Thoughts of Halloween

Tomorrow i'll be another year older, another year wiser, another year closer to death. But hey, it's Halloween after all! So I decided to sit down here today and discuss one of my more "interesting" Halloween's.

One year when I was a kid we were doing our regular trick-or-treating and we stopped at our neighbors house. This family, whom had a few children that we went to school with, was good friends of ours at the time and we knew them pretty well. My brother and I went up to the front door and knocked. No one answered. But we heard something. Then we heard it again. I wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded like an engine starting up. We walked around to the side of the house to see what it was and about that time the front door FLEW off its hinges. My brother and I turned around just in time to see someone in a Leatherface mask with a chainsaw coming running at us. I think I was about a mile away in less than 10 seconds.

My mom says all she saw was him come out the door then my brother and I bolt past the van in the driveway and into the street. She couldn't stop laughing, and frankly I can't blame her. Our neighbor Rick had gotten us really good. As far as being scared, that had to be the worst scare on Halloween i've ever been a part of.

Something scary happen to you on Halloween? Tell me about it by posting a comment on my blog or dropping me an email!

Halloween and me

So Halloween is coming up. It is easily my favorite holiday of the year. Well, its not an official holiday, but I count it as one. Why? Well for one, what other day do you get fed untold amouts of candy? I mean really, that's a holiday all on its own. But on top of that, I was born on Halloween! Do I need any other reason to love October 31? Nope.

In any case, i've gone out of my way to track down a cool (well, my definition of cool anyway) costume for this year. I have no idea where or when i'm going to wear it, but by gosh i'm gonna wear it. Here is a picture of my self in said costume (I just got the last part of the costume, the mask, in the mail today).

Pretty cool huh? My dear friend Hannah, whom I went to school with at UNC Pembroke, helped me out with the costume. She is the master of costumes, so of course I went to her to plan for Halloween this year. What are you going as for Halloween this year? Let me know by emailing me or droping me a comment on my blog!

NASCAR has a short track date

NASCAR heads out to the oldest track on the NASCAR circuit, Martinsville Speedway, this weekend for the only short track race during The Chase. It should make for an interesting, not to mention nerve racking, race for a lot of the drivers. Here are my predictions for this weekends race.

This week's winner will be: Jeff Gordon
This guy is on FIRE and I see no reason why he won't continue being on fire. He's won the last two events and he finished second here in the Spring behind teammate Jimmie Johnson. Gordon had the fastest car in the Spring but he just couldn't get Johnson out of the way. I don't expect that to be a problem this weekend.

Don't underestimate: Johnny Sauter
The last time the NASCAR crew's visited a short track was Richmond and Johnny Sauter impressed there by running in the Top 10 most of the night. He ended up with a 5th place finish after starting 35th. This week his starting position is much better (13th) and I expect him to finish around the same spot, if not higher.

The underdog: Tony Raines
This guy has been fast this weekend. I don't know why, but he has been fast. He starts 10th on Sunday and was the fastest car in Happy Hour. Don't be shocked if he puts the No. 96 Chevrolet in the Top 10 this weekend.

The Top 10:
1. 24 Jeff Gordon
2. 2 Kurt Busch
3. 5 Kyle Busch
4. 48 Jimmie Johnson
5. 29 Kevin Harvick
6. 1 Martin Truex Jr.
7. 96 Tony Raines
8. 99 Carl Edwards
9. 43 Bobby Labonte
10. 31 Jeff Burton

Racing in Charlotte

NASCAR has invaded its hometown once again. The NEXTEL Cup series is racing tonight at Lowe's Motorspeedway and its sure to be an action packed event. With that being said, here are my predictions for tonight's event.

This weeks race winner: Kasey Kahne
I'm expecting a lot from Kasey this week, considering how bad his year has been this may just be too much. But I'm gonna stick to my guns. I feel like Kasey can win this weekend at Lowe's, he's won here before and usually has a car that can win at this race track over the likes of Gordon, Johnson and the Roush camp.

Don't underestimate: Casey Mears
Everyone remembers that Casey Mears won the Coca-Cola 600 in the spring using fuel mileage. What everyone forgets is that he was running up front, in the Top 5 no less, most of the evening. So its not like he was a 20th place car and stole the race. He was a Top 5, Top 10 car at worst, and won the race. So for those that expect little from Casey this week I have this to say: be prepared to be surprised.

The Underdog: Bobby Labonte
This guys been fast ... he looked like a top 5 car last week at Talladega before his little mistake. This week he took his car and qualified it third for today's race. Look out folks, Petty Enterprises might finally be on the right track.

My Top 10 Predictions:
1. 9 Kasey Kahne
2. 17 Matt Kenseth
3. 48 Jimmie Johnson
4. 24 Jeff Gordon
5. 12 Ryan Newman
6. 16 Greg Biffle
7. 25 Casey Mears
8. 43 Bobby Labonte
9. 2 Kurt Busch
10. 01 Mark Martin

Ain't I a do gooder?

"Well ain't you a do gooder?" That was the question asked by Lifestyles Editor Emily Killian Tuesday as I was leaving The Star for the evening. Just before that I had announced I would be volunteering on Wednesday and Thursday at WNCW 88.7 FM in Spindale during their fall fund drive. You see, WNCW is a public radio station (non-profit), thus they need support from listeners like you and I to keep doing what they are doing.

So, considering I interened there last year, I decided i'd lend a helping hand. I also brought my mother along to help out both days. I took some photos Thursday during a wild and crazy day of answering phones and taking pledges. Here are a few of them:

Dave Kester (on the left, WNCW Program Director) and Kim Clark (WNCW Local Color Host) talking after pitching on the air. Kim was actually my supervisor during my time as an intern.

This would be my mother, Renee, say hi mom!

Dennis Jones (left, Studio B master) and Crystal Scruggs of WNCW at the phone station.

Joe Kendrick (on the left) and Scotty Robertson (on the right) pitching on the air during the fund drive. They were actually broadcasting from the same room we were answering phones in.

WNCW's banner during the fund drive.

Going to Burns and my racing predictions

Tonight The Star Car and I will be taking a trip to Burns High School to cover the football game between Burns and Shelby. Should be a fun time as all the games I cover are. Anyone want to place bets that i'll get run over this week?

On to my predictions for this weekends race in Talladega. After Kansas last week its hard to imagine things being any more confusing. However, if one race track could do it, Talladega is surely it. No one really knows what to expect entering a race at Talladega and with the Car of Tomorrow making its Super Speedway debut this race has more unknown's then usual.

This weeks race winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This is the last race of the season for Junior and Tony Eury Jr. as a team, after this weekend he is leaving for Hendrick Motorsports to get a jumpstart on 2008. Because of this I sense the pair will pull out all the stops. Earnhardt has 5 wins at Talladega in his career, with an average finish of 12.6. He's long overdue for another win, so watch out for this one.

Don't underestimate: Mike Wallace
Everyone think back to the Daytona 500. Who finished fourth in that race? That would be one Mike Wallace. Of the Wallace brothers Mike has had the most success at the Super Speedway's. This weekend he is driving Robert Yates Racing's #88 Snickers entry. Remember, this is the same team that sat on the outside of the front row for the Daytona 500. If Mike is gonna win a NEXTEL Cup race this is as good a time as any.

The Underdog: Everyone else
Talladega is just one of those tracks that ANYONE can win on. The biggest reason why is the "Big One" can take out all the contenders in one big mess. Anyone left standing would be given the chance of a lifetime.

My Top 10 Predictions:
1. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. 48 Jimmie Johnson
3. 24 Jeff Gordon
4. 1 Martin Truex Jr.
5. 2 Kurt Busch
6. 38 David Gilliland
7. 17 Matt Kenseth
8. 5 Kyle Busch
9. 88 Mike Wallace
10. 26 Jamie McMurray

Introducing the deer count

When I first started at The Star in June this year I decided to do something just for my own amusement. You see, I currently live over 45 minutes from Shelby in little 'ole Polk County. It's a surprisingly long drive to get to and from work everyday. Well, in order to get to work I have to take two back roads from my home in Polk County to get to Interstate 74 which takes me all the way to Shelby. This is where I decided to have my fun.

These two roads are known around Polk County to be filled with deer at night. Usually if you watch closely enough you can see at least 1 deer every time you drive through the area after dark. So, as a joke, I started keeping track of exactly how many deer I've seen since I started working at The Star. Since June when I started to today, October 1, I've seen a total of 73 deer. That number is not inflated folks, 73 deer. There is even one field that I drive by every night that almost always has at least one deer standing in it.

My biggest fear is that I'll be driving home one night and one of these guys will get mesmerized by my headlights and just stand in the road. I can just hear legend among the deer now...

"Hey Jackie, did you hear about Steve?"

"No Alex, what happened?"

"Man, he tried to cross the road the other night and he didn't make it..."

"Awww man! What happened?"

"He stopped and look at the bright light man. Whatever you do, don't stop and look at the light!"

That's my joke for the day.