Rambling About Thanksgiving

First of all: I promise I'll write about the world finals recap and my experience. . Hopefully this weekend. 

Okay. Now back to our regularly scheduled post. We’re closing in on the big day… Thanksgiving Day.

 

Some couples will stay home with their new babies and watch the snow fly, some people will go out to eat at any open restaurant, the local bar employees with nowhere else to go will go visit Jimmy the Greek (my boss at the bar)—he will be having a seafood extravaganza.  Countless other variations of the above celebrations will go on.  I’ll be travelling all over the tri-county area with the intent of seeing as many members of my extended family as possible, and I’m taking pudding shots (and wine, lots of wine). 

 

For once, I’m in a good mental mind-set for the upcoming holidays.  I’ve prepared my bank account, my schedule, and my emotions for the season ahead.  I’m still a little sketchy on how I feel about losing one of my best friends (figuratively of course, she’s still alive I assume) but I’m otherwise in a good place.  Finch and I have a wonderful new (to us) home that can accommodate guests, my sister has made the trip for the occasion, and Michael’s brother and his fiancé are also in town for a couple of days.

 

I used to feel burdened by the amount of family I have because I feel like it is so hard to accommodate everyone on one day… but I’m starting to feel like it’s more of a blessing and not just because I’m SUPPOSED to.. because it actually is.  I got the news today that my step-grandma has the flu and can’t make it to our family gathering in the little village where she grew up… the place we have our camp… the place where her brother made his home until he passed away a year ago… and I know I would be devastated if I couldn’t see everyone who’s converging there.  I’m sure she’s upset, so if you get a chance, say a little prayer (or send a good vibe or dress up a voodoo doll or whatever you do) for the people who aren’t as lucky on a day that should be filled with celebration, family, and fellowship.

 

And then I think back on the whole year and the things I’ve gotten to do with the racing community, and even strangers feel like family in that scenario, and I mean it when I say I love and miss you all.  Even if I never met you.

 

So if you’re feeling down about the stress of the holiday, give yourself a hug and tell yourself it will be okay, and look for even one positive thing to cling to.  If you’re feeling great about the holiday, good for you—you’re helping the rest of us either survive or even thrive.  I could have done without the Christmas music for the past week, you freaks, but whatever.  I still like you.  Count your blessings, say thank you, and let yourself enjoy what you can tomorrow.

 

I am thankful for all of the experiences I’ve had this year, the gifts I’ve been given, the blessings that I have in my life.  Thank you to all of you people who read this crap, and thank you to AARN for giving me what has been an amazing year of being involved in the racing community.

 

Okay, I’m going to go get started on the wine ;)

 

I love you all

You don't have to actually Cancel Your Plans – we’re having thanksgiving together even if we’re not in the same place. :)

 

<3/Miss AARN

Runnin With The Outlaws

It’s been a while.

 

Today is the big day.  Today is the day we head to the Dirt Track at Charlotte… where all dirt roads lead.  If the big names are big, the small-time guys are even bigger.  This is where dreams are made and broken, this is where you make it or break it, this is where we say our final salute to the king, Steve Kinser.

 

I always thought I would be saying that Kaytlyn and I would be getting on the road at 4… but that’s not happening this year. 

 

I guess some things change, some for the worse, some for the better.  This year, my heart breaks not because I’m not hauling a car.  Not because my favorite team blew a motor and doesn’t have a chance.  Not because our driver is ill and can’t compete to make the show.  Not because my douchebag ex-boyfriend is going to be there and ruin it for me.  Not because of anything race related except for the fact that I’m not sharing my favorite experience of the year with my favorite friend. 

 

I don’t know where things go wrong in situations like this or who is to blame, if anyone, but I guess you just have to take it in stride and try and be a grownup about it.  Except, I’m me… and nothing I do is very mature. 

 

Here comes the biggest race weekend of the whole season, states away from our hometowns, and my best friend will be staying at home without me.  I would tell you that I’m over it and I’ve cried enough, but the tears are welling up as I write this even today.  Call me dramatic, roll your eyes, do whatever it is you’re going to do but… this is me throwing a hissy fit because I miss having a best friend, I miss the laughing and the inside jokes, miss being welcome and having somewhere to escape to on a weeknight when we both need a break from life, miss tromping through the woods with my camera and a 6 pack… Forgive me, but at this very moment, I can’t even.

 

It’s not going to stop me from having the time of my life at the World Finals.  I’m not going alone, and I’ll be hopefully in victory lane with one of my favorite princesses of all time, Miss Motorsports 2014 Cassi Pinder.   And her family is going.  And my mom is coming and my aunt and uncle are going.  And my famous friends are going to be there and my friends that are only famous to me will be there.  And we have enough liquor and food and guitars to have more than 3 days of fun.  And although I feel as if I’ve left a bolt untightened, I’m going into this weekend full throttle … and I’m not lifting.  I'll just keep trying to shake the feeling that something's missing.  I guess everything happens for a reason and I hope that someday everything gets back to normal in the friend world-- or normal in the way that I'm used to anyway.

 

I love you all very much, and I hope to see you in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the World of Outlaws World Finals.  If you see me, I hope you give me a big hug or a smile or a high five or ask to take a selfie with me.  This is my last race, probably, as Miss Area Auto Racing News 2014 and I hope to make it a great one. :) 

CANCEL YOUR PLANS-- WE'RE GOING RACING IN CHARLOTTE, PEOPLE!!!

 

<3 Miss AARN

Dover Dreams - A NASCAR NIGHTMARE

Shitty Kitty went to her first NASCAR race!!! Well-- in my dream haha. 

It started out with all of the NASCAR teams going to Dover -- but the nationwide series race was NOT on the super speedway... It was at an underground location below the track and it didn't involve cars. 42 of nascars finest (including Aric Almorola, Austin AND Ty Dillon, KENNY WALLACE, and MORE) slithered on their bellies on a slippery concrete surface around poles and in large circles. Did I mention that grown men were slithering around on their bellies for a NASCAR race? I was losing it-- laughing. One of the crew chiefs came up to me and asked me what was so funny.  I told him, "maybe you should have had Dinger do just three more bicep curls on the right arm only so he would have a little more grip coming out of turn three!"  It was WEIRD. 

Then the nationwide "race" was over. I don't know who won. Then I was dressed in a beautiful, ornately decorated gown and I was riding in a parade to celebrate the wedding of a friend of mine who was royalty. I didn't expect to get to see her after the parade because she was so very famous and there were many guests. But as I arrived at the venue, I was seated right beside her. After the ceremony, Ryan Sparks took my hand and led me onto the dance floor and we twirled and danced and laughed and it was so freaking magical!  Then we all had to go to bed-- sprint cup series race was the next day and we needed our rest. 

The sprint cup race was normal and had cars on DIS. For some reason, I took my cat (her name is Shitty Kitty) and she sat there and watched the race with me!! Except sometimes, I would look down, and she would be like three rows closer to the track than me and I would have to go get her because she was in someone else's seat!! Finally the last time she snuck away, I went and got her and the race was almost over so we went back to the frat house where I was staying for the weekend. I put her in my camper and went to sleep. When I woke up, all these hot women in just tshirts were getting up and brushing their teeth and getting ready to leave. 

Dover weekend had come to an end, and it was a really really weird one. 

Do You Even Fall Classic, Bro?

It’s been a while, peeps, let me fill you in. 

 

We bought a house!!  WE is me and my BF, Finch.  He's mostly absent from these because he's not as "eat-sleep-breathe-racing" as me but here he is. Meet Finch! Little house on a flat lot on the north side.  WE love it.   So I’ve been very busy with moving and nesting and everything that comes with a new house…. That has been taking up my weekends.

 

And also if you haven’t noticed, the last half of the summer, the weather has been TERRIBLE.  I planned to be at Hummingbird Speedway like 3 weekends in a row and we got rained out every time.  Every time I want to go to Lernerville, it seems like I have Penn State tickets or a prior commitment otherwise.  BUT… finally… I am able to say with high confidence, that you should all cancel your plans because we are DEFINITELY going racing!!!

 

WHERE: McKean County Raceway, this Saturday, your favorite princess and her trusty sidekick aka my bestie aka Brenda Best Frienda aka princess assistant esquire extraordinaire aka KAYTLYN will be at MCR for the FALL CLASSIC!!  Ladies and gentlemen: this is a party.  Zuvy has put together a kick-butt weekend with festivities to match anyone’s preferences.  GoKarts hit the track at 4 on Saturday and then the big-time racing begins at 6.  Check him out on facebook or racestud for the full lineup of events that START ON FRIDAY.  I’ll see you bitches there on Saturday.

 

AND THEN… oh my goodness, I can’t WAIT to share with you some amazing news about another upcoming appearance, but that will just have to wait until it’s finalized.  And by then you’ll already have plans and you’ll have to CANCEL THEM TO GO RACING WITH US!!!

 

Okay.  So that’s the scoop on this weekend.  In other news, there are 29 more days until we leave for CHARLOTTE NC for the WORLD OF OUTLAWS WORLD FINALS at THE DIRT TRACK AT CHARLOTTE!!!!!   Just got my tickets in the mail yesterday, reservations are made in uncle Gerry’s camper in Tom Jones campground, appointments with Blount Motorsports and my traveling guitar have been tentatively penciled in, and I have some other special surprises on the way for me and Kaytlyn.  I ordered 600 1 oz jello shot cups so we can go mobile with whatever flavor we want, and I’m in a general state of bliss over the fact that it is less than a month away. 

 

You guys: at this time last year, I didn’t even know what I was in for.  And then I spent the weekend at the finals and… I saw Katie Todorow crowning around with champions and looking all hot and being an advocate for our beloved sport and… that’s why I got into the Ms Motorsports pageant to begin with.  And here I am, 10 months into my reign as Miss AARN and it’s coming to a swift close, and I’m about to experience arguably the best racing weekend of the year AS a dirt track trophy queen titleholder.  ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?  Pinch me, I have GOT to be dreaming.  J

 

Okay I’m off to finalize plans, shake hands, and kiss babies.  JUST KIDDING – effective last week there will be no physical contact of any kind (including high fives and fist-bumping).  Air high fives only.  I will be back here before you know it with some excellent news about upcoming events.

 

Until then: I really do love you all.  You’re the best readers anyone could ask for and the best kingdom a dirt track trophy queen could hope to preside over.  Only make tentative plans because you know I’m going to ask you to cancel them—we’re going racing.

 

<3 Miss AARN

Remembering Kevin Ward, Jr.

Please follow copy and paste this link into your browser. Leads to a blogpost by Jay Busbee-- may very well be the best-written piece thus far regarding this tragedy. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/from-the-marbles/kevin-ward-jr--deserves-to-be-known-as-more-than-victim-in-tony-stewart-wreck-083005597.html?.gg_invalid=true

Sun Of A Beach - yes. Pics.

I have no idea the next time I'm going racing. Maybe Saturday. Maybe September.  MAYBE I WILL GO INSANE BEFORE I BOOK ANOTHER APPEARANCE BECAUSE I'M SO BUSY...

BUT. I haven't written in a while, so.... Here ya go. Went to the beach last week HOLLA!

And if you didn't like that then why are you here haha.  Leave a comment if you're that concerned about it. 

I love you all- I apologize slightly for my overwhelming narcissism. 

I'll write again soon with my schedule so you can cancel your plans and come racing with me!

<3/ Miss AARN 

2 Features, 1 Cup

I'm talking about the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race at Lernerville Speedway, of course!  On Tuesday night, the amazing folks at Lernerville invited me to join them for the World Of Outlaw sprint car Twin Feature Don Martin Memorial race. 

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.  

Me, Tyler Altmeyer of Fully Injected Brand, and Mindy Norris- Miss Lernerville 

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.

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