Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com

In the New Year I promise:

* Never again to say Jimmie Johnson can’t win another championship – as I’ve done the past three years.

* Not to grind my teeth so much every time a driver says “awesome.”

* To stop bashing Kyle Busch – until he bashes another guitar.

* To stop saying “aaaaaaa, how cute!” every time Jeff Gordon holds up his little angel on TV.

* To set my alarm clock at the start of every race to make sure I’m awake at the finish.

* Not to make any more Bubba jokes.

* To give crew chief Chad Knaus more credit, although I still think he’s simply the caddy that hands Jimmie his club. (I had to get one last one in.)

* Not to write a weekly “What’s happened to Dale Jr.” column.

* To write about Dale Jr. getting his mojo back and challenging for a championship.

* To find out what Miss Sprint Cup does for a living besides grin and giggle.

* Not to write more than once a week about Danica Patrick – unless she does something really spectacular like finish in the top 25.

* To do some hard-hitting investigative reporting about the Danica Tattoo Mystery.

* To have lunch with my pal D.W. and try to figure how 40 years vanished into thin air.

* To visit the new NASCAR Hall of Fame and check out all five (count ‘em –five!) inductees.

* To keep up with my old buddy Sterling Marlin, even if he doesn’t race any more.

* To cover the big story when Sterling’s daughter Sutherlin wins her first NASCAR race.

* To stop pining for the Good Old Days of racing and get used to the fact that they’re gone forever.

* To give more credit to Cale Yarborough, who won his three straight championships during an era of much harder racing.

* Not to make fun of Richard Petty’s cowboy hat, even if it appears to be breathing.

* To get out to a track and say “hiddie” to Richard, whom I’ve always admired.

* To write more about what a genuinely nice guy Jeff Burton is.

* To find out what Ward Burton is up to these days.

* Never again to count out Mark Martin.

* To let TV announcers know that they don’t have to spend an hour each broadcast telling us that “track conditions” change when the temperature drops. We get it.

* To send a sympathy card to Larry McReynolds’ grammar teacher.

* To make sure Larry knows I’m kidding – it’s refreshing to see someone on TV who doesn’t put on airs.

* To continue to pester NASCAR about its unfair treatment of Carl Long.

* To persuade NASCAR to bring back Linda Vaughn for one last Victory Lane presentation.

* To cover some races at Bobby Hamilton Jr.’s new track near Nashville.

* To always remember that, as my old sports editor said, it’s only a game.

– Larry Woody can be reached at lwoody@racintoday.com

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