military career in a very stressful job. Between job stress and problems in his home life, he couldn’t deal with it. Unfortunately, nobody noticed the signs he was having major problems. Some time spent with a good shrink or clergyman could’ve helped him cope with everything that was going wrong with his life. In 20-20 hindsight, folks will be saying they recognized what was going on with Kevin. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help him now. If you know somebody that’s having problems coping with things going on in their life, do them a big favor and talk with them and try to get them to get help.
I’ve read what’s been on the net and the newspapers about Jeremy Mayfield and the failed drug test. I’m all for drug testing. I’m against drug abuse. Both Don Hamm and I had problems with our children’s drug abuse problems. Unless you’ve been there, you don’t know what its’ like, but I digress. I had a few questions about NA$CAR’s testing program when they announced it. First off, having been randomly drug tested during my military career, I know about that there’s a set policy about what’s legal, what’s illegal, and that there’s the possibility of false positives. That’s why if something ever came up positive, the military ensured you were tested again just to be sure it wasn’t a false positive. The military will review your medications, both prescribed and OTC, to give you the benefit of the doubt. There are even certain liquors overseas and cooking ingredients that may give a false positive. Anyone like eating rolls with those black poppy seeds on them? They can give a false positive for opiates.
Secondly, we come to NA$CAR. While it’s great they have a policy, it lacks in that they have no defined list of what’s legal and what’s not for the drivers. Plus if they screw up, there’s no appeal process. NA$CAR officials say “we’ll know it when we see it”. Sort of like a former Supreme Court judge who said he can’t define what pornography was but he’d know it when he saw it. Several over the counter drugs for colds and allergies contain ingredients which will give a false positive. They’re the ones that the meth labs go after and that the pharmacy keeps behind the counter.
Giving Mayfield the benefit of the doubt here, let’s say he was taking a regimen of prescribed and OTC allergy medications. It’s possible they could give a false positive. Why no follow-up testing and a review of his medications by NA$CAR’s drug testing administrator to see if Mayfield is right? If he is, then no harm, no foul, and let him get back to his job without having to go through the whole re-instatement process. If he was using illegal substances (which NA$CAR won’t define, sort of like their “actions detrimental to stock car racing” penalty) then ban him as was originally proposed. Of course, expecting NA$CAR to give clear guidelines about drugs is like expecting them to clearly define what actions are detrimental to stock car racing. The bad thing is that even if Mayfield does clear himself, NA$CAR will not reverse their decision. He’ll either have to take them to court or go through NA$CAR’s re-instatement procedures. Which, if Mayfield is right, will be like an admission of guilt for something he’s not guilty of.
I read a piece about Jeff Gordon’s back treatment. I went through that last December. Trust me, it’s no walk in the park. The doctor will have to probe around with a needle to find the right spot and that can be time consuming and very painful. Especially if he hit’s the sciatic nerve in the process, which happened to me. And in my case, it gave temporary relief only. And Jeff, make sure the doctor gives you a “note” or script because steroids are used as part of the treatment medication. I’d hate to think he gets banned for steroid use by NA$CAR because they can’t clearly define an illegal substance, And no, I’m not a Jeff Gordon fan. I just don’t want to see somebody get unjustly “skewered” by His Majesty’s henchmen.
Once again this past weekend, no cheerleading for Jr. from the Booth Bozos and Jr. performed poorly. And during the race, Jabber Jaws and his parrot weren’t doing their usual cheerleading for Jr. and once Shrub got into trouble, the cheerleading stopped. Is the love affair between Jabber Jaws and the Shrub and June Bug over? I guess we’ll know over the next few races.
I read this morning (Monday) a comment on another site from a race fan who is disabled that Darlington isn’t very “fan friendly” when it comes to parking and seating for the disabled/handicapped race fans. Folks, first thing to remember is that Darlington is owned by I$C, NA$CAR’s conjoined twin and that I$C’s tracks are not very fan friendly for starters. Second, if you aren’t happy that the amenities for the disabled/handicapped aren’t up to what they should be, drop a line or call the head honcho for that track and let them know. In this case, here’s a link for Darlington:
http://www.darlingtonraceway.com/contact/
I’ve heard from fans who had problems at Fontana who had to wait in line for Faux King Brian’s “Beautiful People” to use the elevators to go their suites before the handicapped and disabled fans were allowed to use the elevators. I also heard from a fan who had problems at Atlanta. However, at Atlanta, once the track staff saw she was having problems, they were more than glad to help her out. There’s the difference between an I$C track and an $MI track. I may not like Bruton for several reasons but in the past his tracks have always tried to go the extra little bit to be fan friendly.
To save yourself some headaches in the future folks, when you call for tickets or you buy tickets when you walk/limp/ride/hobble/roll up to the gates, let them know that you are disabled/handicapped and that you will need assistance. Just because you may be on crutches or in a wheelchair doesn’t mean they’ll make the obvious connection. You might need to let them know. Also make sure that your seating is in an area which is disabled./handicapped accessible. I know at Charlotte that there is an area which is set aside specifically for the disabled/handicapped fans and that elevators can be used to get them to that area. Last year at Charlotte, my buddy Steve was in a leg cast and they sent a vehicle to the camp site to transport Steve to the track. I’m not pushing Charlotte as the perfect track or sticking up for Darlington here folks. Don’t get me wrong. I$C won’t do things unless they are forced to. But you do have rights and there are laws regarding the rights of the disabled/handicapped and their abilities to access facilities.
For you folks keeping score at home, the last real pass at Darlington was on Lap 116. Every lead change after that was achieved during pit stops. Sound like some other races run with the Cause of Totality or even the old template racer? While it was great that they repaved the track, there was something missing. The tire-eating asphalt that has been a major factor in almost every race Darlington has ever run. Plus, as usual, Faux King Brian’s Folly on Wheels did nothing to enhance what was presented to the home audience as a race by Focks. Focks Sports, the leader in making race fans fall asleep. "Because of the fast speeds on such a narrow track and this big, boxy car, you can't go anywhere," said Jimmie Johnson. Even though Jimmie has had some problems this season, his comment serves notice to the Daytona Palm Tree Killer that he is killing something other than palm trees. He’s killing racing. It’s bad enough that Bristol has turned into something akin to watching paint dry, but when Darlington has a bad race, you know something is very, very wrong with the sport. But then a bad race at Darlington is better than a good race at Texas, Vegas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Daytona, Talladega, Homestead, Joliet, Pocono, Dover, Kansas, Fontana, Indy, the new Bristol, and Michigan.
Congratulations to Old Man Time, Mark Martin, in joining Harry Gant in the over 50 winners club. The season is still young enough that he could tie or pass Harry for the number of wins by a driver over 50. This also gives him a leg up in the Chase for the Chumps if he can stay in the Top 12. I’d like to see him win a championship after all these years. You can bet that His Royal Highness would be crawling underneath his bar stool because it wasn’t one of his “beautiful, young faces” winning the championship.
Payback is a b*tch and apparently so is an apology. First Edwards takes out the rest of the Roush bunch at Dega but apologizes for it and Biffle takes Edwards out at Darlington without so much as an “Tell him I’m sorry” or “I made a mistake”. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall at the Monday team meetings at Roush.
Once again, NA$CAR’s inconsistent calls came into play at Darlington. Sam Hornish Jr. spins and no caution comes out. Carl Edwards has an almost identical spin in almost the same spot and it brings out a caution. I know, it’s asking a lot of NA$CAR to be consistent with all the competitors. Just like the yellow line rule enforcement and using common sense on the track. Common sense and NA$CAR is an oxymoron.
And speaking of oxymorons, or at least morons, the end of the Focks broadcast season is rapidly approaching and we’ll soon be into the 6 week stretch of TNT info-mercials. I can’t wait to see just how exciting the fall line up is for TNT. NOT! At least I can watch some Truck Series and ARCA races to get my dose of racing til we get our patience tested by E$PN.
Rumors are still circulating about Elliott Sadler losing his ride and/or his sponsorship to Wallbangdinger. I like Elliott but when it comes to the racing world nowadays, it’s a question of “what have you done for me lately” and AJ has performed much better than Elliott has this season despite running a limited schedule. A roll reversal could be coming in the near future if the sponsors don’t protest, Sadler doesn’t threaten to go to court, and the owners of RPM stick to their guns.
While not exactly racing news, here’s another thing the talking heads seemed to have missed. Fiat is purchasing Opel and Vauxhall, GM’s European brands. Fiat hasn’t always been a powerhouse when it comes to the world market. There was a time when Libya owned a good sized chunk of Fiat because of their financial troubles at that time. And it’s looking like GM is going to have to go the Chapter 11 route, too. Nobody knows yet what the impact will be on NA$CAR and racing in general in America.
Roger Penske is rumored to be interested in purchasing the Saturn brand from GM. Wouldn’t that make for a nice change in NA$CAR? A brand that up to now has only been involved in sports car racing on a very low key. Of course, they’d need to develop a V-8, but that’s minor. It might be nice to have another brand on the track. Especially if its’ allowed to have some brand identity other than phony decals for the grill and lights.
If GM and Chrysler do leave racing, it’s almost going to be a repeat of 1965. You have to wonder how many of the current Chevy teams will make a brand switch and to what brand will they switch. The same thing with the Dodge teams. Of course, the Chevy teams could continue on as independents like happened in 1965 when Chrysler pulled their factory backing and GM had pulled theirs the year before. Drivers still ran cars of the Chrysler and GM brands but without any factory support and their performances showed it. Of course, you have to wonder if His Royal Highness will start trolling the bars, I mean auto manufacturers overseas to see if he might be able to lure some more of them into NA$CAR. Of course, he might have to make some concessions, like brand identity with the car bodies and going to fuel injected engines. He might even have to allow diesel engines on the track. Otherwise, NA$CAR will get even closer to being an IROC-like series than it is now with only two brands on the track whose cars don‘t even resemble their street counterparts.
There seem to be some confusing mixed signals for the drivers reunion that was supposed to be taking place on the 23rd in Jonesborough Tennessee. One source says it’s being re-scheduled and another says it’s been scaled down and will be a dinner in a local church. All I can tell you is don’t make any plans to attend. Hopefully I can get some clarification before Saturday.
For you folks who wonder just what all I did in
the military and wonder about my level of sanity,
there’s a movie coming out called “The Hurt
Locker”. I’m not sure what liberties Hollywood
has taken with it, but the trailer seems to give
you a small dose of what I dealt with:
Hopefully it’s close to reality and not the usual,
Hollywood, dramatically overblown fallacy of the
military like they normally do, even with
historical docu-dramas.
There was recently a show on the Military
Channel which was about the US Coast Guard and their service in Vietnam. Folks, the Coast Guard put it on the line just like the Navy folks did over there. However, they didn’t receive the recognition that the Navy did. So to all you Coast Guard folks who served in Vietnam, I want you to know that your service to our country in Vietnam is appreciated and recognized. Even if it’s after the fact.
Motherhood, Apple Pie, and John Wayne
Mad Mikie, Curmudgeon at Large
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