OUTTA' HERE

Barring any unforseen annoyances to my karmic oscillation through the galaxy — in other words, as long as nothing pisses me off — chances are I'm out of here until Monday or Tuesday.

Me, Artie and Johnny B are off to the Monster Mile, the real America (the one west of the Hudson and east of the San Andreas) and the NASCAR Busch and Nextel Cup races down in Dover, Delaware.

The first time I watched a NASCAR event was back in the mid-1960s when the "real" Good Ol' Boys used to give us a northerners a glimpse of banging and pushing at tracks like Islip and Bridgehampton.

I remember making my dad take me out to Bridgehampton Raceway (I was a sports car snob) to watch big Detroit Iron race, and have included NASCAR as part of my autosports world ever since.

I'm sure this is where Tom Wolfe got the inspiration for The Last American Hero (the piece was in Esquire in 1964 and that's the first year the boys drove here, so that's a distinct possibility!).

Regardless.

This is my first NASCAR event since, and my first big-time oval race, so I'll have a report upon my return.

Have a safe weekend.

Nuke Somebody While I'm Gone