Dearborn, Mich. — Technology, these days, is advancin’ about as fast as John Force or Bob Tasca III on a 1,000-foot run, so fast that it’s often difficult to keep up with it. So, you’ll have to forgive Ol’ Sparky if he gets some of the newfangled terminology mixed up.

You see, right about the time the Sparkster started findin’ some of his favorite out-of-town newspapers online, somethin’ called bloggin’ started takin’ off, and then just as Ol’ Spark has been findin’ some pretty good story-tellin’ out there on some of those blogs, somethin’ called Twitter pops up.

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Now, you’ve probably heard of Twitter. Apparently, it is a form of microbloggin’. Which is not to be confused with micro-brewin’. Which, of course, is nothin’ new at all. And, the Sparkster surmises, no one would want to go microbloggin’ after goin’ micro-brewin’. But that’s a whole other issue.

What Ol’ Sparky really wants to know is this: Why would anyone say anything in 140 characters when they could go on for the rest of the day? (But, then again, that last sentence is exactly 140 characters, so what does Ol’ Sparky know?) Twitter, though, is all the latest rage, and Ford Racing is way out in front of the pack in utilizin’ the technology.

On Friday mornin’, NASCAR Sprint Cup driver David Ragan, the Sparkster’s new all-time personal fave, will participate in a live Twitter chat with Ford Racing. If you’ve got a couple of minutes—shoot, at only 140 characters all you need is a couple of seconds— register and drop David Ragan a question then follow FordRacing.

Who else is offerin’ you the opportunity to communicate—live! —with newsmakers like Ragan—or, in the past, Bobby Labonte, Ashley Force Hood and Andrew Caddell? You can do this via your computer, phone, Buck Rogers wristwatch or George Jetson lunchbox. The Spark just may join you, providin’, of course, he figures out a way to hitch his rotary phone and manual typewriter up to the Internet.

Okay, so the Sparkster is a little behind. Sometimes, that happens. Like at Bristol, where the Ford racers, for the most part, were a little behind.

“Gee, Sparky, how far behind were they?”

“Well, they were so far behind that the Ford. Drive one logo had the best track position.”

Ba-Boom. Thank you. Thank you very much. We're here 'til Thursday. Tip your waiter.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. That 2010 Ford Mustang pace car was in front of the field for some of the afternoon.

If you can’t laugh at yourself, whom can you laugh at? Okay, besides that guy, because, you know, nobody wants to be that guy.

Sheesh, the Sparkster was in more than one weddin’ party in the ‘70s. What reaction do you think those photos get?

Yep, someone breaks out a weddin’ album and hilarity ensues.

So, it was a tough showin’ at Bristol last Sunday for the Blue Oval boys. No question about it. That does not erase the fact that Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500. It does not erase the fact that Ol’ Steady Matty won again the followin’ week at Fontana.

And, did Ol’ Sparky mention that Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500? That’s a big one, you know.

Now, the good news is this: the series moves to Martinsville this week, and as far as short tracks go, Martinsville and Bristol are about as similar as Beethoven and Brooks and Dunn. Sure, both made music, but only one’s in Tennessee.

More to the point, Martinsville and Bristol are only similar in their diminutiveness. One has a high-banked cereal bowl, the other is as flat as an overcooked flapjack. Bein’ good at one doesn’t necessarily guarantee success at the other. Or, as in Ford’s case at Bristol on Sunday, bein’ not-so-good at one doesn’t necessarily mean bein’ not-so-good at the other. Since Bristol and Martinsville were put back-to-back on the schedule for the first time in 1997, only one driver has managed to win both—and that was the very first year. Obviously, nobody knew how difficult the task is; the field is wiser now.

Since no Ford driver finished better than 15th last week, the Sparkster is lookin’ for a whole lot better this weekend. Ragan, post-Twitter chat with some of you fans, could very well be a factor for his first-ever career victory. Remember, Ragan is the Sparkster’s new all-time personal fave, and the Ol’ Sparky’s all-time, all-time personal fave, Ricky Rudd, won three races and four poles at Martinsville over the years. Ragan, it turns out, made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Martinsville in the fall of ’06 and finished a lap down (hey, 499 out of 500 ain’t bad even for a veteran) and since then has completed every lap there—2,509 out of a possible 2,510. That’s a success ratio of 99.96 percent, or a good, solid B+ as far as one of the Sparkster’s high school science teachers was concerned.

Unfortunately, Travis Kvapil probably won’t be racin’ this weekend. That 28 team only had partial sponsorship this year, enough for the first five races, and, alas, Martinsville is the sixth race, and no new funding has been found. Hopefully, something good will happen soon. Travis can race, and that 28 car—think Davey Allison, Ernie Irvan, Fred Lorenzen—has a very special place with Ford fans. Kvapil knew that last week’s race could be the last one, and he went out and turned in Ford’s second-highest finish. Yep, Travis can race.

When Bob Tasca III arrives at Houston Raceway Park for this weekend’s event, he will do so for the first time as an NHRA winner. Bob the Third, whose family affiliation with Ford Motor Company is almost as long as, uh, the Ford family, drove his Motorcraft / Quick Lane Mustang Funny Car to victory in Gainesville a couple of weeks ago. As far as the other drivers go, B3 just went from bein’ one of the drivers who’s tryin’ to beat them to a driver they have to beat. In a sport like drag racin’, where head games can and do go on at the tree, Tasca now lines up with an all-important “W” on his resume. Subtle, yes. But effective.

Tasca, by the way, had a lot to say about that historic win in a national teleconference last week. Listen to what that win means to Tasca and his family.

B3,now No. 2 in the points, has some Ford company in the Top 10 of the standings—named Force, Force Hood, Hight and Neff. Spark's no math major, but even he can see that's five Mustangs in the top 10.

While wonderin’ when his rotary phone goes from communication device to collector’s item, Ol’ Sparky went through this week’s mailbag.

Dear Sparky:

I was so happy to see Bob Tasca win his first race. I know that his family has a long history with Ford Motor Company, and it must mean a lot to everybody. Plus, this just goes to show that there are a lot of Mustangs the rest of the NHRA has to beat these days.

Allen
Texas

If, by “a lot,” you mean “six,” then you’re absolutely right, Allen. Just look at the lineup of fast Ford Mustang Funny Cars that show up at NHRA tracks: Tasca, who, of course, joined the ranks of race winners the last time out; Tim Wilkerson, who last year won six races and competed for the championship until the very end; Robert Hight, who some day—perhaps as early as this year—will win a championship; Mike Neff, who can drive and crew a car, and keeps gettin’ that Ford BOSS engine into the finals; Ashley Force Hood, who last year won her first race and just keeps gettin’ better and better; and, oh, yeah, John Force himself, winner of 14 championships and 126 races and numerous other records along the way. Those are some formidable Ford racers right there.