It seems like everyone is getting a tattoo these days. Some people don’t put an awful lot of thought into what they get & you can pretty much guarantee that they will regret the work in years to come. I have wanted some ink for years, but I was determined to get something that was unique to me and that not only meant something, but described me.
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Well, it’s been a crazy week here in The Garage and a busy week around the blogosphere too. This week’s Carnival of Wheels has the most submissions so far, with fifteen in all. The sun is well over the yard arm, and it’s probably set in Daytona again too so feel free to crack open a cold one and join me as I read my way around the car blogs.

Normally when guys from the Middle East poke fun at religion, it gets tempers flaring. In this case, the anonymous Bizarre Jokester from New Dehli us sharing his automotive interpretation of the bible. My Fave? Meanwhile, Moses rode an old British motorcycle, as evidenced by a Bible passage declaring, “the roar of Moses’ Triumph is heard in the hills.”

Following up on last week’s CoW submission, Brian Vermette at RaceDriven has views on more changes coming in the 2007 NASCAR season. As the season is now only 20 days away, we’ll see how Mr. V’s predictions fare soon enough.
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The virtual garage has been quiet this weekend because the real world has been crazy. As with most weekends, it has been a weekend full of shuttling kids to hockey. Then there was the tattoos (more on that later) and the semi tragic visit to the Whitby Dunlops hockey game.

The plan was for the 6 year old’s team to play a short game during the first intermission. We didn’t get to see it though. During the first period, a puck flew off a players stick and up into the stands. Where did it land? Squarely on the forehead of the lovely and talented Mamma G! After the dust and panic settled, we spent the next 4 hours in the local emergency room waiting for the attending Doc to stitch up the gaping wound. 5 stitches and a whopping headache later, we made it home to have a quick dinner of subs after 11 pm.

There is a reason that tattoo shops aren’t allowed to ink folks under 16 or 18 depending on where you are. Youth and stupidity go hand in hand. Case in point, the spud pictured above. A Chevy Cavalier of all things. This dude is doomed to stocking shelves in the local grocery store for the rest of his life.

I’ve been jonesin’ for a tatty for years, but have wanted to be sure that it was the right image. It had to be automotive art and it couldn’t look like that abomination above. It had to be something classic and tasteful.
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Image of #20 Pontiac Crawford of Tony Stewart, Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace from Howard Boss Motorsports

The 2007 racing season is about to kick off, with the 2007 edition of the Rolex Daytona 24. The fabled endurance event features sports prototypes and production based sports cars battling it out over a full day at the historic Florida venue.
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This just proves that boys will be boys (unless they’re an Amish girl) regardless of where they live or what they drive. Keep your eyes peeled for the bus in the first display of smoky goodness.

The importance of building a brand is something that just doesn’t sink in to many people, while many spend years chasing that elusive something that makes a brand work. Then of course there are the brands that are so simple that their success is legendary. The Marlboro brand is one such image.

The tobacco industry has taken a pretty hefty beating over the past few years, as lawmakers have forced tobacco companies to stop advertising in all sorts of venues. Through all of this, most of the cancer stick people have packed up and gone home. Not Marlboro though, as their brand image is one of the strongest in history.
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Canadian racing enthusiasts will all recognize Russ Bond. This guy has been a fixture in the motorsports scene here in Ontario for years. You might have seen him on TV, in all sorts of print sources, on the radio or online at one of his motorsports sites. Russ has even spent his fair share of time behind the wheel of a mini stock car.

Russ has decided to put together a pre spring enduro event for all the local racers to blow out the cobwebs. The first Canadian Karting News.com 200 aims to pit 40 teams of 4 against each other at the new Grand Prix Kartways in Downsview.

This event looks so fun that The Garage may just have to put together a team. We might be able to put together a few ringers to offset the power to weight problems that yours truly creates.

Read the full details from Russ after the break
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It was announced today that the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be televised on the Canadian TSN sports channel. This is great news for teams, as it guarantees them cross country coverage on one of the most watched channels in Canada.

press release after the break

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A couple of weeks ago, the Canadian rally community celebrated 50 years with a Celebration in Toronto. Past Canadian Rally Champion Randy Black tells us about the event.

A FIFTIETH CELEBRATION OF CANADIAN RALLYING

For those who couldn’t make the Celebration, I offer this synopsis. Enter the foyer of the Double Tree Hotel on Dixon Road near Pearson Airport and there were five rally cars representing five decades of rallying. A MK II Cortina, a 510, Taisto’s ’82 Celica painted as it was campaigned that year, Sprongl’s Audi Quattro and a Subaru Canada WRX grabbed the eye of all who walked through the foyer.
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