Race Journal Online by Carol Einarsson

"I believe anybody who tells you he is unbiased is a liar. Being human gives you bias, and you can't avoid that. The best you can ever hope to be is fair."
-David Poole

Click to read David Poole tribute

RJO's Favorite Charities

Good friends of RJO

Joe Gibbs is Happy to be Second. Do you know why?

Official Beasts of RJO

07/30/1993 - 01/11/2010

Various Other Articles

Jack's Ghost Plane; Sinking Ship at SPEED By Carol Einarsson \| 08/23/2010

Ghost Plane? Jack Roush says: “I filed my NTSB report today, which is a matter of public record. It speaks for itself. The reality of it -- on a trip arrival into Oshkosh, Wisconsin I was put in conflict with the flight plan of another airplane close to the ground, and I was unable to address the conflict and keep the airplane flying." The NTSB report says: "The pilot was flying to KOSH to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Airventure 2010 fly-in convention. Air traffic control (ATC) data indicated that the accident flight entered the Oshkosh area under visual flight rules and was cleared to land on runway 18R (8,002 feet by 150 feet, concrete). Read more...
Comments: 13	Last Activity: 08/25/10

When Did NASCAR Stop Loving America? By Carol Einarsson \| 08/16/2010

One of the things I’ve always loved about NASCAR is that, despite where you live in the country, you feel a little bit more connected to the heart and soul of true American patriotism when you’re at (or watching) a race. Fans proudly fly flags of their favorite driver, but there are more American flags at a NASCAR race than I see at any other U.S. sporting event. Routinely the pre-race invocation includes prayers for our American servicemen that are fighting evil around the world. Three words, God, Family, and NASCAR are all underpinned with a patriotic message that this is the greatest of all countries, and we are blessed to be enjoying the fruits of it. So when was that moment that someone decided to use the presentation of our national anthem as a marketing device? Who was it that began this madness? I don’t know of a resource that lists the presenter of the anthem for each race going back in history, but I’d like to know who the brain-trust was that thought, “Hey, I know! Let’s try to get new fans to watch the race by booking a big-name singer to perform the anthem. Surely if they like the singer, they’ll A.) first find out he/she is singing the anthem, then B.) seek out the race broadcast in order to see their favorite singer perform this one song, and finally C.) stay tuned in to see the whole race, thus becoming a life-long fan of the sport and generating countless dollars of revenue in ticket and merchandise sales. We can sell it to the performers by promising national exposure to fans that will then, in turn, buy their newest CD.” Read more...
Comments: 25	Last Activity: 08/19/10

Time for NASCAR to Hold Pocono Accountable By Carol Einarsson \| 08/02/2010

If you’ve followed NASCAR for a period of time, you know that there’s much more to it than left turns. Competitors, teammates, feuds… all are a part of it. But so are the friendships that make these men closer than brothers. And as a spectator of the sport, you learn whose voice means the most in a time of crisis. Darrell Waltrip on February 18th, 2001 was such a voice. “I sure hope Dale’s okay.” There was a different tone to it, not as a color commentator, but as a dear friend. His voice conveyed more to us than a dispassionate announcer who maybe didn’t know Dale Earnhardt on a deeper, personal level. Other times, a friend’s voice is silent, and maybe that’s when we worry even more. When Elliott Sadler hit that wicked wall at Pocono, we listened for one voice only, that of his good friend Dale Jarrett. As Andy described the scene, we still didn’t hear DJ. I think he was praying. Lots of race fans were. Read more...
Comments: 27	Last Activity: 08/07/10

Win a Race, You're in the Chase By Carol Einarsson \| 07/30/2010

There. The slogan is already written. Now let’s think about how effective that would be. I was pondering this last weekend with the realization that the driver who won both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, might not even get a chance to try for the Championship. While there may be some race fans that like the Chase, many (if not most) can likely give you at least half a dozen reasons why they don’t, and never has there been a better example of what’s broken than if Jamie McMurray misses the Chase. Read more...
Comments: 34	Last Activity: 08/06/10

This is the Soul of NASCAR - Smaller is Bigger! By Carol Einarsson \| 07/26/2010

An excerpt: Imagine a sports world where NASCAR was known as the highest demand event every single weekend; where every race was sold out; where you had to buy your tickets early or miss the race. Imagine people tuning in to see the spectacle, and at the end of the night, while there may have been new feuds born in the same race where old scores were settled, everyone walked away. TV ratings would be up, fan interest would be up, and everyone else would look on and wonder about this sport that has folks gladly bringing their own blankets and chairs to pay money and sit on the grass. Read more...
Comments: 15	Last Activity: 07/28/10

My Grown Assistant, Night Court, and the Best Sledding Story Ever! By Carol Einarsson \| 07/23/2010

You may have noticed fewer articles lately (though after the bombshell of Tuesday's column, maybe you're thankful!), so here's a small update from our house... First and foremost, my assistant turned 19 years old yesterday. I can't believe he's grown. Here in Nebraska, 19 is what 18 is to the rest of you. It's the age of official "adult". He's officially, in the eyes of the law, grown. I don't know what came over me today, but as I wished him happy birthday, the words that blurted out of my mouth before I had time to even think of the best words of wisdom to send him off to his adult life, were, "Happy birthday! Now don't do anything stupid, because now they'll try you as an adult." Uh.. thanks, Mom? Read more...
Comments: 5	Last Activity: 07/23/10

Brad Keselowski's Playing With the Big Kids Now By Carol Einarsson \| 07/20/2010

By now you've likely seen "the incident" in the Nationwide race over the weekend. If not, check it out here before reading further; I'm sure you'll have an opinion! I tried to see this from all three sides - Carl's, Brad's, and NASCAR's. Right or wrong, I can see Carl's side. Here I am, and a guy tries to wreck me for the win. I hold onto my car and see him in front of me taking my win. No, not today. That's my win and I'd be there if you hadn't just tried to wreck me for it, so you can't have it that way. Bump. There it is. Now I'm Brad, and I want to win. I just need to loosen up Carl Edwards so I can get around him. I bump him out of the way and drive off. Rubbin's racin', right? I'm going to win! Oh, wait. I underestimated him. He held onto his car and is still right here. Crap. I can't believe he wrecked me! And I'm NASCAR. I've told them to "have at it, boys," so can I step in and squash it now? Well, yes I can, because I already had a little sit-down with them and put them on probation. And sitting them out of the Nationwide race for a week or two might be perfect because it's not the Cup series, and yet it will send a message to them and others like them, that while I'm trying to show leniency, I am still in charge of this place. Read more...
Comments: 52	Last Activity: 07/23/10

Swearing, a New Feud, and a Whole New Racing Series! By Carol Einarsson \| 07/15/2010

So often during the season, an off-week brings little news to write about, but wow, what a week! Apologetic Rusty Okay, first let's address Rusty's "comment". I missed it, but I read that it was a "one word comment" and it followed Kyle Busch saying that he doesn't care that people boo him, I'm guessing it was a two-syllable word that started with a bull and ended with a T. (Or, as I'm now told, started with a dumb and ended with an S.) Now while I'm not a big fan of cursing on TV, I have to wonder who would ever be fooled into thinking Rusty's apology was sincere. “At the end of Friday night’s telecast, I made an unfortunate remark regarding Kyle Busch. There’s no excuse and I certainly know better. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone including Kyle for my mistake.” An unfortunate remark? I certainly know better? My mistake? Read more...
Comments: 8	Last Activity: 07/16/10

Knaus Suggests Chase Tweaks; NASCAR Can Cure the Start and Parks By Carol Einarsson \| 07/12/2010

Last night on Wind Tunnel, co-host Chad Knaus had some ideas about how NASCAR should tweak the Chase. His suggestion is to simply shorten the season for everyone. Maybe 30 or 31 races on the schedule. Then after that, the Chase races (five or six of them) would finish out the year, and only the top 20 cars would be in those play-off races. His assertion is that way if you screw up, you’ve done it to yourself (by taking out the wildcards of the back-markers, I suppose). Read more...
Comments: 15	Last Activity: 07/14/10

Fruition - No More 3 For Junior By Carol Einarsson \| 07/05/2010

fru-i-tion - noun attainment of anything desired; realization; accomplishment. It was probably the biggest Nationwide race we’ll see all year, and I wonder if the Friday night ratings on ESPN surpassed even the biggest Sunday race ratings they’ll have all year. Surely you’ve seen it, you’ve read about it, and you have your own emotions about it. Here, then, are mine… Like every other Earnhardt fan, I hold that #3 in a special place. It somehow means more than any other driver/number combination. Maybe because the black #3 and Dale Earnhardt were one and the same. As an old married couple begins to look alike after so many years together, we couldn’t see the #3 apart from seeing Dale Earnhardt, and whether he was in his firesuit or street clothes, when you saw the man, you saw the black #3. When he was gone, it was only the right thing to do for the black #3 to go with him. Read more...
Comments: 17	Last Activity: 07/07/10