The apples don't fall far from the tree, it seems.

As proof that I've done my damage to my children, I offer these two examples:

Jovid, our 16 year old, came up with the idea for "Binary Scrabble." Bascially, it's played with 1's and 0's, for those not familiar with binary.

Parker, our youngest, thought that the helicpopter should be replaced with the Hello Kitty-copter.

Both ideas I find amsuing and warped. My wife just says "I hope you are proud."

• 4 Comments

James; You're home now. Rest Easy.

As many of you already know, on 2 May 2008 we lost our son, Lance Corporal James Kimple while he was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, at the age of 21. There have been quite a few Rowdy members (friends, really) who’ve email me asking about James, or to show their support. There are many many things I could say about him while going off on many tangents. I would like to just focus on what I’ve discovered through this ordeal at this time.

There are many times in a person’s life where you are faced with situations that confirm your beliefs as well as times that certainly challenge your long-held views. I feel as if I gone through some of both lately.

James had wanted to be a Marine before he reached 16 years of age. At that point in his life I did not think he’d honestly carry through. But James did, showing me that he meant what he said. My son grew to be a man of his word. For that I am very proud. During the process of him actually talking to a recruiter and joining up we had some long and frank discussions. In all honesty I had reservations. I explained that I felt there was a very real threat of him getting injured or killed (as a parent you always want to protect your children). James told me that joining the Marines was what he felt that he wanted to do and he understood the risk involved. He died doing something he felt very strongly about and for that I certainly respect and honor his decision.

The father of one of James’ good friends in his unit came up from Alabama to a little town in Ohio to honor our son. Mick and I spent a fair amount of time talking about our kids and to hear him speak of his son C.J. was like hearing me talk of James. It became quickly apparent that the Marines was where these boys were destined to be. That was something that just really knocked me over. For Mick to re-arrange his life to attend the funeral of someone so far away that he barely knew showed to me the compassion and integrity of his family. His wife went to the funeral of another member of James’ truck, Lance Corporal Casey L. Casanova. I think that speaks volumes about C.J. as well.

Throughout this whole ordeal the Marines made sure James was taken care of. Every step of the way, from his arrival to the states until the graveside services were complete he had a Marine escort. His best friend from boot camp made sure he made it up to Ohio for the services. Every Marine, both active and those who were long since active duty, made sure to personally pay their respects. I was witness to the saying “Once a Marine, always a Marine.� Everything really went above and beyond what I thought would have happened. I told several people that now I really understand what it means to be a Marine. Those are some of the most loyal people on this earth.

We also discovered the Patriot Guard Riders (http://www.patriotguard.org/). The Patriot Guard Riders are a fantastic group of people. I sincerely urge you to check them out. We also had members of the Leathernecks Motorcycle Club in attendance. These are mostly no longer active duty Marines and another great bunch.

So very many people wanted to help, show support or just be there for us to talk. I was amazed and flabbergasted by the overwhelming show of support both locally and here in cyberspace. For the most part I am a pretty independent person. I generally do not like to rely on other people and like to keep my personal life, well, personal. What I have discovered is that there are times such as these that having family and friends to lean on is a good thing. Swallowing my pride is not always easy but sometimes necessary. I have to say “Thank You� to everyone that wrote, called, helped out in any way. It certainly restores my faith in my fellow man. And we are so very, very thankful.

Lance Corporal James Kimple was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. He was not only our son, but a husband, a father, a brother and a very loyal friend. We all miss you. We are all eternally proud of you. Thank you, James, for being a part of our lives.

• 26 Comments
• Lance Corporal James Kimple, Marines, Iraq

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