[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lajster
[B]


I slept until 7:30 this AM

 

As I said earlier, no mention of rain in the forecast but got nailed top down in a downpour and what seemed like 1000MPH winds. Still raining. Car is dirty again.

 

I've been a NASCAR fan since before it was Winston Cup. Broke my heart when we lost Dale, I was at Atlanta for his last complete race. I've been a big fan of Mikey for a looong time now, remember when he nearly bought it at Bristol in his Busch car when he hit the gate? Most of the other drivers now are too generic for me, I guess that's why I'm also partial to Smoke, he reminds me so much of Dale.

That said, I'll watch anything that has a motor in it and competes, roundy-round, drag racing, sporty cars, about the only thing I don't care for now is F-1 because of all the over-engineering and driver aids and follow the leader it's become. Back in the 60s-70s F-1 was much more attractive to me, it seemed a lot more competitive then.

One thing Hilly and I have discovered is when we drive top-down in the evening, we get SO aired out that we sleep like stones the entire night.

Oh... weather...

3:20PM, bright sun, severe clear, 95 and HUMID. Did I say humid???!!!??? As in dripping, moss-growing-under-the-arms HUMID!!!???!!!

Still predicting severe weather later today and tonight, we're going to family nearby for a picnic and I'm debating whether to take the S or walk. I'd hate to get caught with it outside if it hails.

Tom

 

Tom,

I hope to meet you. We can talk "Nextel Cup" (sounds weird, doesn't it?) with lajster. I'm surprised we got the storms BEFORE you. Went from 87 to 73. I went out in the garage to look at my dripping wet spa...

 

By the way, I became a fan in 1996 when my buddy took me to the fall night Richmond races. We camped offsite (that'll NEVER happen again) and saw the Craftsman Truck race. The Busch race was cancelled due to hurricane ??? (forgot the name). Then the Cup race. Ernie Irvan won. It was awesome. Richmond is a great track. I WANT so bad to go to the Bristol night race though. . I love short tracks. Hate these lame 1.5 mile cookie cutters. No a big fan of Daytona and Talladega either. But I will be in front of the box tonight watching the Busch race from Daytona. I can't stand F1 either. Talk about classic follow-the-leader. YUK. The only time position changes from qualifying is when there is attrition. Or someone is moved over for Michael. I'm not generally a big open wheel fan, but the IRL has caught my eye. Some fantastic finishes last year. Especially Texas. Still love my beloved NASCAR best though.

 

Storms are done. Sun is coming back out. Temperature and humidity on the way back up. Ribs headed to the grill.

 

When I was 11 or 12 a friend took me to a race in Marlboro MD which at that time was a dirt track. My intro to racing!

I like the short tracls too - so much that on my way down to Nasville I stopped at Bristol TN just to see what it's like. Never got to the track (couldn't find it!) but just being in the town was enough.

It's good to find other NASCAR fans.

 

I agree. So many people make fun of me because they hold onto the old "NASCAR is beer swilling, fat slobbering, chicken bone throwing hillbilly's" view. It's the second most watched sport behind football. Fastest growing sport in the USA. I was also amused to hear Williams-BMW F1 owner say that "he couldn't afford to sign Jeff Gordon". This is when him and Montoya did the promotional car swap.

 

Friday evening, 07/04/03, 7:50 PM. Hot and humid. 83*F. Great sunny day.

 

Ohio...

I think it'd be great to get together and ride, eat/drink and talk racing and "stuff" with you and lajster and whomever else. I like Daytona and 'dega, but I hate plate racing. What NASCAR needs to do is remove the plate, allow the engines to make horsepower and have good throttle response, dirty up the cars like anything to slow them down and get rid of the "aero" crap, and return the racing to the drivers.

I too hate the cookie cutter mile-and-a-half tri-ovals, we have one here just south of me at Joliet and I'll prolly never go there. The ONLY way to get tickets is to buy a package deal, consisting of the Busch and Cup race, and the ARCA and IRL race. Cheapest seat is something like $300 and I can't see doing that.

I'd LOVE to see the night race at Bristol, but that is the toughest ticket to get. I agree about IRL, seems that series is finally starting to gel and produce good racing, while CART is continuing to have problems. Oh well, it'll all eventually shake out.

Laj, I agree about finding other race fans, people at work hear I'm into racing and they look at me like I'm nuts. Talk about football though, and they go all gaagaa. Diff'rent strokes, I guess...

Rob, are you into auto racing also? LOL I could prolly do a search on your nick to find that out, I 'spose...

Ohio, the storms never materialized. It's still hot and humid, so we may get some popcorn t-storms later tonight. The day was clear here though, and we took the S to the picnic and had a great time with family.

Car is safely put to bed, all nice and shiny and clean; tomorrow looks to be cooler and we may spend the day searching "rustic roads" in Wisconsin.

Tom