Sept. 26, 2007 - Dancing Into America's Hearts?

Helio Castroneves’s debut on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” Tuesday night lasted a little more than nine minutes.

But in that nine minutes, which included a Foxtrot with the incredibly, got-me-down-on-my-knees hot Julianne Hough, Castroneves may have gained more fans than he did by winning two Indianapolis 500s.

Here’s a note to them: That guy with the 24-7 high-watt smile with no dimmer switch, that’s Helio, the real thing.

While others use shows such as this one to jumpstart otherwise stagnant careers, Castroneves is there because he thinks it’ll be fun. He enjoys life and this was something to try. Dance? Why not?

If a Salsa here and a Tango there helps the IndyCar Series, fine, just as long as it’s fun.

Maybe a legion of “Dancing” fans will become Helio fans when he gets back in a race car. And maybe the jingoistic minions among race fans, who refuse to embrace non-American drivers regardless of talent or personality as they watch the IndyCar series, will get to know Castroneves the way some of us have over the years.

I met Castroneves when he was driving for Team Green in CART’s Indy Lights Series back in 1994, and then covered both Indy 500s he won. None of the success changed him a bit. The smile has been the same one millions watched last night.

And he’s a pretty good dancer.

If America doesn’t love him, I’m more worried than usual about us.

Sept. 19, 2007 - Pariah No More

By the nature of what this “media” business has become, I’m used to being viewed as a pariah. After nearly two decades in the business, it’s not even a problem anymore.

And there’s no end to how much Rick Hendrick and Team Junior had to be annoyed with media types over the past few months. Still, with the announcement of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s new sponsorship and number set for Dallas, Hendrick made arrangements for the motorsports media to get there, chartering a jet that took about 20 of us to Dallas and getting us to the downtown convention center, which included an impromptu tour of Dealey Plaza, site of the Kennedy Assassination, on the return.

(For the record, several members of the media paid fair ticket prices to Hendrick for the charter, so to avoid conflicts of interests.)

Even in the sponsorship-driven business of motorsports, it is somewhat surprising that Hendrick wouldn’t just leave us to our own devices – and back in North Carolina. But the bigger surprise came a few hours after the announcement of All Things Junior. Hendrick came into the press’s workroom and went from table to table, shaking hands and thanking each of us for coming.

I smiled and said, “Thanks for the ride.”

That’s pretty unusual in sports these days. Team owners and their hierarchy don’t normally fly the press anywhere. Many of them avoid us at all costs.

There are different sorts. For example, Indiana Pacers General Manager Donnie Walsh, for whom I had the opportunity to work, put the local media on the team plane during the first Iraq war over fears of terrorists.

I doubt it’s the dawn of a new era for team owners and professional athletes across the board, but Hendrick showed his true character when the cameras weren’t rolling — just by treating people who are trying to do a job with a little respect.

I didn’t feel at all like a pariah — and it felt pretty good.

Sept. 12, 2007 — Was Dale, Jr. Sabotaged?

Industrial spying in Formula One? Child’s play.

How about sabotage in NASCAR? While a column written by Associated Press NASCAR reporter and colleague Jenna Fryer didn’t accuse Teresa Earnhardt of sabotaging Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s chances for The Chase, it certainly brought to light the inexplicable bad luck of the No. 8 team as it fought for the 12th and final spot in The Chase.

Teresa has been portrayed as the “wicked stepmother” throughout the NASCAR’s latest version of Family Feud. But would she — could she? — doom her stepson’s shot at a title out of spite?

Fryer took a look at the evidence and says, “probably not” because it would be damaging to Dale Earnhardt, Inc.’s business as it tries to lure sponsors such as J.C. Penny (which visited this past week) into the fold as Budweiser exits.

Really, the pragmatist in me wants to agree. I hate feeling like Oliver Stone in Dealey Plaza. I look at the same evidence, which includes a slew of blown engines even while the No. 1 of Martin Truex, Jr. and the recently acquired No. 01 of Mark Martin have had no problems. Even Paul Menard has been free of catastrophic mechanical problems. It just doesn’t make sense that one driver would have such bad luck, while teammates enjoy varying levels of success.

And there have been off-the-record rumblings from inside DEI that perhaps they were getting the short end on equipment since Earnhardt, Jr. announced his intentions to leave the company his father founded.

Still, I want to say, "maybe not," but there's a big part of me that says, "maybe so."

It seems far-fetched. It seems over the top, but, then again, so does the appearance of Ferarri blueprints on the hard drives of McLaren employees across the pond.

Over the course of history, it has been proven that emotion often rules the day over logic, even when the business of empire building is in the balance. While Teresa Earnhardt has proven that business is more important than family, she has done nothing to suggest that business is more important than revenge.

Hell hath no fury — that’s all I’m saying.

Sept. 5, 2007 - Toyota Wins Big With Gibbs

It just made sense.

That’s what J.D. Gibbs said about Joe Gibbs Racing’s announced move to Toyota, pointing to the proliferation of recent mergers and new investors in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series.

JGR had none of that, not until Wednesday (officially speaking), when the three-car team gave Toyota the flagship it was hoping it could one day build with Michael Waltrip Racing. Now, it doesn’t have to. JGR boasts three of the series most talented – and sometimes tempermental – drivers in Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. It has three Nextel Cup titles since 2000, two of them won by Stewart. JGR has star power and its engineers figure it can create the horsepower it needs in Toyota engines. Hamlin and Busch both seemed destined to hold that trophy someday.

And Gibbs said that the team wants to be No. 1 – it wants to set the pace for a manufacturer. Reading between the lines, that means the company felt it has been playing second fiddle to Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing in the manufacturer pecking order, despite its talent and its trophies.

Add to that a healthy infusion of cash from Toyota, which goes back to why this deal “made sense” to everyone at Gibbs.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see JGR get a fourth, Toyota-sponsored race team out of this in 2009 – a flagship car to go with the flagship team, just in time for rising star Joey Logano, the wunderkind who is currently working his way up the Joe Gibbs Racing development ladder until he turns 18 and becomes eligible for Nextel Cup.

Some people are scratching their heads, thinking that Toyota’s struggles will carry over into next year. That very well may happen, but we’ve seen significant strides from Bill Davis Racing, in particular, and Red Bull Racing over the past couple of months.

There may be struggles, but they will be struggles an established team such as JGR can overcome more quickly and efficiently than a start-up operation such as Michael Waltrip’s.

The folks at JGR say it is the best move they could make for the future. Time will tell.

For Toyota, this is a Grand Slam. To use another baseball analogy, if it’s not signing Babe Ruth, it’s at least getting rock-steady Henry Aaron in his prime.

As soon as the ink dried on the contract, the Toyota Camry became legitimized in the sport. With Stewart, Hamlin and Busch behind the wheel, it’s a contender.

All of Toyota’s hopes and plans for its NASCAR future have just been put on fast-forward.

And that’s good business — it just made sense.