NASCAR – Reporting from the Charlotte-based production of “Heaven on Wheels”
Ryan McGee went to a play recently in Charlotte. A musical comedy. About NASCAR. Called ‘Heaven on Wheels.’ Featuring the Lady in Black as a dominatrix. You interested yet? Dive in the read the review/rundown. Nascar – 2 Thounsand + 6 Year in Review – Part 1 (6)
During the late ’90s and the first decade of the 21st century, NASCAR racing boomed in popularity both on television and in popular culture. This documentary tracks the events that occurred during the 2003 NASCAR competition. That was the last year the title was sponsored by Winston (the cell-phone company Nextel would take over in 2004), and it was the last year before NASCAR restructured its sco…
From the 50th Daytona 500 to the final fight in Homestead, NASCAR’s 60th anniversary was a season of history. 2008 Marked the first full season for NASCAR’s New Car . But the New Car would bring new problems for many of NASCAR s most successful teams. Meanwhile, NASCAR s most powerful team, Hendrick motorsports, welcomed NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt junior. Earnhardt Junior r…
Rusty Wallace decided to hang up his firesuit after the 2005 season. He spent 25 years racing at the Winston/Nextel Cup level, winning 55 races which is tied for eighth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. He retired after the 2005 season with a 14.4 career average finish. Action decided to honor this racing legend with one of their Milestones cars in 2005 with a look back at his “Last Call” 2005 seaso…
When Rusty Wallace looks back on 2005 – his “Last Call” finale asa driver on the NASCAR Cup Series – he will recognize a year filled with surprises and many inspiring moments. Wallace, who this season earned the way into his first Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup showdown, is stacking up statistics that have put him in the thick of the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship hunt. To honor Rusty’s Last…
Eye contact in communication can be dicey. A look can be an invitation or an invasion, a challenge or an appraisal. A lot of appraising goes on in Los Angeles.
I flew out there recently from Pittsburgh, visiting Diana, a producer friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen in several years. The trip was a combination of research for a script that I’m rewriting, meetings with industry people, and catching up on old times. Part of the research was checking out the Hollywood culture.
One evening, we had dinner at the Palm Restaurant, a rustic, semi-pricey watering hole billed as a hangout for celebrities. Diana wanted to check it out as background for the characters in the script. The appraising started as soon as we were led to our table.
Every now and then, people tell me that I look “distinguished.” I’m in my late fifties, and I choose to believe they mean it and that the phrase is not code for “getting up there.” As Diana and I walked to our table, we passed a couple seated at a booth. The young woman seated there looked at me – this is the best adverb I can come up with – thoroughly. It could have been my musky animal magnetism, but more likely she was wondering if I was anybody.
That feeling suddenly went two-way when we were seated in our booth. After I had checked out the more or less identifiable caricatures of movie stars painted on every visible wall, I looked around at the actual people. A young man was sitting in another booth diagonally from us with another man whose back was to me. The young man looked familiar: dark hair, movie-star good looks. I knew he was somebody. Periodically, I darted random glances at him, trying to remember his name. The interesting thing is that he kept glancing at me; he was trying to figure out who I was.
The same thing happened the next evening in the restaurant of the Four Seasons, but with a difference. Diana wanted to show me the famous hotel, so after a charity screening of A Place in the Sun at Paramount, we went to the Four Seasons for dessert and coffee.
This is a completely different venue from The Palm: elegantly appointed with a lot of glass and dark wood, high ceilings, subdued lighting, and a nice audio overlay of jazz. As we walked through the bar, I realized the difference from the Palm. The previous evening, the appraising looks had been subtle and sidelong. Here the looks of some of the patrons are silent, but unmistakably direct, questions: “Who are you and what can you do for me?” (We saw no celebrities at the Four Seasons, but the buttermilk chocolate cake was star quality.)
Of course, not everyone in L.A. stares at other people. It depends on where you are. I had some phone calls to make and writing to do during the day while my friend was at work, so I found a Borders book store in Sherman Oaks, a few miles from my hotel.
While working at a table in the café, I noticed there was no staring or even covert glances by the other customers. No one was looking at anyone else, other than the normal, everyday glances. True, many of the customers were doing L.A. things: one man read a book on being a producer, another talked on his cell phone about production values and creative strategies, and a third fellow was riffling through the pages of a script. But no gawking and no appraising; they were busy. (Apparently, I was the only one who was gawking.)
The entertainment industry is as competitive as NASCAR, with everyone racing around, trying to inch ahead of the pack, and with a script in the back seat. So there are places you go in L.A. to appraise and be appraised, like the Palm Restaurant and the Four Seasons. Not Borders.
Oh, back to the Palm Restaurant. I did figure out who that young man was when I got a look at his dinner companion. The man was John Stamos, and he was having dinner with his Full House co-star, Bob Saget. (Now you know: I’ll drop a name at the drop of a hat.)
But to show you that I’m not star-struck, I won’t dwell on the fact that Ray Liotta was on my flight back to Pittsburgh. And I didn’t stare.
About the Author
Jay Speyerer has been a writer, a speaker, and an educator for more than 30 years, successfully helping people achieve their communication goals in body language, memoir writing, e-mail, cross-cultural communication, and presentation skills. Want to communicate better? Find out how at his web site: => http://www.jayspeyerer.com
A pre-pasted wallpaper border with a checkerboard pattern of 5 rows alternating black and white squares with a dark red edge. Washable and strippable, packaged in spools of 15 feet (4.5 meters). Great for a Nascar, drag racing or Disney Cars themed kids room, or even a Mustang or Corvette garage….
A pre-pasted wallpaper border with a checkerboard pattern of 5 rows alternating black and white squares with a thin black edge. Washable and strippable, packaged in spools of 15 feet (4.5 meters). Great for a Nascar, drag racing or Disney Cars themed kids room, or even a Mustang or Corvette garage…
Transparent NASCAR image that coordinates with any decor! Your wall color shows through! Self-adhesive, easily removable and reusable. Overall dimensions 37 inches x 15 inches…
39 quality licensed decals. These are quality wall accent stickups made in N. America. Use these large pre-cut wall appliques to create that unique accent for your room or car in minutes! They are instantly removable and reusable with no damage or residue to the wall! Sticks equally well in the bathroom, onto your car, truck, kitchen tiles or furniture! Genuine licensed merchandise. Made in USA/Ca…
FORMULA 1 Decorative Wall Stickers (set of 4 sheets – 20 stickers) . Self-stick, removable, and reusable Jumbo Wall Stickers are the easy way to decorate. It’s so quick and amazing , just peel and stick! Jumbo Size: 4 sheets , 20 precut stickers. Decorate in minutes!! Easy to apply.
Works best on clean, smoth, dust-free surfaces. Apply even pressure to entire sticker surface.
20 pieces of Peel &…
96-96010 Features: -Name: Super Hero Squad.-100pct Die-cut images that appear life-like and three dimensional.-State-of-the-art printing processes deliver outstanding clarity and sharpness.-Just peel and place, no tape, no tacks, no clutter.-The patented, low-tack adhesive lets you move your fathead as often as you like.-Thick high-grade vinyl resists tears, rips and fading.-Recommend use on clea…
Show your love for NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon! This 5″ Wall border is self-adhesive and easy to hang. It’s simple to remove, too, and won’t damage your walls. Includes single roll measuring 5″ wide x 15′ long….
I own Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, Sonic unleashed, sonic and the secret rings, super paper mario, sega superstars tennis, dragonball z budokai tenkaichi 3, wii music, wii sports, boom blox, nascar kart racing, and i believe super smash bros. brawl is the best game for the wii, well mario kart wii is great too though…
Depends what genre. For strategy, definitely Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. That game is extremely addicting and has sucked away around 60 hours of my life. SSBB is very good for fighting. There isn’t one good exclusive FPS (besides Metroid, which I didn’t really like). The sports games on the Wii are messed up because of the stupid all play thing. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a very good game. So the best game on Wii is between Twilight Princess, SSBB, and Fire Emblem. I’d have to go with Twilight Princess.
Dirt 3 is a popular rally racing game for Xbox 360 that combines the feel of fast-paced arcade style racing action across multiple surfaces and environments with realistic features found on real off-road circuits. The third release in the acclaimed off-road racing franchise, Dirt 3 features a range of racing and driving disciplines at spectacular locations, more than 100 routes, the finest selec…
Blur is the ultimate powered-up racing experience, dropping you into electrified action with a mass of cars targeting the finish line and battling each other as they trade paint in both single player and multiplayer action. Travel the globe from LA and San Francisco to Spain, the UK and more to take on the best the streets have to offer. Utilize an arsenal of powerups like nitro speed boosts, …
Get ready to Shift your game into high gear! Designed to deliver a true driver’s experience that reflects contemporary motorsports, Need for Speed: Shift is built by racers for racers. Need for Speed: Shift delivers an authentic and immersive driving experience, replicating the true feeling of racing high-end performance cars like never before. Players are thrust into the heart of the action w…
Players race as their favorite outlaw drivers in Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars. There are 16 cars to choose from in the official game of the World of Outlaws racing series. This sequel to Dirt Track Racing features 20 tracks, including Knoxville Speedway, Eldora Speedway, and Williams Grove, plus players can import tracks from the original game. The game supports players of all skills levels with…
NASCAR Racing Season 2003 brings the intensity, grit, and roaring sound of NASCAR to the PC. This 2003 incarnation of Sierra’s 10-year old series is once again built by Papyrus, the first name in racing simulation fidelity. It doesn’t disappoint. NASCAR Racing Season 2003 features 23 venues including all the real-world tracks in the Winston Cup series, every major driver, and all the licensing …
This PlayStation2 steering wheel supports Gran Turismo 3, F1 2001, Motor Mayhem, NASCAR Heat 2002, The Simpsons: Road Rage, Test Drive, and many other racing games. The wheel lets you feel the road, the handling of the car, and bumps, walls, and crashes like never before. Rubber hand grips provide comfort and precise steering control. The product includes two wheel-mounted paddles, a D-pad, action…
20040007 Features: -Racer set. -Pass and change lanes at full speed with up to 3 cars at the push of a button. -Starter system to the Carrera digital world of racing and compatible with Carrera GO!!! Action features and accessories. -Includes 3 cars, 12 straights 13.46”, 4 straights 4.48”, 4 curves, 4 high banked curves with supports, 8 loop sections with supports, 1 left switch, 1 right switc…
Perhaps their obsession with secrecy of the rulebook perpetuates the impression of a redneck sport and the inability of the spectators to read and understand the written word.
There are a few reporters that say they have obtained one but Nascar doesn’t like letting them out… probably because it changes so much that they don’t want anyone to know the actual rules. One of the drivers once joked that Nascar’s rule book is written in pencil so they can erase what they want to change if that tells you anything.
Top NASCAR writer and Sirius NASCAR radio personality Jerry Bonkowski answers the questions that get fans most fired up. Who was the greatest NASCAR driver ever? Are crashes good for NASCAR? How will Danica Patrick fare as a NASCAR driver? What are the best and worst NASCAR cities and racetracks? In Trading Paint, veteran NASCAR writer Jerry Bonkowski gets inside the sport’s most contentious iss…
Big Time Bid, a novel written by Bob Liguori, is the story of a stockcar racing team’s struggles and commitment to overcome setbacks, beat the competition, and make it to the big time. It’s about choices and relationships, love and competition, and bending the rules of racing and of life. It’s 1979, and NASCAR racing is sill a sport peopled by weekend enthusiasts like driver Rick Venturi and his…
