Track walk at Charlotte Motor Speedway Coca-Cola 600

Track walk at Charlotte Motor Speedway Coca-Cola 600
Track walk at Charlotte Motor Speedway Coca-Cola 600

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Paintball with Kyle Busch and friends at Charlotte Motor Speedway Part 2!

Thaddeus and Kyle!
Guys taking some practice shots
(see part 1 here!) After the press conference, we all headed out to the infield where they had brought in four buses and set up barrels and tires in stacks. I couldn't believe they had set all this up for this one afternoon! We hung out for ten minutes or so and Kyle drove over and got out of the car. My son was first to reach him with a hat and pendant to sign. He's met Kyle before but never had the gumption to say anything. This time he actually shook Kyle's hand and exchanged pleasantries.  That exchange will be remembered for a while. My son beamed from ear to ear the rest of the day.
Kyle fills up!
Getting some instruction
       The guys from "Boss" paintball called us all over for some basic instruction and safety tips and then started taping our arms to designate the teams. The guys at Charlotte Motor Speedway made sure to put the two of us "fans" on the same team as Kyle, while the other team was made up of the media. The first round was basically a capture the flag game- but as a warm up- you just had to get to the flag and hold it up- then you won! Our team went for speed and sent Kyle out to run and get the flag as we peppered the other team with paintballs at the whistle. It was an easy first win, but was only a warm up round. The second match was no walk in the park.  I took shelter behind a school bus and took out a photographer with a headshot, but was immediately hit in the ankle. Eventually our team took out the entire other team, and they casually walked the flag to the other side. The third match was a mess. While we decided to divide our team up and send us equally down each side and the middle, my pair (on the right side) got pinned down behind a school bus by the dastardly Jeff Gluck (see pic). I eventually got hit solidly in the gut and have the nice quarter-sized bruise to prove it. Their team sent most of their group around the other side and overcame our remaining small squadron of rebels. They took that round.
My youngest son Caspian
Me- left, Nigel (fan) middle, Jeff Gluck Right Photo credit WBTV
       The last round, the tie-breaker, was by far the most intense. They started by putting each team in two of the four buses. They said they'd start the round, then after two minutes of shooting from bus to bus, you had to try to "secure" three of the four buses by putting men on each of the three. Our team decided to leave Kyle and I on our bus, then the rest of the crew would try to quickly hustle to the other buses after the two minutes was up. Well, once that match started it was just crazy. I don't recall everything that happened, but I can remember some vivid events: Kyle smacking his knee on a bench and grabbing at it (I thought "oh no, there goes the chase!"), Me dropping a bottle of paint balls and Kyle helping me clean up, I got hit on the dome of my head and the paintball splattered on the ceiling of the bus, and the men yelling that we won.
      Then, right after the game ended- a most interesting thing happened: Kyle shot off a few more rounds, and immediately, Jeff Gluck stood up from behind a set of tires and gets nailed right in the eyes of the facemask. Bad blood between media and Kyle Busch? YOU tell me...
      No matter what really happened there, all I know is that I came home with a trophy that I will cherish for years. Sure, there are a lots of trophies around for the Bank of America 500, but how many people have a Bank of America PAINTBALL champion trophy? I don't know, but this one's priceless in my book. No matter, the day was priceless and I wanted to thank Charlotte Motor Speedway for taking such good care of my boys!
My boys got some shots in!



Paintball with Kyle Busch and friends at Charlotte Motor Speedway Part 1!


        I don't know how I did it, but I won.  On Monday of this week I saw a post on twitter from the Charlotte Motor Speedway (@CLTMotorSpdwy) mentioning a contest that said something like:
"RT to win a round of paintball with Kyle Busch!" Well, if you've read any of my other posts you'll know that I'm more of a Tony Stewart guy (but am no Kyle Busch hater), but you'll also know that my sons are huge M&M/Kyle Busch fans. So I hit the RT button on my phone and started to go about my day. It wasn't much over an hour when I received a direct message saying that I'd won. My first reaction was, "What? I don't ever win this sort of stuff!" My second reaction was, "My sons are going to be pumped!" and so they were.
Jeff Gluck and I!


Thank goodness I work at a school that allowed my sons and I just to take off for a special day like this.  We headed over to have lunch at the speedway's media center about 11:30, and after we picked out our turkey sandwiches and amazing BBQ Chicken grilled cheeses, I noticed that we were surrounded by many of Nascar's media team. I have been following many of them on twitter for years and it was great to shake their hands. One of my favorites, USA Today's Jeff Gluck, was present, and it was an honor for me to introduce myself. If you don't follow him yet on twitter, you are missing out! (@Jeff_Gluck)

After lunch, we moved into one of the press auditoriums, and we sat in the back with all of the cameras.
Our next surprise was that not only was Kyle Busch on hand, but so was Hall of Fame inductee Dale Jarrett. After the press conference, the press surrounded Kyle and we headed over to meet Dale. I already knew this man was not only a great driver, but had heard that he was a class act, and his welcoming spirit proved that fact. What a great guy!

Then, after this, we headed out into the infield for a little paintball! (next blog here)





Saturday, September 21, 2013

NHRA nationals at ZMAX 4-wide dragway

Show cars on the way in...
           My sons and I had the pleasure of visiting Zmax this September for the NHRA nationals at ZMAX dragway in Concord, NC.  The trip was again, a kid favorite! This year we were a little more prepared and had a pack lunch in the parking lot (not as much tailgating going on than at a Nascar Race) and brought in a cooler of sodas and water. Obviously, as with any of these events, make sure you bring ear protection for everyone in the family!

       As with any racing event, the kids love to go through the vendors to get free stuff, experience games and rides, and just have fun! The two favorite things my boys loved during this obtaining of NHRA swag was a personalized dog tag from the Army promotion, and the free molded penny from the Toyota vendor (this machine squashes a penny and molds an image into it)-this one had a funny car on it.


Gentleman folding the parachute
The boys enjoy the Harley Davidson tent
After enjoying the inflatables, taking pictures with some of the cars and grabbing an slushy style refreshment, we headed into the stands. For those who have never been, there is something unexplainable about the amount of noise that these cars generate.

When they pop off the line and pass your seats your internal organs feel like they literally shiver.  Obviously, a video won't do it justice, so, you'll have to go yourself!