Another one for the Ladies

Last week the big news for women in motorsports was Danica Patrick's win. This week Ashley Force became the first lady to win in the NHRA Funny Car finals.

Congratulations, Ashley. Now, who's it going to be next week?

• 2 Comments
• Ashley Force, Funny Car, women in motorsports

Danica Patrick's "publicity choices" good or bad?

When Danica's photos in FHM were published, and then she did that GoDaddy commercial, I had to wonder (like many on Rowdy) at what level would she not stoop to further her career? The general consensus seems to be that taking your clothes off is not the way to be taken seriously in auto racing.

But what recently dawned on me is the question of what is the difference between Danica posing in skimpy clothing for FHM and Carl Edwards posing shirtless for ESPN the Magazine or Men's Health? OK, it's was for a magazine with a different audience but none the less he certainly exposed just as much of himself as Danica exposed of herself.

So where is the dividing line? Is this a matter of the magazines' intended audience? Is it a difference of guy vs. girl? Or is there something else to this equation?

• 3 Comments
• danica patrick, Carl Edwards, photo shoot, cheesecake & beefcake

Kyle giving Pruett road race lessons at Mexico?

Boy, this one really takes the cake. Kyle saying that the other guys (lilke Pruett and Ambrose) were racing too rough? Did I hear that right? This coming from the same guy that at the truck race at Martinsville that got Johnny Benson so wound up (and Johnny is not easily upset)? After he not only bumped a few others but intentionally pushed those guys up to the wall. The same guy who drives like a spastic squirrel on multiple double espressos?

My head is swimming from trying to process this. I think I need to lay down.

• 9 Comments

BDR sues OTC 360 : Payment hangover?

Bill Davis Racing is taking the makers of OTC 360 (Rockford-Montgomery Labs) to court for only paying $25,000 out of a $14 million sponsorship for the car that Jeremy Mayfield drove last year.

Could it be that Rockford-Montgomery Labs felt that they should only pay for the races that Jeremy actually qualified for? Or that he got them so little air time when he did qualify?

• 6 Comments
• OTC 360, Bill Davis Racing, BDR, Jeremy Mayfield, whole lotta money goin' on

NASCAR infractions: Intent or no intent? Consistent?

The latest NASCAR Cup series infraction involved ol' Rocket Ryan Newman's car being 1/8" too high in post race inspection which resulted in a 25 point/$25,000 penalty. Initially I would say that it sounds reasonable.

But what is not reasonable is that this call is not consistent with NASCAR's latest penalties, i.e. the Robbie Gordon wrong-nose incident. Yes it did eventually get overturned but what NASCAR issued at the time of the infraction was that NASCAR would hold every one's feet to the fire with the COT and that NASCAR was NOT going to judge intent. The message they seemed to be sending was "anything wrong with the car, it's 100 points/$100,000. No questions asked." Same thing with Jr's wrong wing brackets last year.

So now what? NASCAR is back to judging intent, or allowing gray areas? I believe this will open up the floodgates of "intent" or "not perceived as a racing advantage." I forsee a whole can of worms being opened and teams getting frustrated (Did someone say Jack Rousch?).

• 1 Comment
• Penalty, Ryan Newman, consistency, ice cream

Thursday is International Nick Riff Day

WARNING - NON-NASCAR info ahead

Thursday, 20th March is International Nick Riff Day. You can find the full details at www.mayspace.com/nickriff - then check out his latest blog.

If you are interested in a modern take on psychadelic rock then it's definitely worth checking out.What it boils down to is the newest CD is going to be released Thursday for $8.99. After Thursday the cost goes up to full retail.

If interested, you can preview the tunes at www.myspace.com/nickriff.

• 0 Comments
• Nick Riff, psychadelic, rock, CD, ponies are fun!

Double-secret probation sensation!

Woo-hoo! Tony and Kurt now are on probation by the same NASCAR that was almost giddy by the fact that these two were "showing more of themselves."

What? Didn't we just get the message from NASCAR that they weren't imposing penalties? That just makes me wonder if NASCAR isn't just playing both sides of the fence here. Is it all done to help generate hype for the upcoming races?

Please, by all means, let me know if I am wrong.

• 3 Comments
• tony, Kurt, Fight, Penalty, cheeseburgers

A Celebration of Acceleration

OK, back to racin'! And the Bud shootout had been run. Dale Jr. got his first win in, even tho it doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot. But I am happy for him.

While I wasn't surprised that the Toyota's are up front for the Duels and did well in the Shootout, keep in mind that the Gibbs' Toyotas (supposedly Toyota's savior) weren't the fastest of the Toys. Good for Michael Waltrip Racing, especially Reutimann. And I am especailly happy for Dave Blaney.

I've always thought of Dave as a pretty good driver. Many of you may recall several years ago (OK, 20012)Dave having a heck of a run with Booty Barker as his Crew Chief in a not-Top-Tier team (Jasper Engines #77). This really put Booty on everybody's radar it seems. Last year when he hit the Busch series, he ran pretty dang good, too. On top of that, I'm an Ohio boy so this year I'm really rooting for Dave.

Don't get me wrong, I am not bailing out on Matt Kenseth. I still am a fan of Matt. As well it has nothing to do with manufacturer, either. But I am really, really, really hoping Dave Blaney finally gets a win this year.

So for me, I'm rooting for the CAT Toy this year in addition to the #17. Anyone else pulling for a new driver this year?

• 4 Comments

Merry Christmas from this fool

“Oh Crap!” I thought
As I looked at the calendar
Only a week before Christmas!
I wish I were as salamander

Then I wouldn’t have to see
My wallet was NOT thick
All the presents I have yet to buy
The thought made me sick

So I put on my shoes
And head out to the mall
There was five inches of snow
I was bound to fall

Well, I picked myself up
And swore a good bit
I turned and kicked at my car
“Lousy piece of . . . junk”

All the salespeople at the mall
Their faces full of glee
They just want my money
They all need a kick in the . . . knee

The stores all charge too much
The toys aren’t worth crud
I believe all the toymakers
Need to jump in the mud

Then “What a great idea!”
I exclaimed to myself
I rushed home in a hurry
And headed to the bookshelf

I pulled out the Christmas book
“Well, how about that!
This story is in rhyme
Just like Cat in the Hat!”

“I can do my own rip-off
If I could sound like Dr. Suess”
Yeah, what the heck!
. . . Nah, what’s the use

But I had to do something
So that I would be adored
Then I wouldn’t have to buy presents
That I can not afford

I stayed up all night
But nothing came to my head
Oh, what will I do now?
I almost wished I were dead

I could tell you of all my ideas
For hours I could go on and on
But I would succeed in nothing
Except sounding like a moron

I had just one last resort
It was something I had to do
I sold my body to Science
To buy a nice present for you

I won’t be around this year
To continue to act like a fool
Or see you open your presents
Too bad, I got you something really cool

Now my story must end
And I am but a spirit
“Merry Christmas, you fool!” I’d say
. . . If only you could hear it.

• 2 Comments
• Christmas, poem, yak.

Wide Mouth Bozo: Obsession, passion, or ?

After spending half the weekend being bombarded with tv commercials about upcoming shows of celebrity gossip I began to really wonder what the attraction was; why so many shows about celebrity private lives. As near as I could figure it was the same impulse that draws us to auto accidents and school-yard fights. We feel compelled to observe disaster I think. For the sake of example;

Amy Winehouse - trainwreck

Lindsay Lohan - trainwreck were the survivors had to chew off their arms to escape

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston - menage-a-trainwreck

Brittany Spears - trainwreck at clown college complete with tramp stamp (OK, I don't really know if she has the butt cap or not but I don't get those "tribal" tattoos)(Sidebar: what exactly makes those "tribal"? And exactly what tribe do they belong to?)

What struck me next was, is this the same fascination we have with our favorite sports teams or NASCAR drivers? I do not have a definitive answer as I have neither a degree in Psych nor Socilogy, let alone a double major. But I do not think is quite the same. With racing (as with other sports) we are rooting for a winner. I do think there is a small part of us “living vicariously” enacted. We select a favorite driver for various reasons, some of which may be that said drivers reflects similar personality traits to what we perceive as good traits. Or they are a proven winner. Maybe we find one guy that has the glimmerings of talent to make it but hasn’t yet and we root for him because we like to see the underdog succeed. Or it could be as simple as we find a particular driver physically attractive, which does tend to lead back to the infatuation with celebrity. Or does it?

Any one have better insight? Am I way off base? Or does it even matter?

• 6 Comments