Observations on NASCAR and my other passion

The Sprint Cup is taking a week off. There is still something to get excited about this weekend, and that would be the Truck Series race at Kentucky this weekend. Randy Moss Motorsports will be making its debut in the series with the #81 Chevrolet, driven by last year's Truck Series Rookie of the Year, Willie Allen.

Moss is playing it smart, having purchased an established team that has had some success in the series. Morgan-Dollar, the team in which Randy Moss bought controlling interest, has proven itself competitive with the likes of Kevin Harvick Incorporated, Roush-Fenway Racing, and Bill Davis Racing. Moss plans to eventially move the team to the Cup level, but he acknowledges that it will be a hard road. Still, citing his passion for the sport, and for winning, he is optimistic, and confident that he will reach his goals with his new team. We wish him success in his endeavors.

Yesterday, Ryan Newman reportedly announced that he and Penske South Racing will be parting ways after the end of the current season. We expect him to be joining Tony Stewart next year in the newly-formed Stewart-Haas Motorsports organization, which would make it the Team from Indiana. However, there are rumors that he may be the driver for RCR's fourth car next year. Since we were left embarrassed by our insistance that Smoke would not be leaving JGR before 2010,. we have decided to believe any and all rumors we hear or read about. However, we will offer our opinion that Casey Mears would probably be a better fit in the RCR car. Mediocre record aside, Mears is a driving talent looking for the right surroundings. RCR did just that for Jeff Burton, and it stands to reason they could do it for Mears.

With the NASCAR Sprint Cup series being off for the week, we can explore our other passion, and that would be music. For me, amazing musical feats in concert are every bit as exciting of the sound of the engines fireing up after the command to "start your engines."

We understand that not many NASCAR fans are fans of what we call "Jam Music," but there are similarities that should be explored. At a NASCAR event, the crowd is generally happy, friendly,. helpful, excited about what they are seeing and hearing on the track, and drinks a lot of beer. At the Grateful Dead events we attended, and at other concerts we have attended since then, the crowd is generally happy, friendly, helpful, excited about what they are seeing and hearing on the stage, and drinks a lot of beer.

To me, hearing a band go off in different directions during a jam, then pulling it back together for a reprise of a song they began earlier is just as exciting as watching Dale Earnhardt, Jr threading the needle to advance through traffic, Kyle Busch beating a block and going hard into a turn and making it stick, or Tony Stewart outsmarting Jeff Gordon on exiting a turn.

Some of the music we listen to is an acquired taste. You won't hear much of it on the radio, as it isn't music that is meant for radio. But NASCAR is an acquired taste as well. But the truth is, a Redneck can be a Deadhead and live a balanced, well-ordered life.

To celebrate and share my passion for Jam Music, I have started a social network called "Eclectic Jammys" That is a pun, but "Jammy" is meant as a title for a person who loves to listen to Jam Music. It doesn't have to be a Deadhead--a Jammy could be a fan of Phish, Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident, or countless other bands that are ignored by radio but fill theatres, arenas, ampitheatres, and stadiums with their amazing musical acrobatics.

"Eclectic Jammys" features a built in music player on every profile page that allows loading from either your computer or from another site. It also features forums, blogs, photo and video uploaders that every member can use. It is a MySpace lite, for a specific group of people. Those who join the group will be able to share and enjoy their favorite music. There will be conversations about our favorite bands and memories of our favorite concerts.

I have just begun building the site, but it can't be a social network without people, so, if you think you may be a Jammy, or are interested or curious about Jam Music, please visit and join us at Eclectic Jammys