Behind every cloud, there's a silver celebration

(This is Michele's second guest blog. She got to go behind the scenes at this weekend's NASCAR Busch Series Silver Celebration 250 at Gateway International Raceway. Here Michele shares her notes about the race, and some photos from the infield throught the link at the end. Thanks again, Michele!

Look for the story of yesterday's sweltering experience at the Lucas Oil Late Model race at Tri-City very soon. Spring and I are recovering today from the heat, and will get everything on just as soon as we can.)

(Michele) As part of my research for my NASCAR-licensed Harlequin book (tentatively titled Hart’s Victory and out in November 2007), NASCAR graciously provided me with garage and pit credentials for the Busch series race at Gateway International Raceway so that I could get an up close and personal look.

In addition to getting my questions answered, and since Val had asked me to do this blog, I decided to focus most of my attention on two drivers: Busch series points leader Kevin Harvick and local boy (from Columbia, MO) and hometown hero Carl Edwards. It helped that Edwards was second in the points standings, meaning that his hauler and garage were right next to Harvick’s as garage space is assigned by points standings.

Harvick drove the #21 Coast Guard Chevrolet and Edwards drove the #60 Henkel’s Ford Fusion. The weekend was marked by late afternoon storms, meaning that the track had to be dried before both the Friday practice and the Saturday evening race. Harvick also drove his backup car, after sustaining damage during the Friday night practice. While he placed third in qualifying line up, right behind Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards, the race from the very first lap was simply an Edwards/Hamlin race.

The race itself, if not the weekend, belonged to Carl Edwards. While Edwards swapped the lead with pole winner Denny Hamlin several times, the race wasn’t Edwards until he pitted first on lap 177, forcing leader Hamlin to pit afterwards and only take fuel. Hamlin simply couldn’t catch Edwards, who awed the crowds with his traditional back flip and a shortened victory lap—reversing between turns one and two to wave at the people in the grandstands.

Carl was the focus of most race fans the entire weekend. Fans spoke about their Carl Edwards sightings and how gracious he was every time. Carl was late (I heard he was driving in from Columbia and got stuck in rush hour traffic) to his autograph signing for season ticket holders on Friday, but he had a smile for everyone and signed everything from a car hood to someone’s t-shirt (while on the man’s body). During the ARCA/Re Max race, Carl strolled up the stands to the press box wearing nothing but black jeans and a black shirt embroidered with the words Office Depot, and only the back few rows of people recognized who had walked up so quickly. On his way down after the race, Carl signed autographs as he worked his way back through the crowd; no security staff bullied the fans aside. On Saturday, Carl signed at his merchandise trailer, outside his hauler, and after qualifying as he walked back into the garage area.

This was a race Carl wanted to win as it was on his home turf, and once the race became only a contest between him and Hamlin (who placed third), every fan at Gateway was pulling for Carl, whether they were die-hard Edwards fans or not. Missouri has a long tradition of racing, from Rusty, Mike, Kenny and now Steve Wallace, to Kenny Schrader and Joplin’s Jamie McMurray. This weekend was Carl’s time to shine, both on the track and off, and shine he did. My daughter, whose #99 hat is now emblazoned with Carl Edward’s signature, had the time of her life. She also decided that Steve Wallace (who is only 18 and placed second in the ARCA/Re Max raced and 31st in the Busch race) is a driver to watch.

Michele's photos

Race Fever is Hereditary, You Can Even Get it from Your Kids!

Last week, author Michele Dunaway had the privilige of taking a behind-the-scenes tour of Roush Racing's facility in North Carolina. Accompanied by her daughter, Alison, Michele got to see the inner workings of Carl Edwards' race shop, tour a hauler, and visit the Roush Racing Museum. This is her account of the events of that visit. Thanks, Michele! (And who would have thought that research could be fun?)

(Michele) My 11-year old daughter has her first crush. (Okay, second if you count Smallville’s Tom Welling, but she never went as gaga for him.) My daughter has become a race fan, specifically Carl Edwards, driver of the Nextel cup number 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion and the number 60 Ameriquest Ford Fusion in the Busch series.So imagine Alison’s delight when, because of my research for Hart’s Victory, my contracted NASCAR book for Harlequin, she got to accompany to Concord, NC, and visit Roush Racing last Monday for an insider tour.

While another author (Abby Gaines) and I took notes, Alison did what any star-struck child would do. She gaped. She screamed when she first saw the number 99 transporter sitting behind the fence. She stood in front of the cardboard cutout in the Roush Racing museum, and then she couldn’t contain her giddiness when later, during our behind-the-glass tour graciously given by James Rodway, Roush’s director of licensing, Alison got to actually go in Carl Edward’s hauler and touch his helmet. She got to stand by his cars and see his shop. Talk about a dream come true.

Alison is going to her first race this weekend, to see her driver hopefully win the Busch series race at Gateway. She’s got a hat to wear and a shirt emblazoned with Carl’s picture. She’s geared up and ready to go. She’s excited, and it’s thrilling for me to see her catch the fever.

As for me, I’ll be there, too. I’m doing more research. I’m going to enjoy myself, of course, but in a sense I’m working, too. I’ll be researching and taking notes. But most importantly I’ll be doing my number one job: Mom. And this mom will be watching daughter’s eyes go wide with joy.

Racing goes to the dogs

This is Ashley's dog, Reagan, who likes to accompany her to racing events at places like Talladega Speedway. I love her red cowgirl hat!

With that red hat, I'm guessing she's a Dale Jr. fan, but I could be wrong.

Hometown History, Accidental Heroines and What NEVER to Wear

Here she is, the Diva of Department Stores, or as Jesse calls her, "Flamingo Lady!"

(Val) Monday was my daughter’s 18th birthday, and as is our family tradition, we took the day off to go out and do whatever she chose to do. It’s always fun with Jesse, because we just never know what she’s going to pick. This year was definitely one of my favorites.

For starters, we hit the St. Louis Galleria and did a little shopping. We didn’t buy much, but we did have a good time looking around and just goofing off. I think everybody’s favorite store had to be The Sharper Image, where we found all kinds of really cool gadgets.

When we had seen all we needed to see of the mall, we headed out to the truck and prepared to head down town for a trip into history. Before we could leave the parking lot, we caught site of an amazing example of a major Fashion Don’t! As you can see in the photo, this woman was dressed to the nines in pink and green to an unprecedented degree of coordination. I couldn’t help but laugh as my husband waited for her to cross in front of us, but I did my best not to let her see. Besides the top and matching skirt you see here, she also sported a pair of matching pink pumps and her make-up would make Tammy Faye Bakker green with envy.

Honestly, I know I’m no fashion plate, in fact, I’m not even a fashion saucer, but oh my goodness! And to be fair, I couldn’t help but think that when she left the house that morning, she probably did so with an air of utter confidence that she was really styling and would be the envy of all the other elderly ladies at the mall. Lucky for her, it seems as if her hubby didn’t object to her sense of fashion, because he was right there next to her carrying her shopping bags. I can only imagine what was in there!

Inside the beautiful dome of St. Louis' Old Courthouse.

After getting our kicks via the Galleria Gal, we made our way downtown to St. Louis’ Old Courthouse, whose claim to fame is that this is where the famous Dred Scott case took place. This was my favorite stop of the day, as I love history, and to walk through the doorway, and on into the rotunda literally took my breath away. A giant American Flag hung from the beautifully frescoed dome, and red, white and blue bunting was everywhere. It was absolutely gorgeous.

We enjoyed exploring the building, looking at all of the artifacts housed there, and reading the stories of our ancestors. A friendly National Parks worker even told us some little-known history about the courthouse. It seems that the Dred Scott anti-slavery case was only one of over 250 such cases heard in the St. Louis courts. There is an ongoing project to tabulate all of these cases, because of the idea that the Dred Scott case was unique. It has garnered attention as being the case that was the final straw that started the Civil War, but it was certainly not the only case of its kind.

We all took turns shooting pictures inside and out, and really enjoyed ourselves. It’s hard to believe that I was born and raised in the area, yet had never been there before. Thanks to Jesse for changing that!

My baby, on her 18th birthday doing her famous pose in front of the waterfall at the Zoo.

Because Jesse’s birthday falls at the height of summer, we have often found ourselves at the zoo on that day. We have our own little tradition of taking Jesse’s picture next to a waterfall at the south entrance. Since we were on our way home, and had other plans, we just made a quick stop to take the photo before continuing on our way.

We girls hopped out of the truck and made our way into the Zoo, one of the only FREE zoos in the United States, by the way, and over to the waterfall. After snapping a couple of pictures, we headed toward the exit, which seemed to be in a state of chaos.

Let me preface this next paragraph by saying that, as you may have seen on the news, St. Louis got hit by two major storms last week, which knocked out electricity to over half a million people. There are still people waiting for their power to come back on today. I think that we, as a nation, are pretty spoiled by all of our modern conveniences, such as those auto-flush potties, self-checkouts, and power doors. It was this last item that caused such a problem as we tried to leave the zoo.

The zoo has those automatic doors that are supposed to open as you approach. For some reason, the door appeared to be stuck closed, and there were no other places to exit. People were milling all around, and I heard one say to the other something to the effect of, “There’s supposed to be an exit here somewhere but I guess we’re going to have to find another one.”

This is Jesse's 18th birthday cake. Yes, we are both total Cars nuts!

People were literally starting to get into a frenzy because they could not find a way out of the zoo. It would have been funny if it weren’t for the fact that it was SO INCREDIBLY SAD!

Instead of turning away like the rest of the Chicken Littles in the crowd, I walked through their midst, grabbed the edge of the door, and slid it open MANUALLY. Jesse and I walked through, trying to contain our giggles, but joking the whole time about Super Girl and Wonder Mom and how we saved the zoo patrons.

Scott and Brenden had no idea what was so funny but when we got into the truck, and looked back at the mass exodus from the zoo, we explained what happened and had everyone in stitches. It looked as if someone had released the flood gates, and we wondered just how long those people would have stayed in there if we hadn’t come to their rescue!

Brenden crashed out in the backseat of the truck on the way home from our last stop, Dave & Buster's.

It was a really great day, and along with these adventures, we also stopped for a look around Grand Prix Speedways, had lattes at Picaso’s and wound up at Dave & Buster’s for games and dinner. It was a very long day, as you can see from the picture of Brenden, but I think we all had a pretty good time.

Happy Birthday to my baby! Sniff.

At the Old Ball Yard

Updated 7.20.06 (Val) What a crazy night here in the St. Louis area! My hubby and son went down to Busch Stadium for Little League Night at the Cards game. Two hours before game time, severe weather came through the area that was incredibly frightening.

Here at home, my daughter and I just beat the storm home and we turned on the tv to see some monster supercells headed our way, and worse, straight for downtown St. Louis.

All I can say is, thank God for cell phones! I called my hubby to warn him, and he and the gang all got to safety, but he said it was quite nuts down there for a while. There was a tornado warning, and one was reportedly spotted not too far from the downtown area. They rode out the storm, and stayed for the first part of the ball game, which started nearly 2 and a half hours lately.

And the saga continues, because now they are on a Bi-State bus headed back to the Metrolink lot where they parked because all of the Metrolink lines are down. We have been tracking their progress, and hopefully, they will be at the lot soon. We are a little worried about what they will find when they get there, as the lot is near Lambert Airport which was hit hard. Part of the roof was blown off, the power is out, and lots of folks are stranded.

We have been very fortunate here. Our power flickered, but never went off. 407,000 people in our area have not had the same fate and are now sitting in pitch darkness, warily anticipating our projected 102 degree temperatures tomorrow. Lack of electricity and record heat are not a good combination.

Weather has been rough all over, and right now it's St. Louis' turn to experience our piece of disaster. With three buildings down, (so far) windows blown out of downtown hotels, two bridges blocked and much more damage, it's going to take some time to recover from this one.

The only good thing is that the temps have cooled for the time being, and after tomorrow, we are supposed to be in a cooler trend. Lord, just help everyone get through tomorrow!

Update:

Brenden looks out at a city besieged by storm when he should have been enjoying the first pitch at the new stadium.

The guys got home sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 am and I was waiting for them. It was good to see them wander through the door and hear all about their ordeal at the ballpark. Scott got some pretty amazing footage of the storm, and some really great still shots too. I am adding three of them here, which he also uploaded to one of our local news sites.

A red sunset paints the sky after the threatening storm passes.

I'm just so grateful they made it home safely and that we still have electricity! Almost a half million people here are without power and I can only imagine what a long day it has been for them.

A red sunset over Busch Stadium is a gift after the intense storm that came before.

Ashley Does 'Dega

Below is Ashley's report from Talladega Superspeedway, where she attended a media function on Monday that involved tossing a few questions to Tony Stewart. Of course, I know there is more to this story, and with a little prodding, maybe we'll get her to spill the rest of it. (Like how she shamelessly flirted with this two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion.)

Anyway, thanks to Ashley for making my week by getting to hang with my favorite NNC driver and sharing all the fun, and for taking the time to snap a few pics along the way. You go, girl!

Tony Stewart climbs the high banks of TSS to get to the paver.

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- How does the 2005 Nextel Champion celebrate the news that he will be inducted into the Talladega/Texaco Walk of Fame during the October UAW-Ford 500? Tony Stewart learned Monday morning that he, along with Rusty Wallace, will receive that honor and to celebrate he spent the morning visiting the Talladega Superspeedway, which is undergoing a massive re-paving project. Not to be left out of the action, Stewart pitched in "hands on" with the resurfacing in progress at TSS by testing his driving skills behind the gears of the paving equipment.

Entertaining the paving crew from Sunmount, (Justin, Texas) the 2005 Nextel Cup Champion scaled up the 33 degree banking of the speedway - which is equivalent to a five-story building - and climbed into the cab of a paving machine.

Later Stewart commented that “it was much easier to drive 180+ mph around the track, than to drive 9 mph in a piece of equipment. I kept thinking about the things that could happen if this thing (the paver) wrecked --- they are far worse than a bad day on the track.”

Tony Stewart chats with the media at TSS.

Stewart, driver of the Home Depot #20, said he was excited about the opportunity that the resurfacing would offer; racing three and four wide on the new asphalt at TSS in October. He pointed out that all of the teams would have to make changes and adjustments to their cars from the April race at TSS, such as tires and stability with the speed they were going to experience on the new surface.

Race fans watching or following Sunday’s Nextel race at Loudon heard Stewart express a very strong opinion regarding the behavior and skill of the rookies and less experienced drivers that led to his team leaving the race early. The candid approach Tony Stewart took with the media, following an upsetting run at New Hampshire International the day before, was refreshing. He entertained questions ranging from the incidents during that race to his philanthropy and stories of local racing hero Red Farmer (AL).

He replied, showing his personality, to the pointed “where do you feel your team is at this point in the season” question with the comment that they were in a “luck slump- that’s all."

The two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion is also a veteran of Sprint and Midget racing, IRL, and the NASCAR Busch Series, as well as being the track owner/promoter of Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Stewart is a philanthropist, and is involved in all aspects of trying to keep NASCAR racing real for the drivers and the fans.

For more information on Tony Stewart visit www.tonystewart.com

For continued update information on the repaving please visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com

Tony Stewart Update

(Val) Ashley just called from Talladega and she is having a ball. Tony is "helping" to re-pave the track and is apparently garnering a lot of attention, as even the workers have their cameras out and are snapping pictures. She's been taking pictures of him driving the paver and it appears that he is enjoying the job. I sure hope the unions don't get wind of this! :)

She will be talking to Tony shortly and assures me that she will relay my offer about the home made pizza. We'll see what he says about that!

A New Spin on Home Improvement with Tony Stewart

(Val) It's 9am CST here and in about an hour, Ashley will be at Talladega interviewing Tony Stewart for RaceFan and GGR. The invitation came via email last week, and when I forwarded it to her, I did so with a kind of "I dare you" attitude. I should have known that since her chat with Will Ferrell regarding Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, Ashley would never back down from a challenge.

She IMed me this morning to let me know that she has the number one slot for her visit. After his spin yesterday at Loudon, I speculated as to whether or not she should maybe keep her distance. Hopefully, Tony has had a little time to cool down after spending all that time in the garage, and is ready to move on with life. (And hey, I'm not putting him down for being upset. Who wouldn't be?)

Ashley and I had fun putting our heads together with regard to quesions for Mr. Stewart. I hope she has a blast at the interview, takes some pictures and shares them as soon as she returns.

Of course, since we have already purchased three LG appliances from Home Depot this year, and still need to get one more, I told her to let him know that I feel like I own the front bumper on his car. I even offered to let him use our house for his next home improvement project in order to win a race. Since we are really in need of a deck, I thought the offer was very generous. In addition, I just sent Ashley a text message, offering to make home made pizza for Tony, with all of his favorite toppings!

Anyway, good luck to Ashley with the interview. As soon as she gets it transcribed, we will hopefully be able to share it with you here and on RaceFan.com.

Great things come in small packages

(Val) Spring and I, and our husbands, had the great privilige last night of being invited to an open house event at Grand Prix Speedways, and this time we got to do more than just look around and ask questions!

To begin with, GPS is not a go kart track, it's an experience. The cars are Italian, expensive, and run on electricity. With the price of gas hovering at three bucks a gallon, they may actually pay for themselves in fuel savings! The best part of using electric karts over the gas-powered kind is that there is no exhaust, and therefore no need for fans or air filtration systems. When you walk in, you don't smell the cars. My guess is, once the restaurant is done, the fragrance will be mouth-watering steak rather than construction-induced sawdust.

On our last visit, there were no cars running, so it was difficult to get a feel for the speed and excitement. This time, various groups were taking turns on the track, and there were a few black flags thrown along the way, but for the most part, everyone behaved themselves...except maybe our hubbies! (We just can't take them anywhere!)

Before anyone is allowed onto the track, each driver attends a brief driver training class, where the instructor goes over the operation of the vehicle, meaning of the flags, and how to put on the pieces of safety equipment that are required for racing. Yes, that's right, you don't drive these cars in jeans and a t-shirt. Instead, each participant dons full race gear including firesuit, head sock, helmet (mine was pink and black!) and neck brace. The only thing missing were the gloves, but they sell them in the pro shop for those who feel the need to complete the ensemble.

The class is fun, brief and just detailed enough that even someone who has never played around in go karts before ought to come away feeling confident and ready to roll. After leaving the class, we walked into a room full of equipment, chose our sizes and suited up. One hint to the girls out there: Remove your earrings before putting on the head sock and helmet! Earrings are NOT comfortable when squished up against the side of your head!

Once properly attired, we headed out to the track, where we received our last minute instructions: Toggle switch up, face shield down, first lap slow for practice. Obviously, I was the only one who got the message about the "practice lap" because as soon as the guys rounded turn one, they put the pedal to the floor and quickly left me behind. I never did catch up, but I gave it all I had, grinning like a maniac for the entire ten laps. I made the comment to Spring that although I am not a huge fan of head socks or full-face helmets, I was kind of glad for the fact that with the exception of my eyes, my face was completely hidden because I know I had to be making some silly faces during the race! Not only did I catch myself biting my lip to hold back screams of excitement, but the smile was definitely frozen in place. If not for the helmet, I'm sure I would have had bits of rubber in my teeth!

Those little cars can really move, and we put them through their paces. The track is smooth, and well laid out, with the final stretch to the finish line being my favorite part simply because it is where one can attain top speed. One cannot appreciate the speed of these cars until you get behind the wheel. We were told they can go into the mid-forties, and I'm pretty sure we pushed that envelope on that long stretch.

Spring's camera got a workout, and she will be sharing some pictures with us in the near future. Already folks were asking her how they could get copies of the ones she took of them during and after their races. The lighting is great in there, and the shots that I got to see were awesome.

After our race, we reluctantly returned our race equipment and checked out the pro shop and the display cars on our way out. We made the decision to go out for dinner, and over huge plates of Tex-Mex, we re-lived our race, and talked about the fun we had. It was a nice night to hang out with friends and discuss plans for an upcoming NASCAR bbq night during either the Bristol, Richmond or Charlotte races...or maybe all three.

Racing season is only half over, and we're certainly ready for more! Hopefully, Spring will be feeling better after her terrible car crash a few weeks back. As rough as it's been, I think she enjoyed showing us her new car last night, another 2004 Chrysler Pacifica. It's very pretty and I hope she will be happy with it. At least she can be confident that it is a VERY safe car!

Feel better soon, Spring. I'm sure everyone is getting tired of reading just my silly posts!

Pirates, Outlaws and Disappointment

(Val) It's been a busy weekend around our household, with friends in town, kids' birthday parties, a trip to the movies and a night at the races. It is now Sunday afternoon, and what I really want is a nap, but what I will probably do is check out a car show in town where my brother has entered his 1956 Ford Pickup.

Friday we went to the first showing at our local theatre of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Because our entire family enjoyed the original movie so much, we bought tickets a week ahead of time for the debut of the new one. As I have mentioned before, we're not real big on going to movies, and I usually average one or two per year at best. Pirates 2 was my fourth movie this year and the sad part is, only 1 of those four was really worth the price of admission, and that was Cars.

Unfortunately, Pirates 2 did not live up to the hype, and in fact, I highly doubt this one will find its way into our DVD collection any time soon. We expected a similar type of adventure on the high seas that we saw the first time out, but were sorely disappointed. To be honest, this latest delivery from Disney fell far short of the expectations of our entire family. With its focus on science fiction, violence, creepy characters and tissue paper thin plotline, this one only gets 1 and a half spark plugs from me. I would definitely not recommend it for small children, as it undoubtedly earned its PG-13 rating, with even my 13-year-old son saying the whole thing was very weird.

Now for the big question: Will I go see Pirates 3? Probably. My hope is that the pattern will follow that of the original Star Wars trilogy, with the first one being spectacular, the second just ho-hum and the third just as good as, and maybe even slightly better than, the first. Since the whole Captain Jack Sparrow/Elizabeth Swann/Will Turner triangle has become a blatantly obvious ripoff of the Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo story, I figure there is still hope that P3 will pick up the slack left hanging by P2. And besides, who doesn't want to see Keith Richards play the part of Captain Jack's Dad? I am nothing if not optimistic!

Yesterday was spent cleaning house, which made me feel like I really earned my night out at the races last night. At about 4:30 my brother and our Dad stopped by to get me and we headed down to I-55 Raceway at Pevely, MO. This was to be a World of Outlaws vs. All Stars event, so we expected a good field of cars, and we were not disappointed. There were 38 winged 410 Sprint Cars in the pits, two of which were captained by women. Yes, Tiffany Wyzard was once again "in the house" as was Becca Anderson. Unfortunately, neither one made it to the A Main, with Tiffany suffering engine problems on her second lap of qualifying, and Becca Anderson getting caught up in a little incident during the B Main that caused enough damage to keep her from finishing the race. Nice try girls, and it was great to see you there. Keep pushing it!

This was the first time in a couple of years that I had been to a WoO event, and along with feeling like I was among old friends as soon as I heard the voice of commentator John Gibson, there were a few noticable changes. It was a bit strange not seeing guys like Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski, who along with many other former WoO regulars have gone over the run with the National Sprint Tour, but it was nice seeing guys like "Neon" Dion Hindi who I haven't seen compete in a long time. Paint schemes have changed as well, which made it a little tough at first for me to remember who was who, but I got the hang of it pretty fast.

The biggest disappointment of the night was seeing that one of the drivers has accepted sponsorship from a smutty men's magazine, which to me just goes way beyond poor taste and right on over into "What were you thinking?" territory. I mean, I know racing is expensive, and teams work hard to get sponsorship dollars, but how in the world does working with a company like that forward your career? If anything, it limits your promotability because the focus is on such a small group of people. By putting that name on your car, you automatically elminate two-thirds of your fan base: women and children. And hopefully, the majority of men out there are decent enough not to want to have anything to do with you either. How many upstanding sponsors are going to want to share valuable advertising real estate with that? So is it really worth the short-sighted financial gains of getting that sponsor's money when in the long run, it's going to cost you your hard-to-rebuild reputation?

When it's all said and done, this was, in my opinion, a very poor choice. This driver lost at least three fans last night, and I doubt that we are alone in our feelings. I do my best not to cheer against certain drivers, because I think that's pretty low-class and unsportsmanlike, and I NEVER wish a crash on anybody, but to be honest, I just wanted to see that car finish dead last with wings bent beyond recognition. It brought a smile to my face when his attempt to sandbag during the dash failed and instead of starting up front, he had to start ninth. All I can do is hope and pray that this team/driver comes to their senses enough to realize that the majority of fans are not going to support their efforts at promoting the porn industry.

Enough said on that subject.

All in all it was a great night of racing, and in fact, one of the best WoO shows I've been to in a long time. The heats weren't your typical fare of whoever starts in front finishes in front, and the feature was outstanding! With a lot of shuffling about, it was clear to everyone that Brook Tatnell fought hard for the win, and deserved to carry that checkered flag. There was a lot of dirt, but in the world of dirt track racing, we take the bad with the good.

I'm ready to go racing again, but not sure when the next one will be. The price of gas is making us, along with a lot of other folks, reconsider just how far we're willing to drive for entertainment.

Romance Rock

(Val) Ok, a little clue to my age here. I grew up, like most kids in the seventies, under the Saturday morning public education system known as Schoolhouse Rock. Even today, every now and then, thirty-odd years later, one of those nifty little numbers runs through my head and I can't shake it, no matter what I do. Most often, it's Conjunction Junction (sing it everybody!) What's your function? That's one helpful little grammatical ditty that beats the AP Stylebook all to bits in the fun with words category.

Well today, another little song comes to mind, and that would have to be the one about how a bill becomes a law. First verse goes like this:

I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it's a long, long journeyTo the capital city.
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee,
But I know I'll be a law someday
At least I hope and pray that I will,But today I am still just a bill.

This song isn't running through my mind because of anything that's happening on the political front, but because today Michele Dunaway sent a nice little file to me that outlines how one of her stories goes from inspiration to publication, with a lot of interesting little stops along the way. In other words, it's kind of a cross between Conjunction Junction and I'm Just a Bill where hookin' up words, feelings and emotions with the right amount of research, determination and hard work gets the job done.

Below are the first few paragraphs of Michele's outline. Follow the link at the bottom for the whole story.

And just to keep you in a Schoolhouse Rock frame of mind, here's a little twist on the lyrics:

I'm just an idea.
Yes, I'm only an idea.
Until I get all typed up in the pc.
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the publisher and printer.
It's a long, long wait
While I sit in the computer,
Hope I don't have to grovel,
And I get to be a novel.
And then I'll be a book someday!

(My most sincere apology to the author of the original lyrics.)

Thanks Michele!

Hi GGR readers!

I got the green light June 30 from Harlequin and NASCAR and so Val has asked me to share with GGR readers how a book goes from concept to reality. I’ll try to walk you through the process of Hart’s Victory (working title) which will be a November 2007 NASCAR-licensed book published by Harlequin Enterprise, the world’s largest publisher of romantic fiction.

If you didn’t get a chance to read Val’s “Good ol’ Summertime Reading” post, dated July 2, I’m Michele Dunaway. Not only am I teacher at Francis Howell High School where Val’s daughter will be a senior next year, but I am also an author for Harlequin American Romance. My 12th book for the line, The Marriage Campaign, will be out in August 2006 and will be followed by two more. Hart’s Victory is my first foray outside of the American line of books, and marks my 15th sale. (BTW, very few writers can quit the day job right off the bat. As I love to teach, I’m not in any hurry.)

I first got the idea for Hart’s Victory after attending Sound and Speed 2006 in Nashville, TN, this past January. My daughter and I went for the country music aspect of it and actually because I needed to see how a festival like this was organized for my December 2006 book, The Wedding Secret. While my best friend Susan has been attending NASCAR at the Brickyard since its inaugural season, and has attended races from Lebanon, MO, to Atlanta, GA, I hadn’t been to one. But I’d seen a few races on TV, watched the Dale Jr. 60 Minutes Uncut special on CMT, and figured, why not?

Read the rest of Michele's story here...

Good ol' summertime reading

(Val) As an avid reader, I tend to devour books like so many chocolate chip cookies. When I "discover" a great author, I will read everything they have ever written, then start over and read them again. It's just something I love to do more than just about anything else.

Right now I am reading through Ray Blackston's wonderful trilogy about church-hopping singles, missionaries, beach trips and a classic Cadillac. The books are, in order: Flabbergasted, A Delirious Summer and Lost in Rooville. I have read the first two books before, but since I finally got my hands on the third one, I thought I would start over so the story and characters would be fresh on my mind.

Blackston has an uncanny ability to string words together in the most interesting way. I find myself laughing out loud while members of my family give me "that look" and then, a few pages later, I am sympathizing with a character in an awkward moment. These books are at the top of my most-recommended summer reading list for those who are looking for a great way to pass a relaxing afternoon or two.

Speaking of reading, my email buddy romance author Michele Dunaway sent word Friday that her book, with the working title Hart's Victory, has been picked up for publication in Harlequin's NASCAR series. Congratulations Michele! This labor of love is scheduled to hit bookstore shelves in Novemeber of 2007.

Michele is a teacher at my daughter's school, and has immersed herself in all things NASCAR in order to do tons of research for her book. It has been so much fun to walk through the phases of publication with her, and I have learned a lot along the way. Hopefully, I have been able to help her with that research as well. I look forward to reading your book, Michele.

For more about Michele, and a list of her other books, check out her web site: micheledunaway.com

I hope everyone is enjoying this long holiday weekend. We have been taking it at a leisurely pace ourselves. No racing on tap until next Saturday, but that's ok with me since it's so hot outside. Air conditioning is my friend!