I apologize for not having any updates here in about a year. Honestly we’re not sure if we’re going to keep this website active, because our focus is on what goes out in our email list three times a week (also posted on the Late Model Digest Facebook page).
Those who know me well know that I’m a dedicated follower of college hoops, especially this time of year. I used to say that my family suffers from a frustrating condition in the winter: season tickets to Clemson basketball. When it comes to March Madness, I can watch any team, usually on the men’s or women’s sides.
Those who watch a lot of basketball will see the heroes of the month, and occasionally a villain. Usually the villain status comes after doing something to knock your favorite team out of the Big Bracket. Kentucky fans hate Christian Laettner, Mississippi fans hate Bryce Drew, and Louisiana Tech women’s fans probably hate Charlotte Smith. I personally can’t stomach the mention of Tate George from 1990, and seeing the Connecticut men’s basketball team win national championships is the most disgusting thing ever in the sports world. (Gee, all 1990s references! … For you North Carolina fans with memories which go back only a few years, think Villanova’s Kris Jenkins.)
The latest villain from this season was unveiled last Sunday in the SEC women’s tournament. It might be sacrilege for a Clemson graduate to root hard for South Carolina in anything, but I will always root for the Gamecocks’ women’s hoops team as long as Dawn Staley is their coach, when they’re not playing Clemson (it’s a personal reason). South Carolina faced LSU in the SEC final, and you’ve probably seen the video clips of the late-fourth-quarter fracas that’s reminiscent of what goes on in the pit area at a racetrack every so often.
(Photo from Erin Barker/LSUReveille.com)
The villain from that incident was #4 from LSU, Flau’jae Johnson. She was the one who was involved in the initial shoving (not the villainous part) and then shoved another Gamecock a moment later before she wound up on the floor courtesy of USC’s Kamilla Cardoso. Cardoso was rightfully ejected from that game (her suspension for the first game in the Big Bracket won’t affect the season outcome), but how in the world Johnson was not sent to the locker room after that scuffle?
Anyway, I’m certainly not rooting for Johnson or LSU for the rest of this season … but that grudge will be temporary. First off, the incident didn’t knock out my primary team like Tate George’s longshot miracle did. And also, that was just a little skirmish which will probably be forgotten quickly, even before this year’s Sweet Sixteen. Johnson has two years of eligibility left at LSU (if she sticks around; besides hoops and school, she’s also a rapper), so next season I won’t hold anything against her or LSU coach Kim Mulkey (no matter what outlandish outfits she’ll be wearing). A new season will make all the difference.
The same thing happens – or should happen – in racing, especially the short-track community and with the pavement pounders covered in Late Model Digest. One of the biggest rivalries established in 2023 took place at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton NC. On Memorial Day Annabeth Barnes Crum and Landon Huffman collided more than once in one Late Model Stock Car race, including once under caution. It led to an altercation in the spotters’ stand between Annabeth’s husband Jake Crum (the 2009 Martinsville LMSC race winner) and Landon’s father Robert Huffman (among his accolades are five championships in the old NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series). A Google search of Annabeth’s name opens a Pandora’s box of material from this incident, including an interview Jake did with Short Track Scene in September.
The keyboard warriors have been at it ever since then, badmouthing the Crum couple for the rest of last year (with an occasional threat of harm to the family). A few bad apples are still dropping even into this spring, after Annabeth won the LMSC event on Warriors Weekend at Caraway Speedway near Asheboro NC (ironically on the same day as the USC-LSU skirmish on the hardwood in Greenville).
(Photo from Dustin Bevan/dbevanphoto.com)
Annabeth’s attitude, obviously boosted by the victory which was her first at Caraway – and the cheers which outnumbered the boos after she exited her #12 machine – is that this is a new season and she isn’t going to let the haters win. Anyone connected with Huffman’s family, crew or YouTube vlog production team might still have bad feelings toward the Crums, just like Clemson basketball fans do against Connecticut (without the threats of violence, of course). But casual fans, or those who follow anyone else who was in the pits last May at Hickory, should let bygones be bygones and keep the reactions positive and/or sensible. You don’t have to cheer her or go buy one of her shirts (I don’t even know if they’re available) but hopefully fans can hold off on the boos and derogatory hand gestures.
It’s a new season for everyone. Let’s all realize that. Best wishes to everyone competing, officiating, watching, sponsoring, etc. short-track racing in the next 9 1/2 months.
Please contact me at jimcarsonlmd@gmail.com or contact us through our Facebook page to get on our email list. It’s free to read, and you can look back on our Facebook page to see any article published since our format change. Thank you for your support!
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