We're Neon Orange 2000 — Pretty in Pink 2001
Steve had life happen after the 2001 race - so we went to Alabama on our own in 2005 - with a smaller, but very enthusiastic group: Kathy Beth, Judy Kay, NASCarla, Thad Fletchall and Randy Wayman.
This is the man who started it all for the 3 Sisters - our cousin, Steve Layton. And boy, do we ever appreciate it! Steve organized a big group trip to Talladega for many years - Judy Kay went first, talked NASCarla into it several years later - Kathy Beth made the trek in spring of 2005. Part of Steve's travel package was matching T-shirts, different color for each year - sure made it easy to keep track of the group!
Race is over - mass exodus to the parking lots. We're pretty spry, thought we were making good time back to the bus, but we were the last ones there. We're thinking we're the only ones on the tour who actually saw the end of the race! Why bother going if you just want to beat the crowd out of the lot? Anyway, the bus was about as far away from our seats as you could get, Action Jackson wanted an easy exit - sure tested our endurance!
We rented a van in Birmingham and made it our own! All of us except Kathy Beth work at a 'bumper sticker" manufacturer - we got some 'look's, you can believe that. Especially when the race was over and we pulled into the rental place - the lady just rolled her eyes - not in a good way. She relaxed when we told her the stickers were all on magnets, so we just peeled them off. Except for one, she wanted to keep one of the Tony Stewart decals. Randy earned the 'Flag Retriever' position while driving through Birmingham - mostly because he forgot we had flags in the window and rolled his down! Kathy Beth is our Designated Driver - she did an awesome job, and we are all pretty darned good spotters!
Kathy Beth made these signs for us to hold up at Trackside - she's so clever! By the time we found the Trackside set the show was half over - that track is huge! We walked for miles, but did get our 1.5 seconds of fame as the TV camera swept the crowd. Didn't hear from Tony or Jimmie though...
The infield at Talladega is huge! We've heard stories about all the partying that goes on, but have not been a part of that as of yet... Not too crazy about the prospect of ending up in an Alabama holding cell. While we're on the subject - If you ever go to Talladega, make sure you check out Jitterbugs at the Holiday Inn hotel at the Homewood exit in Birmingham. During
Security was tight at Talladega, some unlucky guy got busted - hope he was a local... Look at the rain puddles, the temps were a little warm on Friday - very muggy. On the way back to our van (Friday) some of the vendors were taking down their tents, told us that 70 mph winds were on the way. Saturday morning at 5 a.m. NASCarla awoke to a conversation outside 3 Sisters hotel room - apparently we were under a tornado warning. Not a good thing to hear while in your pajamas in room 1313 on the 13th floor with racing on your agenda. The storm blew over, we made it to the Busch race with time to spare - it was rain-delayed anyway. We were cold and wet most of the day, but nobody complained - hey, we were in Talladega!
Kathy Beth arranged a tour with Action Jackson Race Tours, while it's always fun to drive, it's extra nice to be hauled around. Especially in Talladega, traffic is packed on race-day, and the bathroom on the bus is handy! Fun to meet other race fan-addicts too - lots of Tall Tales are made... This was Kathy Beth, Thad and Randy's first trip to the Superspeedway, Judy Kay and NASCarla felt like pros. But when the plane landed in Birmingham, we decided that every time at Talladega is like the first time...
Much to Thad and Randy's delight, Judy Kay models her Jeff Gordon Halter top - way at the back of the bus (Jeff won the race!)
The advantages of a ride-along with a tour group far outweigh the disadvantages... and even though we'd like to camp-out at the track, this particular weekend Mother Nature was not kind to those fans who were close to the action. We surveyed the soggy mess from the comfort of our bus, unwound, talked about the race, and followed transports off the track. Steve Layton's tour bus event was legendary - driver Dave drove like Robby Gordon at Watkins Glenn, our faces hurt from laughing at jokes like this: "What did the snail say when riding on the back of a turtle??? WHEE!!!
Over-all
Experience
TRACK
RATING:
Talladega
Spring
Race