Sports Writer/Preps

We’re under way at Talladega.
My job during the race is to wait on the large wrecks Talladega is known for. I’m stationed in the media center/pit/garage. On a wreck I head off to the infield care center to get some interviews.
It reminds of part-time job as a firefighter. You sit and wait...and wait...and wait. And then when it happens, it’s time to run.
Sometimes you get the call, or in this case the wreck. Sometimes you don’t.
In my case, I hope for the Big One because that’s what I’m banking my post-race sidebar story on. If we don’t get one...well, then who knows what I may come up with to write about.
Time to get back outside.
While the media center is comfortably air conditioned, you just don’t get the same feels and smells as you do when you’re out in the middle of the track area.

Sports Writer/Designer

Well if you’re like me, you absolutely loved the NFL draft yesterday.

Not for any particular reason other than the fact that it got over in a reasonable amount of time.

A year after the first round took somewhere around seven hours, the entire first and second rounds got over in just a little more than five hours thanks to commissioner Roger Goodell’s new time limits.

It was glorious.

There’s something to be said for picks coming pretty quickly after each other and keeping the action flowing, and when that happens we also don’t have to listen to the ESPN talking heads quite as much (other than Kiper, he can talk as much as he wants as far as I’m concerned).

The Aarons 499 is starting right about now in Talladega, and the O-A News’ own Tom Peavy is there to provide coverage on this very blog. I’ll let him do most of the talking there, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say Tony Stewart takes the checkered flag in this one.

More coming later this afternoon.

Sports Writer/Preps

Driver’s meeting is done. It last a whole five minutes.
And no surprise here, driver’s were instructed against the infamous bump drafting which has become commonplace here at Talladega and at Daytona.
The word “bump draft” wasn’t actually used. What was said was “aggressive driving” would not be tolerated at any spot on the track for the duration of the race.
Everyone in the room got the drift.
Back on a celebrity note, Tommy Tuberville is quite the popular man.
Following a large escort of state troopers, Tubs was swarmed with fans trying to snap a picture or get an autograph. Shoot, the lesser known drivers on the circuit can’t get that.
On another celeb note, one particular person I couldn’t figure out earlier was in the driver’s meeting.
It was none other than Maury Povich along with wife Connie Chung