Everyone
says if you're going to see a NASCAR race, you gotta go to Bristol. So go
to Bristol we did, my seester Kathy and I, for the August race in 2003. This
time we decided to take a tour, Lynch Tours out of Pennsylvania. Now if you've
ever been to Bristol, or eastern Tennessee for that matter, you know that
it's a long way between civilizations, out there in the Smoky Mountains. We
stayed 70 miles from the track, in Klondike, Tennessee, and our tour provided
a bus to the track. On Tuesday of that week Kathy and I took a detour to Charlotte,
to visit some of the race teams, and took a spin around Lowe's Motor Speedway
in a track van. That was so cool, and we were only going 70 miles per hour!
We went to DEI, and Hendrick, where we got to meet Chad Knaus at Hendrick,
he signed Jimmie's Rookie autograph card, and did I tell you about his killer
smile? NASCAR is full of the most incredible looking men, I can't think of
another sport that has so much eye candy! And it doesn't hurt that they're
usually in a uniform. (I mean "gear", sorry, Brian). Anyway, I digress...
DEI was a real showplace, right on Highway 3, and supposedly Jr.'s house was
just across the street. We ambled on up Highway 3 to Kannapolis, where we
finally located Sr.'s statue, truly hallowed ground for any NASCAR fan. We
did lots of traveling that week, but touring the race shops was definitely
worth it. We went to Rousch and Yates, we tried to find Gibbs but that was
west of Charlotte, and we didn't make it that far. The coolest thing, on Thursday
night we went to Bristol for their Food City Street party, and watched the
Hauler parade. They come into town about 11 pm, and the crowds line the street
to watch them drive by. It's an incredible sight, they're all lit up and honking
and waving, I guess it's a tradition every year at Bristol. There were lots
of drivers at the Street festival, but there were also lots of people! Did
you know that Bristol straddles the state lines of Tennessee and Virginia?
They even have a line down the middle of the street! On Friday night we
went to see Winston Cup qualifying, and the Busch race, and got caught
up in a nasty thunderstorm. Not the best place to be, up in the nosebleed
of Bristol, with lightning all around you. Just a short pause to dry the track,
and the racing resumed. How do they get all those haulers and cars and
motor homes and equipment in that tiny infield? I would like to see that
dance! It's high banked and fast, and it seems that even if you are way up
high, which we were, the action is real close to you. Everything is almost
magnified, the sounds, the lights, the paint jobs on the cars. That was the
weekend after Michigan, when Jimmy Spencer had punched Kurt Busch, in
fact, Kathy & I listened to that race on the way to Tennesse that previous
Sunday. So that was the buzz all around the track, Jimmy was sat down that
week, so he didn't race, and of course Kurt Busch won the race. He was booed
soundly in Victory Lane, where did all those Jimmy Spencer fans come from?
Jeff led a large part of the race, but got into some trouble with Sterling
Marlin, wow, you should of heard the traffic on Jeff's frequency. He's was
a bad, bad boy, but oh so good! One thing that sucked, they only gave us 30
minutes to get back to the bus, and at Bristol, everything is pretty spread
out because the track is so small. Of course, we were the last ones back,
and there were a bunch of old farts on the bus that were mad. I'm not even
sure they went to the race, they probably just stayed on the bus all night.
I mean we were hoofing it back to the bus! I wasn't real impressed with our
tour group, I think most of them slept all the way home! Sitting on the back
of the bus, which we always do, we like to tell jokes and talk about the race
and generally have a good time. You'll never have a dull moment if you go
with us to a race, I'll guarantee that! It's not that we're not serious fans,
but we try to treat it like the event that it is. The tour director Terry
Lynch was a blast, you could tell he likes to have a good time as well. So
if you're going to Bristol, put your walking shoes on, and get ready for the
experience of your life!
