incredible achievement that Jimmie is putting forward in NASCAR. That's what is before us."
Mad Mikie: Gee, I seem to remember a team of relative unknowns and some players considered to be over the hill in 1972 having the perfect season. The Miami Dolphins and their No Name Defense, Earl Morall, Mercury Morris, and a lot of other folks took a team that nobody thought had a snowballs chance of having a winning season and took them to the Super Bowl and won. At the start of the 1969 baseball season, the perennial joke at that time, the NY Mets, would be laughed at as usual. But with their winning of the 1969 World Series, the showed that they weren’t the joke folks had made them out to be for all those years. These were the underdogs or little guys. The Packers, Steelers, Cowboys, Redskins, Yankees, and other powerhouse teams have had periods of domination only to be upset by someone nobody thought had a chance.
In a perfect world, all 43 cars would have the same chance of winning on any given race day. That would be true parity. Parity, something that we’ve heard come out of your Royal Mouth very rarely. Most of your comments come out of the Imperial “la Fleur du Derriere”. What parity exists is more like parody. We have the sport being dominated by a few teams instead of any team being capable of winning. We have rules not being enforced which give certain teams an advantage. We have the always present Ms Terry DeBris cautions to manipulate the races and save the backsides of your Chosen Ones. So it’s no wonder certain teams can dominate the sport Your Imperial (Im)Potent-ate.
And wasn’t this year supposed to be the year of the little guys Your Royal Highness? Making sure the little guys had an even shot at winning, sponsorship, and competing on an even playing field? Instead, we have Carl Long being stomped out of existence for a worn out engine, Jeremy Mayfield being used as a scapegoat for the official drug policy, and other single car teams having a tough time trying to make the races. And then you have the S&P’s occupying space when teams who want to compete can’t. Oh yeah, it really was a year for the little guys. Sort of like your “getting back to basics” Your Royal Incompetence.
Court Cases
France: France pointedly declined to say much about the possibility that he and his ex-wife might be asked to testify or offer depositions in the Jeremy Mayfield case, except to say "I have had a lot of experience with trial lawyers…more than I would like. But with trial lawyers I've never been surprised with what they will say, to get some outcome for somebody they're representing.
"We're going to deal with it (the Mayfield case) like we said we would. We have made all the comments we can make….and we will go forward.
"It is regrettable; our preference is never to be in litigation.
"If you get a trial lawyer, that's out of our control. At that point all we can do is the best we can to represent the entire sport's interests in matters that affect it. And we will continue to do that.
"Nothing amazes me with trial lawyers in the 21st century. They are an amazing group of people."
Mad Mikie: You’ve had a lot of experience with trial lawyers Your Imperial Incontinence? I’m surprised you didn’t merely say “Off with their heads” or try to dock them owners and drivers points and fine them under the ‘actions detrimental to stock car racing” clause. That’s the first we fans have heard about Your Royal Flatulence having lots of experience with trial lawyers. Just what experience do you have with trial lawyers? Previous incidents involving driving while under the influence of “sodas”? Or maybe under the influence of what JC France was nailed for? Palm Tree Hunting? How about public behavior which would land a normal race fan behind bars for many years? Maybe business practices which aren’t considered to be moral by the average person? Just what are all these experiences with trial lawyers you’re talking about Your Infernal Rectitude?
And just why are you suing your wife? To keep her mouth shut about the divorce because there could be things in the divorce case files which could actually aid Jeremy Mayfield in his lawsuit? And why won’t you and Dr Black give a deposition? Are you afraid the truth might come out? Could it be you have some activities in your life that race fans would find either immoral or illegal?
The Chase for the Chumps
France: "What I wouldn't want to do is take away from the achievements Jimmie and his team have made. In this format, to dominate four straight championships is incredibly difficult. We could not have predicted anyone could have done what Jimmie has done…therefore taking away some of the things the chase will deliver in normal circumstances…
"It depends on how you want to look at it. Some of the teams that you would expect to be closer, we're missing that, yes. But we're getting a performance that is historic.
"We look at adjustments in the format every year any way, and we'll be looking at that again, to see what we can make better. But we love the purpose of the chase. And specific performances dictate how it plays out."
Mad Mikie: Obviously Johnson has proven that the Chase for the Chumps doesn’t work as advertised Your Highness. It hasn’t made the last 10 races of the season more exciting. It’s made them more boring than the first 26 races which in themselves have become boring as a result of the “World’s Most Perfect Race Car”. The “new and improved” double file restart didn’t make the races any better. It didn’t solve the problems with the Car of Woe. Is it really the performance that is historic or is it your Imperial Hype and self-delusion that are historic? The purpose of the Chase for the Chumps is to add artificial excitement to what is becoming an increasingly boring race series. It was supposed to help raise the ratings against the NFL. It hasn’t. If anything, it’s lowered the year end ratings. If you really want to adjust the Chase for the Chumps to improve things, then either fully adopt the Hooters Pro Cup Series play-off format or dump the Chase for the Chumps because as it currently is, it isn’t getting the job done.
The Media and Retribution
What actually is France's stance about the media, and is some retribution in the wind for anyone calling out things?
France: "No, we don't operate with retribution," France says. "And we don't have a 'policy' for our broadcast partners. They have an enormous involvement in the sport; they're professionals and they cover all sports. And they understand how to cover individual sports better than we could tell them how to.
Mad Mikie: No retribution? Bull pucky! When Bob Dilner criticized NA$CAR and it’s officials, his hard card was pulled. Why is it that after Bob Dilner turned up the RCR rim scandal, which proved to be true, he suddenly quit doing investigative reports about what was happening in the garage area? When a sportswriter questioned you regarding the missing 38 million fans several years ago, his hard card was pulled. And how about the “nice” letter you yourself sent to Monte Dutton wishing him good luck in his future job? How about blackballing Jack Flowers? No retribution? In a pig’s eye Your Moronic Magnificence.
"But that doesn't mean we don't have differences; we do. But there is no policy in NASCAR that demands they do one thing or another."
Mad Mikie: So the broadcast guys I’ve talked to
are all lying about NA$CAR controlling what is
said and broadcast? When some Mayfield fans
had signs up showing their support of Jeremy
Mayfield, NA$CAR didn’t tell the TV folks that
NA$CAR didn’t want the signs being shown on
air? There’s no policy which only shows about a
dozen cars consisting primarily of you Chosen
Ones on the track during the regular season and
even fewer during the play-offs? Sorry, better luck
nice time Your Highness. You don’t even get a
consolation prize.
That's all for part 1, come back tomorrow for
part 2! For you folks who want to help make the Christmas season a little bit brighter, you can help out by going to http://www.treesfortroops.org/ and find out where you can purchase a tree which will be donated to military families around the USA. Also, Dollar Tree is partnering with Operation Homefront to launch their 2009 Holiday Toy Drive, running November 15th through December 15th. Simply purchase a toy or care item and drop it off in a “Toy Platoon” collection box located in any of the 3,700 Dollar Tree stores nationwide. Operation Homefront will collect and distribute these items to military families in your area.
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