March 10, 2003

Editors Note: "L.M.'s better half was recently activated and reported for duty on Tuesday, March 4, 2003. While he is off for parts unknown in support of our nation's military initiatives for an undetermined length of time, please keep him and all the men and women of our military in your prayers."

In these times, I can’t believe we have any tolerance for such bellyaching. Is NASCAR really all that important at a time like this? As a nation, we’re about to face perhaps one of the most critical junctures in our existence.

After being blindsided in the September 11th attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, we embarked on a war against terrorism that continues on today. The government continues to work diligently on that campaign as the news of last weekend’s capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammad proved.

Each day, there is more news about Iraq and allegations of weapons of mass destruction, infractions against U.N. agreements, and Saddam Hussein’s regime’s alleged lack of true cooperation with U.N. inspectors.

And we watch as a country as we send our soldiers, sailors, pilots, medics, clergy, and other military personnel overseas to prepare for what appears to be yet another military operation. Every morning, I wake up to more news that another unit out of the local military base has departed for parts unknown in support of our efforts in the Middle East. Images of families tearfully clinging to their loved ones fill the three newscasts each day. This has been going on for more than two months. The momentum of the story and deployments from local bases is overwhelming.

And it hits very close to home. When that call comes in and the only words you hear from your better half are, “I was activated,” NASCAR is put into perspective pretty quickly. The back and forth over the Daytona 500, the grumblings over the maneuvers in Jeff Gordon’s divorce, the hyper over Steve Park and Dale Jarrett’s contact on the racetrack, Rusty’s bellyaching over Chevy’s alleged advantage. None of it matters. You barely have an awareness of the fact that a race was going on when your better half walked through that door. Who won in Las Vegas? I couldn’t begin to tell you.

When you get that call and you have 36 hours, NASCAR is put into perspective pretty quickly. What matters is duty for our beloved country. Your duty as a loved one to support your soldier going into action, to be present in that soldier’s life every day, serve as the connection to home. Duty as a soldier to fight for the greatest country in the world, to protect our freedom.

So, next time you start to hear the NASCAR nonsense, don’t get drawn into the hype. Take a moment to put it all into perspective. And when you hear “The Star Spangled Banner” before the start of each race, remember that there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have left their families and loved ones behind in order to serve the United States of America and all that it represents. Truly listen to the words of our national anthem and say a prayer or two for our military men and women who are overseas.

To SSB . . . Live your #1 rule – Be careful. Stay safe and come home to me soon.

You can send feedback to L.M. Burke at: Insider Racing News