Supermodels rule....

New weekend, new city...Dover, Delaware...home of, um, well, I don't really know that much about Delaware. Our hotel is right across the street from the University of Delaware...the Blue Hens, if I recall correctly. They just had a quarterback, Joe Flacco, that was drafted 18th by the Baltimore Ravens. Trivia: That is the highest a University of Delaware player has ever been drafted. File that away for your next "Jeopardy" appearance.
The time at home seemed quite short this week. I didn't get home until Monday evening. My flight out of North Carolina left at 2:30pm and upon reaching Nashville, weather prohibited us from landing. So we flew on to Little Rock, Arkansas...refueled and went back to Nashville.
We were planning a kayaking trip on Tuesday, but it didn't work out, so hopefully this coming Tuesday, I can take all my teenagers down the river. Yep, on Friday, my twins turn 13. I will be the father of 3 teenage boys!!!
We spent Tuesday and Wednesday getting the yard and house ready for a luau for the boys on Friday night. I, of course, won't be there, but they wanted the party on their birthday, not wait until I got home. (Anyone hear "Cats in the Cradle" playing in the background?) As a sidenote, just to show the personalities of the twins...Alex found a unicycle on Craig's list and asked for it. Andy asked for fake poop. It's not dull at our house.
Trucks, Nationwide and Cup are all racing here this weekend, so it should be quite busy. On my flight today I was sitting in front of Craftsman truck driver, Chad Chaffin and behind Nationwide driver, Burney Lamar. Chad is a good driver and is currently 23rd in the standings. Burney, not so much. He's 66th in Nationwide. But it's never a bad day for Burney because he is married to model, Niki Taylor (pictured above).
I met her on a flight last year...she has twin sons around 12 years old from a previous marriage...she was very sweet. Burney's nice, too...just not as hot.

Please, no wagering...

Please, this blog is just for information and opinion...do not use any information here to gamble the farm away. I know you think I am in insider, and to a certain degree, I am...but I will not be held accountable for your gambling habits that lead you to bankruptcy. In fact, according to my legal representation, just clicking on this blog is your signature that I, my family, or my pets cannot be held liable. Past success does not mean future success. Results are atypical. Winners are portrayed by actors.
That being said, man, if you'd have gone with my 500 picks in a pool, you would have taken home a buttload!!! And then lost it all when you went with my 600 picks. Sorry.

A Great Day for Racing...

I thought I'd post a little early today to give my Indianapolis 500 picks...even though Indy is a whole different form of racing, nearly every monitor in all the trucks in our compound are tuned to the 500 right now.
I would love to see Danica win, but I think it will go a different direction. My picks for Indy are:
3). Helio Castroneves
2). Marco Andretti
1). Scott Dixon.

On the fendered side of racing today here at the Coca-Cola 600, I think we might have a sweep with Kyle Busch winning today after taking the trophy last night in the Nationwide race. If you didn't see the highlights from last night, Denny Hamlin again showed was a girlie man he is. Don't pick on Dale, Jr.'s little buddy.
My picks for the Coca-Cola 600 are:
3). Jimmie Johnson
2). Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
1). Kyle Busch

Have a great Memorial Day weekend and thanks to our Troops who have served our nation throughout history!

The Pickler...Sounds like a Batman Villain

We did "Trackside" from uptown Charlotte last night. It went pretty well. I ran into more drivers there than I have ever seen in person since I am usually stuck in the truck. I saw Kyle Busch, Mikey Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton, Steven Wallace and Kelli Pickler (not a driver, but quite a looker!)
Today we will be here at the track for 12 hours, but only actually do only 1 hour and 12 minutes of television. The Nationwide race is tonight and there's no reason to believe that Kyle Busch won't win this one, too. Have a great Saturday!

Back to Charlotte

This week I've traveled in on Wednesday for the race this weekend. We apparently are doing some shows tomorrow, our normal travel/set day, so I get paid an extra day this week. On Friday we are heading to uptown Charlotte...yes, I know I wrote uptown Charlotte...that's what they call it. We annually do Trackside on Friday night before the Coke 600 from the corner of Triad and Tryson. It is a street festival with drivers, food, games, music, and hoopla...lots of hoopla. For us, it is an extra truck to set and strike, but that's ok. This year Kelli Pickler of American Idol fame will be one of our guests...she's cute, sings well, and plays the ditz very well. I've seen her not in character and she isn't that dingy. She dated one of the Predators, Jordin Tootoo. She is easy on the eyes, so we've got that going for us.
This longest race of the year, the Coke 600, takes place this Sunday afternoon and evening. Tune in if you can.

Joyce "Dottie" Rambo

Dottie Rambo passed away in a tour bus accident on May 11th...today was her memorial service here in Nashville. It was a great gathering of many Gospel artists from around the world. It was held at Christ Church...the choir was filled with nearly 100 incredible gospel singers. Bill Gaither led the choir in about 12 songs with Sandy Patti, the Crabb family, Jesse Dixon, William Lee Golden from the Oak Ridge Boys, Mark Lowry and many others singing lead. Barbara Mandrell spoke along with a few other pastors including Carlton Pearson. Carlton read letters of condolence from Lily Tomlin, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and President George Bush. President Bush also sent the flag that was flown over the White House on Mother's Day, the day Dottie passed away. Though the room was filled with many different denominations, ideologies, and, frankly, some theology that I don't agree with, there was a lot of love for this great lady.
Dottie was a great singer and songwriter who has influenced the world with her music. I had the privilege to spend a lot of time with Dottie when Sandy and I lived at Dony and Reba's when we first moved to Nashville. She was so witty and an incredibly funny lady. She was always more concerned with you than herself. I loved fixing things in her house, changing light bulbs, getting her vcr to stop flashing 12:00...those times gave me a chance to spend time with this great lady. The last time I talked with her was in the Nashville airport awhile back as she was heading out on another tour. She had a never-give-up attitude.
Dottie's songs will carry on throughout eternity...see you in Heaven, Dottie...we'll miss you...I love you!

Whoooooo!

Today we had Ric Flair on Raceday as a surprise for Kenny Wallace. Kenny always does a Flair imitation before the show, so when he was doing the walk and all on the show, Flair walked up and Kenny was shocked! It was fun! Oh, in case you don't know, Ric Flair has been a professional wrestler for 30 something years.
After an 18 hour day yesterday, today has been a bit better...even though we did do a 3 hour Raceday...c'mon, nobody watches 3 hours worth of programming in a row.
The All Star race is getting ready to start...I think Kyle Busch will win, but I'm pulling for A.J. Allmendinger.

All Star Weekend

Greetings from "The Queen City"...and, no, I'm not in San Fransisco yet...that's next month. We're here in Charlotte, NC, the "home of NASCAR". I thought that Cincinnati was "The Queen City", but apparently there is more than one "Queen City".
Nearly all of the teams are based here in the Charlotte area. Many teams are busy this week with "The Pit Crew Challenge", "The Burnout Competition", tours of race shops and some actual racing. Most teams like these two weeks the best on the schedule. We come back next week for the Coca-Cola 600 next Sunday, so that is two weeks that most folks get to sleep in their own beds at night. I, on the other hand, am staying at the luxurious Hilton at University Park...nice place. I like this week because we get to leave our tv truck all plugged in and don't have to strike late Saturday night after the All Star race. The Truck Series is supposed to race here at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday night, but it looks like rain in the forecast.
Saturday night brings the All Star race. To get into the All Star race, you needed to have won a race last season or this season, or you need to win one of the All Star Challenge races that happen before the big race...or, finally, get voted into the race by the fans. Last year, our own Kenny Wallace was voted in by the fans. Last week on our Trackside show, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was one of the guests and he said everyone should vote for Elliot Sadler. My guess is since Jr. said it, Elliot will get voted in.
Big news on the homefront....Zachary Luke got his learner's permit on Tuesday! He drove to wrestling practice with me last night and did great! I actually had to tell him to speed up 3 times. He is very careful and I am glad.

TV Sausage

Ok, the race has already started, so I'm a little late on the picks. Frankly, I have no idea tonight. I think you'd have to go with the hottest guy (not physically, he's not my type) on the circuit, Kyle Busch. A lot depends on how much damage you get when, not if, you hit the wall...everyone pancakes the right side of the car, but to what extent is the question.
It has been a pretty quiet weekend, just making the tv sausage. Throw a bunch of video in the pan, stir it up, grind it out.
Next week should be more fun...the AllStar race in Charlotte. It is a fun race not for points, just for $1 million.
Something cool...I got back to the hotel last night in time to catch the local news out of Columbia, SC....and who did I see telling me about a guy getting shot downtown, but Dawndy Mercer...she went to high school with Andrew McNichols and was in telecommunication classes with me at Ball State. I knew she was a news anchor in Columbia, but didn't know I could see it in Florence....it was cool to see an old friend successfully doing what they want to do.
Here's my picks...3). Jeff Burton, 2). Jeff Gordon and 1). Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!!!!

The Track Too Tough To Tame...

I've landed in Darlington, South Carolina...about 50 miles from the Atlantic coast and Myrtle Beach. I actually landed in Charlotte, NC and drove the 2 hours down here. South Carolina holds some great memories for me...our family vacationed here when I was a first grader. I loved the tour of Fort Sumter...still remember a lot of it to this day. I also remember staying at a campground on Isle of Palms...which apparently is no longer in existence. We were here over Halloween and my parents made us some makeshift costumes, I believe mine was a mask made of aluminum foil, and we went trick-or-treating....maybe just to one other camper, but I remember a full size Hershey bar! I also remember sitting in the waves of the ocean and not being a huge fan at the time...ok, I cried when the wave hit me, so sue me...I was in 1st grade!.
Well, the race this week will be another pretty one that begins in some light and goes into darkness. They have repaved the surface on the track, so the speeds should be faster than last season. Besides "The Track Too Tough To Tame", they also call it "The Lady In Black." I think it refers to this:

http://home.comcast.net/~jay.schmidt/ft.warren/ghost.html

I hope I can go out during driver introductions to hear the crescendo of boos that will rain down on one Kyle Busch who crashed Dale, Jr. and the company car at the end of last week's race. It could get ugly.

Raceday...or Race Night!

The race starts at 7:30pm Eastern tonight...racing under the lights. Night racing is really pretty! The way the light bounces off the cars that are so shiny...being able to see the brakes glowing in each corner...the light glinting off the gold tooth of the guy in the fifth row....so pretty.
I think you might have to put your money on Denny Hamlin today...it is his home track...he pulled out the win last night...starts on the pole. Lots of things pointing in his favor. My picks...Mark Martin-3rd...Denny Hamlin-2nd and Dale, Jr-1st...I think Jr. may finally end that 73 race winless streak.
My old friend Chuck Chalfant is here at the race today. I got tickets for him and his oldest daughter, Kylie. She's 15 (a couple of months older than Zach...I'm just saying)...anyway, I haven't seen him since college, and just recently caught up with him through Facebook. It was great to catch up with him. He has a wife and 3 daughters...they all lived in Australia for a few years...worked and studied at Hillsong. Now they live in Virginia Beach and he and Brooke, his wife, both work at CBN. Chuck works in their web department and Brooke does a lot of writing. It is so cool to connect with old friends!

Richmond, VA....lots of history here....seems in some ways still in the past.
Speaking of the past, yesterday was Aimee Addington's birthday. Her's is one of three birthdays outside of my immediate family that I can remember...maybe because she was my first love. In kindergarten, 1972...it must have been love because she still carries the scar on her chin of when I pushed her down and she needed 3 stitches.
She is now married with 5 children...two teens and 3 little ones she and her husband have adopted from Guatemala. Isn't that cool? I left a message on her cell phone yesterday and she called me back today right before I boarded my plane. We talked for a few minutes, a little catching up, and then I flew here to Richmond. Even though I have one teenager and two that will be teens at the end of the month, it is strange to think that others have children growing up...I tend to keep people in my memory where I saw them last, at that age, shape, hair cut...No sermon here, just ponderings.
BREAKING NEWS....Tomorrow night, the Nationwide race will not be seen on ESPN2...they are doing NBA playoffs, so ESPN Classic and our very own SPEED will carry the race! Even the mouse wants to be on SPEED!