In rural West Virginia, running into the local high school's running back could be compared to meeting a celebrity. Yes, we love our sports in West Virginia. On November 8th of 2004, I celebrated my birthday by eating at an Applebee's in downtown Huntington, West Virginia. Suddenly, while I was eating, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw former Marshall University football coach Bob Pruett! "I want to thank you for supporting Marshall," he said (I was wearing a Marshall sweatshirt.). "God bless you." He then patted me on my head before disappearing.
I was dumbfounded! I had just met Coach Pruett, and if you knew how big of a Marshall University fan I am you would understand just how much that meant to me. However, I forgot to ask for an autograph! I forgot to tell him it was my birthday! What exactly did I say to him? Nothing, I said absolutely nothing! I was like a groupie with a backstage pass to the Grammys! Nevertheless, I came home grinning ear to ear. I had met Coach Pruett.
As you can imagine, I told everyone about meeting Coach Pruett, and everyone made fun of me for forgetting how to speak. What made this especially funny was that I am never at a shortage for words, and yet I couldn't think of a single word to say when I met one of my heroes! I told my friends that it is different when you meet someone in person, and that they would not understand until it happened to them. However, I did vow to never let something like that happen to me again, and my experience with Coach Pruett did prepare me for my day with Dale Earnhardt Junior earlier this summer!
Anyone who knows me, knows I am a NASCAR fan. To be more specific, I am an Earnhardt fan! One of my greatest moments was being present when Dale Earnhardt Senior won his only Daytona 500! Sadly, I never got to meet Senior before he died. When I heard Dale Junior was coming to a local track for an autograph session, I made sure to do everything I could to possibly meet him!
Before I knew it, I was on the telephone calling the track to purchase VIP tickets. What happened next was completely unforeseeable. Mr. Stevens, a track employee, was the man I spoke with concerning wheelchair section seats. To my surprise, he asked me if I could help him by giving him ideas on how to improve the wheelchair section. I was more than happy to oblige, and he actually listened to what I had to say. In fact, he even used some of my ideas. We were not talking about tickets by the end of the telephone conversation. He told me not to worry about the tickets. He would take care of everything, and give me the red carpet treatment for my help. The day I met Dale Junior became, arguably, the greatest day of my life!
The day began with my best friend Buck driving me to the track. We got approximately 24 miles from the house before we were pulled over by the state police. I did not have a valid sticker on my windshield, but that was not the problem. The problem was my friend was driving on a suspended license! "I'm going to jail," he said. I then told him to let me handle it. I began talking about how I was going to finally get to meet my hero, Dale Junior, as soon as the officer got to my window. I told him about the red carpet treatment, and how it was going to be the greatest day of my life. By the time he found out my friend was driving on a suspended license, he did not have the heart give us a ticket or make us go home. "I'm not going to take you to jail for trying to help your friend," he announced, and we went on our way.
I asked for Mr. Stevens when I got to the track's front gate. I was immediately ushered into a roped off area meant for Dale Junior and the other drivers (Kenny Wallace, Clint Boyer, and Martin Truex Junior)! Thousands of people were gathered around the safety barrier just to get a peek at Dale. Most of the crowd paid big money just to stare at him from a distance. The crowd was bigger than expected. There was no way everyone in line could get in to see Dale Junior. In front of me, was no line whatsoever!
I began to prepare for Dale. My camera was ready. I had to borrow my cousin's digital camera, but I made sure to take a camera with me (with good batteries). I also had a die cast car, two hats, and a traveling bag for Dale to autograph. I waited anxiously for Dale's jet to land on the airstrip directly across from the track. It was 45 minutes late, but the jet landed as the crowd went crazy. Then, the drivers were transported the short distance between the airstrip and track in a million dollar RV. I was anxious, but I got even more anxious when I saw the RV driving directly toward me! It got closer, and closer, until it parked right beside where I was sitting under the protective tent, and then the doors opened.
Dale stepped off the bus and walked directly to me. I was the first person he came to! He was really nice and down to earth. He autographed my things, and talked with me for a while. He even let me sit at his table during the signing, and laughed at one of my jokes. All the while, my friend Buck was taking pictures. He took most pictures twice just to make sure. It was great, but it had to come to an end sooner or later. Buck and I gathered everything together, and we loaded up my van for the trip home. Suddenly, Buck looked at me and said, "I just thought of something. I forgot to take a picture with him!"
Great story and well written. Glad that you got to meet Dale Jr. and talk with him. You seem to have a positive outlook on life and enjoy the moment. Keep up the good work.
Great story lmuncy...thanks for sharing it with us! Jr is tough to get close to these days...As Noahspop said, I hope your still grinning from ear to ear!
So I see that you blogged up until May of last year and then disappeared, where did you go?
Congrats on the front page link!
Last edited by klvalus on January 7th at 10:27 AM.
You are such a pathetic lier! If you hate Jr. so much, why are you posting a comment on almost every story written about him? You follow him more closely than most die-hard fans do. What do you think you have against him, anyways? Are you jealous he gets all the attention and your poor whiney big eared busch bros get none?
There is no one more whiney than JR and his fans!!!!
Am I jealous of JR....NOT
Am I pointing out the fact that there are all these stories on a driver because his name is EARNHARDT. And for some unknown reason they feel sorry for him and have to have his name in every story!!!!
There are MANY drivers out there that are better than JR, they don't get their name on the front page everyday in every article.
First of all, I did not write the story dale junior's name out there… Nor was this article posted because it's about dale junior… I wrote it because it was true, and it was posted because I took the time a share something good that happened to me with you… Question isn't why there's not stories about the Busch brothers… To me, the question is: why don't know other fans take time to write detailed stories about their favor drivers? Additionally, I doubt this little blog is going to make dale junior more popular, do u?
Imuncy
Great story!
I was lucky enough to meet Sr a few times. The last time at Sears Point after he won there. He hung out for about 20 minutes just BSing with my grandpa! It was really cool. I'm sure Jr is probably similar.
By the way, I did not whine when I broke my neck and was paralyzed… I'm sure not going to whine about something like this… Also, I find it funny to say Earnhardt fans whine when you are the one who took time out of their day post a complaint! Maybe you have too much time on your hands?
Imuncy, this is an awesome story! Don't ever let anything hold you back.
On another note, that ladydi person is NO lady. She is a sour grapes that just loves to get attention by putting down Junior every chance she gets! I have reported her several times for her rude and obnoxious comments. Not to mention, illiteracy! GET A CLUE ladydi!
lmuncy316...I'm glad you got to meet Jr and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your story about it!Thankyou for sharing it with us!
I missed an opportunity to meet him when they were doing a GM promo here in Oshawa On. Canada. My son and husband met both Jr and Sr and my son was lucky enough to have some paintings he had done autographed.It was a very small gathering as not many people knew they were flying in!
All I got to see was Dale Sr's.private black jet fly over our house! Woe is me!
I kick myself for that to this day!
Oh well, if I had gone I would have been so flustered I would probably have made a fool of myself anyway so maybe it was for the best for every one concerned! LOL!
Hey Imuncy316, Great blog on your experience meeting Dale Jr. that day. Thought it was great!
Good to see you are moving on with life and this idea about being a bloger is a great idea.
Don't pay any attention to the negative people on here==as you can see they have nothing better to do than trying to put others down.
Take care and we will be looking for more blogs.from you in the future.
I have never written to this blog,but when I read your post about meeting Dale Jr. I felt I must say something.
I loved your story,very well written. I would loved to have been with you that day to meet Jr. I am and will always be an Earnhardt fan(Sr.&Jr.)
I am sorry that there are some people that are so unhappy in their lives that they can"t be happy for anyone else. Please keep doing what you are doing. I see no reason that you can't be anything you want to be.
Thank you, Carol (ladynitro)
ladydi
Wow. You truly are evil. Have you nothing better to do with your Sunday than look for Jr fans to argue with and try to upset? What a pathetic life.
Here's an idea: go start your own blog about another driver, and then, instead of talking about your driver, you can spend all your time talking about how much you dislike Jr.!
Lady1976, or whatever your name is, did you really ask why they put a picture of dale junior on it? Are you ignorant? It's a story about dale junior, are they supposed to put a picture of Jesse James on it?
Stop for a moment and look at the stats. Of the active drivers, only 11 are better than Jr as far as winning percentage goes. Of those 11, 5 have either retired after last season or are now running part-time. Kurt Busch does have a better winning percentage than Jr., winning 17 races of 256 started, and is in 11th place. Jr has won 17 of 291 races started, and is in 12th place among active drivers. I don't think anyone will honestly tell you Kurt Busch is a bad driver, but he has the personality of a dead skunk. Jr. can drive a race car, (stats don't lie) and, although I've never met him, seems to be a person I would absolutely sit down and have a cold Budweiser with. Also, as Kurt is only one spot ahead of Jr. on winning %, wouldn't that make him as bad as you think Jr. is? Stats were found on jayski.com. I think you just like to comment on the Jr. stories to get attention in you otherwise pathetic life. You are the one everyone is LOL at!
jtwo, At least I am not saying that KURT is GOD...like you people think JR is. Kurt is probably better to his fans than JR. Yes JR is behind KURT and has been in CUP a year longer than KURT. This stat I posted on one of the pages today. This isn't even taking into consideration some of the other drivers that haven't been in Cup as long a JR and KURT.
So yes, I would say that there are a lot of drivers out there better than JR and most of them haven't had the help of Nascar...like the 'Golden Boy'!!!!!
Muncy! Welcome back...I missed you! This was such an awesome story..I'm so glad you got the royal treatment, you are the best of Nascar fans, and deserved it. Cheers!
24x2 and MJRjrfan- feel free to go to the blog about the quadrplegic guy getting to meet JR and read ladybi's comments. Then try to convince us all that she is nothing more than 400 or 500 pounds of diahrrea encased in the skin she calls an intelligent human being.
Ladybi- congratulations on being one of the most most miserable piles of human waste imaginable. I hope your grandson is proud.
Once again, the story is about my experience with dale junior… hence the title " my experience with dale junior"? What should I have called it… "Your inexperience with men"? Are you sure you're just not mad because dale junior has less facial hair than you?
Blue2IsADueceBag, I am sure he is a lot prouder of me than yours would be of you!!! At least I don't tell lies like you people do...fact being this is another case of media using someone to put JR on the front page. LMAO
I wonder what it would be like to go a week without a JR story?
Lets write about drivers who actually wins a race in the season? Young Talent coming up? Champions? you know Drivers that deserve to have stories written about him/her.
Until JR wins a race (IF he ever wins a race) this over reporting about a over rated driver needs to stop.
lmuncy -- don't worry about the negativity. It means nothing. This obviously means something to you & that's what matters. As I've noted once & again, I really don't have an opinion on Jr one way or the other right now. He's fine by me. Point is, this is something that impassioned you & you should be proud of it & you DO NOT have to defend it. It was informative & factual, not comletely emotionally driven like some of the "feedback" I'm seeing on here. But ya know what??? I saw something that should really get your attention & hopefully it's something that will turn out to be a big deal to you -- that NascarnationFox is trying to reach you. Take it & run, brother. And you know what I mean by that! :)) Life has a funny way of letting us get the last laugh -- I hope your laughing your proverbial butt off. Cheers!
LadyDi- It is so sorry that your favorite driver isnt as well liked as Dale Jr. Then again, living in Phoenix, I remember him cursing at sheriff deputies when he was pulled over for su####ion of DUI. I got to meet the drivers after intro's to that race and cheered Kenny Wallace on for taking his place. Kurt has been trying to save his reputation since. so continue to tell anyone who will listen about how kurt signs autographs and meets his fans. That is because he is trying to find more fans that dont remember his whining and temper tantrums.
Imuncy316- Great story, Thanks
formerlysparky -- lol! I'm from Phx, too (a former sparky myself) & that was hysterical. I never saw a bigger bird in the Busch (eating crow!!!) in my life! I almost started to forgive him after a while, too, but then he started tappin' Miller & eeeeeewwwwww! No arguing he's got talent, but his "Don't you know who I am??" isn't garnering him any fan favoritism -- & whether anyone likes it or not, it's a mental game, too. I'd say he better lay off the Miller unless he wants another pair of pink pj's come April... ;)
In all fairness, he was only convicted of a Reckless Driving ticket. Oh, wait -- that's our equivalent of looking the other way for DUI offenders. Not anymore, ay? :) Cheers!
BTW -- I saw any number of other stories -- Tony Stewart, Testing Begins, Independents, Jeff Gordon, Rookie of the Year Nationwide, Cup Champ Predictions, Story about Stories -- just to name a few -- on which to comment. What in GOD'S name compells someone to continuously comment on stories about a driver they claim to hate so much??? Really very intriguing...
ladydi is just a bitter person that want's everyone to see things her way and if they don't, they are wrong.
What do you think about kurt's ears being pinned back? Looks to me like trying to get rid of his nickname
BTW, I respect kurt as a driver; just not sure about his motives
Last edited by formerlysparky on January 6th at 12:55 PM.
Kurt could write his own ticket (rather than deputies doing so) if he would just straighten up. It seems like he starts that way, then BAM! does something just so uncalled for it's more on par with his little bro's behavior (who is on his last leg, IMO, & will now have to put up or shut up).
Not sure about the ears -- I really try not to bash on that stuff unless it's Tony Stewart, but that's just to get my friend Smoke & my hubby going -- they are TS fans. lol!
Hey Muncy -- just out of curiosity (my mind spins with odd queries constantly) -- and I mean NO disrespect whatsoever -- do you find inspiration in Booty Barker? There seem to be a lot of parallels there -- I admire Booty quite a bit, regardless of the wheels. :)
ribbing on a driver, in a good natured way, is acceptable. BASHING, ala LadyDi, is unacceptable. I gotta say do like smoke but I dont think shrub will co-exist with him, they are too much alike.
Blue 21...as you will notice I did read lmuncy316's blog and I'm impressed. It is always nice to read positive comments about people and I for one am happy that he had a chance to have such a wonderful experience as meeting Jr. I will forever regret that I missed my opportunity.
Keep up the good work lmuncy316! I enjoyed your story.I look forward to reading future blogs!
formerlysparky -- yes, it's all in good fun to take little pot shots at drivers (hey, I get my fair share, no matter who I like lol!) but distasteful bashing of a fan, regardless of his/her position on a driver truly is degenerate. Muncy was merely writing about his experience & it really shouldn't get anyone's hackles up just because it's about someone they don't like. Like I said, there's a myriad of other items floating around out there upon which to comment. Lurking around, waiting for an opportunity to shoot someone in the back who certainly didn't invite it, is deplorable.
I am quite interested to see how Kyle & Tony play together. ;) Seems Kyle & Denny are fast friends, but Tony's got 'em both at arm's length. And maybe that's a good thing. Who knows what the season will bring? :))
spdfrk, I am a huge booty barker fan. I can't go as to say that I have been inspired by him. I've been paralyzed almost 17 years and I don't look elsewhere for inspiration. If anything, I'd try to inspire others. But, I do admire him and would love to spend the day with him. Derrell gwenn would have probably been closer to serving as inspiration, he was a racing owner and crew chief after being paralyzed in an racing event and that was back when nearly ever by the thought people in wheelchairs must be brain dead
LadyDi- Honorary deputy was a publicity stunt...conviction still stands.
spdfrk- yes, jgr will definitely be interesting this year. tony had problems with denny last year, and now kyle is in the mix
lmuncy -- Awesome -- I think we all need to draw inspiration from somewhere, yet strive to inspire at the same time in whatever way we can. I just remember Booty briefly talking about his accident (about which he will not elaborate) & he was a linebacker in your area of the country (was it W. Virginia???) before that happened. He went on to achieve an engineering degree & take on that high stress job & I love watching him on the pit box -- wheels or no wheels, that guy is full of fire & vinegar & quite animated! Love it!
And that just goes to show you who is brain dead. ;)
I was paralyzed in an automobile accident on 2/13/91, only a few weeks after I had 33 rebounds in one basketball game! My sports career was cut short, but my life wasn't. Although, I no longer have a need to be 6'7". I'm now a 31-year-old, C5, quadriplegic. I am from West Virginia and love Marshall University. I'm a sports enthusiast, and blogging gives me something to do when I'm jones'n for competition. I would love to become a freelance sports writer. I guess my quest begins here. I invite you to follow along. Read my blog, and tell me what you think.
