Miscellanea from the Marbles

NASCAR moves fast, and not just the cars. The news and rumors move even faster! I am taking a moment to comment on some of the items that piqued my interest.

• Cingular is the new AT&T! So far, it is AT&T 2, NASCAR 0. Many have hailed the judicial decision as being right and just. But is it really? It may indeed be a deal breaker for our sport. IF NASCAR cannot enforce the exculsive part of the Sprint-Nextel contract, will the series sponsor hang around?
  

AT&T has won so far. It appears that the next round of court briefs will not receive judgment until later in the summer. Even if AT&T loses the next round, they have been able to rebrand their car, and their new brand will be in front of the consumer's face every Sunday.

• The greatest conversation of the last two weeks is the Monstor Job Search for Junior's New Ride. Amid all of the speculation, the 'net has been busy with conjecture on Teresa Earnhardt's part in 'driving JR away.' We then discover that SR left everything to Teresa. I had personally wondered why JR was asking for 51% of the business, when there were other children that would not have been able to take part in the same level of the company. And I have to wonder just how difficult it was for Teresa. By JR's own admission, the stepmom-stepson relationship was rocky for years. I can't help but feel there are two sides to this story, and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

• The Black Helicopter squad is still active. NASCAR apparantly is still attempting to control the way the races end. The latest entry claims that Casey Mear's win was another award for the Hendrick organization. Sorry, the kid won that race, fair and square.
  

• Speaking of Conspiracy Theories....the media is not immune! I heard, on my favorite Satellite Radio, two different members of the Talent Pool claim that NASCAR is forcing Goodyear to give the crappy tires to the SMI tracks. Hmmmm!

• One great suggestion that came up a few weeks ago on Sirius, was to have NASCAR Contol be live on one of theSirius Driver Feeds! Now, that is a GREAT idea! Listening to David Hoots during a race would give the home-bound race fan an opportunity to hear the decisions from NASCAR while the race is running. I LOVE this idea. I don't currently utilize the Sirius Driver Feeds, because my drivers are not part of the line-up. Instead, I pay NASCAR.com for their Trackpass scanner. Having NASCAR Control on one of the Sirius feeds would be a bonus!
  

• And speaking of NASCAR.com, I love the Raceview! I know many have issues with it...but I saw a first hand 'view' of the wrecks (my driver included) at Charlotte. It is well worth the $$ for me!

• Father's Day is next month, and I just finished reading a charming article by Dorothy Schrader, daughter of Kenny! Check out Growing up a driver’s daughter. It is very charming, and gives great insight into the lives of the driver's families.
  

• And finally, I must thank Humpy for a wonderful Memorial Day show. The salute to the military was inspiring and touching. The bagpipes version of Amazing Grace, followed by Taps, left me weepy. Then the reuniting of the family of a military service man made me run for the tissues. God Bless all of our military, those who serve abroad and at home, and the family members who continue to support their heroes.
  

Sirius Customer Service

Less than a year ago, I received my Sirius radio as a surprise. The surprise was more that I received it early in the year, as I was expecting it for a Christmas gift. You see, I knew my darling hubby would feed my NASCAR habit and get the radio in time for the NASCAR programming to start on Sirius in January of 2007. I just did not expect it in the spring!

By midsummer, I was addicted to Sirius Speedway. Even though Sirius has now expanded their programming, Speedway is still my favorite show. I had a radio, a car set-up, a boombox, and even had it transmitting to my clock radio so that I could wake up listening to NASCAR coverage. Hi! My name is SNAFAM, I am a SIRIUS addict. Step 1 of the 12 Step Program? Never be more than 12 Steps from my Sirius radio!

And THEN...the radio started showing symptoms of not wanting to be there for me. It started turning itself off and then on. I noticed it first in the car, as it would cycle off/on over each bump. As my route to work is under major construction, I was having difficulty following any conversations. I was pretty sure that it was the cigarette lighter plug. After testing with a replacement plug at my local Radio Shack, we discovered there was a problem with the radio itself. The radio became worse over the next few weeks, even having problems when in the boombox! It was dying!

My heart was racing from the impending panic attack. I HAVE to have my Sirius! I NEED my Sirius. I DEPEND on my pals Moody, Suzie, Crackerhead, Poole, Snider, Kernan, Craven, Baker and all of the rest. They are my friends and my support group! I WOULD MISS MY TUESDAYS WITH TONY STEWART!

I began a search on the internet, and read countless horror stories of Sirius customer service. I mentally prepared myself for a battle, much like the previous legendary jousting session with Sprint. (I won that one!)

I dialed the 800 number, taking deep breaths to prepare for the yelling! The Customer Service rep took down what little information I had and then referred me to the warranty department. The Warranty rep dutifully typed in the information about my radio, it's symptoms, and I started flexing my fingers for them to say anything I did not want to hear. What I did I hear? Your radio is still under warranty. We will replace your radio for you. You should receive it in 5-7 days! WOW!

I did not receive my radio in 5-7 days. I received it in THREE days! However, there was a problem. They sent me a newer, better radio! Why is this a bad thing? Because the boombox I owned would not match with the new radio! ARGGG!

Back to Customer Service to whine about how it was a better radio but now I had a worthless boombox. Before I could build up to a full-fledged rant, the CSR calmly said I would receive an upgraded Box at no extra cost, and I would receive it in 5-7 days. Once again, it arrived early!

I now have my radio. I can once again listen to my supportive pals on the radio. I can again hear voices in my head (phone), my car, my home, and my alarm clock. Life in normal again. Life is good. Life is wonderful. I am in my HAPPY Place!

GREAT SERVICE! SIRIUS-LY!