Happy Thanksgiving: NASCAR Edition
Thanksgiving. A day of great food, football, giving thanks, and spending time with our family and friends. There are a lot of reasons for us to be thankful on Thanksgiving Day. Most important are God, our family, friends, and our country. We also have our health, our minds, our homes, and our jobs. You can’t forget the sport that brings us all together on Sunday….NASCAR. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit around the table on Thanksgiving with your favorite drivers. I wonder what they would be thankful for this 2011 season and what food would be on their table other than the traditional goodies. Below is just an inside look into the holiday from my eyes.
Kevin Harvick can thank Richard Childress for letting him have Shane Wilson on top of the pit box in 2012. Wilson was Harvick’s CC when he won the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship in 2006. They won 10 races and 24 top-five finishes. Harvick is also thankful for his smokin’ hot wife, DeLana, who puts him with his and @Mother_Function’s daily pranks.
Oh Kyle Busch! You broke the 100 win mark this year, but you couldn’t get your attitude in check. When Kyle Busch gets around the Thanksgiving table, he better thank Coach Joe Gibbs and Interstate Batteries for saving his butt after NASCAR parked him at Texas Motor Speedway. If you listen carefully, I’m sure he is thanking Mars, Inc. for coming back in 2012 because the color green wasn’t very good to him at Phoenix and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
While he was thanking Red Bull Racing at Phoenix International Raceway two weeks ago after his win, Kasey Kahne is really thanking Rick Hendrick for rescuing him. Kahne, unlike his RBR teammate, Brian Vickers, has someplace to go now that the shop has been closed. Something tells me Kahne is also really glad he doesn’t have to sip on Red Bull anymore without some Vodka.
Carl Edwards. Many of him wanted to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup this year. Edwards, who loves talking on camera, is probably glad that he doesn’t have ESPN following him around on Turkey Day. Now he can kick and scream about not winning the championship last Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Tony Stewart has a lot to be thankful for this year. After losing the dead weight, he was able to win five races and the championship. Sure he can thank his sponsors, Hendrick, Gene Haas, and AJ Foyt but he REALLY should thank his crew chief Darien Grubb. Grubb, who told the media on Sunday night that he would not be coming back to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2012, could have really screwed up Stewart’s chances at championship number 3. If I were Tony Stewart, I’d make sure Grubb got the extra scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on top of his Pecan Pie.
Jimmie Johnson has been a wonderful champion for half the decade. He can be thankful that his reign is over and he can be his one man wolf-pack during the NASCAR banquet in Las Vegas next weekend. Something tells me we will all be thankful he is apart of Twitter. Wonder if the wigs will make another appearance.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is just thankful he gets to keep Steve LeTarte in 2012.
Michael Waltrip: Thankful he can get the Turkey Deep Fryer from Aaron’s at a discount!
Matt Kenseth: Thankful that Brian Vickers doesn’t have a ride in 2012.
Brad Keselowski is thankful for Twitter. Without the social media site, Keselowski wouldn’t have been able to share some cool pictures of his ankle after his Road Atlanta crash. He is also thankful for Kurt Busch, who proved to Roger Penske that Brad is the sanest driver Penske has ever had in his stable of drivers.
His stats haven’t been all that great since his move to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but David Ragan did win a race in 2011 and 2 Coors Light Pole Awards as well. Ragan is thankful to know what Jack Roush really thinks of him after the season. Ragan may have been thrown under the bus by his team owner, but at least he knows he has the support of his fans to get him through it. For that, Ragan is thankful!
From Brandon and myself, we hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving and that you have many things to be grateful for as well. I know we both are thankful for you, our readers. Thank you for letting us share some of the 2011 NASCAR season with you. We look forward to being able to do a complete season with you guys in 2012.