Trouble in Turn2

I was lazy this weekend and never lined anyone up for this week’s Know Your NASCAR Bloggers Series. Ah, the beauty of not having an editor, deadline and no pay. The interviews will resume next week, but for now I thought I’d compile some of the best answers from the bloggers I’ve featured so far. It’s an incredibly diverse group that defies all stereotypes about NASCAR fans. Here’s a sample:

Why do you blog? Or what made you start blogging? I decided to start a Ryan Newman Fan blog because I was tired of scouring the internet looking for any news that I could about Ryan Newman and Penske Racing. I could find the info, but I really wished that it was all laid out in one location. I decided there had to be other Ryan Newman fans that wanted the same thing. I knew nothing (and probably still don’t) about blogging or running a website. But I try to have as much information about Ryan Newman on my site as possible. In fact it could be said that it has become obsessive.[Mike Pratt-Ryan Newman Fan]

How long have you been a NASCAR fan?
I have been a NASCAR fan for 7 years. I’ve been aware of NASCAR my entire life and knew the major driver’s names and what not (plus Jeff Gordon is from Vallejo, CA which is only 20 or so miles from where I grew up) but it wasn’t until Dale Earnhardt’s death that I really focused on the races. I’m sad it happened that way. Around that same time the MTV True Life documentary “I’m A Race Car Driver” was aired and that really pulled me in to the sport. It was really fascinating to me all of the tradition and pomp and circumstance that goes into each and every race.[Valli Hilaire-The Fast and Fabulous]

How much time per day do you spend blogging?
If you’re asking me, not enough considering I cover all major forms of motorsports not just NASCAR. On average I’d say about 6 hours a day. Keep in mind that’s not just pounding on a keyboard, it includes filtering through over 150 news and blog RSS feeds several times a day. It’s good to be “King,” or rather good to be retired and have the time to dedicate to an enjoyable pastime.

Of course if you were to ask my family the question they’d just roll their eyes and point at the dummy in the corner hovered over a keyboard.[Marc Boland-Full Throttle]

How did you get the name for your blog?
I have several student loans to pay for so I sent out notices for the opportunity to have the exclusive naming rights for my blog. I spend several days and nights pouring over sponsors who were willing to be the exclusive sponsor of my blog that…seriously it was less spectacular than that. I wanted the name to be something that truly stated who I was and what I was all about. Plus, I didn’t really like “What’s this Thing Called NASCAR All About?” Hey, that sounds like a cool name too. Maybe I should have gone with that instead. The real story…Trixie came from my alter ego. Trixie grew up in a trailer park and is proud of her redneck and hillbilly roots. Trixie lives in a trailer park and loves NASCAR. I know this may buy into the whole stereotype of a NASCAR fan, but if you have visited The Park, this is so far from the truth.[Amy Peterman-Trixie’s Trailer Park]

What is your favorite NASCAR memory? My favorite NASCAR moment was in 1995 at MIS, I was walking in the garage area, not looking where I was going, and ran straight into Bobby Labonte. BAM! Embarrassed the hell out of me. But Bobby was the one who apologized. What a gentleman.[Charlie Turner-On Pit Row]

What do you enjoy about your blog and the NASCAR blogging community?
The freedom of expression the blog affords, and the community itself. I enjoy reading other bloggers on the same subjects, and being able to exchange ideas and information, without the interference we so often find on the forums. There is nothing I don’t enjoy about the NASCAR online community. Every entry, and every comment–on my own blog or on someone else’s–is as interesting and enjoyable to me as opening Christmas presents was to me as a child.[Jim Grady-Rev’ Jim’s Rants]

With the blog, as I mentioned earlier having a venue for entertaining and informing. And again, the circle of crazies I’m part of and partner with is a lot of fun.

Another aspect is being able to encourage other to blog. Everyone once in a while I hear “you’re a leader; you’re an inspiration.” The former I find highly amusing. I’m just me. No big deal. That said, if I can use where I am to encourage good writers, so much the better. We’re all equals in cyberspace. Hit totals don’t matter. I have yet to see a Sitemeter link on a tombstone. Only quality matters. To have a helping hand in getting good stuff out there… that’s sweet.[Jerry Wilson-Restrictor Plate This]

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 quickly [Luke Poland-Thunder Lounge].

Do you have a favorite driver?
My favorite drivers are Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett. So right now, I’m a fan without a driver. It actually sucks…I can’t currently find the driver that compels me to throw my support behind him. [Darren Fauth-One Bad Wheel]

Name something cool that has come as a result of your blog.
A couple of years ago my wife got me a JINX T-shirt that says “Nobody reads my blog.” That made me laugh. Then I cried into my new shirt because it was true. Did you know the salt in tears can really help break in a new T-shirt?[John Newsom-The Spotter]

Do you have any strange or funny stories about your blog (funny or outrageous comments or emails from people, etc.)? Not really other than the occasional solicitor who thinks I could benefit by placing their logo on my site. One offered me a whopping $75.00 blatantly in an email. I wrote back with my usual wit and sarcasm that I accept, my terms are $100 per day paid in advance for a full year. I never heard back! If I could earn a living blogging I’d sell my house and move down near George![Michael Bills-NASCAR Eclectic]

“I have been asked if I was married. I got a 2 or 3 thousand word ‘manifest’ on the evils of the sinners who live in California and how God is going to make them pay by destroying California and have it fall into the Pacific. I sometimes get people emailing me complaining about certain things in NASCAR and asking me to pass it along to NASCAR - I really don’t have a direct line to NASCAR, honestly. I also get people who sometimes email me their NASCAR rants and then thank me at the end for listening to them. It is like they just need someone to vent to and they choose me.”[Bob Ellis 4Ever3]

What is something your readers wouldn’t otherwise know about you or your blog?

I served four years of active duty military service with the United States Marine Corps, to include service in Iraq. Additionally, I still provide operational support to our services.[Tim Zaegel-Do You NASCAR?]

In addition to the NASCAR work, I write comic books. Really. And I’m one of the nation’s foremost experts on the solid waste industry [ seriously]. I’ve done a lot of writing outside NASCAR, some of it in areas far afield from NASCAR. But I’ve NEVER had more fun writing than blogging.

That, and I’m really Kyle Busch. That’s why I’ve been planting pro-Kyle propaganda all along. See, conspiracy theorists? We really are out to get you![Jay Busbee-Yahoo]

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to answer the questions for me. It’s been incredibly fun for me to get to know more about this crazy online NASCAR galaxy. And yes to those paying attention, if this post were a sitcom, this is the point where you would recognize that episode was just a montage episode and the writers mailed it in. It’s also usually a telltale sign the show is about to jump the shark. I promise that I won’t let that happen to this blog.

Tune in next week when we interview Digger the Gopher.