Tony Stewart. Ugh. Just writing his name bugs me.

Here’s what I wish Tony would do. Stop apologizing! So he left right after the race on Saturday at Phoenix to avoid the media so that he wouldn’t say something stupid (Tony, say something stupid?? Never!). Then he gets on his radio show and says something stupid a few days later, for which he is now apologizing.

I say, don’t apologize! Just go with it! Saying stupid things is obviously Tony’s thing, so he should just revel in it. If those are his opinions and feelings he should say them and move on. Like anyone is really accepting the apology anyway. We expect that kind of stuff from him and when you keep saying you’re sorry all the time it starts to sound really hollow.

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I just got off a teleconference call with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It wasn’t just me on the call (I wish), it was for all NASCAR media. Anyway, Dale basically said that there’s nothing for the fans to worry about when it comes to his contract negotiations with DEI.

In regards to the contract issues he said, “I’m pretty excited that things are going to be fine.” I think that his fans should be happy for him in whatever happens; because it’s obviously what he thinks is best for him, the team, and his family.

All I know is that I can’t wait for these negotiations to be over so we can all focus on other important things like… uhm… things that I can think of right now, but I know there’s other things people could be talking about.

Sort of like this…

Should Jeff Gordon surpass Dale Earnhardt in the career victories category this coming weekend at Talladega (they’re currently tied at 6th with 76 wins each), Junior says that people should throw toilet paper instead of beer cans, if they’re upset about Gordon moving ahead of his father in the record books. I should clarify that he’s not encouraging people to be mad about it, he’s just doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.

I must confess that I missed the bulk of Saturday night’s NEXTEL Cup Series race at Phoenix because I was out looking at models of homes that I can only hope to afford at some point in my life (please!).

I managed to catch a smidgen of the race wrap-up long enough to find out that Jeff Gordon won (ew) and that Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished back in 19th, not a lap down.

On Sunday I checked my email and found a press release containing a photo of Jeff Gordon seasoning some food with renowned Bay Area chef Victor Scargle at Infineon Raceway (see below). Gordon attended the luncheon at Infineon to promote the Toyota/Save Mart 350 and his line of wine, the Jeff Gordon Collection. The media event was filled with the usual yuk-yuk jokes and adulation that’s par for the course at events of this nature.

“This is scary. Tony Stewart doesn’t scare me but this scares me,” Gordon said of preparing the meal.

“Jeff is the best at what he does on the racetrack and to come into the kitchen with an open mind like he did was great,” Scargle said. “He has the hand-eye coordination down. There’s a second career waiting for him if he needs it.”

It would have been a nice shindig to attend, only because McDreamy himself was in attendence. Yep, Patrick Dempsey of “Grey’s Anatomy” was there, apparently he was involved in the filming of a documentary about Jeff Gordon’s life that’s set to air before the Pepsi 400 in July.

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon and renowned Bay Area chef Victor Scargle prepare a meal for the media on Sunday at Infineon Raceway. (photo credit: Mike Doran)

Thanks to my handy dandy Dale Earnhardt Jr. Desk Calendar I am proud to tell you that the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series has more female fans than any other sport!

Now I’m sure a bunch of close-minded, idiotic, jerky men will tell you that this is because we women just want to look at hot dudes. They couldn’t be more wrong; besides, the NFL, NHL and MLB all have gorgeous men on the payroll too. While I don’t know the exact reasons why women love NASCAR so much I have my suspicions.

For me it’s about the event, it’s about the competition, and it’s about the people. Obviously I like knowing who’s dating who and what so-and-so’s wife is really like, but what I really dig is that every race is like a mini Super Bowl. There are the flyovers, the increasingly large pool of celebrity honorary grand marshals, and of course the usual Nashville recording artist singing the national anthem.

NASCAR is very family friendly. You can bring the kids to the track and make a day, or even a three-day weekend, out of it. There aren’t many sports that give you the access to the teams the way that NASCAR does. You know that before every race your favorite driver will be out signing autographs at a certain time, and even if you don’t catch him there you could bump into him in the garage with your trusty garage pass.

It’s just so easy to be a fan of NASCAR. If you want to listen the in-car communications between the team and the driver you can. If you really wanted to every piece of furniture, clothing or accessories you own can have your favorite driver’s name, car number or face on it.

Bottom line — NASCAR makes it easy for you to feel like you’re apart of something.

NASCAR announced today that it will be honoring the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy that took place on Monday. Stickers showing the Virgina Tech logo will be placed inside all of the race cars for the next three weeks.

NASCAR To Honor Victims Of Virginia Tech Tragedy

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 18, 2007) — The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has received permission from Virginia Tech University to display the school’s logo on race cars for the next three weeks, in a tribute to the victims of this week’s shootings at the Blacksburg, Va. campus.

The logo will be displayed against a black background on the “B-post” — the area just to the right of the driver’s side window net — of cars competing in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series events at Phoenix International Raceway (Friday and Saturday), Talladega Superspeedway (April 28-29) and Richmond International Raceway (May 4-5).

Additionally, trucks competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event April 28 at Kansas Speedway also will display the logo.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their family members, their friends — and the entire Virginia Tech community,” said NASCAR Chairman Brian France. “We wanted to make a simple, but strong, gesture of remembrance. We are grateful the university gave us clearance to display their logo.”

Good news!

Liz Allison, widow of NASCAR driver Davey Allison, has a new book coming out in September of this year entitled “The Girl’s Guide to Winning a NASCAR Driver.” The book is a follow-up to her 2006 release “The Girl’s Guide to NASCAR.”

I immediately ran over to Amazon.com to see if I could pre-order this sucker but alas it’s not listed yet. I’m dying to know what advice Liz gives on how to lasso your own NASCAR hunk. If anything I’m sure it’ll be a fun read. Until the book comes out check out Liz’s new blog over at the Prilosec OTC Girl’s Guide to NASCAR site.