PartMule’s really gettin’ into the whole turn left, then turn left, then left again thing this year. NASCAR dun got me by the britches! Shiiiiit! I’ve been really into the Nextel Cup standings, NASCAR’s equivalent of a pennant race, and am excited by the duel shaping up between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon this year. But this past weekends beer throwing, hillbilly crap may have got me hooked, real nice!
In case you were sidetracked reading a book or perusing an art gallery or some shit, the rest of America’s finest were glued to the events at the Phoenix International Speedway last Sunday. Jeff Gordon won the day’s race, which equaled Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s all-time stock car victory mark of 76, and celebrated by cruising the track with Earnhardt Sr.’s #3’s flag raised out his window. Gordon’s tribute to #3, who died a few years back in a crash at Daytona, showed a lot of class in a sport that has always screamed for a class upgrade.
What happened next? Well, the refined crowd proceeded to pelt his car with beer, hot dogs, and I think possum stew. They took the “Yankee” action as a insult (did I mention the Yankees again!). Dale Earnhardt Jr. understood what Gordon was trying to do and later commended him for his appreciate of his Dad’s record.
Earnhardt Jr. commented on the crowd’s reaction, “I’d consider it nasty, he said. I don’t feel comfortable with beer cans flying on the racetrack at any point in time. You see a lot of them are full, half full, hitting people ’cause they’re not making it over the fence, knocking people in the back of the head.”
Only in a sport such as NASCAR does one of its athletes have to speak publicly about his discomfort in the rampant tossing of beer cans at the arena and the potential for injury to other fans. Shit, this stuff makes me wanna watch every Sunday!! If this were a Laker game, it’d be the equivalent of Jack Nicholson getting ropped in the back of the head by an incoming Budweiser from the upper deck. What’s not fun in watching that, right?
