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A
Trip to Nashville
This was my first trip to the
Nashville Superspeedway. The city of Nashville is
not new to me at all. I have seen many ASA and All
American 400 races at State Fairgrounds. Not only
was it one of Johnny's strongest tracks, there is always a
lot do in downtown Nashville.
The new facility is top rate.
The only complaint I have is the parking police would not
give us access to parking near the tunnel nor would they
let us sit in the grandstands to watch practice on the
ARCA race day. It was my fault that we were late
since I thought the schedule I printed was Central time
versus Eastern time. (Sometimes as a fan, it's hard
to find the correct times!)
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Joe
Martino checks air pressure |
By the time I got into the
garage area, the BGN cars were well into their practice
session. The #1 team struggled during the first
half, but found the right combination for their mock
qualifying run. Then it was time for qualifying.
A few of my favorite drivers stopped by so I could take
their pictures!
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Kenny Schrader was patiently waiting for the ARCA
officials to let his team bring his car in line for
ARCA qualifying. He had problems in practice
with a leaking oil pan and missed his qualifying spot.
Kenny continues to enjoy being part of the expert panel
and is a strong support of JB! |
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Johnny Sauter was on his way to the #27 car for
qualifying. One of Sauter's favorite driver's is
JB. In fact, he gets JB's t-shirts every year.
Guess I better get him one of the #1 car to wear under
his driver's uniform! |
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Tim Fedewa is from Michigan and one of the nicest
drivers around. He had never changed Tim
got into NASCAR racing before JB did.
When I started going to the NASCAR races after JB
got a ride, you could always count on a smile from
Tim! His parents are the greatest too.
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I got to meet Kyle Busch when he raced ASA. His
parents are very supportive of their son's racing
careers and made sacrifices as their careers moved up
the ladder. |
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On race day, I had a chance to
see the Steve Scrivener family who relocated to Nashville.
Steve is from Michigan and used to race at Berlin Raceway.
One of his idols, is John Benson Sr., so it was nice to
talk about the good old days. Steve was there for
the ARCA race and told me that they had good seats and
could really see the track from their point of view.
Being a pit reporter is hard
work - especially when the action on the track is
exciting. I stayed in the #1 pit box for the entire
race. (Although, I did pace down pit road twice).
I was pretty excited about JB's chances. Even though
this was his first time at the Superspeedway, he seemed to
adjust well. The #1 team had some guests in their
pits - Jeff Purvis and Joe Ruttman.
By the first caution on Lap
58, JB radioed that he was concerned about all the oil on
the track. His windshield was covered and he was
losing positions. When they pitted - he came in 8th
and went out 6th. They took on 4 tires and took out
1/2 round of left rear. The tires were very worn -
the right rear was showing cords.
By caution on Lap 83 - the car
was pushing and JB was trying to save tires. There
were only 19 cars on the lead lap. JB had to pit
under green on lap 133, the tires had really worn off.
Plus the fender was rubbing due to a collision with Mike
Bliss on the backstretch.
On lap 142, the caution flew
for Bobby Hamilton. The teams were frustrated
because they felt it was unnecessary - since he kept
rolling. Since teams were making green flag pit
stops it put the cars of 21, 99 and 38 on a lap by
themselves. Teams were arguing who would get the
lucky dog pass, etc.
The next caution was on lap
155 and JB got the lucky dog pass. There was
confusion on where he would restart, so he really had to
back it down at the start so he would not get penalized.
My notes stop there! All
I can say is that it was a heart pounding race. From
our pit stall we could see a side view of the big screen
television. We caught a glimpse of the spin.
JB got the car under control and made his way to the
checkered flag.
Once the cars entered pit
lane, the drivers were getting out of their cars and
heated discussions were taking place between the #21 and
#5 teams. By the time I got down there, JB was
standing near his car. His crew surveyed the damage.
I said to one of the crew members - "Looks like you have
some repair work on this car!" He laughed, "We don't
care - we are just glad JB was in contention for the win!"
Drivers, crew chiefs and their
owners were confused with the finishing order due to the
freezing of the field and the caution. The order was
changed several times on the infield scoring tower.
Unfortunately, JB never got any farther up the finishing
line than 7th.
So, if you ever get a chance to head to Nashville, I would
recommend it. It wasn't a bad drive from Michigan -
especially since I stopped in Indiana to pick up my
friends - Glenda and Rick Royster. Plus, the hotels
are VERY reasonable. We stayed at a brand new
Country Inn Suites for $56 with no minimum night
requirements and a breakfast buffet. You really can
not beat that!
(04-23-04)
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