Tony Stewart announced the winners of his inaugural Stewie Awards Thursday night on a special broadcast of Tony Stewart Live on SIRIUS in the midst of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Champions Week.
You know I'd really like to point out a bad choice, or something he missed, but I wasn't able to find an argument with any winners of The Stewies.
Take, for instance, the Dazed and Confused Award bestowed upon Teresa Earnhardt and DEI for letting Dale Earnhardt Jr. Uh ... no argument here.
The Best Original Comedy Award for the year's most entertaining on track "incident" or occurrence was rightfully awarded to Robby Gordon for his "victory celebration" burnout after not winning the Busch Series race at Circuit Gilles Villaneuve in Canada.
The other award winner I wholeheartedly agree with is for Best Vocal Performance. That went to Kevin James for his engine command. Seriously. The best ever. He even edged out Matthew McConaughey in my book.
Congrats to all Stewies winners! A complete list of awards and winners follows.
The season is really over. But the bore, snore, roar ... however you wanna look at it ... of NASCAR's 2007 season finale lives on in the Fanhouse Ford 500 Live Blog which was initially viewed by 299 readers and has been replayed 412 times. Trust me when I tell you ... it wasn't that interesting ... kind of like the race. But it was A LOT of fun and there have been a lot of requests to bring back reader-interactive live blogging in the Fanhouse next season. Count on it.
Thought for the day: Matt Kenseth is the new Greg Biffle
If a driver wins at Homestead-Miami does anyone remember? How about if they finish the season in the top 5. Is it is just me, or is Matt Kenseth the best, most-ignored driver in NASCAR? I know I'm guilty of it.
The #17 DeWalt team deserves a huge round of applause. Kenseth's 4th place finish is his sixth consecutive top 10 in his eight Nextel Cup seasons. Things could be different for Kenseth next year with a new crew chief, but at least Robby Reiser's not going far. Can Keseth continue the streak next season? I do believe he can.
And so it begins. The two and a half month NASCAR off season. I shall attempt to chronicle my own journey--that of fan and blogger--through the 91-day long NASCAR Nextel Sprint Cup points race drought here in the Fanhouse.
First day state of mind: Denial and Relief
It's finally over. The end of the anti-climatic 2007 NASCAR season couldn't come soon enough for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans. The problems with DEI have been lingering since before the season even began and finally we are done with it. Done with Teresa, done with consistent equipment failure and on with the business of getting razzed by the rest of NASCAR Nation until Junior proves it wasn't his driving skills by winning a race for Hendrick Motorsports.
Is it too much to hope for that win to come at Daytona?
The 2007 NASCAR seasons is in the book and oh ... the memories and monotony. I will remember it most as the year Dale Earnhardt Jr. left the company his father started, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus dominated and the season droned on in the car of tomorrow.
Here are the Top 35 things I will remember most about the 2007 NASCAR Season, in (mostly) chronological order:
I can't remember the last year that I was so uninspired by NASCAR's finale race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. I know I'm not alone ... so I thought we could chat about it while we sort of half watching the race today. We can discuss all the ways in which the 2007 NASCAR season and its media coverage sucked and yet ... we've already begun counting down the days 'til we can start it all over again in February.
Want to join us? Meet back here in about an hour for pre-race!
She's not just popular with the guys, either. She's so adored by NASCAR WAG fans that Bowyer is sometimes referred to as "Athena's boyfriend." There is no shortage of compliments for the girlfriend--from praise for showing constant support for her man to the way she dresses, down to the shoes and accessories. But perhaps her best asset is her genuine smile that accompanies almost every one of her casually sexy, but never overdone outfits--unless you count heels at the racetrack over doing it, which I don't. I must say, the top in this pic isn't one of my favs ... see better examples here.
What say you, NASCAR fans? Cast your vote at Epic Carnival!
Ok ... injure might be a little strong, but we're definitely in pain here. From a Fanhouse reader:
Could we please get Brad D. off of the air, he is horrible, now I could care less what color you are, you could be purple for all I care, but he is horrible and ruins NASCAR for me.
He is horrible indeed. But I needn't go on about it ... you already know. If not, please feel free to peruse more previous comments or better yet, watch the race on Sunday.
Daugherty's less than stellar performance certainly begs the question: Was he given his gig as an ESPN Analyst (and I use the term loosely) because he was a "former winning NASCAR owner?" Because he was better than all the other candidates for the job? Or because he is a person of color?
Now, I happen to be a fan of diversity ... but I'm no fan of affirmative action. It's a form of racism that many people in this country support or have come to accept, but I can't really get behind the idea of favoring any particular race over another for any reason.
I mean, who among us could believe that the former NBA baller was simply the best candidate for the job at the time he got hired? Especially considering they've still got Allen Bestwick, who knows more than a thing or two about NASCAR and is not at all injurious to fans, stuck in the pits most of the time.
I think Best Buy is about to get a lot more out of their sponsorship of NASCAR than they've been used to with the CNC Haas Racing #66 Chevy driven by Jeff Green. North America's #1 consumer electronics retailer has taken their business to Gillett Evernham Motorsports to sponsor Elliott Sadler for 15 Sprint Cup races in 2008.
Sadler is certainly considered to be one of the most likeable, personable characters on the NASCAR circuit. Now his face will be all over Best Buy promoting products he loves. Their marketing department must be in heaven. So is he:
"Best Buy is a brand I've believed in and supported for years, so to represent them is honestly a dream come true. I love all kinds of music and movies, and I've always been a 'gadget guy.' My house, car, boat and even my motor home are all tricked out with stereos, speakers, gaming systems, GPS, flat screens, DVD players, you name it. The employees at the Mooresville (N.C.) Best Buy store already know me by name, but they'll be seeing even more of me now."
I imagine Best Buy will be seeing even more brand loyalty from NASCAR fans. Especially if this video is any indication of the kind of entertaining commercials the Best Buy Sadler sponsorship has in store for us.
After handily crushing her two recent challengers Christy Cooley (60/40), and Patricia Mikula (75/25), Ingrid now holds an impressive 8-0 record with 7 KO's.
Hotter than an NFL cheerleader? Check.
Hotter than a Playboy Cyber Girl? Check.
Hotter than a 25-year-old actress? In progress.
Ingrid's latest challenger, "One Tree Hill" actress Sophia Bush, current female companion of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, is currently lagging in the poll with only 38% of the votes to Ingrid's 62%.
Fantastic. But much like watching the same drivers lead the points race week in and week out, waiting for Ingrid to crush the competition time and time again is getting a tad boring.
According to FoxSports Lee Spencer, Dale Earnhardt Inc. announced major organizational moves designed to place greater emphasis on engineering and technology.
"We're taking the necessary steps now in order to go out and win a championship in 2008."
Oh, now they want to take the necessary steps. Now that the rising star of the family-owned business--my bad, I mean stars--have left the building.
DEI Vice President of Global Operations, Max Siegel:
"We've been working on the plan for a long time. We're putting a huge emphasis on engineering. If all of this doesn't speak to our commitment to motorsports, I don't know what will."
Well loddy-freaking-dah. You couldn't have started this, I don't know, LAST YEAR?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. supposedly isn't bitter:
After two more races, the team will sever official ties with the 33-year-old who once stood first in its line of succession. There aren't many lingering feelings of bitterness or betrayal - just a difference of opinion on how to do business.
Well, I'm bitter. And I've been left to wonder, "What if ...?," for a long time to come.
Tony Stewart announced the winners of his inaugural Stewie Awards Thursday night on a special broadcast of Tony Stewart Live on SIRIUS in the midst of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Champions Week.
State of Mind: Astonishment.
And so it begins. The two and a half month NASCAR off season. I shall attempt to chronicle my own journey--that of fan and blogger--through the 91-day long NASCAR 
The 2007 NASCAR seasons is in the book and oh ... the memories and monotony. I will remember it most as the year Dale Earnhardt Jr. left the company his father started, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus dominated and the season droned on in the car of tomorrow.
Ok ... injure might be a little strong, but we're definitely in pain here. From a 
NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon's wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, is still holding her own in Our Book of Scrap's 
