tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23526855284432608792024-03-12T23:14:02.255-04:00Gallivan at SmithA little bit of everything. Daily life, racing, working, loving.James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.comBlogger431125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-19215325011626473852021-02-12T17:19:00.000-05:002021-02-12T17:19:12.030-05:00February Highs and Lows<p> Hello, I hope everyone has had a good holiday season and are surviving the winter. My biggest fear is that 2021 is going to be just as bad or worse than was 2020, but I try to remain positive. </p><p>Racing is back, and it's only 3 days until the Daytona 500. The great American race is most welcome this time of year. I don't get into racing as much as I used to, but I'm hoping to stay in tune with the sport this year. I don't even know who some of the drivers are, and I did not pay much attention to the silly season. I found it interesting that Bubba Wallace, in his new 23XI ride, did an admirable job in qualifying and in his Dual race yesterday. Granted that Gibbs equipment is probably better than Petty's these days, it seems that the 23 is going to be an unofficial 5th team for Gibbs. Either way, I wish the 23 team well, and welcome to NASCAR, Michael Jordan.</p><p>I hope to be posting more often now, at least this month. Stay tuned!</p>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-43522029275805950772020-11-25T09:06:00.001-05:002020-11-25T09:06:41.484-05:00Happy Thanksgiving<p> I hope today finds you well. November has been a difficult month, as has been all of the year 2020 for nearly all of us.</p><p>I have much to be thankful for, though. I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and my heath continues to improve after several years of not so good health. I'm very thankful for all of that.</p><p>I'm thankful to be living in a country which is basically still free, though a lot of elected officials are trying their best to change that. I pray that the seemingly dwindling number of politicians who believe in freedom will find the fortitude to do what's right for the people who elected them. </p><p>I pray that you find much to be thankful for. I pray that you find peace and happiness this holiday season.</p>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-48560385721028231462020-11-09T11:15:00.000-05:002020-11-09T11:15:03.990-05:00Happy November!<p> I hope all are well, as I am. I just want to make a note regarding social media and my future involvement.</p><p>I joined Twitter and Facebook well over a decade ago. Facebook is a great place to keep in touch with family and friends. Twitter is great for live updates, such as in keeping track of NASCAR races. Both sites did their jobs well. Both, however, have become political to an extreme. Politics is fine, but censorship favoring one ideology in order to manipulate election outcomes is unacceptable to me.</p><p>I will be transitioning away from both platforms and will be using Parler as my primary social media interface. You can find me there at @jimcinsc which is the same as my Twitter handle.</p><p>I hope to shift away from politics on Parler and get racing discussions started there. I will be exploring Parler's and other forums' capabilities in the next few weeks. I invite your suggestions and input on creating a racing based forum this winter.</p><p>Enjoy the day and the season!</p><p><br /></p><p>Jim</p>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-6137343052889501742020-10-23T05:51:00.004-04:002020-10-23T05:51:59.603-04:00Howdy<p> It's less than 2 weeks until election day, so make sure you vote. Remember to research all the candidates on your ballot. Some of the local races you'll be voting in can be crucial.</p><p>The weather is cooler, and it's a great time to be outdoors. Here in South Carolina, at least my part of it, there isn't much in the way of leaf color, but I drove a few miles north yesterday, and it's almost upon us. This is my favorite time of the year.</p><p>Have a great day and a great autumn.</p>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-84283480040323886082020-10-02T09:10:00.003-04:002020-10-02T09:10:46.817-04:00Greetings!<p> Today is Friday, and it's finally October, the temperatures are getting cooler, and the day is sunny. Altogether, it's a nice day. I hope yours is as well.</p><p>I'm working on getting this site back to some sort of regularity, but bandwidth has been my enemy as of late, but hopefully that will not be as much of an issue soon.</p><p>The presidential debate was ridiculous. Nobody watching that debacle changed sides. I know who I'm voting for, and so do you, so let's just leave it at that.</p><p>NASCAR announced a dirt race at Bristol in 2021, which personally, I'm excited about. The last top level dirt race was in the old Grand National (Pre Winston Cup) in 1970. I say bring it on. Dirt is where it all started, and I'm excited to see it again. </p><p>I wish you happiness today and every day.</p><p>Until later.</p>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-77686115135032612172020-09-25T09:17:00.000-04:002020-09-25T09:17:10.742-04:00Still In Progress!<p> Working around the clock for your enjoyment. Oh, wait, that's a lie!😂</p><p>Stay with me. We'll get there. I promise, and this time I mean it.</p><p><br /></p>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-16245948324213027232020-08-25T22:26:00.000-04:002020-08-25T22:26:00.733-04:00<p> This is an all new blog. I apologize for it's rough look right now, but that will come along in time. It's great to be writing again, and I look forward to doing this.</p><p>About me? I'm the guy who ran the Jimmy C blog for a few years. I'm still Jimmy, or Jim, or just plain old James if you like. I moved to my current house 4 months ago, and I'm still settling in. I still enjoy NASCAR, but am not as invested in the sport as I used to be. Too many changes, many of which I consider to be idiotic, but I have to give kudos to the sport for trudging onward through the pandemic. NASCAR has provided a template which is being followed by other sports, and I'm glad to see that.</p><p>I'm going to try to provide commentary on this site that hopefully will be pertinent to today's issues. I'm a conservative, not a Republican. I don't belong to a party, but am open to new ideas, but I'm seeing many old hatreds being rekindled by both sides lately. It's truly sad to see. </p><p>I lost my wife back in February of this year. We had not been together for years. We reconnected in November of last year, but she died of cancer. It's a horrible, ugly disease, and I'm glad she's not in so much pain anymore. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HK6iDWZLk70/X0XHsNsakdI/AAAAAAAAGsY/EKN7p-0glsgeuyD9aKp1ApkWxCkD7NqQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_20200825_122153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HK6iDWZLk70/X0XHsNsakdI/AAAAAAAAGsY/EKN7p-0glsgeuyD9aKp1ApkWxCkD7NqQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_20200825_122153.jpg" /></a></div> <p></p><p><br /></p><p>This is the reason for the new name. I'll leave it to you to figure out the rest. I'll be back with many more changes and improvements soon, God willing.</p><p>Take care. Take your time. Life is too short to screw it up.</p><p>Goodbye for now.</p>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-818812082874178602020-08-25T00:20:00.000-04:002020-08-25T00:20:08.084-04:00<p> Something new is coming soon. Stay turned for Gallivan at Smith. Starting hopefully on August 25, 2020.</p>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-27323050181849892142017-09-06T23:32:00.001-04:002017-09-06T23:32:46.607-04:00It's a work in progress.We are getting closer to launch. Be patient! You will be rewarded!James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-47160684313294506672017-07-29T19:49:00.002-04:002017-07-29T19:49:42.029-04:00Greetings, my friends. This site is most definitely under construction. Not only is the name changing, but the focus is as well.<br />
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NASCAR fans, don't worry. We'll still talk racing. I'm just working on getting this site running again and branching out into different areas as well. As was before, I'll never publish anything you would not want your kids or your grandma to read.<br />
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Stay tuned while I get this 🔥 lit!<br />
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Thanks,<br />
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James CrooksJames Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-70903436309142497392014-07-30T13:14:00.000-04:002014-07-30T13:14:22.170-04:00Not Nascar Related. Not much, at leastI'm now back in what I consider my home, a place about 10 miles north of Greer, South Carolina. There is no town here, but we call it Blue Ridge, since Blue Ridge High and Middle Schools are located nearby. I graduated from Blue Ridge High School in 1981. The building in which I attended school no longer exists, but the new middle school stands on the site. When I was in school, there was no middle school in the area.<br />
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The area in which I live is not considered the mountains, but neither is it considered the Piedmont area, which stretches from northern Alabama to Virginia. Where I live is the foothills. The Piedmont is south of here, where the land gradually gets a little flatter.<br />
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Foothills they are too, no doubt. I can see the Blue Ridge Mountains from here clearly. It's not steep, but it's hilly. Roads are generally winding up and down, left and right. I probably live on one of the few straight roads in the area, and it's a small two lane road about 2 and a half miles long. It's not flat, but the rises and valleys are gentle.<br />
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When I was a kid, we played football, basketball, and baseball. Our favorite sport on TV though was stock car racing, in the form of the Grand National Series, which later became the Winston Cup Series, which is now the Sprint Cup Series.<br />
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We watched drivers such as Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Isaac, Ned Jarrett, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, and many, many others that partook of the various tracks that abounded all around the nation in those days. The racing was door handle to door handle, and we were always on the edge of our seats, or had our hands dug into the rugs or carpet as we watched the races unfold. Often the race was at least a week old, but we didn't care. If it was on TV, it was new and exciting to kids like me.<br />
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I didn't grow up in a poor family, as many did around this area at the time. My dad was an engineer and made good money. He always provided us with everything we ever needed. My dad grew up in the 1930's though, and he was the 6th of 7 children. He WAS poor when he was a kid, and he taught my brothers and sister and me to pinch pennies from an early age. In between jobs, I've had the opportunity to hone those skills over the recent years.<br />
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In my family, Nascar was not a way of life. Getting up and going to school, and later going to work and making a living were the norms. I seemed to be the only child of a fairly normal family to become infected with Nascar fever.<br />
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A turning point in my life occurred in 1993, when Davey Allison died. I was driving to Atlanta, Ga every day, and for several days after I heard of Davey's crash at Talladega Speedway, I looked to the west, and thought I saw Davey in the clouds far off in the west of Atlanta. I never met Davey Allison, but felt like I knew him, even in those far off days before Twitter and Facebook.<br />
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Another turning point was on February 18, 2001. Dale Earnhardt died. I didn't mourn for a day. I mourned for probably a year. Maybe more. Maybe I still am mourning. Of course I am. To me and millions of other fans, Dale was the man who could never die. He did though. I never really met Dale Earnhardt either, but I was a fan of the man who could never be underestimated. <br />
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These days, I'm mostly a fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr. I'm also a fan of Kevin Harvick, and Kasey Kahne. I'm a fan of Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, and even Danica Patrick. I'm even a grudging fan of Kurt Busch. In the Nationwide series, I love what Casey Elliot is doing. <br />
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I've been lucky enough to attend several races, and even meet a few of my heroes, which is basically anyone who has ever driven at the highest level of stock car racing. For a boy from the hills of the Blue Ridge, it's an honor.<br />
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<br />James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-52455086452290716422014-07-14T12:29:00.002-04:002014-07-14T12:29:54.309-04:00Lazy, Crazy Days of SummerAs the remaining "regular season" races begin to wind down, the scramble begins in earnest for the teams on the outside of the Chase trying to break their way in. So far, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have virtually clinched Chase berths with multiple wins and points. It's safe to say that probably anyone who has won a race so far in 2014 will be in the Chase as well, but there are no real guarantees.<br />
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I have complained loudly about NASCAR's ability to screw up a perfectly good thing by monkeying around with such things as points, the Car of Tomorrow, the infamous splitter, and numerous other changes that have taken place since Brian France took over the reigns of my favorite sport.<br />
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This time, though, I think NASCAR got it right.<br />
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The complaint in the past has been that not enough emphasis was placed on winning races. That's changed. You pretty much have to win to get into the Chase now. Even one win does not necessarily guarantee a Chase spot. <br />
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Consistency is also important in the road to the Chase. Putting together a good string of top 5 and top 10 finishes definitely increases your ability to get into the Chase early. A team that is assured of a spot early can afford to experiment more, and get set up for the actual Chase for the Cup. A team that's fighting their way in has to protect itself at all costs and not have a bad finish, or else their hopes for a championship may go down the drain.<br />
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I don't often compliment NASCAR, but I see the new points structure as one of the best changes they've made in recent years.<br />
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A shout out to my new favorite writer, PattyKay Lilley at Racefansforever.weebly.com Click <a href="http://racefansforever.weebly.com/you-asked-for-it--brian-and-the-rta.html">here</a> for PattyKay's latest.<br />
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On to Indy after a weekend off!<br />
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<br />James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-12709872067427976512014-07-11T11:18:00.001-04:002014-07-11T11:18:54.582-04:00The First Grand National Race That I RememberThat I remember in any kind of detail, that is. I was about 8 years old when this race took place. I knew people who went to the race, and I was envious. I remember that some radio station (WESC?) broadcast the race, and if I'm not mistaken, Ken Squier and the Motor Racing Network. The highlights were shown on ABC's Wide World of Sports.<br />
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I don't remember specifically when I became aware of Barney Hall. It was during that period in the early 1970's that I listened to, and watched whatever highlights I could find on Wide World of Sports and the local news. I read everything there was having to do with racing in the <i>Greenville News</i>. I loved everything there was about stock car racing.<br />
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I had watched coverage of some of the other types of racing as well. The Indy 500. Lemans. Sebring. I like them all, but there was something special about stock car racing. It was local! This was all happening right here in the town in which I grew up. People like David Pearson and James Hylton lived just 20 miles from where I did. Even the great Richard Petty lived just a couple hours up the road.<br />
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The race below, I was happy to see, is the full race. It even has commercials, and very few of them by today's standards. The great Jim McKay called it, and I'm sure Ken and Barney were probably there as well, though I don't remember specifically.<br />
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Over the years, my love of stock car racing has only grown. Barney Hall eventually became a voice I knew very, very well. He had the accent, the voice, the personality that could have belonged to a cousin, a neighbor. He sounded like us! Since Barney Hall came from Elkin, North Carolina, that's not big surprise. He <i>was</i> practically a neighbor!<br />
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To me, Barney Hall was a given. He was always there. Week in and week out, if I couldn't see the race on TV, I knew I could always hear Barney Hall and MRN, unless it was one of those tracks where PRN did the broadcasts.<br />
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A year or so ago, I became aware that Barney had some health issues, and was not on the broadcasts for quite a while. I was concerned. It was like hearing that a favorite uncle was ill. Not the the other guys, such as Joe Moore, Winston Kelley, Alex Striegle, and all the rest don't do a great job, because the do. For me, Barney Hall is the connection between past and present. Now that Barney won't be the regular play by play announcer, and era has ended. For that, I am sad, but grateful that the broadcasts will continue with the rest of the crew, who have proven that they can perform up to Barney's standards.<br />
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In my usual disjointed way, I will now digress back to the title topic of this piece, which is the 1971 Greenville 200, which took place at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Pickens County, SC on April 10th, 1971. GPS had just been paved for the first time the year before, so this was almost like a brand new track for the drivers that day.<br />
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Back in the old days, Cup teams used to regularly test at Greenville-Pickens before heading off for the Cup races at Martinsville Speedway. The corners are flat, and it proved to be a good track to set up for Martinsville. I have been to many races at this track, which is still in use today. I wish I had seen a Grand National race there, but I didn't and those days are gone forever.<br />
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Here's to the past. Here's to the present. Here's to the future.<br />
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Here's to Barney Hall. Thank you Barney. May you find joy in all you future endeavors.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LueNWi3Gdj0" width="459"></iframe>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-90368551178525583222013-03-21T22:02:00.002-04:002013-03-21T22:02:26.364-04:00I'm Sorry, FolksI have been out of the loop quite a bit over the last couple of years as far as this site goes. I've been working a lot, and I just don't have the time to do this much, at least not for now.<br />
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I wish I could, because I really would like to make much, much more of this site, but that's just not possible with my work schedule right now.<br />
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I am going to suspend operations on this site until I have more time to spend on it. I hope someday I can make a real go of it. The daily demands of time just make this impossible for me to carry on. <br />
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I'm keeping the site, but don't expect much from me in the next few months, because there won't be much, if anything.<br />
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I remain a dedicated fan of NASCAR, and all things NASCAR, but I just don't have the time to keep up with all I need to do to keep this site current.<br />
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Happy racing. I'll talk to you when I have more time to spend on my passion, which is stock car auto racing.<br />
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JimJames Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-74193012942972604222012-08-19T11:52:00.000-04:002012-08-19T11:52:51.270-04:00Let's go Michigan!For a change, I'm at home to watch a race. The last time NASCAR ran at Brooklyn, Michigan was in June, and that was the first win for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for a long time.<br />
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Can Dale Jr. do it again? The odds are against him, since wrecking his primary car during Happy Hour puts him at the back of the field. Can he do it? Of course he can.<br />
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I'm looking forward to watching a race live today, instead of getting my information second hand.<br />
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I hope everyone has a great day and I hope we have a safe, competitive, and fun race.James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-82198174359037985862012-07-20T21:35:00.000-04:002012-07-20T21:35:00.981-04:00With apologies to all of you.The time I've had to spend on this site has been limited over the last several months, and even the last year and a half or so for a variety of reasons. I apologize for not posting more, but I will try to post more during the second half of the NASCAR season.<br />
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In some ways, I like the racing more this year than in some of the last few years. To me, the competition is good, and many, if not most of the races are close, right up to the last lap.<br />
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I know many fair weather racing fans have lost interest in the sport over the last few years, for a variety of reasons. I have not lost my interest. I watch as many of the races as I can, and read at least a little bit of racing news every day. I have hopes of traveling to either Atlanta or Charlotte later this year and attend a race for the first time in a while. I feel like it's important to recharge the batteries once in a while and actually be at the track. I'm going to make a real effort to do so in the coming months.<br />
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How about that Dale Jr.? He finally got the monkey off his back with a win, which I celebrated along with some of my fellow Junior fans. It's great to see the consistency keeping him up front all season. A couple more wins and he might be the man to beat in the Chase.<br />
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Overall, I've enjoyed this racing season. Probably, I've enjoyed it more than last year or the year before. Jr.'s win notwithstanding, I feel like the racing is better this year, for some reason. I can't really put my finger on the exact reason why.<br />
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Congratulations to Delana and Kevin Harvick and Krissie and Ryan Newman for recent additions to their families. I wish all the mothers and fathers and children my very best wishes.<br />
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You can find me on Twitter and Facebook when I'm not here. Give me a shout sometime and let me know what you're doing and what you think about the current state of stock car racing. I'd love to hear from you!<br />
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Much, much more to come soon.<br />
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In the immortal words of Joe Cartoon, "Stay tuned, I'm going to do it again!"James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-9546966944371599852012-02-18T13:53:00.000-05:002012-02-18T13:58:11.065-05:00Apologies to Dale Earnhardt Jr.I've been somewhat tough on Dale Jr. over the last few years. He's one of my favorite drivers. He has been since he's been racing. Like millions of other Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, I've been bewildered by his lack of points wins over the last few years.<br />
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In past lives, I've been a bit of a hellraiser, but tried not to be a lawbreaker. I understand the desire to celebrate life's small victories. Since 2001, Dale Jr. has curtailed that habit quite a bit. So have I. I'm a lot older than Dale Earnhardt Jr. so I should have learned that lesson a little earlier, but being me, it took a while.<br />
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For too long, the expectation has been there that Dale the younger would become Dale the older. That's simply an unreasonable expectation, and I've come to realize that. My dad is my hero, much like Dale was Dale Jr.'s hero. My dad fought in a war in Europe in the 1940's. Since I was born in the 1960's, I'll obviously never be able to duplicate that.<br />
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The death of a parent is a sobering moment. It was for Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was for me. I lost my mom, who was the one person who I think ever totally understood me. She died on November 15, 2010. I was involved earlier with a marriage that practically no one knows about. My best friend and soul mate, next to my my mom, Laura, had died earlier that year. I'm keeping the exact date private, for reasons that are known only to Laura and me.<br />
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Mom and Laura defined my existence for a couple or more years, especially toward the end. I saw Laura dying, and there was nothing I could do about it. I loved her, took care of her, and tried my best to make her comfortable until she finally passed away. I did the same with my mother. Many more people were involved with both, and if you're reading these words, you know who you are. Laura died of lieukemia. My mom died of complications from Altzheimers. I was in a funk for a while. I tried to get out of it, but couldn't seem to.<br />
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A former boss and a friend from a company that I used to work for called me and offered me a job, which was good, since I'd been mostly out of work for the past year. Working made me feel good, and I'm still working there now. Today, I'm a reasonably happy guy, looking forward to new opportunities as they come along. I'm not totally healed from the year 2010, and I probably never will be, but I'm working on it. I have sad days, just remembering people who are gone now, but I'm alive, strangely enough, and I'm looking forward to being part of something again. When I went back to work, I had exactly $7.00. That was it. Thanks to Tim, Brian, Judy and all the others that made this happen. You were all a Godsend to me, though I probably didn't realize it at the time.<br />
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Dale Jr. had a landlord, a boss, a person mapping out his career, and a father when Dale Earnhardt died on February 18, 2001. Dale Jr. lost the most important person in his life. Dale was Dale Jr.'s hero. Dale Jr. was expected to fill his father's shoes<br />
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Think about it. Who could fill Dale Earnhardt's shoes? Kevin Harvick, who took over as driver for the team at Rockingham, never minced words about it. He's in the car, but he is not the answer to replace Dale Earnhart, who once drove the very same car Kevin was driving. Richard Childress, the owner of the team, wisely painted the car white and chose a different number. The 29 seems to have worked out pretty well so far.<br />
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Dale Jr. is his own man. He's got sucessful business ventures going on. Dale Jr. is a sucessful business man. He's a good driver. He takes care of his family. In other words, he's a good guy. To me, Dale Jr. is a good guy, leading by example. He took care of all the family he could. I'm trying to do the same. <br />
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I don't care if Dale Jr. ever wins another race. I've now walked a mile or two in his shoes, though without the media scrutiny that's had to endure. I couldn't imagine putting up with all that Dale Jr. has had to over the last 11 years. I would have faded out and become a recluse. Dale Jr. has soldiered on. <br />
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Give him the respect that he deserves. He's earned it. <br />
<br />James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-14566979450311201482012-02-10T21:56:00.001-05:002012-02-10T21:56:56.166-05:00Ready, Ready, Green Green Green! Go Go Go!<span lang="EN">The Budweiser Shootout is almost upon us! I’m all atwitter, trying to figure out my wardrobe. I just don’t know what to wear! <br />
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Of course, I’ll probably be watching the first real action of the 2012 NASCAR season from my home, alone, but wardrobe is important for the breaking of the ice, so to speak. Mostly I’m not worried about my clothes, I’m wondering which hat to wear.<br />
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I’m jazzed this year. There are a lot of changes in the works. Mark Martin is no longer at Hendrick, but will be sharing a ride with Michael Waltrip in the 55 Toyota. Kasey Kahne will be filling Mark’s old spot in the 5 car, even though he’s still recovering from knee surgery. <br />
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Kasey Kahne, I hope, is in for the ride of his life. He’s got the best stuff he’ll probably ever have, and I think the man has the talent to make it work. I’m hoping some young blood at RHR will revitalize the other 3 drivers as well. (Those of you who know me know who I’m really talking about.)<br />
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It’s a brand new season. We’re wiping the slate clean. All of our favorite drivers are tied in points right now, and will be until the end of the Daytona 500. This is the best time of the year, anticipating what’s going to happen, talking smack with other racing fans, just getting in the groove for the long haul that will find a champion in November, which is thankfully so many, many months away. NASCAR still has the longest season in sports, and I’m thankful for that. I can only take so much dormancy.<br />
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Best of luck to all the drivers, teams, fans, and officials. I hope we don’t have any tragedies this year in the stock car racing world. If you’re going to the races, be careful out there. The fan that get’s run over might be you!<br />
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Racing is fun. It’s supposed to be fun. Have a beer or two, but please don’t drive when you’ve had one too many. Let’s keep racing fun, and not add to the morbid side of the sport by being a statistic.<br />
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Let’s get ready, ready, ready, Green, green, green, go, go, go!</span>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-91956632766420046422012-02-05T00:17:00.001-05:002012-02-05T00:17:29.549-05:00About the art work aboveIt's awesome. I love it. I will give the creator credit if I can find it. I hate posting pics without giving the photog or creator credit. If you created this pic, please let me know with details, and I will either give you full credit or remove it, at your request.<br />
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I'm not trying to rip anyone off here, so I'll use it until I hear otherwise.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
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Jimmy CJames Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-21742965519244337862012-02-04T22:11:00.000-05:002012-02-04T22:11:27.514-05:00Are You Ready for Speed Weeks?I know I am. For many NASCAR fans, including myself, that anticipation leading up to the Daytona 500 is almost palpable. The fact that it's finally February makes a tingle go up my leg. Hey, Chris Matthews has President Obama, I have NASCAR!<br />
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I'm anxious to see how the new rules for the plate tracks (Daytona and Talladega) are going to play out in the actual races. I'm really hoping to see a break from the tandem drafting we saw last year. Some drivers liked it, some didn't. Some fans liked it, some didn't. I didn't.<br />
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My biggest problem with tandem drafting was the total dependence of a team mate or drafting partner. A driver could do virtually nothing on his own. If the guy he was drafting with couldn't run well, neither would he. He either had to find a new drafting partner, or drop out of contention. To me, that's not racing.<br />
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After Daytona, I still miss the show going to Rockingham, but I guess that's what's called progress. Either way, I'm just ready for all the excitement that Speed Weeks brings, because it signals something meaningful to look forward to every weekend!<br />
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Let's light this firecracker!James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-90862137376775933762012-01-28T23:19:00.000-05:002012-01-28T23:19:24.785-05:00Johnny Van Zant - American HeroNow that I'm back online, I've been catching up a little. I've been watching a lot of music, including one of my favorites, Lynyrd Skynyrd.<br />
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I don't know that anyone on earth could have possibly taken the place of Ronnie Van Zant, who died in a plane crash in 1977, but his younger brother took on the task, and has done an excellent job. Johnny has a presense on stage that almost rivals his brother's.<br />
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The amazing thing about Ronnie Van Zant was his presence. He walked out on every stage like he owned it, the joint they were playing in, and the city where the venue was located. In person, he was rather soft spoken, almost shy. Johnny has been doing that pretty well since his first appearance with the band.<br />
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Lynyrd Skynyrd is iconic in southern culture. If you're under the age of 80 and live in my part of the country, you've heard them. If you haven't heard "Sweet Home Alabama", "Tuesday's Gone", "Simple Man", or "Free Bird", you're missing a lot of American culture, especially the southern part of it.<br />
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Kudos to Johnny Van Zant, carrying on in the tradition of his big brother and keeping the music alive.James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-71814235263248030432012-01-04T21:54:00.000-05:002012-01-04T21:54:27.035-05:00I Noticed Something TodayThis piece is not in the least way NASCAR related, so if you surfed in here to read it, I'm sorry. I would like to share with you a personal reflection though.<br />
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Today, I arrived back at work after my lunch break. I didn't eat lunch, but I got some stuff accomplished. I don't have a key to my part of the building so I had to wait until the guy that did have the key got back. I parked in front of a chain link fence looking down the side of the steel warehouse that I work in. From where I sat I could see the truck docks that supplied and relieved the building that I worked in. Close to me, there was a small patch of grass beside the building, leading up to the heat pump that supplied cold and hot air to the section of the building in which I work.<br />
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When I stopped watching the activity of the truck currently parked in our dock, my attention shifted to the small patch of grass directly in front of me. I noticed there were some small birds, gray on the back and wings, with white bellies. They were pecking around on the grass. Apparently they were finding something worth their time, because there were several of them pecking around.<br />
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I have to admit that I became lost in that moment. These tiny birds were finding some sort of sustenance right here on our little patch of lawn here in early January. Even here in this part of the south, winters can be cold and brutal, at least by our standards. This morning it was 19 F. when I left home. Sunny south? Sure.<br />
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It occurred to me that I didn't know what kind of birds these were. When I was a child, my father taught me a lot about birds. My father was not an expert, but he knew a lot about birds. He taught me a lot about the birds that he had seen around where ever he was, which included Europe in the early 1940s. He always liked birds and studied them. Around his house there are probably a handful of bird guides.<br />
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These birds were surrounded by a chain link fence topped with barbed wire. Not razor wire, just barbed wire. We really don't have that much to steal here. There is only one gate, which is open during the day, as it was today. The gate provides access for trucks going in and out of our modest facility. At my particular location, only 5 people work full time, including me.<br />
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While I watched the birds today, the gate was open. After I had watched them for about 5 minutes, the heat pump near them kicked on, and the birds scattered with that sudden noise. It wasn't that harsh of a noise, but it was sudden. The birds flew up, over the fence, into a nearby group of pine trees.<br />
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What struck me was that the birds could have exited the property by the gate, but they didn't have to. The fence that would have kept most people behind it was no problem for them. The fence was simply an obstacle to be overcome.<br />
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Sometimes I wonder how many of us live inside fences, circumstances from which we feel that we can never escape, and don't know that it's really as simple as spreading our wings and flying over. <br />
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I once knew a man who owned a dog, a big, healthy dog. I noticed that the dog would never jump over or climb under a hassock that the man set out in a doorway. I asked the man why the dog stayed behind that hassock. The man told me that the dog stays behind the hassock because he does not know that he could easily jump over or climb under it. The dog could easily do either but he never knew he could.<br />
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Are we this way? I sometimes wonder. Are we like the little birds out there just looking for a scrap of food to keep us going? I know that I am sometimes.<br />
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I still don't know what kind of birds I saw today, but I'm going to pick out one of my Dad's guide books and try to identify them. I want to find a way to fly over that fence that I can't seem to get out of.<br />
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<br />James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-81981024627144252262012-01-03T21:14:00.001-05:002012-01-03T21:14:34.959-05:00We're Back!At least I hope so. I've been trying to get back to this for quite a while, and it has been a while, as you can see.<br />
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I'm hoping to make more changes to the site over the coming weeks and get back into the full swing of the season as the month of January goes along. I want to wish Tony Stewart and the entire 14 team, as well as all the good folks at Stewart-Haas Racing heartfelt congratulations over their NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in 2011. I also want to congratulate Ricky Stenhouse and Austin Dillon for their championships in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.<br />
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I was very impressed by how Tony Stewart and Darien Grubb overcame an obviously uncomfortable situation in the Chase. To have been told that your services will no longer be needed after the year and still manage to get your driver the championship took quite a lot of doing.<br />
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I can't wait until Daytona. This is a time of year full of anticipation for not only the fans, but also the drivers, teams and sponsors. It is a time for rebuilding and recharging the old batteries. It is a time for reflecting and reforming.<br />
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I wish everyone the best new year ever, and look forward to bringing you my perspective on the 2012 NASCAR season as it unfolds.<br />
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I'm looking forward to getting this party started! I hope you are too.<br />
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<br />James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-8967601042254126592011-06-26T19:22:00.000-04:002011-06-26T19:22:58.338-04:00Sorry.Sorry I haven't written much lately. Time is short, and I have a lot of commitments that keep me from posting here on a regular basis. I have been keeping up with the NASCAR scene though, and hope to back in somewhat of a regular mode here soon.<br />
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I'm looking at at a major redesign on this site as well, and that will hopefully be coming in the next few months. It's not that I don't like it the way it is, but I think I can improve it greatly, and bring more information to you, the reader on a timely basis. <br />
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For all of you how have followed me over the last few years, thank you. I hope to be back in touch with you soon.<br />
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Happy trails,<br />
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Jimmy C James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352685528443260879.post-57510011970457718042011-05-01T16:20:00.000-04:002011-05-01T16:20:28.568-04:00Getting A Better Picture... On The Radio<span lang="EN"> I watched approximately the first half of the Richmond Cup race on FOX at a friend’s house on Saturday night. I was enjoying the racing, as Richmond has always been one of my favorite tracks, which I can say about virtually every short track at which NASCAR conducts business.<br />
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Alas, the evening had to end, and I drove home, a trip of about 50 miles. Fortunately for me, I was able to listen to most of the second half of the race on a truly great radio station, WESC, 92.5 FM in Greenville, South Carolina. This station can be heard nearly all the way to Atlanta, and nearly all the way to Charlotte. WESC has been carrying the MRN and PRN broadcasts for at least three decades now. <br />
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Back before 2001, when NASCAR signed its TV deal with FOX, et al, I didn’t have cable or satellite TV for the most part. I occasionally caught a race on one of the broadcast networks when it was presented. Prior to 2001, however, I mostly got my NASCAR on the radio, and I don’t remember having any complaints about the coverage. When I caught a TV broadcast on ESPN or the old Nashville Network back in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, I loved the treatment that commentators such as Ned Jarrett and Neil Bonnett gave to the races.<br />
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In 2001, everything changed, of course. The new TV deal was inked, and once I had basic cable, I was able to watch every single NASCAR Sprint Cup race, as well as the Nationwide and Camping World Truck races. I know, I know, none of these three series were called by those names back in 2001, but for the sake of simplicity, I’ll just stick with their current names.<br />
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Since I’ve had basic cable, I have probably watched about 95 per cent of all the NASCAR races, plus quite a few ARCA races, as well as some IRL and F1 races. And then there’s the NHRA, but I won’t get into that. Obviously, I’ve missed a few races, but when I wasn’t near a TV, I always had old reliable, which of course is good old WESC, which in turn provided me with MRN and PRN broadcasts.<br />
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I’ve had my beefs with all of the TV networks which have broadcast NASCAR events since 2001. I feel that SPEED TV does a great job with the Camping World Truck races. I like Phil Parsons’ commentary nearly as much as I did his late brother Benny’s. If I had it my way, SPEED would broadcast all of the NASCAR races. I’m glad that FOX does about half of the Cup season, however, because I know that not everyone has cable or satellite TV. ESPN, with their sister network ABC, broadcast the late season Cup races. Unfortunately for those without the extra channels, mostly those races are broadcast on ESPN’s channels<br />
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Many have questioned the various networks’ commitment to NASCAR over the last few years. ESPN has been a point of contention for many journalists and pundits lately, and in a way, I see their point. From a NASCAR fan’s point of view, it may seem that ESPN doesn’t have the same level of commitment as, say FOX, SPEED, or the handful of races which are broadcast by TNT. All of the major networks, especially the broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) are not primarily sports networks. Sure, they make a lot of money from the sports that they do broadcast. FOX and CBS are doing quite well with their coverage of the NFL. NBC has been giving us the Sunday night NFL game. ESPN is the home of Monday Night Football. CBS and NBC have had great success with their late round PGA golf coverage. I don’t even know who does the NBA or NHL finals anymore, because I basically don’t care, unless my Celtics are playing. I live in South Carolina, so I probably couldn’t even name five NHL teams. Not that we don’t have hockey fans here, because we do, and even have a professional hockey team or two in the area. I just don’t have the time to pay much attention to them.<br />
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ESPN, however, is different from the other networks. ESPN covers virtually all sports known to mankind. If you’re a beach volleyball fan, and who isn’t, then ESPN is the place to be. If you like watching professional bowling, ESPN and it’s sister channels are only a remote click away. There are so many sports, and only so many hours in a given day, or week, or year, or for that matter, a lifetime. I’m willing to give ESPN a pass on scrimping a little when NASCAR coverage coincides with the NFL draft. In the USA, which is where ESPN’s primary audience resides, the NFL is king. Of course, I’m only talking about ESPN from a TV standpoint. ESPN.com provides in depth coverage on so many sports that it boggles the mind. At least my mind. I can read about sports I’ve never heard of, much less seen, all on one website. ESPN would need to have about a dozen more TV channels to give every sports fan what they want. Bandwidth is everything, and ESPN does an admirable job with what they’ve got. <br />
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I love ESPN. They rock. If I ever have to live without ESPN, I might spend the rest of my life mumbling to myself in a corner. Well, I mean more than I mumble to myself in a corner already. Remind me to tell you how I became a fan of the sport of curling some day. I’m not kidding. It’s now my second or third favorite sport.<br />
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I digress, as usual. The point of this little message from me to you is that I realized, about halfway home, listening to the Richmond race as it was called by MRN, was that I had what I felt was a more total picture of the race by listening to the radio than I had from watching the TV coverage that FOX provided. Over the years, I have heard of more than a few fans who told me that they turned on the TV coverage, and muted the sound. Then they turned on the radio and listened to Barney Hall, or whomever was broadcasting the races via radio.<br />
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I’ve seen the light. I think I’m going to start doing the same from now on. <br />
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I got home and fed the creatures who inhabit the property, and turned on the race on WESC while performing my chores. Finally, I turned on the TV, with the sound muted, though with closed captioning enabled. I saw the Richmond version of the ‘Big One’ that took out Jeff Gordon and a few others. I compared what I heard on the radio to what I read on the closed captioning on TV. (Proving to myself that I can multitask, at least to some degree, though it made my head hurt.) I found that I learned much more, got a clearer picture through the radio broadcast than I did from the images I saw and the words I read on my TV screen. For the rest of the race, I did much the same, and though FOX basically followed Kyle Busch around and around in circles, I got updates on other drivers throughout the field from MRN on a regular basis. FOX really never showed it, but MRN told me about some pretty good racing going on back in the field.<br />
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MRN stands for Motor Racing Network, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of NASCAR. For those of you who like to criticize NASCAR, I offer to you that NASCAR has done at least one thing very well, and that’s what MRN does. MRN does not have the luxury of letting the pictures tell the story. Veteran broadcasters like Barney Hall paint a mental picture by words alone, and they do it very well. MRN has been broadcasting races for so many years that it can be expected that they will provide very high quality coverage of NASCAR events, and as far as I’m concerned, I’ve never been disappointed.<br />
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You want a nominee for the 2011 class for the NASCAR Hall Of Fame? Don’t forget guys like Barney Hall, or Eli Gould, who, as I understand it, also knows a thing or two about college football in the great state of Alabama.<br />
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If I were in charge of NASCAR, I think I would require all networks that carry my product to spend quite a bit of time studying how MRN can bring a race alive to a listener by words alone. Show what’s going on back in the field more than just a few times during the race. I don’t mean pay lip service to it, but actually cover it. When the guy leading the race is 2 seconds in front of the second place guy, there might be 4 drivers beating the crap out of each other for 5<sup>th</sup>, or 10<sup>th</sup>, or maybe 35<sup>th</sup> place. So what if the guys racing for 35<sup>th</sup> are 3 laps down? If it’s the best racing on the track, show it. That’s what the fans at the track are watching. I know. Sometimes I’m one of those fans at the track. I’d rather watch two guys fighting for a spot way back in the field than watch the leader drive away from everyone. I hate it when I read the next day about a race and find out that a particular driver had finished well, but was never shown, nor even mentioned during the broadcast. That seems to happen every week, somehow. Radio, by it’s very nature, requires that the broadcasters cover the entire event, not just the leader. Radio guys know that we can’t see it, so they have to describe it for us. Good radio guys can paint such a vivid picture through words alone that it seems inconsequential that we can’t actually see what’s happening.<br />
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There are so many great drivers, crew chiefs, owners, and people behind the scenes that deserve to be in the Hall Of Fame. I’m sure that most, if not all will get there eventually, and they all deserve it.<br />
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Just don’t forget the people who bring the Show to your living room, or to your car while you’re driving a lonely highway.<br />
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I don’t want to forget about the good people at Performance Racing Network, or PRN. They do a great job as well, slipping in almost seamlessly when MRN isn’t there.<br />
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Who knew? I finally got the big picture, and it was all back where I started. Radio. I can see more clearly now.</span>James Crookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04062342912921319869noreply@blogger.com0