Author: dgf2099

By David G. Firestone

NASCAR is closely associated with a lot of things. One thing it isn’t typically associated with is Cuba. The typical driver profile that most people all drivers are Caucasian males. In recent years however, NASCAR has been working to increase diversity in the sport. The Drive for Diversity is a program that has brought a lot of diverse talent into NASCAR, including Paul Harraka, Darrell Wallace, Jr., Natalie Decker, Kenzie Ruston, Mackena Bell, Sergio Pena, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez, and Aric Almirola.

Born in Flordia to Cuban parents, Aric Almirola began racing karts at age 8, eventually racing nationally at age 14. In 2002, he started racing in NASCAR, eventually joining Drive for Diversity in 2004. In 2005 he began racing in the Truck Series, eventually becoming the 24^th driver to win races in all 3 of NASCAR’s top 3 series. During his career, he wore this undershirt. This Sparco X-COOL Silver lightweight undershirt shows a little use.The cowl has a small size tag, and SPARCO is embroidered in gray lettering.The front torso is unadorned.There is a rubber X-COOL Silver patch on the left side.The shoulders and sleeves are unadorned. The back of the shirt shows some very light wear.The back of the neck is unadorned.Aric Almirola’s twitter handle @aric_almirola is printed on the back, as opposed to the front for some reason.I like this, and hopefully, I can get this signed at some point.

I wasn’t going to do another one, but I tried this, and I wanted to share this recipe. So, it’s…

TAILGATING TIME

Shrimp de Jonghe

4 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 cups dry white wine

1 cup butter, melted

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 11x 7 inch casserole dish.

2-Place shrimp evenly in the casserole dish.

3-Pour wine over the shrimp.

4-Mix together butter, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, parsley and bread crumbs.

5-Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over the shrimp. Refrigerate now if desired.

6-Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until shrimp are firm and topping is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Next week, a firesuit from an aspect of racing that isn’t really discussed.

By David G. Firestone

I was doing some cleaning recently, and I discovered I had this. I had to double check to see if I had covered this item, and it turns out I had, but not very well. So for this week’s Friday Feature, I will discuss this vintage Miss Winston suit.

Miss Winston was an idea thought up in the 1970’s. The idea was to have a beauty queen with the drivers in Victory Lane after races. The idea died after the Winston Cup turned to the Nextel Cup, but when Sprint took over in 2009, the idea was revived. Monster Energy kept the trend going, but with the new sponsorship setup, at the time of publication, I don’t know if it will continue.

At least 50 different women were Miss Winston at some point. Though they were told not to, many dated and even married drivers. The dress code was decided by Winston, and included this vintage jumpsuit.  It is a simple red polyester jumpsuit.There is a collar, and a wash tag in the cowl.It has a Winston logo embroidered on the chest.It come with a white belt and straps on the legs. The suit features short short sleeves. The back of the suit is unadorned. Winston was an idea thought up in the 1970’s. The idea was to have a beauty queen with the drivers in Victory Lane after races. The idea died after the Winston Cup turned to the Nextel Cup, but when Sprint took over in 2009, the idea was revived.

Since this is a short article, I’m going to add…

TAILGATING TIME!

It’s early in the year, it’s cold, so if you are going to watch a race with friend, you want something hearty, so I present:

Beef Pot Roast

8 Servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 pounds boneless chuck roast

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2-Heat a heavy Dutch oven on top of the stove over medium high heat.

3-Add oil, and sear meat in the center of the pan for 4 minutes.

4-Turn meat over with tongs; sear all sides for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

5-Remove meat from pan. Arrange onion, garlic, and 1 bay leaf in the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6-Return meat to pan, place remaining bay leaf on top of meat, and cover.

7-Cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

8-Reduce the heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

9-Remove roast to a platter to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

10-Slice, and top with onions and gravy.

Next week, we focus on Aric Almirola.