Mystery Hill of Scotland County

Sit down and I will tell you a tale of a mystery that to this day looms right here in my hometown. There are those who try to say it didn't happen. That it is just the earth's magnetic pull. Whatever the truth is, doesn't really matter. What matters is that I have experienced it for myself.

There are two versions of the story. And I will try to recant both here for you. And you can decide for yourself if you believe it or not.

The first story takes place around the turn of the century. It was right after the first motor vehicles were sold here. The story goes that two young lovers were out for a drive. They were heading for what was then called lovers lane.

For some unknown reason, the young woman winds up walking away from the car. There are those who say they had a spat, others say she was just exploring the area, while he worked on the car. For whatever reason, she was out of the car.

The car broke loose from the young man, and rolled down the hill, running over the young woman. The young woman died there. Grief stricken the young man, gets in and drives the car back up the hill. Turns around, and speeds up to a high rate of speed. Drives down the hill and into a tree. Wrecking the car and killing himself.

The second story goes like this. It was 1940 four young sailors here visiting from Wilmington. They went out riding and came upon this hill. Their vehicle got a flat tire and they lost control of the car. The car went speeding down the hill and into a tree. All four young sailors were killed.

Now what makes this hill a part of a mystery was not these two incidents of death. It is what happens when you approach the bottom of the hill. Now the reason I know what I am about to tell you happens, happened, is because I have done it myself.

When a car approaches the bottom of the hill and is stopped. If you put your car into neutral, the car will be pulled back up the hill, backwards. Now there are those who say it is the young woman, trying to stop her lover from killing himself, and others say it is the four sailors saving unfortunate drivers from their deaths.

Whatever is the truth, I don't know. I am more inclined to believe those who say it is the earth's magnetic pull. But for the sake of Halloween, well, you decide which way you want to believe.........

I know who has the Maltese Lugnut

So, Katie Scarlett O'Beagle (Speedbeagle) you thought that you could pass yourself as a Stewart fan and no one would be the wiser, that you are truly a Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus fan. You had us all fooled for awhile, but there is no denying it now. For the past couple years, this Maltese Lugnut has supposedly bounced back and forth. From this one to that one.

Lost, then found. Missing and then not missing. To now no one knows who has it. Well, after last night's race at Concord, N.C. It is pretty evident to this blogger, that You are an enemy spy in the Tony Stewart camp. Pretty sneaky, using Kristen Klvalus as your cover. This way, the lugnut could be passed back and forth to the 48 team without anyone being the wiser.

Pretty cleaver, but now your secret has been exposed. So come clean, it is the only way to save face.

Okay, I know this is not true. Speedbeagle and Katie are truly hardcore Smoke fans. And it would never cross her mind to be a Jimmie Johnson fan. I think she probably dislikes him as much as I do.

But the real question is what will it take to stop the 48 team from winning 7 straight championships? They do just enough to get them into the chase. And once the chase is in play, they pullout all the stops and blow through the rest of the field?

NASCAR is going to need to do some changes to this chase format, or Johnson and Knaus will win 7 straight. And by the time they get to that point, many NASCAR fans will have abandoned NASCAR for other sporting events or other things. I am one of those fans who is at that point.

Right now, I don't plan on walking away from NASCAR. But right now my plan is to just watch the first 26 races next year, crown the champ and go do something else. And leave the final 10 races to the 48 team.

Now don't get me wrong. I love my NASCAR and I will watch it. But the final 10 races will not be on my top 5 list of things to do next year. So for this year, my NASCAR champ will be Tony Stewart. And the chase champ will be the 48 team.
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What is wrong with Dale Jr.?

This seems to be the question that is on everyone's mind? It is simple. Jr. is frustrated. Jr. thought that once he left the shadow of DEI that he would be able to win championships and races. Jr. dreamed of victory lane celebrations and championships. But none of that has come true for him.

Many in Jr. Nation, has convinced themselves that Teresa Earnhardt is the reason Jr. is not doing well. Well, let's face it, she is not the reason.

Jr. is not performing to his ability because he is not comfortable with the situation he finds himself in. Jr. is like alot of us. When we get frustrated, we lash out. And when we lash out, we can't think straight. And then once we calm down, we regret the lashout, but the problem remains.

Jr. has stated that he "needs a dictator" for a crew chief. Jr. appears to me not to be comfortable with calling the shots. He makes me think that he just wants to tell the crew chief what the car is doing and the crew chief is going to say "Okay Dale this is what we are going to do, Period." No, what if we do this? Jr. has enough to think about in the car. He doesn't want to be the one who calls the shot on pit road.

Eury Jr. and Lance McGrew (Thanks Gunny) just don't seem to be the strong force that can hold Jr. to his potential. Seems like Tony Eury Sr. was the only one so far. Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying that Lance McGrew or Eury Jr. are not good crew chiefs. Just that they don't seem to be the right fit for Jr.

So what is the solution? Not sure. But if it is another crew chief, maybe Hendrick needs to find someone with Pop Eury's character to put with Jr. or nothing will change.

And one more suggestion, maybe Jr. needs to lighten his outside load of responsibilities (sponsor demands) and maybe that will make him relax a bit more and be more in the right frame of mind to work with a crew chief.

Treat People The Way You Want To Be Treated

There is an old adage that says: "Treat people the way you want to be treated." It is sound advice for all aspects of our lives. Throughout our entire lives we will come in contact with all sorts of people. And you never know how your actions will impact a person when you cross paths.



Whether it be good or bad, the way we treat others says alot about us. It doesn't matter if you are a big time NASCAR driver or just the average citizen on the street. If you treat others with respect then you will receive respect back. But if you push your way through life, then others will push back.



Resistance mets with resistance. While respect mets with respect.


Often times in life people with a little experience or age, deserves to receive respect from the younger generation. And while I agree that they do deserve respect for their years of experience and life lessons. Too often times, this respect is demanded. Instead of demanding that respect it is best to receive it through your actions.



Now while I do respect my elders and I do want to be respected by the younger generation, I do not expect it or demand it, without giving them a reason to respect me.



This takes me to Greg Biffle and Joey Logano. These two drivers seem to be developing a rivalry that will test the level of respect that each has for each other and the other drivers on the track.

It is always good to see a good rivalry. That is what we as fans love to see. Two drivers battling on and off the track. It is what brings the human side of NASCAR to the level of the fans.

But what Greg Biffle is doing is just plain wrong. You don't get respect from a younger driver, by saying over your radio that you are going to put him into the wall and then doing it. They causes that younger driver to distrust you and you develop the ruptation of being a dirty driver. Now I don't think Biffle is a dirty driver, but he is doing things that will give him that reputation.

Logano is young. He is expected to make rookie mistakes. That is why NASCAR puts a yellow strip of tape on the back of his car, to remind the veteran drivers that he is a rookie. And that he likely will make a rookie mistake. So be alert.

But Biffle is the veteran here. He is the one who should be playing the part of a role model to Joey. Biffle is the best one to show any driver how he wants to be raced around. By racing the other driver the way he wants to be raced.

This goes back to the old adage, "Treat others like you want to be treated." Just some sage advice from an older person , Me to the young kid, Biffle.

Going Back in Time

Not the way you may be thinking. It seems that NASCAR has decided to harken to the fans suggestions once again and go back to the old start times for races. The times will all be no earlier than 1 p.m. and no later than 7:30 p.m. EASTERN time. And the green flag is suppose to fly within 20 minutes of the start time.

So while this may not make some fans happy, it certainly does make this fan extremely happy. I was getting tired of trying to remember when that week's race was suppose to start.

So from a long time fan, Thanks NASCAR for making this race fan happy!

Below is the 2010 schedule with start times from www.NASCAR.com

2010 Cup Series Schedule
All times Eastern
Date Track TV Time

Feb. 14 Daytona FOX 1 p.m.
Feb. 21 Fontana FOX 3 p.m.
Feb. 28 Las Vegas FOX 3 p.m.
March 7 Atlanta FOX 1 p.m.
March 21 Bristol FOX 1 p.m.
March 28 Martinsville FOX 1 p.m.
Aprril 10 Phoenix FOX 7:30 p.m.
April 18 Texas FOX 1 p.m.
April 25 Talladega FOX 1 p.m.
May 1 Richmond FOX 7:30 p.m.
May 8 Darlington FOX 7:30 p.m.
May 16 Dover FOX 1 p.m.
May 30 Charlotte FOX 5:45 p.m.
June 6 Pocono TNT 1 p.m.
June 13 Michigan TNT 1 p.m.
June 20 Sonoma TNT 3 p.m.
June 27 Loudon TNT 1 p.m.
July 3 Daytona TNT 7:30 p.m.
July 10 Chicago TNT 7:30 p.m.
July 25 Indianapolis ESPN 1 p.m.
Aug. 1 Pocono ESPN 1 p.m.
Aug. 8 Watkins Glen ESPN 1 p.m.
Aug. 15 Michigan ESPN 1 p.m.
Aug. 21 Bristol ESPN 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 5 Atlanta ESPN 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 11 Richmond ABC 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 Loudon ABC 1 p.m.
Sept. 26 Dover ABC 1 p.m.
Oct. 3 Kansas ABC 1 p.m.
Oct. 10 Fontana ABC 3 p.m.
Oct. 16 Charlotte ABC 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 24 Martinsville ABC 1 p.m.
Oct. 31 Talladega ABC 1 p.m.
Nov. 7 Texas ABC 1 p.m.
Nov. 14 Phoenix ABC 3 p.m.
Nov. 21 Homestead ABC 1 p.m.