My Trip to the Coke Zero 400

Getting There

This past 4th of July weekend my dad took me down to Daytona to see the Coke Zero 400, formerly known as the Pepsi 400. We had a great time. We woke up early Saturday and left about 5 AM. that whole week i was busy getting information and maps and the schedule of events that would be taking place so we would know when and where to be.

Sprint Fanzone

In addition to tickets for the race, my dad bought us Sprint Fanzone Tickets, which were amazing. Gates for grandstands opened at 2, while the Sprint Fanzone opened at 1. We were pushed for time. For some odd reason, they had us park on the Backstretch, so once we got to the stands we had to take a tram to the Frontstretch, then go through the line for the Sprint Fanzone, and go into the "Turn 4 Tunnel." It's cool going down in there, knowing the race track is above you.

The Interviews

We walked all through the infield and finally got to the Sprint Fanzone just as they they did the interview was, only a few fans got to ask questions. There was a guy up on the stage with Kasey that was mainly asking the questions. And of course it was mostly questions the media asks him 24/7. One of the questions that was asked by a fan was did Kasey have a Dodge Challenger (Those are my favorite cars. I want one when I turn 16!!) Kasey said there was one at the shop that they gave him to drive and he liked them. Another fan asked him what some of his hobbies were. He said that during the season he likes to stay at home and go to the lake that he lives very close t were announcing, "Welcome Budweiser Racing driver Kasey Kahne!!!" If we had stopped to buy a t- shirt or something like that, we would have missed my favorite driver! It was amazing though. And yes, he is just as cute in person as he is on tv! There were alot more people in the Fanzone than I thought there would be. The wayo, and in the off season, he likes to be in the cold and go skiing and ride the snow mobile. Another fan asked Kasey if he had any heroes or favorite drivers. Everybody started yelling out names for him to pick ( Bill Elliott and others) and one guy up front yells, "YOURSELF!" Everybody started laughing and Kasey said, "No, I'm long from my favorite driver, but I would say... I grew up you know, Sprint cars and Indy Cars and Nascar, I watched every one of em and you know I kinda had my favorite driver in each one and it's tough to say, I mean the guy...ugh I don't know I don't wanna say him but...let me think...maybe Mario Andretti. Mario Andretti is probably my favorite all-time driver. What he's done and what he did and how he raced everything in dirt, pavement, Indy cars, Nascars, Sprint cars. He raced everything he could and he won in every single car he could. To me that was a great driver and probably my favorite." I'm pretty sure the driver he was referring to first, that he didn't want to say, was Jeff Gordon. I've heard him say many times that that is his favorite driver. He probably just didn't want to lose any fans. The interview didn't last very long, only about 10 minutes. He was quickly whisked away to an engineers meeting. He rode off in a golf cart and was on the opposite side, so I didn't get to touch his hand. We also saw interviews with Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, and David Ragan.

Garage and Inspection

After Kasey's interview, we toured the garage. Of course, since it was an impound race, nothing was going on. When we got to Kasey's, there were girls everywhere. I had to squeeze in to get a picture. Fortunately, Kasey's garage window slot was open, so I got to take a good picture without the glare from the window, even though the car cover was on the car. There was Sharpie writing all over the window. "Kasey, will you marry me?, We love you, Kasey!", was cleverly written backwards, so when he was in the garage and viewing the window from the opposite side, he could read it. Those were just two of the hundreds of messages. I didn't sign it, though now I'm wishing I did. We rested a while. (It was incredibly hot!)and then went to inspection. That was one of my favorite things. one of the Nascar Officials came over and was talking to the guy next to me. He talked about his schedule, how often he was gone, what it was like to be an official, and the rules about the height and weight of the car. It was cool to get an "insider's" view on their job. Before, I had viewed officials as just handing down penalties and not really caring about the teams, but after hearing what he said, my opinion changed 100%. He was really nice. He was easy to talk to and seemed easy to get along with.

The Track

After inspection, we went to Gatorade Victory lane. I got my picture taken at the entrance to that. Then, we went to the track. We got to walk in the grass and actually go out on the track. It was indescribable. Words can't explain it. All the history that track has...to think about all the drivers who have raced there...it's just incredible. the track is so steep. VERY STEEP! The tv shows nothing. It looks flat, but it was a climb. We went to the Start/Finish line. I brought my Sharpie, so I could sign it. There were alot of people signing. It was hard to find room, but finally we did. We signed two blocks from the wall. It was cool. Knowing your signature is on the Start/Finish line at Daytona?! That's awesome! I got to see the SAFER Barrier walls. That's pretty cool seeing today's technology up close.

After that we just sat and watched the pre-race activities. Lady Antebellum performed a concert. They sounded great. I love them. Speaking of concerts, Kevin Costner performed a concert. He was pretty good. It was cool seeing an actor there. With Nascar, you get a little bit of everything, and that's what I love!

The Race

It was finally time for the race to start, and we found our seats. The racing was great. Kasey started 41st, but came back to finish 7th. Dale Jr. led for a while, and of course, most people were cheering when he took the lead. There at the end though, Kasey had some choice words for Jr. as did Kenny, Kasey's crew chief. Overall, it was a great race. Even though I would have preferred Carl Edwards to win over Kyle Busch, it was still cool to see Kyle win his 6th race of the season. This was Kyle's first Daytona win, so it was good to be a part of that history.

Even though I didn't get to meet Kasey, I did get very close to him, and I got to see him live and in person. Visiting Victory Lane, walking the track, and seeing a great race were only a few of the fun things I got to experience. It was incredible! It was definitely the best highlight of my summer!!


tag: Kasey Kahne, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch, Daytona, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Coke Zero 400, Lady Antebellum, Kevin Costner, Carl Edwards, Victory Lane, Inspection, Nascar, Juan Pablo Montoya, David Ragan, Jeff Burton, Sprint Fanzone,

1st Victory in Two Years for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Bud Shootout

Well last Saturday was the 2008 Bud Shootout. It was filled with lots of good racing. Before I start talking about the race, I would like to talk about one of the practices that happened before the race got started. The final practice for the Bud Shootout was Friday night. It was jam packed with action. First it started off with Clint Bowyer spinning out Ryan Newman. That took out Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Ryan. So with the last practice, they had to pull out a new car which they had no driving time with. Then Tony Stewart tried to squeeze in next to the wall and Kurt Busch making it three-wide. There wasn't enough room, so they wrecked. It wasn't that bad though. Well when they were headed to pit road, Kurt started ramming into the side of Tony Stewart. They were immediately called to the "Oval Office", that's the NASCAR hauler. They were still bickering about it, and Tony allegedly threw a punch at Kurt. Anyway, they let them go and told them they would meet in the morning after everything had cooled down. The final punishment was both of them were put on a 6 week probation. And let's not forget this isn't the first ontrack confrontation they have had. Remember Bristol? lets just say that these two aren't the best of friends

Now for the actual race. It was great racing. I wasn't too pleased with Kasey Kahne. Absolutely no one would draft with him. They would shuffle him around until he was in the middle, and then no one would draft with him so he dropped to the back. It was very frustrating. I was rooting for Dale Jr. to win or Tony Stewart. Both of those would have been memorable. For Tony it would have meant that he won the Bud Shootout on his first try with Toyota. That ould have been huge for Toyota. On the other hand, for Dale Earnhardt Jr., it would have been even bigger. Dale Jr. did win. I was so excited for him. That was big. It was his first race with Hendrick Motorsports. Wow that right there says how great that team is. To be able to hire a new driver and then that driver to win "right outta the box"...that was great. He had been with the company his father founded, but left at the end of last season because of he and his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt. I know that was tough for him, but man did it pay off. It was emotional to see him whenever he came to victory lane. Rick Hendrick was there. Everyone was there. It was cool. He was grinnin' from ear to ear. That is the first time we have seen a true smile on his face in a LONG time. They all talk about "Oh, I'm excited to be driving with this team...we're gonna have a great season.", but they say it with the dullest faces. This was amazing. I know he was happy. This was his first win since the middle of 2006. Let's not forget how he got the win Saturday night though. His teammate Jimmie Johnson bumped him twice, which was just enough to slide past Tony Stewart for the win. Hendrick Motorsports will be even better than last year.

tag: Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Nascar, Rick Hendricks, Daytona, Nascar Sprint Cup Series, 2008 Bud Shootout

NASCAR Changes in 2008

Changes for 2008

There are a lot of changes coming up for the 2008 season. I thought I'd make a list of some of the changes, since Daytona is only a couple of weeks away.

1) Both of the top 2 Nascar series got name changes. The Nascar Nextel Cup Series is now the Nascar Sprint Cup series. The Busch series is now the Nationwide series.

2) There are A LOT of team changes! Definitely the biggest change is Dale Jr. leaving DEI, the company his father started, going to Hendrick Motorsports. With him going to HMS, that meant somebody had to go. Unfortunately that person was Kyle Busch, which I think was a major mistake on Rick Hendricks part.

3) Of course there are just as many or more sponsor changes. The biggest one would be Budweiser leaving Dale Earnhardt Jr. They chose to sponsor my boy, Kasey Kahne! Elliot Sadler, Kasey's teammate also has a new sponsor deal going on. Instead of just one primary sponsor, he will have what is called a tri-mary sponsor, with Best Buy, Stanley Tools, and McDonald's on the hood at different races. Amp Energy Drink will sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the most part. Now of course there are others, but I won't go into detail about that.

4) Joe Gibbs Racing is changing to Toyota! This was a big shocker when it was first announced. Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and now Kyle Busch are all apart of this team. At first the question was, how will they do? Toyotas didn't do too hot last year, but after the first couple of test sessions, it was clear that changing to Toyota wouldn't be a problem for their team. Kyle Busch is at the top of the speed charts. This guy is so talented. He is driving a Toyota for the first time, and this is his first year with JGR. I think he is out to tell the world that Rick Hendrick made a mistake by firing him!

5) One rule that Nascar announced this year is that all the cars outside the top 35 (aka Go or Go Home Cars) will qualify together at the end of qualifying. It used to be where you drew a number, and if you were lucky you got to go last, meaning that if you were outside the top 35, and you drew to go 1st, you were basically guaranteed a ticket headed home. I personally don't like this rule. The folks outside the top 35 now have a better chance at getting the pole, and I don't think that's right. But I did agree that something needed to be done for them. For the drivers inside the top 35, they will continue to do the draw thing. Now some of you may be asking why you would want to go last. Well when you go last (later in the day), the track has cooled down. Sometimes not very much, sometimes significantly, depending on the weather and when qualifying is. So to put it simply: the cooler the track is, the more grip you have, the faster you go.

Now those are basically the only changes in Nascar. If I think of any more I will put them on here.


tag: Kasey Kahne, Nascar, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendricks, Toyota, Elliott Sadler, Sponsor, Daytona, Nascar Sprint Cup Series, Nascar Nationwide Series