What About Today's Race?

Don't ask...no comment...go away...is it 2008 yet?

Need I say anymore? I am becoming more and more frustrated as each race passes by. Just when Junior was sitting nice in 5th place and about to make a huge gain on those behind him in the points, the engine decides to go south. Perhaps I should too. And this is all I am going to say about the race and the results; it is best I shut my mouth right now before I get myself in too deep.

Congratulations go out to Tony Stewart as the winner.

Tony Doesn't Lie

Remember when Tony Stewart said DEI without Dale Jr. is just a museum? Well guess what folks...he wasn't lying. In a roundabout way, Dale Earnhardt, Sr's GarageMahal will be just that soon enough ~ a museum.

Why? Let me explain...



This woman, Teresa Earnhardt, has merged DEI with Ginn Racing (which no longer exists) and that means the following things will take place:

• Teresa will be listed as the owner of the #1 and #8 cars
• Bobby Ginn will be listed as the owner of the #01 and #15 cars
• Mark Martin will be driving for DEI starting this weekend
• And the kicker? DEI will be moving their entire motorsports operations into the former Ginn Racing state-of-the-art complex nearby, meaning (drum roll please)...

DEI as we know it will now be turned into a museum for Dale Sr's legacy. And Tony Stewart, bless his heart, was right all along.

And the unanswered question? Who will drive the #8 car next year? And does anybody care anymore? Teresa, ya done your stepson wrong.

Fike & Vick

A lot of you folks may not know either one of these guys in the title; perhaps several of you might know just one, and some of you may have heard of both. That is neither here nor there, as both of them should go unrecognizable from here on out due to the heinous things thay have done recently.

These two so-called athletes (and I use the term very loosely), will get space from me for the last time ever here today.

The first one, of course, is Aaron Fike, a NASCAR Craftsman truck driver, whom I posted about on July 13th titled They Had A Bright Future. He was busted on a heroin charge.

The other one, just as despiccable if not more, is Michael Vick, the dog boy. For those of you who don't know him, he plays football in the NFL. I don't want to go into details about what he did because, unless you've been living under a rock, you should have at least an inkling of what's going on in his life these days.

I abhor what he did and do not want to waste too much time or space on that piece of sh*t. All I'd like to know is this: what possesses these top athletes to go beyond what they do for a living and decide that it's not enough so they look for other so-called thrills? It just sickens me beyond belief what both are accused of doing.

Fike may be given a second chance to clean himself up and ask forgiveness of NASCAR, but that is way down the road for him.

And Vick? I say put him in a cage with one of those trained dogs of his and let it have a go at him. See how thrilled he'll be then.

Recipe For Disaster

...or living in the fast lane. Either way, this is ludicrous what I am about to tell you. Take an unmarried couple, sprinkle with 5 kids, add $40,000 annual salary for both, and then scrape the bowl with: he already had a bankruptcy in his past.


So many red flags. Irregardless, she still was able to secure two different loans on her name alone. $99k for the house and $25k for the down payment. HELL-o. (accent on the hell.) I am sure it was hell for them as that adjustable rate mortgage started climbing from the $603 manageable monthly payment. But, as we all know, most things never remain the same and soon that 6.125% was on its way to 11.125%. Ouch! The second loan added another $217 to the $603 payment and that loan had a balloon payment of $20k due at the end. She said no one ever explained that balloon payment to her. Is it any wonder? Why saddle her with stress? Just the monthly payments alone were right up there that would eventually cause a lot of headaches.


Mind you, these people have 5 kids and they were operating on a salary of $40k. Good God, what the hell were they thinking? Really though, the bad guys here were the people extending her those loans.


Well, needless to say, that couple lost their home. And all because they got caught up in the frenzy of the housing market back in 2005. (I don't know this couple but they do live in a neighboring town, and our newspaper had their story in the Sunday edition.)


I sold my parents' house in the summer of '05 to a divorced single mom of two (she's a nurse). I worry that she, too, won't be able to keep it. Perhaps by now she has a partner, or is making more money. She had a traditional loan and the selling price wasn't anything that she couldn't handle herself. Even so, I still keep an eye out to see if she still owns it. I would hate to see my family home fall into the wrong hands.

Monday Morning Blues

I can understand the sadness of those poor unforunate fools who have to go to work every day. If I remember correctly, Mondays are the worst. I absolutely hated Mondays. As a matter of fact, I can't even nicely describe what I thought of Mondays when I worked. I used the worst X-rated words you can imagine...get the picture? And that usually started Sunday evenings already.

So, now that I don't have to "work for the man" anymore, why is it that I still have that slightly sad feeling Monday mornings? It doesn't last long ~ once I get into my routine ~ and soon I'm happy and upbeat. I count my blessings every day that I don't have to work.

As a matter of fact, this is how I would feel Sunday evenings:



The thing is, all my working life, deep in the back of my mind I resented having to work for someone else. I would have much preferred to have my own business. Or perhaps it would have been nice to have been born to rich parents, so that if I wanted to work for my own self-satisfaction, then I could have done so at any time I desired.

Over the course of my working days, I have had eight different jobs in the secretarial field. Three of those places went out of business while I was there. Somewhere in between those eight jobs, I went to tractor/trailer school and graduated. I fully expected to get a job driving. That dream just never came to fruition. And to buy my own truck...well, I just didn't have the money at that time in my life.

And so as you read this, perhaps on a Monday morning, and if you work for the man because you have no other choice, then know that I really feel bad for you. And know that I'm a happy camper 'cause I don't have to work. I just wish I were a whole helluva lot younger!

Oh Those Cola Wars & That Number 8

Will it be the 8, the 5, or an entirely different number gracing Dale Jr's car next year?

And who will his main sponsor be? We already know he has signed personal contracts with both Sony and adidas, but what about that elusive main sponsor everyone is talking about? Well, almost everyone; I know the non-Junior fans couldn't care what it will be.

From what I've been reading lately, it looks like it won't be Budweiser. But they may still surprise us. Pepsi? Maybe...it looks like they are making all the right moves to concentrate on just one team instead of spreading their money all around NASCAR. Will it then actually be Pepsi or will they concentrate solely on Mountain Dew (I love diet Mountain Dew Code Red). Kelloggs? Gosh, I hope not. That's Kyle Busch's current sponsor with Hendrick and I'm hoping he takes it with him wherever he goes. Or will they go with an entirely different sponsor that we don't know about yet? Hmmmmmmm...

OK, so let's talk about the so-called cola war. I find it quite laughable that there are folks who will never drink a Coke because they like Pepsi, and vice-versa. That's totally ridiculous! I myself prefer Pepsi, but if there's a good sale on Coke and its products, you can bet that I will purchase it and drink it. If it's diet, it's for me.

What would people do if Coke didn't exist? They'd probably drink a less popular cola I suppose. I just find it very amusing when it comes to the cola war. Oh, and another thing: what really cracks me up is that people won't drink Pepsi because it has been an associate sponsor of Jeff Gordon. C'mon people...give me a break.

(Edited 7/13 @ 11:00 am ~ It is official: Budweiser will not be back as Dale's primary sponsor in 2008)

They Had A Bright Future

Once upon a time, there was a young and handsome lad who had everything going for him.

He drove in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series where he sat 8th in the points. Not too shabby. Many drivers would do almost anything to be in the top ten these days.

He is also engaged to a pretty, young woman and their future was really looking good.

So if someone has all that going for them, why would they blow it by doing heroin in public? What the hell is wrong with these young kids today? It really makes me sad the way they so casually want to throw everything away. Why?

Due to their stupidity, Aaron Fike, along with his fiance, Cassandra Davidson (a crew member), were suspended indefinitely from all NASCAR competition.

Both of them were found in his SUV with drug paraphernalia last weekend in the parking lot of an amusement park in Ohio, and, yes, they were observed by security officers as they were engaging in suspicious activity.

I guess when one has more money than they know what to do with, these things can happen. But it shouldn't.

Paying Through The Nose

The worst thing I've had to endure after my husband was kicked to the curb by a maniacal terminal manager (who, by the way, is no longer there ~ and that's a whole 'nother post which I have already written about), is an outrageous monthly health insurance premium. Whew! that's a long sentence.

For almost one year, I have had to rely on that high-priced insurance, even if it wasn't the best choice I made at the time. With a $750 deductible (which must be met before they pay one red cent toward anything), and a person like me who goes to the doctor maybe two to three times a year just to check my blood pressure, I would have been better off not having any insurance coverage at all. Sorry, another long sentence.



I am of the mindframe that, if I didn't have insurance, then surely something bad would happen to me and I would be sorry if I needed it after all. And so I made my choice to have coverage.

Well, I just made the last high premium payment and relief is finally in sight. I am paid till August 31st and then I get to choose a better policy with a much lower premium. With the insurance I have now, I will have paid over $3500 just for the premiums alone. Add to that the full cost of each doctor visit and it becomes one big OUCH! That money would pay for a nice trip, or anything else that would bring fond memories. Needless to say, I have not scheduled any tests because I would have to pay for everything.

Bottom line is, if I would have to continue paying that high premium year after year, I truly think I would consider moving far, far away from this country that allows the health community to continually rob from its inhabitants.

Look At Us Now

Hi...here I am with my little sister, Dakota. My name is Junior, and this is how we looked at the tender age of three months when we came to live with our new parents back in the very beginning of November 2006.



And this picture shows us being very confused. Oh, but we were happy too. we just didn't know what the heck was going on in this new and strange place.



Aha! But look at us now. It is almost eight months later and we are almost eleven months old in these pictures. This is our "tree house" which we love to climb all over and bat at one another. Dakota's very good at that action.



Look at me...all grown up...am I not the most handsomest dude you've ever seen?



And just look at my little sister. I am just so proud of her. She is like a little princess...and I am the prince.



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These two kittens will become cats the first week of August when they turn a year old. They are a pleasure to have around and just pure joy.

Every once in awhile I like to show you how they are doing so I chose today to do that. Mostly because I needed to get my mind off and away from NASCAR and what happened to Junior in the Pepsi 400 (thank you Tony and thank you Denny ~ you both ruined a top 5 car when you caused Junior's wreck. Oh, and a special thank you goes to Reed Sorenson who doesn't know where his brake pedal is.)

Daytona Racing

Dale Jr. will be driving this car in the Winn-Dixie 250 on Friday July 6th in the Busch series. He has relieved his driver, Shane Huffman, of driving duties under JR Motorsports for various reasons. Junior has always said he wanted to drive one of his own cars, and he now has that chance to see if it's the equipment or the driver.



Of all the fantasy cars out there on the 'net, I like this one the best. Mountain Dew supposedly is the front-runner for his main sponsor on the car. Try to imagine the 8 where the 5 is (wishful thinking there on my part). When I saw this rendition I instantly fell in love with it. This is exactly what I meant when I said I'd like to see him in a black car.

It's A Holiday Week!

This is the week I always took as one of my vacation weeks, and then I'd save the holiday for a Friday to watch qualifying. I used to get 15 days of vacation and it was always fun choosing when I wanted to use them throughout the year.

This year with the holiday falling smack dab in the middle of the week is kind of weird. Which weekend do you celebrate? Or do you just celebrate on the actual day and be done with it? Decisions, decisions. One of our neighbors had their picnic yesterday and we had to decline their invitation as my husband is still gaining back his strength. (And I am on a very low fat diet.)

Since this is a holiday week and a lot of people take the entire week off, I probably won't be posting as usual until next week; unless I get highly motivated by something that I must absolutely have to write about.

Here is some NASCAR-related thoughts:

For now, I am keeping an eye on the possible penalties for the #5 car of Kyle Busch and the #70 car of Johnny Sauter. NASCAR will be diving into uncharted waters with both these infractions, if that's what they turn out to be. As of now, they aren't sure if what happened to both cars was caused during the race. Penalties are handed out late Tuesday ~ a lot of times after 5 PM. I am very curious to see what they come up with, since both cars were sent to NASCAR's Research and Development center.

Of course there's still a lot of speculation surrounding Junior and his sponsor for next year. And the Free the 8 campaign has really taken off and gained national notoriety. Junior has said that if he doesn't get the 8 for next year that he and Rick have come up with some neat numbers to use instead.

Although I love seeing the red Bud machine, in the back of my mind I guess I am ready for something entirely new. I have always been against Junior driving the #3, but I would love to see him in a black car. Not because his father drove a black car, but because they just stand out and command attention (depending on who is driving it).

So for now, have a wonderful holiday and I'll be back next Sunday with a new scripture and we'll take it from there.

He's Home!

I sprung him from the hospital this morning. Well, not exactly...they said I could.

They were finally able to put a name on the strain of bacteria that took up residence in his system: campylobacter jejuni. Sounds nice, doesn't it? It is mostly gotten from raw or undercooked poultry. We've traced our steps and couldn't pinpoint any particular time he may have ingested it. Since it takes 2-5 days for the onset of the first symptoms, I know it wasn't at home because we haven't had poultry for quite some time.

I want to thank all of you that have sent good wishes and prayers our way. They were very much appreciated and won't be forgotten.

So all is back to normal for now; I don't ever want to experience something like that again. He sure put a scarin' into me the day it all began, because to be honest with you, I thought I lost him forever.

Hospital Day 3

Just checking in to let you all know tests are still being run, blood is still being drawn, and it goes on and on. The strain of bacteria still hasn't been pinpointed yet to our knowledge, but I feel it is now time to start asking questions of the staff. That will be done today when I go in to visit. This is so very hard on me, not to mention our cats. Especially Junior...because he is very attached to my husband and he misses him so much. Of course, aloof Dakota really doesn't care unless she is hiding it. Don't know when I'll be back on again to update. Hopefully it will be with good news.

Will Be Back As Soon As I Can

My husband is in the hospital with what they think at the moment is a bacterial infection. Please bear with me during this trying time. Tuesday morning started off with a 911 call when he blacked out and fell due to dehydration (and a blood pressure reading of 60/40) which was due to diarrhea, which we now know was probably due to a nasty bacterial bug.

Sonoma Weekend

The 24 and 48 teams (Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson respectively) got a jolt of reality Friday when both cars failed to pass the first inspection. They tested NASCAR's gray area and came up short, as both teams were parked for the day and not allowed on the track for practice or qualifying. They were allowed to practice Saturday after bringing both cars up to specs. They also were told they would start at the rear of the pack on Sunday. Big deal, like that's going to impede their quest to get to the front and win.

I was very shocked when that is what I heard the first time I turned my TV on at 3 pm on Friday. When I heard what was happening, I immediately wanted both the crew chiefs' heads on a silver platter, especially the 48 crew chief of Jimmie Johnson. Chad Knaus is forever testing the patience of NASCAR and this is his third huge infraction in as many years. I know the 24 team was talked into joining in as they share the same building. Up until now the 24 crew chief of Jeff Gordon had a pristine record.

And Rick Hendrick, the team owner, doesn't think they did anything wrong. Huh? They got caught red handed for gosh sakes. It was "blatant in-your-face NASCAR, so what do you think of that?" Well, we'll see what NASCAR thinks of it come Tuesday when the penalties are handed out to them. And there had better be penalties and they should match, at the very least, what they handed out to Junior's team back at the Darlington race.

I want NASCAR to stick to their consistency policy (if there is such a thing). That's the least they promised us: consistency in the penalties. The infraction on Junior's car, which was an honest mistake, would not have made his car faster. And it passed two inspections before it was "discovered." And that was after he qualified. The Hendrick cars were found to be out of alignment in the hood area as soon as the template 'claw' was lowered onto the car. Holy crap! How could they be so blatant? (I like that word so I used it twice.) What they did would have definitely made both cars go faster.

Now fast forward to Sunday's race. How did both drivers fare starting at the rear on the road course? Jeff managed a 7th place finish and Jimmie ended up 17th. (Junior finished 13th only because their pit strategy didn't work to their advantage, as he had a top five car and was having a blast driving at a track he used to hate.)

And the winner was:

Juan Pablo Montoya who won his first NASCAR Cup race.


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Junior Nation Needs Help

There's a campaign going on right now to get DEI to release the #8 so that Junior can drive it for the remainder of his career. It was his grandfather Ralph Earnhardt's number throughout his career, and it is the only number Junior has driven in his Cup career.

NASCAR owns the numbers issued to the owners. The owners cannot sell that number to another owner. I am presuming they can use it as bargaining power but I'm not sure how that works either. We doubt that NASCAR will step in to help the cause; therefore, this has to be generated and pushed by the Junior Nation. And as a representative I am asking for your help.

Once there are sufficient signatures on the petition it will then be presented to Teresa Earnhardt, current owner of Dale Earnhardt Inc. We are hoping she will relent and give it up, but we are not holding our breath. After all, we know how she can be, don't we?

Rescue Me

I love this program, and it's been a long time since I watched last year's end-of-season episode. This season's premier was on last Wednesday and it didn't disappoint.


I guess I love the show so much because its main character, Tommy Gavin played by Denis Leary, is just so dysfunctional. And, boy, can I identify with that (no details forthcoming ~ you'll just have to take my word for it). Actually almost the whole cast is dysfunctional.


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And just a reminder...Jericho will be back as re-runs starting on Friday July 6th at 9 pm (eastern) on CBS. Don't miss it if you haven't seen it at all. The more people that watch, the more power we have of insuring it stays around for the Fall lineup beyond the new episodes, and those could be as early as November.

5th Place!

Think he's not happy? Think again. And this photo was taken before the race. He was ecstatic after the race. I can't wait till he wins one this year.



Every week after the race, some of Junior's radio exchanges are posted. There haven't really been many good ones this year probably due to the heavy mental load he's been carrying around. This one made me chuckle for some reason:


With less than ten laps remaining, Dale Jr. continued to gain positions, but couldn't find a scoreboard around the circuit to tell him where he was running - or where teammate Truex raced.

Dale Jr: "Martin's gonna win?"

Hmiel: "He's three car lengths behind the leader Edwards, but he's made up four seconds on him."

Dale Jr. (referring to Truex) "That sum' b###h is GOOD today! Dang!... Am I gonna have to pit?!"

Hmiel: "No!"

Gibson: "No sir!"

Hmiel: "Eight laps to go."

Dale Jr: "What place are we in?"

Hmiel: "You're P5."

Dale Jr.: "10-4.. (as he crossed the finish line with a sputtering engine).. HA! It run outta gas right there!"

The 2008 Hendrick Boys

Casey Mears ~ Jimmie Johnson ~ Jeff Gordon ~ Dale Earnhardt Jr.

If You Can't Beat 'em Join 'em

Dale Jr. will be driving for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. His contract will run for five years. His teammates will be Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears. I could say here to keep your friends close, your enemies closer but Junior is actually friends with all three, so that doesn't wash.

The number and sponsors have yet to be worked out over the next few months. I really am hoping that Budweiser is smart enough to stay with Junior. The #8 is another matter ~ step-mommy dearest knows how to be vindictive. He's had to deal with her since he was six years old.

What a difference in Junior from the day he announced he was leaving DEI ~ a complete turn around today. On May 10th he was so sad, but today all he did from the time he entered the stage was grin from ear to ear and it's so good to see him that happy. That's all that counts anyway.

Way to go Junior!

How do I feel? Well, since I've known where he was going for almost 24 hours prior to the conference, I have had ample time to digest all of it and come to terms with it. It's time for me to put my dislikes away, pull up my big girl pants, and support Junior just like I have all along.