Have you ever been lost at a track, trying to find your vehicle? I have, twice. At Talladega, back in 1999 or 2000, I can't remember. We had a bus, and they are able to park pretty close to the track. Somehow I lost my group, I was probably gawking at something (or someone). I walked and walked and walked. I had lots of offers to tailgate with alot of fun people, but at that point I was getting pretty panicky. When I finally saw our bus, I ran to it and kissed the ground upon which it was parked. No one noticed my absence, what do you think that means? At a race at Kansas Speedway, Kathy and I decided to stay and participate at Trackside. (That's always fun!) By the time we got out of there it was dark, but we were pretty confident we knew where we were going. Again, we walked and walked and walked. Looking for Kathy's black GMC was a little intimidating in the dark, but she had her remote, and we thought that we could see the truck light up when she tried to unlock it. It was 10:00 PM before we found our vehicle, and that's because it was the only one left in the parking lots. Another Do: Check where you're parked, get a bead on the direction, and never count on flags. They are not much help if everyone is gone... Judy Kay
NASCAR fans make strange bedfellows. Literally. A couple of years ago, we were tailgating at Kansas Speedway, getting ready to watch the Craftsman Truck race they hold there every July. We had our flags up, our Peach Brandy was flowing, it was a beautiful July morning that promised lots of hot weather, and hot racing. We are true racing fanatics, if it's Trucks or IRL or ARCA or Busch or Modifieds or Nextel Cup, it's all good! Parked beside us was a couple of guys from Iowa, whose identities will remain anonymous to protect the innocent. They had free tickets to the weekend races, and were settled down to enjoy all Kansas Speedway had to offer. NASCarla had lost her ticket, so they loaned her theirs. They weren't really interested in the races, they just wanted to enjoy the tailgating. When we got back after the race, they were still there, a little worse for the wear, but holding up pretty good. Then they told us they were just going to sleep in their vehicle that night, and tailgate through the IRL race that was to be held on Sunday. Feeling hospitable, Neal invited them to our house to stay for the night. Picture this, 2 guys we didn't know from Adam, my sick mother who lived with Neal and me, and my eight cats and four dogs. We live out in BFE Kansas, about 50 miles from the track, but being from Iowa, I think they felt right at home. When I walked in the house I told Mom, "Honey, we're home. Us and the serial killers!" Who knows who these guys were, all we knew was that they were hardworking, blue collar construction workers from Iowa that came all this way for a party! We couldn't have asked for better guests, they were so kind to our Mom, and tolerant of the animals, and even got up early to go to the Sunday race! This was another indication of the camaraderie we NASCAR fans have, I don't know if they ever went to another race again, but I promise they won't forget the one at Kansas! Judy Kay
MERLIN WALTRIP - ever heard of him? I have his autograph on my Lakeside tank top. For REAL!! Kathy Beth, Judy Kay, me, Thad and Randy were moseying down the souvenir trailers at Talladega, May 2005. It had rained earlier in the day, so we were dodging puddles, had just watched the taping of Trackside, and were trying to decide if we were ready to head back to our hotel in Birmingham. This tall, good-looking man stopped us (happens all the time) and said his name was Marlin Waltrip. I can't remember all the details, but he said he hoped to be racing in the next couple of years. He wasn't alone, had a man and woman friend. It didn't seem like any kind of scam, and he really, really did look a lot like Michael - tall, dark curly hair, and those cute dimples... I tried a web search - in vain... We're not even sure if Marlin is his first name, and I can't make out the scribble on my tank top. So, time will tell, if he does end up famous I'll have him sign something else... my Lakeside hat perhaps. NASCarla
As
we venture out
to see races in different parts of the country, we experience odd occurrences.
Sometimes it's an odd person, that we affectionately refer to as a 'weirdo'.
Sometimes it's an odd thing, which leads me to my story...
Rocky Mountain McDonalds: July 28th - Colorado - Pike's Peak International
Raceway. We've journeyed to watch a Busch Race. Now Colorado, which is home
and plays host to a plethora of weirdoes (NASCarla's relatives excluded, of
course) is an odd kind of place anyway, for this reason: if you are from Colorado,
how do you express this? I'll explain - If you are from Kansas you are a Kansan,
if You call Missouri home you are a Missourian, and if you're from Iowa you
probably can't read this... No, are people from Colorado referred to as Coloradoens
or Coloradians? hmm... The real oddity though, came when we were returning
home. We stopped at a McDonalds in I-70 in Colorado territory. Weary from
a fun and exciting race weekend at Pike's Peak, we entered this all-too familiar
eating establishment under the Golden Arches, unaware of the change we were
about to encounter. As I approached the counter to order food 'it' first caught
my eye, a telephone right above a table, I looked around and saw that there
were red telephones above all the tables in this place, Curiosity getting
the best of me, I veered from the counter to a table to check this out. At
first I thought that this McDonalds, being located near the interstate, might
be catering to truckers or travelers. No, these phones were for ordering cuisine.
I looked around; myself being one of five other patrons - including my two
companions - were the only customers in the restaurant. This is odd. Only
here is "Dine-In" and "Drive-Thru" not good enough. Yes,
here we can order our hamburger from the luxury of our poly-resin fiberglass
seat. Some genius, who only stops counting money to laugh, has started a culinary
convenience revolution! This obvious display of technological superiority
must indeed come from the lack of oxygen in the mountain air, compounded with
the increased sun exposure at higher altitudes, has resulted in this third
world method. If anyone can shed some light on the need for these phones,
as opposed to the two methods currently enjoyed by people of Missouri or Kansas
- please send us an e-mail!
Since the writing of this article began, new information has surfaced. Apparently
these devices have been in place since the '70's. Original drafts of Joe Walsh's
song "Rocky Mountain Way" have been discovered. They read originally
as follows: "Cuz the Rocky Mountain way (where they have telephones in
McDonalds) is better than the way we had." This extra verbiage, the 'lost
lyrics' was later edited for time and was released as it is heard now. - Thad
RUSTY'S RACE RAMBLINGS:
I am the 71 year old father of the 3 great ladies of 3 Sisters Racing, Carla,
Kathy and Judy Kay. Little did I know when I named my first born Carla, she
would end up as NasCarla! I have spent a good part of my 71 years behind the
wheel of a truck, 29 years of it over the road. As it was mostly hauling construction
equipment I was able to spend a lot of time at different race tracks, with
lots of different types of racing. I went to my very first race at the age
of 14. It was at Kansas Free Fairgrounds 1/2 mile at Topeka, Kansas in 1949.
Me and 11 other Boy Scouts from Osawatomie, Kansas were on stage in the infield
as lap counters. I was the counter for Wild Bill Harrison, who won the race
in a 1948 Nash, on fuel mileage. I also went in 1950 but Wild Bill didn't
fair too well, tore thing up pretty badly. When they built the track in Paola,
my younger brother and I decided to build a car. Judy Kay will like this!
Our first car was a flat head Ford. It was a light blue #24. We ran Ottawa
on Saturday and Paola on Sunday, and work on the car all week. We won a couple
of times, tore up a lot of the time, blew up a few times. Everything went
pretty good until we were invaded by the Kansas City and Topeka Super Modified
boys. We didn't have the money or the time to stay with them, although we
tried. We had a modified for a couple of races. We ran a couple of times at
Lakeside with a 111 modified Chevy. I have to say, of all the tracks I have
seen or been to, the 1/2 mile at Lakeside has to be my favorite. I ran with
some great racers, Jerry Weld, Greg Weld, Ken Weld, Tiger Bob WIlliams, Virgil
Chapman, Al "The Orchid Boy" Manning, and probably the greatest Chevy machine,
Pappy Weld. I remember the night AJ Foyt and Jud Larson came up to run with
us. Whenever Mark Martin talks about respect I always think about what AJ
said in the drivers meeting,"We are all friends here now, hope we are when
it's all over. Respect is a great thing, but R doesn't mean Respect, it means
Race! And I came here to win." I don't remember if he won or not, but I always
have remembered what he said. I was never into the full body cars. My favorite
is the Super Modified. We had a full body car for 2 races, one at West Line,
Missouri and one at Butler, Mo. As far as I know the old car is still at Butler,
we tore it up real bad so just left it sitting there.
The signs of the times are coming. I think NASCAR is going to suffer before
it's over. The top 35 drivers is a stupid rule is my opinion. Sooner or later
the big time sponsors are going to get tired of their cars not making the
race. Watch what NASCAR does about that. I think that is what has happened
to all of our tracks around here. The track owners expect too much of the
money. It is easy to make all these rules as long as somebody else is paying
all the bills. I've seen it happen here at home. I think NASCAR needs to cut
the teams down to 2 cars, give everybody a chance to compete. The need to
stop the Buschwackers. And stop Jack Roush from trying to buy the Championship
with too many cars.
My thoughts on the girls favorite drivers, Carla's being Tony Stewart. I think
he is a great as a driver, but very overbearing as a person. My main knock
on him is his taking away from the little dirt tracks. When you have enough
money to buy the entire field you are racing against, and then brag about
winning is a little bit too much. As for Kathy's driver, Jimmie Johnson, he's
as good as they come. Reason I like him is because I have a nephew with the
same name! Judy Kay's driver, Jeff Gordon, I mean what can you say about him?
He has done more in a time span that no one in NASCAR can match. Not Tony,
Jimmie or Junior. You have to give him his due. Talk about the competition
being more now! People say Dale Earnhardt was the greatest. I will admit he
was great, but I think 3 of Jeff's Championships came against him. I really
think the greatest driver hasn't come to the front yet. I think right now
all the drivers are all the same, all laughing on their way to the bank! One
thing I really dislike is someone who has never tried driving or owning a
race car can sit on a couch and bad mouth a driver because your driver didn't
win. I mean really, do you expect your driver to win every race? The racing
world would really get into to that I think! I saw Richard Petty win his first
Daytona 500, saw Jimmy Clark win the Indianapolis 500, saw the Unser boys
run at Sportsman Park in Albuquerque, NM. I've been to the Little 500 at Anderson,
Md. I saw Mark Martin win at Benton, Ark. back when he was just getting started,
and don't remember him showing too much respect to the older drivers at that
time! I think maybe getting away from Jack Roush might be to his advantage.
He knows by now that nice guys don't always finish first. I saw Bill Elliott
win at Riverside, CA. He was, and still is, my favorite NASCAR driver. I've
been to tracks in Salt Lake City, Knoxville, Iowa, Dallas, Texas, just don't
remember all of them. For certain if there was a race near where I was, I
managed to go to it! The one that stands out most in my memory has to be the
race in Terre Haute, Ind. That is where I met my friend and the greatest driver
in my opinion, Jim Hurtubise. He was a modified driver, also ran the Indy
500 and some NASCAR races. I think he won one, don't remember which. It was
a sad ending to a friendship as Jim lost his life in a race car. I guess I
will stop this now. Only thing left to say is if you think you can do better
than the guys that are doing it, get your rear in a car and see if you can!
It's not as easy as you think. One other thing... driving or owning a race
car can cause a divorce! Carl "Rusty" Russell - Paola, Kansas
Talladega, Spring 2005. "In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love". This line is from a poem, "Locksley Hall" by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Apparently Lord Tennyson wasn't a racing fan. Because everyone knows what Spring means: TALLADEGA! Maybe a better poet to recite under these conditions would be the much-lauded Lord DW: "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, let's go racin' boys!" Nascarla already wrote a tall tale about the celebrity Merlin Waltrip that we met in Talladega that year. (I thought his name was Marlin Waltrip, but it could have been Merlin, because he sure played a trick on the 3sisters, so say Thad and Randy!) The whole trip could have been a tall tale: from our scramble to get to our seats in time; to our aborted landing at KCI. For some reason, maybe to save time getting out of the behemoth speedway after the race, the tour bus let us out on the BACKSTRETCH parking lot. We meandered around, thinking we had lots of time, after all, NASCarla and I were very experienced doing Talladega. We started sauntering over to our seats about 30 minutes before driver introductions. Now that I write this, I'm reminded of Prissy, in "Gone With The Wind". Sent on a task to find Captain Butler, she seemed oblivious to Miss Melanie's labor pains, Scarlett's panic, and Atlanta literally burning down around her. That's the way we were, until we encountered the throng of race fans who also were in a rush to get to THEIR seats. Talladega seats 180,000+, and every one of us were obviously running late. Once free of the turnstiles, our pace picked up from a brisk walk to a slightly panicked gallop. OK, an out-of-control headlong run. When we heard the Star Spangled Banner, we knew we would miss the fly-over, and Talladega has one of the best. So we crowded into an opening to watch that, and then finally found our seats, just as the green flag waved. Whew! Jeff proceeded to make my weekend completely complete by winning the race, and all of our drivers did well. On the flight back, we were all a little concerned about Thad. He had only flown once in his life, and is kind of afraid of heights. (OK, that's an understatement, he's deathly afraid of heights!) That weekend, the only thing that got him past the fact that we were on the 13th floor of the hotel, in room 1313, was lots and lots of alcohol. Thank god for alcohol! So before we left our layover in Memphis, we had some bloody marys to help take the edge off. Flying is something that needs to be tolerated if you want to go to every track on the circuit, which is our ultimate goal, but there is always a fear factor. I've always said if I'm going to crash, I hope it's AFTER the race, on the way back home. And nobody feel bad, because I was doing what I love to do. Coming in to our landing at Kansas City, that scenario almost played out. On our final approach, with the landing gear down, and the cows in the adjoining pasture so close you could almost reach out and rope them, our plane touched down. And immediately accelerated and lifted again. We were able to get airborne again, and as we started to circle the airport, Thad looked at me with eyes wide and said: "Was that normal?" I gulped and shook my head no. About that time our pilot came on the intercom and calmly announced: "We had a couple of problems there." Oh, you don't say? "First of all, there was another plane on the runway. Then, we were coming in a little hot." Sounds like pit road during a green flag stop. But no harm, no foul, a fitting conclusion to a wild weekend - Judy Kay
