A little late, I know, but it's a long drive from Virginia to Texas! LOL
Friday --- got to the track about 11AM to do some pre-race souvenir shopping. Figured if I did it then, I wouldn't have to carry stuff all night. I didn't find much that I didn't already have, but the hubby went a little crazy buying Rusty Wallace stuff for a friend.
Drove into Richmond, checked into the hotel, picked up the tickets for the weekend, changed clothes, ate some lunch, and got on the bus to go to the track. Dave Burns new wife, Shannon, was on the bus with us --- she's a former Grand Prix Tour representative and wanted to visit with a lot of us she knew.
What can I say about Friday's race that hasn't already been said? From the drop of the green, Junior just flat ran away from everyone. I couldn't find him on the scanner (none of the published frequencies was his), so I listened to the competition. They all decided they were fighting for second.LOL Kerry and his crew were getting a handle on the car, using info Junior had told him, and it was coming around. Then he got taken out. Drat.
Cope's wreck and Ashton Lewis's wrecks left the crowd in stunned silence. You could have heard a pin drop in the stands until the drivers were out.
I have one complaint about Richmond ---- the fans cannot see any of the celebration in Victory Lane. It's obviously designed for the media only. I thought we fans were supposed to be paying the bills.
Saturday ---- slept in a bit. Hiked *puff,puff* up the hill to the capitol building and took a very interesting tour. Quite a bit of history in that building. Very impressive.
Lunch, and on the bus at 2:30. At the track by 3PM.
Hung around the hospitality because it was too hot to do much walking around. Did take a pit tour, but it was even hotter down there. From the inside, the place looks huge! The crews were busy putting lug nuts on the sets of tires --- no team had less than 10 sets of stickers---some had 1 or 2 sets of scuffs, too.
The pre-race show was something. It was just awesome from the stands, and I bet it was something else on TV. Sent chills up my spine. The fly-over just about broke my eardrums it was so loud. Everyone was pumped and just itching to get started.
Junior moved up well at first. The red-flag had him playing around with the crew. He was doing his best imitation of a crew chief sitting on the box giving orders. They struggled with the car after the cut tire. The last 100 laps, Junior never said a word on the radio --- he was too busy lapping cars. One time in Turn 2, it was a good thing John Andretti was on the outside of him, because he was sideways --- the old "8 tires corner better than 4" routine". Left a huge dent and doughnut on the side, but he never lifted. Thanks to some flat out fine driving, and drivers in front having trouble, Junior finished 4th. Needless to say, my voice was gone.
Didn't get back to the hotel until 1:45 because the police held the buses in the lot for an hour and a half after the race ended. Grrrrrr.
Sunday ---- up fairly early. Stopped in Petersburg to visit the battlefield --- I'm a Civil War buff. Stopped in Graham, NC, to visit my brother and his wife. Then drove to Mooresville.
Monday ---- yep, hit DEI and dropped a bit on the old credit card. Then headed home as fast as my little car would pedal.
I'm still tired. LOL
Friday --- got to the track about 11AM to do some pre-race souvenir shopping. Figured if I did it then, I wouldn't have to carry stuff all night. I didn't find much that I didn't already have, but the hubby went a little crazy buying Rusty Wallace stuff for a friend.
Drove into Richmond, checked into the hotel, picked up the tickets for the weekend, changed clothes, ate some lunch, and got on the bus to go to the track. Dave Burns new wife, Shannon, was on the bus with us --- she's a former Grand Prix Tour representative and wanted to visit with a lot of us she knew.
What can I say about Friday's race that hasn't already been said? From the drop of the green, Junior just flat ran away from everyone. I couldn't find him on the scanner (none of the published frequencies was his), so I listened to the competition. They all decided they were fighting for second.LOL Kerry and his crew were getting a handle on the car, using info Junior had told him, and it was coming around. Then he got taken out. Drat.
Cope's wreck and Ashton Lewis's wrecks left the crowd in stunned silence. You could have heard a pin drop in the stands until the drivers were out.
I have one complaint about Richmond ---- the fans cannot see any of the celebration in Victory Lane. It's obviously designed for the media only. I thought we fans were supposed to be paying the bills.
Saturday ---- slept in a bit. Hiked *puff,puff* up the hill to the capitol building and took a very interesting tour. Quite a bit of history in that building. Very impressive.
Lunch, and on the bus at 2:30. At the track by 3PM.
Hung around the hospitality because it was too hot to do much walking around. Did take a pit tour, but it was even hotter down there. From the inside, the place looks huge! The crews were busy putting lug nuts on the sets of tires --- no team had less than 10 sets of stickers---some had 1 or 2 sets of scuffs, too.
The pre-race show was something. It was just awesome from the stands, and I bet it was something else on TV. Sent chills up my spine. The fly-over just about broke my eardrums it was so loud. Everyone was pumped and just itching to get started.
Junior moved up well at first. The red-flag had him playing around with the crew. He was doing his best imitation of a crew chief sitting on the box giving orders. They struggled with the car after the cut tire. The last 100 laps, Junior never said a word on the radio --- he was too busy lapping cars. One time in Turn 2, it was a good thing John Andretti was on the outside of him, because he was sideways --- the old "8 tires corner better than 4" routine". Left a huge dent and doughnut on the side, but he never lifted. Thanks to some flat out fine driving, and drivers in front having trouble, Junior finished 4th. Needless to say, my voice was gone.
Didn't get back to the hotel until 1:45 because the police held the buses in the lot for an hour and a half after the race ended. Grrrrrr.
Sunday ---- up fairly early. Stopped in Petersburg to visit the battlefield --- I'm a Civil War buff. Stopped in Graham, NC, to visit my brother and his wife. Then drove to Mooresville.
Monday ---- yep, hit DEI and dropped a bit on the old credit card. Then headed home as fast as my little car would pedal.
I'm still tired. LOL
