silly season for a reason. Good God, I heard rumors that I needed helicopters, it is pretty amazing. You don’t know me very well lady!”
– Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked about making The Chase and how important it was to him. This was the best part because when Junior curses it tickles me.
“The Chase stuff, the points and everything sort of takes care of itself. You try to do the best you can throughout the year to put yourself in the best position there, but, I miss the Chase, I’ll probably catch a lot of s*** about it. It will save me a lot of s*** if I make the Chase so that is probably the only thing personally that I have to worry about.”
– Kevin Harvick was asked if he anticipated any happening between Elliott Sadler & Kyle Busch last night during the Nationwide race considering the skirmish the two had during the Truck race on Wednesday:
“First off, I do not have any reason to talk to Kyle. I was not even involved in any portion of the incident. Second off, hopefully he went back and watched the race. The first thing that happened was he shoved him (Sadler) up the racetrack and he got mad because Elliott (Sadler) ran in the back of him, and then he drove over the front of him and wrecked himself. It is just old Kyle I guess showed up last week and really laid into the fact that he was kind of pouting because he was getting his butt whipped. Keeps running his mouth he might get it whipped off the track.”
why i don’t speculate on silly season shenanigans
I decided to make a list of the reasons why I don’t speculate on the latest gossip & rumors about if a driver is leaving a team, joining a team, etc.:
1) I don’t care – Now, It’s not that I don’t care about the drivers as people because I do–I always like knowing that people are working. However, in the grand scheme of things I have better things to do than to write about or worry about what so-and-so is going to be doing next year. I’m worrying about what I’M going to be doing next year. They’re all going to land where they were meant to go and everything is going to work out for the best in due time.
2) We’re gonna find out FOR SURE eventually – This is one thing I can actually be patient about. I’m totally fine waiting for the inevitable press conference or press release to tell me what is ACTUALLY going to happen.
It’s that simple.
kyle busch won, but jimmie johnson will sign your body
’nuff said.
Jimmie Johnson (right), driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, signs a fan’s shoulder on pit road after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 19 in Brooklyn, Mich. (Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
So why is he retiring?
Patrick Carpentier of the No. 99 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota signs autographs for fans prior to the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Aug. 20 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Credit: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
David Reutimann, driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, signs autographs on pit road after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 19 in Brooklyn, Mich. (Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Get this man a contract! Enough already!
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, climbs in his car in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 19 in Brooklyn, Mich. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (right), driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet, signs autographs for fans after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 19 in Brooklyn, Mich. (Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
A fan takes a photo with Kasey Kahne (left), driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 20 in Brooklyn, Mich. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 21 in Brooklyn, Mich. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)
danica, danica, danica, dale!
Let me take this opportunity to get you caught up on what all of the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are saying about Danica Patrick’s possible move to NASCAR full-time in the Nationwide Series next year.
They’re saying a whole lot of nothing. Why? Because she hasn’t made an official announcement so there’s nothing to talk about. It’s hilarious. I’ve been reading through the top-12 driver media sessions from Michigan and it’s all the same song and dance. The media asks and then the drivers asks the media what’s been going on ’cause they haven’t heard anything about it. Ugh.
Here are my favorite quotes so far. First, from Carl Edwards:
“So is this a rumor guys or did Danica say what she is doing? You know what I am going to do, because of what I just learned with my contract? I am going to just wait to see what Danica has to say. That is what I am going to do.”
And now this from Dale Earnhardt Jr. whose team Danica is allegedly joining next year:
WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO THE NEWS THAT DANICA PATRICK IS COMING TO NASCAR FULL TIME?: “There ain’t been no announcement yet so I don’t know why you would go report that. We’ve enjoyed working with her and would love to keep working with her. When there’s something to announce, they’ll announce it and we’ll just wait until that happens I guess.”
HYPOTHETICALLY, LET’S SAY IT WAS GOING TO: “I don’t deal in hypotheticals. I can’t do you no favors today.”
I love it. Ha!
Oh and here’s some video of Danica herself talking to the media in Canada in advance of this weekend’s race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Apparently her Lamborghini doesn’t have cup holders. The perfect example of a first-world problem if there ever was one.
(Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
rumble in the glen: who’s afraid of boris said?
The race at Watkins Glen–the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen to be exact–had it ALL. Let’s go through the list shall we?
– Close racing at the end where you had no idea who would come out with the win? CHECK!
– Crazy, gnarly crashes that thankfully left no one seriously hurt? CHECK!
– An emotional it’s-about-frggin-time first-time winner? CHECK! (Congrats to Marcos Ambrose & the No. 9 Stanley team!)
– Punches attempting to be thrown in the garage post-race? CHECK!
– Amazing post-race quotes from pissed off drivers? CHECK!
Loved this race, it was crazy, especially this quote from Boris Said about about his issues with Greg Biffle:
“It was crazy. I mean…the last lap; the No. 6 car (David Ragan) was getting into me a lot. I didn’t want to wreck him, but I had to stay on the track and he didn’t give me any room. We both collided. That is the only thing I feel bad about.
“I’m more upset with Greg Biffle. He is the most unprofessional little scaredy cat I’ve ever seen in my life. He wouldn’t even fight me like a man after. So, if someone texts me his address, I’ll go see him Wednesday at his house and show him what he really needs. He needs a…whooping and I’m going to give it to him. He was flipping me off, giving me the finger. Totally unprofessional. Two laps down. I mean he is a chump.
“I went over there to go talk to him. He wouldn’t even let me get out of the car. He comes over and throws a few little baby punches and then when I get out, he runs away and hides behind some big guys. But, he won’t hide from me long. I’ll find him. I won’t settle it out on the track. It’s not right to wreck cars, but, he’ll show up at a race with a black eye one of these days. I’ll see him somewhere.”
And to top it all off Watkins Glen International was left with a serious issue of getting safer barriers on their course before the next NASCAR race. It doesn’t make sense to not have them at all the tracks on the schedule. Why hasn’t this been done yet? Elliott Sadler is right.
Kasey Kahne (right), driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, signs his autograph for a fan in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 12 in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks to the media on the grid after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 13 in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
I’m not one to begrudge people their happiness, but did you catch Kurt Busch making out with his girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, in victory lane on Saturday? Was that really necessary? It just seemed like a bit much.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 13 in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
I love this man. Nooo, not Dale Jr. but Man vs. Food host Adam Richman. I LOVE that show and when I go on my NASCAR adventure next year I plan on bringing a list of all the places he’s visited on his show so that I can check them out too! The food always looks soo yummy & amazing.
Adam Richman (right), host of Man v. Food, talks with Dale Earnhardt Jr.(left), driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet, on the grid during pre race ceremonies prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 14 in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Joey is supposed to film an food challenge for a Man v. Food Nation episode today (Wonder if that’s still happening) that’s set to air Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. ET on Travel Channel.
Joey Logano (left), driver of the No. 20 The Home Depot Toyota, and Adam Richman (right), host of Man v. Food pose in the garage area prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 14 in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Denny Hamlin crashes the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota into the tire barrier after an incident in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 15 in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, walks off the grid with his girlfriend Sherry Pollex as it starts to rain before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 14, 2011 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) |
Carl Edwards (R), driver of the #99 Ortho Home Defense Max Ford, Ford, stands on the grid with his wife Kate (L) prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 14, 2011 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) |
dale earnhardt jr. doesn’t want to marry you
I am firm believer that honesty is the best policy. It’s gotta be one of the reasons why you guys like this site–because I tell you the truth about what happened to me at the track, even if I look like a dork. So, I felt the need to give you an update on the My NASCAR Year 2012 project. We’re still at $5,419 raised out of the $125,000 goal.
I’ve been contacting potential corporate sponsors and so far have received some interest, but nothing concrete yet. If any of these said potential corporate sponsors are reading this please call me and let’s discuss how we can work together next year. It’s incredibly hard to get across all of the possibilities in an email and hope that my passion and determination for this blog come through. I know that The Fast and the Fabulous is on to something good, and with a solid schedule of races in front of it, it will be GREAT.
You, the reader, can still help get me to my goal by donating money. Just $5 helps close the gap. Have no idea what I’m talking about? Read this.
In other news…
– I’ve extended the deadline to take the 2011 ‘Fabulous’ Reader Survey to this Sunday. You can also enter to win the awesome Goo Gone prize package.
– The number one question I get asked is “When is your next race?” Well, this year it’s going to be sporadic at best. I know FOR SURE that I’m going to be at the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway the end of this month (August 26-28) for IndyCar action. As for NASCAR, the next race for me is tentatively Kansas in October. And I’m planning on attending Champion’s Week in Vegas in December.
– As the headline says, Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t really interested in getting married, but if you’re a Junior fan you already knew that. Apparently he was on SPEED’s Race Hub show this week and restated his ambivalence towards marriage but he’s still open to having children. I guess the formula for a successful relationship with Dale is to find a woman who is down for that arrangement. Well, not “arrangement” but ya know what I mean, someone who doesn’t care about getting married. It’s totally possible, I mean, look at Brad and Angelina — they’re making it work. I’d be totally open to that as long as I could still have a big party where we invite all our friends and family, I get to wear an amazing dress and we profess our commitment to each other in front of them and then he gives me a (tastefully) ginormous ring. I don’t need to be “legally” married to the guy. Ha!
– Brad Keselowski was on ESPN this week. Does anyone else get annoyed when they see Brad walking around on his broken ankle that he’s trying to heal? It bugs the hell out of me because he doesn’t need to stand on it. I saw him today during qualifying and I’m like, “Dude! Crutches!! You don’t have to be tough all the time.” Ugh.
Brad Keselowski was the big man on ESPN's campus in Bristol, Conn., on Thursday, August 11, 2011. (Credit: ESPN)
– Kevin Harvick threw out the first pitch before the start of the New York Yankees-Los Angeles Angels game in New York this past week.
Here’s Harvick’s take on his pitching skills:
“It was okay. I didn’t throw it in the dirt so that was my only objective. I had a lot of fun and go to see Geno and Joe and just kind of hang out for a couple of hours. So, that was fun.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick meets New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y. before the Los Angeles Angels-New York Yankees game. (Credit: New York Yankees)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick throws out the first pitch on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y. before the Los Angeles Angels-New York Yankees game. (credit: New York Yankees)
keselowski wins with one good ankle
How much did you LOVE the racing between Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch? And how much did you ADORE their post-race face-to-face (with respectful distance) argument? Probably not as much as me! It was brilliant and just added to an already excellent race finish. Why don’t they turn up the mics and let them hover close to those guys when they’re arguing like that? I know there’s potential for foul language, but can’t they just risk it? I was straining to try and hear something.
Congratulations to Brad Keselowski! Maybe everybody should get injured more often? I mean, he won the race with one properly working ankle and Denny Hamlin won races after his knee issues. Crazy, but very cool.
Did you see Carl Edwards‘ finish line crash with Ricky Stenhouse in Iowa during the Nationwide Series race? More craziness. Never seen anything like that before, but it seemed like a fitting end to a race that saw those two getting into each other and Ricky didn’t appreciate it at all. The two had history from ORP last week and now this new wrinkle. During the post-race coverage they showed Carl talking to Ricky’s crew chief, Mike Kelly. You could clearly hear Mike say to Carl “Well, you tell him that. He thinks you hate him.” Finally some actual truthful feelings. Whenever the guys talk on camera you don’t always feel like you’re getting to true thoughts, and this time we got some via Ricky’s crew chief.
Michael Annett, driver of the No. 62 Northland Motor Oils Toyota signs autographs for young fans during qualifying for the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 6 in Newton, Iowa. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jason Leffler (right), driver of the No. 38 Great Clips Toyota, speaks with crew chief Eddie Pardue (left) in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 5 in Newton, Iowa. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 6 RickyvsTrevor.com Ford crosses the finish line to win, ahead of Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 60 Fastenal Ford, after colliding on the final lap during the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 6 in Newton, Iowa. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (center), driver of the No. 6 RickyvsTrevor.com Ford, celebrates with crew members in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 6 in Newton, Iowa. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 CertainTeed/Menards Chevrolet, signs autographs during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 5 in Long Pond, Pa. Menard won the Brickyard 400 a week ago at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, looks under his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 5 in Long Pond, Pa. (Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series five time champion Jimmie Johnson poses with NHL Washington Capitals defenseman Josh Erskine in the No. 48 hauler during pre-race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 7 in Long Pond, Pa. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Singer Lance Bass, member of the boy band NSYNC, stands by the Sprint Summer Showdown car during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 7 in Long Pond, Pa. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 7 in Long Pond, Pa. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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NOTES:
– Take the 2011 ‘Fabulous’ Reader Survey and enter for your chance to win an awesome Goo Gone prize package. Contest & survey ends on August 10th, 2011. More info
– Help me raise money for My NASCAR Year 2012. More info
dale earnhardt jr. is too nice
That’s what Dale Jr. said today during his media session at Pocono. Here’s the full quote in regards to a question about negotiating contracts:
“I really don’t get involved in my negotiations too much because I’m too nice. I had to send my sister in there because she is a shark about it. I just want everybody to be happy and everybody to go on down the road and get back to work and move in the right direction and all that good stuff. I also like to try to keep the relationship between me and Rick less about money and more about being friends and trying to do better on the race track and helping each other out. I kind of leave all that stuff to my sister and I think she’s the one that went to school and has all that experience and knowledge having worked at Action Performance and all those places, she knew a lot about licensing and how all those contract kind of get put together and what people are worth and what’s going on. I really trust her with all that stuff. If I had to jump in there I really don’t know if I could put up the fight. I’m just not that kind of guy and would likely come out with the short end of the stick so I’m probably glad I’ve got her around.”
In other news…
– Regan Smith threw out the first pitch at the Colorado Rockies-Philadelphia Phillies baseball game in Denver on Wednesday.
The pitch! (credit: Joshua Duplechian/Rich Clarkson and Associates)
After the pitch, Regan Smith shakes hands with Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta (credit: Joshua Duplechian/Rich Clarkson and Associates)
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NOTES:
– Take the 2011 ‘Fabulous’ Reader Survey and enter for your chance to win an awesome Goo Gone prize package. Contest & survey ends on August 10th, 2011. More info
– Help me raise money for My NASCAR Year 2012. More info
brick kissing in the usa: menard loses his victory virginity
Congratulations to Paul Menard and the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevy team! This season has definitely been the year of the first-time winner and I couldn’t love it more. My favorite part is waiting for the Victory Lane interview and hoping the guy cries. Well Paul didn’t cry but he ALMOST did! Tears or no tears, it was really cool to see a guy win something that clearly meant a lot to him and his family.
I have to thank ‘Fabulous’ reader Tara for sending me this screen capture of a Twitter convo between two spotters talking about Paul Menard’s girlfriend, Jen. Start at the bottom.
Funny stuff…
P.S. – Can Rascal Flatts sing the National Anthem at every NASCAR race, puhleze? Love them.
Trevor Bayne (left), driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, signs autographs for fans before practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kurt Busch (left), driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, talks with his brother, Kyle Busch (right), driver of the No. 18 M&M's Toyota, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, inspects his helmet during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The starting lineup of drivers pose with the staff from Lucas Oil Raceway during pre-race activities for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Kroger 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway on July 30 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
A view from inside the largest 2011 NASCAR Sprint Sup Series autograph session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 30 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, signs an autograph for a race fan at the largest 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series autograph session held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 30 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Above: This melts my heart. That kid had to be losing it (keeping it all inside of course)!
Below: Watch those hands Kasey!!!
Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, signs an autograph for a race fan at the largest 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series autograph session held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 30 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet autographs a tire for a race fan at the largest 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series autograph session held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 30 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kasey Kahne (right), driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, poses with American soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo (left) prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 31 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Singer Reba McEntire performs on stage prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 31 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Joe Don Rooney (left), Gary LeVox (middle) and Jay DeMarcus (right) of Rascal Flatts perform prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 31 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet, celebrates on the bricks after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 31 in Indianapolis, Ind. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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NOTES:
– Take the 2011 ‘Fabulous’ Reader Survey and enter for your chance to win an awesome Goo Gone prize package. Contest & survey ends on August 10th, 2011. More info
– Help me raise money for My NASCAR Year 2012. More info
shortcuts: pre-brickyard 400 goodies
How excited are you that there’s going to be NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action this week? I, for one, am really happy about it, and it’s the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway no less. It throws my entire weekend off when there’s no race. I end up doing horrible things, like working.
I was going through various driver pre-race reports and found some quotes that I thought were funny or interesting enough to share (this doesn’t happen that often).
– Before I get to the pre-Brickyard stuff, I have to say something. So I got an email today from some PR person promoting a book about why men cheat. I have NO idea why I got this email because, while my audience is chock full of women, I don’t write about relationship stuff in that way. But still it got me thinking about something that’s been on my mind lately. The idea or “fantasy” of dating a racecar driver or crew member. I’m not going to lie, I’ve thought about it. Of course I have. I wouldn’t be human if I hadn’t, but I must say that it’s never been my GOAL. For groupies, it’s their one freaking goal. For me, it never was and now that I’ve been in the garage a lot and have heard many a story about crew guys, crew chiefs, drivers & team owners I can tell you that the “fantasy” has been thrown to the ground and stomped all over. If you’ve heard the crap I’ve heard you would make a rule that you would never want to even entertain the IDEA of dating one of those guys. Which is not to say that you can’t have a perfectly awesome committed relationship with a guy whose job revolves around racing. You totally can, but just be careful. And there are a lot of nice, stand-up guys in the garage too. I’m just saying. Any pro athlete that’s constantly traveling is ripe for shenanigans. Keep your eyes OPEN.
Moving on!!
– In his pre-race report Jimmie Johnson was asked how he’d characterize the first half of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The last sentence of this made me chuckle:
“I would say parity is really the first thing that comes to mind. You can flip it around and maybe say the lack of a dominant team as well. There have been guys that can flex muscle at times, but no one consistently has just schooled everybody. It’s been very, very equal this year and unpredictable if you will. A lot of first time winners, which is great to have and no runaways right now. It’s been an exciting time for the fans I believe. Then also we’ve been acting like fools out there at times so that’s always spicing things up.”
– Kurt Busch is really excited about the interview he did with ESPN, which will air this weekend during the pre-race show for their first Sprint Cup Series race of the season:
“ESPN is starting their coverage very strong with a feature like this,” said Busch. “When he told me during the interview what his angle was and started asking all the questions, I said to myself, ‘Wow, now this is a really different way to look at this track and this race.’ When he brought out the prop to use at the end of the interview, I said, ‘Man, this guy really has his act together. This will be one of the best features on our sport for the season…maybe one of the best ever.” Be sure to watch ESPN’s coverage that begins at 12:00 noon EDT on Sunday.
– David Gilliland shared a nice story on his memories of his very first visit to the Brickyard with his father, Butch:
“I think just the history of the Brickyard is what makes it so special. I remember the first time I ever went to the track was with my dad in 1994 for the inaugural Sprint Cup race. My dad wasn’t racing, actually, but we went to try to help a friend of ours try to make the race. Just going through the museum, seeing the bricks on the start-finish line and just thinking about all of the history and everything that has happened at that track is cool. And to be able to do that with my father makes it even more special. He was racing a lot and I just loved being around it. Then, just to go to Indy with him, that is something I’ll never forget.
And at that time, for stock cars to be racing there was something unheard of. Growing up, I don’t think my father or I ever thought we were going to see that day. Growing up on the west coast, anywhere really, Indy was about Foyt, Unser and Andretti. And being west coast guys, the Unsers were big names. We really didn’t think names like Wallace or Earnhardt were ever going to be a part of Indy. Then, here we were working in the same garages as these guys. It’s cool, too, because I can bring my family and my son, Todd. We can have that same experience. Some people are giving this race a hard time, but this is still Indy and it’s always special.”
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NOTES:
– Take the 2011 ‘Fabulous’ Reader Survey and enter for your chance to win an awesome Goo Gone prize package. Contest & survey ends on August 10th, 2011. More info
– Help me raise money for My NASCAR Year 2012. More info
getting to know you: 2011 ‘fabulous’ reader survey & goo gone giveaway
It’s that time again! Time to take the 2011 ‘Fabulous’ Reader Survey! All of this information is important to help me grow this blog and to help prove to potential sponsors that there’s value in partnering with me.
So if you’re like me and enjoy filling out surveys, have at it! It should be fun and easy peasy, I wouldn’t expect it to take longer than 5 minutes to complete.
AND to sweeten the pot this year there’s a giveaway attached to the survey. The truly awesome people at Goo Gone have put together a super-duper prize package for one lucky reader that completes the survey.
The prize package (pictured above) includes the following:
(1) Goo Gone branded cargo box
(1) 8 oz bottle of Goo Gone
(1) 12 oz bottle of the Goo Gone Spray Gel
(1) 16 oz bottle of the Goo Gone Pro-Power Pump Spray
(1) 14 oz bottle of Goo Gone Painter’s Pal
(1) 8 oz bottle of Goo Gone Coffee Maker Cleaner
(1) Goo Gone Mess-Free Pen
Being a Goo Gone GooRu, I already own the Goo Gone Spray Gel so I can attest to it’s power and super usefulness–makes it ridiculously easy to get pesky sticker goo off my car windshield (The end result of affixing parking stickers to my car for race weekends at the track). And the rest of the products included are equally as helpful.
You can only fill out the survey once, so of course, only one entry per person is allowed. You don’t have to enter the contest if you don’t want to, you’ll have the ability to opt out at the end of the survey.
Thanks so much to Goo Gone for the awesome prize and to YOU the reader for reading this blog! Thank you in advance for the feedback!
your ‘fabulous’ guide to getting married at a speedway
I was browsing traffic reports for this site when I found that people searching the web with the keywords “get married at a racetrack” found my website. This got me to thinking about race fans and people that might be interested in hosting their wedding at a track and I figured that there probably wasn’t a lot of information on the subject on the web already, so why not create a guide?
the race at new hampshire & i was on siriusxm nascar radio
Lots of caution flags made the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway very interesting. I dug it.
I was happy to see Ryan Newman score his first win of the season, even if it was just to see his adorable daughter, Brooklyn, celebrate with him in Victory Lane. How cute is she??! Were you as surprised as I was to see him get choked up like he did? People should not cry, because it just makes me cry! It was a great moment though. Love to see a physical reaction in response to what a win means to a person.
But enough about the race, here’s some news I JUST received: I’ll be a guest on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio show “Manifold Destiny with Mojo Nixon” tonight! If you’ve got SiriusXM it’s channel 90 and I’ll be on at 8:30pm PST / 11:30 EST. Read that twice to make sure you’ve got it right. I met Mojo for the first time during the NASCAR race weekend at Infineon Raceway. He’s a riot, so it’ll be really interesting to see what goes down on the show tonight. If you’ve got a subscription I hope you’ll tune in!!
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers signed autographs for fans before the start of the Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee at Iowa Speedway on July 16 in Newton, Ia. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images)
Brian Vickers (left), driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, talks with NASCAR President Mike Helton (right) in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 15 in Loudon, N.H. (Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
Flanked by Brinks security guards with three $1 million suitcases, (left to right) Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition; Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion; Tim Considine, director of sports marketing for Sprint; and Miss Sprint Cup Kim Coon announce the Sprint Summer Showdown presented by HTC EVO 3D on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for Sprint)
Coors Light Pole Award winner Ryan Newman, daughter Brooklyn Sage and wife Krissie stand together before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 19th Annual Lenox Industrial Tools 301 on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ryan Newman is congratulated in Victory Lane by owner and teammate Tony Stewart after the duo finished first and second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Lenox Industrial Tools 301 on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
giving it away: kurt busch shell-pennzoil road trip prize pack
As the title suggests, Shell has given me one fabulous prize pack to give away to one of you lucky people! It’s all apart of promoting Shell’s “Favorite Road Trip Sweepstakes.” Just tell them about your favorite road trip or road trip memory for a chance to win free gas for a YEAR!
Shell is giving race fans a chance to win FREE Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasoline for up to a year with the Favorite Road Trip Sweepstakes. Through September 5, customers can enter and find rules by visiting a href=”http://www.shell.us/roadtrip” target=”_blank”>shell.us/roadtrip. All they have to do is submit a short story of their favorite road trip or memory for a chance to win a year’s supply of Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines, which help protect critical engine parts from the build-up of “gunk”. Daily winners will also be randomly selected to win a $100 Shell Gift Card. No purchase necessary.
I got the chance to speak with Kurt Busch himself this week and found out that HIS favorite road trip memory is of the times he spent traveling the 12 hours from his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada to Denver, Colorado to go racing early in his career. Said Kurt, “It was so gorgeous driving through the desert plains and up into the hills and then it changed into the evergreens and the snow. It was a really fun trip we did all through the years.”
interview: inside the actor’s studio with casey mears
The following interview with Casey Mears, driver of the No. 13 Geico Toyota Camry, took place in the garage at Infineon Raceway. It was a surprise for both of us since I didn’t have a time scheduled with him and I just saw him standing there talking to a couple of guys and figured why not go for it. I interrupted (politely) and asked if I could interview him. He was a good sport and had some great answers. I sincerely appreciated the time he took to speak with me.
fashion shortcuts: the original seatbelt bag, tees for tots, and sheetmetal pendants
It just so happens that I’ve either ran into or received a bunch of info about fashion & accessories that relate to racing, enough to warrant an entire post dedicated to the subject. So here ya go!
– When I was at Infineon Raceway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 last month I wandered around the area behind the grandstand where the majority of vendors had their wares on display. One such vendor was Harveys, the makers of “The Original Seatbeltbag™.” All of their products are made from real seatbelts that you find in your car.
Their display caught my attention because it was the ONLY one selling stuff specifically for women, and they had the cutest little Airstream trailer as their stockroom. So I asked if I could take some pictures of their big variety of bags. They’ve got something for every occasion, just check out their website. I especially loved the clutches and the tote bag made from recycled materials. But I really thought the black clutch wallet would be PERFECT for Champion’s Week in Las Vegas. You can carry a bunch of stuff in it and it’s just really well made. They’re pricey ($78 for the wallet and $228 for the Treecycle Carriage Satchel that could be my next laptop bag) but they’re going to last you for a REALLY long time. Plus Harvey’s offers a Bag Spa — just send them your worn down bag and they’ll make her look all special and fabulous again (there’s a small fee but it’s worth it).
I love these bags because they remind me of plaid (I'm mad about plaid!) and they're made from 100% reclaimed seatbelts plus organic hemp and water-based inks. Great for the environment!
– The creators — a husband & wife team from Florida — of Motor Munchkins emailed me last month about their line of racing inspired kids clothing. They’re just launched their website and they’ve got some really cute stuff. I especially love the “Look, Mom! No Hands!” and “I (heart) boobs & karting” (see below) shirts & onesies. Definitely check out their site and let them know what you think.
Isn't he too cute?! This Motor Munchkins onesie is adorable and funny.
– Ever wonder how you could keep your favorite driver CLOSE to your heart? Ya know, without getting arrested? Well, Pit Pass Gifts creates custom NASCAR jewelry using actual remnants from the track. They’ve turned pieces of sheet metal from the cars of drivers like Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson to create unique necklaces. Check out the Pit Pass Gifts eBay site for more information.
A necklace made by Pit Pass Gifts from sheetmetal remnants from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s racecar
kentucky is all apologies
What a letdown. The racing was boring and tons of fans couldn’t even get to the track to see the boring race.
Kentucky Speedway apologized today and announced a ticket exchange offer. Meanwhile other tracks have offered up rants and comments about the weekend’s traffic debacle giving Kentucky Speedway crap for not figuring out how to deal with the traffic issue ahead of time. Just check out what Michigan International Speedway president Roger Curtis wrote today.
Here’s the statement NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France released yesterday:
“While NASCAR was thrilled by the incredible response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Kentucky, we also are extremely disappointed by the traffic problems and inconveniences endured by fans who wanted to be part of our races at Kentucky Speedway. NASCAR will be in close communications with Kentucky Speedway and Speedway Motorsports Inc. to see that they work to resolve the issues. This situation cannot happen again.”
And now Indianapolis Motor Speedway has created a special offer for fans that had tickets to Kentucky’s inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race:
Fans who present a ticket from the Kentucky Sprint Cup race at the IMS gate will receive one free admission to Brickyard 400 practice Friday, July 29 or will be admitted to Brickyard 400 qualifying Saturday, July 30 for just $5.
Fans holding tickets from the July 9 race at Kentucky also can park for free Friday and Saturday at IMS Lots 1, 2 and 3, conveniently located on the south, west and north sides of the iconic facility. The regular price is $10 per day to park in those lots.
“As an urban track, we offer a fan experience inside a vibrant city that provides restaurants, nightlife, cultural activities and top-rated hotels in addition to the history and tradition of 100 years of racing at Indianapolis,” said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and CEO. “We have easy, efficient access to and from the track that allows our fans to participate in activities at the track and, in just a matter of minutes, enjoy all that the city of Indianapolis has to offer or be well on the road toward home or the hotel.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, stands in front of his car in the garage as crew members work on the car during testing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway on July 7 in Sparta, Ky. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
NASCAR Sprint cup Series No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet crew chief Chad Knaus (left) talks with driver Jimmie Johnson (right) in the garage during the testing session at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway on July 7 in Sparta, Ky. The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team was the fastest in this session. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
David Reutimann (left), driver of the No. 00 Tums Toyota, talks with his father Buzzy Reutimann (right) in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on July 8 in Sparta, Ky. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 Quaker State/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, signs his autograph for a fan in the garage during testing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway on July 7 in Sparta, Ky. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kasey Kahne (right), driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, talks with crew chief Kenny Francis (left) in the garage during a rain delay prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on July 8 in Sparta, Ky. (Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images)
Brad Keselowski and the No. 22 Discount Tire team celebrate winning the Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway (Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR)
shortcuts: i’m a goo gone gooru
So awhile ago I was contacted by representatives from the Goo Gone brand. They found my post about presenting the Hottest Driver Trophy to Tony Stewart where I recounted how I used Goo Gone to get rid of those pesky hot sauce bottle labels. They picked me to be one of their Goo Gone GooRus (gooru = guru, get it?) and I was happy to oblige. This is seriously not an ad, I’m not being paid to say any of this. I just love their product. It’s one of those things that solves a really annoying problem in a simple way. I actually discovered it when I worked at a Best Buy a million years ago. I worked in the appliance department and we had to get rid of those stickers they attach to refrigerators and stuff, so we used Goo Gone and I’ve been a fan ever since. So needless to say I’m honored to be a GooRu! Go check out my GooRu of the Week slide on their Facebook page.
In other news…
– Here’s an update on My NASCAR Year 2012. So far we’ve raised $5,419, which is awesome but we’re still far from the $125,000 goal. If you can’t contribute please forward the original post to your friends, co-workers, strangers, etc. I’m looking for corporate sponsors as well, so tell them too. It’s easy (and secure) to donate online, you can do so anonymously if you choose, just check out the Donation page.
little emma elizabeth biffle has arrived
Congratulations to Greg and Nicole Biffle! The couple welcomed their first child –a daughter, Emma Elizabeth, into the world today.
The official announcement:
Mooresville, N.C. (July 6, 2011) – Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, and his wife Nicole welcomed their first child, a baby girl, late this afternoon. Emma Elizabeth weighed in at seven pounds and six ounces and arrived just before 5:00 p.m. EST. Both mother and daughter are doing well.
david ragan isn’t going to cry for you
Congratulations to David Ragan and the No. 6 UPS team on winning the COKE ZERO 400 at Daytona! It’s been a long time coming! And if there was ever a driver that NEEDED to win right now it was David Ragan. I loved his post-race interview where the TNT reporter (can’t remember who it was, Matt Yocum?) tried EVERYTHING to try and get some sort emotional reaction from David and nothing happened. It was kind of anti-climactic. We love an emotional winner, and you’d think a first-timer would have brought something to the party.
Oh welly, David doesn’t need to cry for me to know that it means a lot. I’m happy for the guy.
Must talk about the sight of Andy Lally driving all by his lonesome during the race. Having a “partner” is the only way you’re going to do anything at Daytona these days and Andy didn’t have anybody for a while there. It brought me right back to junior high school P.E. class and dreading having to be picked for someone’s team (for some dumb activity that all the boys always took WAY too seriously). Ugh, it made me sad for him. I understand why guys didn’t want to work with him because they didn’t know what he was capable of, but still it was hard to watch. It’s the nature of the beast, though.
The innovative 3D turf logo on the grass apron inside Turn 4 at Daytona International Speedway makes its debut at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Weekend Powered By Coca-Cola. (Credit: ISC Images and Archives)
Clint Bowyer and Elliott Sadler talk shop before NASCAR Nationwide Series practice on Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. (Credit: Geoff Burke, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Tony Stewart (C), driver of the #14 Burger King Chevrolet, signs an autograph in the garage prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series COKE ZERO 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on June 30, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kyle Busch laughs in the NASCAR Nationwide Series garage as he prepared to turn practice laps Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. (Credit: Geoff Burke, Getty Images for NASCAR)
Joey Logano, driver of the #20 Sport Clips Toyota, celebrates with his girlfriend, Sabrina Simpson, after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 1, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Jeff Gordon (R), driver of the #24 Pepsi MAX Chevrolet, signs an autograph for a fan in the garage area prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series COKE ZERO 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on June 30, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Country Music Superstar Martina McBride performs for fans prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke ZERO 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Summer Salute Chevrolet, holds his daughter Genevieve Marie on the grid prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke ZERO 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
infineon photo extra: kurt busch’s victory kiss, tony stewart’s legs
So, I totally forgot to include these photos in my regular weekend write-ups. Luckily they work all by themselves.
sunday at infineon: was ron malec laughing at me??
I woke up at 5am in order to get to Infineon Raceway by 7am (with a quick stop at Starbucks along the way) at the latest. I wanted to make sure I got a ride around the track in the pace car with NASCAR’s Brett Bodine. You think because you’re going in the pace car it wouldn’t be intense, but you’re WRONG. I sat in the back seat and proceeded to be bounced around the my seat and fellow passenger next to me.
saturday at infineon: dale jr. thought of a way to scare me
On Saturday I forgot my cell phone at home, and my camera’s battery died, like, 15 minutes after I arrived at Infineon Raceway.
It was really weird to not have my cell phone or camera on me all day. It was annoying that I couldn’t take any photos or tweet out updates on the fly. I realized that those devices also served as security blankets. They were these things that proved I had “something to do” while I was in the garage. I wasn’t just wandering. I had to take pictures and constantly check my phone for updates–that gave me purpose. So without a purpose I felt like a nerd, just standing around. And I was worried that without the photos that I usually snapped throughout the day I wouldn’t have anything to remind me of what happened.
friday at infineon: low key people watching
When I arrived at Infineon Raceway on Friday I was late. It was only 9am but it was late. The garage opened at 7am and that’s when people showed up, so the media lot was full when I arrived. I was stuck in lot 1 which is next to the helipad. It’s not a big deal (there’s an awesome shuttle that takes you right to the media center no matter where you’re parked) but it’s funny to me how 9am can be considered late for anything. Anyway, Friday was the day of press conferences for the top-12 drivers.
‘the glades’ portrayal of female nascar fans is gross
I know I REALLY need to write-up my weekend at Infineon, and I will, but I had to write about the NASCAR-themed episode of The Glades that aired yesterday on A&E. It included appearances from NASCAR drivers Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano.
While I loved that NASCAR got some primetime attention, I’m not happy with how female fans were depicted (that and all the bad acting). First, why were there tons of women milling around the garage wearing the same outfit, all the same age and dress size? What’s up with the girls behind the fence jumping up and down, screaming incessantly, in tank tops being called “wafflebellies” with the hopes of being “wife’d”? (that’s an actual term people use??)
This whole thing drives me NUTS. The show made it seem like ALL of the female fans were groupies. And it wasn’t even necessary for the plot! Of course I know that there are many pit lizards out there (saw an inspired group of them at Infineon) but there are more women who purchase hot passes because they’re fans, and only that, not because they want to troll the garage for a husband. A woman shouldn’t have to walk into the garage with a guy to be considered a legitimate fan of the sport. We shouldn’t have to wear a burka to be taken seriously.
I’ll give them the storyline with the little girl who wants to be a racer when she grows up, but other than that all the episode did was create a false stereotype of female racing fans. Like I said before it wasn’t even integral to the plot, so why bother?
The whole episode is here, if you’re interested in watching.
(photo credit: A&E)
clint bowyer will melt your ovaries
It was sunny everywhere in the Bay Area EXCEPT at the Golden Gate Bridge on Wednesday. It was the San Francisco cliche: totally foggy. I arrived at the the north side of the bridge to take part in the Cheerios Walk for a Healthy Heart event with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer (left). Over 100 fans showed up and received free commemorative t-shirts plus the opportunity to mingle with their fave driver.
denny hamlin is a winner in michigan
The most interesting things (to me, at least) that happened as a part of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway had nothing to do with the action on the race track.
Yes, it was awesome that Denny Hamlin finally got his 1st win of the season. I was really happy for him and his team. And did you see Denny’s tweet this morning? He’s moving into a new house. Congrats on that too, Denny!
Okay, so for the interesting things. I spied Kurt Busch with his “lady friend” again (see photo at left). I hope she comes out to Infineon, I would love to see what’s going on with that whole deal in person.
Did you see during the pre-show when little Ella Gordon (who turned 4-years-old today) was smacking her dad, Jeff Gordon, on the butt?? Now that was some funny stuff.
Post-race 21-year-old Landon Cassill tweeted that he was celebrating his first Father’s Day. I had no idea he had a baby, but he does — a daughter with Miranda Smith. Congrats!
In other news…
– An update on My NASCAR Year 2012. Last week I received an insanely cool donation of $5,000! So now I’m at $5,205 and I still need your help to get to $125,000 that I need to make this thing happen. You can donate any amount, publicly or anonymously — even $5 helps get to the goal! DONATE
Trevor Bayne gets behind the wheel of his NASCAR Nationwide Series car during practice at Michigan International Speedway on Friday. Bayne returns to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this week for the first time in nearly two months. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Kevin Harvick signs autographs for fans as he walks through the garage with them on Friday at Michigan International Speedway. (Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Carl Edwards climbs into the Michigan International Speedway grandstands to celebrate his Alliance Truck Parts 250 victory with the fans. (Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
The No. 99 pit crew of Carl Edwards huddles before the start of the Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway. (Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
shortcuts: kurt busch’s lady friend, walk the golden gate with clint bowyer
As we all know by now, this year Kurt Busch has been arriving at the track without his wedding ring and without his wife, Eva. So last weekend at Pocono when Kurt was seen standing at his car for the invocation and National Anthem with another blonde that wasn’t his wife it sent tongues wagging. The woman by his side (seen here and here) is Patricia Driscoll, President and Executive Director of the Armed Forces Foundation. Sources tell me that the two met through Ms. Driscoll’s foundation’s work with traumatic brain injuries.
I have no idea if there is in any relationship there other than a professional one or plain old friendship. Kurt has yet to announce a divorce from Eva, so it’s anybody’s guess as to what’s going on there.
In other news…
Next week is the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway way in Sonoma. I’ll be there so I’m REALLY excited about it. But before any racing gets started there are a couple events you should know about:
– On Wednesday, June 22nd Clint Bowyer will meetup with fans for the Cheerios Walk for a Healthy Heart across the Golden Gate Bridge. The walk will depart from the north side of the iconic bridge at noon. If you want to join Clint for the event go to Ghirardelli Square at 11 a.m. for FREE transportation to the walk. I’ll be there too, so make sure you say “Hi!”
– On Thursday, June 23rd Infineon Raceway is hosting a parade of up to 50 NASCAR haulers through the streets of Sacramento under a full police escort. This will be the first ever hauler parade in Northern California, and will serve as the Sacramento kickoff to the Toyota/Save Mart 350 weekend. The parade will depart from its starting location at 2 p.m., cross the Tower Bridge and do a loop around the State Capitol.
– Help me raise $125,000 for My NASCAR Year 2012 project. Just donating $5 helps me reach my goal. We raised $205 in one day, let’s keep it going! Learn More
give a little bit: my nascar year 2012
The one thing that I KNOW would make this blog GREAT (well, it already is great, but ya know, a lot better) is if I could attend all 36 races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. You, the readers, have said it yourself, the best part of my blog is when I write about my race weekend experiences. And I have to agree with you. Not just because it’s fun for me to have those experiences but the proof is in the analytics, Google Analytics to be exact. I get a lot of traffic from those posts, but because my race attendance is sporadic (at best) I feel like I’m in limbo. And I also feel like I’m not giving you everything that I could & should.
I’m one of those people that if I’m going to do something I want it to be great and I want it to reach its full potential. Since I finally married the two things I’m really passionate about, writing & racing, I feel like I can’t give up on it. I’ve been writing this blog for 5 years now and I want this to be my sole priority when it comes to the thing we call “work.”
I have tried everything I can think of to get myself to all of the races. I had an idea to travel to all of the races and document the whole thing on video, ultimately creating a documentary. That didn’t fly. I had an idea to shadow a race team & driver for a full year. Pitched it to EVERYONE (name a team, I asked them) and nobody was going for it. I had an idea to travel to all of the races in an RV and get sponsors to, you guessed it, sponsor the road trip. I pitched it and got nowhere. While I do reach thousands of people each month (and have a column in a NASCAR magazine), I don’t command the kind of numbers that an entire network of blogs might (think SBNation or Yahoo! or YardBarker, etc).
The reason why I can’t let this go is because I happen to be in the perfect position in my life right now to make this thing happen. Because of a series of unfortunate events I don’t have a real full-time job (although I do have a freelance web production gig) and I don’t have rent to pay (I’m living with my mom & her husband, while I love them it’s highly embarrassing to admit that). So if there was ever a time in my life to make the leap from just doing something that I’m good at to doing the work that wouldn’t feel at all like work — something I love — this would be the time.
The incredibly cool thing that I do have is a passionate, loyal audience of women (and some awesome men) that love NASCAR. You guys dig what I do and I am so incredibly grateful and thankful for that. Which is why I was hesitant to ask what I am about to ask of you. How would you feel about donating money to get me out to all of the races next year? I have a goal of $125,000 to make it happen. That is a lot of money but if you donated just $5 (or more if you want!) and your friends did too, I think it’s entirely possible to reach that goal before the start of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. So far this year over 40,000 people have visited this site. If all of those people gave $5 I’d have $200,000.
I’ve created a corporate sponsor level so that if a company wants to pitch in $5,000 they’ll receive static logo placement on the site and ad runs throughout The Fast and the Fabulous, ‘Fabulous’ News & The Fabulous Girl’s Guide to Racing. There’s a $50 ‘Fabulous’ Friend level if you donate that or more. You’ll be listed on the “Fabulous Friends” page as a supporter and it’ll be linked to anything you want (within reason of course, think Twitter, Facebook or your own website).
Truthfully, I never wanted to have to ask you to do this. While you might read this site all the time I’m still just a stranger (learn a little bit more about me here) and you don’t owe me anything. But this is the best idea I have right now. I am committed to this blog and I know that I’m on to something with it and I can’t bare to see it fail. I’ve been to 2 races so far this year and I know I’ll get to at least one more (Infineon) for sure, but after that I have no idea when the next one will be and that makes me so frustrated.
The idea of getting to spend every minute of my time focusing on just this blog alone and telling stories from “the road” would be a dream come true. You — in a really simple & easy gesture — would be helping me live my dream, changing my life with just $5.
So please tell ALL of your friends, neighbors and strangers. We’ve got between now and the end of December 2011 to reach the goal.
Your support means the WORLD to me!
(Note: Donations are NOT tax deductible. You have the option to give anonymously, just select “Private” when you go through the donation page.)
pocono gets a little too shifty
“Shift. Shifting now. Lots of shifting. Why do I have to keep shifting? Shifting is fun! I hate shifting this much!”
I am so over shifting!! I hate that word and I never want to hear it again. Some drivers hated it and some were totally okay with it because they would have been bored otherwise. That’s all fine and well, I’m just glad it’s over.
My favorite part of the race was the in-car cockpit view of the drivers in action. I loved that so much because you get to see what these guys are actually doing. This is how they do it and it’s fun to see the different techniques. So I appreciated that a lot. TNT’s coverage is off to a great start.
Now that Conan O’Brien is on TBS, which is a sister channel to TNT, I fully expect a Team Coco integration to at least ONE of the TNT Summer Series races. We need Conan at a race or at least a bunch of the drivers on his show. This needs to happen.
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, sits in his car in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway on June 10 in Long Pond, Pa. (Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, signs an autograph during practice for the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway on June 10 in Long Pond, Pa. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images)
Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, climbs into his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway on June 10 in Long Pond, Pa. (Credit: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, signs an autograph in the garage area during practice for the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway on June 10 in Long Pond, Pa. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images)
Denny Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford stand by the No. 11 FedEx Toyota during pre-race activities for the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway. (Credit: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 McDonald's Chevrolet, his wife Christy and child Carter Scott stand on the grid during pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway on June 12, 2011 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) |
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 Affliction Clothing: Live Fast Ford, stands at his car with his daughter Kaylin Nicola during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway on June 12, 2011 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR) |
travis pastrana is engaged
Sorry ladies, another one bites the dust!!
Travis Pastrana (@TravisPastrana) proposed to his girlfriend, professional skateboarder Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins (@lynzskate), yesterday during the Nitro Circus show at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It’s all on tape, so check it out below. Very cute & sweet! Congrats to Lyn-Z & Travis!
(photo credit: supercross.com facebook page)
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