my baby, please sign my baby!

hey all, I'm sure you're wondering what's up with the title? well, Clint Bowyer was doing a meet n greet in San Bernadino and I jumped in my truck with my kid and headed on out. it's about 40 miles (speaking of which, how far have you ever driven to see a driver, not a race, but a specific driver?) from where i live.

I posted a picture, which is also the first picture you all get to see of my kid. Sorry it's taken me so long but it's hard to find the time. But I originally wasn't going to get my kid signed. I thought, "oh it'd be funny, ha ha. probably be the 'oddest' thing he's ever signed....but nah, he's my kid, and it'd be wierd, i'd get odd looks" that's what i thought.

I ended up getting my nascar illustrated with clint on the cover signed, and very happy to get that too. I felt pretty rushed there too so i didn't bother to ask all the questions i wanted too. I hung around a little after i had my time so i could get pictures (they had a show car there too, freakin AWESOME!). I was enjoying the moment when i over heard some people comment about my shirt, which has a big logo of jack daniel's and an 07 on the back. I turned my head and greeted them, and said "if you think this is a nice shirt check out the one my wife made my kid" which you can see in this picture. They loved it and as it turns out they were the folks who were in charge of setting up the meet n greet. They asked me if i was going to get it signed. I said nah, because i've already gone up there, plus i was a bit rushed. so the fella said, "here, i'll take you straight to the front, come with me"
so i did
He went straight to the front with me following behind with baby in hand and he said "clint! sign this baby!" clint said "ok"
and that was that. I rushed to get my camera out and this was the only shot i could get, however the manager of PR gave me her card and told me to email her to get the shots her grandson took (with a professional camera).

SO, now i have a signed onsie (if you don't know what that is, you're not a parent) a signed magazine and some awesome pictures which i plan on putting all together and framing. Someday to put up in my man cave and when Jake (or JD) grows up he'll have to pick Clint Bowyer as his favorite driver.

• 9 Comments

swag situation

I just read an article saying that Tony Stewart will be driving a number14 and will be driving for office depot instead of home depot. Guess he got tired of working from home (heh heh...ok that was lame, i know).

So in light of Jr going from 8 to 88, mark martin going from 6 to 8 and tony stewart now going from 20 to 14, i'm having a hard time keeping up here! Now i have to change some stickers and add digits or take away some digits. Why can't these guys just STICK WITH THEIR FREAKIN NUMBER!?!?

(even though i can understand Jr.'s situation.) oh yea, i just remembered (as i look at my nascar calender featuring ryan newman this month) He's changing sponsors too and i think he won't be driving the 12 anymore. I think i'm FINALLY getting what silly season is all about, but it's starting to feel more like frustrating season. I knew you had to update you computer and whatnot, but now your swag?

• 2 Comments
• Silly Season, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart

UPS Ships Clint?

So on nascar.com there was a hint that Clint Bowyer may possibly be getting sponsorship by UPS. I'm not sure to what degree if it's half season and other half direcTv/JackDaniel's. Plus i haven't been listening to the podcast (i know i know, cardinal sin here) lately so i haven't heard anything there. Does anyone know about this deal?

• 3 Comments

TNT, patooie!

So i can't seem to keep up with the races that well anymore. I've been having to go to nascar.com and check out the raceRewind video. It's alright, cus it saves me a bit of time, but i'd much prefer to watch the actual race. Some cable networks (oh yea, i don't have cable) will show the race in full online. TNT attempts this....attempts. They have this thing called 'racebuddy' and you have a selection of views to choose from, pit, battle, ...and two other ones, i don't remember. but it stinks. There's no sound so you don't get any announcers, and there's no ticker to tell you who's in what place. I had to find a radio station that broadcasted the race, but there was a delay in the radio broadcast, so if i missed something on the screen i heard it and then missed it completely on the screen.
Guess i'll just keep checking out that rewind until the next channel picks up NASCAR.

• 4 Comments

is there a $225million lawsuit coming?

So i was shocked to see the word 'NASCAR' on my yahoo/att homepage, so i checked into it. This is what the article said:
Note that at the end of the article Yahoo is promoting nascar fantasy, i'm not sure if there'll be a lot of people jumping on the nascar fantasy after reading this.

Former official sues NASCAR over harassment claims

By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer 7 hours, 55 minutes ago

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As an aspiring racing official, Mauricia Grant had grown used to working in a man’s world.

When she finally made it into NASCAR, Grant was appalled at the way she says she was treated beginning from her first day on the job until her firing last October.

Now she’s suing NASCAR for $225 million, alleging racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination.

“I loved it. It was a great, exciting, adrenaline-filled job where I worked with fast cars and the best drivers in the world,� Grant told The Associated Press. “But there was an ongoing daily pattern (of harassment). It was the nature of the people I worked with, the people who ran it, it trickled down from the top.

“It’s just the way things are in the garage.�
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The 32-year-old Grant, who is black, worked as a technical inspector responsible for certifying cars in NASCAR’s second-tier Nationwide Series from January 2005 until her termination. In the lawsuit, she alleged she was referred to as “Nappy Headed Mo� and “Queen Sheba,� by co-workers, was often told she worked on “colored people time,� and was frightened by one official who routinely made references to the Ku Klux Klan.

In addition, Grant said she was subjected to sexual advances from male co-workers, two of whom allegedly exposed themselves to her, and graphic and lewd jokes.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, lists 23 specific incidents of alleged sexual harassment and 34 specific incidents of alleged racial and gender discrimination beginning when she was hired in January 2005 through her October 2007 firing.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said the organization had not yet reviewed the suit.

“As an equal opportunity employer, NASCAR is fully committed to the spirit and letter of affirmative action law,� Poston said, adding NASCAR has a zero tolerance policy for harassment.

In the lawsuit, Grant said she complained numerous times to her supervisors about how she was treated, to no avail. On one occasion, Grant said Nationwide Series director Joe Balash, her immediate supervisor, was dismissive of her complaints, explaining her co-workers were “former military guys� with a rough sense of humor. “You just have to deal with it,� she says Balash told her.

On another occasion, she alleged Balash participated in the harassment.

“Does your workout include an urban obstacle course with a flat-screen TV on your back?� she claimed Balash asked her during the week of July 28, 2007 while working in Indianapolis.

Grant told the AP her two younger sisters witnessed racial discrimination against the official while visiting her at Daytona International Speedway in 2006 and encouraged her to document every incident going forward.

The lawsuit details a series of those alleged incidents:

— Grant was forced to work outside more often than the white male officials because her supervisors believed she couldn’t sunburn because she was black.

— While riding in the backseat of her car pool at Talladega Superspeedway, co-workers told her to duck as they passed race fans. “I don’t want to start a riot when these fans see a black woman in my car,� she claims one official said.

— When packing up a dark garage at Texas Motor Speedway an official told Grant: “Keep smiling and pop your eyes out ‘cause we can’t see you.�

— When she ignored advances from co-workers, Grant was accused of being gay. She also claimed co-workers questioned the sexual orientation of two other female officials.

After her termination, Grant said she went over her notes and recognized “a pattern of retaliation and discrimination.�

“It didn’t diminish my love for the sport of auto racing, but the job wasn’t always the easiest thing to go to every day,� she said.

Grant said she routinely complained to her supervisors. Two weeks after her final complaint, Grant said she was warned during the week of August 18, 2007 at Michigan International Speedway that she had engaged in “conduct unbecoming of a NASCAR representative� and would be fired unless she changed her behavior. She said the warning stemmed from a confrontation with a track official who stopped her as she passed through a gate to use the restroom.

Roughly two months later, Grant was fired, and NASCAR cited a poor work performance in ending her employment. The lawsuit claims other than a previous warning for using “street� language, Grant had never been disciplined for job performance and routinely received positive reviews.

“It is time for NASCAR to realize that not everbody is going to be bought off and not file a complaint,� said Grant’s attorney, Benedict P. Morelli of Morelli Ratner PC. “Not everybody is going to be intimidated and not file a complaint. Not everybody is going to be blackballed and not file a complaint.�

In addition, the suit claims official Heather Gambino was fired in 2006 for complaining about a sexually hostile work environment. The suit also claims former official Dean Duckett, who is black, was reprimanded and ultimately fired last November for using “aggressive language toward a white co-worker.�

Among those identified in Grant’s suit are Balash, assistant series director Mike Dolan, supervisors Alan Shephard and Dennis Dillon, NASCAR’s senior manager for business relations, the human resources director and 17 of Grant’s fellow officials. All of the defendants are white.

“My supervisors all praised me. I was hanging in there with the guys,� she said. “I am an athletic person. I went over the wall and faced malicious crews and competitive crew chiefs, and I was right there and held it down and was never lazy about it.

“And I knew that once I was terminated, there wasn’t going to be an opportunity for me to find another industry like NASCAR to practice my craft.�
Start your engines! — Sign up for Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Auto Racing '08 today.

• 1 Comment
• lawsuit, associated press, jenna fryer, sexual harassment, officials

bit by busch

so, i guess you could say that Junior got bit by the pedigree mutt on KyB's car. HA HA HA

oh i'm sorry rowdy nation. i just had to get that knee slapper corny joke out there.

i'm gonna need some security to log out of here aren't i?

• 1 Comment

GO CLINT!!!

ok, AS i had predicted to my wife

"hey honey, you know what sucks about this win for my boy clint? Everyone will be talking and remembering the contact between Jr and Kyle"

and judging from all these blogs, i'm right. Oh well, i can understand that, i was pretty dissappointed with it too. BUT as a clint bowyer fan, i was pleased pretty quickly with watching my guy come into victory lane for his second time! oh this feeling is so sweet and rare for me as i'm sure my fellow bowyer fans would agree.

Clint is getting stronger and is VERY consistent. He can get through traffic as good as these folks here in california (for those of you who don't know, we have the WORST traffic here. Freeways aren't always free. Sometimes you're just parked or going only 5 MPH for about 15 miles) but when he gets into the top five that's when he seems to have problems. Can't lead very well. Hopefully he's working on that and is building confidence to win a few more by the end of this season. I'll predict two more wins for this guy. what do YOU say?

again, a big hell yea goes to my guy Clint Bowyer! HELL YEA!!!

• 2 Comments
• Clint Bowyer, Second Win, Richmond

No girls allowed!

I don't really mean what i said in my title of this blog. I recently read an article on nascar.com regarding Danica's first win. Not only is it her first win but it's the first time a woman has won. In my opinion, who cares? Sure it's historical but the questions being raised because of this is, in my opinion, idiotic.

Article writers answered the question: Does this win put NASCAR behind the curve on female drivers? They had side by side articles one saying 'yes' and the other saying 'no'.

Personally I've never had a problem with women racing and i think most down to earth normal people don't. The drivers who race are the best out there and have earned their spots. Gender is not a qualifying factor and it should never be. I don't think that a woman should be given the right to drive SOLELY for the fact that she is a woman. Strap in and prove yourself just as the other 42 drivers have. Why is this such a hot topic? I see this issue as some liberal femenist hooey. I think that if we were TRUELY non-sexist we wouldn't make a big deal about a woman winning a race (whether it be in a cockpit or a presidential campaign).

Do I think women should race in NASCAR? sure of course, but only if they earn it, not because of ratings or because we need to show more diversity in this sport. The beauty about this sport is that it is NOT sexist or racist. The only deciding factor is pure and raw skill. If we start sticking in inexperienced drivers soley on their race or gender then this sport will lose it's credibility for showcaseing the best drivers. It wouldn't be racing anymore, it'd be a load of crap.

• 3 Comments

88 in Perris!

So there i was just driving around like i always do for work. I had two deliveries over in Perris and there was a walmart going south on Perris Blvd and i saw a Dale Jr. trailer and thought nothing of it. I thought "well, if they had the car, i'll pull over and 'take my lunch'" well, they had the freaking car!!! sweet deal huh! so i pulled over. They said if you buy two four packs of amp you'd get a free shirt....well, call me a sucker cus i gotmyself a new shirt! pretty slick too.

• 7 Comments

the rowdidian that was born!

ok, so i don't really have as much time as i used to. I'm sure you other parents completely understand. Well here's a picture of the little guy hanging out with dad (me). Sorry it took so long. I'm trying to learn how to get more pictures on one blog, and until i do, here's this little one.

• 7 Comments