Edwards roots for wedded bliss, win
Carl Edwards hopes his lucky-wedding history repeats itself.
Two years ago during NASCAR’s Las Vegas stop, Edwards agreed to be part of a couple’s wedding in the Neon Garage area at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Edwards went on to win the Kobalt Tools 400 Sprint Cup race, outrunning Tony Stewart.
Edwards found himself in another Vegas wedding on Thursday after a meet-and-greet at the Fremont Hotel.
He and Jeff Hammond were taking fan questions when a couple with “Bride” and “Groom” on their T-shirts took the mic and asked Edwards if he would be in their wedding.
Edwards served as a witness, and about 100 people, most of them NASCAR fans, watched the ceremony. Edwards told Claire B. Lang, host of “Dialed In” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, “It worked two years ago and maybe it will be good luck again.”
He especially loved the “Bride” and “Groom” T-shirts, telling Lang, “If my wife and I get married again, we’ll do it like this. That other stuff is overrated.”
Edwards, who broke a 70-race victory drought last Sunday at Phoenix, will start in the 16th position today in the Aflac Ford.
KID ROCK COPYCAT
Kid Rock tribute artist Craig Kory has been fooling everyone at the speedway leading up to today’s Sprint Cup race.
“Carl Edwards offered me a lift to my car,” said Kory, who has been part of the Neon Garage entertainment lineup for four years.
Flamingo headliner Marie Osmond approached him, thinking he was the real deal. So did driver Jeff Gordon.
Kory said he makes a point of letting people know he’s a look-alike. Gordon didn’t take it well when he heard that.
“When I told him I wasn’t Kid Rock, he said, ‘I can see that now,’ ” Kory said.
Kory, a quick-with-the-quip New Yorker, replied, “You look a lot like Jeff Gordon.
“Needless to say, he wasn’t humored by it. (He) turned around and kept walking.”
Kory said he meets “some interesting people” during NASCAR Weekend. In 2007 he was a bartender in a suite, but not just any suite. He was assigned to the track owner’s suite, where Bruton Smith hosts his VIP friends.
One day Kory was a fly on the wall when Smith didn’t like what he was hearing on the closed-circuit TV feed from the garage.
Kory said, “Tony Stewart was complaining about the track, burning out tires in Turn 2. That kind of ticked off Bruton, and he got on the phone and said, ‘Give me Tony Stewart’s camp. Tell Tony if he doesn’t shut up, I’m going to ban him from all three (Smith-owned) tracks — Atlanta and Texas.’ ”
NAME FAME
Former Planet Hollywood headliner Holly Madison announced the name of her baby daughter — Rainbow Aurora Rotella — on Friday and immediately found herself having to defend it.
Among the responses: “Sounds like a tri-color pasta dish,” wrote Darcy Cruwys of Bozeman, Mont., in a Facebook posting.
On her blog, Madison wrote, “There are a lot of smug haters out there who bag on my choice of a name, but I don’t care about what they think. I want my daughter to be proud of who she is and learn to speak up and stand up for herself at a young age.”
Madison, who is marrying music promoter Pasquale Rotella this summer, said she’s not worried about her daughter “being traumatized” by having a unique name.
Rio headliner Penn Jillette heard the same thing and had a quick comeback after naming his daughter Moxie Crimefighter Jillette. She turns 8 on June 7.
Jillette told the New York Times in 2006, “It’s only the losers named Dave that think having an unusual name is bad, and who cares what they think. They’re named Dave.”
SIGHTINGS
Two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Frank Mir, getting an Asian-themed full back tattoo from Japanese artist Wakako at Club Tattoo inside Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort on Friday.
THE PUNCH LINE
“North Korea has threatened to nuke the United States. Which begs the question, what the hell did Dennis Rodman say over there?” — Conan O’Brien
Norm Clarke’s column appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or email him at norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke. “Norm Clarke’s Vegas,” airs Thursdays on the “Morning Blend” on KTNV-TV, Channel 13.
