Talladega Superspeedway

Having tickets to Talladega was a fun weekend for our family!  We were, as the boys like to say, "VIP" for the weekend.  We had a wonderful time watching the race from really great seats at our chalet on the backstretch of the track.  Included, also, were pit passes.  We rode a tram around the track to Pit Road.  Being on the track itself was awesome...that banking is no joke!  It was a great experience for us.  Once on Pit Road, we saw some prep work being done on tires, met some pit crew members, saw the cars going out of the garage area, and took lots of pics at our favorites' pit areas.

Once the race began, we were able to listen in to the drivers and their crews which was so fun for us.  It was so cool to hear them talk back and forth.  Some are more chatty than others.  Thankfully, I can say that I heard nothing that I wouldn't want my boys to hear.  That says a lot of these drivers.  Alex listened intently to Jeff Gordon, cheering him on even though things weren't looking so good for a win.

Even though our chalet seats were awesome and track side, I took the boys up to the grandstand seats, too, just so they could see more of the track and get a different view of the cars as they zoomed around the track.  Alex and I stayed up there for the driver introductions.  It was so fun watching him cheer on his favorite drivers exuberantly, but also respectfully clapping for all of them as their names were called out.

Tim and I went up some time into the race.  He would never sit down.  He was so excited to see the cars he couldn't bring himself to sit even for a moment.  I tried talking to him once as the cars were rounding turn 2 and he held up his hand to me indicating, "1 second."  As soon as the cars had passed us and were in turn 3, he turned to me and smiled sweetly and explained that he had needed to watch for Dale Jr.  "I didn't want to miss him," he said.  Who could blame him...it was what we were there for, after all, right?

While at the racetrack, Alex listened intently to Jeff Gordon, cheering him on even though things weren't looking so good for a win.  He and I are die hard fans of Gordon.  Have been for years.  I taught him to say "Go, Jeff!" when he was just old enough to talk.  It has payed off to have someone on my side during the races.  He has other favorites he has come to like on his own the past couple of years, but the t-shirt he bought Sunday....#24.  Oh, yeah...train them up right, I always say.
After having watched the entire truck race on Saturday, I wondered how the boys would hold up for Sunday's race, too.  Wonderfully well.  No complaints ever.  When we were wanting to leave before the end of the race, Alex wasn't too thrilled not getting to see the end, but was okay with the idea after we told him we'd listen to it on the ride home.      

I'm so glad we left early...we arrived home only about 20 minutes after the end of the last lap.  Thinking ahead  got us home while it was still daylight, without any traffic jams, and all happy with our race weekend.
Tim sat in his seat with his souvenir #88 Matchbox car and gave us a play by play of his own race where his favorite driver was always out in front.  Only to get out our box of other cars once home and have more play by play action until bedtime.  Junior may not have won the race in Talladega Superspeedway, but he sure did in the mind's eye of one young boy...several times over.