Something out of Nothing

I had enough of my laptop so yesterday I did a factory reset.  I figured at worst it would mess up during the reset and it would be a worthless relic.  Maybe I could make a custom card from a piece of computer.  Not sure if someone has done that or not, but not sure why they would.  Hopefully though my computer would be back to normal besides needing a ton of updates.

I came out somewhere in between the two scenarios.  The reset worked without a hitch, and now I have a ton of updates to do and trying to remember all my bookmarks (I thought I saved them).  After an hour though, my computer messed up again.  So nothing really worked and I still need to make updates.  I guess I'll figure something out.  I'm not taking it as hard as I thought I would, but still a bit frustrated.  I read it could just be a problem I could fix by opening up the computer and unplugging and replugging in the hard drive.  We'll see what happens.

Having said that, I haven't been in the mood to write much.  In fact I spent today reading a book (shows how much I'm not in the mood).  Its been a couple days though so I need to write something.  All I have on the computer is some cards I plan to add to the Trading Card Database if I decide to do it.  All of them are NASCAR, but I think I can find something to discuss.

All these cards are from the 1996 Upper Deck "Road To The Cup" Series.  Basically shiny versions of the Upper Deck set. I bought a box last year before I started my blog.  1990's NASCAR was my favorite, I loved the cars, and most of the drivers.  Its fun to look back at old NASCAR cards and see the sponsors on the cars and drivers.  Steve Grissom is rocking a Cartoon Network firesuit from when the Network had good cartoons on.  Classic cartoons, I think shortly before Boomerang came around and they put the good stuff on there.  Now days, neither channel I think show the good stuff, and Cartoon Network has a ratings machine in the nightly Adult Swim programming.

Here we go.  Man I miss that Burger King logo.  I've said many times I love advertising, and I think that's why I'm drawn to NASCAR and these cards.  I rooted for Joe Nemechek a few times but never remembered his sponsors.  Ernie Irvin represented Havoline/Texaco well after Davey Allison's death.  Irvin would drive the #28 for a few years before he was injured as well.

Next is Kyle Petty who doesn't appear to have a sponsor, but I'm sure he did.  For those who don't follow NASCAR, Kyle is the son of Richard Petty.  He never could fit into the King's shoes, but he had a lengthy career.  His son Adam raced too but died in 2000 shortly after debuting in the Winston Cup Series.

Lastly is Johnny Benson.  I always used the line from Little Giants- "PITCH TO JOHNNY, you can't pitch to Johnny, I'M JOHNNY!" Johnny Benson never amounted to much, and he took over the Pennzoil sponsor after Michael Waltrip had it.  I miss seeing Michael drive the yellow Pennzoil car.

The backs of the cards are nice too, as they don't have stats, but then again nobody really checks stats of drivers besides their own.  Some cards did, and sometimes they even showed career earnings, which was fun to see too.  I like the shirt Kyle Petty is wearing under his firesuit.  I presume Coors was his sponsor and possibly why his firesuit looked scrubbed on the front of the card.

For those who collect cards of people signing autographs on the cards, NASCAR sets are great to have for this reason.  It seems there were quite a few cards in each set of drivers signing on cards.  One thing I love about NASCAR is how approachable the drivers are with the fans.  One of a few things NASCAR does right is allowing fans the chance to meet the drivers and it works well.  It builds a better bond between drivers and fans.  It also allows some of the no name drivers a chance to get more fans.  That person getting a Johnny Benson signed hat may not have been a fan, but they might become one after this encounter.

MBNA, K-Mart, STP, QVC,and is that a pre-Jimmie Johnson Lowe's sponsorship on Bodine?  The evolution of sponsors and drivers are also fun to see too.  Some complain when drivers change sponsors, but I liken it to when the same happens in Soccer.  I know people who have to buy new soccer jerseys every year because of new sponsorships.  That seems crazy to me, but then again I could never afford a jersey.

I always found it interesting that Kyle Petty never took over the #43 and STP ride from Richard, even when they had a sting of unsuccessful drivers fill the spot.  That's a nice Ken Schrader card too.  If I had a double, I would put it in my Missouri binder.

I want to speak about Ward Burton for a minute.  Ward is brother to another driver Jeff Burton, and there is another Burton too, but I forgot if he is a son of one of them or brother.  His name is Jed or Jeb or something (true NASCAR name).  What I remember about about Ward is he was the epitome of a NASCAR driver, a southern accent that made him seem like slow but you knew he actually knew what he was talking about.  I liked him when he raced but I never cared to hear him talk.  Anyways a few years ago, a comedian I like very much- Tim Wilson, did a bit on one of his albums called "Southern Accents".  He did an impression of all the southern states, and he did one for West Virginia and the accent was hilarious.  Then he said "day kinda sond like Ward Burton, you don't know what da hell day saying".  It was a gut buster to me because he really sounded like Ward Burton to me.  Tim sadly passed away in April last year, and when I got this box in May or June, as I opened packs, I pulled this Burton card and stopped and laughed for 10 minutes.  It brought back so many memories.  Earlier this year, they talked to Jeff Burton and then had his brother Ward come on.  The whole time Ward talked all I could think about was Tim Wilson, and how he would do this interview.

Kenny Wallace might be another driver I could add to my Missouri binder.  Non-fans may not know Kenny is part of the Wallace racing family which also includes Rusty and Mike among many others.  I think Kenny or Mike once drove a Helig-Meyers car that I liked.  Its fun to see defunct sponsors on these cards.  I notice Schrader has an airbrushed hat too.  Maybe it was Winston cigarettes?  Billy will likely know.  I think Ken also drove Skoal for a bit or Kodiak at one point.

Derrike Cope is rocking the Aaron Tippin mustache I notice too.  Bobby Hamilton transitioned to the Truck Series I believe where he dominated the early years.  I was never much on the truck series.  If I watched trucks, I preferred the Off-Road Truck Series (once called SODA, now not sure what its called, maybe Lucas Oil Truck Series).

Lights are flickering and thats all the cards, so I better go.  I hope to be back to writing better soon.  Thanks for reading and have a great night.