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Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- The Ghost of Tony George & NASCAR Merger Halloween Edition

OK, I promise I won't be too long. This is getting ridiculous, all this posting about the whole IndyCar Board of Directors thing. BUT, a couple articles I read yesterday I think need to be shared. So grab a mug-o-energy and chillax before you have 219 "fun sized" candies tonight while handing them out to the little goblins. One for you, one for me ... Halloween is a festival of body fat and job security for dentists. I gain three pounds, minimum.

ANYWHO, let's talk about a two topics that don't get anyone fired up*, Tony George and a strictly theoretical NASCAR/IndyCar alliance (*denotes sarcasm). 

NASCAR Martinsville Ratings Slide 22%

From ESPN PR ...

ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 28, earned a 2.8 household coverage rating (2.4 U.S. rating), averaging 3,617,199 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company.

Last year’s telecast earned a 3.6 household coverage rating, while the rating was the same as the 2010 race telecast.

Greensboro, N.C., led the nation with a 7.6 rating, followed by Birmingham (6.3), Richmond and Charlotte (5.9) and Norfolk (5.6).

Maryeve Dufault Judges 'GT Academy 2012'

Check out Maryeve Dufault ...

Simona De Silvestro Signs with KV

Woman of pressdog® Simona De Silvestro has broken free from the Lotus engine boat anchor and signed with KV Racing Techology. I weep copious tears for Simona, who is a super nice person and super talented driver who was completely hosed by the pig engine last year. Go Simona!I talked to her at Iowa. Read it here.

News release below.

De Silvestro Joins KV Racing Technology

Indianapolis, IN (Tuesday, October 30, 2012) – KV Racing Technology announced today that they have signed Swiss IndyCar driver Simona De Silvestro for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar season. De Silvestro joins current driver Tony Kanaan, making the team a two-car entry. This will be the first time De Silvestro has had the opportunity of running with a teammate since moving up to the IndyCar series in 2010. She brings with her the Nuclear Clean Air Energy campaign sponsorship.

Is the Monday IndyCar Shit Storm Over? (Peers out from Bunker)

Holy schnikes, people. Is it over? Is the Festival of Grand Mal Frothing over? Forget Superstorm Sandy, Shit Storm Randy went on for what felt like DAYS (actually, don't forget her, she's more important, but we'll get to that).

Well I, for one, feel cleansed. Breathe in ... breathe out ... shake away the tention ... shake, shake, shake it away.

So I'm trying to gauge the reaction ... we had a few camps. One painfully analytical (that would be me), a few "F*CK YOU, INDYCAR!!!", some "we all reacting different ways and they're all ok... you judgmental SONS A BITCHES." There was a lot of "the BASTARDS KILLED RANDY!" And of course, the mandatory "Don't worry; be happy!" Plus a "you know you love it."

Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- Randy Bernard Termination Apoplexy Edition

Apoplexy: a furious, enraged, or upset to the point of being unable to deal with a situation rationally or diplomatically.

It's a festival of 19th Century words for extreme outrage (such as apoplexy) around the IndyCar horn this morning. The froth hit grand mal stages yesterday shortly after 5 p.m. Central when @JennaFryer of the AP tweeted: "#IndyCar News: Randy Bernard has stepped down as CEO. Jeff Belskus will be interim CEO." By this morning it was still gurgling.

Shout out to my boy Andy Miller (@thespeedgeek) for first using "apoplexy" on The Twitter to characterize the reaction. #NailedIt.

Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- IndyCar Circus Music Edition

To paraphrase my Twitter buddy Nathan Gruenholz's (@fleshwound_NPG)trademark snarky sarcasm: "Never change, IndyCar!"

Imagine my chagrin when, while sitting at my favorite downtown bar (see photo below!) on Friday afternoon, I happened to glance at my DROID-delivered Twitter and saw a rash of outrage, exclamations of WTF?, sentence parsing, non-denial denials and general grand mal frothing about the status of IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard.

Pull up a dark roast and let's cue the circus music.

Here's the upshot: This story from IBJ The Score says anonymous sources report IndyCar CEO for the last three years Randy Bernard is gone. Done. Toast. Adios. 86ed. "Let go." "Exploring other options" "Leaving his position" in two weeks. BAM. Well, you can imagine the throw weight fo that particular bomb. (Massive.) This is after several rumors at the beginning of the week that said Bernard was going to be wacked (from his job) by the end of the week ... or not. To which the board of directors (which is Randy's boss) said "not true." 

Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- Not Everyone is an Expert on Everything Edition

Homeys. OMG. What a day. Seriously. Day job kicking my arse. I had a list with a bunch of "THURS" on it and finally got them all crossed off ... with a Sharpie. Extra authoritah from the Sharpie checkoff.

So, finally, I can DRINK, ye BASTARDS and represent on a few things, all of which center on the stunning fact tnat not everyone is an expert on everything.

News Flash: Becoming a Winning NASCAR Driver is Hard -- SHOCKER! It takes time to develop the skills required to win consistently in NASCAR. Not only does it take time, it takes some luck, and it takes having a good team, and about four other things.

Trackside Looks at the Continuing Saga Tonight

"Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee" is tonight from 7-8:05 pm eastern on 1070 The Fan (WFNI-AM) in Indianapolis and via the internet at www.1070TheFan.com and through the 1070 The Fan app on mobile phones.  Tonight's show is abbreviated due to 1070 The Fan's coverage of The World Series. 

Listen for the latest speculation and semi-educated guesswork on the ongoing drama and rumors regarding Randy Bernard's future and Tony George's efforts to regain control of IndyCar.  Plus, other assorted IndyCar and racing-related nuggets.

Questions, comments and topic suggestions are encouraged at [email protected] or via Twitter at @KevinLee23. A podcast will be available at www.1070TheFan.com/Trackside or via iTunes.

ESPN Earns its Highest Ratings Ever for Nationwide Race Kansas, Cup Ratings Flat at 3.0

From ESPN PR ...

ESPN earned its highest rating and viewership ever for a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway with its live telecast of the event on Saturday, Oct. 20.

The telecast saw a 36 percent jump from the 2011 race with a 1.5 household coverage rating (1.3 U.S. rating) and an average of 1,502,310 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company. The 2011 race earned a 1.1 rating and ESPN’s previous high was a 1.3 in both 2007 and 2008.

ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas on Sunday, Oct. 21, earned a 3.0 household coverage rating (2.5 U.S. rating), averaging 3,896,638 viewers. Last year’s race earned a 3.1 rating while the 2010 race earned a 2.7.

Among markets around the country, Greensboro, N.C., was the highest-rated for the Sprint Cup race at 8.2, while the race’s home market of Kansas City was fifth at 5.8. Charlotte (6.6), Greenville, S.C. (6.1) and Knoxville, Tenn. (5.9) were second through fourth.