There are so many…..I guess I’ll go with the happiest. Which, I have to say, is a tie between my first trip to Bristol in ‘96 and my last trip in 2000. The first trip (all were for the spring races), it rained off and on. We were right across from Kyle Petty’s pit, about 8 rows up. During the long rain delay Kyle came, got his crew and they got up on the wall and started us doing the wave. Soon, we had all the fans in the stands, plus a few of the other crews doing the wave. They even followed it on TV…lol.

The other most memorable time was my last race. A friend, who was Rusty’s PR rep, had said that Rusty really wanted to get his 50th win at Bristol, especially since it was his fav track. Well, Rusty is my fav driver, so I wanted him to win, too. We had stopped to eat on the way up and my son played one of those games where you use the claw to grab a stuffed animal. He won a pink teddy bear that had a money bag in it’s hands and gave it to me. It reminded me of when Rusty got that fine and paid it all in pennies..lol. So I took it with me to the track for good luck for Rusty. And he won his 50th race, at Bristol, and I was there to see it!! Turns out, it was also my friend’s 500 consecutive race he had been at as a PR rep.

Have been married to my High School sweetheart since 1978. Two children, 26 and 24. Two “adopted” children, so to speak, they are 19 and 17 and one beautiful “adopted” grandson. I have two four-legged babies, Holly my German Shepherd and, her “baby”, Tiger, my cat. They really do believe they are mother and child…lol.

I used to be a huge Indy car fan, back in the Rick Mears days, until they were rained out at some racetrack. I had seen the Daytona race in ‘79, and loved it, so I started flipping through the channels and lo and behold, there was a NASCAR race on. That was the beginning of a whole new world for me. I’ve always loved racing and speed. In fact, even as a kid, my family and friends called me “Mario Andretti” because of my leadfoot and love of speed. I was still riding dirt bikes when I was nine months pregnant with my daughter, until hubby spilled the beans to the doc. I’ve always been a tomboy, followed my daddy around, learning how to work on cars, cut wood, etc. Well, after I had my daughter, it was like a light had gone off in his head…”Oh my God…she is a GIRL!!!!” It took me years to get him to let me help him do the things I had helped him do all my life. LOL

Anyway, I am a bigtime NASCAR fan. I love talking racing and anything else. My wedding anniversary always falls on the weekend of the Bristol night race and since the first race I went to, in ‘96, that’s all I have begged my hubby for as my present. Well this year, I AM GETTING TO GO!!!! I am really going to miss Rusty racing, but I cannot wait to go!!

Even though I am unable to play right now, I love softball-women’s and co-ed. I love to work outside, I dabble a little in growing flowers. I love watching NFL and the Braves. I really enjoy spending time with Holly and Tiger…I’d have a yard full of pets if hubby would let me. I worked in Law Enforcement for 6 years before I had to quit because of my back. I’m a little more than a year out from life-altering surgery and hope to be able to go back to work and get back to sports when I’m 2 years out.