Saturday, November 25, 2017

Adrenalin High

Avondale, AZ   High 80 Low 57

Most of you know that Jim’s two favorite things (besides me and the pups) are fishing and NASCAR. And the best part of NASCAR for him is being able to drive really fast.

I had used a Groupon to buy Jim a Rusty Wallace Racing Experience out at Phoenix International Raceway. He was scheduled for last spring but it was pouring rain and he had to reschedule. So last Saturday was the day.

PhoenixInternationalRaceway_all

I knew Jim was going to be gone for several hours so I stayed home with the pups. But Jim wasn’t going alone – our really good friend Paul is here and was looking forward to seeing what it was like down in the pits.

Jim's NASCAR Drive-4

Paul has this really fancy camera and agreed to take pictures for me. At the track they have a photographer taking pictures of the participants which they then are wiling to sell to you. They tried to get Jim to pose but he told them that he had his own photographer. They don’t give up easily but when they finally looked over at Paul, they immediately agreed that his camera was probably better than theirs.

Jim's NASCAR Drive-6

They have a driver’s meeting and explain how everything is done to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Jim has driven twice before – once in North Carolina and once at Phoenix so he had a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Jim's NASCAR Drive-8

The excitement builds. Jim checks out all the cars going around the track but he’s especially interested in the #88 which is Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s number and is Jim’s NASCAR driver. There are two #88 cars on the track. One (green) is a drive car and one (blue) is a ride along car. The ride along car is driven by trained drivers and is allowed to go faster than the drive cars.

Jim's NASCAR Drive-15

As he’s standing in line, the guy calls out his name and asks him if he had purchased the car upgrade option (which I had). Jim said yes and the guy told him he got to drive the #88. So Jim figured he’s be in the green drive car but no – because of the upgrade he gets to drive the blue ride along car. WOW! At this point Jim’s excitement is beyond words.

Jim's NASCAR Drive-22

He had the 12 lap shoot out experience and it was over way too fast. It doesn’t take long to get around the track when you’re driving 140 mph. He also got to pass two other cars on the track which just added to the excitement.

Jim's NASCAR Drive-29

There is no one in the car with you – just your spotter talking to you over the headphones. He advises you when you’re coming up on a slower car and lets you know when it is safe to pass. He also warns you when a ride car is coming along and is going to pass you. Safety is definitely their priority.

Jim's NASCAR Drive-30

Jim's NASCAR Drive-1See that grin? It took Jim several days to come down off that adrenalin high. Hopefully he gets to do it again when I can find another great Groupon deal.

Thanks Paul for taking these fantastic pictures for us.

19 comments:

  1. What a treat I know Jim turned back into a 20 year old at that point!! Go Jim

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  2. OMG, I wish I could do that, but it would scare the crap out of me, I can feel his excitement just from the pictures...VERY COOL!!!

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  3. What a fun experience for Jim. I went to a race track ONCE and it was even NASCAR and it was so loud I'll never go again! But that's just me. So glad that these bucket list items are available for us mortal human beings

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  4. You are such a good wife! So supportive of Jim's other loves.

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  5. Incredible!!! Driving alone at that speed! Jim does look like a happy camper, camper - get it.

    Catching up on blog reading. Glad you finally got the dang oven fixed so you could put the turkey in. Continually amazed by Aunt Happy! Those birds were pretty.

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  6. Oh my gosh....a once in a lifetime experience. But 140 mph would make me very very nervous. Good job Jim.

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  7. Wow. That's all I can say. I am going to do that one day!

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  8. What a wonderful day Jim had and yes that grin tells it all.

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  9. What a great gift! Years ago I bought my Jim an Air Combat USA - pilots get to fly airplane and "shoot" at each other. Jim was 7 and 0 against his opponent. He loved it.

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  10. So that's who's taking over Dales ride.....Hmmm.

    Awesome gift! That grin is affectionately known as a perma-grin. Please pass along a congrats to Jim, for a speedy ride and fun time at the track. Great pictures!

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  11. That is one great gift you gave him.

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  12. What can I say??? Wow!! Just wow!!!! That was an awesome experience and driving at 140 mph....wow!!!
    Great pics too!!

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  13. A Special Gift To Someone Very Well Loved.
    Good job driving Jim. Now no Speeding Tickets.
    Must be love. Sandie.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  14. OMG you have put another bug in Doug's ear.

    Good for you Jim.

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  15. Just caught up on all your posts from when we were traveling south. Great great day for Jim. Loved all your recent photos, especially of the doxies and Aunt Happy.

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  16. Better late than never. Jim would get along great with my eldest son, John. My middle boy, Michael. knows how much he loves NASCAR so he bought something similar and John finally got to be a race car driver. He has loved cars since he was a little, little boy. Glad all is well with you; especially your health, of course. I think of the two of you so often. Seeing you, again, doesn't look good but I sure am glad I got to meet you once. Love to the two cuties.

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Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.