NASCAR Contenders Live

I was surfing through an online newletter I received in my email and noticed talk of an event happening for the first time in the history of NASCAR. This event was to take place on Wednesday, 9/12/2012 in Chicago, Illinois at the House of Blues. Since Chicagoland Speedway is the first track on the 10-race run to the championship, they decided to have all 12 of the Chase contenders on stage answering questions from the fans.

The tickets were $10 each and all proceeds were to benefit The NASCAR Foundation. My friend Kecia and I decided that this would be a good day trip so we left at 7:00am Wednesday morning and arrived in Chicago about 4 hours later. It's always such a joy navigating through the miles and miles of expressways and tollways and bridges. I must say Lake Shore Drive is my favorite as it runs along Lake Michigan. It's so beautiful and BUSY!

After a lovely jaunt through the city, we saw places that we didn't even know existed. At one point we lost satellite reception on the GPS after missing our turn. We were under the city running parallel to the river. It was dark and just plain spooky. But the cool part was suddenly seeing the sunlight and realizing we were right on Dearborn and 0.1 miles from the House of Blues and didn't realize it! We were super happy to leave that underground world behind us and try and find the parking for the venue.

We decided the easiest thing to do was to pay for valet parking which was located right behind the House of Blues. The buildings look like tall cylinders or ears of corn. It almost looked like a gigantic matchbox car holder from when we were kids. There were two of them right on the river so it makes a very easy landmark when you're trying to find the House of Blues. (Mental note)

After we dropped off the car, we decided to walk around the block and find a place to have a bite to eat. We ended up at Einsteins Bagel. Oh ya, yummi! I had a multi-grain bagel with egg whites, cheese, asparagus, mushrooms and spinach. It also had a real light sauce of some kind. Wow, talk about awesome! I think it was on the corner of Kinsie and Dearborn! I certainly would like to visit that place again.

After our bagel, we walked back up to the House of Blues to stand in line. This event was supposedly general admission even though our tickets had assigned sections and seat numbers. we really did not receive any additional information on the venue seating arrangements so I assumed it was as stated on the ticket.

We stood in line for a little over an hour and one of the people from Toyota Racing snapped our picture. No, we did not meet Clint Bowyer. He was digitally inserted into our picture.

I would guess we were around the 100th in line. The line stretched all the way down the block and over the bridge. I would guess there were probably close to 1000 people in the venue total, perhaps a little less.

I noticed that many of the fans were wearing tshirts or hats or other clothing with their favorite driver on it. Some people came sporting tattoos of their driver! There was ONE man walking around in tank top with two beer cans and a half bottle of some liquor on his head. He did that trick to keep them stuck on his head with no glue or tape. It was comical, but at the same time I knew as soon as I looked at him that he would make the news, FB, Twitter, etc and thus just another reason that NASCAR fans are stereotyped as rednecks! Kecia and I were not and we seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. We were dressed in plain blue jeans and shirts except of course I had my sterling silver necklace with Tony's #14 on it. But we were the "classy" NASCAR fans that we were accused of being in North Carolina if you remember my previous blog.

There were representatives from Toyota, Sprint and HOB outside with us. They were telling jokes and having trivia contests to keep us entertained. One of the Miss Sprint Cup ladies was having her picture taken with fans and others were of course pushing Toyota and Sprint products on us. That was a bonus because they made the time fly.

The House of Blues is a beautiful building but the first thing I noticed is that it would be a death trap in a fire. I'm sure they are up to code, but there is no clear way in and out. It's a maze of narrow staircases and the exits are not clearly marked. It was dark and old and I bet it's a great place to be on Halloween night! LOL

As we walked into the facility, we had to climb a huge staircase to the main floor of the venue. At the main floor you could see the stage and there were maybe 4 rows of people already standing in front of the stage. Much to my surprise, it was standing room only! No where on the event information did it say that! Well, I asked one of the HOB staff where we were allowed to stand based on our tickets and he looked at mine and directed me to the second balcony. Here I was, within striking distance of the stage and he directed me to the balcony. So, being the dutiful, lawbiding citizen, I hoofed it up a million flights of stairs and landed in the balcony. Here is what I could see...

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. You could not see the stage! I was furious. Gas is not cheap, parking is not cheap, plus add in tolls and food and you had one expensive day trip and I couldn't even see! The stage is literally down below the 1st balcony. WTH?!?

So I stood there fuming. I was happy to be there, but this was NOT what I had in mind. Come to find out, it was general admission period and even though our tickets had seat numbers, we could have stood wherever we wanted to. I find this out AFTER the 100's of people behind me are now standing where I should have been standing! I could have been 2 feet from the stage. (yes, you can insert choice words here)

Finally the show started. First out onto the stage was former full-time NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace who introduced us to the grand prize winner of a contest they had. Second was Chris Meyers, NASCAR Analyst and sports broadcaster for mostly FOX but I think I've seen him on other networks. He had a sit down interview with Mike Helton, the President of NASCAR. I must say that was fascinating. Mike was asked a couple of questions and one was from a young fan who asked him what he would be doing if he was not President of NASCAR and Mike simply said he would be a fan just like everyone here because he loves this sport. He also made mention of how the Chase is currently designed at the suggestion and support of the NASCAR Fan Council. It's nice to know that fans really do have a say in this sport. Of course, that received a hearty round of applause from the audience.

Eventually, I became so irritated with the fact that you couldn't see anything that I ditched Kecia (truly, she said I could go) and headed down the maze of stairs to the main floor. Now, you remember right that I was already misdirected by one staff person, well, it happened a second time as well. Unbelievable, but as I think about it, I'm kind of happy it happened.

I climbed down about 3 flights of stairs and I'm totally confused as to where I'm at. So, I ask two HOB staff where I can get a drink and they point me to a bar that's off to my left. So I head over and the first clue I should have had was the fact they were ALL men and all of them were in some form of suits. In other words... CLASSY. I walk up next to this nice looking man and ask the bartender for a drink. She starts to get it and the guy next to me asks me if I'm ok. I of course said no, I was frustrated, blah, blah, blah. Man, he had beautiful blue eyes... I digress, sorry. The bartender comes back and says she's sorry but she can't serve me. I'm like, ok, why and she tells me I don't have a VIP tag. Oh for the love of Pete. I'm in the VIP section! WTH is it with the House of Blues staff and their directions???

I just shook my head, apologized and told her I was misdirected and where should I go? Ugh, I wasn't embarrassed because obviously, and here is the most important part to consider... I DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A TYPICAL NASCAR FAN SO NO ONE QUESTIONED ME ENTERING THE VIP SECTION!! Just think about that one for a second!

So I busted ass out of there, back to the two HOB staff who were clueless, told them that this was the VIP section and they apologized and sent me down another couple flights of stairs. By the time I hit the main floor, I said screw the drink because they were just getting ready to introduce the 12 drivers. So, I stood back and just watched. Here are some pictures I snapped. Some are slightly fuzzy because it was dark and the lighting made it difficult for my camera to focus.


Jimmie Johnson & Tony Stewart

Clint Bowyer

Matt Kenseth & Kevin Harvick

Kasey Kahne

Dale Earnhardt Jr

Dale Earnhardt Jr & Matt Kenseth

Tony Stewart & Brad Keselowski

Jeff Gordon

Anyway, they were supposed to take questions from the fans but I think they only took 2 questions from the audience and a couple from facebook and twitter. I was thoroughly disappointed. They had the typical boring questions for the drivers and frankly I think even the drivers were bored with it. It wasn't until Clint Bowyer let loose with his awesome humor that the rest of the drivers seemed to relax and have fun.

Clint could have his own stand up comedy routine and the fans would go wild for it. I was amazed how many people were making comments about how they did not realize how funny that man was. The fans were eating it up and craving more! They were saying he needed to be the host for next years event. And without him, I don't believe the other drivers would have been as free to let loose with there own brand of humor.

At one point Clint pointed out that here we were in this awesome bar and they didn't have a cold one to drink. He just kept saying it in hopes that someone would bring out the beer. He named a few brands like Miller or Budweiser and suddenly he got a tweet from someone that reminded him that this event was sponsored by Coors Light. Clint had to tell us what a dumbass he was for screwing that up and shortly afterwards, they brought out trays full of Coors Light for the drivers to drink.

It's been a week now since the event so I can't remember everything I was going to say, but I will mention that they televised the event that following evening on Speed. Talk about disappointing! They took about an hour and a half worth of material and cut it down to about 35 minutes on tv. THEY CUT OUT ALL THE GOOD STUFF TOO! Well, not all but most of the humorous stuff. The took out all the funny things they said and the way they made fun of Kasey Kahne. They just ripped him up and by the end of the event all the fans were feeling sorry for him. The REAL stuff was gone and in it's place were all the cookie-cutter, sponsor loving, typical horse crap that we hear every week. Only the fans who attended really got to see the authentic event.

It was worth the 8 hours of driving and the 4.5 hours of standing to witness the 12 drivers on stage. It was fun to see how they interacted with each other. It was awesome when Jeff Gordon annouced to everyone what an awesome driver Tony Stewart is and when Clint picked on Jeff for being a member of the AARP. It was just neat to see them all at once and in such an intimate setting.

I hope they do it again next year because you can bet I'll be there!

Stereotypical NASCAR fan

In Sociology: A stereotype is a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group: The cowboy and Indian are American stereotypes.

If you remember in one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I was accused of not being a typical NASCAR fan. I let it go at first but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I disagreed. What was surprising is this came from someone who has been in and around the sport for many, many years. If anyone should know who or what a typical NASCAR fan is, this person should.

So I asked him why I'm not a typical fan? His response to me was pretty much, you're just not. After talking about it a little more we discovered that his idea of a typical fan is one who wears the likeness or sponsor of their driver everywhere. Hats, shirts, jackets, etc. Me, here I was, in North Carolina on the hunt to meet my hero and I wasn't wearing anything that publically proclaimed my loyalty and support of Tony.


I asked him if that made me a classy fan, and he conceded that I was.

Interesting!

Do I look like what you would call a classy fan? The only thing I'm wearing is a Jeff Burton credential holder to show who I support.










Here are the four auction winners from last August. We each paid quite a large sum of money to ride around in a truck with a NASCAR driver. We travel to races and NASCAR events every chance we get. I would classify us as die-hard NASCAR fans.

So are we stereotypical NASCAR fans? Mind you, I'm the one in the black shirt and here I am, meeting my hero and I am wearing ONE item to show I'm a fan. Bet you can't even tell or guess what it is! It's a sterling silver chain with a #14 pendant.

That's it.

But according to the man in North Carolina, I'm not typical. Why? Because I'm not wearing an immodest tank top with Tony's face, sponsor and number plastered all over it? Because I have my teeth and don't have grits 5 times a day? Because I don't drink beer from morning until night on race days?





What about this person. Is he a typical NASCAR fan?
(Yes, I blacked out his face)

In this picture is a man who seriously dressed like this while waiting to see Tony Stewart on the Chevy stage at MIS this past June.I snapped this picture. He doesn't fit the redneck, hillbilly, blue jean wearing stereotype that I keep hearing reference to! He does have the beer thing going, but still, is he typical?

And next...

What about this guy here? I snapped a picture of him at MIS this past August. Side note - God help our society if the mullet becomes popular again!! Ugh.

Is he the typical NASCAR fan? Shirtless, blue jean shorts, beer in his right hand... as the cars passed in front of him he would raise his hand and proclaim loudly in a drunken slur that his driver needed to go faster or he would flip off Kyle Busch. Comical when you think about it.

I'm sure the drivers, going 200mph, can really see him! LOL


Not only did my independent study start me thinking down this path, my sister told me a funny story last night.

My sister Alisha went down to MIS with me on 8/19/2012. She told one of the lawyers that works in the firm she works for that she was going and what happened. She proceeded to tell him that now her and I (and my mom) are going to Chicago this weekend to see a concert at the Park West Theatre. The attorney looked flabergasted and asked if I was trashy or classy? How is that for stereotyping? I'm trashy as a NASCAR fan and classy if I attend a certain type of concert.

My bad... I didn't realize I was crossing some boundary line!

If you really start thinking about all the different stereotypes that I fall under, I must say that I'm having a bit of an identity crisis.

As a prelude to this blog, I asked a question on FB asking them to tell me what they thought was a stereotypical NASCAR fan. I was quite shocked that most had the same first thought of what a fan is: redneck, hillbilly, beer-drinking, males. MALES! I found that interesting even though some articles I had read hinted that at least 40% of the NASCAR fan base are women!

I leave you with this... are these stereotypes formed because it's the oddball, troublemakers that have a tendency to make the news? I compare it to our current problem with stereotyping Muslims. We distrust all Muslims because of what happened on 9/11 because we associate all the bad things with that day due to watching the news. Doesn't that work the same way for NASCAR fans? Are you going to see a picture of the CLASSY fan make the news or is it going to be the REDNECK HILLBILLY with no teeth, drinking beer with a mullet?

I bet you already know the answer to that one!

Eldora Speedway & short track racing

Have you been to your local short tracks? Have you seen your neighbors on the weekend, racing their pony stock, late modifieds or modifieds? Have you heard the squeal of the rubber against concrete or asphalt? Have you seen the rooster tails of the dirt behind a race car flying sideways on a dirt track?

What the hell are you waiting for? If you like NASCAR, you should love the talent at your local track!

A few miles from me is a 1/4 mile asphalt track called Spartan Speedway. I love watching the local racers tackle this track. The oval racing is great and the figure-eight racing is a hoot and yet terrifying at the same time. These men and women are everyday people who I pass at the grocery store and would never know it. They are living their own dreams by racing on the weekends. Some even hope to work their way up through the ranks and someday race in the big leagues. Go and pay attention, you just might be watching a future NASCAR champion in the making!

It was kind of cool that Michigan International Speedway took out most of the turn 3 and 4 stands and gave one to Spartan Speedway. It's so much better now watching the racing and not falling off (or through) the old wooden bleachers! LOL

www.spartanspeedway.com



My first ever experience at a dirt track was many, many, many moons ago at the I-96 Speedway in Ionia. The only recollection I have of that race is the fact I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see and I was filthy when I left. I never went back, partly because I lived 4 hours away and partly because my first experience there was not the greatest.

So this year of firsts for me included a visit to Tony Stewarts 1/2 mile dirt track called Eldora Speedway in Ohio. I figured it was going to be just like any other race track, but boy was I wrong. I would be there every weekend if it wasn't a three hour trip from my house.

www.eldoraspeedway.com/

In my quest to meet and get to know more about my hero, I chose to buy tickets for the June running of the 8th Annual Prelude to the Dream. I took my father and my little brother for Fathers Day. Don't be fooled though, it was just as much for me as for them!

The Prelude is a charity event with a host of famous drivers from NASCAR, IRL, World of Outlaws, etc. It's one night during the middle of the week where the stars of the auto racing world come out to play. It is in the middle of the week, but since we were not going to stay the night, it was no big deal.

We left Michigan early Wednesday morning and headed down I-69 to Fort Wayne and cut across on 30 towards Lima, OH. Now word to the wise, don't let the damn GPS tell you how to get there. My suggestion is you plug the GPS in for reference but you get a good old fashioned road map to follow. I kid you not, we were in the middle of mile after mile after mile of corn fields, grain fields and whatever else it is Ohio likes to grow. I started to feel quite a bit anxiety as all civilization melted away and here we were on a one lane road with farm land surrounding us like "amber waves of grain." Yes, I now understand the reference in the song!

Finally, after traveling down a road that had a stop sign every freaking mile, we were suddenly stopped in our path by a lovely sign that said "BRIDGE OUT." Happiest damn day of my life as I quickly turned left and out of that agricultural nightmare! Much to my surprise, the GPS had us running parallel to State Route 118 which Eldora is on! So down 118 we go and finally we arrived at the track.

It's a great facility. Clean, great layout and just an overall nice area. The track staff were very friendly, the seating options were unique and welcomed and the concession prices were very reasonable. But the best part of all was the track. What an awesome facility.

We found our seats, which were 3 rows from the bottom of the stands. But don't be fooled, we could still see the whole track which is what makes it so much fun. We put on our protective eye wear and waited for the show. I really wasn't sure what to expect.

Do you know what was an absolute blast? Waiting for the racing to start and watching in the pits to see who we could pick out in their street clothes. I think the mark of a true race fan is when you can identify people when they are NOT in uniform. I was impressed because my father saw the first one. He picked out Ray Evernham.

My brother and I decided to take a walk and as we walked out the back, we walked by another racing legend. I mean literally, we were 2 feet from him. I recognized him right away and I whispered to my brother look, there goes Darrell Waltrip! He couldn't believe it. He asked me if we should ask for an autograph and I said it just didn't feel right. He was was walking fast and looked like he was on a mission so I told him no. But it sure was fun getting close to him!

We did catch him and Larry MacReynolds in the pits later.

After about an hour of people watching, they finally started broadcasting live on HBO Pay-Per-View. They start to run what everyone was calling Hot Laps and afterwards, the guys would go out onto the track and make marks in the mud on the wall. Some guy told me it was so they drivers could tell the difference between the wall and the track. Makes sense.

They went through driver introductions and all the drivers posed for a picture in Eldora's victory lane.

This is only part of them, but it was the most important part to me! LOL

So the intros are done, they pile in the back of trucks and make a parade lap around the track. They are right next to the fence and for me it was the first time seeing up close Danica and Jimmie and Kyle and Kurt and all the others that raced that night. And something I noticed about their faces... and it really didn't even hit me until now after seeing all of them down at MIS. At Eldora they were relaxed and having fun. It was as if the weight of their responsibilities was lighter and they could just be men (and a woman) in fast cars racing just for the pure joy of it. It was awesome to see.

Now it's on to the racing. Wow, I love the dirt late modifieds and the way they go around that track always on the edge. To go fast, you have to be out of control or at the brink of losing control. What a rush.

I grabbed a decent pic of Tony and Ryan after a run. I'll just post a few pics to tell some of the story.

This picture (below) is actually of when Darrell Waltrip cam out and got into the passenger side of one of the cars and Tony drove him around the track a few times. OMG, that was awesome. Later I heard what DW was saying in the car and I couldn't help but laugh. I would LOVE to have taken Darrell's place!!

Anyway, the moral of this story is that you really don't get to see the talent of these drivers until they are out from under the 'heavy-hand' of NASCAR. Man, they can drive. At the end of the actual final feature race, Tony made this move that earned me a mouth full of dirt. I wish I could have taped it. It was incredible. Here are all these cars flying sideways along the top of the track and out of no where comes Tony. He passes a bunch of cars on the inside (he's kissing the inside corner) sideways. I couldn't stop my mouth from hitting the ground which of course is NEVER a good idea at a dirt track.

It was the first time I ever had the opportunity to truly see his raw talent. I have a tremendous amount of respect for his driving after my little dirt track experience.

Our drive time down and back is about three hours each way. In order to afford to do things like this I try to avoid staying overnight when at all possible. So we headed up US 127 at about 12:30am.

Don't do that, ever. That road is a nightmare at night. Just saying.

On 7/13/2012 I went back to Eldora for the second time. I took my friend Kecia with me because Tony's fan club was supposed to have a fan appreciation day. They ended up cancellng it, but since we had bought tickets to the World of Outlaws Knight before the Kings Royale, we ended up going anyway. It was great! The sprint cars were what I saw at the I-96 speedway. Boy, they are fast and Google tells me they have more horsepower than the NASCAR stock cars do! Tony raced that night too but he sucked. LOL But now I can say I've seen him drive a few different types of cars!

The fan club did give us a great little goodie bag for coming. It had a lugnut from one of Tony's race cars which was pretty cool.

I guess for this story I just want to encourage all of you to start visiting and supporting your local tracks. They are the birthplace for the next generation of heros! Also, if you get the chance to see the NASCAR stars on the dirt, DO IT! I believe Tony is right. They need to add a dirt track to the current Sprint Cup schedule!!!

A trip of "firsts" - Part 3

I could go on and on about Michael Waltrip Racing but I'll just say that a trip to his shop is a pilgrimage every NASCAR fan should make. Michael really took the time to cater to the fans of this sport and even a semi-veteran like myself learned a few new things! The staff were very pleasant and seemed very happy to be working there so to me that says it all.

I did stop and get Michael's autographed book from their gift shop. It's titled, "In The Blink of An Eye". I laughed and cried while reading it. It's Michaels story of his colorful rise to becoming a NASCAR star and that day in February 2001 when he won the Daytona 500 and lost his boss and good friend Dale Earnhardt at the same time. It's an eye opener and if you don't get choked up once or twice, you're not a true NASCAR fan!

These drivers become a deep part of every fans lives so when something happens to them, we feel as if we lose a part of ourselves. I hoping that by doing this independent study this semester I can start to figure out why its like this. Why did I get so instantly angry when Tony talked about dying to me in the truck? Why did legions of fans mourn for the loss of Dale Sr when most of them never even had the priviledge to shake his hand? I think I started to get the answer while writing this blog, but it's going to take more research and just deep soul searching to even begin to uncover that answer.

Anyway, on with the tour!

Did I mention that our tour guide was Stan Rabineau? That man knows his stuff and everyone seems to know Stan! I think that is what made our tour so much fun. We didn't feel like outsiders looking in, we actually felt part of it for just a brief moment. I think Stan has met everyone and their uncle and has a story to tell for each stop we made! So, book a tour with them and I promise you won't regret it!

(I hate this picture of me, but it's the only one I have of Stan!)







So, after Michael Waltrip Racing, I'm a little fuzzy but I believe we went to lunch. I could be wrong but oh well, it's my story so we'll go to lunch next. We went to a place where many teams go. The rule is, you cannot ask anyone for an autograph or even talk to them or you will be asked to leave. Hey, I'm all for it! I think it's a great idea. I'm one of those rare fans that will only approach a driver or team member, etc when they are at the track or at a specific NASCAR function. I think they are entitled to have a part of their life free of the demands that fans place on them. I can easily respect that.

So, we did see Marcose Ambrose and Aric Almirola at lunch. I don't know how to describe them except for... maybe... exotic? LOL I think that sounds funny when I say it, but it's not like when you would see Jeff Burton or Tony Stewart in street clothes. They look normal and approachable. Marcose and Aric looked... exotic. Yup, I'll stick to that word. Now go find them in street clothes away from the track and see if you can figure out why!

Our next stop on the tour was Stewart-Haas Racing. Yes, this was my special request. Obviously at this point I'm still on a mission to meet Tony so I figured this would be a great place to try.

When you walk into the main lobby, the entire wall in front of you is glass. It's the viewing area for the floor of the shop. It was nice to see, but obviously not as fan friendly as MWR was. There were race cars for Tony, Ryan Newman and Danica Patrick as well as murals on the wall showing Tony and Ryan racing gokarts as kids.

My first impression of the shop was how cold it seemed. It was a beautiful facility. New and shiny but it held no warmth and was void of a welcoming feel. If SHR is looking for modern decor, I would suggest some type of water wall or water feature. I think it would add a soothing, natural feel to a very "steel" oriented room! But what do I know. I guess I was just expecting something different knowing the drivers and owners. Don't get me wrong, it was a pilgrimage of sorts for me and I'm super happy to have seen it!!

Off to the right of the main lobby was the gift shop. Now here is the source of a comical story. I hate to even admit to it but it's all part of the fun I guess.

We wandered around the shop area and I decided to buy a TS license plate frame for my car and a bottle of Tony's BBQ sauce. I heard mixed reviews on it so I had to try it for myself.

So I'm checking out and Stan says (rather loudly) that this sauce is some good stuff. "Just don't drink it too fast."

Yes you read that correctly. Don't drink it too fast.

I look at him and must have had this look of horror on my face as I said quite loudly myself... "you drink this stuff in the south?"

Well, that had everyone laughing out loud at me. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I mean, seriously, there are some weird customs in the south. At least they are weird to Northerners like myself! Take boiled peanuts and grits for example. Why the hell grits have to be eaten with every meal is a complete and total puzzle! Ugh, I hate grits. Yuck.

Well, after thoughtfully providing a chuckle to Stan, Kecia and some of the staff at SHR, we moved on to the next stop on the tour. Oh and as you guessed, Tony was not in the shop that day but we did see Greg Zippadelli. If you don't know who that is, that's why God created Google. Google him and you'll see the history of Tony and Greg which is a great story to know!

Ok, so on to the next shop - Earnhardt/Gnassi Racing.

At first I was impressed... than I wondered where was the grease? Tools? Sounds of the air guns? People?

It was such a waste of space to see white from the floor to ceiling and cars on display. I quickly became disgusted. This is not what a race fan wants to see! This is a veiled attempt at placating a fan by showing them a huge vast EMPTY space. It was the shell of the sport prominately on display. Sorry, slightly beautiful but truly sterile and BORING. I couldn't get out of there quick enough.

I had to put this pic in of Kecia. She actually put the helmet on! I just couldn't get past how many other heads had been in it, so I passed. LOL

(Sorry, I'll fix the pics later. I used the wrong size!)



Our next stop was Roush-Fenway Racing. Not really a fan of them anymore. I used to be when Jeff Burton drove for Roush. Roush is big here in Michigan, but I'm no longer all that impressed with him. But, he's part of this sport so we paid ommage to him on this journey.

Know what "ommage" is? Google it and laugh right along with me at my attempt sarcasm.

The museum was great, but they only allow a small viewing window into the actual race shop. Damn the teams and their attempt at keeping secrets! I wonder sometimes if they have a secret spy agency that attempts to infiltrate each shop and exploit their secrets? Roush is locked down like Fort Knox for cripes sake.

Anyway, as I said, the museum was good. Lots of history and good information that any NASCAR fan should know.

I think for this stop I'll just post some pics and let them tell the story.

(I'm super glad Matt Kenseth is getting out of the Roush organization next year!)

Anyway, we left Roush after Kecia hugged the gigantic AFLAC duck in the lobby. Again, ewwww. How many sweaty bodies have touched that damn thing? But hey, she survived so it's all good.

Our next and last stop was Hendrick Motorsports. I could start it now, but I think I'll make this trip of firsts into a four part series. Hendrick deserves a blog all of its own just for the sheer size of the facility. I learned a few neat stories a long the way too that I'll just hint upon.

The finale is coming soon! I promise!

HOW'S THE BUCKET LIST GOING?