How to meet Nascar Drivers: episode #3 - Trevor Bayne

       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.  Here's my experience with getting a chance to meet one of the skyrocketing stars in the sport: Trevor Bayne.
     

Trevor Bayne signs our stand-up photo

         I have to admit, as a little bit of a Nascar Newb myself, I jumped on the Trevor Bayne bandwagon with his win at Daytona in 2011. Not only was he a nice, young guy, and an exceptional driver, he also was an outspoken Christian- thus automatically making him one of my favorites.            

Roush Fenway's retweet via Trevor's twitter account

        While at the track for the Bank of America 500, I had no expectation to meet Trevor, and so I was shocked to see the tweet below on the day before the big race. I was lucky to have Trevor's mobile notifications sent directly to my phone, or I would have completely missed this opportunity.  (Tip: Follow your favorite drivers' twitter feed and make sure you get mobile notifications before and during race week.)
     So, that afternoon I decided to go look over in the vendor's section to see if I could find something for Trevor to sign.  I was a little skeptical whether or not we'd actually get to meet Trevor. We didn't have any sort of "ticket" and I didn't know how long we'd have to wait in line OR how long Trevor was actually going to sign stuff for his fans. So, I wasn't going to purchase something too expensive for him to sign, but I still wanted to have something.... just in case.   My son and I found a 12" stand up of Trevor for $5, and my son begged me to buy a Kyle Busch version as well (more on that in a future blog). I wheeled and dealed with the vendor and got both for $8.      

My son waits to meet Trevor- we were second in line!

       I arrived at the Planet Gadget display in the main "fan zone" at about 2:45 and there was a line to get to spin their wheel to win prizes. So I got in line with my son and asked one of the planet gadget girls if there was a line started for the Trevor signing. (Strangely enough, there were NO signs announcing Trevor's autograph session!) She acted as though they weren't going to have a line, and I got confused and a little worried. Was it going to be a mob rush? After about 25 minutes, I got to the front of the line and spun the wheel of Planet Gadget promotional materials, then noticed what looked to be one of the supervisors of the booth. After I got my Planet Gadget satchel I approached and asked if there was a Trevor Bayne line and he pointed over to the back deck of the booth and said "hang out over there." There was an older man sitting there and I asked if he was waiting to meet Trevor and he said yes, so my son and I sat with him. We were second in line!
      At 3:30, one of the Planet Gadget folks began announcing that Trevor was going to be there soon and only then did the line start getting long. Trevor showed up at 3:45 and was as pleasant as I expected. I asked him to sign with a Bible verse since I was going to put it in my classroom and he responded with "Ephesians 6, it's a good chapter!", I concur.

Upcoming blog on meeting my son's favorite driver: Kyle Busch

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