The Daytona Experience - Day Three

Sunday morning was pretty much a replay of our Saturday morning procedure except we got up a half hour earlier to get into the Fan Zone when they opened the gates. Now you’ve got to understand, me and my legs made it through Saturday with flying colors (maybe it was the adult beverages!) but Sunday morning I had to get in a hot shower to relieve my tied up lower leg muscles. Suddenly I’m very aware of what would be expected in terms of walking/standing over the next few hours. It was time to “grin and bear it”!

So here we are, quickly (ahem) walking through the vendor area, getting our credentials checked and walking through the underpass into the infield. I’m not sure how far we walked but I know I was looking with envy at these people being hauled around in golf carts and towed people carriers… Walking west through the vast motorhome area, I’m wearing my Kyle Busch ball cap (didn’t have the T on this day…) and darn near everywhere I looked there were Dale Earnhardt Jr. flags flying and his paraphernalia (I even saw a Dale Jr. dog dish!). From some of the looks I was getting I felt like a U.S. Serviceman marching through Afghanistan!

Finally we turned north toward the main grandstand and eventually found the Fan Zone. By
this time D.J. and I are walking along side by side while everyone else is pushing ahead. Neither of us is letting on about our legs as we tag along and eventually join in to hear Kristen’s explanations concerning what was going on in the garage area. I know those pit crew members have pretty much got tunnel vision while carrying out their tasks but it’s got to be somewhat disconcerting to have all these people constantly scrutinizing what you’re about. Both of the Busch brother’s cars were being prepped for inspection so we could see that while most of the others were not to be seen until we made our way up on the garage roof and meandered to the east end of the balcony where you could see the inspection areas. That inspection is pretty intense and you know when a team was questioning themselves about passing inspection as they towed along one of their mobile tool boxes just in case they had to make some last minute adjustments to satisfy the inspectors.
The way Daytona’s inspections run the cars enter on the far end of the long narrow building to the upper left and go through three different inspection sites as they weave their way from one inspection stall to another (working back toward where we were standing) and then they enter the template area (the canopied area on the right and in the center).

That’s Michael Waltrip’s number 15 just exiting the template inspection area and yes, after Friday night’s truck problems, there’s one of Waltrip’s toolboxes ready to go…

While waiting I caught a glimpse of a guy down below us in the garage area and lo and behold(!) there's ole' DW walking along signing autographs!

Darrell Waltrip in the blue shirt.

It was about this time that D.J. and I made a momentous decision… We left the crew and went to find a place to sit. It was time for Motrin! We people-watched for a while and kept
waiting for our compadres but missed them. Knowing it was time to head for the pit area we made our way out there and were happy to find them in Kurt’s pit where we were able to join in and get a quick tour.

The Hi-Tech Pit Box, loaded with electronics...

Next, we moved out front to sign the start/finish line, catch the concert and finally the driver introductions… Here’s a few of the pictures I was able to get…

D.J. signing the historic checkered start/finish line (hat with flames)...

Denny Hamlin, Bad Brad Keselowski and Brian Vickers being introduced.

The Busch Boys! Yeeee Haaaawww!!!

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These were taken while holding the camera over the top of my head and hoping the shots would come through...

This being my first NASCAR race and knowing Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most popular driver, I
had no idea just how loyal his fans really are. So the drivers are being introduced in order of their starting position in the 500 and there’s somewhat polite applause and cheering for a few of the drivers (Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson) and then my driver came up on the walkway to be met with either dead silence or a scattering of boos! It’s like I’m the only one cheering for him and you should have seen the looks I was getting for my “GO KYLE!” yells. I glanced over at Kristen and she’s just smiling back while shaking her head… A short while later Kurt appears and there’s just a ripple of light applause while Kristen is yelling so I let loose with “BUSCH BROTHERS RULE!” and if looks could kill I’d have died right on the spot! I’m not sure if standing next to D.J. (a 6’3” scrapper) had anything to do with not being mugged or not!

Then Dale Jr. popped onto the walkway and the whole place went up with a commotion you’d have to personally experience. One of the Coors family members (Pete?) was on hand to celebrate Dale winning the pole. A couple of brief comments and Dale tossed his Amp Energy cap into the crowd! Now that would be one heck of a collector’s item!

It was time to move into the grandstand and let me tell you, I was ready to park it, but first it was an uphill climb. There were stairways to climb from the high side of the track and then the grandstands themselves. All these people from the Fan Zone were being siphoned into the stairways and it was something standing on an 18 to 20 degree incline while the siphon took effect, but I made it!

Up in the stands our shaded seats awaited and from that vantage point it sure looked like the 2011 Daytona 500 was sold out! The grandstand on the far side of the track (that was empty on Saturday) was completely filled and where there’d been an empty seat here and there in the area we occupied on Saturday every seat was now filled. There were little green flags distributed by American Ethanol taped to every seat and the fans were asked to wave them at the start of the race so we did and the race was on!

Next was the third lap in honor of Dale Earnhardt Sr. For just over a couple of minutes it was really eerie. The whole place went quiet. All we could hear was the cars out on the track and everywhere you looked people had their right hands up with three fingers extended and many with their heads down. It was a moment to remember.

I think it was the fifth lap when my driver (Kyle) spun on the backstretch and a cheer (!)
went up. Now I’d been a little loud up to that point but I calmed down immediately. Everyone in our crew was telling me (tongue in cheek) how sorry they were and I knew they were just being nice… From that point Kyle had to take advantage of every opportunity to get back in the pit while his team worked to get his car back in order. The thought was that the car was knocked out of alignment as they kept working on both the front and rear underneath the car, then, as the pack circled back toward the start/finish line off he’d go again to stay on the lead lap. I could hear a couple of female fans (pretty sure they were pulling for Hendrick drivers) laughing each time Kyle made it back into the pits. I wasn’t going to give those two bimbos any satisfaction whatsoever by turning to see who was popping off.

Luckily, the cautions just kept coming with Kevin Harvick blowing his engine early and then the “big one” occurred on the 29th lap. That wreck essentially knocked many of the top drivers out of contention, JJ, Jeff and Martin among them. Ya know, that was the last I heard out of the women up above me (turn about's fair play!) but I was sorry for the Gordon
and Johnson fans in our crew. Suddenly Kyle wasn’t pitting anymore and slowly but surely moving back toward the front of the pack. I had anticipated Rowdy having a problem with this dance partner deal at Daytona. Who would want to dance with my guy? Well, those thoughts were confirmed when time and time again Kyle was relegated to being a pusher instead of the pushee. No one was willing to get behind the 18 (and that included his so-called teammates). Since seeing the replays I now understand that the repair work done to the back of Kyle's car may have played a direct role in nobody wanting to push him. Kurt's initial nose repair work (sticky tape) had to be ripped off and replaced with sheet metal since he kept sticking to the cars he was pushing and I think no one wanted to push Kyle for the same sticky tape reason... I know at the time I was really down on Joe Logano for continually backing away from the 18... It was like, "Go to fist city, Kyle! Knock that Home Depot dude into the cheap seats!

Given the circumstances Kyle just kept slowly working his way through the field while I kept pointing out to D.J. that he’d made it onto the electronic place keeping board and then he was moving up the board. With Kurt consistently running at or near the front Kyle made an unbelievable run to take the lead at the halfway point as he jumped from car to car ever working to the front and then led at lap 101 with Clint Boyer finally giving him a push! I have to say I was encouraged!

The rest of the race was like a swap meet. One driver would lead for a while then another would take over and on it went right up to the end…

The old poem about Casey At Bat came to mind when Junior got spun at the end…

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Junior has spun out.

Everybody was surprised and then happy for the young rook that won, but leaving the track it was definitely a subdued crowd that seemingly wandered aimlessly toward the gates and on…

Another long wait for our bus ride and then it was dinner at the North Turn Beach Bar and Grill before I said my goodbyes and drove across Florida to sleep in my own bed that night.

I want to once again thank everyone involved in putting this weekend together and for including a perfect stranger in the mix! People like D.J., Tim, Ellie, Terry, Kristen and Frank make life worth living! It was great!

The Daytona Experience - Day Two

Just as I suspected, Kristen is a sawed off little thing who fills a room with her presence. She's a happy person who’s full of vigor and ready to go. It made me wonder how her “hubby” as she calls him can keep up.

She had to get on the computer to answer her fan mail!

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It’s pretty late Friday night when everyone finally quiets down and in no time 6:00 am has rolled around. After breakfast at a local café we’re driving to find our parking lot that’s about three miles north of the speedway. The huge lot appears to be the county fairgrounds and they must have employed every bus in the area to haul the fans. People are hustling to the buses with a definite air of anticipation.Once settled into our big yellow bus it moves off to where there’s a set of high power lines that run north to south with a service road beneath them. The loaded buses follow this exclusive route only passing through surface street intersections with the Florida Highway Patrol stopping traffic to allow the buses a non-stop trip. It’s all choreographed to a fine precision as we get deliivered maybe a half mile from the track and we’re off.

It’s just after 8:00 am and our first stop is the vendor sales and sponsor display area outside the track gates on the northeast corner of the grounds. While we’re looking here and there we notice a small crowd and a couple of guys seated on bar stools on a stage talking over loud speakers. It’s inside the Chevrolet pavilion and the guy being interviewed is Jimmie Johnson! Of course with Terry and Ellie’s newly adopted driver right there in front of us everyone sidled up and joined the growing crowd. There’s a sign to one side of the stage that gives the order of appearance for the morning’s interviews and right after JJ at 8:45 Jeff Gordon will be on stage followed by Juan Pablo Montoya at 9:00. Now I’m looking around and it’s obvious these guys are coming onto the stage and leaving from the rear and that they’ve got to be somehow transported to that point so rather than stand out front it makes sense to get around back where the chances of getting an autograph could go way up. Kristen and I go check it out then she goes back out front and grabs everyone and tries to get them in position to get a once-in-a-lifetime autograph. They’re all looking through their gear for something to get signed, getting their Scripto pens ready and
maneuvering for position when Johnson steps from the stage and moves to his right where he begins signing hats, papers and clothing that’s being shoved in front of him. D.J. had just bought a Jeff Gordon T-shirt so he’s hiding the Gordon logo and gets JJ to sign it. Tim was successful getting JJ's signature as well. In the meantime Gordon’s showed up in a Chevy SUV. He goes directly up on stage but a short while later he’s following the same route JJ had followed as he signs autographs as well. These guys are so in tuned to the autograph procedure they just sign whatever is presented to them without even looking up to see who’s holding the article. D.J. and Tim are able to secure Jeff’s signature as well. D.J. got both of the winningest drivers since the mid 90’s on that Jeff Gordon T-shirt and he’ll frame it once home in Maryland. This was really cool!

D.J. (in red hat) and Ellie on his right (blue visor) in the middle of the autograph squeeze...

With Montoya next up I’m sorry to say we moved on (so much to do, so little time).
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We wandered on through the displays and vendor vans snagging some paraphernalia along with getting proof that Digger is alive and well!

Next we entered the track to watch the end of the Happy Hour practice session. We were able to see the tail end of it and here were the Gibbs and Penske drivers continuing to work on their drafting and position shifting moves as we sat near turn four five rows up where the stands literally shook as the cars screamed by.


With Happy Hour over and the start of the Nationwide race right around the corner Kristen announced she’d meet up with us in the grandstand a little later and left to see her buds down in the shop area again. The rest of us headed east into the belly of the grandstand and marched along for quite a while before eventually finding the section where our seats were located in section F rows 37 and 38. Little did Terry know when he ordered the tickets that these seats would be located under the top deck’s over hang. We were sittin’ in the shade on a downhill grade! It was hot dogs and beer for lunch and in no time the green flag flew. Our seats were beneath that over hang between the top deck and the lower.

D.J. (Dale) and Tim as we anticipate the race.

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Ya know… After all the anticipation and after watching the truck race, I was taken totally by surprise with the tame nature of this NW race that only had 5 cautions and seemingly was over before it really began. What happened to the carnage? Why did everybody decide to play nice? Smoke won and I walked away shaking my head. What could we expect out of the Cup race? I can't imagine it'll be vanilla too... Kristen had joined back up with us about halfway through the race and I learned we were going to have dinner once again (they'd had Thursday dinner with him too but it would be my first) with a bona fide NASCAR pit official!

There was that half mile walk back to the bus loading area in front of us and then we had to stand in line for about an hour, but my legs were holding up. The official was introducing all of us to a really fine Mexican restaurant (and let me assure you, there aren’t many of those in Florida!). Upon taking our seats, J.D. and I must have confused the waitress as we ordered Dos Equis XX beer and she brought us two each! They didn’t go to waste.

L to R... Ellie, Kristen, Dave, Terry and Tim

It was interesting getting our questions answered by Dave the official. On Sunday’s race he told us he was assigned to Tony Stewart’s pit overseeing what they would be doing while Tony tries to check off an item on his bucket list!

There's one more coming!

The Daytona 500 Experience

My plan was to meet up with everybody Friday afternoon and be available and rested to make an early morning start to the NW race Saturday.

So here I am following my Google route map into Daytona Beach (I'd never ventured to this part of Florida before). I'm on SR 92 driving east and just entering Daytona when I round a right curve and WALLA! looming up on my right there's Daytona International Speedway! Now this is about noon o'clock and everybody and their dog is out walking or driving. Hot shots in their hot rods, revving engines and looking for a return roar with smiling glances. There are people on the walkways calling to each other in the bright sunshine and there’s just the hint of the ocean’s salt air on the breeze. Everything just feels right. This is going to be quite an experience. Slowly driving along as traffic allows, I'm thinking I've got to be pretty close to my destination as I run from one stop light to another looking for a right turn.

I'm surprised to be around 10 miles south of the track when I pass a sign that declares "Ponce Inlet" and I know I'm really close. There's a row of high-rise condos on my left and I'm searching for the right address number when I catch a glimpse of a brightly painted beach side restaurant with an old race car parked out front and I'm thinking this is sure a strange place for something like that among all these big condominiums, then I'm past it. Not far to the south I find my destination, get on my cell phone and call my host, Terry Cullin. Now you've got to understand, I've never met any of these people I'll be spending the next couple of days with and I'm understandably a little apprehensive but ready to follow my personal mandate to always be myself...

I'm parked out front grabbing my gear when Terry steps out of the main entrance and greets me. So the introductions began. Up on the 5th floor I meet Terry's wife (Miss) Ellie... I'm told that the three other men staying here for the weekend are all down in the hot tub while Kristen is off helping Kurt Busch's PR man do whatever a PR man does.

Terry, Ellie and I take advantage of a chance to get to know each other. Ellie’s a Registered Nurse and has started a growing business that monitors a person’s nutrition needs through blood work and then recommends dietary supplements to keep the client’s nutrition needs in balance. I totally like the idea as it addresses prevention of health problems rather than trying to cure the symptoms. This is one interesting lady! Terry is something in his own right. Right off the bat I learn that he’s a Californian (Menlo Park) so we immediately have something in common, then he tells me he’s a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (Ellie’s from Maryland and they met while Terry attended the Academy, you know… the dashing young man in uniform meets the attractive, educated woman). After serving out his obligation to the Navy, Terry made his career wearing several executive hats in corporate America. Both Terry and Ellie are sports fans who take an active role supporting Villanova and Notre Dame (their daughter and son’s alma maters), but even though they own a condo near Daytona they never really followed NASCAR. I asked why they’d decided to get involved and was surprised to find that the blog I’d posted that morning about checking off an item on my “Bucket List” was exactly what they were doing. They’d actually sat down and tried to figure out what they’d really like to see and so it was decided!

Then up from the hot tub comes Frank Murphy, Tim Muldoon and D.J. Shannahan and the
introductions continued. Frank’s a retired high school math instructor and a long-time friend of the Cullen’s. His wife has been involved in business with them. Tim’s the National Sales Manager for an electrical component manufacturing company and his significant other is a long-time friend of the Cullen family. Both of these guys hale from the Cleveland Ohio area and once again, both are sports fans (Cleveland Browns, Indians and Ohio State) but neither have really followed NASCAR, so I’m wondering who all these NASCAR novices are going to cheer for.

Tim on the left and Frank on the right...

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Terry, as I came to learn, is a very analytical person. In anticipation of the big race he actually took the time to research the drivers and according to his criteria (family man, somewhat subdued attitude and yet a successful driver) he chose (I’m grinding my teeth!) Jimmie Johnson (!) and Ellie, evidently trusting Terry’s judgment, joined in with him. They even went out and bought JJ’s gear and Terry found a 2011 Daytona 500 flag that he proudly hung on the wall of the condo. From what I gathered, Frank wasn’t too sure who he wanted to pull for. Before I could get to him he listened to everyone else’s opinions (I’m guessing Kristen’s and D.J.’s) and chose another Chevy driver, Ryan Newman…


Then I met the third member of the hot tub boys, D.J. who was being kidded because even though he's 6'3" tall he bears a striking resemblance to Dale Earnhardt Sr. He’s from Salisbury Maryland where he works as the President of a home and business water treatment company known as Sharp Water and as I understood it, he’s related to Ellie. Living about an hour from Dover’s Monster Mile, D.J.’s a long-time NASCAR fan along with pulling for the Baltimore Orioles, Ravens and Washington Redskins. His favorite driver is Jeff Gordon (more teeth grinding along with biting my tongue!) and evidently he got to Tim who decided to also pull for AARP’s newly sponsored driver… Four new fans, three pulling for Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers and one hoping Stewart-Hass driver Newman will come through!


I still haven’t actually met Kristen as we await a phone call from her. Later when she calls we learn she’s volunteered to do some shirt ironing (!) for the PR man who’s got to look his best even though she’s never done much ironing! She’ll be having dinner with him so we decide to stroll the few hundred yards to the north to have dinner at that restaurant I’d noticed earlier. I’m literally dumbfounded to learn the place is named the North Turn Beach Bar and Grill because it sits right on the north turn of the original Daytona Beach race course and that the condo where we’re staying is located about halfway down the beach where the old time races were held! I’d explained to everyone about the accident I’d had four years earlier when I’d crushed my right heel and left tibia in one swoop and there was some concern about my ability to walk down to the restaurant but I knew if I couldn’t make it that far, then the whole weekend would be for naught thinking about all the walking that was in store and I assured them I had to do it. That’s when I found that D.J. had a bad wheel too. From that point on we were bonded and pretty much stayed together for the rest of our Daytona adventure.
The North Turn Beach Bar and Grill is located today where the grandstand at the base of the picture up above is located...
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Upon approaching the restaurant we found one of Matt Kenseth’s Crown Royal Black number 17 cars parked outside along with the old race car I’d seen earlier. The old car was one of Raymond Parks’ beach racers driven by Red Byron! Entering the establishment you’re confronted with all sorts of beach racing history. We end up having a nice dinner out on the beach side deck listening to a rock n roll band and enjoying the ocean air while gazing down the historic beach.

Back at the 5th floor condo we look to the north and there’s the track all lit up in the distance. We realize it’s time for the truck race so we all park ourselves in front of the television to watch as good ole Michael Waltrip wrote yet another chapter in his life’s Daytona racing history. About the end of the race Terry’s cell phone is once again ringing. He’s got to drive into Daytona to pick up Kristen at one of the upscale beach hotels. Along with Frank, who I learn is Kristen’s uncle, I volunteer to join Terry. It was when Terry asked Frank if he'd be interested in going to the race that Frank brought up his niece's involvement in NASCAR and thought she'd be very interested in being there too!

Once sitting in the hotel’s circular drive outside the entrance Terry gets back in touch with this young woman I’d only known from our years of blogging. Next, she appears walking out of the entrance wearing a bright red number 22 shirt and a broad smile.

There’s more to come!

My Bucket List Gets A Big Checkmark This Weekend!

I couldn't leave the house without going over what I'd like to accomplish the next couple of days...

1. I'm going to attend the greatest race in NASCAR (and quite possibly in the world)!

2. Knowing all the people who will be there, I'm going to push the envelope and try to get a few autographs between races. Here's what I'm after:
a. Kyle Busch (just for me)...

b. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (for my good friend James and his wife Samantha)...

c. Darrell Waltrip (for our beloved Gene Haddock)...

If I can accomplish any of those three things I'll consider it an even greater event!

(To be straight up honest, if I can just get close enough to scrutinize these people, and I think I will, I'll be happy!)

3. Hope that everyone, and I mean everyone, makes it through the weekend without mishap.

4. Get some free psychological help from Kristen! Like why I'm a Kyle Busch fan and yet I'm picking his older brother in the Trifecta...

Finally (I gotta go), here's a list of who Gene's favorite NASCAR color commentator, Darrell Waltrip, thinks will challenge for the Daytona 500 championship on Sunday courtesy of an interview with the Nashville Tennessean's Mike Organ (I could say something about that guy's name... But I won't!)...

The first number after each name is where the driver finished last year's 500...

Jamie McMurray, 1 — No. 1, Chevrolet, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing: "Last year, just out of nowhere, McMurray pops up there and wins the race. You have to keep on eye on him. He and Juan Montoya have the same engine package (with team owner Chip Ganassi), and that's a big deal at Daytona and at Talladega, to have a little extra horsepower. And they've also had a pretty good go of it on the restrictor plate tracks."

Kevin Harvick, 7 — No. 29, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing: "He always runs good at Daytona. He's won two Bud Shootouts in a row, and he had the car to beat in the Daytona 500 last year. Circumstances just kind of kept him from winning. A Richard Childress-owned car is going to be in the mix."

Jeff Gordon, 26 — No. 24, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports: "The crew chief change (Alan Gustafson replacing Steve Letarte) will be a good thing for Gordon. Gustafson was Mark Martin's crew chief the past couple of years, and that's going to make for a good combination. A Hendrick (owned) car has to be considered — Gordon or (Dale Earnhardt Jr.). Those cars also seem to have a little of an advantage when it comes to the restrictor plates."

Kyle Busch, 14 — No. 18, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing: "Kyle runs really good at Daytona. Or pick any one of the Toyotas of (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) — Kyle, Denny Hamlin or Kurt Busch."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2 — No. 88, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports: "It's hard to say about Junior. He runs good at Daytona, and if they can give him a car that's anywhere near like it needs to be, if the thing will handle like it's supposed to for
him, Junior's always a threat there and at Talladega. He likes those two tracks."

Well, I'm off! Type with y'all later!

The Conundrum Strikes!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. got tied up in a wreck while practicing Wednesday afternoon. Here's the video:

Junior is now relegated to starting at the back of the pack...

If he wins from the last starting position on Sunday will the conspiracy theorists still say it was a set up?

Shall We Dance…? Errrrr Draft?

The impetus:

The repaved Daytona track is so smooth that one car can push another all the way around the track, allowing both cars to go as much as 20 mph faster than cars running alone.
Everybody wants to grab a partner and draft…

Okay… So when the laps dwindle down to a precious few next Sunday, who chooses who gets to be the pusher and who gets to be the pushee?

I’d venture to say that every driver’s hand stays down when volunteers for being the pusher are sought and yet everybody’s hand is raised when asked who wants to be the pushee.

So how DO they figure that question out?

If an owner has more than one car on the track is it his decision? Does his BIG DOG driver automatically become the pushee and the secondary drivers are relegated to the pusher role?

Is it just a matter of circumstance?

Joe Blow just happens to be in front of you so ya go ahead and lock up doing him the favor?

Will you, as the pusher, then try something fancy at the end to try and sling shot into the lead for the win? Is turn four on the white flag lap the only opportunity to avoid coming in second place?

Will the grateful recipient of your pushing turn into Frodo’s Uncle Bilbo and want to keep his precious?

Or will he simply allow you by as a form of thanking you?

(HUH? We're talking precious here!)

Will it be 198 laps of kum-by-ya followed by a two lap knife fight?

I’m going to step out on a flimsy thin limb and say it’s just a case of happenstance. Ya dance with whoever you can up to a point then its every person for themself.

Daytona has really become a conundrum…