Due to popular demand (OK, demanded by Marty and Murray the Putz, anyway), the Bear’s good friend inside the Evil Empire is back. – Murphy-
It has been a while since you’ve heard from A.C. My temp job with the Census Department has really tied me up, and I haven’t been able to attend any Grand Am races since Daytona.
There has been a lot of news about the Rolex Series recently, and its all been good. Probably the best thing is J.C. France has been fully exonerated of those bogus charges against him. J.C. is a good citizen and an asset to the Daytona Beach community and the Rolex Grand Am Series. It almost brought a tear to my eyes when I saw all those “Free J.C.” Banners at the Rolex 24.
It was obvious from the start J.C. was targeted by law enforcement. This is called RWGP (“Rich White Guy Profiling”) and has become a serious problem in our country. The fact he has 30 traffic stops on his record proves the police are unfairly targeting him. From what I understand, the ACLU was going to defend J.C. because of the nature of this RWGP case. Fortunately, all charges have been dropped.
I wasn’t surprised to hear the good news that Scott Pruett was just named the “Most Interesting Man in the World,” replacing that bearded Dos Equis guy (“Stay Thirsty my Friends”). The announcement was made by the NASCAR Road Racing PR Department after a poll of Grand-Am fans (Andy F., I know you stuffed the ballot box, but I won’t tell anyone). As I’m sure all you Grand-Am fans know- Scott is simply the greatest race car driver ever. By the way, Memo Rojas is a great guy too, but not that interesting.
I received an email from a reader suggesting I comment on the dwindling car count in Grand Am. First of all, 12 DP’s is an excellent number, because it’s quality, not quantity that matters. More important, it’s kind of cool that there is usually one car per spectator at Grand Am races, which creates a very intimate feeling. NASCAR does not overlook anything!
I really like the new ballast drawing instituted for the GT class. If you are not familiar with it, it is quite simple: When a Mazda team arrives at the track, they draw a number [between 74 and 76] out of a hat, and that is the amount of extra pounds they carry in the race. Non-Mazda teams are exempt.
Don’t know if any of you have had a chance to see the massive new NASCAR offices on International Speedway Boulevard, but they are awesome. The lobby features a tribute to the France family and the importance of NASCAR to our society. Its like a little museum; there’s a special display by Winston, showing the number of NASCAR fans who got lung cancer during their sponsorship. Another display shows the technology advances of NASCAR (for some reason the timeline ends with the 1970s). A neat item on display is the actual urine sample Jeremy Mayfield submitted for his drug test. Probably the coolest thing is the “Wall of Contrived Controversies” the NASCAR PR department has dreamed up to create fan interest. They were just adding the Jeff Gordon vs. Jimmie Johnson feud when I was there the other day. Anyway, the Grand Am office is on the first floor in the back corner, next to the restrooms and the “Office of Loyalty.” Inside the Grand-Am office there are 159 different photos of Hurley Haywood on the wall, arranged in a pattern that spells “DAYTONA.” Really cool. If you ever have a chance to visit the new offices, I recommend it.
The “silly season” is upon us already! Lots of juicy rumors. I’ve heard Jim France is the stroke of a pen away from buying the three Panoz tracks. If he steps up to the plate, and I think he will, expect the Rolex schedule to expand by three races next year!
I’ve also heard the next generation of DPs will be announced later this year! The rules will send shockwaves throughout the road racing community (and especially in Braselton). I am sworn to secrecy, but I will give you these hints: Jim Hurtubise, Zima, and The Village People.
A.C.
Tags: Andy F., Daytona, Dos Equis, Grand Am, Hurley Haywood, J.C. France, Jeff Gordon, Jeremy Mayfield, Jim France, Jim Hurtubise, Jimmie Johnson, Marty, Mazda, Memo Rojas, Murray the Putz, NASCAR, Panoz, Rolex, Scott Pruett, The Village People, Winston, Zima
Crack cocaine is the only drug for which the first offense of simple possession can trigger a federal mandatory minimum sentence. Possession of 5 grams of crack will trigger a 5 year mandatory minimum sentence.
The grounds it was thrown out of court, a result the France lawyers can be so proud of clearly, was supposedly the *crack* was found by a cop who was out of juristiction on the wrong side of the bridge in Daytona.
Being as possession of crack cocaine is a Federal offence, not local county or state………….somehow I fail to see how the hell that ploy worked?
Just goes to show that the good old boys system is alive and well in Daytona. I imagine all the cocts associated with GA are likely to rise owing to the *costs* involved in clearing such a fine upstanding citizen like JC. I for one am totally disgusted at this travesty of justice and it’s really a slap in the face to everyone that he is even allowed to be back racing.
An update on JC.
Content with the knowledge that he is above *ANY* Federal law, certainly in Daytona anyway, JC intends to party in the manner he knows so well to celebrate not only all charges being so justifiably dropped against him in what was very clearly a trumped up charge in the first place……..I mean, can ANYONE imagine JC ever using crack cocaine!, or being DUI, or speeding around the streets of Daytona as if it were his own private race track…………..
But also his excellent team of community minded lawyers are being awarded the highly prized *Greased Palm of the Month” award by the Daytona branch of the Florida Big Bar Association, an award highly sort after by many a slick back haired attorney in the wonderous legal realms of Daytona.
I was thinking, perhaps if JC were to become an honorary Sheriff, or Police Chief, it would make life easier and all those uneccessary things like tickets etc, would become a thing of the past.