I have had the priviledge of meeting 65 drivers, team owners and crew members. As long as I live I will never forget a single second of any of those meetings. I still remember every word ever exchanged between us and when I shut my eyes I can still smell how delicious Rusty Wallace smelled in the front lobby of Penske Racing the day I met him.
I also remember the first time I met Jeremy Mayfield. He was AMAZING! The second time I met him I passed out. Face planted right in the gravel...it hurt like heck! He must have thought I was insane.
Then there was Bobby Hamilton. I met him at Winston Cup Preview in Winston Salem NC. He was signing autographs with Andy Houston. As I sat in there waiting for my turn to meet them I watched Bobby and thought he wasn't very nice. He wasn't talking to anyone... I thought it was him. I had a handful of autographed pictures in my hand. I had one from Casey Atwood that I had tucked all of the other ones inside. Bobby noticed it as I stood there talking to him. He asked if he could see it. It seems Casey was like a son to him, Bobby Jr. and Casey had grown up together and Bobby had quite an interest in his picture. When he opened it up to look at it all my other pictures fell to the floor. Bobby quickly apologized and picked them up. He spent a good 5 minutes talking to me. He was amazing to talk to. I quickly realized that Bobby was a great guy, the fans weren't talking to him so he was just being quiet. Just because you're in the public eye doesn't change the fact that you're shy. Hmm...funny how that works! So I asked Bobby if I could put my arm around him to get our picture taken together. He heard me ask Andy the same thing when I got to him. He looked at me and said " You don't have to ask to get your picture taken with us" I quickly told him that I wanted to be respectful and only touch them with permission. I was taken by surprise when he replied "we're the good ole boys from down south. You don't have to ask, you simply put your arm around us and say 'look over here, we're taking our picture together'. That's what we're here for." I told him I thought he was awesome and that he had just gained a new fan. He smiled and said "then I must be doing my job right" Yes, Mr. Hamilton. You certainly did. The picture of Bobby and I is in a frame in my room, one of few that I actually display. He left quite an impression on me and I cried the day he died. I miss him and count myself among the lucky ones to get just a few minutes of his time. He was precious and I was blessed!
I have met drivers I thought would be total jerks and was surprised at how gracious they were. I have met drivers that I thought would be nice who were nasty and I was sorry I met them. I've flirted and been flirted with. Heck, I kissed Ricky Craven on the cheek the first time I met him (it was by accident I swear!) and he smiled at me and gave me the thumbs up.
Larry Foyt refused to let me have a picture of him unless I was in it. After I agreed to take a picture with him he did let me get a picture of him. He's gorgeous and he touched me...I would've been stupid to say no.
I met JD Gibbs by accident in their first race shop. I then sent the picture to him to autograph for me and he sent me a hand written note on a sticky note. It is one of my cherished posessions. When I went to the new race shop and asked for him, he came down to meet "his only fan". We talked about his truck race that weekend and believe it or not I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. JD is by far my favorite person that I've met. He's so humble and nice. Denny is so lucky to have him for an owner. The Gibbs' are total class. Joe just couldn't be nicer if he tried. I have had a lot of fun meeting drivers.
I've angered a few wives and girlfriends (Jeremy's g/f now wife hated me!) and made quite a few drivers blush. By far the best place to meet them is at Martinsville. The field where we parked was an easy escape after the race and a lot of drivers, owners and crew members parked near us. You get nothing if you don't ask and there is a nice way to do that.
You can get Michael Waltrip to sign your butt (you just had to be there) and you can make Elliott Sadler blush. I rubbed Robert Yates' back and told him how handsome he was. He really is...very distinguished. He had a presence about him that made you take notice. I sure did! My dream guy was Andy Graves and I got lucky enough to meet him when he was Ricky Craven's crew chief at HMS. It was a day I will never forget and I'm sure Andy will never have another girl come to the race shop and ask to meet him like I did. It's my 15 seconds....let me enjoy it.
There is no other sport that allows the fans to have a bird's eye view and be a part of all the action. The good and the bad. I wouldn't want it any other way. I will cherish my memories and look for every opportunity to make new ones. I would do anything to meet Steve Grissom and Denny of course. Then I can die...happy!
I also remember the first time I met Jeremy Mayfield. He was AMAZING! The second time I met him I passed out. Face planted right in the gravel...it hurt like heck! He must have thought I was insane.
Then there was Bobby Hamilton. I met him at Winston Cup Preview in Winston Salem NC. He was signing autographs with Andy Houston. As I sat in there waiting for my turn to meet them I watched Bobby and thought he wasn't very nice. He wasn't talking to anyone... I thought it was him. I had a handful of autographed pictures in my hand. I had one from Casey Atwood that I had tucked all of the other ones inside. Bobby noticed it as I stood there talking to him. He asked if he could see it. It seems Casey was like a son to him, Bobby Jr. and Casey had grown up together and Bobby had quite an interest in his picture. When he opened it up to look at it all my other pictures fell to the floor. Bobby quickly apologized and picked them up. He spent a good 5 minutes talking to me. He was amazing to talk to. I quickly realized that Bobby was a great guy, the fans weren't talking to him so he was just being quiet. Just because you're in the public eye doesn't change the fact that you're shy. Hmm...funny how that works! So I asked Bobby if I could put my arm around him to get our picture taken together. He heard me ask Andy the same thing when I got to him. He looked at me and said " You don't have to ask to get your picture taken with us" I quickly told him that I wanted to be respectful and only touch them with permission. I was taken by surprise when he replied "we're the good ole boys from down south. You don't have to ask, you simply put your arm around us and say 'look over here, we're taking our picture together'. That's what we're here for." I told him I thought he was awesome and that he had just gained a new fan. He smiled and said "then I must be doing my job right" Yes, Mr. Hamilton. You certainly did. The picture of Bobby and I is in a frame in my room, one of few that I actually display. He left quite an impression on me and I cried the day he died. I miss him and count myself among the lucky ones to get just a few minutes of his time. He was precious and I was blessed!
I have met drivers I thought would be total jerks and was surprised at how gracious they were. I have met drivers that I thought would be nice who were nasty and I was sorry I met them. I've flirted and been flirted with. Heck, I kissed Ricky Craven on the cheek the first time I met him (it was by accident I swear!) and he smiled at me and gave me the thumbs up.
Larry Foyt refused to let me have a picture of him unless I was in it. After I agreed to take a picture with him he did let me get a picture of him. He's gorgeous and he touched me...I would've been stupid to say no.
I met JD Gibbs by accident in their first race shop. I then sent the picture to him to autograph for me and he sent me a hand written note on a sticky note. It is one of my cherished posessions. When I went to the new race shop and asked for him, he came down to meet "his only fan". We talked about his truck race that weekend and believe it or not I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. JD is by far my favorite person that I've met. He's so humble and nice. Denny is so lucky to have him for an owner. The Gibbs' are total class. Joe just couldn't be nicer if he tried. I have had a lot of fun meeting drivers.
I've angered a few wives and girlfriends (Jeremy's g/f now wife hated me!) and made quite a few drivers blush. By far the best place to meet them is at Martinsville. The field where we parked was an easy escape after the race and a lot of drivers, owners and crew members parked near us. You get nothing if you don't ask and there is a nice way to do that.
You can get Michael Waltrip to sign your butt (you just had to be there) and you can make Elliott Sadler blush. I rubbed Robert Yates' back and told him how handsome he was. He really is...very distinguished. He had a presence about him that made you take notice. I sure did! My dream guy was Andy Graves and I got lucky enough to meet him when he was Ricky Craven's crew chief at HMS. It was a day I will never forget and I'm sure Andy will never have another girl come to the race shop and ask to meet him like I did. It's my 15 seconds....let me enjoy it.
There is no other sport that allows the fans to have a bird's eye view and be a part of all the action. The good and the bad. I wouldn't want it any other way. I will cherish my memories and look for every opportunity to make new ones. I would do anything to meet Steve Grissom and Denny of course. Then I can die...happy!
2 comments:
Dear Becca, I have met Denny at the brickyard for the Allstate 400 at Indy. The event was called chevy day or something. i met over 15 drivers at the IRP too!
Zach
have you met denny in person before and if so, what was he like?
Zach
Post a Comment