I watched this program 3 times before writing this, and the thing I got out of it the most is they were building a foundation for the much ballyhooed feud between Junior Miller and the Myers family. It's hard to say who the 'bad guy' really is in this feud, but my feeling is Junior Miller's attitude needs an adjustment. Maybe a few more shows will add more information and change my mind, but in this first show, he really comes across as the one with an axe to grind, and an ego 10 feet tall. I know he should be angry over the way Burt Myers pounded on his car after the last race of 2008, and I suppose he has a right to feel that way. But take into consideration the way he rammed into Myers and dumped him. No 'brake check' as Miller stated, but a blatant 'hit and run' crash that turned Myers into the wall. I don't condone Burt's reaction either, though it is understandable in this circumstance that he might react that way. Absent were penalties of any kind for either of them, and I found that strange. We've all seen similar thing happen at our regular tracks, and they are seldom without penalty. Using a race car as a weapon should never be allowed to go unpunished. It's funny, the problem is identified well by the track official at the meeting they both had to attend, but neither of them is prone to making the effort to solve the problem.

            The rest of the cast, Tim Brown, Chris Fleming, Jason Myers and a host of other drivers yet to be named, make the potential rest of the season look interesting. I wasn't too surprised about the lack of actual racing in the first show, simply because the creators of the program know they have to lay the foundation for what is to come, especially for the part of the audience unfamiliar with racing at Saturday night bullrings. The feud needed to be laid out in detail, so we all understand what the history of it is, and why the participants act the way they do as the story continues. The effect on others also needs to be shown, because it will play heavily on everyone as the racing season progresses. If anyone has yet to figure out these two guys don't like each other, it would totally surprise me.

           One of the things that bothered me about the show was the quick cutting from scene, to scene, to scene in some parts, not giving the viewer enough time to absorb what they were looking at. Hopefully, future shows will rely on that less and less. If there were any doubts that this is a typical reality show, 'cable network style', they've been erased after this first episode. I guess we should all be thankful none of the reality stars on this show sing or dance. I also liked the part with Chris Fleming where he shows that he is a one man operation, making many of his own parts, or repairing cast off parts, to keep his operation going. Very 'old school', harking back to the days when just about everyone did that. In this day and age of built modifieds and off the shelf parts, it's refreshing to see someone do this, and to see him have a level of success doing it. Tim Brown, being a professional in the business, shows us that he is a perfectionist, something he does daily in his work on a Sprint Cup car, and it's nice to see how that carries over to his work on his own car, setting things up, double checking to see that everything is just right, and then checking again. The work ethic of all the drivers they showed is very good. 

           Over all, I think this show may bring new fans to the sport, simply out of curiosity after seeing it on TV. Look at it this way. If it brings 20 new fans to a local track, those 20 will talk to friends, and maybe that will bring more as they tell their friends about what they experienced. Anything that helps the sport of local racing is a good thing, and I'm sure many of the reportedly over 1 million viewers who watched the first of these programs were not regular fans, but may have watched after having their curiosity piqued by the promos for the program. If it hooked them enough to bring them back next week, they will show up at a local race track soon, and that's beneficial to us all. Now, 1 show down, 12 to go, and I can't wait. As always, your comments on what you thought about this are welcome here, and we invite you to add what you think was good or bad about the program. Just click on the comments link and fire away.

1/16/2010 - As an after thought, it just occurred to me, what if J.R. Bertuccio, who now resides in Statesville, NC, decides to join in the mix at Bowman Gray this season?  Ah, think of the possibilities!!!