Capt_Redneck

cheap

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Just damn good....I love the Buford Pusser connection. In case anyone on here doesn't know The State Line Mob is the syndicate that controled the Miss./Tenn state line with gambling and other illegal activites in the 50's/60's. They were the ones that Sheriff Buford Pusser went after and were the ones who ambushed him and his wife killing her onm Aug 12, 1967.. I did a paper on Bufors Pusser back in college and am a huge collector of stuff from him. They remind me more of Drive By Truckers and Little Big Town with some Bad Co. thrown in somewhat. Pretty good Southern Rock. Love their myspace with the General Lee.... I'm gone Darrell

So we are just average fans because we don't have a General Lee or Police car replica? Is this along the same line as when you said you are not "true" Dukes fan for liking the 05 movie? By the way I would have preferred Johnny Knoxville and Sean William Scott to be there. As far as Adam West, I am scratching my head... I'm gone Darrell

Daisy

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Daney Thank you very much for the info. Still such a tragedy and my heart goes out to those victims... Darrell

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I agree with ya on Begigni with most of his movies. But with this movie it worked perfectly to tell the story. Without his behavior and mannerisms in the movie , it wouldn't have been as effecitive. That is why he won the Oscar for Best Actor... I'm gone Darrrell

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CD player? I thought you were still on 8 tracks... *now I am ducking*

One of the best movies I have ever seen was an Italian movie. "La Vita è bella" - Life Is Beautiful I'm not much of a Roberto Begnini fan, but he was so deserved the oscar for best actor. I am a WWII buff ( my father was a tank seargent and was captured by the Germans ) and love movies about the war. I feel this movie was far more moving than it it is given credit for. The efforts a father goes to so he can shield his little boy from the horrors of war and the Nazi atrocites. The "game" to keep him alive and the prize at the end. it still brings a tear to my eyes. I will only watch the subtitled version and not the english dubbed one. I feel I get more of the movie that way. I'm gone Darrell

Daney - Funny thing is that I love Psych. I think that is one of the funniest and clever shows on all of TV. Almost forgot that James Roday is Billy Prickett in the 05 movie. Tim - What Daney said about it benefitting the Dukes fandom and discovering the original TV show is what I have been saying since day 1. And also becasue I love the movie. Now please get off your soapbox again, move on and ple3ase don't make this thread an anti-movie one. It was just for info purposes if anyone wanted to see the movie on TV, that's all. I'm gone Darrell

So what is everyone's opinion of NASCAR this year? Jr in the #88? Smoke? Hendrick Motor Sports? DEI? Let's get this racin' season started...... I'm gone Darrell

thanks Daney for the heads up. See onthe USA page thow they are promoting it? Also stars Psych's James Roday! I think they are doing that since Psych is one of the top shows on cable. I wonder if USA will edit it correctly ? Maybe they will edit the PG13 version and then it will be more inline with what everyone wanted. Maybe ya'll will be surprised. I'm gone Darrell

Another good article I read. Rusty Wallace has some valid points and something I have always said - The day Dale Sr. died was the day NASCAR changed. www.insiderracingnews.com NASCAR's Brian France: Finally Answering the Clue Phone? An Opinion January 25, 2008 By Rebecca Gladden Retired NASCAR Cup champion Rusty Wallace echoed the sentiments of millions of disenfranchised NASCAR fans this week when he spoke of the sport's dramatic trend away from tradition in recent years. "We went after that new fan, but we forgot the old fan and that's a mistake," Wallace said bluntly. For the past several years, NASCAR's fans and participants have been unwitting passengers on the Brian France Express, as it made a sharp detour from the well-worn tracks of tradition and barreled headlong into a dark tunnel of unwelcome change - new rules, new points, new cars, a whole new feel and direction for the sport. Of course, NASCAR is not just a sport. It's a business. And businesses need to grow and evolve to survive. But there's a manner and a pacing in implementing change that makes it feel right, natural, even welcome. Then there's the France method of change, which makes the passengers want to storm the cab, tie up the engineer, commandeer the runaway train and point it back in the proper direction. More often than not, France has been accused of forcing change on the sport too quickly and with what seemed to be a callous disregard for its time-honored methods and tradition-minded fans. Last Monday, NASCAR's CEO delivered his 2008 State of the Sport address, and it appears that for the first time in recent memory, Mr. France is listening to critics when it comes to the topic of change. At first, while acknowledging that "change" has been a "hot button with the media" for the past several years, France proffered something of a defense, stating, "There were a lot of changes that were made, had to be made, that were scheduled many, many years ago, like the Car of Tomorrow, which had an eight- or nine-year development cycle, or some changes that were frankly out of our control - the series entitlement sponsors coming or going or whatever." But after that, France made several statements that have given rise to cautious optimism: "We certainly are proud we've been able to attract new fans virtually every year NASCAR has been in existence. But we're also proud of those fans who have been with us for many decades." "I think what I hope you'll take out of today is we're getting back to the basics, we're going to try to minimize the change going forward as best we can, and focus on what we've always focused on, which is the best product in the world." "But we'll also continue to embrace the past and the rich heritage beginning with the biggest event, the Daytona 500. Next month, the 500 will run for the 50th time." "Our sport is strong. We're determined to make it stronger and maintain the intense commitment of our generations of loyal fans. We'll continue to grow and evolve. We'll always be mindful of our past." "Back to the Basics" - certainly a better catchphrase than ceaseless change. In addition, France addressed an embarrassing issue that came to the forefront back in 2005, when a Wall Street Journal article stated, "At the end of each season, fines collected from drivers and crews are pooled together and disbursed to the top 25 racers … As a result, some violators not only get their penalty money back, but they actually earn a profit." This revelation created a huge outcry three years ago, as fans called for adjustments to the way fine money is utilized. In Monday's address, France announced, "One change we are going to make for 2008 is, fines based on NASCAR's penalties will go to the NASCAR Foundation for its charitable initiatives. Now that the NASCAR Foundation is well-established and supporting dozens of charitable organizations, it's the logical place for fine monies to be distributed." Agreed. NASCAR is also tweaking the top-35 qualifying rule this week - long considered a burr under the saddle of race fans who feel it symbolizes the kind of corporate favoritism that gets in the way of pure racing. Starting this season, drivers outside the top 35 will qualify together - minimizing the impact of random factors like qualifying order and track temperature changes during a qualifying session. Also, NASCAR president Mike Helton chimed in on the topic of drivers showing their emotions and personalities - something critics allege has been stifled by NASCAR in favor of political correctness. "We want the drivers to be themselves," said Helton. "The character of the sport is built by all the drivers that participate as well as owners. But I think part of NASCAR's responsibility is for us to keep our hands around the entirety of the sport. NASCAR is in that same position, as is other sports. When you see things escalating, you react in accordance to that until you feel good about the environment that you've got, you've got your hands around it, then you're able to give a little bit of breathing room." Hopefully, that extra "breathing room" starts this year. The sport even seems to be returning to its roots in the musical realm, with country artist Garth Brooks replacing Kelly Clarkson as spokesperson for NASCAR Day and country duo Brooks and Dunn pegged to headline the pre-race show at the Daytona 500. Many NASCAR fans have chafed at the sport's recent trend towards edgier rock and hip hop acts. While it's true that Brian France didn't address the elephant-in-the-room issues that have angered race fans in recent years - the Chase points system, the Car of Tomorrow, the top-35 rule itself, the similarity between car makes and models, the excessive late-race debris cautions, the dreadful television coverage, the loss of the Labor Day race at Darlington (to name a few) - his statements this week do offer a glimmer of hope that your voices are being heard. Keep ringing the clue phone, NASCAR fans - one day, Brian France is going to pick up.

A great article about the new NASCRAP. Isee I am not the only one longing for the good ol' days of NASCAR...Got this one from the Greensboro News and Record . Hardin: NASCAR runs from its fans, and they know it Ed Hardin Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008 3:00 am CHARLOTTE -- Now comes the fun part as we watch NASCAR try to put the cow back in the barn. The strange admission last week from Brian France that stock car racing's sanctioning body had lost its way in recent years had a lot of people wondering just what the sport is up to. NASCAR is not, nor has it ever been, in the business of looking back. So when France, the third-generation owner of the second-most popular sport in the world, said racing has seen all the change it can stand, you just had to wonder what he was really saying. What sounded on the surface a lot like a concession to Southerners that he had screwed up their sport was more likely something far more insidious. This sounded a lot like a dreaded vote of confidence for someone about to be fired. France's rambling speech before a room full of media creeps Monday afternoon begged the questions: Just who are NASCAR's core fans now? And would France know one if he ran into him on the street? NASCAR's core fans are from North Carolina, the state that now has lost two tracks to stock car racing's vision of the future. NASCAR's core fans are from Darlington, S.C., where the legendary track was left for dead three years ago. NASCAR's core fans work at north Georgia service stations and auto parts stores in Virginia and Tennessee. They drive too fast, drink too much, struggle to keep up with their bills and cuss a lot. They are the very people NASCAR has been running from for about 10 years now. They've put up with a lot in recent seasons, and every one of them could clearly see that NASCAR was losing its way. France listened to no one. The sport kept pushing ahead, racing in places that any fool knew had no business hosting stock car races, and building racetracks that had about as much character as I-95. Just last October he told reporters: "If we stay still, we fall behind." In three months he has changed his tune? Not likely. It's far more likely that he took a good look at what's getting ready to happen this year and realized that NASCAR has never changed more in one season to the next than now. The sport will start next month under a new brand name, the third in five years. It will race its entire schedule with the new Car of Tomorrow, which NASCAR officials were referring as the "Car of Today, or whatever," last week. The car is actually a kit with decals differentiating the makes and whatever. NASCAR's core fans figured that out last year right after Kyle Busch won the car's debut, then cussed it afterward. Busch is driving for a different team this year, along with what seems like more than half the tour. And that includes the marquee name, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will drive for Hendrick Motorsports along with his biggest rivals, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. And all the while, the sport continues to attract the kind of drivers that appeal to absolutely no one. Among those going to NASCAR this year will be Dario Franchitti, Jacques Villeneuve, Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Patrick Carpentier, open-wheel drivers who will join Juan Pablo Montoya and Sam Hornish Jr., open-wheel drivers who came on the scene last year. It isn't lost on NASCAR's core fans that these guys are taking the jobs once reserved for Saturday night racers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. The tour is becoming more like open-wheel racing than Saturday night stock car racing. Teams fear the sport is getting closer to Formula One than anything else, and that means racing with money instead of speed and guts. Ray Evernham thinks that would be the downfall of the sport. "If this becomes a battle of money, then those people in the stands are going to stop watching,'' he said. Evernham gave up control of his team in the offseason, selling the majority of it to the Canadian investor George Gillette. Other than all that, nothing has changed since last year. NASCAR will start its season having undergone more alterations in one offseason than in its recent history, which has seen more upheaval than in the first 50-odd years combined. In this, the 60th season of the sport founded by France's grandfather, the changes have already occurred. NASCAR now must convince its fans to ignore the changes, to disregard the fact that they no longer recognize the sport they built with their own hard-earned money and pretend that nothing ever happened. Attendance is down and TV ratings are down, but fans still pour into Darlington and cows still graze just outside the old track at North Wilkesboro, where grass is growing through the asphalt.

Tim ....Good to hear that it was only temporary and good to hear that your company has another contract. I don't think the prices will be as high as some of ya'll think. I understand that these TV shows and magazines that find, build and sell cars are drivingall car prices up. But , I bet , someone will start producing the resto parts and bodies like they have now for the 67 mustang and 69 camaros and jeeps and pick ups. It is still expensive to build but it is more reasonable than finding an original. From all the stuff I have read on your GL and you converted it a long time ago, do you think it might be time to upgrade your GL? Please don't take that as ding against you, but watching the Barrett Jackson auction they all talked about fresh resto's and ones done a few years earlier and the values and such. I'm gone Darrell