After checking in with Dawn, my fabulous friend who is the queen of efficient packing for NASCAR races (she also makes great cupcakes!), I headed over to the driver’s lounge for the driver’s meeting. For some reason my memory of that room was that it was much, much bigger than it actually is. Once the meeting started we were packed in there like sardines. Even some drivers and crew chiefs had to stand.

Nothing earth shattering happened in the driver’s meeting but I like being in there and knowing that I’m in there with ALL 43 drivers. It’s kinda neat. Matt Kenseth was the first driver in the room, showing up 30 minutes early, which is smart move if you want to get a seat. I find his punctuality refreshing.

Post-driver’s meeting I met up with Kristen (read her blog) and the No. 2 Miller Lite “Brew Crew” as they walked their Dodge through inspection. I don’t remember if I’ve ever talked about Kristen before, I apologize if I’m repeating myself. Anyway, back in 2007 she won the “Miller Lite Next Great Sportswriter” Contest and she got to spend a bunch of time and race weekends with Kurt Busch and the entire team doing interviews and writing. She’s been their “unofficial tool cart girl” ever since and she’s superfun to hang out with. We have an awesome time swapping gossip and chatting about this and that.

So Sunday was no different, we got to watch as some Cougar tried to hit on one of the Brew Crew dudes. This woman was a piece of work. I hope she doesn’t read blogs. Anyway, she seemed a little tipsy to me. A couple inspection stations later we saw the same woman touching a security guy. Hilarious.

Oh! So this is good, remember how I said Ron Malec probably thinks I’m some crazy person following him around? Well the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy & crew were in front of the No. 2 in line for inspection. So the entire time I’m standing with Kristen, Ron Malec is in front of us pushing the 48. I’m dead serious when I say that it was purely a coincidence and the last thing I want to be thought of is as a pit lizard. I have no desire to lick anyone’s helmet (although I’m sure that Cougar did!). I’m just an appreciator of good lookin’ dudes, so of course I took yet another photo of him (see right).

For driver intros I didn’t go behind the stage, thought it better to stay out on pit road. There cars were lined up one-by-one side by side faced out instead of in the usual two-by-two. It looked good and was a better use of space, in my opinion. I walked down to Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet because I know Lisa, who is a PR person on behalf of Office Depot. I never know where to stand on pit road for the Anthem and all that, so it’s nice to know someone and have a place to stand where you don’t feel like people are looking at you like “What is she doing here??” I don’t know that people actually think that but it’s what I think they’re thinking and it weirds me out.

Anyway, Tony’s dad, Nelson Stewart, was on hand for the day, he even walked out with Tony during driver introductions. He was at the car when Kevin Harvick stopped by specifically to talk to Nelson and give him a hug. It was a cute moment, photos of which you can see below.

After all the invocation, National Anthem and the command to start engines I walked pit road to get a spot behind the pits to watch the start of the race. Luckily, there was a spot right where I wanted to be, right behind the start/finish line. I stood on top of the little wall that sits at the back of the pits, right in front of the grandstands and got the best view of the green flag to start the race.

I hung around down there for a little bit and then headed to the media lounge tent to hang out away from the sun. I ended up meeting a French guy named Mat who was attending a NASCAR race for the first time. He was stranded outside of the garage because he lost his Hot Pass and his roommate that he came to the race with was nowhere to be found. We had an interesting time trying to talk in between the roar of the engines and me trying to understand his accent. It was fun though.

With about ten laps left I went down to Turn 11 to see what I could see and got a front row seat to Clint Bowyer’s caution-less spin out. I asked one of the photographers standing next to me if they could send me the photo and Tyler Takeda of The Madera Tribune obliged (see below). I was too busy screaming, “Ahh! Whoaaaaa!” to take a picture myself.

Clint Bowyer (33) gets turned around into the side of Elliot Sadler’s car Sunday during the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. (photo credit: Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune)

Instead of rushing over to Victory Lane to take my usual picture of the winner driving his car in, I decided to pass through the garage. It’s an interesting place to be post-race since cars are coming in smashed up and crew members are rushing around trying to be the first team out of the track. Those guys are super fast, it’s amazing how quickly they can pack up. Maybe they can help me out the next time I have to move?

I was there when Boris Said’s crew chief Frank Stoddard yelled at Tony Stewart — as Tony was climbing out of his car — to “Come on! You fat fuck!” Tony just sort of waved him off and went into his hauler. I wasn’t quite sure I had heard him right until I locked eyes with a smiling GoDaddy.com crew member walking toward me. It was then that I knew I had heard him perfectly and rushed off to the press conference room where my cell phone was charging to send out a tweet about it. Funny stuff. (If you want the full story on what went down and caused that outburst check out the article over at SBNation.com)

Although now that I look at the photo I took in the garage just before Stoddard make his comment, I think Tony might have said something first (see below).

That’s Tony on the far right getting out of the car and that’s Frank Stoddard in front wearing the #26 Air Guard uniform.

And so that was my day at the Toyota/SaveMart 350. Photo fun time below!

Cars lined up and ready to go on pit road for the Toyota/SaveMart 350 on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at Infineon Raceway.

Eva Busch, wife of Kurt Busch, walks down pit road to her hubby’s car. If I ever reach a point where I can have an assistant at the track their entire job would be to take pictures of WAGs. Between making sure I got pictures with my cell phone for tweeting and my regular camera, I missed stuff! Grr!

In the second photo here, of Kevin Harvick greeting Tony Stewart’s dad Nelson, you can see the top of Tony’s head. He was kneeling to do something with his shoes.

The pit crew for the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevy lined up for the National Anthem.

The green flag drops for the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway. My view! So cool.

Kevin Harvick. Yet another one of my “I don’t know how I got that photo” photos.

Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson

Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulls into the garage after the race. So glad he finished 11th! Now he’s 13th in points! Yay!

Friday at Infineon Raceway was day one of the Toyota/SaveMart 350 festivities. It was a pretty big day for me because it held actual things for me to do. My usual shtick is to just show up and let things happen but this time I setup interviews with drivers. Since things went so well with Tony Stewart and the Inside The Actor’s Studio questions I decided to make it my “thing” for now and to get as many drivers to answer the same questions.

On my schedule for the day were one-on-one’s with David Reutimann, Regan Smith, AJ Allmendinger and Elliott Sadler. I’ll write about each of those experiences in separate posts. Stay tuned for those.

Back in the media center I sat in on press conferences for Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, and a little bit of Denny Hamlin.

Tony Stewart’s presser was, of course, by far the most entertaining of the bunch. His session was after practice and he wasn’t very happy with his car. I think that Southwest airlines should use his press conferences as the basis for one of their “Wanna Get Away???” commercials. I had this uncontrollable urge, every time someone asked something cringe-worthy to look down and start playing with my cell phone. There are always a few questions that bug Tony and after sitting in on a few of his pressers I’ve learned that Tony is a lot better when you ask him questions that are very real to him. He laid it out pretty plainly that he only cares about racing. He wasn’t in the mood to get all theoretical or philosophical about racing after having a crappy practice session. It wasn’t helping that people were asking the same questions they’ve asked year after year, my favorite being “Should there be a road course race in The Chase?” That was the one that really bugged him and got him to eventually say that he had no interest in giving his opinion on such things, he just wanted to race.

While he was getting visibly frustrated you could tell he was trying to answer these questions for real, like, you could see the struggle in his face (and tone of voice) between wanting to be amiable and just being irritated. I enjoyed it because it was free entertainment and none of it was directed at me.

At Greg Biffle’s session he was given a check for $5,000 from WileyX Eyewear for his foundation, The Greg Biffle Foundation, and their work with animals. WileyX also passed out sunglasses to the gathered media. I’m giving away the pair I received to one lucky reader. Check back for details on that later. They’re a pretty sweet pair of black sunglasses, complete with a nice case.

Jamie McMurray announced, during a TV interview, that he and wife Christy are expecting their first child this year. I found out from people on Twitter. I hope, Biffle and his wife Nicole are next in the world of NASCAR baby news.

After that I met Keri, aka PhoenyxArts, and her husband, Don. They’re super nice people and I’m so glad we got the chance to meet. Keri is an unabashed Clint Bowyer fan and I couldn’t get over her awesome #33 necklace (at left) the she made HERSELF. This woman is a super talented artist of many mediums. She makes jewelry, amongst many other things, and you should totally check out her blog. She makes custom stuff too, so if you’re looking for something special to show your allegiance to your favorite driver, email Keri!

Later I stood out on the track while drivers got in line to qualify and then headed back into the garage with fellow writer, Howard Nevens, to find the holding area for the top-3 qualifiers. We found the teams for the #48 and the #24 behind the haulers, along with a group of media people. It’s fun to be in that area and catch the drivers as they climb out of their cars. I was able to snap some pretty good pictures, and attempted to get even more shots of Jimmie Johnson’s car chief, Ron Malec. After seeing him repeatedly throughout the weekend I’m convinced he probably thinks I’m a crazy person following him, but I’m not Ron, I’m not. I’m just giving the people what they want which is more photos of you.

Anyway, it sucked that Michael Waltrip wasn’t able to get his car into the race with the special “Praying for Karson” paint scheme (the winning entry from the Toyota Sponsafier contest), but it was on display behind the grandstands so it wasn’t a complete loss. Everyone at the race that weekend still had a chance to see it.

So as we all know Kasey Kahne won the pole for the Toyota/SaveMart 350 and Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-3 starting positions for Sunday’s race.

And that was Friday.

Tony Stewart

My favorite Greg Biffle photo. Just lucky timing.

Carl Edwards reminding me that he’s married. I know Carl, I know!

Travis Kvapil

Matt Kenseth

Cars lined up in the post-qualifying holding area. That’s the shoulder of Kurt Busch on the left.

Max Papis

Kurt Busch chats it up with a TV crew after securing the 3rd position in the qualifying.

Jimmie Johnson (left) and Kurt Busch (right). I think Jimmie was cracking his knuckles or something.

Toyota/SaveMart 350 pole-sitter Kasey Kahne

1.) There was to be a group media session with Kurt Busch and David Ragan an hour before the game started.

2.) Kurt and David were going to take a lap around the field at some point in between innings with the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota showcar rumbling behind them.

3.) David and Kurt were going to lead the crowd in “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch.

4.) It was NASCAR Night at the San Francisco Giants vs Baltimore Orioles game

I parked at one of the piers just down from the ballpark and walked superfast to the place where my credentials were waiting. This was my first time attending a Major League Baseball game as a credentialed member of the media. I got to go because of Infineon Raceway and the fact that it was “NASCAR Night.”

I got the credential, followed the signs to the field and was able to be out there while the Baltimore Orioles took batting practice.

This was enough for me to be all “Holy crap! This is awesome.” Watching the players hit balls all over the place I was starting to wonder if I should become a baseball blogger. I have no idea who anyone is on the Orioles ‘cause I don’t follow them, but I was wishing I had ‘cause some of those dude were major hotties.

Anyway. I was out there for like 5 minutes when I saw “him,” Mr. Barry Zito. I have loved Barry Zito ever since he joined the A’s and I decided to remain loving him even when he went to the Giants. (I’m an A’s fan, always have been, always will be) I tolerate the Giants. So I see him and I’m freaking the eff out. I wanted to run up to him and make him take a photo with me (one that I’d use for Christmas cards forever) and be all “I looooove yooooooou” but you can’t do that as a member of the media, something to do with professionalism and objectivity or some such.

Even if it was from a short distance I was glad to have had that mini-moment. Moving on, I was under the impression that the group media session with Kurt and David would be on the field. I guess I was wrong because they didn’t show up on the field until much later when I was already in the press box and they wouldn’t let me back onto the field (not because I did something wrong, just because the game was about to start). I asked people if they knew where it was happening but they didn’t know.

I realized I had left my cell phone in my car, so I had to walk back to get it because Twitter is important!

So it was when I got back that I found out I couldn’t go back to the field, so I ventured up to the press box.

It was interesting being in the press room for a different sport. I’d love to say that it was completely different than a NASCAR media center but it’s not. A bunch of (mostly men) people in a room with laptops. I stuck out big time because I wasn’t a dude and I didn’t have a laptop. It was a great seat to watch the game from, right behind home plate.

I watched as the PA announcer introduced (and the big screen flashed) LDS Family Night. Wait, what? I though it was supposed to be NASCAR Night. I waited for the screen to flash a big sign saying it was NASCAR Night too but that never happened. The Mormons stole the show!

Kurt and David did give the players the command to “play ball!” and they did ride around the track in some buggy with the Giant’s mascot Lou Seal while the No. 18 M&Ms show car drove behind them in between innings. I saw David while he was interviewed on TV for CSN Bay Area.

And then I waited for the 7th-inning stretch when Kurt and David were going to lead the crowd in a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” Well, that didn’t happen. Nope, Brooke White, one of my favorite former American Idol contestants, had the honor. She did a great job, obviously, but I thought it was NASCAR Night!?!

The Giants ended up losing the game, 4 to 1, to the Orioles. I had fun though, it was cool to experience the game from another perspective.

My view from the press box at AT&T Park for the SF Giants game versus the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kurt Busch and David Ragan ‘give the command’ –’Play Ball!’ — to start the San Francisco Giants baseball game Tuesday in San Francisco. (photo credit: NASCAR Public Relations)

Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch and San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal pose for a quick picture in the ‘pace car’ before their victory lap in San Francisco on Tuesday (photo credit: NASCAR Public Relations)

Sunday was of course the Coca-Cola 600 and on my drive in to the track I couldn’t get over the amount of tailgating that was going on seemingly EVERYWHERE. Every blade of grass surrounding the track was filled with trucks, tents and people with barbecues. Even the parking lots of commercial office buildings had groups of people crowded together. It was so neat to see. There’s tailgating at the California races but nothing to the degree of what I saw outside of Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s something that you have to witness for yourself.

I got to the track in time to attend a tweetup organized by SBNation’s Jeff Gluck. I went to meet up with ‘Fabulous’ readers Tara S. and Penni. It was really cool finally getting to meet them in person. I seriously adore the women that read my blog, you guys are the bestest! This is the perfect time to thank you all for the sweet comments about my interview with Tony Stewart. I really appreciate the encouragement.

As I alluded to in the title of this post, the Coca-Cola 600 was really all about Bradley Cooper and his hotness visiting a NASCAR race for the first time. He was there with three of his other cast-mates to promote their new movie “The A-Team.” I thought Brendan Fraser’s presence at Chicagoland a couple of years ago was a big deal but Bradley really brought out the ladies. Media and PR people alike make it a point to be in the media center for the cast’s press conference. As soon as Bradley walked into the media center people were requesting to have their photo taken with him (as you can see at right, that’s not me, unfortunately), which he happily obliged.

That guy is JUST as hot in person as he is on TV. I can’t say any of those usual oh he’s not as this or that in person. He’s exactly the same, everything you’d want him to be. Gah, I should really stop because you don’t want me to start going on and on about his eyes. OK, OK, his eyes are super freaking dreamy. There was even this one guy who just said, to no one in particular, “Okay, he IS really good looking!”

I tried to take photos but they didn’t come out that great. Once the race started I went down to Ryan Newman’s pit box where “The A-Team” was going to watch the festivities. I watched them as they watched the Sprint Cup drivers take the green flag and noticed Bradley mouth the words “This is awesome!” Which, as far as I’m concerned, means that Auto Club Speedway should invite Bradley out for their next race ‘cause I’ll be at that race and it seemed like he was having a good enough time that he might be willing to come out to another one. hehehe.

Okay, so let’s talk about driver introductions and how much I adore my hard card. I love, love, love my hard card. I was able to stand behind the stage in the same area that the drivers and their “people” stand before they’re called on stage. It was extra helpful because it was hot and the sun was beating down on everyone, there was an area behind the stage that was totally shaded and I made that my spot. While I was standing there Michael Waltrip arrived and I just stood there like a stooge and said nothing. Then to my astonishment Ingrid Vandebosch appeared with another woman who I’m assuming was a nanny, but I could be totally wrong and if I am I apologize. She was standing literally, like, right NEXT to me and I said NOTHING. I was thinking of a ton of stuff to ask her like “Hi, have you picked a name yet?” “When are you due?” Not like I don’t already know when she’s due, but ya know just something about her pregnancy and whatever. But no, I totally chickened out because I’m just like that. Had she stuck around long enough I probably would have said something, it takes me too much time to work up the nerve, but she left as soon as Jeff Gordon was announced.

Even still I was so grateful to have the opportunity to clam up like that.

After the driver intros I hung out with the Office Depot PR people at the No. 14 Office Depot Chevy’s spot on pit road. I inadvertently met Tony Stewart’s girlfriend, but it wasn’t an official introduction it was more of one of those “oh my gosh it’s so hot” mutual agreement type things. Anyway, she seems nice enough. I don’t know anything else, but she’s got a hard card so it must be serious. Whatever gets us to ‘lil smokies running around, all the better right?

So pit road was insanely crowded which made me excited for Infineon in a couple weeks because I know there won’t be as many people around for it. Not that I don’t want people to attend, of course I do, but ya know Charlotte races just bring out a buttload of people because it’s equivalent to a “home game” for NASCAR folks.

During the race when the incident happened with Jimmie Johnson and he had to go to the garage I went out there too. It was amazing to watch the Lowe’s crew go to work on that car. They’re so fast and efficient. It’s very cool and it’s fun to witness Chad Knaus cool as a cucumber through it all. It also reminded me that I hadn’t taken my Obligatory Ron Malec photo, but I couldn’t ‘cause my battery died.

So the race was the race, Kurt Busch won. Nothing that remarkable happened post-race. The next day I went home to the Bay Area and proceeded to have dinner at 3pm in the afternoon and then went straight to bed. I didn’t wake up until the next day.

An up-close look at the one trophy I’d actually want in my home. It was pretty cool.

The Coca-Cola Family Drivers had to wait on the side of the stage until after driver intros to take a group photo. (left to right) Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte (back to the camera), Michael Waltrip, and David Ragan.

Marcos Ambrose was sorting out who was going to take his two daughters once they exited the stage and he took his parade lap.

Jimmie Johnson

David Reutimann

Darian Grubb, crew chief for the No. 14 Office Depot Chevy, holding his son Gavin who happens to be ADORE-UH-BUL!

Tony Stewart gets ready for the Coca-Cola 600

This was my view of the track from the top of the steps inside Victory Lane towards the end of the race. Good view.

I wonder if Tony knows that there are thousands of women out there that think he should get married and have babies already. And I’m sure half of those women think that he should do all of that with them. I, for one, think that he would make some cute kids so he should get crackin’.

There is soo much going on in this photo that it’s making my head hurt.

(Left to right) Anheuser-Busch Sports Marketing Manager Brian Dunlap shakes hands with Darrell Waltrip, who also raced this paint scheme at one point during his career. Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 9 Ford at Richmond International Raceway this weekend. (Credit: Harold Hinson)

Brad Keselowski celebrates celebrates with his crew – including a very proud father Bob Keselowski – in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series BUBBA burger 250 at Richmond International Raceway. (Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kurt Busch stands with his wife Eva on the grid during the national anthem that was presented by The Commandant’s Own United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps. (Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Anyway… The In-N-Out Burger connection got me thinking. First about how yummy their burgers are and then about how every time the NASCAR drivers are in California or Nevada they can’t NOT talk about how they all have to stop by In-N-Out at least once during their stay in the West. So I was thinking why isn’t In-N-Out Burger sponsoring like, ANYTHING in NASCAR? At least for the races at Infineon, Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas and Phoenix?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers wax on and on about how they love In-N-Out.

And then I started thinking that maybe all those NASCAR groupies should forget about trying to dress all sexy in the garage & pits and just bring a bunch of In-N-Out burgers and fries (animal style, of course) with them instead. They do say that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, well there ya go. Nobody said you had to be the one doing the cooking.

In other news…

– ‘Fabulous’ reader Leila emailed me today and was all, “Wouldn’t Ron Malec be perfect for ABC’s next Bachelor? I would love to see it!” and I was like, “You’re totally right!” Ron would make an excellent Bachelor (as would Michael Waltrip) but I do know that as of the Sprint Cup Championship banquet last year he had a girlfriend. But still ABC should direct their attention to the world of NASCAR to look for their next Bachelor, for sure.

Plus, I just love this photo of Tony Stewart. It is quite possibly the funniest photo I’ve ever seen of Tony.

Engineer Matt Borland and driver Tony Stewart mug for the camera in the garage during Tuesday’s (March 23, 2010) testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Lucky fans pose for a photo with former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch as he takes a break during the second day of testing in Concord, N.C. (Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Juan Pablo Montoya tested his car’s new spoiler on Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway and was the morning sessions fastest with a speed of 185.976 mph. (Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Driver Jeff Burton sat down and talked to fans about NASCAR at Tuesday’s test at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Greg Biffle chats with and sign autographs for fans who came out Tuesday for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test at Charlotte Motor Speedway.(Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Miss Sprint Monica Palumbo poses with James Bryant of Clover, S.C., after he cast the first official fan vote for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race during testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday.(Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

While I didn’t like the way the race ended, it doesn’t mean that the whole green/white/checkered idea needs to be revisited. Of course we’d all like the race to end under green but what else can we do? Just because something is lame doesn’t mean you have to change something. Sometimes you just have to live with it. You can’t make people not do something that they don’t know that they’re going to do i.e. cause wrecks.

What else did I learn from watching the Budweiser Shootout? Oh, I dunno that there’s only been one race broadcast and I’m already tired of Digger and his friends.

Earlier in the day was the ARCA race featuring Danica Patrick. I don’t know that there were any other drivers in the race besides her and there in lies the whole reason why I’m irked she’s coming to NASCAR, and it’s not even her fault. I don’t fault her. Let me repeat that so everybody doesn’t get all pissed that I’m hating on Danica. I DON’T FAULT HER. It’s the dissection of her move to NASCAR that is the most ANNOYING THING on the planet.

Oh and one other thing that’s Danica related and not her fault, those damn GoDaddy ads during the Super Bowl. Dude, we know Danica is a girl and that she’s pretty. Could you PLEASE figure out another plot for your ads that consists of something OTHER than chicks ripping their shirts off?? Seriously.

I’m a GoDaddy customer and it irritates me that A.) They think men are that dopey to want to see what happens next when they could just as easily Google “free porn” and B.) They think that women will… I actually don’t know what they thought women would think. Maybe that’s the problem, they didn’t think. I’m all for owning your sexuality and being sexy and all that, but it’s one note, and there’s more to every single woman in the world than just ONE thing.

You can’t really see it from this angle, but that is the coolest Aflac shirt I’ve ever seen. It beats those boring polo shirts sponsors usually make them wear.

Carl Edwards talks with SPEED’s Kenny Wallace Thursday after drawing the poll for the Budweiser Shootout (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Young race fans look on during Saturday’s qualifying for the Daytona 500. Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, later signed autographs for them. (Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Musician Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band performs in a pre-race concert Saturday before the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. (Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

I have to admit that when I first saw this image I instantly thought of Teen Wolf, and I say that with all the love in my heart.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands on pit road before qualifying for the Daytona 500. Earnhardt will start the race on the outside of the front row. (Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, took a spin across the grass to bring out the second caution of Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout. (Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images)

I arrived on Wednesday in the afternoon which meant that I missed the charity roast of Jimmie Johnson that took place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I got a cab from the airport and went straight over to the Wynn to pick up my media credentials and then over to Harrah’s to check-in.

Then I went up to my room, quickly changed clothes and headed over to Delmonico Steakhouse located inside the Venetian for the NASCAR Evening Series with Chef Emeril Lagasse. Emeril owns Delmonico and was a great host, mingling with all of the guests. He’s a lot shorter than I’d imagined.

There were various stations of food and drinks. I loved all of the food that I tried, except the foie gras, I am not a duck liver person I guess. My favorite yummy morsel of all was Emeril’s Pit Stop Slider, these little cheeseburgers that you got to setup however you wanted with pickles, lettuce, onions, ketchup, and mustard. They were melt-in-your-mouth good!

Emeril’s signature drink for the night was the Burnout Breeze Cocktail. Let me tell you, it’s a great drink! I loved it, so much so that I had two of them, or was it three? Whatever. It was a mix of Crown Royal and an orange/passion fruit juice concoction. Luckily there were little cards on all the tables that had the recipe for the drink printed on them. I’m sharing the recipe with you guys (see below) because it’s too good not to and now you’ll have a fabulous NASCAR cocktail to make at your next holiday party.

I think pretty much all of the NASCAR big wigs were in the room, we’re talking about NASCAR president Mike Helton, ISC president Lesa France Kennedy, and Marcus Smith, the president and CEO of SMI and president of Lowe’s Motor Speedway. NASCAR drivers on hand that I saw were Kurt Busch and his wife, Eva, Jimmie & Chandra Johnson, Mark Martin and his son Matt, and crew chief Kenny Francis.

For dessert there was a table setup full of cookies, mini pastries and cupcakes. You know I had to try the cupcakes, when I asked the waiter manning the table what flavor they were I almost gasped when he said red velvet. I have a serious red velvet problem. They were decorated with the number of the top-12 drivers so I picked up Denny Hamlin’s no. 11 to enjoy back at my room. (My formal review of the cupcakes was that Emeril has a little work to do on his baking, because in my opinion Sprinkles does a way better job. hehe)

And now the story behind the Carl Edwards photo. There’s not much to say except that I had seen him take a photo with someone else, and so I figured he was fair game. We weren’t at a track, nobody was on duty or anything so with the help of a friend we asked if I could get a photo with him and he said sure. That was it; I didn’t talk to him or introduce myself. He had to leave right after that. But that’s cool, I have the photo and it is awesome! It will probably be my Christmas card for the next 10 years.

The entire trip to Vegas was a lot of fun. I did a lot of stuff and met a lot of great people. I have to say that I am truly grateful and appreciative of NASCAR for inviting me to be a part of all of the festivities. The whole experience made me even more determined to be at Daytona in February but we’ll see. I want to be anywhere NASCAR is.

BURNOUT BREEZE COCKTAIL

Ingredients
1 oz. Crown Royal
1 oz. Aperol
1/2 oz. Pomegranate Syrup
1 1/2 oz. Passion Fruit / Orange Juice blend (recipe below)

Passion Fruit / Orange Juice Blend
(total 5 parts)
3 parts Perfect Puree of Napa Valley Passion Fruit Puree
1 part simple syrup
1 part orange juice

Pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker.
Shake well and garnish with a Bruleed Kumquat.

Delmonico Cupcakes

Pretty centerpiece!

The back of Kurt and Eva Busch with Emeril Lagasse and Chandra Johnson

So I changed my clothes and tried to walk quickly to the monorail at Harrah’s/Imperial Palace station so that I could get to the MGM Grand as fast as possible because that’s where the start/finish line was for the Victory Lap. I wanted to see the top-12 drivers doing burnouts, but it wasn’t to be. I missed the whole thing. What I did see, from the windows of the monorail, was the traffic that was backed up for at least a mile next to the Strip. That was kinda neat.

I should have stayed at the Mirage and just watched it from there, but I wanted to be in position to attend After The Lap presented by Tissot at that MGM Grand, and I was also seriously if-i-don’t-eat-something-now-i-will-faint hungry. So I had lunch and then snuck into an already packed theater for the After The Lap fan Q&A session with the top-12 drivers.

Inside the place was packed with more people still waiting outside the theater hoping to get in. Jamie Little hosted the event and asked each driver a question submitted by fans. It was a very fun event and if they don’t do it again next year that would really suck. I think it was an awesome way to connect with the fans and give them something extra. They weren’t shaking hands and all that but I think because of the roast the day before all of the guys were more relaxed and really went “there” in showing their personalities.

For example, someone asked Brian Vickers if he’d seen the movie The Hangover, to which he said “I’ve lived it.” Then Brian launched into a story about going to Las Vegas with Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears, and how after a long night out they’d been at a diner eating breakfast and Jimmie ended up with butter in his hair. I don’t know about you but those are the stories I want to hear. That one little anecdote did more to tell me about who Jimmie Johnson really is than a lot of stuff you get in routine interviews.

The cherry on top of the After The Lap presented by Tissot event was when UNLV’s marching band came in and performed “Viva Las Vegas.” Perfection.

Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle

Tony Stewart

Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya

Kurt Busch

Kasey Kahne and Jamie Little

Jimmie Johnson

Kasey Kahne (left) and Carl Edwards

UNLV Marching Band

All photos credit: The Fast and the Fabulous