A $99 ticket will get you three days of racing at NHMS for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 and Sylvania 300 weekends, a savings of $50.

The schedule for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 weekend:
FRIDAY, June 26
Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Pole Day
Camping World Series East Heluva Good! 125

SATURDAY, June 27
Whelen Modified Tour New England 100
Nationwide Series Camping World RV Sales 200

SUNDAY, June 28
Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301

The schedule for the SYLVANIA 300 weekend:
FRIDAY, September 18
Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Pole Day
Camping World Series East Heluva Good! 125

SATURDAY, September 19
Whelen Modified Tour New Hampshire 100
Camping World Truck Series Heluva Good! 200
American-Canadian Tour Invitational

SUNDAY, September 20
Sprint Cup Series SYLVANIA 300

According to the press release, The MegaTicket includes reserved seating for the Sprint Cup event in the MegaZones, and general admission seating for the Friday and Saturday races in the Concord and Laconia grandstands.

The MegaZones seating was originally used for corporate block tickets and that seating was freed up for this special fan package.

"We are continuing to develop our FansFirst initiative with our new MegaTicket," said Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. "This is a package designed for race fans to enjoy three days of non-stop racing and entertainment at an incredible price. Combined with our policy of free parking and allowing fans to bring in their own food and beverage, New Hampshire Motor Speedway continues to be the most affordable sports and entertainment venue in New England."

For more information or to purchase a MegaTicket, call the Ticket Hotline at (603) 783-4931 or visit New Hampshire Motor Speedway online at www.nhms.com.

According to a press release from officials at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, ticket renewals have been completed for the June 28, LENOX Industrial Tools 301. The limited remaining tickets will go on sale Monday at 8 a.m.

NHMS is offering a payment plan for folks that are feeling an economic pinch but would still like to go to the races in June. They have rolled out a "FansFirst Four Pay" plan where you can purchase your ticket/tickets, camping spots and pre-race pit passes with 25% down. The rest of the money will be spread out over three additional payments. Nice.

Says Jerry Gappins: "Our 'FansFirst Four Pay' program is one way that we can help our fans in these challenging economic times."

I do think a payment plan will help those fans who are diehards but are feeling a crunch. Will this type of program sway you in purchasing tickets if you were undecided? Just curious.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nhms.com.

Congratulations to Greg Biffle for winning the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Here are a few thoughts of the race:

-- Kyle Busch had some bad luck early on when he had some sort of bolt break. To make matters worse, later in the race he spun and Jamie McMurray hit him. He finished 34th and was the biggest loser in the point standings. Not a very good start for the Chase for Busch. He left the track immediately following the race and wouldn't speak to anyone.

-- Tony Stewart was too fast on pit road and had to do a pass through penalty, which put him a lap down for most of the race. He was the beneficiary of the lucky dog when Joe Nemechek wrecked on the front stretch though. He ended his day with an 8th place finish. He also left the track immediately following the race and wouldn't to speak to anyone.

-- Clint Bowyer, the favorite to win, finished in 12th place. He also left the track immediately following the race and wouldn't speak to anyone.

-- Joey Logano didn't do squat during the race. Maybe it was nerves. Maybe it was the car. I am sure he will do much better than this next year in his permanent ride.

-- Funny stuff... Johnny Sauter left his pit stall and went around the track with the tire jack attached to the driver's side of his car. He had to go back down pit road to give it back to his crew. I'm not so sure they showed that on television but wanted to share.

-- Ryan Newman dropped a cyclinder and finished 36th.

-- My pick for the race, Kevin Harvick came in 10th.

What did you think of the race?

It has stopped raining and it looks like they are getting ready to get going here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The cars are fired up and they are getting ready to roll on the track.

A while ago, I took a long walk around behind the grandstands. I think I could stay out there all day people watching. It is so mesmerizing and despite the uncertainty in the weather, people continue to stroll in.

Here's hoping we get the entire race in today.

I just arrived at the media center so I need to get my bearings about me. But here's a quick weather update:

It's raining. It seems like this is becoming the standard weather for racing here. Someone said that they thought it would clear up this afternoon. By the looks of the radar it may be possible to still get the race in. I hope so. I'll let you know if the sun makes an appearance down here.

I'll be back a little later.

Ahhh, this picture makes me think back to when my brother and I would take a spin on the Ferris Wheel (F.W.) at the fair. Only, my brother would be rocking the seat with all his might and I would be screaming at him to not rock the seat because it scared me, which led to far greater rocking. You get the idea. I think those moments with him on F.W.'s scarred me for life.

In any event, I looked beyond my uneasiness and did it for you. I got in my seat and got ready to buckle myself in when the man running the ride told the kids above me to not rock their seat too hard. What? Why? Is it not safe? Uugh.

The mission: To see if you can see the entire track from the top of the F.W. I paid my five bucks, which went towards the local New Hampshire chapter of the Speedway Children's Charities, and then I asked the man if he would stop me up on top so I could take a few shots. Here's the answer:

That is what you see up there without zoom from the camera. I wish the pine trees weren't there you might be able to see a bit more. You can see a little bit of turn three.

I will say that going into this mission, I didn't think I would be able to see anything. From the ground, the F.W. barely looks like it is high enough to see above the I-lot parking lot.

I actually thought the more impressive view was to my left. It was the view of the campers and motor homes:

Seriously folks, would you just look at how many there are?! Wow.

I made it safely back to the ground. Here are a few more sights:

I was a bit intimidated walking through the tunnel and having these two big rigs coming towards me.

Big day tomorrow. Depending on the weather, I will be getting a ride in the pace car with Brett Bodine sometime around 9:00 a.m. Then I am off to a meet and greet with Juan Pablo Montoya. I'll try to take some video of that. Hopefully I am done with the pace car in time to do the meet and greet.

That's it folks, I'm going to call it a day. I'll be back tomorrow.

Manager of Media Relations for ESPN, Andy Hall, gave me a tour of the happenings behind the scenes with ESPN during a racing weekend. I now have such a better appreciation of what I watch from week to week on television.

I always wondered why when watching a race on ABC, such as this weekend, the reporters carried ESPN mics. It's because ESPN produces the sports broadcasting for ABC. Could it be that I am the only person who didn't know that? Maybe.

ESPN employs approximately 250 people during a Cup race. They use from 60 to 70 cameras per weekend. The amount of cameras used depends on the size of the track. They would likely use more cameras at some place like Daytona than they would here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Makes sense to me.

It takes them two days to get all set up and a little less time to pack up and leave.

Here you can see the fire suits for the pit reporters. The reporters don't have to worry about what to wear. All their clothes are pretty much picked out for them. They just reach into their garment bag, get the color that is chosen for the day, put it on and bam. They're all set. I wish I had it that easy...

We went in to the production control room, also known as "organized chaos." I didn't understand exactly what that meant until I went in and spent some time in there.

Listen, I enjoy my share of television but after a very short time in this room, my heart started to speed up. I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack right then and there. I was trying to watch the televsions, listen to what the folks inside the control room were saying while also trying to listen to what was being said on air. These folks must love seeing people, like me, come in for the first time. The look that must have been on my face...

The man pictured above is Neil Goldberg, Sr Motorsports Producer. He must be able to multi-task better than anyone in this world and honestly, he cannot possibly be paid enough money. He gets many different people talking to him all at the same time. Pit reporters, television reporters, graphics folks, you name it. With 70 cameras all over the place, you get the picture.

If the graphics folks have a graphic they think the viewers will like, they are displayed on the screen above first and Goldberg will decide when and if to use them on air. The screen is right in front of him. I was able to listen to a headset while I was in this room. I was so confused and felt dizzy trying to figure out what was being said and to whom that I didn't listen very long. I am very thankful for the experience though.

Here's a video I took while inside to give you a little idea of what I was hearing and seeing:

Next stop: ESPN tech center

There's a sign right on the door before you go in to "take your shoes off." You will see why when you look at the video and picture, the place is immaculate. Seriously.

When I walked in, Tim Brewer and crew were all sitting around the television. They explained things happen real quick in there. If there is a malfunction of something and they want to explain it, they have about 15 seconds to get to where the problem was on the cutaway car or get what is needed off the shelves in order to be live on air.

I learned very quickly how fast things happen. I guess, Clint Bowyer had a brake line fail during final practice. They were telling me to get out, FAST. I didn't ask any questions, I just boogied toward the door. They then shut the door and went live on television.

That ended my tour of what goes on behind the scenes with ESPN. I am simply amazed at how much goes into making it all look perfect and flawless on television. Amazing.

Good morning from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The sun keeps poking out from behind the clouds. Hopefully today will be a better weather day than yesterday.

The Sprint Cut drivers are out on the track for a 45 minute practice session.

Here are some random thoughts after the first couple days here:

-- The ferris wheel-- When driving in to the infield, it just doesn't appear that you would be able to see the entire track from the top of it. It doesn't look high enough. As much as I don't like ferris wheels, I'm going to go out there today, pay the $5.00 and go for a ride. I'll take a picture or two from the top of it to see for myself.

-- They had a lobster feed for the media under the tents by the grandstands last night. I went along with a few friends, Shawn Courchesne, Travis Barrett, and Portland Press Herald columnist, Steve Solloway. A good time was had by all and the lobsters were delicious.

-- It's a sad, sad day when you're happy to pay $3.45/gallon for gas. That's the going price down here. It's close to .20 cents cheaper than home. Nice.

-- Every time I walk by the pace car, I get butterflys in my stomach. I'm a little nervous about the ride around the track tomorrow morning with Brett Bodine. I still don't have a concrete time that this is happening but it's still in the works, weather permitting.

-- I had sweet dreams of Juan Pablo Montoya last night and not because I saw him or anything. They've been handing out Juicy Fruit and Big Red (his sponsors) like it's going out of style. Plus, I might be going on a meet and greet with him tomorrow.

That is up in the air though because of tighter security because U.S. Sen. John McCain is going to be here. I'm pretty sure he's staying at the hotel that I am staying at. When I got back to the hotel last night, the McCain bus was parked outside...

Well the Camping World East race has started. I'm going to head out on pit road to take some pictures. I'll be back later.

Oh, and I'm picking Kevin Harvick for the win. Who are you picking?

It is still raining...

They brought the top three qualifiers who will be starting Sunday's Sylvania 300 in to the media center a while ago. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. The field will be set by points because qualifying got rained out.

Carl Edwards is happy that qualifying got cancelled.

"This rain, I hate to see the rain for the fans and for any of the teams that had to go home, but for us this is a gift. We were struggling in practice, so this gives us a really good opportunity to get a good starting spot and a great pit stall selection. If we can get our act together tomorrow, we should have a good race, but we were hurting a little bit today."

Edwards was 33rd fastest in the only practice session today so I can see why he would be a bit happy or relieved to have qualifying rained out.

Kyle Busch was also happy with the washout. Why wouldn't he be? He's starting on the pole.

The Camping World East race, which was supposed to be run today at 5:10 p.m. was cancelled and will be run tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m.

I hate it when it rains during a racing weekend. This is all too familiar to the June racing weekend.

Qualifying has been cancelled and the field will be set by points.

It is pouring at the moment and doesn't look like it is going to let up any time soon.

If they have to cancel the Camping World East race, they likely will try to run it immediately following the Truck Series race tomorrow.

The Truck Series was out on the track for their final practice but it is starting to rain so they got pulled onto pit road. It feels and looks like it is going to start pouring.

Qualifying is supposed to be at 3:10 and the Camping World East race is scheduled to start at 5:10. Let's hope the rain holds off.

Thirty minutes remain in the 90-minute practice. So far, Jimmie Johnson is posting the fastest speed.

Here are some views while walking around right before the start of practice:

Ryan Newman

Joey Logano's ride

What would this blog be without a Clint Bowyer picture? or two...or three throughout the weekend, huh?

Talk about last minute. This is Tony Stewart signing in, right before making his way to his car for practice.

Earlier this morning Joey Logano came in to the media center:

When asked what his expectations were for this weekened, he simply wants to earn some respect from the guys. I bet he does just that.

It's still overcast here. There's absolutely no sign off the sun.

All for now...

Good morning from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Here's what's on tap for today:

10:30 to 11:50 Truck Series practice is at
12:00 to 1:30 Sprint Cup practice
1:45 to 3:00 Final practice for the Truck Series
3:10 Sprint Cup qualifying
5:10 The start of the Camping World East Heluva Good! Fall 125 race

It is overcast here right now. Hopefully it burns off and we can get everything in the schedule done.

I will once again be making the trip down to New Hampshire Motor Speedway to attend the weekend events. I'm looking forward to it. Let me know if there is anything you'd like me to try to capture and upload to the blog. Are you planning on attending?

I was asked by NASCAR PR, Brad Klein, if I would like to take a ride in the pace car on Sunday morning. Naturally, I said yes. Brett Bodine is supposed to be my chauffeur. I'll let you know if that happens and what it was like. I'm a little nervous and excited all at the same time.

A fair at a NASCAR event? Hhhmm... From Thursday through Sunday, you can take rides at NHMS on the Ferris Wheel, the Traffic Jam, the Twister and the Round Up/Cyclone. The "Broadway Midway" costs $5.00 each day and you can go on as many rides as you like from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. each day. All proceeds will benefit the local New Hampshire chapter of the Speedway Children's Charities.

Diamond Rio will be jamming for 45 minutes for the pre-race show. They'll also be the ones to sing the National Anthem. I bet they'll be great.

With any luck at all, Joey Logano will be making his Sprint Cut debut on Sunday. He was supposed to have made his debut in Richmond but the weather prevented that from happening.

Austin Dillon made his debut in the Nationwide Series last Sunday. How did he do?

Clint Bowyer made the Chase. Yeah! I will have high hopes for him on Sunday. Here are the point standings heading into this weekend's race.

Did anyone attend the festivities at NHMS on Sunday? Just curious how that went. If you go on NHMS' website, be sure to check out that awesome video they have posted on their main page! Ha, ha!

I am sorry to say that I did not catch the race at Richmond. I hear that it was a great race.

All for now...

Today's race is a sellout. As a matter of fact, it has been 27 Cup race sellouts here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. There's standing room only on the backstretch. Despite the overcast and uncertainty of the weather, fans are rolling in and enjoying some of the pre-race festivities.

A young girl gets to sign her name to the start/finish line.

The band Kansas will be jamming here in a little while to entertain the fans while we wait for the start of the race.

Here are a few more views from this morning...

Teams wait for the gates to open so they can get to the garage.

Robby Gordon's car is getting decaled.

All for now. I'm going to grab some lunch and get ready for the start of the race.

I'm going with Kevin Harvick for the win today. He was quick in the practice sessions. He has also been to victory lane here in 2006. He's only 2 points out of Chase so I'm sure he will be working to get back in that top 12. Plus, I just have a good feeling about him today.

Here are the point standings heading in to the race today:

Congrats to Tony Stewart on his win yesterday in the Nationwide Series.

I was listening to some of the folks from the media who were joking around about who was going to ask the questions to Stewart. It seemed that no one really wanted to stick their neck out there. Jeez, I wonder why...

On another note, I have officially decided that I'm just not going to be a Kyle Busch fan. He is such a punk. He came to the media center after the Nationwide race yesterday and had major attitude written all over his face.

Just look at him. He was so completely checked out. He didn't want to give anyone the time of day. When he did open his mouth, he was rude. Uugh.

It's overcast here. I'm looking out the window from the media center and there are already a few folks sitting in their seats in the grandstands. I can't imagine having to sit there 5 more hours waiting for the race to start. That's dedication.

I took a ride in a golf cart to get to the press box to watch the Nationwide race. I took these pictures as we were driving.

(click any image to enlarge)

This is the view of the tunnel when leaving the infield

All the banners on the backside of the grandstands are a new touch.

All for now...I need to watch the race!

I took a stroll through the garage area today. Here are some of the close ups that I got of some familiar faces...

Robby Gordon

Terry Labonte

Joe Nemechek

The king, Richard Petty. Darn good picture if I do say so myself... He was so pleasant to anyone who wanted his autograph or picture taken with him.

I didn't realize it but it was lunchtime when I was walking around.

The men are running the grill. Nice. Actually, wherever I walked, that was the case. I walked by one grill and this guy was cooking up half a pig or something. It looked absolutely yummy. I almost thought about asking if I could take a picture of what he was cooking but I thought he would think I was a freak so I didn't.

I'll be back again later today. I'll be watching the Nationwide race from the press box if the rain stays away. I can't wait! It is overcast right now. It has been all day but no rain... Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I watched the Camping World East race from up in the press box last night. It started late because of a rain delay during the Sprint Cup qualifying. I really wasn't sure if they were going to be able to get the entire race in because the skies looked as though they could dump rain at any given time, but they were able to do so.

Eddie MacDonald won the event. Ricky Carmichael was awesome to watch last night. He raced his way from the back of the pack right up to his fifth-place finish. Steve Park had issues under the hood. Austin Dillon finished fourth. Here are the race results from last night's race.

Robby Gordon congratulates Ricky Carmichael on a good finish

Ricky Carmichael and Austin Dillon in the media center after the race

Here are a few more shots from yesterday.

Tony Stewart
I dove to the right like I was getting out of the way of a Mac Truck after I snapped this picture. A little too close for comfort.

Jack Roush

Carl Edwards talks to the media.

They had to pull Michael Waltrip’s engine.

I was out and about this morning around the garage area. I will be back in a while to share those images as well. I'm trying to get caught up from missing a day with all the website issues we had.

All for now...

Sorry folks. We had some major issues with the website all day yesterday. I couldn’t do anything with the blog but it really didn’t matter because the entire website was down anyway.

I spent a lot of time taking pictures throughout the day yesterday to share. We managed to get practice sessions in for all Cup, Nationwide and Camping World East.

Here are some views from the day. By the way, it felt like it was 100 degrees yesterday. It was muggy, humid weather. I'm not complaining though because today doesn't look all that good. It's overcast and looks like it could start raining any minute.

Here's what I captured yesterday:

(click any image to enlarge)

When I got in this morning someone made an announcement that Clint Bowyer would be standing in front of his hauler to take questions, so of course I had to run out.

Ricky Carmichael

Jeffrey Earnhardt

Juan Pablo Montoya’s car gets some fine tuning.

For whatever reason, I really got a kick out of the UPS driver trying to deliver packages. He was up and down pit road during a practice session, trying to to deliver and not get hit by cars.

Tony Stewart’s #20 Old Spice car

David Reutimann

Mike Helton was checking things out. Notice he signed that woman’s shirt. “Mike H” is on her shoulder. A lot of people do this actually. They wear white shirts and carry sharpies with them and have the drivers sign their shirts.

See? That same woman was trying to get Jason Leffler to sign her shirt in this photo.

It seems they let anyone in the garage area. This woman was a bit out of hand. Seriously, how in the world did she get a HOT pass?

Alright, I'll be back with more images in a while. I promise. Well, that is if the system is still up when I return. The Cup guys just came in off the track from their practice session. They are usually out and about in the garage area right now. I'm going for a walk to see.

I just arrived to the media center at New Hampshire Motor Speedway a little while ago . The weather is certainly not the type of weather that I left back home. (the sun was shining bright) It is down to a sprinkle here though. At the moment they are out drying the track so that they can get some practice in for the Modifieds and then the Camping World East.

They have canceled the Camping World East qualifying because of the weather.

Some folks trying to stay dry and passing the time playing hockey in the Nationwide garage:

All for now...

I am once again heading down to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. I will be pulling into the track for the weekend festivities on Thursday, camera in hand.

If you have drivers you would like to see, please let me know. It does not matter which division, Cup, Nationwide, Camping World East. I will make it my mission to capture them for you and upload images to the blog.

If you have a question that you've been wanting to know the answer to, ask it - I will do my best to get it answered for you. You can either send me an email with the question or post it here on the blog.

I'll be blogging a few times each day from NHMS. With each entry will be pictures of the sights I find interesting or the things you want to see. The best way to know when I've updated? Sign up for email notifications. As soon as I post a new blog, the link will be sent to your email. Just input your email address in the yellow box under the bold red "Updates" to the right of this blog entry, under my bio.

I am at your disposal for the weekend. Just let me know what you want...

All for now...

As much as I keep trying, I cannot get myself to sit down and watch Eldora. I tried last night but couldn't get through it. So the title of my blog entry was:
"Will you pay $24.95 to watch tonight?"

Well my answer to my own blog is this: Yeah, I'll pay $24.95. It seems I just can't get myself to watch it. What a waste. Not to mention that that $24.95 is the equivalent of 6 gallons of gas! Uugh.

Speaking of gas prices... did you hear that New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be giving away gas cards? As part of the pre-race festivities for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 on Sunday, June 29, NHMS will be selecting 20 lucky racefans to receive $500 worth of gas cards from Sunoco. To be eligible, all you have to do is purchase your ticket before the close of business on June 25.

Also, before the start of the race, 10 race fans will be selected to watch the race on Sunday, September 14th from the VIP Suite. Each of the 10 will be allowed to bring one guest.

In addition to all that, one lucky person could have their mortgage or rent paid through December 2008 (up to $2,500 per month).

In the press release, Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager for the speedway says: "Our fans are our greatest asset. In these challenging economic times, we need to recognize those who support the speedway by giving them an opportunity to enhance their experience with some innovative rewards. Today, people have to make choices on how they invest their time and money on entertainment.

We want them to choose New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the LENOX Industrial Tools 301. This program is a thank you to our loyal ticket buyers and certainly is an incentive for those fans thinking about coming, but are still on the fence."

So do you feel lucky? Are you a ticket holder yet? If not, what are you waiting for? The race is only 17 days away... Splurge a little, you're worth it.

I'll be back tomorrow with my Michigan picks.

I went down to New Hampshire Motor Speedway over the weekend to watch some motorcycle racing. As we drove up to NHMS entrance, I noticed that the new sign at the road is now in place:

They've spruced up the entrance:

As I made my way through the tunnel:

I love the painting on the tunnel. If I remember correctly, it just used to be white so it’s a nice touch.

When we got to the infield, there were people walking around in tank tops and flip flops so I knew right away it was a very relaxed environment. There were tents, campers and motor homes all over the place.

We decided to sit in the stands at turn 3 and watch practice for an hour or so before having to sit through a corner worker class. At that time I still hadn't decided if I was going to attempt flagging.

All day people were zooming around on little bikes like this:

It took a couple hours, from start to finish, to go through the corner-worker class. I decided during the class that it wasn’t something that I should try. I just had a feeling that I would have made a mistake, waving the red or something under a caution and would have had half of the riders stopped on the track. I wanted to watch the racing anyway and have free reign of walking around and checking things out.

It's a pretty good gig though. If you decide you would like to try corner working, your track admission of $25 will be reimbursed and lunch will be provided. Plus you can camp in the infield for free for the weekend. I bet it's pretty fun at night... Here’s what you do:

-- Pay the admission fee at the gate, sign the waiver, get the bracelet

-- Report to the scales area down by the media center (if you don’t know where it is, just ask someone, likely they will know) find someone dressed in white and tell them you want to attend a class. They will show you where to go.

-- Attend the corner working class, it typically takes 2 hours. They do the class on Saturdays at 9 a.m. on race weekends

-- At lunch time, find the appropriate person (they tell you in the class who to find) You will get a voucher or something like that so on your way out you can get reimbursed. I believe you must flag at least half the day to get reimbursed.

That’s it. How can you beat it? Here’s the schedule for the rest of the summer.

Steve Park said it's like being home when he's here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He said there's a lot of inexperience with the youth in the Camping World East Series today. He does ask his spotter to keep him informed of who he is racing around on the track and what their experience level is because he just doesn't know.

Park was asked what his goal was. His answer: "to win races." He said there is nothing on the horizon right now for the Modified Tour.

Austin Dillon also came in to chat with us in the media center. First, I have to say that he looks much too young to be driving a race car. When asked how he felt about the pressure to drive the number 3 car, he said he didn't have any. He said you have to look at it as fun. His grandfather (Richard Childress) tells him to just have fun and to stay in the gas coming off the corners.

Ricky Carmichael and Austin Dillon

Ricky Carmichael came into the media center to chat with all of us. I think I was a bit awe struck when I first saw him. He says the transition to racing is going really good. He's happy with how things are shaking out so far. It's been fun for him. He really likes the sport.

The competetive nature in car racing is the same as it is in motocross. He says however, driving a car requires more mental concentration than driving motorcycles.

There's yet another reason for me to like Ricky Carmichael...he's life-long friends with Clint Bowyer. Their family's are really close. When asked if he has visited Clint Bowyer's track at his house, he said he hasn't. Then he said that he jokes around with Bowyer and calls him "Hollywood" because he's always so busy.

He said he will never turn his back on motocross. He is still contracted with Suzuki for this year and next year. "It's the sport that made me who I am and I will never turn my back on it." He said although he is done racing, he will however, be competing in the X games. He talked about the step up competition which he said doesn't require much practice. He said Schrader was giving him a hard time about the step up competition he was in this year but then said that Schrader's just as crazy as he is.

Jerry Gappens, Executive Vice President & General Manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, came in and spoke about what changes will be coming our way.

He said that now that the snow is out of the way, he can take a much clearer look at what needs to be done around the facility. He said when he came to Loudon in November, NHMS reminded him of what Bristol Motor Speedway looked like 12 years ago, when Bruton Smith bought the track. Gappens sees this track as being the Lowe's Motor Speedway of New England.

One change you will see by the June race is electronic directional signs at the front entrance. There will be banners on the back side of the grandstands, for possible advertising. There will be 10 transportation vehicles to give campers and fans rides to and from the camping areas and parking lots to the grandstands.

He says the road racing is not in jeopardy. He would not speculate at what the road racing would look like in 3-5 years, but said it was here first so it's an important part of NHMS. Another change in the future could be possibly flipping the front stretch and back stretch. He mentioned that a couple times today.

He said there are still tickets available for the June race but isn't too worried about them being filled. With the economy as it is today, people are making last minute decisions to purchase tickets and make the decision to attend the race.

As for lights at the racetrack...the agreement that was written 18 years ago, prevents that. It is something that may be revisited. He thinks that in the not so distant future that most tracks will be required by NASCAR to have lights in place.

I am blogging from down here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. I came down to check out the Camping World East practice.

I was getting ready to go on a rant about Ricky Carmichael and how I didn't think his heart was in car racing. The list that I received via email on who was going to be here did not include Carmichael.

When I went to sign in, a guy was walking away from the sign in place and got into a rental car. I said to the person standing there..."Was that Carmichael?" The guy turned around and said what? I said that was either him or a damn good look alike.

It was him. Perfect. I will have some pictures of him a bit later on. (hopefully) Right now, there are only 3 of us in the media center. My pals Shawn Courchesne, Travis Barrett and myself.

It's real quiet right now in here, not much going on. I'll be back in a little while...