Sunday, April 18, 2010

Will one-million-dollar purse lure B.W. back?

The 2007 Heritage Cup race, a stock-car racing event in which drivers represented their family names, was supposed to be Buddy Wayne Barefoot's farewell. And he won it in the most unforgettable style, flipping across the start/finish line and landing with the wheels pointed the right way. It was the most dramatic finish ever in racing.

Since then, I have vowed that my character would never again go racing.

But it seems that nothing is final in auto racing, or in the world of sports in general. The names of great athletes who have come back or extended their careers have been very famous - Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Michael Schumacher are just a few of them.

Now, Barefoot is faced with the temptation to return, in the form of the Legends Million, this coming July at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The purse, of course one million dollars, is the largest in the history of U.S. Legend Cars International, which has similar cars to what Barefoot drove that magical night.

The Legends Million is scheduled for July 14 through 17, and it was announced today that the final rounds will be televised live on Speed.

Will Buddy fill out the entrance form and thereby end a well-deserved retirement from the sport? Or will he stay in the garage area as up to 1,000 other drivers go for the top prize of $250,000? Stay tuned!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Buddy blabs away

Things have been too quiet lately in the world of my characters, so I approached Buddy Wayne Barefoot earlier this week and spoke to him on some of the hottest topics of the day.

Health care in the United States: It's about time something happened. We have seen all the other industrialized countries in the world start some kind of health-care system that protects all of its citizens. I cannot believe that no Republican - not one of them - supported the new health-care system, even though there is no "single payer" option as there is in the other nations. Even an executive order banning the use of federal funds for abortion was not good enough for them. You have a top-notch system of care in Congress, why not share that with the public? That's what happens when you believe that death panels will soon kill Grandma.

The right wing gets violent: This is why the Tea Party movement has lost me. A few people have spoiled it for everyone through racial slurs, bricks thrown through windows, and drawings of President Barack Obama as if he lived in the jungle. No matter what you think, he is our president and we all must respect him. And the talk-show hosts are horrible: Rush Limbaugh has slid into irrevelance and Glenn Beck is clearly paranoid. (Unfortunately, Keith Olbermann is no better on the left. Yes, the Iraq war has been questionable at best, but George W. Bush is not the Antichrist, either.)

Possible expansion of the NCAA men's basketball tournament to 96 teams: No! This cheapens the tournament and invites more mediocre teams to the postseason. It also will not save the jobs of head coaches, as some has suggested. The only reason this would happen is so that the NCAA can tear up the current TV contract - with three years left - and replace it with a new pact and receive more money. That's sad.

Simon Cowell to leave American Idol: The show won't be the same without him. I wish him good luck on the American version of The X-Factor, which will be on Fox beginning in the fall of next year. Thankfully, the Howard Stern-as-replacement rumors have gone away, otherwise I would never watch the show again. One of my fans asked me if I were interested in replacing Simon on the judges' panel. I think I would be served better as a mentor for a single episode. My nature is better suited for helping performers instead of critiquing them. So, no, I don't want to be a judge.

That's it for now. I'll "talk" to him again soon, maybe when something big happens in Idealia. Until then, happy Easter.