As usual, it was another wild week in NASCAR world, so let's get this party [and my jokes, it's all in fun] started:
As for my comments on the Winston Cup weekend at Charlotte, NBC / TNT's television coverage of same, etc.,…
1.) As always, time for my thoughts on Mother Nature…Believe it or not, she actually gets a "Thumbs Up" for raining out the Busch race last Friday night at Charlotte, so that we could see it live on Saturday morning (otherwise, it would have been tape-delayed Saturday afternoon, thanks to the dopes at TNT). Even though final Winston Cup practice was cancelled last Friday, it didn't rain on Saturday night, and we saw a great race at Lowe's Motor Speedway…Well, until the end, when there were no post-race interviews - Don't worry, I'll get to that later.
2.) "Thumbs Up" to no pre-race segments (like "Wally's World" or "Dave Discovers") so that we could see the return of the Black # 3 to the racetrack. Even though it was only for pace laps and driven by Richard Childress, it meant a lot to thousands of race fans everywhere. 'Nuff said.
And "Thumbs Up" to Jeff Gordon for ignoring Benny Parsons in the booth when he was trying to talk to Jeff while he was going around the track alongside Childress. Gordon was probably caught up in the moment, too, and no words were needed. Besides, if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand.
But (you knew a "but" was coming), "Thumbs Down" to Carmen Electra being a part of the festivities, acting as Grand Marshal. Look, just because she had the night off from "Stripper School" doesn't mean we want her at the racetrack getting the honor to tell Richard Childress to "start car # 3".
3.) "Thumbs Up" to the debut of a new Victory Junction Gang camp commercial, featuring several drivers in the background "helping out"…But there's no truth to the rumor that Mike Helton was sitting on the sidelines, "supervising", while eating a bag of white chocolate-covered Oreo's.
4.) "Thumbs Up" to Tony Stewart and his team for a job well done, and a win well-deserved; and thank goodness we saw a race won by the fastest car instead of fuel mileage. Congratulations to the #20 race team.
I don't have much more to say about the race, for various reasons (sorry, I'm a huge baseball fan, in addition to NASCAR, and have been a bit distracted this week by the playoffs); besides, I really wanted to save my energy to vent about no post-race interviews...
5.) Okay, this has been building, and it's time to let loose..."THUMBS DOWN!!!" to NBC for quickly cutting away from race coverage last Saturday night with no post-race interviews, or even letting us watch Tony Stewart drive to Victory Lane! That was absolutely pathetic.
I don't want to hear any sorry excuses either. Either the local news, or that over-rated twit, Justin Timberlake (hosting "Saturday Night Live") could have been put off for five or ten minutes, so that we could at least have gotten to see the winner interviewed in Victory Lane!
I'm sure the NBC "suits" probably claim that there was nothing they could do to change any of the schedule [not even for five minutes?] because of prior broadcast obligations…Well, they're either lying, or stupid, or both. It's official…NBC now stinks.
I'm sick and tired of all these TV network executives running things being "higher than Rush Limbaugh at a Mexican pharmacy"; not having a clue what's really going on, NOT CARING ABOUT THE FANS (except for their money), and making bad decisions when it comes to programming.
Ahh…I feel better now, and am stepping down from my soapbox.
Now my thoughts on other "interesting" NASCAR news that occurred over the past week…
6.) So Silly Season is in full swing (as usual), and drivers are changing cars more than they change their underpants. Nobody ever wants to comment on anything until it's absolutely official and set in stone, so they continue to sell us "high quality, Grade 'A', pure cut, B.S." - Don't you just love it? Sarcasm emphasized. But seriously, Silly Season is "what makes the NASCAR world go round", and I wouldn't have it any other way.
It's that time again. Time for my famous (or infamous?) "Quote of the Week Award" (now at the end of my Friday columns). There's always at least one funny and/or interesting quote made by someone during the race weekend (in my humble opinion):
~ I think the best quote was the one reported by Bill Weber that Robbie Reiser (Matt Kenseth's crew chief) told his team after having trouble two weeks in a row (at Talladega and Kansas). Reiser said: "If we all simply pull on the rope in the same direction, we'll be fine"…Reiser was right, because Kenseth bounced back at Charlotte with another Top 10 finish.
That's all for now. Until next time…be safe. And God bless America - 9/11: "We will never forget".
On a side-note, for those of you that live in the following areas, be sure to tune into "Trouble in Turn Two", on North Carolina's Talk Station: WTKF FM 107.3 - Atlantic, NC; and WJNC AM 1240 - Jacksonville/Camp LeJeune, NC. The live radio show airs this Saturday night from 8:00PM to 10:00PM, and I will be a guest on the show with Mike "from Saddle River" and Dave "from Wilson Bay" to discuss all the latest NASCAR news and race reports. Thanks guys!
Heather@insidethepitbox.com
