I’ve been upset after a race before. I’ve been pissed at some driver or another or just at the dumb luck that has befallen one (or more) of my drivers. But I’ve NEVER in my life been so pissed off and worked up as I was after today’s race. At one point I was even in tears because I was so upset.

The incident in question: lap 323 … Carl Edwards turns Brad Keselowski and sends Brad airborne after 3 attempts to do so on previous laps. Here are some pics of what Brad’s car looked like after the wreck: pic 1, pic 2, pic 3. It was a scary wreck and it took a while before they said if Brad was okay or not. The FOX broadcast showed replays of Carl gunning for Brad on earlier laps but missing. I guess he connected all right.

Why did Carl intentionally wreck Brad? Well, no one really knows except for Carl. But I’m pretty sure the incident on lap 40 had something to do with it. In that incident, Carl drifted down in front of Brad, Brad tapped Carl, and it sent Carl into Joey Logano and messing up both of their cars pretty bad while Brad kept going. Yes … I admit that Brad made contact with Carl, but it was a racing incident. Brad was pretty much on the yellow line. He held his line as Carl came down on him. Perhaps Brad could have let off the throttle and let Carl in, but you can’t stop a stock car going over 190 mph on a dime. Brad said he tried to let off the throttle, but he just wasn’t quick enough. Besides, Bobby Labonte was behind Brad. If Brad had let up, who’s to say that Labonte wouldn’t have run into him? Yes, it was early in the race, but Carl could have not tried to put his car where there was no room for it just as much as Brad could have let off the throttle and let Carl in. Neither were to blame or innocent.

NASCAR did park Carl for the rest of the race, but that didn’t really matter. There weren’t many laps left in the race and Carl was over 150 laps down. Carl didn’t deny that he wrecked Brad on purpose. Carl’s exact words:

Brad knows the deal between him and I. The scary part was his car went airborne, which was not at all what I expected. I have a lot of respect for people’s safety. I wish it wouldn’t have gone like it did, but I’m glad he’s OK.

Carl … the cars are going over 190mph at times around Atlanta. How can you not expect something bad is going to happen. And just because you didn’t “expect” him to go airborne, you still shouldn’t have hit him in the first damn place.

After the first incident, it almost sounded like (to me anyway) that Carl thought he was entitled or something … that Brad should have just rolled over and let him in because Brad is a rookie and Carl is a “seasoned veteran”. I don’t care who you are (even Dale Jr), no one is “entitled”. No one should have to move over and let another driver in a spot or let them pass without fighting for position as long as both cars are on the lead lap. Now, if you’re a lap car, yeah … get your ass out of the way. But Brad and Carl were on the same lap during the first incident. Why should Brad roll over for Carl?

Before anyone decides to flame me because I said that I am a Keselowski fan, I never said I wasn’t a Carl Edwards fan. No, he isn’t on my list of favorite drivers, but I didn’t hate him. I have actually cheered for him in a race or two. Not any more. His actions on the track today and his statements after the race have made me lose all respect for him. He had plenty of time to cool down after the first incident, and I believe the FOX pit reporter showed him a replay of what happened before they interviewed him. He consciously made the decision to go out and find Brad on the track and deliberately take him out (the replays showed that fact).

Now … if the tables had been turned … if Brad was the one who wrecked Carl intentionally, I’d be pissed at Brad. Same thing if Dale Jr or Martin Truex or any other driver did that to anyone else on the track (even Kyle Busch). When you’re going the speeds that they go at Atlanta, doing what Carl did was a very poor judgment call.

The other thing that has me pissed about all of this is the fact that there are a lot of people out there who say that Brad deserved what he got … that Brad had it coming … that Brad has taken out drivers in the past at other races. Some have even brought up Talladega last year when Carl flipped after Brad got into him and Brad when on to win (in that situation, Carl tried to block Brad and Brad held his line … Carl would have done the same if the situations had been reversed). I’ll admit that Brad is an aggressive driver. That’s one of the things I like about him. He had to be aggressive last year in the Nationwide series in order to be noticed with all the damn Cup drivers running full seasons (don’t even get me started on that front). But you can’t tell me that Brad is any more aggressive than Kyle Busch or Denny Hamlin. The incidents that people have been mentioning have been “racing deals”. I can’t remember any incidents where Brad intentionally took out another driver (I could be wrong, but I’m sure if there have been any, they are few and far between).

We should find out Tuesday or Wednesday if NASCAR will penalize Carl any more than parking him for the rest of the race. Initially I was calling for NASCAR to park him. Now I’m backing off that. I do still think he should receive some sort of penalty. He should definitely lose some points and be fined some money … something harsh enough to prevent him (and any other driver) from doing something that stupid again. I have a feeling that NASCAR won’t do a damn thing though. If that’s the case, this will happen again, I guarantee it. It will keep happening until someone (driver, crew member, or fan in the stands) gets seriously hurt.

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Last year, Dale Jr had some problems in the practices. He also got in an accident during the race and finished 28th. Hopefully he’ll fair better this year (he needs it after how his season has gone).

It would be better if I was actually at the racetrack for race weekend, but it is cool that my name is on a racecar in the race. My Dad signed up too (copycat ). His name is on the truck deck lid. The race is Sunday afternoon. Hopefully at the end of the race Dale Jr will be in Victory Lane. Maybe Dad & I will be his good luck charms (along with the over 70,000 other people who have their names on the car).

To whom it may concern:

We need to talk about the quality of your coverage of the Nationwide series and Sprint Cup series race broadcasts. I can sum the broadcasts up in one word: POOR. You really need to improve the quality of the broadcasts. You are managing to piss off loyal NASCAR fans. They are turning the tv off and finding other means of following the races.

And believe me, there are numerous sources for race coverage out there on the internet: MRN/PRN coverage, Twitter, numerous racing blogs and message boards, just to name a few. I myself have not yet turned the tv off, but I have the volume so low that I barely pay attention. I listen to the MRN/PRN broadcast online as well as in-car audio. I also follow numerous NASCAR reporters on Twitter (who are actually tweeting from the race track) and visit The Dale Earnhardt Jr Pit Stop and The Daly Planet during the races. I receive more information from these sources than I do from the ESPN coverage.

I know that I am not the only person who feels this way about your coverage. I see numerous people on Twitter and the websites I mentioned above expressing their “displeasure” with the coverage race after race. There are numerous aspects of the coverage that people are discussing. I agree with the majority of them. There are way too many to discuss here, but I’ll give you a sampling of the most disturbing to me (in no particular order).

• Neglecting to reset the field after pit stops. You are consistently going to commercial after pit stops during a caution flag have been completed BEFORE resetting the field. The ticker doesn’t appear onscreen until the green flag drops. That is so completely unacceptable. I want to know who is running where BEFORE they go back to racing.
• Pit stops under green. For some reason, you insist on showing green flag pit stops full screen, focusing on a single driver. Do you not realize that there is still racing going on on the track? How hard is it to put 2 windows onscreen: one of the pit stop and the other focusing on the racing that is still going on?
• Pits stops under caution. There is rarely a pit stop cycle under caution where you don’t break away from the “triple pits” to show a single car’s stop as the cars are coming to the end of pit road. Stop doing that for crying out loud. The viewers lose all focus as to the cars coming out of the pits. The order out of the pits is an important thing you know. Jeez.
• Zooming in on a single car. There are so many times during a race that you are zoomed in so close on a single car that I can damn near see the driver inside the car. And numerous times, these zoomed in shots are of a car that is all alone on the track. Again, the viewers lose focus of the “big picture”. While you are zoomed in to the leader who has a 5 second lead, we’re missing passes for position elsewhere in the field. What gives?
• Spastic camera work. I’m talking about zooming in and out and switching between different camera angles in quick succession. You rarely stick with a wide shot of cars that are racing for position. There have been several times that you’ve had a wide shot of one driver setting up another for a pass, and then when the driver is beginning his pass, you switch to a zoomed in shot elsewhere in the field and we miss the pass altogether.
• Ignoring “Start & Park” cars. I do give Marty Reid props … he does call out the ‘start & park’ drivers during the Nationwide races. But as for the Sprint Cup races, the ‘start & park’ drivers are completely ignored.
• Ignoring racing for position deep in the field. You need to remember that there are 43 cars on the track during the races. I don’t care if they’re not passing for the lead, I still want to see the passes that are farther back in the field. Sometimes the best racing on the track is for 18th or 20th positions. Please show it to us.
• Forgetting about the rest of the field once the leader takes the checkered flag. I want to see ALL of the drivers cross the finish line at the end of the race. There are some good passes for position at the finish. So stop zooming in on the leader after he crosses the line.
• The pre-race show. I want to see more interviews with drivers during the pre-race show. Don’t show so many taped/pre-produced segments. The drivers and how they think their cars are going to handle for the race are more important to me that seeing some taped segment with Brad Daughtery that is basically a commercial for Bush’s beans.
• Showing anything at full screen during green flag racing. Nothing, I repeat NOTHING, should be shown at full screen during green flag racing expect for the racing itself. If you want to show a replay or a car going to the garage or a crew chief on the pit box or a “tech garage” segment, do it in a small secondary box on the screen with the green flag racing in a large box on the screen. Green flag racing is more important than anything else you think you need to show us.
• Too many in-car shots. As with the spastic camera work, showing too many in-car shots lead the viewers to lose focus of the “big picture”. You can show an in-car shot every now and again if it is important to the situation. Stop showing them just because you can.
• The ticker. The ticker should ALWAYS show the interval behind the leader. And the ticker should NEVER show the ‘points as of now’ during the race. For crying out loud, the race isn’t going to end now so that information is irrelevant.

I could continue, but you get the idea. All of these items are things that can easily be resolved. But you continue to do things the way that you want. I think you really need to start listening to the fans. If the fans quit watching, you’re going to lose money. Advertisers aren’t going to spend money with you because no one will see their ads. And no matter what you think, without the fans you are irrelevant. Without fans, there is no reason to even have a race. The fans are what bring the advertisers to you. Think about that for a while, why don’t you.

Think long and hard about things. Start giving a damn about what the fans think. Who knows, making changes that the fans suggest might even bring you more money. A race broadcast that the fans are actually excited about can bring more advertisers to the table because they know more people will see their ads. Hmmm … never thought about that, did you?

If things continue as they have been, pretty soon no one will even bother to watch the tv coverage. The MRN/PRN broadcasts have more energy and provide a more complete coverage of the action, and they have to rely on explaining things rather than showing the cars on the track. The radio broadcasts together with the numerous online sources have practically made YOUR coverage obsolete. [BTW ... the other networks don't seem to have the same issues that you do, so what's your excuse?]

I just thought I’d give you a chance to fix things before I wrote you off completely. But then again, who am I kidding. You don’t give a damn about the fans. You’re going to continue to show whatever the hell that you want. But in the end, that’s gonna bite you in the ass. I can’t wait for that day to come. I’ll be grinning ear to ear.

Sincerely,
A NASCAR fan who’s ready to give up on ESPN

During the first practice today, he had engine issues, and they had to change the engine. Then after only 9 laps on the track during the second practice, his right rear tire exploded. And when I say exploded, I mean EXPLODED. It tore up the rear of the car, and several other cars were also involved. They had to bring out a backup for him. Luckily, the names are on the backup car too.

Hopefully all these issues for Jr during practice will mean he will have a good race on Sunday. He’ll have to start in the back because he’s in a backup car, but that boy knows his way around Talladega. He’ll be up front before the race even reaches halfway.

And here’s what Paul signed for me …

I snapped a couple of pics of Paul when he was signing stuff for the people in front of me. Then it was my turn. I had bought a hat at the other Menards (in West Fargo) last Friday. And they had some hero cards that they were signing (good thing too since I didn’t have anything for Matt to sign). He signed my hat and asked my name so he could put it on the hero card. And I asked him if I could get a picture with him. He said yes … :dancin: The guy behind me in line was nice enough the take the pic for me. Paul put his arm around me and I put mine around him for the pic … That SO made my year. Here’s the pic. It turned out really good … except for me … LOL. Robin … don’t hit me for saying that … LOL.

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I need to resize the other pics I took and put copyrights on ‘em, and then I’ll put them up on my photo gallery. I’ll post the link after I get that done. I think I should eat first. I’m flying high right now and probably will be all nite (hell … probably for the rest of the week), so I’ve got the energy to get it done.

Now I just need to meet Dale Jr, Martin Truex Jr, and Scott Riggs, and I can die happy …

I shoulda stuck around ’til the appearance was done (8pm) and tried my kidnap plan then. Maybe I should go back and hide out and wait for him and grab him. :hmm: Nah … better not. That’s no way to make an impression … :G-LOL:

* That is there were only 2 people in front of me when I got there, but 3 when Paul got there. Some bitch decided she was just going to plop herself at the front of the line … in front of everyone else who was patiently standing in line. I mean, the guy in front of me had been there since 4. And who in the hell budges in front of a kid (who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old). I gave her some pretty nasty looks, but apparently it didn’t phase her. The guys behind me were going to go say something to her. But I think they came to the same conclusion I did … it just wasn’t worth it. Who wants to start a scene. And besides … I wasn’t gonna get thrown out of the store before I got to meet Paul.

I was just going through the flyer while I ate looking for the ‘celebrity appearances’. And what did I find when I came across the page in the middle of the flyer?

Special Appearances … NASCAR Driver Paul Menard … :dancin: :dancin: :dancin:

I just wanted to be sure, so I went to the Menards Racing website to be sure. And what do I find?

MOORHEAD, MN
Date – Tuesday, October 23rd
6pm – 8pm

Moorhead Menards
3000 27th Avenue South
Moorhead, MN 56560

Drivers:
Paul Menard
Matt Crafton

See the new Menards Race simulator:
10am – 4pm

Looks like I might be taking a little more flex time next week so I can go get in line. OMG!!!!! I SO can’t wait. I gotta find some Paul Menard merchandise before then. I’ll probably have to go to Menards to find any. I haven’t been able to anywhere else. But I need something for him to sign. OMG!!!

I’d better go finish eating. My corn dog is probably getting cold. Oh well. Paul Menard is coming to town … :drool2:

I will ALWAYS be a Dale Jr fan. Even though he is going where he is going. I’m gonna have to suck it up. But just because he’s driving for Hendrick and he’s going to be teammates with Jeffie Poo ( ) and Jimmie ( ), that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna cheer for those two. The only good thing is that he’s going to be teammates with Casey Mears now. Maybe Lisa and I won’t fight so much when we’re watching the races together (yeah right … aren’t sisters SUPPOSED to fight … LOL).

I really hope that Budweiser decides to move with Dale Jr. It would be so weird seeing him drive a car with any other sponsor on it. It’s gonna be strange enough to see him in a car that doesn’t have the #8 on it. But whatever his car #8 and whomever his sponsor is … I’m still gonna be a Dale Jr fan. I’m not a “fair-weather” fan. I’m a TRUE fan.

All I know is that the 2008 NASCAR season is going to be an interesting season.

The site is called Infield Parking. They don’t currently have as many features as MySpace does, but I believe they’re planning on adding more soon. They already have blogs for the drivers that are members (and there’s quite a few). I’m hoping they add them for regular members soon. I don’t know if I would post in it much since I’ve got this place. But I might post something now and then.

So, if you’re a race fan, head over and sign up. And even if you’re not, check out my Parking Place and let me know what you think. I’m still tweaking things and deciding what I want on there. I don’t want it to get too cluttered and obnoxious like some MySpace pages are (they’re out there … I know you’ve seen the ones I’m talking about). And this site is MUCH easier to customize than MySpace is … at least for me. The CSS for the stuff at Infield Parking is much more thought out and tweak-friendly.

Now, I need to get away from my computer. I didn’t get a chance to write up my grocery list last nite (I started a new project … cleaning up my financial records. Now I just need to get a paper shredder and go through my old records. I have stuff dating back to 1997), so I’d better get that done tonite.