Jeff and I had the opportunity to take his mother to Pocono qualifying. For anyone that has never been up close to the drivers and wants that access, this is certainly the way to go. It wasn't nearly as hot as expected on Friday, thankfully. We've done this before so we knew right where to go to get as close as possible. Down to the first pit stall is where we headed. The drivers are dropped off one by one from a golf cart to the end of pit row so they can walk to their cars to qualify. Jeff befriended an older gentlemen that had a lot of memoriabla with him and had obviously been camped out a while. Turns out he's quite the fantic. He had every car, every autograph and come to find out the entire 2nd floor of this guys house is filled with Nascar stuff. I'm sure it would be something to see. After talking with him a while, it was go time.

Jimmie Johnson was the first driver out, he came right over to the wall and started signing autographs for eager fans. Jeff's mom, an avid Jeff Gordon fan, almost ended up with a Jimmie Johnson autograph on her JG hat. Too funny, she ducked down to allow other people to get their merchandise signed and he asked her if she wanted him to sign her hat...she blushed and quickly said, no... It was a great moment. One we will never forget.

But the highlight of the day came when, Jeff's mom finally got her JG die cast autographed after all this time. With tears in her eyes, she turned to me awstruck...and said "he was standing right in front of me". It was nice to see her so happy.

This is a great time of year here in the Northeast as the NASCAR Sprint Cup series makes its way up the coast.  This weekend the stock car stars are in Dover Deleware and the JNFL is there with force.  I just got off the phone with Mark & Kim, they called to put in their pick, and he is there having 'A Blast!"

Mark is a big Earnhardt fan and this is his first chance to pick up the new Junior gear now that he has changed his colors.  Apparently Mark picked himself up a shirt, hat and jacket - and as a way of saying thanks he is bringing home a trinket for the JNFL Headquarters.  He promised me a 'Go Dale!' and said it was getting really hot and it was only 9:30 in the morning.  That will not stop him from drinking, he said they were working hard on killing two 30-packs.  God help the man to be safe.  Any experienced Dover traveler knows that the Lord's flashlight shine's the hottest in the stands around lap 300.

Jamie Nice (R) called in on Saturday from the track.  He was headed for cover following practice because the storms were rolling in.  He was told hail might be in the mix.  Nobody wants to sit in the stands with hail coming down, well everyone except for Mark that is - lol.

Lets hope we can get some good pictures!

UPDATE!  Current 2-time defending JNFL Champion New York Mike is at the race too.  He was 20 miles short of the track on Route-1 and moving along at a healthy clip.  The weather is beautiful and his trunk was carrying all the necessities required to enjoy an afternoon at the track.  Lets hope his final mile goes smoothly so they can get in to see all the action and tailgate a little too.

UPDATE #2!  Another country heard from.  Charlie is at the race also.  He just called in his pick and it sounded like a party in the background was in full swing.  Charlie reminded me that he was also in Charlotte for the World 600.  Since he was in the area on the way home he decided to hit the Dover race too.  Tough life he has.

Additionally, crew chiefs Bootie Barker and Dave Skog were fined $100,000 each. Derick Jennings and Thomas Harris, the car chiefs, were not fined but their suspensions are unprecedented. All four must sit out until the July 12 race in Chicago, and are on probation through the end of the year.

Riggs and Sauter were each docked 150 driver points, penalties that severely hurt the struggling teams. The cars are both fielded by Haas-CNC Motorsports, which was docked 150 owner points for each Chevrolet. Haas general manager Joe Custer is listed as the owner for Riggs' No. 66, and Margaret Haas is listed as the owner of Sauter's No. 77.

The points deduction is the second largest in NASCAR history, only behind the 151 points Jeremy Mayfield and his team were docked for using an illegal fuel additive at Talladega in 2000.

Dear JNFL,

I just received this e-mail from fellow JNFL Member Barry 'The Hatchet' Davenport:

"Hey Judd. I was wondering if you could help me out.  Tia and her Mom go to Dover every year for the race.  Well Tia has been sick for like 3 weeks.  Right now she is being tested for Mono, Lyme desease, etc.  The poor kid is a mess!  So her Mom doesn't think it'd be a good idea for them to go next week but they already bought tickets through one of those Hagey bus tours.  It's a long day and Tia is very fatigued right now!  I was hoping maybe you could get the word out to some JNFL members or any friends of yours that might want to go.  The tickets are in the South Grandstand (turn 4) and are pretty good seats. She paid $254 for the tickets byt she'll take $150 -$200 for them.  Let me know if you can help us out and I'll send you any specifics that you'd need.  Thanks Judd!"

Barry

For information about acquiring these tickets shoot me an e-mail at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or call me here at the JNFL Headquarters - I will hook you up with Barry.