I have read a few news stories in the past and led you astray. I freely admit it. Remember when Bobby Labonte was a sure thing to be driving the 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevy? I wrote about that. I was wrong. I found out just how wrong I was about the same time you did. I noticed something that day though. A lot of the sites that reported that as a done deal suddenly withdrew the stories. I didn't. I made a mistake, and I still display it to the world. If nothing else, folks, I'm honest. When I make a mistake, I own up to it. In other words, if I write it, I believe it's true. I'm not always right, obviously, but I believe in what I write about.
It's a very young season, and there is much in the way of silliness to happen in 2009, but I will report what I believe is true, and what I don't know to be true, I'll simply report as a rumor. I feel like I owe you, as a reader more than I gave you in 2008. I promise I'll never lie to you, and if I report something wrong, I want you to give me a huge amount of crap about it.
There is a site currently being featured on Jayski that is basically full of bull squeeze. I've read it, and was stupid enough to believe it last year, and even though they've been totally wrong about basically everything in the past, Jay, for some reason, links to the site. My site doesn't really qualify, since I'm a blog, not really a news site. Once in a while though, I write a column that even Jayski can't ignore. I used to be featured on Bleacher Report, but I got tired of all the editorializing there. I came home to here, my own blog, and here it is, warts and all.
I'm not a NASCAR insider, and never pretend to be. I'm like you, a fan, and express certain opinions here. I probably know a few things that I can never say here, but you probably do too, if you've been a fan for a while.
I watch 99 per cent of the races on TV, just like most of you do, and I have to put up with Digger, and DW, and all the rest of it. Actually, I thought the Digger deal was cute for about 10 seconds, then I got tired of it. I get tired of DW after about 10 minutes, and that's only because I respect him for the driver he used to be.
I'm also officially tired of fan boards of any kind. I still read a couple of them, on race days, but every driver's got his die hard fans, and he could shoot the President and the fans would still back him up on it. It gets old after a while. You think Junior Nation is bad? Try the Casey Mears board or even Ryan Newman's. Fans are fans, and God bless them all. I'm doing my own site now, and I'm officially a fan of Smoke this year. Yeah, go 14. I wish him well and Ryan, his new teammate.
I've got a Fender Statocaster I'm trying to refinish. Anyone got some suggestions?
I've been watching NA$CAR racing since - well since they ran 65-70 races a year and on dirt as well. EVERY driver has a bonehead move or several to his credit and the current Jr/Vickers is just one more. If it had been Riggs and Hornish it would have been just 'one of them racin' things'
ReplyDeleteI detest the Fox baloney - Digger was fine - for a while - but 19 times?? During the same event???. DW, well let's say I wasn't a fan before and for sure not now. The rest of the crew are ho hummers as well as boring. Where are the folks like Ned and Buddy and Alan and Benny when we really need some coherent race coverage and without 35 of the 158 minutes of race coverage 'covered' by repetitive commercials
Hey, I was reading jayski.com and found this link. Enjoyed reading this blog and agree 100%.
ReplyDeleteAbout that Strat. Sunday afternoon might be a good time to get started on that project.
Look forward to reading some past blogs.
Shayne
You make a lot of good points here. I used to think Fox put on the best show there was when it came to bringing Nascar to my living room on Sundays, but the Digger thing is just too much. I like the camera angle, obviously, but leave the stupid graphics off the screen. It's cute at first but it gets old really fast.
ReplyDeleteI understand that DW is just doing what he always does, running his mouth. That's his trademark in the sport, and I understand that. He did it as a driver, and now he does it as a commentator. I've got a ton of respect for DW as a driver and as a commentator, but some days there's just too much DW, at least in my opinion.
Thanks for the opinions of a long time racing fan! Sounds like you've been watching even longer than I have, and I started watching back in the early '70's.
Thanks again!
Hey Shayne, and thanks for the reply!
ReplyDeleteThe Strat isn't actually mine, but a friend of a friend was cleaning out an attic and found what I've identified as a 1963 Strat, and it's not in very good shape. It's apparently been collecting dust and bugs and other stuff for about 30 years, which is a crying shame. It originally had the sunburst finish, but a lot of dings and dents and neglect have taken their toll on this wonderful guitar.
I'm not a player, but I've always had a thing for Strats, and since this one was made the year I was born, I hope to be able to restore it to good condition, and if nothing else, just look at it.
I get your point loud and clear about working on it Sunday afternoon! LOL. Regular readers here know what I think about the race track in the nation's number 2 market. Plus, I live in South Carolina, so you also know the other implications I'm probably making here without exactly spelling them out. My friends in California are special to me, but I'd rather see the Labor Day race back here at good old Darlington.
Thanks for the reply! I hope you enjoy the older posts as well. There's a ton of them, so happy reading!
Don't touch the Strat. Instead get it appraised. It will be worth far more in beaten, original condition than even the best refinishing job.
ReplyDeleteThe Digger thing is awful. Cute for 10 seconds then never want to see it again. I like DW but it's good it's for only half the year. I want to hear Alan Bestwick as announcer.
Thanks Bud. I haven't touched it yet. It's a beautiful guitar, even in the condition it's in. The owner wants to have it restored, but we're still weighing all options at the moment.
ReplyDeleteDigger will continue to get old if they keep playing that deal over and over again.
This Sunday, I have a feeling I'll be hitting the 'mute' button on my remote a lot.
Thanks for the reply!
Hello there...I just sort of stumbled onto this page, but I gotta say I kinda like it! Thanks Jayski for posting the link. Hope to see it more in the future.
ReplyDelete