Who have you met?

[kirk4]

Just wanted to waste a little time checking on some of the motorsport people you have met. I won't bore you with the long list but this year at the Rolex I met Richard Petty in the elevator. I'm not a big NASCAR fan but man it was Richard Petty. Super nice guy. I don't know how these guy's handle the crowds. The swarm of NASCAR fans around all the cup guy's was huge. They couldn't go anywhere without fans crowding them. Funny thing is I met Hurley Haywood out front of the ticket window (he drove up in a new Cayenne Turbo S) and nobody even noticed. He's part of history but got none of the attention that the cup guy's got. So who have you met and where?

[sts 50]

I met John Tak, current SCCA Solo champ (SM?), at spring training in Indy last year. Met John Force and Kenny Bernstein briefly years ago when I lived in NJ and was close to Englishtown and Reading, PA. (BTW, if you haven't gone to an NHRA national event, go this summer!)

[SentraWV]

I had Brian Till, Calvin Fish, and Tommy Byrne for instructors when I did my school at Mid-Ohio. Also, Scott and I had Dario and Mrs. Franchitti walk past us while we were in line for food at Indy one year.

[SeanB]

Jeff Altenburg's was pitted next to the team I crewed for at the 12 hrs.
Same race, the PTG BMW team was pitted 3 pits from the guys I was crewing for.

Frank Sanchez of Banana boat and Mathew Polk of Polk Audio race at MARRS, I've run into them at the paddock there.

Went to an Ferrari of Washington weekend at Summit and got to talk to the guys at the Scuderia FOW #33 Ferrari 360GT team driven by Cort Wagner and Brent Martini.

Indirectly...

Exel Logistics is one of the sponsors of Tony Kanaan's IRL car, my brother is a Project Manager at Exel and he got to spend a weekend during Indy practice last year with Tony Kanaan's team. Got lots of cool behind the scenes photos that my brother took.

[kirk4]

I'd love to work for one of the teams during a big race. I'm thinking about working out the details to work as a corner worker. Just getting a little closer to the action seems like a lot of fun. My son is currently 16 and a lot of our weekends have been filled with soccer but now that he is getting older I start thinking of driving schools and maybe spec racing. It's amazing who you meet at the track.

[Hillbilly]

Davey Allison, Mike Waltrip, Harry Gant, Sterling Marlin, Geoff Bodine at WVMS in '91 for race of champions. We were running late model that night and they were running local modifieds so we were in the pits with 'em and of course had to meet them. Our driver even got Davey to autograph his driver's suit.
Tony Stewart inTampa at East Bay Speedway in Feb. '97. Pitted directly across from him with Stevie Lucas and partied with him some that whole week.
Steve Park at New Smyrna speedway in Fl Feb '96 while he was running a NASCAR mod. Talked to him right before he got in a borrowed car with no practice, started dead last and won the 20 lap feature.
Also met lots of dirt track heros like Red Farmer, Charlie Swartz, Scott Bloomquist, Donnie Moran, Steve Kinser, Jack Hewitt, Billy Moyer and I almost forgot Kenny Schrader.

[ShortysTRM]

I was like "who the hell is this guy?" ....it's Boggie!!


I met Scott Byrne behind a Go-Mart bathroom once. Does that count?

[Hillbilly]

I bet Scott won't admit to that though.

[sts 50]

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh..........