I have been doing some more thinking lately. Maybe sometime I can stop thinking and just relax, which would be wonderful. I think today I will cover the Bobby versus Kasey topic that I have been avoiding.
Someone recently asked me if I would pick either Bobby or Kasey over the other. I absolutely hate when people ask me questions like that. I knew it was coming eventually, but I still hate having to think about it. Yes, I have been a Bobby fan longer than I have been a Kasey fan. However, I was also a Bill Elliott fan at the same time I was a Bobby fan and would cheer for both of them. When Bill retired at the end of 2003, Kasey took over the next year. I have always had loyalties to that car and therefore became a Kasey fan. However, I no longer purchased #9 gear because it was too expensive to support more than one driver and therefore we all rooted for Bobby here. I do not root for Kasey because of how he looks, though that doesn’t hurt, but because of how he drives, which is actually a lot similar to Bobby’s driving style although a tad more aggressive. I root for them because of the respect they have for others, both on and off the track. So you can all argue that I wasn’t a Kasey fan until Chicagoland last year and the whole golf cart nonsense, but that is not the truth. The only thing that came out of that was that I was no longer a closet Kasey fan. I will admit that it was much easier just being a “Bobby” fan because that left no argument to whom I would choose.
Now, as far as teams go, I was never that much of a Joe Gibbs fan or really any team. I was more focused on just being a fan of the driver. I know that that’s probably not a good thing, but I really didn’t like focusing on the business side of things and how much money a team was putting into the cars and things like that. I saw all cars as having just as much chance at winning as the other, but as times change that is no longer really accurate. It’s unfortunate that that’s the way it is, but there is nothing that I can do about it. So saying this would lead you to the conclusion that I am now a fan of both Bobby’s and Kasey’s teams…wrong. I am still not very fond of Hendrick Motorsports. There is just something I really do not like about that team…oh the way they use people and get off the hook when they should not. Yes, I am glad that Kasey is in a good car, but the #9 was a good car and the #4 really was not that bad either so in summary Kasey is just a really good driver no matter what you put him in. So I suppose it’s possible my view of HMS may change as my view for JTG Daugherty Racing did and has. I did not go into last season a fan of this team. Heck, I didn’t even know who they were until Bobby signed with them. Actually I didn’t know the team he signed for when he signed on, just knew he had a ride and that’s all I was worried about. I “liked” their fan page on Facebook on Feb 21, 2011. I didn’t expect to overly interact with them, it just simply wasn’t done. Then they took Landon to Richmond and things seemed to change. I was angry and happy at the same time. I couldn’t figure out why they would do that for a fan. Anyway, I remember them setting up the chat room and having the Q and A sessions with Kulak and Smith. I remember that I knew Landon wasn’t going to be able to be there for the whole session with Kulak and I copied and pasted the session for him and anyone that wanted it. It grew from there. I never expected or even thought that would take my mom and me to Chicagoland last year. It was kind of a wish in the far reaches of my brain, but I honestly never thought they would do that. I still do not understand exactly why they did that. I enjoyed being there and I miss it, a lot actually. Almost to the point that I wish they hadn’t taken us. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be able to do that again, but I know it will never happen and that is what makes me wish I hadn’t gone in the first place the most. It’s actually kind of disappointing that they haven’t really done that for any fans this year that I know of that is. And that does not include the couple that went to the Vegas race, because that was really a last year decision. I feel like this year with the team is completely different than last year. I am not sure why things changed, but I am sure they are reasons that cannot be told to us. (This next part may not be very pleasant, but I have already thought it, so I might as well tell it all. I don’t want to believe some of this so please do not for one minute think I am turning my back on the team.) The chat room has changed. It was so much fun last year. It got a little weird in there sometimes, but nothing compared to this year. It’s gotten really out of control in there and Todd has basically left us to fend for ourselves, which sucks, because no one has authority to try to set things straight and it would be great to be able to kick some of these people out when they get nasty. And then there’s the whole changing hands thing that really bugs me. It’s not like you guys have one maybe two sponsors, it’s several so I am really confused by how that is exactly going to work. And there’s the whole cutting me off that I really, really resent. A warning would have been fabulous. I deserved that much. So needless to say I am still upset about that. Now it’s back to copy and paste which I do not overly mind, but I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to get a job. No one seems to know how to copy and paste, apparently, and no one seems interested in helping out really. And then last week no one stood up for me. I used to have some sense of authority in there, nothing official of course but people seemed to at least respect me. Not sure when that changed, but it is what it is. And then there’s the whole marketing thing that the team does and let’s just say I have some issues with it. I’m tired of complaining at the moment. On the bright side, I still to chat with other Bobby fans during the race.
Oh and then there’s there the whole school thing. I was going to go to NTI and then I went and asked for advice. So I get one person tell me I don’t want to change your mind, but you should think about graphic arts. Okaaay. Then I get another email from someone else from the team saying to look into web graphic design so there are more options. Okaaaaaay. So here I am studying web graphic design and it is like why am I studying this again? There’s like a 0.00000001% chance of ever getting into the racing field, so what the heck is the point anymore. I thought there might be a chance to get with this team, but that was a stupid thing to think. They don’t really care. I just don’t know anymore. Everything has flipped upside-down this year. *sigh*
I’m tired of typing. I’ll write more tomorrow maybe.
Now, as far as teams go, I was never that much of a Joe Gibbs fan or really any team. I was more focused on just being a fan of the driver. I know that that’s probably not a good thing, but I really didn’t like focusing on the business side of things and how much money a team was putting into the cars and things like that. I saw all cars as having just as much chance at winning as the other, but as times change that is no longer really accurate. It’s unfortunate that that’s the way it is, but there is nothing that I can do about it. So saying this would lead you to the conclusion that I am now a fan of both Bobby’s and Kasey’s teams…wrong. I am still not very fond of Hendrick Motorsports. There is just something I really do not like about that team…oh the way they use people and get off the hook when they should not. Yes, I am glad that Kasey is in a good car, but the #9 was a good car and the #4 really was not that bad either so in summary Kasey is just a really good driver no matter what you put him in. So I suppose it’s possible my view of HMS may change as my view for JTG Daugherty Racing did and has. I did not go into last season a fan of this team. Heck, I didn’t even know who they were until Bobby signed with them. Actually I didn’t know the team he signed for when he signed on, just knew he had a ride and that’s all I was worried about. I “liked” their fan page on Facebook on Feb 21, 2011. I didn’t expect to overly interact with them, it just simply wasn’t done. Then they took Landon to Richmond and things seemed to change. I was angry and happy at the same time. I couldn’t figure out why they would do that for a fan. Anyway, I remember them setting up the chat room and having the Q and A sessions with Kulak and Smith. I remember that I knew Landon wasn’t going to be able to be there for the whole session with Kulak and I copied and pasted the session for him and anyone that wanted it. It grew from there. I never expected or even thought that would take my mom and me to Chicagoland last year. It was kind of a wish in the far reaches of my brain, but I honestly never thought they would do that. I still do not understand exactly why they did that. I enjoyed being there and I miss it, a lot actually. Almost to the point that I wish they hadn’t taken us. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be able to do that again, but I know it will never happen and that is what makes me wish I hadn’t gone in the first place the most. It’s actually kind of disappointing that they haven’t really done that for any fans this year that I know of that is. And that does not include the couple that went to the Vegas race, because that was really a last year decision. I feel like this year with the team is completely different than last year. I am not sure why things changed, but I am sure they are reasons that cannot be told to us. (This next part may not be very pleasant, but I have already thought it, so I might as well tell it all. I don’t want to believe some of this so please do not for one minute think I am turning my back on the team.) The chat room has changed. It was so much fun last year. It got a little weird in there sometimes, but nothing compared to this year. It’s gotten really out of control in there and Todd has basically left us to fend for ourselves, which sucks, because no one has authority to try to set things straight and it would be great to be able to kick some of these people out when they get nasty. And then there’s the whole changing hands thing that really bugs me. It’s not like you guys have one maybe two sponsors, it’s several so I am really confused by how that is exactly going to work. And there’s the whole cutting me off that I really, really resent. A warning would have been fabulous. I deserved that much. So needless to say I am still upset about that. Now it’s back to copy and paste which I do not overly mind, but I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to get a job. No one seems to know how to copy and paste, apparently, and no one seems interested in helping out really. And then last week no one stood up for me. I used to have some sense of authority in there, nothing official of course but people seemed to at least respect me. Not sure when that changed, but it is what it is. And then there’s the whole marketing thing that the team does and let’s just say I have some issues with it. I’m tired of complaining at the moment. On the bright side, I still to chat with other Bobby fans during the race.
Oh and then there’s there the whole school thing. I was going to go to NTI and then I went and asked for advice. So I get one person tell me I don’t want to change your mind, but you should think about graphic arts. Okaaay. Then I get another email from someone else from the team saying to look into web graphic design so there are more options. Okaaaaaay. So here I am studying web graphic design and it is like why am I studying this again? There’s like a 0.00000001% chance of ever getting into the racing field, so what the heck is the point anymore. I thought there might be a chance to get with this team, but that was a stupid thing to think. They don’t really care. I just don’t know anymore. Everything has flipped upside-down this year. *sigh*
I’m tired of typing. I’ll write more tomorrow maybe.