We’ve always known that NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards can hold his own in the many humorous tinged television commercials he’s appeared in on behalf of his team sponsors. His numerous appearances with the AFLAC duck certainly proves that point.

But Edwards’ next television appearance could actually elevate to the ranks of being considered as a serious actor. It was just recently announced that the popular driver has joined the cast of an upcoming mini series on the Home Box Office Network, (HBO). “To Appomattox” is an eight episode mini series based on the civil war era. It details the final battle from this page of American history and the events that leads to the surrender terms that concludes the war. Edwards will be taking on the role of General John B. Gordon, the Confederate officer selected by General Robert E.Lee to officially surrender the Army of Northern Virginia.

In terms of fellow cast members, Edwards will be in some impressive company. Actor Michael C. Hall, the star of the “Showtime” series “Dexter”, leads the cast of the production along with William Peterson, from the CBS television drama “CSI”.

There’s also some very impressive names from the world of country music connected to the cast of “To Appomattox” All three members of the country group Rascal Flatts are in the cast as is Kix Brooks, of Brooks and Dunn fame, along with Dwight Yoakum. This famed group of country musicians will also be making a contribution to the mini series’ musical soundtrack as well.

The series’ producers has also left some strong indications that other personalities from the world of NASCAR may also be asked to join the cast. In a prepared statement from the production’s official website, “www.toappomattox.com,” the producers said “the connection between the civil war and drivers who race in NASCAR is simple: those values of the civil war- the patriotism, the spirit of American competition, the regional and national pride that poured both from and for its heroes- is best exemplified in the American values and American spirit embraced today by the NASCAR affiliated drivers and their fans. This production is honored to have developed a connection between this ultimate American sport with the ultimate American story and is proud to announce an association between select NASCAR affiliated drivers and roles that best exemplify this tradition of patriotism and competition in our production.”

“To Appomattox” is currently reported in still be in the pre-production phase. No official air date has been announced by HBO as of yet but production for the eight episodes is expected to begin sometime in the spring of 2011.

For Carl Edwards the scheduling for this acting stint is going to be interesting when you consider his full time schedule in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide racing series. But one has to believe that he’s well accustomed to tight schedules and how to make the best of them. He’s also well known for loving new adventurers and playing the role of a general in the Confederate Army is definitely going to provide a sense of adventure.

Don’t be too surprised if Edwards performance levels in this project qualifies him to add the word thespian to his resume. He’s going to working on a project that will be aired by a television network well known for quality presentations. Over the years HBO has created an impressive list of full season series, mini series and quality films that has garnered them high critical acclaim and every industry award you could name. To quote their own corporate logo: “it’s not television, it’s HBO.”

Clint Bowyer’s name doesn’t normally come to mind when thinking about whose going to be one to watch when racing at Daytona and Talladega. But according to team owner Richard Childress, it will one day.

“Clint Bowyer, he’ll go down in history as one of the greatest restrictor plate racers, just like Kevin [Harvick],” he said in late October.

[media-credit name=”SM.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Harvick won two of the four plate races in 2010. Often compared to the late Dale Earnhardt, easy to do since Harvick drives Earnhardt’s car, he’s become one of the top plate racers in the sport. With four wins at Daytona: two point paying and two Budweiser Shootout wins, plus a win at Talladega, he’s a dangerous superspeedway driver.

As Harvick grabbed the headlines, RCR teammate Bowyer quietly came into his own. In three of the four plates races Bowyer led laps: 19 in the season-opening Daytona 500, another 19 in the July race and then 37 at Talladega in the fall.

Bowyer could have easily swept all four plate races.

During the first red flag in the Daytona 500 for a pothole, Bowyer was the leader. With the race past the halfway point NASCAR could have made the decision to call the race official. Had they done so, Bowyer would have won his first Daytona 500.

Instead the race restarted but Bowyer’s No. 33 Chevrolet was still strong enough to contend for the win. Coming off turn two on the last lap he was running third behind a side-by-side Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray, ready for a final charge to the finish line.

But when Dale Earnhardt Jr. then made it three wide, Bowyer lost the position and ended up finishing fourth. In restrictor plate race No. 2, at Talladega in April, Bowyer didn’t lead a lap but finished seventh. Two plate races and two top 10 finishes.

In the return trip to Daytona, Bowyer was in much better position for the win than he was in the Daytona 500. This time around he was leading with three laps to go before being passed by Jeff Gordon.

With help from teammate Harvick, Bowyer retook the lead a lap later and led the start/finish line when the caution came out, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.

On the restart Bowyer was swallowed up by Harvick, Gordon and others and ran fourth at the white flag. Going down the backstretch however, after losing two more positions, Bowyer was spun by David Reutimann.

Another restrictor plate finish he should have gotten was gone. There was one final plate race left in 2010 and it was finally going to be captured by the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper team.

The dramatic finish seemed fitting; no one knew who had won except Bowyer tried to help sway NASCAR in his direction when he started celebrating before NASCAR officially ruled. He later joked, “Hell yeah. Claim that baby before somebody else does.

When NASCAR did rule it became official: Bowyer had finally gotten the best of Harvick. They finished one-two for RCR as Bowyer got his second win of the 2010 season.

The win was further proof that Bowyer is one of the best plate racers in NASCAR today, right there with Harvick and even McMurray, whom get most of the praise and picks on Sunday’s.

When the 2011 season begins back in Daytona in February, it could be the quiet Bowyer who winds up in victory lane sometime during Speedweeks.

Should he, it would help Earnhardt-Childress Racing pick up right where they left off in 2010 at restrictor plate tracks.

The partnership formed in 2007 between Teresa Earnhardt and Richard Childress, when the two decided to pull together their restrictor plate programs. They now produce the engines for all three RCR cars and the two Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing entries.

This past season an ECR engine was in victory lane at all four plate tracks. McMurray started it off in the Daytona 500 and said, “The ECR engines have always been known for really good restrictor plate engines.”

The summer classic in Daytona saw domination from the RCR cars. At a time the three were all lined up in the top five and had it not been for Bowyer’s last lap spin, they might have well finished there.

“ECR engines were running great and just proud of them,” said owner Richard Childress.

“To have all three RCR cars up there leading the race, racing each other, it was really cool to watch.”

The spring Talladega race further proved that ECR engines were ones to be dealt with. Behind Harvick’s win came McMurray in second with teammate Juan Pablo Montoya in third, all driving ECR engines.

The same happened again in the fall Talladega race this time with Bowyer ahead of Harvick and Montoya. Another ECR top three sweep.

“There was one time in the race I was like ‘Hey, get Junior out of there,’ “ Bowyer said after his win.

“There’s going to be five RCR cars in a line. Good picture for the engine boys. Get him out of there. Need a good picture for the engine shop,” he continued.

“Maybe we can Photo Shop him out of there. It would be a pretty good picture.”

The picture for the 2011 seasons four restrictor plate tracks won’t be clear until the checkered flags fall on those events. Racing at superspeedways is too unpredictable, but if some bit of history repeats itself expect Bowyer to be a major player.

However, the same could be said for anyone driving an ECR engine.

With two of the biggest names in NASCAR, Earnhardt and Childress, building engines that get better and better every week, it’s only natural that the two companies that have long been the restrictor plate masters have taken their place at the head of the field.

Anyone who religiously followed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during the 2010 season has already figured out that the two drivers who made a list like this has to be Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. You’re absolutely right.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]The 50 Dirtiest Athletes Of All Time was recently released by the “Complex Media Network” following what appears to be a massive amount of research. The New York City based media conglomerate publishes “Complex Magazine” and also maintains the popular website “Complex Dot Com.” According to the company website they describe themselves as being the “premiere on line destination for the most influential 20 something male consumers. This discerning audience is driven by style, sports, music, games, gear and girls.”

Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards was listed number 48 on the list of 50. The “Complex Media Dot Com” write up on Edwards read as follows: “we all get road rage at times but, when it happens in NASCAR, careers and lives are put in danger. Such was the case at the 2010 Kobalt Tools 500, (at the Atlanta Motor Speedway), when Edwards repeatedly tried to take revenge on Brad Keselowski for a crash causing block laps before. Edwards eventually succeeded, sending Keselowski’s car airborne at 190 MPH. Don’t let the endorsement cake and smile fool you. Edwards knows all about riding dirty.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch was listed at number 38 on the list and, yes, I suppose that makes him the dirtiest driver in NASCAR. Even the harshest critics of Busch, and they’re are quite a few of you, would blanch at the write up the often controversial driver received from this survey.

It read as follows: “from causing wrecks to flipping off officials and even breaking s**t after victories, (that would be the famous Gibson Guitar incident), Busch makes cars going around in a circle 400 times slightly more entertaining. The thing that makes Busch one of the most loved and loathed drivers is the fact that he knows he’s an a**h**e, but simply doesn’t five a f***.”

Again, a little on the harsh side but you have to admit there’s a strong element of truth there.

For those of you who are curious, the number one dirtiest athlete on this list is National Hockey League player Marty McSorely who, in 2001, delivered a blow on fellow competitor Donald Brashear that was so brutal he actually received an assault conviction from the legal system and a record setting one year suspension from the NHL. McSorely never returned to active player status following this incident. Brashear returned following recuperation from a grade three concussion.

Dial up www.complexmedia.com and check out the “Dirtiest Athletes Of All Time.” I think you’ll find it interesting sports fans.

After watching the tire test news conference it was time to decorate the Christmas tree. As I hung the last brightly colored ball and strung the last of the garland I laid down in the floor and closed my eyes. My mind began to wander as I drifted off to sleep. Suddenly there before me was ole DW sitting in front of a group of children all dressed in the brightly colored driver’s uniforms. What in the world was this, I wondered. I quietly approached the group and sat down to listen. To my amazement ole DW was reading the very young drivers a Christmas tale. Well a version of a Christmas tale anyway. As I shifted in the chair to get comfortable, this is what I heard.

Twas The Night Before Christmas – NASCAR Style

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the sport

Not a person was stirring, not even pit support;

The bodies were hung on the chassis with care,

In hopes that Daytona soon would be here;

The drivers were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of victories danced in their heads;

And Denny and his crew chief and all in their caps

Had just settled down for a Post Season nap,

When out on the track there arose such a clatter,

They sprang from their beds to see what was the matter

Away to the window like Rocket Newman they dashed,

 Tore open the shop doors and threw back the sash.

The moon on the breast of the newly paved track

Showed not a pot hole in sight not even a crack

When what to their wondering eyes should appear,

But a COT sleigh with 800 horses and a very low gear,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

They knew in a moment it must be St. Mike

More rapid than corvettes his coursers they came,

He whistled and shouted then called them by name,

Now, Jimmie !  Now, Jeff !  Now Tony and Ryan !

On, Clint, On Kevin, On Junior and Carl

To the top of the track! Stay out of the wall!

Now race away! Race away! Bring back it all!

And like jets after the anthem these babies did fly

And if they meet with an obstacle, paint and body will cry,

So off to the race track the haulers they flew,

With a COT full of tools, and St. Mike on board too.

And then in a twinkling, they heard on the track

Roaring and spinning, NASCAR’s Horses were back.

As they drew back their heads and were spinning around,

Across the track, St. Mike came with a bound

He was dressed in a suit, from his head to his foot,

His white shirt was free from ashes or soot;

A bundle of trophies he had flung on his back

He looked like a promoter promoting the track.

His eyes – how they twinkled. His dimples how merry!

He was the pres for sure, this St. was no cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow.

He’s happy to tell you, “We have the chase here you know.”

Victories they mounted though some have a beef

The smoke from the burnouts circle his head like a wreath.

He had a kind face and a fire in his belly,

And when he talked people listened even on the telly,

He was gracious with class an impressive old elf

And I gasped when I saw him in spite of myself

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head.

Soon put me at ease I had nothing to dread

He spoke a few words and went straight to his work.

He polished the trophy and turned with a jerk

With a wave of his hand and a smile from his face

He gave a quick nod and across the track he did race

He jumped in his COT, to his the teams gave a whistle

And away they all flew like the bullet from a pistol

But I heard him exclaim, as they raced out in to the night

Merry Christmas y’all, Daytona’s in sight!

I would like to take a second to wish a very safe and happy Holiday season to all the NASCAR fans, officials and track employees you make our trips to your facilities a holiday all year long, so at this time of the year, I hope that Santa makes your holiday as wonderful as you make ours all season long.

And to all the competitors in all the series Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt. May you be blessed with the peace and happiness of the holiday season.

Everyone changes. People grow up. Some become more mature. The highs and lows strike and test the true character of individuals.

Nothing can ever stay the same, that’s just how life is.

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]For 39-year-old Jeff Gordon he knows change all too well. Gordon has gone through quite a few changes in his career as one of the sports most successful drivers. Like going from the kid champion of NASCAR to raising his kids in NASCAR.

Days when Gordon walked into the garage carrying a briefcase, containing a Nintendo GameBoy, a cell phone, a racing magazine and a jar of peanuts, seem long ago.

There was also that thing sitting above his upper lip. The mustache.

A puny mustache, a reminder Gordon was just a kid trying to make it in a grown mans garage. Except, through the late 90s it became Gordon’s garage as he rose to multimillionaire and multi-time champion. Of course, Gordon had the trophy girl permanently on his arm and in the pictures.

But the picture wasn’t perfect. Gordon wasn’t a driver others could hang out with; Brooke to effect stole him from the NASCAR world. He came to the track, did his job, and left. For Hendrick Motorsports it worked out well, he went to the top of the sport and dominated, but for friends they saw less and less of the champion.

Change.

Never going out as much, spending much of his time in his motorhome. Afraid to speak his mind, even get a haircut and constantly working to make Brooke happy. The couple even moved away from the NASCAR capital by going to Florida. And Gordon stopped using his stepfather, John Bickford, as his business manager.

The once thought of fairy tale marriage ended in 2002 and by the following year he met a woman that would help him change again. This time the change came in the best possible way.

No more distance between him and fellow competitors or strained family matters. Today’s Gordon is all about family.

It’s about three people actually: Ingrid, Ella Sofia and Leo Benjamin.

The fierceness which won him four championships and 82 races will never die, when the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont Chevrolet is on the racetrack he won’t shy away from moving you out of his way.

Finding comfortness in his own skin has Gordon no longer afraid to stand up and address an issue he feels important.

When the checkered flag falls however, he wants to get home as quickly as possible. Ella is waiting, ready to run into Papa’s arms. Life and time are much more valuable.

“Especially when you start having a family, I think it really kicks in because you look at how valuable your time is and how important it is to spend time with your family,” Gordon said at the conclusion of the 2010 season.

“You can go out there and work, work, work, and work to try to capitalize on the opportunities while they’re here, but there becomes a point where peace of mind and relaxing and enjoying your time becomes important,” he continued.

“I think when you’re young like most of us, we feel like, lets take advantage of it. As you get a little bit older, you start thinking about which ones are important and just being a little bit more efficient with your time and enjoy your time to yourself or with your family more.”

Racing gets Gordon excited. The blood flows or boils and brings out a different side in the four-time champion. It just can’t make him light up like he does when talking about his children.

In a sport where motivation isn’t hard to come by, Gordon’s children have become his biggest motivators. You won’t find him hungrier for wins than right now, not even when he was trying to win all those titles and races.

Championships have become an afterthought in a way. Have no fear, he wants another one, but getting back to the winners circle is more important for more than just the sake of winning: he wants his family to go there with him.

Ella hasn’t been to victory lane since she was four months old at Talladega in 2007. Neither she nor wife Ingrid was with Gordon when he won Texas in 2009, his last win to date.

After Ella was born Gordon’s change was evident; it just became more prominent when Leo was born this year. Holding his children on pit road or smiling for the camera as they sit in his car. Joking about changing diapers and racing for different children-related causes is the life Gordon now lives.

Happiness. True happiness. For the first time in life he has everything he’s ever wanted and you won’t find him smiling, laughing or having more fun than what these last two years have produced.

Ever think you’d see Gordon driving a racecar designed by his daughter? Or that it would come at the same track where Gordon had made his debut 18 years ago. The Atlanta Motor Speedway will forever have a place in Gordon family history.

When Kyle Busch drove a pink car at Richmond a week after Gordon’s “Papa’s Car,” Gordon poked at Busch asking, “my three-year-old designed mine, what’s you’re excuse?”

Ever think he’d appeared on an episode of Sesame Street? This is a new, changed Gordon. It’s hard to believe sometimes. But a constant change of good doesn’t hurt anyone.

Looking in the rearview mirror no longer applies to blocking Dale Earnhardt. It entails seeing his children’s faces as he plays driver of another kind. “We’re a foursome now,” Gordon said of his family.

The other family, Gordon fans who have come to intimately know him since the start of his career, have had to adapt to change of their own.

The fourth championship in 2001 wasn’t supposed to be the last. Back then, easy to say since it’s coming upon 10 years, it looked as though Gordon was going to keep going and going.

The fans were going to, all the way to the souvenir haulers as everything involved with Gordon went up. But once Jimmie Johnson entered the picture in 2002 things changed again, for Gordon and NASCAR.

Perhaps those hit the hardest with Johnson’s dominance are Gordon fans. After winning title No. 5 Johnson said he didn’t think about overtaking his friend, foe and boss in championships.

Gordon fans are well aware of the numbers and most aren’t happy with them.

There are those who feel Gordon had had to sacrifice himself for the now five-time champion. Their driver was to be the one compared and challenging the marks of The King and The Intimidator. They’re all on the backburner now, not seriously contending for a championship since 2007.

Besides championships, they’ve had to adapt to Gordon not winning races near as frequently. Or what they hope doesn’t become a recurring theme in revolving doors or crew chiefs: Evernham, Loomis, Letarte, and now Gustafson.

What Gordon fan thought they would ever have to ask themselves when the day would come that Gordon went back to the top?

The paint schemes have changed too. It might sound minor, but they too heard all about the rainbow jokes hurled their driver’s way. Rainbow to flames to a complete different sponsor.

And they’ve seen their driver go from soft spoken and polished like a Ken doll, to pushing and shoving – see Matt Kenseth (both Bristol and Chicago and Jeff Burton – and bluntly saying on TV “I’m pissed right now.”

Gordon though doesn’t believe anything on the track has changed, saying, “Well the one thing that I want everybody to understand is that I have not changed. I’ve not done anything different today than I did 10 or 15 years ago. I race people they way they race me and when somebody pushes and shoves, I’m going to push and shove back.”

Gordon may not feel it, but everything has changed and continues to. Life moves on with some left trying to keep up. Things change in NASCAR as well. Nothing ever stays the same.

Drivers though, aren’t thought of as ones to go through such dramatic changes. Even when change does arrive it doesn’t always stick.

Yet, here’s Jeff Gordon who has gone through every change life can throw a guys way.

And he’s not done yet; the next change has already comes as Gordon leaves the only shop he’s ever known and gets a fresh start with a new team and equipment.

So, it’s that time of the year again. The time for rewinding the 2010 racing season and taking a second look at all of the fun, and in some cases exasperation, we had during the previous year. Recapping the entire season’s highlights is a daunting enough challenge. I soon discovered that the task of picking just one story was almost impossible.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Let’s face it, NASCAR racing fans were treated to a very exciting 2010 season. There is a huge list that would easily qualify for favorite story of the year. Some of them include:

Jimmie Johnson’s historic fifth consecutive championship.

January’s announcement from NASCAR that said “have at it boys.”

The aftermath of that announcement which gave us “Bad” Brad versus “Cousin” Carl.

The boxing match between Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton although I still say I’ve seen better fights between girls in cocktail lounges.

There is of course Kyle Busch versus just about anyone you want to name. From threatening to kill his team mate, at the All Star Race in Charlotte, to his one finger salute at a NASCAR official, at the Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR’s rowdy one was frequently the source of Monday morning water cooler conversations.

Again, the list of potential favorites is lengthy. But it was the source of inspiration that led me to choosing just one favorite story that completely surprised me. During a recent trip to a Walmart store, to do some Christmas shopping, I happen to notice a young lady wearing a T-shirt that read “I WEAR THE FIRE SUIT IN THIS FAMILY.”

It was, of course, the creation of DeLana Harvick the wife of Sprint Cup driver Kevin Harvick as well as the co owner of Kevin Harvick Inc which fields racing teams in NASCAR’s Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. Seeing that shirt was a reminder of how much I admired the story behind it’s initial creation and marketing.

The details behind this special T-shirt dates back to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held at the Pocono Raceway this past June. In the final moments of this race there was contact between the cars being driven by Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano The Logano Toyota went into a long slide and a top five finish turned into 13th. Harvick kept his Chevrolet under control and finished fourth.

After the race a remarkably calm Harvick said “he just races without giving people and respect and not much room. So, we just wound up getting together. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it goes.”

Needless to say Logano had an entirely different point of view. The angry young driver parked his car alongside of Harvick’s on pit road. At the encouragement of his father, Tom Logano, he attempted to lunge towards his adversary but that effort was blocked by a member of Harvick’s pit crew.

During the course of a live television interview, Logano said “I don’t know what his problem is with me but it’s probably not his fault. His wife wears the fire suit in the family and tells him what to do. It’s probably not his fault.”

Like many of you I was watching the broadcast and my immediate reaction to Logano’s comments was “that’s low and extremely out of line.” It’s understandable that Logano was upset but you keep the focal point of anger at the individual who caused it. To lash out at another driver’s wife, who had nothing to do with the situation, is highly inappropriate.

Logano had to endure both criticism and teasing in the aftermath of his remark. That included a rather humorous “Twitter” message from Kevin Harvick who wrote “after his TV comment I don’t know if he wants to fight me or DeLana. My money’s on her.”

Regarding any possible response to Logano’s comment, DeLana Harvick certainly had options. There were plenty of media members at Pocono that day with television cameras, radio microphones and tape recorders. Everyone of them would have loved to record her thoughts on the matter.

But DeLana Harvick had a much different approach and it turned out to be a move steeped in brilliance. She contacted a T-Shirt manufacturer and commissioned the creation of the now famous “I wear the fire suit in this family” logo. The shirts were sold, through the Kevin Harvick Inc website, at $15 with proceeds benefiting the programs supported by the then recently established Kevin Harvick Foundation. The response from female NASCAR fans was immediate. The initial run of the T-shirts, reported to be in the hundreds, were sold out within a period of 48 hours.

Like many modern day NASCAR personalities, the Harvicks wanted to share the blessings from their racing endeavors by championing worthy social causes. That was the catalyst behind the creation of the Kevin Harvick Foundation which they launched earlier this year. The foundation’s creed states: “dedicated to the support of programs that positively enrich the lives of children throughout the U.S.”

A prime example of their work was presented last October. Visiting his native Bakesfield-California, Kevin Harvick set up a full academic scholarship fund to benefit one student-athlete at Cal State Bakersfield College for the next 12 years.

Yet another example occurred on the evening of December 16th when the Harvicks, along with a local radio station, presented the Christmas For Kids Concert at a Winston Salem-North Carolina night club. The evening featured country music star Sara Evans along with singer Bridgette Tatum and NASCAR personality Kyle Petty. The special evening was a charity toy drive benefiting area foster children in conjunction with the Foster Friends of North Carolina.

For more information regarding the youth orientated activities of the foundation, including how to purchase the fire suit T-shirt, dial up their official website at www.kevinharvickfoundation.org. I think you’ll be as impressed as I was.

Finally a tip of the racing hat to that Walmart shopper for reminding me how much I loved this story and why it’s my favorite for the 2010 season.