From the Marbles

If you were wandering around downtown Indianapolis Thursday night and hailed a cab, there was a decent chance it was painted up like the No. 26 Crown Royal car. (There were about ten of them roaming the streets.) And if you got into that cab and the driver looked a whole lot like Jamie McMurray, there was a decent chance that, no, you hadn't had too much to drink; that was indeed Jamie, ferrying folks home as part of Crown Royal's free "Safe Rides Home" program. He took a little time out to call the Marbles - not while he was driving, of course. That would be unsafe. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jamie McMurray:

So Crown Royal's got you driving cabs now, huh? I knew sponsor dollars were tight, but this...

[Laughs] It's a cool program they've come up with, to decorate cabs like the Crown Royal car. I'll be working for about two hours, so somebody might be lucky enough to get me to give them a ride home.

What do people say when they climb into the car and see Jamie McMurray behind the wheel?

Usually, the later in the night, the better the reaction, because the more people have had to drink. Last year, a couple of times we got real NASCAR fans in the cab, and certainly they had more fun than the locals who maybe didn't know us as well. The conversation's the best part; people are a little more relaxed after they've had a bit more to drink.

Which of your NASCAR skills do you use when driving the cab? Bump-drafting? Trading paint?

[Laughs] No, the main thing is just getting them safely home.

Good enough. And who's your favorite movie cabbie: Robert De Niro, Queen Latifah, or Mr. T?

Gotta go with DeNiro, for sure.

All right, enough cab talk. It's been a disappointing year for you, I'm sure; what's your take on the year so far?

I'm a big believer that you  make your own luck. Lucky people put themselves in the right position. We've had really good cars - gosh, for last two, two and a half months, it seems like our cars have been super-fast and run well, but odd things happen. In Sonoma, the 29 car ran into back of us on restart, we cut a tire down in Chicago. Those were tough losses.  Our performance, as far as speed in the cars, has been good, we just haven't had that luck.

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Toyota's rise. GM's pullback of sponsorship funds. A Democrat challenging for high office. It all seems to be heading to one thing, doesn't it -- a complete foreign-car takeover of NASCAR!Yeah! No, wait ... no.

In a nicely researched piece at the Long Island Press, Josh Stewart debunks the idea that those international -- to use the politically correct term -- car companies are coming to take over our beloved NASCAR. The reasons:

• Volkswagen is focusing on diesel racing, specifically its Jetta TDI Cup Series and off-road racing.

• Honda isn't crazy about the many rules and mandates governing NASCAR car specs, and the company's happy with the IndyCar Series.

• Nissan has no official U.S. racing program, and will likely look to American Le Mans or Grand Am before venturing into NASCAR territory.

So, sigh of relief there, domestic automaker fans. Because while NASCAR may roll out that red carpet to international automakers, they've still got to be willing to drive down it -- and so far, they're not.

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Ben Affleck. Casey Mears. Whoopi Goldberg.

I got nothin'. You guys run with this one.

After the jump, a Beijiing bang-up.

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Ye olde quiet bombshell out of Indy this week, as Jeff Gordon -- remember him? -- hinted that he can't see himself driving full-time much past age 40. No big deal, right? The young pup is ... is ... hey, he's going to be 37 this year! That can't be right!

It is indeed. The unquestioned champion of the Marbles' Greatest Season in NASCAR History competition may be only a few short years away from retirement. Hell, Joey Logano may not even be shaving by then. Here's what Gordon had to say on the issue:

"I don't really see myself driving past 40 very much," Gordon said. "I think that if you love what you do and you're still good at it, you keep going to some extent. I think in some way, I'm always going to want to drive a racecar. Just full time in the Cup Series, I don't see myself doing it for more than four or five more years."

Gordon owns a piece of Hendrick Motorsports, and indicated that he'd be interested in more of a management role, but not as long as he's driving full-time. He also indicated that he'd be interested in moving over to racing high-performance sports cars on a part-time basis. You know, like the rest of us already do.

Going to be a strange and lonely NASCAR landscape without Jeff Gordon around. Better get those Rainbow Warrior jokes out of cold storage now, folks. In a few more years, they'll be as worthless as jack-o-lanterns in July.

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We love conspiracy theories around here, and judging from the comments, so do you. They're stabs at the dark truths at the heart of NASCAR a fun diversion, and the best thing is, pretty much every driver who ever won a race has at least some kind of conspiracy theory surrounding him ... or wants to, anyway.

The enjoyable NASCAR Insiders blog took on conspiracy theories this week, and shone a light on two sacred cows of NASCAR: Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. (Okay, "cows" was a bad term. "Sacred icons." Better?) Anyway, the post focuses on the "suspicious" nature of Earnhardt's Daytona win in 1998 and, more significantly, the extremely dubious circumstances surrounding Petty's 200th win:

The seven time champion was on the down slide of his career success after moving to drive for Curb Motorsports in 1984. The Firecracker 400 at Daytona arrived that season amidst great fanfare. President Ronald Reagan arrived at the track as the first sitting US President to attend a NASCAR Winston Cup event. His visit brought extra media attention to the sport and who better to win than the sport’s most recognizable figure, Richard Petty? The race ended under caution with Petty sprinting to the finish to win the race. The sketchy finish combined with the extraordinary circumstances left many wondering if maybe NASCAR had not assisted Petty in the win.

And you thought the griping about things like Toyota getting more horsepower was new? Nope. As it was in the beginning, so it shall be forever and ever, amen.

I tried to ask Richard Petty for comment, but he just smiled, signed my forehead and walked away. To which I would say, "That's NOT a denial, King!"

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A couple months back, we brought you the story of the Rocket Racing League in a post with one of my favorite headlines on the site: "Bump-drafting gets tricky at 12,000 feet." (The current headline is an homage.) Anyway, the RRL is apparently dead serious about this whole racing-in-the-skies thing, and they've landed their first corporate sponsor: DKNY.

The fashion line will apparently outfit the drivers/fliers/racers/whatever, and will also sponsor one of the rocket-racing jet-type-things. First public test flight is scheduled for next week at the Experimental Aviation Association's annual AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Six teams will be angling to compete in the Rocket Racing League. Two test models will be in Wisconsin, one running on kerosene, the other on alcohol. (Hey, doesn't everyone prefer a model that runs on alcohol? Ba-dum-bump! I'll be here all week!) The league would start televised racing in late 2009, and the world could thrill to planes traveling 300 mph and trailing 15-foot cones of flame.

Your move, NASCAR.

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Hey, curveball here. No, this isn't NASCAR. Heck, it ain't even America. It's China, Beijing to be specific, in preparation for the Olympics. But should that matter? Heck no. Come up with your finest vaguely-NASCAR-oriented caption, and we'll send you to the 2008 Olympics. (You will be responsible for transportation, tickets, and incidentals, but we'll tell you where to go. Beijing.)

After the jump, Chrissy Wallace tries to get by without her car. Truck! Truck.

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Most athletes looking for a way to give back to the community in thanks for their good fortune don't stray too far from home. They'll host a charity golf tournament or a rubber-chicken banquet, maybe donate some signed goodies to auctions. All well and good, sure, but sometimes you'd like to see something a little more tangible.

Tony Stewart's not most athletes. So when word came down that he was giving $35 large to buy bulletproof vests for 40 dogs, you have to just nod your head in the sheer awesomeness of such a gift. (Good thing it was Tony. If Kyle Busch had given the money, the dogs would've run down their prey, but would've bitten half a dozen of their fellow cops along the way.)

Bulletproof vests for dogs! Who'd'a thunk it? (No Mike Vick jokes. So 2007.) But, you know, it's only right. Police dogs put themselves into the line of fire every time they go on the streets, you know? But are there any movies about heroic police dogs battling it out against the vicious pit bulls of the local drug lords? Morally conflicted police dogs that fight with the bureaucracy to try to get this city cleaned up? Police dogs that have two more days left of active duty, and are just getting too old for this poop? No, no, and no.

But there oughta be. Three paws up to Smoke for this one.

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Some must-read material by Margolis over on the NASCAR front page, digging deep into the heart of this season's biggest controversy: why the heck is Kyle Busch kicking everybody's ass all over the track? This one ought to interest pretty much everyone:

Is Kyle Busch that good? Or do the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas have a horsepower advantage over the rest of the field? The quick answers are yes and yes.

On the Cup side, it appears Busch is just that good. He’s won seven races on seven different tracks covering every discipline NASCAR has thrown at him, from short track to restrictor plate to a road course. The Nationwide side of things is a different story. It seems no matter who Joe Gibbs puts in his cars, they win. Busch’s win at Chicagoland made it 14 victories in 20 races for JGR.

The article zeroes in on the familiar complaints -- Toyota has too much horsepower, NASCAR is favoring Toyota -- and brings to the table a surprising range of reactions. Compare Jeff Gordon's dismissal of any extra horsepower to Chevy's intention to soup up their own engines to to Dodge's perennial struggles to Ford's utter disregard of the entire issue.

Is Kyle winning on talent? Sure. But he's obviously getting help that other drivers aren't, and whether that's to JGR's credit or the other teams' detriment, well, I suppose that's for you to decide. Have at it!

Seen a NASCAR-related article you think needs highlighting? Hit me up at nascarmarbles@yahoo.com. (3F to Carol for the pic suggestion.)

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