Trucks at Bristol, Baby!

For the final time in 2013, Brad raced at his home track at Michigan Speedway for the Pure Michigan 400. Fords have a great reputation of being strong at this track, and the pressure was on the line for BK to win his and Fords home race.  In first practice, BK and the Miller Lite car with country superstar Luke Bryan on the hood, Ford showed some speed in first practice and averaged a cool 200.966 mph for a 35.827 lap time good enough for 13th quick on the chart.  Teammate Joey Logano, and fellow Ford drivers Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, showed their presence in the top 10, giving me the feeling that Ford was once again strong at MIS.

“Wow, man,” he said, “you’ve been following me everywhere. Thanks for being a fan.”

One of my two brief moments with the champ occurred later on in the day just before qualifying. Emerging from the garage in that awesome blue and white suit was the Champ with sharpie in hand, ready to meet and sign for his hometown fans.  An enormous crowd gathered, but that didn’t deter the Champ. He made his way all the way down pit road until he reached his car, where he would strap in for qualifying. The crowds were cheering, and my cousin and his girlfriend were extremely excited because they have not had a chance to meet BK before. They both said what a cool guy he was. When BK made his way to me, he signed the picture that I had made from when I met him last week at Wal-Mart in Watkins Glen. BK asked where the picture was from, and I told him.

“Wow, man,” he said,  “you’ve been following me everywhere. Thanks for being a fan.” I thanked him again for signing. How cool was that? BK thanking me for being one of his fans? It’s another example of how BK is one of those drivers who truly takes the time to acknowledge and appreciate the support he is shown.

Another exciting part of Saturday’s festivities was being able to see Brad’s trucks qualify and race later that afternoon. The No. 19 was being piloted by Joey Logano, and of course, Ryan Blaney was in his No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford. Unfortunately, Blaney was taken out on the first lap, which was disappointing because he had a strong truck and the effect on the points championship. Logano mixed it up with the front runners all day, and came home with a 4th place finish. I would like to also give a shout out to Aj Allmendinger, who brought home another road course win for Penske in Mid-Ohio and helping to move the No. 22 Discount tire Ford to first in owner’s points.

Sunday was the day I was waiting for, with the big dogs going for the win in the Pure Michigan 400. My second moment with Brad came after the drivers’ meeting. I was waiting at the back door of the conference room were the meeting was being  held. I saw lots of security, so I assumed the big guys coming out of this door. Sure enough Dale Jr, and Jeff Gordon ran out and jumped into a SUV, and were whisked away without evening waving to the fans. Then was the 5x champ Jimmie Johnson, and the ever popular with the ladies Kasey Kahne. They both stopped and signed for fans, which was really cool. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Penske golf cart, and I stealthily made my way over. I had my collaborative photo I had made with all the 2012 champs on it ready to be signed, and at that point, I was lucky enough to get Ricky Stenhouse and James Buesher to sign it already. All it needed was the Cup champ BK.  Emerging from the media center was the Champ, and with a huge cheer BK began to sign for his fans. His last autograph before he drove off was my 8×10, and I wished him luck and thanked him for the autograph. 

Overall it was another great weekend at MIS, I got to meet my driver again, he ran up front and with a few more caution laps could have won and I got to see Penske bring home another cup victory.  I look forward to sharing my final personal experience at a race when I will be in Homestead,  hopefully standing on the track celebrating with Brad and the team after they won their 2nd Championship.