Trouble in Turn2

Even if you don’t know who Luke Poland is, you’ve probably seen his footprint in the NASCAR blogging galaxy. He is the creator of the Thunder Lounge which hosts several of the top NASCAR blogs. And in his choice free time he also voices his strong opinions in his writing too.

How long have you blogged? I’ve been blogging in one form or another since 97/98. Whether it was what was originally termed as a weblog, or eventually spawning into what is now considered a blog. Of course it hasn’t always been about NASCAR, but in terms of writing and/or collecting that’s where I kicked it off at. In regards to NASCAR I’ve been on the web since 2004 with Thunder Lounge. It was brought up to a full blog in 2005.

Why do you blog? Or what made you start blogging? Honestly there were several reasons. Some are personal, but overall I just wanted to share my insight and perspective with anyone who would listen. At the time there were few truly good blogs out there talking about NASCAR, and most of the “chatter” on the forums that were around then seemed to lack focus and true understanding of how things really are. They were all more conspiracy and lunacy than anything, and it really left little doubt as to why at times NASCAR fans are singled out and stereotyped. From being so far out in left field, not well written, or what have you it really looked bad on the fans as a whole.

As time progressed with version 1 of Thunder Lounge, I just got tired of the few fans out there giving the majority of us a bad rap. So I reincarnated Thunder Lounge into a more traditional blog and let the big dog eat.

Not only do you blog, but you also do a lot of work behind the scenes. Explain how the Thunder Lounge community works. I definitely work my tail off behind the curtains to ensure our site and services are always available and on par. Overall, Thunder Lounge is made up of four distinct parts. Naturally you have exclusive content from Thunder Lounge, and also our events at the track. However we’ve expanded recently to allow readers to sign up and start their own blog for free. They get their own domain (username.thunderlounge.com), can select their own theme for their site, and run their own blog without having to worry about installation, upgrades, hosting, compatibility, or any of the other headaches of typically running their own blog. Another cool aspect is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a blog. They could start their own fan site, and create as many pages and/or posts about their driver as they want. It is truly an unlimited potential in terms of creating their own pit box on the web. They can upload their own pictures, videos, or audio clips, and share them with the world. And we’re adding new features all the time.

Finally, our fourth aspect is our featured sites. Some of the top NASCAR bloggers have entrusted their content and sites to Thunder Lounge, and have hopped on in our community. While these folks are still a part of our community, they also have a few extras along with it. They have use of their own domain name, they get more upload space, themes, plugins, and other goodies as well. For now this service is on an invite-only basis, and not just anyone can signup for it. However we do have plans over the next several months to bring some of these features to normal users as an upgrade to their existing free service. Whether it’s just a domain, a custom theme, or whatever, we’re going to have a lot of additional options so that bloggers can customize their own Thunder Lounge experience.

We’re also working on some other really, really cool things as well. I’ll have to leave it at that as a teaser for now, but you’ll know when it hits.

Where do you blog from? That’s one of those questions I consider as an “open door”. The “educated derriere” in me wants to say from my beloved Mac, made by the good folks at Apple, running OS X (Leopard, for the record). However, the best way I can answer this is “from the heart”. When I write something, whether it is a full article/post or a comment, it’s always straight from my heart. Right down in the guts. I refuse to tow any “lines” like some mainstream sources, and whatever it is that’s on my mind is coming out. Like it or not, at the time I write it that’s what is honestly in my soul.

How long have you been a NASCAR fan? I’ve been in love with the sport since I was little. Being a Tarheel born and bred isn’t a bad thing. I can remember my Dad taking me to some of the tracks as a kid. He worked for Pepsi, and would frequently be onsite at different tracks handling various things. One of my most fond memories from back then was sitting on the pit wall at Rockingham, watching the people walk by. It’s been a long road since then, but here we are.

What do you enjoy about your blog and the NASCAR blogging community? I enjoy the opportunity to write and share my thoughts, and to put some honest, heartfelt content out there. If someone reads and enjoys it, that’s the icing on the cake.

I also really enjoy the interaction with fans from all over. You won’t find better people out there than those that are involved with NASCAR.

Is there anything you don’t enjoy about blogging, or the NASCAR online community? That’s a tough one. I would have to say that at times there’s some additional pressure from blogging, and when time constraints come into play I hate it when I go long stretches without writing a word. Like right now for example. My personal schedule has been so swamped that I haven’t written anything since Texas. Not that I haven’t had it in me, just my time for the Lounge has been significantly strained. At that point, I’ve had to prioritize everything that needs done with it, and unfortunately writing has been a little lower on the list than I would like.

Another thing that I dislike are some of the views out there. Not that I don’t respect them, but at times I wonder what planet some of the folks are on. Whether it’s NASCAR fixes races, to some other out of this world comment, the common sense factor is definitely missing. It’s these types of comments that people who aren’t familiar with the sport pick up on, and causes them to stereotype NASCAR and its fans. I’m all for free speech, so don’t get me wrong, but it pains me to think that some people really are that out of touch to think some of the crazy things they do.

One final thought on this, and one thing that pretty much ticks me off, is when someone from some PR company comes and gets a blog at Thunder Lounge. They are there for one purpose, and one purpose only. That purpose is to garner free advertising for their client. From my point of view it’s an insult to me, to our community and to our readers. It says in my mind, “Well, you’re not good enough for our advertising dollars so we’re going to take advantage of you for free.” That just ticks me off to no end. While you can’t necessarily blame the actual people being represented, like they really know what their PR folks are doing every second, somewhere it has to stop. I don’t mind folks blogging and participating that have their own main site. That’s fine by me. But when someone is there to put up one or two posts about their main site or promotion, don’t participate, and never come back, I have issues with it. Needless to say, those blogs are removed really quick.

How much time per day do you spend blogging? Typically I spend at least two hours a day with it. As of late, I’ve had to take those two hours and use them for other things involved with Thunder Lounge. Hopefully things are going to start settling down soon to where I can move those back to writing, and still keep up.

Do you have a favorite driver? Sure I do. Although I have and wear lots of swag from various drivers. I do try to keep my personal cheers out of Thunder Lounge though, as I want to keep my writings on neutral ground. I really try to make sure the reader knows that when I write something that it isn’t because I’m a fan of whoever, and I’m writing because that’s what I honestly think from neutral ground. I will note that my main driver is not amongst those with Chase eligibility, but there’s hope.

There are very few drivers I truly dislike, and would rather see laps down to the field. For the record though, while those few I wouldn’t mind seeing out of contention, I never want to see anyone hurt. It’s nothing personal, any they may be the greatest person in the world, but they’ve come off on my bad side for one reason or another. None of which are currently full-time in the Cup Series, though.

Is there one thing that was key to your blog’s success?
I honestly don’t feel that there is any one thing that can have a finger put on it. There have been so many things and people that have helped out along the way that one person or action can’t be singled out. Whether it’s Marc over at Full Throttle, Charlie and Steve over On Pit Row, or one of the countless other people out there that have helped out in one way or another. The list to thank is so long, but we truly appreciate and thank every one of them.

Name something cool that has come as a result of your blog. I would have to say the coolest thing is the people I’ve met and interacted with. Whether it’s meeting some crazy Sailor that’s shacked up in the Philippines now, or other really great people involved with the sport in one way or another, it’s the people that really make the difference.

Do you have any strange or funny stories about your blog (funny or outrageous comments or emails from people, etc.)? Sure, and some are really out there. I’ll get emails from people wanting a job at Hendrick or Roush for example, or messages like, “You tell Matt Kenseth that next time Flippy comes at him, to take him out.” Then I also get a lot of “promotional” requests as well. Like a free DVD for blogging about it, or what have you. Typically I try to keep the endorsements out of it for things like that. If I like something, I’ll tell the readers about it, but not simply because you’ll give me one for free. Now if it were a free truck, or a Mac (and it better be a Pro with a 30″ ACD), then I might have to reconsider [laughing].

If you could change one thing about NASCAR what would it be? Public perception of the sport and its fans. While it’s slowly changing, there are still a lot of people out there that just don’t “get it”. All they see are left turns, left turns, left turns. I guess it’s much easier to mock what we don’t understand than it is to check it out. Maybe it stems from the fear that if they do, they’ll like it.