All Jacked Up

What did we learn at Bristol?

Posted by: Jason Randall

Monday, March 17, 2008 11:43 PM

My boss, Jim, likes lists, so I'll detail what we learned Sunday during the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway:

1. Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick's feud will last loooooooong into the season, probably until they both get put on probation by NASCAR. Both are too hot-headed to let their late-race crash go, regardless of what they say on camera. From my seat (in my living room), the wreck obviously was Harvick's fault and Tony won't forget. Ha! Just as I wrote that I saw a Coke Zero commercial with Stewart and Harvick standing side-by-side. Good stuff. It's the one where Stewart says, "We'd probably get suspended for that," and the Coke Zero rep says, "Tony, come on, you're pretty comfortable with that." That's funny.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the best car in the Hendrick garage. That brings up some questions. First, is the Hendrick program putting more money into Earnhardt's program to get it up to speed more quickly? Is Jimmie Johnson's team hungry anymore? It really looks like that team is going through the motions. The 48 hasn't really been competitive at all this season. Speaking of not competitive, when was the last time you saw Jeff Gordon be so insignificant at Bristol? The 48 and 24 better get it together.

3. Just when you think Darrell Waltrip can't be more annoying, he goes and calls a race with a lost voice. Thank goodness he didn't try to talk as much as he usually does, but when he did, it was like fingernails on a chalk board. Next week NASCAR takes a break for Easter. That seems like a good time for my rant on why all NASCAR television coverage is dreadful.

4. We're going to miss Dale Jarrett. The former Cup champ will race again in the All-Star event, but he's retired from points races. I'm not necessarily a Dale Jarrett fan, and I never understood why it seemed like his daughters always were playing basketball on Sundays like he said during his shoutouts, but we're going to miss his steady hands on that steering wheel. NASCAR has been going pretty young lately (see Joey Logano), and I don't think that's necessarily a good thing, especially when your veterans (Stewart, Harvick for example) are fighting each other and not setting an example of how things are supposed to be done, how you're supposed to race. With Mark Martin running a partial schedule and guys like Ricky Rudd and Rusty Wallace retired, the changing of the old guard nearly is complete, and I don't like it.

5. I've learned I miss Dale Earnhardt still. Whenever I watch races, I find myself wondering what Dale would think about the state of NASCAR. I bet he'd like some things, but I bet he would absolutely HATE the COT. I wish we could ask him.

Anyway, one quick story. I said I'd talk about when I participated in the Dale Jarrett Racing Experience. Let me start by saying it was great. I went with my buddy Tom and we didn't do the option where we drove, we just did a ride-along at Chicagoland Speedway.

They suited us up in fire suits and fitted us with helmets. Tom got put in one of Jarrett's blue Quality Care cars, I got sent to a UPS ride. The driver (I'm not sure who he was, just some dude) asked, "Do you like to go fast?" I told him I absolutely did and right when I finished, he peeled out of the pits and we were away.

My driver was great. We were hauling you know what, although for insurance purposes, we were only allowed to go about 170-175 mph. On the straightaways, he put the passenger side so close to the wall. It was a rush. He dove the car down into the turns, and let me tell you, whatever you think banking is like at a track, double that. Chicagoland is WAY more banked than I thought and the G-force I felt was unbelievable. I was smiling for so long during our run, my front teeth became dry! You don't notice the sound, you almost go into a zone, and I wasn't even driving. We even passed a car, which was the highlight of the experience. If you ever get a chance, you have to do a ride-along at least. It was awesome!

Anyway, Ive rambled for too long. Don't forget, no Cup race this weekend, but I'll be sure to post sometime before Sunday.

Until next time, keep hittin' your marks!

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