I’ll let the photos do the talking, enjoy!

Priceless.

A Jimmie Johnson fan meets her man Wednesday at Foley’s in New York City during Champions Week. (Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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It’s day two of the Champions Week festivities in New York City and I’m already sick of Jimmie Johnson.

LOL. I’m just kidding. Although with the elimination of the “Victory Lap” parade through Times Square you don’t get to see the other Top-12 drivers that much, so you get the feeling that it’s very “All Jimmie all the time” this week.

That’s all very well and makes sense because he is the Champion after all, but still, you couldn’t get Carl Edwards in the mix a little bit? Maybe you do a photo of him pretending to hit Jimmie over the head with the Sprint Cup trophy and then running off with it. Oh! Or you could have a photo of Jimmie posing with the trophy in Central Park with Carl and Greg Biffle standing way off in the background looking pissed. That’d be fun.

So today is the first in a series of posts that will more than likely feature photos of Jimmie and his wife Chandra, hitting up event after event this week.

On this Friday, December 5th ESPN Classic will air the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony live at 9pm EST. Check your local listings. I’ve already got my Tivo set! If you miss it on Friday, don’t worry they’re replaying it on Monday, December 8th at 2pm EST on ESPN2.

Chandra Johnson and 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson entertain guests before dinner in their honor on Monday at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City, kicking off Champions Week. (Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus pose with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series trophy in Central Park in front of the New York City skyline. (Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Jimmie and Chandra Johnson pose with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series trophy on a bridge over The Pond in Central Park. (Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)

This was such a great year for The Fast and the Fabulous. When I look back at the 2008 NASCAR racing season I smile, grin and laugh. I have had so much fun and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want more! But before 2009 arrives I thought it would be fun to remember the highlights of the year that was:

– Pole Position: There was no way I would have had access to all of the opportunities that came my way this year without my association with NASCAR Pole Position magazine. They really started my year off right and I am so thankful that they asked me to be a part of their publication.

– Flying solo: In attending five races in three different states this year I set a new personal record for myself. This fact alone is just super cool. I’m so proud of myself for following my passion and not caring that I did all of this traveling on my own. To be honest traveling alone is really fun, you always get to do the stuff that you want to and you never have to compromise.

– The interviews: The interviews I obtained this year were truly monumental for this blog. If there had been only one I would have said the same thing. Having the opportunity to ask all of these great people questions was something I will not forget. It’s not like I’m planning to not do interviews anymore, but you never forget your firsts! So here’s a special thank you to Michelle Gilliland, David Gilliland, Travis Kvapil, Paul Menard, Liz Clarke, Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty. Here’s a bit of insider info, I interviewed Shana Mayfield (Jeremy Mayfield’s wife) earlier this year but I shelved the transcription of our conversation, not for any particular reason. She was super nice and very cool. I’m planning on posting the interview eventually. If there’s one thing I learned this year it’s that long conversations equal a super long transcription process.

– Clint Bowyer: He is the subject the greatest photo I have ever taken during a race weekend. As you can see in the photo to the right that is Mr. Bowyer look straight at me like I’m an alien. I love this photo because his expression is priceless. It was one of many cool moments I had during my time at the Chicagoland Speedway in July.

– Carl Edwards: It was a big year for Carl; he got engaged, brawled with Kevin Harvick and gunned for not one but two Championship titles. He came up short on the Championship front but it’s no small feat to place second in two series at the same time. My teensy, weensy encounters, at Chicagoland and the Auto Club Speedway, with Mr. Edwards were perfect examples of what a great ambassador for the sport of NASCAR he is and display his insanely likeable persona.

– Dale Earnhardt Jr.: I think my post, “fate finally throws me a bone,” is my favorite one for the year. It summed up a lot of feelings and explains where I’m coming from to anyone who doesn’t know me personally. The experience itself was definitely the highlight of my year. I’m hoping for 2009 to bring more experiences like that one, for sure.

– Celebrity: I saw a lot of stars and a couple so-called celebrities this year. I’m still highly pissed and irritated that Heidi & Spencer from MTV’s The Hills were at the Pepsi 500. Gag me. On the other side of the celeb spectrum, ya know the side where people actually ARE celebrities for having actual talent; I was star struck when I was in the same place as actor, and major hottie, Brendan Fraser. I think they should have him as the Grand Marshal of at least one race per year. It’s funny though, no matter what actor, musician or TV personality showed up at the races I was always much more interested in the NASCAR drivers.

– What I sound like: Thanks to invites from a couple really cool radio shows you got the chance to hear me talk about NASCAR. I had such a great time spending time On Pit Row with Steve and Charlie and hanging out in the Treehouse Fort with Matt and Tuffy.

– Twitter racing: When I watched races on my TV at home I kept my cell phone by my side at all times, not because I was waiting for the phone to ring or needed to check my email, nope I kept it with me so I could post Tweets about the race as it was happening. It became such a fun thing to exchange opinions, impressions and laughs with my fellow NASCAR fans. I invite you to follow me, so you can be in on the conversations next year!

– It’s the life: I think I’ve talked before about moments where you say to yourself “how did I get here?” Well I asked myself that question about 50 times when I toured the ESPN mobile production studios while I was at Chicagoland Speedway. I learned a lot, it takes a lot of work to put a broadcast together and rear springs are way heavier than I’d thought.

My intention for this post was to talk about the Nationwide Series Champions Week, but I realized that I don’t have much to say ’cause I wasn’t there, but I will say that Clint Bowyer is pretty cute when he’s smiling. Isn’t the photo to the left a great shot of him?

Thanks to ESPN we all get to find out what happened at the awards banquet, all of the important things like who was Joey Logano’s date and other items of that nature. Highlights will be shown on ESPN2 at noon (EST). Check your local listings.

Let’s talk about Guns N’ Roses. First, can you believe that Axl Rose is 46?? When did that happen?

When Use Your Illusion I and II came out I was in junior high school and I was falling in love with rock music. I think I’ve seen the video for “November Rain” at least ten thousand times. For a time I was convinced that I was going to get married in a wedding dress like the one Stephanie Seymour wore in the video, luckily I have ditched that I idea. I also had a very serious crush on bassist Duff McKagan. So it is really cool that I’ve been given the opportunity to give away a GNR prize pack in honor of the highly anticipated release of Chinese Democracy. I realize that this doesn’t have any direct connection to NASCAR, it’s just a fun thing to do, but in general rock music does complement racing.

So here’s the deal on the contest: one lucky winner will receive a Chinese Democracy prize pack that includes the CD, a poster, t-shirt and stickers. You’ve got from now until December 18th to enter the contest!

Happy Thanksgiving!