I'm just going to say this: IT. WAS. AMAZING.
I was absolutely thrilled to be racing in the first place, plus I had been to this event two years ago but didn't get to fully experience the magic that is the WoO circuit in all of it's glory. Upon arrival, I met up with Miss Lernerville Mindy Norris. Okay, this girl is smokin' hot and just the sweetest and funniest chick ever.
She was awesome, she let me tag along with her all night (even though she makes me look like Andre the Giant) and she let me in on little tips and tricks along the way. I learned a lot:
1) When two blondes walk side by side in sashes, they must (obviously) be sisters
2) When German foreign exchange students see track trophy queens, they must (obviously) ask for a picture
3) When you slingshot t-shirts into the stands, people go ABSOLUTELY NUTS
So we got to spend lots of time walking around the pits, lots of time in the pit seating, and lots of time in the press box. Tuesday was the first time I've ever gotten to watch qualifying from the announcer box... it took my breath away. There is way more drama involved in qualifying than I've ever imagined. I mean, you have World of Outlaw officials who have computers set up like it's the freakin' space station... and with every car that qualifies, everyone holds their breath to see if they're going to be the one to beat the fast time. It was insane!! I'm going overboard here but, like I said: I've never witnessed anything like it before, so I was pretty impressed.
WoO officials are intense!!
Another thing I noticed (that doesn't typically happen with late model racing) is that when a sprint car driver isn't in his car qualifying or running, he's hanging out in the pit grandstands with the other drivers, watching the competing cars and what lines they take or what their driving style is like. They watch how the track transforms as the laps go by. But they all sit TOGETHER, it's like a sea of hotties in fire suits. I thought that was pretty neat.
Eric W. (PR guy for Lernerville-- top notch) let me help roll t-shirts sponsored by Turner's Ice Tea-- and then at intermission we took them down to the grandstands and slingshotted them into the crowd! It rocked. People go crazy for this. And then, Eric had the idea to slingshot hot dogs... so you give away hot dogs AND t-shirts at your track??? Sweet. And Mindy's a pro... I just felt awkward. She's got a good handle on this home crowd, I'm glad Lernerville has someone like her to be involved.
1) When two blondes walk side by side in sashes, they must (obviously) be sisters
2) When German foreign exchange students see track trophy queens, they must (obviously) ask for a picture
3) When you slingshot t-shirts into the stands, people go ABSOLUTELY NUTS
So we got to spend lots of time walking around the pits, lots of time in the pit seating, and lots of time in the press box. Tuesday was the first time I've ever gotten to watch qualifying from the announcer box... it took my breath away. There is way more drama involved in qualifying than I've ever imagined. I mean, you have World of Outlaw officials who have computers set up like it's the freakin' space station... and with every car that qualifies, everyone holds their breath to see if they're going to be the one to beat the fast time. It was insane!! I'm going overboard here but, like I said: I've never witnessed anything like it before, so I was pretty impressed.
Another thing I noticed (that doesn't typically happen with late model racing) is that when a sprint car driver isn't in his car qualifying or running, he's hanging out in the pit grandstands with the other drivers, watching the competing cars and what lines they take or what their driving style is like. They watch how the track transforms as the laps go by. But they all sit TOGETHER, it's like a sea of hotties in fire suits. I thought that was pretty neat.
Eric W. (PR guy for Lernerville-- top notch) let me help roll t-shirts sponsored by Turner's Ice Tea-- and then at intermission we took them down to the grandstands and slingshotted them into the crowd! It rocked. People go crazy for this. And then, Eric had the idea to slingshot hot dogs... so you give away hot dogs AND t-shirts at your track??? Sweet. And Mindy's a pro... I just felt awkward. She's got a good handle on this home crowd, I'm glad Lernerville has someone like her to be involved.
At the opening ceremonies, she and I walked out to the infield to present an award to Steve Kinser (who incidentally never came to accept it), and we also reported to the infield to present the trophies to the winners (Cody Darrah and Donny Schatz!) after the features were over. The WoO handlers put on an amazingly well-coordinated show, and they know just what to do to make everything perfect for pictures. I haven't seen many pictures posted actually, but I'll never forget what it looked like and felt like to me standing up there with two of the greatest sprint car drivers of our time.
It's safe to say that this racing season has been the best one yet, and I knew it would be. This is one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life, and I am so grateful everytime I leave a track having a good experience. Lernerville has their shit together, and I hope to go back again soon.
I don't have my next event planned... but I'm pretty sure I'm free the weekend after Labor Day weekend.... so if anybody has any ideas, let me know and I'll cancel my plans so we can go racing. :)
I love you all
<3/Miss AARN
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