So Far…

Authors note: I regret that it has been a long
sabbatical away from the racing press. Mind you, I realize that there aren’t
throngs of readers waiting with bated breath for my next round of NASCAR
musings. It’s just a personal thing for me, and personal things have been a
tad overwhelming for many months on the heels of 9-11. I am not alone in that
regard, nor special, but sometimes a guy has to close the doors for a while to
get the shop in order. Let’s just leave it at this: The shop has reopened, and
I’m back to turn to hot laps on the Racin’ Deals track.

Haas-Carter Motorsports has closed their doors, and this
is a real NASCAR tragedy. This was a stout team from the top of the organization
right down to the tire carriers. Who thought that a heavy hitter like Kmart
would fall on times so hard? Surely we expected the “evil” beer and tobacco
sponsors to go away first in the brave new politically correct world of the
NASCAR network television deal. Not so. Team Blue Light gets the Red Ink Flag,
and nobody has stepped forward to keep Bodine the Younger and Front Row Joe
turning laps on NASCAR’s senior circuit. Not even Wal-Mart. We can give up on
Microsoft, it would seem. It appears Mr. Gates et al doesn’t see market share
in our ranks. The #26 X-Box and the #66 XP cars? Nah-No marketing gimmick there
for substandard products…

Speaking of sponsorships and network deals, how about a
real no brainer? The network deal slammed the door to the track, garage, and the
paddock to ESPN, remember? It seems to me that the folks over at the network
that put NASCAR on the national map could slap their logo on a car or two. That
gets them back inside the track where they belong. Then, RPM Tonight would have
a whole new flavor. Dr. Jerry Punch does a trackside interview every night with
one of “their” drivers, and if Little E, Tony Stewart, or Matt Kenseth just
happen to stop by for a chat at that exact moment-you get the picture. There’s
more than one way to skin a network deal. If all the other sponsors can shoot a
commercial, who is to say that ESPN can’t shoot a half an hour commercial each
night? First, they have to write Haas-Carter Motorsports the big check. Until
then, the ESPN crew will have to settle for being the official network of the
Craftsman Truck Series.

Speaking of the Truck Series and network deal, it will be
amusing at the very least, to see just how FOX will handle the unretirement of
Darrell Waltrip. DW has decided to wheel a truck at Martinsville. It will be
interesting to see if FOX will send a camera crew along to chronicle DW’s
return to the NCTS. FOX will have a major credibility problem if they do since
their total acknowledgement of this brand of racing is a crawl on the bottom of
the screen every now and again. DW has owned and raced trucks before. He has
friends down there in front of and behind the camera. It opens a very ugly door
for FOX as the truck race there usually brings Ken Schrader, Bobby Hamilton, and
this year, Kevin Harvick, to the Paper Clip to run a truck as well. That truck
race will have a real Cup feel to it as ex-Cuppers Ted Musgrave and Jason
Leffler are making a full time go of it in that series this season. It’s
looking as if that might be a race to watch, but not on FOX. Well, you can catch
the highlights of it if you want to-just not on FOX. You can see the post race
interview with DW after he posts a top five, just not on FOX.

Speaking of the truck series and Kevin Harvick, that could
be round three with Greg Biffle. Biffle can, and will probably will, take the
#99 truck out for a spin at Martinsville as a tune up for his Busch run there.
Martinsville is one of those huge racetracks where the likelihood of Biffle and
Harvick banging fenders is about 100%. (Not on FOX). There is no love lost
between these two ex-truckers, and we have seen no remorse on Harvick’s part
for the incident on pit road following the Busch race at Bristol. This one isn’t
over by a long shot, especially if both drivers get in a truck in a race that’s
a throwaway for both of them. Add to the mix the possibility of Jack Sprague
wheeling a Hendrick truck, a driver who also has “issues” with Biffle, and
we are talking high drama here folks! Lest you think that Harvick might turn the
wheel of his truck over to Rick Carelli or Delana Harvick for Martinsville,
think again. He’s 0 for seventysomething in the truck series. Biffle and
Sprague have won a bunch of truck races, and that’s a trophy Harvick wants for
his shelf. It will be a heck of a race. (Not on FOX).

Speaking of ex-truckers and Roush Racing, a tip of the gas
can to Kurt Busch for his impressive win at Bristol. Jimmy Spencer has nothing
to whine about, as the pass for the lead Busch made on him was about as textbook
a Bristol pass as there is. It came straight out of the Earnhardt book of
Bristol racing. Spencer, Rusty Wallace, and the rest of Winston Cup’s Grecian
Formula gang need to realize that Busch the Elder, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman,
Jimmy Johnson, and Earnhardt Jr are the next generation, they are here, and they
are now. Expect no bended knees from these drivers. Expect dented fenders. The
young lions are hungry, impatient, and above all else, extremely talented.
Counts your blessings, Mr. Spencer. You could be not driving a Haas-Carter car.
Take your second place finish and be happy to race another day. There are others
that can’t.

Speaking of Junior Earnhardt, dented fenders, and the
future of racing, why does Robby Gordon have a future in racing? How many times
is this bad penny going to turn up? He and Dale Jr had some issues on the track
at Bristol, and there are a few acceptable ways to settle these things. As
usual, Gordon takes the path of least decorum and the most collateral damage as
he turned Dale Jr around on pit road post race. Like Harvick, no remorse on his
part. Mike Skinner proved he was no prize outside of a truck in his stint in the
#31 car with a fat sponsor, but what was Richard Childress thinking when he
signed Gordon? There is now shelved talent in the guise of Front Row Joe and
Bodine the Younger, ready, willing, and able, and Childress DOESN’T fire
Gordon in favor of superior talent and temperament. A seven time Winston Cup
champion can get away with some things a four-time loser cannot. It’s time to
fire Robby Gordon. End of argument.

Finally, speaking of Gordon, Jeff Gordon:

Today, on Divorce Court,

32-year-old arm charm Brooke Gordon seeks divorce from her
husband four time Winston Cup champion Jeff, after seven years, citing marital
misconduct. She wants half the marital assets, alimony, and a full staff to tend
to her needs, blah, blah, blah…she wants it all!

And she’ll get it all. When it’s all settled and over
with, Jeff really needs to fire that lawyer who skipped that week in law school
where they cover prenuptial agreements.

Note to Tony Stewart: Lock your hauler man! The woman has
an agenda. You can’t be first, but you might be next.