The gauntlet has been picked up

My friend TMLSB challenged all his blogging buddies to answer the age old question "If money was not a concern, What would you be doing?" Having given this previous thought, I have decided to answer the challenge.

I would set aside 15-20 million dollars and contact Mike McLaughlin, former Busch Series racer and current Joe Gibbs Racing employee. You might be thinking, "Why him?" which is a legitimate question.

The simple reason why I would contact Mike McLaughlin is that I like him as a driver. He has a lot of talent and the cool nickname "Magic Shoes." Of course, I like a lot of drivers (although not all have cool nicknames), so there is also a bigger reason for me contacting Mr. McLaughlin. He got screwed (that's normally stronger language than I like to use in my blog, but if you can think of a better word for the situation, feel free to substitute it) in the Angela's Motorsports deal. Follow the link for the sordid details.

So, assuming Mike would take my call, then what? I'd offer Mike the chance for one last good ride. I figure with a budget of 15 million, we could set up a top flight one truck Craftsman Truck team. However, Mike knows obviously more about NASCAR than I do, so we'd have some discussions. I'd prefer to run Fords, but since Mike has connections at JGR, it might be best for our team to run Chevies. Of course, Mike has first pick of the drivers seat. Mike is currently "retired" from driving, but he has done some testing, so he may or not be interested. Either way, the rest of the team would be filled out through Mike's knowledge and connection. He'd pick out the crew chief and be in charge of hiring the shop guys, or he could hire a team manger who would handle all of that. It's really just his team, as a reward for having had to suffer through the other deal.

If Mike were not interested, then there's several other older drivers who got shuffled out in the search for young guns. Maybe Hut Stricklin would be interested. Chad Little could use his law degree to help me set up my racing team. Ward Burton and Ricky Craven would be on the short list, too. I think my favorite from a few years back Buckshot Jones would get a call, too. More likely, I'd concentrate on older Busch regulars who still are connected to racing (Curtis Markham, Tim Fedewa, Jason Keller, etc)

Unfortunately, I do have money concerns, so that won't ever happen. I'd probably have some humanitarian interests, too, but those would be quietly dispersed. But, it's fun to imagine sometimes.