The West Coast....

So I know I haven't been around too much lately but the summer months mean we're pretty busy on the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. From Knoxville to the West Coast, we've had quite a journey and instead of writing everything out, I figured I'd take a minute from our stop today to fill everyone in on our travels thus far. Check it out!

As the Odometer Rolls

“Welcome to Charlotte. The current time is 11:32 am and it’s a beautiful 83 degrees outside. On behalf of your New York based flight crew, we want to thank you for flying American Airlines.” These were the words that woke me from an uncomfortable (yet highly needed) slumber as a regional jet landed at Charlotte Douglas International airport on Sunday, July 31. For many, it was a routine flight but for me, it was the final port of call an exciting and epic twenty four day road trip that started in Minnesota and ended in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The busiest time of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series schedule meant that I would be living the “road life” so to speak, operating out of a suitcase and always counting the mile markers until the next race. Many more with the tour will be out on the highways longer than I was but it was still a pretty long and exciting stretch.

Picking up from my last blog, Johnny Gibson, Cinnamon Stubb and myself made our way over to Carlisle, Pa. for a few days. After watching Jason Meyers, Greg Hodnett and Jason Sides all claim victories at the track, it was off to Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York the following night. The five and half hour drive overnight is among the most brutal of the season but we made good time. As we cruised down the Interstate, I kept having flashbacks to victory lane and the #14 Elite Racing Team. You could tell the instant that Meyers crossed the finish line that it was big. For the Outlaws, it marked the first time that a touring driver had taken a win there since July of 2008. For the team, it was a way to give thanks to a man who was extremely responsible for their title run last year, Charlie Garrett. Meyers expressed his gratitude in victory lane to track announcer Bruce Ellis.

“This one is for Charlie Garrett,” said Meyers. “He was a big reason that we won the title last year because we never had an engine failure.’

Lebanon Valley Speedway presented a great opportunity to host the folks from STP. As one of the biggest sponsors of our series, STP is a valued partner and I hope they enjoyed their time at the track. They certainly saw an exciting race as Craig Dollansky took the checkers over Meyers and Kinser.

From there, it was across the Empire State and over to Buffalo for a relaxing night. A series of text messages led me to the cargo area of a Ford Escape and trip across the border with a group of friends. An elevator ride to the top of the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls gave us a breathtaking view as we settled down to dinner. Coming from Kansas, water is something of a scarce commodity when it comes to seeing it in large pools above ground. Seeing Niagara Falls was amazing as we sat down just as the laser lights were hitting the cascades of falling water. A quick bit of walking around downtown after the meal allowed us to burn off a few calories before heading back stateside.

The next day, Johnny, Cinnamon and I made our official crossing around 3 p.m. and enjoyed lunch at the Hard Rock Café. One thing I do enjoy about being on the road is the meals. At home, I’m normally going so fast that I tend to snack here and there as opposed to sitting down for a meal. Out on the road, there is time enough to set down and enjoy great cuisine. After lunch and a quick trip to see the falls during the day, we settled in for a ride to Ohsweken.

The annual race at Ohsweken is a big deal. Bands, sponsor giveaways and more populate the track on the Six Nation’s Indian tribe reservation. Throw in the orange and white fence around the track and you would be hard pressed not to think that you were at a University of Tennessee football game. Ohsweken marked NASCAR star Tony Stewart’s very first Outlaws win. Some have made comments that the track conditions helped Stewart to the win. I will agree with that but Stewart earned that one as he had to hold off an ever strong Sammy Swindell. Interviewing Stewart was like a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to be a broadcaster in racing and interviewing a two-time NASCAR champion is about as big as it gets. The win was insanely popular with the fans and drivers alike. As I waited to do the website interview, several drivers and crew members came to congratulate the driver who said that his first Outlaws victory might eclipse another triumph in the Brickyard 400.

From Ohsweken it was over to Brockville for their inaugural race at Brockville-Ontario Speedway. Rain threatened to derail our trek through the Great North but eventually it stepped aside and allowed for an exciting nice of racing. Sammy Swindell led early on until his left rear tire came apart which handed the lead to his teammate, Craig Dollansky. Dollansky led until a damaged nose wing began flopping around and took the air off the nose of his Maxim which paved the way for Paul McMahan to take the lead. Meyers tried to a jaw dropping dive in turn three on the last lap to wrestle the lead away from McMahan as the two split a lap car coming to the checkers. Certainly was a thriller that kept the fans abuzz all night long and on Twitter.

The final stop on the road trip tour was to Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que. Quebec is a quirky area. They only speak French, have stick figures doing things on their road sign’s and love thrills. With three support classes, a fireworks spectacular and a motor cycle stunt, the Drummondville race didn’t disappoint. Another thing that was different was that I had a translator any time I was on the PA system. Alex, the tracks regular announcer, followed me around as I interviewed the drivers and then provided the translation for the crowd. It threw me off during the dash interviews but I finally got the hang of it come feature time. Speaking of the feature, Lucas Wolfe is getting dangerously close to his first WoO win. After dueling with Meyers again in a battle that brings up memories of last year’s Ironman 55, Wolfe faded to third but still received a thunderous ovation from the Canadians as he stood on the stage with race winner Meyers and runner up Steve Kinser.

So that was my great summer road trip. I went through eight states, two Canadian provinces, stayed in more motel rooms than I can remember, ended up going for a shopping cart ride to a bar, had late night swims, won a deal time trivia round or two and made memories that will last a life time. Now the only thing that is missing is that often used back to school assignment, “What did you do on your summer vacation.” I think I could have finally gotten an “A” for this one.