NASCAR Weekend - Friday
Well, it was finally time for my first NASCAR experience. Since the cleaning people chased me out, I made it to the west side really early. I called Tom and Janice and they were still on I-10 at Riggs Rd (pretty close to my house, actually). So, I had some time to kill and did what comes naturally, I went shopping. I got a new purse, a pair of shorts and a T-Shirt that says Princess in rhinestones. So me.
Tom and Janice called me from the hotel and, fortunately, our rooms were ready early so we checked in. Unfortunately, the Econolodge wouldn't honor the room rate they had quoted me when I made the reservations months ago and when I had confirmed a week prior. The woman behind the counter would not budge so we got charged $30 extra a night. I will be battling that later.
Paula was trapped at work so the three of us headed out to the track. Janice and Tom debated the route and where to park once we got there and we ended up in a bad spot. It was too far out for a quick exit which is apparently the Holy Grail for them at sporting events. To me? Didn't care. I had a beer in hand and I was off to the races.
Once you're at the track, you walk by all of the merchandise trucks before you get to the gate. It was shopping time! Here's what I got (all merchandise is Jimmie Johnson or Team Lowe's unless otherwise specified):
soft-sided cooler
t-shirt
two decals (one with Sponge Bob!)
two team pins
one Subway 500 pin
coozie
beach towel
socks
license plate holder
toddler's outfit
Kurt Busch T-shirt (more on that later)
Total cost: about $175 (receipts got trashed - more on that later)
Interesting thing about the merchandise haulers - which drivers' had the biggest crowds. Jimmie's had people lined 2 or 3 deep, Junior's was pretty busy, too. Kurt Busch's? No one - I walked right up, no waiting. There weren't very many by Matt Kenseth's either. Guess the past two champs aren't that popular.
Shopping finished, we headed back to the car to unload. I changed into the Busch T (don't mind me in my bra in the parking lot). You see, I lost a bet on the championship last year. If Jimmie had won, Grandpa would have had to wear a Jimmie shirt but since that lucky SOB won, I had to wear Busch's.
Finally, it was time to go into PIR. Yay! We checked out the scenery, did the Nextel NASCAR experience, found where you can get Miller Lite (Bud is the official beer of NASCAR, it was not easy finding Lite) then headed to some seats (not our own) to watch Cup qualifying.
Ohmigod! Those cars are so fast and so loud! We sat two rows up on the start/finish line for qualifying. It was awesome! You could smell the fuel and the tires and I was just the happiest camper imaginable.
After qualifying, we headed to our seats for the Busch Race. We were between turns 1 and 2 in the upper level with a nice view of all of the track. Paula called and was on her way when they were getting ready to start. I made the comment that maybe we'd have some cautions to slow things down so she'd get to see most of the race. Yeah, I jinxed them. It was a record for cautions and there was even one red flag caution (where they make the cars park on the track). She got there with most of the race still left to go.
I was rooting for JJ Yeley because he's local and Kenny Wallace because, well, he's Kenny Wallace. All but two of the cautions (read that as accidents) happened pretty much in front of us which was exciting. Greg Biffle won which bummed me a little as he was in second place (behind Jimmie) in the Cup and I didn't really want him to have any confidence going into Saturday's race.
I headed out with Paula and Tom and Janice went to their car. On the way, Paula and I ran into a group of cheeseheads and I outed her as a Flatlander (that's someone from Illinois). They were actually pretty cool about it (and completely wasted) and one guy even asked her to marry him so she's got that going for her.
We stopped to get more beer while Tom and Janice unhappily waited in traffic. They really weren't that far behind us though. The four of us walked over to The Waffle House for a late snack. You don't know scary until you walk into a west side Waffle House at midnight with a bunch of locals in it. Every head in the place swiveled towards us we walked in and I could swear I hear Dueling Banjos playing in the background. The food was good, though.
Finally, it was off to bed...one great day in the books!
Tom and Janice called me from the hotel and, fortunately, our rooms were ready early so we checked in. Unfortunately, the Econolodge wouldn't honor the room rate they had quoted me when I made the reservations months ago and when I had confirmed a week prior. The woman behind the counter would not budge so we got charged $30 extra a night. I will be battling that later.
Paula was trapped at work so the three of us headed out to the track. Janice and Tom debated the route and where to park once we got there and we ended up in a bad spot. It was too far out for a quick exit which is apparently the Holy Grail for them at sporting events. To me? Didn't care. I had a beer in hand and I was off to the races.
Once you're at the track, you walk by all of the merchandise trucks before you get to the gate. It was shopping time! Here's what I got (all merchandise is Jimmie Johnson or Team Lowe's unless otherwise specified):
soft-sided cooler
t-shirt
two decals (one with Sponge Bob!)
two team pins
one Subway 500 pin
coozie
beach towel
socks
license plate holder
toddler's outfit
Kurt Busch T-shirt (more on that later)
Total cost: about $175 (receipts got trashed - more on that later)
Interesting thing about the merchandise haulers - which drivers' had the biggest crowds. Jimmie's had people lined 2 or 3 deep, Junior's was pretty busy, too. Kurt Busch's? No one - I walked right up, no waiting. There weren't very many by Matt Kenseth's either. Guess the past two champs aren't that popular.
Shopping finished, we headed back to the car to unload. I changed into the Busch T (don't mind me in my bra in the parking lot). You see, I lost a bet on the championship last year. If Jimmie had won, Grandpa would have had to wear a Jimmie shirt but since that lucky SOB won, I had to wear Busch's.
Finally, it was time to go into PIR. Yay! We checked out the scenery, did the Nextel NASCAR experience, found where you can get Miller Lite (Bud is the official beer of NASCAR, it was not easy finding Lite) then headed to some seats (not our own) to watch Cup qualifying.
Ohmigod! Those cars are so fast and so loud! We sat two rows up on the start/finish line for qualifying. It was awesome! You could smell the fuel and the tires and I was just the happiest camper imaginable.
After qualifying, we headed to our seats for the Busch Race. We were between turns 1 and 2 in the upper level with a nice view of all of the track. Paula called and was on her way when they were getting ready to start. I made the comment that maybe we'd have some cautions to slow things down so she'd get to see most of the race. Yeah, I jinxed them. It was a record for cautions and there was even one red flag caution (where they make the cars park on the track). She got there with most of the race still left to go.
I was rooting for JJ Yeley because he's local and Kenny Wallace because, well, he's Kenny Wallace. All but two of the cautions (read that as accidents) happened pretty much in front of us which was exciting. Greg Biffle won which bummed me a little as he was in second place (behind Jimmie) in the Cup and I didn't really want him to have any confidence going into Saturday's race.
I headed out with Paula and Tom and Janice went to their car. On the way, Paula and I ran into a group of cheeseheads and I outed her as a Flatlander (that's someone from Illinois). They were actually pretty cool about it (and completely wasted) and one guy even asked her to marry him so she's got that going for her.
We stopped to get more beer while Tom and Janice unhappily waited in traffic. They really weren't that far behind us though. The four of us walked over to The Waffle House for a late snack. You don't know scary until you walk into a west side Waffle House at midnight with a bunch of locals in it. Every head in the place swiveled towards us we walked in and I could swear I hear Dueling Banjos playing in the background. The food was good, though.
Finally, it was off to bed...one great day in the books!
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