First Win in 14th Try

A few years back I predicted in the venerable publication I was writing for that BV would finally win. At that point, he had been to 12 final rounds and come up short every time. 12 final rounds. He didn't win the year that I predicted he would, although he did add another bridesmaid finish to the tally, and I felt as though I had somehow jinxed him. In this business, you don't call attention to things like a whole pile of final rounds that haven't resulted in wins, and you never tell a driver to talk about how many times he has red-lighted or missed the field. You don't speak of streaks of any kind - good or bad. Even milestones that are within reach but just a little out of grasp can be taboo. Just... shhhhh.

I learned my lesson and kept my mouth shut about it, but now, it's okay to talk because HE FINALLY DID IT. In his 14th try, he got the win light, and against one of the top contenders in the class. I was very excited to be there when it happened, sitting next to JJ in the press room that overlooks the strip of concrete that was originally known as the world's first supertrack. We watched and cheered for him under our respective breaths when he won, but what came next was even more extraordinary. The driver stopped his car on the track just past the finish line and bolted - on foot - towards his crew who were standing on the starting line going nuts cheering.

It was over 100 degrees in Texas, the sun was blazing hot, the air was dense and pressing, but here he comes in a full fire suit and helmet running back down the 1/4 mile dragstrip that he had just raced up in his digger. It was awesome. The fans started to flow from the stands towards the track to meet him, he was high-fiving people along the way and trying to unzip his firesuit as he ran. His wife and little baby boy were on the starting line laughing and smiling, his dad was there, and meanwhile we are all just standing at the windows watching this emotional mission. Thankfully, someone on the safety safari drove up on a golf cart to pick him up and they tried to take him back to the car so that he could go weigh, but he refused and pointed defiantly and definitely toward the starting line. "TAKE ME THERE." So off they went, and he met his crew and they celebrated like crazy.

One of my favorite moments ever at the race track.

Two brothers met in the semifinals in another category - one brother who is a big star in the pro ranks had to beat his only slightly lesser known brother to get to the final. It was a first for them and very cool to watch.

The first round of PS was the tripiest, craziest, most unusual first round I've seen in a long time. Tons of upsets. Most of the races were upsets for that class in that round, actually. And at the end of the day, two of my favorite racers ended up in the final for the second race in a row. It was spectacular, and I couldn't have been much happier, especially when my fella saw me walking at the end of the day and halted the cart he was riding on so that they could give me a ride up to the winner's circle with them. Riding on the back of a golf cart with the man of my dreams and the reigning world champion to great the guy who has a huge shot of being the next world champ? Um, yes please!

The weekend finished with a lovely night at Bubba's BBQ, where they had bacon or cheese shooters, your choice, and we got fat on pulled pork and diet coke and watched the win happen all over again on the big screen before stopping at the DQ. Fun. It was just fun.

Time to go home. I miss my girls SO much!!! Just two and a half days until it's time to do it all over again.