Favorite Driver(s):
No answer
NASCAR fan since:
1995
Legends to me:
Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Ralph Earnhardt, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons, David Pearson, Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, Cale Yarborough
Favorite tracks:
Bristol Motor Speedway, Daytona Int’l Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Richmond Int’l Raceway
First race I went to:
First NASCAR race was The Winston in 1996, but I went to other races to watch my cousin race at Mid-Ohio racetrack in the ’80s and also saw some open-wheel stuff at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Oh.
Races I regularly go to:
Daytona 500/Speedweeks, Las Vegas
Most memorable NASCAR moment(s):
Getting this job!!!
I also was at The Winston in 2000 when Dale Jr. won, which was also the night the bridge collapsed at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. An amazing night all around. My buddy Jimmy Vogel and I were among some of the first on the scene when the bridge collapsed and you felt like you wanted to do something to help — but the best way to help was to get the heck out of the way of the emergency folks so they could do their jobs, and they did them well. It was even more impressive than what Junior did on the track that night!
Marital status:
Married
Profile:
Not sure what to put here. I’m old, or at least older (46). But I feel young and try to act young.
My greatest accomplishment(s) in life were marrying my wife, Sarah, and raising the four wonderful children we have together — Andrew, Elizabeth, Emma and Michaal. (All great kids!)
Prior to joining NASCAR.com in January, 2007, I covered the NFL and the Carolina Panthers for nearly 12 years for the Winston-Salem Journal — a great job, too, until the Journal decided it needed to save money and didn’t want to invest in covering the Panthers any longer. I also covered the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Ohio for 10 1/2 years prior to taking the job with the Journal.
Other interests:
I love writing books on the side, and have written five — including The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR. It has been the most popular and by far the biggest seller of any of my books.
Here for:
Discussing NASCAR with other fans, Learning more about NASCAR
Dragginbutt
Jul 03 2009 12:44
Drug testing policy
Given the amount of money this sport is dealing with regarding Drug testing results, a simple process change would alleviate much of the garbage we are dealing with. First, take two samples, send them to different testing labs. If you get a positive result, immediately call the offender in for another test and repeat. Consistant positive results from all testing would then incur a suspension. Mixed results places you on a watch list requiring testing before EACH race for one year. A subsequent positive result would result in suspension.
AmbroseChick
Apr 09 2009 01:54
Awesome article...
Joe! This is the best Ambrose article ever. Thanks for giving us the inside scoop on the MWR JTG-D alliance. Do they give Pulitzer Prizes to ya’ll?
AmbroseChick
Mar 10 2009 14:17
You didn't say...
if you actually had a taste of the vegemite! I can vouch that is an acquired taste – hubby is Aussie and our son was raised here in America but he loves his vegemite because he and daddy have it every morning for brekkie!
ORG01
Feb 19 2009 11:28
Don't let them get to you Joe
Always look for your stuff to come out, always a good read.
fan2008June
Feb 17 2009 16:21
I think that NASCAR
needs to start these races earlier. If we had started the 500 this year an hour earlier, just an hour, we prabably would have gotten the race over. Each year they put these races back more and more and I think that it killing NASCAR.