Quicken Loans 400 Michigan International Speedway

I attended the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.  My dad is better now after having quadruple bypass surgery last year, so I took him back to MIS as I had such an awesome time there last year.  We had the whole package for tickets this time.  Pit passes, driver intro passes, and tickets to the Arca, Xfinity and Cup series races.

Most of my autographs came during the Pre-race driver introduction pass that we bought.  Once the drivers were announced, some of them signed for the fans on their way to their cars.  I was pretty luck this year again, and I also got a bunch of autographs that I haven't gotten before.

Martin Truex Jr. signed a card for me.  He is having an awesome season so far, with a small race team.  He is already locked in for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Trevor Bayne signed card.  Trevor has moved over to the Roush team this year, but everyone seems to be struggling on that team.

David Gilliland signed race used shoe card.  I pulled this out of a box last year, so it was neat to get this signed.

Brad Keselowski signed card.  I don't mind "Bad Brad" too much.  I know he took some major flak last year for the incident with Jeff Gordon.  I love Jeff, but I gotta say, there was a hole there for Brad to take, and he took it.  I can't say as though I blame him.  It sucked that Jeff ended up wrecking out and losing any chance for the Cup, but it was Jeff's mistake.

Matt DiBenedetto signed card.  Matt drives for BK Racing, which I am throughly convinced that they are just happy in having their logo on a car.  They are never competitive, which is a shame.

Now for the holy grail for this weekend.  This was the last autograph that I got during the Driver intros.  As he was coming towards me, I was desperately fumbling through my pics trying to get the right one out.  I ended up just getting it out there as he got to me.  Anyway, I know there are plenty of people out there that would love to have this autograph.  There aren't any drivers more popular that Dale Earnhardt Jr., and I now have his autograph in my collection.

We watched qualifying from the pit area.  It is an awesome way to watch it.  You get to see what teams are doing out there between runs and see what they are doing to the cars to get a bit more speed out of them.  There are usually plenty of people down there, so autographs are few and far between.

I got Matt Kenseth to sign a card right after his qualifying run was over.

On our way out of the pit area, we spotted Carl Edwards signing autographs.  He literally signed for everyone that was in there, and then walked along a fence area and signed for everyone there, and even posing for some pictures.  Carl is a true class act.

I didn't have a card for J.J. Yeley, but since he was practically standing right beside me, I had him sign my pit pass.  He races for BK Racing as well.

Kasey Kahne had won the pole.  Jeff and him sorta got out of their cars at the same time, so when Jeff headed out of the pit area, everyone followed him.  I got him last year, so I figured I would take a shot at Kasey.  He came right towards me, so I just stayed where I was.  He grabbed my picture and signed it, and just after, he was completely mobbed.

I have said it before, and I will say it again.  Michigan International Speedway is the place to go.  I know they had some pissed off people due to the rain out, but I was ok with it.  They gave it their all that day, and honestly, coming back the next day would have been hell for us.  We would have had to watch the race, and then drive 7 hours home.  They do an amazing job at keeping the fan experience, the best that I have seen at any track.

Nascar 2014 Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway

My dad and I usually attend a Nascar race every year.  We were offered to buy 2 tickets for the weekend's events from a friend back in November of last year.  I bought them on the spot.  My dad however, took sick over the winter and needed quadruple bypass surgery on his heart, rendering him unavailable for this trip.  So, I took my step-dad as he is a huge Ambrose fan and watches alot of Nascar too.  Once I offered him the ticket, he went on right away to buy pit passes.  The pit passes at MIS are good for the entire event.  Practices, qualifying and the races.  We were actually watching them from the pit wall during practices and qualifying.  MIS actually has a tent setup in the prime autograph seeking spot.  They actually embrace the fans that seek autographs!!!!  What a change!!!  We hovered around there after watching the first practice on Friday morning and managed to get a couple of autographs.

Carl Edwards came over to the fan line once a couple of girls started singing happy birthday to him.

Clint Bowyer strolled through as well.  I got him to sign this Burning Rubber insert card.  It contains a piece of race used tire from his win at NHMS in 2010, a race that I attended.

Aric Almirola came through the line.

Ricky Stenhouse came through as well.  Danica came through just after, but I got her in Charlotte last year, so I didn't try too hard to get her this time.

Once the practices were finished, the crews setup for qualifying.  We stood down in the pit area and setup to watch qualifying.  We were right in front of Marcos Ambrose's pit area and a crew member came over and started talking to Chuck.  He called us over to come meet Marcos.  Chuck is from Australia and has been following his career since his days in the V8 Super Cars.  He signed Chuck's Australian Sporting Flag and posed for a picture.  I didn't want to bug him at this point as he got right in his car to do his qualifying run right after we left.
I did get Casey Mears as he was sitting on the pit wall talking with people after he was finished qualifying.

While we were down there waiting for autographs, the track president came through and was chatting up the fans.  He ended up giving a few passes for the driver introduction and pre-race ceremony for the Cup race.  These passes are worth $75, but ended up being worth much more than that.  More on that later.  Follow @misroger .  He is a pretty cool guy to say the least and he is doing a fantastic job at MIS.

I got Micheal Waltrip on the way out of the track.

That was it for Friday, which was still pretty cool.

There were a couple of practice sessions on Saturday but the Camping World Truck Series race was the main event.  We didn't try too hard to get autographs this day.  We watched the race and then headed to the Kevin Harvick trailer.  I am a member of the Harvick Fan Club and he does appearances for a few members at most tracks.  I was lucky enough to draw in for this one.  I bought a car to get signed and had a card.  He posed for pictures which were put online for us to download, which is really great.  I wish more drivers did things like this.  He was great, joking and chatting with everyone that came through.

Marcos Ambrose had a signing at his trailer on Sunday morning.  You had to buy $20 worth of his stuff and you got a ticket for an autograph.  Chuck ended up getting a ticket for free because the guy in front of him turned it down after he bought a hat.  I bought a die cast car for $35 to get signed and also got a card signed.

From there we headed to pit road.  We ended up chatting with Marcos' crew for quite a while and they all signed Chuck's ticket.  They were so cool about chatting with us and talking about their setups and how they prepare and such.  You definitely could not do this with the bigger teams like Gordon's or Earnhardt's.
Next was our special pass for the pre-race ceremonies.  They setup a red carpet area and had fences around it so the fans could line up.  It was fast a furious at times as the drivers came out and signed for lots of people along the way.
There were a few people that I didn't have anything for, so I got them to sign my ticket.
I got Michael Annett, David Ragan, Travis Kvapil, and Alex Bowman.

I got Justin Allgaier to sign a card.

I got Joey Logano to sign a card.

Jeff Burton was driving in place of Tony Stewart.

Greg Biffle signed a card for me.

AJ Allmendinger signed a card for me.  He won at Watkins Glen the week before.

Reed Sorenson signed card.

And now for the holy grail of the weekend.  My dad is the biggest Jeff Gordon fan.  With Jeff on the pole and all of the fan access we had, I knew he would be having a good time if he was there.  So, I thought if there is any way I can bring him back an autograph, that he would be pretty happy.  Jeff is a mobbed star throughout any time we saw him from afar.  It was insane.  He would be encircled by fans every where he went.  I looked up and saw him coming down our line and he was actually signing.  I grabbed a photo I had quick and he signed it!!!  I couldn't believe it.  What a weekend!!!  After that, we went up to our seats.  I was already on cloud 9.  I am a big Tony Stewart fan, but if Tony or Kevin Harvick isn't going to win, I will cheer for Jeff Gordon.  It was a great race with Jeff taking the lead back for good with 16 laps to go.

Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick announced a deal a few months ago about joining his fan club.  It cost $4.00 and you get discounts off of merchandise and a free autographed picture as well as members only appearances at select tracks this season.  He has one at the race I am going to in Michigan in August, so that should be cool.  Tony Stewart is my favourite driver, but with Harvick joining the Stewart Haas Racing team this year, I am pulling for him as well.

Bank of America 500, Charlotte, NC

My dad and I flew down to Charlotte, NC this past weekend to attend the Bank of America 500.  The race sucked pretty bad until a mysterious caution late in the race stacked up the field and changed the outcome.  It did produce the best racing of the night between Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski battling it out for first, with BK2 coming up with the win.  We got there early, to take in the carnival type atmosphere which was a lot of fun.
     Danica Patrick was running a special car paint scheme for this race to raise awareness for breast cancer charities.  They had a deal on at her hauler, if you bought one of her special items, you could come back and get it signed.  They only gave out 100 bracelets to allow you to get an autograph.  So, I bought this die cast car to get signed.  You couldn't really get a picture with her as she was pretty rushed.

She was very nice.  I thanked her for doing the charity work and told her that my mom is a breast cancer survivor.  She told me that was good to hear and thanked me for supporting her cause.  Here, she just finished signing my car.  My dad was a little late on the trigger.

Donnie Allison was doing a free signing at the Sprint Unlimited Fan Experience, so we jumped in for that.  Donnie won 10 races over his career, but was better known for his on track fight with Cale Yarborough where he took his helmet off and started beating Donnie with it.  I left most of my cards at home, so I took the free postcard that they were giving out.

On the Sunday after the race, we went to the Nascar Hall of Fame and then to this cool little museum up in Mooresville, NC.  It is called the Memory Lane Museum.  They have lots of Nascar stuff there and some other cool old cars and sprints.  http://www.memorylaneautomuseum.com/
If you are ever down that way, go and check it out.  What drew us in to going up there was we had heard about a driver signing there that day.  It was well worth the trip.
Bobby Allison (brother of Donnie) was signing there.  Again, I didn't have anything so I took the free postcard they were offering.  Bobby officially won 84 races over his career and another 2 races that are still being contested.  He seemed like a cool guy in our brief conversation.

One of the other guys that was there was Donald Johnson.  He was the crew chief for Rex White in the 50s and 60s.

Geoffrey Bodine was also signing.  He was one of the first drivers I followed in Nascar back in the early 90s.  He was driving the Exide car which was the same sponsor on the car of Rowdy Burns in Days of Thunder.  He had 18 wins over his career.

Sam Hornish Jr. IP

I went to the Sylvania 300 this past weekend, in Loudon, NH.  The race itself was quite boring, but the experience is still cool.  We had pre-race pit passes for the second year in a row.  This year was even more disappointing than last year.  They are really restrictive, and not worth the money spent.  I doubt we will be back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  I tried to hound near the drivers' meeting, but none of them stopped to sign where I was.  A few drivers/crew members did walk over and signed for a few fans on their way in.  I ended up getting Sam Hornish Jr. as he was leaving the washroom, of all places.  He was cordial at least.  He has been filling in at Penske Racing, for the released A.J. Allmendinger.  He has done a great job, but he is not getting that ride full time after the season ends.  Hopefully, he can get a full time ride with another team for next year, rather than be relegated back to Nationwide for another year.

Sylvania 300 Nascar, Loudon, New Hampshire

My dad and I went to the Sylvania 300 in Loudon, New Hampshire over the weekend.  We went last year which was my first Nascar race.  We enjoyed it so much, that we went back this year.  We also got the pre-race pit pass, which was a complete joke for $100.  Anyway, some drivers were doing appearances at their souvenir haulers, which we didn't know about because we were in the pit area.  By the time we made it up to the souvenir alley, the tickets(75) for Keselowski, Biffle and Logano were long gone.  Brian Vickers had a signing as well, but they held 25 tickets back for anyone who bought a car for $50.  I told my buddy that I would try to get the auto for him, so I figured he would be ok with getting the car signed.  Robby Gordon was also doing a free unlimited signing at his hauler so I jumped in line for that too.

Here is the Brian Vickers car that I got signed for my buddy.  Vickers had a great day racing near the front for most of the day and finishing a very good, 5th.

I was able to slip him a card to get signed for myself.

Robby Gordon signed this card for me.  He was great with the fans.  Laughing and joking around with everyone.  Unfortunately, he had some brake problems early in the race and had to retire to the garage.

Mark Martin strolled out on pit row and was the only autograph I got for my $100 pit pass.  He was great and signed for everyone who requested a signature.  I think he may be retiring this year as I know Kahne is taking his spot next year with Hendrick's motorsports.  Mark led for a good portion of the race early on but finished 24th, 1 lap down due to some unscheduled pits.