The Spin Out Zone – 2003 Special Preview, The Cost to be a FAN & Brooke Gordon Gets Bumped
Hold on – here is the bump and the SPIN OUT!
Well, the off season is over and the Spin Out Guy is ready for some bumper to
bumper, side by side racing. Right after the disastrous Winston Cup award
ceremony, I was sitting at my assigned seat next to Michael and Buffy Waltrip. I
was signing autographs on some of last years award winning Spin Out columns,
when it hit me, just like a lighting bolt blinding me in the face, the off
season would fly by and I’ll need to get the first 2003 column ready to go.
Needless to say, I awoke from my dream and the blinding lighting bolt was my
wife turning on the bedroom light. Oh well, I guess it’s true, you can’t control
your dreams!
I’ve determined over the break that I have a serious problem. It’s so serious
that I may need to start my own not-for-profit organization called NA or NASCAR
ANONYMOUS. They say admitting your problem is the first step, so, I ADMIT IT!
You may be asking what brought me to the conclusion that I am a NASCAROLIC?
Well, to be honest it’s the cost of following this sport. Yes, to get a good fix
of our sport, you are going to have to put out the BIG BUCKS!
Compared to other sports, following NASCAR has become extremely expensive. I
love to golf even though I am not very good. I spent less than $200 for clubs
and I play a few times a year at 20 bucks each time for green fees and a cart.
So the cost associated with it is quite low. I enjoy watching hockey. However,
Red Wings tickets are hard to get, so the cost is minimal. NASCAR on the other
hand makes up for all my interest and then some. For example, some of the races
are on Cable TV like FX or TNT. To watch them at home, you need to purchase
cable or a dish, so that’s roughly $360 a year that needs to be paid to follow
those races.
Other cost associated include, subscription to the Winston Cup Scene at $60 a
year, Track Pass on NASCAR.com at $50 a year and $480 a year for pipeline
Internet because I need "Fast" access so Track Pass works properly. To
play Ned Jarrett’s Fantasy Cup Auto Racing, heck that’s $170 for the year (early
purchase price) and now that NASCAR inDemand on Pay Per View is available, add
another $160 for that. Okay, how sad can this all be? But wait….. It gets
worst.
What FAN can go without NASCAR Thunder 2003 for the PlayStation 2? 50 bucks
to purchase the game, but you can’t play it without the system itself, so add
another $250 for the system, control and a memory card to save your championship
season. At the end of the season, I just forked out $1,530 and that does not
include tickets to a race, die-cast purchases or a hat that goes on SALE. It’s
all too sad! Maybe I need to find a sponsorship – hey JAYSKI!
2003 Preview
I was so lucky last year. Many drivers, owners and even the Indianapolis Star
made my job so easy! I can’t wait to see who’ll get a good o’le SPIN OUT this
year. However, I am sure you are wondering whom I’ll be watching and just to
give you a sense, I have my eye on is the following bunch:
KURT BUSCH
Okay, can he repeat the year he had last year? I say yes, but he could end
up on the SPIN OUT list if he can’t hold it together!
RICKY CRAVEN
Ricky, you need to win a race dog! I think Tide will walk unless they see a big
improvement.
LARRY FOYT
I didn’t see it in the Busch Series, but that’s what I said about Jimmie Johnson
last year.
ROBBY GORDON
I hope your ankle healed well over the off season! I think the Cingular folks
may have enough patience for one more year, but you’ll need to prove yourself!
JEFF GREEN
Uh Jeff, you’ve got mail.
TERRY LABONTE
Terry, I think you’ll be the talk of Silly Season this year! I predict you’ll
end up driving the #19 for Ray Evernham if Mayfield can’t prove himself. Just
like with Bill Elliott, you’ll be re-energized! WOW, am I going out on a limb
here?
JEREMY MAYFIELD
The future is in your hands and I am worried. Where did the fire go?
JOE NEMECHEK
One year my friend!
STEVE PARK
I’m praying for you! I am hoping the best for you. This one-year contract is
similar to last year and it may have your mind wondering again around Silly
Season time.
ELLIOTT SADLER
Melt in your mouth, not in your hands! I like Elliott, but he is going to have
to prove he belongs with the BIG BOYS. He’s likable and he is a fun interview,
but when FATBACK turned his back and ran, I became real concerned with this
Yates program.
KEN SCHRADER
BAM! BAM! BAM! That’s Winston Cup retirement BANGING on the door! I know you
wanted a ride and the choices were limited, but I hope you know what you are
doing!
MIKE SKINNER
Does the ownership have enough patience with Mike or will moving to Pontiac be
another excuse? I’d love to see Mike win a race THIS YEAR!
JIMMY SPENCER
Sponsor is going broke and so will Jimmy! Ended last season bad, started this
season with bad news and I give this team less than 6 weeks and they’ll be
looking for a sponsor.
SPONSORSHIPS
I am not sold on HOOTERS, AMERICA ONLINE, KODAK, SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO and
STACKER 2. You ask why? Because their company’s profitability concerns me and I
am not sure how long they’ll be around. We may see some corporate executives
take the WAL-MART approach and not spend the money on NASCAR.
NASCAR
Two words, COST CONTROL. They need to get it under control or sponsorships will
walk. Some just can’t justify cutting jobs, while spending millions on NASCAR.
BEER WAR
FREE beer at Daytona! Heck if I was racing, give it to Rusty! Everyone benefits
from it, even the drivers, owners and sponsors! Let’s make this interesting, I
think all the sponsors should get involved. Budweiser and Coors Light should
match the Miller Lite promotion and it’ll be a BIG O’LE BEER WAR!
Imagine, the cereal companies could give away a few boxes of cereal, home
improvement centers could give away a discount coupon and Larry Foyt’s sponsor
Harrah’s could give out a token for the slot machine! More? Okay, UPS could ship
an item free, one of the oil companies could give away a free oil change, ALLTEL
and Cingular good give us FREE minutes and the best one of all, one of our ARMED
FORCES sponsorships could give us OSAMA or SADDAM on a silver platter!
THE SPIN OUT
During the State of the Union Address given by President Bush on Tuesday, we
heard him address the issues of the economy, health care, AIDS and Iraq. Nothing
was mentioned about this Brooke Gordon issue.
It’s unbelievable what she is doing to the NASCAR owners, sponsors and
drivers. She’s one person looking for an EASY FEW MILLION BUCKS and is
determined to turn the sport upside down. If a judge forces owners to open their
books to prove her point, we may be in for an interesting year!
All she had to do was file for divorce, ask for half without conditions and
walk away. Instead she wants it all and EVERYONE involved in NASCAR is going to
pay!
This weeks SPIN OUT goes to – BROOKE GORDON! You prove beauty isn’t
everything and taught Jeff that money can’t buy you happiness!
Until next week, happy bumping!