by richard teague tinynascars@yahoo.com
I hope that all of you had a nice Thanksgiving and that the turkey is about gone so you won’t have to keep eating them sandwiches any longer. Don’t get me wrong, sliced bird between two pieces of Batter Whipped with lots of mayo, salt and pepper is one of my favorite things, but like they say, too much of a good thing… We had our family get together like most people do, but we went to a cafeteria so I wouldn’t have to do the cleaning up after dinner. My wife Ann always takes our Granddaughter Jennifer to Orlando after our feast and the job is left for me, but this way I got the afternoon to recover from the meal instead of putting everything away. That worked out real good. It might become a new tradition.
At this time of year I wish that I was a big time NA$CAR columnist or TV commentator and all the drivers and owners knew me so I could ask what they were thankful for. Since I’m not and they don’t, I just have to make guesses about their thoughts. Here are a few of the things that might be in their minds this Thanksgiving. Let me start with a big name driver and work along. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has got to be thankful that he kept his image and popularity after the battle at DEI when most fans thought he was DEI. The funny thing is, they’ll be there next season, won’t they? You know he’s glad there was a job MADE open after he talked with Rick Hendrick. As one of my readers wrote, “It’s like okay, I bought myself a trophy.”
Now Teresa Earnhardt must be thankful that Ginn Racing went under and she snapped the team up and got Mark Martin to replace Jr in the number eight car for 2008. I wonder how many times Mark’s engine will blow next year? And you know that Mark is thankful for the chance to drive for DEI. A real team with real equipment. Heck, he just might win the Daytona 500 next year, ya’ think?
Now Jimmie Johnson has got to be thankful for those six wins before the Chase started. Without them he could have started in fourth place instead of 20 points ahead of Gordon. I was never too happy about letting the winner of a pre-Chase race “double dip” with a win. Five points for a race win should be enough, but to go and add twice that many for the Chase position format just seems to blow. NA$CAR, or rather, Brian France will keep playing with this stuff until the whole thing blows up in their face. Hopefully we can go back to the old way. Jimmie had to be happy with it this season and it contributed to his repeat of last year.
I need to interject right here about Johnson being one of my guys. I’m thinking about dropping his butt for many reasons. First, like somebody told me and I didn’t really realize, he’s becoming somewhat arrogant. Also, I don’t like shopping at Lowe’s anymore. He used to be just a nice young rookie and seemed to be the same as any person, but it appears that things change after you win a Cup Championship. I would be happy just to have an Lowe’s employee I could find to ask, but that is rare at Lowe’s. You never can find anyone to ask. If you do they send ya’ to another joker who sends you to someone else. Seems like when I’m headed for the next guy, I happen to find what I’m looking for by accident. Another thing about Johnson is that he beat Jeff Gordon out for the championship. Jeff will always be my driver.
Well Rick Hendrick must be thankful to have captured Junior for 2008. He’s also got to be worried about how he’s going to split everything up with his guys. Not only will he have to share information and technology (along with money) with his drivers, there are also the emotions and feelings that he will need to spread out. It’s going to be a thing to watch these four guys next year and how Rick interacts with all of them.
Now for Ward Burton. He must have been thankful about having a ride in 2007, even if he didn’t make every race. He was in 16 of them. After a long layoff and a car for a season, I know he was glad, but there hasn’t been anything said about next year. Me mate Pete in Australia were thankful, along with Wardie (as we call him), to be back in a racecar. When Pete and his wife Deb came to the States this year, he got to go to Morgan-McClure Motorsports near Abingdon, Va. and actually touch the car that Burton raced. He got a grand tour of the facilities with pictures and all, so he was very thankful and excited about that. Now we have to wait and see what will happen with Ward in the upcoming Chase season..
Let me see here, how about Juan Pablo Montoya? Even if he is a Columbian and might not know what a Pilgrim is, he is still a NA$CAR driver, so maybe he’s thankful at this time of year also. He should be. He’s probably learned more English this year and is thankful for that. How about winning a Cup race in his rookie season? That don’t happen to everyone. I know Chipper is having him come back next season, which doesn’t happen to a rookie all the time either. At 32 this youngster is still a kid to me. He has plenty to be thankful for. Unbeknownst to him, I am thinking of replacing Jimmie Johnson with Juan, even if he doesn’t drive a Chevrolet. Gosh, I hope Ganassi ain’t switching to Toyota, cause that might change things.
Martin Truex Jr should be thankful that he didn’t leave with Dale Jr and Kyle Busch. Seeing Rick Hendrick’s real colors is something they both need to be thankful for. Jack Roush, Ray Evernham and Robert Ya’tes started a trend that will continue for seasons to come by signing on big money partners, you know they’re thankful. A few people in NA$CAR weren’t so thankful this Turkey Day. Take Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin. Those two guys still gave thanks at dinner last Thursday, but there had to be some ill will about losing their team and all. Don’t ya’’ know that if they could have met up with Bobby Ginn in a dark alley before last week, their list of thankful things would have been longer.
Me, I’m thankful for another season of NA$CAR and all the great racing, dumb driving, stupid rumors and all the stuff that I love about this sport. Being thankful is something that we all are and not just about the nice things that happen to or for us. It is about the things that we take for granted in life. The love that God gives us everyday and the freedom we have as Americans. Thanksgiving is the start of the Big Three, as I put it. Christmas and New Year are just around the corner. The Birth of Jesus Christ being the Greatest Day of all. What’s even greater is that we get to celebrate it every year on December 25th. Yup, in just a couple of weeks it’s Christmas. I hope to have my NA$CAR Driver’s gift list in print and also my yearly Night Before Christmas poem in my column before then, so ya’ better be nice and ya’ better keep up.
That’s all for this week. Just a note, the talks with my editor are going smoothly and soon I hope to be able to share the outcome with y’all, but my fingers are sealed this week. Drop an email to me if ya’ like at you-know-where. Like all season (and throughout the raceless winter season) if it ain’t NA$CAR, It ain’t s**t!!
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