I’d never heard that phrase before in my life, as I’ve never followed NASCAR. It makes sense, keep your car from hitting the outside wall. As the driver of an oversize vehicle on this tour I AM well familiar with keeping both sides clean. Narrow bridges and construction zones are a surefire way to quicken my pulse and put a knot in my stomach. lol. I’d like to think that its the same feelings Brian Scott the driver of the number 2 in the nationwide series feels when he cuts it a little close, but I’m sure when your’e inches away from the wall traveling 120 mph, it’s a little more extreme.
The “Tater” team got the experience of a lifetime this weekend by being treated as VIPs at our first NASCAR event. To sum up the weekend, I can only use the term “Wow”. Picture if you will, 150,000 people converging on the small town of Bristol TN, and the Big Idaho Potato and its team right smack in the middle of it all. We got to be a star in the “hauler” parade which is unlike any parade I’d ever seen or heard of. A night time parade at 4 times the speed of any other we’ve been in, while fireworks shoot off in the back ground every mile or so? Count us in. Combine 4th of July, Mardi Gras and the Kentucky Derby parade and you might end up with a vague idea of what it was like.
Then we set up outside the Bristol Motor Speedway, a Greek Colosseum of a race track. We met our driver Brian Scott and watched him meet his adoring fans and sign a bunch of autographs. He and his fiance and daughter welcomed us into their tour bus and fed us as he prepared himself for the race. After dinner we made our way into the track and to the area where we would watch the race, the “pit”. I know NASCAR fans everywhere were eating their hearts out as us NASCAR newbies got to experience a view that many lifers never get. He and his crew welcomed us and made us feel a part of the team. We got to wear the headsets and listen in to the pit crew and the drivers chatter about how the car was handling and how the tires were holding up.
That enough to make “ya’ll” jealous? well if not here’s a little more. We got to see Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty and several other NASCAR celebs speak, as well as seeing many peoples favorite drivers cars. But wait, there’s more…We got to hang out and talk to RCR’s head honcho Richard Childress. Okay, you can pick yourself off the floor now. We can’t begin to thank everyone who had a hand in making all this happen. Frank Muir, Laura Martin, Brian Scott and his family and crew, Don Odiorne, Sue Kennedy, Food City and anyone I missed, we thank you more than words can say.
I will end this with a couple thoughts…
First of all i apologize for my seeming to jump from subject to subject. I am still completely overwhelmed by the experience, sensory overload. Second I know I’m leaving a ton of what we did and saw out of this blog, if I wrote it all it would be a novel. Third and lastly, I love my job! Even though the “Tater” team put in a long and exhausting work week, it is all worth it for events like this. I can now feel the sense of belonging when I hear the phrase “gentleman start your engines”. NASCAR you now have three new fans…
