Behind every cloud, there's a silver celebration

(This is Michele's second guest blog. She got to go behind the scenes at this weekend's NASCAR Busch Series Silver Celebration 250 at Gateway International Raceway. Here Michele shares her notes about the race, and some photos from the infield throught the link at the end. Thanks again, Michele!

Look for the story of yesterday's sweltering experience at the Lucas Oil Late Model race at Tri-City very soon. Spring and I are recovering today from the heat, and will get everything on just as soon as we can.)

(Michele) As part of my research for my NASCAR-licensed Harlequin book (tentatively titled Hart’s Victory and out in November 2007), NASCAR graciously provided me with garage and pit credentials for the Busch series race at Gateway International Raceway so that I could get an up close and personal look.

In addition to getting my questions answered, and since Val had asked me to do this blog, I decided to focus most of my attention on two drivers: Busch series points leader Kevin Harvick and local boy (from Columbia, MO) and hometown hero Carl Edwards. It helped that Edwards was second in the points standings, meaning that his hauler and garage were right next to Harvick’s as garage space is assigned by points standings.

Harvick drove the #21 Coast Guard Chevrolet and Edwards drove the #60 Henkel’s Ford Fusion. The weekend was marked by late afternoon storms, meaning that the track had to be dried before both the Friday practice and the Saturday evening race. Harvick also drove his backup car, after sustaining damage during the Friday night practice. While he placed third in qualifying line up, right behind Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards, the race from the very first lap was simply an Edwards/Hamlin race.

The race itself, if not the weekend, belonged to Carl Edwards. While Edwards swapped the lead with pole winner Denny Hamlin several times, the race wasn’t Edwards until he pitted first on lap 177, forcing leader Hamlin to pit afterwards and only take fuel. Hamlin simply couldn’t catch Edwards, who awed the crowds with his traditional back flip and a shortened victory lap—reversing between turns one and two to wave at the people in the grandstands.

Carl was the focus of most race fans the entire weekend. Fans spoke about their Carl Edwards sightings and how gracious he was every time. Carl was late (I heard he was driving in from Columbia and got stuck in rush hour traffic) to his autograph signing for season ticket holders on Friday, but he had a smile for everyone and signed everything from a car hood to someone’s t-shirt (while on the man’s body). During the ARCA/Re Max race, Carl strolled up the stands to the press box wearing nothing but black jeans and a black shirt embroidered with the words Office Depot, and only the back few rows of people recognized who had walked up so quickly. On his way down after the race, Carl signed autographs as he worked his way back through the crowd; no security staff bullied the fans aside. On Saturday, Carl signed at his merchandise trailer, outside his hauler, and after qualifying as he walked back into the garage area.

This was a race Carl wanted to win as it was on his home turf, and once the race became only a contest between him and Hamlin (who placed third), every fan at Gateway was pulling for Carl, whether they were die-hard Edwards fans or not. Missouri has a long tradition of racing, from Rusty, Mike, Kenny and now Steve Wallace, to Kenny Schrader and Joplin’s Jamie McMurray. This weekend was Carl’s time to shine, both on the track and off, and shine he did. My daughter, whose #99 hat is now emblazoned with Carl Edward’s signature, had the time of her life. She also decided that Steve Wallace (who is only 18 and placed second in the ARCA/Re Max raced and 31st in the Busch race) is a driver to watch.

Michele's photos

Race Fever is Hereditary, You Can Even Get it from Your Kids!

Last week, author Michele Dunaway had the privilige of taking a behind-the-scenes tour of Roush Racing's facility in North Carolina. Accompanied by her daughter, Alison, Michele got to see the inner workings of Carl Edwards' race shop, tour a hauler, and visit the Roush Racing Museum. This is her account of the events of that visit. Thanks, Michele! (And who would have thought that research could be fun?)

(Michele) My 11-year old daughter has her first crush. (Okay, second if you count Smallville’s Tom Welling, but she never went as gaga for him.) My daughter has become a race fan, specifically Carl Edwards, driver of the Nextel cup number 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion and the number 60 Ameriquest Ford Fusion in the Busch series.So imagine Alison’s delight when, because of my research for Hart’s Victory, my contracted NASCAR book for Harlequin, she got to accompany to Concord, NC, and visit Roush Racing last Monday for an insider tour.

While another author (Abby Gaines) and I took notes, Alison did what any star-struck child would do. She gaped. She screamed when she first saw the number 99 transporter sitting behind the fence. She stood in front of the cardboard cutout in the Roush Racing museum, and then she couldn’t contain her giddiness when later, during our behind-the-glass tour graciously given by James Rodway, Roush’s director of licensing, Alison got to actually go in Carl Edward’s hauler and touch his helmet. She got to stand by his cars and see his shop. Talk about a dream come true.

Alison is going to her first race this weekend, to see her driver hopefully win the Busch series race at Gateway. She’s got a hat to wear and a shirt emblazoned with Carl’s picture. She’s geared up and ready to go. She’s excited, and it’s thrilling for me to see her catch the fever.

As for me, I’ll be there, too. I’m doing more research. I’m going to enjoy myself, of course, but in a sense I’m working, too. I’ll be researching and taking notes. But most importantly I’ll be doing my number one job: Mom. And this mom will be watching daughter’s eyes go wide with joy.

Racing goes to the dogs

This is Ashley's dog, Reagan, who likes to accompany her to racing events at places like Talladega Speedway. I love her red cowgirl hat!

With that red hat, I'm guessing she's a Dale Jr. fan, but I could be wrong.

Hometown History, Accidental Heroines and What NEVER to Wear

Here she is, the Diva of Department Stores, or as Jesse calls her, "Flamingo Lady!"

(Val) Monday was my daughter’s 18th birthday, and as is our family tradition, we took the day off to go out and do whatever she chose to do. It’s always fun with Jesse, because we just never know what she’s going to pick. This year was definitely one of my favorites.

For starters, we hit the St. Louis Galleria and did a little shopping. We didn’t buy much, but we did have a good time looking around and just goofing off. I think everybody’s favorite store had to be The Sharper Image, where we found all kinds of really cool gadgets.

When we had seen all we needed to see of the mall, we headed out to the truck and prepared to head down town for a trip into history. Before we could leave the parking lot, we caught site of an amazing example of a major Fashion Don’t! As you can see in the photo, this woman was dressed to the nines in pink and green to an unprecedented degree of coordination. I couldn’t help but laugh as my husband waited for her to cross in front of us, but I did my best not to let her see. Besides the top and matching skirt you see here, she also sported a pair of matching pink pumps and her make-up would make Tammy Faye Bakker green with envy.

Honestly, I know I’m no fashion plate, in fact, I’m not even a fashion saucer, but oh my goodness! And to be fair, I couldn’t help but think that when she left the house that morning, she probably did so with an air of utter confidence that she was really styling and would be the envy of all the other elderly ladies at the mall. Lucky for her, it seems as if her hubby didn’t object to her sense of fashion, because he was right there next to her carrying her shopping bags. I can only imagine what was in there!

Inside the beautiful dome of St. Louis' Old Courthouse.

After getting our kicks via the Galleria Gal, we made our way downtown to St. Louis’ Old Courthouse, whose claim to fame is that this is where the famous Dred Scott case took place. This was my favorite stop of the day, as I love history, and to walk through the doorway, and on into the rotunda literally took my breath away. A giant American Flag hung from the beautifully frescoed dome, and red, white and blue bunting was everywhere. It was absolutely gorgeous.

We enjoyed exploring the building, looking at all of the artifacts housed there, and reading the stories of our ancestors. A friendly National Parks worker even told us some little-known history about the courthouse. It seems that the Dred Scott anti-slavery case was only one of over 250 such cases heard in the St. Louis courts. There is an ongoing project to tabulate all of these cases, because of the idea that the Dred Scott case was unique. It has garnered attention as being the case that was the final straw that started the Civil War, but it was certainly not the only case of its kind.

We all took turns shooting pictures inside and out, and really enjoyed ourselves. It’s hard to believe that I was born and raised in the area, yet had never been there before. Thanks to Jesse for changing that!

My baby, on her 18th birthday doing her famous pose in front of the waterfall at the Zoo.

Because Jesse’s birthday falls at the height of summer, we have often found ourselves at the zoo on that day. We have our own little tradition of taking Jesse’s picture next to a waterfall at the south entrance. Since we were on our way home, and had other plans, we just made a quick stop to take the photo before continuing on our way.

We girls hopped out of the truck and made our way into the Zoo, one of the only FREE zoos in the United States, by the way, and over to the waterfall. After snapping a couple of pictures, we headed toward the exit, which seemed to be in a state of chaos.

Let me preface this next paragraph by saying that, as you may have seen on the news, St. Louis got hit by two major storms last week, which knocked out electricity to over half a million people. There are still people waiting for their power to come back on today. I think that we, as a nation, are pretty spoiled by all of our modern conveniences, such as those auto-flush potties, self-checkouts, and power doors. It was this last item that caused such a problem as we tried to leave the zoo.

The zoo has those automatic doors that are supposed to open as you approach. For some reason, the door appeared to be stuck closed, and there were no other places to exit. People were milling all around, and I heard one say to the other something to the effect of, “There’s supposed to be an exit here somewhere but I guess we’re going to have to find another one.”

This is Jesse's 18th birthday cake. Yes, we are both total Cars nuts!

People were literally starting to get into a frenzy because they could not find a way out of the zoo. It would have been funny if it weren’t for the fact that it was SO INCREDIBLY SAD!

Instead of turning away like the rest of the Chicken Littles in the crowd, I walked through their midst, grabbed the edge of the door, and slid it open MANUALLY. Jesse and I walked through, trying to contain our giggles, but joking the whole time about Super Girl and Wonder Mom and how we saved the zoo patrons.

Scott and Brenden had no idea what was so funny but when we got into the truck, and looked back at the mass exodus from the zoo, we explained what happened and had everyone in stitches. It looked as if someone had released the flood gates, and we wondered just how long those people would have stayed in there if we hadn’t come to their rescue!

Brenden crashed out in the backseat of the truck on the way home from our last stop, Dave & Buster's.

It was a really great day, and along with these adventures, we also stopped for a look around Grand Prix Speedways, had lattes at Picaso’s and wound up at Dave & Buster’s for games and dinner. It was a very long day, as you can see from the picture of Brenden, but I think we all had a pretty good time.

Happy Birthday to my baby! Sniff.

At the Old Ball Yard

Updated 7.20.06 (Val) What a crazy night here in the St. Louis area! My hubby and son went down to Busch Stadium for Little League Night at the Cards game. Two hours before game time, severe weather came through the area that was incredibly frightening.

Here at home, my daughter and I just beat the storm home and we turned on the tv to see some monster supercells headed our way, and worse, straight for downtown St. Louis.

All I can say is, thank God for cell phones! I called my hubby to warn him, and he and the gang all got to safety, but he said it was quite nuts down there for a while. There was a tornado warning, and one was reportedly spotted not too far from the downtown area. They rode out the storm, and stayed for the first part of the ball game, which started nearly 2 and a half hours lately.

And the saga continues, because now they are on a Bi-State bus headed back to the Metrolink lot where they parked because all of the Metrolink lines are down. We have been tracking their progress, and hopefully, they will be at the lot soon. We are a little worried about what they will find when they get there, as the lot is near Lambert Airport which was hit hard. Part of the roof was blown off, the power is out, and lots of folks are stranded.

We have been very fortunate here. Our power flickered, but never went off. 407,000 people in our area have not had the same fate and are now sitting in pitch darkness, warily anticipating our projected 102 degree temperatures tomorrow. Lack of electricity and record heat are not a good combination.

Weather has been rough all over, and right now it's St. Louis' turn to experience our piece of disaster. With three buildings down, (so far) windows blown out of downtown hotels, two bridges blocked and much more damage, it's going to take some time to recover from this one.

The only good thing is that the temps have cooled for the time being, and after tomorrow, we are supposed to be in a cooler trend. Lord, just help everyone get through tomorrow!

Update:

Brenden looks out at a city besieged by storm when he should have been enjoying the first pitch at the new stadium.

The guys got home sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 am and I was waiting for them. It was good to see them wander through the door and hear all about their ordeal at the ballpark. Scott got some pretty amazing footage of the storm, and some really great still shots too. I am adding three of them here, which he also uploaded to one of our local news sites.

A red sunset paints the sky after the threatening storm passes.

I'm just so grateful they made it home safely and that we still have electricity! Almost a half million people here are without power and I can only imagine what a long day it has been for them.

A red sunset over Busch Stadium is a gift after the intense storm that came before.

Ashley Does 'Dega

Below is Ashley's report from Talladega Superspeedway, where she attended a media function on Monday that involved tossing a few questions to Tony Stewart. Of course, I know there is more to this story, and with a little prodding, maybe we'll get her to spill the rest of it. (Like how she shamelessly flirted with this two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion.)

Anyway, thanks to Ashley for making my week by getting to hang with my favorite NNC driver and sharing all the fun, and for taking the time to snap a few pics along the way. You go, girl!

Tony Stewart climbs the high banks of TSS to get to the paver.

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- How does the 2005 Nextel Champion celebrate the news that he will be inducted into the Talladega/Texaco Walk of Fame during the October UAW-Ford 500? Tony Stewart learned Monday morning that he, along with Rusty Wallace, will receive that honor and to celebrate he spent the morning visiting the Talladega Superspeedway, which is undergoing a massive re-paving project. Not to be left out of the action, Stewart pitched in "hands on" with the resurfacing in progress at TSS by testing his driving skills behind the gears of the paving equipment.

Entertaining the paving crew from Sunmount, (Justin, Texas) the 2005 Nextel Cup Champion scaled up the 33 degree banking of the speedway - which is equivalent to a five-story building - and climbed into the cab of a paving machine.

Later Stewart commented that “it was much easier to drive 180+ mph around the track, than to drive 9 mph in a piece of equipment. I kept thinking about the things that could happen if this thing (the paver) wrecked --- they are far worse than a bad day on the track.”

Tony Stewart chats with the media at TSS.

Stewart, driver of the Home Depot #20, said he was excited about the opportunity that the resurfacing would offer; racing three and four wide on the new asphalt at TSS in October. He pointed out that all of the teams would have to make changes and adjustments to their cars from the April race at TSS, such as tires and stability with the speed they were going to experience on the new surface.

Race fans watching or following Sunday’s Nextel race at Loudon heard Stewart express a very strong opinion regarding the behavior and skill of the rookies and less experienced drivers that led to his team leaving the race early. The candid approach Tony Stewart took with the media, following an upsetting run at New Hampshire International the day before, was refreshing. He entertained questions ranging from the incidents during that race to his philanthropy and stories of local racing hero Red Farmer (AL).

He replied, showing his personality, to the pointed “where do you feel your team is at this point in the season” question with the comment that they were in a “luck slump- that’s all."

The two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion is also a veteran of Sprint and Midget racing, IRL, and the NASCAR Busch Series, as well as being the track owner/promoter of Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Stewart is a philanthropist, and is involved in all aspects of trying to keep NASCAR racing real for the drivers and the fans.

For more information on Tony Stewart visit www.tonystewart.com

For continued update information on the repaving please visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com

Tony Stewart Update

(Val) Ashley just called from Talladega and she is having a ball. Tony is "helping" to re-pave the track and is apparently garnering a lot of attention, as even the workers have their cameras out and are snapping pictures. She's been taking pictures of him driving the paver and it appears that he is enjoying the job. I sure hope the unions don't get wind of this! :)

She will be talking to Tony shortly and assures me that she will relay my offer about the home made pizza. We'll see what he says about that!

A New Spin on Home Improvement with Tony Stewart

(Val) It's 9am CST here and in about an hour, Ashley will be at Talladega interviewing Tony Stewart for RaceFan and GGR. The invitation came via email last week, and when I forwarded it to her, I did so with a kind of "I dare you" attitude. I should have known that since her chat with Will Ferrell regarding Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, Ashley would never back down from a challenge.

She IMed me this morning to let me know that she has the number one slot for her visit. After his spin yesterday at Loudon, I speculated as to whether or not she should maybe keep her distance. Hopefully, Tony has had a little time to cool down after spending all that time in the garage, and is ready to move on with life. (And hey, I'm not putting him down for being upset. Who wouldn't be?)

Ashley and I had fun putting our heads together with regard to quesions for Mr. Stewart. I hope she has a blast at the interview, takes some pictures and shares them as soon as she returns.

Of course, since we have already purchased three LG appliances from Home Depot this year, and still need to get one more, I told her to let him know that I feel like I own the front bumper on his car. I even offered to let him use our house for his next home improvement project in order to win a race. Since we are really in need of a deck, I thought the offer was very generous. In addition, I just sent Ashley a text message, offering to make home made pizza for Tony, with all of his favorite toppings!

Anyway, good luck to Ashley with the interview. As soon as she gets it transcribed, we will hopefully be able to share it with you here and on RaceFan.com.

Great things come in small packages

(Val) Spring and I, and our husbands, had the great privilige last night of being invited to an open house event at Grand Prix Speedways, and this time we got to do more than just look around and ask questions!

To begin with, GPS is not a go kart track, it's an experience. The cars are Italian, expensive, and run on electricity. With the price of gas hovering at three bucks a gallon, they may actually pay for themselves in fuel savings! The best part of using electric karts over the gas-powered kind is that there is no exhaust, and therefore no need for fans or air filtration systems. When you walk in, you don't smell the cars. My guess is, once the restaurant is done, the fragrance will be mouth-watering steak rather than construction-induced sawdust.

On our last visit, there were no cars running, so it was difficult to get a feel for the speed and excitement. This time, various groups were taking turns on the track, and there were a few black flags thrown along the way, but for the most part, everyone behaved themselves...except maybe our hubbies! (We just can't take them anywhere!)

Before anyone is allowed onto the track, each driver attends a brief driver training class, where the instructor goes over the operation of the vehicle, meaning of the flags, and how to put on the pieces of safety equipment that are required for racing. Yes, that's right, you don't drive these cars in jeans and a t-shirt. Instead, each participant dons full race gear including firesuit, head sock, helmet (mine was pink and black!) and neck brace. The only thing missing were the gloves, but they sell them in the pro shop for those who feel the need to complete the ensemble.

The class is fun, brief and just detailed enough that even someone who has never played around in go karts before ought to come away feeling confident and ready to roll. After leaving the class, we walked into a room full of equipment, chose our sizes and suited up. One hint to the girls out there: Remove your earrings before putting on the head sock and helmet! Earrings are NOT comfortable when squished up against the side of your head!

Once properly attired, we headed out to the track, where we received our last minute instructions: Toggle switch up, face shield down, first lap slow for practice. Obviously, I was the only one who got the message about the "practice lap" because as soon as the guys rounded turn one, they put the pedal to the floor and quickly left me behind. I never did catch up, but I gave it all I had, grinning like a maniac for the entire ten laps. I made the comment to Spring that although I am not a huge fan of head socks or full-face helmets, I was kind of glad for the fact that with the exception of my eyes, my face was completely hidden because I know I had to be making some silly faces during the race! Not only did I catch myself biting my lip to hold back screams of excitement, but the smile was definitely frozen in place. If not for the helmet, I'm sure I would have had bits of rubber in my teeth!

Those little cars can really move, and we put them through their paces. The track is smooth, and well laid out, with the final stretch to the finish line being my favorite part simply because it is where one can attain top speed. One cannot appreciate the speed of these cars until you get behind the wheel. We were told they can go into the mid-forties, and I'm pretty sure we pushed that envelope on that long stretch.

Spring's camera got a workout, and she will be sharing some pictures with us in the near future. Already folks were asking her how they could get copies of the ones she took of them during and after their races. The lighting is great in there, and the shots that I got to see were awesome.

After our race, we reluctantly returned our race equipment and checked out the pro shop and the display cars on our way out. We made the decision to go out for dinner, and over huge plates of Tex-Mex, we re-lived our race, and talked about the fun we had. It was a nice night to hang out with friends and discuss plans for an upcoming NASCAR bbq night during either the Bristol, Richmond or Charlotte races...or maybe all three.

Racing season is only half over, and we're certainly ready for more! Hopefully, Spring will be feeling better after her terrible car crash a few weeks back. As rough as it's been, I think she enjoyed showing us her new car last night, another 2004 Chrysler Pacifica. It's very pretty and I hope she will be happy with it. At least she can be confident that it is a VERY safe car!

Feel better soon, Spring. I'm sure everyone is getting tired of reading just my silly posts!

Pirates, Outlaws and Disappointment

(Val) It's been a busy weekend around our household, with friends in town, kids' birthday parties, a trip to the movies and a night at the races. It is now Sunday afternoon, and what I really want is a nap, but what I will probably do is check out a car show in town where my brother has entered his 1956 Ford Pickup.

Friday we went to the first showing at our local theatre of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Because our entire family enjoyed the original movie so much, we bought tickets a week ahead of time for the debut of the new one. As I have mentioned before, we're not real big on going to movies, and I usually average one or two per year at best. Pirates 2 was my fourth movie this year and the sad part is, only 1 of those four was really worth the price of admission, and that was Cars.

Unfortunately, Pirates 2 did not live up to the hype, and in fact, I highly doubt this one will find its way into our DVD collection any time soon. We expected a similar type of adventure on the high seas that we saw the first time out, but were sorely disappointed. To be honest, this latest delivery from Disney fell far short of the expectations of our entire family. With its focus on science fiction, violence, creepy characters and tissue paper thin plotline, this one only gets 1 and a half spark plugs from me. I would definitely not recommend it for small children, as it undoubtedly earned its PG-13 rating, with even my 13-year-old son saying the whole thing was very weird.

Now for the big question: Will I go see Pirates 3? Probably. My hope is that the pattern will follow that of the original Star Wars trilogy, with the first one being spectacular, the second just ho-hum and the third just as good as, and maybe even slightly better than, the first. Since the whole Captain Jack Sparrow/Elizabeth Swann/Will Turner triangle has become a blatantly obvious ripoff of the Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo story, I figure there is still hope that P3 will pick up the slack left hanging by P2. And besides, who doesn't want to see Keith Richards play the part of Captain Jack's Dad? I am nothing if not optimistic!

Yesterday was spent cleaning house, which made me feel like I really earned my night out at the races last night. At about 4:30 my brother and our Dad stopped by to get me and we headed down to I-55 Raceway at Pevely, MO. This was to be a World of Outlaws vs. All Stars event, so we expected a good field of cars, and we were not disappointed. There were 38 winged 410 Sprint Cars in the pits, two of which were captained by women. Yes, Tiffany Wyzard was once again "in the house" as was Becca Anderson. Unfortunately, neither one made it to the A Main, with Tiffany suffering engine problems on her second lap of qualifying, and Becca Anderson getting caught up in a little incident during the B Main that caused enough damage to keep her from finishing the race. Nice try girls, and it was great to see you there. Keep pushing it!

This was the first time in a couple of years that I had been to a WoO event, and along with feeling like I was among old friends as soon as I heard the voice of commentator John Gibson, there were a few noticable changes. It was a bit strange not seeing guys like Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski, who along with many other former WoO regulars have gone over the run with the National Sprint Tour, but it was nice seeing guys like "Neon" Dion Hindi who I haven't seen compete in a long time. Paint schemes have changed as well, which made it a little tough at first for me to remember who was who, but I got the hang of it pretty fast.

The biggest disappointment of the night was seeing that one of the drivers has accepted sponsorship from a smutty men's magazine, which to me just goes way beyond poor taste and right on over into "What were you thinking?" territory. I mean, I know racing is expensive, and teams work hard to get sponsorship dollars, but how in the world does working with a company like that forward your career? If anything, it limits your promotability because the focus is on such a small group of people. By putting that name on your car, you automatically elminate two-thirds of your fan base: women and children. And hopefully, the majority of men out there are decent enough not to want to have anything to do with you either. How many upstanding sponsors are going to want to share valuable advertising real estate with that? So is it really worth the short-sighted financial gains of getting that sponsor's money when in the long run, it's going to cost you your hard-to-rebuild reputation?

When it's all said and done, this was, in my opinion, a very poor choice. This driver lost at least three fans last night, and I doubt that we are alone in our feelings. I do my best not to cheer against certain drivers, because I think that's pretty low-class and unsportsmanlike, and I NEVER wish a crash on anybody, but to be honest, I just wanted to see that car finish dead last with wings bent beyond recognition. It brought a smile to my face when his attempt to sandbag during the dash failed and instead of starting up front, he had to start ninth. All I can do is hope and pray that this team/driver comes to their senses enough to realize that the majority of fans are not going to support their efforts at promoting the porn industry.

Enough said on that subject.

All in all it was a great night of racing, and in fact, one of the best WoO shows I've been to in a long time. The heats weren't your typical fare of whoever starts in front finishes in front, and the feature was outstanding! With a lot of shuffling about, it was clear to everyone that Brook Tatnell fought hard for the win, and deserved to carry that checkered flag. There was a lot of dirt, but in the world of dirt track racing, we take the bad with the good.

I'm ready to go racing again, but not sure when the next one will be. The price of gas is making us, along with a lot of other folks, reconsider just how far we're willing to drive for entertainment.

Romance Rock

(Val) Ok, a little clue to my age here. I grew up, like most kids in the seventies, under the Saturday morning public education system known as Schoolhouse Rock. Even today, every now and then, thirty-odd years later, one of those nifty little numbers runs through my head and I can't shake it, no matter what I do. Most often, it's Conjunction Junction (sing it everybody!) What's your function? That's one helpful little grammatical ditty that beats the AP Stylebook all to bits in the fun with words category.

Well today, another little song comes to mind, and that would have to be the one about how a bill becomes a law. First verse goes like this:

I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it's a long, long journeyTo the capital city.
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee,
But I know I'll be a law someday
At least I hope and pray that I will,But today I am still just a bill.

This song isn't running through my mind because of anything that's happening on the political front, but because today Michele Dunaway sent a nice little file to me that outlines how one of her stories goes from inspiration to publication, with a lot of interesting little stops along the way. In other words, it's kind of a cross between Conjunction Junction and I'm Just a Bill where hookin' up words, feelings and emotions with the right amount of research, determination and hard work gets the job done.

Below are the first few paragraphs of Michele's outline. Follow the link at the bottom for the whole story.

And just to keep you in a Schoolhouse Rock frame of mind, here's a little twist on the lyrics:

I'm just an idea.
Yes, I'm only an idea.
Until I get all typed up in the pc.
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the publisher and printer.
It's a long, long wait
While I sit in the computer,
Hope I don't have to grovel,
And I get to be a novel.
And then I'll be a book someday!

(My most sincere apology to the author of the original lyrics.)

Thanks Michele!

Hi GGR readers!

I got the green light June 30 from Harlequin and NASCAR and so Val has asked me to share with GGR readers how a book goes from concept to reality. I’ll try to walk you through the process of Hart’s Victory (working title) which will be a November 2007 NASCAR-licensed book published by Harlequin Enterprise, the world’s largest publisher of romantic fiction.

If you didn’t get a chance to read Val’s “Good ol’ Summertime Reading” post, dated July 2, I’m Michele Dunaway. Not only am I teacher at Francis Howell High School where Val’s daughter will be a senior next year, but I am also an author for Harlequin American Romance. My 12th book for the line, The Marriage Campaign, will be out in August 2006 and will be followed by two more. Hart’s Victory is my first foray outside of the American line of books, and marks my 15th sale. (BTW, very few writers can quit the day job right off the bat. As I love to teach, I’m not in any hurry.)

I first got the idea for Hart’s Victory after attending Sound and Speed 2006 in Nashville, TN, this past January. My daughter and I went for the country music aspect of it and actually because I needed to see how a festival like this was organized for my December 2006 book, The Wedding Secret. While my best friend Susan has been attending NASCAR at the Brickyard since its inaugural season, and has attended races from Lebanon, MO, to Atlanta, GA, I hadn’t been to one. But I’d seen a few races on TV, watched the Dale Jr. 60 Minutes Uncut special on CMT, and figured, why not?

Read the rest of Michele's story here...

Good ol' summertime reading

(Val) As an avid reader, I tend to devour books like so many chocolate chip cookies. When I "discover" a great author, I will read everything they have ever written, then start over and read them again. It's just something I love to do more than just about anything else.

Right now I am reading through Ray Blackston's wonderful trilogy about church-hopping singles, missionaries, beach trips and a classic Cadillac. The books are, in order: Flabbergasted, A Delirious Summer and Lost in Rooville. I have read the first two books before, but since I finally got my hands on the third one, I thought I would start over so the story and characters would be fresh on my mind.

Blackston has an uncanny ability to string words together in the most interesting way. I find myself laughing out loud while members of my family give me "that look" and then, a few pages later, I am sympathizing with a character in an awkward moment. These books are at the top of my most-recommended summer reading list for those who are looking for a great way to pass a relaxing afternoon or two.

Speaking of reading, my email buddy romance author Michele Dunaway sent word Friday that her book, with the working title Hart's Victory, has been picked up for publication in Harlequin's NASCAR series. Congratulations Michele! This labor of love is scheduled to hit bookstore shelves in Novemeber of 2007.

Michele is a teacher at my daughter's school, and has immersed herself in all things NASCAR in order to do tons of research for her book. It has been so much fun to walk through the phases of publication with her, and I have learned a lot along the way. Hopefully, I have been able to help her with that research as well. I look forward to reading your book, Michele.

For more about Michele, and a list of her other books, check out her web site: micheledunaway.com

I hope everyone is enjoying this long holiday weekend. We have been taking it at a leisurely pace ourselves. No racing on tap until next Saturday, but that's ok with me since it's so hot outside. Air conditioning is my friend!

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.