Life Gets in the Way

It’s been ages since I’ve posted an article on here that’s not a press release and I feel awful about that, but life gets in the way.  This article was supposed to be posted the second weekend in October while I was on fall break, but here it is, the second week of December, and I’m just posting it now. My most sincere apologies.

So what’s new in my life?  School.  No, seriously, school takes up 95% of my time, the other 5% consists of hanging out with friends, eating, going shopping, watching Food Network and Disney movies, sleeping, making one am trips to Burger King (Burger King isn’t open that late…), and watching NASCAR.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love High Point University and my out-of-whack schedule, but it’s nice to be able to just sit down (after studying for my finals) and write this little update.  It feels like last month I was writing about how I was getting ready to move to North Carolina, and here it is, almost four months later, and my first semester as a college freshman is almost over.  It’s crazy how time flies here – except for this week:  finals week. 

Even though school takes up a majority of my time, it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been to races – what kind of race fan would I be?   I’ve been down here for four months and have been to three races – all very different from each other. 

All the way back in September, I went to the Global Rally Cross race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway dirt track.  I’ve never been to a dirt track (shocking, I know) and I also had no idea what Global Rally Cross was, so it was sure to make for an interesting day.  And an interesting day it was.  After what was going on was explained to me, I really enjoyed it.  Going back to school with dirt all over my face was new to me – I’m used to smelling like Sunoco and burnt rubber when leaving a track, but it was a welcomed change.  If the Global Rally Cross goes back to Charlotte again next year, I’m definitely willing to go.

The next race I went to was Joey Coulter’s Karting Challenge.  This was a charity event at GoPro Motorplex where twenty-two teams went head-to-head in an endurance race, where all profits ($15,000) went to the Darrell Gwynn Foundation.  I think the best part of the night was that the teams were allowed to pay $20 to put a team a lap down, but the teams were allowed to buy their laps back.  In the end, “Team Green” won.  While I was there, I was helping out with the silent auction, when someone came up to me and after talking to me, kindly told me that he knew who I was and that he followed me on Twitter and liked my blog.  Can I just say how weird it is when that happens – not in a creepy person kind of way – but in a “I’m a college freshman, it’s pretty weird that people are coming up to me, knowing who I am” kind of way.  Not that I mind at all, I think it’s cool and just takes some getting used to.   

My final racing adventure was the October Nationwide race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  I was lucky enough to get two hot passes from one of the teams, so I pretty much had free reign over the infield – not really, I just liked to think that.  Watching practice in the pits, wandering the garage area, going to the side of the stage for driver intros, and watching the race from Pit Road were just a few of the highlights of the day.  Sometimes it just pays to abide by the rules; my friend and I were standing behind a start-and-park team’s pit stall for a good majority of the race and once they packed up and went back into the garage, this NASCAR official comes over to us and tells us that we could stand against the wall so we could see more because we were courteous of letting everyone through and were never in the way.  To say we were excited was an understatement. 

I think it was the Nationwide race that really kicked me in the butt.  Going to this race and being in the garage and pits was definitely a much needed spark because being in the infield all day helped me keep the faith that I was going to reach my dreams – as cliché as it is.  When I occasionally dreaded giving a speech in my Human Communications class, I would think of my ultimate goal of working as a NASCAR TV reporter, and it would all become worth it. 

Can I just say how much I love only being an hour away from Charlotte Motor Speedway?  Over Thanksgiving break, my parents and I went to Speedway Christmas at the track.  I expected it just to be Christmas lights, which it was, but in the garage they had tables with local businesses selling their products, Santa was there, and I had the privilege of meeting Sam Bass (thankfully, I was able to give him my business card).  On the giant television, they had Christmas movies playing, a different one each weekend, which I thought was very cool.  There were also horse-drawn carriage rides, which I would have gone on…if I didn’t have a fear of horses.

While I’m giving you all updates on my life, I might as well tell you about my master plan (not really) of scheduling my classes for next semester.  I decided, in order to make my life easier, I would take morning classes so I would be done with class by 10:15 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which is absolutely wonderful for going to races next season.  Waking up for my 7:50 am classes next semester will present a struggle, but I’m sure I’ll make it through, especially if I know I’m going to a race later that day.  I obviously plan on going to the Charlotte races and most likely the Martinsville races, but I’m thinking a trip to Eldora for the Truck race might be a possibility. 

Another reason I created my schedule the way I did was because I’m looking for internships for next semester or for the summer, so that would allow plenty of time for it.  If any of you know of any team or anyone who is in need of an intern, feel free to send me an e-mail (thenascarcorner@yahoo.com) because I have a list of places already, but any others would be greatly appreciated!

I feel bad that this was quite the long article, but now you all have been caught up on everything that has been going on in my life in the past four months.  Again, I’m very sorry that I haven’t posted in so long; I promise that I’ll be better about posting during the off-season and during next season!