Monday, October 1, 2007

Money vs. Tradition - The Rock

Tomorrow is a big day for NASCAR. No, Dale Jr. isn't testing somewhere. No, we are not awaiting some penalty to Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart or the Hendricks drivers. How many of you know what I'm talking about?

Tomorrow will be the death of a small part of NASCAR history. The Rock will be sold at an absolute auction. A wonderful raceway that hosted NASCAR races from 1965 to 2004 - gone, just like that. Sold to the person with the highest bid. Someone will walk away from Rockingham, North Carolina with the deed to the property. Will they destroy it? Will they revive it? Who knows.

Unfortunately, this historic track may be bought by a person(s) or company that has no interest in the tradition of The Rock. Some people that have "expressed interest have no ties to the racing industry, including Blackwater USA, the private security firm that made recent headlines for a controversial firefight in Iraq, which is looking to establish a military training facility within a chopper's hop of Fort Bragg. There has also been talk of a Raleigh-based developer with an eye on converting the facility into an amphitheater, and golf course architects interested in such a large chunk of land only 30 minutes south of Pinehurst National." Credit: Ryan McGee, ESPN The Magazine
Photo Credit: msnbcmedia2.msn.com

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Time To Wax Smoke

YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT, TONY STEWART HAS AGREED TO WAX HIS CHEST AND BACK IF $100,000.00 IS RAISED FOR THE VICTORY JUNCTION GANG CAMP!

I don't know if you all have been watching over the last several weeks as Tony's hair has gotten longer. And by longer, I mean everywhere. His head, face, etc. He does need some serious waxing and grooming!

Back to the story. There seems to be a huge charity-benefiting bet between Happy Harvick and Smoke that started back at the Daytona 500 in February 2007.

Smoke was quoted by www.WaxTony.com as saying, "I've made a deal that if somebody will raise $100,000 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp - that's Kyle Petty's charity for children with life-threatening illnesses - I'll wax my chest and back. NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick says he's going to raise the money and be there to witness the pain, because I'm like a Chia Pet on steroids. I mean, I make Chew-bacca look bald."

The story from www.jayski.com:

"Latest amount raised as of 8-29-2007: $36,186.00.

During the Daytona 500 pre-race show, Tony Stewart held up a photograph of Ronald McDonald that had been altered so it appeared that Kevin Harvick was wearing Ronald's suit. Now, those of you who are familiar with Kevin know that he does not let a practical joke go unanswered. So here is Kevin's retort:

Kevin's new colors may indeed be similar to those of Ronald McDonald, but have you seen Tony Stewart's chest and back? Because Tony is such a great guy, he has offered up a solution to his follicle issues.Tony said on his SIRIUS satellite radio show, Tony Stewart Live, that if someone would raise $100,000 for charity, he would wax his chest and back. Who are we to pass up an offer like that? Call it "revenge for the Ronald McDonald photo," call it a great opportunity to raise money for Victory Junction Gang Camp or just call it plain funny. (Think Tony will scream like a girl when they rip all that hair out?)

Visit Happy's eSHOP and make your donation. You can donate in increments of $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, $25.00, $50.00 and $100.00. Every penny collected in "Operation: Wax Smoke" will be donated to Victory Junction Gang Camp. We will be accepting donations until we reach our goal. Tell all your friends, and tell their friends to tell their friends. $100,000 to get us to put Tony Stewart in a salon chair, cover his chest and back with hot wax, place wax strips on it and rrrrip the hairs right out. Good times! Once we reach our $100,000 goal, and Tony is ready to be waxed, we’ll give you all the details of when and where it is happening."

Wow - good times indeed. I will be looking for follow-ups on this. Let's all hope this happens AFTER the end of the Chase this year, or else we might have a Samson & Delilah portrayal in the making!

HFL

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Joey Logano - 2007 Busch Series East Champion

Joey Logano, 17 year-old phenom driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, took home the 2007 Championship in the Busch Series East division at Dover this past Friday.

Joey will be crowned champion in his home state of Connecticut on December 15, 2007 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, at the awards banquet.

If you haven't heard of him, or actually read about his amazing 13 year racing career, this link will get you to the impressive stats, including many championships in several divisions! From 1/4 Midgets at age 6, to Hooters Pro Cup in 2006, this very young and extremely talented driver is going to keep making headlines. Joey will be taking over the JGR #20 Busch Series car for Denny Hamlin in 2008. Of course, he has to make the NASCAR age limit to participate, and will turn 18 in May of 2008.

Joey finished the Dover race Friday in 2nd place, just ahead of 18 year-old Jeffrey Earnhardt, Kerry Earnhardt's son, and Dale Earnhardt's grandson. [As a sidenote: Kerry Earnhardt will be running in the ARCA race at Talladega on Friday, October 5th in the #37 GLOCK Chevrolet, after a six year break from that series.]

I'm looking forward to following Joey's career and hope he will be with JGR for a long and prosperous racing career.