Boot Scootin’ Boogity Boogity Boogity

Grand Prix Speedways, Earth City, MO

(Val) I am a firm believer in the concept of recycling. When a recycling project involves turning something old, vacant and unused into something fresh and exciting that involves racing, well, that’s just icing on the cake.

Just across the bridge from my hometown is a place called Earth City, Missouri. It’s basically made up of businesses, warehouses, an amphitheatre and some restaurants. Many years ago, one of those warehouses was converted into a country-western bar and dance club which was originally called Little Bit of Texas, then Incahoots and finally, Cody’s. After three failed attempts at catering to cowboys and buckle bunnies, the place closed down and sat vacant for over a year.

Today was the first time I had set foot in that building in probably ten years, back at the height of its popularity under the original name, in the days when I actually looked good in boot cut jeans and Ropers. The place has undergone a dramatic change for the better.

Gone are the cowboy hats, country concerts and sawdust-covered dance floor. In their place are asphalt, helmets and the revved up sound of high performance race cars. Down home country has been replaced by Italian manufactured speed, all surrounded by high-class gourmet food, a pro shop and executive meeting rooms.

Grand Prix Speedways is about to open their first of fifty karting and meeting centers, and Spring and I were privileged to visit the facility this morning. This is not your typical Friday night Mom and Pop go kart track where you hop in and bump your friends into piles of worn out tires. GPS is a 125,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that caters to those in the executive world. It contains numerous meeting rooms outfitted with all the amenities, just a few steps away from two European-style quarter-mile asphalt tracks.

What a fun concept this is for companies to reward top-notch employees, host team-building seminars, or even put on a bang-up Christmas affair. And for individuals with a flair for something unusual, this is the perfect place to throw an adult birthday party or retirement celebration.

Not only do all participants attend driver training before being allowed behind the wheel of one of the electric-powered karts, but they are outfitted to the nines in driver suits, helmets and neck supports. Races are officiated by a trained staff, and should an on-track incident necessitate, cars can be slowed or even stopped by remote control. Every safety precaution has been thought of, right down to the unique movable barrier system.

We had a great time checking the place out, and look forward to the open house in early July. Robyn Pass, Director of Marketing, was wonderful about answering all of our questions and pointing out things we hadn’t even thought of. Like the idea of laying down three inches of asphalt indoors – now there’s an interesting feat of engineering! I love the idea of competitive karting leagues and celebrity guests and all the fun that will entail. The thought that the two big bay doors can be opened, providing indoor and outdoor karting is pretty awesome too.

In one short hour, we were sold on the idea, and impressed with all of the research and thought that has gone into this. It is a great concept, and one that is already drawing a lot of attention. Thank you for inviting us in to be a part of it!

Elvis, Fountains and French Silk Pie

(Val) A weekend in the City of Fountains was just what the doctor ordered when it came to getting away from the stress of day-to-day living. After dropping the dog at a kennel, we headed up to Kansas City with our daughter behind the wheel for the first hundred miles. She did a great job, and I have a feeling that by the time her 18th birthday rolls around next month, she will have that long-awaited driver’s license in hand.

I had the luxury of riding in the back of the van, plugged into my Dell DJ while alternately reading and watching the scenery roll by. One thing that caught my eye and made me chuckle was an old tour bus parked next to someone’s home. Up in the destination window was the name “Elvis.” I have no idea if that was actually one of his tour busses, but I kind of doubt it.

Along the way to KC, we stopped in Columbia to drive through the MU campus. That place is huge! Our daughter isn’t really considering it as one of her options, but just for fun we thought we would check it out anyway. We’d been on the property for just a few minutes when I remembered the Jayhawk sticker in the back window of Ol’ Blue. For those who don’t know, there is a HUGE rivalry between the MU Tigers and the KU (Kanas) Jayhawks, and we just happen to be big KU basketball fans. None of us has any ties to the university, but we got hooked a few years back and nothing has been the same since. We survived the trip through the campus with no shots fired, but for a while there, I wondered…

Upon arrival in Olathe, we checked into our hotel, and then headed out to scope a local indoor karting facility. With the debut of Grand Prix Speedways just around the corner, I wanted a little something to see for comparison. We went inside and looked around at Sadler's Naskart facility. It’s a nice place with pool tables, video games and a snack bar as well as the race course. Folks of all ages looked like they were having a good time, and we wanted to join them, but the price was a bit steep. For all three of us to take a five minute ride, it would have been over $30. We opted to save that and spend it over at the Great Mall of Kansas.

After shopping at the mall for a while, we went in search of some French Silk Pie, which has kind of become a family tradition when we’re in the area. The pie was great way to finish off the evening.


Saturday morning we picked our son up from church camp and made our way up to Smithville Lake for a family reunion. The closer we got, the darker the sky became, and just as we got to the shelter, the sky opened up. There we were, thirty or so members of my family, huddled under a shelter on the banks of a lake while thunder rumbled, rain poured down and the wind kicked into a wild frenzy. We stuck it out for a while, wrapped in blankets and vinyl tablecloths, ever optimistic that it would eventually die down, but it just grew increasingly worse. (I was reminded of that scene in Caddy Shack where the pastor keeps saying “It’s going to blow over!” and then he is struck by lightning.) When whitecaps began to form, the guys made a mad dash retrieve vehicles, and like a line of cavalry, they circled in front of the shelter and stopped long enough for everyone to toss whatever they could inside, then hop in and go. We caravanned (in our Caravan!) to my cousin’s house, which was just a mile or so away, and spent the rest of the afternoon there. It all turned out just fine and we enjoyed our time together very much.

On Sunday, we made a quick stop at Union Station before heading out of town, and I had the pleasure of watching each of my kids as they played around with digital cameras. It was so cool to see them scope out different shots of the beautiful, historic train station. They both had a great time.

We ended up running over to Crown Center just long enough to see if the Zoom toy store had any Legos. (Have I mentioned that my son has an addiction to Legos?) Well, he was out of luck, but I found something that I just have to show Spring if we ever get up to KC together. Zoom has dozens and dozens of old, metal lunch boxes, which I know Spring loves because she uses one for a purse. The lunch boxes were so cool, and we had fun looking for the kind we carried back in the day. I never did find my Chitty Chitty Bang Bang one, but Scott found two of his, the U.S. Mailbox, and Adam 12. I loved seeing the Disney School Bus, which is one that I remember lots of my friends having. I took a couple of pictures, but they don’t do this collection justice.

The trip home was uneventful. I drove the first half, then switched places with my hubby. Finally, our daughter got to drive the last 40 miles or so.

As I sat in the comfy back seat of Ol’ Blue, watching the ever-changing panoramic view slip by, I pondered a few things:

• Has anyone ever really paid that cheap price advertised on hotel billboards? And if they did, what did that price get them? A cot tossed in some janitor’s closet and a free bar of soap?
  
• Does anyone but me feel sorry for the really small towns that have a “no services” sign slapped below their name along the highway?
  
• What are walnut bowls and who buys them?


• Has anyone ever driven through central Missouri, spotted the “See Rock City” signs on top of the barns and completely altered their travel plans?
  
• If Elvis is still alive, as some people imagine, would anyone really want to see him after all these years anyway? Seriously, do we really want to see him do ten years of “final shows” with Journey or the Rolling Stones? Maybe the Beatles had the right idea after all.


• I am driving along, and I pass a truckload of logs going east. A few minutes later, I see another truckload of logs, this one going west. Why???

Spring's On-Line Gallery

Just a quick note to let ya'll know that Spring has all of her favorite I-55 photos up on her business site now. That address is:

http://atouchofspringphotography.
easyphotoview.com/OnlinePhotos.asp

When you get there, click on the plus sign next to Motorsports, then click on the I-55 link.

We have lots of other fun things going on, including a sneak peak inside St. Louis' newest karting facility, Grand Prix Speedways, later this week. I have a few things to share from my weekend in Kansas City as well, but this morning, there's a whole lotta work to be done, so that's going to have to wait.

Until later, enjoy the photos and let us know what you think.

Bit's 'n pieces

The newest phase in the evolution of the GGR logo.

(Val) When you get the chance, check out the link below. It is our first time for one of Spring's pics to be used on another racing site, that we know of anyway. Thanks to Paul Pittman at Velocity Wings and the IRA for using one of the pics I sent him on the site. (Yes, he had permission, which is the right way to do it!) Thanks also to Paul for being the first to post a comment on the blog for the Cars movie review. It's nice to know someone out there actually reads this stuff once in a while.

http://www.velocitywings.com/home.shtml

I've been messing around with a collage program that I have, and you can see the results both in the new logo on the home page and in a fun collage on the Gallery page. The program is called Collage Creator and I got it on clearance for five bucks at Wal-Mart. It's definitely one of the best $5 I ever spent! There has to be a way to do this kind of stuff in Paint Shop Pro, but I have yet to get a handle on that program. I was able to figure out enough to finish up the new logo, once I created the collage, but that took forever and a day. Now that I've done it, though, I ought to be able to do it again without too much trouble.

This weekend we have a big family reunion in Kansas City, and there is a slight chance we might attempt to take in the ASCS race at U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, MO tomorrow night. It will depend a lot on the weather and how tired we are after messing around all day in KC. Our daughter may want to check out a college or two, and she found us a go kart track so hopefully, we will get to go hang out there for a while and actually do some racing!

The next race on the horizon, and this is not on the calendar yet, is the World of Outlaws vs. All Stars Challenge at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. As you may remember, we were supposed to be at the National Sprint Tour race at Tri-City last Sunday night, but due to the tragic death of NST promoter Fred Brownfield, that event was postponed. As far as I know right now, things are still up in the air as to the re-scheduling of that event.

That's the news for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the photos on the site. Spring was having some problems with her monitor the last time we talked, so I'll have to see how things are coming on her business site. Until next time, keep all four wheels on the ground. Well, ok, just three in the corners will work.

GGR Gallery Update

There is a quick sample of more of Spring's work from I-55 Raceway on WhoWon.com at this address: http://www.whowon.com/results.asp?trackid=1295&storyid=190278

Also, two pages of photos have just been added to the gallery on Girls Gone Racin'. A link to Spring's business site will be up soon with even more photos.

Get your kicks with Cars

"Even here in Hillbilly Hell, we still have standards.” – Sally Carrera, Cars

(Val) Not in a long, long time have I looked forward to a movie the way I did Disney-Pixar’s Cars. As someone who loves just about everything ever to come out of the Pixar studio, from animated short films to full-length features, I was excited to see what they would do with a movie about racing. To say that I was not disappointed is an understatement. In fact, the day this movie is released on DVD, I will be one of the first in line to buy it.

From the opening scenes where Lightning McQueen is psyching himself up for the big race against his closest competitors for the Piston Cup, to the post-movie clips that only D-P can do, I was thoroughly entertained.

Tonight, Spring and her son, my hubby and our daughter and I all went to see Cars together at a local theater. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions that turned what could have been a ho-hum evening into a night of fun for all.

After stopping for popcorn and drinks, (no, I didn’t sneak any food in this time, I think I was just so excited that I forgot!) we entered the theater and took our prime, top row seats. Maybe it’s just something about being a race fan that makes us instinctively head up as high as we can possibly get to make sure we get the best view. Caleb picked our seats, so he must have inherited that racing gene from Spring.

After sitting through an endless round of movie previews, some of which looked pretty good, the movie finally started. Within minutes, it was obvious that the guys at D-P did their homework when researching this film. The comments by the guys in the booth, the outstanding animation with a very Bristol-esque race track for a background, and even the fans in the stands and the infield were so totally true-to-life that we couldn’t stop laughing about how well they’d been pegged. I love it that Darrell Waltrip plays himself, right down to a well-timed "boogity boogity boogity" later in the movie.

One of the things that really caught my attention about how much work went into the details of this movie were the scenes where Doc is trying to explain to Lightning about “turning right to go left.” There’s not a Sprint Car fan out there who won’t pick up on that one! What cracked me up was that when we first started watching the Sprint Cars at Pevely last Wednesday night, Spring’s first question to me was about why the cars go sideways through the turns. Now that she’s seen the movie, as well as some real Sprint Car and Midget racing, the lesson ahs been learned!

The soundtrack itself is worth the price of admission, with Rascal Flatts doing an excellent job with Life Is a Highway, and John Mayer’s Route 66, along with the musical score during Lightning and Sally’s trip out on the open road are all wonderfully done.

Animation has always fascinated me, and the unique style D-P uses to capture some of the real-life features of the actors who do these voices is uncanny. Of course, in Cars, nobody is more “himself” than Larry the Cable Guy as Mater the tow truck. What truly amazes me though, is the way this studio gives life and character to common objects, such as vehicles. Who would imagine that a car could be flirtatious, silly, serious or lonely? Well, the gang at D-P believes that anything can have a personality, and they are experts when it comes to getting those characteristics across, whether through the tilt of a fender, the lowering of an eyelid or the twist of a bumper.

I loved everything about this movie, from the animation to the music, to what is really a sweet story with a great lesson about friendship, priorities, and respect for the past. This movie is perfect for any age, but I think fans of auto racing, especially NASCAR, will enjoy it to an even higher degree. I give it a hearty five spark plugs!

Movie Facts:

Theatrical Release: June 9, 2006
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Rating: G
Director: John Lasseter
Co-Director: Joe Ranft

Voice Cast:
Owen Wilson - Lightning McQueen
Paul Newman - Doc Hudson
Bonnie Hunt - Sally Carrera
Larry the Cable Guy – Mater
Cheech Marin – Ramone
Tony Shalhoub – Luigi
Guido Quaroni – Guido
Jenifer Lewis – Flo
Paul Dooley – Sarge
Michael Wallis – Sheriff
George Carlin – Filmore
Katherine Helmond – Lizzie
John Ratzenberger – Mack
Bob Costas - Bob Cutlass
Michael Keaton - Chick Hicks
Ray Magliozzi - Clunk
Tom Magliozzi - Clink
Edie McClurg – Minny
Richard Petty - 'The King' Strip Weathers
Darrel Waltrip - Carrel Cartip

Fast cars and freedom

Spring and Kenny Wallace after the races.

(Val) Here's a quick rundown of last night’s winners at I-55 Raceway: In UMP Late Models, Billy Moyer; Winged 410 Sprints, Ricky Logan and in the Midgets, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Ok, now that business is out of the way, it’s time to get to the stories behind the racing.

There is nothing quite so fun for someone who has a passion for something, than to share that passion with someone else. Last night I had the privilege of sharing my intense love of dirt track racing with my good friend Spring. I knew months ago that one of the best places to break her in right would be the first and second turns at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri. It’s a great, high-banked dirt track, and since Spring is a NASCAR fan, I figured the fact that it is co-owned by Kenny Schrader couldn’t hurt. Kenny Schrader and Kenny Wallace were both on hand last night (see photo of Spring and Mr. Wallace) which was the icing on the cake.

We headed out a little late and got caught in some traffic, but it didn’t matter. When two chicks are on the road talking about everything from our husbands and kids to photography and Rascal Flatts, time flies no matter how slow you’re moving. Fortunately for Randy, he got the back seat of ol’ Blue and was able to nap on the way down.

My husband and my brother were waiting for us, literally. Scott was tapped for cash, so I was able to come to the rescue with enough to get him in and get some food for the night. In a scene reminiscent of some switched up episode of the Jetson’s, Spring also had to dig into her wallet to help out her man. What we girls don’t do for a night at the track!

After leaving the boys at the upper parking lot, we headed down below where we signed in at the pit gate and headed toward a fine-looking mix of Late Models, Winged Sprints and Midgets. As we walked, I clued Spring in on a few safety rules (don’t stand in an open pit stall, be aware of your surroundings at ALL times, etc.) and explained a bit about the differences between Sprints and Midgets, and even Sprints and NASCAR-type Stock Cars.

As we were strolling along, getting our bearings, who should we see but a real, live Girl Gone Racin’! Tiffany Wyzard, who has been driving 410 Winged Sprints for the past few years was kind enough to spare a few minutes to chat with us and allowed Spring to snap a few pics. We enjoyed getting to visit with her, and hearing how she and her sister started in Quarter Midgets and Tiffany went on to work her way up to the big cars. I had seen both young ladies race before, at Jacksonville Raceway in Illinois. Tiffany seems to really enjoy what she does, and when Spring asked if the guys give her any crap, she smiled and told us that they really don’t. We got the feeling that if they do, she’s the kind of girl who can hold her own. Tiffany proved that she could manage that big ol’ Sprint Car too, by starting on the pole of her heat race and leading all the way from green to checkers. Congratulations, Tiffany! We’ll get those pictures up as soon as we can. To find out more about Tiffany, check out her web site: TiffanyWyzard.

Speaking of pictures, Spring definitely earned her rookie stripes last night. As I have mentioned before, she has a style and flair all her own, and it shows in her race work as much as it does in her studio shots. We are all familiar with the standard racing shots with cars coming down the track, or turned just so in the corners. Spring wanted no part of that. She is out to take the shots that no one else gets, and we will be sharing those as soon as we can. This morning, her son is having a tonsillectomy, so he will need her attention for a while, but I know that as soon as she can, she will get the pictures on the site. Until then, she sent me a few, just to tease everyone, and I will put them on in just a few minutes. I will also return to add more to this blog, but right now, I need to grab some Cheerios and get to work!

Later that same day…

Alrighty, now that I’ve had my fill of racing news and results for the day, it’s time to get back to talking about last night. The response to Spring’s series of photos has been incredible. I knew she did a great job with those, and everyone who has seen them says the same. I can’t wait to see how the others turned out and get them up on the site, but it’s been a very rough day for Spring’s little boy, and I have a feeling she’s going to be pretty busy with him for a while, as well as shooting a wedding this weekend. She is one busy gal!

With regard to the photos, Jason Keith went out on a backboard last night, which is always a scary sight. From what we could tell immediately after the accident, he was moving his arms and such, but I know that the track emergency team wanted to take every precaution when it came to getting him out without further injury. I do not know if they gave an update last night before the races were over, but I sure hope he’s ok. That was one nasty flip, and it’s much better for everyone when the driver is able to get out under his own power and walk away.

When we weren’t in one of the turns trying to get great racing shots, (or should I say dodging flying race cars?) we spent time watching from the top of one of the haulers. My Dad got to talking with Derrick Myers and his Dad, and they very kindly offered us the use of their wonderful raised “patio” for a pretty killer view. There were a few obstacles in the way, but we were able to see much better than when we were down on the ground. I told Spring on the way home how jealous I was. I went to races for YEARS before I got to watch from the top of a hauler, and she did it her first time out. Talk about rookie luck!

Derrick and his Dad are nice folks, and I enjoyed talking to them. They run in the Midget class and we talked about the expense of engines, chassis and the travel involved. We’ll have some pictures up as soon as we can.

Derrick started on the pole for the feature, but had to retire early with some engine problems. For many of the cars out there, engines didn’t seem to be a problem, but tires were going away all over the place. The Midget feature was yellow-flagged numerous times due to flat tires. Even the winning car had a flat tire!

Late Models going into turn two at Pevely.

By the end of the night, we were tired, hungry and dirty, but we got a nice surprise on the way through the back pits. Kenny Wallace was down there talking to folks, signing autographs and just being his hyper self. Spring got him to sign her hat and I took the picture that’s at the beginning of this post. He’s a real nice guy, and was very patient while waiting for my pokey digital camera to warm up.

All in all, it was a great night. I think both Spring and Randy thoroughly enjoyed their first time at the dirt track and I know I had fun showing Spring around. We talked most of the way home and she finally made me a list of “favorites” for the right-hand column of the blog. I got some of them up today but I have to narrow down some of the others because she just couldn’t pick one or two!

We are scheduled to go back out this Sunday night to the first National Sprint Tour event at Tri City Speedway. Promoter Tammy Gundaker and I have been working on an interview this week, which I hope to get up shortly. The idea is to take our readers behind the scenes so you can see what it takes to pull off a weekly racing show. As soon as we get that finished up, I’ll get it posted either here in the blog, or on the web site.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave your comments. We would love to hear from you!

First time for everything

(Val) Life is full of first times. First day of school, first love, first heartbreak, and of course, first race. Tonight will be the first time Spring sees real, live Sprint Car racing up close and dirty. It’s the night I have been waiting for since the day GGR was born.

It’s a beautiful, sunny, dry day here, which for St. Louis in June is next to miraculous. Typically our weather is more like walking around in a steam bath, humidity I like to call “air you can drink.” We are truly blessed to be heading out to a night at the races on such a fabulous day.

On tap for this evening are Winged Sprints, Midgets and Late Models with NASCAR icons Kenny Schrader and Rusty Wallace on hand. Kenny is co-owner of I-55 Raceway, so his appearance is not that unusual. Rusty is also from the area, so he likes to come back once in a while as well.

We will be attempting to get a good spot down in turn 1 so that Spring can get a real feel for the speed and power of these cars. I think she will be impressed, and I’m excited to see her reaction to it all. I have to toss out the fact that Sprint Cars have approximately twice the power and half the weight of her beloved NASCAR machines, just to see what she thinks of that.

Both of our hubbies, along with my brother and my Dad will be joining us tonight, although some of them will be in the stands rather than the pits. We will have a good time, no matter what, and I can’t wait to finish up this work day and hit the road.

Just a quick note here to check out Elaine’s Elaborations in the right hand column, under GGR Departments. Elaine is a true “Girl Gone Racin’” and I think you will enjoy her comments.

Check back tomorrow for all the details of our night at the track.