Thank you NASCAR

     During Jim’s retirement we have been blessed to attend over 50 Cup races in eight years. We shared many unforgettable experiences and met so many kind and wonderful people. Our active period in NASCAR is winding down; I want to share with you some of our activities and acknowledge those memorable people.

     In 2006 when we first started our NASCAR years we did the Richard Petty Ride Along at Daytona. A bit scary but very exhilarating. Would love to do a ride-along again because I would appreciate the experience so much more this time. Martinsville would be perfect. While we were at Daytona USA we got to see Jimmie Johnson’s Daytona winning car.

     We have attended many tweetups since our first one at Homestead in 2009. The first is always the best and this one was certainly that. We met Tom Jensen, Jeff Gluck and Nate Ryan along with Michael McDowell. Brian France stopped in briefly. I am grateful to Jeff and Bob Pockrass for doing the tweetups and bringing fans, media members and NASCAR members together. Jeff would never follow me on Twitter but arranged a different way of communicating. I appreciate that. Bob always had a smile and even a hug for me every time we met. We have met many of the NASCAR Hall of Fame members at different tweetups. Such an honor and privilege to be in the presence of Richard Petty, Dale Inman, Glen and Leonard Wood, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and Ned Jarrett. Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace were also at tweetups we attended. We have met many drivers and crew members also. The most special team member of course is Jimmie Johnson’s spotter, Earl Barban, whom we have seen at many tweetups. Always enjoyed talking with a fellow Missourian and appreciate the many Jimmie Johnson items he gave us.

 

 

 

     We have also met many fans at the tweetups. The best bunch of folks in NASCAR fandom are those at the Kansas tweetups. I always looked forward to seeing them before a race. My very favorite Kansas twitter friend and sister in Christ is Nan Dahmer. I love and adore her beyond words. I will still interact with all my Kansas tweeter buddies but will so miss all the hugs and laughter. We enjoyed tweetups elsewhere but frankly they have become so large at some of the tracks and the intimacy is lost. Cannot forget to mention the very loud Talladega tweetup at the Dodge stage. I asked a young man if we could move the tweetup to a different, quieter area. Turns out he was Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of Dodge Design. Oops. Heard virtually nothing but did meet Alan Cavanna for the first time. Such a sweet young man who really tried to get me a Dodge shirt. I have loved him ever since. 

 

 

     Doug Rice kindly extended an invitation to show us the Speedway Club at Charlotte Motor Speedway and give us a tour of the PRN studio there. Now when I hear a broadcast I can envision him sitting in his chair and speaking to his audience.

 

 

     We met Nick Terry when he was a jackman for Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer. A kind, gentle giant who now is on God’s team with MRO. In addition to his friendship Nick gave us two marvelous gifts: a race-worn helmet from his time with Harvick and a team shirt signed by all the crew members of the Bowyer team.

  

     Several years ago we met Ryan McGee in the rain at Martinsville. A special memory. He and Nate Ryan have never failed to listen to my viewpoint and I have greatly enjoyed conversations with them on and off Twitter. They even visited with us in the grandstands. Both are outstanding journalists and truly special people.

 

 

     We were lucky to be chosen to attend three Jimmie Jams. These were a combination of story-telling and Q&A with Jimmie along with music from guest performers. The best was in Chicago with the Bodeans. Delightful evening. It was at the Kansas Jimmie Jam, however, that Nate Ryan introduced us to Jimmie’s PR lady, Kristine Curley. For some reason she took a liking to us and blessed us time and again. Our favorite memory is when she got us into Victory Lane for Jimmie’s 5^th championship. Close enough to be sprayed with the champagne. Mind blowing to be that close when Jimmie Johnson won his 5^th straight championship! Still cannot belief we were there while history was made.

 

 

 

     We are fortunate in that we have met Jimmie several times including a private meeting arranged at Texas. Unbelievable, pinch-me moment. A favorite memory of Jimmie comes from the Jimmie Johnson Foundation luncheon in Charlotte. Each attendee could have two items signed by him and a picture taken. The signed items were left on the podium while the picture was taken. I asked Jimmie if the photographer was Harold Hinson whose work I so admire. When he said yes I went over to speak with Mr. Hinson for a moment. Jimmie was afraid I had forgotten my diecast and picture he signed, so he picked them up and came after me to make sure I got them. What a kind and gentlemanly thing to do. Yet another reason why I respect him.

 

 

     Nate Ryan also introduced us to Tracey Hartman (Rice) at a Richmond tweetup. It was later that we realized this was the woman who stopped me in the parking lot at Road America to take a picture of me in my “I wear the firesuit in this family” shirt. I really enjoy interacting with her on Twitter and appreciate the tickets she procured for us at a Charlotte Nationwide race.

 

 

     Sometimes I received benefits from unexpected sources. So grateful to Donald Hawk for his bountiful gifts of Jimmie Johnson and Bristol Motor Speedway items. He also arranged for us to get an NRA event hat from Texas. I truly wish that we could have met at Bristol.

     Just as unexpectedly we were given hot passes at Kansas from the track president Patrick Warren. We also benefitted from hot passes to several other tracks from Jennifer Weaver, the former PR for Johanna Long. Haley at Kansas Speedway and NASCAR VP Steve O’Donnell also gifted us with passes. To me that is the ultimate overall fan experience at a track. We were so close to Jimmie Johnson’s car we could have helped Ron Malec and the 48 team fine tune the car. The hustle and bustle of practice sessions and being behind the pit box during the race is an experience for which we are very grateful and realize we were so fortunate to be able to do that once much less several times.  As exhausting as that was for me I would somehow find the stamina to do it one more time if given the opportunity. Jimmie’s 6^th championship celebration in November would be perfect.

     The person I want to thank most for the last eight years is my husband Jim. When I first became a NASCAR fan, he would tell people he thought the aliens had taken his wife and replaced her with the passionate fan who learned about all the drivers, crew chiefs, sponsors, tires, pit strategy and various other aspects of racing. He hoped the aliens would not come back to reverse the swap. We shared great times and innumerable laughs on our road trips to the tracks. He also kept me calm when Jimmie Johnson was in precarious situations. As he is every day he was my helpmate at the track helping me up and down the many stairs to our seats. Always solicitous of my health needs. I am so very blessed by him every day.

      Championship weekend at Homestead in November is the only race we have planned for the foreseeable future. There may be more, but they will be far less in number than in the past. When we are sitting in our rockers at the nursing home we can recall all our favorite NASCAR moments and be grateful to those who were so kind to us and helped create those moments for us.

Leaving NASCAR

     Stepping away from the sport I once loved with a passion is difficult. For the past eight years we devoted much of our time and resources to watching or attending NASCAR races. In that time we attended over 50 Sprint Cup races and many companion races at all but three of the current tracks. We also made trips to Gateway, Milwaukee Mile, Rockingham, IRP/ORP, and Road America for non-Cup races.

     Various reasons contributed to the decision to drastically scale back with health concerns being a significant factor. As an infant in 1952 I contracted the polio virus in the last major outbreak in the United States. Three years later the first polio vaccine was implemented saving millions from the effects of this oft-time crippling disease. I had several surgeries almost 50 years ago to repair some of the damage. Four of those surgeries moved tendons around and fused bones in my right foot. One removed 1-1/2 inches of my left femur to try to make the leg differences better but not equal. Bones in my left hip were also fused together. The joints don’t line up well in those areas and in my right knee. My back usually hurts because of the difference in leg lengths and limping. Arthritis is a real problem. Years later we survivors are now dealing with post-polio syndrome. Overworked muscles in previously thought unaffected areas are worn out. My left leg almost never is my trusted friend anymore; I always have pain in my calf. It has become difficult to maintain the “I can do anything that others do” attitude. Race weekends have become increasingly harder for me. Standing on hard surfaces for even a short period is not easy. If you have seen me shifting positions or leaving a tweetup early it isn’t because I don’t want to be there. I was in pain. Long road trips also take a great toll. Sometimes after being in the truck all day on the way to/from a race my right knee has swollen to over twice the normal size.

     Since becoming a fan I have been diagnosed with celiac disease. I MUST avoid gluten from wheat, rye and barley. There is virtually nothing I can eat at the track. Of course I can have a Martinsville hotdog without the bun but wheat is everywhere. Is it used as a filler in the hot dog? Don’t know and don’t want to risk it. Even a miniscule amount of wheat can result in a few days of great discomfort as well as damage to my body. So I take my own food which can be no different than anyone else but if I forget something it is not always easy to find gluten-free items in a small town.

     Health issues aside, I have become disenchanted with some aspects of the sport. I no longer watch Nationwide races. I want to watch young drivers trying to become the next great driver. They have devoted so much time and effort to become the best in a sport that is very competitive. It truly bothers me when part of that competition is several Sprint Cup drivers that have years of experience and far better funding than the teams that compete in Nationwide only. Often those drivers are pitted by elite crews members brought over from Cup. Naturally the outcome is the Cup driver taking home the trophy and the money at the end of the day. In 2013 only a few Nationwide races were won by Nationwide regular drivers and virtually no second level regular is covered when Cup drivers are in the race. I no longer want to watch.

     Watching any race on television is very difficult and ultimately very frustrating. A constant barrage of commercials totally interrupts the flow of the race. Also artsy camera angles may excite the producers but do nothing to enhance the product. Race coverage suffers. It often seems that storylines to follow are developed before the race and are doggedly adhered to during race. Blind devotion to coverage of only a few drivers during a race is a disservice to fans of other drivers. Many never see their driver on the screen. This is bad during the Cup race but downright appalling in a Nationwide race. Cup drivers are the ones getting 95% of the coverage during the race and in post-race interviews. When I became a fan of NASCAR in Feb of 2006 I also became a fan of Jimmie Johnson. I certainly picked a winner! Of course that also means I am fortunate to see him on television a lot and for that I am lucky.

     On race day now we have the television on during a Cup race but no longer make it a must-see event. Television audio is muted during the FOX and TNT coverage while we listen to PRN or MRN. I am on Twitter to read the media comments and interact with fans. I believe watching any race in the future is going to involve even more commercials. FoxSports1 and NBCSports paid an exorbitant amount of money to NASCAR for the rights to show the races. The fans will suffer for that by seeing even less coverage and more commercials. Someone has to pay the bills.

     As a senior citizen I am not the current NASCAR targeted audience. Pursuing the young men who are not presently fans makes sense for the future of the sport but I cannot help but feel used. Our money and support currently sustains NASCAR but I feel unappreciated.

     All things considered it may be time to move on to the next phase of our retirement. Racing will still be there but it will not be given the same importance as it has the last eight years. Most of all I will miss seeing the many great acquaintances we made at the tracks.