Categories:

• College Sports
• High School Sports
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Volleyball
• NASCAR

Recent Entries

Remembering Skip Caray

NASCAR Fans Deserve More Than An Apology After Sunday’s Debacle at Indianapolis

Tracking Down Local Legends

Those Country Boys Could Play

Cito Gaston? No way!

Southwest Virginia shines at VHSL Spring Jubilee

Will the Falcons fly again?

Rain postpones Honaker-James River

Grimm, Nidiffer, Cannon eye Omaha

Current Locals in the Pros

Monthly Archives

• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007

RSS Feeds

• 

P20

Vendors appeared pleased at the turnout and the payout this weekend at Thunder Valley. And while weather has been an issue, more than one vendor said Bristol has produced the best sales of the NHRA season to-date.

“The best track is Bristol. They’re great to us here,” said an NHRA vendor who requested anonymity, referring to merchandise sales.

The top-selling item is a John Force/Ashley Force t-shirt, which one vendor sold out of on Friday and had to request an immediate re-order.

Note: Credit to the Bristol Dragway folks for realizing that our nation’s economy isn’t in the best state. Prices for merchandise and food were reasonable. Another big seller: funnel cakes. Man, you gotta love funnel cakes.

Posted by Brian T. Smith

John Force is a modern-day cowboy.

Fifty-nine years young. Wind- and weather-lined face. Survivor of death. Preacher of life.

Force walks it and talks it and sings it. He is old-school racing cool, incarnate. And Force brings the good word to anyone who will listen.

Funny Car-driver, quote-making machine, walker of the Earth when the doctors said he’d never again, Force is “The King” of the National Hot Rod Association.

Like Richard Petty, no line is too long for Force. No hand too open. No smile too big. If you’re a fan and you care, Force is ready, waiting and willing.

And while NASCAR continues to primp in the mirror, chat on a cell, worry about it who it’s dating and wonder how it looks on TV – all while trying to drive a car – Force and NHRA are rising up. And they’re beginning to show up in NASCAR’s rear view.

“We don’t try to kid anybody, NASCAR’s our big brother,” Force said.

It’s high time that big brother started paying attention to its younger sibling.

Force has become the proud, legend-like face of NHRA. And he’s everything that NASCAR needs right now.

Force didn’t come off an assembly line. He wasn’t cut on a cookie sheet and wrapped in plastic at an early age. And he’s as far removed from Madison Ave. and Wall Street as are Bristol and Thunder Valley.

But, man, could NASCAR use Force right now.

What NASCAR lacks, Force packs the stands with.

Originality, a loose tongue, a genuine smile and an unabashed enthusiasm for everything that is oil, fuel, combustion and horsepower: It’s the Force way.

But Force would never have made it out of the factory in modern NASCAR-land.

He’d have been thrown in the trash heap.

He’s too old. Too honest. Too real. Too uncontrollable.

NASCAR’s all, like, current. It wants cute and young. It wants Kasey Kahne.

Are you cute? Are you young? Can you drive a car? Well, NASCAR just might have a place for you.

But, wait. You mean you can really drive a car and you fall outside the target-audience demographic.

Well, yeah, sorry. NASCAR can’t use you right now. It’s got ad spots to sell and pre-race slots to fill. Maybe in the next life, old man.

NASCAR’s loss is NHRA’s gain.

Force believes in racing. He’s walked through fire just to get back in a car, strap in again and burn. And Force believes in NHRA.

“We fight it from the streets and [we’re] fighting to make it better,” Force said. “And the key is working as a family.”

Force believes in family.

His daughter, Ashley, is the brightest star to hover over a race track in years and has already made the bandwagon racing crowd begin to forget about sullen, stale Danica Patrick.

Meanwhile, three other Force-family relations currently hit the strip, all while Force celebrates his 59th year on Earth by continuing to defy the rules of life and laugh in the face of conformity.

Racing, tradition and family: The foundation of the house Force has built.

Racing, tradition and family: Everything that NASCAR has left behind.

Well, watch out big brother, because NHRA is crashing the party. And Force is tearing up the floor at the old folks’ dance.

| (276) 645-2569

Posted by Brian T. Smith
NASCAR

Random thoughts and musings that derived from Friday night’s Clinch Mountain District baseball showdown between John Battle and Virginia High. Battle won 6-2 and clinched the inaugural CMD regular-season title.

--- There was a capacity crowd at DeVault Stadium on Friday night, despite the cool weather. It reminded one of the old days when the rivals would hook up in intense battles.

“I usually don’t look around at the crowd, but I came back in after an inning and I just happened to look up and I told one of the coaches I said, ‘man this place is packed here isn’t it’. I thought maybe the weather would keep people away …. but it was a great atmosphere,” Battle coach Larry Cannon said. “I like playing here, the boys like playing here against a classy team and a classy coaching staff in Virginia High. It was certainly fun for us tonight.”

--- Friday’s victory was the latest accomplishment for Cannon, who has racked up the wins since donning a Battle uniform and taking over the coaching duties.

Cannon took over a program in disarray prior to the 2007 season, but quickly righted the ship. He has compiled a 32-12 record over the past two seasons and has earned rave reviews from opposing coaches and his players. 

“He’s done an amazing job,” Battle senior pitcher Joseph Timp said. “Every [practice] is planned out. We have a key thing going on. We make sure that we’re doing exactly what we should. I’ve become such a better athlete, just because of the fact he’s been here. I would liked to have had him for all four years, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. But all the credit goes to him. He’s changed so many things in this program and made it a great atmosphere. I respect him beyond belief.”

--- Postseason tournaments begin in Southwest Virginia on Monday and for many it will be a refreshing occasion.

After the VHSL’s divisional system debacle in basketball in which it seemed every school qualified for the playoffs, baseball, softball and soccer tournaments actually mean something and there will be no multiple Group A champs in those sports.

Teams will be playing for their seasons when the tourneys get underway. In basketball, many area teams that lost in the first round of the district tournament still qualified for their respective region tournaments. A first round loss in baseball, softball or soccer means you are done for the year and summer vacation begins.

Posted by Tim Hayes

Folks in the Bristol area have become spoiled. That’s the opinion of this lifelong and highly-peeved motorsports fan.

In the early days of Bristol Dragway, events at Thunder Valley were embraced by merchants and civic leaders. For example, the debut race in 1965 was actually broadcast on local radio.

Anyone who attended the famed Spring Nationals can remember all the signs, banners and promotional displays along Volunteer Parkway appealing to the drag racing community.
For good reason, the drags were an event and the anticipation grew for weeks. Armies of passionate fans made long trek to the hills of Tennessee to see the favorite stars and their cars.

Contrast those fun and profitable days to the past two weeks. While the national buzz was strong for the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the local interest was lukewarm at best.

There were very few welcome signs, let alone creative advertising campaigns. Folks, who claim to love hardcore racing and lament the high costs of NASCAR, were ho-hum about the return of the NHRA to Bristol.

No splashy Chamber of Commerce campaign or music festival could have generated the kind of national attention. Yes, the ESPN cameras are at Bristol Dragway this weekend.
A quick glance around the parking lots at Thunder Valley Saturday morning revealed tags from around the country. By 1 p.m., the grandstands and pit areas were nearly jammed.

Where was the local interest?

Do folks realize what a treasure they have in Bristol Dragway? Do they realize that most NHRA national events are held in or near major cities? Do they realize that Bristol Dragway has an international reputation and that events such as the Thunder Valley Nationals help to put us on the map? Do they realize just how popular drag racing is?

Wake up folks. You are not only losing a great chance to showcase our region and make some bucks, you are missing a fun party. http://www.tricitiesblogs.com/images/uploads/SP-NHRA_Allen_Johnson_01-DC051808.jpg

Posted by Allen Gregory

I’ve known Doug for years. You know, Doug [came] up to me and said his son was a big fan, and he thanked me for giving him a hat and whatever it was I gave him years ago when he was little. He said, ‘My kid loves you. He roots more for you than he does for me.’ And what happened was … I lost my Mom and Dad, but you expect that. To lose a child, I can’t imagine …

Nobody can help you expect somebody who’s been through that. Herbert called me within a few days of that. And I said, ‘We’ll pray for you.’ … But Herbert, his children, his got another little one; he’ll have to live for her. There’s no way I can say … I know that he’s working for charities, with the foundation. … He’s just the best guy, and all we can do is gather ‘round him.

You’ve got to get through it in your own way. I’ll be honest: I don’t know if I could’ve handled it. I just … I won’t go there. But it screws my head up.

Posted by Brian T. Smith