A look out the rear view mirror

   -I know there is a going to be a lot of people who think that all of the drama that unfolded in Sunday’s AAA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway will do wonders for NASCAR and attract a lot of fans, or perhaps bring some back for another look. That may very well turn out to be true. However, what I think is puzzling, is a couple of the reasons people think Sunday was great – one NASCAR driver showing flagrant disrespect to authority and two others getting involved in a fight on the track – have not one thing to do with the actual sport of racing. Perhaps that doesn’t matter any more. Or maybe it never did.

   -Trevor Bayne is a 19-year-old development driver, now for Roush Fenway Racing, who was thrown into his first Cup start in a team he has never raced with previously and a team that doesn’t run fulltime. He finished 17^th. Dale Earnhardt Jr., a driver in his 11^th season in the series, running for arguably the strongest organization in the sport, was a complete non-factor and finished 25^th. You figure it out because I can’t.

   -I see no difference in Richard Childress Racing’s decision to swap Kevin Harvick’s pit crew with Clint Bowyer’s and the decision Sunday to swap out Jimmie Johnson’s pit crew with Jeff Gordon’s. Yes, the Johnson swap was made mid-race, but it was also made with Gordon out of the race for all practical purposes. If it was done with Gordon still in contention for a race win, that would have been different.

Fundraisers to help driver Shane Hmiel

   Friends of the family of former NASCAR Driver Shane Hmiel have planned several events to help raise money to cover medical expenses incurred by Hmiel and other race car drivers who have been suffered similar serious injuries.

   November 17, 4 p.m. - Lake Norman, NC - Silent auction to be held at the Rusty Rudder, one of the racing community's favorite hangouts right on the water. Come enjoy some good food, live music and friends of Shane, while bidding on rare racing memorabilia from the sports biggest names, tickets to events, and plenty of awesome merchandise donated from all over the Carolinas. Come meet some of racing's stars and have a good time for a good cause. Bidding will end at 8 p.m. Open to public. (A small donation will be appreciated at the door. Items for bid and additional information will be released before the date of the auction).

   November 17, 9 p.m. - Lake Norman, NC - Party hosted by Shane's brother Tyler at the Comedy Zone above Galway Hooker. Party to feature Shaun Jones, one of the nation's top touring stand-up comedians who has been featured on television stand up hours and acted alongside Jamie Foxx in feature films. To attend the event you will need to purchase a ticket in the form of a $40 donation at http://www.lkncomedy.com/. In addition to the party, everyone that attends will receive an exclusive "Heal The Real Deal" T-shirt, and be entered in a raffle for prizes. Food and beverage will be available for purchase, with proceeds going towards Shane's recovery.

   November 30 - IMIS Show Opening Night Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN - Silent auction to be held at the opening night of the International Motorsports Industry Show. Open to all vendors and attendees of the 2010 IMIS show. Racing memorabilia from the biggest names in open wheel racing. In addition, there will be a booth at the show throughout the week, where you can stop by, hang out and make a contribution to Shane's recovery.

   November 30, 9 p.m. - Downtown Indy - Party at Jillians immediately following the IMIS auction. Open to public. A small donation at the door will get you entered in a raffle with some awesome prizes. Food and beverage proceeds to be donated to the fund. You will have a chance to get autographs and take pictures, but most importantly talk racing with racers.

   December 5, Concord NC - Field Fillers Fairgrounds - Cart race featuring some of the biggest up and comers in racing. Located behind the Joi of Seating race shop is an asphalt oval race track. The atmosphere will be festival-like and JAQ's famous BBQ plates will be available for a small donation. All carts are allowed to race. The only rule is that it runs a limited flathead motor. Other than that, its run what you brung. There is no charge to come to the show, but you will have an opportunity to "sponsor" a driver as we try to figure out who can raise the most money.

Let's get NASCAR fans' attention again

   Let’s try to get some people’s attention.

   I’m a history buff and certainly appreciate tradition, particularly in NASCAR. The importance of tradition ranks as high among racing fans as those in baseball in my opinion.

   But there is also a time for a change. And for NASCAR a big one needs to be made now.

   It’s time to shorten the NASCAR Sprint Cup season and shorten the races.

   Yes, that’s right. Cut the season and cut the race lengths.

   I compliment NASCAR on the changes it has made in recent seasons to cater to fans’ desires, in making the racing safer and better, in trying to enhance excitement through rule changes. I’ve never been a proponent of the Chase format, but I give NASCAR credit for at least trying something.

   Let’s face it. Even with the Chase enjoying its closest points race since its inception, TV ratings are still dropping week after week.

   The racing product is good – last week’s Talladega race was one of the better ones I’ve seen from start to finish in my 13 seasons and the race still lost almost a fourth of its audience from last season.

   Is it football? Maybe so, but if it is, then something has changed because NASCAR and the NFL have shared Sundays for decades.

   What I think has changed are fans’ attention spans. In an Internet, Twitter, Facebook, photo-phone world, four-plus hour events are taxing people’s patience.

   Everyone who has watched races have heard drivers saying things like, “We were riding around biding our time,” or talking about “staying out of trouble until we could race for it at the end.”

   Fans – and media – rate Truck and Nationwide series races typically better than Cup and that’s in large part to their shorter length. Cup races have become in large part endurance events rather than a race to see who is truly fastest or has the best car.

   My solution? Cut the Cup schedule by six races so the season ends as the NFL season starts. Every race in Cup should be 400 miles/laps or less except for the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600.

   There are two choices here: Give up and wait the situation out and hope it gets better on its own or try again with a big swing at big change.

   You want to produce better racing? Create more of it by removing all the riding around.

Services set for NASCAR's Jim Hunter

   Funeral services have been set for former NASCAR vice president and Darlington (SC) Raceway president Jim Hunter.

   Visitation is 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Darlington Raceway.

   A celebration of Hunter's life will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Darlington Presbyterian Church, 311 Peark Street, Darlington, S.C., followed by a reception at Darlington Raceway.

   In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The NASCAR Foundation, NASCAR Plaza, 550 South Caldwell Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202; or to Halifax Health-Hospice of Volusia/Flagler, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange, FL  32129.

Did you know Jim Hunter?

   So many times in life you don't really find out some things about people you thought you really knew until their death. It's sad that happens, but in a way it's also serves as a reminder to all us that we don't always know people as well as we think.

   Also, it serves as a reminder that there is a lot more to people than what we find out from talking with them or spending time with them. So, it is with Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president for special projects and former president of Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

   In the last few days and weeks I've come across some very interesting tidbits about Hunter, things I didn't learn myself in the 13-plus years I've known them. I decided to share a few:

   Did you know Hunter was the recipient of the Order of the Palmetto? He was awarded South Carolina's highest civic honor in 1995 by then-S.C. Gov. David Beasley.

   Did you know Hunter was an author? In 1975, his book "The Gamecocks: South Carolina football" was published by Strode Publishers of Huntsville, Ala. He also authored a widely-read biography of David Pearson titled, "21 Forever."

   Did you know Hunter once worked for Dodge? He broke into the public relations business in the 1960s, working with Dodge motorsports. He also handled public relations for a number of top IndyCar drivers before embarking on his NASCAR career.

   Hunter spoke from authority because it did it all - he worked in newspapers, both at The State in Columbia, S.C., and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He worked in public relations. He worked as a track executive.

   He did all that and so much more.

Promoting the causes of Jeff Gordon

   As four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon advances further in his NASCAR career, race fans are getting an unintended closer glimpse into the things Gordon cares about most.

   Endorsing charitable causes is nothing new for Gordon.

   Gordon's most recent endeavor has been serving as spokesman for the Sounds of Pertussis campaign promoted by Sanofi Pasteur and the March of Dimes. The campaign encourages parents to protect themselves and their children by getting a booster shot for pertussis, or whooping cough.

   Beginning next season, Gordon will take on a bigger and more expansive campaign - fighting hunger in America. The AARP Foundation is coordinating a Drive to End Hunger campaign, which will serve as primary sponsor on Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet for 22 races in each of the next three seasons.

   So, it is by chance or by choice that Gordon seems to find himself engaged more in promoting causes than peddling products at this stage of his career?

   "I like to be involved in good causes and the work of my Foundation has picked up tremendously over the last several years and I think that sort of builds up the branding that comes with myself and my race team," Gordon said.

   "I think it's pretty well known we enjoy giving back. I think it's a little bit of where I am in my career, and I say that not just because I'm getting older, but I noticed this and I tell Jimmie (Johnson) this with some of the things he's going through - I'm telling you 10 years from now you have no idea what kind of respect you'll have and what type of interest you'll have in a totally different way."

   Gordon said he believes opportunities present themselves to those who remain consistent in their careers in what they say and what they do.

   "I'm at that stage in my life and my career where this type of sponsorship makes perfect sense," he said.

Anti-hunger campaign to sponsor Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet

  Jeff Gordon is taking up a cause and getting a new sponsor as a result.

   Beginning in 2011, the primary sponsor of Gordon's No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for a majority of races will be a major anti-hunger campaign, the Observer and ThatsRacin.com have learned.

   The campaign, which may be the first multi-race cause-related sponsorship of its kind in NASCAR, will be coordinated through the AARP Foundation and eventually involve other companies, sources said.

   The AARP Foundation is the charitable organization of the AARP and dedicated to serving older Americans in need.

   While the anti-hunger campaign will serve as primary sponsor for a majority of races, DuPont and PepsiCo are expected to return as primary sponsors for the remainder of the races in 2011 as well, sources said.

   Gordon's sponsorship and details of the anti-hunger campaign will be unveiled at a news conference on Wednesday at Hendrick Motorsports, sources said.

   A Hendrick Motorsports spokesperson confirmed an announcement is being planned for Wednesday but declined further comment.