Forums, Readers, and Amusement

Message boards are very interesting entities. I almost believe they take on a life of their own. As folks gather to discuss their common interest, sometimes they become either Happy Happy Kumbaya societies, or living, Fire-breathing Monsters. Many are somewhere in between, yet each displays their own unique personality. Many readers of this blog belong to message boards (aka Forums) of different drivers. Some participate in “Official” or not so official boards, and some participate in multiple boards. Some members have a ‘one size fits all’ personality that is the same for all forums, and others choose different personas based on the nature of the board. A great example of this variety lies in the beginning of the NASCAR season.

The first six weeks of the NASCAR season are on the books. So far, we have had restrictor-plate racing, 3 intermediate tracks (all as different as night and day) and two short tracks. The Car of Yesterday and the Car of Today have both been on the track. There is a new manufacturer, and several repeat manufactures. And the NASCAR fans participating in various message boards all have opinions on what is going right and what is not! You can generally judge how the driver is doing by the dialogue. Some boards are giddy with excitement, as their chosen heroes are high on the point scale. Others are filled with fans that seem morose, angry, and negative. And yes, there are some between those two extremes.

The boards of the struggling drivers are the ones with the most to discuss. I have been amazed at the number of fans that feel the need to throw SOME ONE under the bus when bad things happen! (Disclaimer: I have discovered this on more than one forum, so any resemblance to your own forum may, or may not, be a coincidence!) Some target the driver, some target the crew chief, some target the owner, and some target the manufacturer. Some folks call for wholesale firing. Invariably, it turns into a fight between the Realists, and the Kool-aid Drinkers! Each claims to “know” the driver’s, owner’s, crew chief’s or the sponsor’s thoughts. Some even go so far as to need medication to get through the next impending disaster, whether legal or not!

Part of this is enhanced by the technology available. It is no longer a case of enjoying the race from the grandstand or just watching the TV broadcast from the comfort of the couch. At the event, we have access to the entirety of the broadcast on both radio and TV, and the conversations of the drivers and crew members, and access to any communications with NASCAR to the teams. From home, we can see live timing and scoring, and can hear the exact same communications of the driver from our computers or satellite radio. Some drivers also are part of special television packages where the driver’s in-car cameras are available during the entirety of the race. The technology allows the most intense scrutiny of the drivers and the teams.

The slightest inflection from the voices on the scanner gives opportunity for great speculation from the fans. When that speculation hits the message boards, it can cause endless debate on what did the driver really mean….did the Crew Chief really say THAT? Or WTF is THAT supposed to mean! Why does the Crew Chief just say 10-4 when his driver is begging for changes?

Discussion continues, lines are drawn in the sand, and board members form factions. The factions are based on the two or three most prevalent views on the board. However, the factions are fluid, and can shift and reform based on actions of individuals. Don’t forget, it is allowable for the board members to bash away, but don’t let an outsider take part in the same name-calling and bashing, or the outsider will see the board form a united front against the outsider.

Forums will continue to be a source of information for many readers. They will also continue to be a source of amusement for many of the same readers.

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On another note, there were three people with a common link to one particular driver’s message board. At various times, each of these three was opposed to the other two. We are not quite sure how it happened, but we three now all find we have many common views mixed in with the divergence of opinion. We will be attempting a joint blog. A work in progress, we hope to provide discussion, controversy and amusement for the readers! Wish us luck, pray for our safety and check us out at Three Wide.

Flotsam and Jetsam in NASCAR!

A few short weeks ago, the NASCAR Nation was up in arms over the uncomplimentary comments by two Washington legislators. The news was broken by Charlotte Observer writer, and Sirius "Morning Drive" Host, and BTW, a fellow blogspot blogger,
David Poole. One political pundit, House Speaker Frank Chopp, made the mistake of disparaging one of our sports most beloved icons, Richard Petty. The other, House member Larry Seaquist, spouted awful comments about the fans. (Later, he claimed he was saying it about Int. Speedway Corp...yeah, uh huh, right!)

"These people are not the kind of people you would want living next door to you. They'd be the ones with the junky cars in the front yard and would try to slip around the law"

Well now, Mr. Seaquist....you do have a Basketball team in your state right? The Seattle Sonics? They are an NBA team, right? Well, Mr. Seaguest, were you aware that there was a NASCAR event in Las Vegas, where there was an estimated participation of 160,000 fans? As a reminder, Las Vegas recently hosted the NBA All-stars, 3 weeks before the NASCAR race. There is one very important fact that Mr. Seaquist really needs to know, if he were to begin comparing the two events, as cited in this article from The Las Vegas Sun

1 Number of arrests reported by Metro during the three-day NASCAR weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

403 Number of arrests reported by Metro during the four-day NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas

Enough said!

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Now, a few comments about attending the LVMS race.

There is absolutely no way to compare being at the race, to sitting home on the couch with remote in hand. (Ok, I admit it, not only is the remote in my hand, but the mouse for TWO computers with Trackpass and Raceview playing, and listening to not one, but TWO drivers scanners!) The sounds of the track cannot be duplicated, even if you follow the directions and "Crank It UP!" The sound of the cars bounces off of the opposite walls and echoes through out the facility. The sounds of the field passing by as the green flag flies can be felt in your heart! And believe it or not, the smell of hot asphalt and burning rubber, for a bit, can be quite the aroma!

Enough said!

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I adore my Sirius radio. I am thrilled that I have the opportunity to catch up on my NASCAR-related favorite shows, when they are replayed. I find it bizarre though, that I keep hitting the exact same spots of the 'replay!' And frankly, Tony, as much as I adore you, I really did think your complaints about LVMS crossed over into whining. Tony, I know you don't like a lot of the LVMS facility or experience, but then again, you are being paid millions of bucks to go fast and turn left. If driving on the edge, and being irritated by your fans watching you in the garage bothers you so much, you have options.

Enough said!

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It looks as if there is a huge broo-ha-ha brewing with the sponsorship issues in NASCAR. This will bear watching, as it could cause future sponsors to not want to enter our sport. That would be bad, very bad.

Enough said, but it still bears watching!

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Car of Tomorrow is now Car of Next Week! We will find out how it performs, and which teams were on the ball! And for those of you who wonder where the 'street version' of the COT can be found, just come out here! We have a ton of that type of rear wing appearing on cars out here!

Enough said! I promise!

Post LVMS Views! Part 1!

I had the best of intentions on blogging daily after the three days of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway event. As you all probably figured out, it didn't happen. However, the guests are all gone! I adore my in-laws, and I am thrilled that we were able to meet with our family and continue this annual event.

Chapter ONE will address the LVMS experience. Next, I hope to discuss the racing, and then one final blog on any thing not covered in the first two blogs.

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The NEON Garage ROCKS! The views are incredible! You can view from the ground level, much like Daytona.





You can also work your way up one level, and view the teams working on the cars from both the front and the back of the garage stall.



And from the outside, you can also view the haulers, and catch the drivers moving from hauler to garage.






The details in the brightly colored garage were amazing. There were many, many signs giving you detailed locations of the garage of your favorite driver/team. The food was upgraded in quality from the 'outside' midway, and yet keeping within the same price range! If you were on the second level, looking out to the haulers...they even provided a shelf for you to set your 'favorite beverage' while you snap your pictures.

The bad? Only one ATM that I could find in the whole neon area. The upper levels provide a possible safety hazard in the viewing area of the fan favorites. On Saturday, I made the mistake of passing the upper viewing area of Dale Jr's garage, and it was so clogged that it was impossible to move. Suddenly, when Jr backed out of his pit stall, there was a sudden jump of fans who ran from the viewing area to the outside viewing area, not caring who they knocked over.

The center stage is so very Las Vegas. The "Celebrities:" were a tremendous amount of fun!




Dale Earnhardt Jr and Richard Petty had wax figures made for Madame Tussauds, to be permanetly located at the Venetian. The figure of Dale Jr was not quite right, except they got the stance EXACTLY right.

Richard Petty's likeness was spooky in its realism! Check it out!

(I am still spooked by the realism of The Kings replica.)

Speaking of Richard Petty, for the first time we sat in the Terrace named after him. We sat high enough to have a perfect view of all of the track, and a fabulous view of the exit of pit road. The seats were individual drop down, with cup holders! There was enough room under the seat to hide the backpack, and my purchase from the midway. The only improvement would be signs at the stair level directing folks to their sections. We and several others had challenges finding our way to the right section. A simple sign with the section number and an arrow pointing to the correct side would suffice. The ones out on the concourse were not very helpful, even to the extent the "ticket checker-guard" could not always figure it out! One of them directed me to find a supervisor, and of course, there was not a single supervisor available.

But an added bonus, we were surrounded by a group of fans who had fun, teased us, and we gave it right back. After the race, they hoped we would be back next year in the same seats. The answer? YES!

The track has improved in several ways. The pit road is a great view! It was wonderful to have it moved so much closer to the grandstand. I was delighted to see that a previous rant of mine has been addressed, and they now have Nextel Vision on all turns, including the turn 3 $99-bucks-for-the-weekend seats. Well done!

The worst part of the weekend may stem from something totally amazing. My father-in-law was visiting. A staunch Jeff Gordon fan, he was the first in our family to be a NASCAR fan. At 82 years old, he is the reason the family gathers here every year. This year, we took two cars, to provide for his comfort, and so that he and my husband could park in the handicap parking area. (He has bone cancer, in remission, so walking distances is a challenge for him.)

This was a *very very bad word* disaster. The handicap area they were directed to was behind the drag strip, and there was a one hour wait for the handicap shuttle. After the Busch race, they were funneled out of the track onto Las Vegas Blvd.....going NORTH! They were stuck in slow moving traffic until it connected to the 15, turned them south, and they passed by the track with nearly empty parking lots. After the cup race, it was even worse, taking over 5 hours to get home. And BTW, the rest of us parked in a different parking lot, and it took us two hours to get home.

Now mind you, I understand that traffic needs are paramount. But this so-called handicapped parking area was not near the track at all. There was one closer, but there was no signage on how to get there. It is shameful that a parking lot supposedly set up to help the disabled access and enjoy the race takes the members so far away from their destination, while not affecting many of the others parking lots. I would hope that there were no health issues involved with any of the cars that were pulled over in the desert, as these cars were primarily from that parking lot.

And on a minor note, I think they need to rethink the location of the Speed Stage. It created a very narrow funnel for some of the traffic, and I think would have been served better being further towards the center of the midway, where it is wider. OR, don't have so many haulers or displays gathered around. It was almost dangerous trying to get through that area, all to arrive at your own seats.

Other than that, Bruton Smith has a winner! The track will, in the future, provide for great racing. It deserves a second date!

Race Week is FINALLY here!

I am glad to say the Vegas NASCAR race is finally around the corner! We have a house full of company and plans are being made for every day of the weekend.

First off will be the trip to meet David Gilliland at M&M's World Thursday night. M&M's World hosts a nicely run event. The associates there make sure the line is kept entertained by the M&M's spokescandies Red, Yellow, and the vampy Miss Green. I want to thank Robert Yates and M&Ms/Mars for hiring David. He is proving to be an excellent representative for the brand. Ricky Rudd is a great representative for the Snickers brand, too!

The race itself should be interesting. The test in January had weather considerably cooler than what we are experiencing now. We are expecting temperatures in the low 80's, so the the new track may have less grip. At the truck race last fall, the second groove came in pretty fast as the sun was setting.

Fifty-three cars are projected to try to qualify. Friday will be a long long loonnnngggg day! The Busch race will be earlier this year, thank heavens! And the Cup race will have its usual long wait to get out of the parking lot!

If I can, I will post my observations during race week. I hope the TV version of the race will be exciting, but it usually is never as exciting as actually being at this race.

Robert Yates no longer a "Dead Man Walking"

Coming up on the last race of the season, I found myself to be depressed and ‘out of sorts.’ Not because it was my last free weekend before entering into six weeks of retail hell. Not because we were coming up on the last race weekend of the season. And certainly, not because it seemed the whole world of NASCAR wants to hand Jimmie Johnson the trophy right there, on the spot, before the race. (It didn't matter whether Jimmie deserved it, I was cranky over the presumption of the win!)

No, I was morose over the apparent (at that time) demise of Robert Yates Racing. Depending on the web site, or the writer, we were prepared to witness the advent of DEI buying into, part of, or all of the Yates operation . The stories were full of speculation that, since Yates had struggled most of the season to find a sponsor, the DEI deal was his last hope. Everyone in the media agreed it was sad, as Yates was a staple in the garage. Over and over, we heard the timeline of this year’s defection of the Yates drivers and sponsors. In fact, we had been hearing the rumors for months of different drivers coming to Yates, such as Mark Martin, Johnny Sauter, Robby Gordon, Jacques Villanueve, and a cast of thousands.

Not only was I sad, I was very peeved at the former Yates drivers. When Dale Jarrett left, he left to go to a new gig where there was huge money being offered. Yates could not match that, but I felt that Jarrett was the beginning of turning Robert into “Dead Man Walking.” When Sadler then broke his contract and bolted to a ‘better ride,’ I felt shocked and stunned! For all of the time Sadler was declaring his loyatly to Yates, he was already in contract negotiations for a move to Evernham. In my mind, if Jarret sent Yates to 'Death Row" then Sadler was "The Executioner!"

The hiring of David Gilliland was one ray of hope. He was showing progress as a driver, but with all of the rumors swirling around, I was afraid he was going to be the driver of the only car in the organization. In today's NASCAR, that would have made David's struggle to succeed to be almost insurmountable.

Suddenly, before my eyes, I saw Robert go from Dead Man Walking, to Man on the Move. The announcement that RYR had a new sponsor perked him up, and made me feel like there was a huge light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Now, last weekend saw an announcement by Sporting News writer, Lee Spencer. In this link, we will see that it appears certain that Ricky Rudd will be a full-time driver for Yates. While this article as of yet has been unconfirmed, it appears that Mars is sponsoring a second car for Yates, and that Rudd may be driving the 28.

The internet is rife with discussion of the potential value of Rudd to the Yates organization. I personally have nothing against Rudd, and found him to be fan friendly and pleasant. Hopefully, when the official announcements are made, we will have a better picture of the future.

But, since the historic team of Robert Yates Racing will be around a few more years, I am happy. Thank you to Mars, thank you to Ricky and to David Gilliland, and Thank YOU, Robert, for escaping from the Dead Man's Walk.