Scott Kalitta RIP

Racing lost another driver from another racing family. Drag racer Scott Kalitta was killed today when his funnycar burst into flames and crashed going 300 mph during qualifying for the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J. It doesn't matter what kind of racing it is, it always hits home when a driver loses his life. I know it sounds cliche, but the only positive thing that can be said is that he died doing what he loved doing. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Kalitta family.

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• NHRA, Drag Racing, Scott Kalitta, SuperNationals

Rowdy Book Review: "One Helluva Ride"

It's been awhile since I have posted a blog. Things have been very busy lately. About a couple months ago I picked up this book from Amazon.com and I must say it was a great read. The book is called "One Helluva Ride - How NASCAR Swept The Nation" by Liz Clarke who is a sportswriter for The Washington Post and has also covered NASCAR for USA Today, The Charlotte Observer and The Dallas Morning News.

I really enjoyed her style of writing and every chapter was interesting and unique. From the moonshine running days of Junior Johnson to Dale Jr.'s decision to leave DEI for another team, and everything in between is covered very admirably by Ms. Clarke.

Of course, there were chapters dedicated to many of the individuals who have made NASCAR what it is today including The Frances, The Allisons, The Pettys and the Earnhardts; the contrast between two young drivers who changed the stereotype of the NASCAR driver...Jeff Gordon and Tim Richmond; the champion vs. the challenger (Earnhardt/Gordon); Humpy Wheeler starting night racing at the Coca Cola 600 in '92. But also there were chapters on the changing face of NASCAR (seeking new markets, changing away from tobacco, going global); the loss of Dale Earnhardt and much more.

Lot's of variety and some good anecdotes from someone who spent years covering the sport. Whether you are a NASCAR fanatic or you are new to the sport and want to learn some history of NASCAR and how it evolved, this book is a great place to start. A very easy book to read (I got through it in a few sittings) that I highly recommend to everyone! Enjoy!

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• one helluva ride, liz clarke, Book Review

C'mon Jimmy Spencer!!!

Was watching Nascar Raceday...we are what???...12 races into the season??? Spencer is STILL calling it the NEXTEL cup!!! If you are going to be a NASCAR "analyst"...get your act together man! And it's Hendrick not "Hendrix" Motorsports. Hendrix was a kick ass guitar god!

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I will NEVER own a Kyle Busch diecast!

Talk about a roller coaster of emotions! I was sitting here thinking Junior had his first win in 2 years in the bag when Danny Hamlin had a tire go down and stopped on the track to bring out the caution. I DID NOT want to see the caution!!! (I did notice that Denny did get the car going again after he got the caution...Nice sandbaggin' there Denny!!!) Then with Junior in the lead I thought.."This is it...Junior is going to get a win finally on the 2 year anniversary of his last cup win!" NOT!!! Shrub takes Junior out and it didn't gain him anything other than being the asshat he is and giving him the chance to upstage Junior. I was watching it on Hotpass and they showed it in slow motion and you could literally see Shrub's front wheels turn toward Junior to take him out. (Sometimes I wish Junior wasn't such a nice guy!) Anyway, it is obvious to me that Shrub resents Junior's popularity and has made it pretty well known by his comments. I admit Shrub has raw driving talent...but that's about it! Other than that, he pretty much sucks as a person and I hope he is cursed for the rest of the season and doesn't make the Chase! Screw you Shrub! Yes....I am PIST!!!!

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Hungry for some 88?

A girl in my office gave me this the week after Easter. Thought it was pretty cool. Looks like it needs a little body work. :) I am going to consume that baby anyway when Junior gets his first win. Will it be this weekend at Texas? He won it in his rookie year of 2000 and also had 4 Top 5's and and 7 Top 10's there. I think he might have a shot. Go Junebug!!!

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Robert Gee article

Really good article about Robert Gee on Nascar.com if you haven't read it:

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/03/14/dearnhardtjr.rhendrick.rgee.link/index.html

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Gremlins invading Rowdy!

And I don't mean the car. It seems all the comments to the blogs have mysteriously disappeared. The main blog is there, but the comments have poofed. What gives Rusty???

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What happened to Today's (2/25) Podcast?

I could have sworn I saw today's podcast up earlier today and was planning to listen to it this evening, but now it's not there!?!? Guess I will check iTunes.

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Next stop for the Rowdy Banner?

I have the Rowdy banner which got a little "damp" this weekend, I wiped it down with paper towels and got it all dry today.

We have Vegas, Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville coming up for the month of March. Is anyone interested in displaying the banner on "Nascar Raceday" at any of those upcoming races? If so, I will get it to you via UPS ground. If not, I will ship it back to Rowdy HQ. Please comment to this blog if you are interested. Thanks.

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• Rowdy banner, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Bristol, Martinsville, Nascar Raceday on Speed

Auto Club Speedway Experience...Bittersweet.

Well I spent two days at California...oops...Auto Club Speedway and got to see a total of 87 laps of racing and probably 250 laps of jetdryers and track vehicles circling the track.

It was definitely a bummer to see Junior wreck with 21 laps run and have to sit through 2 red flags. Especially the last one. Once the last rain squall came through, in which it rained the hardest it probably did all weekend, we sat it out in the stands for over 3 hours with the track announcers stringing us along with announcements of an imminent restart. We finally gave up at 10:45 pm PST and headed home with a feeling of disappointment.

My friend Dan drove back to the track this morning to see the rest of the race. He is a Jeff Gordon fan and the 24 was looking fast in the 87 laps we saw yesterday. I am pretty wore out after having driven up there and back on Friday and yesterday so I am opting to watch the rest of the race on my HDTV in my comfy recliner. Junior is out of it anyway.

Anyway, enough of the whining. The 87 laps I saw were an exhilarating experience for me, being my first Nascar experience. The sounds, vibration, sight and smell of 43 cars screaming by...was just awesome, gave me chills. Now I know what everyone means when they say you haven't seen Nascar racing until you have seen it live. Wow! 87 laps just wasn't enough, the drivers really couldn't get into a groove and it definitely left me wanting more.

Meeting the Rowdy folks was the coolest part and we were all on a mission to get that banner on TV. We did a great job I thought. Just before Nascar Raceday aired, when John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace came out to work the crowd up, Kenny Wallace gave a big shout out of appreciation to Rowdy.com for being there. I thought that was pretty damned cool. Made me feel proud. I enjoyed hanging out with Calblazer, Heysi, Daniel, Don and of course my friend Dan. Thanks to all of you for helping me manhandle that banner, awesome job. I would also like to thank Daniel for the gift of the Amp 88 wall hanging. I had my hands full with the banner behind the Speed stage and had leaned the wall hanging up against a trash can which I was standing next to. About 10 minutes later I turned around to check on it, and it was gone. Some asshat had lifted it from right behind me while I was holding up the banner. I was not happy and neither was Daniel, but hey....it's the thought that counts. You are one cool dude buddy.

The banner has been signed by all and ready to move on to the next location. Unfortunately, with the wet weather, I really didn't get any good pictures yesterday, so I am counting on the rest of the guys to post their photos. Thanks to Calblazer for already posting his.

Also a shoutout to Leftoverture (Tim)...sorry we couldn't connect at the track and sorry you didn't get to see the full race after coming down here from MN. Maybe we will catch up another time.

Well, I am off to watch the rest of the race...Stay Rowdy!!!

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