2021 Retrospect

 Normally I have these year-in-review blogs finished by now but seeing there's just hours left in the year shows how busy and behind a lot of things I am.

I'll start, I guess, with the most important thing. In an effort to finally being both financially independent and an independent adult, in July I took on the task of being able to balance 2 jobs, I began working the overnight shift at Winco, a grocery store. My sleep schedule (and personal schedule, for that matter) were both drastically altered. I get 8 hours of sleep a day, just not in a row, and then I get Friday off from both to catch up on everything but sleep. I love what I do, and I like the full-time employment and the pay and the benefits that come with it. I don't want to do it forever, I've actually had people offer me a third job, I just don't have the time for.

Right at this time last year, I was ringing in the New Year with a long-time friend who I thought I would end up with beyond friendship. Flying in from Florida a couple times, I would either pick her up from the airport or make sure we were able to go out and spend time and get caught up together, and after a year of what I thought was going to end up in the positive, in the summer she politely let me know she didn't feel anything for me romantically, needless to say I took it pretty hard for a while, and I had a lot of questions without answers and the answers I did get I felt like were dodgeball answers. We're still friends it's just weird now, and with that I think I'll permanently give up ever looking for true love. It's all a waste of time.

In July, I was shooting the races at Superbowl speedway like I normally do when my schedule allows, and witnessed the unthinkable and unimaginable. We once again learned the dangers of racing first-hand and saw a fatal accident at the track. The outpouring of love and support from a young man who wasn't well-known at the track (he wasn't a regular, I had only seen him there twice before this season) was heartwarming and also the increased safety efforts at the track to ensure an incident like that never happens again.

I was able to attend my 20th-high school reunion in September. It was a lot of fun, some friends, we picked up right where we left off 20 years ago, and made new memories and reconnected with some long-lost friends as well.

I was poised to get an apartment, again, to finally be on my own as an independent adult. I had signed the lease, I had paid the down payment, and I had cleared all the background checks (I think me being a registered Republican/2X Trump supporter was my only fault...I kid...), and a week-and-a-half before my move-in date, they called and let me know I made too much money and I was disqualified from living there. I was devastated and have begun the agonizing process of looking for another place to stay with very little to no leads.

On the concert front, I was only able to attend one, but it was a good one. In June I saw the band Red, my 2nd-favorite band, for the 7th time ever. It was their first concert in 18 months, first show with a brand-new drummer, and I think it may have been the best show they have put on in the years I have seen them. Was an amazing night, and I was able to get a picture with their bassist Randy after their set.

That's really about all that's fit to print, outside of RPM and Superbowl Speedway (my home tracks) I went to Devils' Bowl Speedway in April for my first weekly show there (I usually attend Sprint Car races there) and I went to 2 races at the Texas Motor Speedway dirt track, and finally saw some prominent dirt late model drivers in person for the first-time ever. All were great nights of racing.

With that being said, 2020 was the longest 6 years of my life, while 2021 went by in a breeze. It wasn't a good year or a bad year, just lots of weird things and a lot of both forgettable and unforgettable events.

What's on store in '22? Only God knows and as Switchfoot sang in the song "Let It Happen", "I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future"

Numb

 Last year I got a text from a longtime friend that I have liked off-and-on for 20 years. Text read: do you like me? Hesitant I said, I can't. She replied, why not? And I gave an answer. Later I gave a full detail saying that I absolutely adore her and that there's nobody else in the world I would rather be with. A few weeks ago she came to visit for 2 weeks, we went out twice, I paid for dinner, dropped her off gave her a long hug and a kiss on top of the head (I don't kiss, for the record, I'm the least-romantic person you will ever meet) And over the course of the last year if you would have gone through all of our messages you would have thought we were both seriously interested in each other. Thursday I got a text: hey I don't feel anything for you romantically i hope we can still be friends. Let's just say I felt like we broke up right then. I was bummed, I'm still am, and now I can safely say I don't think I'll ever find the one God intended for me. So I wrote this at my overnight job kinda in-between customers. Literally everyone was pulling for us, she bummed out more people than just me.

NUMB

For the last year

I loved you and treated you

As if you were my very own

Counting down the days till

You would be here and

I would be holding you in my arms again

Only to find out

Once again

Time wasted

Wasn’t mutual

Never was

Sorry if i seem so bitter

Maybe it’s because i am

Thinking you were the one i had

Longed for

I had prayed for

Only to once again be

Wrong

Like every other time before

Numb

Is all i feel

Because it’s literally all I’ve ever known

Thought it would be different this time around

After years of trying

Once again

Starting over

And all the feelings of

My self doubt come creeping back

Am i not good enough?

Am i supposed to be forever alone?

Will i ever experience true love? True passion?

What i have longed for

Starting to feel like time is passing me by

And I’ve completely missed my chance (at true love)

Thinking of all of those i gave up

Just to think i had a chance

Never again will i run away

From my true feelings

Never again will i hold back

My thoughts

As time on earth is short and temporary.

In case one day i finally do

Find the one whom my soul loves

A Lesson About Track Safety.

 July 10, 2021 started out like any other night at the races. Arrive as early as I can (with my hectic work schedule I'm thankful I can even make it at all) arrive at the track with my camera and safety vest, sign in, get my wristband and go about my thing, making rounds through the pit area and catch up with guys who are like family to me now. 

For those of you who don't know, I'm a photographer at Superbowl Speedway in Greenville, TX, it's an absolute blast and I love doing it and all the benefits that come with being a track photographer. I always like to say, my camera hasn't seen a car it didn't like, and I also feel that if there's a new car there, he's going to want to see photos of his car, so I'm "that guy" (there's also 2 other photographers there, and I feel like we are all really close friends, there's a camaraderie with all the photographers in the DFW area).

The night started out as normal, and in my rush to change out from my work clothes to my racing clothes, I forgot my earplugs. It was the least of my worries that night (I love the sound of racing engines zooming by me but I also would like to be able to enjoy the sounds of those when I'm much, much older)

The 600CC mini sprint feature, something went terribly wrong. From my permanent infield perch in the turn 4 infield, I see the red flag being displayed, which means an accident happened and the race is immediately stopped. I look around to see what part of the quarter-mile bullring the incident occurred and to what car. Not 20 feet in front of me I see a yellow 26 car, on its side, on fire. As the car is gradually brought back on all 4s, I noticed something had gone terribly wrong. I see the body of the driver hunched over and the car is completely engulfed in flames. What happened next is the actual point of this post, as to what went horribly wrong and ways for it to be prevented again. For 5 terrifying minutes, the driver is completely engulfed in flames with no signs of help. The 5 minutes felt like an absolute eternity, people frantically running to try and put out the fire by any means necessary. The EMT's that were on site were unfortunately ill-prepared for such a situation. Drivers were running out with only the lower-half of their firesuits and didn't have fire extinguishers, and those that did, the bottles were only good for a couple sprays. I saw look of absolute fear and horror on people's faces and in their eyes as they were trying to get him and the fire put out. I removed my safety vest and set my camera down, I am also not prepared nor trained for any situation like this, but I was frantically screaming out (I was blessed/cursed with a loud, carrying voice), please, someone get a fire extinguisher, let's get him out! My calls fell on deaf ears. Drivers were running with their coolers to try and extinguish the flames. After 5 agonizing minutes they were finally able to get the young man out of his car. I was right next to the ambulance in the infield as they loaded him in, his helmet and HANS device landed at my feet, the visor and inside foam were completely melted due to the intense heat. Needless to say and rightfully so, the remainder of the nights events were canceled. I prayed with one driver on the front stretch for this young man's safety and again with a big group in the pits after the races. I turned my music off in the car as I left for the night and headed home, trying to shake the images that I saw out of my mind, but also once again continuing to pray for the driver, the EMT's and everyone that witnessed the events unfold. I got maybe 3 hours sleep that night, once again with the images burned in my head.

This is where I get to my point. The point of this is about track safety. I am in no way bashing this track. It's my home track, I represent it and the people are like family to me. I almost think that we became too complacent in general that situations wouldn't arise like that at our local track. Fire is every racers biggest fear. I think nobody there was properly prepared as to handle that situation, but we all need to realize, racing is an inherently dangerous sport, at any level, of any class, at any track. Did we let our guard down? Did we lose the mindset of, that can't happen to me?

The young man, Caleb Couch (say his name) died 3 days later of massive head injuries and also sustained 3rd degree burns on 60% of his body. Needless to say, the track has made massive upgrades to both safety personnel at the track and fire safety as well. It was the worst thing I have ever seen at the track, and I've been going to races my entire life. It's an addiction that needs to be fed weekly. I was completely gutted and devastated when I learned of his passing. I didn't know him personally, but after learning about his life and the extraordinary life he lived after his passing, he did more living in 17 years than I've done in nearly 40. And it made the grieving process easier when I found out that he knew Jesus and that his pain in the few days after the accident was only temporary, and he shed his earthly body and is now with Jesus for all of eternity.

The following week, the track canceled the races but instead, had a candlelight vigil memorial for Caleb. The gospel was preached. He was smiling down at the crowd that turned out for a kid, who was relatively unknown at the track (it was his first year racing and I can only recall him being out there one prior time this season) I'm thankful I went.

The main point of this post, is for tracks and drivers in general: don't ever be too safe. Even in 2021. Racing is still inherently dangerous. It's a risk racers sign up for. The rush. The the thrill. The competition. Even if it means paying the ultimate sacrifice.

2020 Hindsight

 2020 is a year we'll never soon forget, whether we want to or not. I still made the best out of a bad situation.

In February, even though I wasn't there to attend in person, my Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl. You wait your whole life for your team to finally do something, and I soaked it all in. We got burnt ends from Hutchins for that authentic KC BBQ feel for the game, but I was sick and I didn't even touch them till the next day. Fun. A friend of mine went to the game and sent me a rally towel, I also have a shirt, hat, bumper sticker, license plate frame, and mini-helmet with the Chiefs Super Bowl victory. It was a long time coming and I want to experience another one now!

In March, the whole Still clan ventured out to Estes Park, Colorado to enjoy each other's company and God's creation. This was right when the "pandemic" was starting. We had to cut the trip early, not due to the rise of the rona, but for the threat of a blizzard that was going to drop a foot of snow the first day of spring. Before we met my brother and his family at our VRBO, I had to see Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Morrison. I had seen many concerts on tv from there, would love to check a show there, and didn't realize it was actually in a park. Super cool area. Colorado was a wonderful trip but everything started going downhill from there.

April. Lock down. Can't work. Can't see my friends. Can't go to church. Can't go to races. Can't do anything. Why? I would do zoom sessions with my lifegroup but it wasn't the same. They would see me as I just woke up on Sunday mornings. There was times in the month of April I felt completely alone. I was temporarily laid off from work as I was deemed "non-essential" but halfway through April I was like, screw it, we're ALL essential. I refused to sign up for unemployment because I'm a firm believer in earning everything you have, so I lived off my stimulus check and my tax return for several months.

Once May opened back up I went to a dirt track the first night tracks were opened back up, and did nothing but dirt racing all summer at several different tracks in the area.

Last Saturday in May, when my home track in Greenville opened back up, I finally got to drive a race car. One generous driver let me hop in his limited mod and let me pack the track (packing the track is basically idling clockwise to work the track in to make it less muddy) I remember stalling the motor 4 times after I fired it up, and I when I pulled back into the pit area I pulled his car up at the wrong hauler. Oops. But you couldn't wipe the smile off my face the rest of the night basically. 

This summer when I wasn't working I went to several different dirt tracks in the area, either my local track (I was basing it off my budget and had a plan that I could only attend so many nights before I ran out of money, drivers were more than willing to help me out, but I'm not one for charity) until God and their track owner stepped in. They gave me a VIP card which means I get in free for life. I am forever grateful. I'm one of the track photographers there and I love it, and with that I get all kinds of perks of being the photographer. I get shirts, hats, food, drinks, sometimes cash from drivers in exchange for photos. It's an even trade.

In June I had an interview with a store in Prosper but they were going to only offer me 12 hours a MONTH, NOT worth it. So just wait. Rely on and have trust in God.

Also in June, I went to Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite to see some sprint cars. I got to see former NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne race, along w/NASCAR super star Kyle Larson, who was suspended from NASCAR for accidental use of a racial slur. Got to meet them all before or after the event, Larson was super nice, and he won the feature (he is probably the best pure racer in the country) and Tony Stewart is what you think he is.

Also in June, a friend of mine from church told me about a free concert in Sherman featuring Scott Stapp of Creed, it was in my budget. We went and got our faces rocked off, and we were able to meet the rest of the band minus Scott afterwards.

In July, the same friend and I went and saw Christian rock/worship band Seventh Day Slumber at a small church in Denison. Again, free, in my budget. Got to meet their whole band afterwards, nicest guys ever.

I was slated to return to the church division with Lifetouch in August, that was delayed (and eventually completely closed down due to COVID) I received an e-mail about JC Penney Portrait studios hiring, so I jumped on that, I was added to their rotation in September, I'm 15 minutes from home and it gives me some financial stability, finally.

This has been a year like no other, the 2 verses I clung to this year were, "My God shall provide all your needs" and "God has not given us a spirit of fear" 

In 2020, I didn't work for 7 months, but I was able to go to 7 different dirt tracks in the area. Racing was my escape and getaway and for one night a week it gave me something to look forward to, and thankful for the generosity of drivers and track personnel as well.

Hopefully 2021 is better for everyone.

"I don't know what the future holds but I know Who holds my future"-Switchfoot.

Chiefs Best 30-year-team/My All-Time Favorite Chiefs

 With the Chiefs (not the NFL, I could care less about the NFL as an organization) but the Defending Super Bowl Champion (It feels SO good to say that) season rapidly approaching, I came up with an all-time team--from the last 30 years, which is about when I started paying attention to football, so basically, none of the guys from the glory years of the '60s or the forgotten seasons of the '70s and '80s. Why? Because I had to have seen that player on TV to be included in this list. I also did a list for my 10-all-time favorite Chiefs players. So, here we go.

Quarterback: I mean, is there any other option besides Patrick Mahomes? My other options were Trent Green or Alex Smith, and they don't have anything on him. Transitional QB. Once-in-a-generation QB. Already has HOF and GOAT stats in his 2nd full season of starting.

Running Back: This was a difficult choice as the Chiefs have ALWAYS had really good solid running backs. I went with: Marcus Allen for obvious goal line situations, Jamaal Charles for burning past defenders, AND Priest Holmes for grinding out yardage. Kind of a backs by committee backfield.

Fullback: again, I had 3 really solid choices here, I chose between Kimble Anders, Tony Richardson and the Sausage Anthony Sherman. Advantage: Sherman. He is lethal out of the backfield and has good hands. Can't go wrong with any of them.

Tight Ends: There's clearly only 2 choices here: The best to ever play the game and the current best in the game. Tony Gonzalez and Travis Kelce. Who do I pick? Flip a coin.

Wide Receiver: this was tough as for the most part, the Chiefs haven't had a lot of standout receivers over the last 30 years. Some guys were one-season wonders and I consider having played for the team at least 2 years to be considered (although I made one exception on defense...stay tuned)
Tyreek Hill (clearly a no-brainer here) Fastest player I've ever seen, unbelievably explosive, and arguably the most dangerous offensive weapon in the league today.
Andre Rison: spiderman, he had a few good seasons later in his career in KC.
Dwayne Bowe: inconsistent but had a few good seasons, I almost see him being too big for the Chiefs current receiving core.
The others I considered: Derrick Alexander. Incredibly underrated receiver, put up some big numbers during the 2000 season, and Mecole Hardman. Like I said, only consider players who have played at least 2 seasons in KC, he was an electrifying rookie last season, and the sky is the limit for him. Drafted as a question mark surrounded Hill but he became an explosive return man and eventually wideout as well.

Now I'm getting to the positions that don't get a lot of love: the big uglies. The offensive line. The Chiefs have had some great lineman over the past 30 years.

Tackle: Willie Roaf and Mitchell Schwartz. Roaf is a Hall of Famer and Schwartz is one of the best but yet somehow still incredibly underrated lineman in the league.
Center: there was about 3 options here: Tim Grunhard, Casey Wiegmann, and Mitch Morse. I went with Wiegmann. Undersized and underrated.
Guards: Will Shields and Brian Waters. Shields is a Hall of Famer and one of the best to ever do it, and Waters went from a Tight End at North Texas to being so good but overshadowed by that Hall of Fame O-Line with Roaf and Shields.

K-Again, the Chiefs have had some pretty solid kickers the last 30 years, but I went with current kicker, The Buttkicker, Harrison Butker.
P-Any other choice but Dustin Colquitt here is wrong. Some years when the Chiefs were so bad he was their MVP.
Returners: I say have Tyreek Hill, Dante Hall, and Mecole Hardman all back returning kicks and let the fastest man win.

Now, on to defense. I did as both a 3-4 and a 4-3 scheme, as the Chiefs have had both schemes in the past 30 years.

Linebackers can intertwine here, and they have had some outstanding linebackers since 1990.
Derrick Thomas and Justin Houston are the outside pass rushers. Good luck defending them.
Derrick Johnson is the clear choice for middle linebacker, criminally underrated for almost 15 seasons in KC, Donnie Edwards would be the solid backup choice.
The only other choice I thought about for linebacker would be Tamba Hali, although he was more of a 3-4 edge rusher, so I don't know how I would make that work.
My defensive end in a 4-3 would be Neil Smith, and again, in a 3-4 I don't know who would be my linebackers and edge rushers. Too much talent which isn't a bad problem to have at all, figuring out how to utilize them would be.

And now to the big uglies on the D-Line. Chris Jones is the obvious choice here. I can't recall really any standout defensive lineman, so my only other 2 choices were Dontari Poe and Dan the man Saleamua. In a 3-4, I don't know how that would work. In a 4-3, Jones and Poe would stuff the middle.

Cornerback: I can't really think of any clear-cut number 1 or 2 choices here. Had Marcus Peters not had any off-field or being an idiot issues, he would be my number 1 choice. So instead, I went a little bit old school on my picks for corner:
Albert Lewis and James Hasty

Safety: this is where I made the one exception for having only played in KC one year:
Eric Berry is my obvious choice, he's kind of the biggest "what if" in Chiefs history. When healthy, there was no one better on the field, but injuries and cancer treatment hindered and shortened his career.
My other choice is the Landlord. The honey badger. Tyrann Mathieu. Replaced the best safety in the league with the other best safety in the league. My backups would be Deron Cherry and Dirty Dan Sorenson.

And lastly this list wouldn't be complete without coahes.
My head coach would obviously be Big Red Andy Reid. Did what no other head coach in 50 years who wasn't named Hank Stram could do. Won the Super Bowl. Marty Schottenheimer and Dick Vermeil would be my next 2 choices but they couldn't clear the hurdle of the playoffs. So advantage: Big Red.
Offensive Coordinator: Eric Bienimy. Has one of the most fun jobs in the world: drawing up plays for that high-powered offense 
And my defensive coordinator would be the late Gunther Cunningham. You really think I was going to put Greg Robinson or Bob Sutton here?

That's 30-years worth of talent there. They've had some legends and it's so surprising there's only one Super Bowl to show for it. I hope that the Chiefs are the new dynasty in the AFC with the best QB and the most explosive offense in the league, and they are keeping the core together for years to come.

Now, it's time for my 10 all-time favorite players
1. Derrick Thomas. The GOAT. I met him at his house when I was 9, I took it so hard when he died, no matter who comes and goes for the Chiefs, he will always be my favorite.
2. Patrick Mahomes. Took the Chiefs 35 years to draft a QB in the first round, and the got one of the best to ever play trading up to get him.
3. Eric Berry. Became a bigger fan of him how he handled his own personal adversity after beating cancer and a ruptured Achilles. Dude was a warrior on and off the field.
4. Tony Gonzalez. The greatest tight end in history, and the player that actually had me pay attention to that position, before that they were basically a 6th offensive lineman who was a blocker and would occasionally go out for a pass.
5. Derrick Johnson. Even though he played at UT, I applauded him when the Chiefs drafted him. We share a birthday so I always had a soft spot for him.
6. Jamaal Charles. See above about Jamaal, UT product, but when you play for the Chiefs I don't care where you play at college.
7. Priest Holmes. See above above. Chiefs found a gem when they signed him from the Ravens, yes he had that all-world offensive line but he put up some BIG numbers.
8. Travis Kelce. The current best tight end in football. He's kind of a frat boy but he has a lot of fun doing what he does.
9. Justin Houston. Awesome pass rusher, looks weird seeing him wear 99 for the colts now.
And number 10, I had a difficult time with this one, but I went with:
Marcus Allen. He always showed Al Davis and the Raiders how washed up he was twice a year, always had a knack for the goal line, and by all accounts, seems like a really decent guy.

So that's it. That's 30 years worth of Chiefs players. I did some research, most of this was from memory.

Greatest Racers in History

It's no doubt I like racing. Everyone that knows me know I've been an avid race fan my entire life. I enjoy attending and photographing races. So in this down time I've had I started thinking about all the great racers I've seen (and there is a brief disclaimer: I had to have seen them race at least once in person to have made the cut) and there have been more great NASCAR drivers I didn't quite put on this list. This was a very difficult list and I had to stretch my memory as to who I can remember seeing in person. I also base it off the versatility of each driver outside of NASCAR. So with that being said, here's the list.
NASCAR (My primary go-to form of professional racing for 28 years but did not start attending Cup series races until 2007)
Jeff Gordon--never saw him win in person, but 4 championships and over 90 career wins. Record speaks for itself.
Jimmie Johnson--saw ALL of his Texas wins. 7 championships and over 80 career wins.
Tony Stewart--saw his 2011 Fall Texas win along with an IROC win at Texas in 2006, 3 Cup championships and 49 wins. Also saw him race in Nationwide, IROC, and sprint cars. One of the greatest wheelmen in history.
Mark Martin--never saw him win in person, but he won 49 career races as well, and won several IROC championships, one of the best and most underrated drivers in history.
Rusty Wallace--again, never saw him win in person, was retired when I attended my first race, but did get to meet him a couple times. 50 career Cup wins and a championship.
Kyle Busch--Seen him win in every series he's run. One of the greatest wheelmen of all-time. No further discussion needed.
Kevin Harvick--saw him win races at Michigan and Texas in person. 1 championship and 50 wins. One of the best ever and he's only getting better.
Denny Hamlin--seen him win races at Homestead and Texas, best to never win a championship.
Bill Elliott--awesome Bill. Never saw him win a race in person, by the time I saw him his winning days were behind him.
Matt Kenseth--it was a toss-up between he and Kurt Busch on this for NASCAR, but Kenseth gets the partiality nod for me. I was an unashamed die-hard Matt Kenseth fan (and still am) now that he's back. Never saw him win in person, outside of my first ever Busch race.

Indy Car: I've been to one Indy Car race in person, but would attend their practice/qualifying/autograph session for a few years.
Will Power (has the best name ever)
Scott Dixon (won the only Indycar race I attended in person)
Helio Castroneves
Juan Montoya (saw him in both NASCAR and Indycar) world class driver who almost seems underrated.
Simon Pagenaud
Tony Kanaan
Alex Rossi
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Takuma Sato
Josef Newgarden
(There may have been more that ran F-1 but I only started paying attention to Indy car full-time last season)
Sprint car (I have only attended 3 410 sprint car races along with maybe a handful of 360, because they don't run them here a lot)
Steve Kinser* (I only saw him run an IROC car, I've met his son Kraig a couple times)
Donny Schatz
Kyle Larson (saw him at Devils Bowl last month, he's as good as advertised on dirt)
Daryn Pittman
Sammy Swindell (prior to last year I only saw him race a truck on the road course at Topeka in 1995)
Brad Sweet
Jason Johnson (saw him race a few times and 2 months before he died in a crash 2 years ago)
Sam Hafertepe Jr (saw him win in ASCS 360 and run All-Star 410)
Shane Stewart
Aaron Ruetzel (saw him in both ASCS 360 and All-Star 410 sprints) Fast in both.

Misc: world-class drivers I've seen race a little bit of everything, I think there's more guys on this list than everywhere else...)
Tanner Faust (met/saw him race Global Rally 4 years ago) Maybe the greatest driver on the planet???
Scott Speed--ran F1, NASCAR, and Global Rally. World Class driver with one of the best names ever
Steve Arpin--Canadian driver I saw race USMTS modifeds and global rally. Also ran ARCA, truck, and nationwide cars. Very versatile driver.
Brian Deegan--better known as Hallie's dad, has raced off-road and global rally. Saw him run Global rally.
Ken Schrader. Nuff said. Only saw him run outside of NASCAR twice, both in dirt late models. As good as advertised. Had a chance to see him in his modified last year at my home track, but rainouts forced his schedule to change.
Robby Gordon--saw him in NASCAR and stadium super trucks. One of the most diverse racers of all-time.
Christopher Bell. I'm a bit biased here. I'm a BIG fan of this guy. One of the absolute best in midgets and sprint cars, I've only seen him in NASCAR, though.
Rico Abreu--see description for Bell.
Sebastian Bourdais--saw him in IROC and Indy car, French driver. Very diverse and versatile and underrated. Has also run Formula 1 and I think is currently running IMSA or some kind of road racing series.
Max Papis--saw him in NASCAR and IROC. Also met him several times. GREAT guy. Raced everything from Formula 1 to NASCAR.
Scott Pruett--as far as I can recall, I only saw him in NASCAR and IROC. One of the best road-racers of all-time.
Travis Pastrana. Is there anything this guy hasn't raced? Saw/met him his one year in NASCAR. Awesome guy.
Ricky Carmichael. He's called the GOAT for his Supercross record. I saw him his one year in trucks. Very nice guy.
Nelson Piquet Jr. Ran F-1. Met him his few years in NASCAR.
Narian Karthikeyan. Unknown name, I'm sure. F-1 driver from India. Ran the truck series in 2010. He was good. But was gone after that year and I have no idea what he ever did after that. Was hoping he would get a fair shot in NASCAR. If you can drive in F-1 you can drive. Period. And kinda cool to have a guy from India trying his hand in NASCAR.
Lastly--Dave Blaney. Only saw him in NASCAR. Would love to see him race sprint cars. One of the greatest sprint car drivers of all-time.

I'm excluding all the weekend warriors that show up every week, wheel their car for all its worth, and don't get the glory or the money that these guys do.

Blessed to have seen so many amazing racers in 35 of attending races.

Eracism

This is going to be a touchy subject and I'm choosing my words carefully, but also giving personal experiences to help you hopefully relate and see my world and point-of-view.

The current focus of the media is the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by a white police officer. Racial tensions and divide are at an all-time high. Before I give my thoughts as to what I think is really going on, let me give you some personal experiences, that haven't changed my opinion of either.

Summer 2001. 4AM. I had just gotten back from a mission trip to Colorado. Halfway between my then-church and home, I see the police lights flashing. My first thought in my weary, sleep-deprived, anxious-to-get-home mind was, what did I do wrong? Why am I being pulled over? The donut shops open at 5, am I getting pulled over to waste time? The officer walks up to my car and spits out some of his dip. I knew right then it wouldn't be a good experience. He searched me and my car, which I guess is standard protocol. It took about 10 minutes to run my plates and my license, knowing there's literally nothing on my record, and at that hour of the morning and that close to home, it felt like an eternity. He approached me again to hand me back my id. The reason for being pulled over? Taillight out. I told the officer, I had been told it had been going out (old car) but I couldn't see it from my vantage point behind the wheel. He gave me a ticket for having it out. And come to find out later, he was fired due to being inappropriate with a minor. Bad cop. Did that change my opinion of ALL police? No.

Fall 2012. Returning from Texas Motor Speedway. On highway 380 in Prosper between what is now Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway. I had moved over into the other lane to give a state trooper room, as he already had one car pulled over, as soon as I move back into the other lane, he flips his lights on and proceeds to pull ME over. The crime? Taillight bulb was out. Very very minor infraction. I kept the passenger side locked, but was frantically digging through my glove box to find my insurance card. He walks over to that side and tried to open it (he may have been thinking I was carrying a gun, I don't know) he asked me to get out of the car and stand over by the back of the car. He asked me to lift up my shirt for any weapons, which I didn't have. And he asked me if I had drugs. I'm so innocent, I've never even SEEN any form of narcotics or illegal substances in my life. I granted his request and said you're not going to find any. The first thing he asked me when I got out of the car is if I had ever been arrested. My first thought was, this will be my first. I said no sir, he kept repeatedly asking me why I was so nervous. I said, sir, it's late I just want to get home. So after a search and again running my id and my plates, I'm let off with a warning. The rest of the 20-minute drive home I kept shaking my head and asking, why did that happen? Did that one State Trooper affect my opinion of ALL State Troopers? No.

Fall 2013. Working at a grocery store I worked at for almost 7 years, black customer comes through my line. I hand him change, thank him for coming in, look down and noticed I had a WHITE flour spot or something on my shirt. He flips out. He said, so you wiping the black off, is that it? Dumbfounded I responded, I'm sorry, what? He said, yeah, you're wiping your shirt off, is it because you touched me you're wiping the black off? I instantly apologized and said I'm sorry if I did or said anything to offend you. He stands by the bagging area and proceeds to throw the change at me, and said, hey fuck you man, if I was your manager I would never hire your punk ass. My first thought was, if you were my manager I wouldn't work for you. He said he would come back the next morning to tell the manager and try and get me fired. I came in the next morning and talked to all 3 managers, they said I was good and knew I wasn't like that. Did that change my opinion of anybody? No.

The next year (it had to have been because I quit working there in 2014) I had a regular customer come through my line, I think he was mixed, but we had always gotten along, and it was small friendly talk, he was from New Orleans and a big Saints fan, I was about to ask him about the Saints' upcoming season. He was on his phone and something switched in him, he said, I know you. I know you so well you little racist faggot bitch. My first thought was if you knew me, you would know I'm not any of what you said. He proceeded to berate me for several minutes before I politely asked him to leave. He came back , I don't know if it was to apologize or to further escalate the situation, I remained calm and again asked him to leave. I got off work and sat in my car and broke down and cried. Being called racist, when you aren't one, is probably the worst thing I've ever been called in my life.

Now I'm going to get political here. You can either choose to keep reading or stop reading here. Your call.

All of this racial division and tension is what the democrats and the media want. They are fanning the flames of racial tension. They want us divided. A house divided cannot stand. I stayed up till almost 2 in the morning on Friday night watching events unfold across the country. I'm all for peaceful protesting, but when it turns violent is another story. When they said the peaceful protests were turning violent in Dallas, my heart sank and I almost cried, remembering that tragic night just 3 years ago when a handful of DPD officers were ambushed in yet another night of police brutality protests and did not want a repeat. My heart sank when all these stores across the country were looted.

What point does looting make? Will that bring justice to a man who was wrongly murdered? There is borderline anarchy in the streets. Nothing is being done, that's the sad reality.

I'm a white suburban Midwestern male. I try not to see color. I was raised to think like Martin Luther King, not to judge a man by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character. I have had bad experiences with both police and those of a different shade of melanin than myself. That hasn't changed my opinion of either. I've always said that people are like Christmas presents, it's what's inside that counts.

As I went to bed on Friday night (Saturday morning) I began praying out of almost fear, I said please God I know You're in control and Your hand is still on this country, I pray we will never lose You or let go of Israel because only then You will turn Your back on us.

I hope it's not too late. This country needs to revert back to 2 Chronicles 1:7: If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray, I will hear them from heaven and heal their land.