Wonderful Weekend!

Saturday-Sunday, February 15, 16, 2014

It was a wonderful weekend as we packed in a lot of activity.  We met up with Duane and Marlene, the wagonmaster from our Alaska caravan!  It was fun to see them again.  We last saw them 3,700 miles and 6 months ago, when the Alaska caravan ended. They are here hosting another caravan group of 20 which will arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday.

There were two races on Saturday night…the ARCA race which we watched from the top of the motorhome, and the Sprint Unlimited—a non-points race to kick of the season.  There was a full moon over the Speedway which added to the excitement of the season opener.  There were 18 drivers in this race…past winners, past champions and past pole winners, and they were introduced with a flair.

There was a big wreck in the second segment which took out 1/2 the field (including Jeff Gordon), and then the pace car caught on fire (another crazy happening).  People were saying it was the full moon taking charge!

Sunday was qualifying day, and more laid back than the last couple of days, so we were able to spend more time with Tom, and talk with some of his teammates.  As a mom, it’s always great to hear good stories about your kids and observe them in action.  Tom is always so gracious to share his time and take good care of us at the track—sometimes we forget--he’s at work!

The cars went through inspection, and then qualifications began.

 

 

…it took almost two hours to get 43 cars qualified.  Jeff qualified 8th…not too bad, but the starting lineup will be determined by the Dual races on Thursday.   We sat at a picnic table by Lake Lloyd and watched quals (there really is a car on the track in this picture!) 

The pole sitter is young Austin Dillon, who is driving the #3 car (Dale Earnhardt’s old number).  Having #3 back on the track will also add to the excitement of race weekend.

Another bit of excitement yesterday was an rv fire near us.  It was so sad…the owners were not there…the motorhome next to it discovered smoke on the top, and called 911.  He tried spraying water from the top of his motorhome,but realized it was going fast, so he pulled his motorhome away from the fire (slides out and all).  The fire department came and took care of it, but it is a total loss.  I keep wondering if their race tickets survived??  The owners pulled it away last night.

Spot and Jim had a relaxing day..Spot loves to sit outside in the sun and watch people go by. 

We ended the evening with mass at St. Paul’s Basilica, and dinner at Milano’s on the beach.