A Year Ago Today: Ear Plugs, Good O’l Boys, Tattoo's, Bud Light and Fast Cars

Saturday, September 3, 2011 this is what we were doing…….
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The hubs usually gets his hair cut at Great Clips. They were one of the the corporate sponsors for this years race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. We were able to pick up several pairs of very discounted tickets for the Nationwide race on Saturday.,
When I was a newly married young woman I found the concept of watching 43 cars race around in circle a bit pointless and even a bit silly. However after 30 years of marriage and maturating enough to realize that learning to appreciate something that makes my husband happy is worth it’s weight in gold. I have over the years become very efficient at recognizing who the drivers are and knowing where the tracks are and how long each track is. I am a fan of the large track such as Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta. I am mot a huge fan of the short track, I think those races are a bit boring. But I digress, when the hubs asked if I was interested in going to the races I was shocked that I actually though it would be fun to do.
We packed up a couple of small coolers and headed to the track on Saturday afternoon.
We got there in time to watch the qualifying heats to the Sprint Cup race that was schedule the following day.
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Jeff Gordon did not win the pole position but he set the bar very high at coming in at 185 miles per hour.
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To get a feel of the flavor of the day I will share with you that quite possibly myself and the hubs were probably the only individuals there that did not have a tattoo, large silver belt buckle, a wad of chewing tobacco or a 12 pack positioned between our feet.
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At the race you are not there for comfort. The aluminum bleachers are hard and shallow and you are packed in like sardines. Thankfully there was no emergency, how anyone could evacuate in an orderly fashion so tightly sandwiched in is a mystery to me.
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The highlight of the evening was the family who were sitting in front of us. Apparently it was a family affair which included the elders. Grandma and Grandpa had come early with their grandson to secure prime seating just down from the finish line. Junior followed instructions and stretched out and took a nap on the metal bench for several hours to make sure that no one took up residence in “Their ROW”. Other family member began to trickle in. They feasted on Nacho’s, hot dogs and Mountain Dew’s, Red Bulls and of course Bud Lights. They were also passing back a forth a small water bottle filled with a beverage with I can only surmise was Jack Daniel's and Coke.
The other little tid bit you need to be aware of is that one of the requirements of attending a NASCAR race is the tried and tested practice of standing when your favorite driver passes you by. As you are standing in one fluid motion you out stretch your arm and begin pointing into the air and yelling at the top of your lungs. You can alternate between pointing in the air or in the direction of the finish line to alleviate boredom. You will note that sister further down in the row is holding her cell phone up no doubt to let whoever was on the other end of the call enjoy the moment  as well.
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So what were you doing one year ago today?
Blessings
R

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