Separated at birth?

Sunday's Atlanta winner Kurt Busch...



... and comedian Andy Kaufman.



You decide.

If so, perhaps Jimmy Spencer could play the role of wrassler Jerry Lawler.




TMC

Hoo-ah! Nashville - the manliest city

Take THIS New York City.

NASCAR, BBQ make Nashville manliest city

City Rankings

Criteria to earn manliest city honors included NASCAR enthusiasts, outdoorsman activities, professional sports, home improvement stores, abundance of barbecue, etc. Points were taken away for home furnishing stores and mini-van sales.

Bonus points should also have been given for having high number of purty gurls in a manly city 'cause we got 'em by the dozens in Music City USA as well.

Congrats Nashville. Read it and weep LA, NYC, and San Fran. Affirmation you've been emasculated.

TMC

Greg Biffle - Preach on brutha!

From Friday's USA Today NASCAR notes...

Biffle was critical of recent comments by his former teammte, Mark Martin, regarding the quality of the cars on Martin's new team, Hendrick Motorsports. "I love Mark Martin," Biffle said. "He's a character, but if you look back historically I think every interview you see Mark in you can just hit the record button. 'Man, I'm having the time of my life. This is the best race car. This is the best group of guys. I've never seen anybody work so hard in my life.' I see it over and over. It's like a replay. It's like a bad dream. I'm just telling you what I see on TV. I see the same thing in the interview and there's nothing wrong with that. You've got to be positive, right? He's being positive and that's Mark Martin— being positive. When he went over to DEI it was the chance of a lifetime and they were the best cars in the garage. I think it's the same thing now, but I would have to say that Hendrick probably has the best stuff in the garage with Jimmie Johnson winning the championship three years in a row."

Mark's optimism, his ability to always plug his sponsor du-jour, and his loyalty-in-the-moment to his team has endeared him to his fans, media, and sponsors over the years. Up until about 4 years ago, I was ambivalent about him - didn't pull for him but also didn't pull against him. But his multi-year, prolonged retirement/resurgence, want to spend more time with my family, well...maybe another year routine has grown old to me.

Apparently others share the same opinion.

As an aside, a bud of mine made a great observation recently about Mark's sponsors from a few years ago. He went from racing for Viagra in the Cup series to being sponsored by Miracle Gro in Truck series. My friend asked "so isn't that basically the same thing?"





TMC

What were the odds of this as a Petty sponsor?

For about the last 30 years, Richard Petty has consistently said he refuses to run alcohol-related sponsors on his cars out of deference to his mother's moral objections to booze.

He said he wouldn't contract with such a company to be his primary sponsor nor would he run a contingency decal. As a result, pole wins by Bobby Hamilton and John Andretti way back when resulted in their being ineligible to run the Bud Shootout back when it was fielded by prior season pole winners because the pole-winning car had to display the Bud decal.

However, the King's no-hooch position was not absolute (no pun intended). Here he is runing the 43 at Bristol in 1980 with a Busch beer decal prominently displayed on the front fender.



When Richard retired at the end of 1992, Petty Enterprises changed the car number to #44 for one season and hired Rick Wilson (ugh, that hurt to type that...) for the unenviable position of replacing the King behind the wheel. Once again, a brew brand from the St. Louis brewer was displayed right below the A pillar.



Even when Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in January 2009, Richard reiterated his stance about having alcohol associated with the Petty name. This from ESPN...

Petty also demanded that Budweiser, which sponsors Kasey Kahne's No. 9 car and had logos on the other GEM cars prior to the merger, not be on the 43 or 44 to uphold a family tradition of not being associated with alcohol-related sponsors. "My mother would come back and haunt us home," Petty said of what would happen if Budweiser showed up on either car.

So while Bud (or a Coors Light pole award) decals won't show up on the 43 or 44, apparently its OK for the Petty name to be on the Bud hauler.



So I had to chortle heartily when Richard Petty Motorsports unloaded the #44 of A.J. Allmendiner at Las Vegas this weekend adorned with the colors of Harrah's Casinos. Look, don't get me wrong. I'm no moralist. I drink a bit, and I've spent a few nights in Vegas. (However, to be candid, the only real gambling I do regularly is my 22 mile daily commute amongst drivers with cell phones and lipstick tubes.) And I've been a Petty fan since the mid 70s so I'll give the King a pass on just about anything.

But I think the inherent contradiction of his not wanting to have alcohol sponsors yet accepting gambling dollars is funny. Perhaps his mother didn't like drankin' but wasn't opposed to rollin' dem bones, doubling down, splitting her aces, or a late night round of Texas Hold 'Em.



TMC

Lent

Taking a break for a moment from racing, I wrote an entry about the traditional Christian period of Lent at my other blog. Rather than repeat here, how about if I just link it? Will appreciate your reading and thoughts.

God Don't Need Yo' Chocolate

We now return you to your regularly scheduled race blogging.

That is all.

10-4.

Out.

TMC

That's What She Said

From Mike Harris' AP story about the Cali race attendance.

"Despite the economic crunch that has hit California particularly hard and predictions of a disastrously small turnout Sunday, it appeared the grandstand that holds 105,000 spectators was more than half full." (emphasis is mine)

More than half full? What kind of reporting is that? 51%? 76%? 105%? Ahh, me thinks this is double-speak for closer to 51%.

Harris' odd percentage estimate was then trumped by this rose-colored-glasses whopper by track president Gillian Zucker.

"But the doom and gloom about the fact that California can't support NASCAR is dead wrong."

Wasn't Darlington and Rockingham each drawing more than 50 thou for their races? With less than state-of-the-art facilities? Without the backing of the incestuous relationship between the sanctioning body and the track owner? In cold February weather of the North Carolina sandhills or hot and humid Labor Day weekends at Darlington? Yet we were told by NASCAR and ISC the statement that Rockingham and Darlington couldn't support NASCAR was dead right? Whatever.

Gillian dear. I'm sure you mean well and are trying to do a yeoman's job at pimping your events. But face it. Your market does not support one race - much less two. With ISC as the owner, you will continue to be fortunate and keep both dates despite of travesty of it all.

TMC

Dr. Dick Berggren

banktruck has done a great job - and a very timely one - on his commentary the last 2 weeks. Last weekend, I was out of town with my son on a Boy Scouts trip & had only limited time to keep up with the race - much less blog about it.

This week, well... I really didn't care. Let's just be honest. I did see the final 30 laps, and Matt Kenseth put on a clinic. Not one mistake. A true Iceman. But I wasn't going to waste 3 to 4 hours of my life watching follow the leader at a track more boring than Nancy Pelosi's reading the bailout legislation word for word.

But one thing I have noticed the last 2 weeks in the limited coverage I have been able to watch is the increasingly darkening, purplish, bulbous schnoz upon Dr. Dick Berggren's face. What did this guy do in the off-season - vote in a free Iraqi election?



On to Viva Las Vegas!

TMC