Why wait until the end of the year to have all the fun when at least half of it can be had right now?

Yes, we're talking the best and (mostly) worst of e-mails to grace the ol' inbox. Usually we save all of them for the end of the year.

But we're just past the halfway point of the NASCAR season and the inbox is overflowing with comments from folks who are infuriated about something or -- gasp! -- actually offered praise and encouragement. When the inbox total reached 544 messages in the wake of the latest article written on the subject of He Who Shall Not Be Named Here in this 88-free column, it seemed the right time to print of a few of the better ones (along with some tongue-in-cheek editorial comments that hopefully will be taken that way).

New attitude?

Kyle Busch admitted a new attitude may help his team in the big picture. And he quickly got a chance to test the theory.

• Attitude change may help
• Indy trouble drops Busch
• Video: Busch hits the wall

Last names have been removed to protect the innocent or even the guilty who simply assumed their venomous e-mails would never be reprinted.

Let's start off with Todd from Wisconsin, or as he wrote "from the 14th state-in-waiting for a NASCAR date." (Wisconsin may have dropped further down the list after there appeared to be a little snafu involving those who operate the Milwaukee Mile giving NASCAR their pre-determined fair cut of the gate in a timely manner following the most recent Nationwide Series race there).

Joe, your columns always leave me either laughing, or nodding in agreement, or sometimes both. I'd love to sit down with you and a case of beer someday. Maybe Tony Stewart could come by with an additional case of Schlitz. Keep up the great work.
Sincerely, Todd

Todd, how did you know I was a beer drinker? Yes, it's true that I recently tested positive for Coors Light. I even asked to be retested a day later so I could test positive again. How about I get in touch with Tony's people and see if we can make this happen, maybe after the crowd thins out following the next Prelude to the Dream at Stewart's beloved Eldora Speedway, where he seems most at ease (at least after an event is over)?

Todd wasn't the only positive, proactive thinker in the bunch. Keri from Southern Maryland also wrote in the wake of the last best-and-worst e-mail column around the first of the year:

Hi Joe, I don't think I have ever responded to an online article but yours today particularly cracked me up! I am amazed that people respond to your articles with such venom!! We can't all agree all the time ... I guess some of your readers fail to see the point behind opinions!! People are talking and writing so you must be doing something right!!

Well, she got that right. People certainly have been talking and writing. That included many who like to weigh in on the subject of one Kyle Busch. Love him or hate him -- and there doesn't seem to be many in between -- but he certainly stirs up the emotions and opinions of the fans out there.

After one article which focused mostly on young Joey Logano and barely even mentioned young Kyle in passing (although in a fleeting comparison to the late, great Dale Earnhardt), Sean from Atlanta somehow took offense and wrote:

Kyle Busch is not a "bad boy." He's a little [*#&$^%] that it so happens can drive a race car. Dale [Earnhardt] Sr. was hated by many, true. But not for the reasons that Kyle Busch is. Find me a picture of Dale Sr. holding back tears after finishing second ... an audio clip of him whining about it ... video of him storming away from the media after a bad break. How 'bout in-car audio of him berating his pit crew and entire team for the POS they gave him to drive? Can Kyle Busch even change his own oil?

“

No, I don't believe in UFOs. Nor do I believe in ghosts, but [the All-Star Race] was fixed. Not intentionally but subconsciously.

”

TT-REXX, NASCAR fan

William, whereabouts unknown, took offense to a suggestion I made that you had to be smarter than a fifth grader to understand where I was coming from when I defended Busch as one of the most talented drivers in the garage today, adding:

Look a-hole -- I don't feel [ecstatic] every time this kid wins a race. And, yes -- he will win more. And, yes -- you will obviously fill your pants with more peanut M&M's when he does. He's still a punk. Character matters, and I'm not talking about being one. I mean respect. You know -- that thing you hear other writers talking about getting from their readers, and somehow it's not happening for you. Respect.

Until you start writing about something other than the anointment of this kid as the savior, you will most likely continue to get e-mails from people like me.

Keep 'em comin' Billy. I respect you and your opinions. But seriously, do you think I fill my pants with peanut M&M's when KB wins? That's just weird, man.

Another hot topic the first half of this season, as it turned out, came when I did a 1-on-1 interview with team owner Richard Childress following his election to the board of directors for the National Rifle Association. No matter what your opinion is on guns (I don't even own one, but I certainly will eat any meat friends of mine might provide after using one to hunt), getting elected to the 75-person board at the NRA was noteworthy and Childress deserved a chance to discuss why it meant so much to him.

Or at least so I thought. Chris from New Hampshire didn't seem to think so, ranting that NASCAR.COM should not have wasted the space on the article, ripping Childress for his "political views" and adding:

Perhaps if [Childress] spent more time in the race shop and less time killing harmless animals or promoting the rights of rednecks to own assault weapons his three teams might be doing better.

Ouch. That's a cheap shot. And Chris didn't even need to use a gun to fire it or make it hurt inside the struggling RCR shop.

Then again, Childress had plenty of supporters, too -- including one e-mailer who suggested RC run for president (of the United States, not merely the NRA).

Another hot topic with the fans over the first half of the season was the aforementioned Stewart. One guy who called himself Frosty talked about how he was having trouble convincing his 7-year-old to come on board as a Stewart fan (hey, Frosty, how 'bout you let the kid make his own decisions on who he roots for?). Most gushed about how well Stewart has fared.

But some thought there might be more to the first-year success of Stewart-Haas Racing than meets the casual eye, including the frequent e-mailer who calls himself TT-Rexxx and wrote after Stewart's win in May's All-Star Race:

No, I don't believe in UFOs. Nor do I believe in ghosts, but last night's race was fixed. Not intentionally but subconsciously. No. 1, new team=NASCAR can expand. Every company needs a certain percentage to survive. No. 2=non points race. No. 3=NASCAR wanted Tony to win and even though nothing was said everyone knew it was to be for the good of the sport. Several of my friends and myself wanted him to win [Gordon fans]. You may not want to admit it but all the signs were there. Tony won because everyone, including the racers, wanted him to for the good of the sport.

Um, after watching Stewart go on to win elsewhere, are you sure you don't believe in UFOs?

Buddy from Pittsboro, N.C., may or may not believe in flying saucers, but he swore he could spot a good NASCAR conspiracy theory from, well, at least several yards away. And he didn't like the penalties they assessed to Jeremy Mayfield (don't even get us going on that subject again) and Carl Long.

I have been watching the NASCAR things going on recently and it makes me wonder if NASCAR/the France family are trying to put the little man out of business. Understandably, Mayfield and Long don't draw the crowd of a Robby Gordon or even Michael Waltrip, but they do work hard to put a car on the track.

I have one legitimate question: Robby Gordon draws a crowd? And one other: have you seen the crowds Mayfield has been drawing lately even when he's just heading to the bathroom to pee?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.