Beside the Rising Tide: There’s Nothing Normal About NASCAR’s New Normal
With little fanfare, a good deal of resentment and some limited debate on both sides of the issue, an important anniversary passed by this weekend. …
By Matt McLaughlin
Objects in the Rear-View Mirror: Everything Old Is New Again
This week, gentle readers, I ask as I have many times before, for your kind indulgence if it sometimes seems I spend more time looking …
Beside the Rising Tide: Objects In the Rearview Mirror
The First Law of Stuff states unequivocally that the amount of stuff you have will always be greater than the amount of room you have …
Beside the Rising Tide: A Few for the Road
Last week, we discussed the curious phenomenon of suddenly disappearing swaths of NASCAR fans. NASCAR is apparently aware of and somewhat alarmed by this trend. …
Beside the Rising Tide: Hey, Where Did Everybody Go?
There’s an element of grim curiosity to it over the last few years, but I still search out the TV ratings for each week’s Cup …
Beside the Rising Tide: The Raw Emotions of Dale Earnhardt’s Death 20 Years Later
Time flies. Tempus fugit. So my well-intended, if not nearly constantly intoxicated freshman Latin teacher taught me back when I attended a prep-school on Philadelphia’s …
Beside the Rising Tide: Has The Busch Clash Outlived Its Use?
Perhaps it’s related to the Chaos Theory, but left to their own devices, once simple ideas tend to become bloated, overly-complicated and less fun than …
Beside the Rising Tide: The Best of Everything
Welcome loyal readers to the last regularly scheduled 2020 function for Club 61; to whit, my last weekly column for 2020. In honor of the …
Beside the Rising Tide: NASCAR’s Famous Final Scene – 2020 Edition
To quote Charles Dickens; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the …
Beside the Rising Tide: The Home Stretch
I’ve been alive 61 years now and writing about stock car racing for the last 25 of them. I don’t know why I still get …