The "NO" List

Lately I'm finding that I'm becoming less tolerant of ignorant people, exorbitant prices on everything I buy, the lack of talent in the music industry, and traffic. Oh there's plenty of other things that get to me but these few are probably the things that concern me most. Before I go any further I have to ask that you not mistake this thread as just another negatively charged whine fest. I realize that occasionally I'll let emotions run the game and I find that some times I spiral out of control. Therefore after every rant that I go on I will lend what I feel is a small solution to the problem. It may not eradicate the situation but if anyone who feels the same way decides to contribute even the smallest of efforts, I have to believe we can have an affect on things. And believe in this I must, otherwise I am doomed to become that grumpy old man that people told me I'd be. The one that kids would throw apples at his house.

So now it's with great pleasure that I bring you what I affectionately call The "NO" List. And depending on what side of 30 years old you find yourself on you're sure to associate with one or two of them. Whether I entertain or enlighten you I'll confide in knowing that I've accomplished what I set out to do. If I offend anyone in the process all I can extend is my sincerest apology. My intentions were never to set out and crucify anyone here but if you sound like the person, the entity, or a corporation that I could be referring to you may have to take a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself if the shoe fits.


No Tom Cruise

This guy is really beginning to bug me. Scientologists in general, but this guy is the poster boy for crazy. I have to wonder every time he says anything if he honestly believes the garbage that comes out of his own mouth. to reference the fact that Scientologists are the only beings that can stop and help someone as they drive by an accident scene is ridiculous. Hey Tom, I'm a Firefighter and an EMT and I can say with all confidence that I myself as well as my brothers and sisters out there can manage just fine. And I don't know of a single Scientologist in the bunch. And it's not just the professionals but good Samaritans who stop and help as well. Contrary to your warped beliefs these people do exist in our world. So what do you and LRH think of that?

To insinuate that Scientologists are so much more supreme than others in this world is an absolute joke. But I guess when your shelling out an obscene amount of money for what you believe is enlightenment one is bound to cling to false promises and brain-washing to feel their self worth. This whole cult must be some pretty powerful stuff because they apparently have quite the following and can boast other big name celebrities like John Travolta, Halle Berry, and Wil Smith. All of these people I respect and enjoy as entertainers but what I can't understand is why are they so soft spoken while Tom is a raging lunatic? Does he believe in his mind that he's a couple thousand bucks short of becoming the next ultimate ecclesiastical authority? And if so, does his holiness Mr. Miscavige know of this?

My solution to this is simple. I'm boycotting all that is Tom, and you should as well. Owning his merchandise and seeing his movies at the box office just puts more money in this twisted little mad man's pocket. Money that will no doubt end up in the hands of his beloved cult and before you know it your entire sub division is buzzing with the rhetoric of these weirdos. I don't know about you but my neighborhood is no place for spaceships, aliens, or anal probes and I'd like to keep it that way.


No Drifting

What is this craze about watching these so-called athletes spin a car around a track on the verge of being totally out of control. Some might argue this very thing is what separates all other drivers from them in the fact that they, the Drifters, are on the very edge of the car's abilities at all times. I have to disagree. It's one thing to be able to perform at the threshold of your car's ability. Meaning going as fast as the vehicle will allow while being just one fraction of an inch from being out of control. This is what I would classify all drivers past and present who pilot purpose built race cars. Drifters on the other hand are always a fraction of an inch over that threshold while never really seeing the full potential of the vehicle. It's more like a circus side show if you will. Nothing more than a moderate speed ballet with a lot of tire smoke. If I wanted to see something like this I'd watch the wannabes leave the local dance club's parking lot at closing time.

Unfortunately I have no real solution to this one. There's nothing I can really do but ignore it if I don't enjoy it and hope that maybe someday the obsession will dwindle. I doubt it will happen anytime soon. This younger generation feels very strongly for their sport compacts and everything else that my generation believes to be nonsense. I can't fathom a drag strip that has more entries under two liters than the ground pounders of my time but that day is surely coming. Face it, all of the gearheads who enjoyed the muscle car days are dying off just as fast as the cars themselves. But it really doesn't matter whether it's cars, fashion, or music. Every generation in time has scratched their heads as to what the younger generation is thinking and I am undoubtedly no different.


No more appetite for oil

Reason number one, Hugo Chavez. What more is there really to say? This totalitarian communist is believed to be the reason for the global destabilization in oil prices resulting in our outrageous amounts we have to pay at the pumps. Chavez, who controls the hemisphere's largest oil reserves, is no doubt a stern opponent of the US. If we continue to rattle this guy's cage as I'm sure we will do, this combination could equate to even tougher times for us financially as well as the possibility of a missile with our name on it courtesy of Iran or any one of his friends in low places.

Reason number two, War. At least for the past three decades most of our wars have been fought over oil. It may not have been the direct initiative that led to the conflict but we have been known to jump in bed with a country and their people in hopes of sharing the wealth. We may not have seen eye to eye on everything with these cultures but we sucked it up and fought right along side them in hopes of assuring our continuous supply of crude. This is not to say that I'm anti-war and that I don't appreciate all that our troops are doing today and have been doing in the past for us. I feel when human rights are violated and atrocities are committed we very well should be there delivering a swift boot in the ass of our opponents. What we don't need to do is send more young men and women home in boxes who's missions were to defend oil fields and their oil-rich countries.

Reason number three, Pollution and the Greenhouse effect. Even if you're not a devout tree hugger or someone tuned in to our declining environment and it's resources you have to know what fossil fuel is doing to our planet. There are so many other ways to power our homes, cars, and towns, but we never seem to move forward with them. If politicians could do what's right for once, and cut their billion dollar embillical cord with big business giants we might stand a chance to explore other options and move toward a cleaner and more economical way to live.

So my idea on this one is not so simple. Both sides of the plan are pretty hard to swallow for most but how high does the price of a gallon of gas have to go before you'll react? I'm thinking it's pretty high because I still see plenty of single occupants in very large vehicles going to work every day.

The first stage of the plan is for everyone to go out and buy a bicycle or a Vespa. If you're fortunate enough like me to have country roads separate you from the office then a pedal bike is the way to go. If your commute is a little longer than you can handle then the Vespa might be the route for you. Either way you're choking up the atmosphere far less than you would in your Escalade, and with the pedal bike you're getting one hell of a great workout in the process. We're a society obsessed with our weight so why not kill two birds with one stone? And there is an abundance of cold weather clothing available to all of the hearty souls who choose to travel this way year-round. If not, car pooling or a smaller vehicle could surely help. This is one facet of change that we have control over. Unlike my second suggestion, only you and you alone have the power to make this change.

Suggestion number two: Move toward more nuclear power. I know when individuals think of this, visions of sterility or three-armed children are usually conjured up. The thing is people, Three Mile Island happened a long time ago and our technology as well as our awareness of how to safely operate these facilities have grown tremendously. Sure we stand a threat of having these large targets out there for our enemies to focus on but here's a news flash, they're going to try and find ways to strike us again even if we don't have them. What we can benefit from is some of the most affordable,clean, and efficient means of power on our planet. And with all the money that's saved we can invest in better security and fail safe systems to ensure that we won't see another incident like they did in Pennsylvania back in '79. The best part would be a decline in our country's reliance on fossil fuels and a lot less broken bank accounts because of it.


No China

My god why can't we figure out ways to manufacture goods right here in the good ol' USA as cheaply as China does. Oh I know why! because we don't violate people's rights and force them to work nineteen hour days for 6 days each week. We don't stack them in dormitories right on the company grounds and resort to cheap threatening tactics to constantly dock their wages. And call me crazy but I'm sure it could be tough to find people here willing to pledge their loyalty to you when you not only treat them like this, but you pay them about six cents an hour.

It's not only sickening to hear what they do to their own people, I'm also tired of what that country is doing to our economy. I can't find lead or steel anymore because we're selling our scrap in boat loads to the highest bidder. And those boats usually dock somewhere in China. The quality and workmanship of most of their products is substandard to say the least yet more and more people are either buying them or having their products made there. And good luck if you have a bright new idea and your low bidder in Shenzhen gets the job. Give them 60 days and your new mousetrap is being marketed to the world by them as well. And usually at lower prices!

Solution: Another tough one seeing that almost everything, or parts of it, are manufactured in that region. If you can sleep at night knowing that women and children worked themselves literally to death to make half of that cart of Wal-Mart goods you bought yesterday then stop reading here. If aiding in the abuse of human beings for a good bargain doesn't sit well with you then check your labels and thoroughly investigate where your next major purchase is coming from. It's time to walk the walk and talk the talk. If you really care about this country, the workers who are employed here, and the companies on our home soil, then show it and buy American. Who knows, along with saving our economy you might save some one's life.


No Politicians who don't deliver

Yeah like this is ever going to happen. Denny Hatch had a great little line on his last web post saying something to the tune of people suffering from Electile Dysfunction —Ed Zuckerman, Proprietor of “Government Policy Newslinks” to Denny Hatch, e-mail, January 23, 2008. This is the inability to become aroused over any of the choices for president put forth by either party in the 2008 election year. It's become harder and harder to pledge your allegiance to any side any more. I used to think I was about as Right as they come but I'm having a hard time with the choices I have in this election. None of them are really appealing to me.

Almost every President that I can remember has left the country in shambles when the keys to the nation have been passed on. And it's all a part of the fact that none of these individuals are or have been accountable for their words and actions. The big topic in this most recent presidential campaign (from both camps) has been the stance on illegal aliens. I really hope someone follows through on this one. I as well as millions of others in this great country of ours has grown tired of increasing health care costs and legal fees because of these people bedding down on our dime. Forgive me if I sound heartless as I really do feel for the people that come here and the hardships they had to endure in their country but if you're going to come here, come here legally. Every candidate has been puffing out their chests and declaring 60, 90, or 120 day time periods for these individuals to comply or face deportation. Great idea! I have no clue as to how they are actually going to do this but we'll leave the details up to them. This is what we pay them the big money to do. All I ask is that they themselves and their administration follow through.

But like the majority of politicians in this world who have broken countless promises to us I'm not expecting this to happen soon if at all. Once they're in office they become puppets for big oil, tobacco, or any other group who can line their campaign's pockets and assure a nice long candidacy. It's no longer an issue about the people and their needs and concerns, it's more about what's in their agenda.

My suggestion in all of this is that we the taxpayers, legal citizens, and voters need to be more accountable ourselves. It's one thing to sit with a group of co-workers at the water fountain and complain about this or write stories on a blog. It's another when you write your congressman or local politician and let them know how you feel and what you want to see being done. We also need to pay less attention to being part of any one side and more attention on the issues that a candidate plans on tackling. Regardless of their being left or right. There used to be a time when you wore your political position like a badge of honor and you didn't deviate from it no matter what. I think we need to put an end to this once and for all. It makes no sense any more since we have so many politicians who are Conservative Democrats and vice versa. Pay attention to what matters and maybe we'll find someone who'll make a difference.

No ELF (Earth Liberation Front)

Apparently the nut doesn't fall far from the tree. It seems as though the activists of decades past have spawned ignorant cry babies who are as much a threat to us as any other terrorist group in the world. Paint it any color you like. As long as you're disrupting the peaceful lives of individuals and destroying their property and livelihood then in my book you've left activist status and are now nothing more than a terrorist. Plain and simple.

Now I love this planet just as much as the next guy and I'm hoping there's going to be something left of it for my great grandchildren to enjoy. I just think there are more productive and resourceful ways of ensuring this. Most of which do not include incendiary devices.

So who are these people? It's tough to say so forget racial profiling on this one. They're every color, religion, and they come from many different backgrounds. Students, music teachers, soccer coaches, you name it. Anyone who has strong feelings against something or someone, and very little grey space to understand right from wrong is a good candidate. Sounds like any other menace to society now doesn't it? The only difference is that these individuals are cloaked in a polished suburban image that blends in nicely with their surroundings.

Although sometimes a bit spacey, many activists have very noble causes and feel very strongly about their issues and I can respect that. As long as your demonstrations target the right individual or corporation and nothing is harmed in the process, I feel you have every right to assemble and voice your opinions. But how do these morons from ELF even begin to believe that it's a fair trade off to fire bomb universities and burn down million dollar homes to prove their point? They're not even close to being part of the solution, just more of a problem.

The funny thing about these clueless people are that they come from all walks of life and they still couldn't muster up the collective IQ to do their homework before a job in 2001. They planted a devastating fire bomb at the University of Washington that destroyed its Center for Urban Horticulture and do you know why? It was because they believed researchers there were genetically engineering trees. They were wrong. And the question arises as to what could be so wrong with genetically engineering a tree? Cloning or genetically engineering a human? maybe, but a tree! Even if the university was involved in these types of studies I'm failing to understand what the issue is here. We need more trees in this world to begin with so I would think there are bigger tragedies to conquer. Luckily no one was hurt in the blast but if they keep up with this type of behavior it's just a matter of time before someone does. It might not be the individuals targeted but an innocent civilian, cop, or firefighter.

So my solution to this one is for all of you to get a life! Half of the stuff you're bickering about is trivial to begin with so find a cause that's worthwhile and try really hard not to blow anything up in the process. And if you just can't find it in yourselves to do this then maybe you should consider living elsewhere. That's the great thing about America. The door is not only opened to accept new citizens who want to embrace our way of life and taste freedom, it's open to throw out jackasses like yourselves who don't know how good they got it.

So Long 2007

It's that time of the year again, and it comes quicker and quicker it seems.

As in years past this is the time when we reflect on all that we've accomplished, failed to do, or brushed under the rug until next time. It's a time for resolutions, and in most cases very high expectations of ourselves in the upcoming year. Whether it's to call a friend after losing touch or losing weight after gaining a few, most of these missions we embark on seem trivial to some while being monumental to others. When I think of the amount of things on my plate alone I can easily see why I can't find time to better take care of myself or tie up some of the loose ends from resolution's past. I'm about three years behind on mine but I'm hoping this year will be my lucky one.

Whatever your resolutions are I hope you attain them. May your burdens be scarce and your joys be plenty. May your houses be filled with the love of family and the laughter of friends. And may you outperform any expectations of yourself and outrage all who don't believe in you.

Happy New Year!

The Health Insurance farce. What did happen to patient care?

Everybody knows how frustrating it is today when you have to visit the doctor's office or an emergency room. It comes as no surprise to anyone when the staff would rather have you bleed all over the floor to make certain that all the insurance forms are filled out properly rather than get you immediate attention. And then regardless of the discomfort you're in, outside of full blown cardiac arrest, you're herded into a waiting room for what seems like days.

For the most part it's not the health care professionals that I feel cause this bottleneck. I find it inconceivable that a doctor or their staff would enjoy the reams of paperwork that needs to be filled out on their patients when they visit. I mean you go to med school for how many years to become a paper jockey? I went to school for a fraction of that time to become an EMT and the last thing on my mind that I choose to do is the run report. You want to practice what you were taught to do. That's what brought you to the field in the first place!

The reason for this inconvenience is two-fold. The first being a need to cover themselves from a malpractice lawsuit and the second is the almighty dollar. I fully understand the first issue. Unlike our European friends we here in the USA live in a litigation crazy world where the loss of your livelihood is only a court appearance away. As aggravating as that alone is, it's the second issue that chaps my rump and a million others like me. It's the fact that the insurance companies are more interested in their bottom line than the policy holder's well being. Gone are the days of a lollipop and a twenty-five dollar office visit. Enter the days of forty-five dollar acetaminophen, aspirin to you and I but it sounds more expensive that way, and about a grand a day for the room alone. And we can't forget the plethora of individuals lined up with their hands out for everything from ten minute consultations to obscenely priced lab time.

It is truly a wonder how far we've come from the days of house calls and real compassion for the patient. Clinics and hospitals have forced everyone working within them to be so aware of their bottom line that they miss the real reason why a lot of them got into the field in the first place. I personally don't feel like I have an identity any more. They just stack them up and run them out so fast that they hardly get to know you. And if you are lucky enough to have the same family doctor for a period of more than a year, chances are you'll pay more out of your pocket sooner than you think when the policy changes and the new list of individuals who share in the plan does not include them.

This is the part where I step aside and let someone take over who writes a bit more eloquently than I do. Someone who's articles I really enjoy reading and who I think puts this whole thing in perfect perspective. It's by Denny Hatch, and he wrote an article titled “Sicko” — Did Michael Moore Get It Right? A Comparison of Emergency Rooms on Two Continents. Even though I'd be the first person to say that anything involving the words of Michael Moore wouldn't warrant my attention, I think you'll find it most interesting.

Click here to read original article

What's all the hype about?

Ten people on every street corner waiving nude photos of women that I can have in my hotel room in twenty minutes.(With most of these cards and flyers finding their way to the ground by midnight) Annoying individuals at every casino trying to sell me a timeshare. And prices for just about everything being so high you almost have to win big just to eat, drink, and sleep here.

If you haven't figured it out by now I'm talking about my trip to Las Vegas Nevada, Disneyland for adults. Chuck Palahniuk was quoted as saying that Vegas looks the way you'd imagine heaven must look at night. EHHHHHH! Wrong answer! Sorry Chuck, I'm a big fan but I hope that was the Satirist speaking when you made that comment.

In my book, heaven at night would include moonlight over surf and sand in some tropical location. Yeah that's it. Take a Corona beer commercial complete with a bucket of brews on ice, throw in yours truly on the hammock, and paint the sky black with only the moon and stars as a back light. Not a million candlepower of the Vegas strip. That my friends is about as close as one could get.

The trip was planned as business but being there for a week provided me time to walk around and see what all the fuss was about. And after all was seen and done I have to admit that the only thing I enjoyed was the climate. Put me anywhere in this world where it's sunny and 80 degrees and I'll be a happy man. I can do without the casinos and the impossible way of navigating them. The crowds everywhere you go. And if I want to get ripped off and pay $37.50 for a printed Hanes T-Shirt I can spare myself the three hour plane ride and get robbed right here at home. I'm not much of a show person either. Topless or fully clothed, I would much rather watch my grass grow than see a Broadway musical or some washed up cabaret singer in a smoke filled club.

Obviously more people than I truly do like all of this or else the town would have fallen off the map decades ago. I'm certain that once will be enough for me but I have a hard time understanding the need to go back again and again. Some people I know will make the trek many times each year and now that I've been there and taken it in I have to scratch my head more than ever.


One thing that did amuse me though is the honesty in the panhandlers. You don't see many of them, but when the local authorities or casino security haven't swept them away you'll find one on a pedestrian overpass or sitting off to the side of an establishment with their sign and cup looking for spare change. The thing that floored me more than once was when a couple of guys had signs that didn't read your average "Homeless, spare change needed, God bless you" type of thing. One said "It's hot! A beer and cheeseburger would be nice right about now" and my favorite, " I need your change for: a meal, alcohol, and a prostitute - and not necessarily in that order". What a guy! None of that "Please help me I have a 3 year old living in a bus station" kind of story. This man knew what he wanted and he wasn't ashamed to be up front about it. You would think expressing needs like that would get you nothing, but the funny thing was - his cup was the fullest out of all I've seen.

Rumor has it that the Las Vegas Tourism board could have members that answer to the name of Knuckles, and Ice-Pick. With that said, I want to make it very clear here that these are my personal opinions and my intention was never to insult anyone or condemn Vegas in general. I realize that a lot of people find this town exciting but I just don't find it my cup of tea. I felt compelled to say this because I'd really hate to have a guy named Tank Calabrese (of the New Jersey Calabrese's) show up at my door some night attempting to liberate me.

The "Old Guy's" turn at the wheel

All year I wrench on my son's kart and envy him for having the opportunity to do this at his age. Ever since I can remember I wanted to have something to do with racing. And when an uncle of mine purchased a kart and began competing with it back in the 70's I knew where I wanted to be.

So I pestered my father and saved my money but nothing ever came of it. Whether it was a lack of money, a lack of time, or my inability to stay focused on one thing and one thing only, the plan never came together. I had to wait until I was much older to pursue this dream.


Most of you who know me know that I gave up driving about 14 years ago after a luke warm career racing Formula Fords in the SCCA. Just before Sam was born, I sold everything I had and put it into our first house in preparation for a new life as a family and with it, the terrifying thought of being someone's father. There was no way we could afford to continue in the sport and more importantly, we couldn't afford to have one of us going out and risking our neck on the weekends. So with that I hung up the driving suit for good. And even though I can honestly say that I don't for one minute regret the decision I made, there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss it. Flash ahead 14 years and an opportunity just presented itself.


The annual Backwards Enduro at Badger Raceway is an event that we've had the unfortunate luck of not being able to attend in the past three years. It sounded like a blast. At the end of every race season the club puts on a fun only event where drivers take to the track in the opposite direction of how it's normally run. There's a Powder Puff class that we always thought my daughter would do well in, and an Enduro where my son could share his seat with one of his friends. And what about this Mechanics Race I thought? A quick talk with the troops about who wanted to race in what class and we quickly discovered that even though we could finally attend it, no one really wanted to compete. It looks like the kart is all my own!

Now again, anyone who knows me knows that even though the key word in this event is "fun" I was taking it much more seriously than that. I knew I had to find a seat to fit me but I didn't stop at that. I had to find out all the set-up specs for someone my size and I had to track down a larger pipe that would be less restrictive and be able to handle it's new payload. I dug my old safety equipment out of storage and dragged my family to the track to show them how it's done.

The biggest mistake anyone can make when getting into one of these things is assuming that driving a much smaller and lower powered kart over a race car is going to be a walk in the park. On the contrary it's the exact opposite. It demands much more of your strength, which was apparent in my inability to hold my neck straight through corners, and the variety of deep painful bruising in my ribs and arms. Without suspension, karts are a handful when it comes to keeping them steady. It took me nearly the entire day to find my stride and work up the strength to pilot this thing along something resembling the racing line. Although the entire day I would come off the last turn onto the front straight with one side in the grass I'm pretty proud in how far I came. I would eventually finish 5th with a personal best lap time of 42.02


The student is now the teacher "Your not going flat out through turn one Pop!" "You're all over the place in the sweeper, you need to work on it!" he's telling me. Man is that how I sound every weekend? That kid of mine was busting my chops from the moment I set foot in the thing. And no matter what type of progress I made he would always have some smack talk to back up how much quicker he was than me. I'll give him that. With a 38 second lap compared to my 42 he reserves the right to be a little cocky. What he doesn't realize is that I was going in the wrong direction on the track (which he never drove before) and I'm taking along about 50 extra pounds for the ride. I know, excuses, excuses, but he better pray that we never go head to head on the same track. If I ever get a kart of my own I have no doubt in my mind that I'll show him my backside and hand him his in the process.

So what did I come away with after this experience? Oh where to start. I think the biggest thing that hit me while I was out there is that I couldn't believe I was making my son drive at speeds like this. I was doing everything I could to keep the thing pointed in the right direction and I was expecting my 13 year old to do the same? The rate at which you come up on things is so quick that if you snooze for just one second you can easily find yourself in a world of trouble. Those hay bales come up real quick on you.

Another thing that's become very obvious is that I'm not twenty years old anymore and I take longer to recover than I used to. Two weeks after the race and I'm still nursing wounds from that day. Now I know why some bright individual introduced a rib protector in this market. I just started taking full breaths again without pain.


And the last thing I came away with is the fact that the bug is still with me and now more than ever I'd like to get back into it again. Probably not auto racing though. Unless someone with very deep pockets would like to take a chance on me I'll stick to karting. How else can I prove to my son that his old man is still king?

Shameless Plug

In supporting my son's site over at Sam's Race Page and more importantly the online store that subsidizes some of our racing expenses, I bring you this shameless plug.

Just in time for Christmas and for 2008. We've now added a calendar to our online store with team photos spanning our first three years in this sport. Check it out at the Inch-Hi Motorsports Online Store.

Attention Newspaper Editors: Motor Racing needs mention too!

While watching a Formula One race a while back a breaking news story came across the screen about a former World Rally Champion being killed in a helicopter crash in Europe. Details were sketchy at the time but we were promised more information as it became available. None was given during the allotted time slot for the race so I thought I'd eventually read it in the paper on the following day. No such luck as not even one word was spoken of it.

Back in August I attended my first professional race as a spectator in more than 15 years. Both the American LeMans and Champ Car series visited scenic Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin and the competition was absolutely furious. Not just in the pro races but the supporting events held plenty of excitement for everyone as well. We even had a local kid on hand who's been trying to break into the pro ranks for some time now. He managed to finally find the financial backing to contest the last few events of the Star Mazda series and was making his debut on this weekend. I for one was excited to see this but unfortunately the journalists in attendance seemed to think different. What could have been the making of a good article in the local paper turned out to be one paragraph on the pros and not much more.

In addition to not getting the coverage that this sport deserves, the other thing that chaps my rump is when the media buys in to the mentality that if it doesn't include a horrible wreck then no one wants to see it. This redneck frame of mind is prevalent in some markets but for the most part I truly believe that the masses want to see a good close race. We want to hear about the guy who fought back from 29th spot on the grid to first place in 20 laps. I want to hear about the local guy who beat all odds and gave the pros a run for their money when they came to his home track. And what about the increasing number of karters who moved on to Indy Cars or the Rolex Sports Car series. We have so much talent in this state alone that goes unheard of because the editors feel that for whatever reason it's not news worthy. The sport itself does a good job of promoting these individuals but it seems to be done in vain at times. Without help from the media what good does it do? Unfortunately in this day and age it seems that you have to be in the midst of a scandal to get any coverage.

To that point I have to ask when was the last time you heard of a race car driver driver involved in a doping scandal? How about dog fighting or even steroid use? A few of America's finest past times have been riddled so badly with these issues lately, yet they still demand half page stories after every event. And although it's usually a few bad apples who ruin their chosen sport these are definitely not the role models that I feel our kids should be looking up to.

I had once thought that it had a lot to do with pay scale. Give a man a twenty million dollar contract and he feels he can do any damn thing he'd like. Crash your Bentley into a tree and just buy another. Shoot up patrons at your favorite night club and you'll walk. After all you're a celebrity, and you know that there's a separate judicial system for your kind. And don't worry about using elicit drugs to give you a performance advantage. Everyone does it anyway. Besides, it's a victimless crime to begin with, right? Tell that to the millions of Hank Aaron fans who feel a bit cheated by our new home run record by Barry who?


On the other hand when you sit down and compare these athletes to the majority of today's highest paid auto racers it's night and day. The similarities end at the obscene salaries and endorsement deals. Michael Schumacher made it through an illustrious career without scandal. And just about all of the current Formula One drivers still manage to maintain an admirable profile on and off the track. Even Champ Car's undisputed bad boy, Paul Tracy, pales in comparison to some of these guys. As rude as some drivers can be to each other I have yet to see someone jump in a crowd and beat a fan for heckling them. Have you been to an NBA game lately?

Go to any race. Pro or non-pro, kart racing or car racing, and you'll find countless families contributing to some of the highest attendance numbers for a single day in a sporting event. By the way how many families do you find at an NFL game? You would think statistics like these would speak loudly enough in itself, yet these events are still relegated to the back page of the sports section with a column of about 200 words or less.


This really has to change, and soon. There's a whole world of future champions out there who need, and are very deserving of this exposure. There are dozens of stories about overcoming adversity to be the best at what they do. There are increasing numbers of young girls and women who are breaking down barriers and proving wrong the old stigma of the sport being for men only. And there is plenty of excitement and close competition available to you on any given weekend that would make a great story for any paper. These people are fierce competitors and the closest of friends at the same time. They put on quite a show and don't embarrass themselves in the process.

So if you want to do the right thing for a change and not chase after someone's dirty laundry, stop by a local track and see what all the excitement is about. I can assure you won't be disappointed.