Movie Review: Talladega Nights, The Legend of Ricky Bobby

(Val) When I got home last night, I had totally decided not to review this movie because I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I saw it, let alone that I actually laughed. More than once. Then I got to thinking about my reasoning, and I found it ridiculous to hide behind a fear of what others might think. I have never been labled politically correct, and that's not about to happen anytime soon. Besides, Talladega Nights is a racing movie, so logic says the review belongs on a racing web site. So here goes nothing...

Spring and I had been trying to work out a night with our hubbies so we could go see this as a "double date" and last night it finally came together. We had the giggles before we even got to the theater, so once the movie started, there was really no stopping us. Yes, we found some parts highly amusing, and we laughed a lot, but there were times, especially those parts with the two annoyingly crude kids, and the guy-on-guy kissing scenes, that I felt really uncomfortable watching it. Fortunately, there was some good music, and delicious eye candy in the form of a totally sweet Chevelle, and even moments where crude and nasty took a back seat to really funny. It totally lacked in real racing action though. Even the ridiculous Days of Thunder did a better job of that. Heck, come to think of it, Cars had far better racing scenes!

First of all, let me say that a couple of weeks ago, my 13-year-old son was invited to go see this movie with some of his friends, and he was not happy with me when I cited the family rule that says, PG-13 movies are only acceptable after we, as parents, have seen and approved of them first, unless we are going together as a family. As the credits rolled for Talladega Nights, I was incredibly thankful that I had stuck to my guns. My son is still not happy with me, citing the fact that he hears that stuff, or worse, on the bus ride to and from school every day. My reply is that while that may be true, it doesn't mean I approve of it, and it certainly doesn't mean that I'm going to pay to let him hear and see more of the same.

With all of that said, my comments about the movie itself will be brief. While I knew that with Will Ferrell in the starring role, anything could, and probably would, happen, I have to say that I was disappointed that he sunk to a level that I had formerly associated with "acting" lowlifes like Rob Schneider. Ferrell can be incredibly funny at times, and completely boorish at others. He was both in this film.

While the story itself was funny, silly and definitely irreverant, and to this day, certain lines and scenes randomly pop into my head and make me laugh, still, I have to wonder: Why did NASCAR endorse this? Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that they denied Derrike Cope a sponsorship deal with website Redneckjunk.com because they "didn't feel like that projected the proper image of our sport?" They disapproved of a sponsor because they didn't want NASCAR to be interpreted as a "redneck" sport, yet they gave Talladega Nights two thumbs up? So the fact that some race fans enjoy trucks and hunting might have a negative impact on the perception of NASCAR as a wholesome, family sport, but perceiving a driver as womanizing, eccentric, rude, cocky, selfish, egotistical and crude shines a more positive light? The irony is unbelievable!

So in my opinion, while Talladega Nights has its funny moments, it's not worth the admission price. If you haven't already seen it, wait for the DVD, do the $1 per night Redbox deal, and make sure the kids are asleep and the door is closed. Better yet, watch it when they're not home.

My rating: One spark plug

Book Review: The 2006 Reedy Series, Tony Stewart

(Val) As a kid, I absolutely loved pop-up books. Turning the pages and waiting for the next surprise to jump out was always very entertaining. Those books, especially one called The Pop-Up Book of Trucks, (which belonged to my brother) never got old, no matter how many times I raised and lowered the ladder on the fire truck, bulldozed the pile of dirt or hooked up a disabled car with the wrecker.

Now that I am older, books tend to be more about the written word, and less about color and surprise, at least until last week, when a completely new type of book arrived in my mailbox.

Tony Stewart is one of five drivers highlighted by a new series of unique books from Reedy Press. The books are small in size, but big on entertainment. Each is packed full of wonderful pictures by NASCAR Nextel Cup photographers Nigel Kinrade and Brian Czobat, and the format is fresh and new. Each page folds out in a different way, revealing new images and more of the story, bringing the racing action to life right to the palm of your hands.

These amazing photographs are accompanied by the story of the driver and the outline of the season they experienced in 2005. In the case of the Tony Stewart edition, his quest for the Championship comes alive through the words and pictures. As each page unfolds, we see the passion and determination that NASCAR fans have come to love and appreciate, and we experience the thrill of winning right along with the team.

Fun for race fans of all ages, the 2006 series includes drivers Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, in addition to Stewart. The books measure only about 5 x 7 inches, which makes them the perfect size for packing in a purse or backpack.

If you never outgrew your love of pop-up books, or you just want to enjoy some brilliant photography and read about your favorite driver, be sure to check out the full line of books from Reedy Press. For more information, and to order any of the books in The Reedy Series please visit Reedy Press.

Standing Room Only

A standing room only crowd for the Ron Shuman Classic at Lakeside? No bull!

(Val) When is the last time you heard those words used to describe a non-winged Sprint Car race, or any other Sprint or Midget race, for that matter? Maybe over the years it has happened at Knoxville, or Eldora, and yes it happens consistently at the perfectly-timed Chili Bowl, but at a Sprint Bandits event held at a dirt track in eastern Kansas? Get real!

Well happen it did last night at the Ron Shuman Classic at Lakeside Speedway in Wyandotte County, Kansas and I have to say that I was totally amazed. They announced a sellout, then began selling SRO tickets, and for all I know, judging by the number of bodies in that place, they may have sold those out too. The only thing that even comes close in my mind was the final night of racing at St. Charles Speedway in my home town, where folks were packed in like sardines becaue they knew they were witnessing the end of an era.

Sure, the rainout at nearby I-70 Speedway probably contributed to the crowd, but only to a degree. Do asphalt Stock Car fans normally head for the dirt tracks when their regular event is cancelled? I don't think so. From the t-shirts I saw, these folks love their Sprint Cars, and the racing at Lakeside gave them plenty to love. Though the car count was pretty low, around 24 or so, the track was fast as lightning thanks in part to all the rain that fell in the area overnight. So much rain, in fact, that a moat formed between the first row of seats and the wall, forcing the flag man to climb to his perch from inside the track rather than taking the stairs up at the bottom of the bleachers.

The moat in front of the bleachers at Lakeside Speedway.

We arrived at the track at around 4 o'clock after making the 200 mile drive in good time. Arriving early enough to spend a few minutes in the pits before everyone was shooed out, I managed to try out the new camera on some simple, stationary shots. I love the color and clarity I'm getting, but I still have a lot to learn about the tools on the new Pentax, especially when it comes to shooting with the zoom. But I digress... (How unusual!)

My brother tries to prove that he can walk on water.

The great part about this annual event at Lakeside is that they don't throw a lot of filler into the mix. Fans pay for special events to see special events, and no one wants to be stuck at a track until midnight (especially with a four hour drive ahead of you) because some bomber class can't quit bringing out the cautions. We want to see what we paid to see, and that's it. At the Ron Shuman Classic, they run just the O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Series and the Good Old Time Racers Association classic cars. Both are entertaining, get the show on the road and are well worth the price of admission. The GOTRA cars beat the daylights out of the Micro Sprints that so many tracks insist on running with any Sprint Car race they put on. In fact, I'd be willing to pay extra for my ticket if tracks would run just the Sprint Cars and something like the GOTRA cars, and NOTHING ELSE. Let me see what I came to see and then let me go home, and I'm one happy race fan.

With that said, the racing was spectacular in both classes. The heavy rainfall from the night before, plus whatever prep work the crew did made for a perfect, multi-groove surface that the drivers were able to put to good use. There were several incidents in turn one, but I don't really think it had anything to do with the track, it was mostly because the drivers were just racing so darned hard! There was everything a race fan could ask for last night, lots of passing, sid-by-side, wheel-to-wheel action, drama and showmanship. And while what happened on the track was the highlight of the evening, it certainly would not have been the same without such a great facility as host. Lakeside Speedway has wonderful concessions, decent prices, clean restrooms and the race crowd was great. You would think that with that many people packed in, it might get a little too close for comfort, but I saw a lot of graciousness and comaraderie, and would place very few marks in the negative column.

It took us a while to get out of the parking lot, and the drive home was long, but it was well-worth getting home at 3am. What the heck, there's a NASCAR race on this afternoon, so it should be easy to get a nap in. (Ok, a little jibe to the NASCAR fans, I know, but hey, there's just nothing in the world that compares to dirt track racing!)

One last thing about Lakeside. If you get the chance to go there, and I highly recommend it, especially for the Ron Shuman Classic, be sure to check out the high water mark and photograph from the Great Flood of '93 in the concession area. Amazing how all but the upper level of that building were underwater 13 years ago!

I will be posting a few of my pictures on the site, but for actual race results and better photos than I can take,visit the following:

Race Results on WhoWon.com
Lakeside Speedway
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Series

Watching and Waiting...

(Val) Busy week here on the home front! Right now I'm busy toggling between the Kansas City area news sites, NOAA and the Lakeside Speedway forum to see if there will be racing at Lakeside tonight. My Dad, brother and I are looking to head up there for their big Midget event, and our window closes at noon. Things weren't looking too good but now it seems as if the rain clouds in the area are starting to dry up. It is so hard to try and make the call to go or stay when the track is 200 miles away and gas is over $2.70/gallon!

In other news, the kids went back to school this week, which has been nice, but slightly chaotic as my oldest is driving herself every day. She's doing fine, but as a Mom, I can't help but worry a little bit. We are blessed that our kids do well in school and have been extremely easy to raise, so far.

We bought a new digital camera this week, a Pentax K100 SLR which I am really enjoying. The photo of Brenden and Frisco on here was taken with that camera yesterday morning and I just love it! I'm hoping to get to try it out at the track tonight, but we'll just have to see. This camera is incredibly easy to use and the pictures beat the daylights out of our little point and shoot. Some of the other great features on this 6.1 megapixel baby are that it is compact and lightweight, has an anti-shake feature, uses 4 AA batteries and takes SD cards, which fit in my laptop. What a sweet deal!

In other photographic news, Jesse got word Tuesday that she took second place in a contest sponsored by the Missouri Department of Tourism. Her picture of the inside of the rotunda of the Old Court House in St. Louis will be used in the upcoming edition of the Missouri Travel Planner. One of the nicest parts is the $500 prize! She also got a third place ribbon at a local photo show, and honorable mention in a pet photo contest. It is so fun to see her pursuing something she loves and being recognized for her work. I am one proud Mama.

Well, I need to charge my cell phone and the batteries for the camera as well as make a run to the bank for cash. Hopefully, I will have some racing news and photos to post tomorrow afternoon.

The Road to Success

(Val) Because of my unusual job, I "meet" a lot of people via email. The majority just have a question, and I answer it or take care of it in whatever way needs to be done. Others involve lengthier conversations and may last for years. I love that part of the job, and I especially appreciate it when someone takes note of the verse in my signature (Phil. 4:4) and comments or shares their own verse.

Below is something a new online friend shared with me this morning and I thought I would pass it along to our readers. It's pretty cool how someone took this verse and used a car-related analogy to get the point across. Enjoy!

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flats called Jobs. But, if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, insurance called Faith, a driver called Jesus, you will make it to a place called Success (Heaven).

Thursday Night Ramblin'

(Val) The weekend is almost here again, and although I have no plans to attend any races in person, I will be watching the big Knoxville Nationals finale on SPEED Saturday night. That's one race I would love to be viewing up close and personal, as it's been a few years since my last trek across the cornfields of Iowa to the Sprint Car Capital of the World that is Knoxville. It's my opinion that you're not a true Sprint Car fan if you haven't made that trip at least once. There's just nothing to compare with the week of racing that starts out with the Front Row Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway, and ends up with the greatest spectacle of them all, night number four of the Nationals at Knoxville. I've been fortunate enough to go there several times and to watch from many different locations, including the front stretch, back stretch, pits and one of the suites in the Hall of Fame. Now that's a heck of a way to watch Sprint Car racing!

Speaking of the The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, be sure to drop in if you do get to Knoxville. It's a wonderful place full of awesome displays of all kinds of racing memorabilia. They are doing a great job of preserving the sport for generations to come. And for very little money, you can become a member and help the cause. It's something I've been doing for the last six or seven years, and it's well worth the cost of dues.

I'm just hanging out here at home tonight, channel surfing and messing around on the computer in between loads of laundry. Managed to catch the end of one of my favorite CMT concerts: Crossroads with Bon Jovi and Sugarland. I have no idea how many times I've seen that, but whoever put those two groups together is brilliant! Tomorrow night is the premier of a new CMT concert with Randy Travis and Josh Turner, which looks like another hit.

Yesterday, for no reason except the fact that my mind wanders when I work too long, I got to thinking about racing and sponsorship and how it all works. My thoughts moved along the lines of the question: Just how loyal are fans when it comes to the sponsors of their favorite drivers? I have made no bones about the fact that I'm a big fan of Tony Stewart, and anybody who knows anything about racing knows who his biggest sponsor is. Well, here in our house, we've definitely given our share of support to Home Depot this year. After the infamous dryer fire, we replaced not only the dryer, but the washer as well, with brand new LG appliances from Homer's. Not too many weeks later, we replaced our failing dishwasher with yet another LG model. It's amazing to me how clean our laundry and dishes are now! I am still curious as to how much all of these purchases, plus the other, smaller items, equal out to when it comes to parts on the #20 car. Have we spent enough to claim a bumper? A shock? Or maybe just a piece of that film they rip off the front window? I have no idea, but it's kind of fun to think about. As I said, my mind wanders down some pretty strange roads. I take comfort in the fact that I can't be the only one with that problem.

You might say that I am one of those people who is easily entertained. In fact, I can have fun with just a screwdriver, an allen wrench and some of that wonderful furniture that comes in a box. As a matter of fact, I put together two pieces in the last two days for my son. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I was almost finished that my husband handed me the power screwdriver. Boy, are my shoulders tired!

The next race on our schedule will probably be at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City. I'm still working on those plans though, and I think Spring has a wedding to shoot, but there will be an update here sometime in the next few days. We're still trying to figure out a night when we can get together to watch one of the last night time Cup races too. Since this whole thing started with us watching the Daytona 500 at Spring's house, we figured it would be appropriate to wind up the season with another one here. Tentative plans were for the August 26 Sharpie 500 at Bristol, but it looks like we may have my Father-in-law's 70th birthday to celebrate that night so it's likely that we're going to have to opt for either the California or Richmond race. We'll just have to see how it goes.

My daughter informed me a few minutes ago that she read on a local radio site that our friends at Grand Prix Speedways will be hosting the St. Louis auditions for the next season of American Idol. I won't claim to be an Idol fan, in fact I think I have managed to watch a total of ten minutes of the show, tuning in the last two seasons just in time to catch the results, but I still think it's pretty cool that GPS will be one of the audition sites. That ought to be absolutely crazy!

Well, you've probably had about enough of me for one evening so I'll call it a night. Thanks for checking in again!

Observations from the Infield

(Val) Last night found us back over at Tri-City Speedway for the USAC Sprints, POWERi Midgets and 600cc Mini Sprints. The weather was slightly cooler, with the temps around the mid-nineties instead of the blistering 100+ that we experienced for the Lucas Oil Late Model race. We also arrived several hours later this week, which helped a lot. The heat of the day was over, and it wasn’t too bad outside.

This week it was more than just Spring and I out for adventure. My Dad came along, as well as my hubby who was celebrating his 44th birthday. Spring brought her Mom and Caleb too, so the Ol’ Blue was just about full.

We started off with a quick trip through the pits, where we met up with Brent Nausley, who had two cars that would be raced over the course of the evening. Lucky Caleb got the chance to sit in one of Brent’s cars, and it’s easy to see by the grin on his face that he enjoyed the opportunity. (Thanks, Brent!)

After a quick round of the pits, and several stops for photos of the Tony Stewart Mopar cars driven by Josh Wise and Levi Jones, (more on them later) we went on over to the infield so Spring could figure out where she wanted to shoot qualifying. This week, we headed over to turn two, which turned out to be a pretty good choice. Spring managed to catch the cars lifting through the turns, and was standing uncomfortably close by when Brady Short sent his ride slamming into the guardrail, causing it to go end-over-end. It was only the first of many times that I would warn Spring about watching out for flying cars!

We watched the Midget heats from the stands, then grabbed a quick bite to eat while the Minis did their thing, then it was back over to the inside for the Sprint heats, which were fun to watch from turns one and two. Spring makes me so nervous when she shoots that we had to develop a plan to hopefully keep her out of harm’s way. I grabbed a hold of her camera bag strap, and kept watch for any cars that appeared to stray from the clay, with the intention of a firm tug being the signal to haul butt out of the way. Fortunately, we never had to use the signal, and Spring only snuck off and got dangerous without me a couple of times.

It was a great night, and we enjoyed meeting a couple of other photographers, one from Sprint Car & Midget Magazine and another from an Aussie racing publication. Both are diehard Motorsports shooters, and each had something to contribute to the wealth of information that Spring has been acquiring about race photography since we started this venture. I think it’s awesome how other photographers are willing to give her tips, and share advice. I had kind of imagined it might be different, just because of competition, so it’s been a very pleasant surprise.

We got some great feedback on both the galleries and the blog last night, which was wonderful incentive to keep going (like we needed any!) and we are most appreciative. The whole idea in starting GGR was just to go out and observe this sport, and life in general, from a female point of view, see what role women play both as athletes and behind the scenes, and just have fun. So far, we have been able to do all of those things.

Spring got to have two fun and unique experiences last night which I know she enjoyed. The first was to ride in one of the push trucks as the Sprint Cars were pushed off, and the second was to ride in the back of the pace truck as the feature was readied. Both trips left her with big smiles, and I could tell she was having a great time. The pictures will back me up when we finally get them on the site. Not sure yet when that will be for this event, but hopefully it won’t take us too long. I have a couple of my own that I will post here if I can.

Speaking of pictures, and why there is a delay, this might be a good time to explain. Part of the reason is because Spring is very much a perfectionist when it comes to her work, and she refuses to just take what she’s done and throw it out there without first tweaking it to her satisfaction. That’s no slam on her by any means, because I think it’s great that she’s so picky about her work. It’s her art, and she has every right to make it the best it can be. Besides, our site isn’t about immediate results and next-day photos, it’s a much more casual deal that we hope folks will come to enjoy despite our little delays. Our priorities are God and family, and everything else has to fall in somewhere down the line, so I hope no one ever gets upset when we don’t have something up right away.

The rest of the reason is that Spring gets the photos to me either by zipping and emailing, or on a disk, which can be a challenge because we live about 30 minutes from each other. Once I get the photos, I watermark and re-size them, set up the new web pages and links, and finally upload the whole shebang. And I do all that after spending several hours a day posting news to WhoWon.com as my real job! Ever go home from work after a day on the computer only to have to spend the evening working on one too? I do that quite often, and since I work from home, sometimes the line between work and fun can get blurry. But hey, I’m really not complaining because I am so blessed to have a job I love and get to be home too. It’s the best deal in the world!

One last thing about why we do this, and that’s the whole discussion I’ve been hearing lately about “why do women love racing?” My Dad came up with his own theory last night after he overheard us discussing the good-looking Mopar duo, but honestly, it’s not all about hot guys! I can only speak for myself when I say that it is about a lot of things: Competition, speed, adrenaline rush and suspense. Beyond that, it’s about the spirit of community that I see among racers, fans, car owners and the people behind the scenes at tracks all across this great country. It’s seeing familiar faces, laughing about days gone by, or recalling the horror of the most frightening crash ever. It’s about tradition, friendships, celebrations and just hanging out at the track and having a good time. Finally, it’s about up close, dirt-in-your-face, ear splitting action.

You just can’t get any of that parked in front of the TV!

P.S. Don't miss Spring's review of Cars, a couple of posts back. It kind of got caught in the date trap because it was a draft that just got published. The pictures of Caleb are adorable!

Just the Facts, Ma'am

(Val) I know, I know, you were expecting a post from Spring, right? I mean, after all, it's been positively ages and she keeps promising, yet never delivers. Well, maybe the pictures below will give us a clue as to what has happened to our dear, sweet Spring...

What's this? An unmarked police car behind Ol' Blue? Whatever could he want?

Uh oh, Spring looks a bit worried.

Oh my! Not the cuffs, officer! (She looks SO innocent!)

Ok, now we get it. Spring and Officer Max are friends. But still I wonder, just how did they meet in the first place? Hmmmmm...

Cars Review.... Spring

"Cars"!!! What a blast! The antics and animation combined with racing, speed, a love interest, and Paul Newman what more could a girl ask for? I loved it and my son, the quick and funny Caleb adored the show. He walked away with a new outlook on vehicles as well as a few choice phrases. His favorite is, "Come on mom, you know we're burning daylight." He is growing up so fast as you can see from the photo with Lightning at MGM. Caleb is the cute one, :) and my husband, Randy is the smiling one. These characters drove themselves and were fantastic. It was a thrill to see them before the movie and I would love to know the makings of these rigs.

The film was meant for kids and young adults but the story line entertains the adults taking them. Sally's Cozy Cone was delightful. Flo's V-8 adorable and the characters to each his own. I have my favorties and those of you that would like to take a stab at them and guess, please do so. I love details and to imagine myself sleeping in a safety cone with the car of my dreams, it was downright revvyyy. The many intricate details along with the correct racing jargon made it most pleasurable for those of us who are race fans. I almost cheered a few times but caught myself. Walking out of the theatre with Caleb's hand in mine I thought to myself, "This is something he will cherish and remember forever. It is also the thing that dreams are made of." Lots has happened to me this year that has and could dampen my spirit, but there is one thing that cannot be taken away from me and that is my dreams. Lightning had tunnel vision and no room for others, but he found out what living is all about.... and it is not speed. So Boogity Boogity Boogity race fans and if you have not seen the movie yet...Get on the highway and remember, it is not always about where you end up, but how you get there. Drive safely and I'll leave the lights on.

Feelin' hot, hot, hot!

(Val) Spring and I finally headed out on our very first girls-only Girls Gone Racin' trip yesterday to the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model races over at Pontoon Beach, IL. This is probably the closest track, distance-wise, to my house but at $3 a gallon for gas, it's still not close enough. Ah well, enough of that, it's always worth the pain at the pump to get to go see some up close and personal racing.

Tammy Gundaker, promoter at Tri-City Speedway had asked Spring to come over and get some specific shots, and wanted her there early to take a walk around and get the lay of the land. We headed off right after church and got to the track around noonish. It was already steamy hot, with the temperature near the predicted 100 degree mark. We dressed as cool as we could, but there's only so much you can do when it's like that.

We met up with Tammy, who gave us a quick tour and described to Spring what she was looking for. We also got an update on the events of the day, including an autograph session with many of the drivers, a presentation to a former track champion, and a fundraiser for a seriously ill baby girl. The track was very wet, and in the process of being worked in, so we stayed on the outside, and just took a good look around. Currently, Tri-City is a quarter-mile dirt track surrounded by a half-mile dirt track, which share a common front straightaway. The plan is to turn it into a 3/8 mile track for next year, which ought to make for some very interesting and competitive racing.

Once we had taken the tour, met the girls in the office, and obtained our pit passes, we headed out to do one of our favorite things: Lunch at Applebee's! We took a left out of the track and headed into Granite City, where we passed just tons and tons of branches lying in the streets. This town was hit very hard by storms just over a week ago, and the evidence was everywhere. It wasn't hard to imagine why so many residents were out of electricity for a week or more.
When we pulled into the parking lot and put Spring's Lightning McQueen sun screen up in the front window, we noticed that the thermometer in her car read 120 degrees. While I know that wasn't the actual outside temperature, it would certainly feel close several times before our day was through.

We spent an hour or more inside the blissfully cool restaurant, sharing an appetizer and enjoying a couple of walnut apple chicken salads. (Note to self: I believe that if the word "apple" is in the title of the dish, and apples are shown in the picture on the menu, there really should be at least ONE apple in the salad. Indeed, my salad contained NONE! But hey, those walnuts were great.) Spring showed me the pics she had taken at Gateway the night before, and a few of those are up on the site now. She also showed me some beautiful shots she took on a trip out west. Wow!

We regretfully left our cool environment and made our way back to the track, after picking up a few snacks that we thought would survive the intense heat. As it turns out, Lifesavers have a melting point of somewhere over 104 degrees when locked inside a closed car. Spring found this out when she realized that the letters had actually been smoothed off of the side of her candy!

We did a quick run of the pits, where several cars were already being prepped for the race.

Spring wasted no time getting shots of various Late Models, and even one very young Scott Bloomquist fan named Brooklyn. I mostly followed along at a respectful distance, doing my best to conjure up my favorite super power, invisiblity. I have no problem hanging out with my photographer friend, I just don't want to get in any of her pictures by accident.

It's funny how guys react, or don't react, to a female photographer. Some completely ignore them, even when they are shooting up underneath a tarp covering their cars. We figure that group is thinking, "Ah, it's a girl, what can she possibly know about cars?" In other words, we can get away with practically anyhing because we don't know enough to be threatening.

The second group of guys does their best to just stay out off your way, and then might, out of sheer curiousity, come over later and ask who you're shooting for.

Finally, there are the ones who walk right up and ask what you're doing, after they have smiled for a picture. Some have been drinking, and some have not. For the most part, they just want to be able to tell their friends where to see the picture.

One of the guys who was very tolerant of us, but slightly curious, was Donnie Moran, who had spotted us earlier at Applebee's. Later, when we were standing around discussing a shot, he revved his engine, making us both jump, then gave Spring a look that said he enjoyed doing that!

It didn't take long for us to get enough of the heat and seek shelter for a cool down. We spent a lot of time in the office, and really enjoyed hanging out with Tammie and Brandy who were answering the phones. It was quickly apparent that they get a lot of repeat questions, but these girls know how important it is to keep a sense of humor handy in all situations. We couldn't help but laugh at times because after a while, we probably could have taken care of the phones ourselves. I was thankful that we didn't have to! There is also a cute little mascot in the TCS office, Kevin Gundaker's dog, Babe, who enjoys a special bed that rests at the cardboard feet of a Dale Earnhardt, Junior stand-up.

People who come out in heat like that are true, diehard race fans. It was amazing to me that hours before race time, folks were sitting out in the blistering sun so they could save their favorite spot in the bleachers. With heat that high, I have to say that it made me nervous. I was concerned for those who were out in that, especially the ones who were drinking because that can make the situation so much worse. The worst part though, were the little kids, because some of them looked completely miserable.

Spring's first real assignment was to shoot the autograph session which included drivers Earl Pearson, Jr., Freddy Smith, Scott Bloomquist and most of the rest of the current top ten in Lucas Oil points standings. It was interesting to watch the drivers interact with the fans. Some were very friendly and chatted it up with old and young alike, while others made it quite obvious that they really didn't want to be there.

We went out onto the track for time trials, which was pretty fun. Spring shot mostly between turns three and four, which seemed to be a really good angle. It is pretty cool to see those cars skewed all sideways in the corners, front left tires up off the ground and spinning in the air. We walked around among the cars and drivers in the infield, then headed up into the tower to cool off during the Modified heat races. It was fun just lisening to the banter that goes on up there, but it is really weird to stand up in the middle as the cars race around you. Makes it kind of hard to keep up!

As afternoon faded into evening, we enjoyed a bit of cloud cover that really helped to cool things off. It's amazing how different it feels just to have that sun hidden for a while! We had some dinner and then Greg Stephens with SPEED Channel asked us if we wanted to go up in the lift to watch for a while. That was a fun experience, standing up above the bleachers, feeling the cool breeze and watching the guys work the cameras and screens. Greg is the former videographer for the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, and has been taping racing since about 1986. He's great at what he does, and seems to really enjoy his work. I loved watching the race from up there, seeing how the cameras work together to get all the important shots that will go into the television show.

When we came back down to earth, I made my way down the ladder thingy at the end of the lift, then decided to leap the last few feet down to the ground. Unfortunately, the ground was farther away than I thought and I ended up sprawled on my backside. I'm so graceful! At least I managed to give everyone a good laugh. We hung around and talked to Greg until it was time to cross back over for the Late Model feature.

The one shot Tammy really wanted Spring to get was the four-wide parade lap as the cars come out of turn one and head down the front stretch. After much discussion between us girls, Greg and finally, Jeff from the safety crew, it was determined that Spring would stand up on the wall along the outside of the front straightaway. We thought she would have two chances to get this shot, but as it turned out, one shot was all she got because the cars began to peel off and get back into the two-wide line up right after passing her. Being the true professional that she is, I'm guessing that one shot was all she needed.

We watched the fifty lap feature from right behind victory lane. It was a very exciting race, with a handful of cautions, some extremely ruffled feathers, and one very happy winner, Shannon Babb. Once Spring got her victory lane shots, we were ready to head on home. We spent right at twelve hours at the track, and we were sweaty, dirty, gritty and tired. Even after all that, we enjoyed the ride back to my house as we talked about our day, listened to some great music and thought about the next race.

We'll be back at Tri-City next week for the USAC races. I'm hoping the weather man is right and the temperature will be about ten degrees cooler. It's amazing how good 95 can sound after experiencing 100 plus!

I'm on my way up to Spring's a little later this morning, where we will hopefully get some of the pics up from Saturday night. Thanks for hanging with us!

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.