How to meet Nascar Drivers: episode #1 - Gray Gaulding

    Meeting stock car racing drivers is easier than one might think. In fact, it's one of my top five reasons that NASCAR is my favorite sport. Obviously, some drivers are more difficult to meet than others, but for this first entry let's discuss one of the most outgoing and easy to meet drivers I've ever met: Gray Gaulding.
     Yes, he is young (age 14 at the writing of this blog), but he's already being heralded as a prodigious up-and-comer in the sport.  He's already attracted the attention of Krispy Kreme Donuts which has signed Gray to a 5-year contract. He drives the #2 Super Late Model for Coulter Motorsports in the Pro All Star Series (PASS).
     I originally became aware of Gray early one morning when driving thru a local Krispy Kreme (picking up donuts for a youth event) and saw his hauler out front. He was making an appearance inside the shop. My kids pleaded with me to go in to meet Gray, but I was running late for our event and we merely got to wave through the drive through window.  (Tip: If you live in NASCAR country- look for driver appearances at local sponsor shops and "fan fests" at the race shops.)

     Generally, the easiest way to meet drivers are at the booths of sponsors at major Nascar events. We finally were able to meet Gray at the Krispy Kreme booth at Charlotte Motor Speedway at the Bank of America 500. Here's a picture of my boys with Gray- he happily signed an 8x10 picture and even took the time to get my boys names spelled properly. You can see my oldest is looking concerned in the picture- apparently a spider was crawling up my arm. After the picture, Gray quickly walked over and knocked it off my shoulder and stepped on it. Nice kid!
   Gray was recently featured on Speed's "Race Hub" and I found the video to be quite entertaining. Not only is he a pleasant and outgoing young man, but also he's got some serious SWAG. Watch the video and see how he hits on the older female reporter. Dude has some skills....

Gray can be followed at @graygaulding or find more info at: http://www.graygaulding.com

If you liked what you've read, and you want to know more about our family experiences and tips for Nascar Newbs - follow this feed or my twitter account @DeanHardy23