NEW YORK -- Jimmie Johnson is off and running during Champions Week.
He appeared on "LIVE with Regis and Kelly" on Monday, because he's a NASCAR driver and apparently that's the law. I actually don't any stock car driver who sets foot on the Manhattan island is allowed to leave until he goes on that show.
Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus also rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange Monday afternoon. That's fitting, because the whole reason for having this event here is commerce, and Wall Street is the mother church of commerce.
Tuesday, he's supposed to be on a bunch of other shows including Rachel Ray's show. Of all those types of shows, I think Rachel Ray's show is the most grounded in reality. You can watch her cook something and actually conceive of the remote possibility that you might be able to come relatively close to making yourself.
I made it to my hotel room about 12:30 a.m. I was in one of those 11-passenger shuttle vans and myself and one other young lady were the first two picked up. After about six more stops we were fully loaded. I offered to let the lady take the front seat but she declined, so I jumped all over it.
As we were going to all of those stops, we kept passing these impossibly long lines for taxis. I was glad I'd made the choice I made. Apparently my flight wasn't the only one delayed for three hours or so.
It was raining and a really nasty night. But our driver was remarkably sane and safe, for which I was thankful. He actually let a couple of people in line ahead of him.
I was also incredibly grateful that I was the second one who got dropped off. Goodness knows how long it was before that 11th person got to where he or she was going.
It was nice this morning. The rain had moved out and it was breezy, but it was in the upper 50s at 6 a.m. as I walked over toward the Sirius studios to do the radio show this morning. I expect it will cool off as the day goes on, but what do I know about weather?
My goal for the rest of the day is simple. I want to get inside the presidential suite at the Waldorf-Astoria, where Jimmie Johnson gets to stay this week. This is the 11th year I've been to the NASCAR awards ceremony activities and I know a lot of people who've been invited into what's a very historic place. I've never gotten that nod, and as of now I am openly campaigning for it.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Presidential suite or bust!
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6 comments:
No NASCAR should not ban cheaters. It is boring enough now.So , do you want nascar to start selling cars and motors shocks and such to the teams? Lets just have the IROC series race 36 times.The sport that I A SOUTHERN WHITE MALE 40 years old help build is falling apart because of people like you. Let the racers fight and cuss and raise some hell!!
Take some fotos if you get into the suite...have fun in the Apple!
Tim is right. All of the cars are now the same - template, shock rule, gear rule, etc. The engines, probably virtually alike, otherwise they wouldn't be approved. Cheating and innovation are not synonyms but are being used as such. Drivers are now cookie-cutter, media-ready robots . I actually feel sorry for them - unable to speak what they think without fear of losing $ or points. Finally, the COT. The COT is uglier than many a thing I've flushed. Champions week shouldn't be a celebration, but a wake for a sport once magnificent. Anybody else miss Harry Gant and Skoal and Oldsmobile and bias-ply tires and North Wilkesboro and .. never mind. May you rest in peace, "NASCAR worth watching" as you are surely missed. Best wishes everyone. Bob in NC
I do agree with the COT is crap. But onto the story, I beleive that if you get caught cheating once ok. But how many times has The 48 team been caught cheating in the past, how many times has chad been suspended? I dont agree with the rules but there are rules and it seems you can break them many times over and still it a championship. But bring back the Nascar that was there before the 3 Died....
tim, is that really how a professional sport conducts itself? With competitors fighting and swearing and "raising hell?" That's the kind of culture that got that Redskins defensive back killed.
No, it isn't how a professional sport conducts itself. The sport needs professionals, not entertainers.
To those who whine about how the drivers are now "vanilla" or "corporate robots" who lack color and personality - the most interesting figure in NASCAR in the last two decades was colorless, was not particularly glib, was not a good corporate spokesman, was dedicated to his craft, and has no personality - he had to be asked to bring a date with him when he won the 1992 championship.
The sport needs Alan Kulwickis instead of "color" and "personality" because Alan Kulwicki was the most professional driver in the last two decades.
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