The 10 Most Disliked Athletes in America?

Forbes Magazine weighs in…

America’s 10 most disliked (P.C. talk for hated) athletes…

1. Michael Vick –

NFL Quarterback – Dog Fighter / Killer (Otherwise a great guy, right?)– One Time Media Darling… – 60% Dislike rating.

2. Tiger Woods –

Professional Golfer – Multi-Zillionaire who cheated on wife with like 10 other women – One Time Media Darling… – 60% Dislike rating.

3. Plaxico Burris –

NFL Receiver – Shot himself with his own gun while in NY night club (What in the world was THIS guy thinking???) / Team Jumper – 56% Dislike rating.

4. Ndamukong Suh –

NFL Defensive Tackle – Dirty Player / Repeat Offender (Latest? He stomped a guy when down) – 51% Dislike rating.

5. Kris Humphries – (Not to be confused with our Chris Humpherys the Sports Chump)

This dude is an NBA basketball player – Duped the public marrying Kim Kardashian on Reality TV and being together for what? A month? – It’s not nice to fool with the Reality TV crew… 50% Dislike rating.

6. LeBron James –

NBA player – Left hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for the money in Miami / Hasn’t won an NBA title while talking a good game… 46% Dislike rating.

7. Kobe Bryant –

NBA player – Another dude who cheated on his wife, was given a break and did it again - marriage on the rocks / Star on 5 LA Laker championship teams (That’ll get ya hate points too)… 45% Dislike rating.

8. Terrell Owens –

NFL Receiver – Egotistical cry baby / Team Jumper Par Excellence – Currently out of the NFL (AMEN!) and in hock up to his eyeballs… 45% Dislike rating.

9. Alex Rodriguez –

New York Yankee (need I say more?) – Baseball player – Multi-Zillionaire / Wife Cheater / Performance Enhancing Drug User (how else you get the big bucks in baseball? Or make it to the Yankees for that matter!) – 44% Dislike rating.

10. Kurt Busch –

NASCAR Driver / Past Cup Champion – Uses bad language on (gasp!) member of media while unwittingly being video-taped!!! This will never do! Lost his job for this? Line from Dances With Wolves - - -“Ya Can’t Figure Dem Damn Buffalo! “– 42% Dislike rating.

Do you really believe Kurt belongs on this list? The power of the media (across the board) is beyond the pale...

Reference:
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eddf45fkhi/tiger-woods/#gallerycontent

Great Marketing Idea!

Busch Brothers’ Race Scanners!

Regular Price: $36.99... With KBM Channel: $75.00

It appears Kurt Busch will team up with his younger brother driving for Kyle’s new Nationwide team in 2012… They need to put a special price on scanners that include the KBM channel (like twice as much as those w/o it…). Can you imagine the conversations between the Brothers Busch?

Kurt - “&@$%(!+ unbelievable! That @^$*! cut me off!”


Kyle - “Take the $%@*^& out!”

Every kid oughta have one for the race!

Now I want you all to know that I pull for both of these guys… In fact at last season’s Daytona 500 pre-race introductions I was standing with a huge crowd on the infield about 30 feet from the ramp where the drivers appeared before walking out to a waiting car and be driven around the track.

Everyone’s cheering for their favorites, right? They start off with the 43rd starting position and so on through to the pole winner. So after Kyle came out and then Kurt I let loose with “Busch Brothers Rule!” You’d have thought I was using swear words! (I swear it’s true!) Suddenly everyone within earshot of me went silent and stared my way. I glanced over at Kristen Valus. She had her hand over her mouth trying not to laugh while shaking her head “NO!” But all the while I could see that mischievous look in her eyes… She was in full agreement! Then all was forgiven when Dale Junior came out and the place went crazy!

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With A Little Bit of Luck

Like a group of hunting hounds, there are eleven NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and their teams preparing to chase after a wily fox who happens to be the reigning Sprint Cup champion. Almost six years ago Jimmie Johnson joined his teammate Jeff Gordon and competitors Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte as an active driver in NASCAR who has won the Cup championship. The 2006 victory marked the beginning of one of the most impressive championship runs in all of sport as today Jimmie Johnson has amassed five consecutive titles standing only two championship victories away from tying NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

Driving for one of the top funded teams in stock car racing, Jimmie was very fortunate to be paired with Crew Chief Chad Knaus. This combination of funding, one of the sport’s very best crew chiefs and a top wheel man, with a little bit of luck thrown in, has resulted in this astounding run.

So here we are in 2011 at the beginning of yet another Chase to the championship and the first question on everyone’s mind is: Can Jimmie Johnson extend the streak? The sport’s pundits are all analyzing what Jimmie and Chad have accomplished this season and how that compares to the past. Out of this comes a couple of fairly glaring differences. First and foremost, in all of his 5 previous championship seasons Jimmie has entered the Chase with at least 3 wins. This season he only has a single victory. That win came at Talladega thanks to teammate Dale Jr.’s push job (Take a bow Jr…). That’s definitely new. Right off the get go Jimmie’s an also-ran. Can he and the 48 team ramp it up? Don’t bet against them. This isn’t just a test of driving skill, equipment and teamwork, it’s a test of mental toughness and that’s something this team has proven to possess over and over again. The second potential difference maker is the new points earning format NASCAR has installed this season. It’s generally believed if a team gets down early in this year’s Chase it will be much more difficult than how it was under the old points system to catch back up. We’ve all witnessed Brad Keselowski’s very impressive August run (Two firsts, a second and a third place finish in four races) that catapulted the Blue Deuce into the 2011 Chase, but coming from 21st in the standings on July 31st with 511 points Brad could only move up to 11th place on the strength of the 178 points he generated in that timeframe and this was one of the best runs we’ve seen in quite some time. There should be a little more emphasis on the early Chase races this time around as a result.

There are other areas of concern if “5 Time” wants to change that moniker to “6 Time” in 2011. First off they’ve got to be thinking about the law of averages. Everybody knows at some point it’s going to catch up with ‘em. There’s got to be a little voice somewhere in the back of each member of the 48 team’s consciousness that’s quietly saying “Not this time…”.

Going clear back to late last season the 48’s pit crew has been having problems and it continues to be a concern at HMS. A couple of poor pit stops can be costly…

Another area of concern springs from the “have at it” side of the equation. JJ has had run-ins with competitors in the past, such things just can’t be avoided in this sport, but an on-going feud with past

champion Kurt Busch has bordered on ugly this season. Just this last weekend on the ¾ mile track at Richmond Kurt and JJ brought their differences back to a boil. Yes, they’d both already made the Chase at that point so it was a good time for them to stand their ground, and yes, conventional wisdom says these two top drivers will step away from confrontation as the Chase races commence since most of the things that can happen in these kinds of scraps are bad, but what if opportunity knocks?

Finally, Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and the 48 team are damned good, but don’t forget, you don’t win 5 championships in a row without a little bit of luck. Does their luck run out this year?

I’m going to step out on that limb and bet there’s a different guy holding up the Sprint Cup Championship trophy come November. The next question then becomes: Who will it be?

For a little additional entertainment here’s some press conference fodder featuring JJ and then Kurt sparing from afar…

Johnson Vents About Kurt Busch… Mid August

Kurt’s Response

NASCAR’s Premier Bully

Yahoo’s racing commentator Jay Busbee writes that he “really fights with pretty much everybody”.

The Sporting News had a feature article last May stating that he has a history of battles with the entire Sprint Cup top 10.

Scene Daily ran an article in December of 2009 that chronicled the best driver confrontations from 2000-2009 and this driver was named in three of the eight driver confrontations referred to.

So who is this bully? If you’re a true NASCAR fan it should come as no surprise. Kevin Harvick has had at least one confrontation each year since he took over Richard Childress’ Good Wrench Chevrolet after the 2001 Daytona 500 and it hasn’t been just limited to drivers with other teams / owners.

The two faces of Kevin Harvick... Happy and Bully...

Last season Harvick became so upset with Childress teammate Jeff Burton’s driving practices during the Martinsville Chase race he expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms over the radio during a late in-race caution. At the time Kevin was in 3rd place in the Chase while Burton was on the outside looking in.

After the race Kevin passed off his public comments as “just racin”, but Jeff Burton wouldn’t hear of it. Here’s what Jeff had to say: “I don't understand what he is mad at, I think he is just wound up and racing for a championship. I can assure you I didn't do anything wrong and I would do it again a thousand times. Because if what I did was wrong, then I will just quit racing.”
Then Jeff made these really telling comments: "There will come a point when he (Harvick) realizes that everybody in the world is not against him. And every time it's a conflict he is involved. And you would think over the amount of years that he has done it, that he would get the hint that he is always in the middle of it and maybe sometimes if he just backed up a little bit and caught his breath, he would be OK. I'm not out to harm him. I am a teammate of his and I am trying to help him and there comes a point where he needs to just catch his breath and realize that it's my race track too.''

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Here’s a sample of the many confrontations this man has been involved in:
Versus Greg Biffle, Bristol, 2002… A post-race verbal confrontation boiled into a physical one as Kevin Harvick tried to get Biffle in a head lock. Harvick was fined.

Versus Ricky Rudd, Richmond, 2003… A screaming, yelling Harvick stomps on the roof of Rudd’s car after late-race crash. A near-riot breaks out on pit road.
“Kevin was [ticked off], what do you say?” – Harvick team owner Richard Childress
“I don’t know. He’s got that little yap-yap mouth.” – Rudd, on what Harvick said.

Versus Ryan Newman, 2003… While Newman was piling up eight wins, Harvick accused Newman and his team of cheating to get better fuel mileage. An unfounded allegation…

Versus Matt Kenseth, Pocono, 2004… They spun each other out while under caution and were subsequently fined. This set off running commentary on both sides.

Versus Jimmie Johnson, Daytona, 2005… After Harvick wrecked Johnson and several other cars in a preseason race, Johnson said "It's a shame. He just tore up six or seven good racecars. I hope Childress either fires him or NASCAR does something about him, because this is ridiculous -- absolutely ridiculous."

Versus Kurt Busch, Atlanta, 2006… “I’ll tell you what I think,” Harvick said. “He’s a cocky, arrogant punk… I’d still like to whip his ass. Before the year’s over, he’ll make a fool out of (car owner) Roger Penske.”
Through a team spokesman, Busch declined comment on Harvick's statements.

Versus Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 2007… Harvick called out Dale Jr.’s former team owner, Teresa Earnhardt, calling her an absentee owner while Earnhardt still drove for her.

Versus Tony Stewart, Indianapolis Brickyard 400, 2007… “He’s the first one to complain about not getting room on the race track and he’s the first one to not give any,” Harvick said of Stewart after being bumped out of the way by Stewart on his way to the win.

Versus Juan Pablo Montoya, Watkins Glen, 2007… On-track incident leads to shoving and helmet-grabbing between two hotheads. NASCAR officials forced to break it up.
“I was talking about kicking his ass.” – Harvick
“I said it was my fault and he started shouting and grabbing me. I don’t appreciate that.” – Montoya.

Versus Carl Edwards, Talladega, Charlotte, 2008… Snipping back and forth after a Talladega wreck leads to a mysterious note followed by a physical confrontation in the Charlotte garage. In the confrontation Edwards makes like a wrestling star as he applies a choke-hold to Harvick.
The note from Edwards to Harvick read, “Kevin, thanks for [criticizing] me on TV. I was really trying to screw up everyone’s day! Love, Carl.” Edwards then went on to say, “I have absolutely no respect for Kevin Harvick. I think he's a bad person. That’s what I think and I’ve told him.”
“You just gotta be careful who you wanna pick a fight with.” – Harvick.

Strangely, we haven’t heard any more out of this feud.

Versus Denny Hamlin, 2010… Harvick intentionally ran into him during practice after Hamlin publicly criticized Richard Childress Racing.

Versus Joey Logano, 2010… The two traded paint prompting Logano to make his now famous post-race comment that Harvick’s wife “wears the firesuit in the family.”

Versus Kyle Busch, Darlington, 2011… Angry over an incident with less than four laps remaining, Kevin Harvick said later that he wanted to “beat the piss” out of Kyle Busch. There was a pit road incident that Harvick instigated and then a confrontation in the garage. The next week in Dover the two were on the carpet with NASCAR. Asked after their meeting with NASCAR officials when he thinks he and Busch will be able to get along, Harvick stated, “Never.” And Busch agreed.

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Considering Kevin Harvick’s checkered past I found it very interesting to read a satire on the Kevin versus Kyle debacle. Here’s a couple of excerpts from the article entitled “NASCAR to Kyle Busch: Bullying of Kevin Harvick Must Stop” (!)

“A teary-eyed Kevin Harvick said he has been so stressed by the bullying he has received from Kyle Busch that he is often afraid to shave.” (Hilarious!)

“Kevin Harvick has accused Busch of being a bully for much of the season.” (!)

And finally these: Harvick and Busch almost came to blows earlier in the season at Daytona. Busch was walking by Harvick just prior to race time and said, “Hey Harvick, how did you ever get Jimmie John’s to sponsor you? You’re so slow I don’t think you could even qualify as a delivery boy driver.”

At Bristol, Busch left a pair of reading glasses and a note on the seat of Harvick’s car. In the note Busch volunteered to help “Old man Harvick” read a map of the Bristol track so that Harvick wouldn’t get lost going around.

Finally, this last week at the Showtime Southern 500 after Busch suckered Harvick into getting out of his car, Busch took off and pushed Harvick’s empty car into the wall and then drove away laughing so loud it could be heard in the stands. Harvick collapsed on the track and began to cry so hard he fogged up his helmet and had to be helped from the track. (!)

Like I said… It’s a satirical look at the current “hottest feud” in NASCAR inspired by Mr. Harvick.

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I was taught the best way to deal with a bully is to call their bluff. Once the bully knows you aren’t going to allow them to push you around they’re just cowardly enough to back off. I think that’s the lesson Carl Edwards taught everyone concerning Kevin Harvick and now Kyle Busch needs to take a step in that direction as well.

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Kevin Harvick came on the scene under terrible circumstances and made the best of his chance being named Rookie of the Year in 2001. What first appeared to be a very promising career has been eaten up with a “me against the world” mindset that apparently can’t be righted.

We’ve all seen rookies break into Cup racing who at first are in awe of their situation and then have to face the fact that it’s a dog eat dog world in this business. They learn sometimes they have to defend themselves to gain the respect of their peers. It’s a process that eventually yields the desired result.

In Kevin Harvick’s case, he’s pushed his over-reacting in tough situations to an extreme. He’s ended up losing whatever respect he might have had among his fellow competitors.

A very telling moment came during the confrontation Kevin initiated at the entrance to Darlington’s pit road by stopping Kyle Busch and then stepping from his car to try and punch Kyle in the face. The television director switched cameras to one focused on Kevin’s wife sitting atop the number 29’s pit box. Delana, watching a television monitor, had both her hands on her cheeks while slowly shaking her head in an unmistakable “Oh no, not again…” manner.

Yes, Delana, again… And who’s next on the Kevin Harvick “hit” parade?

References:
Jay Busbee:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Kevin-Harvick-really-fights-with-pretty-much-eve?urn=nascar-wp1153
The Sporting News:
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2011-05-10/kevin-harvicks-history-of-battles-with-the-entire-cup-top-10
Scene Daily: http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/DECADE_IN_REVIEW_NASCARs_best_confrontations_2000-2009.html
iRaceFanNews:
http://iracefannews.com/2011/nascar-to-kyle-busch-bullying-of-kevin-harvick-must-stop

Great Start Carries Kurt... But How Far?

Just over a year ago it was announced that several changes were in the works for NASCAR’s Penske Racing. First it became known that owner Roger Penske, due to lack of full-time sponsorships, was going to be forced to race two rather than three Cup teams in 2011 and he was also doing away with one of his two Nationwide Series’ teams as well. Sam Hornish Jr. and Justin Allgaier were to lose their rides.

Not long after those announcements were made good news came from the Penske camp. Kurt Busch had signed a new, long-term driving contract and a new, powerful sponsor that Roger Penske had partnered with in his Indy teams over the years was coming back on board. Yes, Kurt was going to give up his sponsor for the past few years (Miller Lite and the blue two), and yes, he was moving on to a new Shell / Pennzoil sponsored car with a completely new “hot” color scheme and double deuces on it’s sides and roof, but from all appearances everything was going swimmingly well. It was thumbs up and smiling faces all around…

The 2011 Cup racing season began last February with Kurt, like a sleek greyhound, springing into the lead. He was off and running putting together wins in both the Shootout (Without a teammate, he teamed up with Jamie McMurray and took the win) and the Duel (Regan Smith helped push Kurt to victory) putting him in the front row for the start of the Daytona 500. He backed up his Speedweek prowess by running at or near the front of the 500 trying to put a bow on the Daytona Trifecta, but a late-race wreck ended those hopes. It didn’t phase Busch, who led 19 laps of the Daytona 500 and finished fifth. A rejuvenated Kurt began an all-out assault on the Cup Series driving Penske Racing’s yellow and hot red flaming Dodge Charger. He was in the top ten in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Bristol. Four races, four top tens and Kurt was first in the Chase. Not too shabby!

The Cup Series tour went back west to Fontana where a 17th place finish did little to tarnish the early luster on Kurt’s season. Penske’s Double Deuce Dodge team was
off to Martinsville full of purpose but a bad handling setup put Kurt down a lap early forcing him to play the lucky dog game finally ending 16th on what could have been a very bad day. Kurt had fallen to fourth place in the Chase through 6 races.

Texas saw Kurt make a short-term comeback as he finished with his fifth top ten of the year but the recovery was short lived as Talladega turned into a nightmare. It seemed like every time there was an accident during the Aaron’s 499 Kurt looked to be responsible. Having been involved in three mishaps on the afternoon, Kurt still had the Dodge Charger in position to challenge for the win when a green flag pit problem late in the race took him out of contention, finishing 18th.

Richmond never was a track that Kurt ran well on, in fact his 22nd place finish exactly equaled his 21 race average on the ¾ mile oval, but something certainly tipped over the high strung driver last Saturday night. Qualifying in 36th place most certainly contributed to what was bothering Kurt. I’m sure he was frustrated with a car that evidently didn’t respond to any of the changes the Penske team tried to make it competitive.

Here are some post-race comments made after a public off-color radio tirade Kurt unleashed at his Penske team in general and Penske technical director Tom German in particular… "It was a very frustrating and long night for us. We put ourselves behind in qualifying and had to start from the back. Once the race went green, our car just wore through tires by 40 laps into a run. We never could get back on the lead lap and just when I thought that our car was getting better, we got collected after the 42 (Juan Montoya) and 39 (Ryan Newman) got together.
“We probably had the strongest car running laps down at the end, but when you get more than one lap down; your day is pretty much done. That was certainly the case for us here tonight. We just weren't very good tonight."

Even with 17th, 16th, 10th, 18th and 22nd place finishes in his last five Cup races respectively, Kurt remains sixth in the Cup Chase…

Kurt's latest tirade makes me wonder about a couple of things… I wonder how much his younger brother’s success is wearing on Kurt on one hand, and then I have to wonder how much it bothers Kurt that Kyle is evidently having success on cleaning up his act too, while Kurt can’t seem to control himself…

Is the use of hard language such a big deal in this day and age? Will Shell / Pennzoil have something to say? Will Roger be forced to step in?

Red Bull’s Post-Talladega News Release

THANKS, KURT

The following article is from Red Bull’s web site: http://www.redbullusa.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Article/nascar-talladega-sprint-cup-series-021242996983749

Two-car packs carrying the No. 22 were Goliath. The two Red Bull Toyotas carrying Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne were the Davids. One David took a beating; the other David got burned Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

After starting a season-best ninth, No. 83 driver Brian Vickers, for the fourth time in eight races, was collected in an accident that had nothing to do with him. In the early laps of the Aaron’s 499, Vickers and teammate Kasey Kahne had formed an all-Red Bull Toyota two-car pack — despite starting 22 positions apart — and that tandem was well on its way to front. “When I was with Brian before Brian got taken out, we were working pretty well together,” Kahne said. “We led laps, we were up front and everything was good and then we lost him.”

Enter the No. 22 of Kurt Busch, who on lap 28 shoved Landon Cassill’s No. 09 into Vickers’ Red Bull Toyota. Boom! The right side took a shot, broke loose, sliced back
across the track and careened head-on into the outside wall along the backstretch. That was essentially it for Vickers, whose car lacked the aerodynamic shape that’s critical at NASCAR’s widest, longest and, arguably, fastest track. Hard work by the No. 83 crew got Vickers back out, but the effort proved to be futile. After the wreck, Vickers exited the track in 40th, returned in 40th, left again for a driveshaft change in 40th and rode out the remaining laps to finish 38th. He slipped two positions to 28th in the standings — 36 points out of 20th.

“I was riding around minding my own business and we just got hit in the door,” Vickers said. “It looked like Kurt got into the left rear and turned the 09, and we happened to be the unlucky victim. Again, we’ve had a really good car — ran up front, like we’ve had many times this year and we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Enter the No. 22 of Busch again on lap 90. Busch’s car tagged his teammate’s car — the No. 2 of Brad Keselowski, who went spinning near turn three and collected the No. 6 of David Ragan. Ragan, of course, was a passenger and went up into the wall, down to the apron and up the track again. Smoke was everywhere. Behind that smoke was Kahne’s No. 4 Red Bull Toyota. Kahne bounced off the No. 6 and into the grass. He proceeded to roar through the infield with his tail on fire — literally. He was eventually forced to stop near the entrance of pit road, car on fire and thick, black smoke puffing everywhere.

In true Red Bull form, the No. 4 guys got cracking and got Kahne back out. And like Vickers, he rode out the remaining laps and ended up 37th. Kahne dropped two spots in the driver standings. He’s now 51 points out of 10th. “I actually didn’t really even get in that bad of a wreck. It was more the car just got some flames in the back,” Kahne said. “I sucked up a little bit of black smoke, but that was it. I stink, too.”
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After a horrendous day at the superspeedway, a day in which he was involved in three different racing incidents, Kurt Busch had the following to say: “Hell, I wrecked my teammate today just with the front bumper, just me not keeping track of it or it getting too gaulded up with crud."

“[It was] just really an odd day. Restrictor-plate racing and this two-car draft is really tough, and I was in the middle of a bunch of incidents,” Busch said. “I feel bad for wrecking a bunch of cars, especially my teammate, Brad.”

Defending what happened with Kurt, Brad Keselowski stated: “We made some great moves but got towards the back in the shuffle and when we did, we caught a big group that just stopped for some reason,” Keselowski said. “I heard that David Ragan blew up — I’m not exactly sure. We ran up on the group, and I just wasn’t able to stop quick enough with Kurt on my tail, and it just spun me right out.

“Just one of them deals here at Talladega. It’s just racing. I just got on the wrong end of it.”


Dave Blaney was another pushee that got rear ended by the yellow and red 22 but here again there were no hard feelings as Blaney admitted he had to check up leaving Kurt nowhere to go.

Groping for something positive, Kurt went on to say, “My car was really fast all day getting pushed. Once I had to push, the car didn’t seem as stable as I needed it to be.”

After Texas Busch stated, “We struggle to make adjustments as we go. We want to compete for top-fives and wins and we're only getting top-10s right now."

After Talladega, Kurt summed up the day with one word…”Frustrated.”

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In this day and age of "Have at it boys", it kinda makes me wonder if paybacks are coming...

What’s On Tap This Weekend?

Camping World Truck Series!

The Too Tough to Tame 200 on Darlington’s famous “Lady in Black” 1.366 mile track will unravel Saturday evening with one of our own, none other than Gene Haddock, in attendance at what I’d say is his home track.

As it stands right now, 38 entrants, including last season’s series champion, Todd Bodine, this season’s current point leader Matt Crafton (who just happens to be from Tulare, California or about 14 miles from my hometown!), former Sprint Cup driver Elliot Sadler and current Cup driver Kasey Kahne (making only his 4th CWTS career start driving Kyle Busch Motorsport’s number 18 Toyota Tundra) are set to go along with a mix of names including a group of foreign drivers. Nelson Piquet Jr. (London, England), Max Pappis (Como, Italy) and Miguel Paludo (Nova Prata, Brazil) will certainly add spice to the mix along with series standouts Ron Hornaday, James Buescher and Timothy Peters and a crew of young up and comers, Austin Dillon, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Cole Whitt.

Tune in to SPEEDTV at 5:00 PM to get your racing fix if winter still has you cooped up.

The Tire Kingdom Gatornationals at Gainesville (Florida) Raceway…

One of the premier events on the NHRA schedule will include Kurt Busch trying his hand at fulfilling a long-time dream when he makes the quarter mile run in a brand new Pro Stock ride. When asked why the interest in drag racing, Kurt commented, "This is just something to challenge myself to do another discipline of motorsports. It's four rubber tires and a race track, but, man, it's just night and day difference on how you have to be prepared for a drag race versus a NASCAR event."

A year ago at the Gatornationals Kurt strapped himself into a 1970 Dodge Charger in the Super Gas category in his first attempt on the professional level of NHRA but was smoked, never making it out of the first round. After obtaining his Pro Stock license in Bradenton, Florida, where he posted one run at 210.43 MPH passing through the lights at 6.576 seconds, Kurt appears prepared to show well this season driving the Shell Dodge Avenger pictured below…

Good Luck Kurt!

My Local Track...

Here’s what’s happening at the Citrus County Speedway this Saturday:

With a 5:30 PM start time there will be Open Wheel Mods, Sportmans, Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, PRO Figure-8’s and Outlaw Mod Mini’s… on the 3/8th mile paved oval next door to the Citrus County fairgrounds in Inverness, Florida.

That’s a lot of exciting, live racing for just $13 per adult ticket… And the track’s only a 30 minute drive from my house!

Check out your local tracks, there are all sorts of fun auto racing events taking place around the country…

If you can, support your local races, the breeding ground of the future NASCAR greats!