The 2022 running NASCAR, IMSA & other racing things thread

That was an entertaining race*

*admittedly I only saw the last 30 laps.

 

That’s all you ever need to watch.

 

I did one better. I switched the TV on just as the crew was celebrating, followed by the last lap replay. That was enough to come up with a lede and four sidebars, had I still been employed -- or compelled -- to do so.

 

I watched (and dozed through) the first two stages, then fired up the DVR and switched over to the local nine's baseball game. When I opened up the recording and saw: A) how much time was left in it; and B) how many laps were remaining, I was resigned to missing the finish. I was stunned there was no overtime.

 

I've gotten to the point where I generally just go to YouTube following any NASCAR or Formula 1 race and watch the highlight recap. I see all there is to see in 5-6 minutes.

 

After four hours of pounding Mountain Dew and inhaling Winston smoke, you could only come up with four sidebars?

 

It was only a Mountain Dew if it was at an ISM track because Pepsi was the official drink provider of those tracks. Otherwise, it would have been a Coke product, the official drink of NASCAR. No way those two august organizations would double dip.

 

Lap 90 of 188, every race I covered at Talladega ...

Phone rings.

Me: "Hey."
Desk: "Hey. Who are you writing sidebars on?"
Me: "Whomever gets caught up in the big wreck at the finish."
Desk: "So Dale Jr. or Danica?"
Me: "Maybe one of those, if they wreck at the finish."
Desk: "Well, which one, because we need to have a photo ready."
Me: "I'll know if and when they wreck at the finish, which is at least 98 laps from now."
Desk: "We need to know now."
Me: "OK. Cut photos of every car that's running, just in case they wreck at the finish."
Desk: "We haven't gotten anything from the photogs yet."
Me: "OK. Well I guess my sidebars will be on ... Jeff Burton and Kasey Kahne ... so make sure the photogs send those images first."
Desk: "No, write about either Dale Jr. or Danica, because they drive the most traffic."
Me: "So if you already knew you wanted sidebars on Dale Jr. or Danica, why did you ask me for my opinion?"
Desk: "Well, you're at the track."
Me: "And you're not. So the race needs to end before I know what I'm writing about. But thanks for waking me from my nap."

Hangs up.

 

They didn't ask me whether I was writing a sidebar on Bobby Allison that fateful day at Talladega in 1987. In fact, they didn't even call me! I wish they had ... it was the first race I'd ever attended and I knew not the slightest fuck what I was doing.

 

Knowing my desk, the call would have been: "Is Bobby Allison dead? We need to prepare an obit. And tell the photogs to hurry."

 

Dew. Meller Yeller. Whatever it was at Talladega always sent my pancreas and liver into overdrive.

 

Random southern pop thought...

Somehow a few months back a store near me acquired some Diet SunDrop in glass bottles. I'd never had it and never seen it anywhere near this far north. I think the furthest north you can find it is Richmond, maybe Fredericksburg. Now I'm addicted to Diet SunDrop and can't find any within 500 miles. Next time anyone comes to Mass., smuggle up some, please.