Race Day @ Bristol

On Race Day at the Track, I am always the first to get up and turn the coffee pot, get dressed and get the guys moving. It wasn't any different on this Race Day in Bristol, Tennessee. It was just a little chilly out when I walked up to the Shower Rooms, but it was refreshing and the shower was hot and I could take my time. When I got back to the RV, I lingered awhile outside and then went in and got the guys out of their beds and moving. After breakfast I decided to head on over to the track early to see if I could get some pictures of some of the drivers at their souvenir trailers. And no one wanted to go along, so I left. I caught a golf cart ride to the backside of the Track where the majority of the Trailers were after I had my picture taken at the # 24 Nicorette Display and played a couple "Sharpie" games. I got pictures of Carl Edwards, Robby Gordon, David Ragan and Scott Riggs as they were signing autographs for other fans. Then I took another golf cart ride to Gate 6 where our seats were and relaxed with a large glass of fresh squeezed lemonade, took a few pictures and just watched people and the crews working on the cars before final inspection.

The guys finally showed up and the pre-race festivities started with the Green Flag for the Race dropping at 2:00 p.m. This was the first Race for the Car of Tomorrow and Jeff started on the Pole and led a few laps, but had a very loose car so as the race progressed the 24 Crew made some adjustments. He fell back in the pack to 24th position, but when they got that car dialed in, he made up some laps and passed cars left and right and before we knew it was right back in the hunt for the WIN! After several Yellow Flags & restarts the Race ended under a Green, White, Checkered scenario with Kyle Busch leading, Jeff Gordon 2nd and Jeff Burton 3rd. In those last three laps, Busch pulled away and Burton passed Gordon for 2nd place and as the Checkered Flag flew there was another wreck in turn one that ended the race with Kyle Busch taking the 200th Win for Hendrick Motor Sports. Great Racing, Nice, warm sunny, blue skies - Who could ask for a better day!

Bristol NASCAR Race - Qualifying Day

We arrived at the Pole Position Campground at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday. Had a good nights rest and got up bright and early to bright sunny skies and nice cool temps that eventually turned into a very warm afternoon with lots of sun. We had a great breakfast thanks to Rudy's expertise in the kitchen, even though Cully brought only "whole beans" for Coffee....We headed to the Track just around the corner and down the hill from our campspot by 10:30 to find a seat for NASCAR Cup Practice. After Practice we walked all around the driver trailers and the large flea market across the street from the Track to find some bargains on die-cast cars and other race souvineers. We found what we wanted, plus some.....
Then we headed back to the Track for 3:45 CUP Qualifying. Jeff Gordon took the first Pole with the new COT! It was Great - This means he gets pick of where he wants to pit for the race on Sunday and he starts the race in first place. This is always good at Bristol to start up front. Tomorrow is more of a relaxing day - Sunday is Race Day and that will be a bright and early day - GJ is joining us tomorrow too. More to come. Having a great time!

On the Road Again - NorthBound

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Well, here we are again on the road for the third weekend in a row heading North to Bristol, Tennessee. It is now 6:30 p.m. and we've been in the car since 1:00 p.m. with only one potty stop and one gas stop. We are 20 miles away from I-26 where we will head West towards Columbia, SC. We rented a little 2007 Ford Fusion this time to drive up there and we are getting 29 miles per gallon and it moves right along at 80 miles an hour very nicely! We hope to arrive at our destination of Bristol, Tennessee by 11:00 p.m. Our friend Cully, has his RV there and should be all set up now in Pole Position CampGround at the top of the hill, waiting for us to arrive. Qualifying for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Race on Sunday is tomorrow at 3:30 and there is a Practice at 10:30 and we have tickets (free tickets to boot) for this day. This is a very unique track. It is a .556 mile oval. It looks like the Drivers are in a constant turn It has a nick-name of "THUNDER VALLEY" because it is shaped like a big bowl the track is below the seats. There isn't a bad seat in the house - you can see the whole track from anywhere around. There are no pit stalls per se, just little tents for the crews to work on the cars. On the day of the race, the pits are all around the track on the inside. To make this race even more special than it already is - they are driving the "Car of Tomorrow" here for the first time in 2007. I can't wait to get there!

GatorNationals - NHRA Drags - March 18, 2007

WOW - What a fun day! - We got up this morning at 6:40 a.m. to temperatures in the high 30's in Ocala, Florida - We were toasting warm in the RV, but boy was the air cold when we hit the road on the Bike at 8:20 a.m. and traveling at speeds near 65 miles per hour down State Road 301 to Waldo, Florida to the NHRA GatorNationals. We arrive almost frozen, at the Drag Strip around 9:15. I was sure happy for the new "gator" face mask, my chaps, long sleeve turtleneck shirt (and two other shirts), gloves and leather jacket. It took me awhile to warm up because even sitting up in the stands the wind was fierce and very chilly as we watched the qualifications for the finals in the all the classes of drag cars.

I was able to get some great pictures of the cars staging, racing and letting out the "chutes" to come to a stop with my 300 zoom lens as long as people would stay sitting down and not stand up in front of my lens.

We had a great time again this 2nd year that we've attended. We headed back to the campground to pack up and head home around 4 p.m. and arrived home around 6:30, unpacked the RV and started a couple loads of laundry as we settled in to watch the NASCAR race on DVR from earlier in the day!

Another fun trip on the road for the Florida Travelers while looking ahead to Thursday, March 22nd when we head north again to Bristol, Tennessee to the NASCAR race and camping with our friend Cully.

See ya later!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Today finds Rudy and me in Ocala, Florida camping at a RV Resort just off of I-75 at exit 352. We are here this weekend and on our way to the NHRA Gatornational Drag Races in Waldo, Florida about 35 miles from here up State Road 301.

When we arrived on Friday about Noon we set up as a fine mist fell from the cloudy skies. We settled in and as the afternoon slipped by the sun fought to come out and shine for us. Around 4 p.m. we decided to hit the road on the bike and explore this area that is known as the "horse capital of the State". We saw some awesome ranches as we took turn after turn on the back roads around Ocala. We stopped at the Harley Davidson shop and browsed, then saw an RV store and stopped and looked at a 34' 2002 Coachman Aurora, checked it out and actually made an offer on the unit. Now it is a wait & see if the original owners accept our offer (it was on consignment at the RV place) and see if Rudy and I will own a new RV with two slides. Hopefully we will know something by Monday.

It's been quite chilly here so we are planning to wear our full leather including jackets, chaps, face masks, and gloves for the ride tomorrow to the Drag Strip. I am hoping this year to get some great pictures of those Drag Cars going down the strip and deploying their chutes as they come to the end of the 1/4 mile.

Got to go find my earplugs. This is a very loud event as you can imagine.

March 14, 2007

Oh My - It's March already - Where has this year gone to already - We've been so busy and going here and there, the time is just flying by.
We just returned from a week-long vacation in the mountains of North Carolina in a beautiful cabin 2 miles up on the side of a mountain situated overlooking Maggie Valley with Mt. Setzer on one side of us. It was an absolutely breath-taking view and I mean breath-taking, especially for me, the one who is not excited about heights and high places. I was white-knuckled and hanging on for dear life as we drove up those two miles in the skinny, winding, dirt mountain trails. But when we arrived at the top and I got out of the car and saw this magnificent cabin with 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and the window view of the valley below, the hot tub on the balcony, and the fireplace, I was in awe! I can only imagine what it would be like in the spring when all is green and budding or in the fall with the color of the leaves glowing.
Our friends, GJ and Jan joined us for the first couple of days in the mountains and we made a day trip to Asheville, NC, about an hour's drive from the cabin and did a little sight-seeing of the city. We took lots of pictures of us altogether too on the balcony of the cabin and along the mountain side. Snow fell too on Saturday morning which was a pleasant surprise because it was only a 1/2 inch and it didn't stay long.
After they left on Sunday night Rudy and I relaxed and did absolutely nothing on Monday except a walk on the trails around the cabin for some more pictures.
Tuesday we went through the mountains to Gatlinburg, TN. Neither of us had ever been there so we did all the tourist things like having an old fashion picture made of us, bought some fudge, visited the shops, had lunch in a local Italian place and took in the scenery of the city between the mountains. On the way there and back we stopped several times to take breath-taking pictures of the mountains and valleys as we traveled the 53 miles to Gatlinburg. I made sure that we were back at the cabin before night-fall. I certainly didn't want to be on those mountain roads in the dark!
Wednesday afternoon we decided to be spontaneous and try something different, so we packed up and hit the road, ending up in Winston-Salem for the evening, touring Evernham Race Shop and then on Thursday we toured Richard Childress Race Shop and Museum, met Chocolate Meyers (long time pit crew member of Dale Earnhardt, Sr.) and also took a tour of Childress Winery on our way to Charlotte. The winery was magnificent and it was quite educational to learn about the processes to make wine. After lunch we headed to Charlotte where we got a motel for the night, went and saw a movie - "Wild Hogs" - [You've got to see it!] and had dinner at Quaker Steak & Lube, a famous and excellent place to eat while in Charlotte.
Friday morning we went to Lowe's Motor Speedway and took a tour of the infield area of the Track and got some shopping deals in the gift shop and then headed home. We left Charlotte at 1:30 pm and pulled into our driveway at 9:30 pm. Great traveling weather, not a lot of traffic and we made excellent time.
Whew - we were tired and slept quite well in our own bed.
Elani was very excited to see us, too, as was I to see her.