Lee Montgomery: Youth movement adds charm to Nationwide Series
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Friday, March 21, 2008
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COMMENTARY
LEBANON, Tenn. – The kids have invaded Nashville Superspeedway. And it sure is fun to see.
NASCAR held a news conference Friday at the track to help promote this weekend’s Pepsi 300 Nationwide Series race. The participants? Eighteen-year-old Landon Cassill, 18-year-old Bryan Clauson and 19-year-old Colin Braun.
No, the topics weren’t MySpace or girls or college or video games. Instead, they talked a lot about Russian rummy.
Russian rummy? An old-school variation of rummy that was taught to the young drivers by Cassill’s grandmother.
“We don’t play poker,” Clauson said. “We do have some intense Russian Rummy nights with Landon and his grandma. And his grandma usually beats us all.”
It seems some of Cassill’s older relatives visited him last summer and taught him how to play.
“My great-grandparents, my grandma and her sisters taught me how to play Russian rummy, which is some age-old game they played back in the American Revolution or something,” Cassill said.
I think that’s a knock on older people, of which I am, but I’ll try not to get too upset. I’ll chalk it up to youthful indiscretion, the little brat. Just kidding.
Cassill has since taught other people how to play, and Tuesday nights have become Russian rummy nights.
“You play the game and you get points at the end of so many rounds, and that’s your total,” Clauson said. “Of course, we’ve turned it in to …”
“The Chase for the Cup,” Cassill interjected. (Who taught this kid manners?)
“You do four rounds, and then you do points adjustments, and then you play again,” Clausion said. “Of course we turned it into some racing theme.”
Of course.
“We have a lot of fun on Tuesday nights,” Clauson said. “It keeps us out of trouble.”
No word on how much is wagered on these games, but sounds like if there was money changing hands, it would be coming out of the drivers’ pockets.
“The funny thing is, his grandma is a trooper,” Clauson said.
“She stayed up until 2 in the morning one night,” Cassill said. “She played five rounds of Russian rummy, and she wanted more. “
“We finally had to tell her, ‘No, we’re done. We’re leaving,’” said Clauson, clearly the mature one of the bunch.
“Somebody usually goes home crying,” Cassill said. “It’s pretty competitive.”
“Whenever they beat me and I start feeling bad, I take them upstairs and kick their butt at bubble hockey,” Cassill said.
Bubble hockey? That’s Cassill’s name for the old-school table hockey game where rods slide back and forth, controlling players that pivot to shoot and pass.
Cassill apparently is very good at it, having gotten an old table from Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Good for them, I figure. It’s this kind of personality we need in the series. Sprint Cup drivers’ stories have been told over and over. We need some young blood in the sport. Keeps us all young.
Heck, just ask Landon Cassill’s grandmother.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Colin Braun
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