The first thing I didn’t want to hear on Tuesday morning was the news about Tony Stewart. First of all I am not a morning person and to get that kind of news early in a day doesn’t set a good tone for the rest of the day. I received a text from my husband at 7:45 am. Yea, thank you sweetie. So as we all now know Tony Stewart was racing in Iowa Monday night where he crashed his car and ended up with a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg. Basically the bones that are located in the lower part of your leg were the ones he broke. His first surgery was to stabilize his leg and clean the wound. In his second surgery he had a metal rod placed inside his tibia. Looks like a long road of recovery for Mr. Stewart. Get well soon Mr. Stewart!

Of course with his accident on Monday night, everyone has been debating whether or not Tony should be risking his chances at another championship by racing in other racing series. I have been on the fence about this one. I am not all that thrilled that his 2013 season is pretty much done with even if he were to try to make it back. But on the other hand, this is what Tony Stewart does. He’s a racer. Tony knows full well what can happen to him when he steps into any race car. If this would have happened while he was driving his Cup car there wouldn’t be as much debate. But since it happened during his off time away from Cup, the debate rages on. Should Tony even be racing in other series and risk his career? What if you are Mobile 1 or Bass Pro Shops, do you really enjoy watching your investment racing in other series other than Cup? His sponsors have invested millions of dollars into sponsoring the #14 team with Tony Stewart behind the wheel. Tony Stewart is a bankable star in NASCAR. Even when he has a bad day, he is still worth all the money a sponsor invests in his team. He has three championships under his belt. He is one of the top stars in NASCAR and he gives it his all every week. Definitely a sound investment. But now what?

Max Papis will be replacing Tony this weekend at Watkins Glen. As for future races, a replacement driver has not been named. No matter who it gets behind the wheel, it will be strange not to see Tony racing. I will be cheering on Max Papis this weekend at The Glen. I would love for him to win, but if he can’t, I hope he will make a good showing for the morale of the #14 team and Smoke Nation.

Other thoughts…

• Denny Hamlin vs Kyle Petty:  Once again Kyle Petty’s comments about a driver has sparked controversy.  Earlier in the year it was about Junior, then Danica, and now Denny.  Regardless of what you think of Kyle Petty, he does have some insight about the sport that others don ‘t.   He is the grandson of Lee Petty and son of Richard Petty.  He pretty much has been part of the sport since birth.  I had a chance to meet Kyle when his charity ride made a stop here in Lubbock last year.  I may not always agree with his opinions, but I think he is good for NASCAR.  To me he speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to apologize when he is wrong.  He says what everyone is thinking.  He doesn’t it play it safe like some commentators sometimes do.  I will admit I didn’t take too kindly to his remarks about Danica Patrick, but I respect his opinions.
• On August 17, 2013, SPEED TV will no longer exist as we know it.  It will become the new Fox Sports 1.  Most of my Speed television viewing was centered around NASCAR.  However, I did find myself watching other shows on the channel.  I watched Dale Jr. “Back in the Day” (which I so miss).  Because NASCAR didn’t start until February, I was able to watch the 24 hours at Daytona.  To me this signaled that NASCAR was around the corner. I loved watching motorcross.  I will miss Wind Tunnel hosted by Dave DeSpain the most.  I found myself tuning in every Sunday night.  He did cover NASCAR, but he also discussed other racing series as well.  He said it like it was and wasn’t afraid to give his opinions.  Just like Kyle Petty, I may not have agreed with him on occasion, but I respected his insight.  I guess that’s what I look for in my commentators.  Thank you Dave!  I hope you find a place somewhere so you can keep on giving us your insight.
• Along the same lines with the whole change over to FS1, why doesn’t NASCAR look into creating their own channel?  I mean if we can have a Golf Chanell, why can’t we have a NASCAR channel?  I think this would be a great avenue for NASCAR to showcase their sport.  I would love to be able to watch the lower level series in NASCAR (i.e. ARCA).  Could they fill 24 hours of programming over 365 days?  Why not?  The Golf Channel does it.  The NFL network does it, even in the off-season.  Come of Mr. France let’s give it a go!

One last note…

I am not being paid or am I compensated in any way.  This is just a shameless plug from one Tony Stewart to another Tony Stewart fan.  A new local radio program debuted this past Tuesday night.  The show is called “That Dang Ol’ Racing Show”.  The show is hosted by Ryan Hyatt.  For you folks who live in and around Raiderland, this name is very familiar to you.  He hosted the Williams and Hyatt Show for many years.  Now he has taken his passion for NASCAR and racing to the airwaves.  I for one was excited to know there would finally be a forum for all of us NASCAR fans out here.  It sometimes isn’t easy being a NASCAR fan in the state of Texas.  I mean seriously, football is our state sport.  But as much as I love football and baseball, NASCAR is my obsession.  I am hoping others out there will tune in on Tuesday nights from 6-7 pm on Real Country 98.5 to listen.  I for one will be and who knows I might even call in every once in a while.