| Now that Christmas is past, the New Year has | | | | Avenue executive wet his pants with excitement. |
| begun and college football is over, it can only | | | | In fact, I'd go so far as to say the only way they |
| mean one thing- the Daytona 500 and a new | | | | could go beyond where they are now would be |
| season of NASCAR racing is right around the | | | | to hire Billy Mays as a driver. These folks will, no |
| corner. I love the smell of the exhaust, the | | | | doubt, plug sponsors and the list of sponsors |
| thunder of the engines, the bits of rubber flying | | | | grows ever lengthy. If you've never paid any |
| off the track, the corporate sponsorships. Uh, | | | | attention to it, then make a conscious effort to |
| come again? That's right, corporate sponsorships. | | | | listen to any given driver interview during any |
| As much as I love racing, the blatant and | | | | given race and enjoy the show. |
| downright shameless plugging of sponsors is so | | | | "First of all I'd like to thank God and all my |
| prevalent that it has become its own form of | | | | sponsors for giving me a fast race car today. |
| entertainment. I mean, they make fun of | | | | The GMC Auto manufacturers, Mopar, |
| themselves, for crying out loud, so you know it | | | | Quakerstate, Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies |
| has to be bad. | | | | Chevrolet was just awesome. I think a Loctite |
| I know that the corporate buck makes the world | | | | lugnut must have come off, causing us to lose a |
| go around and there is no dodging it, so I don't | | | | Goodyear Eagle tire. That sent us spinning like |
| even try to fight it anymore. I was contemplating | | | | Hamilton Beach blender into the Quickcrete Fast |
| during this years college football bowl season how | | | | Drying concrete retaining wall. Thank goodness for |
| you used to be able to tell something about the | | | | NASCARs dedication to safety and for the |
| region where a bowl game was held merely by its | | | | installation of those Dow Chemical Styrofoam and |
| name. The Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange | | | | U.S Steel, Charmin soft walls. I pinched a hole in |
| Bowl, Peach Bowl, and even the Mobile, Alabama | | | | my Fruit of the Loom shorts and nearly stained |
| bowl all conjure up some image. Some are maybe | | | | my Simpson driver suit. I'd have dumped a gallon |
| not so grand images, but images nonetheless. | | | | of sweat in the process if it weren't for this Right |
| Now you can't tell squat except for whose | | | | Guard antiperspirant. In fact, I'm still hotter than |
| product is being marketed. It's not only college ball | | | | Texas Pete hot sauce and my mouth's as dry as |
| games, though. Stadiums far and wide, for teams | | | | Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder so excuse me |
| professional and non-professional sport a name, | | | | while I take a sip of this Gatorade G2. There, |
| product and/ or service which is representative of | | | | that's better. Other than that it was a good day |
| the ones who coughed up enough denarii in order | | | | for us at the Lowes Motor Speedway, but we'll |
| to obtain the opportunity to have their name | | | | be back next week at the Atlanta Coca-Cola |
| flouted to all who dare look upon it. I know this to | | | | Speedway for sure. What was the question |
| be true and I accept it as being how it is. | | | | again?" |
| Let me just tell you, though, that the folks in | | | | Awesome. Last year there were a series of |
| NASCAR have taken it to a whole new level. | | | | commercials about using one of the driver's |
| There isn't a sport out there that can come close | | | | armpits as advertising space. It was sponsored by |
| to touching them in the world of hawking | | | | Old Spice, of course. I can't wait to see where |
| products. During a ball game you may see a | | | | that goes this year. Let's all hope, however, that |
| sponsor's logo superimposed on the field or | | | | the folks from Preparation-H don't take the idea |
| something innocuous like that. For each NASCAR | | | | and run with it. Ooh, baby, that could be a |
| race, though, there are 43 teams each of which | | | | disaster. |
| has a list of sponsors that would make a Madison | | | | |