RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Worst sporting event ever! I was told that a Nascar event was the place to see hot tail, sadly I was mistaken. The women looked like what I expected them to look like and whats up with the confederate flag? I tried to watch it because I heard it was so exciting, but I feel asleep on lap 20! I think to enjoy Nascar, you need to be intoxcicated, and I felt that these drivers were trying to hard to act like tough guys. Hey buttholes, stop wasting our precious fuel and stop calling yourselves athletes. If they're athletes, everyone who drives a car, truck, or a bus is an athlete! When is the last time you looked at a bus driver and thought that this guy is the Michael Jordan of bus driving? Never! Plus, Nascar never goes off on time, so it causes me to miss my favorite show The Simpsons. I just want to race daddy I just want to race!

As a teenager in the '60's, I was just getting into the NASCAR scene. I wrote Fred several times during those years asking for an autography and possibly a program from the recent race. Fred, being the great guy he was, sent me several postcards and race programs which I still have today! Get one of the current NASCAR "greats" to do that today. In 1966 I had the chance to meet him at the rain-delayed Riverside 500 when I took his picture from the passenger side of his Fairlane, but I was too much of a "chicken" to identify myself. I kicked myself about that missed opportunity many times since then. Fast forward to a couple of years ago and being a grown man now I thought I'd look Fred up. I found him, called him and we talked. I told him my story and how he was my hero in the '60's. He was cordial, friendly and fun to speak with. I felt like a member of his family! He invited me to his home in IL to see him and his trophy room the next time I got to Chicago. As luck would have it, I had a speaking engagement in Chicago in Aug '04 which gave me "the" opportunity to meet Fred in person. I coordinated this trip with Fred and by noon of my Saturday visit, I had met my hero! His photos, trophies and stories were unbelievable! He was not just an accomplished driver, but excellent business man as well! I left with a great feeling knowing that I had finally met my childhood hero, an autograph, pictures of the two of us and a rare video of the two of us and his trophy room with rare comments about auto racing history from one of autoracing's stars! Fred and I spoke in February '05 when I called him to get his thoughts about the race and current drivers. He won the race in Feb '65, 40 years before. Fred thinks the younger drivers are where the wins are and that buying ExxonTexaco stock is the way to go! Let's wish Fred a happy 71st birthday this 30 Dec '05!

Fast Freddy was a great driver that most don't know about because he drove before TV. I remember thinking how awesome he was when I was 9 or 10. I still think so.

Fred Lorenzen was the greatest stock car driver of all time. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and David Pearson were not in his league. He was the first driver in NASCAR history to win races at all five of the south's original superspeedways (1965), the all time money winner when he retired in 1967, the first driver to win the same 500 mile race three years in a row (Atlanta 1964), the first driver to win 6 consecutive starts (1964), the all time superspeedway winner (at 1967 retirement), and once finished 3rd in points (1963)....while running only half the races on the schedule!!! And he acomplished all this and much more in 6 years!!

He was one of the better Ford drivers in the mid-Sixties. He always challenged Richard Petty (but then, so did everyone else). He was the best driver Holman-Moody had from 1965 to 1967.