The “Legends” of TMS – Part One

Well folks, Dave and I survived the Spring TMS weekend! Is there such a concept as “blissful endurance?” If so, that description might be the most apt of all in reference to our most recent racing adventure! Several themes ran through the weekend: Friendship, Reconciliation, Celebration, Good-Natured Mischief, Sheer Insanity and of course………. Weather. We busted a few old myths, added new chapters to our existing “legendary” rivalries, and had one helluva good time! Here’s Part One of the Ballad of TMS!........

We arrived in Cowtown (actually, Lewisville) on Wednesday night. The poor rented Ford (a/k/a “The Belt Sander”) was loaded down with everything but the kitchen sink. Our trip from Austin was quiet and we enjoyed the gorgeous bluebonnets along the way. Our late-winter rains were plentiful and the annual wildflower display is in full swing. Of course the folks at A&M have been busy lately, as we caught sight of many “Maroonbonnets” and “Albinobonnets” outside of Hillsboro. Danged Aggies can’t leave things alone! Where are the Burnt Orange ones???

Thursday was spent playing Airport Shuttle for our little crew of international attendees. First came Robin from Niagara Falls, NY. We warned Robin – “You won’t be able to miss us at the airport!” HAHA! I think it was the bunny ears and the Sacred Racing Waffle that gave us away! Mel made it in next from Edmonton, Alberta (where it’s so cold they plug their cars in at night to keep ‘em warm)! Next was Merri from Las Vegas, NV – our “legendary” former-nemises-turned-buddy, who took one look at the lunatics dispatched to pick her up and promptly made a U-turn! (We captured her nonetheless). Finally, we snagged Alnee from Chesapeake, VA, who was standing at the Airport gate waiting patiently for her ride. “HEY LADY! WANNA WAFFLE???” was all it took to get her attention and we all headed back to the hotel (getting lost in the process and winding up near Texas Stadium! Oops!)

Our first trip to the track came on Friday morning. After picking up our credentials (which included tornado procedure packets – doh!), we headed off to the infield JUST in time to try out our new rain gear! My eternal thanks to Dollar General Stores and their great cheap NASCAR rain ponchos! Once in the infield – the fun began. Picture five women with cameras and one poor “chaperone” (long-suffering hubby Dave) on our semi-annual chocolate & coffee-fueled prowling trip to the NASCAR garage. We managed to score autographs AND hugs from Robert Yates (Merri was right – he gives GREAT hugs), autographs from Ray Evernham (I KNEW I should have brought that goat), Jeff Burton, Dr. Dick Bergeron, Bob Dilner, John Roberts AND got a pic with Cousin Carl (I was tempted to lay into him about that Richmond Busch race, but he was being such a good boy), so I just made my best “Opie” face for the camera!

As the weather turned more ominous, we decided to hoof it out to the RV area to hunt down our other “arch-nemises-turned-co-conspirator” – the Legendary Phil! Luckily, the Lugnut had installed Satellite TV and was happily monitoring the incoming weather. Here in Texas, we ALWAYS monitor weather. 24-Hr. Doppler Radar is a popular channel, and the sight of lots of red, orange and purple accompanied by many spinning “shear” markers didn’t look too good. As we patiently waited for the graphic that indicates predicted path, we managed to coax the Yankees into the RV lest they panic and run for the border. Sure ‘nuf – the red arrow on the screen ran straight through TMS and the sirens started to wail.

For those of you who haven’t been to TMS – it’s a mammoth widespread citadel in the middle of a million acres of flat cow pasture. There is NOWHERE to go in the event of a weather disaster. Folks in the track structure might well find shelter in the bathrooms & tunnel areas, but there’s no sanctuary for the tens of thousands out in the parking lots and camping areas. As I scanned the darkening sky with thousands of metal flagpoles flying overhead, all I could think of was LOOK AT ALL THE LIGHTNING MAGNETS! Fortunately, that telltale “green” sky that typically precedes a tornado hadn’t appeared and within minutes it looked like the entire storm system split DIRECTLY at the track and made end-runs around either side.

We dodged the weather bullet on Friday, and since Trackside was obviously cancelled, we headed back to Lewisville for some Tex-Mex and much needed shuteye. Saturday and Sunday would be BIG days with massive crowds and we needed all the energy we could muster! More on that in the next episode!