|
|
Busch Preview
We drove down to Charlotte from Winston-Salem, NC. We got there about noon, and we picked up the tickets.
There were about 10 people standing in line already. Then we went to Hendrick Motorsports.
We got back to the Busch Preview building at about 2:30. There was a big line, but not that long after they started letting us in.
When we went through the doors, they gave us goody bags. They had all kinds of neat stuff in it.
There was already a line forming at one of the tables. I walked over to the table and found out it was Larry Mac.
The line went by pretty fast. When we got up there, we talked to Larry and got pictures. Then Jeff Hammond showed up, but we
decided it wouldn't be fair to the people in line behind us if we got Jeff's autographs then. So, we got in line again.
The line was longer this time, and people who had met Larry but not Jeff were getting in line at the front.
When we got up there, we got autographs and pics with both Jeff and Larry. Then we walked around
the different tables looking at things.
Lines were forming for the different tables, so we got in the line for Brian Vickers. Brian is
one of my favorite Busch drivers. There were about five people in front of us. They had parked
Ashton Lewis Jr.'s car behind us, so we were all sitting on the ground leaning against it. Later
we got yelled at for that. :o)
Every so often one of us would get up and walk around a little bit to stretch. It seemed
like every time I walked by, a driver would walk by the line and I would miss them.
One time when Kelly was walking around though, Kevin Grubb walked up to our line and asked
if we were camping out.
Before the driver signings started, they had a tricycle race. Every race paired up two drivers with two young fans.
Later on, two older fans raced. Here are some pictures:
Randy Lajoie was the first driver we saw. He was very nice, and I couldn't stop thinking about
when he drove the tricycle like a scooter! We then saw Brian Vickers. I told him that his board
at Nascar.com said, "hi," and I asked him if he had ever been there. He said, "yes!" he said he also thought it
was cool that I was the moderator there.
We then saw Ashton Lewis, Jr. and Chris Bingham. Next we saw David Reutimann. I had made
trading cards for all the drivers that didn't have them. David was one of them. He liked the card, and he told
me I should have printed up a couple hundred of these so he could sign them for all the
fans. He didn't have a hero card, so he had to sign Busch Wives' cards.
We saw Joe Nemechek next. He asked my why I didn't make a trading card for him, and I told it,
it was because I already had trading cards for him. He signed a Burger King one, and
another one.
We then got in line for the table of twelve. At the time, it was the longest line there. But, it seemed to
be moving. I hopped out of line real quick, because Kelly asked me to buy a Shane Hmiel diecast. I couldn't find one, but when I was
walking back, I saw Kasey Kahne at a table. There was no one in line for him, so I talked to
him for a few minutes and got his autograph. I felt really bad for him because he seemed really nice. They just put him at a table off by himself.
When I got back in line, I told Kelly about Kasey. She hopped out of line real quick and got his autograph. I then told people in line about Kasey, and some
of them went to go meet him.
When we got up there, Dave Burns was the first person at the table. He is one of my favorite announcers. He does some pretty funny
things down in the pits! Then I got to meet Hermie Sadler. This was a huge thing for me,
because I have been REALLY wanting to meet Hermie for a while now! I wished Hermie the best of luck. He is such a great driver. He also had his daughter there. She is such a sweetheart!
Shane Hmiel was next. I told him he did a great job on the tricycle race. He said they
disqualified him because he didn't obey the rules. I told him I didn't see him do anything wrong, and we both laughed.
Shane had made a big deal about picking out the best tricycle. Then a woman took that one.
He just laughed and assured her that was a great tricycle. he carefully chose another one,
but at the beginning of the race that one fell over, so he grabbed yet another one!
We met Steadman Marlin next. He was also one of the ones who competed in the tricycle race.
He was really funny, too!
Stanton Barrett was next. We got some funny shots of him on the tricycle.
Then we met Mark Green and Mike Bliss. After that was Ron Hornaday. I have been told that he
is the life of the party, and he sure does like being in pictures!
I met Johnny Sauter next. He is one of my favorite Busch drivers. I asked if I could get a picture with him.
He looked me in the eye and said with a straight face, "no!" Then he paused and said, "I'm just kidding!"
We then met Mike Harmon and Tony Raines. After that was Scott Wimmer.
We moved on to the other side of the room. There was a table by the wall, so we got
in line. Stacy Compton was the first in line. Then David Green, Bobby Hamilton, Jr.
and Lance Norick. Kevin Grubb was next to him. They are going to be sharing the Dr. Pepper
ride this season. After we got the pictures developed, we were making jokes that my picture
with Kevin looked like a prom picture. :o)
After that table, we started walking around the room. The table with the Nascar wives were near the door.
We met Rene, Rhonda, Sue and a couple more wives. They could not have been any nicer!!
They were saying that we drove for a long time. We bought a cook book from them, and each of them signed it.
The next table was Greg Biffle. This was the only bad experience we had at the Busch Preview.
There was no one in line when we went up to talk to Greg. Then a man pushed by us and went behind the table. He started talking to Greg. We waited while they talked. There was still no one behind us.
Greg then handed us some hero cards. Kelly said "hi," to him. He looked up and said, "oh...hi." Then HE went back to talking to the guy and ignoring us.
The guy did not start the conversation, Greg did. So, we left and went to the next table. The next day, at the Winston Cup Preview, Greg was seated next
to Mike Skinner. Greg was all happy this time, but when he said, "hi" to us, this time we ignored him. We were there to see Mike Skinner, anyway.
Scott Riggs had his own table. There were a few people in front of us in line, but when we
got up there, there was no one behind us, so we got to talk to Scott for a while. I told him that I was moderator for his Nascar.com board, and his fans there said hi. He
said he had never been to the board, and he hadn't really known about it, but he might stop by now. Scott signed my hat for me, and we
went to the next table.
There was no one fans around this table, so Damon Lusk, Chad Blount and Coy Gibbs seemed
to be goofing off. Damon seemed to get a little serious when we went up to them. He talked to us and signed things.
Chad was next. I went behind the table to get my picture taken with Chad. Coy Gibbs yelled over, "Don't pinch her butt!" Chad then said, "Ohh!" and jumped in the air.
When we went to talk to Coy, Kelly and I went behind the table for pictures. Coy was making jokes the entire time. Coy was one of the only truck drivers that I watched, (the other being Jon Wood,)
so I am REALLY glad that he is moving up to Busch.
We saw Jason Keller next. He was at a table by himself. We talked to him, and he was really nice. There was a man trying to sell diecasts. He kept leaning over the
table trying to sell stuff. We told him we already had the car. We had two actually. The man insisted we get them because we could get them signed and sell them.
He said this right in from of Jason! I NEVER get driver's autographs for the sole purpose
of selling them.
The only driver we hadn't met was Kerry Earnhardt. We got in line for him. I couldn't wait to see him again.
I had brought a picture with me of the time I met him in Boston last summer. I got to see him, but there was a problem, and Kelly and my mother couldn't see him.
I went over to see Rene Earnhardt, so she could sign my picture, too. She did, and we talked for a while. She took Kelly, my mother and I to go see Kerry. Kelly finally got to meet him! Rene is such a sweetheart. Recently it was
announced that she and Kerry are expecting their first child!!!
We walked out to the car. It was a long but amazing day, and we still had the Winston Cup Preview the next day!
|
