Adam Fenwick : The Star Online : The Newspaper of Cleveland County

Daytona 500 Starting Lineup

February 12th, 2009, 5:40 pm by adamfenwickstar

Well, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch won their respective qualifying races. That means they will line up right behind Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Unless some gets disqualified, this will be the starting lineup for the 51st Daytona 500.

1. No. 1, Martin Truex Jr.
2. No. 5, Mark Martin
3. No. 24, Jeff Gordon
4. No. 18, Kyle Busch
5. No. 14, Tony Stewart
6. No. 83, Brian Vickers
7. No. 48, Jimmie Johnson
8. No. 42, Juan Pablo Montoya
9. No. 20, Joey Logano
10. No. 11, Denny Hamlin
11. No. 8, Aric Almirola
12. No. 96, Bobby Labonte
13. No. 2, Kurt Busch
14. No. 88, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
15. No. 9, Kasey Kahne
16. No. 99, Carl Edwards
17. No. 36, Scott Riggs
18. No. 41, Jeremy Mayfield
19. No. 98, Paul Menard
20. No. 44, A.J. Allmendinger
21. No. 26, Jamie McMurray
22. No. 33, Clint Bowyer
23. No. 47, Marcos Ambrose
24. No. 12, David Stremme
25. No. 07, Casey Mears
26. No. 31, Jeff Burton
27. No. 55, Michael Waltrip
28. No. 00, David Reutimann
29. No. 77, Sam Hornish Jr.
30. No. 19, Elliott Sadler
31. No. 7, Robby Gordon
32. No. 29, Kevin Harvick
33. No. 6, David Ragan
34. No. 43, Reed Sorenson
35. No. 16, Greg Biffle
36. No. 39, Ryan Newman
37. No. 34, John Andretti
38. No. 82, Scott Speed
39. No. 17, Matt Kenseth
40. No. 21, Bill Elliott
41. No. 28, Travis Kvapil
42. No. 78, Regan Smith
43. No. 66, Terry Labonte

Missing The Race:
No. 71, Mike Wallace
No. 51, Kelly Bires
No. 75, Derrike Cope
No. 57, Norm Benning
No. 73, Mike Garvey
No. 08, Boris Said
No. 87, Joe Nemechek
No. 09, Brad Keselowski
No. 46, Carl Long
No. 37, Tony Raines
No. 27, Kirk Shelmerdine
No. 23, Mike Skinner
No. 64, Geoff Bodine

Posted in: NASCAR • Daytona 500 | Post a Comment »

Still awesome?

February 7th, 2009, 4:13 pm by adamfenwickstar

Has anyone been paying attention to the Daytona 500 practice sessions going on Saturday? Well, I have. An interesting thing happaned during both Daytona 500 practice sessions. Bill Elliott, yes the same Bill Elliott with two Daytona 500 wins on his resume, was fastest in BOTH Daytona 500 practice sessions Saturday.

That is signifigant for a few reasons. First, these cars weren’t drafting, they were running individual runs to prepare for Sunday’s qualfying sessions. Thus, Bill Elliott has, possibily, one of the fastest single cars at the track and is a threat to take home the Daytona 500 pole.

Second, Bill Elliott and the Wood Brothers No. 21 aren’t guarnteed a spot in the Daytona 500. If Elliott is able to qualify on the front row then that would guarntee the team a spot in the race. Even if he doesn’t qualify on the front row, as long as he is among the top three teams not quarnteed a spot in the race in terms of speed, that will get him in the show as well.

Here’s hoping the Wood Brothers make the race, they missed the show last year.

Posted in: NASCAR • Bill Elliott • Daytona • Wood Brothers | Post a Comment »

Stuck in the mud (1/29)

January 29th, 2009, 9:43 pm by adamfenwickstar

In this day and age, its hard to find people who are willing to help someone whom they don’t know for absoultely nothing. At least, so I thought.

I recently discovered that the long lost art of showing kindness to a stranger isn’t quite as lost as I thought it was.

On Jan. 28 I was returning to Shelby after a day in Sunny View visiting my parents. Being a trained journalist, I typicaly try and carry a camera with me, because you never know what might happen around you.

Well, as I got onto Interstate 74 in Pea Ridge I looked into the sky and saw a beautiful cloud formation.
For a second I argued with myself. I thought “I always kick myself for never stopping and taking these pictures, darn it, I have my camera, I should stop.”

So, I stopped. Big mistake.

As I put my blinker on and slowly moved to the right to pull into the grass alongside the interstate things started to go wrong. The second my tires touched the slick, wet grass my car had a mind of its own.

I slid sideways on the grass and mud straight into the enbankment alongside the interstate. I sat there for a mo-ment, stunned at what had just taken place, then got my witts about me.

I quickly jumped from the car andchecked the damage, and when I saw no dings, dents or scratches, I was re-lieved. Besides my right rear tire being totally off the ground, the only thing wrong with my car was that it had a ton of mud on it.

Of course, looking back on it now, I should have known better. It had been raining for the better part of two days. I should have known the ground was going to be slick, and stopping on the side of the road on the interstate like that was a dangerous thing to do in those conditions. It didn’t help that my tires are, lets just say, not in the best of shape.

In any case, my next task was trying to get my now mud covered car unstuck. That was pretty much futile. I was considering my options (one of which included calling my father for help) when the unthinkable happaned.

Someone stopped to help.

An older couple pulled up to make sure I was alright. I quickly said that I was, I was just trying to figure a way out of my current prediciment. They tried to help me get unstuck, but since they were in a hurry to get to a doctors appointment, they called their son who lived nearby to come and help me.

As the older couple drove away another kind man stopped to check on me. Shortly thereafter the older couples son pulled up in his truck and we began to talk over our options.

Within minutes, and much to my shock, a third man came running across the interstate to my aid. An ambu-lance even pulled up, lights flashing, to make sure I was alright. I quickly assured them I was, I was just stuck.

Once the ambulance left the three gentlemen and myself were able to free my car from its mud cell. The three of them pushed my car away from the enbankment while I steered the car.

Once I got the car straight one of the men told me not to stop and just keep the car rolling and get it off the slick grass. I don’t think he wanted me stuck again.

So, without the chance to properly thank any of them, I was back on the interstate.

Truth is, the way the entire situation played out shocked me. I was so amazed, and thankful, that these people were willing to take a few moments out of their day to stop and check on a 24 year old kid who made the dumb mistake of trying to pull over on the slick wet grass of Interstate 74.

So, to those of you who stopped and took a few moments out of your day to help me, I say from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

And for those of you who wondering, I did get my photograph. I can’t say it was worth the trouble though.

Posted in: Everyday life • Whoops! | 1 Comment »

NASCAR media tour roundup (1/22)

January 22nd, 2009, 4:49 pm by adamfenwickstar

So the 2009 NASCAR Media Tour closes today at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Here are some of the news bites that have come out of the big week in Concord:

News from Yates Racing: As expected, Yates Racing moved its Owner Points around a bit. The No. 96 will get the points from the No. 38 while the No. 98 will get its points from the No. 28. Meanwhile, Travis Kvapil will be forced to race his way into the Daytona 500. Poo I say! Oh yeah, the new Hall of Fame/Yates alliance unveiled the paint scheme of the No. 96 Ask.com Ford. It looks a little odd, but hey, who knows what it’ll look like at 200 mph?

News from Penske Racing South: With the buyout of Alltel complete, Verizon still plants on sponsoring the No. 12 Dodge driven by David Stremme. The only difference? They have no plans to put their logos on the car, at least from what I’ve read anyway. Here is an excerpt from Jayski.com: Verizon will fully fund the #12 Sprint Cup car of Penske Racing this season but the company’s logo and name will not be allowed on the paint scheme. “The [Cup] car will be identified and branded as the Penske Dodge Charger,” said Walt Czarnecki, the executive vice president of Penske Corporation. That means David Stremme, who replaces Ryan Newman in the #12, could find himself promoting Verizon even though the name can’t be on the car, thanks to a 2004 ruling after Nextel became the top series sponsor (it was since become Sprint).

News from Tommy Baldwin Racing: Scott Riggs was named the driver of the new Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota entry. No sponsor has been named yet, but the car will sport No. 36.

News from Gillett Evernham Richard Petty Motorsports: The merger everyone was expecting was made final, with Gillett Evernham pretty much absorbing the former Petty Enterprises to create Richard Petty Motorsports. As Monte Dutton put it earlier today in a conversation I had with him, essentially all Gillet Evernham has done is purchase the rights to the Nos. 43 and 44. The No. 43, being driven by Reed Sorenson, will run full time with sponsorship from several places (including Valvoline, Air Force, McDonald’s and more to be named) and the No. 44 will run part time with A.J. Allmendinger behind the wheel. The No. 44 will race as often as they can find sponsorship.

News from Joe Gibbs Racing: Farm Bureau Insurance announced plans to sponsor a JGR Toyota in six Sprint Cup races in 2009. Hamlin will fly the colors of Farm Bureau twice and Joey Logano once. The remaining three races of the Farm Bureau sponsorship will be on a fourth JGR entry (No. 02) with an as yet unnamed driver.

News from Stewart-Haas Racing: Minor news here, but Stewart-Haas has signed Burger King as a major associate sponsor who will serve as primary sponsor on Stewart’s No. 14 for 2 races.

News from Wood Brothers Racing: Nothing really new here, but Motorcraft confirmed they will sponsor the No. 21 Ford driven by Bill Elliott in 9 races in 2009, including February’s Daytona 500. Remember, this team is only planning on running a limited schedule in 2009.

Misc. Team News: Several teams are planning on attempting to make the Daytona 500. Among them are…
Mike Skinner, driving the No. 23 R3 Motorsports Chevrolet.
Kirk Shelmerdine, driving Toyota’s recently purchased from the former Bill Davis Racing team. Also note Shelmerdine plans on running the entire Cup schedule, at least so says the rumor mill. I’ll believe that when I see it.
Kelly Bires, driving the No. 51 Black Jack Racing Dodge.
Mike Wallace, driving the No. 71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet
James Hylton (yes, THAT James Hylton), driving the No. 08 EM Motorsports Dodge
Also expected to make attempts are Carl Long, Derrike Cope, Terry Cook, Norm Benning and lord knows who else.

Posted in: NASCAR • NASCAR • roundup | Post a Comment »

Silly season never ends (1/18)

January 18th, 2009, 5:33 pm by adamfenwickstar

I’m telling you, this off season has been one of the craziest that I can remember in recent memory. Here are some of the new stories to break since my last post:

Yates Racing and Hall of Fame Racing announced a working agreement, sign Bobby Labonte and Ask.com for No. 96 Ford.
What a twist! I, for one, never saw that coming at all. All signs pointed towards Bobby Labonte joining up with Earnhardt Ganassi, but things apparently changed quickly. Out of no where Yates and HOF announced a working agreement, switching the No. 96 from Toyota to Ford. Then, only a few days later, it was announced that Bobby Labonte would join the fold to drive the No. 96, bringing with him sponsorship from Ask.com. The end result of this will be a three team operation with Yates and Hall of Fame, meaning either Travis Kvapil or David Gilliland will be the odd man out (rumor has that odd man to be Gilliland). Whatever team doesn’t run (the No. 28 or No. 38) that team’s owner points will likely go to Paul Menard in the new No. 98.

Elsewhere, the signing of Labonte by Yates/HOF might have hurt any chances Earnhardt Ganassi had of fielding four full time teams. In fact, they would be lucky at this point to field two full time teams (because that is all they have sponsorship to cover). Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya are all but set to run full time in ‘09, Aric Almirola still needs sponsorship and of course there is still the question of the No. 41 car that was supposed to have sponsorship from Target. At this point I have no clue what this team plans to do.

Also, is anyone else confused about the new rules for the Budweiser Shootout? Why can’t we just go back to running the pole winners from the previous year in the race? Wouldn’t that just make life easier for everyone involved?

Posted in: NASCAR • almirola • Earnhardt • Ganassi • gilliland • hall of fame • kvapil • Labonte • montoya • truex • Yates | Post a Comment »

Sadler back with GEM, Allmendinger part time (1/9)

January 9th, 2009, 3:58 pm by adamfenwickstar

Would someone over at GEM please make up their mind? It was announced after the GEM/Petty merger announcement that Elliott Sadler would, in fact, be the driver of the No. 19 Dodge out of the new GEM/Petty organization. Allmendinger will still join the new team, but as a part time driver in the teams No. 10 entry for a yet to be determined amount of races in the 2009 season. I imagine that all depends on sponsorship.

I do suspect Allmendinger will be racing in the Budweiser Shootout (thanks to the new rules announced last year) and will make his first Daytona 500 start (thanks to all the team shuffling the No. 10 team should be guaranteed a slot in the 500 thanks to owner points). After that, I haven’t got a clue. I really hope Allmendinger is given another shot at a full time schedule, he deserves the chance.

Posted in: Uncategorized • Allmendinger • Elliott Sadler • Evernham • GEM • Gillett • Petty • sadler | Post a Comment »

Major News: Petty, GEM confirm merger (1/8)

January 8th, 2009, 7:33 pm by adamfenwickstar

I love it, the SECOND I post the updated Sprint Cup team roundup I see the breaking news about Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham announcing their merger plans. Here is what Jayski.com has on the announcement:

Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) and Petty Holdings announced an agreement in principle to form a new NASCAR Sprint Cup team co-owned by Richard Petty, Petty Holdings, owned by majority shareholder Boston Ventures, and Gillett Evernham Motorsports. The team will field four Dodge entries in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Details of the transaction are expected once the deal is closed. Petty and GEM officials anticipate a final agreement by the end of January. Some notes:
* The new team plans to run a fourth Dodge in eight races in the 2009 season including the Budweiser Shootout with additional races contingent on sponsorship.
* Ray Evernham retains a minority ownership role with the new team.
* Richard Petty and Petty Holdings will continue to own and operate the Richard Petty Driving Experience as an independent entity.
* Key Petty employees Robbie Loomis, Dale Inman and Brian Moffitt will also have active roles with the new team.
* The new team will use the GEM race shops in Statesville, N.C. and engine shop in Concord, N.C.
* GEM and Petty sponsors will continue with the new organization. (Gillett Evernham PR)

Posted in: NASCAR • Evernham • GEM • Gillett • Petty | Post a Comment »

Updated Sprint Cup team roundup (1/8)

January 8th, 2009, 7:11 pm by adamfenwickstar

Here is an updated summary of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup race teams since a few things have changed in recent weeks.

00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Toyota (Michael Waltrip Racing)
Reutimann has Aaron’s on board for 18 races in 2009. Team still needs sponsorship for the rest of the season.

1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing)
Part of the new Earnhardt/Ganassi team. I expect no changes to this team despite the merger.

2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge (Penske Racing South)
No changes expected for this former Sprint Cup Series champion.

5 Mark Martin Kellogg’s/Carquest Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Martin returns for one more crack at a Sprint Cup title, replacing the departing Casey Mears.

6 David Ragan UPS Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)
Ragan gets solid sponsorship from UPS, which departed Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of 2008.

07 Casey Mears Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
Mears takes over the No. 07 car previously driven by Clint Bowyer. Bowyer moves to the No. 33 car in the Childress stable.

7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam/Menards/Mapei Toyota (Robby Gordon Motorsports)
Well, Robby Gordon has jumped from Dodge after one year to join up the ever growing Toyota camp. We’ll see how this works out for him.

8 Aric Almirola UNKNOWN SPONSOR Chevrolet (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing)
Another team that is part of the Earnhardt/Ganassi merger. This team needs to nail down sponsorship for the 2009 season and fast.

9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
No changes known or expected for the defending Coca-Cola 600 champ.

11 Denny Hamlin Federal Express Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No changes expected for Hamlin and company in 2009.

12 David Stremme Alltel Dodge (Penske Racing South)
Stremme replaces Ryan Newman at Penske Racing South in 2009.

14 Tony Stewart Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet (Stewart-Haas Racing)
Tony Stewart leaves Joe Gibbs Racing and buys into the former Haas/CNC Racing team to create Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart gets sponsorship from Old Spice and Office Depot in 2009.

16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)
No changes expected for Greg Biffle in 2009.

17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)
Kenseth signed a multi-year contract extension with Roush-Fenway recently, so he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No changes expected for Busch, who was the talk of the 2008 season (at least, until the Chase started).

19 A.J. Allmendinger Best Buy/Stanley Tools Dodge (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
The big change here is Elliott Sadler has been booted from his spot in the No. 19 in favor of young A.J. Allmendinger. Sadler isn’t happy about it, going so far as to announce plans to sue GEM over the entire ordeal.

20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
The young Joey Logano will drive full time in Sprint Cup in 2008, replacing Tony Stewart, and go after the Rookie of the Year honors.

24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Other than National Guard apparently coming on board for a few races in 2009, no changes are expected here.

26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
No major changes expected for the No. 26 Ford driven by Jamie McMurray.

28 Travis Kvapil UNKNOWN SPONSOR Ford (Yates Racing)
Another team in need of a full time sponsor in 2008. This team used several different sponsors in 2008 and could really use some help in 2009.

29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
No changes expected for Kevin Harvick and company.

31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
Caterpillar leaves the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing team to join up with Burton and RCR, who lost AT&T as its sponsor due to an agreement with series sponsor Sprint.

33 Clint Bowyer General Mills Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
Clint Bowyer leaves the No. 07 to drive the new fourth team for Richard Childress in 2009, the No. 33 General Mills Chevrolet. BB&T will also sponsor this car in 11 races.

38 David Gilliland UNKNOWN SPONSOR Ford (Yates Racing)
Gilliland and Yates Racing need a sponsor or I don’t think this team will last too long into the 2009 season.

39 Ryan Newman U.S. Army Chevrolet (Stewart-Haas Racing)
The second car in the Stewart-Haas armada, Newman still needs sponsorship for 14 races in 2009 (U.S. Army is only covering 22 races).

41 UNKNOWN DRIVER Target Chevrolet (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing)
This is the wild car in the Earnhardt/Ganassi merger. Rumors have the recently released Bobby Labonte taking over this seat.

42 Juan Pablo Montoya Wrigley Gum Company Chevrolet (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing)
The Wrigley Gum Company is only sponsoring this car for half of the schedule. The remainder of the schedule remains unsponsored for Montoya and the new Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team.

43 UNKNOWN DRIVER UNKNOWN SPONSOR Dodge (Petty Enterprises)
The merger between Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham isn’t a done deal, YET. All sources indicate that this should be done in at least two weeks, probably less. Reed Sorenson is likely to end up in this seat once the merger is signed, sealed and delivered. No word on sponsorship.

47 Marcos Ambrose Clorox/Little Debbie’s/Kingsford Toyota (JTG Daugherty Racing)
Marcos Ambrose moves up full time to the Sprint Cup Series in 2009. Should be an interesting year for the road course expert.

48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
No changes known for the defending three-time Sprint Cup champ.

55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Toyota (Michael Waltrip Racing)
No changes expected for Michael Waltrip and company.

77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge (Penske Racing South)
No changes known for the No. 77 team. AAA will join this team for three races as primary sponsor.

82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota (Red Bull Racing)
Speed replaces A.J. Allmendinger at Red Bull Racing. Team switches from No. 84 to No. 82.

83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota (Red Bull Racing)
No changes expected for Brian Vickers and the No. 83 team.

88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
No changes expected for the most popular driver in NASCAR.

98 Paul Menard Menard’s Ford (Yates Racing)
The new third team at Yates Racing, Paul Menard jumped ship from Dale Earnhardt Inc. before the merger with Ganassi and brought his father’s sponsorship with him.

99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Aflac replaces Office Depot as the new full time sponsor on the No. 99 Ford driven by Carl Edwards.

Other 2009 team information:

10 UNKNOWN DRIVER UNKNOWN SPONSOR Dodge (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
The future of GEM’s No. 10 team is totally up in the air now. With the expected merger with Petty coming soon, it is expected that Reed Sorenson will move to the No. 43. That leaves this team without a driver or major sponsorship, though they did sign up Air Force for two races as primary sponsor.

No. 13 Germain Racing Toyota
Team announced late in 2008 that they would attempt 18 races in 2009 with driver Max Papis and sponsorship from Geico. Could run full schedule if sponsorship is found.

No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford
This team will go to a part time schedule in 2009 with Bill Elliott driving the car in 12 races. They should have sponsorship from Motorcraft and Ford for those races.

No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota
Big news for this team recently. It has been announced that Bill Davis has sold his NASCAR operation to Marty Gaunt and Michael Held. They plan to field the team full time in 2009, but they lack sponsorship and a driver.

No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
Team announced a few weeks back they would run a part time schedule in 2009. It was recently announced that 2008 Rookie of the Year Regan Smith will take over driving duties of this car from Joe Nemechek.

No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota
Team owners have recently stated they plan to run the entire schedule in 2009 with this team, but rumors continue to circulate about this teams future. DLP is signed on, supposedly, to sponsor this team for at least a portion of the schedule. No word on a driver or who could step in to sponsor the car for the rest of the schedule.

No. ?? Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota
This team was just announced by Tommy Baldwin, the former crew chief of Dave Blaney, and they plan to run Toyota’s for the entire 2009 schedule. Rumors have Dave Blaney, amusingly enough, coming on as the driver. No word on a sponsor or car number.

Posted in: NASCAR • team roundup | 1 Comment »

Top records from 2008 (1/3)

January 3rd, 2009, 7:36 pm by adamfenwickstar

Inspired by WNCW’s Top 100 list, I like to sit down every year and think about what my favorite records (yes, I said RECORDS) from the last 12 months were. Sometimes it’s hard to choose, other times it’s really easy. This year I have several that I just downright loved and just couldn’t put down. Here they are, in no particular order.

The Steeldrivers - The Steeldrivers

I discovered this band while researching for my trip to Flat Rock, N.C. for the Flat Rock Music Festival several months back. I wanted to map out my musical journey that way I knew which bands I wanted to see and when they were playing. Low and behold I found this band, a who’s who of Nashville country and bluegrass musicians who came together to create a band, aptly named The Steeldrivers. The leader singer, Chris Stapleton, sounds like he belongs in a Gospel group more then he does a bluegrass band, but his voice, alongside the harmonies of fiddle player Tammy Rogers, sounds about as perfect as anything I’ve heard in years from the bluegrass genre. It was easy to choose this one as one of my favorites from ‘08.

Chris Knight - Heart of Stone

Doing my typical surfing around my favorite internet websites, I came across a review of some yet to be released record by some guy named Chris Knight. Those few songs actually resulted in my buying his previous record, The Trailer Tapes. But what of that unreleased record you ask? That record, it turns out, was titled Heart of Stone and the name certainly does the record justice (even if it wasn’t the musicians choice for the name of the record, as he said during an interview on WNCW a few months ago). There are several standout tracks on this record, touching topics such as lost love, old beat up cars (which my co-worker Hugh Koontz knows plenty about) and a song about wanting to just go home (which rightly ends this outstanding record).

Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation’s Dark

I must admit, the Drive-By Truckers, lead by Alabama natives Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, are possibly my favorite band on the planet. So when I heard they were releasing a new record in January 2008 I was, of course, super excited to hear it. I pre-ordered the record and had it shipped two day mail to my home because I was about to travel to Pennsylvania to take part in my sleep study. I got it just in time to rip it to my iPod, boy was I glad I payed for two day shipping! Anyway, sporting an action-packed 19 songs, this record had several standout tracks, including my personal favorite “The Righteous Path” about people who despite all their bad luck, divorces, arrests and general hard times, are simply trying to “stay focused on the righteous path.”

Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher

I know I know, I just wrote about this record, get off my back! The truth is that for months I looked forward to this record, but when it came out I just kept putting off buying it. My parents actually bought it first, so I kindly borrowed it and ripped it onto my computer so I could listen to it at my leisure. Low and behold this record was just as good as I thought it would be, though in a totally different manner then I actually expected. Rather then the heavy footed folk/bluegrass mix I’m use to from Old Crow Medicine Show, they slowed it down a bit and added, what I think, is a bit of a blues feel to this record. The record is pretty much written about the evils of meth, with songs like “Alabama High-Test,” the title track “Tennessee Pusher,” “Lift Him Up” and, of course, the song “Methamphetamine.”

Scott Miller - Appalachian Refugee (The Demo Sessions)

I didn’t post an album cover with this record simply because, well, there really isn’t one. This record was a very limited release (only 1,000 were made I believe) and was only sold via Scott Miller’s website and live shows. The intent of the record was to help Miller and his band The Commonwealth fund their upcoming record which they hoped to release in early 2009 (they succeeded in that goal, their next record is slated for a March ‘09 release, though I already have an advanced signed copy, gotta love Christmas presents). The record itself sports 13 songs, ranging from covers like “Hubbardville Store,” an instrumental titled “Feel So Fair To Midland” and my favorite from the record “Knoxville Viceroy.” While this was only supposed to be used to help put out the “full record,” I’d go so far as to say this was one of the better record’s of 2008, even if it was really incomplete (if you believe in such a thing).

Posted in: Music • americana • bluegrass • Chris Knight • country • DBT • Drive-By Truckers • OCMS • Old Crow Medicine Show • Scott Miller • Steeldrivers | Post a Comment »

Things get interesting for GEM, Sadler (1/2)

January 2nd, 2009, 8:41 pm by adamfenwickstar

Well, I think things just got interesting for Elliott Sadler and Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. A report just surfaced indicating that Sadler has filed a notice in Iredell County stating that he intends to sue GEM over a breach of contract.

This is a very unfortunate situation for everyone involved. I admit, the way Sadler was let go from GEM wasn’t under the best of circumstances. He had, after all, signed a contract extension to stay with GEM until 2010 just this past season. Then, all of a sudden, Sadler is on the unemployment line with A.J. Allmendinger slated to take over his seat in the No. 19 Dodge.

I certainly hope both parties can end this dispute quickly, it would be unfortunate if they drag it out and it spills over and ruins both parties reputations.

Posted in: NASCAR • Elliott Sadler • Evernham • GEM • Gillett | Post a Comment »