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The Irrepressible Shannon McIntosh

Shannon McIntosh

So pretend you have a passion to do something. I my case it's easy to pretend, because I have a passion for writing. Ever since age 16 I've known that I want to write for a living. First it was as a newspaper reporter, then as a marketing writer.

Being a writer is not what I do, it's what I AM. It's virtually impossible for me to go two days without writing. I can't remember the last time I did. When people ask me what I do for a living, I love to say "I'm a writer." Lucky for me there are a fair number of jobs out there for writers -- and blogs like this where I can chase the verbal dragon -- so the odds are good I can continue to get my fix.

Now pretend your passion is for driving a race car. And everything I described about myself as a writer applied to you, only as a race car driver.

NASCAR Nationwide from Daytona Earns 2.5 TV Rating

From ESPN PR:

ESPN’s live telecast of the season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 23, continued the Nationwide Series’ trend of strong ratings and viewership on ESPN networks as it was the No. 1 sporting event of the weekend on cable television.

Coming off three consecutive good ratings years for the series on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, the Daytona race earned a 2.5 household coverage rating (2.2 U.S. rating), averaging 3,360,122 viewers.

Last year’s race set a record as the most-viewed Nationwide Series race ever on cable with 4.4 million viewers (3.3 household coverage rating) and while the 2013 race did not match that, it was the third-highest viewership for the race since ESPN returned to live NASCAR telecasts in 2007.

The race earned high ratings in several markets traditionally associated with racing, with Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, N.C., leading the way with an 8.0 rating. The Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C., market was second with a 6.4 rating, followed by Indianapolis at 6.3, Charlotte at 6.1 and Richmond, Va., at 5.1.

(Note: a "U.S. rating" measures the number of households tuned to a program out of all the households in the U.S., regardless if they are capable of receiving ESPN programming all. A "coverage rating" measures only the number of households that receive ESPN programming that are tuned in to it.)

Danica Patrick Talks about the Daytona 500

Danica Patrick comments post-Daytona via Yahoo Sports ...

Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- What Think Ye of Daytona?

So, was the Daytona 500 about five hours long or what? Did ya watch? If so (or if you're interested in the recap) let's discuss. Dark roast ... engaged.

Daytona 500 Road Oval -- First of all, Jimmie Johnson won, followed by June-yer (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and Mark Martin. Danica Patrick ended up 8th. Full results here.

Ashley Freiberg's New Team GETS Marketing

Good sign for Woman of pressdog® Ashley Freiberg. She's landed with Effort Racing, which gets marketing, as evidenced by the polished videos they kick out. Check out the Meet the Team video below. Then join me in following Ashley all season, starting March 13-16 at the historical 61st Anniversary Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Ashley's website is here. Her Effort Racing team's site is here. My Woman of pressdog interview with Ashley is here.

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Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- Pre-Daytona 500 Weekend Edition

Peeps. It's kinda early on Saturday. 7:22 a.m Central. Real quick, pull up some dark roast. This isn't going to be about You Know Who, well not directly, so let's discuss a few hopes and dreams for the Daytona 500 weekend.

Throw a Net over DW -- Ya know, I respect Darrell Waltrip's achievement and knowledge and all that, but please make sure he's not High as a Kite on Danicaine when the broadcast rolls. Have some snipers locked and loaded with Thorazine tranq darts standing by in case Darrell is overtaken by Random Danica Spewing (RDS), like when he credited Danica's example for Jimmie Johnson knowing to let go of the wheel when frontal impact is imminent. LORD KNOWS I spew on about Danica Patrick, but I try to stop short of screaming that she drove her car out of the garage in a SPECTACULAR FASHION.

Shannon McIntosh's Full-Schwerve Photos and Video

Woman of pressdog® Shannon McIntosh was workin' it for the camera in a photo shoot for her new web site, ShannonMcIntosh.com. Check the video below, and the link to the photos below that. Hawt.

David Jackson (photographer) site with images from the shoot HERE. Shannon's site HERE. Shannon has a distinctive "brand." Gen Y. Playful but also a little up in your grill. Gonna want to check her out.

Trackside Festival of Team PR Reps Thursday Night

"Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee" is tonight (Feb. 21) from 8-9 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.  The show is now also simulcast in Indianapolis on 107.5 FM.

Tonight features a roundtable discussion with several IndyCar team public relations representatives.  They'll explain how they work with their drivers and the series and offer some of their ideas to grow the sport. Plus, the latest headlines and rumors from IndyCar.

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.

Winter Indy Tweetup Set for Saturday

The annual Winter Indy Tweetup is set for 8 a.m to 10 p.m. Saturday in Indianapolis. Dallara factory tour, karting event, dinning and a Festival of IndyCar frivolity.

Meet drivers. Kibitz with fellow IndyCar peeps. Win fabulous prizes. Drink beverages. Take shelter from the NASCAR storm this weekend. Check the Evite HERE.  Winter Indy Tweetup website is here.

Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- Daytona, Danica, Pippa and Festival of Chortling Edition

OMG. Dude, the day job. Grinding me down. Busier than a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest. Snapping necks and cashing checks. Writing, writing. Festival of Website Writing. So let me introduce you to my close, personal friend (no, not Danica Patrick, but the handsome man in green named Glen pictured to the left) and let's discuss ...

Fully Armed and Operational DANISTAR -- Can we talk for just a second about Danica? (Takes big swig of scotch.) Ah .. hahahahahahahahaha. (Goes from laughing to dead serious in a heartbeat.) She's kind of a big deal.

Ya think? OK, number one, I think Danica Patrick is an android. I've never seen her eat, first of all, and I've never seen her bleed, so she might be an android. The Black Helicopter posse is having an emergency chat room meeting right now to discuss if Danica could be an android, and further if that would explain the unexplainable: her pole win at at Daytona.

The main reason I think she's an android: she's done an estimated 92,032 interviews in the last four days. Indefatigable. Only a nuclear battery can explain this. SHE NEVER SLEEPS; SHE'S EVERYWHERE ... and always fresh, perky, humorous, quippy. She's ... THE DANISTAR.