After over three decades as the ultimate showman in NASCAR, Humpy Wheeler did one final high kick and exited stage left this past weekend.

As a man who made a 50 year old track look new and exciting he left with one last great show and thanks to Kasey Kane and perfect weather it was classic Humpy. 

I met Mr. Wheeler, very briefly a few years ago at Lowes Motor Speedway. I was the guest of MCI and he stopped by their suite to make sure everything was to our liking.  He was soft spoken and in a hurry.  A man always in a rush to get to the next thing….to make sure it was to the customers liking.  During that same visit I got to met Joe Gibbs.  Both were classy and carried themselves with a low level of self importance.  Both are the best at what they do.

Brian France says he might be able to find something for Mr. Wheeler within NASCAR. I hope he does. 
I get the feeling his “2^nd act” could be a doosey.

For the 2 or 3 of you that read this space and its clutter, you may be aware that the issue of “illegal aliens” has popped up from time to time. 

Now it’s important to understand that I am not against anyone migrating to the U.S……as long as they follow the rules.  In fact the second wave of my extended family from Germany will hit the ground next month.

My problem is that in the past folks who came here wanted to assimilate into the culture and become Americans.  Now it seems we are losing our identity and that loss is being fostered by many businesses that pander to the language of the former homeland. 

As an example, my wife left McDonalds this morning and saw a sign saying “Thank You” and under that was “Gracias” .  I’m surprised there hasn’t been a discriminatory lawsuit filed on behalf of other McDonalds customers, who reflect a lineage other than Hispanic. McDonalds has opened the door with their attempt to pander to those from Spanish speaking locations while ignoring others.

To remedy this, they might have to modify that sign to reflect their appreciation for the patronage from those from the following lands. 

Danke – German

Grazie – Italian

Merci – French

mo arigat – Japanese

Spasiba – Russian

D?kuji –Czech

Wa’-do – Cherokee

Tak - Danish

As my brother Levi once said. “damn….this is a mess.” Levi has always been the more erudite member of the Wilson clan.

To those that have served in the armed forces of this country, I hope you will have a great Memorial Day and accept our thanks for your service. 

To the families of those that made the ultimate sacrifice nothing I can say will fill the void. 
As the song said “All gave some. Some gave all.  “

Be safe.

A number of weeks ago I said David Cook would be / should be the next American Idol.Even though it seemed everyone was on the Archeltta band wagon I held to my convictions and stayed with Cook.  To his credit the 17 year old did do a great job on the final night of competition and Simon Cowell said he had won the night but, I continued with Cook.  Last night I was vindicated.

Now, the winner has recorded the annual lame ballad that is required and the runner-up will do well.  Overall the tack record for the “winners” has been less than stellar.  Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard have been dropped by the labels, and I keep expecting to read that Fantasia Barino was found in a cheap motel, dead from a drug overdose.  For the most part, 2nd place is the place to be. No matter how it turns out I keep telling people the real stars are not the singers.

For my money, and it hurts to admit this, the real star of the show is Ryan Seacrest.  He is very quick on his feet and somehow manages to herd a group of new comers to TV through several hours of live television, always finishing up on time.  Then let’s not forget the band. Someone did a remarkable job of collecting a group of VERY skilled artists (both players and singers).  There have been weeks every season that I would have preferred to lose the competitors and just let the band and backup singers wail for the entire show.  It’s a live show, which has become the cornerstone of FOX television.  It occupies multiple nights of their schedule from January thru the doorstep of June.  Regardless of how David Cook does, the program itself is a marvel of execution.  Now, I told you all that to tell you this….I was right. AGAIN!!  
LOL. I crack myself up. 

I’ve been trying to follow the polygamy situation in Texas.  I have a lot of questions but the biggest one is “what’s up with the hair?”  These are the oddest looking ladies I’ve seen in  a long long time.  They all seem to have this hair style that looks like a wave breaking on the beach just before a hurricane. Now I’m not making fun of anyone. Lord knows I could scare the devil himself when I walk in the studio at 4:45am each morning but daaaaamn, that’s some fugly hair style.

So there I was, going around the dial, trying to esape all the basketball games on the tube, when I saw it!!!

FOX is running Double D Tuesday!  Now, I admit I made a mistake.  You yell “Double D” to me and my thoughts go in a different direction.  There I was thinking it’s a Pam Anderson Marathon, only to find out it’s American Idol with two guys named David.  How quickly the air escaped from that balloon. (Sorry bout that pun.)

They could had have been assured of a huge rating with a Double D Tuesday Pam Anderson Marathon, and instead opted for a roll of the dice with the American Idol Finals.  Well hell.