For Vicki, Saturday August 19, 2017 was “Race Day”; or technically race night as we were headed to the Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway that was scheduled to start at 7:30pm. For my photographer, it was “I’m Another Year Older Day” as it was his 61st birthday. One of the first things Tom did that morning was to call his son to wish him a happy 34th birthday. That’s right – Tom and Tom II share the same birthday; as do Vicki and their daughter Ashley, which is February 15th. Even their dog Abigail has a special birthday – May 4th – which is Star Wars Day!
I had to laugh to myself as we got into the Avenger for the 45-mile drive to the racetrack. Both my photographer and his wife were sporting Kyle Busch tee shirts, which from my perspective was good because “Rowdy” was no doubt the best race car driver in NASCAR. Busch had already won the Camping World Truck Series race on Wednesday and the Xfinity Series race on Friday; and he was attempting to be the first driver to complete a ‘three-for-three’ weekend sweep for a second time by winning the Monster Energy Cup race on that Saturday night. The Candyman accomplished a ‘three-peat’ at Bristol in 2010 as he became the first driver in NASCAR history to achieve that feat.
Traffic was thick around Bristol Motor Speedway and we parked the car in the same lot as the day before. Although there was no threat of rain, the weather was extremely hot – the mercury in the thermometer was hitting the 95-degree mark and there was very little wind. After our mile-long downhill trek to the racetrack, we spent over two hours outside as there was a lot going on to entertain the NASCAR fans who had arrived early. We saw the championship trophy that we knew would be in Kyle Busch’s hands later that night, and my photographer rented a pair headsets that he and his wife used to listen-in on driver-spotter chatter during the race. Then out of nowhere, it happened; and I thought I was having a case of Deja-vu. There were two scantily-clad Monster Energy girls who were posing for photos with fans. When Tom hesitated to have his image captured with the two young women, likely because he had a quick flash-back of his photo-op at Times Square in July with two body-paint artists, his wife insisted and she once again snapped a picture for posterity. I think if I had a hinged jaw, it would’ve fallen off into the bottom of the camera case. But, the more I thought about it, Vicki wasn’t upset because her husband didn’t shell out any money for them to pose; unlike what he had done in NYC.
At roughly 3:30pm, we made our way inside Bristol Motor Speedway; which was cool because my photographer and his wife had passes that got them onto the track. Not only did Vicki receive the tickets to the race as a Christmas present, Tom also purchased two passes that gave them V.I.P. access to everything except the pit and garage area. Once the three of us stepped foot onto the rough concrete surface, my photographer carried me up the steep 28-degree banking of Turn Four. We also had an up-close look at the start-finish line before we walked around the track to the back stretch where the band was set up to perform the pre-race concert. I laughed when my cameraman told his wife about his conversation with Taylor Lindsay that centered on the pre-race concert: “I asked Taylor if they could get KISS to play the pre-race concert. She laughed at me and said that it wasn’t going to be KISS; but, they had a very good band by the name of Cody Jinks.” It’s a fact that Tom dislikes country music very much, but he could’ve handled a show performed by Shania Twain; or Garth Brooks; or even Blake Shelton. But even his wife had never heard of Cody Jinks; which meant the really good singers must’ve all been busy on August 19, 2017. Needless to say, the pre-race concert sucked!
The late afternoon sun had scorched the concrete track and all the other V.I.P.s were sitting in the little bit of shade that could be found; including the three of us. We sat along the SAFER Barrier on the back stretch until it was time for driver introductions; at which time the three of us got into position near Turn Three where we had a good view of each driver as they were introduced to the enthusiastic crowd. From my position in the camera bag, I could see all of the drivers as they made their way, one by one, along a ramp and into the back of a pickup truck for a lap around the track. I laughed to myself when Joey Logano made his appearance as I heard my photographer yell out: “You suck, Snot Nose!” All of the drivers seemed to receive a great ovation, but two drivers stuck out from the rest – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who was making his final appearance as a driver at Bristol, seemed to be the fan-favorite; while Kyle Busch received the largest number of boos that were mixed with the cheers. When Rowdy rode past us, with his son Brexton secured in front of him, I could see Vicki had a huge smile on her face as she held up three fingers. Her three-fingered salute signified Kyle’s attempt at the weekend three-peat.
The green flag dropped to start the 2017 Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race at 7:40pm and we immediately knew why the track has been called ‘Thunder Valley’. From our seats in the front row of Turn One, we could see the race cars come towards us down the front stretch and then roar past us in a streak of metal fury. My photographer and his wife wore their communication headsets over their ear plugs, and they could hear the back-and-forth chatter between Kyle Busch and his spotter. Numerous times during the race I could tell that the two of them were laughing; and it turned out to be due to the fact that Rowdy may have set a NASCAR record for the use of the ‘F’ word in one race. In one exchange while Busch was near the entrance to Pit Road, Tom and Vicki heard Kyle call someone a “stupid mother f***ing a**hole” and they figured he must’ve been talking about Snot Nose Logano. For most of the race, pole-sitter Erik Jones dominated the field as he led 260 of the 500 laps. But on the race’s 455th lap, Busch’s M&Ms Carmel #18 Toyota passed Jones and Kyle’s fancy driving skills helped him keep the lead all the way to the checkered flag. The sweep was complete; my photographer and his wife were ecstatic as Kyle stood on top of his blue Toyota with a broom in his hand – ‘Rowdy Nation’ was once again king of the world!
It was a one-mile uphill hike back to the Avenger after the race; which was no issue for me as I rode along inside the camera bag. Every few minutes during our walk, I overheard Kyle Busch fans as they celebrated the victory. For my photographer and his wife, they held their head up high all the way to the car as people commented on their Candyman tee shirts. It was nearly midnight when we returned to the Super 8 in Lebanon, Virginia; we were delayed a few minutes when Vicki stopped at the Taco Bell near the motel for a late-night snack. When the lights were finally extinguished in the room, all I could think about was when my photographer shouted out his displeasure with Joey Logano – the words “You suck, Snot Nose” still rang loudly in my resin ears. I had only hoped that Snot Nose heard those words as clearly as I did!
