It's about noon Thursday and I am finishing up my final clients for the week and heading to the airport at 4pm to fly to Dallas! I've had a very hectic few days, (including a 5.6 earthquake centered about 10 miles from my house near San Jose that knocked every one of my die cast cars off the shelves!) let me catch you up...
I have been working closely with the Miller Lite PR guy. He will basically be my "handler" at the track keeping me out of trouble (!), organizing my time with Kurt Busch and the rest of the Miller Lite team, as well as the official golf cart driver! ; ) He said I will definitely be getting some quality one on one interview time with Kurt every weekend. It will be very cool to "hang" with Kurt and get to know him and to really watch the workings of a race team in action.
Miller Lite also secured HOT pit passes for me. As I said before, these are tough to get and will enable me to be on pit road during qualifying, practice and races. I am super excited to have the HOT passes! I promise to watch out for race cars, flying tires and lugnuts! I hope to be able to document the "feel" of the race from the pits...
There has been a slight snag with the press passes. Everyone involved is working to resolve it, but for the moment, no press passes for Texas yet. Not to worry! This enables me to run around getting photos and autographs without Nascar kicking me out! : ) So watch closely during Qualifying tomorrow to see which drivers are running!! LOL
I also received the "swag"...Miller Lite Racing sent several golf/polo shirts, halter top and hoodie for me to wear while I am at the track and Foxsports also sent a polo and of course, a small media writing pad! Just like xmas!
I hope to update the blog daily while I am at the track, probably in the evening, will try to give you enough details to live vicariously! Pictures and sound bites will probably come later. Look out Texas, here I come!
Lori- I will try my darndest to get that photo for you...sexy?! I dunno but something of the great pumpkin!
Yee- Didn't sleep much last night and wont tonight (I land at midnight) but adrenaline is kicking in!
You and your puns! LOL
Maybe I will be able to show another side of Kurt...
We'll be looking for you in the background of the TV telecasts this weekend during all the prerace and qualifying activities. Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!!!
Maybe since you are working with the Miller Lite PR guy you will even get to meet our GGW racing favorite, Rusty Wallace. I read somewhere that he still has a few years left on his Miller Lite contract, but doesn't really talk to Busch's team much at all. Then you can ask him about that "draftlock" in person, lol.
KLV - Awesome! Have a great time. Actually, Kurt could be a very interesting guy to get to know (although much like Tony I think he can swing between charming and alarming).
Klvalus, you are going to have the experience of a lifetime! Just do me one favor...
While you are hectically flying back and forth across the country, driving rented cars everywhere, rifling through your gift bags, racing around in your golf cart, interviewing drivers, trying to find your hotel room, keeping tabs on your notes and laptop, frantically wolfing down a burger before you get to the media center, wrestling with other reporters for position, having your ears blasted by an unexpected motor start up, frenetically hammering away at your keyboard till 3:00 am to meet your deadline, remember one thing...
Take a few moments every day to take it all in and just ENJOY YOURSELF!
Wow, how about that quake? That was a pretty decent jolt. I live on a second story and it shook my place like crazy. It even kept swaying a little after it was over. I guess it was a 5.6. That's up there. Thank goodness everyone is ok. Glad to hear you are safe and nothing was damaged at your house.
Have a great time at the race and let us all know how everything went!
BTW, if you ever wanted to know what I look like, I took part in Marty's latest photo post. I hope my photo didn't scare too many people away from his site! LOL.
Thanks Everyone! I have safely made it to Dallas, flight landed at 12am and got to my hotel by 1a. Up after about 6 hours of sleep. Waiting for the adrenaline and coffee to kick in! Will be heading to the track soon. Plan is track all day, dinner with Miller Lite PR team later.
Gerrel- Good idea, I will get right on that hotrod!
Iowa- I found out Kurt and I have a few things in common already so should be fun
Michael- OMG! That sounds horribly acurrate! :)
Texas - congrats on being up top today!
Nooch- will check you out on marty's blog. Earthquake was definitely rocking our place. Stuff came off shelves all our pics were askew on the walls. Definitely exciting!
Gambit= (blush) I will use my "hottie-ness" to the fullest...thanks!
Photo- safe and sound! cant wear the halter top for ya...no bare shoulders on pit road! ;)
Forensic- you and your pics! will try to do GGW proud!
KLV - I am so envious. I had HOT passes for an IRL/USAC quadruple event at Nazareth, Pennsylvania five years ago and had the time of my life. One thing I really enjoyed was the Sunday morning chapel service attended by Tony George and many of the drivers and family members. I'd be interested in hearing about that part of your weekend too if you can work it in. It gave me a whole new perspective on the sport even though I had been around it for 50 years and owned and driven race cars in the Midwest for more than 30. It's just very interesting to see those guys outside the public arena and to see how humble and regular/normal??? they can be in God's house. Not sure what word I am looking for there but it was the most memorable part of a wonderful weekend for me.
Hot passes are gold, girl. You have a blast, and make sure to wear all the swag, aka Nascar bling. Pinch Tony's butt for me. Have a blast. We are proud of you!
KLV, That's ok, probably a lil cool for a halter top this weekend anyway. Have been to several races at TMS over the years but never been able to secure pit passes hot or otherwise. You'll have a blast. Watch out when the cars are coming out of turn 4 I've seen a bunch of em lose it comin out of 4 and end up on pit road against the pit wall. No outside retaining wall on pit road.
A rare SF NASCAR fan who loves her Arizona Wildcats as well. By day, a well respected Psychologist, on weekends "Start Your Engines!!"
Winner of the 2007 "Miller Lite Next Great Sportswriter" Contest and contributing writer on FOXSports.com .
