While I hesitate to start naming individuals, for I didn't keep a list of those who included me in things, I do want to mention Bob Hissom.  You may recall that Bob was instrumental in what we did in conjunction with Pennsboro Raceway recently.  Bob is also the man who has done so much for so many areas of racing history. He is a large part of the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame, but don't ask him about that because he will tell you he doesn't really do anything.  He is also the man who puts so much work into getting the NASCAR famous to attend the Stocks for Tots event at The NASCAR Technical Institute on the second Tuesday of each December.  That event does marvelous things for abused children in that area of North Carolina and having been a part of it the past five or so years, I can attest to the huge turnout of fans.  It is quite an evening.

Bob called me Monday morning to tell me about events in Occoneechee, and to let me know that next Tuesday, October 6th, the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame will honor Donnie Allison and the Sox and Martin team in the Walk of Fame in Mooresville.  The Walk of Fame is located at 215 North Main Street in Mooresville, at the Charles Mack Citizen Center. Donnie Allison will be there, as will Buddy Martin, the surviving member of the Famous Sox and Martin drag racing team.  I'm not even a drag racing aficionado but I have always known about Sox and Martin. Must have been those Mopars!!!  The actual event will be from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and is free for anyone to attend.  There will be a VIP, Invitation Only gathering later in the evening but the main event from 4:00 to 6:00 is open to everyone. I may just be there myself.

I have a special place in my heart for Donnie Allison. He is more or less the "overlooked" Allison who contributed a great deal to the history of the sport but does not have the recognition that does Bobby Allison or Davey Allison.  After all, if you think about it, it is thanks to Donnie that the 1979 Daytona 500 ended in such a way that brought national attention to the sport.  Donnie is a really nice guy who deserves this honor.

While we are on the subject of Mooresville, and the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame, please remember that it is our intention to gather a gang of RacersReunion folks for a visit to that facility on Saturday, November 7th. The Hall of Fame will open at 10:00 a.m. and we plan to meet there in the parking lot about 9:45. After a tour of the Hall of Fame, we will have a break and then head on down the road a mile or two to tour Memory Lane Museum where the RacersReunion Hall of Fame is located. Bob Hissom has told me that arrangements are being made to give our group special attention at the N.C. Auto Racing Hall of Fame meaning that we will have very knowledgeable individuals there to answer any questions.

As a special note to all planning to attend, I have NOT asked for group rates or special consideration on ticket prices as we can visit both of the facilities planned for far less than one admission to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. Further, both facilities have free parking right at the door.  Of course, I am considering the possibility of instituting a $10.00 parking charge at each place to benefit the "Be Kind to The Legend Fund". (That's a joke folks. Everyone is already very, very kind to The Legend).  I sincerely hope many of you, all of you, will take advantage of our get-together of November 7th.  I can assure you of a great time and some really enjoyable camaraderie.  Put it on your calendar right now!!!

Now on to the biggest joke in todays sporting world, NASCAR. I saw only the last 50 laps of the race Sunday and none of the truck race or Xfinity race.  What I saw when I turned on the television after coming in from my grandson's soccer game, was the huge attendance at Loudon by the now famous "Tarp Family".  Appears as though the Tarps had all of the turn four grandstand area and into the front straight grandstand. Gotta hand it to those Tarps.  Wonder if they get paid big bucks for the advertising they are sporting?  Probably.  As for what I observed in the carefully orchestrated grandstand shots, the rest of the grandstands were nowhere near as packed as the parts inhabited by those Tarps.  I was hoping to get the television ratings, but as I am writing this Monday afternoon, those ratings haven't been posted yet on the source I use, Jayski.  I am anticipating the ratings will be as dismal as this rainy and misty weather we have had here in Columbia for the past five days.  You all know how I feel about the Toyotas and the JGR team so I won't even mention the outcome of the debacle NASCAR would like us to believe was a race.  Brad Keselowski said it best when he said this is no longer a "sport" but is now entertainment.  That remark came in response to the call of black-flagging the driver of the number 2 Ford for a "restart infraction".  Now let's see here, Matt Kenseth successfully jumped the restart twice at Richmond to win the race and that started the current up-roar over the restart jumps.

What we have now is NBCSN super-imposing red lines on the track to show where the "restart box" is located. Each restart is watched closely to make sure no one moves before he or she (wait on that "she" as in "she" hasn't been close enough to the front on a restart to even consider jumping it). I saw the restart from which Brad received his black flag, which relegated him to 27th position I believe, and NASCAR claims to have made the right call. What I want you folks to consider, and NASCAR, is watch that restart closely. Greg Biffle, on the outside front row, who hasn't been able to outrun his shadow for two years, was actually pushed by the Kurt Busch and it appeared as though the rear wheels of the Biffle Ford were lifted just enough to slow him.  It also appeared to me that Brad saw that and immediately backed off to allow Biffle to cross the line first.  I think the call by NASCAR was wrong and once more shows the total lack of respect for the competitors by "race control".  It would seem to me that many of the NASCAR management would be better served joining with Barnum and Bailey as clowns for surely they would be able to get huge laughs at their total ineptness at their jobs. I think it is apparent that anyone scoring higher than 55 on an IQ test is unfit for duty with NASCAR. But Brad only got it half right when he called it entertainment instead of a sport. I don't even qualify what we have going on today as "entertainment". I think it is more entertaining to prep for a colonoscopy than to watch what NASCAR is calling a sport.

We are into that "Chase" mode. What was not supposed to be referred to as a "Playoff" now has NASCAR encouraging fans to fill out their "brackets".  I must state right here and now, that basketball, college and pro, disgusts me completely.  I don't watch it, I don't read about it, and I really don't care about it.  Back in the days when I was gainfully employed, unlike my charity work with RacersReunion, I dreaded the time of year when the imbeciles would come by with their "bracket sheets" and want me to contribute to a pool to see who would win the brackets.  I don't care for the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, or the Final Four.  And you can bet I don't care one little bit for this disaster we, as race fans, are supposed to endure.  That "Chase".  That "Playoff".  That "War between the Nations".  I'm not sure who came up with all that hoopla, but I hope that person has left the country for good. The Chase is an insult to the sport and to any fan who believes that racing should be considered a sport instead of something gossip worthy on all those television shows dedicated to show business gossip.  I rarely use the word "hate" but in relation to the Chase, I will unabashedly state "I HATE THE CHASE".  But, then again, I don't watch the races that comprise that debacle so I really don't care what they call it.

In my opinion, and the opinion of many a man or woman who is a knowledgeable race fan, a Champion is decided by performance throughout an entire season.  To bring us down to 16, then 12, then 8, and then 4 with a chance to be Champion is ludicrous.  Last year, the defending Champion didn't have an opportunity to defend his title.  Unless something drastic happens to favor Kevin Harvick at Dover, then, once more, the defending champion will not be a part of the final equation. That, folks, is flat-out wrong!!

Remember what we do here on the site is to honor the history and heritage of stock car racing. We are fortunate to have many members involved in that preservation and I am extremely fortunate to be included in many of the endeavors of several of those groups to ensure the preservation of racing history. When another 20 years have passed, and those looking back on the "history" of the sport from say 2000 forward, will be looking at nothing more than an insult to the memory of Big Bill France and even Bill, Jr.  What we have now is not the NASCAR of my youth and don't you dare try to tell me what they have today is better.  Look around you.  Declining attendance, dismal television ratings, and now the sport I grew up loving becoming the butt of so many jokes in the sporting world it isn't even worth wearing a NASCAR t-shirt out in public.

In conclusion, to NASCAR I would say the re-starts you guys should be worrying about are not the restarts between the super imposed red lines but the restart the sport so desperately needs. The entire NASCAR management team needs the black flag waved on them, and perhaps even a hit with the stick it’s on!!!!