Preseason Interview with Coach Moser

SORSN: First off, congratulations on beginning your 11th season as head coach of the Midway Greenwaves. Tell us about the off season changes to the coaching staff. (Who was lost, who was added, their roles, what they bring to the team)

Coach Moser: New addition to the coaching staff is Ryan Hill. Ryan played at Kingston and played his college ball at the University of Tennessee. Ryan will be working with our RB's and DL. Coach Steve Stansbury is back with us after completing his tour in the Middle East with the United States Marine Corps. Steve will be again in charge of in-season strength and conditioning and assisting with the OL and DL. Coach Shillings is back (I think) and will be working with our WR's and assisting in Defensive game planning. Coach O'toole is still around and is Defensive Coordinator and DB coach. Coach Campbell is also back for his 2nd year at his alma mater and is OL, LB and has a major role on the Offensive side.

SORSN: What did you see during the offseason, summer workouts and the preseason that you liked? Disliked or needs improvement?

Coach Moser: I like our attitude. They have come to work every day. They still have to learn what playing hard is. They have to learn how to give it all.

SORSN: According to the experts on 99.1 The Sports Animal, the “3 star” players make up the core of the team and is where the team pulls its leadership and heart from. Do you feel that this is true and how would you rank your “3 star” players against your opponents?

Coach Moser: We have a very demanding schedule. We must bring it EVERY PLAY - EVERY DAY! If we all play with all we got, I'll take our guys against anyone.

SORSN: We’ve seen powerful run game in the past and now with the development of young Tom Viar - attempts at a passing attack. Let’s take for granted that the good folks up in Wartburg do not have internet, what can the folks on the hill expect to see from the offense on the 27th, opening night?

Coach Moser: Come out for opening night and see.

SORSN: For 5 years, Coach Moser has answered this question the same way….we’ll try again next year.

In the recent County Elections there was a grass roots movement in an effort to get Ralph Ramey elected as County Commissioner. Given the number of CORs (Cousin of Ralph) in and around SOR do you feel that a recount is warranted?

Coach Moser: You have put me in a bind with this question. Being a public figure I am supposed to remain neutral when it comes to politics. However, myself being a COR I think a recount is a must. Sorry Ronnie.

SORSN: A few weeks ago, Euchee Marina was the scene of what was nearly an electronic disaster when a floating dock gave way during an encore performance of Family Tradition by Ralph Ramey. Clearly, the dock wasn’t built to hold all the CORs. Given the turnout at the marina, presence of paparazzi and the size of the mash-pit when Ralph got on the mic, have you considered contacting Ralph’s agent for a performance/fund raiser for the football program? Do you think we can get Ralph to cover a Justin Timberlake song for the ladies? How about a promotion video for the football team of Ralph performing Hank’s “Are you ready for some football”? Halftime performance with Mr. Westrich & the band with Ralph? Coach, the possibilities are endless.

Coach Moser: I would love to get Ralph to sing "Are You Ready for Some Football" as the team ran to the field..Imagine the fence walkers excitement! Ralph would NEVER sing Justin Timberlake. You saw the ladies at Euchee. Ralph’s Hank stands for itself. I think we need some ideas from not only COR's but all SOR to best use our natural resource, Ralph Ramey.

SORSN: In an earlier conversation, Coach O’Toole commented when asked about the team – “they are busting there ass and I’m fired up to coach them. Don’t know how good we will be but we’re going to hit and bust our ass.” Can we quote him on this…..errr…I think we just did?

Coach Moser: I will leave it up to Tool to speak for himself. The players are working hard, Dr. McMillan gave Coach O'Toole a clean bill of health and he has his group playing as hard as the stones mined in Crab Orchard. I get a little itch when it come to football, and can't wait for the season to begin.
GO BIG GREEN!


Thanks Coach and as always, we look forward to Friday nights.

Fantasy Football League

It's time - year 2 for the SORSN FFL. We're opening it up to a max of 20 teams. Register your team now - http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/sorsn_ffl

League ID: 415746
Password: waves

Story Submittal - Smoked

SEC Media Days from Hoover , AL concluded this past week and I thought I'd surf the internet to catch up on the status of Tennessee football or at least get a different perspective from the ones posed by the local Alabama press. To my surprise and dismay, the name of a past nemesis of Midway H.S. Football was listed. The article stated that: "Two former Tennessee football players died this week. Ray Dalton, a fullback for UT from 1960-63 and Gary Moore, a running back from (1977-79).” The article went on to say that Gary Moore, originally from Decatur, TN had died July 9 in Tampa, Fla.

I remember Gary Moore from my senior football season which ended the 1st week of November 1971. That season was one of surprising early success which found us 4 -1 half way through the year and hoping to finish with a winning 6-4 record if we could close out the season with a win over Meigs County. In those days, Midway often found a win or two when playing the boys from Decatur. This game would be different. Not only was Meigs County loaded with seniors (some BIG farm kids, best I recall), but they also had this freshman "speed merchant". Doug Hixson, next of kin to the SOR's Hixson clan, was on that Meigs County team. Doug often came to the former Gage's IGA at the intersection of Hwy 58 and Hwy 72 to engage in football conversation with the store's working staff. The working staff was of course mainly my brothers and I. If memory serves me correctly, Doug and other Meigs County fans used the nickname "Smoke" when speaking of Gary Moore.

Well on that cold November night in 1971, the Green Wave could not douse the heat generated by the Smoke that was Gary Moore. Though just a freshman, his speed and talent were note worthy. One play in particular, was a sweep to the left side from somewhere around the Meigs 35 yard line. Our defensive end and tackle had done their jobs and senior linebackers Tim Easter and I were closing in for a certain tackle for loss. This freshman stopped, turned, gave 10 to 15 yards of ground, then ran to the opposite sideline and streaked to the end zone. The 65 yard scoring play as recorded in the newspaper did little justice to the actual 100+ yard run. Needless to say, that night was all Meigs County. They scored early and often (40+ points) and we couldn't score at all. That was long ago, but I do remember Gary Moore as an extra ordinary football player.

The article which noted Gary's passing also stated that he was the state’s leading high school scorer in 1975. I remember watching his 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Auburn in 1979 and thinking I no longer needed to feel inadequate as having been a senior and being bested by a freshman. I just proudly told everyone that I was once on the same playing field with Gary Moore and understood what those Auburn players were thinking as they were "Smoked". After all, I had witnessed it first hand, on a football field south of the river at Midway H.S. in November 1971.

Here is a YouTube video of a touchdown run by Gary Moore and one of John Ward's classic calls - Gary Moore kickoff return vs Auburn

7 Must Reads

We've been looking back at some of our past articles and created, what we feel, is a list of must-reads. We hope you can take few minutes and look back at some of these great articles from the Memories, Legends, and History sections of SORSN.com.

- Tales from the Pit
- For Sale, Like New
- Meanest SOB's He Ever Saw
- The Bee Sting Heard Around the World
- Where Are They Now - J Karl
- Legendary Coach Leonard Morris
- Ed Rose-Legendary Voice of the Waves

There are many more great stories from sorsn.com readers under the Memories section.

Luminary Church Softball

The Luminary United Methodist Church Ladies Softball Team has been tearing through the competition this season. Big bats and stellar defense had the ladies coasting through the season. The ladies got off to an impressive 6-0 start before losing their first game a couple weeks ago. Last week, they faced their biggest challenge, St. Mary’s Baptist Church of Harriman. St. Mary’s has dominated the league since the beginning. Known for their big offense, St. Mary’s is a team that everyone enjoys watching…but few enjoy playing against.

But this year things are different. Luminary was the team with all the buzz around the ball park and many turned out to see these two teams square off for the first time this season.

Luminary started the game at the plate but only managed one run. St. Mary’s would respond and take the lead, 4-1, at the end of the first. Luminary would go 3 & out on the next at bat and St. Mary’s added to their lead; now 6-1 at the end of 3.

The bats would start to warm up for Luminary with Nancy Sargent, Candi Hutchinson, April Queener, Lindsey and Lacey Davidson laying down hits; 9-5 at the end of 5. Luminary started to gain the momentum and close the gap, rallying in the 6th to bring the score to 9-8 St. Mary’s.

Heading into the 7th and final inning, St. Mary’s managed 2 runs to push the lead to 11-8. Solid pitching and defense gave Luminary shot to win the game in the final at bat.

With bases empty, Brandi Letner stepped to the plate and blasted one off the fence in deep right-center. Brandi turned on the speed for an inside-the-park homerun and cut the lead to 11-9. Geneva Sargent brought hope with a shot to left-center for a standing double. With 2-outs, the tying run Sabrina Rucker would step to the plate…but it wasn’t to be. A ground out to short stop ended the game and St. Mary’s escaped with the 11-9 victory.

However, Luminary quickly bounced back two days later with 2 lop-sided victories, 27-0 and 17-0.

You can see Luminary play at the Flour Mill Flats ball field in Harriman. The final regular season game is this Thursday @ 9pm. Post season play will begin next week with games on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s.

See photos from the games here.

For information about Luminary United Methodist Church, located on River Road, visit luminaryumc.org

Hall of Fame

We have added video clips from the Inaugural Midway Hall of Fame ceremony to the galleries.


You can see the "fondest memories" of the inductees by clicking here. Thank you to Cindy Jones for putting this together.

Youth League Photos

Check out the pictures from recent Little League action under the galleries section.

Photography

Looking for something different for senior portraits? Need family/child photos?

Visit shawnqueener.com for information.

SORSN Bracketology Winner

The NCAA Tourney came to an end last night with an exciting championship game. The Duke Blue Devils escaped with a 2-point victory over Butler to win their 4th NCAA championship.

But the real game was played off the court. The SORSN Pick’em Bracket featured 15 players, all competing for bragging rights and a gift certificate for a free pizza from Domino’s of Kingston.

Below are the top 10 finishing brackets.

The winning bracket belonged to Candice “Bear” Terry. Quinton Pressley corrected picked 40 out of the 64 games but it was Candice’s final round brackets that earned her the go-ahead points, finishing with 91 points, and the coveted SORSN Bracketology Trophy.

The rest of the field finished as follows:

In Memory of Mr. Tony Keko

Yesterday I learned that Mr. Anthony Keko died this week. For someone who’s never heard the name, it is easy to wonder why this has deeply affected me. A death always makes us stop and ponder our own mortality. It also makes us think about the trajectory of that person’s life in our own.

Mr. Keko was one of those teachers who, even when you are very young, makes you realize there is a bigger world out there. I remember slide shows of his trip to Greece and other tales from his life. He was similar to my father in that way, as they were both consummate storytellers. I always felt lucky that I was in his class and my ongoing love of geography and travel stems largely from that year. I wanted to go to all those places on those maps.

I have had the great luck of having many good teachers. Whatever anyone may say about the public schools in this country, and some of those things are true, they do offer hope in ways that few other public institutions do. I was not abjectly poor. I did not live in the inner city. But, I did live in a rural part of this country where a great number of people still are born, live and die in the same county. I knew pretty early that there was more I wanted to see and with the help of teachers like Mr. Keko, Mrs. Eldridge, Mrs. Helton, Mr. Hayes and Mr. King I came to realize that I could go places and push myself to do important things and maybe even make a change in the world.

I did go to college (public) and grad school (public again) and then to technical school for a culinary degree (public one more time) to give me a vocation to support my avocation or vice versa -- the jury is still out on which is which. I am a modern creature in that I have changed not only jobs, but careers about every five years. I have worried that all those teachers and mentors who invested in me along the way might have been disappointed that I did not turn out to be a rocket scientist, a brain surgeon, or President (as Mr. Keko believed). I thought maybe I had failed them in my non-earth shattering life of teaching at a community college and trying to write. I love my job. I enjoy interacting with my students and getting to know who they are and where they want to go. So, I am not interested in rocket surgery or being President but I hope that what I have become is in the end a better tribute to Mr. Keko and those others who made such a difference in my life. Because of him, because of them, I am a teacher.

Did You Know

We at SORSN need your help in contributing to the "Did You Know" section of SORSN. Send us any interesting, not-so interesting, or useless South of the River knowledge and facts you may have. Please include as much detail as possible (i.e. dates). Send them to SQueener@sorsn.com

Did you also know that by clicking "Refresh" on your internet browser you can pull up different "Did You Know" facts...

SORSN Nascar Coverage

SORSN.com Special Coverage
Kobalt 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Michael Rose, Special Correspondent and VP of Brand Development and Marketing

SORSN.com covers it all. From local junior varsity sports to the travels around the world by our outdoors correspondent, Greg Jones, you can get it all here. At SORSN.com we believe in covering things that the fine folks residing off south Highway 58 find interesting. In our ongoing effort to provide the absolute best coverage of all things sports to our constituents, SORSN.com caught up with the good ole boys of NASCAR at the early spring stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS). NASCAR provides a great in person experience that just can’t be replicated by television (even on SORSN.com’s editor’s 84 inch high def flat screen). Some things such as a crisp October Tennessee football Saturday, a summer sunset on Watts Bar Lake or a Mike Hayes temper tantrum (seen here) just need to be experienced in person to gain the full perspective. NASCAR is one of those kind of things. Here is a rundown of the day that was March 7, 2010.

5AM departure from West Knoxville leads to a 7AM Chattanooga link up with lifetime NASCAR fan JR Rose. The track in Atlanta is actually located about 30 minutes south of Atlanta in Hampton. Sunday morning traffic was light for the capital of the south and arrival at the track by 10 AM. One great thing about AMS is that most parking around the track is owned by the track itself and is free. A great concept by AMS that I wished UT would follow, don’t gouge your patrons for parking.

10AM and the weather is still cool, but tailgating has already started for NASCAR fans. Atlanta is unique in that two sections of the track are surrounded and overlooked by RV parking. You basically pull your RV up, set up camp and can watch the race while grilling from the comfort of your campsite. It is really unique and quite neat and looks like it would be a good time, especially in a 200,000 dollar RV. JR Rose and I head toward the demo areas and the souvenir trailers. By far the biggest line for souvenirs is at the godaddy.com hauler. Could Danica be one of the most overhyped drivers in the history of NASCAR , possibly second only to Earnhard, Jr? I say yes, but obviously the marketing is working because godaddy.com apparel is everywhere. Nonetheless, SORSN.com decided to cash in on the phenom.

Second only to Danica apparel had to be Alabama football championship t shirts and hats. Honestly, where the heck were all of these Tide fans when the NCAA came calling a few years ago (a trend that likely will be repeated soon). One good thing about the hats is that they do hide the ever popular Bama Bang haircut.

11 AM and the traveling road show that is NASCAR starts to spring to life. Marketing give aways and photo ops abound at the vendor/sponsors area (not as much at this event as at Bristol in the fall however). JR and I scored, among other freebies, a NASCAR Sprint Cup hat and coozy, some cool US Air Force wing pendants, a NOS drink (awful), a Bristol shopping bag and an autograph from “official” NASCAR artist Sam Bass (for JRs collection). We also land the photos of the day with a guy advertising for new space age roof insulation products (soon to be distributed by Woody Brothers roofing we hear rumored) and an interesting fan just kinda hanging out outside the Speed Channel set.

The guy said he was a Jeff Gordon fan, I didn’t ask why.

Into the track at around 12 and in seats in turn one by 12:30, Atlanta really is a nice racetrack. All the seats have a good view of the track, the facility is clean and it really presents itself well. Empty seats abound however as the economy has really hit NASCAR hard. JR Rose and I decided to rent a scanner and headphones at this race and it really does add a lot to the track experience. Being able to hear the drivers, crew chiefs and spotters converse during the race brings some good insight to the race, even if most of the conversations tend to be R rated. Also it was interesting to note the drivers that talk a lot on the radio (Earnhardt Jr, Montoya, Kyle Busch) as opposed to the drivers that talk little (Stewart, Martin, Elliott).

Around 1 pm and the green flag drops and we go racing. Atlanta is the fastest of the non restrictor plate tracks and Earnhart Junior set a NASCAR non restrictor Car of Tomorrow record of 192 mph on Friday to qualify for the pole. The cars really fly off the start at Atlanta, except the pole sitter Earnhart Jr. Little Es car sinks like it is pulling a boat anchor and starts its systematic march to the back of the field. About half the crowd moans and curses as it appears as if it is another bad day for Little E. It appears many Earnhart fans are finally starting to figure out what the rest of NASCAR fans and Teresa Earnhart have known for a while. Dale Jr just doesn’t have the knack for racing that his father had. Lap 4 and Robbie Gordon blows a tire and hits the wall. Robbie releases a string of profanities. Tires will be a recurring theme through the day as will cursing.

Kurt Busch, Casey Kahne (female favorite) and Juan Pablo Montoya establish themselves early on as the cars to beat. Those three cars are noticeably faster than the rest of the field. Atlanta is an interesting track as cars are running competitively three lines all around the track (bottom, center, top). Of early note Brad Keselowski and Carl Edward get together early which results in Edwards making heavy contact into the wall. This will be revisited later in the day. At the halfway point, Kahne leads. JR Rose and I ease up to some empty chair back section seats for the remainder of the day.

The lead see-saws through much of the day with Busch, Kahne and Montoya taking turns in front. If the race stays green Montoya probably wins. The race will not stay green. Keselowski is in the top 10 fighting for a good finish, while Carl Edwards is at the back of the field. Coming down the front stretch at 193 mph with just a handful of laps to go and Edwards decides that revenge is in order with a love tap to Keselowski. Instead of spinning safely through the grass, Keselowskis’ car gets sideways, then airborne and rolls down the front stretch. Luckily the car didn’t end up in the fence in turn one (right where JR Rose and I had been sitting earlier) and no one was injured, but the wreck was frightening to watch and could have been disastrous for the driver or for fans. Atlanta is not the place for fender rubbing (save that for Bristol) and NASCAR calls Edwards to the NASCAR hauler to tell him his day is done. Simply put from a fan that was sitting in turn one for much of the race, Edwards should be suspended for a week for that action.

After extensive cleanup, the race goes back to green with the first of the green white checkered flag attempts. Basically NASCAR has tried to make sure that fans get the chance to see green flag racing at the end of the races, instead of ending under caution. There are three attempts at three laps to finish under green flag conditions before a race can end. The first attempt comes undone when a massive pileup in turn 4 takes it toll on many cars. Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Brian Vickers and others are involved in the crash. The second attempt at Green/White/Checkers finish sees Busch drive away on the restart as Montoya spins the tires. The rest of the field never could catch up and Kurt Busch finishes going away with the win. Busch completes his victory lap in reverse.

6 pm and heading out the gate, traffic is not as bad as I had heard rumors. In downtown Atlanta by 8 pm. To finish out the day, JR Rose and I finish up with a stop at the world famous Varsity drive in near the Georgia Tech campus. A couple of world famous chili dogs and onion rings at the Varsity and we were back on the road. I must say they make great chili dogs and rings at the Varsity.

11:45 pm, back in West Knoxville after a long day. In summary, here are my recommendations:
--Don’t miss the demo area outside the track before the race at any NASCAR event. Never, ever miss this show.
--Atlanta is a nice track, with a lot of speed and three racing lines.
-- If Danica ever actually finishes a Nationwide Cup race, NASCAR nation and ESPN race coverage may spontaneously combust.
--Carl Edwards should be suspended for actions Sunday. Shame on you Carl.
--NASCAR drivers cuss like sailors (or maybe sailors cuss like NASCAR drivers).
--The Varsity makes good chili dogs and onion rings. Stop at the Varsity if you are traveling through Atlanta, its right off the interstate near Georgia Tech.
--Sponsorship is waning at NASCAR. Like SORSN.com, NASCAR has felt the budget cutbacks from our sponsors and hopes that this economic recovery brings back some corporate sponsors.

SOR Soldier Update

Last January, Steve Stansbury stepped away from college and his spot on Coach Moser’s staff to prepare for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. Steve’s training took him from Camp Lejeune, NC to the heat of Twenty-Nine Palms, CA (and a few memorable weekends on Pacific Beach) before arriving in Iraq in October. For more than 3 months Steve and his squad conducted mounted security patrols as well as providing escort. Much to the like of his friends & family, this deployment was shorter than expected, ending on January 19th. However, Steve hasn’t touched foot South of the River just yet. Steve can kill a man with just his pinky and because of this, will remain in Iraq teaching martial arts until early spring.

All kidding aside, Steve is just one of several 2005 MHS graduates currently serving our country. Jude O'Toole (Marine), Jason Crask (Marine), Caleb “Bubba” Clark (Marine), Jesse Weigle (Army) and Dustin Rosenbaum (Army) are all spread across the globe. Jude, Jason and Dustin have all served tours in Iraq as well.

As we soon welcome the safe arrival of Sgt Stansbury and thank him and the others for a successful deployment, we watch another SOR native leave. Wally Holt (MHS 2004) is expected to leave within 24-48 hours on his 4th deployment for the Army, heading to Afghanistan. Wally will serve as a security squad leader in the Khost Providence up to the Pakistan border, manning the gun from the Army’s new gun trucks….”no more humvee” as stated by Wally. In November 2007, Wally nearly lost his life in Iraq when the humvee he was riding in was hit by a roadside bomb. [story] Wally is expected to be deployed for 12 months. I personally know a 5 year old girl who will be praying nightly during those 12 months for the safe return of her uncle Wally.

We thank and praise all of those listed here as well as the dozens of other SOR names not listed for their service, both past and present.

Relive your glory days

The Midway coaches have been working with a local company and have made videos of Midway football and basketball games available online. The web site is www.mygamefilms.com.

People can purchase old games with MHS getting a percentage of the sales. There are more games to come.

SORSN from Bristol

SORSN.com Special Coverage
Sharpie 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
Michael Rose, Special Correspondent and VP of Brand Development and Marketing

SORSN.com is the next ESPN. Right it down, right here right now. In 5 years time and with our highly paid, highly forward thinking staff, along with the loads of financial resources that our CEO is bound to throw at the staff in the next few years, SORSN.com will become so popular that Google will be paying us to use the SORSN.com search engine. That’s right folks, SORSN.com is taking it to the next level with our new five year plan.

In our ongoing search to provide the absolute best coverage of all things sporting to the fine folks South of the River and to Roane County in general, my and JR Rose’s assignment this weekend was to dedicate most of the day Saturday and part of the early morning hours of Sunday by covering the fall night Winston Cup race (sorry, this race fan will never refer to it as Nextel, Sprint or otherwise Cup, ever, ever, ever ) at Bristol Motor Speedway. In most years this is the toughest ticket in NASCAR, with 160,000 fans packing the Tennessee/Virginia state line to see a little bull in the ring after dark racing action on a .5 mile oval. Bristol rarely disappoints.

The afternoon started with the scoot up I 40 to 81. Departure time from West Knoxville was around 1 pm, which is about perfect timing to grab a bite to eat and still have plenty time to take in the prerace festivities (outside the track and inside). If you have ever been to a NASCAR race the prerace and outside activities are usually as entertaining as the race itself. Give yourself plenty of time to soak in the fun before heading into the track. If you have never been to Bristol it is a sight to see. The track is largely surrounded on all four sides by RV/campgrounds, which sets up for some interesting and entertaining scenery. Some say NASCAR is the last great American sport (in spite of Toyotas involvement) and I would have to agree. NASCAR also sets up haulers, booths, demos, etc on one corner of the facility (outside of approximately turn one). Check it out, it’s a great time. The prerace highlights include the following:

1. Souvenir village—Listen up folks, just outside the track at Bristol is some of the best “non official” T-shirt and souvenir shopping known to man. Think the Sweetwater flea market guy in the back with the Jimmy Buffett T-shirts before they sold out. Officially licensed, 30 dollar NASCAR sanctioned t shirts this ain’t. 2 for $20 shirts, old Terry Labonte Kellogg’s hats, Davey Allison photos, you name it, you can find it at this souvenir villager outside Bristol. Two big hits of the night include the following spotted bootlegged T shirts:

--An AMP shirt design (Dale Earnhardt Junior sponsor if you didn’t know). However the AMP was notated as “Another Missed Pitstop” which is quite amusing if you have followed little E’s pit problems this year.
--A T shirt that simply said “I smoked meth with Jeremy”


2. People watching-NASCAR fans are like none other on earth, and in particular Bristol NASCAR fans. The pregame campground and demo areas are some of the best people watching ever. You will see things that you probably (and most of the time hopefully) will never see elsewhere (on second hand maybe the Tennessee Valley Fair might run a close second). See photo of 'Super Fan'.

3. Giveaways-The NASCAR village outside the track is chocked full of photo ops, celebrity watching and giveaways. Where else can you pick up trial packets of the following ( I kid you not):
a. A small jar of Dukes Mayonnaise
b. Skoal
c. Amp-Sugar Free (what’s the point?)
d. The new retractable tip Sharpie
e. Deodorant (comes in handy later)
f. Dental Floss (oddest one of the night, seriously dental floss at a NASCAR race??)
g. Martha White cornbread packets
h. Home Depot fake hardhats
i. Goodys headache tablets (priceless)
j. Tums (also comes in handy later)
k. Tons of bumper stickers

Also the brother and I scored the following without really trying that hard

--Photos with Richard Petty, Joey Lagono and Kyle Busch (see photos)
--Autographed photo and bass fishing conversation with Janet Parker, BASSMASTER fisherwoman.

OK enough of that, now onto the race. Only two more races remain until the race for the Cup begins and Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Juan Pablo Montoya (among a handful of others) are on the in/out line for the 10 race season ending race for the chase. Very important race tonight.

The weather is perfect, mid 80s low humidity, perfect night for a race. Crowd is a little thin with many tickets on the street out front for half face value. Driver introductions are announced with each driver announcing himself over the PA then loading into the back of a pickup with the other driver that he qualified next to in the truck with him. Interesting though, Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch almost got into a fight last weekend in the Michigan race and qualified next to each other, so they end up in the back of the same truck. The fans wanted to see them duke it out Yarborough/Allison style, but the ESPN reporter stood between them the whole way around the track. The drivers pick their own music to self introduce. Some good ones include Michael Waltrip coming into Toby Keiths “I ain’t as good as I once was”.

First fifty laps, Greg Biffle is in control and checks out on the field. Bristol reworked the track surface and along with the car of tomorrow, has really changed the racing here. The track really doesn’t have one groove anymore (which generated most of the wrecks) and the cars can run an inside and an outside line, much like the larger tracks. Good two wide racing, not as much bent sheet metal. The outside line looks a little faster coming off the banking (which used to be no mans land). Tony Stewart is having a miserable night and has been in pit lane many times.

Mark Martin controls the middle section of the race. Long green flag runs, track is cooling off and the low line is working. Martins car sticks to the bottom and Martin is patient on passes, waiting on the other driver to bobble. The crowd wants a Martin win tonight.

Jimmy Johnson takes control late and really has a strong car that looks like the winner. With around 20 laps to go disaster strikes the Lowes team as the jack man drops the car without the left rear tire being completely on. Johnson has to pit a second time, giving up valuable track position this late in the race. Johnson’s crew chief goes Mike Hayes ape nuts ballistic on his pit team. Also light rain is falling and some cars stay out (Michael Waltrip) betting on rain washing the rest of the race away. This will cause problems later.

Restart with about 20 to go and Waltrip sinks like a rock, causing a backup in the pack, which causes a wreck. Waltrip wrecks again with 10 to go, setting up a Kyle Busch, Mark Martin shootout for the win. Waltrip sucks and needs to retire. Jimmy Johnson is coming hard but too much traffic in front of him.

One to go and Martin gets to the inside, could have wrecked Busch for the win Dale Earnhardt Senior style but races him clean. Busch is your winner. Good finish.

Final thoughts and hints if you are going to Bristol

--Park a long way away from the track and walk. Bristol traffic is legendary, but thanks to a tip from a SORSN.com loyal reader, Jimmy Sparkman, parking far away from the track and hitting the exit when the checkered flag drops will save you hours of sitting still in traffic

--NASCAR needs a villain. Yes there is Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart (who is becoming a fan favorite) and the loudest boos were for the race winner Kyle Busch, but NASCAR misses the love him or hate him of Dale Earnhardt Senior.

--Get a scanner and bring earplugs. It’s loud, really loud, 2 days deaf in one ear loud. The scanner is pretty cool which lets you hear the conversations between drivers and crew chiefs

--Double file restarts are good, but difficult to get the drivers to shake out the starting order in one caution lap at Bristol.

--It’s a show and a spectacle. Definitely worth the trip, although I think NASCAR has to lower ticket prices shortly to keep its fan base. The racing at Bristol is different now than it used to be and not as much bumping and banging, but that may change as the track surface ages and a groove develops.

--2 AM return time to Knoxville is about as good as it gets.

Separated at Birth

Separated at birth? Hmmm….you decide.

Coach Mike Hayes – Coach Steve Spurrier
The vest, the visor (even at night), the temper-tantrums…

Coach Ruffner – Chuck Norris
The nicely trimmed beard, wavy blonde hair, impressive delt’s and pec’s.

Coach Walker – Burt Reynolds
The ‘tash, salt & pepper hair, lack of tan lines….

Is their another Midway coach with a possible twin? If so, send your separated at birth theories to contact@sorsn.com