NASCAR Ennui!

ennui

Main Entry: en·nui
Pronunciation: än-ˈwē\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Old French enui annoyance, from enuier to vex, from Late Latin inodiare to make loathsome — more at annoy
Date: 1732

: a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction : boredom

Ennui is the most appropriate word for my feelings as the NASCAR season wound down. I found myself feeling apathetic and tired while watching the last race of the year.

Is it from the suspicion that my favorite driver, David Gilliland, may be looking for a ride soon?

Could it be from watching races that are becoming cookie cutters of each other?

Or, am I suffering from the same feelings that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. proclaimed, of the season being just too long?

Or, am I worn out from watching the same few drivers be the point of discussion all season long?

Or, could I possibly be finding the racing to be not as exciting?

Or, are the Television broadcasters not keeping me riveted to the screen?

Or, am I over-saturated with information, from 6 hours of TV on race day, to internet news, to Sirius radio?

Or, is the economy starting to impress me with the fact that I may not be able to afford to attend as many races as I had scheduled. I had solid plans to attend 4 races next year, but I will be fortunate to actually make it to two races in 2009.

I suspect, all of the above!

NASCAR testing begins on the West Coast!

Daytona testing is complete. The media tour is done, the media members are checking in with stories after being feted, wined and dined, and by now, all of the buffet tables are cleared, packed up, and the shops are back to business as usual.

Business as usual also for the transporter drivers heading out for a long trip to the West Coast. Reports had them leaving Wednesday and Thursday, so we should see them rolling into Vegas this weekend.

This year, there are two test sessions, one at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and one at California Speedway. Both should be very important to finding the right set-up for the COT on the intermediate tracks.

First up, Vegas! After a predicted round of storms, the weather should be cool and clear for the testing session on Monday and Tuesday.

Second, Thursday and Friday will find the SoCal fans flocking to testing at California Speedway. There will be a test session that extends into night on Thursday. The original idea was that the track in Fontana has a night race, but I am unsure of how testing in January in temperatures in the 40's will give any information for cars running in September with temps in the 90's to 100's.

Fans will have access to both testing sessions. For once, Cali will have a better deal for fans, as they will be allowing access to the infield bleachers for a pittance of a charitable donation.

LVMS has missed the mark on not allowing fans into the Neon Garage for testing. In addition, they have been ineffective in communicating that to the fans. One caption posted on their site on January 9th claimed fans WOULD be allowed in, while other articles, and an 'insiders' newsletter claimed no access allowed. It took an email to a writer for the local newspaper to get clarification on this.

And, California Speedway has even scheduled some Driver/Fan interactions. Gillian Zucker was on Sirius this morning, and she claims that she is thrilled with the way fan participation has increased over the years, for testing sessions at California. See, California Speedway CAN get it right, and do something better than Bruton Smith's Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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.

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!

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!

******

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!

**********

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!

*****************

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!