Santa Menz's mailbag shows the naughty, nice

Nothing says Happy Holidays like a review of the many e-mails received from enthusiastic but often angry NASCAR fans throughout the course of the year that was.

So with no further ado, what follows is a very small sampling of the ones I tried to sort through as the 2010 season unraveled. Last names, when provided, have been removed to protect the innocent and many of the e-mails have been edited for the sake of brevity and so we can have some fun with this deal.

No matter where he finishes in the standings, Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains a popular topic, as evidenced by this recent e-mail ...

Hi Joe.

I would like to make one comment about the changes at Hendrick. If Junior doesn't produce some checkered flags this upcoming season he better start thinking about being a bar tender at Whisky River. ... [Jimmie] Johnson won because the entire team wanted the championship. [Denny] Hamlin came in second because he was just that hungry. Junior just rides on his name, not his ability.

Jack from Derry, N.H.

First of all, I would like to thank Jack from Derry, N.H., because he e-mails me frequently. That means he cares. He e-mails when he's upset with me, when he agrees with me, and when he simply feels the need.

But before shuttling Earnhardt from behind the wheel to behind the nightclub he owns in uptown Charlotte, N.C., let's not forget that he provided one of the most stirring victories of 2010 when he won the Nationwide Series race in July at Daytona International Speedway in a car that was a replica of the one his daddy used to drive. It was good stuff. And let me ask you this, Jack: If Hamlin falls off this coming season, should he seek employment -- or at least to satisfy his hunger -- at Denny's?

Related: Changes offer Junior best chance yet at comeback

Speaking of employment, readers wondered what had happened to vanishing team owner George Gillett, whose ill-fated venture into NASCAR quickly dissolved under a mountain of unpaid bills. I tried to explain it in a column and one of the responses I received was ...

Joe,

You nailed it in a FAR more diplomatic way than I would have. I live in the mountains of Colorado about 30 minutes from Vail. George Gillett once ran what is now Vail Resorts. His reputation in the '80s when in power was that he was far better at playing on paper than in reality. He was eventually booted here too.

Mark, from somewhere in the mountains near Vail, Colo.

Related: Petty back in charge, and that's a good thing

Speaking of paper, one really thoughtful fan had this to say on the subject of five-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson ...

Joe,

If you and your cronies really think what is happening in NASCAR is healthy, then perhaps you all are as useless as that sheet of paper on a wall near you! Put the driver of the 48 in a race car like Cale [Yarborough], Bobby [Allison], David [Pearson] and Dale [Earnhardt], etc. raced. He [will] fold like a used deck of cards.

Ron from MacClenny, Fla.

Cronies? I have cronies? Why didn't anyone tell me? Now I feel really empowered and important.

I also feel the need to tell Ron and all other 48 bashers that they need to learn to appreciate the fact that Jimmie Johnson might just end up being the greatest, most prolific champion this sport has ever seen before he's finished with his career. You need to start embracing that instead of constantly bashing him and insisting that he's bad for business.

That's just my opinion, of course. But a guy with cronies is entitled to make statements like that.

Related: Johnson crowned champ for fifth consecutive year

Speaking of forceful, confident statements that stir people up, another hot e-mail topic as the year wound down came as the result of a column written about crew chief Mike Ford's comments following his driver Hamlin's victory at Texas in November. Basically, Ford called out the 48 team -- and in turn e-mailers bashed Ford with a cautionary tale.

No one nailed it more than one who wrote in under the subject line that said, "As Mike Ford would have it, the 48 team played right into his hands at Texas and left little doubt in his mind as to which is the best race team."

I predict Mike Ford will eat those words in two weeks.

Thanks,

Randy from Glendora, Calif.

Two weeks later, this e-mail arrived in my inbox like clockwork ...

LOL!!! Like I said Mike Ford ate those words. Karma is a bitch. Hahahahaha. The best team just walked away with five championships.

Thanks,

Randy from Glendora, Calif.

Related: Ford ready to pounce at first sign of weakness

There were those who wrote in to praise my good works, like the guy who wrote that he agreed with me that the Chase format as presently constituted wasn't so horrible and was, at least in 2010, doing its job ...

Good evening Joe,

That was a great article on the Chase. Too many people have short memories and are too willing to penalize the successful. Happens in real life too! Me? I'm a little farmer in South Dakota doing what I have done all my life. Take the lumps as well as the gravy. I wish that there was a race and a track that was close enough to go to. I would love to see a live race instead of on the tube or radio!!!

What I can't understand and what has turned me [off] a little from watching or listening is not Jimmy [sic] winning the Chase four [and now five] times. I think he is a great driver, not in pileups, [with a] great crew chief and owner.

It is Kyle Bush. His arrogance, lack of respect, get the hell out of my way, don't you know I'm Kyle Bush and am entitled to win these races mentality. In my opinion he has done things on the track that other drivers would at least be sent to the back for ... and NASCAR has let it slide. I think it is because he is a lightning rod and NASCAR likes it.

Bob, the small farmer from South Dakota

Um, who is Kyle Bush?

Ohhhhh. He meant Kyle Busch! Yes, of course, Kyle Busch is a subject sure to generate a torrent of e-mails. But you know what? Bob is right. NASCAR does like it -- and you know why? Because Kyle Busch is like that local sportscaster who wins both the most popular and most hated mantles in every viewer poll -- thereby making his employer happy because they know folks are watching.

Kyle Busch is talented. Kyle Busch can sometimes do stupid, jerky things (but in reality is a much more consistent person than his older brother, and often much more charming). The thing about Kyle Busch more than anything else is that he moves the needle. He's a banana split in the sport that sometimes in recent years has been a little too vanilla. Love him or hate him, you have to admit he is interesting.

Related: Tight championship battle shows Chase at its best

At least the small farmer from South Dakota loved my column and seemed to like me, which is a far cry from the guy who sent an e-mail under the simple subject line that read: "JERK." I wasn't sure it was for me, but I opened it anyway and read the following ...

Hey [jerk]head:

I didn't see your name in the results rundown [of the latest race], and if you're just stating your opinion you should be better informed or go cover and write about donkey racing. ... I can't believe NASCAR even lets an ass like you into the tracks.

David from Norwich, United Kingdom

They have donkey racing in the United Kingdom? You really ought to look into getting some NASCAR races -- and if you're successful, I promise I'll come to cover them (if you'll only let me in).

Happy Holidays, everyone!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.