My 12 year old grandson said I was acting really mad Saturday night.

I'd had both grandsons at the house here in Charlotte during the late afternoon and it was just boys here, as the wife and two moms were out and about.

The pizza was eaten and we'd hurried to the den to catch the televised pre-race activities from the Cup night race at Bristol.

The 12 year old's favorite driver, Denny Hamlin, was starting on the pole, but the 8 year old's favorite, Jimmie Johnson (the one with his name spelled wrong) was leading the points he told us.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol was scheduled to be televised nationally on ABC Television and its affiliates as part of the final leg of the season with TV rights held by ESPN and its parent ABC.

Turned the TV on to the Charlotte ABC affiliate - WSOC-TV, Channel 9 - just before 7:00 p.m. and there was a Washington Redskins/Buffalo Bills preseason game on originating with the Washington Redskins Football Network - not ABC - that still had a complete quarter to play.

Scrolling across the bottom of the screen was a banner informing that programming would switch to the Bristol race when the game was completed, but that the race would likely be joined in progress.

I was livid.

I checked alternate ESPN programming. I saw an alternate channel offering the Bristol race in Nashville, Philadelphia and several other markets... but not Charlotte.

Charlotte is supposed to be the hub of NASCAR... right? Charlotte is supposed to be the center of the NASCAR universe... the home base area to the majority of its race teams, home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

BUT, the #1 rated television station in Charlotte decided it could pull in more viewers and revenue with a meaningless pre-season NFL Redskins game than with the beginning of what used to be one of the most anticipated races of the year.

In all fairness, the Redskins still have a huge following in Charlotte and in my hometown of Richmond. In the 1950s, the Redskins television network was carried in both Charlotte and Richmond, featuring those lovable, mostly losing teams with Eddie Lebaron, Norm Snead and a cast of true misfits. The highlight of each of those telecasts was a half-time performance by the Redskins marching band and the appearance of Santa Claus at midfield on Thanksgiving Day.

Richmond still has such a love affair with the Washington tribe that it spent $30 million (give or take a dollar) to move the Redskins training camp to Richmond this year.

However, Charlotte has its own NFL team - the Panthers - and they played on TV Thursday night.

I'm afraid that what happened Saturday night on a Charlotte flagship television station confirmed what I've said all along. Charlotte is NOT a racing town. My Richmond hometown IS a racing town. Humpy Wheeler knew that. In a famous quote, Humpy once said that if they ever closed the North Carolina - Virginia border, they'd have to close Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In all my years reading the Charlotte newspaper I have never even once seen a story covering or previewing a race at a local Charlotte area weekly track. The Richmond papers had reporters from both the morning and afternoon paper, along with separate photographers at Richmond's Southside Speedway every Friday night.

Charlotte is a banking town, full of Wall Street types and the financial gurus who lost all of your 401K and IRA investments. Charlotte is full of transplanted IBM employees who once labored in Endicott, New York.

Richmond was/is a manufacturing town with the workers who loved stock car racing. In Richmond you couldn't get a seat in a Moose Lodge or Eagles Lodge or Elks Lodge or Shrine establishment on Sunday afternoon when a race was being televised.

In Richmond, folks talked about the race at the water cooler on Monday. They talked about what Sonny and Ray had done Friday night, too... or who "Terrible" Tommy Ellis had wrecked at Southside. I've never heard anybody talk about a NASCAR race in Charlotte.

On the very day we were enjoying a fantastic get together of RR members at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, there were news media on the premises interviewing attendees because the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority announced during our visit that the HOF had suffered another $1,000,000 plus loss and attracted 22,000 less visitors than it did the year before - a year that had also seen a severe attendance drop. The CRVA finally admitted they don't ever expect the HOF to meet attendance projections, but they are trying to maximize revenue with souvenir sales and building rentals at night for meetings and parties.

Maybe they should have built it in Richmond where I-95 and the circumferential interstate around Richmond and Petersburg merge just north of Richmond, as proposed by the folks in that town full of race fans where they don't preempt the Bristol night race on local television.

I'm almost through venting. I hope my blood pressure is dropping.

WSOC-TV, Channel 9 in Charlotte, the flagship ABC affiliate in the Queen City (Cincinnati is also the Queen City, but it is closer to Owensboro, birthplace of Jaws) continued to show all the post game interviews of Redskins and Buffalo Bills personnel long after the final whistle had blown signalling the end of the blowout by the feathered warriors.

Just in case you wondered, I began placing telephone calls at 7:15 p.m. to all six telephone numbers listed for the station... sports, programming, news... receptionist... etc. Never spoke to a live human. Got lots of busy signals. Were the lines overloaded with NASCAR fans calling? I hope. Got to leave three voice mail messages... each a little louder and more insistent than the previous.

Finally, around 7:47 p.m. EDT, the television screen switched to a shot of the Bristol flag stand just as the cars fired engines. No National Anthem, no prayer, no talking heads telling me what to expect. Perhaps that was a blessing not hearing the talking heads.

Did analyst Brad give any insights into why his #47 car never runs worth a crud? Finally, on this evening it looked like Bobby Labonte was having a late career surge and a heck of a race until he was taken out.

Maybe I didn't miss anything meaningful other than our National Anthem, but I'm still convinced that Charlotte is not a racing town. Thank you for listening if you made it this far.

My friend Dave....I feel your pain. get outta there while you still can or does the grandkids live there? That's the only reason I would stay somewhere that didn't support our sport any better than that. Maybe if they get enough harsh messages they will get on the ball.

well for one thing I have got to get you hooked up on the internet proper so you can access any and all the broadcasts of nascar races, from trucks to Danicas group. yup its there ----I F --- you know where to look. then you can set back and snub your nose at all the guys running around in the cow pasture with that ball of sorts.

Yessir, Bill... you nailed it... both grandkids live within a 20 minute drive. When I mention move, the wife asks if I'm planning to move them and support their families.

I guess I need to get educated, Johnny. Remember, though, I'm the guy who still can't figure out how to work an old fashioned style cell phone!

Hey... Bill & Johnny...

Do ya reckon it could have have been a conspiracy by Bristol owner and Charlotte resident Bruton Smith to have the game run into race time in Charlotte to scare folks into buying tickets next year?

Then again.... maybe it was only appropriate that the Redskins were involved in pre-empting a Bristol race telecast, since they were one of the teams involved in Bristol's inaugural event... the 1961 pre-season exhibition between the Redskins vs. the Philadelphia Eagles on a football field in the Bristol infield described by Eagles' player Billy Ray Barnes as the worst he ever played on!

For those who've forgotten or never knew... here's an interview featured earlier this year at the site www.pittalk.com :

The forgotten gameBristol Motor Speedway

March 12, 2013

Its a game that is rarely talked about, but it did happen. The year was 1961 and the game was between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles. It took place in the infield of Bristol Motor Speedway. The game celebrated its 5oth anniversary two years ago we were lucky enough to catch up and talk with the starting tailback for the Eagles, at the the time, Billy Ray Barnes. Barnes says he doesnt remember much.

That damn game was 52 years ago and Im glad I dont remember much. When we showed up at Bristol the field was the worst field I had ever seen. We played a game one time at the Fairgrounds in Ohio and it was just a tick better than the field at Bristol.

When we were talking to BRB during our interview we got the idea that the times were a lot different back then. We just went and played where we were told. We were getting 50 bucks a game and thought we were rich. When they told us we were playing at Bristol Motor Speedway, well, we just went and played. Even though the game was just an NFL exhibition it still drew plenty of fans. The crowd was good, but it felt like a practice. The stands were so far away from the field it was hard to get into it. We couldnt even hear the fans cheering until we were leaving the game.

We wanted to dig a little deeper into some of the more interesting things about the game. Check out our Q and A with Mr. Barnes and be ready to laugh. Enjoy.

Pittalks: What were some of the funny things about playing there?
BRB: Its probably no secret, but back when I played some of the players would have a cigarette during halftime. At Bristol there was only one bathroom at the north end of the field. Both teams were sharing the same bathroom. At halftime we all met up there and had a few cigarettes and then went on and finished the game.

Pittalks: Who won the game?
BRB: Hell, I dont remember. Im pretty sure we won though. I do remember this for sure; I got tackled one time and landed so hard in a puddle I didnt know if I was going to get up before I drowned. There were puddles everywhere on that field.

Pittalks: Where did you guys get dressed and ready before the game?
BRB: We stayed at some small place in town and we dressed there. We showed up ready to play. One of the things that really surprised me when we got there was how steep the track was. You guys call that what?

Pittalks: Its banking Billy.
BRB: Yeah, the damn banking was so steep I almost lost it getting down to the field.

Pittalks: Have you been back since the football game?
BRB: Hell no, Im not much of a race fan. I really like watching them go around the track at 200mph, but I dont go to races. Those drivers got some balls to do that. I respect that.

Pittalks: What do you think about crew guys?
BRB: I know a lot of athletes are getting into racing. You got to be big, strong, and quick to do what they do. Its fun to watch the drivers when it gets towards the last few laps and those guys get after it.

Pittalks: If you were going to be on a pit crew and do one of those positions now, which one do you think you would be best at?
BRB: My answer is simple, none. Youre crazy if you think Im getting in front of those cars. Thats crazy.

Pittalks: Did you even get to take a lap around the track before or after the game?
BRB: No, we wanted out of there as soon as the game was over. That was the worst field most of us had ever played on and we just wanted to get home.

Pittalks: Well, Mr. Barnes I would like to thank you for taking the time to sit down and chat with us. I really appreciate it and maybe we can get you out to the track one day. Are we missing anything else you wanted to add?
BRB: Yeh, did you see that contract that Calvin Johnson just signed. I got a $124 dollar raise this year for every year I played and that guy just signed a $132 million, 10 year contract. How about a little something for the old guys that helped start the game? Im sure some of the old racers think the same thing.

Pittalks: Im sure they do. Well good luck with everything you got going on and thanks for taking time to talk with us.

I was in Asheville and missed the first part of the race because we were out to dinner. When I did tune in about 9:00 p.m. the channel it was supposed to be on was showing NFL Football. My brother-in-law has Direct TV and was able to find it on another channel so I got to see the last 225 laps. Maybe Charlotte is turning its back on NASCAR. Hope not, but could be happening.

Dave, I've listened toJohn-Boy & Billy's Big Showfor years. Although syndicated, they're based out of Charlotte. JB&B's Curmudgeon-at-large andConcord-born, Robert D. Raeford, has always maintained and editorialized the non-racing attitude of the Charlotte establishment. According to Raeford, it's hardly new, and dates back to the non-support of even the concept of a Charlotte Motor Speedway. Guess there's nothing new under the sun.

Dave, I really think it was all a big coincidence that the same teams, same place etc happened..lol..You have to realize who we are dealing with here. They are not smart enough to see all the connections and put it together just to sell tickets for next year. If they were maybe just a bit sharper you wouldn't see all those empty seats around.