Wishing I could play a sound file.

I haven't figured out how to do it on this forum, but I hope to get it up and running soon. You get to hear a driver start up the car, go though the gears, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, merging with traffic, then winding out 3rd, and then 4th, winding it out. Sounds like a 1.5 mile race track. The end of the clip sounds like cars going around a 1.5 mile track. When I can figure it out, you just need to crank up your speaker or headphone volume, unless you are at work. This sound clip rocks your world if you're a Nascar fan!

Much more later.

Be thankful of the things you have.

When you're a young person, it's so easy to think that you will be around forever. But history shows that even young people can go away, and without warning.

Any Nascar fan knows the tragedies. Dale Earnhardt. Kenny Irwin. Adam Petty. All were tragedies. Some don't remember Neil Bonnett or Davey Allison. Some don't remember Alan Kulwicki. All those were tragedies too.

Life is such a fleeting thing. It can be taken from us literally in a heartbeat.

Take life seriously. Don't take one minute of it as a joke or a time to just sit back and relax. Make the most of your life to the ones that care about you and the ones you love. You may never have the chance again.

Life is for living. Go live while you can.

Whiners? I don't think so.

For the last several years, I've read comments on message boards that said that they like Dale Earnhardt Jr., at least somewhat, but they hate his fans. I've been doing some soul searching on that issue, because I am a Dale Jr. fan. Is it because of beer cans on the track at Talladega and some other tracks? Is it because we are the largest fan base in Nascar, and we are vocal in our support for our driver? Or is it some other reason?

I have read hit pieces on Dale Jr. over the last year that absolutely disgust me. I've read people bashing him because he left DEI. I've covered the reasons why Dale Jr. left the company that his father founded many times here. It's simple. Racing. DEI wasn't competitive, so Dale Jr. left to go race for a team that was. It's that simple. Did he whine or cry in the process? If he did, he did not do so publicly. He was very forthright about the situation, and he answered questions with very direct answers when he was able to. When a contract is being hashed out, it's not always in the best interests of anyone involved to be spilling their guts to the press. Dale Jr. didn't do that, but he tried to keep his fans, and the Nascar world as a whole updated on what was going on.

Have Dale Jr. fans thrown beer cans and other objects over fences at race tracks? Of course they have. But don't fool yourself into thinking that fans of other drivers haven't done exactly the same thing. For some reason, it's only the Dale Jr. fans that get blamed though. I've been at race tracks and have seen fans of virtually every driver under the sun do stupid things. I've seen fans of Kurt Busch hurl Miller cans over the fence. I've seen fans of Kyle Busch hurl Bud cans, which I find interesting. I've seen fans of Jimmie Johnson hurl cans, bottles, and what I think might have been a dirty diaper one time. Does this make the individual drivers bad people? Of course it doesn't. They have no control over what some drunken idiot that happens to be wearing a certain tee shirt or hat does. Are there Dale Jr. fans that probably shouldn't be allowed in the stands? Yes. But it's all proportional. Dale Jr. has by far the biggest fan base, so you are going to probably see more idiots wearing Dale Jr. gear just because of that.

What many people like to do is crucify a driver based on what a small percentage of his fans do. Show me any driver in Nascar, and I can go to any track on race day and find a fan of that driver doing something idiotic. Whenever you bring in a crowd of 100,000 people, there are bound to be a few mental cases in the crowd. There are likely to be a few drunks too. Or even maybe more than a few!

A common misconception is that Dale Jr. seeks out the media and looks for opportunities to get his face on TV. That's just not true either. Dale Jr. has never sought the spotlight, but he has been a smart business man. He recognizes his popularity for what it is, and is willing to make the most of it. Does he do so many Wrangler commercials because he demands to? No. He does them because that's what the sponsor demands of him. All drivers with sponsors do the same thing. Is Dale Jr. the most sought out driver, by both sponsors and fans? You bet he is. There are major corporations in the world that would love to have Dale Jr.'s name associated with their products or services. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a marketing manager's dream come true.

Way back in 2001, after a terrible Sunday afternoon, Dale Earnhardt was gone. In his book, Driver #8, a distraught Dale Jr. was worried about losing his job, his sponsors, everything he had worked for. He believed that with his dad gone, nobody would ever sponsor him to driver a race car. As it turned out, he was wrong. What Dale Jr. didn't know was that people loved him for who he was, not just because of who his father was.

Today, the sport of Nascar is more popular than ever. Many fans at the track or who faithfully watch on TV have never seen Richard Petty race, or David Pearson, or Cale Yarborough, or Tim Richmond, or even Dale Earnhardt for that matter. Dale's death prompted something that even he probably never would have thought possible. Nascar became a national sport, and began drawing even international fans. Dale Earnhardt's standing as a hero and as a national icon soon became the domain of his son.

Dale Jr. is famous worldwide. I was watching some show on the National Geographic channel one night. The show dealt with Japan, in some way or other. The cameraman was wearing an old Budweiser hat with the famous '8' on it. People pointed to his hat and said "Junior!" Dale Jr. no longer uses the 8, but instead the 88, but people even in Asia recognize what that number means. Strangely enough, the cameraman didn't seem to understand what they were saying. Apparently it was just some old hat, and he obviously wasn't a Nascar fan, but some of the people on the streets in whatever Japanese city he was in recognized the famous '8' and what it represented.

As the largest fan base in all of Nascar, the Earnhardt Nation is a huge, diverse family. We fight amongst ourselves from time to time, and we've got the black sheep we'd probably rather not talk about, but we are a family nonetheless. We share very few things in common, except for our admiration for a certain Nascar driver. We our doctors, lawyers, factory workers, husbands, wives, sisters, and sons. We are postal employees, we are convenience store clerks, we are fast food cooks. Some of us drive nice cars and live in nice homes. Some of us ride the bus and are just barely making it. But we're all united in our love for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Emotions in Stock Car Racing

And maybe it's time to temper them a bit. Drivers drive, and fans become fanatic. It's happened to all of us, I suppose.

I wasn't that disappointed in Sunday's race at Dover, not from a Dale Earnhardt Jr. perspective. Sure, I was not happy with Jr. being caught up in a wreck not of his own making. I was not happy about a 35th place finish. But I was happy about a few things.

The 88 team never gave up. Hendrick engineering works, and I was glad to see that it was a wreck that caused the unpleasantness, rather than a blown engine or just some part failing on the car. Last year, Dale Jr. could have been caught up in a wreck, but more than likely his poor finish yesterday would have been a DNF, caused by a blown engine or something like that. Wrecks happen, and Dale Jr.'s qualifying efforts have really stepped up this year, but unfortunately not in the Dover race. Why does Dale Jr. get these early draws for qualifying? Dale Jr. just seems cursed to get the early draw, and I don't know what to do about it, except let someone else do the draw.

I'm also heartened by the lack of despair. Last year, especially after it was announced that Dale Jr. was leaving DEI, the 8 crew did not give up, but it seemed that DEI had already written him off. Though the crew never quit, it often seemed that DEI did. Hendrick Motorsports shows such more integrity and a commitment to racing that I have not seen at DEI in several years now.

Even though Kyle Busch won the race, he did it before a mostly empty arena. Those that remained booed loudly when he did his idiotic bow, which I imagine was fashioned after Dale Jr.'s bow last year. Kyle could at least come up with something original, such as his brother did with the snow angels. I find it funny that Kyle seems to think it's funny to bow before a booing audience, when Dale Jr. did it before cheers last year. My idea for Kyle's victory celebration, and I give it freely to him, no charge. Kyle, act like you're dodging the tomatoes and rotten eggs that most of the fans would love to be throwing at you. That would be at least more original.

Finally, I would like to comment all the Dale Jr. fans out there, that though you were disappointed in yesterday's race, you never gave up. You, in large part watched the race on TV, and put up with the dying embers of FOX's broadcast year. We're basically done with DW's love affair with the Vile one, and though there will be other broadcasters that laud the wee one's accomplishments this year, at least we won't have to listen to the same voices over and over again until next February. Take heart, Earnhardt Nation! The Vile one's days are numbered in Victory Lane.

Racing, Wrecking, and Running Laps

Sunday's Cup race in Dover, Delaware was basically over before 20 laps had been run. Well, almost. The huge crash that happened on lap 16 occurred when driver David Gilliland spun Elliot Sadler. Sadler was hit hard by Tony Stewart, who basically had no where to go, and then all out carnage ensued. Kevin Harvick was involved, as was Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Denny Hamlin, and about 6 other cars.

All but two of the cars involved would eventually return to the track, but Denny Hamlin and Elliot Sadler were done for the day. The cars that did return were in some cases just a lap or three down, or hundreds of laps, as was the case for Tony Stewart. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 88 car had to be brought back to the garage on the hook, and when he rejoined the race, he was 10 laps down. For most of these drivers, it was simply a matter of running enough laps to make up whatever points could be salvaged from a disappointing day.

For those cars not involved in the 'Big One,' Greg Biffle dominated until he had voltage problems in the car and fell back. Teammate Carl Edwards took over the lead for a time, but eventually, after green flag pit stops, Kyle Busch took over the lead and never looked back. Kyle lead by as much as 7.5 seconds, and finally won by over 5 seconds over second place Carl Edwards. When the race was over, only 6 cars were on the lead lap. A victory in Cup series racing is nonetheless a victory, and Kyle Busch wins again. He's on a hot streak, and he remains basically divisive as ever. As Kyle climbed from his car near the Start-Finish line, he performed his now signature sarcastic bow, but apparently he did so before largely empty stands.

From reports I've read from fans who were actually at the track yesterday, many people began leaving the track after the big wreck. FOX TV tried, unsuccessfully to not show the largely empty stands by the time the checkered flag flew, but by just about any account that I've read, many long time Dover attendees were disappointed by the race.

There were some exceptions. I was able to surf some of the message boards last night, and read some interesting comments by fans of drivers such as Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, and others. Some were cheering Kyle Busch on, since their driver didn't have a chance to win. It's interesting to see the 'Anyone but Dale Jr.' or 'Anyone but Hendrick' sentiments expressed by fans who in once sentence are repulsed by Kyle Busch, but in the next sentence are cheering him on. Not much changes in the world of Nascar, I suppose, but I still find it amusing the lengths that some fans will go to when it involves hatred for another driver.

Nascar has always had its heroes and villains, and lately Kyle has certainly fulfilled the villain role. Kyle Busch is certainly a hero to others, for various reasons. He may be seen as the underdog, the man who overcame adversity to triumph. Some see Kyle as the man redesigned by Nascar to pump a little controversy into the sport. That, indeed, is an interesting thought.

Let's examine the history of Toyota in Nascar. It's a short history, so it won't take very long. In 2006, it was announced that Michael Waltrip was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company at which every one of his Cup victories were achieved, and was going to start his own team, Michael Waltrip Racing. What was even bigger news was that Michael was going to spearhead Toyota's new Nascar Sprint (then Nextel) Cup program. Michael was going to drive a car, as was former Cup Champion Dale Jarrett, and brother Darrell Waltrip's Trucks Series driver, David Reutimann. Michael's team wasn't going to be the only Toyota team on the block either, because Bill Davis Racing and Team Red Bull were also going to be running their own Toyota teams.

What occurred in 2007 was basically a huge disaster. Michael and many of the other Toyotas couldn't qualify for the races. They went totally winless in 2007, despite much hoopla in the press.

Fast forward to late 2007, when it's announced that Joe Gibbs Racing will switch from Chevrolet to Toyota, beginning in 2008. JGR had a huge asset, namely in head engine guy Mark Cronquist. Through Cronquist, Toyota made huge leaps and bounds in cranking out race winning engines, but only for one man, so far, on one team. Kyle Busch, in his new home at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Questions begged to be ask at this point include why does only Kyle seem to be enjoying such success while his teammates continue to struggle? According to most of the press, it's totally because of Kyle's raw talent. I'd like to know where all that raw talent was in Kyle's years Hendrick, especially when Hendrick was winning all those races last year? Sure, Kyle won some races at Hendrick, but suddenly now JGR has greatly surpassed Hendrick in teams, engines, car setups, and just raw talent? Methinks that someone's being given an advantage here. As a matter of fact, I think I smell a rat.

Nascar's total control over the rules of this sport make it difficult to know exactly what's happening behind the scenes. I may be totally incorrect in my suppositions, but I've watched this sport for a very long time, and I've seen things just as strange happen. I've only got my intuition to go on, and my past experience when it comes to these kind of things. Does Nascar sometimes give certain manufacturers advantages? Of course they do. They are just less public about it these days.

I'd like to share some words from an old American Army general officer, long dead now. But the words ring true, even today.

"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."

General George S. Patton

Shut Up and Race!

What happened to the kind, gentle, Jimmy C. who has filled these many pages with kind and gentle thoughts? Oh he's still here. He'll be back shortly. But the alter ego Jimmy C. is here now, and he's irritated.

About what? At supposed 'veterans' in Nascar, guys that were not even a twinkle in their dad's eyes back when other drivers were already racing hard and making names for themselves.

There seems to be a new class of Nascar driver, the class that has been driving Cup for a couple or 3 years, and egged on by their lackeys at ESPN, are now considered seasoned veterans, even though I've got air in the tires in my truck that was around before anyone even heard of these supposed 'veterans.'

Rain delays, as happened at Dover yesterday, keep broadcasting networks scrambling to find newsworthy events to talk about. Controversy is always newsworthy. ESPN basically tried to keep the controversy between Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski burning yesterday, just to have something to talk about. Both Brad and Denny are young drivers, though Denny has actually raced in the Cup series, and has won races. Denny seems to think that Nationwide full time drivers such as Brad should not race a 'veteran' driver such as Denny. It's a mark of disrespect, and as Denny said last Saturday, "If you throw a rock, I'm throwing a concrete block back." Classy, Denny. Someday, Brad will be a Cup driver, and at some track such as Bristol, or Martinsville, or Richmond, or Darlington, Brad is going to remember that little prima dona attitude you had way back in 2008 at Charlotte and carried into Dover the following week. One day, you're going to get dumped by a rookie, and you're going to be upset and mad about it. But you will deserve every bit of it, because in 2008, you thought rookies were beneath contempt. You thought rookies were a lower form of life that you need not take notice of.

Folks, we are all racing fans here. Every single driver in every single field was once a rookie. We as fans were once rookies too. In Nascar, they put yellow stripes on the rear bumpers of rookies to denote their status. I notice that Brad's 88 Navy Chevrolet does not have those tell tale yellow stripes. He's been at this a while. Not as long as Denny, but Brad didn't get into the Nationwide series because he's never raced.

All of these drivers had to endure short track feature events, such as Late Model, B Class, Midgets, etc. All drivers that get even to the Nationwide level have won races. All of them have also lost races. All of them have endured their time in purgatory by putting up with bullies on the tracks at which they've raced. Controversy is nothing new to the drivers.

On the network level, the shameless plugs for continuing the controversy are idiotic at best, and for a veteran racer such as Rusty Wallace to show his true colors on the air, that just takes a total lack of class to achieve. How Rusty totally lacks in class, while his brothers show so much of it is hard to explain. Younger brother Kenny Wallace exudes class, all the while pumping up the fans in the pre race and post race shows. Younger brother Mike Wallace shows a lot of class, just by giving honest opinions. Neither younger brother has ever achieved the success on the race track as Rusty did, but both younger brothers show me something that Rusty never has, and that is class and tact.

Rusty Wallace's attitude is probably the reason why a few young drivers with relatively little experience say some of the stupid things that they say. I am a fan of Discovery's Deadliest Catch, a series about one of the worlds most dangerous jobs, crab fishing in Alaska. One of the fishing vessels featured on the show is the fishing vessel Northwestern, owned and operated by the Hansen brothers, who are the sons of Norwegian fisherman. The Hansen brothers spoke Norwegian before they ever spoke English, and fishing is truly in their blood. In one episode, a crew member asks captain Sig Hansen when they will be done with the work on deck. Sig is amazed that the crew member would even ask such a question, and posts a message on the pilot house window which states "Shut up and fish." My friends, this is exactly the sentiment I would like to send to all the young 'veteran' drivers out there in Nascar. Shut up and race! If you don't have the intelligence to put two words together in a pre race or post race interview, just don't say anything.

Prove your worth on the track. Prove that you have the stones to be in the position that you're in. Don't tell me about it, prove it to me. Prove to me why you are worthy of having me as a fan of yours. Prove to me why anyone is indeed a fan of yours. Don't tell me about how good a racer you are, show it to me! Prove it to me! In other words:

Shut up, and race!

Nationwide Versus Cup Drivers?

Where's the respect? Or why should there be, might be a better question. Today, during a long, drawn out rain delay at Dover, Delaware, ESPN2's crew basically asked practically everyone in the garage about Denny Hamlin's and Brad Keselowski's latest unpleasantness at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte. Drivers weighed in on both sides of the issue, but one has to wonder that just because a driver has driven previously in the Cup, that no longer does makes him qualified to make that decision. Nationwide is considered to be a developmental series, or a stepping stone, as it were, to the Cup series. Every week, Nationwide drivers, and I mean full time Nationwide drivers, compare their skills with those of the Cup drivers that sometimes drop down to the Nationwide series to scoop a little extra pay, or a little more attention to their sponsors.

In my not so humble opinion, there does not need to be a caste system in Nationwide. Just because a driver races full time in the Cup series should not entitle him to any benefits in the Nationwide series. There are as many as 43 cars out on the track, every Nationwide race, and to me, to ask the full time Nationwide drivers to step aside for the fragile egos of the Cup drivers is not only ridiculous, but is completely asinine.

Cup drivers in the Nationwide series help prop up struggling ticket sales for the series, and also help to improve TV ratings. Therefore, Cup drivers are a somewhat necessary evil in the Nationwide series. I do not think that any Nationwide driver, whether it be a one race deal, or if he's been racing full time in the series for years has to move over just because a Cup driver, often with vast resources of cash and crew talent, wants a nice smooth ride around the track. Drivers like Denny Hamlin need to understand that racing is racing. If you can't take the heat of young drivers messing with you, get out. Go back to the big show of Cup racing, and let the hard racers in Nationwide race without you. My advice to anyone like Denny Hamlin, who apparently feels that drivers like Keselowski should not race him hard: Go lie in your $300,000 hauler, and watch the race on TV, if you can't take the heat on the track.

I know people have been worrying for years about how to fix the problem of having Cup drivers win most of the Nationwide races. Here's my answer. If you are a Cup driver, you can only race in the Nationwide series if you are the owner, or at least the part owner of a Nationwide team. That automatically lets Cup drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick have access to the sport. If drivers like Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and several others think that full time Nationwide drivers should show more respect to all of you 'veteran' drivers, put your money where your mouths are. Invest in the series. Don't just take the winnings. Put your money where your collective mouths are, and invest in the series.

Or shut up.