how many consecutive weeks can Denny Hamlin be the storyline?

So last week we had Bristol's 2nd most exciting race of the year - obviously the day race can't touch the night race.
For those of you who have no clue about what I'm talking about, the Bristol night race was once one of the hardest sporting event tickets to get in the WORLD.  It should be on every sport fan's bucket list.  Picture a NFL Stadium that holds twice as many fans w/ a half mile track in the middle.  I have been twice - once w/ my wife (girlfriend at the time) and the other for a bachelor party.  I'll be sure to post about that one at some point.

Bristol Motor Speedway

Let's get back to Denny Hamlin and him being in the NASCAR media for three consecutive weeks:

post Phoenix International Raceway race: he made comments that were detrimental to NASCAR and was fined $25,000 - he tells NASCAR he won't pay the fine

   “I don't want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our generation five cars.” 

   story by Bob Pockrass

post Las Vegas Motor Speedway race: he decides that he won't appeal the fine so NASCAR makes the decision to garner his wages

   Denny's statement after LVMS race

back to Bristol race: he takes out former teammate Joey Logano and the two start a "twitter battle" with each other (oh my how times have changed since NASCAR drivers used to use their fists to fight instead of their fingers to type)

   story by Bob Pockrass

So now NASCAR is at Auto Club Speedway and Denny Hamlin manages to win the pole so the media will be talking about him until at least tomorrow around 3:19PM ET when the green flag drops.

The question is, "What will Denny do to stay atop the NASCAR buzz for the next two weeks?"  It has to be something big since the series takes next week off for Easter weekend.  He'll be one of the favorites when the series gets back to racing at Martinsville in two weeks.

2006 Sylvania 300 @ New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Race #1

continued from my journey to becoming a NASCAR fan ...

So the summer was winding down in the northeast and the last weekend of being out on Candlewood Lake would soon be with us.  Boats would be being put into storage for the offseason, Connecticut would soon be filled with visitors seeking photos of that perfect foliage New England is known for and I had the NFL and ski trips out west to get me through the winter.

Candlewood Lake

The end of this summer in 2006 would be different - it would almost be extended since we had something (aside from the NFL) to look forward to.
A friend/colleague had a client invite him along w/ 2 friends to the Sylvania 300 NASCAR race in NH on September 17 - so Chad, my brother and I planned a trip to head a little further north.  We went out in search of NASCAR gear to wear to the race.  As you could imagine, for the most part we were unsuccessful in finding what we were looking for in CT.  I did manage to find a Dale Earnhardt Jr hat which I still own to this day. (my wife @140Danielle thinks I have too many hats but this one will be with me for a long time even though the black has now faded to a brownish-gray)

my original NASCAR gear (6 1/2 years later) 

We left CT on a Saturday afternoon, stayed over in NH and before I knew it, race day was upon us.  Little did I know about what I would soon experience that would lead me to become a lifelong fan...

I had always believed nothing could beat tailgating at a NFL game.  Please excuse me as I didn't go to a NCAA Division 1 football school but I would imagine the tailgating to be similar to the NFL.  We parked our car and were in no way ready for the tailgating we would soon experience.  

(I'll be sure to write a blog just on NASCAR tailgating in the near future)

After thinking the tailgating would be the best part of the day, we slowly made our way into the track.  I saw people walking in with coolers filled w/ beer and food thinking, "what the hell is going on, how are they getting in with these things?"

FYI - YOU CAN BRING YOUR OWN BEER INTO A NASCAR RACE!!!

After walking to our seats, opening a cold one and enjoying the sunshine, the invocation would soon begin.  Prayers, overhead F16 fighter jets and the most patriotic feeling of a National Anthem where EVERYONE in the venue had enough respect to be silent, remove their cap and address the stars and stripes that stand for our freedom - I would get the chills for the first time that day.  I have been to many sporting events and have never felt as patriotic as when the National Anthem is blaring before a NASCAR race.

Patriotism @ Richmond International Raceway

The command "Gentlemen start your engines" was given and my mouth just dropped!  I would stand for the first 30 minutes blocking everyone's view behind me not giving a care because I was experiencing my first NASCAR race.  If you were at that race sitting behind me in turn 4 that day, I apologize.  I had the time of my life and the rest is history...   ...that you'll soon read about.

my next race 2007 Richmond International Raceway (spring race) 

golf season in the northeast

this has nothing to do w/ NASCAR (amended - see below)

March 13, 2013 is 9 days later than the first time I played a round of golf in 2012.

This happens to me ever year - winter begins to wind down and I try to get as much golf in as possible in this first month of the season.  It's not until early May where I turn into that guy ...longing for the weekends to play golf... - I try to do it as often as my schedule allows me before then. 

I had hoped to get a round in last Saturday since the forecast was excellent but mother nature had other plans by dumping 6" of snow on us the day before.

So walking 9 holes on an empty course yesterday was the first time I had the chance to swing the clubs on a golf course since 10.27.2012.

Just when I thought I would write my first blog w/ no association to NASCAR, I get this in the mail from the great crew at Pocono Raceway - NYC's home track.

@poconoraceway 

I guess we all know what I'll be wearing on the golf course this Saturday (weather permitting).

I'm still not sure how UPS managed to find me w/ this shipping label:

Until next time, you can find me @themike79

2013 Daytona 500

Race #30

The 2013 Daytona 500 provided firsts:
   - 1st woman on the Daytona 500 pole
   - 1st points scoring race for the generation 6 car in NASCAR's top series (Sprint Cup)
   - 1st time Jimmie Johnson's crew chief was in Daytona to celebrate the win
   - 1st time in 17 years New York City had a country music station when the green flag dropped
        NASH 94.7

CMT News: New York City: Gone Country

In this day & age where country music is mainstream, southern BBQ is loved by all and white collar businessmen in the greater NYC area long for the weekends to play a round of golf, fire up the grill and have a few cold ones... ...why not the possibility of watching a race on Sunday?  Maybe it's because of that same misconception I had 11 years ago - see My Journey To Becoming a NASCAR fan
(I'll touch more on this subject in a later post)

The 2013 Daytona 500 was the 30th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race I have seen live.

Daytona International Speedway

February 22
   11:00 PM   kiss my wife goodnight and set my       alarm for 2:45 AM
February 23
     2:44 AM   wake up in fear of missing my 6:00 AM flight
     5:30 AM   board my flight
   10:40 AM   arrive in Daytona and head to the track (next door to the airport)

NASCAR Nationwide Series

I watched the Nationwide race and then had the chance to hang out with some friends (who I have come to know through NASCAR) afterwards and the next morning before the Daytona 500.

@bigdalsky ,  @MISroger , @RIRprez (in spirit by ways of my hat)

The Daytona 500 was an exciting one and of course, I saw Jimmie Johnson win once again.  Out of 30 races I have been to, I believe Jimmie Johnson has won 6 of them.  I guess that's why he is a 5 time champion in NASCAR's top series.

One of the reasons I have come to love NASCAR is their contributions and donations to the community - most of which are under the radar.  The CEO of NASCAR Brian France and his wife Amy have personally donated $50,000 to kick off NASCAR's race to help and heal, and their donation will be matched by the NASCAR Foundation.
NASCAR Foundation's Donation to Newtown

2 Gentlemen in front of me @ Daytona 500 showing Sandy Hook support

My experiences in NASCAR have differed slightly at every race and they just keep getting better.  Until next time Daytona, be good...

my journey to becoming a NASCAR fan

my journey to becoming a NASCAR fan

Growing up in NYC and CT, I had the same misconception manypeople "not in the south" have about NASCAR – a bunch of cars drivingaround in circles.  Contrary to unpopular belief, there are no circle tracks on the NASCAR circuit.  The season is made up of races at variations of ovals and road courses.  

See NASCAR's track descriptions here: NASCAR tracks

Even though my bestfriend growing up was into NASCAR, I never got into the sport.  It was 2002 (my last year of college) and wewere at our ski house in Killington, VT after a ½ day of skiing, when wedecided to watch the Daytona 500 before heading back to school/home.  I quietly enjoyed the race and chose thedriver I would cheer for (still to this day) in NASCAR.

2002 Daytona 500

I didn’t watch another race until the 2003Daytona 500, which began a tradition of me watching this race every year.  Over the years, I realized other friends(both blue & white collar) enjoyed watching fast cars so they began to joinin the tradition.  FACT: most men like fast cars – the speed, adrenaline, risk – it’s allthere.   Living on a lake in CT, theend of summer was a sad time…   …until2006.  A friend/colleague had a clientinvite him along w/ 2 friends to the Sylvania 300 NASCAR race in NH onSeptember 17, 2006 and the rest is history…

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (the driver I chose in 2002)

@ NHMS 2006 Sylvania 300

Since that sunny fall day in 2006, I have been to 30 races at 10 different tracks which will make for interesting stories at later dates.

Please feel free to ask me any questions about experiences or NASCAR in general. @themike79