A New American Hero

I’m glad Kasey Kahne didn’t let the 62-year-old security guard at Homestead Speedway intimidate him. I’m always looking for a new hero, and I can now proudly announce I’ve found one in Kahne. I think old people have gotten a free ride in this country for way too long, and it’s about time somebody had the courage to slap one of them down. I’m relieved that Kahne seems to share my scorn and disdain for the elderly.
I think some ambitious promoter should set up a series of fights featuring Kasey’s new-found talent. Just think of the possibilities of a cage match between Kahne and some frail, near-death celebrity like Abe Vigoda. Who wouldn’t gladly pay to see a young, multi-millionaire beat up guys with age-related physical disabilities? You could call the fights “Rumble with the Wrinkled” or “Scrappin’ with the Oldies.” It’s just too bad that George Burns and Strom Thurmond have passed on, I bet Kahne would have really enjoyed giving one of those old-timers a serious beat down.

Accolades For Column

Thank you, Ron Lemasters, Jr. for your excellent column in the Dec. 19 edition of NSSN. After reading it, I had to relate to you my own story of an encounter with “Smoke.”
I worked in a high school for many years with kids who were having various kinds of issues. One of the kids I got to know was a junior who was diagnosed with cancer. He was in and out of the hospital several times, had several surgeries and it was looking grim for him. I found out that he was a racing fan and that Tony Stewart was his favorite driver. I contacted the Make-A-Wish people as did the hospital social worker when I found out that Tony was making an appearance at an area track. To make a long story short, they made all the arrangements for that day, including a limo ride to the track for the entire family and a chance to meet with Tony personally and get pictures taken, etc. The boy was thrilled and talked about it for many days.
Later that fall, he passed away, but I kept in contact with the family, and when I told them I was going to the Chili Bowl, they asked me to get a couple of pictures signed by Tony and to give one to Tony. On the last day of the Chili Bowl, I waited in the huge line with everyone else and when my turn came up, I presented him with the pictures and explained that the family wanted him to keep one. I didn’t have to tell him anything more as he remembered the boy and already knew that he had passed away. I’m not sure how, with all the things he had going on in his world that he was able to remember this one boy from Wisconsin, but he did.
So, from that moment, my estimation of Tony Stewart expanded greatly. I always respected his driving ability and appreciated the fact that he still loved his dirt racing and supported the local short tracks, but my opinion of him as a human being grew by leaps and bounds. He can be as grumpy as he wants in his interviews; I know that there is for sure another side of him, too.
Thank you for highlighting one of the many things that our motorsports people do that allow them to stand apart from most of the other professional athletes today. Have a happy New Year and keep up the great columns.

No Objections To CoT

I have been reading about all the objections to the CoT and Toyota. No one can tell the difference in the CoT. This is stock-car racing. Stock cars, as in sold by the dealer. I will defy anyone to pull up to a line of cars waiting at a stoplight and go down the line and identify each car by model and brand. They all look alike. I am 80 years old and have been a dealer mechanic and a racing enthusiast for more years than most of you have been alive.
In the off-season, I have been watching the racing from Australia. Outside the Ford emblem, what were the other makes? I couldn’t tell. I watch Indy cars, sprint cars — what make are they? I don’t watch Fords. I watch Ford drivers.
I just bought a Toyota Avalon, made in Georgetown, Ky., probably by the UAW. Foreign? I don’t think so. I will be watching Toyota drivers and Gordon, Johnson, Montoya, Franchitti, Dale, Jr., Kyle, Schrader, all of them. I watch drivers, strategy, setups, crew chiefs. Racing! I do not watch cars. Racing is people.
I have followed Jeff Gordon since he was 17. In life, he will never be able to accomplish what Dale Earnhardt did in death. Dale saved more lives, including his son’s at least three times, by establishing himself as one of the greatest drivers of all time and in death, causing so many changes that made racing safer and better for everyone. I didn’t watch Dale because he was in an identifiable Chevrolet — I watched him because he was Dale Earnhardt. I don’t watch CoTs. I watch numbers, which identify drivers.
Off the subject, Australian cars have stop lights. If they can do it successfully, why can’t NASCAR?
Best of luck to Dale, Jr. in 2008. You deserve it. I know I will have fun watching.