Race Day - Martinsville 2006

Sunday was another bright and early day. Phil and I left for the racetrack at 7am. We stopped for breakfast and a hot chocolate and were able to park in the lot we wanted to. See, getting out of a race track with race traffic takes some strategy, preparation and $20. We parked at a lot about a mile walk out of the track. The folks who run the lot are kind enough to make sure you aren't blocked in and it's on the right side of the road so you can just pull out and go. But it takes some savvy to maneuver through race fans who've had several beers each and are carrying their hard-sided coolers out of the track.

Race time was at 1:30 pm and it seemed to take forever to get to the green flag. Phil and his team were so busy, I hardly saw him all morning. We did take a few minutes to grab a bite to eat - thanks to the care of Okey Dokey (see picture).

When the race finally did arrive, Phil and I walked to pit road. He set up some chairs so that I had a place to sit and I had a great view of turns 1 and 2 and of the M&M's pit box and pit stall. At this point I was fairly sunburned and as I sat there I could feel myself getting crispier. The team always has a more than ample supply of cold beverages and I just kept drinking water as it was handed to me. The team guys were all so nice, taking good care of me during the race.

A day at a NASCAR race is a combination of these smells: a barbecue grill, exhaust, cigarette smoke, fuel and hot dogs. It's the strangest combination.

The pit stop is just about the most amazing thing I've ever seen. In less than 13 seconds the crew guys change four tires, fuel the car, make adjustments, give the driver a drink, pull tape off the grill and tear off a windshield cover if they need to. Each pit stop is recorded and reviewed after completed. Ok, so this is what Phil does when there is a caution (remember that he is sitting on top of the pit box at his computer before the caution comes out): He quickly puts on his gloves, climbs down the steps, runs over to the video recorder to set it to record the pit stop; he then grabs a tire to hand to the tire changer and runs to the pit wall to help with the stop. When the stop is done, he takes his gloves off and runs back up the steps to sit next to the crew chief again. And this happens over and over through the course of the race. It's really amazing how fast and how hard the guys work.

I escaped for a few laps of the race to sit under a tent. The weather was really beautiful - a nice cool breeze and bright sunshine - but I was in jeans and a black t-shirt. In the sun, I was just cookin'. The break was all that I needed and I returned to sit behind the pit box. The race continued until the sun was behind some clouds. With my sunburn and the cool breeze it actually got quite chilly. With about 35 laps to go, my heart got pumping as Elliott battled for the lead with Tony Stewart and Jimmy Johnson. The two of them nearly wrecked out and allowed Elliott to push for first, but they held on and Elliott held third position. With about 10 laps to go, Elliott over-drove turn 1 and hit the wall. He was able to keep his wits about him and hold on to a 6th place finish. He is now back in the top 10 in points, sitting comfortably in 9th.

All in all the weekend was a blast. Thanks Phil for letting your wife tag along. It was a ton of fun and I hope to go again a few more times this season.


This is Okey Dokey - I spent more time with him this weekend than Phil, and he took great care of me. He's a super nice guy and he's very proud of his belt buckle - all nickles with Indians and buffaloes on them.


Pit Road early on race day.


For all you Kasey Kahne lovers (you know who you are!) here's a snapshot of him early on race day.


Elliott driving past in the middle of turns one and two.


My view from under the tent on my sun break - the M&M's pit on the right, the #9 Dodge pit on the left.


The guys tearing the car down after the race. They did this is like 10 minutes flat - amazing!


Phil and I actually got a picture together... well, sort of. Phil is standing to the right of the guy bending over the red M&M at pit wall, and if you look at the upper left hand side, you'll see my jeans and black boots!