A good rule of thumb with Texas weather is that the stronger the thunderstorm, the colder the front that spawned it. This rule held true on Saturday as we awoke to painfully cold temps and strong winds. My friends from North of the Mason Dixon were suddenly giving me the stinkeye as we headed off to the Track Souvie Shop to stock up on all the cold weather gear I told them to leave at home. “Bring you shorts & flip flops!” I suggested, “It’ll be hot & sunny!”
In retribution, they made me ride in the cargo hold all the rest of the weekend.
Hats off (or ON) to the TMS Gift shop. They had properly stocked the store with reasonably priced gloves, ear warmers, jackets & scarves. Thus bundled up, we headed back to the infield for Cup Practice. Dave immediately located the Goodyear shop and happily quizzed the techs on matters rubber, Merri and I located peach spots immediately in front of the inbound garage side, while Robin, Mel & Alnee covered the Garage Exit. I had completely forgotten NOT to leave those three without adult supervision!
Hats off (or ON) to the TMS Gift shop. They had properly stocked the store with reasonably priced gloves, ear warmers, jackets & scarves. Thus bundled up, we headed back to the infield for Cup Practice. Dave immediately located the Goodyear shop and happily quizzed the techs on matters rubber, Merri and I located peach spots immediately in front of the inbound garage side, while Robin, Mel & Alnee covered the Garage Exit. I had completely forgotten NOT to leave those three without adult supervision!
Many megs of digital pics later, we headed to our seats for the Busch race. But NOT before a lengthy session at the Racing Electronics hauler for a remedial course in Scanner Programming. After explaining our plight (a waaaaay too complicated scanner and two waaaaay too feeble brains), we were advised that the kindly lady who had sold us the moster back in November was no longer with the company. Obviously, she was the only other person on the planet who understood the evil HAL9000 Technonightmare Model Scanner, and it took all three hauler employees to first figure out and then explain WHICH 3 buttons to push to program in a driver. Eureka!
I had a true rock-n-roll moment on the way to our seats for the Busch race! The South tunnel which runs under the track is, in effect, a large corruated conduit pipe. The race had started as we entered the tunnel, and the acoustics of were freakin incredible! The tunnel picks up the low end of the sound spectrum as the cars pass over, and the end result is akin to a raging battle between Entwistle and Moon! Hell, you coulda left me in the tunnel and I’d have been perfectly content with the rumble!
Using the Busch race as scanner-practice, we decided to listen to Kasey Kahne in the 9 car. Anyone who would like to intelligently continue the “Sadler Communication Quality” discussions needs to spend some time listening to Kasey.
CC: “Did that adjust make the car better?”
KK: “It’s pretty much the same, but kinda different.”
Dave and I had to laugh out loud several times as the Loose-Tight-Loose drama played out with a driver who seems to raise “vague” to an artform far beyond anything the Southern Gentleman has been accused of! According to KK, the setup problems were very similar on his Cup car in practice, lending credence to the fact that recent Evernham performance issues might originate in the shop, rather than between CC’s and drivers. Callers who feel the need to skewer Josh and/or Elliott on Sirius Radio might want to listen a bit more carefully to Ray’s show! May a strong financial partner come along soon!
The Busch race left us famished, so we beat feet back to RV land for an evening with Mr. & Mrs. Lugnut. More gracious hosts don’t exist! Due to the location of our vehicle in relation to both the track and RV lot, they kindly shuttled us to and from our destinations, and treated us to some primo steaks and wonderful spaghetti! Many, many thanks to Phil & Jenell for their kindnesses!
Using the Busch race as scanner-practice, we decided to listen to Kasey Kahne in the 9 car. Anyone who would like to intelligently continue the “Sadler Communication Quality” discussions needs to spend some time listening to Kasey.
CC: “Did that adjust make the car better?”
KK: “It’s pretty much the same, but kinda different.”
Dave and I had to laugh out loud several times as the Loose-Tight-Loose drama played out with a driver who seems to raise “vague” to an artform far beyond anything the Southern Gentleman has been accused of! According to KK, the setup problems were very similar on his Cup car in practice, lending credence to the fact that recent Evernham performance issues might originate in the shop, rather than between CC’s and drivers. Callers who feel the need to skewer Josh and/or Elliott on Sirius Radio might want to listen a bit more carefully to Ray’s show! May a strong financial partner come along soon!
The Busch race left us famished, so we beat feet back to RV land for an evening with Mr. & Mrs. Lugnut. More gracious hosts don’t exist! Due to the location of our vehicle in relation to both the track and RV lot, they kindly shuttled us to and from our destinations, and treated us to some primo steaks and wonderful spaghetti! Many, many thanks to Phil & Jenell for their kindnesses!
I must admit I wasn’t quite prepared for the cultural spectacle that is the backstretch RV lot! The distinctly Mardi Gras-like atmosphere (complete with bead throwing in exchange for bodacious tatas), made for some of the best people watching ever! Not to be left out, we took advantage of the fact that we were in possession of a number of unused racing waffles, left over from the Trackside cancellation. Now, everyone knows it’s a sin to let a good Eggo go to waste, so we decided to see if the “aero” qualities of the All-American Racing Waffle were all they were cracked up to be!
Tomorrow we’ll get around to Part III – the final chapter in our TMS saga! Stay tuned!
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