No More Elvis Trophy

As if the current monsoon season in the Mid South isn’t enough, I learned to day that Dover Motorsports is closing the Memphis Motorsports Park. The oval track 2010 dates have already been rescheduled elsewhere, but I can’t find out for certain if the drag strip is also closing. Maybe that piece of info will get updated somewhere soon.

What a bummer. Season tickets for the truck and Nationwide races have been birthday presents to myself for almost 6 years. The very first non-dirt track race I ever saw was at Memphis Motorsports when Junior was in the Busch series.

The races were a tailgating experience for me, my mother, my daughter, and my best friend – time to sit, chill (or keep warm if the weather was cold in October!), enjoy a beverage, grill out – and watch a race.

After witnessing the worst attendance I’ve seen at a Busch/Nationwide event since I’ve been frequenting the park, I kinda figured that something big needed to happen or it would close… Unfortunately, it was the latter. Let’s face it – Memphis does not promote anything. ANYTHING. I wouldn’t even know who to point the finger at – the city council? the exiting mayor? Memphis/Millington had a gold mine and they just left it to starve like the dogs in the Memphis Animal Shelter.

Tina's Flair

Although I make my home in the South, I’m amused at how many acquaintances show no outward signs of fanaticism, but could talk your ear clean off about their favorite driver if you gave them a chance. Seriously.

Of course, there could be extenuating circumstances – the person may be required to wear a uniform for their job. Perhaps their employer doesn’t allow the show of “flair” (see Office Space). One thing is for sure – if an closet NASCAR fan spies any hint of driver devotion on your person, in your purse, on/in your car et al., there is no telling when the conversation will end.

Typically, the dialogue will begin with one of the following:

“Oh my gosh, you aren’t a are you?” (This can either be stated sarcastically or in fellowship)

“How ‘bout that ?”

“What happened to your boy on Sunday?”

Outward appearances aside, one thing rings true – no matter where I go, I seem to find at least one fan to chat with about the most recent race, the pros and cons of the Car of Today, or the latest stupid thing that Kyle Bush has done…

I wonder how little Joey is enjoying his swim with the big fishes? He goes out, drives in a race and BAM! Instant probation. Wow. Good goin, NASCAR – way to throw your weight around.

My suitcase is packed full and resting in the opening to my borrowed cubicle as an announcement to all who pass, “Yes, that’s right! TinaRenee is going somewhere!” Or, it could simply be that I put it in my walking path so that I wouldn’t forget it when my co-worker drives me to the airport. You would think a chick who is pushing 40 would remember something that important…

Thankfully, the only thing I’ve forgotten (that I’ve noticed so far) is to change the battery on my Sirius Stiletto to the high capacity one. Worst case scenario is that I will run out of juice while listening to old episodes of Smoke n Yoke on the plane ride. I have plenty of recharge options once I get there.

I already miss my dog. At least this time I won’t be traveling to a race after having one put down. That was torture. I don’t remember the trip there at all – the flight connections – nothing. I felt incomprehensibly guilty for purposely taking the life of my best friend. Eventually the time will come for Bruiser too and although I can’t say I’ll be prepared, I do hope that the circumstances will be different.

Since I’ve been wearing an arm brace for a few days, I’m beginning to get my life back. Typing and using a mouse was proving more difficult with each day. With its introduction I’ve been able to do yard work, play with Bruiser, finish folding a load of clothes in one sitting, and sleep through the night! Luckily, the one thing I didn’t need the brace to do was to watch racing. Of course, I would have done something about the arm sooner had that been a problem.

It’s been a couple of weeks since Bristol and I’ve read a wide variety of articles and opinions about said race (why do images of huge curly ‘fros come to mind after I typed that?). My knee-jerk reaction was to declare the race utterly boring and completely ruined since the new surface was put in place. However, after the Cali race I’m convinced that the problem with Bristol wasn’t the track – it was ESPN. They are the ones who made it a snoozer. A few laps into the Cali race, I turned down the TV volume and turned on the MRN broadcast. I believe those guys (and women) could make paint drying sound exciting. Just goes to show, it’s all in the presentation. I can’t really be counted on to give an accurate view ABC’s job with the Richmond race because I won’t be home to watch it!

Being a Smoke fan does have its drawbacks. Fellow office worker NASCAR fans are always on the lookout for something to pick at me about. Admittedly, pulling for #20 does give them a broad range of ammunition. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I feel it is my duty to give these losers something to do to pass the time until 5pm. (Ok, so – they aren’t all losers, but I have to take my shots where I can!)

The latest jab has been about the change of auto manufacturer announcement at Gibbs. To my co-workers: sorry! You’d have better luck teasing me about Tony’s cousin Big Foot than worry me with Toyota vs. Chevy. As I’ve mentioned before, I love my VW Beetle so much I would marry it if I could. Until VW gets involved in NASCAR (now THAT is funny, I don’t care who you are…), you’re not gonna pull me into that debate!

Hmm – what other racing related rants have I saved up? Junior. I do not care what number Junior has on the side of his car. I do not care what sponsor is slapped all over the sides and hood. I do not care that he doesn’t make the chase this year. I only hope that he is content enough with where he is going that he can focus on winning next season.

Shrub. Not exactly a fan of his. Don’t plan on being a fan just because he is Tony’s teammate. Perhaps he will mature a little and I’ll grow to appreciate his talents. Anything is possible.

Comments that the Chase is already set before we head into Richmond. So what? I’m still going. If that keeps people at home or stops people from watching on TV, who cares? A race is a race all on it’s little lonesome. There is plenty of excitement to be experienced without this goofy excuse for a playoff system. (of course, I should shamelessly say that I’ll be part of the post race festivities for the 12 drivers who are already locked in the chase! Woo hoo!!!!)

Scrolling through Jayski for some more rant fodder: Teresa Earnhardt. People hate her and probably perform voo doo rituals decrying her “insanity” for “pushing” Junior out the door. She is constantly berated for not being “hands-on” enough. Personally, I wish Junior wasn’t leaving DEI and that he would be driving the 8 next year. However, I do not think Teresa is anything more than a shrewd business person. The fact that she IS a she brings about a lot of opinions that wouldn’t be spoken if she were a HE. Its obvious she isn’t out to win popularity contests – and neither was Dale Sr.

Montreal: WTF? I did get a good laugh at the color ad in “Scene” which said, “Congrats Robby Gordon on your win in Montreal”.

The heat in California: Ask Junior how hot it was at Graceland during his visit.

I leave you with my fav pic from the past week:

Can someone kick the ONMC in the ass? The VIP schedule is still showing California info for the Richmond dates. Look out Virginia, I’ll be there next week!!!

Some of the best racing talent in the world.

All for charity.

No stupid commercials.

I LOVE IT!

(great to see Bill climb out of his car unscathed!)

Every May, it rains for 7/8 of the entire month.

Usually I do not care – I outgrew the entire scene not long after I graduated college.

However…

THIS May is different. The World of Outlaws is returning to West Memphis after a 26 year absence. The big race is this Saturday and *I* will be in attendance!

IT BETTER NOT RAIN!!!

Today as I was rounding Turn 2 on the inside to enter the parking garage at work, a security guard stopped me, thus stopping all the other cars behind me trying to enter said garage area. I’m thinking, “What? I’ve got my ID badge. I wasn’t speeding. WTF????” I rolled down the window and he said, “I’ve been meaning to tell you – I got to drive Smoke’s car at the Kentucky Motor Speedway.” Never met the guy before, but he knew exactly what my tag meant

Today is my last day of work until Jan 8th. Tomorrow will be filled with mucho lounging around and napping – followed by a day of final shopping. Many peeps are already on vacation from work which means…they aren’t BOTHERING ME! YAY!

Honestly, I didn’t see the whole series sponsor thing with the “Series-soon-to-be-formerly-known as Busch” coming. What am I supposed to call it now? No more, “Yeah, I’m going to the Busch race this weekend”. (Which usually made my non-racing savvy friends go, “Huh? She’s watching Bushes race?”) Oughta be interesting to see who will step up to that plate…

Count me out of the DirecTV NASCAR HotPass contingent. I love my DirecTV, but not that much. Call me cheap if you want – but I’m not shelling out 80 bucks to watch/listen to drivers when I don’t even know who they will be from week to week. I’ll stick with my Sirius radio, thank you very much.

Anywho, I hope all of you are doing well. Although it’s been a rocky few months for me, I find that I have a helluva lot to be thankful for

The Diecast Dude’s (Mostly) NASCAR Blah Blah Blog: Dumb And Dumber, NASCAR Style

The Diecast Dude’s (Mostly) NASCAR Blah Blah Blog: Cue The Eerie Music

This thing with Kyle Busch. So what? He threw a temper tantrum and got in trouble. Who cares? (Oh, did I mention, I’m not a Shrub fan?) Can we find something else to discuss in the media?

No, I didn’t mean that either. It’s been dissected ad nauseum this week – to the point that I won’t even read any more articles that mention Stewart/Rudd/scapula/etc. Ok. Tony got hurt driving in another series, probably broke the scapula then – before he climbed in his Cup car the next day. The planets all aligned perfectly and he hit the wall, again, on the same side. I woke up from the Snoozefest 600 long enough to watch him being pulled from his car. My mom even called me from her work (where she was listening to the race while babysitting the inmates) to say, “Oh Tina, I’m soooo sorry.” [Thanks mom ] I tend to agree with the media who speculated that JD might be giving Smoke a sit-down to discuss the facts of multi-series racing life. The boy likes to race, but unfortunately he has more than himself to worry about. His Cup team, his sponsors… I think I’d be happy (am I actually saying this out loud) if he’d chill for the rest of the season in his Cup car and allow himself to heal properly. The older you get, the longer it takes to get over those boo-boos.

Granted, I’m not a big fan of some of the other drivers, but you won’t catch me cheering when those said drivers wreck. I’d like to tell the assholes who were pointing and laughing at Tony as he came to a stop after wrecking in the Busch race: “May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in your pubic hair”. Tacky, tacky indeed.

On the upside, I get to watch Ricky Rudd race this Sunday. I’ve missed him. Sad circumstances, but I’m trying not to be pessimistic. If I had my way, I’d rather Smoke not get in the car at all. I side with DW on this one. Most of the callers on XM Radio didn’t seem to have a problem with Smoke getting the points even though Rudd is driving the car. A few narrow-minded souls thought it was a crock and complained that it just ain’t fair. I’m sure if the heat shield was on the other foot and their driver was a contender, the tune would change rather quickly.

What else do I have a comment about? Hmmm. I’d like to see Elliott climb out of the hole he’s been stuck in. I’m sure the whirlwind changes going on at Yates aren’t helping matters much. I think Robert is really trying to kick the pig a little – and it’s good, but I’m afraid that Elliott’s season won’t get much better until things settle down around him. (I’m driving the Busch car, I’m not driving the Busch car, I am driving the Busch car…am I driving the Busch car?)

Way to go, Richard. I’m sure your son Kyle reaaaaaalllly appreciated your views on women in racing. Not good PR for his charity work, indeed.

COT? Yeah, I have one of those. The guests sleep on it when we have company overnight.

That’s all I have tonight, folks. Just got some bad news about a friend of mine and suddenly I’m not feeling so cheeky.