All posts in Race Weekends

138 Posts
July 14, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Chicagoland Weekend (07/08)

the nicest thing

Carl Edwards prepares to practice for the LifeLock.com at Chicagoland Speedway. Edwards posted the quickest time in Friday's final practice. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)I have a new appreciation for Nationwide Series races. For one there are less people around for all of the pre-race festivities so it makes getting closer for photos a lot easier. It also seemed like security was a little more relaxed, not that they weren’t paying attention or taking care of things, it’s just that it felt like there was less hassle.

Before driver introductions began the pit crews pushed their cars out to pit road and drivers started walking out to the stage at the start/finish line. I was in the Nationwide garage debating whether or not I would even go out there. I decided it was worth it (I don’t know why I would think it wouldn’t be) and headed in the direction of the stage. When I stepped on to the grass I noticed a small commotion to my right. There was a cameraman walking backwards, and another guy helping him, while filming Carl Edwards who was walking about 6 feet from me. I couldn’t catch what he was saying or what they were filming it for, but they quickly finished and left Carl alone.

I was watching the whole thing and when the camera guy was gone I was still looking at Carl. He saw me and then smiled and said “hello” to which I said “hi” back. To be honest I don’t think I’ve smiled that big in quite some time. Just thinking about it makes me feel like a big geek. I can say this about Carl, when he looks at you, and really it seems whenever he interacts with people, he gives you his full attention even if it is just for a moment. He just oozes this really genuine nice guy vibe.

After our exchange our paths split. I was already replaying the whole thing my head over and over again as I walked up to the right side of the stage.

Being out in the grass, and then on the track itself right up against the grandstands is truly surreal. It’s like, can it get any better than this? That’ll never get old to me, never.

After driver intros I went back down to pit road for the anthem where I happened upon Joey Logano signing stuff for a fan and David Stremme’s totally packed pit box, and I caught the start of the race there too. I watched the majority of the race in the lunch room of the media center and then caught the last laps outside from behind Victory Lane.

We all know how the Dollar General 300 ended. Ugh.

I headed back to my car where I was invited to some sort of motor home/bus party by a random guy that I had never met before. Apparently he had been tasked by his friends to get all of the girls to their little shindig. I politely declined and headed back to my hotel. My driving experience going back to the hotel was way better than the day before since the sky was clear for the most part and I prepared my change for the toll roads in advance. I was finally getting the hang of driving around Chicagoland, or so I thought.


Joey Logano signs his autograph for fans on pit road before the start of the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Joey Logano signs his autograph for fans on pit road before the start of the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

The grandstands and the track before the start of the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

The grandstands and the track before the start of the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

It was a full house for the first few laps of the Dollar General 300 in David Stremme's pit box (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

It was a full house with standing room only for the first few laps of the Dollar General 300 in David Stremme’s pit box (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

July 14, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Chicagoland Weekend (07/08)

if only i knew what he was thinking

Michael McDowell gets ready to roll out for a practice session at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)After the fun ESPN tour I headed into the Sprint Cup garage. I walked down one row and then another and stopped at the stall for the No. 55 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota. I took photos and then noticed Michael Waltrip walking towards me. As he passed by he smiled and said “Hello” to me and the guy taking photos next to me. He got into the car and strapped himself in.

Here’s the thing, I knew that the practice sessions were set to start soon, but I didn’t realize exactly how soon. So here I am walking down the garage right in front of the car stalls stopping at each one to take a photo. I started to see a pattern that all of the drivers seemed to be in their cars with their helmets on all at the same time. It didn’t dawn on me that they were minutes from racing out of the garage and onto the track until I got to the end of the row and noticed that nobody else was as close to the stalls as I was and drivers were looking at me as I took their photos like “What are you doing? Who are you? Don’t you know I’m about to run you over?!” It wasn’t that serious, but it was really, really, eerie.

I mean, really eerie. It’s this extreme calm before the storm. They were all just sitting there waiting for the go ahead. As soon as I caught on that they would be racing out at any moment I decided to walk faster and get to a corner where I could get a good view of the cars as they pulled out and stay well out of everyone’s way.

Once practice was over it was time for the drivers & crew chiefs meeting before the start of the Nationwide Series race. First I must say that I love the way the infield area of Chicagoland is laid out. The media center is smack dab in the center of everything and it’s closed off so the fans, even those with pit passes, are kept well away from it. The Sprint Cup garage is to the left and the Nationwide garage is to the right, and the tent for the drivers meeting was behind it.

So back to the drivers meeting, I went to tent area and stood with the security stationed outside of it to keep the fans at bay. Since it was the Nationwide race after all there weren’t that many people waiting with me, maybe like 3 or 4? If that, I’m not entirely sure but I know it wasn’t anything near all of the people that were there the next day for the Sprint Cup drivers meeting. They had to put up steel barriers for that one. But I digress. So I’m standing there and drivers start to trickle in. I snapped Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth.
Clint Bowyer walks to the Dollar General 300 drivers and crew chiefs meeting at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous
And then there was Clint.

Clint Bowyer walks up, all alone and I hold up my camera to take a photo and he looks in my direction. Now, I had no idea if he was actually looking at me or just in my general vicinity. I had no idea what expression he was making and honestly I didn’t want to know. I feel totally fine about taking pictures of people if they’re not looking at me while I’m doing it. Plus he’s seen me directly taking shots of him at Las Vegas and Infineon and now Chicagoland. So I didn’t dare look up from my camera for fear that he might be frowning or something. I don’t know. He went into the tent and that was that.

Later on I looked at the photo in its full size and I cracked up because he is in fact staring straight at me with this weird expression that looks kinda like he’s pissed. But I love this photo. It’s my most favorite photo to date. :) The look on his face is priceless; he’s like “What??” Hmm. Note to self: No more photos of Clint Bowyer, at least for the next race. Or at least not when he’s looking.


Sprint Cup cars roll out to the track for a practice session at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Sprint Cup cars roll out to the track for a practice session at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Tony Stewart heads into the drivers meeting before the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Tony Stewart heads into the drivers meeting before the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

David Ragan (far left), Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth leave the drivers meeting before the Dollar General 300 on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

David Ragan (far left), Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth leave the drivers meeting before the Dollar General 300 on Friday, July 11, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

July 13, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Chicagoland Weekend (07/08)

behind the scenes: fast times at espn

These go where? ESPN production trailer shows off it's insidesAwhile ago I was contacted by ESPN and invited to take a tour of their production facilities while I was at Chicagoland. I of course was delighted by the offer and immediately accepted. On Friday Andy Hall, one of the communications managers for ESPN, took me and Geoffrey Miller from AOL Fanhouse over to their production trailers on the other side of the track, way off behind the grandstands.

I know this is a really silly thing to point out but that was my first time on one of those go-karts everybody drives around during the race weekends. I was extremely happy about it, for one it’s a lot nicer to get a ride around the track (and not walk) and two, it kind of made me feel like I was “in” on things.

Once we arrived at the trailers, which were this little TV production town complete with a big catering tent, we entered the ESPN Tech Center. Qualifying for the Nationwide Series race was going on at the same time and so right as we stepped in there’s Tim Brewer watching the telecast. He said hello and apologized for not being able to talk to us because he had to concentrate on the action on the track and what his counterparts in the booth were saying in case they cut to him. Of course I completely understood, although I was afraid at some point they would cut to him while we were there and we’d have to duck out of his way with only seconds to spare. Luckily that didn’t happen, but then again it would have been to cool to see him in action.

It’s amazing how much stuff they have to put together and pull apart every week. The technology it takes just to make something that can look amazing, function but then collapse into a mobile size is mind blowing all on its own. I’m still surprised at how many moving parts and pieces there are to put these shows on, it’s amazing more things don’t go wrong. I mean, just imagine having to move your home every week, but add in 250 people and over 78,000 pounds of stuff. Crazy.

After saying goodbye to Tim we went into the production trailer where they were directing the qualifying session broadcast. There were a million screens and a million little buttons. It’s like a video game on steroids. Everybody had headsets on that connected them to about a dozen different people in various locations throughout the track.

I know fans get upset when they’re watching a race, a caution comes up, and they cut to commercial and come back after the green flag has flown. If you could see what goes into making a broadcast happen you might not get so upset the next time it happens. The people that work behind the scenes are striving for excellence and they work hard so that you don’t miss anything. I have a deep respect for their work. I don’t think a person takes that kind of job without having a serious passion for what they do. I know that I have no desire to have that much pressure sitting on my head every week.

Oh! On the ride over to the studios we were all talking and I asked if there were any plans for the NASCAR broadcasts to have the same side-by-side race view that the IndyCar broadcasts use. With side-by-side you get to still watch the race in the left hand side of the screen while commercials play on the right hand side. It’s similar to what TNT did for the Coke Zero race last week. Apparently NASCAR won’t allow ESPN to do this. Note to NASCAR: Uhm, what’s the problem here? Would you please make this happen? We all know we have to live with commercials but the side-by-side thing makes it seem less obvious and really you wouldn’t have to worry about getting back to those green flags as much.

So the tour was awesome and I’m so grateful that I got a chance to go behind the scenes and see how a race broadcast is created.


Tim Brewer watches and waits for the call to explain the technical details of racing (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Tim Brewer watches and waits for the call to explain the technical details of racing

(photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

(photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

So there’s a cool story behind this tire. It came off of David Gilliland’s car at Indianapolis last year. He was doing his practice run and his car spun out. Thinking quickly Tim Brewer immediately got on the phone with a contact of his from Goodyear and within minutes they got the tire over to him in the ESPN Tech Center so that he could show it on air. What a great way to show off the Tech Center in its debut!

(photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

(photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

So I’m total girl and I was curious about the clothes! The pit road reporters don’t have to wear the firesuits, it’s totally voluntary.

(photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

July 13, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Chicagoland Weekend (07/08)

the emptiness of it all

An empty Gatorade Victoy Lane at the Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, July 11, 2008I’m still processing this weekend, working on posts and I just uploaded a buttload of photos. But I wanted to put up something for now. I’m trying to go in chronological order, to keep things straight for you and for me. As soon as I post this I’m off to downtown Chicago for some sightseeing. But first here’s what happened Friday morning.

Friday started out really good. Traffic was a breeze compared to Thursday and I had a Grande Cinnamon Dolce Latte from Starbucks to help ease me into the morning. I left at 9, so that I could be at the credentials trailer exactly at 10 when they opened. It worked out perfectly.

I have to give huge props to the Chicagoland Speedway staff for making it so incredibly easy to get in and out of the track. I’m getting ahead of myself a bit but when I left the track it only took me ten minutes to get out and onto empty city streets. If you have an infield parking sticker they give you another thingy to hang from your window so that you can take this one particular road to get in and out the track. Ingenious! I think Infineon and Las Vegas should figure out a way to do this, build a whole new road if you have to! It’d be worth it.

Anyway, back to the morning. I was stoked to learn that I was getting a hot garage pass. Suhweet. It’s a total crap shoot on what you’re gonna get. After that I headed to the media center where I quickly realized it was insanely early in the race day. People camping in the infield were in line for the portable showers. Neither the Nationwide nor Sprint Cup garages were open. The place was empty. The fans hadn’t been let in to the main gates yet either.

I checked out the media center, took pictures of the emptiness around me and then just hung out for a while. I picked up a schedule and some other random press releases — including the transcript of Tony Stewart’s press conference regarding his move to Haas CNC Racing, now Stewart Haas Racing; I hate that logo by the way. I’m not a big fan of the font.

At two in the afternoon I was set to meet up with Andy from ESPN’s communications team to take a tour of their production facilities. I had some time before all that so I walked around and over (and under) to the grandstands. I checked out the usual fan stuff like the merchandise haulers and all of the interactive attractions. Really it’s all the same, but I caught the performance of the band that later performed the National Anthem for the Dollar General 300. If anyone knows or remembers their name from the telecast post a comment. They were a pretty good country band. I saw them in the credential trailer earlier in the day and let’s just say I have a soft spot for rockers with long hair. :)

After listening to a few songs I headed back to the media center to take the ESPN production tour, more on that in the next post.

July 10, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Chicagoland Weekend (07/08)

‘it’s like thunder and lightning…’

Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL, Thursday, July 10, 2008What a day.

I woke up at 5am to get ready to fly out of San Francisco at 9-something in the morning. I was in the sky for close to 4 hours. I was so happy that I didn’t need to take a pee break during the flight, as I was wedged in between two people. Once in Chicago I was hit with the wacky local weather. It was hot, muggy and raining. On the shuttle bus to the rental car station I could see lightning in the distance.

So I got my car, or at least what I thought was my car, but I had to bring it back ’cause the license plate listed in my rental documents didn’t match those on the car. In the end they let me take the car that I was given, along with the navigation system that I hadn’t requested but because of their mistake I was getting for free! Wee! And how important that navigation system would prove to be, let me tell ya. I made my way to my hotel and caught my first glimpse of the hell that is Chicago traffic. If you think traffic in L.A. is bad you ain’t seen nothing till you get here. There seems to be a lot of road work going on, so maybe that’s adding to it. Either way it’s crap, but more about that in a minute.

My hotel is fabulous, I’m staying at the Renaissance Chicago O’Hare Suites Hotel and it has totally exceeded my expectations. The rooms are modern and super comfortable, plus there’s a flat screen TV with HD in the living room and a sick shower that I can’t wait to use in the morning. There hasn’t been that many times I’ve been this excited about a shower, so that’s saying something. To make things even better, this place even has its own Starbucks shop in the lobby! Starbucks = happy Valli.

Ok, so the credentials office was open today at Chicagoland Speedway until 8pm. I got checked in to my room by 6 and so I thought I’d have enough time to make it to the track to sign for my credentials. I ended up arriving fifteen minutes too late! Yes, it took me 2 hours to get to the track. There was a lot of traffic and in one particular stretch it was because of an accident involving a big wheeler. It sucked that I couldn’t get my credentials today and at least get into the track, but it’s no biggy since qualifying was called on account of the rain.

And speaking of the rain, we’re talking thunderstorms people. I haven’t seen lightning and thunder like this in such a long time. I really, really, really, really, hope it clears up and doesn’t come back. Driving in the rain in unfamiliar surroundings is not fun. I missed turns that I was supposed to make, so I was thankful for the navigation system, oh so thankful. On my way back to the hotel it was raining so hard that I could barely see the lines on the ground. I had no idea what lane I was in a lot of the time. Luckily at this point there weren’t a lot of cars on the road. Oh and they have all of these tolls on the roads every so often. It’s like 80 cents here and 80 cents there and then 30 cents there. I’ve never heard of such a thing. I come from California where we only have tolls on bridges. No biggie though, I plan on being better prepared for tomorrow.

One cool thing I have to say is that I got to drive a portion of Route 66 after I left the race track. That was pretty neat.

Okay, I’m super tired, off to bed I go. More tomorrow!


Chicagoland Speedway

This is how it is here in Chicago, flat and green.

June 24, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/08)

gilliland is the story

David Gilliland in the No. 38 FreeCreditReport.com Ford during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)The final laps of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 were literally killing me. I haven’t been that engaged in a race in quite some time. The fact that David Gilliland was running up front, realistically in contention for the win was seriously blowing my mind. In the end though he didn’t come up with the win but I feel like 2nd place is just as good.

I Tivo’d the race while I was at the track and I just watched it today. David’s smile in his post race interview was priceless. He was so happy and rightly so. He proved that he could contend with the likes of Jeff Gordon and come out on top.

On Sunday during the post-race press conference with the media his happiness still shone through, albeit subdued. I’m not one for chopping up quotes so here are some of my favorite parts from the Q&A with the media.

David on what he thought when he saw Jeff behind him in his rearview mirror:

GILLILAND: It’s not a comfortable feeling, I’ll tell you that. I grew up coming here, and so I wasn’t really surprised about having him back there for sure.

GORDON: You didn’t have anything to worry about, trust me.

GILLILAND: Our car was pretty good. On the restart before the last one, I got away from Jeff a little bit going up the hill, and so that made me a little more comfortable on the second one. But it was super slick the last lap as far as challenging for the lead. It was everything I could do just to stay on the racetrack. It was wild back there. It was incredible.

GORDON: You were up there.

GILLILAND: Yeah, up there; back there. (Laughter).

David responds to a reporter asking him if he feels his team is making progress towards becoming really competitive at the “bread and butter tracks:”

GILLILAND: Absolutely. That’s why we go to the racetrack each week. We’re working hard at it. It’s not easy, I’ll tell you that. It’s a challenge each and every week, but definitely, I mean, you know, I feel like we definitely made an improvement on the mile and a half stuff. Our short track stuff has been much better than it was last year. Richmond we had the best car we had and were in the Top 10 and got involved in an accident.

Had a bit of bad luck, but definitely I feel like our performance has improved 90 percent from what it was last year. Our cars are much better and you talk to people and they say, you know, you’re just learning, experience, but you don’t really learn anything driving a car that shouldn’t even be on the racetrack.

So I’m having to relearn a lot of things this year and running up in the front with guys like Jeff Gordon, you know, you’ve got to earn that respect and that goes a long ways.

It’s just a steady process that we are chipping away at.


Jeff Gordon speaks with the press after the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Jeff Gordon speaks with the press after the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

David Gilliland speaks with the press after the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

David Gilliland speaks with the press after the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Chad Knaus walks the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet through inspection at Infineon Raceway

Crew chief Chad Knaus walks the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet through inspection at Infineon Raceway

Clint Bowyer sits on pit road before teh start of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Clint Bowyer sits on pit road before the start of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Boris Said takes a call at Infineon Raceway before the start of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Boris Said takes a call at Infineon Raceway before the start of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Rear Tire Carrier and Car Chief Ron Malec steers the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet through inspection

Rear Tire Carrier and Car Chief Ron Malec steers the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet through inspection

June 23, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/08)

my infineon clip show

There were a bunch of random things that occurred to me during the Infineon weekend and none of them deserved its own post so here they are:

– At Jeff Gordon’s press conference on Friday I was staring at him and noticed for the first time ever that he’s got grey hairs. It’s not like two, it’s like fifty. That was the precise moment when my camera decided to die so I have no proof. This all means nothing of course, but I just thought it was interesting ’cause he’s always had this boyish look to him and so you don’t associate that kind of thing, ya know, getting old, with him. :)

– When Oakland Raiders play-by-play announcer Greg Papa introduced Joe Nemechek as “Jerome” Nemechek pretty much everyone on pit road looked around with the same “What the???” expression on their faces. Next time it might be a good idea to get someone who actually knows NASCAR to announce the drivers. I’m just sayin’.

– Someone asked Carl Edwards “Beer or wine?” to which he replied “Neither.” This was kind of surprising to me, I mean I always figured him for a granola boy-type (and by “granola boy” I mean those guys who are all about fitness and eating healthy which can be really annoying when you’re, uhm, not) but I didn’t think he went that far. I couldn’t hear his follow-up answer so I’m not sure if he clarified his answer to say that he preferred some other alcoholic beverage entirely, but I doubt it.
Actress Nikki Blonsky waves to the crowd after singing the National Anthem before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway on June 22, 2008 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
– Nikki Blonsky, the young woman who played Tracy Turnblad in the 2nd movie version of Hairspray, was on hand to sing the National Anthem. I saw her as she walked up the stairs to the media center. She seemed really nice and sweet but she had on these super high, black Christian Louboutin pumps that were obviously causing her some mischief by the way she was toddling around. I know the walk caused by uncomfortable shoes, let me tell ya. Anyway, so it was funny to see her later walking around in a pair of white sneakers. Smart move Nikki.

– At the end of the day on Sunday I caught the media center shuttle van back to my parking spot. On the way there a voice came over the radio to say that Kyle Busch’s mom believed that someone from the racetrack’s staff had taken her bag. So funny! Her son wins the race and then her bag is allegedly stolen? I do hope she got her bag back, it’s a very disconcerting feeling to lose one’s purse.

– Below is a video of my view of the race. For the last 20 laps or so I watched it all go down from a landing area leading up the media center.


My Infineon Race View from Valli Hilaire on Vimeo.

June 23, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/08)

crew members need to feel the love too

The No. 38 FreeCreditReport.com Ford Fusion gets pushed through inspection at Infineon Raceway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)On Sunday before the race I walked pit road taking the usual pictures and I found the pit boxes for the No. 28 and No. 38 Yates Racing teams.

I have to say that I’ve been thinking about the guys on pit crews a lot lately, mostly because you don’t hear much about them individually or even as a group. Drivers constantly talk about how it’s a team sport and they couldn’t do it without their guys but how much do we really know about the men on these teams? And how much do they know about their fans? Unless you’re on the crew for the most popular drivers it’s hard to know who’s rooting for you or if they are at all.

On television in pre-race shows they sometimes do profiles of this crew member or that one for some special or unique story, but it’s never a consistent study of who these guys are and how they feel about their teams chances each week. I suppose it would be really hard from a PR standpoint to control all of those voices but it would be refreshing to hear them.

So with that being said I took the chance to talk to the pit crew guys — that were there — from Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland’s teams. I asked them if they ever went online to their team website to see what their fans were saying. They all said that they don’t go online and some guessed that maybe the comments were negative.

I told them that they had a bunch of fans out there that supported them 100%. So the comments from these guys surprised me and got me thinking. Since these guys don’t have time to spend online searching for what people are saying, I think that if you’re a Gilliland, Kvapil or Yates Racing fan you should send a letter to the crew members. Don’t send it to Travis or David — send it to the guys on the team. Just to be clear I’m not saying you shouldn’t write to the drivers too, you totally should, but don’t forget about the other guys that make up the team.


Crew members from the No. 28 California Highway Patrol Ford Fusion team (from left to right): Tire Runner John Horn, Catchcan Bobby Grant, and Front Tire Changer Cory DeMarco.

Crew members from the No. 38 FreeCreditReport.com Ford Fusion team

Crew members from the No. 38 FreeCreditReport.com Ford Fusion team

June 21, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/08)

fate is a cruel mistress

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car waits to go out on to the track for practice at Infineon Raceway (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)The NASCAR experience started on Thursday. I was driving through the city I live in — Concord, California — with a friend of mine on our way to get Starbucks. There were haulers for Juan Pablo Montoya’s team at a Holiday Inn down one street and haulers for Michael Waltrip at the Crown Plaza Hotel down another. It’s really not that interesting but it gave me that extra kick of excitement about this weekend. NASCAR really was coming!

When I got to the track on Friday the temperature was in the 80s. It was definitely warm, hot even but not unbearable. That changed of course as the temps hit 107 at the end of the day when I left. Yes, I left at like 5-o-clock whilst qualifying was still going on but I have very good reasons. For one, I was literally melting, even in the shade. Second, and most important, my camera/video camera’s battery died and I didn’t have my charger with me. And third it was friggin’ hot! Since you have to wear pants in the garage area you’re totally screwed when it’s hot outside. So there I am in jeans so jealous of the fans in the paddock area behind the grandstands ’cause they’re in dresses and shorts.

Ok, so on to the good stuff. The top-12 drivers were available to the media outside of their haulers at various times before and after qualifying practice. There was only ONE driver that I wanted to see the most and that was, of course, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale’s media meet-up was scheduled for 2pm, the first one after the practice session. Before the practice session, I went saw Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, and Kevin Harvick. While watching Clint answer questions I decided to try out my video skills. To be sure, they haven’t changed much from my experiment at the testing sessions last week (as evidenced in my earlier post). Anyway, I taped Kasey, Clint and Kevin, with various levels of pretty good sound.

It amazes me that anyone can hear anyone when those cars are grumbling in the garage. This was the first time I had ever attended one of the top-12 media press sessions before. So I wasn’t sure what to expect. The writers gather around the hauler doors before the scheduled time. It’s obvious that the majority of people know each other, which is incredibly intimidating to me since I’m the newbie. The PR reps are the gatekeepers and they’re not taking any crap from anyone. Kasey Kahne’s rep totally laid the smack down on some photographer who asked if he could get an autograph from him. It’s forbidden for media to ask the drivers for autographs, not to mention stupid. Why would you need an autograph when you’re there? I mean look at where you are!

OK, so picture it… You’re me and your computer is Clint Bowyer. That’s how close I was to him. I could have asked a question but I didn’t. For one, I had nothing prepared and two the questions I would want to ask would have nothing to do with the race this weekend.

Oh! I should say that I was given a cold garage pass. I wasn’t super worried about that, as I’ve found in the past that having a cold pass isn’t the worst thing in the world and I could still access a lot of things. So I wasn’t worried. Well not until practice began and the garage went hot. Dale Jr.’s press conference was the first one after practice ended and I was afraid they wouldn’t turn off the “hot” lights until it was too late.

And that’s exactly what happened. I wasn’t able to get back into the garage until after his session was over. I was so frustrated. I couldn’t believe it, out of all of the drivers, he’s the one I was looking forward to hearing from the most and then I couldn’t get in.

My consolation prize was seeing him walk past me as I sat on the ground outside the media center. He had just excited the men’s bathroom and quickly made his way through the fans that were looking for his signature.

One thing about the media center bathrooms, that is the place to be if you want to catch a driver. Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Jack Roush and Carl Edwards all made stops at the men’s room and really that’s the only time I have ever wished I was a guy. Haha.


Kyle Busch meets with the media at Infineon Raceway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

This photo is kinda eerie ’cause it seems like Kyle Busch is looking right at me, as if to say “What the hell are you doing?” Frrrreeaaaky.

Kasey Kahne speaks with the media at Infineon Raceway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Kasey Kahne speaks with the media at Infineon Raceway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Kasey Kahne's jeans and shoes (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

I looked down and happened to notice how cool Kasey’s shoes were, so I snapped a photo. I figured the Kasey Kahne fans out there would appreciate this. :)

Kevin Harvick speaks with the media at Infineon Raceway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Kevin Harvick speaks with the media at Infineon Raceway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Clint Bowyer speaks with the media at Infineon Raceway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

Clint Bowyer speaks with the media at Infineon Raceway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

June 21, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/08)

the land of low expectations

I wasn’t hearing a lot of cocky optimism from the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers on Friday at Infineon Raceway. Since they only run at two road courses each year there isn’t a lot of focus on it. They do testing and stuff but you don’t see many people working extra hard at trying to be the most amazing NASCAR road racer ever. Anyway, because so many drivers aren’t the greatest at the road thing it would have been fun (and funny) to hear someone say “Oh, yea, I got this one in the bag.”

And now for your viewing pleasure I have video that I shot of Carl Edwards chatting with the media outside his hauler on Friday. The sound isn’t the greatest and, as usual, my camera handling skills could use some work. But whatever, it is what it is.

:)


Carl Edwards at Infineon Raceway from Valli Hilaire on Vimeo.

March 4, 2008 · Las Vegas Weekend (03/08), NASCAR

making serious eye contact with biffle

The No. 99 team run to Victory Lane at the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)So as the race wound down I made sure I was in the lobby of the Media Center to catch Carl Edwards’ flip into the grass as it happened. As soon as he sped his car into the garage the entire No. 99 Office Depot team came running through the lobby on their way to celebrate their win in Victory Lane. My blurry photo of some of the guys is to the left.

I must confess that yet again I was hoping and wishing that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would make it into the top 3 because at the end of every race they always have the top finishers come into the Media Center to answer questions. As soon as I saw Carl jump off of his car in Victory Lane I hightailed into the deadline media room and waited for Dale and Greg Biffle to arrive. Biffle came in first and looked dead at me like I was an alien. I don’t think he meant anything weird by it; I was standing right next to the door he came through and he was already answering questions from a couple writers so he was in mid-sentence and they just stopped right there by the door. Yea it was awkward. So I moved away and stood next to an empty workspace, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible from that point onward.

Eventually Biffle took a seat on the stage and Dale Jr. zipped in and took his designated spot next to him (after the questions were over he zipped right out, he’s not much of a lingerer that Dale Jr.). There were more questions directed to Dale than Biffle. Dale was funny and I knew they wouldn’t use his best responses on the local newscasts later that night. He called himself a tool for not being more aggressive when it came to restarts and when one writer questioned his status of emotions after coming in second, saying that he thought Dale seemed “subdued” in his demeanor, Dale replied, “I don’t know, I’m happy.  I’m sorry I’m not happier.”

The best part came when they were both asked about how much they think about the points standings and making sure they’re in the top 12. Dale admitted that last year he was “lackadaisical” about the Championship standings, saying that he’d say “We’ll get around to it, we’ll put some runs together to get in there,” but not so this year. This time he’s focusing on every lap. And frankly as one of his fans, that’s music to my ears.


Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. answer questions from the media after the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas on Sunday, March 2, 2008 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. answer questions from the media after the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas on Sunday, March 2, 2008

March 4, 2008 · Las Vegas Weekend (03/08), NASCAR

a moment like this

I didn’t really want to use a Kelly Clarkson song for the title of this post but it’s all I could come up with, I’m tired, give me a break.

After driver intros everybody went to their cars to wait for the invocation and the national anthem. I took a second to look up at the crowd in the grandstands. It was so surreal to be there. I mean this is NASCAR. This is right before the start of the race and I’m standing just like feet away from cars that are going to be racing in a few minutes. This is it. How the hell did I get here?

I don’t think I’ll ever get over that feeling of wonder. I’m sure if you’re always at the races or work in some capacity for NASCAR it gets old in some ways, but I just can’t imagine losing that feeling of awe. Looking back on it now I can’t believe I was there at all. Although there was one totally big reality-check moment when, after the anthem was over, I started to walk towards the pits through a painted area of the grass and a track official quickly yelled for me to walk around it.

She was totally nice about it but it was then that I knew that yes, this is really me on the track at a NASCAR race messing up the pretty logo painted on the grass.

Good times, good times. :)


Pit crews line up for the singing of the national anthem at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

Pit crews line up for the singing of the national anthem at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 2, 2008.

March 4, 2008 · Las Vegas Weekend (03/08)

don’t stand so close to me (unless you’re clint bowyer)

So I have this new vow that whenever I get media credentials I’m going to make the most of them. I’m going to do everything and access everything that my credentials will allow, at least, all of the stuff that I know about. There were three symbols whose meaning I never got around to figuring out. So anyway, back to making the most of things. I knew I wanted to get to the drivers introduction stage but it was way out on the start/finish line and not on pit road like it had been at California. So I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to be out there. Plus I didn’t see any of the media people that I recognized out there, but as I like to say “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” So I went out there and one of the security people let me through. 

Before the start of driver introductions there were a bunch of small introductory speeches by various big wigs, the Mayor of Las Vegas Oscar Goodman, SMI Chairman of the Board Bruton Smith, etc. And then the Blue Man Group put on a little show. They were really cool to see in person, even if I only saw the right side of the stage. I thought it was fun having them perform. Musical/theatrical shows are such a Vegas thing and it’s only fitting to have one before the start of the race, plus it’s like you get a little extra for all the money you shelled out for the tickets.

While the blue dudes were performing Clint Bowyer walked out on to the grass with a bunch of guys I’m assuming were his friends. He stopped to check out the show like right next to where I was standing. It was the most awkward thing. Should I stand there and look at the show like “yea I think the show is really cool too Clint” or should I stare at him and snap as many photos as possible right in his face? Well I chose a sort of combination of the two. I took photos of him, and stared at him and also tried to move out of his way so that he could get a better look at the show, all the while trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing.

And so eventually all of the drivers streamed out onto the grass behind the stage. Dale Earnhardt Jr. sped by in his requisite black hoodie and into the tented backstage area. Meanwhile a woman standing next to me with a very large chest area had Robby Gordon sign her boobs, I mean, shirt.


Robby Gordon gives his autograph (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

Robby Gordon signs a fan’s boob shirt at the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas.

Clint Bowyer watches The Blue Man Group perform before the start of the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

Clint Bowyer watches The Blue Man Group perform before the start of the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas.

Clint Bowyer watches The Blue Man Group perform before the start of the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

Clint Bowyer watches The Blue Man Group perform before the start of the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas.

The Blue Man Group perform before the start of the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

The Blue Man Group perform before the start of the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas.

J.J. Yeley and his adorable daughter Faith exit the stage during driver introductions at the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

J.J. Yeley and his adorable daughter Faith exit the stage during driver introductions at the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas.

A group of drivers hang out before they are introduced at the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas

Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya and David Reutimann (sitting) hang out before they’re introduced at driver introductions.

March 4, 2008 · Las Vegas Weekend (03/08), NASCAR

not everyone can get carrot top

Prop Comic Carrot Top (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)For all of the Auto Club Speedway’s attempts at making itself Hollywood east it didn’t really come through at their race last week. Ok, so they had Tom Cruise, but that’s one dude and people don’t like him anymore since he jumped on Oprah’s couch. Las Vegas Motor Speedway had Carrot Top! You read that right, the one and only Carrot Top was on hand for the UAW-Dodge 400. He just sort of popped up at driver introductions. I was disappointed he was wearing a jacket. I wanted to see his scarily bulging biceps.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach was there to announce the drivers. I caught a glimpse of country singer Blake Shelton leaving the drivers meeting before the race. He is so freaking gorgeous. JC Chasez of N’SYNC fame also made an appearance at the race. He hung out with the drivers before introductions and then at Kurt Busch’s car during the national anthem.


JC Chasez at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

JC Chasez of N’SYNC waits to have his photo taken at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 2, 2008. (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)

March 4, 2008 · Las Vegas Weekend (03/08), NASCAR

first things first, the neon garage

The Little Las Vegas Sign (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)I got back from Las Vegas yesterday and I’m still tired. I’m going to break up my recap of Sunday into separate posts, along with photos ‘cause there’s kind of a lot to talk about.

To start, I gotta talk about the Neon Garage.

The Neon Garage at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a playground for adults. At least that’s what it looks like to me. There’s a big bar, food and a concert stage right smack dab in the middle of the garage. The thing I loved about it the most is how much of the team garages you can actually see. You could even go one step further and say that you really don’t even need to get a garage pass. There are windows into each of the team’s stalls, from the top and the bottom so that fans can see in from almost every angle. The teams have no privacy when they’re working on their cars. If someone’s butt crack is showing or they’re picking their nose everybody is going to see it.

Some other pluses for the fans are the fact that the place is super clean and just incredibly open. Oh and about that concert stage. I saw the impersonators for Elvis and Stevie Wonder. And really it’s not a trip to Vegas without a performance from Elvis right? In addition to Stevie and Elvis there was a complete line-up of celebrity impersonators and then a bunch of cover bands — no race weekend is complete without a cover of “Life is a Highway.”


Through the looking glass -- the No. 48 Lowes team work on their car (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

Through the looking glass -- the No. 5 Kelloggs team work on their car (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

The Neon Garage (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

The Neon Garage (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

The Neon Garage (Photo Credit: The Fast and the Fabulous/Valli Hilaire)

March 2, 2008 · Las Vegas Weekend (03/08), NASCAR

my weekend, so far, in vegas

After a road trip that consisted of over 500 miles, one prison, and 50 Lance Burton billboards, I made it to Las Vegas on Friday.

I checked in to the hotel I went straight to the track to pick up my credentials. Traffic was crap.

Here’s the thing you should know about me. I’m a rule follower. I don’t like to break rules. It bothers me when others break rules. If we all say we’re going to do it one way I don’t like it when people disregard all of that and do whatever they want. So with that being said, I thought I was prepared.  Well as much as I could be given the fact that when you’re given credentials nobody tells you anything about where anything is. It’s all up to you to figure it out. Of course you can ask (and I have), but I don’t understand why they don’t have some sheet that just outlines basic stuff, like here’s how you get to the media center, here’s what those symbols on your credentials mean and what they give you access to, here’s why you’re not getting a parking pass, etc.

So back to Friday, My first mistake was getting off at the exit for general parking, there was another exit designated for people picking up credentials but I didn’t find that out until yesterday when I was on my way to the track again.

After exiting the freeway, I went in the direction that should have taken me to another road where I should have been able to turn left. Mm, no. All of the cops in the world were out in force and were diverting traffic to the right. So I went right. But I still needed to get to the credential office before it closed. So because my hands were tied, I did what the other people who were pissed that they couldn’t go left like they needed to did, I made what I’m sure was an illegal u-turn and headed back up the road. I crossed in front of oncoming traffic to turn into the credentials gate, no help from the cops there.

After I got my credentials I decided to just go back to the hotel. There was no way I was going to figure out how to get into the track at that point. Besides, I was tired and qualifying was over.

The navigation system in my car said that it should take 25 minutes to get back to the hotel. It actually took an hour. Traffic in general on the city streets was slow and then once you were on the highway there were two accidents to contend with.

So that was Friday. Saturday I made sure I got up early to be at the track as soon as the gates opened so I could get a good parking spot. Here’s the problem with that plan. There’s like thousands of other NASCAR fans who had the exact same plan. My spot ended up not being that bad but it was still a bit of a walk to get to the track entrance.

This was my first time to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I was in awe of the Media Center. In the first floor lobby there’s this big wall of glass looking out at the start/finish line and pit row. I think I might have actually said “whoa” out loud.

It’s a beautiful, pristine building. But you know there’s a gripe coming right? The Media Center has three floors. The first has a lounge, a big meeting room (for drivers meetings and the like) and direct access to pit road. The second floor is where the deadline media have their view of the start/finish line and it’s where all of the PR materials, schedules & stat sheets live. The third floor, complete with roof access is where the VIP suites are situated. I’m not deadline media so that means I can sit in one of the workrooms and watch the race on a TV. I just think there’s something off about that. I’m here at the race with all this access and yet I still have to watch the race on a TV? Why not let me have access to the roof with the high rollers? I’ll promise to not eat anything from their platters of food.

I have no idea where I’ll be watching the race from today, but I can guarantee you it won’t be solely from a TV.  The more I think about that the more it irks me. Ugh. Anyway…

Below are photos from Friday and Saturday. I’m posting my photos tomorrow as I forgot to bring my USB cord with me today. Lame.


Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images

Kasey Kahne retreats to his hauler after he was one of six Dodge drivers to find the wall during Friday’s practice for the UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images)

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Indy Racing League Indy Car Series champions Jimmie Johnson and Dario Franchitti chat while looking for shade from the hot Las Vegas sun during qualifying for the UAW-Dodge 400. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images

Tony Stewart motions to his crew what he’s experiencing on the track during practice for the UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images)

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Kasey Kahne was fastest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice on Saturday for Sunday’s UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Doing the double this weekend, Greg Biffle qualified his NASCAR Nationwide Series car and then hopped in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ride for two practices before racing his Nationwide car on Saturday. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

Mark Martin (No. 5) slides by after making contact with Carl Edwards (No. 60) who collided with Brad Keselowski (No. 88) late in the Sam Town’s 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates the first win for JR Motorsports with Mark Martin taking the No. 5 to victory lane. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images)

February 28, 2008 · NASCAR Auto Club Speedway Weekend (02/08), NASCAR WAGs

cleaning the nuts

Credit: The Fast and The FabulousWhen I was at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. on Sunday I talked to some of the crew members from David Gilliland’s No. 38 FreeCreditReport.com team. I wasn’t prepared to talk to them; I did it on a whim to see if they’d be willing to talk to me at all since A.) They were busy doing something and B.) They didn’t know me from Adam.

I was delighted when I found that not only were they totally fine about talking to me, after checking out my media credential, but they were also really cool, nice guys. Young, really cool, nice guys I might add. They were all under thirty and this fact kinda caught me off guard. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I wasn’t expecting them to be around my age. I suddenly thought “hey, these are guys my friends could date!” and in my head that brought everything back to reality for me. At the end of the day they’re just any other dude you’d see in a bar or event. Usually when I see drivers, crew members, and team PR people at the track, I always think of them being so “official.” Like they’re untouchable or something and you shouldn’t dare speak to them unless you have an “in.”

Jason, Ben, Greg, Bryce, Kyle and Tim were more than willing to answer my questions. I asked if they ever get hit on by groupies and Jason remembered how he’d seen three sets of women’s breasts on the glass of the garage at Daytona this year. I was shocked. What are those women thinking?? The guys are just going to drop everything and ask for their number? Weird.

I asked if they ever get to hang out with Gilliland. They see him mostly at the shop and sometimes he takes ‘em out to dinner. The resounding response overall though was that he was a really nice guy.

As I was standing there, talking to these guys, a small crowd started to gather around us. Apparently everyone wanted to watch them “clean their nuts.” They needed to clean the inside of the nuts, that would later be glued to the tires, so that they’d run on and off the studs easier during tire changes. The process involved a drill and a really long bit of some sort.

If any of those nuts fell on the ground during the process they had to be tossed. It’s bad luck to put it on the car after it’s been on the ground, so a couple lucky kids got to have the undesirables as souvenirs.

If I get the chance to talk to them again, when they’re not busy, I’ll take the photo of them that I forgot get the first time!

February 26, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Auto Club Speedway Weekend (02/08)

no country for rain delays

wet pit roadOk. So here’s the deal. I went down to La La Land (aka Los Angeles) Saturday morning. I would have left earlier like on Thursday but I had long standing plans with friends that I wasn’t willing to break. Luckily because of the rain I really hadn’t missed anything by the time I arrived at the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday morning. Qualifying had been cancelled and practice was minimal. So the story was the rain. When would it stop? Would it stop? When would they start the race? Could they get both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races done the same day?

I have to say that watching a rain delay on TV is a lot less painful than it is to witness first hand. When you’re at home you get to watch all of the pit reporters go around interviewing the drivers. When you’re there in person it’s a totally different story. Watching those jet engine dryers go around and around the track was as boring as you’d expect watching dryers go around a track would be. I went through the garage a couple times but because of the rain and the wind and the cold it wasn’t very much fun. Trying to hold on to my umbrella and keep my camera dry was kind of annoying.

Anyway, besides all of that I had a good time at the track for the short time I was there. I left at around 4 to get back to my sister’s house to watch the Oscars with the family. Although if I had known the Oscars were going to be that lame I wouldn’t have left. When I was driving out of the track I heard about the Casey Mears crash, and watched on the big Sprint Vision screen as Casey was pulled out of his mashed up car.

I’m getting ahead of myself. When it was still raining earlier in the day, before the jet dryers were out on the track, I walked down pit road. Some of the crew for David Gilliland’s team were in their pit area cleaning nuts. I stopped and talked to them and it was really cool. I’ll post more about that later.

At driver introductions I got a close-up look at the Auto Club Speedway Umbrella Girls, basically a bunch of models that carry umbrellas. Anyway, I felt bad for them because they had to wear tiny little shorts with no leggings or stockings or anything. You could see the goose bumps on their legs. Crazy. Speaking of crazy, ok, ok, not really crazy, just weird, ZZ Top performed before introductions out on the grass in front of the start/finish line. When they were done they were scuttled off stage like they were the President surrounded by cops and security.

Anyway, back to the drivers. There was a girl and some dude, he might have been her boyfriend but couldn’t tell for sure, standing next to me who was seriously freaking out when Dale Earnhardt Jr. came into view. He was hard to spot at first. He had on a black hoodie over his race suit with the hood up and sunglasses on. He stopped to do some interviews before running up the stairs and under the tent of the stage — hidden again. The girl yelled, pleaded with him to come out again so she could take a picture but he didn’t budge.

On the other hand there was Carl Edwards. He has to be one of the most charismatic guys in NASCAR right now. Maybe he was just having a good day (or he knew he was going to eventually win the race the next day) but he’s the one that interacted with fans the most, at least from my vantage point that is. He walked up on to the platform, and then walked to the end of the stage closest to where I was standing and proceeded to wink and smile at anyone that made eye contact with him. So yea, I have like a smallish crush on him now.

In other news…

– Check out my photos from Sunday at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. (slideshow)


Actor Tom Cruise, with his son Connor, enjoys the Auto Club 500 on Monday, February 25th, 2008 from the pit box of defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Actor Tom Cruise, with his son Connor, enjoys the Auto Club 500 on Monday, February 25th, 2008 from the pit box of defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

February 24, 2008 · NASCAR, NASCAR Auto Club Speedway Weekend (02/08)

it’s raining in california

I don’t know why the weather at this track is always so extreme. When I was here in 2006 for the Labor Day race, it was 100 degrees and too hot to live. Today it’s rainy, wet and miserable. You could also say that about me. The bottoms of my jeans are soaked thanks to some cleverly disguised puddles. That made the race track staff giggle.

I had to trek back to my car to drop off my laptop, as there was no room set aside for me in the media center. It’s cool, better to travel light anyway. This post is coming to you from cell phone.

I have seen some cool stuff though. I was witness to Charlotte Observer writer David Poole joking around with Larry McReynolds. Poole said that Larry Mac had never worked a day in life. All in fun of course.

I passed by Travis Kvapil coming out of the garage. It looked like he was headed for the motorcoach parking lot. Smart idea.

September 4, 2006 · NASCAR California Weekend (09/06)

so close and yet so far

The layout of California Speedway is simplistic in theory but not really when it comes to actual application. Walking from the media center in the infield around to the midway section behind the grandstands is a trek indeed. When you add in the heat you’ve got a serious cardiovascular workout. I swear I lost 5 pounds on Friday just walking from my car to the pits.

After the seating debacle on Friday I was hesitant to ask if there was space upstairs in the press box during the race. ‘Cause here’s the thing, I didn’t fly to La La Land and then drive an hour and a half to watch the race on TV. So I asked and of course there was already a seating chart in place, which is totally ok, I get it, but the thing I didn’t appreciate was being treated like the complete nobody that I know that I am. I will say this, certain staffers were very nice but others were not. The thing about it was that the attitude from certain people was so unnecessary, so I have to mention it.

Once the race started I couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in the room downstairs all night, so I went up to the press box to see if I could stand in the back. Turns out the whole back row was empty. I sat there for the entire race with a great view of the start/finish line.

The race wasn’t that exciting in terms of crashes & cautions, but it was extremely fun to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. continually move up through the field every lap. Usually the top three finishers are available after the race for a press conference. This was my best and LAST hope of seeing Junior in person this weekend. On Friday before and after qualifying he bypassed the fans assembled outside the garage during qualifying. He also managed the same feat on Sunday before driver introductions. I did a couple laps around the garage and couldn’t catch a glimpse. So all my hopes were pinned on him getting into the top 3 and being in the press box after the race.

My Hopes = Dashed

They held the press conference with Clint Bowyer, who came in third, and Junior in a room I had yet to find but knew that it was in somewhere in the garage. Unfortunately for me the garage area was hot at that time and I couldn’t get in because I only had a cold pass.

The only driver that I saw in plainclothes after the race was Tony Stewart. He’d just hoped on a golf cart and was being whisked away to a helicopter or plane somewhere. Was it too much to ask for that to have been Junior? C’mon! :)

One of the bright spots of my trip was getting to meet tallglassofmilk, the woman behind the website/blog Answer This. I’ve mentioned her site’s plentiful details on the love lives of NASCAR drivers before, and on Sunday we got to dish in person about the latest scandals.

Overall I had a great birthday weekend at the races. There were pluses and minuses but I still love NASCAR and what it’s about. I can say that this experience renewed my spirit to do more with my blog. Stay tuned.

Oh! This has nothing to do with the race at California specifically, it’s just good stuff. Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.



September 3, 2006 · NASCAR California Weekend (09/06)

what would Earl do?

Ack! There’s so much to tell you. First off once I arrived here this afternoon the track was completely opened up the fans. I’ve added photos of this to the photo gallery. It was so incredibly cool to be standing where they’re going to be racing tonight.

I walked around the garage area, but there wasn’t that much going on. Cars were going through inspection and trying to find a driver is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Although, I did see a small crowd standing in front of Matt Kenseth’s hauler. He was sitting there eating and people were just staring at him. I find that a bit odd. He’s not a monkey in zoo for you to stare at, he’s just a guy.

I completely missed the Kelly Clarkson press conference but I caught a glimpse of her in the garage area. Kelly is the Grand Marshal of tonight

September 2, 2006 · NASCAR California Weekend (09/06)

Junior’s on the pole! oh… wait…

Yes, for a brief moment in time Dale Earnhardt Jr. was atop the pole for the Sony HD 500 tomorrow. He was knocked off of it by Kurt Busch. If you’ve read my previous blog posts you know how much that pained me to see. At any rate, I’m still excited that Junior will start the race in the 6th position. That lends great hope to him securing a place in the Chase this year.

In other news…

Bill Lester, who’s originally from Oakland, Calif., ended up not making it into the field for the race tomorrow. He flat spotted his tires and spun out, but still tried to make it around the track for his second qualifying lap. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get into the top 43. It’s a tough break, I was really rooting for him, but I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see of him in Nextel Cup racing.

I now have a photo gallery of my weekend at California, I’ll be updating it periodically tomorrow as well.

September 1, 2006 · NASCAR California Weekend (09/06)

hot, tired, and irked

mmm….yea.

So I had this sneaky feeling that once I got to the media center here at the California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. that there would be no spot designated for me. I was completely right.

I am now sitting in a spot meant for someone else. I pray to God that they don’t show up and need their place. Keep your fingers crossed. And to make matters worse I didn’t get an exactly warm reception when I asked about my non-existent space in the seating chart. No one was rude, but they seemed kinda annoyed that there were more people here than they had space for. To which I can only say that they should have limited the credentials. Ugh! Or make people RSVP and tell you a couple days before the race exactly who is coming.

This makes me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. Don’t get me wrong, I’m staying here and I’m going to be here tomorrow and the next day. :) I now love and deeply appreciate Infineon Raceway sooo much more than I already did! Their media center faces the track so that ALL of the media on hand can see it, that’s not the case here. The building itself looks like a prison block and the media rooms only have like one window each that face the track. So if I’m going to see the race in here, it’s going to be on TV. Hmm… Not exactly the race experience I was hoping for.

In other news…

It’s incredibly hot here. 99 degrees! It’s too hot to live. I really want to go outside and check out the garage, take photos and whatnot but that heat is so not inviting.




Outside the entrance to the California Speedway

August 30, 2006 · Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (08/06), IndyCar

this is the ‘fabulous’ part

I love clothes. I love looking at them in magazines, I love rummaging through racks in stores, I love trying them on… I think you get the picture.

When I was at the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway this weekend I stopped by Betty’s Garage. Betty’s Garage is company that designs race apparel for women. Kristi Chatham, a resident of Bethel Island, Calif., started the company and used her love for hot rods and classic cars as inspiration for her fun, retro designs.

Having seen the clothes up-close and in-person, I absolutely adore them. They’re beyond cute and I think wearing them would only serve to enhance your days out at the track. They’ll definitely get you some attention from the male population. Plus, it’s just nice to have some options, instead of having to don some hideously colorful graphic racing t-shirt.

At left, Kristi Chatham, owner of Betty’s Garage, is wearing the Drag Racing Jacket in pink and blue. This is my favorite piece. It also comes in black and white and black and pink. Below are more photos of designs from Betty’s Garage. To find out where you can get these fabulous threads check out BettysRaceGarage.com








August 29, 2006 · Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (08/06), IndyCar

this is the good stuff

I’ve been wanting to write this entry since Sunday but my grand plans about doing it once I left the track slowly eroded as I was stuck in traffic for 2 hours. That’s the only incredibly irritating thing about going to a race at Infineon, the drive home! It never fails. There’s literally only one lane out in each direction. I forgot to grab a cold drink and a snack before I got in my car so I was parched and starving; trying to sing along with my CDs in the hopes that it would help me to forget my hunger. It didn’t.

Anyway, I’m back at work and there’s so much that I haven’t talked about yet. So let’s get to it.

First off, this past weekend there were about a million times it seemed that I had to stop, look around and say to myself, “Look at where you are, remember this.” The first such moment was with Gene Simmons. Yes, he’s kinda weird but it was pretty surreal to have him just sitting in front of me, blabbering on about how great IndyCar racing is.

The second moment was when Tony Kanaan walked past me after the race. He went into the winners circle to congratulate Marco Andretti and then pushed past me and others to get to the garage area. He came up my chest. He’s short. :)

The third and final memorable moment of the day was after the race when Marco and Michael Andretti (Marco’s dad) were in the media center answering questions. This was Marco’s first IndyCar win, ever and he’s only 19 (although to me he looks like he’s twelve). He’s the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event to date. So this race, this win, was a huge deal and I was there to witness it. I’ll never forget it.

I’m a NASCAR fan and I’ll watch IRL stuff for a little bit if it’s on, or if it’s the Indy 500. Going to this race really didn’t change that for me. During the national anthem there wasn’t a fly-over! What kind of race is it without a fly-over? The crew members were hot I must admit, especially one particular guy on Dan Wheldon’s team. Hello!

But I digress. :)

I did get to see Ashley Judd, Dario Franchitti’s wife, and she looked great. I have a great photo of the back of her head, in case you’re interested. I also saw Danica Patrick a lot. There really isn’t anything that great to tell about her.

Infineon wasn’t as packed as it was for the NASCAR race in June, but there were still a ton of race fans on hand for the event. Overall I though, I thought the race was fun, cool and very memorable.

August 27, 2006 · Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (08/06), IndyCar

i think he sprays it on

So Gene Simmons and his hair are here today. He stopped by the media center to answer questions and look cool. He wore sunglasses the whole time even though he was indoors and the room was somewhat dimly lit. I know he’s a rock star and all but c’mon. Apparently he’s a huge IndyCar fan and even has some marketing company that came up with the IRL tagline “I am Indy.” Oh and there’s a song too.

Some of the other members of the media commented that he seems pretty full of himself. At least I’m not the only one. He seems scripted, but the fact that he does it so effortlessly is kinda impressive.

He had the nerve to say “NASCAR, shmascar.” After that I had to write him off. He’s here with his entire family. It’s incredibly odd to see them all in person after watching them on their reality tv show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which airs on A&E.




The character himself Mr. Gene Simmons

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma 2006 Photo Gallery

August 27, 2006 · Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (08/06), IndyCar

the nuge

The Nuge is here! Yes folks Ted Nugent is at the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma today. It looks like he got to take a hot lap around the track with IndyCar driver Sam Hornish Jr. I snapped a quick picture through the window of the media center. It’s not the greatest photo but still. :) Danica Patrick was also driving a Honda Safety Car around the track. I have no idea why the Nugent is here, although he did play a show at the Fillmore earlier this week, but he’s not the Grand Marshall. Whatever the circumstances it’s very cool to see a rock legend enjoying the races.




Ted Nugent (left), Sam Hornish Jr. (center) and some dude (right)



Danica Patrick behind the wheel of a Honda Safety Car (the official pace car)

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma 2006 Photo Gallery

August 26, 2006 · Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (08/06), IndyCar

an international affair

When I arrived at Infineon this morning for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend things didn’t seem that different from when I was there in June for the NASCAR race. The same messy traffic issues with go-karts and pedestrians making it incredibly nerve racking to navigate the parking lots. There were the same big tents promoting everything from cars to clothes to video games and a super special cleanser for your sunglasses. But it wasn’t until I took a seat in the media center that I realized this was definitely not the same as a NASCAR race. The guy two seats down from me was speaking a language I couldn’t quite figure out, I’m thinking it’s Italian? Or maybe Portuguese? Anyway, he was speaking fast and broadcasting live, reporting on the IndyCar warm-ups going on before us. The other thing that tipped me off was that the whole front row was full of Japanese media.

Since the day was about practicing and qualifying I went off to check out the vendor tents. Qualifying is obviously important but I will admit that it’s the only boring thing about racing. I saw Tony Kanaan as I left the media center, he was walking with two other guys that I’m assuming were drivers but I couldn’t tell who from where I was standing. Tony kinda stands out in that bright green suit.

Behind the grandstands Honda had what looked to me like a regular showroom, complete with carpeting throughout, and every single car in their production out for display. I bumped into the Playboy tent, which was full of men, and young boys on the outside looking in. Sierra Nevada had a great outdoor lounge area featuring a stage where a band called the Spazmatics were to play today and tomorrow.

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma 2006 Photo Gallery

June 28, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

prima donna: a temperamental, conceited person

A couple more things to talk about regarding the race weekend at Infineon. After the race was over I stuck around to watch Jeff Gordon receive his trophy and to see if I could catch another glimpse of Dale Jr.

I saw Jr. climb out of his car but I lost track of him after that. The garage area was insanely busy with teams packing up their haulers as fast as they could. You’d think that was a race too.

After the race I went to my car which happened to parked near the larger helipad area. A somewhat small group of fans were stationed there hoping to catch drivers before they jumped on a helicopter. When I arrived Boris Said, who finished 9th overall, was hanging around signing autographs and talking to fans. He was relaxed and in an obviously good mood.

A little girl with long blonde hair, who wore a red and white Dale Jr. outfit, and seemed to be about 11, wandered over to me. She was eyeing my credentials/garage pass. Since she was obviously a Jr. fan I asked her if she’d seen him, but she didn’t hear what I said, she told me that she and her mom had been at the helipad since there was about 25 laps left in the race. She was thrilled that she managed to get a ton of drivers to sign her visor, which she explained to me had been completely empty before now it was covered in black Sharpie signatures. I asked if Jr. had been by yet (I’ve got a one-track mind) but she said that she heard that he was driving out, not flying. Phooey! Foiled again! How’d she know that anyway?? At any rate, the little girl and her mom were going to wait for Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart to show up.

The prima donna arrived shortly thereafter and proceeded to ignore all of the fans that were calling out to him for autographs. Yes folks, I’m talking about Tony Stewart. Could there be a bigger tool?? It wasn’t like there were hundreds of fans out there wanting something from him. There were only a handful of kids really wanting to get his attention. But no, Tony ignored everyone except Boris Said.

I don’t dislike Tony. I’m indifferent I guess. I never really want him to win though. He seems a bit fake, or maybe just completely full of himself. Ya know I have yet to see a woman sitting on top of his pit box or standing next to him during the national anthem. Hmm. I wonder why that is. :)


Boris Said signs autographs for fans before leaving the track


Tony Stewart doesn’t. (Tony is on the right, Boris on the left with Boris’ son in the middle)



I’ve updated the [photo gallery] from the weekend at Infineon. Enjoy!

June 25, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

fine, Gordon wins

So the winner of the Dodge Save Mart 350 is Jeff Gordon. ugh. I so did not want him to win. But what can you do? Apparently he has another reason to celebrate today. He recently became engaged to his longtime girlfriend. I have no idea what her name is and honest I don’t really care. I’m not trying to be mean but ya know whatever. :) For those of you who care, and you all should, Junior finished (unofficially) 26th. This is exactly where he started at the beginning of the race. Looks like he’s lost a spot in the top, this bumps him down to 5th in the race for the chase.

Now for some stats…

At the end of the race there were 31 cars on the lead lap. There were 9 lead changes amongst 8 drivers. There were 7 cautions for 12 laps. Pit crew members are super buff. Seriously ladies, some of these guys are even ex-football players. Hello! That wasn’t really a stat so much as it was a very keen observation on my part. :)

All in all this was a great race weekend. Infineon is a great place to see a race. You can bring the entire family, there’s something for literally everyone to see and/or do. Plus no matter where you’re sitting around the track you’ve got a great view of any number of the turns. I wish that I could have covered more of it, but it’ll just have to wait until next year.

June 25, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

coming to an end… soon

So I’m thinking my little miracle isn’t going to happen. There are ten laps left and Dale Jr is in 32nd spot. That’s not so good. :)

Yet another caution flag is out, the sixth one of the day, and I’m hoping that Jeff Gordon doesn’t win. I don’t dislike him so much as I just want someone else to win. It’s much more interesting when someone who everybody isn’t talking about wins. I hope they can make these final laps interesting and give Gordon a run for his money. At least make him work for it.

June 25, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

pit stop

From my seat in the media center I overlook Jamie McMurray’s pit stall. Here are a few photos from my point-of-view. This is so cool.






At about the 38th lap the caution flag has come out and Ryan Newman is leading the race.

June 25, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

first lap: big crash!

The race has begun and stopped, only for a little bit. On the first lap there was a big pile-up involving Sterling Marlin, Tom Hubert and Ken Schrader. All three guys are ok and their cars are in the garage.

This race can be done with only two pit stops. I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that, let the caution flags fly! :)

[photo gallery]

June 25, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Kasey Kahne??

NASCAR is an advertiser

June 24, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

the adrenaline is free

Yesterday a group of us from ANG Newspapers had the opportunity to take two Hot Laps around Infineon Raceway. The cars were Dodge Neon SRT-4s and were driven by professional drivers from the Jim Russell Racing School.

I knew that I was going to be taking this “lap” a couple days ago but I never stopped to think about what it would actually be like. For some reason I had this ridiculous thought that it would just be a little tour around the track, with our driver pointing out fun little factoids about each turn. Oh how wrong I was.

Earlier in the day I picked a random racing fan to join us for the Hot Lap. Steve Martini from Napa was very happy to be selected and made a great addition to our group.


So finally the time came to get into a car. After I signed a waiver and put on the helmet it dawned on me that this wasn’t going to be a leisurely drive around the track. They really meant this whole Hot Lap thing.

Check out the photo below. This is me before getting into the car, that’s Steve on the right; he sat up front with our driver Tony. Steve asked if I wanted the front seat or the back, to which I asked which was less scary. He just chuckled, and I picked the back. I figured that if I couldn’t see what was coming up next I wouldn’t freak out as much. See how my eyes are closed? That’s how I spent a big part of the laps around the track! We went 100 mph, with the other car racing us through corners.




I remembered laughing and saying “oh my god!, oh my god!” every time we’d enter a turn, go through a turn or come out of a turn. Tony purposely took us over the rumble strips (to demonstrate how the NASCAR drivers can use them to their advantage during the race to help turn the car) and I thought “Should he really be doing that???! Ahhhh!!!” as I gripped a cup holder for dear life.

While the experience was a little scary, okay, very scary, it was a lot of fun. It was great to see exactly what the NASCAR drivers see when they’re blazing around the track come race day.

June 24, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

kurt won the pole!

Kurt Busch is one of my least favorite drivers, second only to his brother Kyle. So I was just a little miffed that he won the pole yesterday at Infineon. I don’t like the brothers Busch because while they say all the right things in front of the media before the races they act like big babies on the track. If someone accidentally hits them they whine and sometimes, in Kyle’s case, they overreact and get fined by NASCAR.

I was standing near the winners circle watching as Kyle Busch was officially given the Bud Pole Award and there was a young woman next to me. She was on her cell phone telling someone that Kurt had won the pole. She was very, very excited about this fact. So much so that she called another person to let them know that Kurt won the pole, saying things like “I’m so happy!, Kurt won the pole!” I can’t fathom that kind of devotion, especially for Kurt Busch, but to each his own right?

After that it seemed that everyone loved Kurt too, but I was starting to see a pattern. A lot of guys were saying that Kurt was their driver, but it was because he’s taken over Rusty Wallace’s old ride, the #2 Miller Lite car, not necessarily because of Kurt himself. I’m not sure that I agree with this logic, I’m not sure that I could easily transfer my love for one driver to another just because they’re driving the same car. Take Dale Earnhardt Jr., one day he’s going to stop racing, but will I be able to root for some new guy taking over his car? For me it really depends on who that person is, if I don’t like your attitude on or off the track you’re not getting my admiration.

June 23, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

all a blur

I missed out on the rookies so I ventured out to the garage area instead.

Oh wait, before I get to the garage area I have to talk about digital cameras. After I missed out on the rookies and took a quick look at the garage area, I wandered up to the Save Mart Family Area near turn 1. I waited until the Nextel Cup practice session started and then attempted to take photos of cars as they whizzed by. What I ended up with was a lot of blurry, whizzy (yes, that’s not a word) photos. Once I couldn’t stand the heat (and the bugs) any longer, I came back to the Media Center. On my way back I couldn’t help but notice all of the fans with digital cameras, literally everybody and their mothers have one. Who cares about professional photographs when you can take your own?

So back to the garage, it’s a total mob scene. If I were apart of a race team I would be kind of irked about all these random people milling about. It is one of the things that makes NASCAR unique, the ability for fans to get up close and personal with their favorite drivers pretty much whenever, but then that means that people are always around. I seriously could of picked up a tire, ok, ok, I could of tried to pick up a tire if I wanted to.

Earlier this morning Larry McReynolds was in the Media Center talking to someone about a press conference scheduled for later in the day. I was so stoked to see him in person. I think he’s great. For those of you who don’t know who Larry Mac is he’s one of the commentators on FOX’s NASCAR broadcasts. He’s a former crew chief. The opportunity didn’t present itself for me to say hello, he was on his cell phone when I passed by, but I’m sure I’ll run into him again this weekend.


Crews work on their cars before Nextel Cup practice begins at Infineon Raceway.




June 23, 2006 · NASCAR Infineon Weekend (06/06)

in the thick of it

The days leading up to today have been the most insane for me. I have never been this nervous about anything before. I’ve gone on hot dates, had major surgery, spoken in front of hundreds of people but I have never, ever been this nervous. The anxiety I feel all stems from the fact that this is my first time at a race as a member of the press. I have no idea what the protocol is and I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. I take solace in the fact that there are so many friggin people here, hopefully I’ll go unnoticed and I won’t get run over by a race car.

So here I sit in the media center, staring out at turn 11 watching as cars racing in the SPEED World Challenge GT practice. FYI: I have no idea what the heck the SPEED World Challenge GT is, although after googling it I’ve pieced together that it’s people racing sports cars like Corvettes, Porsches, etc.

That’s really not what I’m interested in, I’m here for NASCAR and to see as many of the drivers as I can in person. Like right now, there’s a press conference going on for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Candidates, I think I’m going to go try to catch them.

In the meantime here is the schedule for the Infineon Raceway/NASCAR race weekend:

Friday, June 23
8:10 a.m.-9:20 a.m. Practice

Newer Entries »

Recent Comments

  • Ella: Great pictures. Thanks

  • Diane Kramer: Hey, I just received the movie poster! It is so cool. Thanks so much! Diane

  • lauren: chin up, lady! i echo the sentiments put forth by kim above. stop looking. as soon as you do….BAM. just...

open