I can feel it. Heads are exploding, all because Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon are going to be on the same team.

People who feel threatened by this turn of events need to get over it and learn to deal. Yes, it’s very weird to think that Jeff and Dale will be on the same team, but it won’t change the competition between them. Dale still wants to win a Championship more than anything and he’s going to do whatever it takes to do that. We all know that the whole “team” thing is just this fluffy word people like to throw around when they need it. But when it comes down to the last lap of a race and two “teammates” are gunning for the win, being a “team player” is the last thing on their mind.

So I’m ok with this. I’ve never completely disliked Jeff Gordon. I just hate it when he keeps winning all the time. I’m happy for Dale ’cause I think this will really give him a chance to win races and get to the head table at the Championship dinner in New York.

Now on to the more important subjects, like will Dale get to keep the number 8 and his sponsorship with Budweiser? I’m not as concerned with who will be sponsoring Dale as much as I am with keeping the same number. I love the number 8! It has significance for me (my birthday), and obviously because it means something to me they should totally keep that in mind. hehe.

It seems that keeping the #8 hinges on whether or not Hendrick can do a trade with DEI:

It was not immediately clear what number Earnhardt will drive, and who will sponsor the car. Since starting in NASCAR, Earnhardt has driven the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. It’s possible that Hendrick could trade Busch’s No. 5 to DEI for the No. 8, should he wind up signing with Earnhardt’s old team. (source: Associated Press)

That number is so important. As much as you associate someone’s name with their face, you associate the number 8 with Dale Jr. So they need to make that trade happen. Although I wonder if DEI would really want to take on Kyle Busch? I shudder at the thought.

Welcome to The Fast and the Fabulous! This is a blog based on one woman's thoughts, opinions and experiences involving NASCAR and IndyCar.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my feed with your favorite feed reader or have the latest posts sent directly to your email address.

Thanks for visiting!

I know that I should say something about this impending doom that could be Dale Earnhardt Jr. announcing that he’ll be joining Hendrick Motorsports next year… but I don’t want to.

I’m going to wait until tomorrow — when it’s official — to express my, my, my… whatever feelings I happen to have about this. I mean I’m ok with it… How could you not be when it means that Kyle Busch could be losing his ride?

hehe… ok that was kinda mean, but whatever, we all know what kind of a punk he can be sometimes.

I have to take back what I said about everybody loving rain delays. I don’t think I like them anymore. Especially in a broadcast that has Bill Weber as the lead announcer. And who the heck is that Marc Fein guy?? I’m not impressed, yet.

The only good thing about this switch to TNT coverage was that we got Wally Dallenbach back, and surprisingly Larry McReynolds from FOX. But I miss Darrell Waltrip desperately… Can we set up a campaign, petition, something, to get him on every single NASCAR broadcast no matter what network it’s on?? We need our DW fix.

There’s more random speculation about what team Dale Earnhardt Jr. will join next year. Lately people seem to think that he’ll go to a smaller operation like Ginn Racing. If he’s going to go that route then why not just start his own team? In theory I think it’d be very cool. It’s such a romantic thought to imagine him starting his own team, and being highly competitive straight out the box. Wouldn’t that be so much fun to watch? I’d love it. I don’t know how realistic that is, obviously it takes a tremendous amount of work (hello, Michael Waltrip) to get things going and then to be successful (win) seems to be another thing entirely.

And now for a super cute photo… This is Joe Nemechek and his son, John Hunter Nemechek, signing autographs at Pocono this past weekend. (photo credit: GinnRacing.com)

In the past couple of months I’ve become more and more defensive about my love for NASCAR. I think as a NASCAR fan in general you have a bit of that built in, no matter if you’re male, female, live in the south or the west coast, you’ve got your stock answers for why you watch racing on Sunday.

But for me it feels worse. Maybe it’s because I’m a girl, maybe it’s because I’m black, maybe it’s because I’m from California (more specifically the liberal melting pot that is the San Francisco Bay Area) or maybe it’s all three. I’ve written about how I’m so tired of having to defend myself and then in some cases having to prove that I know names/places/facts/stats about the sport in general. I think I’d pick an easier to sport to “pretend” to like, like football or baseball for instance. It’s not like we picked teams to play stock car racing in gym glass.

Anyway… I bring this up because I’m frustrated. I’ve been racking my brain to figure out a way to prove once and for all that I’m not joking or kidding when I say that I’m into NASCAR. It’s not a passing fancy or a way to make guys like me (yet again, I could have picked an easier sport).

I think for the most part it’s a guy thing. The most crap I get about racing is from men, and men who aren’t even into racing. I hate when people get that look on their face like “you like what??” The guys that I’ve met that have been into the sport have always been cool about it and have even stopped by my desk just to chat about this driver or that incident.

I guess there’s no real conclusion to this post except that I just wanted to get these particular thoughts out of my head and into the blog.

This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions for NASCAR fans. First you have the great high — the victory for Martin Truex Jr. at Dover, his first-ever Cup win.

And then the great low of losing Bill France Jr. the former chairman of NASCAR. After his father (NASCAR’s founder) died, France took charge of his family’s business and grew NASCAR to be the national, ever-growing and highly profitable sport we know today. You have to respect someone who took risks and was dedicated to seeing this league grow. I don’t know the complete history of the France family (of course I’m learning more and more every day) but you’d have to think that building this sport/company must have been a fun ride.
In other news…

– In what I think is the most current issue of ESPN The Magazine they have an article about the new ABC show “Fast Cars & Superstars.” The show comes on tonight and features various celebrities attempting to race stock cars. Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, and Kurt Busch serve as coaches. Serena Williams, Jon Cena, Tony Hawk are some of the celebs participating. This should be fun to watch. I like seeing people realize that it really is harder than you think to “drive around in circles all day.”

– I never got around to writing about Dover. There really isn’t much for me to say about it since I didn’t get to watch it live. A note to Mother Nature: Please stop raining on NASCAR! Some of us have jobs and can’t stay at home on Monday to watch the race.

– At any rate I was very happy to see that Martin Truex Jr. won Dover. I always knew he could do it, and it bothers me to see headlines saying things like “Truex shows DEI’s more than just Junior” because everybody knew that there was more to DEI than just Junior. I don’t remember saying that, do you remember saying that??

And now for some photo goodness:

Ryan Newman carries a piece of his car after a wreck during the Nextel Prelude to the Dream on June 6, 2007 at Eldora Speedway in New Weston, Ohio. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for Eldora Speedway)

Carl Edwards #99 leads Jeff Gordon #24 on the pace lap prior to the start of the Nextel Prelude to the Dream on June 6, 2007 at Eldora Speedway in New Weston, Ohio. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for Eldora Speedway)

Aric Almirola gets ready to drive during the Nextel Prelude to the Dream on June 6, 2007 at Eldora Speedway in New Weston, Ohio. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for Eldora Speedway)

Martin Truex Jr. sprays champagne on the trophy for winning the Autism Speaks 400 Presented by Visa at the Monster Mile, Dover International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jerry Markland / Getty Images for NASCAR)

AJ Allmendinger takes a break during practice at Dover International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Joe Gibbs says it’s too early to talk about Dale Earnhardt Jr. joining Gibbs Racing, and I have to agree with the man. Just shut up until Junior makes the announcement. Jeez!