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Clint Bowyer, the popular NASCAR driver will start his first race this season behind the steering wheel of the No. 2 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado truck for Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI) at the upcoming NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series that will take place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia this weekend.

"I'm really excited to get back behind the wheel of a truck. I had a lot of fun last year in the Truck Series and I was really happy when Kevin and DeLana asked me to drive for them in a few races this season. It's great that Camping World has come aboard as a sponsor. Hopefully we can bring them a lot of success." says NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer.

"I'm looking forward to racing in Atlanta, especially since the track is similar to Texas, where I got my first Truck Series win last season. I'll be pulling triple duty, so hopefully I can start the weekend off right with a good run in the Camping World Silverado." he further explains.

In addition, this year's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be the stage for the racing debut of newcomer Cale Gale, joining KHI along with the team owner and driver, Kevin Harvick. So KHI should get a GM repair manual for their Chevrolet trucks.

Clint Bowyer's driver skills at the 2006 NASCAR Truck Series made him to score a number one finish with 148/148 laps at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth aboard the Silverado truck owned by Davil Dollar. He also obtained a top 10 slot during a race in Martinsville Speedway and took the seventh spot. This 2007 season, Clint is back behind the steering wheel of the No. 2 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado truck owned by co-driver Kevin Harvick and hopes to be the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion.

Meanwhile, Charlie Wilson Crew Chief of Atlanta Motor Speedway commented:
"We have Clint Bowyer in the No. 2 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado this weekend. He will drive the same truck (chassis No. 012) that Kevin raced at the California Speedway."

"We are using the same set up in the No. 2 Camping World Silverado that the No. 33 AES Silverado has. Ron (Hornaday) has always run well in Atlanta and with the set up that we are using; Clint will run really well also." he added.

Along with the No. 2 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado for KHI, Clint Bowyer is also the current driver Jack Daniel's No. 7 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the NEXTEL Cup Series and the No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Busch Series. The Richard Childress Racing owns both of these two trucks.

Article author: Noah Scott

My wife and I moved into our dream home last week, a custom built house designed in the Craftsman tradition. It’s a bungalow with an open concept layout, three bedrooms and an oversized kitchen featuring hand crafted maple cabinets in an Arts and Craft style. There are exposed timber beams at the entranceway and in the great room, a massive stone fireplace, with stained glass throughout. The only problem is that once we moved in, we found our bedroom furniture suddenly looked shoddy and out of place. Our master bedroom is trimmed with naturally stained oak baseboards, window casings and door surrounds, but the black lacquered bedroom set we picked up on sale at a department store looks cheap and obviously mass produced. We quickly came to the conclusion that it had to be replaced with Traditional bedroom furniture, preferably something handcrafted in a honey oak. No pressboard, assemble yourself pieces or foil; in order to look right in our home, we want something that’s bench made with solid joints, real oak and solid plywood. Heirloom quality bedroom furniture that will not only look good, but last.

Anyone who’s ever bought new furniture for their home knows that doing so is a slippery slope. Once you replace some of it, the remaining furnishings tend to look even shabbier, so you end up buying even more. There are two main reasons for this. First, people have a habit of buying contemporary furniture that quickly goes out of style, making it seem old before its time. Buying Traditional bedroom furniture negates this issue, since the styles are timeless. People with taste have been buying these styles for decades and in some cases, centuries; that’s not a fad. The second reason is that furniture carried by most retailers is made to last for only a few years. Manufacturers use cheap materials and mass produce the bedroom furniture so that it looks nice enough in the showroom, starts to accumulate dings, splits and loosens up after a few years and pretty much needs replacement by the time it’s seen four or five years of use. These companies come and go and frankly, they don’t seem to really care about reputation. So long as products are cheap and in trendy styles, they’ll always have customers.

We opted for heirloom quality, Traditional bedroom furniture from Furniture Traditions. This is American made, high quality bedroom furniture, hand crafted from oak, with 3/8” plywood backing. It’s solid, heavy and each piece is signed by the craftsman who personally assembled it. For the master, we went with a Sleigh Bed and in the spare bedroom (remember that slippery slope?); we bought a new Spindle Bed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :-

Chad Herr is a real estate developer who recently upgraded to Traditional bedroom furniture in his newly built, Craftsman style home. Chad often sees clients discover their self-assembled bedroom furniture looks cheap in their new home, then replace it with heirloom quality pieces.

Article author: Alissa Smith

When faced with the daunting task of purchasing a new piano, there are many criteria which need to be considered. In my other article, I discussed the basic requirements behind a piano purchase itself. In this article, the main focus will be on why a rebuilt used Steinway Piano might be a better option than a brand new Piano.

First, let’s look at what you get when you purchase not a piano, but a new car, because more people are more familiar with this. You get all of the newest gadgets, the best technology, the best warranty (usually), and the prestige as an owner of new car. All of these items make the fact that when purchasing a new car, when you drive off the dealer parking lot, you just lost 30% of the value of the car. So what have dealers done that sell older cars? Many of them update some elements of the car to the newer technologies, if possible, but usually the gadgets are about the same as they were in when the car was originally manufactured. Some dealers fix up the exterior, the interior, overhaul the engine, etc., to put the car in the most sound shape, and then they give a beautiful 100,000 mile warranty on the car--as good as new. But best of all, when driving away with a pre-owned car, the owner realizes that although he doesn’t have the “prestige” of a brand new car owner, he can have the “prestige” of a like-new car, and the knowledge that he just saved 30%^over the purchase of a brand new car.

With pianos it is similar, but even better. First, the new piano may have newer technology, but most likely not, because the technology in the piano from about 1935 until the present has been very consistently the same, with the exception of some experimental technology in the 1960s by Steinway, which they later removed. And the parts that are not the same, can be updated to the newest of technologies with little work. For example, the strings and agraffes (the bridges) can be the newest of technologies. The Teflon of the 1960s can be removed if desired. The bushings and felts can all be updated. And most importantly, the soundboard can be updated or replaced to be brand new so as to have the effect equivalent to a brand-new piano. In fact, other than the casing and the frame, almost every part of a piano can be restored and renewed to save the original piano’s value, but update it to be just as modern a brand-new piano.

American-Steinway piano models

And here is where it gets better: The warranty offered at this point can be equivalent to a brand new piano, the value of the rebuilt piano is often much higher than the value of a new piano, and best of all, the sound and touch may be superior to a brand new piano. The sound in particular may be better because the aging and other factors in the original wood casing and framing. The touch because when rebuilding, the best of technicians often spend more time than the factory because every element of every key must be reviewed and looked at to bring it to the optimal touch.

Not just the value, but the price is much better than a new piano because you are purchasing a piano that was originally manufactured in historically lower dollars, plus the rebuilding cost, which is often 30% less than the cost of a brand new piano. For example, our Steinway Model D pianos are listed between $65000 and $79000. These are approximately 30% less than brand new Steinway D pianos, but their appearance, sound, quality, warranty, value is as good as if not better than a brand new Steinway D from a Steinway Dealer or the factory. This is because of the care and workmanship of the craftsman involved.

There are one condition where the rebuilding of piano is not worthwhile: when the craftsman does not have the rebuilding skills or qualifications. Unfortunately, this does happen, so some of the rebuilt Steinway pianos might look like a Steinway, but they do not sound or feel like a Steinway. That is a shame because then the value of the piano is equivalent to a car with gadgets that don’t work or seats that are ripped, but you are still paying for it as if it is brand new. Make sure the craftsman has the qualifications and understanding of the work required. The sound and touch are more important in determining the quality of the rebuild over the general appearance of the piano because although refinishing the wood is difficult, the skills involved in replacing a soundboard, ribs, updating the action, etc. are even more difficult.

And finally, don’t waste your time on other brands of rebuilt pianos. Only the Steinway piano maintains an appreciating value over time. All other brands have depreciating value, so the rebuild just doesn’t make sense. It is like throwing money at a car that won’t be worth much in a few years. Why not choose a car that has “prestige” that outlast and has intrinsic value, like a Steinway, the only piano that holds and appreciates consistently over time. We invite you to review our collection of rebuilt used Steinway Pianos restored by some of the world’s best Steinway trained craftsman at www.American-Steinway.com.

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Article author: Robert Friedman

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