Did I mention that they sell beer on Speed Street?

So, it turns out they're giving away Ricky Craven hats on Charlotte's Speed Street, not Bobby Hamilton Jr. hats. Heck he was about two drivers ago for that team, wasn't he?

Or at least one and seven-eighths.

Sorry.

I don't mind apologizing for goofing up. Do it all the time, cuz I goof up all the time. Only people who don't make mistakes are those who don't do anything, my pop used to say.

Besides I've got a couple of really good excuses this time.

I was overly reliant on the word of a co-worker, a man I've trusted with my back for years. (That scenario alone would have given Ronald Reagan "plausible deniability," wouldn't it?)

I've even trusted this man with my life: Once I stood kinda close to him while he was hitting his driver. Or attempting to.

Not that he's my "research assistant" or anything. He does a lot more than that. A graduate of a prestigious university in New York state, the guy is a web wizard, a member of the Internet intelligentsia.

He's as knowledgable about stock car racing as any man his age I've ever met.

And he can type, which helps immeasurably when one is trying to produce and update a web site.

But, all that aside, you can call that guy short-timer now.

No, "hatter-gate" isn't the reason. And his "research" isn't really why I dropped the ball on the hats either.

I prattled on quite a bit about how cool it is to be in Charlotte in May. Even said, a couple of times, how cool I think a street festival with a racing theme really is.

But did I mention that they sell beer on Speed Street?