Sponsors and NBC By-Rob Faiella Check out ALL our sections and features here!! There is plenty to keep you busy on our main page! NBC has come forth and said that the rumored tape delay of the Daytona 500 is not true. Now, either they never planned it, or they changed their minds. The whole TV deal thing got me thinking about last year. Remember when FOX showed graphics of the cars and only put sponsor graphics on the guys who paid for ad time? I remember going nuts and screaming at the TV that this was an outrage and I was going to write to everyone and to my Senator and the President. This is how Nascar stays alive and if you shun the money, you kill the game. So, in anticipation of more shunning of our major sponsors this season, I have decided to do my part and throw in a few plugs. I am going to describe my weekend and I may embellish a bit and toss some product names around, but hey, these guys pay for my favorite passion to continue, so they deserve it. I awoke on Saturday in a pile of beer cans, some Budweiser, a few Coors light and even a Miller Lite. My hangover was terrible and I needed to eat. Hmm.. Kellogg's, Cheerios ? What did I want? I settled on just your basic cup of Hill's Bro's coffee and decided to hit the shower. I felt like I had been run over by a tractor, a Caterpillar no less. After the shower I sat in front of the TV and watched some shows on my new Sirius Satellite Dish. Then I remembered that I needed to tune-up my car or there was no way it would last until the end of the week. So, off to my local Goodwrench dealer. I told him to give me an oil change and to check my Interstate Battery. He asked if I wanted Valvoline, Pennzoil or Havoline in my car and I told him it didn't matter. While I was waiting I noticed a Target across the street. I walked over there to get some Tide, I was out, and I also needed a new Dewalt drill. Since I had time, I decided to comparison shop at K-mart for the home products and at Home Depot and Lowe's for the drill. I picked up a few things and headed back to the dealer. My car was done and I left. I cranked up my Delphi radio and hit the road. One problem, gas was low. As I was talking on my Sprint PCS phone to the Alltel store comparing plans, I ran out of gas. Fortunately I was in front of a Citgo and I coasted in. The girl working there looked familiar and when I approached her, she thanked me for a wonderful evening. I told her that I didn't remember a thing. She pointed to a brand new Dodge in the lot and asked if I remembered racing her the night before for a "special" bet. I drew a blank. The car was painted in that Dupont Chromalusion paint and looked neat, but I still couldn't remember. She told me to go see Jill at the Napa store down the road and she would explain. I saw Jill and she was busy selling some guy these Motorcraft parts. She didn't have the exact part, but she said she could have it shipped by UPS overnight. Jill walked up to me and handed me a Kodak camera. She scribbled something on it with a Sharpie marker and said for me to call her on her Cingular Wireless phone after I developed the film. She gave me her AOL e-mail address also. So as I left, headed for the Photo-Mart to get the film developed, she laughed and said, "How many blue M&M's did you have, stud?" I said, "What do you mean?" She replied, "You know, Viagra, little blue pills, you are the man Rob!!" I get the pictures back tomorrow, this should be interesting. Now, this story may not have been important, but Sponsors are and we can not let the networks or Nascar take them for granted or our sport will suffer tremendously. Support the guys who support our sport and let's help keep it growing! Until next time... Thanks and keep reading! Rob RobFaiella@insidethepitbox.com Check out ALL our sections and features here!! There is plenty to keep you busy on our main page! (Editors Note:The views and opinions of our writers are just that, theirs. If you have comments, write to them. We take no responsibility for their articles... Do you blame us?) Article archives Return to the Main Page