And the Winners Are...

Susan B. - Robertsdale, AL

Talladega Spring 2007 race. Infield spot with our camper, which we have renovated over the past 2 years. This was the camper's maiden voyage. Our friends, my boyfriend Chuck and I are set for a long weekend of racing.

The weekend was great (except Gordon won, not Stewart). We went to the RaceDay built by the Home Depot and where, in the VIP section, we got our hard hat signed by all the RaceDay guys; John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer and ... Read More » Riki Rachtman. We had a great time. We loved the VIP section by Home Depot. We went through and met the great Bobby Allison and got his book, autographed.

The camper was in a great spot. We could walk anywhere we needed to. We had plenty of food and of course, drink. We grilled out and enjoyed being with our friends and meeting a few new ones.

The race was great. We had set up near the start/finish line on the infield and watched the guys drive. It is just an awesome feeling to hear the cars, smell the fuel and feel the power of the cars as they drive by.

The unforgettable memory comes on the way home from the race. We were stopped in traffic south of Birmingham, Alabama, for about 2 hours due to a wreck. Once we got going again, a trucker pulls beside us and motions to us that we had smoke coming out of our camper. Thinking a brake was rubbing, we stopped to check. Nope, it wasn't the brake; it was our camper on fire. One of the brake lights had gotten hot and melted the plastic frame. We tried to put it out, but the fire was already in the walls. We unhitched our van and watched our camper burn to the ground, with all our stuff.

Thankfully no one was hurt. As for our souvenirs: Patrick from the Home Depot VIP Zone replaced our signed hard hat and Mr. Bobby Allison replaced our autographed book. Luckily I had the camera in my bag with me, so we still had our pictures. I even have pictures of our burnt camper on the side of the highway. It is our most unforgettable NASCAR experience.

Was this trip worth it? OH YES!! Even with our misfortune, we have great memories that we will never forget. Will we let it stop us? NO! We will be there again for the Spring 2008 race at our same camp spot, either with a new camper or one we rent.

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Laura J.

My husband and I have worked together for almost 5 years now. When we began working together we were strangers. He would wear his Tony Stewart hat to work and I would see him drive down the aisle on his forklift and try to talk him out of his hat.

He would leave work and see the back of my Chevy truck, which I bought because Tony went from Pontiac to Chevy, with the huge 20 decal in the middle of the back window, the likeness of Tony Stewart... Read More » in one corner of the back window, and above the huge 20 it said, "I was not speeding I was qualifying."

Scott would ask the other guys on the shipping dock who the guy was that drove that truck and they kept telling him that a woman drove that truck. A guy that I worked with, Kevin, kept telling me that a guy on the shipping dock wore a Tony Stewart hat and that I needed to meet him. I kept telling Kevin that I did not need to meet a man. Scott kept arguing with the guys that a woman would not drive a truck like that.

Scott ended up seeing me get out of my truck in the parking lot to go in to work one morning, and I ended up asking him if he wanted me to order him a 1/32 24 kt Tony Stewart car for his collection. When I called him to tell him that I had ordered the car for him he asked me what my husband and I were doing for dinner. I told him I was not married, that it was just me and my dogs. We went to dinner and a movie that night.

April 26 will be 4 years since that date, and we were married June 25, 2005. We have since discovered that there were many Tony events that we were both at, at the same time and day. We are so crazy about Tony Stewart, we had a die-cast made with the number 20 on it, our wedding date on the deck lid, and "the James Gang" put on the hood, and took it to the Tony Stewart Fan Club picnic to be autographed.

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Robin L. - Barrington, NH

My favorite memory was at the All Star Challenge this past May.  Our daughter was the lucky recipient of a Make A Wish trip.  We live in NH and this is something that we could only dream about.

JGR opened their hearts and shop for dinner and a tour.  How exciting was that!!  We toured the pits at the track and all my daughter could say was "Do you think we might see Jack Roush." Well sure enough, Mr. Roush happened to be coming out from... Read More » Matt Kenseth's hauler.  My daughter was speechless. Mr.Roush took the time to sign autographs for all the Wish kids.  As we were walking through the pit area, the #17 crew gave my daughter a spark plug from the car (it was still warm) and posed for pictures.

We met at least a dozen drivers, who all took the time to pose for pictures and sign the autograph board. She was able to meet Denny Hamlin in the motorcoach lot and even got to fix his collar for him for a photo session.

Wait it gets better....

Regan Smith contacted us and our family got to spend over an hour with him in his motorcoach.  My daughter was so excited, we hadn't seen her that happy in a long time. That night when Matt won the pole, my daughter screamed herself hoarse. The day of the All Star Race, she met Matt for a private meet and greet where she pulled out a list of questions. Matt answered all of them one by one. What an impression that was on our daughter.

We as a family appreciate the warm response from all the drivers.  We realize that this is their "work place," and how many of us hate to be bothered at work.  These drivers realize that if it were not for the fans they would be unemployed and went out of their way to make us feel special and welcomed. A special thanks to Regan Smith for the added bonus of visiting us at the NHIS suite in Sept.

This was memory that will last our family a lifetime. « Collapse