Yes Virginia, There Is A Consequence

By John "Dawg" Chapman

Well, the already long NASCAR unemployment queue just got longer by one
person.

While my heart goes out to the hundreds of crew, or more correctly, former crew members, & their families who are looking at not only a bleak holiday season. But most probably a pretty bleak future in their chosen field as well. We've all heard the phrase, "you'll never work in this town again", for many this could be true.

These are people who have worked incredibly long, & hard to put the very best car, or truck, on the track each & every week, & have done it for pride, rather than just for a paycheck. While some of these skills are transferrable to other jobs. It will never be the same. These folks are unemployed, through no fault of their own.

The same can't be said of the latest person to join that sad line. Kurt pretty much volunteered, to join. I'm going to have a really hard time working too much sympathy for him. He does have something few others in line possess. He's got talent, but that's not it. Everyone in line has talent, or they wouldn't have been there in the first place. What he has is a very fat wallet to soften the blow.He's not going to have to worry about the house, & car, payments. The kids orthodontist, or all those other things that most of his neighbors in line have to deal with.

This whole deal reminds me of the Billy Joel song, Somewhere Along the Line.

"I knew that there'd be hell to pay,
when the fun falls through,
& the rent comes due.
Somewhere along the line"

 

The difference between Kurt, & the guy in the song, was that the song Dude, (& no, I'm not talking about Mr. Penske) knew that the day of reckoning was coming. I seriously doubt that Kurt had figured that out. When you've always gotten a pass, why would you expect anything else? He will have his own unique worries to deal with.

Do I think that Kurt will never have another steady Cup ride? No I don't think that at all. Of all the words that have been written about the brothers Busch. No one has ever questioned their talent. Do I think that he's just left his last really competitive ride? Obviously, the jury's still out on that, & it's way too soon to tell, but I do know this.When "A" company signs on as sponsor, the driver becomes the face of the company.Without a solid sponsor, all that is available to any driver is the "shirt tail" rides. I'd say at this point, it's pretty much a coin flip.

The net, is like print books. Once it's out there, it's pretty much always  out there. If anyone cares to look, it can be found.You can bet that when Kurt, or an owner approaches any corporation for sponsorship. That corporation is going to look at everything they can find on him, as they would, & should for any driver.What they'll find on the social networks, is not some bleeped out network footage. Sanitized for the kiddies, but exactly what he said, & what he said,was way beyond what most corporations want to be associated with. I expect these things are far from done, biting him in the butt.

As of now, Kyle has a distinct advantage, with his deal because his current sponsor, Mars/M&M is not a public company, so the family can make a decision & not have to worry about blowback from stockholders. Kurt's not so lucky.

Either way, I think we can safely say, for Kurt. "The fun's fallen through and the rent's come due."

We tend to focus on the drivers, & Crew Chiefs, because we have names & faces, but don't forget about all the other NASCAR folks in line ahead of Kurt.

The off season might indeed be short, but for these families, there's no new season coming up. With highly specialized job skills, in a very weak job market, it could be a long cold winter.

 

You can contact Dawg HERE

Assorted Pieces and Parts

Going back to the Ethanol Odds and Ends, this came from Unkle Phil, a former racer and long time racing fan:

I used to run an IMCA modified out here at Canyon Raceway Park. I could buy $45.00 worth of gas, as it took twice as much Alki. (alcohol-MM) at twice the cost. The al. ran cooler and developed half again as much power. God halp you if you did not drain the carb at the end of the night.

 Based on Phil’s experience with alcohol, there is a definite problem with water absorption, which is also an issue with ethanol since it contains alcohol. And like everyone else I read about how special tankers will haul the ethanol to the tracks. When the tankers sit overnight, there will be condensation which will accumulate inside the tanker. How is this going to be taken care of? Will several gallons be drained off at the start of every day to make sure the water is removed? If so, what will be done with the contaminated fuel? This is a bit of a recycling issue that needs to be addressed. Or will they use some sort of special water absorbing filter to remove the water so that when the teams fill up the dump cans they only get ethanol and not a mix of water and ethanol? And how often will the tankers be replaced so that any type of corrosion won’t get into the fuel as a result of the water contamination? Lots of questions but no answers from the Daytona Beach Palm Tree Hunter.
　
One stat I saw a couple weeks ago said there were 40 fewer Service Master cautions in 2010. I’m curious how many Ms Terry DeBris cautions there were for 2010. Were there more or less versus 2009?
　
I just got word that the fabricators at MWR are being paid $500 a week with the economy being used as the reason. Normally, fabricators make at least twice that. If MWR would like to respond, by all means do. And in plain English without the double-speak of some PR person replying.


One title for an article I saw mentioned something about the races needing to be treated as big events. Actually, the races need to be treated as races and not sports entertainment or some marketing gimmick which they currently are now. The races need to be about racing and actually contain racing instead of long, drawn-out parades. The race has a sponsor, the green flag has a sponsor, the checkered flag has a sponsor, the cautions have a sponsor, the pit stops have a sponsor, the pit out has a sponsor. About the only things that don’t have a sponsor is the drivers’ own “pit stops” prior to or after a race. But I’m sure that’ll be coming some time down the road. Something like the Pine Bark Butt Wipe Fastest Flush or the Colonel of the Urinal Shake and Dance brought to you by Richard Slimmins “Shaking to the Oldies“. Cute little jingle singing “No matter how much you shake and dance the last drop always goes in your pants”. Or maybe drivers passing gas. The Foulest Flatus brought to you by Roust Air Freshener. “If the drivers are a rippin’, there’s no need to be trippin’. And who can forget the drivers burping? The Biggest Belch of the Race brought to you by Burper’s Bird Seed. “If the birds are burping, you know it’s a Burper”. How about if they catch some crew chiefs, crewmembers, or NA$CAR officials picking their noses on camera? The Nastiest Nosepick brought to you by No-Snorz Nasal Strips. “And the winner of today’s Nastiest Nosepick goes to NA$CAR official Rufus Rumjug with his double-digit cleaning of his hand-picked proboscis”. The possibilities are endless. They could get sponsors for everything. Scratching their crotches, cleaning their ears with car keys, picking their underwear out of the cracks of their rears, ear wax, nose hair, nail fungus, drool, you name it, they could find a sponsor for it. And imagine going to pick up the check at the awards dinner in Vegas with the film rolling of that award winning moment. I’m sure the wives and parents sitting at home would be so proud seeing their husband or son managing to get two fingers in there trying to pick for some “gold nuggets” or scratching their crotch in a manner that would make a big league baseball player envious.


But let’s get back to the main point. The races themselves. If they truly are races, then they need to be treated as such and not some freaking carnival with the drivers and crewmembers being shown off like sideshow freaks. Fans want to see real side by side racing and not cars running side by side because the aerodynamics don’t allow passes to be completed. The folks paying subscription bills to cable or satellite TV companies aren’t paying to see just one or two cars for 3-4 hours during the brief interruptions of the commercials. They’re paying to see all 43 cars racing for 3-4 hours. The remaining fans in the stands aren’t buying tickets to see a 43 car parade for 490 miles only to be interrupted during the last 10 miles by some racing. They pay to see 500 miles of beating and banging, donuts on the door, chrome horn usage, real passes done through the use of horsepower and skill, and drivers using strategy like a chess master. Despite the fact that fans have been screaming for this loudly the last few years, it continues to fall on the deaf ears and the blind eyes of the occupiers of Daytona Beach’s Ivory Towers and continues to get worse. When you have the Head Honcho being totally surprised that somebody would dislike his 10 race playoff, you have to wonder not if but when NA$CAR will be closing its doors due to the cluelessness of the folks in charge.
　
After seeing the interview that Jennifer Jo Cobb did on CNN, I have to wonder why is it that a well-spoken, hard working woman who’s worked her way up through the ranks and followed in the family business of racing isn’t the female face of NA$CAR? Her background and how she followed the family tradition would attract both male and female fans. Because of her beliefs, she’d be a great role model for young girls. And as she doesn’t through temper tantrums, doesn’t have a mouth that would embarrass a sailor, and is friendly with fans, she’s definitely more classy the Queen of Hype. And since she is well-spoken as well as being easy on the eyes, I’m surprised some major companies specializing in women’s products haven’t jumped up to sponsor her. I think that clothing companies, perfume makers, and other companies are missing out on a great opportunity. And with her family’s history of racing, I would think that some racing parts companies would step up as sponsors. But then I forgot. She’s not the new savior of NA$CAR. She’s not being hyped and promoted to high heavens by the Beach Boy Bubbas. The Queen of Hype is. I hope Jennifer Jo does well in her 5 Busch Series races and finishes well ahead of the Queen of Hype. Maybe then she’ll grab some sponsors’ attention. And as she’s one of the few folks in a Ford in the Truck Series, I’ll be rooting for her since I’m a long time Ford guy.
　
The fine folks at Save the Speedway have started up a new site to bring folks news in addition to history. It’s called Speedway Digest. This is what Steve Wilson of Save the Speedway said about the site:
　
Save The Speedway has launched Speedway Digest as a way to help other historic speedways get their message out and to help them out. We will also be following NASCAR throughout the season and document the history of NASCAR and the tracks they race on.
　
Rick “The Sign Man” from Save the Speedway has done an amazing job documenting the history of North Wilkesboro Speedway and hopefully other tracks and supporters of other historic tracks can take Rick’s lead in documenting their tracks’ history. You can check out Speedway Digest at
http://speedwaydigest.com/ 

　
Two thumbs up to the 315^th Air Wing for the humanitarian efforts in delivering over 40 tons of supplies to Haiti and Grenada. The humanitarian aid delivered to Haiti consists of 76,000 pounds of medical and school supplies, clothing, food and furniture donated with the assistance of Haiti Lifeline Ministries, Inc., a non-profit organization located in Hesston, Kan. These items will be utilized by the Lifeline Orphanage and provide assistance to the children who call it home and the surrounding community. 7,000 pounds of aid consisting of medical and educational supplies, clothing, furniture and dry goods were delivered to Grenada to help children and their families start the new school year. Naturally, the lamestream media seems to have missed this effort so to the folks of the 315^th Air Wing, many thanks from one old veteran for your efforts.