The summer was almost over and the waves of Lake Huron gently curled and rolled onto the white sand beaches of East Tawas, Michigan. It was August 31, 1964, and we were planning our next cruise before heading home. Was it going to be the pier or Main Street? We sat there on the shore listening to “The House of the Rising Sun” on our Philco transistor radio talking about girls and cars, swapping lies about our conquests, always trying to outdo the other guy.

Suddenly the music was interrupted by a news flash that said Don Garlits had set a quarter mile record of 200 mph at Island Dragway in Great Meadows, N.J. The announcer seemed out of breath, hardly able to contain himself. We looked at one another and wondered how such a feat was possible. Garlits had gone where no man had ever gone before and it was the stuff of legends as far as we were concerned. It warranted a special news report that was tailor made for a motley group of Detroit 16 year-olds who thrived on a need for speed at a time when the automobile was more than just a means of conveyance from Point A to Point B.

From Ted’s Drive-In at the northern end of Woodward to the Totem Pole in Royal Oak, the story seemed to become larger than life as it was told and retold from Eight Mile to Square Lake Road. For street racers it was an event that rivaled the first man in space. The “quarter-milers” had a hero, someone to look up to, someone to emulate. He was one of us.

It’s difficult to imagine any radio station interrupting their playlist to announce such an event today, the significance to the populace being way down on the list of daily newsworthy happenings to all but a few gearheads who still maintain the lifestyle that has fallen from favor in the “green” world which surrounds us.

The primal excitement of top fuel drag racing continues to this day at strips throughout the country and it was once again evident at the recent FRAM Nationals that fast times and quarter-mile highs are available for the price of a ticket, an E-ticket of sorts that rekindled memories of that day 45 years ago when a simple guy from Tampa Florida accomplished something that others continue to strive for today. It all seemed so important in 1964 and for three days in July 2009 it became important once again.

Photos by J. R. Andres, Nate Jacobsen, Deborah Hepper

The ongoing saga of Mayfield vs. NASCAR took another turn when U.S. District Court Judge, Graham Mullen, signed a temporary injunction allowing Jeremy Mayfield to compete in this weekend’s NASCAR race at Daytona after being suspended two months ago for a failed drug test. Funny thing ... Mayfield didn’t enter the race. Sources close to the situation said it had to do with sponsorships but maybe there were other factors that no one’s talking about that made him sit this one out.

The circus atmosphere that has surrounded this matter from the start has polarized a number of factions within the racing community and brought to light some important issues that will surely be addressed when this whole thing is finally in everyone’s rear view mirror. At the heart of the matter is NASCAR, a family owned organization that sets the rules and the policies that everyone has to play by. For sixty years the France’s have guided the sport from humble beginnings to a place of prominence and like it or not, their decisions are final, or so they thought.

Jeremy Mayfield decided to contest his suspension after testing positive for a “recreational” drug and like Don Quixote has committed himself to clearing his name but there are many windmills yet to conquer before he, Rocinante and Sancho can rest easy once again, secure in knowing they fought the good fight for truth, justice and righteousness.

Many believe that Mayfield’s career is effectively over at this point, regardless of the final outcome and several drivers, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Robby Gordon, recently submitted affidavits stating they are not “willing to put my life at risk driving a race car on a NASCAR track with drivers testing positive for drugs that diminish their capacity to drive a race car.” No one can blame them. Others think that Mayfield is the victim of NASCAR demagogues who arbitrarily make decisions without offering any recourse for the accused to pursue the matter any further. These individuals are convinced that Mayfield effectively got the short end of the stick and the decision to keep him off the track was one more example of NASCAR’s excessive iron-handed style of doing things.

At this point, NASCAR has not indicated what its next move will be and the facts remain sketchy as to whether Mayfield did, in fact, have an illegal substance in his system. It’s clear that both sides are committed to seeing it through to the end and have the matter decided in court. When that time comes, one can only hope that something is learned by both sides in order to avoid the possibility of more windmills being built in the future.

This song line (with a few changes) from the mid 1960’s motorcycle commercial was a portent of things to come when Honda and several other Japanese manufacturers began to promote their two-wheeled products in the U.S. The English were already here at that time with Norton, BSA and Triumph and of course, there was Harley Davidson, a time honored American company that eventually saw their once secure market share slip away with each passing year. It took a while but the populace in North America became accustomed to names like Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha, and that was just the beginning.

Over in the four-wheeled world, VW, Simca and Renault led a similar invasion but their numbers were small and the radar screens of the Big Three hardly even noticed the blips. There was a lot of denial then about the long term impact these brands would eventually have upon the automotive industry in this country and most of the car buying public continued to remain true blue to the Dodges, Fords and Chevys that were made in the good old USA in spite of it all. No harm/no foul or so they thought.

In light of the subsequent inundation of off shore products, it wasn’t surprising that in 2006 Toyota became involved in NASCAR, a racing fraternity of cars and individuals who cut their teeth on name brands manufactured domestically. After all, Toyotas are made here now so why shouldn’t they be allowed to race alongside Impalas, Chargers and Fusions? Don’t you know that they’re built by Americans and they pay taxes and they help the economy?

There are a couple of ways to look at this issue since Toyota is already a part of the scene and the hue and cry against their inclusion in NASCAR has already waned but a larger issue remains that no one seems to notice on their radar screens. Once again, it appears that another door has been opened by NASCAR to the likes of VW, Mercedes, Honda, BMW and Hyundai. Will Daewoo be next? What about Opel and Fiat and Lexus?

Sure, GM and Chrysler need to cut back their sponsorships because it’s hard to justify that kind of expenditure when you’re laying off people and dealerships are rapidly closing, but are the powers that be in NASCAR so misguided that they are willing to (once again) dilute a staple of the American landscape even further with brands so far removed from what this sport is all about? If you do, you might as well align yourself with Formula One, a series without a people and a country to call its own.

This story has been hashed and rehashed over and over again by the media since the recent meltdown in Nashville but it’s something that just won’t go away, sort of like a trick birthday candle that refuses to be blown out. And why is that? It’s because a person of prominence in the NASCAR world continues to demonstrate an inability to recognize that the course of behavior he’s chosen doesn’t make him the hip “happening” leading edge bon vivant he considers himself to be. His boorish and tiresome behavior doesn’t seem to bother Gibb’s Racing, his Mars Candy sponsor or Toyota, either. If they’ve said something, it doesn’t seem to matter. After all, why squeeze a winner? They couldn’t bear the thought of him jumping ship. Think of all the money involved. Think of the lost revenue.

So the ship continues to sail along, undaunted and never wavering with “K the Younger’ at the helm, completely oblivious and unaware of the fact that he won’t be able to steer clear of each and every iceberg that looms before him. Convinced that he’s unstoppable and unable to sink why slow down, who cares about the warnings of the navigator? Full speed ahead!!

Records were set this past Tuesday in Charlotte but they weren’t the ones Carl Long has been trying to set for many years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Circuit. Long, part-time driver and independent car owner, was tagged with a 12 race suspension and a 200 points penalty along with a $200,000.00 fine levied against his crew chief, Charles Swing, who was recently admitted to a hospital with heart problems on or about the time of the ruling by the National Stock Car Racing Commission.

The saga began on May 15th at Charlotte during practice for the All Star Race when the engine let go, prompting an inspection by NASCAR, who found it to be 0.17 over the maximum of 358 cubic inches. It’s interesting to note that Long, at that point, could have packed things up and left instead of allowing the officials to spec out the engine.

Rules are rules but one has to wonder if Long is a scapegoat, unlucky or merely a person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. NASCAR is very clear about powerplant size (350 cubic inches with 8 cubic inch leeway to allow for variances) and for the first time in 18 years an engine was found to be over the limit. It’s also the first time a driver was sanctioned in such a way even though some feel he was thrown a bone by the Commission allowing him to still compete in the Nationwide and Camping World Series.

Traditionally, rules are instituted to insure compliance and when necessary, provide guidelines for corrective action. In the view of this writer they are not intended to sentence someone to life imprisonment for a simple assault. Sure he should have checked the engine himself even though long time builder Ernie Elliot certified that it was correct but by no measure of fairness and reality should a ruling, any ruling, be so stiff as to threaten the very existence of a team that had already been struggling just to make ends meet week in, week out.

All of this raises an interesting question. Does anyone really believe the Commission would have enacted the same ruling if the driver had been Jimmie Johnson or Kyle Busch or Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

He was the guy who was going to pick up where his father left off. He was the guy positioned to attain greatness. He was the guy who had the talent and the means to carry on the Earnhardt tradition for yet another generation. If this were the case, then what happened to the driver and the expectations for success the racing world have saddled him with for the past eight years?

Living in the shadow of Dale Sr. hasn’t been easy. There was the messy divorce from DEI and then the honeymoon with the Hendrick organization that now seems frazzled and rudderless. There have been calls for the removal of cousin and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. as a possible solution but RH hasn’t decided to go there yet. Junior seems distracted at times and with one win in the last 103 outings, even with decent equipment, there seems to be more than meets the eye and now even the Junior Nation is pressing him for an explanation of why he has become their hard luck kid, week in and week out.

The truth of the matter might lie within Junior himself, the victim if you will, of the pressure and the never-ending hype he has had to contend with. NASCAR’s most popular driver is expected to consistently perform at a level far above that of his teammates, and his peers and the fans want him to be everything they imagine him to be; the reincarnation of his father.

It’s not unreasonable to say that the fame and mystique associated with the Earnhardt name has in some ways been a curse for Dale Junior. Even the fact that he’s called Junior means he has to prove himself in ways the drivers of the other 42 cars don’t. If they and the fans and the media could view things through the same set of glasses he does, the concept of pity would never be mentioned. Dale doesn’t want it and he sure doesn’t deserve it.

There have been times in the past when automobile manufacturers have moved in and out of NASCAR competition based upon either costs or rule changes but never has there been a time when a brand stepped out of line due to bankruptcy. Such is the dilemma facing Dodge’s parent company, Daimler-Chrysler, who recently filed for protection under Chapter 11.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Kurt Busch who presently occupies the number one position in the Sprint Cup Series driver standings, his Penske team, Gillett/Evernham and Richard Petty Motorsports. Everyone has been told by Dodge that it’s business as usual but you’ve got to think that in the back of their minds there’s a lot of doubt about what the future holds. What about engine and aero development? What about sponsorships? What about…? The list goes on. The situation isn’t much better on the GM side either, with plant closings and workers being laid off. How will that affect their participation in NASCAR?

There’s no point in re-hashing the reasons why things are the way they are because that’s already been done. What is important is how the proposed merger with Fiat will affect Dodge’s involvement in motorsports. Will there be a desire on behalf of the Italian automaker to continue fronting the cash necessary in light of the economic crisis or will a decision be made to pull the plug? That would trim the field to Ford, Chevy and Toyota. If GM decides to do the same, we’re looking at Ford and Toyota.

The fans look at this situation from a very different standpoint than the manufacturers: brand loyalties and variety vis-à-vis profit from sales. It’s always been this way and up until now they have been able to live next door to one another when times were good. Today that’s not the case because the bottom line was always in possession of the trump card. Let’s hope it doesn’t get thrown down.

There’s word going around that you’re thinking about becoming a NASCAR driver. Please say it ain’t true. We know you’re a decent driver in the IndyCar Series and that you’ve won at least one race in the five years you’ve been there, but NASCAR?

We thought that with all your endorsements and the adulation afforded you, you’d want to stay there and build up your resume a little bit more, maybe even win an Indianapolis 500 race, before you decided to mix it up with the “good ol’ boys”. Have you considered coming up through the ranks to get a feel for what it takes to throw around a 3400 pound car as opposed to your own that weighs a mere 1565, or did you want to dispense with the Camping World and Nationwide Series altogether and just start at the top?

We imagine that NASCAR would welcome you. Just think of all the attention you’d get ... and the endorsements?

We would like to see women racing in NASCAR, too, but there are others, past and present, like Janet Guthrie, Louise Smith, Shawna Robinson, Erin Crocker and Chrissy Wallace who came up through the ranks, like their male counterparts, to develop their skills and pay their dues before they were mentally and physically prepared to take on such a demanding sport. Even with their experience, Erin and Chrissy are still trying to secure solid sponsorships and the A-list status that goes along with it.

It’s contract renegotiating time for you this year. Use the opportunity to sign on with your friends at Andretti Green for another year or two and prove to the rest that you have what it takes to be a NASCAR driver and not just a female NASCAR driver.

What was it about this 2.66 mile racetrack that resulted in a near catastrophe this past Sunday? SAFER barriers, roof flaps and restrictor plates were supposed to eliminate the bedlam of years past but Talladega still remains one step away from disaster in the minds of many. Will the answer lie in what’s done after someone gets killed or is there another way to avoid the inevitable before it’s too late?

In 1987, Bobby Allison earned a few frequent flyer miles when he went airborne and slammed into the fence not far from where Edwards did, which led to restrictor plates being mandated for Talladega and Daytona that same year. It brought the speeds down but in recent years the cars have been inching up toward 200 mph and beyond once again. In 1994, roof flaps came into reality to prevent further excursions into the upper atmosphere and in 2002, Talladega went through an extreme makeover when SAFER barriers were added to decrease the effects of wall impacts. That sounds great but there’s one wild card left in the deck and that’s the drivers themselves.

Like all living things on this planet, race drivers find a way around obstacles that are put in their way and the ones at NASCAR are more adept than most. We’re not talking about breaking the rules here; we’re talking about maximizing what you already have at your disposal. It became apparent in restrictor plate races that your ability to move toward the front of the parade required a “buddy” and a whole lot of bump drafting. Find one and you are good for an additional 5-7 mph. This tactic works fine as long as nobody makes a mistake. Get out of shape and you’ll send a sizeable number of your peers to the garage for the remainder of the day.

Cutting too fine of a line, late in the race can make you either a hero or the master of disaster and NASCAR had left it up to the drivers to establish an unwritten rule as to what was acceptable when one chose to engage in the art of bump drafting. It seems at this point that over-aggressiveness and risk-taking tends to override reason to the extent that the intervention of a higher power is needed to avert something no one would ever want to see.

It seemed unlikely that Mark Martin would ever stand a real chance of winning. After all, he’s 50 years old. Sure he has had a noteworthy past, sure he knows how to negotiate his way around the high banked turns of Talladega and Charlotte, sure he has the desire and sure he has some Hendrick prepared equipment to work with now but was all that really going to be enough to pave his way to victory lane, even once? The testosterone level alone that’s omnipresent in the NASCAR garage on any given day would seem sufficient to move those of his ilk to the back of the bus and keep them there with the rest of the field fillers like Cope, Marlin and Andretti.

Money can buy a lot of things and in the case of NASCAR; the coin of the realm is speed. After leaving Roush, Martin retired and then returned on more than one occasion to race with equipment that was marginal in preparation and short on funding. For a lot of fans it really didn’t matter, though. It was just good to see him back once again mixing it up with the kids. Little did they know that there was still a tiger lingering in the tank, waiting for a chance to reassert himself once the planets were in alignment and the moon was full and bright.

. . . Danny “Chocolate” Myers that is. I don’t always agree with the things I hear on Sirius NASCAR Radio but today “Chocolate” had some comments worth repeating from this afternoon’s call-in radio show. Once again, there was a controversy during this weekend’s Nationwide race in Nashville and it was no surprise that Kyle Busch was at the center of it. Keep in mind that Busch’s 19 year old teammate, Joey Logano, came in first and Busch, a dismal second or that’s the way it seemed during the post race interview, when Busch the Younger demonstrated his complete lack of charm, sportsmanship and social appropriateness. It was glaringly apparent that the driver of the #18 car was majorly “ticked” about coming in second and he made it abundantly clear that Logano didn’t deserve the win as much as he did.

Many of the callers today felt that Busch was out of line as well and “Chocolate” took up their cause, saying that if he (Busch) is going to accept the millions he’s paid and if he’s going to live in the house by the lake, then he owes it to the fans to live with the ups and the downs the wheel of fortune bestows upon him. Sure Busch has a right to his opinion and sure he has to live with the results of his behavior but if you can’t, won’t or don’t have anything to say that’s going to further your own career, zip it, and don’t do your best to minimize your own teammate’s accomplishments. Accept the fact that the kid flat out drove you and leave it at that.

Richard Petty had a few words to say on Fox’s “Sean Hannity’s America” program last evening when he appeared as a member on the show’s Great American Panel segment. When asked about this country’s desire to become independent from its ties to foreign oil, he stated, “It’s not that we don’t already have enough oil here to be self sufficient ... if they’d (the government) just turn us loose, we’ll do it” ... “It’s hard to change what we’re doing now because we’ve got used to doing it that way”. In regard to the deep bow Obama made (which the White House denies) when meeting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at the G20 conference in London, Petty added, “it took a lot to get us where we’re at, and the U.S. got to be where it is by not bowing down to anyone ... we’re not going to give that up just to be friendly”.

Petty presented Sean Hannity with one of his signature cowboy hats at the conclusion of the program at which time the host said he was going to use it as a fundraiser for his favorite charity, Freedom Alliance, which benefits children who have lost family members through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was a welcome change to hear from an individual who views the world in terms of simple logic and common sense. The “experts” might learn a thing or two if they were willing to adopt this approach the next time they gather to address the issues this world faces.

It was a long time coming, 47 races in fact, since Jeff Gordon was last able to drive into Victory Lane. Never before was there such a lull in his career; never before did he have to listen to waves of criticism about him losing his focus and his commitment; never before did the champagne taste so good.

His victory today at Texas has quieted those who were forecasting that his shooting star was slowly being consumed in the atmosphere on its way back down to earth. One victory doesn’t make a season but it was clear that 2009 is going to be very kind to the kid from Vallejo California. The skill, mastery and preparation that has always been the hallmark of Hendricks Motorsports came together once again through the restructuring efforts of Steve Letarte who made sure, during the off-season, that this year wasn’t going to be a repeat of 2008. The star that was once threatened with extinction has assumed a new orbit, one leading it even closer to the place of prominence it once occupied.

David Caraviello’s recent article, “Fallacy of an Abandoned Past” on www.NASCAR.com made some interesting points regarding his contention that there’s a sizable contingent of race fans who have been wrongly “hammering NASCAR for abandoning its past”. Caraviello then goes on to express his belief that this is not necessarily the case because there are still many time honored tracks in operation today, like Martinsville (NASCAR), Darlington (NASCAR), Rockingham (ARCA/formally NASCAR), Indianapolis (IRL/NASCAR), Bristol (NASCAR) and so on that represent preserved time capsules of the past. According to his figures, 14 out of the present 22 Sprint Cup Series tracks were built before 1970. No one can dispute the fact that NASCAR, unlike MLB, NHL, MBA and NFL hasn’t held onto a preservationist stance, steering clear of the fickleness other major professional sports organizations have displayed by jumping towns and tearing down revered stadiums and arenas for reasons that appear, on the surface to generations of fans living there, thoughtless and arbitrary at best.

Caraviello’s points are well taken but he’s missing the other half of the equation, one that has nothing to do with the venues in which these races take place, one that has nothing to do with better food concessions, mega parking lots or luxury suites. It has everything to do with the people that pay the money to see these races.

NASCAR’s roots are deeply imbedded in the lore and the mores of the South, predicated upon non-elitist ideals. It was a sport for the common man and his family, one that embraced an acceptable connection with the hard edged reality and craziness that characterized the “shine” industry, practiced on country roads throughout the southeast. On weekends, it took the place of the radio, later the TV. It was a place to go to see friends and to be seen in rural areas that often offered little more. Local heroes played to the crowds on Saturday night and went back to their mundane, repetitive minimum wage jobs on Monday.

Over time, a sport that was mostly an afterthought on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” became the stuff of dreams for sponsors and investment companies who were no longer color blind to the green that grew wild in them thar hills and before long, fans found themselves squeezed out by fences, staggering ticket prices and hard aluminum benches. Sure, most of the old racetracks still looked the same. You could even close your eyes for a moment and imagine Fireball or Petty or Pearson or Mantz or Yarborough blasting by but when you opened them, the reality was that you weren’t going to get an autograph, the food you ate was going to stay with you for a day and any attempt to say a word to your hero was going to be met with a rebuke from a security guard that probably didn’t share your passion for the sport.

The present financial downturn has been catastrophic in so many ways to so many people but even these clouds have a proverbial “silver lining”. It has forced all of us to re-evaluate and take a look at what’s really important in our own lives and to find ways of doing more with less. Not being the exception, NASCAR has had to do the same and it has become clear that continued growth in the racing industry hinges upon not just keeping the old tracks in operation but upon redirecting energies toward re-engaging and celebrating the fans and their families in a way that will make every race for them the stuff that will be passed on for generations to come. From 1948 onward, this approach came natural during NASCAR’s infancy and adolescence. Looking back to what made it so appealing then can provide the means to make it even more appealing in the future.

C’mon Kyle, it was only a painted white line on the racetrack but you crossed it today in Martinsville – that line of commitment to yourself, your sponsor, your fans and to the rules of the sport. NASCAR didn’t want you to engage in some mid-race bodywork by scrubbing the k-wall just to straighten out your rear fender after it was redesigned by Ron Hornaday’s Chevrolet with only a few laps remaining in the rain delayed Kroger 250. It looked like you were coming into the pits but you knew you only wanted to win, you wanted to stop your tire from rubbing, you wanted to maintain your points lead in the CAMPING WORLD Truck Series. You figured everyone, especially NASCAR, would understand your reason for doing so but after you received the penalty for the infraction and at the end of the race, got out of your truck, threw your helmet in the rear bed and literally ran across the track for sanctuary, you once again said you didn’t care what anyone thought of you.

There seems to be a disconnect between your behavior and what the MARS, Incorporated etiquette coaches have been trying to teach you all along, and it looks like you need to return to the classroom for a refresher course straight away.

It might just be another “that’s racin” situation, the overused catch-all phrase that explains and makes sense of racetrack aberrations that sometimes defy description or then again, it might be explained away in terms of the behavior exhibited by one who lacks a measurable amount of impulse control.

We’re on top of the world when we own hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place, your opponent is up to his neck in unpaid mortgages, besides being low on cash, and he just landed on your property late in the game. When the situation is reversed, we want to throw down our game piece, knock everything off the board and storm out of the room. I did that when I was 10 years old but I sure as hell didn’t do it when I was 23 years old.

It was interesting to hear the caller’s comments on today’s SIRIUS NASCAR Radio about Kyle Busch’s attitude and his “get out of the way” driving tactics. Busch the Younger supposedly went on record recently saying that he didn’t care whether he was liked or disliked, adding that he wasn’t prepared to assume the burden of being the most popular SPRINT Cup driver, having to live up to the expectations of the NASCAR Nation and all that. This seemed to grind the sensibilities of a lot of fans but do they have anything to really be upset about?

Those who initially considered Kyle a flash in the pan, slathered with beginner’s luck, now have to concede the fact that he truly is talented on the track. His public relations skills, on the other hand, leave considerable room for improvement by any measure of the stick. Even so, who can deny that there are many similarities between “The Wild Child” and Earnhardt Sr.? The “get out of the way” driving style was perfected and implemented by “The Intimidator” for years on end and now there’s a wunderkind doing the same thing? That’s not acceptable in the minds of many. If you look beneath the surface, the only difference: one is named Busch and the other is named Earnhardt.

What a difference a year makes. Who would have thought that: 1) tickets were going to be made available to the denizens of Thunder Valley for the first time in 13 years, and 2) Travis Kvapil’s loss of the Golden Corral sponsorship for his Yates Ford Fusion may be the first harbinger of the recessional malaise that’s beginning to tighten its grip upon those, whose performances fail to impress the keepers of the corporate bean vaults.

1. It’s beyond comprehension how any venue can sellout 160,000 seats for fifty-three straight events. Up until the last minute this year, Bristol wasn’t sure if it was going to make a Guinness Book record setting fifty-four straight but it did. The positive in all of this was that a significant number of corporate sponsors decided to do something else this weekend, thus making room for those that had been shut out the ticket competition for over a decade. A little bit of “corporate conscience”, either intended or unintended, goes a long way today.

2. Like it or not, NASCAR’s top 35 “lock-in” rule has taken on a whole new meaning following the Food City 500 because those that were assured a spot in the program for the first six races this year, based upon last year’s performance must now be in the top 35, based upon their performance in 2009. This means that some teams may be walking the proverbial plank of the ship scheduled to arrive in Martinsville next weekend. To make matters worse, drivers like Kvapil, Menard, Mayfield, Gilliland, LaBonte and Bodine are now faced with a no warranty situation that will not only not guarantee their place in the field but also threaten the commitment of sponsors who are jittery about supplying the funds necessary for them to continue anyway.

There’s competition amongst the rodents and there’s room for only one of them in town. It’s been twenty-nine years since so much attention has been heaped upon a member of the Geomyidae family. Mr. Gopher reigned supreme in “Caddyshack” but there are some new kids in town and they’ve taken up residence on the FOX-NASCAR Channel.

Digger, FOX’s gopher groundskeeper, maintains the grassy areas around the embedded raceway minicams and pops up making his presence known when there is a break in the action. He was a B-list attraction in 2008 but like most of his ilk, he’s managed to attract four additional groupies with names like; Lumpy Wheels, Marbles, Grampa and Annie aka Digette, catapulting himself and his pals to A-list status in 2009, as evidenced by the twenty-five or so licensed products that are now available for sale.

What began as just a mindless diversion, now has become a point of contention for many NASCAR devotees, who contend that cameo appearances of cartoon characters, during race broadcasts, have no place on, under or around the track.

What do you think?