HossC

Good to hear from you again, Garrett. It's 104 days until the 2019 F1 season starts on March 17th (yes, that's St. Patrick's Day). I guess you'll have to become an F1 fan if you want to continue seeing your favorite drivers .

I had a lot of time on my hands when I did these designs. Luckily, I'm much busier now, but that means it's unlikely I'll get a chance to do any more in the near future.That said, never say never!

According to his IMDb page, Byron has recently returned to a bit of acting after a considerable break. I also found this interview from earlier in the year while he was attending Bo's Extravaganza:

Hey, Roger, I caught some commentary from an English soccer match on my car radio earlier today. I don't follow soccer (other than checking the scores), so I was surprised to hear that Charlie Daniels was playing. Seeing as it was on the radio, my mind just imagined the veteran country singer chasing the ball around the pitch. I've now googled him, and it turns out he's a 32-year-old defender who plays for AFC Bournemouth. Still, it was a fun image while it lasted. It just occurred to me that if he ever got red carded (sent off), the newspapers could use the headline "Charlie Daniels Banned" .

And he nearly got away with driving Lewis' car

I don't know about the McLarens, Roger, but Red Bull F1 cars handle dirt roads pretty well. I'm sure I've posted this video before - it was made to promote the Austin Grand Prix when track construction had just begun.

It turns out that Jeff Gordon is also in Abu Dhabi, and bumped into his old teammate.

Another NASCAR driver will be at the F1 race this weekend. This time it's the turn of (a clean-shaven) Jimmie Johnson, who joins the McLaren team for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He's going to get more of an experience than Jeff Gordon did a few weeks ago, because after visiting McLaren's UK factory (below) earlier this week, he's going to do a car swap with two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso on Monday. Apparently, he'll be using one of Jenson Button's old seats in the McLaren. Alonso will drive Johnson's backup car from Charlotte, with Alan Gustafson leading the Hendrick Motorsports team in the pits.

F1 seems to make a few rule changes each year, but nothing quite a drastic as those proposed in NASCAR. Being such a high-tech sport, many of the changes relate to aerodynamics, car design, engine longevity etc. Others are introduced to improve safety. Some do prove to be controversial, such as the DRS (drag reduction system) which helps cars overtake. Liberty Media have made a few changes since they took over, and I'm still not used to races starting at 10 minutes past the hour instead of on the hour. They're also looking at new tracks, which I hope won't be at the expense of some of the great historic ones. There's is, however, one major change for next year - it'll be the first time that none of the races will be shown live on free-to-air TV in the UK. Only time will tell if this turns out to be a bad idea or a terrible one!

Also, IIRC, Daisy didn't move much in the bikini, so it would've been easier to make sure that her modesty was preserved.

I've just had a quick flick through "The Unofficial Companion". Although it discusses some of the auditioning process, I can't see names of anyone else who actually auditioned for the role of Daisy. The closest it gets is a mention that Dennis Quaid wanted to play Luke on the condition that his then wife, PJ Soles, played Daisy. It also quotes Cathy, prior to her audition, as saying, "I'm not going to read for that part. They've met girls from every part of the country. They want blonde hair and the biggest boobs in town." Maybe one of the DVD extras names some names. I'll have to check them out.

Thanks for posting this link, Spike, I've never seen it before (NASCAR never got much exposure in the UK in the '70s and '80s). It was a nice surprise to hear (now Sir) Jackie Stewart commentating. For those who don't know, Sir Jackie was one of the key people who improved safety in F1, and motorsport generally, way back in the very dangerous '60s and '70s. The three-time F1 World Champion is still a regular at F1 races at 79 years old.

rock

I attended two remembrance services today to mark 100 years since the World War I Armistice. The first was held in the cathedral where I sang last month. From 11:00am until 12:30pm, 35,000 paper poppies (roughly the number of Irish deaths in WW1) fell from the hole in the center of the ceiling. I helped to cut a few of them, as did many other volunteers and local schools. By the end, the floor was covered - it was pretty moving. This evening there was a second service, which was followed by a procession from the church to War Memorial for wreath laying. The procession included 100 people carrying candles. Somehow, I got to be at the front, bearing one of the Allied flags (no prizes for guessing which one was left for me!)

O'CONNOR Paint Supply (store next to Rhuebottom's)

A little unfortunate that John was sent home on "Country Night". I see that it was a double elimination this week.

Hobie, I think you mean Lucinda MEADOWS, who appeared in 'The Legacy'. MEADOWS is my go BTW.

Jeff Gordon got to try out Juan Pablo Montoya's F1 car about 15 years ago (below). Nowadays, they have much stricter rules on testing, and each car only has three engines to last the whole season, so even reserve/test drivers get very little time behind the wheel of a current F1 car. Believe it or not, Lewis Hamilton had to get permission from his team to do a couple of doughnuts after Sunday's race because his engine/gearbox have to last for two more races.

Roger Ramjet (and his Eagles fighting for our freedom...)

I'm just going to briefly hijack this thread to say "congratulations" to Lewis Hamilton who has just won his fifth F1 World Championship, and also to Max Verstappen for winning today's race. Lewis has now equalled Juan Manuel Fangio's number of wins, with only Michael Schumacher still ahead with seven. The presenters have just interviewed one of Lewis' friends about the achievement - some American guy called Jeff Gordon, who watched the race from the Mercedes pit.

JASON Steele (from '10 Million Dollar Sheriff')

Skunk HOLLOW

FLOSSIE (character in 'Cooter's Confession')

Also known as Hazzard COUNTY COMMISSIONER It was Miss CRUMBLY, mentioned in 'The CANTERBURY CROCK'.

Uncle EZekiah (mentioned in "The Hazzardville Horror")