NASCAR - The Coca-Cola 600 - from Lowes - on FOX, Sunday May 28 at 5:00pm ET

NASCAR/Jayski ^

[WestCoastGal]

Martha Nemechek sits in front of the flat-screen computer her children bought and opens her e-mail. Family pictures decorate the wall. A small cup of cranberries and raisins stands among manila folders of printed e-mail correspondences and inspirational sayings on her desk.
She reads a note from a woman, a friend in Florida, who struggles with her mother's failing health.

"My emotions are splattered all over, and I am having a problem not being able to control them,' the woman wrote last month. "I need friends like you to share with me your experiences and maybe, just maybe, I won't feel alone.'

Martha can relate. She responds:

"You are a very strong lady and I know you will miss her as I do my dad but that is the way life is and I miss John real bad but I keep my mom and my dad and John in my heart ever day. Love and prayers. Martha."


The 66-year-old mother of NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek does what someone once did for her. She listens. She shows people that they can keep living while missing a loved one.

She knows. Her son John died from injuries suffered in a Craftsman Truck series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 1997. He was 27.

A few weeks after the accident, Gordon Collins contacted Martha. He'd lost a daughter. He helped Martha grieve.

Now, the mother of four known for wearing army fatigues at NASCAR races - the U.S. Army sponsors Joe Nemechek's team - repays Collins' kindness. She sits at the computer most nights from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., sending e-mails and instant messages.

Some nights, she chats with a woman whose baby died. Other nights, she trades notes with a former soldier in Hawaii dying of cancer. Most nights, she chats with U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, offering encouragement or NASCAR news.

Every night, more notes arrive. Every night, more replies are sent. Nearly all her notes end the same way.

Love and prayers.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=105165&ran=52009

[WestCoastGal]

Claire B just read a press release from joe Gibbs Racing and they said that they have secured Ricky Rudd to practice and qualify the car for Tony this weekend and he will be standing by on Sunday to relieve Tony at any point during the race.

[WestCoastGal]

Waaahhhhh let me go I want to go get that bad Casey Mears!!! He had no business spinning out in front of Meeeee!!

What Shrub doesn't know is Mears could probably knock his block off.

Here is what Casey said about the whole thing.....

Mears said it was no different than at Phoenix when Busch bumped his car during a red flag situation after the two collided. NASCAR penalized Busch five laps for that incident.

"At Phoenix he ran into me on the straightaway and then he cut his left rear tire and crashed and then came back and hit me afterwards,'' Mears said. "I just happen to be the guy in the right place at the right time for all that stuff.''

Mears said Busch hasn't called to apologize or discuss the incident.

"I saw his interview after the race,'' he said. "Obviously, he was in the truck [NASCAR hauler] and they talked to him. He was Mr. Nice Guy after that, which everybody would be.

"But at the same time he's always Mr. Nice Guy after that. At some point he's got to learn how to carry himself a little better, grow up a little bit and not react like that.''

---

And finally........ Rusty Wallace, in his weekly column for ESPN.com, said somebody needs to "kick his ass.''

[don-o]

Rusty Wallace, in his weekly column for ESPN.com, said somebody needs to "kick his ass.''

Well Yah! What is taking so long? (Nice pic - why does Pee Wee Herman come to mind?)

[WestCoastGal]

Those two boys need to learn a lesson from their mistakes. Somehow they don't!

A person on another board said they toured the Penske shop with both drivers doing autographs this past weekend. Ryan Newman's line was maxed out and Kurt had only 20 people in it.

[WestCoastGal]

The No. 19 Dodge of Nextel Cup Series driver Jeremy Mayfield failed post-race inspection following Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, series director John Darby confirmed Tuesday.
The car's roof height failed to meet the minimum 51-inch requirement, Darby said.
NASCAR officials did not report the incident to media members at the track, which has been the practice. The incident was first brought up during Tuesday's "Car of Tomorrow" test by NASCAR's vice president of competition, Robin Pemberton.

[SouthTexas]

Thanks for all the updates.

Wonder why all the Knaus bashers ignore the other team's penalties?

[WestCoastGal]

You're welcome.

Seems Jeremy got the short straw.

The 9 and 10 have been running so well and his team has struggled. Maybe they tried to push the envelope.

I still call foul on Jr's stop and go penalty. From what I have been able to figure, he pitted on the line and got a pass through penalty. T Jr decided to change two tires then and after that they got the stop and go. T Jr also said something that could have been construed as slightly dissing Nascar. Oh well, it's done......but they do weird things at times and it doesn't seem to matter who you are.

[SouthTexas]

I know, they can't catch everything and if they busted every wrong move, we would raise all kind of cain. ;)

We're under a flash flood watch. Doesn't it have to be raining for that?
More withful thinking. LOL

[tubebender]

Ricky Rudd...that names rings a bell.

There are more Kinetic pictures here if the links work. Click on the unicycle and then the next button... Older girls and boys with their toys

[Brad’s Gramma]

Coke.

The Real Thing! ;)