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NASCAR
Nextel Cup Advance Auto Parts 500
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville, VA
April 10, 2005
Only 2.5 hours from our new home in Raleigh, NC, I
took Samantha to the track on the day of the race
and bought tickets after the race had started! There
was no parking fee, cheap tickets, no hotel. Quite
a budget contrast from the NASCAR races I couldn't
afford to go to in the northeast (Dover, New Hampshire).
Samantha got a cool Elliot Sadler t-shirt; she likes
him because he's sponsored by the cute M&Ms guys.
Mark Martin finished 3rd and Elliot Sadler finished
9th. Pretty good race.
IRL
-Innagural race at Kentucky Speedway 2001
F1
US Grand Prix in Indy 2001
I bought 4 tickets to this race as F1 returned to
the US after some 10 year abscence. As usual, Braad
and I were the only ones to go, so I sold the other
two tickets on Ebay. My man Michael Shumacher won
the race in the Ferrari, and it was awesome seeming
the F1 cars in real life.
CART Mid Ohio
1999
This trip was supposed to be David Penn's bachelor
party, but he called off his wedding, so it was just
a party. A party it was too! I don't remember much
about the race, but I remember the stripper girl with
the fake boobs hanging out at our campsite, and I
remember the police breaking up our camp and hauling
a guy away.
CART
Mid Ohio 1997
I took Phil and Jessica to this race when they were
visiting America. We met Stan Wattles, and we got
to see the short lived North American Touring Car
Championship. I even got to meet my favorite NATCC
driver, Darren Law.
AMA Superbike
-Mid Ohio 1996
NASCAR
Winston Cup Michigan International 1993 - I remember
being kind of fed up with the whole NASCAR fan scene
after this race. I was still reeling after Alan Kulwicki's
death, so I didn't really have any one to root for
passionately even though I liked Mark Martin and Bill
Elliot. We left early and listened on the radio to
Mark Martin win the race and headed to Wisconsin to
visit Alan's grave. Craig Edmunds came to this race
with us, and we met some whacky guys from Canada.
Craig, after trying their Molson Canadian beer said
it tasted "fruity", and then said "I'm
sorry man, I didn't mean to insult your beer."
This would be my last NASCAR race until 2005.
CART
Michigan International 1992
This was the first CART race I ever attended, and
Braad and I were blown away by the speed in which
the cars moved around MIS! It was amazing.
NASCAR
Winston Cup -Watkins Glen 1992 - Watkins Glen, NY
Trying to recreate something great doesn't always
work. Lisa did not go with us this time, it was just
Braad and I. We accidentally ended up in the family
camping area, so the party kind of sucked. Also, this
guy we met, who we only remember as "SUUUEEEE,
Razorback!", liked to steal stuff and hide it
in our camping area.
NASCAR
Winston Cup -Watkins Glen 1991 - Watkins Glen, NY
I don't recall what prompted this race, but it
was after Braad and I's round the country trip. Lisa,
my boss at Pizza Hut, went with us. We all stayed
in a tent, got rained out, and found the largest party
in the world!
NHRA
Bandimere Speedway, Denver, CO 1991
NASCAR
Winston Cup -Daytona 1991 -Daytona Beach, FL
The Pepsi 400 it was called back then. This was the
4th of July race. Braad and I were visiting Durdie
in Florida and we all went to the race. Braad and
I drove into the infield, and Durdie sat in the stands.
This was the race that Darrell Waltrip flipped his
car 12 times. I remember seeing a cloud of smoke in
the distance and thinking it was someone's barbeque.
Bill Elliot won the race followed by 3 more Fords.
Braad and I were ecstatic!
Ford
Nationals -Maple Grove Speedway 1991, Mohnton, PA
-Braad's birthday tour of America. Braad and I
got trashed in the bar and eventually cut off and
kicked out because we were so drunk. Braad was so
drunk, I had to help him back to our tent. As he stumbled
out of the bar, he slurred "You have to help
me, you're my brother."
NASCAR
Winston Cup -Pocono 1990 -Long Pond, PA
Ford
Nationals -Maple Grove Speedway 1990, Mohnton, PA
This is the race Nile and Tasco went with
us.
NASCAR Winston Cup -Pocono 1989 -Long Pond, PA
This was race Braad and I went to and explored with
the Free Camping to save some money. I remember waking
up in the middle of the night after an M-80 firecracker
blew up in our tent, and I saw Braad leaving the tent
with a shotgun in his hand! I had to chase him down.
"Wait!!!"
NASCAR
Winston Cup - Pocono -Long Pond, PA 1988
This was the first race I ever went to. David Penn
got some tickets from his auto shop, and asked me
to go. To him, it was just something to do on a weekend,
but for me: a monster was created. This was the last
race in which Bobby Allison would race as he was injured
badly. This year David and I sat in the grandstands.
Shortly after this race, I began watching NASCAR on
TV and had to pick a favorite driver. I opted for
Bill Elliot since he drove a Ford and was sponsored
by Coors; "A Ford from Colorado" I remember
saying to myself "It couldn't be any more perfect."
Of course I was and am a Ford and Colorado fan.
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