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spdfrk48 |
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Wreck Dive North Carolina
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Spdfrk (small print – I had that nickname long before a certain magician came on the scene lol!) Lifelong female race fan born into a racing family (primarily boats, some stock, some carts, some bikes, some other crazy stuff lol) – Always a junkie for the speed & adrenaline rush, made sure I spent most of my wiling hours in my grandfather’s shop & dyno-house (sometimes even undetected!) ;) The one thing I regret never being able to get involved in was drag racing – other than a little friendly Friday night run what ya brung, the sentiment at the time I was growing up & growing a lead foot was that women do not race cars. A candid conversation with my gramps a few years ago, right before he died, revealed his own regrets at not having fostered that in me & wasting to much time, money & energy on those “no count” cousins of mine (The Boys). All is not lost, however, in that I got to spend a lot of time at various race venues just listening to the sounds, taking in the aromas (nothing better than a good dose of top fuel to open up those sinuses!), feeling the rumble – even on the lakes! – and really, just appreciating the awe that racing even IS, let alone is attainable for so very few in the grand scheme of things. I pretty much love it all & am even planning on entering my newly adopted Chihuahua in the wiener dog races – the Vienna Sausage class, of course! I listened to my gramps’ stories & have been involved in putting together quite an impressive web site in his honor, under the boat racing banner. But it all ALWAYS spiders out from there. One seems to need the speed in various genres once hooked. Over the years, I have been able to enjoy a lot of stock car racing with NASCAR coming into the originally-built-for-open-wheel venue at Phoenix International Raceway – a fabulous & unique little gem in the desert! While my heart will always leap at the mere image of Mario Andretti, I have developed a different kind of appreciation for stock car competitors -- & for me, image is nothing. Mark Martin was my first “pick” as favored son for quite a long time, but when I saw some things going on indicating he was possibly frustrated with the sport & where it was going, I picked some new guys to follow. I never abandoned Mr. Martin – no way!!!! – but I saw some real racing potential in some crazy California kids & that has panned out to be quite a bunch! While not impressed with Hollywood Jeff early on, I clearly saw that he was built of Championship stuff – just wish he would stuff the ‘tude & the literal trophy wife! There is NO crying in NASCAR lol! The other thing that sticks out clearly in my mind was Jimmie Johnson’s wreck at Watkins Glen when he was Busch league. That kid hit that wall so unbelievably hard I think the world stopped breathing! Moments pass, he climbs out, jumps ON TOP of the car & jumps up & down – rubber bones, just like my little bro! I was hooked as a Jimmie fan then & obviously, quite the happy fan at this point in his career. Just keep him away from the golf carts lol! Kevin Harvick was an interesting character & still is, to be sure. Some say he’s the “new” Tony Stewart but I say Nay Nay – he’s THE Kevin Harvick – simple as that. And while I’m not necessarily Delana’s biggest fan, I can appreciate how she grew up & where she came from. And for that, she deserves at least a little respect. No jacking around during the National Anthem & it’s a wrap. In learning to re-appreciate stock car racing, I’ve done some dawdling around on google items & found a great appreciation for Tim Richmond & what he went through. Some say he was riding Sr’s draft & was about to pass, any day now, had he not unwittingly contracted the deadly AIDS. Back then – yes, even only 20 years ago or so -- it was all about the guys & the needle users, but we learned not too long after that the real “ladies’ men” were just as much at risk – more on that on my driver page for Mr. Richmond. Anyone can argue the point either way, but what’s done is done & we’ll never know because we lost them both to horrible, untimely deaths. Maybe that’s the way the cards were dealt, maybe even for a reason – but we NASCAR fans love our What Ifs. And we always miss our heroes, sung & unsung alike.
One of the “back in the day” experiences that got national attention & repeated air-time (after a real live completely televised race – a first for the Daytona 500) is one that I personally believe lead to the masses kind of keeping a corner-of-the-eye watch on the sport, ultimately leading to it becoming THE National Sport (outside of good old pig skin) was the Allison-Yarborough fight. And THAT was a scrap & a half! None of that push me shove you, throwing ill-aimed helmets at windshields nonsense. This was all out brawling at its finest! I watched an old interview with Bobby Allison not too long ago & found myself still cracking up at his version of The Way It Was -- "I got out of the car and [Yarborough] started beating on my fist with his nose," Allison said. "That's my story and I'm still sticking to it." One of my favorite NASCAR legends quotes! And truly, there isn’t a real race fan or even direct participant (driver, crew chief, announcer, etc) that doesn’t proclaim that that incident made the hungry-for-some-fisticuffs & rivalries American public sit back & take notice that there was something infinitely more American than stick ball or pig skins that so inarguably needed our attention. For that, I am deeply grateful to those guys for having the brass to just go ahead & be guys! Who knows where we would be in terms of the sport without that incident & without it having occurred with such perfect timing with the media’s full LIVE attention, nothing to leave on the cutting room floor? Incidentally, King Richard went on to win that race. To encompass all that the old guard has given us & what I appreciate about who they were & where they came from, would take tomes. Suffice it to say, without them, without their efforts, their dedication, their truly innate desire to go faster & win (above & beyond a grandiose paycheck in those days) is & always will be the backbone of the sport. Many will come & go without even leaving a tire print, but those that strive to follow in their tracks will prevail. Whether we love ‘em or hate ‘em, those that put their blood sweat & gears into the sport today with that same grit are those that are keeping it what it’s all about. Racing.
Cheers! |
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