Thursday, May 17, 2012 -
Upon landing in Charlotte, I checked my e-mail and had a message from Austin, Denny’s manager, that tickets to the Pit Crew Challenge were waiting for me at will call. I was kind of surprised by this, because it wasn’t a part of the deal. When I got to will call, an envelope “Left By: Denny Hamlin” had tickets for my family. We got to sit in very good seats as we cheered on the 11 crew, who almost succeeded in winning Challenge three years in a row. One of the reasons I chose the All-Star race is because I feel like the Pit Crew Challenge is great event.. it gives the crews, who work very hard, a chance to step into the spotlight that’s usually on the driver. It’s very entertaining to watch live, and I would recommend going if you are able to.
Friday, May 18, 2012 -
First stop of the day: KBM. Though much of the facility is inaccessible, what is displayed looks very good, such as: previously worn fire suits, cars from Legend to Cup, trophies, the diecast display case that was recently installed for Kyle’s birthday, and a full wall of glass windows to enable guests to view the main area of the shop. I happened to be fifteen minutes away from the shop when Kyle tweeted that there were tickets at the front desk for the first person who showed his tweet. Of course, I didn’t need them, but I won them and gave them to Allen, a huge NASCAR fan who deserved a trip to the All-Star race. Thanks Kyle!
Second stop: JGR. Joe Gibbs Racing is HUGE. If my dear friend Mike Lepp, the pit crew coach at JGR, hadn’t showed my family around, we would have gotten so lost. Cup cars from all three drivers are displayed at the front - Joey on the right, Kyle in the middle, and Denny on the left.. accompanied with glass cases of awards, etc. Before I arrived at JGR, Coach Lepp told me to tell him when I got there so that I could go to pit crew practice for the 11 team. Let me tell you, you may THINK you know how fast these crews are, but you don’t know until you see them up close. It’s not human how fast Mike Hicks can take off all five lugnuts. Lepp gave my family a tour through JGR, which is a truly fascinating facility, telling us about all the different steps that contribute to the final product of a Cup car, as well as all the devices that are used to track pit crew performance. I don’t know how he does it, there’s so much information. The anatomy of a race shop is so complicated, running all the sectors of it smoothly is truly a work of art.
Third stop: the NCWTS race. Here’s where the Denny Hamlin perks come in. We were given hot passes to the race, which, not going to lie, made me feel pretty important. My parents and I went straight to the infield to meet up with Denny, not before we met Kyle at qualifying. Let me tell you, whatever people say about Kyle Busch being mean in person IS NOT TRUE. He was unbelievably nice, nicer than even I expected. After meeting Kyle, we went to meet up with Denny and his manager Austin, who were also very nice. Denny matched the description most people gave me, he’s pretty quiet. Don’t get me wrong, he’s very polite.. but he doesn’t talk too much. Before the start of the truck race, I met up with Coach Lepp and he brought my family to the 19 pit box of Brad Keselowski, where I was introduced to Colin, the rear tire changer on that truck, the 12 Nationwide (Sam Hornish Jr.), and he’s also on the 22 Cup (AJ Allmendinger) pit crew. Colin was so helpful. He let me hang out with the crew at the pit wall for the whole truck race, explained to me everything a crew member was supposed to do, and even got me lugnuts off Brad’s truck while he told me the latest garage gossip. (Let me tell you, it was shocking!). Though you can’t watch the whole race from pit road, the large HD TV on the backstretch of Charlotte Motor Speedway is very helpful. You kind of make this revolution throughout the whole race.. you watch the front stretch, then you rotate to watch the live coverage on the TV, then you rotate back around to turn four to watch the cars come back down the front stretch. Not the most ideal way to watch a race, but it was a different perspective, and Colin really taught me some interesting stuff about being a crew member.
Saturday, May 19, 2012 -
The day of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race. This day was full of exciting events, such as the tweet-up, Burnout Challenge, Showdown, and the premiere event, the All-Star race.. and thanks to Denny Hamlin, I was able to be up close and personal for the whole thing. At the tweet-up, I got to see my good friend Jeff Gluck, who announced to the whole group that I won Denny’s contest, and I also met Momma Hamlin and Denny’s girlfriend, Jordan Fish. They’re super nice! Momma Hamlin brought me Denny’s helmet and we got to talk for a while. When the tweet-up was over, I went to sit in Kyle’s pit box with Coach Lepp and talk about racing while watching the Burnout Challenge that Clint Bowyer won. The really weird thing was several people stopped and took pictures of us on the pit box. It was kind of awkward, but I just acted normal and went about my day. I spent the Showdown in AJ Allmendinger’s pit with Colin, who continued to teach me, this time about how to read the stat TVs that lined the pit box. On the first lap of the race, AJ got a flat tire, and the box turned hectic. It was chaos while the crew tried to find the reason for the flat, though Colin stayed calm and explained the procedures to me. When the scene calmed down, we returned to pit wall and watched the race, talking during cautions like the night before. One of the things I really wanted to see, the All-Star driver intros, I couldn’t. The rent-a-cops at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Seriously, they need to learn what credentials stand for), wouldn’t let me go. I got with members of Denny’s crew and we walked out to the track to Denny’s car to wait for him. I got to talk to Jordan again, and meet her family. I took pictures with Denny, his car, and the helmet, then Jordan, her family, and I all took seats on top of the pit box for the race. During the NASCAR-mandated cautions in the race, Jordan’s sister told me funny stories about Denny, and about when she first met him. Everyone was so hospitable, it was great. The pit box had about eight TVs, approximately five with live race coverage and three with car stats. Watching pit stops from the top of the pit box was really cool, though not as cool as watching practice at JGR, where I got the full effect of the stop. When the All-Star race was over, I actually succeeded in catching up to Dale Jr. to get my friend Layton an autograph, a nearly impossible feat without a hot pass. I passed by AJ’s pit while they were taking down everything, and I got to say goodbye to Colin, who I hope to see again in the future at the track.
Sunday, May 20, 2012 -
Before we left Charlotte, which by the way, is absolutely beautiful, we payed a very rushed visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I wish I could have had about four hours in there, because everything was so well set up and I wanted to read all of it. The architecture of the building is very innovative and the circular shape makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a vortex created by cars rushing around you. I got to look at one exhibit closely.. it was the COT exhibit, describing major features of the stock car. Next time I go to Charlotte, I’ll take out like half a day to tour through the Hall. That about concludes my vacation, other than when the flight attendant in first class pried Denny’s helmet out of my hands because she viewed it as a possible “projectile”. (I think she just wanted to hold it).
Want to see all my pictures from the All-Star race 2012? Add me on Facebook!
No comments:
Post a Comment