Yeah that’s a big convoluted but totally true story about my lust of the Chevy Camaro – all to let you know that you only have LESS THAN A MONTH LEFT to buy raffle tickets where you too can be in the running to win Tony Stewart’s 2011 Convertible Camaro.

However- if you don’t win the grand prize convertible Camaro…you may win one of two COMPLETELY awesome VIP race packages. These packages are ALMOST as awesome as the Camaro.  There is the NASCAR race package that includes 2 tickets to a 2012 NASCAR race of choice, Airfare, Hotel, Race Scanner Rentals, Pre-Race Pit Passes and a Meet and Greet with Tony Stewart.  There is also the Eldora VIP race package which includes 4 suite tickets to 2012 Eldora Speedway race of choice, VIP campsite, 4 pit passes, autographed souvenirs and more. You can check out the Smoke Camaro webpage for more details on the prize packages as well as to purchase your raffle tickets.  Tickets are on sale until OCTOBER 24th!

ALL proceeds from the raffle go to the Tony Stewart Foundation to help chronically ill children, abused and endangered animals and injured race racers.

You can see the excitement and pride in this young lady's face as she poses with her brand new sack pack filled with school supplies courtesy of The Office Depot Foundation. (Photo Credit: Leon Rubin)

This is what makes the  Office Depot Foundations so great. It not only gives children the actual tools they need to succeed in school but it also gives them the confidence! I just had to share that with you.

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Other Tony related items:

Here is an article about what tattoo artist Corey Miller (from LA Ink fame) has been doing while the show is on hiatus. Why am I linking to this? Because there is a picture of Corey tattooing none other that Tony Stewart. I admit I have been curious about Tony’s tattoo since I heard about it back in late February. Well you can get a little peek of it as it’s being done in the picture.  I do admit would like to see the finished work to see if what I have been picturing in my head is accurate.

Next I want to remind you Smoke fans to enter the Office Depot Racing website’s 14for14 contest for this month. You have until August 14th to enter to win this month’s prize. Fourteen lucky fans will win an team hat signed by Tony! You can’t win if you don’t enter so do it now!

Also don’t forget that the Tony Stewart Checkered Flag Friday ebay auction for August starts Friday and will be open for one week.  This monthly auction starts the first Friday of every month and features great items with starting bids for all budgets. Items are usually Tony Stewart centric and many include autographs.  I have actually taken part in these auctions before. Its a great way to get some one of a kind Tony Stewart items all while helping the Tony Stewart Foundation at the same time (100% of proceeds from the auctions go directly to the Tony Stewart Foundation which helps children, animals and injured drivers.  Check out the Tony Stewart Foundation Checkered Flag Friday Auction site on ebay for more information and to bid!

There is also still time to get  your raffle ticket to win the 2011 Convertible Camaro that the Tony Stewart foundation is raffling off.  There are also two great runner up prizes…a VIP NASCAR package and a VIP Eldora race package!  Raffle tickets are just $25.00 each this year and will be onsale through 1:00am November 1st. Visit www.smokeschevy.com for more information and to purchase your raffle ticket. You could be driving away in a beautiful 2011 convertible Chevy Camaro.

And one more TSF item- they will be helping Happy Hallow Children’s camp through the Mallow Run Winery 5K Run / Walk.  If you are anywhere near Bargersville, Indiana on October 1st you should consider registering for the walk/run (or if you aren’t in the area you can donate to the TSF). For more information or to register for the 5K go here.

Coming some time next week (besides our usual race report) will be a Tony Stewart 1:64 diecast give away right here on BadGroove so keep your eyes open for that.

In closing I just want to apologize for the lack of posts (also- imagine a gigantic sigh) but it’s just been one of those kind of weeks.  The minute I sat down in my chair at work on Monday morning,  I felt like I had been body slammed by “The Man*.” Work was crazy busy.  This happens sometimes in my field so don’t feel too sorry for me, but this time it was unexpected and a little ugly at times.

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*Just to make things perfectly clear when I say “The Man” I am not referring to a specific man. I am referring THE MAN as defined by Urban Dictionary (in particular 2.2). At no time has any man body slammed me since my little brother and I gave up physical rumble tumble altercations (ie- when he got bigger than me- damn my parents were right when they warned me “you should be careful because some day he will be bigger than you”).

I got to thinking about this by perusing the many MANY items up for bid in the National Silent Auction being hosted by and benefiting the Tony Stewart Foundation.   One of the unique items on the long list of items to be bid on- is a race package for the 2012 running of the Brickyard that includes access to the Tony Stewart suite (and lots of other goodies like cold pit access). Awesome because for me anyway that would be TWO things off of the bucket list- swanky suite and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Unfortunately its a wee bit too pricy for my blood…but that is okay because there is TONS of other stuff I could (and I have- so it’s easy to do) bid on. There are tons of autographed guitars (including a bitching Paul Reed Smith Custom Corvette guitar signed by Tony),  Cds (hey I have my eye on that Blake Shelton one- I am just saying), lots of Prelude stuff including two separate helmets signed by all the Prelude drivers (2009 and 2010), A helmet signed by the Indianapolis Colts (and a football in a separate auction), A ride in a two seater Indy car at Indianopolis Motor Speedway, 4 tickets and backstage passes to a Toby Keith concert,  lots of autographed WWE stuff,  some signed Tony Stewart Foundation shirts, there are even some cool things to bid on for those in the local Indianapolis area like golf, wine tasting, or behind-the-scenes tour at the Indianaoplis Zoo.  Of course there are NASCAR items- I already mentioned the Brickyard 2012 package, but there is also signed stuff from Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr- not to mention the Jeff Gordon Celebrity Bowl before the 2012 Brickyard.  It really is an EXTENSIVE list of stuff with bids starting at $14 for some stuff.

Bidding is easy – after you register all you need to do is text in (or call in) your bids.  It’s all helps the Tony Stewart Foundation help kids and animals and animals that help kids.  Bidding is open now through July 31st so check out the auction items, sign up and bid today!

Like I said I have already bid on something and I have my eye on the Blake Shelton CD, there really is something for nearly everybody and every price range on this Auction. So take part today!

By the way…if I had unlimited funding and could bid on anything- it would be hard for me to choose. I would love the Brickyard package…but the Stewart-Haas racing tour would be damn fun too. Luckily I don’t have to make that choice.

BUT if you don’t have a spare $6000 lying around you can instead buy a raffle ticket to with a chance to win a place at The Smoke Show.  The tickets are very reasonably priced at $10 for 1, $20 for 3, or $30 for 6.  For more about the raffle and what all is included (its a huge list of goodies worth $9,000) or to buy your raffle tickets visit The Tony Stewart Foundation Smoke Show.

You heard the man…what ARE you waiting for? Go buy your $25 raffle ticket over at http://www.SmokesChevy.com TODAY and help support The Tony Stewart Foundation!

1. You have 10 days to enter this month’s 14 for 14 drawing at OfficeDepotRacing.com…this month you can win one of 14 autographed hats. Enter now then come back and read the rest of this entry and enjoy some Tony pictures.

(Borrowed from the Tony Stewart facebook page: Photo by Rusty Jarrett MRD/CIA Copyright, CIA Stock Photography, Inc.)

2. Have you bought your raffle ticket for the 2011 Convertible Camaro raffle that benefits the Tony Stewart Foundation yet? Each raffle ticket is only $25.00 and there isn’t just a car up for grabs but a VIP NASCAR race weekend package as well as a VIP Eldora race package! To to SmokesChevy.com to get your raffle ticket now.

2011 Prelude To The Dream Poster

3. The Prelude to the Dream charity race will be on June 8th, 2011 this year- benefiting four children’s hospitals.   If you can’t attend in person- how about supporting the kids by holding a viewing party and ordering the Pay-Per-View.  Keep up to date on all the Prelude To The Dream charity race at the Prelude To The Dream Facebook page.

The Mobil 1 paint scheme from Richmond (borrowed from TonyStewart.com's media section)

4. Speaking of The Tony Stewart Foundation- don’t forget this Friday May 6th is Checkered Flag Friday.  These eBay auctions are a great way to support the Tony Stewart Foundation and get something great in return.  Checker Flag Fridays are the first Friday of every month!

Tony and Ryan during practice for Richmond's Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400 (borrowed from the Tony Stewart Facebook page: Photo by Rusty Jarrett MRD/CIA Copyright, CIA Stock Photography, Inc.)

5. Don’t forget the Official Small Business of NASCAR competition that Tony and Greg Biffle are helping with.  I posted about the contest just yesterday but I wanted to remind you- even if you don’t have a small business,  mention it to one you frequent- they just might end up with a chance to win $1 million dollars

Tony Stewart exclusive poster for the month of May

6. Also at the OfficeDepotRacing website is the coupon for this month’s exclusive Tony Stewart poster- pick yours up at the printing department of your local Office Depot!

I think this picture needs a caption...any ideas? (borrowed from the Tony Stewart facebook page: Copyright, CIA Stock Photography, Inc.)

The Southern 500 is at Darlington this Saturday. Darlington is one of the two tracks Tony has yet to win a race on. Let’s all make sure we send Tony some extra luck Saturday! #GoTonyGo!

• Tony Stewart fans you have less than a week to enter this month’s 14 for 14 Office Depot Racing contest. This month the prize is a race used lugnut and an autographed picture (to 14 lucky fans).  After you enter the contest be sure to poke around a bit and download a wall paper or Ask Tony a question.
• Also, while I am on the subject of Tony, don’t forget to buy your raffle ticket (only $25.oo) for the 2011 Convertible Camaro that Tony is giving away- proceeds to benefit The Tony Stewart Foundation. Go to SmokesChevy.com for more information now.
• There is a great article in the new edition of Sports Life Magazine (the magazine has Danica Patrick on the cover) called the 21 Coolest Things About NASCAR (here’s a link to the article on the author’s blog). Its an interesting article and it has a quote from yours truly (Amy) in it.  Brownie points if you read the article and come back and tell me what you think is the coolest thing about NASCAR…or just tell me you like my quote!
• Have you noticed that they are making a big deal out of how they are going to nickname Kevin Harvick The Closer instead of Happy?  Just because he won two races in a row? I would be surprised if Junior Nation didn’t want to call him Hated Harvick – only because he took the lead from Junior at Martinsville in the last laps of the race- not because I think he should be hated.  I am still trying to find out why Tony’s Spotter Bob calls Kevin Harvick “Cupcake”. There is a story there I am sure…but then again we might not want to know.  Maybe Kevin Harvick is the driver with the most nicknames…maybe that should be his nickname. Ok now I am just getting silly.
• The points watcher in me is starting to panic. Tony’s dropping and it’s disheartening to watch.  Not as disheartening as watching him lose at LAS VEGAS…that was sad. But this is worrisome. Junior and Jeff Gordon are going up steadily in the points and Tony’s dropping. ACK. I will try not to obsess about it too much.
• When you are attending a race, do you let race traffic influence how good or bad of a time you had a said race? I am just wondering this because apparently traffic at Texas is expected to be an issue judging by the tweets I am reading.  I mean- I don’t know how anyone can go to a large sporting event such as a race and NOT expect traffic.  Figure a race has 100,000 attendees.  Average 3 people per car – that’s still 33, 333 cars.  All trying to enter or exit a track facility at the same time.  Personal experience wise- it’s taken me anywhere from 5 minutes (the parking gods were good that day) to 2+ hours to get out of a track and on the road.  I think it was Las Vegas the first time…I sat in the same spot in a parking lot trying to get out for this long: I had time to watch the fellows parked in the aisle I was driving down arrive at their vehicle, watch them set up their grill and table, grill some steaks, drink some beverages, and then sit down at a little camp table and eat their steaks. I didn’t let that influence how I felt about the race though.
• One of my favorite parts of pre-race is watching the teams do their individual prayer huddles:

Photo Credit: Borrowed from TonyStewart.com….shamelessly

•  Assignment for you: Tell me WHY you love your favorite driver….whomever that may be. What made you a fan? What keeps you a fan?