2003 Winston Cup

Special Report by HelenB

Wow..what a wild racin weekend!

For years, I too placed a stereotype on NASCAR. "That's a redneck thing! It's not even a sport. I wouldn't be caught dead at a race!" But, like I've told so many of my friends (and family), my curiosity got the best of me. It started several years ago when my team's office was located on Harris Boulevard. A couple friends took me and another skeptic to the speedway during our lunch break.

Well, if you've never been, it's quite impressive. The Lowe's Motorspeedway is the home of a mile and half track. It's seats 167,000 fans and the infield can be as exciting as the race itself. There's also a lot of money there. There are condominiums overlooking the track that cost a mint. Then there's the Speedway Club. It costs about $2000 to join, plus you have to spend at least $50 a month in the restaurant. There's also a dress code in the skybox and the outdoors section during the race (no halters, daisy duke shorts or wifebeaters allowed).

This little tour was enough to draw my attention. What won me over was actually attending an event. My best friend invited me to go to the Winston Cup race last year. The Winston is a short all-star race. There are no points given to the winner, it's strictly a money race. Meaning, the winner takes home an obscene amount of money.

The Winston was great! Sidebar...

I volunteered at the Wachovia Championship a couple weeks ago and had an opportunity to meet Michael Waltrip and Rusty Wallace. Waltrip was cool as hell and truly a remarkable man. Rusty was...well, he was Rusty. Not very warm and cheery. But, I'm still sporting the #2 on my car for now. However, I've got my eye on Ricky Rudd. He's sexy man. So, back to the story. The fans didn't disappoint Humpy. Although it wasn't a sell-out, it was a great crowd. The drivers put on a great show and no one was disappointed...except maybe the Jr fans, they left early. Even the show outside of the stadium was equally entertaining. I thought I had seen everything until I saw the drunk riding his cooler down the walkway. I think he would have gotten further a lot faster if the cooler had wheels. I just love racin'.

Keep the Winston in Charlotte!

The ARCA, Busch and 600 are coming up and I'm very excited. The month of May is the only reason to stay in Charlotte. Woooo! Keep the Winston in Charlotte!

Take care and enjoy the upcoming events.