I first met Darrell Waltrip when he was still in his teens, racing on Sunday evenings at Kentucky Motor Speedway near Whitesville. A bunch from Louisville used to go down there every weekend, and, when I didn’t have to be somewhere else with ARCA, I went with them. It was pretty obvious even then that …
We aren’t reaching too far back this time, but I did promise last week in a response to Kenny Wallace‘s driver diary that I would tell the story about how I broke a couple of ribs at Bristol back in 2002 and it was really Kenny’s fault. Let me preface this by saying I love …
From the wild (Michael McDowell‘s crash) to the wacky (Kyle Busch spouting off… again), here’s your guide to the past weekend of NASCAR television at its best, its worst, and its most confusing down in the Lone Star State. The Good The best part of the coverage down in Texas was the professional way that …
One of the more interesting people I’ve been privileged to meet in my 50-plus years in this sport was the late Tiny Lund, the big affable guy originally from Iowa who simply loved to race – anywhere, anytime, any kind of car. I first met him when he came to Salem (Ind.) Speedway to race …
While most of Martinsville was a misty mess of rain, clouds and fog, my TV signal was coming through crystal clear. During a week filled with near misses, here’s a look at some things during the past week of TV coverage that were spot on – as well as some criticisms of what missed the …
From some notes on the internet, phone calls, and e-mails, I’m one of those who has learned that Dick Trickle is apparently having some chest and/or intestinal tract problems. The man himself, I’m told, isn’t worried; in fact, he’s told everyone things are fine. Trickle had a hip replacement recently, and the troubles started after …
Probably the best thing about racing television coverage over the Easter weekend, in my humble opinion, was the introduction of “NASCAR Confidential” by SPEED on Sunday evening. This was a fresh look at the 2008 Daytona 500, with some insights from some interesting people, including legendary photographer Warren T. Taylor. Taylor hasn’t missed a Great …
I mentioned in the TV column a week or so back that the last time I was on a pit crew, we had side windows, quarter glass and wing vents. That led to a phone call asking “When were you on a pit crew?” Well, this is really driven to the past, because the last …
I suppose some folks considered the FOX telecast of the Food City 500 at Bristol to be the best so far this season, since Darrell Waltrip couldn’t talk much. Personally, I sort of like listening to DW (but could do without him bursting into song now and then). In fact, the best part of the …
Had one of those moments on Friday when you suddenly remember something that happened 20 or 30 years ago, and connect it with what was just said. Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds were talking about the fact that chrome wheels aren’t allowed in NASCAR competition, with DW explaining that his brother’s wheels had …
Starting this week, Frontstretch asked me if I’d like to try writing a TV column. OK. My policy has always been to try anything once, and twice if it was fun the first time. I’m not sure I’m the right guy to go criticizing TV coverage of NASCAR racing, though. Why? Because I go back …
I grew up in Louisville, Ky., and my father and mother started taking me to what they called the “hardtop” races at the Jeffersonville (Ind.) Sportsdrome when I was 10 years old – in 1949. I was hooked from the start. Those hardtops were mostly 1939 and ’40 Fords and Mercurys, with an occasional ’39 …
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com