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Sunday, May 6, 2007

All about Talladega

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!
Boy is that a true quote. Getting up early on Sunday really wasn't a big deal to me. By early I am 3:30am to be out of the house at 4:30. Most of you don't know this but my dad is one of the big security people for the Talladega races. He gets the opportunity to do some amazing things and for the first time, I was able to tag along with him. Wow is the only word that comes to mind.
When we first got to the track it was dark still so no one was up. We had to check into the security gate and get his assignments for the day.
His first assignment was to go to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and do a sweep of it. When I use the word sweep, I mean he will make sure that there is no bombs or chemicals in there that are dangerous for the spectators and fans. Going to the IMHOF was amazing. You saw all these classic cars that had been used on the famous Talladega track.
His second assigment was to sweep the garage before the crews were to arrive. There I was with 43 of the fastest cars at Talladega. I went over straight over to Reed's car and touched it, took some pictures with it and just sat around and soaked it all up. The next place I would go would be the 8 car driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. So, yeah, I had to dance all up on that car. One of the K-9 units with us, has now officially called that dance the "Dale Jr Booty Dance". I was touching the car, making sure I got pictures of everything. I even saw the checklist for the crews. I was amazed at how much, even during an Impound, the crews are allowed to do.
Breakfast was the next order of events...Nothing exciting there!
The third thing on the list was the Talladega Municipal Airport. I just stood by the tarmac and watched the planes come in. I had to bite my tongue when I saw Jimmy Spencer. Dude is such an ass! I even saw Dale Jr's place...yes, I took a picture of it.
The fourth thing on the agenda was a sweep of the Souvenir City. I didn't do much there...Went shopping at the Budweiser Hauler and watched Joe Nichols perform. He is amazing and cute.
Back to the garage area I go. It was almost time for the Driver's Meeting and with my dad being a BIG WIG, I was able to be right there for the action. I met some of the drivers including Jimmie Johsnon, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart(who is a prick), Dale Jr, Paul Menard, Denny Hamlin, Mike Helton, Reed Soreson, Casey Mears, and David Stremme. By the way...Juan Pablo is short! I even saw Kelly Earnhardt-Elledge and Karsyn. She is getting so big.
Time for the race...I got to watch it from the spotter's stand. Before the race started, I had the opportunity to meet Steve Hmiel. He is so nice and sweet. He took the time to pose for a picture and we chatted a little bit about the car. Casey Mear's spotter, Chuck Joyce, remembered me from last year. He said that I had changed a lot and looked great. Guy made me blush. I took some pictures with him and we talked for a little bit as well. He told me to e-mail him, so I think I'll do that today when I get a chance.
I'd talk about the race but we all saw it. Not my favorite Talladega race, but at least there wasn't THE BIG ONE like the Busch race the day before. I was glad to see Kyle Busch was okay after both incidents. He was ready to get out of Alabama, I'm sure.
Hope you enjoyed my race report!

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