Racin' blogger extraordinarie Valli Hilaire with Tony Stewart on an interview earlier this year.

"It's been a little over a year since I last guest blogged here and some things have changed for me and The Fast and the Fabulous," Valli wrote back when NASCAR This Week emailed her to enquire on how things were going. "I was included in the first group of sites, 25 in total, to be a part of NASCAR's Citizen Journalist Media Corps. (CJMC). The CJMC began in July of 2009 as an initiative by NASCAR to recognize the changing media landscape and provide more access to independent media publishers."

"For me it meant achieving a long-held goal of mine which was obtaining a media hard card. I cannot tell you how much I love my hard card. I really wish that I could use it more often than I have this year. So my ultimate goal is still the same: to get to as many races as possible and, hopefully, get to all of them and make this blogging thing a full-time gig.

"Another huge deal for me this year was having the opportunity to interview NASCAR champion Tony Stewart. To me, the prospect of interviewing Tony was super intimidating so I wanted to make sure I brought my A-game when I met him for the first time this year in Charlotte. I came up with the idea to ask him the same 10 questions that James Lipton asks his guests on Bravo's interview show, Inside the Actor's Studio.

"I love those questions and I'm always interested in people's answers, so I thought it'd be the perfect "something different" thing to ask Tony. He ended up loving the questions so much that at the end of it all he asked if I had more of them! You can read all about my interview with Tony and read his answers over at The Fast and the Fabulous here.  

Valli's also used the same interview format with Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger.

We thought it might be fun to turn the tables and make the interviewer the interviwee, so we asked Valli the same 10 questions. Her responses follow.

What is your favorite word? Yes.

What is your least favorite word? No.

What turns you on? Music.

What turns you off? Arrogance.

What sound or noise do you love? Acoustic guitars.

What sound or noise do you hate? The sound of the ambulance in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." It's horrible.

What is your favorite curse word? Jackass.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Actor.

What profession would you not like to do? Anything in the medical field, I'm not interested in having another person's life in my hands, or their breast implants.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Yep, I exist.

Valli wiht Elliott Sadler on an interview before the race at Infineon earlier this year.

Whitney Poole (l) practices her #00 Chevrolet Taylor Racing Products Pro-Truck at Orlando Speedworld (Photo by Karen Pistone)

by Karen Pistone

Editor's note: Karen Pistone is the force behind the Racingal's Fan2Fan blog (http://racingal.com), a NASCAR fan blog which is an exceptional resource for race fans. For instance, after the past weekend's events at Daytona, Karen posted  six suggestions that would help to make the experience an even better one for fans.

Fan2Fan is an outgrowth of Pistone's original The Fifth Turn blog, which was a part of the race page on the website of the OrlandoSentinel, where Karen works as a production artist. Production duties recently changed. causing Karen to shift her focus and move her blog to the current location.

A professed race fan for the past 25 years, Karen attended many races at Dover until relocating to Orlando in 2002 where she currently attends races at Daytona International Speedway and Miami-Homstead Speedway.

Karen's racing heritage is impressive- she is reticent to talk about it, but I think it deserves mention: Her grandfather-in-law is former NASCAR driver "Tiger Tom" Pistone. There's also her brother-in-law, Tom Pistone, who has his own chassis building warehouse in Statesville, NC - Performancenter Pistone LTO -- and who also races, as well as cousins Tommy III, Nick and Chase. All four family members will be racing against each other at the Legends Million Dollar Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway next week, July 15-17.

And as a true race fan, Karen goes anywhere the action is to be found--whether it's out to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 or to the local track at Orlando Speedworld for Friday night racin' with friends.

The following post Karen wrote about a particular Orlando Speedworld driver who looks to be on the right track for the big time. Karen graciously agreed to have it reprinted here. 

* * *

At times, I think local racing is more exciting than a NASCAR Cup or Nationwide race. You know how it is: Less rules for the drivers, and they actually let 'em race! Local tracks are also great breeding grounds; some pretty awesome drivers can emerge. They have to start somewhere, right? And nothing beats watching all those young guns (and then some) racing, bumping and grinding, doing whatever it takes trying to get that victory!

Recently I headed out to Orlando Speedworld (where I've become a regular) for some "local" racing under the lights. I had also invited my Orlando Sentinel "posse" along, and we all met out at the track.

I asked them to watch this one driver and to let me know what they thought. This driver had caught my attention earlier last year during the Orlando Speedworld season opener, finishing second. I wanted confirmation from other fans about what I'd been wondering: Did I want to support this driver just because she was the only female currently racing at that track -- or was it because she could really race and kick some butt, holding her own up front racing with the guys, taking no BS from anyone?

The driver I'm talking about is 19-year old Whitney Poole from Vero Beach, FL. Whitney started her racing career at the age of 8 racing Go-Karts. Over the years she accomplished 104 wins, 155 Top-5's and 162 Top-10 finishes in that league.

By the age of 17, Whitney worked her way up to motorsports driving in the Sportsman class. In 2007 she grabbed 2 wins, 6 top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes, and was named Orlando Speedworld's Winter Series Sportsman Champion.

Whitney also participated in the Grand Slam of Trucks "Touring Series," completing the four-race series 5th in points out of 34 teams and wining 2009 Rookie of the Year honors.

Whitney is in her second year of racing in the Taylor Racing Products Pro-Truck Series. Last year she drove the #00 '95 Chevy to 2 top-5 and 8 top-10 finishes and finished fifth in points for the Orlando SpeedWorld 2009 season.

Whitney getting ready to run some practice laps as Dad Randy pats her helmet for luck. (Photo: Karen Pistone)

Poole's crew consists of her Dad (and Crew Chief) Randy Poole, and Mom Kimberly Poole, who takes photos and video and is also an associate sponsor. Her pit crew includes Don Abrams, Brian Lynch Sr., Brian Lynch Jr., Bob Hall, Darrell Hubler, Eddie St. Angelo, James Barrett (spotter) and her best friend Sam Myberg (team scorer).

For the past couple of years, Whitney has been racing against some top teams - including Daytona's and NASCAR's France-Kennedy clan, Ben Kennedy (son of Lisa France Kennedy). To date, Whitney has yet to win a Taylor Racing Products Pro-Truck Series race.

Whitney Poole (#00) running ahead of the #96 of Ben Kennedy at Orlando Speedworld. (Photo: Karen Pistone)

Here's a recap of some Poole racing action, excerpted from the Orlando Speedworld race program:

... Orlando Speedworld had a full race for the second straight Friday night. Without question, the race of the night belonged to the Taylor Racing Products Pro-Trucks. ... After a brief caution with just 3 laps remaining, the restart saw Scott Reeves (#55) going from the top spot with Whitney Poole (#00) alongside. Row two was Anthony Sergi (#20) and Ben Kennedy (#96). ... Reeves got the jump and quickly regained the lead while Sergi and Poole went side-by-side for second and after a little rubbing in Turn 1, Sergi cleared Poole, who then, following suit, took third with just two laps to go... as they raced side-by-side, Reeves got sideways...Kennedy crossed the finished line, winning, Reeves took second and Poole, third...

As it turned out, my workplace "posse" confirmed my thoughts about Whitney -- they were all as impressed with her as I was. "She can drive the wheels off that truck," said one. "She wasn't scared of anything!!"

I asked Whitney what the significance was to having the #00 on her truck. She replied, "When I was a little kid, my dad worked on the crew (tire changer) of the #00 Hooters Pro Cup Team of Curtis Davis, so that had an influence. But when I was 8 years old, I thought it (the number) was cool because my last name was "Poole" and we would put P(00)LE on my go karts."

Currently, Whitney's sponsors include Advance Auto Parts, Terri O'Connell (GoTerrioGo.com) and Kimberly Poole Photography. She is currently looking for a main sponsor for the remainder of the 2010 season as well as for 2011. Orlando Speedworld is considered her "home track;" However, Whitney has competed in some select races at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, FL and is currently racing a limited schedule there as well as at Orlando Speedworld and Punta Gorda Speedway.

Poole applied for NASCAR's Drive for Diversity in 2009 but didn't quite make the cut. It's a tough program to get into, but Whitney isn't giving up. She says she will keep on racing, and hopes the experience she gains will help her into Drive for Diversity.

Whitney is currently a full-time student at Keiser University, majoring in Business Marketing. She currently holds a 3.5 GPA after five semesters. She is also enrolled in online schooling so she can continue with her racing career.

As with everyone else trying to meet the demands of our sluggish economy, 2010 has been a tough year for Whitney. Her main sponsor had to pull out for reasons that were beyond her control.

One thing that had me laughing as we were sitting in the stands shooting the breeze was Whitney's reply when asked if her truck was hard to drive.

"Compared to a car that has a manual transmission, oh yeah, my truck is easy to drive!"

Whitney Poole takes time to sign autographs for her fans out at Orlando Speedworld. Right: Whitney Poole has fans of all ages - as seen here with Gavin Koors, 6. (photos: Karen Pistone)

Having finished her race, Whitney headed down to the track where all the other drivers had gathered with their rides, to talk to and sign autographs for fans.

In addition to having a wonderful, warm and outgoing personality, Whitney handles herself like a professional and takes her racing very seriously. Racing is what she loves to do and will continue to be her focus, and maybe, just maybe, Whitney Poole will someday have her dream come true and find herself as the first female driver to win a race in NASCAR.

If you'd like to support Whitney Poole and her racing efforts, you can now buy Whitney Poole Motorsports team shirts for only $12 through her Facebook Fan Page - Whitney Poole Motorsports - or by email at Poole00@gmail.com. You can also keep up with Whitney's racing through her website at WhitneyPoole.us.

Whitney Poole with Karen Pistone. Keep up the great work, gals!

Jeff Gordon, Dale Earrnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, here before the Las Vegas race earlier in the season. Along with teammate Mark Martin, the Hendricks Motorsports teammates have a combined 14 victories at Dover International Speedway.

DOVER, Del. - All four of Rick Hendrick's drivers are in the top 12 in the Sprint Cup Standings: Jimmie Johnson is second, Jeff Gordon fourth, Mark Martin 10th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12th.

Yet, somehow, entering the season's 12th race, the aura surrounding Hendrick Motorsports is mildly unsettling. Gordon, Martin and Earnhardt haven't won a race yet. Johnson won three of the first five but has finished outside the top 10 in two of the past three. Gordon has a series-best five finishes in the top five but has managed on four occasions, essentially, to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The hot drivers of the moment, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, are in Joe Gibbs Toyotas. But the four Hendrick drivers have combined for 14 victories at Dover International Speedway, site of the Autism Speaks 400. The three JGR drivers - Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano - have one Dover victory between them.

Double-file restarts and green-white-checkered finishes have plagued Gordon.

"On one hand, they make it really exciting, but for somebody like me, when we've had the dominant cars, the cautions didn't fall right," he said. "When we've gone out there and tried to still win under a late-race caution, the green-white-checkered or the caution didn't fall right for us. There's a lot of different ways to win races these days, and sometimes the fastest car wins and sometimes it doesn't."

Rules changes haven't exactly turned the world upside down, but they have added layers of strategy and uncertainty, most notably to drivers who have dominated races right up to the end.

Drivers like Gordon.

"This is why I don't compare past history to what's going on today," he said. "The point system is different, the cars are different, the 'green-white-checkereds' are different, and the double-file restarts are different. Had we had single-file restarts, we would have won three races, I think, right now. It's just that much different when you (leaders) start single-file, especially if you start double-file with the lapped cars on the inside like we used to. It's just totally different.

"You still have to win under these conditions, so it's important that you get it right. ... I think that right now, you've got a lot of guys experimenting and lots of teams that are solid. Of course, everyone is trying to win races but you're also trying to get yourself really ready for the Chase and to win the championship. I really don't think there is anything we could do different to have won those races other than me spinning the tires (on a late restart) at Phoenix."

Ryan Newman won that April 10 race, with Gordon second. In 11 races, he has finished second twice, third twice and fourth once. He has been 14th or worse in each of the other six races but is still fourth in the point standings.

A NASCAR Nationwide Series official stands in the garage area during a delay to the NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 300. Heavy rain caused the race to be postponed to Sunday, following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung Mobile 500 for a double-header at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Samsung Mobile 500 (Sprint Cup) is scheduled to begin at 3:18 p.m. EDT, while the Nationwide Series event has been rescheduled for 9 p.m. EDT. (Photo: Getty Images)

"Stockcartoons" creator Mike Smith (who gives us permission to reprint his weekly racing cartoon) is uploading sketches from the Vegas races Saturday and Sunday to his blog at the Las Vegas Sun. Check 'em out here.

Also, in case you missed it, NTW posted a profile of Mike the other day. You can read it

.

Stockcartoons are created by Mike Smith, ever-lovin' editorial cartoonist for the Las Vegas Sun, and syndicated through King Features Syndicate. Mike generously shares them with us here.

Mike is also the primary contributor to the Las Vegas Sun's NASCAR blog, "Bloggity, Bloggity, Bloggity.'" 

Stockcartoons are created by Mike Smith, ever-lovin' editorial cartoonist for the Las Vegas Sun, and syndicated through King Features Syndicate. Mike generously shares them with us here.

Normally, Mike's Stockcartoons appear at NASCAR This Week on Thursdays, but due to this editor's error, who was out of town and up to his snoot in ice and other assorted nasty wintriness (I was visiting my Dad in Pennsylvania), he neglected to get Mike's cartoon up on schedule. Apologies to Mike and this readership.

By Michelle Dawn

Call me crazy. A dreamer. Out of touch with reality or blinded by perception. But regardless of all the red flags that tell me I should, I just can't bring myself to break up with Dale Junior just yet.

To be honest, it's been tempting at times. A smarter fan than me would leave Junior for a Cup driver with more going for him -- say a few wins, a spot in the Chase and a Cup team with his name on it. And on the surface, it looks like there's no good reason to stay. After all, the fans of other drivers don't have to suffer the pointed insults, ceaseless speculation and nagging doubts at the hands of the media and their peers.

But at the risk of suffering more hardship, disappointment and yes, even the whispers of my friends, I'm gonna stand by Dale Earnhardt Jr. like Tammy Wynette -- at least for a couple more seasons.

Because say what you will about his disappointing performance, Junior is like the boyfriend you just can't turn loose. Sure he may buy you Carhartt for Christmas and use your Lenox champagne flute for a spit cup, but underneath it all lurks some serious potential and the makings of a winner. And you just know -- even though your Mama says you're half-cracked and your best friend is begging to set you up with her cousin the doctor - that all Junior needs is better luck next time and the right kind of encouragement to turn things around.

So while the fans of Stewart, Martin and Johnson root their drivers on to a possible championship, this fan is gonna hunker down and cheer her boy on for a win (or at least a couple top five finishes) before Homestead rolls around.

Of course if next season also goes bust, I may seriously have to re-examine my life choices as well as my racing judgment. But I won't worry about that now. 'Cause today I'm just not ready to walk away from Junior -- at least not yet.

Floridian Michelle Dawn works a corporate job by day and blogs about NASCAR by night at www.nascarista.blogspot.com. She’s an avid reader of classic literature, a lover of country music and a hater of sushi. Her dream job would be to cover NASCAR full time. Send her an e-mail at nascarista@att.net.

If you think the Dale/Kyle "rvialry" is bo-ring, join the club.

By Sharon Bundy
 
There has been a lot of talk about the lack of true rivalries in NASCAR. Back in the day, there was plenty to go around. But now in the day of political correctness and image, rivalries are almost extinct.
 
NASCAR needs a true rivalry in the sport. There really isn't much else going on to fire fans up. Even the rumors of the sport lack any real punch. Frankly, the sport has gotten dull, on track and off.
 
Kyle Busch has become the "black hat" driver of the sport. But even his attempts at stirring the proverbial rivalry pot are pathetic. Each week he has a new attack on Dale Jr. and/or his fans. It's almost laughable. Part of me wonders if NASCAR is trying to script this or simply trying too hard to make something out of nothing. Either way, it's not working.
 
The problem is that a rivalry must be authentic. There has to be that genuine element that draws battle lines between drivers and fans of drivers. While there is some rivalry between fans, it really isn't about fan vs. fan, it should be driver vs. driver. Then fans pick sides.
 
There needs to be that rivalry in the sport that draws fans in. The sport needs a  Duke vs. North Carolina, Cubs vs. Cards, or Lakers vs. Celtics type of rivalry. But because of NASCAR's hard line policies and the certain public image they want to convey, the days of true rivalries may be far behind us.

That could be just one of many reasons why the sport is on a decline. There is nothing really going on to get fans fired up about, to get them to tune in, call in and debate about. The sport has become too vanilla, pure and simple.

Sharon Bundy is a free-lance writer. In addition to appearing here, she is a regular contributor at insidethepitbox.com. When Sharon is not writing about races or going to races, she enjoys spending time with her two children. Sharon is looking for more writing opportunities and can be reached at sharon_bundy@hotmail.com.