Dale Jr. Opens Whiskey River in Charlotte

There are no race cars hanging from the ceiling, and country music is only a small part of the background noise. Metal and leather decor dominate. Whisky River, located in downtown Charlotte’s EpiCentre, is Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s latest venture outside the racing world.
Earnhardt Jr., the majority owner, describes the bar/nightclub as “Carolina country” but doesn’t want it to be thought of as a strictlycountry hangout. “Basically ... if I’m sitting in a bar, and I’m not having a good time, this is everything that I would change,” he said. “This is how I wouldmake it.” That includes a large dance floor, plenty of TV screens (that will show various areas of the bar), a mechanical bull and fiber optic lighting on the bars themselves.
Already immersed in television (Hammerhead Entertainment) and race-track development (Alabama Motorsports Park), Whisky River is yet another extension of his life – and interests – away from the track.

And while he hopes it will be a success, Earnhardt Jr. says such endeavors interest him for more than just the potential financial gain. “I’ve never went into anything like this thinking: ‘Man, we’ve got to make this much money .... If I break even, and have a good time, then it’s worth it,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve always treated everything. That’s why I don’t make any money owning Nationwide cars. If I can just break even, I’m happy just to be able to enjoy it.”

Wednesday night country star Gary Allan played at the opening of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s new nightclub Whiskey River in Charlotte North Carolina. The two are pictured here hanging out after Allan’s set. Other celebrities spotted at the VIP opening include NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, David Stremme and Kyle Petty along with Sean May from the Charlotte Bobcats.

Chaun finishes 1567 out of 25283

Chaun finished the 26 miles of the Boston Marathon today in 3:03:47. There are 25,283 runners. Right after he finished the official BM site stated that his official finish was #1567.

Lance Armstrong ran this morning also and he finished in 2:50:58 (looks like Chaun was only 13 minutes behind him). Lance was #488.

Way to go Chaun!

Doc Cox "Jogs" thru Bean Town

34 year old Dr. Chaun Cox (Makita's cousin) qualified for the Boston Marathon and is heading out to Bean Town to run the 26 miles this Monday April 21st. To qualify for the 112th Boston Marathon, athletes must meet the designated time standard which corresponds to their age group. Chaun's age group is the largest and includes Men 18 to 35 who must run a qualifying marathon of 26 miles in three hours and 10 minutes or less.

The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's most prestigious road racing events. The Boston Marathon has distinguished itself as the pinnacle event within the sport of road racing by virtue of its traditions, longevity and method of gaining entry into the race (via qualification).

You can check up on Chaun's progress on Monday at http://www.bostonmarathon.org/

His bib number is 4158. Run your socks off Chaun!

Here's the Doc in the BWCA a couple years ago.

Playoff Hockey at it's Best

Holy cow! Those Avs and Wild players are giving us quite a show. The series is tied with two games a piece. The fights are awesome. Last nights game was super with the Avs scoring 5 goals before the Wild made their measly 1. Tomorrow nights game is back in Minnesota. This is fun!

Nags Head North Carolina

This week I'm on the coast in North Carolina. I have no travel tragedies to report. I got here fine and dandy. I was on three different flights today. I went to Minneapolis and to O'hare before finally going on to Norfolk Virgina. Then there was a two hour drive south. The car I got only had 4 miles on it. Of course now it has a few more than that. The hotel I'm at is right on the beach and the room I'm in has a beautiful view of the parking lot on the West side of the building.

I'll be working at http://www.capsanmedia.com/

From Fighting Sioux to Fighting Irish

Well North Dakota lost to Boston on Thursday night and Notre Dame beat Michigan. So tonight's NCAA Championship game in Colorado will be between the Boston Eagles and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I'll pulling for the Irish.

Last night the Wild won over the Avs in Minnesota so that series is tied with one win each. They meet again on Monday night in Colorado.

Tonight finds NASCAR Cup under the lights in Phoenix. I've been to one night race there. It was a blast. Last year Jeff won it. This year looks like Jimmie is strong. Ryan Newman is on the pole and Carl Edwards is plain ole' on fire with four wins already this year. So I'll be flipp'n back and forth between the College Hockey game and NASCAR.

Here I am in Phoenix during an April night race. I was "enjoying" a bloody mary in a driving rain storm. But the skies did clear eventually and the race continued.

Let the Games Begin

Well the first Stanley Cup Conference Quarter Final game between the Wild and the Avs is now in the record books. The Avs won in overtime in Minnesota last night. They'll meet again tomorrow night in Minnesota again for the second game in the best of seven series.

And tonight starts the Men's NCAA Frozen Four in Denver.

The Semi Final Games:

#2 North Dakota (28-10-4) vs. #3 Boston College (23-11-8) at 5pm Central time. GO SIOUX!

#5 Notre Dame (26-15-4) vs. #1 Michigan (33-5-4) at 8pm Central time.

The winners of tonight's games meet at the Pepsi center this Saturday night for the Championship at 6pm Central time.

Off to Plano IL

Woo-hoo. I'll let you know how it is. Hopefully I won't have all the delays getting back to Midway as I did last week.

Well here's crazy fun for ya: the Avs are playing the Wild in the Division Quarter Finals. Best of seven. They'll play this Wednesday and this Friday to start off.

Jeff Gordon did something he's only done one other time in over 500 starts: finished dead last. He fell 5 spots to #14. If we were going to the Chase today he wouldn't be in it. Off to Phoenix for a Saturday night race this weekend. Come on already!

I was excited to hear that my friend Ellie's parents are coming to Minnesota for a visit. And it looks like I'll get an opportunity to see them while their here.

Big news: Smelt fry in Garrison Saturday April 26th.

Not much to write

I'm actually not in Chicago. I'm about 20 miles from the city in Homewood. So there's not much to do or see. As a matter of fact you may not want to go out after dark. Hell, you may not want to go out during the day. I'm pretty busy working anyway. I'll be flying home Saturday night and then flying back to Chicago on Tuesday to drive to a job in Plano IL.

I may have broke my toe. Okay, maybe not. I guess I can wiggle it. But it does hurt.

I do have to say Chicago is an odd area. First of all they don't issue any gun permits in the city except to Police Officers. So they have a lot of crime here. Only the cops and the bad guys have guns. So what's to stop a bad guy from drawing on you? Nothing. They ain't scared of no good guy. They know they got ya. One school here has had twenty students shot and killed during this school year alone. Not at school but elsewhere during the year. Twenty...in one school.

Cellular phone use in your vehicle is illegal in Chicago. And now they're trying to pass a law that you can't walk in town and talk on your phone or listen to music. They say you don't pay enough attention to traffic and might walk out in front of a vehicle. Guess they're trying to save you.

And then there's the co-workers in Chicago that took a soccer ball out to the park near work and kicked it around to blow off some steam. Well an officer showed up and issued them all tickets because evidently it's illegal in a Chicago city park to do anything that would distress the scrubs or grass.

Gosh I love my little gun toting, cell phone talking, grass smashing town.

Made it!

I did finally make it to Chicago yesterday morning. The traffic was unbelievable. It took me almost two hours to drive 17 miles. I don't know how people can stand living like this. I drove down to Homewood to work. Things are looking up.

On the "woo hoo" side, the Avs clinched a playoff spot last night when they beat the Canucks 4 to 2. Their last game will be over the weekend against Minnesota. Then let the playoffs begin.