1,000 feet below the surface.....

When my co-worker, Kellen, and I took off from North Carolina last Thursday, I knew we would see a great deal of the Midwest. The mountains of Tennessee, the bluegrass of Kentucky and the wide and mighty Mississippi River were all things I had on my scenery check list. However, I never expected that we would end up 1,000 feet below the surface of the earth.

Now before you think this is a “Hangover,” type story, let me explain. We’ve spent the week out here in Missouri with Kellen’s parents. The stay at Casa Burns has been great between watching (and playing) basketball and eating homemade chicken and dumplings but it was taken to a whole new level this morning. Kellen had arranged for us to tour one of the lead mines that are only minutes from the house. We started off the day around 8:00 am with a quick bite to eat on our way out the door.. We met up with Tom, Tech Engineer for The Doe Run Company (the mining company) and Jeff, got our gear on and signed all the paper work. The elevator that descends 1,000 feet to the Buick mine is huge. I was looking around before we started and noticed that you could put 35 miners into the lift. As we began to descend, the peeking sun slowly disappeared and we gained speed the longer we went.

The ride down was shorter than I thought it was going to be. After about two and half minutes, we had arrived at the mine site and made our way over to the shop area. It was amazing to stare up at the vast expanse and realize what was above us. In the shop area, it looked like an adult sandbox, complete with every piece of machinery that fascinated me as a kid. There were dump trucks, front end loaders, massive drills, pickups and four wheelers of every kind. To think that all of those pieces of equipment were brought down there was staggering.

We were led over to a four person MULE and took off from there. I was initially shocked by how much water was down in the tunnels and the size of the tunnels themselves. In some places, the tunnels were several feet higher than the large equipment that were carving them. You got an eerie feeling as you passed by pockets in the mine where equipment sat in a ghostly state until the light from your helmet shined upon them. If you want a mental image, think the subway scene from the movie “Cloverfield.”

Another interesting was the fact that it seemed to rain in the mines. Of course it wasn't rain from the sky but still weird. The reason is that the mine has several levels and has small holes throughout the floor of one so when you are on the next level down, that water seeps through the holes, creating the artificial rain effect.

We went to many of the sites and inspected some back fill areas. A back fill is a rock and cement mixture that is piled high (all the way to six inches from the ceiling) between two pillars to support the ceiling with the miners “take out” the pillars in their pursuit of lead, zinc and copper.

We toured around for another 3 hours and didn’t even come close to covering the entire mine. The sprawling size of that place was unreal as we looked at maps at the different areas we toured. With the MULE parked and the gear stowed away, we were given some samples to take home with us and asked a few more questions. With our souvenirs tucked away, we shook Tom and Jeff’s hands and took off.

As we drove away from the mine site, I couldn’t help but think of the vastness of the site we had just left. It was like seeing a sky scraper for the first time. You felt like an ant as the equipment and pillars dwarfed you. One of the amazing things was the fact that some of this massive equipment was operated by remote control. We watched as one miner used two large joysticks to operate a front end loader. The purpose of this was to keep the miners safe in-case something fell from the ceiling while they were scooping up rocks that had been blasted loose. I can honestly say it was the biggest RC car I have ever seen.

The pillars themselves looked like huge, wedge shaped tornados with tiny sparkles scattered across them. The sparkles were the traces of lead which keeps the mine in business. Each day, they export over 900 million tons of lead from the mine.

The men and women that work these tunnels are a different breed altogether. They head down into the mine before the sun rises and come back out after it sets during some parts of the year. I remember doing that when I worked at a Goodyear tire factory but I knew the sunlight was just a door or two away. These folks are a thousand feet away from it. They normally work 10 hour shifts underground but can work up to 16 hours a day if there is work to do.

All in all it was a fantastic experience. We did shoot some video but the camera didn’t make it through the whole trip.

Since we were rained out in Pevely AND Paducah, here’s to hoping we get Salina in this weekend!

Rain is NOT a good thing

Luke Bryan has it all wrong. Last year, one of country music's rising stars debuted a tune about the benefits and great things about "rain." It was ironic (or maybe not so much) that this song came blaring through the stereo as Kellen Burns and I took the the hills of Missouri. The plan was to get to the great country scenery on Sunday but Mother Nature had other plans. With rain being the culprit, tonight's event at Paducah International Raceway will have to be made up at a later date. We got the call around 9:30 this morning as we stumbled out of our room and down the hall to the full service continental breakfast. As I typed out the release explaining what was going with the races, I scarfed down some scrambled eggs and traded jokes with Kellen and our tech guy, known as Steve-o.

With the releases sent out and the bags packed. Kellen and I took off for Missouri. It was a great drive over with the cool breeze of fresh rain at our backs. We stopped at a Hardee's for lunch and I sampled the new Turkey Burger that's been all over the TV ads. It was pretty good. We made it to Kellen's parents house and are catching up on some work and praying that the rain stays away so we can race tomorrow night at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.

I'll update this a little bit more as this Midwest Road Trip continues and hopefully we'll be able to talk about some great racing from I-55.

Home at Last

There is something to be said for seeing the country. However, there is also something to be said for being at home. After spending pretty much the entire month of march in time zones beginning with the letters 'M' and 'P,' I was really happy to land in Charlotte late yesterday afternoon. On my drive home from the airport, I got the opportunity to listen to most of Jason Aldean's newest CD, "My Kinda Party," and have to say, its FANTASTIC. Nothing is as relaxing as a gorgeous day outside, the windows on your pickup rolled down and country music coming through the speakers.

Looking back on the Outlaws Spring Break tour, I can't help but think that those races out west will shape the championship battle. Look at Donny Schatz. The Fargo, ND. native found his groove to speak in the Golden State. A great string of podium finishes has positioned the STP driver to be right in the thick of the title fight. Joey Saldana continues to show why he is a serious championship contender year in and year out after strong runs all over in California. Finally, who can't help but smile when Jason Sides picks up a victory? The ponytail and white sunglasses are trademarks of a fierce competitor who could have a say in who brings home the title in November.

One thing to note is the fan support from this weekend. THANK YOU FANS!!!!! Tremendous turnouts both nights is further proof that racing is still alive and well.
It was great to talk to so many fans and to hear just how much they enjoyed the racing, the showmanship and the atmosphere at the races. Take a look at this crowd shot from Calistoga!



Aside from the track, Johnny and I were lucky enough to have a little more fun in San Francisco. With the postponement of the makeup date at Hanford, we used the day to tour one of the most infamous landmarks on the west coast, Alcatraz. The first thing that struck me was how popular the island itself was. We had tried quite a few times to find tickets but managed to talk our way in for a Thursday tour at 11:30. To tour the island, you have to ride a clipper ship over. It only takes about 15 minutes but provides a stunning view of the bay.





Once on the island, we made our way around took the Main Cell House tour. This was pretty cool because it was self guided through an audio headset. The mp3 file gave the tour through the eyes of the guards and inmates. Think of a History Channel special with all the different voices and you have a glimpse of this tour.



After getting through the cell house, we took in a few more exhibits before departing. A gorgeous day made the trip all the more enjoyable. It's amazing to think about all the history that happened there. The facility was built in the 1860's and was used as prison for thirty years before being shutdown in 1963. We learned all about the famous escapes and how important Alcatraz was in shaping the future of the prison system. I really do enjoy going to these historical places because you feel that connection with history and realize just how small your life and story is in the grand scheme of things.

We ended up spending the day in San Francisco on Sunday and toured Fisherman's Wharf one final time. Great food and fellowship was a fantastic way to end the California Swing. We take this coming weekend off before we begin 'The Gauntlet,' which is racing every weekend until October. I've heard from some folks that it appears that we have a lot of fun out on the road. This is a very true statement. Myself and the rest of the crew consider ourselves very lucky to be doing what we are doing. Some call it 'living the dream' and it really is that, a dream. However, the parts that everyone don't get to see balance out that fun. There's writing a race report at 4 am after a three hour car ride from the track. There's the 15 and 16 hour days at the race track; getting ready, racing and tearing it all down. There's the 6 am flight days that don't end until 6 pm and then a trip to the office for a few hours after that cap off the day. In the digital age, time off is a thing of the past since Blackberry's and more keep us connected 24/7. You don't usually find things like this cropping up in the blog because who wants to hear about the boring and mundane? It's there though, keeping all of us humble and thinking that we are extremely lucky to have the opportunity to pursue our passion in life. Someone asked me how I was liking my new job the other day. I told them that what I do isn't a job but a lifestyle with good and bad aspects to it. Fortunately for me, the good almost always outweighs the bad.



- Gump