regan smith

I think JJ should have went for the win. He could have gained some extra valuable points to add to his total.

 

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/decock/finally



Finally, after all these years, a legitimate connection between the Hurricanes and NASCAR, which should be wonderful news for hundreds of lazy Canadian journalists and radio hosts.

Regan Smith, who the team reports is a "self-proclaimed Caniac," will wear a Hurricanes-themed helmet during Saturday's Bank of America 600 in Charlotte.

(Now, John Grahame's racing-themed goalie mask makes some sense. Of course, he's probably not wearing it in Russia.)

This is the first Canes-NASCAR connection since Richard Petty was driving the Zamboni around more than a decade ago, although sloppy writers have been confusing Raleigh (no track, no shops, fewer races than Chicago or Los Angeles) with Charlotte (big track, lots of shops, huge NASCAR town) since then as they paint North Carolina with a broad brush.

(Still, it's not as bad as Mitch Albom's disgraceful column during the 2002 Stanley Cup finals, but we digress.)

Anyway, all joking and pretend petulance aside, this is good for the Canes. Getting the attention of more racing fans will only help the team, which has made inroads in this market with transplants and suburbanites but needs to sell more tickets to long-time residents, some of whom are NASCAR fans, and convert them to hockey fans. This is a step in the right direction.

 

that thing looks really cool up close...I interviewed Smith on Thursday and shot video of the helmet. It's pretty damn sweet. It'll be good to auction that thing for the Kids N Community Foundation.