NASCAR's Biggest Fan – Girl of the Week | Ron Ripple

Ron Ripple himself (that’s me) is being recognized by Forbes Magazine this month in their Celebrity Issue.  Forbes Magazine is one of the top magazines in the world known to feature the richest and most famous people ever.  Ok… so they’re obviously not recognizing me for being one of the richest people in the world… but I still made FORBES for being NASCAR’s Biggest Fan. 

Forbes Magazine contacted me about 2 1/2 months ago saying and I quote “I’d like to tell you how badass you are… and I would also like to feature you in Forbes Magazine, as NASCAR’s #1 Fan.”

At first I thought this is really a sick joke that one of my beer drinking friends were playing on me.  I really wasn’t excited or anything but then I noticed the e-mail address came from Forbes and there was also a phone number.  So I picked up the phone and called this young lady who proceeded to tell me how excited she was to be talking to NASCAR’s Biggest fan.  Boy let me tell you what… I think she could tell that I was blushing from the other side of the phone.

Forbes Magazine was trying to get in touch with me… this beer drinking NASCAR fan who has no fortune or celebrity status except for this website on the so called World Wide Web.  At first I was curious as to how they got a hold of me.  Had they talked to my boys down at the track such as Tony Stewart or Dale Earnhardt Jr?  Did they call Kyle Busch and ask him who annoys him the most or who is a fly he can’t get rid of when he’s down in the pits?  Of course I knew they would say me, but when she finally admitted how she found me I was shocked…  she simply said Google.

After our brief conversation we set up dates on when she was going to interview me and shoot the photos for the magazine.  When the interview date came she called me up and I gave her an incredible interview filled with exciting quotes and tons of information.  At least I think I did… I guess we’ll find out on the 22nd!

One of the things Forbes requested from me was a place to shoot when they sent their photographers down.  I didn’t even hesitate when they asked me this so I immediately called my boy Craig Waters down in Bradenton.  Craig is a great friend of mine and is known for his incredibly decorated garage.  The guy has created a NASCAR heaven that’s jam packed with 3 flat screen TVs, 100′s of posters, 20+ DieCast cars, old race tires, a pool table, work bench, tool chest, couch, and the list could go on.   Click on the photos below to check it out!

     

About a month later Forbes sent down photographers to take pictures of me… well in reality they couldn’t take pictures of me, so they took pictures of my creators Blake and Brock Gratton.  I won’t get into who Blake and Brock Gratton are but let’s just say they’re kind of a big deal around here.  Ron Ripple wouldn’t be here without them.

   

But the rest is history and the magazine comes out on July 22nd which is right around the corner.  I’ve put up a count down on the right side of the page so make sure you Ron Ripplers pick up a copy.  I’m so excited and honored to be featured in the magazine and I couldn’t have done this without my readers. 

Thank you all and make sure you continue to read.

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Rumor: Tony Stewart is joining Haas/CNC next year!

I mentioned earlier in the year we heard some rumors Tony Stewart was entertaining an offer Haas/CNC made him in regards to joining the team.  Well the rumors may be facts… Tony Stewart has been granted a release from his 2009 contract with Joe Gibbs Racing and will be moving on over to Haas/CNC as part owner.  Rumor has it Tony is changing the team name to Stewart Haas Racing and plans on having a two car team. 

Rumor: Ryan Newman is going to drive for Stewart Haas Racing! 

 Who would be the possible two car team with Tony Stewart?  Ryan Newman… rumor has it Ryan Newman is also joining Tony Stewart in his venture and plans on leaving Penske for good.  Tony Stewart would be sponsored by Olde Spice and Office depot, Ryan Newman is looking to get sponsored by Jack Daniels.  The two would make an incredible team and eventually become a power player.

Rumor: Newman leaving the #12, Stremme will be replacement!

If the rumors are true and Ryan Newman plans on joining forces with Tony Stewart in the 2009 year, who will take the #12 spot with Penske?  The rumor on the street is Stremme is a good possibility for jumping behind the wheel.  Stremme is a strong racer and deserves to be running up front with a strong team.  Chip Ganassi made the mistake of replacing Stremme with Dario Franchitti which we now know was a HUGE mistake.  I’m not so sure how true this rumor will be, especially since he’s been testing with three different teams. 

 Rumor: Martin Truex Jr. received stiff penalties!

Martin Truex Jr. and the DEI car was rumored to have an illegal roof after they failed the Daytona inspections at the Coke Zero 400.  Well the Rumors are true!  Truex received an extremely stiff penalty yesterday for their car failing to fit the roof template.  Truex was docked 150 points which dropped him from 14th place to 18th place in the Sprint Cup standings and hurting his chances of making the chase.  He is now 238 points from Tony Stewart and only 4 races away from getting to into the chase.  I hate to admit it but the kids chances are gone!  Unless he trades bodies with Kyle Busch and puts a Nitrous bottle in the car… I don’t see him winning the next 4 races.

Rumor: Is Teresa Earnhardt stepping down from DEI?

Rumor on the street is Teresa Earnhardt has enlisted Bear Stearns and Co to help find a wealthy investor or buyer to step in and help with the financials.  If you want my opinion Teresa Earnhardt has destroyed DEI from ever becoming a big player in the sport.  The reason why DEI was created was so that when Dale Earnhardt retired or kicked the can, his kids would have a strong team to race for.  Well obviously that didn’t happen and Teresa lost the heart of the team, that being Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 The Rumors are spreading… Man I love NASCAR!

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 This past Saturday’s race was an interesting race to say the least.  In my previous post I stated it was going to be one hell-uv-a showdown with some aggressive driving and some crazy personalities.  Unfortunately it was none of this… It was a fun race to watch because it was unknown as to who was going to be the victor, but it definitely wasn’t a showdown like I was expecting. From the very beginning, Kyle Busch shot out and dominated the race by almost a quarter of a lap, until the second segment when his motor blew up.  (Obviously the Gibbs team tested the Toyota package they had from the beginning of the year because almost everyone on the team blew a motor.)  But Kyle Busch did some serious domination with Carl Edwards not far behind him.  The first two segments weren’t all that exciting with most of the battling taking place in the 12th and 13th positions.  Once Kyle Busch’s motor blew up at the end of the second segment, it looked like it was going to be a Carl Edwards race since he had the fastest car on the track.

 I was comletely taken back when the third segment started and Carl Edwards lost four positions in the first couple laps.  It looked as if making no changes to his car in between segments was not such a good idea.  The third segment was dominated by Biffle, with a number of different drivers working their way up to the front.  Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, and Dale Earnahrdt Jr. were a number of racers that were working their asses off to get to the front.  All were running strong but it seemed as though none of them had enough because in each segment there was only ONE car that led most of the laps.

 The Fourth Segment was where all the hard work and strategy paid off.  In between the third and fourth segment, the teams had a decision to make.  “Take two tires, take four tires, or don’t take any tires at all.”  There were a few drivers that took “No tires’ and these driver’s ended up on top.  Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne were two of those drivers that decided to take no tires and these guys came out of the pits the fastest.  Greg Biffle, who was the fastest car for a majority of the race decided to take two tires and I can guarantee he’s regretting it now.  Kasey Kahne who was the “Fan Vote” jumped up to the front position and was tough to get around.  Greg Biffle who took the two tires was on his tail the whole segment and admitted he only had once chance to pass and couldn’t take advantage of it.

I think it’s huge a driver who wasn’t even supposed to be in the race took home $1,000,000.  The fans wanted to see him race and boy did he give them a show.  He passed a ton of cars to make it to the top 10 and when it came down to making a decision about tires, he made the right one and that’s all that counts.  He didn’t crawl his way up to the front and techinically “EARN” the #1 position, but his team made the right decision and they took advantage of it.  Kasey Kahne won the race and took home the money.  Congratulations to him!

Even though I’m a huge Tony Stewart fan, I was really hoping for a Dale Earnhardt Jr win.  He was in the top 5 throughout the whole race and looked like he was going to be a player at the end.   I guess the Hendrick Motorsports team just had nothing for them at this race.  I was extremely disappointed with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson… two racers that were supposed to OWN this track.  The only reason why Jimmie Johnson was in the top 5 was because he took no tires. 

 Overall I have to admit it wasn’t the most aggressive driving or exciting race I’ve ever seen.  There were no wrecks, no bumping, no fighting, and no drama.  This was supposed to be a race where the driver’s would let their hair down and do things out of character.  It was almost as if they were all being gentlemen!  I was shocked!

 What do you think about the race?  Obviously nobody won the contest from my previous post because Kasey Kahne was voted in last minute.  But look for a new contest maybe for the 600.  I like to see who people vote for.

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Wow… Carl Edwards is kicking ass and taking names.  Three wins already this year is pretty ridiculous if you ask me considering it’s only been seven races of the season.  Carl Edwards held off Jimmie Johnson during the restart this past Sunday and prevented the Hendrick Motorsports team from getting into victory lane yet once again. 

The Samsung 500 was an eventful race to say the least.  Gordon battled an ill handling car which resulted in slamming into turn four on lap 109.  Dale Earnhardt Jr who sat on the pole also dealt with an ill handling car which caused him to to finish 12th and a lap down.  Kyle Busch battled it out throughout the whole race and ended up finishing third.  Clint Boyer and Denny Hamlin made contact with each other on the last lap which caused Boyer to hit the wall but still gave him a 10th place finish.

 Of course a Sprint Cup Race wouldn’t be a race without some sort of penalty.  Ryan Newman who finished fourth failed the post race inspection due to the right rear of his car being too high.  As usual the crew cheif was fined $25,000 and the team and owner has been penalized 25 points.  It just seems to me like this year is the year for penalties.  I don’t know if it’s the new COT’s or if these guys are just pushing the limits.

What has been your favorite race to watch this year?  I thought this one was pretty enjoyable.

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Who’s your pick to win the Martinsville race? I don’t know about you, but it feels like years since the last race even though it’s only been two weeks. I’m ready for a short course race and Martinsville couldn’t have come at a better time. Martinsville is home of the 1/2 mile oval track, 60 degree weather and 65,000+ fans. To me it sounds like a perfect time for a beer loaded tailgate pre-race party in the parking lot . I wish I could make it!

This weekend I’m going pick either Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson for the checkered flag. Both are very good on Short Courses and both need a win. Tony Stewart is duethis year and has been in the hunt for most of this year’s races. Recently he’s had more off the course publicity with his crazy tirades such as the sucker punch in Daytona, his personal opinion about Goodyear Tires, and his recent trimming of his mullet. Obviously I can’t talk smack about a mullet just look at mine, but his was getting a little shaggy.

My other pick for the weekend is Jimmie Johnson. You’d be crazy not to pick him as a top contender considering he’s won three straight Cup races at Martinsville. Jimmie Johnson is due for a win this year and it couldn’t have come at a better time since this is “his” track. I’d say Jimmie Johnson OWNS this track and needs to DEFEND his title. As you’ve read in my previous articles, the Hendrick camp needs a win and now is their chance. The pansy wine drinking Jeff Gordon, defending champion Jimmie Johnson, and AMP’d up Dale Earnhardt Jr are all great short track racers and all desperately need a win.

As usual I’m not going to count Kyle Busch out… He’s definitely one of my favorites this year. Since the season started he hands down been dominating all of NASCAR’s series. But let me know who your picks are. I’m curious to see who everyone’s favorites are.

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KYLE BUSCH.  All I have to say is holy shitzu… this kid is good.  I have a feeling that while I was playing with G.I. Joe’s at the age of 3, Kyle Busch was driving the lawn mower learning how to put the pedal to the metal.  This kid was dominating yesterday’s race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway basically the whole time.  If I had to put my money on someone to win the season I would have to say Kyle Busch.  I know I know… kinda obvious since he’s ahead in the points, but I don’t see anyone else putting on a show like this kid.

 Other shoutouts I have to give after watching the race is Dale Earnhardt Jr, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards.  All three ran an incredible race leading quite a few laps.  It was unfortunate Carl Edwards blew an engine after leading for so long but I guess that’s racing.  Dale Earnhardt was in the hunt the whole time and was always a threat.  I’d love to see him win a race and get the taste of victory back in his blood.   Tony Stewart was in the top 10 most of the race but obviously crept up to the front towards the end.

 It was soooo cold this past weekend up there, I was worried that they were going to have to post pone the race again.  I almost wanted to put my bathing suit on and see if the track was a slip in slide because after watching Sunday’s race and seeing those guys slide through the turns I figured it had to be fun.  I talked to Tony Stewart in his hauler after the race on Sunday and he was not too happy about the tires Goodyear brought to this race.  He said it was the worst tires he’s ever used and that Goodyear better step up their “A” game if they want to get off his “Shit List.”

Overall I have to admit I really enjoyed watching this race.  It was definitely a driver’s course with the rough conditions of the track and the poor tires Goodyear brought.  Three of my favorite drivers, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and Dale Earnhardt Jr finished in the top three and I’m already excited for next weekend.  It feels like these weeks are flying by…  we’re almost a month into the season. 

 I’m glad to be back… now let’s get cooking on those comments.  I want to hear your opinions.

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WOWWWWWWWW…. so there were some serious teams from this past weekend’s Daytona 500 that got penalized for some sort of infraction. The biggest penalty went to Robby Gordon after inspectors found an illegal bumper on the front of the car. NASCAR officials gave him a 100 point penalty, fined his crew cheif $100,000, and suspended his crew cheif for 6 races. Overall it dropped him from 9th place down to 40th place. Another team that got penalized last weekend in the Craftsman Truck Series was my boy Todd Bodine. He was penalized for an infraction the inspectors caught before qualifying. So the good news is he still won the race fair and square, but the bad news is he is penalized 25 points, his crew cheif fined $10,000 and his crew cheif is suspended for 4 races.

Here’s the news I know a lot of my readers are going to be extremely concerned about. Dale Earnhardt Jr was penalized 50 points for having an illegal spoiler on his car. His crew cheif was fined $25,000 and also given a 6 race suspension. The good news is it was for the Nationwide Series which still leaves him in the hunt for the Sprint Cup Series. Of all the drivers from this past weekend’s race… I would have never guessed we’d see Dale Earnhardt Jr’s name on the list of penalized drivers. It’s just unfortunate these teams aren’t following the rules and are trying to get away with little modifications. Can’t these teams just race fair and square and follow the rules?

The biggest news from this past weekend’s race is Officials found a hidden bottle of NOS in the trunk of Kurt Busch’s race car. Supposedly he hit the button on the last lap of the restart to give Ryan Newman his push to victory. The question that is confusing officials is how did he get that bottle through inspection the morning of the race. HAHAHAHA… I’m only kidding!!!!! Kurt Busch didn’t have a bottle of NOS in his car, but I know I had you going because the way he pushed Ryan Newman to the front of the pack on the last lap of that race is unbelievable.

Anyway, let me know what your opinion is on the infractions. Why would a team put an illegal part on their car the first race of the season?

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I am officially back from Daytona and all I have to say is WOW!  I started the weekend off by hanging out in the pits with Todd Bodine, winner of the Craftsman Truck Series race on friday night.  Congratulations to him and the Germain team for kicking some serious ass. (I’ll post pictures this week)

This weekend was full of surprises… Dale Earnhardt Jr. absolutely stepped up his game from the start of the very long week of races.  I can’t believe he won the Bud Shoot Out, the Gatorade Duel and then finished third in the Nationwide Series.  I’m not gonna lie, I really did think he was going to be in the top three as well in the Sprint Cup race on Sunday but oh well. My favorite parts of the race are when the two badass’s Tony Stewart and Dale would hook up in a draft and head straight to the front. 

The ”Most Impressive Driver” award would have to go to Kyle Busch.  He led 88 out of 200 laps in the Sprint Cup race on Sunday and ended up finishing Fourth. It always seems to go down like that, the driver to lead the most laps rarely if ever end up with the checkered flag. Also note that he also finished third in both the Nationwide Cup as well as the Craftsman Truck Series.  Tell me he didn’t have an incredible weekend.  Most drivers wish they could finish in the top 10 in any of the three races.

Who could have predicted Ryan Newman of all drivers would be the winner of the Daytona 500 this year?  He hasn’t won a race in over 80 starts.  I was shocked with the ending of the race but what didn’t surprise me was the 2nd and 3rd place finishers.  Everyone has to admit that if Kurt Busch hadn’t given Ryan Newman the push at the end Tony Stewart would have probably been the winner.  The beginning of the race was pretty non eventful…  There weren’t very many crashes, there weren’t a ton of lead changes, and I felt it lacked race drama.  Nobody pissed anyone off during the whole race but the end made it all worth it!.  Kurt Busch pushed Ryan Newman to his victory leaving Stewart behind to finish 3rd.  I must admit it was very cool to see two Penske cars take the 1st and 2nd place trophy, I found it a bit comical to hear Kurt Busch in the interview after the race stating that he probably would have won if he didn’t push Newman to the win… Just another cocky statement.

I’ve got so many things running through my mind right now that I would love to discuss, but I’m exhausted from the trip. So make sure you check back during the week and let me know your thoughts.  Until then… what did you guys think about the new COT’s?  How unfortunate was it to see Jeff Gordon have car troubles?  What happened to Waltrip and his supposedly ridiculously fast car?  What happened to the Toyotas at the end?  Let me know your thoughts…

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I mentioned in yesterday’s article that I would come up with a contest for a chance to win a prize.  Living up to my promise, I got on the horn with the guys over at www.EnergyThis.com and asked if they would donate a case of energy drinks.  Without hesitation they said yes and here we are officially kicking off Ron Ripple’s first contest!!!  What better energy drink to give away in our first contest then a case of AMP Energy Drink… perfect because of Dale Earnhardt Jr and the new AMP car. 

Let’s get to the rules already!  The raffle will be Thursday, February 22nd. The winner of the raffle will win a free case of AMP Energy Drinks shipped right to their door front.  The key to this contest is to enter as many times as you’d like.  There are three ways to enter this contest.  The first is by subscribing to my blog (enter your email address at the top right), the second is by posting a comment on one of my always entertaining articles, and the third is by writing an article on your blog about the contest.   There is no limit on how many entries you can have, 10 comments on 10 different articles = 10 entries, write an article on your blog about our contest = 20 entries.  It’s all on how badly you want it!

 Contest Rules:

• Subscribe to my blog. (1 Subscription = 1 Entry)
• Post comments on my aritcles but make sure they are relevant to the article (spam = disqualified). (1 Post = 1 Entry) (No SPAM)
• Drop an EntreCard (1 Drop = 1 Entry)
• Write an article on your blog about the contest and make sure to link it to this page. (1 Article = 20 Entries)

The deadline for this contest is February 22nd, which is one week after the Daytona 500.  I’m extremely excited about the contest and I hope you enjoy it as well.

 GOOD LUCK MY RON RIPPLERS!

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I got a chance to talk to Dale Jr. last night about the Memorabilia issue that was going on and he told me that he’s not very happy.  Supposedly his old race shop (DEI & Richard Childress) took his memorabilia off the walls throughout the whole shop and removed a number of his cars from the show floor.  Initially when Jr heard about this he brushed it off and tried to ignore it, but since he’s had time to think about it, he’s extremely frustrated.  Dale Earnhardt Jr explained it was a low blow to not only him but also his team.  They worked their butts off to get him his Daytona 500 win as well as his Busch Series Championships.  The sad part is that his old team still works for DEI and has to just pretend like it’s no big deal. 

In defense to DEI, they tried to explain to the press that the only reason why they moved his cars from the show room was to make room for the luncheon everyone attended.  They also made it clear that they dedicate over half the show room to Dale Jr and the only reason why they took his merchandise out of the gift shop was because he no longer races with them and they don’t have a contract with Budweiser. 

Maybe this little issue got blown way out of proportion.  The only question I want to know is if Ricky Bobby’s autographed photo is still on the wall.  (I don’t know if you remember, but in the movie Talladega Nights Dale Earnhardt Jr. walks up to Ricky Bobby and asks him for his autograph)

 What’s your opinion about this issue?  Is it blown way out of proportion or do you agree with Dale Earnhardt Jr getting a little upset?

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