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A Voice For The Fans ~ Fireworks At The Firecracker
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I
bid you welcome gentle readers, and a cordial “Howdy”
to our assigned reader of all things NASCAR, wherever you are today. Better
cinch those belts up one more notch. This could be a bumpy ride before we’re
through. This coming weekend, we’re going back to Daytona. This will be the
first track on the circuit to be revisited, but as my stablemate, J.L. Steele
pointed out, it’s only the 17th race of 36, making the end of the
Kentucky race the actual half, but hey, we’re talking NASCAR math here, so
whatever Brian says is what Brian means… or maybe not. Really, we can’t blame
him for that one, as coming back to Daytona been considered the halfway point
of the season for almost as many years as there has been a season.
Anyway,
we’re going back, so Joie Chitwood, ready or not, here we come. First up, let’s
talk about what we discuss at every track in turn, the SAFER barriers, or lack
of same. It was Kyle Busch’s wreck at this track in the February Xfinity race
that rekindled the fire to get SAFER in place… every place! Here’s what Google
Earth shows at Daytona.
Right
from the start, I can tell you that Mr. Google isn’t keeping up with us. This
map has an imagery date of January, 2014, so this is what Daytona looked like
sometime before Kyle’s crash. On the right-hand side of the picture, the red
line on the inside is the wall he hit, after sliding helplessly through all
that grass. Yes, grass makes for pretty landscaping, but the only things that
should race on it are horses. Grass, especially if damp at all, is like ice
beneath the slick wheels of a racecar, and even worse, if some part of the
vehicle does dig in, the car is likely to flip into the air as though shot from
a cannon. We’ve all seen those “barrel rolls.” Drivers hate them and fans
should. No one’s having fun when that happens.
In
case you were still hibernating in your cliff dwelling last February, here’s
the wreck we’re talking about. It left Kyle with a broken right leg and a
broken left foot. That’s about two too many casts for anyone’s liking.
Nasty
looking wreck, wasn’t it? Kyle, we’re all glad you’re back and winning races
again, and we, the fans that care, are doing our best to get that SAFER barrier
everywhere possible, as quickly as possible. Some tracks are cooperating;
others… not so much.
Finding
out what, if anything, has been done since last we were at Daytona wasn’t an
easy task for an old lady in North Georgia. It seems that the Daytona brass
declined to discuss the upgrades with even their own local newspaper, the
Daytona Beach News Journal. Joie Chitwood did give a tour of the track to
Penske Racing driver Joey Logano. (No, I have no idea why) Still leaning on an
article found in the Journal’s on-line version, this is what that article says
has been done.
The
Speedway has realigned part of the inside retaining wall from the road course
exit to Turn 1 and expanded paved areas on entrances and exits to pit road.
Observations show SAFER barrier was added to that realigned inside wall, to a
retaining wall at the pit road exit, along a wall at the Turn 4 exit into pit
road and along a section of the outside wall of the backstretch.
The
changes seem like “a great thing,” Logano said. “They paved the section we need
to keep our control. There’s not much grip in grass, so asphalt is good for
us.”
“They
changed the angle of the walls along with adding a ton of SAFER barrier also,”
he said. “That’s all very good things that we need as drivers, to come to race
tracks to be as safe as possible.”
Going
even a step further, I’m told that Chitwood had promised that after this
weekend’s race, the Speedway will be completing “any remaining installation of
SAFER barriers on the outside backstretch wall, and continue to install SAFER
on the remaining areas of the property.” Thank you Joie! We can only hope that
others on the circuit adopt your “Git-R-Done”
attitude and actually get it done. Is anyone in Texas listening…? Eddie?
Alright
then… with a feeling of some accomplishment, we can leave that subject, having
been promised that everything that can be done at this track either has been
done or will be soon. That’s good enough for me. We don’t ask for miracles,
only common sense and cooperation.
Now
then, how about a small concession for an old lady with a long memory. We’re
going to Daytona, but it’s not February and it’s not the Daytona 500. That
means that this weekend’s race has to be the Firecracker 400, which in 1963 replaced
the Firecracker 250, and it runs on the 4th of July at 10:00 in the
morning. What? When? Well, just dang! It’s still the Firecracker to me!
Things
have changed a lot in the racing world. Your scribe is well aware of
sponsorship and all that bologna, but can someone give me a logical explanation
of why, when the 4th of July comes on that rare Saturday this year, we’re
not racing on that day? For the youngsters and those up north that may not
realize this, there was a really good reason why that race ran in the morning.
Oh sure, we fans were always told it was so the good ol’
boys could spend time on the Beach with family, but that was hooey! It was
because in July and August in Florida, you can almost bank on pop-up thunder
storms every afternoon into the evening. Big Bill France was no fool. I wish I
could say the same for the current ruling generation.
And
then there’s this… with the 4th of
July holiday coming on that rare Saturday, almost everyone in America that gets
a day off is getting Friday off, not Monday as happens in other cases. So… the
way I see it, we have a race scheduled to start at 8:04 in the evening, with
every chance of being at least delayed for track drying, or in a worst case scenario,
postponed until Monday, when a large portion of the folks that came to watch it
will be back at work. NBC’s got it, and they’re stuck with it, but I’d really love
to know whose brand of logic went into that piece of not so clever scheduling.
Oh well, at least the fireworks will be free, though a day late.
And
in conclusion… a collective sigh is breathed by all as she begins to wind down…
let’s go back to Joie Chitwood for just a moment. Joie, you were doing just
fine until this ugly subject came up. Please, concentrate for just a minute. I
am not the enemy, and I’ve given you props several times for several things,
but this crazy idea you let yourself be talked into isn’t going to be added to
that list. You know I’m talking about the Confederate Flag, or one of them
anyway. I guess you’re quite a bit younger than I am, since I remember your
grandfather bringing the thrill shows to the Edgerton Park Arena in Rochester
NY when I was still a youngster.
On
Wednesday, which it still is as I type this, we ran a
full-staff round table discussion on several topics, and this was one of them. In
the interest of time… mostly that of my readers… please check my part in that
particular part of the discussion. Anyone doing so might learn something. Since
that article came on site, I’ve received all manner of comments and each of
them was positive. I guarantee, it’s worth the read.
Last
night, with that article safely up and running, I saw on Jayski.com your plan
to offer a trade of sorts to anyone coming to Daytona with a Confederate Flag.
You say you’ll trade them an American Flag for their Confederate Flag. Joie,
think about that for a minute please? Anyone I know that has a Confederate Flag
also has an American Flag. The South is still part of America, last I knew.
Please, find out more about that Flag and what it represents to so many people
before taking the NASCAR stance that says “Ban it.” NASCAR was born in the
South, grew to astronomical proportions in the South, and only began to
backslide with they tried to move the sport of stock car racing nation-wide.
Insulting the entire fan base south of the Mason-Dixon Line will be economic
suicide for a sport already in the toilet and swirling fast. That’s one bit of
fireworks you can avoid. There’s still time.
That
advice gentle readers, comes from a lady born and raised in Western New York
State, which is almost as far north as you can go without a passport into
Canada. If I can understand the real meaning of the Confederate Flag, then everyone
else with an IQ higher than his age should at least get a glimmer of the truth.
There is no more flag-waving, God Bless America singing person in these United
States than this old gal, but I fully understand that the Confederate Flag has
done nothing to “offend” anyone.
Over
in South Carolina, a young man with obvious mental problems took it upon
himself to shoot up a church, killing nine people in the process. Like all of
you, my heart aches for all involved, and hopefully that young man will find
his senses and some religion in his heart before he dies. But… because one
person, quite obviously not “right in the head” wrapped himself in the
Confederate Flag, does that somehow make the flag guilty of anything? It is
not… and I repeat here for emphasis… NOT a racial symbol. Please, follow the
link given earlier and check out what was really behind that flag. It surely
wasn’t murdering church-going folks during a service. That idea would never
occur to a sane person, so please, let’s all be sane people and not compound
that already egregious act of lunacy.
This
is America, God Bless Her! It's not North vs South or East vs West. Last time I looked, we are still one nation, UNDER
GOD! Where is God Mr. France, when you want to toss aside and "Ban"
over a quarter of these "United States" of America? Are you for
banning Him too, as His name might "Offend" some of our newer
immigrants? Be very careful where you step, for if you tread on the wrong
snake, it will bite you. We have a flag for that too, you know. More than
one, as a matter of fact… just like the Flag of the Confederacy. This is but
one of many.
Time
now for our Classic Country Closeout, and breaking custom just a bit, our first
song isn’t done by a Country artist, but by an opera singer of some renown.
Many will know him better from Chicago Hope, but though a fine actor, singing
was always his first love. Here then, to start off our “Happy Birthday America”
closing, is Mandy Patinkin, doing what is actually 2 very moving songs that
carry a deep message in these troubled times. First song up is called “You’ve
Got to Be Carefully Taught”, from the musical, South Pacific. The
second half is another song that just seems natural in the sequence. It’s
called “Children Will Listen.”
Next
up is one from Red Foley doing his rendition of “Dixie”, which wasn’t
written as a battle song, but a song of pride in one particular part of this
great nation. You’ll hear no animosity in Red’s happy and bouncing tempo. I
chose this particular offering because the graphic behind it tells a story.
Here, you are looking at a map of the 13 states of the Confederacy. Those are
the same states Mr. France and gentle readers, which brought stock car racing
and NASCAR to be. They are also the very same states from which comes the music
you hear here each week. From Virginia to Texas, Country Music comes from
somewhere illustrated on that map… a map of Dixleland!
Next
in the queue is one with which most of us are familiar. It was arranged in
medley form by Mickey Newberry and performed by him as well, but the much
better known rendition came from that other “King”, Elvis Presley. For today, I
chose neither. This offering of “American Trilogy” comes from Larry
Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, as performed on one edition of Country Music
Reunion. This one always breaks my heart a bit. That baby’s Daddy should not be
bound to die. Let’s heal the wounds, not make them deeper.
And
then there’s this one, written by Woody Guthrie and performed beautifully here
by the New Christy Minstrels,,, “This Land is Your Land; This Land is My
Land.” Hear the message. America does not belong to either North or South… she was made for you and me, and everyone like us…
Americans! Let’s treat her like she matters, not rip her apart.
Finally,
let’s all wish America… all of it… a very Happy Birthday, as we listen to the
strains of “The Songbird of the South”, Miss Kate Smith, singing as only she
can, “God
Bless America.” Please note as the pictures change, that they come from
everywhere in this great land… North, South, East and West. No one is excluded.
No one!
See y’all at the
Firecracker!
Happy Birthday America!
Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay