Mel's Unflashy June 2008 TR: Funnel cakes have fewer calories in FL. Updated 12/2!!

[Muffinygood]

This might be a boring update for you guys. It’s all Nascar. Be patient. One more NON Disney update after this and then we’re there!!!


The ginger ale and toast is working! I feel super by the time we roll up to the gates of the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Charlotte is so lucky to have this amazing track! Bob has graciously gone ahead to buy tickets for the tour so we only have to wait for the time to come (10:30 am) and then we get to check her out!

That’s the sign out front. The tour starts and we are instructed to follow a man of about 80 to a large white van. About 10 people pour into the van and we start to drive around the outside of the track. This man, who’s name I cannot recall, is from New Orleans I think. And between his accent and his sort meandering, old guy talking I only get about 1/3 of what he’s saying. I recall him saying that they had the seats in the stands redone so that when they take publicity shots it looks full.

Also, I recall him saying that when you qualify for the race, if you are first you get the first spot on pit road (closest to where you re-enter the track).

He said that the speedway has more than 1,900 toilets on property for it's fans. The banking in the corners is 24 degrees. The speedway seats 165,000 people. That’s amazing!!!

Here is the tower that lights up with who is in what place. That building behind is an apartment building. They are two bedroom, two bathroom. They come with *I think* 12 seats inside to watch the race. BUT, you have to pay for tickets for each race, even if you LIVE in the apartments. If you rent an apartment, you have to MOVE out during the race, if you don’t pay for the seats. Weird huh? They don’t have any available but the last one sold for around $800,000. Mostly they are owned by companies.
The blue covered area on top is a private penthouse suite given as a gift to the Petty family by the people who own Charlotte Speedway.

At the conclusion of our tour, our very elderly driver took us for a lap around the track. In the huge white van. At 95 miles an hour! I would like to say I got photos but I was more concerned with living. SKEERY.

Here is the winning team. Yep. It’s us.

Here is my baby measuring up to Darryl Waltrip (DW). He’s still a bit small...

And Goofy with Mark Martin’s tiny little feet.

The old guy said that Mark Martin was his favorite driver. I asked. I was the only one to ask a question....

That’s the entrance to the front of the Speedway.

Our next activities include visiting the shops of various teams for photos. No actual going inside, or meeting anyone...and the highlight of my Nascar part to my trip. I know you guys don’t care. You’re waiting for the good stuff. Only one more Nascar update and then you’re IN DISNEY! Be patient!
And thanks for reading my TR, even though it’s not about Disney yet.

MEL

 

[Muffinygood]

Great TR Mel. I've been lurking since you started it.
I love details, sorry you got sick though. I, like the earlier Indy poster, need to find this 'Sticky Fingers'. The best rib place we have is 'Texas Roadhouse'. Not too shabby, but your picture of the ribs you had, MMMMMMM.
It's 845AM and now I'm hungry for ribs!! Darn you, Mel.

HI! Don't lurk. Come out!!
What can we call you?

Sorry. I'm hungry for ribs too, and they made me sick....... Weird.

MEL

 

[jcc0621]

AM I first...do I earn my diet coke back

The ginger ale and toast is working! I feel super by the time we roll up to the gates of the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Charlotte is so lucky to have this amazing track! Bob has graciously gone ahead to buy tickets for the tour so we only have to wait for the time to come (10:30 am) and then we get to check her out!

Glad you are feeling better

That actually looks cool!

Also, I recall him saying that when you qualify for the race, if you are first you get the first spot on pit road (closest to where you re-enter the track).

See...this Tr is not only entertaining, but educational!

Here is the tower that lights up with who is in what place. That building behind is an apartment building. They are two bedroom, two bathroom. They come with *I think* 12 seats inside to watch the race. BUT, you have to pay for tickets for each race, even if you LIVE in the apartments. If you rent an apartment, you have to MOVE out during the race, if you don’t pay for the seats. Weird huh? They don’t have any available but the last one sold for around $800,000. Mostly they are owned by companies.

Wait...let me check the bank balance. Maybe I'll go buy one

At the conclusion of our tour, our very elderly driver took us for a lap around the track. In the huge white van. At 95 miles an hour! I would like to say I got photos but I was more concerned with living. SKEERY.

I would have been scared to death that the van would have flipped.

Here is the winning team. Yep. It’s us.

GREAT picture!

 

[kykatt2]

Hi Janet reclamed your title huh

THat is a great Speedway and HUGE

Not a HUGE FAN.. but I do like to watch them run some.
"Little E" just can not find his "niche" anywhere can he

 

[rachel3]

that looks really cool, and i'm not really a nascar fan

and that is an awesome picture of you guys!!! i would blow that up and frame it.

 

[Muffinygood]

See...this Tr is not only entertaining, but educational!

I would have been scared to death that the van would have flipped.

Yes, yes it is! And I was TOTALLY scared that the van would flip. Bob had done the tour once before and he didn't even warn me!!!

Not a HUGE FAN.. but I do like to watch them run some.
"Little E" just can not find his "niche" anywhere can he

He won a race a couple of weeks ago, in MI, on Father's Day. So fitting, I think.

that looks really cool, and i'm not really a nascar fan

and that is an awesome picture of you guys!!! i would blow that up and frame it.

Thanks Rach! I like it too!

------------

Today's Nascar update will be the LAST and it will be as short as I can make it, and then we're going to Disney, people!!!!!

Can I get a "Oh, Yeah?"

Mel

 

[Muffinygood]

We left the Speedway and Bob called his friend over at RCR. His name is Jim and though I didn’t share this with Bob, he was HOT. WOW. But, I digress. He met us at the door to the engine building shop. We got to tour every room of where they build the team's engines. I wouldn’t have dared a photo, so there aren’t any. As you can imagine, this is HIGHLY guarded stuff. The engines are the only thing that can be *slightly* different in these cars, as Nascar regulates that the rest of the car be exactly the same for everyone. It was the stuff I dream of, being that “behind the scenes.”
You guys probably wouldn’t have felt the same.

The next stop was the RCR museum. It’s sort of near the shops, so we went inside. I won’t bore you with the TONS of photos I took. Just a couple of important ones.

RCR’s most famous driver.

Jeff Burton’s car-#31

Clint Bowyer’s car-#07 (what is should look like)

After the Daytona 2007- where he crossed the finish line ON FIRE, ON HIS ROOF.

And the video of it happening: Please ignore me saying, “oh no! Clint.” I’m a dork.

As you can see, he flipped and then slid. On fire. Poor guy.

Lastly, Kevin’s car from Daytona. Still has champagne and confetti on it!!

So, that was the RCR museum. I’m glad we went if for no other reason than I got to see Clint’s car. That was the first race I watched when I “became a fan.”

We left the museum and went to this TINY little, hole in the wall BBQ place called Welcome BBQ. The boys all ordered chopped BBQ pork sandwiches and fries. I got a chicken breast on a bun. I felt fine, just not up to bbq pork again so fast.

After this we drove back to Concord (which is where the Speedway is) and our hotel. We had a quick dip in the pool for the kiddos. And then we packed everyone up for a drive down to the MOST highly recommended thing on my PTR!!!

South 21 Drive-In!!

It poured and thundered and lightning’ed all the way there! I have NEVER seen rain like this in my life! We finally made it to the Drive-In despite the rain. They had even closed some roads for flooding, because the rain came down SO hard. Crazy!

Our plan was ONLY to order drinks and onion rings at the South 21 since that was what was recommended to us. Alton Brown actually went to this place on his special “Feasting on Asphalt 2.” He said the onion rings were awesome too!

Ok, here they are:

So, how were they? They were YUMMY!!!! Cornmeal batter and they were crispy and delish! Even my husband had some and he doesn’t like onions!

So, full of greasy goodness, we drove back to Concord and stopped near the UNCC campus to see where Bob had done his training for the Race Teams last year. It’s a gorgeous campus!!! I would love for Goofy to go there. Our last stop was the Sandwich shop for something healthy for dinner. We got sandwiches to go and returned to the hotel. We ended up eating in the lobby where you have your breakfast buffet. The girls down there were funny!

After we returned to our room, I packed up what little stuff we had and we all got showers and sacked out watching tv till bedtime. Our alarm was set for 8 am. We are going to Disney!!! Yay!!

MEL

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hey Mel, I think it is great that you got to visit all that Nascar stuff since you are so into it. It must have been really exciting for you.

 

[jcc0621]

Wow, I have never seen a drive in, and when you said drive in I thought you meant a movie Yup...I'm a moron.....

Ok you can all step in here say that I'm not

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Your not a moron Janet, drive-in movie is what I thought at first as well.

 

[jcc0621]

Your not a moron Janet, drive-in movie is what I thought at first as well.

Thanks Lessa

 

[puggymom]

Hi Mel, just caught your last 2 updates. Those onion rings look deeeeelicious. I love a good ring. there is a pub near here ath does beer battered ones, YUMMO!

Now onto WDW!!!!

 

[KristinAnne]

I'm joining in. We were there the same time you were! Our trip was from the 20-28. Looking forward to hearing about your fun!

 

[Muffinygood]

Hey Mel, I think it is great that you got to visit all that Nascar stuff since you are so into it. It must have been really exciting for you.

It was so fun, Lessa! Thanks for reading! Tomorrow is Disney!!!

Wow, I have never seen a drive in, and when you said drive in I thought you meant a movie Yup...I'm a moron.....

Ok you can all step in here say that I'm not

You are so NOT a moron. LY Janet!

Your not a moron Janet, drive-in movie is what I thought at first as well.

Yeah, what she said.

Hi Mel, just caught your last 2 updates. Those onion rings look deeeeelicious. I love a good ring. there is a pub near here ath does beer battered ones, YUMMO!
Now onto WDW!!!!

Yum. Beer battered anything, MO!!! Yes, Tomorrow Disney!!! Whoohoo!

I'm joining in. We were there the same time you were! Our trip was from the 20-28. Looking forward to hearing about your fun!

Hi Kristin!! I am from Mass too! Where are you from? I grew up in the Uxbridge/Douglas/Northbridge area. Sorry I didn't meet you before we went. We could've met!

MEL

 

[ncsjodi]

Well, Mel, I rooted for your guy last night as I was watching NASCAR. Unfortunately it didn't help him.

I do have one NASCAR question though... why does everyone hate Kyle Busch?? Seems like there were a lot more boo's than cheers last night. Maybe you can explain that to me??

Did I ever tell you that my DH is an EMT and works at the Indy Motor Speedway for races? Yep, he'll be at the Brickyard 400 in a few weeks. But, instead of watching the race, he'll be dealing with all the stupid spectators who drank way too much and then fell down and went boom!

 

[KristinAnne]

Hi Kristin!! I am from Mass too! Where are you from? I grew up in the Uxbridge/Douglas/Northbridge area. Sorry I didn't meet you before we went. We could've met!

I grew up in the Framingham area and now live near Franklin...only a couple towns over from where I grew up, but just enough cheaper so we could afford a house! Meeting would have been fun!

 

[Donald is #1]

I grew up in the Uxbridge/Douglas/Northbridge area.

Hi former neighbor! I grew up in Webster.

 

[KatGarcia]

Wow, I have never seen a drive in, and when you said drive in I thought you meant a movie Yup...I'm a moron.....

Ok you can all step in here say that I'm not

Your not a moron Janet, drive-in movie is what I thought at first as well.

I so thought drive in movie too!

I remember that episode of Feasting on Asphalt! Very cool you went there.

All the nascar stuff reminds me of my late mother, she and step dad LOVED it- went to races and everything. Not so much my thing but very cool for you to get to see all you saw!

 

[englishrose47]

Hi Mel I'm on board now !! Not much of a Nascar fan but DSIL is . Now Country music is my love, can't stand RAP or heavy Rock etc !!There's a Nascar place on the way to Daytona ! Was it you who posted that ??

 

[Muffinygood]

Well, Mel, I rooted for your guy last night as I was watching NASCAR. Unfortunately it didn't help him.

I do have one NASCAR question though... why does everyone hate Kyle Busch?? Seems like there were a lot more boo's than cheers last night. Maybe you can explain that to me??

Did I ever tell you that my DH is an EMT and works at the Indy Motor Speedway for races? Yep, he'll be at the Brickyard 400 in a few weeks. But, instead of watching the race, he'll be dealing with all the stupid spectators who drank way too much and then fell down and went boom!

Well, Jodi, the short answer is that people love to hate the winner! He's a good driver (a youngster though) and he is pretty aggressive. The other thing that probably didn't help him is that he wrecked Jr. back at the beginning of the season. It was the last 5 or 10 laps and Jr. was leading. The crowd was going NUTS!!! They were so excited. Until Father's Day, Jr. hadn't won a race in like 70 something races. So, here comes Kyle Busch and puts him in the wall. Not cool. Sure, it happens in races alot but I think people were just mad because it was Jr.
You didn't tell me that about your dh! So cool. Well, except for the drunks.
Thanks for rooting for my guy! Kevin did pretty well. We'll take a top ten finish anytime...I think it was top ten....?

I grew up in the Framingham area and now live near Franklin...only a couple towns over from where I grew up, but just enough cheaper so we could afford a house! Meeting would have been fun!

Cool. Used to love to shop at your mall....can't recall the name now. On Route 9??

Hi former neighbor! I grew up in Webster.

Hi former neighbor. I worked at the Webster Friendly's in H.S. I can make a Jim Dandy with my eyes closed.

I so thought drive in movie too!

I remember that episode of Feasting on Asphalt! Very cool you went there.

All the nascar stuff reminds me of my late mother, she and step dad LOVED it- went to races and everything. Not so much my thing but very cool for you to get to see all you saw!

Cool! I'm glad you remember that episode. I'm an Alton fan!!!
Hope that the Nascar stuff isn't bringing back any bad stuff for you. I'm done with those updates though. Tomorrow is Disney!!!!

Hi Mel I'm on board now !! Not much of a Nascar fan but DSIL is . Now Country music is my love, can't stand RAP or heavy Rock etc !!There's a Nascar place on the way to Daytona ! Was it you who posted that ??

Don't like Country Music.... I'm more of a metal head! Judas Priest? Iron Maiden? Come'on Rosie! They're British!!!
HA!
No, I didn't post that. Sorry. Good thing I didn't know or I would've made them take me there too!

Oh, and WELCOME to my new friends!!!

MEL