No arrests were made

Well here it is the moment all of you . . . all 10 of you . .. have been waiting for . . . did I or did I not meet Kasey? Did I get my photo taken giving him a big hug? Did I get arrested while trying to get said photo of big hug moment? The answers would be not, no, and no. But am I disappointed . . . a little bit . . . maybe . . . but this weekend was too much fun to write off as a disappointment. And besides now we have the inside scoop and the "real" plan for next year to get our prize photos - it involves high heels, tight designer jeans, a plastic card, and attitude. This was our first time having pit passes and so we really had no idea whtat to expect. There are basically three layers to the infield - pits, garage, and drivers motor homes. We would have had to bust through two sets of security officials to get to the drivers.

We had a great time walking up and down pit road though. I know many of you non-Nascar fans are wondering . . .what are you mental? . . . well, maybe so. We were able to talk to a pit crew member that I went to high school with. He gave us the inside scoop on what goes down in the pits before and during the races, what some drivers were really like, and just all around inside NASCAR scoop. (Thanks Tom!) We also stumbled upon a prime standing spot as cars rolled out to be inspected and placed on pit road before the race. We were within inches of many of the cars. We made friends with the Security guard and thus got the inside scoop on the plastic card. All we kept thinking was . . . we couldn't have planned this any better. Which is why I am thinking that God was blessing us for attending His sport. I mean think about it - Sunday is his day of rest, races can take up a pretty good chunk of your day, and they are on for most of the year - I really think that Nascar is His sport that He had planned out for Sunday. (okay save all the theology commentary for someone else just go with me on this.)

Any-whooo . . . enough words about the weekend . . . here are the photos . . . and additional commentary . . .

This is Nick from New Zealand outside Victory Lane(cousin Jeff's friend). This is Nick's excited happy face. Really . . .he is having fun. We just couldn't get him to make a rock star face - believe me I tried.

Mel and Ryan at the back of the #24 pit stall. And Mel and cousin Jeff in the front of the #24 pit . . . And me and Mel in the #24 pit . . . you get the feeling Mel wanted many witnesses that she was there in the same pit . . . that Jeff would be in soon. :-)

Jeff and I in front of the #9/Kasey Kahne pit

Jeff, Ryan, and Mel in our special spot We wondered for a brief moment if Mel had paid for this . . .

Kasey's car that he raced on Sunday . . . it was a piece of trash in the end . . . UGH!
This is why people think only wierdo's are Nascar fans. I mean really, at least throw on a pair of jeans before coming to the track . . . too much. The picture cut off the #20 orange crocs that went with this outfit, and it doesn't completely show that the hair was sprayed orange also. The jury is still out on who her driver was.
This was our friend the security guard who gave us more authority than we could handle and almost got us beat up by a woman who would have taken both Mel and I (and maybe Ryan and Jeff too)If you look closely on the driver side of the #9 car, you will see a red suit and a head . . . that is Kasey . . . that is how close I got to him. I am in row 50 of the stands, he is on pit road getting ready to get in his car - the start/finish line between us. No real chance of arrest at that distance.