Elliott Sadler Gets Fired: Debunking Rumors and Myths!

For two days, listeners of Sirius radio have been inundated with callers expressing their own opinions on the 'firing' of Elliott Sadler. Searching the internet forums and message boards finds the same widely ranging opinions, with several based on incorrect facts.

The initial reports of the 'firing' of Elliott Sadler from Gillett-Evernham Motorsports reported that at the same time Sadler was fired, Ray Evernham was also cleaning out his office. Many jumped to the conclusion that Ray was leaving because Elliott was fired. It now appears that the joint Elliott Fired-Ray Packs Up rumors were more of a coincidence.

Ray Evernham was on Sirius, not once, but twice, this week. On Monday, Ray joined Sirius Speedway host Dave Moody. Joining Dave for the interview was Pit Reporter Danielle Frye. Ray was asked some of Dave Moody's typical soft-ball questions, where Ray claimed he was 'caught by surprise' by the news. Ray also claimed he did not have knowledge of what decisions were made. Later in the interview, Moody started to ask Ray a broad question about Ray's participation in the driver change, and Danielle interrupted, and asked point blank....if Ray knew about AJ replacing Sadler. Ray admitted Tom (Reddin?, GEM CEO? ) had asked him the question, quite a while ago. So much for being 'surprised!'

Ray also was interviewed by David Poole, on Sirius's show, The Morning Drive, on Tuesday of this week. Ray came on to specifically address Poole's assertion that perhaps Ray was 'burned out.' Ray quickly stated that was not the case, and he was preparing for his new career. As regular listeners to Moody's show know, Ray has been steadily methodically removing himself from GEM, and has created a new office for his new career as a track owner/promoter. Ray said the timing of cleaning his office out was always in this time frame, hence it was a coincidence that he left, and Sadler being let go were revealed to the press at the same time.

Many bloggers and forum members have made an assumption that Sadler was informed of the decision to 'let him go' on Christmas Eve, or right before the holiday. Apparently, after hearing from some Sirius guests (people 'in the business,') this rumor had been floating around among race team members for a few weeks. This certainly ties in with the flight time line of Elliott's personal aircraft's trips, as mentioned in blogger One Lugnut Short's blog entry titled "Elliott Sadler, You're Fired!" (Take the time to read Lugnut's take on Andrew Lloyd Weber and Elliott Sadler, it is a gem!)

Jayski reported that Sadler's contract will be bought out by George Gillett. This makes sense, and is indeed part of most driver contracts. (i.e. if someone wants out early, that same someone has to pay a fee to break the contract. Sadler indeed forfeited all of his future prize monies with Wood Brothers so that he could leave for Yates Racing, way back in 2002.) Ray discussed that there were a lot of things he could not say, not only for sensitivity of the subject, but because of 'disparagement clauses!' Many have complained that Sadler has not come out of the Virginia woods to talk about this, but due to the disparagement clause, Sadler will likely not discuss this at all, or at the least, it will be softened up with the typical 'side step' that Sadler does so well. Some believe that Sadler and GEM have not yet finalized what those 'out clause' payments will detail, and there will be nothing to hear from Sadler until that is settled. This also explains why there has been no comment from Brett Griffin, Sadler's business manager, and spotter, aka Spotter Dude and Bird Man, even though Spotter Dude has been lurking on the Sadler message forum for a few days!

At some point, Sadler will have to speak on this. I am sure, though, he will refrain from commentary until he has a new ride in place. He usually does a noticeable job of not throwing his former teams 'under the bus' so I am expecting nothing less than politically correct biz-babble from Sadler.

This situation has to be a blessing to the majority of the NASCAR media regulars. Normally, this time is very difficult for the media. They are still working, but there is very little noise coming from the team shops. Adding in the fact that many teams are on furlough or on extended vacations, the news coming out of the shops is spotty. Sirius hosts are thrilled to have something, indeed anything, to talk about this time of year!

A Rough 24 Hours for a Gilliland Fan!

It has indeed been pretty rough to be a fan of David Gilliland during the last 24 hours. As the whole of the NASCAR world knows, there was an altercation between David and Juan Pablo Montoya that resulted in David turning Montoya into the wall.

During the Dickies 500, I was deeply engrossed in the Raceview rendition of NASCAR.com's Trackpass, listening to David's scanner and watching the graphic cars as they moved around the track. I was also in a chat room, and since the ABC broadcast was in a commercial break at the time, I was fully focused on Raceview.

I was shocked to see the 42 approach David, and hit David in the rear several times. Gilliland tried moving out of the way, and JPM kept hammering on him. I 'saw' the wreck. Shocked, I relayed the information to the others in the chat room, and we waited for the return of the broadcast, completely stunned.

The broadcast confirmed what I saw, with an exception. They only showed David taking his shot, not what led up to it.

At this point, I MUST make a statement. David's reaction to JPM may have been over the top. I had already cautioned some of the chat room members, earlier in the race, to not wish anyone to be wrecked, as this track has such high speeds, it could be disastrous.

It is very hard to admit that a favorite driver may have made an error in judgment. It was even harder to listen to the post-race shows on Sirius, as David was being viciously hammered by the fans who were calling in. I finally did something I never do, I turned the receiver off, as I could not bear to listen to it any longer. I woke up this morning, still heart-sick, hearing almost non-stop negative comments on The Morning Drive. Again, very hard!

The next show, Tradin Paint, suddenly seemed like a breath of fresh air. It went 90 minutes without caller comment on the situation, and when the first one called in expressing displeasure with David, Steve Post and Chocolate Myers were steadfast in the statement that David had served his penalty. They felt that if there were to be further sanctions, then JPM deserved to be sanctioned too, as JPM admitted to contacting David. They also said that this action was totally unlike David, and they really like him. I heard similar comments from Moody and Gang on the Sirius Speedway. I also discovered that Carl Edwards jumped to David's defense! Thank you, Carl!

Then, this evening, Tony Stewart Live really shocked me. I mentally had to prepare myself that Tony could roast David. Tony did not do so! He commented that David would not have turned JPM without cause. He illustrated some of the issues that Tony himself has experience with JPM, which were surprisingly similar to the incident in Texas. In fact, when Kyle Petty joined Tony, they talked about the fact that JPM has been so fired up after being in incidents with Kevin Harvick, and others....that the fact that JPM's post race rant was so calm, it could indicate that JPM knew exactly why he was turned.

So far, it appears that an equally great crime may be that David made it look too blatant. So many drivers can turn another, and then with a glint in their eye, declare "Gosh, I hate it that it happened!" Some fans of drivers who have ironically had their own sessions in the "Oval Office" have been the first to jump on the Dump on David bandwagon. Even Jimmy Spencer jumped all over David on his Victory Lane show on Speed. The man who 'never forgets' apparently forgot that he turned Kurt Busch at Indy in 2003.

I do find it comforting that after 24 hours, some of David's peers are stating they understand why it happened, and have declared that this is totally out of character for David. Those of us who have met David know that he is a bit shy, not the least arrogant, and really wants to succeed. His temperament is usually calm, and I think in the whole of the season, I have only heard him curse once, which was immediately followed by an apology to his team. He works side by side with his team at the shop, and his scanner chatter with his team is usually clear and concise.

Again, I am not condoning what David did. But I do appreciate that it took a lot to have David snap like that. And I can't help but believe, that if it was a rough 24 hours for David's fans, then it had to be hell for him. I only hope that Doug Yates and Max Jones stand by David, as he has stood by them during their struggle to rebuild the Yates Racing teams.

Sponsor for Yates and Gilliland?

NASCAR fans of Yates Racing today received a jolt of excitement, all due to one Mr. Dave Moody, kingpin of the Sirius Speedway show. Those who were listening today heard a fan call in, waxing poetic over the attributes of both Yates Racing drivers, David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil. Then Mr. Moody dropped some information that had me all agog!

As many know, Yates Racing has been a study of perseverance and tenacity. With next to nothing in the way of sponsorship, both Gilliland and Kvapil have carefully driven their cars into the midpack of the points. Many times, the cars were bare white, with numbers and 'SponsorYates.com' on their quarter panels. Many in the NASCAR world have marveled that these 'plain white wrapper' cars are outperforming many cars that have big name, and presumably big buck sponsorship.

Meanwhile, back to Sirius Speedway. The fan who called in talked about how great the two cars are driving. Dave Moody piped up with commentary that, while he was unable to pin down Doug Yates at last week's race, he had heard some interesting rumors that Yates may have sponsor decals on the quarter panels in the near future. He did emphasize that there was nothing finished, and no guarantees until the check had been received and cashed!

While I won't be holding my breath waiting for confirmation of this news, I will be keeping an eye on Jayski, and the other rumor sites. I will now be sure to listen to ALL Sirius shows, to hopefully hear trickles of news.

And if a sponsor deal is indeed around the corner, I applaud the sponsor. I want that 'mythical' sponsor to KNOW that fans of David and Travis will be thrilled to throw their support behind that sponsor! A sponsor will get an outstanding deal with those two!

And if there is no truth to this rumor, then I am sure that there are sponsors out there who would be a perfect fit with Yates Racing. And if you are a sponsor in the process of looking, then what the heck are you waiting for?

Jump on the Hate Jack Bandwagon!

The first three race weekends of the 2008 NASCAR season have already been rife with controversy.

• Daytona Speedweeks saw 5 Busch teams get nailed for infractions involving an oil tank lid.An unapproved nose tarnished Robby Gordon’s brand new Dodge affiliation.
  
• California saw empty stands, with nasty weather only partly to blame. A feeble attempt by NASCAR to run the race late at night was met with derision and anger by NASCAR fans.
• Vegas saw, for the first time, some really outstanding racing, but the post race discussion was focused on Jeff Gordon’s comments stemming from a particularly bad wreck. And then, the famous Carl Edwards Victory Backflip showed to the world, what the NASCAR inspectors had already found: An illegally unfastened oil compartment cover.
  

On Wednesday, NASCAR handed out penalties for the #99 team owned by Jack Roush.

NASCAR has issued penalties and fines to the #99 team that competes in the Sprint Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions found last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The #99 car driven by Carl Edwards was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-2.1J (any device or duct work that permits air to pass from one area of the interior of the car to another, or to the outside of the car, will not be permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, the inside of the car to the trunk area, or the floors, firewalls, crush panels and wheel wells passing air into or out of the car) of the 2008 NASCAR rule book. The violations were found during post-race inspection at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 2. As a result, Edwards and car owner Jack Roush have been penalized 100 championship driver and 100 championship owner points, respectively. In the event the #99 team qualifies for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the team will not receive the 10 bonus points for the UAW-Dodge 400 victory used for determining the Chase seeding order. Crew chief Bob Osborne has been fined $100,000, suspended from the next six Sprint Cup Series events, suspended from NASCAR until April 30 and placed on probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR PR)

Jack issued a brief statement that was PR speak on the penalties, and that they were considering an appeal.

(If you are new to the sport, and don’t understand why this is an issue, take a moment to read Diandra Leslie-Pelecky’s blog The Science of….Missing Oil Tank Covers . Her book is on it’s way to my house, I can’t wait to see what other information about the Science of NASCAR will help to fill out my knowledge base.)

Suddenly, the first salvo was fired over the bow of Jack Roush’s good ship Integrity. The shooter? No less than former Roush employee Lee White, now working for Toyota. In an ESPN article , White claimed that Jack did this intentionally. The battle between Jack and Lee has escalated. Jack gave very detailed explanations of what happened, and fired a few salvo’s back at Lee White. White is now recanting his statements, but admits he probably will wait to personally apologize, as Jack might still be a bit too angry.

Amazing to several people is the number of drivers that so willingly jumped on the “Jack did it intentionally” bandwagon. Laudable voices from the garage include Dale Earnhardt, Jr, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson and what? who? Elliott Sadler?

My Friday afternoon group of NASCAR fans all hooted and howled when hearing of Sadler’s statement:

“I think that it insults my intelligence as a race car driver when you try and tell me that you accidentally left the oil tank lid off. If you go to any owner, any engineer, any driver any crew chief and ask them is that an advantage, ‘heck yeah it’s an advantage’. I’ve been doing that half of my career. When driving the 21 and 38 car, we pulled the shifter boot off and the oil tank lid off until NASCAR started to tech it.

• First, even Sadler fans had a giggle over the ‘intelligence’ comment. This is a driver who has made a career of being a likeable doofus, one that proved it by making an ill-conceived jump off a stage and landing firmly on a rail, instead of into the waiting arms of burly security guards. He beaned one of his Trackside cohosts during a softball toss. He joyfully jumped into wet towel contests during a rain delay ‘pool party’ on Speed channel. His Myspace page, for the short time that it was public and not private, showed pictures of his partying behavior. Indeed Sadler's commercials for Nextel, Tylenol, and Speed TV show that Sadler allows himself to be placed in the role of a clown. Fellow blogger One Lugnut Short, has even created a hilarious Elliott Sadler Drinking Game , since Sadler’s race comments are predictable and unoriginal. Never once would I, or many of my race friends, have considered Sadler to be a serious spokesperson for NASCAR.

• Second, many in the NASCAR Net World are pretty sure that Sadler was willing to jump on the Jack Bash Wagon because of an incident dating back to several years ago in a Busch race, where Carl Edwards punted Sadler for the win. There does appear to be continuing animosity towards Carl. Sadler’s business manager and spotter, Brett Griffin, even slammed Carl on the private Sadler Fan Club message board last year, after Carl and team mate Matt Kenseth had a confrontation that was very nearly physical in nature. Griffin claimed that the Sadler fans were now seeing what everyone in the garage knew about Carl.
  

• Third, after Sadler made essentially the same statements (as above) on Sirius Speedway Friday afternoon, host Dave Moody pointed out that hopefully GEM’s gig was a good one, because he was probably not going to get hired by Roush Fenway, if Sadler was ever looking for a ride. Sadler’s commentary at that point, turned into effusive gushing praise of Carl and his driving skill, but it came off as a huge ‘whoops, gotta backtrack now!’ moment. I saw a huge amount of irony in Sadler making the statements, after his own Team Owner was caught at Daytona in 2007 using bolts that did not meet 2007 inspection, and for an wheel well violation on the #9 car. Come to think of it, he also admitted to being a cheater, and also shoved the Yates and Wood Brothers teams firmly into the path of a moving bus. Way to go, Esad!
  

I don’t think this issue is over. I will be looking for more news releases over the next few days.

Kasey Kahne. Bad Boy Bad Boy Whatcha gonna do?

Kasey Kahne, the current Bad Boy of NASCAR?

When Kasey Kahne started the year in 2007, he was looking forward to the success that comes after a season of 6 wins. Sadly, Kasey was looking forward to the wrong future, as the success never happened. The entirety of Ray Evernham’s organization failed miserably, for reasons that are still somewhat elusive.

Kasey's frustrations revealed themselves by showing some fits of temper this year. He took part in some name calling of other drivers, up to and including his claims that one driver was overweight and out of shape. Then, at Homestead, while trying to enter his own motorcoach lot, he suddenly found himself in handcuffs.

The story is making the rounds of the media, the blogs and the message boards. Most opinions appear to have no middle ground…either Kasey is a Punk, or Kasey is a Saint. The details of the police report certainly do not paint a picture of Sainthood.

A few points…

• Kole Kahne, being supportive of his brother, claimed that the guard grabbed Kasey first. Four, count them, FOUR Law Enforcement Officers' statements told the opposite, that Kasey shoved the guard.

• Kasey may have been unaware that the security had been stepped up. However, there was one statement that members in the garage had been informed that hard cards were going to be required, after some fans managed to get by a guard earlier.

• The fact that Kasey was wearing a driver's suit as proof he was allowed into the lot is amazing. Any given day, I can go to ebay and find a used driver's suit. Anyone could don a suit, and then appear to be a driver.

• If Kasey had been shoved first by the security guard, he would have lost his job. The security guard had been ordered to not allow anyone to pass with credentials, even if they said they were a driver. The guard was following the orders given to him a half hour before. If the guard let Kahne by, he would have been fired. If he physically tried to stop Khane, he could have been fired. He was in a no-win situation.

• There has been much joking about Kasey’s size vs that of a security guard. The security guard is 62 years old, indeed old enough to be Kasey’s grandfather. Just because a security guard has that title, does not mean that all of them are big bruisers. Many Law Enforcement Officers would fall in the same height and weight category of Kasey, particularly if they are female. Most would be insulted to think that they could not 'take down' a 62 year old man. Would Kasey have shoved someone younger and bigger? I doubt it. Kasey may be small, but he is an athlete who weekly drives under g-forces for 400 to 500 miles. He shoved someone who is old enough to collect Social security.

• An Embarrassment of NASCAR Fans has struck again. According to the attorney speaking for the guard, they have been inundated with ‘hate mail.’ If the tone of those emails equals what I have read on some pro-Kasey message boards, then it is indeed embarrassing to claim NASCAR fandom at this time.
  

• The TV station, Channel 10 WPLG, displayed an amazing lack of sense on the posting of the police report. The original posting included Kahne’s personal address, phone number, driver’s license and social security number. The posting was up for 12 to 24 hours, before those items were redacted. Shame on them! I know it is legal to publish the police report, but in this day and age, posting personal information that can lead to personal safety issues is irresponsible and lowers them to the level of tabloid writers, and not journalists.
  

I normally enjoy catching Ray Evernham on Tuesdays for his weekly call into Dave Moody’s Sirius Speedway show. I was especially eager to hear it due to the Kahne case. I knew Ray would defend Kasey. I was surprised however at the continual jokes by Ray and Moody, over Kahne being such a lightweight. He did not say Kasey had not done it, but there was a lot of hilarity at the expense of the security guard.

Ray also claimed that Kasey was being ‘preyed’ upon. Yep, for $15,000. Many statements also claimed that Kasey has shown no remorse. At this point, I am pretty positive no one would believe statements of remorse, except perhaps that Kahne is sorry to be going to court! And the more that Ray continues to joke around about this, the higher the punitive damages will climb.

I will agree that Kahne’s actions are not what we have lead to believe are normal for him. However, I find it amusing that Kahne is a saint for actually physically assaulting someone, and Carl Edwards was vilified for coming close to punching Matt Kenseth, but never actually following through.

Perhaps Kasey should get his checkbook ready. And perhaps Mr. Evernham should follow the advice of his media reps, and not be so bold on the radio, to make light of his driver’s actions….actions that led to handcuffs, court dates, and law suits.

Monthly Miscellanea from the Marbles

Actions Have Consequences:

The internet has been rife with commentary about Tony Stewart and his various altercations with other drivers. So many times, we hear from Tony that 'it was someone else's fault', or that 'someone does not know how to give and take', or that 'it was not intentional.' One wonders how often he told his buddy Kevin Harvick that it was indeed intentional. Kevin is still not happy with Tony, and as of this writing, had not answered Tony's phone calls. One can only claim innocence for so long, before even the best of friends start questioning the motives.

In fact, this is the second 'friend' Tony has had an issue with. Denny Hamlin was not running to fall back into Tony's good graces, and indeed Coach Gibbs had to be called in to break up the battle.

Tony should understand that espousing the philosophy of 'give and take' requires some giving before the taking. When one is handing out the BS, one should expect that the people who know you the best to recognize the BS when it is directed at them.

Tony Stewart, the day after:

A few fan boards have reported that Tony Stewart, on the Monday after his Indy/Brickyard win, was trying to prepare for his Sirius show. There were some technical difficulties, and he and Matt Yokum supposedly were talking while assuming they were having a private conversation. The microphones were 'hot', and Tony was said to have commented on how 'effing' hungover he was, and that he was peeved he had to attend his fan picnic that day. Since I quit listening to him several weeks ago, I cannot verify this. I did try to tune in to the beginning of the replay on Tuesday, but they were replaying a "Best of..." show. That in itself is unusual, as I was told that "Best of..." Show was specifically for the off week. I will say, there was some hysterical stuff going on with a Carl Edwards interview and the happenings at a bowling alley in South Carolina! (THAT was Tony at his best!)

Merger Mania

The DEI/Ginn deal is still having far reaching repercussions. Marty Snider interviewed Dale Earnhardt JR, and replayed a portion of that interview on Sirius this week. Dale Jr commented that 300 employees in Mooresville would be out of jobs. Some boards are reporting that Claire B. Lang's XM show claims the layoffs have started. There are some serious issues reported about Ginn's level of debt. One hopes that DEI used Due Diligence to research the debt load.

Ironically, some of the 'net flak has been targeted at 'leader' of TEI as being the person who is the evil boss screwing the workers. And yet, if TEI...oops..DEI had not had the merger, there would be a whole race shop shut down. This way, some of the workers do get to keep their jobs.

Yates/Newman/and whoever else....
Newman! *sigh* Hey, has Robert Redford ever wanted to be a sponsor? I am heading to a race this fall just to hopefully stalk Paul Newman! Stalking Redford would make it a perfect day for me!

Other than a gorgeous Senior Citizen, what other benefit does the Y/H/N/L deal create? I can see that Yates can use the engineering. And now, they may need the sponsor support. But what does the N/H/L part of the deal get? One hears that a certain grandson of a certain 'first name of IRL' may be the biggest beneficiary!

Sponsor Merry-Go-Round!

M&M/Mars is receiving almost as much buzz as Budweiser. Ironically, both of these icons are swarming around Ray Evernham! Go figure! Evernham is having the crappiest of seasons, and yet the sponsors are knocking on his doors!

There are many, many Sadler fans that may have to eat their words, as well as some M&Ms. They were so quick to holler "I will never eat M&Ms again! " Wow, enjoy some Crow with those candy covered chocolates? Does Crow melt in the hand? Hmmmmm!

One has to wonder what in the world is going on with the Powers That Be at Mars. Their former driver has broken not one but two contracts. This same driver received many complaints in the last year as not being known to treat his fans especially well. (Expired Tylenol was the only noteworthy item in an expensive Fan Club Pack.) The other driver under consideration has been noticed by me in a previous blog, and now members of the media, as having little grace under pressure. His negative comments about other drivers have soured some of his fans, even if he can move his butt enticingly in commecials.

Other message boards wonder why a family owned company would even pursue a team whose owner 1) admitted to having a personal relationship with an employee and 2) verbally and publicly threw one of his employees under the bus for job performance. One wonders about potentially far-reaching splatter from impending lawsuits from the Wronged Girlfriend or the Jilted Engineer. It would not be the first law-suit experienced by Ray. Any publicity from such a lawsuit could splatter right back onto the sponsor.

There are many that would take great joy in seeing the current bearer of the M to end up ahead of the previous bearer. If Ray does not get his group of drivers together, it could happen. In the meantime, David Gilliland is slowly but surely building a fan base. He is also still in inferior equipment, and yet slowly but surely gaining on his scores. He is even being noticed by some 'Hot Sheet' and other gambling odds sites as a prospect!

Can he ever...?

Can Kyle Busch ever get through a race without controversy? He plays the "I am a bigger man and can apologize" card, and then he peeved Jeff Burton. The good thing is, Jeff is a behind-the-scenes type of guy, when it comes to driver relationships. Kyle's saving grace is that he can driver the wheels, and the decals, off of his cars.

NASCAR broadcasts:

TV: So far, after one Cup race, and a half season of Busch races, I am not impressed with ESPN. The 'draft track' was silly. Tim Brewer had some great tools at his disposal, but was thrown under the bus over the placement of Jimmie Johnson's fuel pump. There were a lot of commercials, but then, when the $$ are thrown out there, you have to expect that. I am not yet ready to go Pay Per View.

Trackpass gives me the 'fill-in coverage' I need. Radio scanners and Race view give me at least 85% of the picture, even when my driver is up front for a bit, and ESPN forgets to talk about him. Uh oh! I just realized, that I am paying, in essence, a pay-per-view to get the coverage I need!!!! Hmmm!

Best Broadcast Bang for the Buck: Sirius Radio channel 128

• The day starts off with the Misfits, aka The Morning Drive...Marty Snider and David Poole. Their discussions quite often jump into the argument stage, but always make you think!
  

• The Driver's Seat, with John Kernan as host, is fabulous! John is so knowledgeable and comforting to listen to, and has such good rapport with Buddy Baker (love love LOVE Buddy's stories!)and also Ricky Craven, John Andretti, and a cast of thousands!

• Sirius Speedway has the most longevity of the group, and has the most fun! Regular reports from Juan Pablo Montoya, Ray Evernham, and Brendan Gaughan give me targets of tuning. I will listen to each of them each week! Dave Moody and team have me giggling hysterically at least 5 times in each broadcast! This group has a knack of bringing out the real driver in their interviews!
  

Congrats to Brendan Gaughan, our Las VegasNCTS driver who is going to be walking down the aisle this month. It is a special woman who can tolerate his zaniness, but those of us that have met him know that he is a special person. Best wishes for a happy happy life, Brendan! And Mrs. Brendan!

Speaking of gambling....what is going on with the drivers enticing fans into gambling or poker sites? How long can the fans really expect the drivers to really show up! What kind of profit do the drivers receive? Hmmmmmm!

We will wait with anticipation to see what the next month brings! In the meantime....Happy Racing!

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!