March 27, 2008 - They Wanna Rock

Have you ever wondered what the drivers and crew members do in their time off from their race-weekend duties? The rock group Nickelback sums it up in one of its most popular songs, “We all just want to be big rock stars”. These guys are rushing back to their motor homes and hotel rooms from the race track not to clean up and head to the bars on the prowl for good looking women, but instead to play Guitar Hero and Rock Band with each other.

For those of you who aren’t “in the know,” Guitar Hero and Rock Band are high-tech video games where you can be a guitar player, drummer or even the lead singer of your own rock group while you play along with the notes and words on the TV screen.

Racers rumored to be highly attached to the new rock-n-roll video games include Jeff Gordon who, along with several crewmembers, reportedly stayed up late into the night in Atlanta, not partying, but rather playing Rock Band in his motor home. I sure hope for the sake of the other people in the motor home lot his bus is sound proof!

Believe it or not, members of NASCAR teams who used to pack up dress clothes for nights out during the weekend instead are taking their plastic guitars and Xbox or Wii consoles. These guys even get together during the week to play. I feel like June Cleaver when my husband’s friends, who live in the neighborhood, knock on the door and ask if he can come over and play the video games.

I just wonder how long it will be before the soon-to-be released Guitar Hero Aerosmith version ends up on one of the hoods of a race car as a sponsor. That’s right, you heard it here first — I feel an Aerosmith one-race sponsorship in the air. Anyone interested in including me in on commission for that sponsorship idea feel free to contact me!

March 13, 2008 - What About Me?

You may be asking yourself, “who is Liz Mellott and why am I reading her blog on www.nationalspeedsportnews.com?”  Well, I have your answer!

I will be the blog writer who will be able to offer you a different perspective on motorsports.  If you want hard-hitting editorials, then maybe John Clayton or Gary London would be a better fit for you. However, if you want more of an actual behind-the-scenes look at NASCAR, NHRA and motorsports in general, I am your gal!

Having spent the last 11 years working in motorsports, including a two-year stint at NSSN from 2001-2003 and several years in different public relations roles on the NHRA and IHRA tours, like a wandering child, I have finally settled down and returned home to National Speed Sport News. However, juggling a six-year-old son and being married to a NASCAR tire specialist, Toby Mellott, my life remains anything but calm and serene.

With all of the media coverage that the drivers and car owners in NASCAR, with their million dollar motorhome and mansions receive, I hope to share with you the reality of what a crew member and his family’s life is actually like. I want you to follow me through the joys of watching your husband’s team win the pole or a race, the spirit-crushing disappointment of seeing their car hit the wall on Sundays, and the excitement of catching a glimpse of him on TV during the National Anthem or a pit stop.

Also, if you are lucky, and I can slip it past our editor, I will share with you some juicier tidbits every now and then.  For example, I will give you the inside scoop when drivers come to blows, teams get caught cheating, or drivers who claim to have the flu, were actually at the bar the night before.

So, enough about me! I look forward to our future time together, and I hope you will, too!