Merry Christmas, Everyone!

I hope each and everyone of you has a very Merry Christmas. A few years ago, I used to work with a lady named Merry, and she was the exact personification of Merry. Her name was actually spelled that way. She was the jolliest of the jolly. I still love her and hope she's doing well.

I'd like to pass on something that my boss sent to the rest of us yesterday. I think it speaks volumes. I know some of you dear readers might not be Christians, or even be religious at all, but spare me the time to send you my hearfelt wishes for the season anyway.

What does Christmas mean to me?

Lights and tinsel on the tree?

Shopping, wrapping, too many sweets?

As much ham and turkey as I please?

All of these, I do enjoy.

Not to mention everyone’s Christmas joy.

But the thing I like the best you see,

Is how God cared to die for me.

He was born with prophecies to fulfill.

Performed many miracles and other thrills.

He walked on water and healed the lame.

Raising the dead was his main game.

He was beaten, spit upon, torn and dragged,

And never of His diety did brag.

It was for my sins that his blood was spilled.

For my lusts that he was killed.

He did it all, for us you see.

This is what Christmas means to me.

So what does Christmas time do for you?

Why sit around feeling so blue?

Look to the Son of the Most High.

And remember one day, with Him we’ll abide!

Christianity is a pretty peaceful religion. We don't have suicide bombers or fly airliners into office towers. We could all use some improvements, but we basically don't kill other people, unless they try to kill us. In this country, we salute the flag, and pray to God. God bless us all on this day that we celebrate the birth of your son.

Taking the Blame or Responsible for the Success?

I've read a lot of interesting opinions from esteemed members of the media concerning the dramatic events which played out over the course of the season beginning with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s announcement that he would be leaving DEI after the 2007 season. Some of the more interesting opinions weren't even from the media, they were from the Chairman himself, Brian France. Mr. France basically insinuated that Nascar's sagging TV ratings and ticket sales were the fault of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Jr. didn't make the Chase, Dale Jr. didn't win a race in 2007. Therefore, according to Mr. France, Nascar's most popular driver is the reason why fewer people watched the races this year.

I also read a member of the media's account of how DEI basically had to cut of it's right arm in order to save itself. Apparently, the writer's opinion is that DEI sacrificed Dale Jr. in order to save DEI. Dale Jr.'s popularity was a burden to DEI, and now that he's gone, the company can return to a level of normalcy that will allow it to succeed.

Normally, I would withhold comment on these type of things, but some of what I've read and heard over the last few weeks is complete lunacy. For one thing, I'm pretty sure that DEI didn't fire Dale Earnhardt Jr., which at least one esteemed member of the media seems to be inferring. Dale Jr. left on his own, and mostly because of the reasons that Mr. France states; that being that Dale Jr. is not winning races or running well enough to make the Chase. Furthermore, I doubt that Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s season tanked because he wanted to sabotage DEI. I listened to Dale Jr.'s radio conversations virtually every race this season, and never once did I hear him give up as long as the car was drivable. It didn't matter if he was laps down, or the engine was failing, which it did often, but I never once heard Dale Jr. give up.

Since Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001, the sport of Nascar's focal point has been his son. Dale Jr. achieved almost overnight rock star status, and though he has his detractors, he has remained committed to one thing: Winning.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, the old saying goes. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not his father, and never will be. Dale Jr. is his own man, and he runs to the beat of his own internal drum. All the haters out there will always find their reasons to hate, but the true fans, and they are very, very many, will continue to back their driver. Dale Sr. had his detractors as well, but their opinion never swayed him in his course to greatness. Dale Jr. has enough of the Earnhardt genes in him to do exactly the same thing.

In my opinion, Nascar's recent popularity has been sparked by the explosive popularity of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sure, he hasn't been responsible for all of the recent success, but he is a big part of why Nascar suddenly exploded in popularity in the early part of the decade. Love him or hate him, Dale Jr. converted a lot of casual fans into rabid fans. He turned non fans into fans. He's sold more merchandise than a lot of the rest of the field put together, and has been an unequivocal success in both racing and the business world. Again, in my opinion, Dale Jr.'s move to Hendrick Motorsports will only increase his fan base and his value from a marketing standpoint. In my opinion, all of the Nascar community owes a lot of their success and recognition in the sports world to one man: Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Junior and his fans are responsible for the bad ratings? BS. ESPN and TNT's absolutely horrific coverage of the races is enough to make a racing junkie like me want to turn off the TV on Sundays. Oh, sure, there have been some bright spots, such as Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett in the booth, but other than that, ESPN fumbled a very expensive ball this year. I hope they do better next year. Hint to ESPN: Quit worrying about the presenting pageantry and traditions of Nascar and just show the freaking racing on the track! If you just did that one thing, I guarantee your ratings would go up. Another idea: Show some of the other cars on the track besides the leaders, and make an effort to go completely through the field and talk about what's happing to drivers in the garage, running laps down etc. We basically tune in to watch a race, not a show about a race.

I'm guessing that Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson winning so many races was probably another reason that a lot of fans turned off the TV. The two drivers are among the best, but to some folks, it gets boring to see the same drivers win over and over. I'm guessing that if Dale Jr. wins 10 races next year, someone will complain that the racing is boring, because all we see is the 88 car winning.

You can't please everyone. I know that I can't, and if I were Dale Earnhardt Jr., I wouldn't even worry about it anymore. As a driver that seems to worry excessively about what his fans think, my advice to Dale Jr. comes from the old TV series MASH. In Dr. Sydney Friedman's words, "Sometimes you just have to pull down your pants and slide on the ice." In other words, I just hope Dale Jr. will be himself, and as long as he does that, his fans will always follow him.

What really happened with the DEI / Dale Jr. Divorce?

The short answer is: I don't know. You don't know either, and possibly none of us will ever know. I can make some guesses though.

A few givens. #1 is that Dale Jr. and Teresa have had a rocky relationship, even before Dale's death. It's probably gotten worse since Dale's death.

#2 is that Dale Jr. did not have very good engines this year.

#3 is that DEI has in general been on a downward decline performance wise for more than a year. Maybe as much as 4 or 5 years.

I guess the main thing is that Dale and Teresa obviously don't see eye to eye anymore.

DEI, with Max Siegel and Teresa Earnhardt had a little private to do with select members of the media yesterday. The media folks were not allowed to bring in tape recorders, and apparently not allowed to talk much about the goings on.

This strikes me as more than funny, it's really strange. Folks, members of the media talk about who they've talked to, what they've seen, etc. That's what media people do. It's their jobs to do so.

In the little deal yesterday the media folks were not allowed to do their jobs.

Folks, This is straight out of the Hillary Clinton, or for that matter George W. Bush campaign for president playbook. You invite important members of the media to your little party, you schmooze with them, and hopefully they will say nice things about you in the future. I don't understand any other reason for DEI to do what they did yesterday. It's all about spin control, folks, and I don't mean the kind where you hit the fence facing on coming traffic in your race car.

The folks at DEI can now boast about their franchise drivers Martin Truex, Jr. and Mark Martin. No disrespect to Martin Truex, but he's won exactly 1 race in his Cup career. Mark Martin has won more, but he's only driving part time. With Dale Jr.'s departure, DEI has not only lost the primary money maker for the business, but an important sponsor, Budweiser, who has been with Dale Jr. since 1999.

With their merger with Bobby Ginn, DEI did pick up the US Army as a sponsor, and that will be the primary on the 8 car this year with Mark Martin and Aric Almirola splitting the driving duties. DEI seems to be spinning this as a positive for the company, but can this really be a good move for them?

Aric Amirola and Mark Martin are good drivers, and will represent the Army well. I have no doubt about that. Does DEI think they made a positive move by replacing Dale Jr. and Budweiser with the aforementioned drivers? They'd be crazy to think so.

Dale Jr. did not win a race in 2007, but he probably made more money for DEI than any other driver did for their owner. Dale Jr. didn't make that money on the race track, but with his sponsors. People pay money to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. They don't pay money to see a lot of other drivers.

Personally, I don't want to see the house that Dale Earnhardt built go down in flames. I hope DEI continues to put on a good show, and will attract good drivers and sponsors. This is Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, folks. I don't want to see it fail.

Neither does Dale Earnhardt Jr.

A few random notes:

Has anyone noticed that the Nextel Cup banquet will be televised, more or less live, on ESPN Classic? It is supposed to re-air on ESPN2 at midnight, but does this show ESPN's commitment to Nascar or what? I don't get Classic, and might try to catch the replay on ESPN2, but to me this really stinks. ESPN has already pushed Nascar to a very distant back burner. I know usually the banquets aren't really exciting, but it is a last chance for many fans to see their favorite drivers one last time, and wearing nice clothes for a change! All I can say is that ESPN has been a disaster this year for Nascar fans, and they really need to fix a lot of problems before I like it.

I listen each day to a radio station based in Clemson, SC on my drive to and from work, WCCP FM. In the afternoon, the run a syndicated show called Primetime with the Packman, hosted by Mark Packer who is the son of basketball commentator Billy Packer. It's a very entertaining show, and though they don't deal with a lot of Nascar talk on the show, Mark has shown he has a very healthy respect for the sport. Check out his experience at the night race at Bristol here. I don't think you'll be disappointed, it's a very interesting read.

I killed some time online at work today (don't tell my boss!) just reading a lot of Nascar related stuff. I found a couple of sites that want to ban Nascar. That's right, ban Nascar and all racing. The claims made were that it's bad for the environment, that it wastes fuel, that it's too dangerous, and that it is, after all, not even a sport. People with these views just amuse me. If it's soccer, they love it and think it's all good. I'm not particularly a soccer fan, but I don't mind it. I just think it's relatively boring. To some people cars turning left all day is boring, I guess. To each his own.

I've been watching racing since the early 1970's. Usually we only got to see a condensed version of a race on Wild World of Sports, a week after the fact, but beginning in 1979, we began to at least occasionally see a race start to finish live on TV. I was lucky enough to get to go to some dirt track races and even a couple of trips to Greenville-Pickens Speedway back when it was actually on the old Grand National circuit. In other words, I've been a fan of the sport for a long time. I think my favorites years were between about 1980 and 2000, watching drivers like Pearson, Petty, Yarborough, Waltrip, Earnhardt, Kulwicki, Wallace, and a ton of others tear up the track every week. Nascar periodically made rules changes, such as allowing Fords to change the height of the real spoiler, or allowing Chevy to lower the car a quarter inch. Nascar did these things to make the racing more competitive. Nascar still strives to do the same thing, and I've tried to embrace the Chase and the Car of Tomorrow, but after watching the results of these latest changes, I'm feeling just a little turned off by the whole deal.

I think the Chase could be good, if they tweak things a little, but even though I'm not a Jeff Gordon fan, I still feel like he got cheated. In the old points system, he would have easily won his 5th cup championship. I feel bad for you folks that are Jeff Gordon fans. In my opinion, you and your driver got cheated.

I also feel that the Car of Tomorrow was a great idea, at least on paper. I was excited about it before they actually started racing them. Let's make the cars bigger, like they used to be, let's make them more of a challenge to driver, but let's still make them fast. Unfortunately, the COT has turned out to be a dog. Very few of the drivers like to drive them, they don't handle well, and Nascar has put so many limits on how teams can adjust them, it makes for a bunch of drivers all playing follow the leader in ill handling cars.

All in all, I miss the 80's and 90's in Nascar. I love to watch some of the old races where so many things that are controversial nowadays were just facts of life back then. I like watching the days when drivers would get out of cars and put their hands on each other to vent their frustrations without worrying about fines, points penalties, etc. I miss the days when it was not only acceptable to put the bumper on someone to move them out of your way, it was expected. Not it's a sin, and I think the quality of racing has suffered for it.

I'm pretty jazzed about the 2008 season though. I can't wait to see how all the changes will affect the teams next year. Dale Jr. driving for Hendrick. Mark Martin driving the 8. It just boggles the mind! If you had asked me 365 days ago if either one of those drivers would be where they are going next year, I would have said you're crazy for even thinking that!

Truth is often stranger than fiction though.

What should Nascar do this off season?

I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving. As always, I ate too much, and am feeling a little like taking a nap this morning, but it's a work day as usual here.

I keep hearing about TV ratings and empty seats at the race tracks, especially the latter part of this season, and I keep wondering what should Nascar be doing to keep the fans interested in our sport? Why has interest been falling off as of late? Is it because of 2 drivers on the same team basically dominating the year, and especially the Chase? Is it because of the Car Of Tomorrow leads to boring racing? In the case of TV ratings, are ESPN, ABC, TNT, and FOX running off viewers by putting a poor product on the air?

Let me give you my opinions on these issues one by one. Just because I say it, doesn't mean it's right, of course. I'm just a fan, as most of you are, and my opinion is just that: One fan's opinion.

I think that unless you were a Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson fan, the last part of the season, indeed a lot of the season became somewhat boring. I love racing, and watched every lap that I could this season, but I have to admit that I got bored when it seemed to become a Johnson/Gordon streak. I watched, but I was not nearly as excited about the races when it became clear that 2 drivers on the same team clearly outclassed everyone else on the track when it came to equipment and just pure ability to get it done. I hope the playing field evens out next year, and we see more racing from more teams than just one or two.

At first I believed that the Car Of Tomorrow would help make the racing better in the Cup series, but now I'm not so sure. I watched about the most boring Talladega race in the history of the sport, and I feel like maybe the COT is a step in the right direction, but it's missing something. When virtually all the drivers complain about how the car handles, I'm beginning to think that Nascar needs to allow the teams some freedom to tinker with the chassis and suspensions and try to find something that makes the car go faster or corner better. Unfortunately, this type of thinking seems to be 180 degrees out of phase with Nascar's purpose here. I'd like to see better racing, and more creativity on the part of the teams, and Nascar apparently would like to see less. Oh well. It's not the first time I've disagreed with Nascar! I would really, really like to see better racing on the track though. It would make me want to watch more racing, and I suspect that other fans probably feel much the same way.

Now on to the TV networks. Oh, there are so many things I could say about ESPN and ABC's coverage of Nascar this year. From the network who used to do it the best in the late 1990's to the absolute worst in 2007. Almost everything about the broadcasts grates on my nerves, from Rusty Wallace's practice of being unable to pronounce names like "Gilliland", to Brent Musberger and Suzy Kolber's apparent complete lack of Nascar knowledge. But the absolute worst part of watching the broadcasts is the apparent unimportance of actually showing us the racing on the track. ESPN routinely spent 2 minutes or so coming back from breaks by going to Brent and Brad and Suzy, and we got to watch them blather on and on about meaningless drivel. It wouldn't be so bad listening to them, but do we have to watch them too? We already know what they look like. At least show us what's happening on the track!

I think all the networks that air Nascar broadcasts could improve, but ESPN and ABC have been a total and complete disappointment for me this year. TNT was not so good, but Kyle Petty in the booth made it tolerable. Fox is in my opinion the best. They get on my nerves sometimes, but they still show more racing, and have more fun with the broadcasts.

In my opinion, ESPN should pull out some old video tapes of some of the races from 1999 or 2000, and watch them. Put knowledgeable people on the broadcasts, keep the cameras pointed at the track and not at the commentators, and just show the racing. That's all I ask.

The original (official) Thanksgiving.

The following is a proclamation issued by one of the founding fathers of the United States. I hope that you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation -- for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility [sic], union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic] of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York
the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

George Washington

Back to the real world? (At least for a While!)

I don't know about you, but I woke up Monday morning feeling a little like I had a hangover. I didn't imbibe any alcoholic beverages on Sunday, yet I felt like I needed a hot cup of coffee, and quite frankly, a day off just to recover.

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson on his 2nd Nextel Cup Championship. Jimmie's second consecutive cup is well deserved, and he deserves all the accolades that go with winning it again. Jimmie was perfect when he needed to be, and only failed when it apparently didn't matter. His teammate and co-owner Jeff Gordon was scratching his head the other night wondering how he could have accomplished all he did this season and still come up short. As a matter of fact, so am I. Jeff had an unprecedented year of success, and he still got beat. It just goes to show how high the bar has been set in Nascar's elite series.

Part of this does concern Brian France's recent tweaking of the series of course. Without the Chase, Jeff Gordon would have won the championship easily. As an old time fan of Nascar, I'm experiencing some mixed emotions about this, but Nascar, and it's drivers have always had to play by the rules handed down from on high. This year is no different.

For all of us Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, Sunday was a day that was absolutely gut wrenching on so many levels. It was Dale Jr.'s last race for DEI, the company that his father built, and it was also Dale Jr.'s last chance to get one more win in the old 8 car. Sadly, the day did not go well at all, with some early cautions that unfortunately involved Nascar's most popular driver. First he gets spun on the entrance to the pits, and then gets punted on the restart by the 31 Chevy of Jeff Burton. I don't fault Jeff in any of this, he is not the kind of guy that hits someone on purpose, and it was either someone checking up in front of Dale Jr., or Jeff was blinded by the sun. I don't blame Jeff really at all. See what having a good rep does for you? Kyle Busch, on the other hand, did exactly what I've come to expect from him over the last couple of years: He came in too hot, and didn't get on the brakes when he should have been. In my mind at least, that's what his past reputation has done for him. Sorry if I'm wrong, but this is the kind of thing I have come to expect from Busch the younger. Or for that matter, from the older. Family tradition, anyone?

Martin Truex Jr. must be extremely disappointed this week. He made the Chase, ran hard for all 10 of the last 10 races, and was rewarded with no invitation to the big banquet in New York. I think that if Nascar tweaks anything at all in the off season, it should be that all 12 or how ever many Chase drivers there are, all should have a seat in the Waldorf. Limit the speakers on the time they have to speak, if they must, but they worked hard to get to where they got. Let them have that recognition at least.

Kevin Harvick might have had at least as disappointing Chase as well. He won the Daytona 500, and looked like a lock to contend for the title. Crappy handling cars seemed to keep him from living up to his potential though. Kevin's year could be summed up in 3 words: Almost Good Enough.

Both Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer got their first wins in the Cup this year. Congratulations to both of them. Both victories are well deserved. Clint's came at a very opportune time, being the first race of the Chase. Congratulations to both of you and I hope you experience the joy of being in Victory Lane many, many more times in your careers.

Congratulations are also in order to Juan Pablo Montoya, who won Rookie of the Year. It was a well deserved award, and JPM has really stepped up to the plate this year, and has probably learned a lot about racing 'taxi cabs'. Guess it's not as easy as some of your open wheel brethren thought, huh?

As an aside, I'll be here on a regular basis, talking about whatever I feel is worth talking about during the off season. Off season is sometimes one of the best times of the year for news, and I'll continue to let you know what I think about all the news in Nascar. Like all of you, I'm counting the days until Daytona, and I hope we all have very happy holidays in the meantime.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. If you know a person who wears a uniform in service of their country, pat them on the back and thank them for what they do for us all every day. We should all truly give thanks for that.