Al Johnson's Blog

Eastbound I-94 at 5:30 in the morning. My traditional Father's Day weekend pilgrimage to the Irish Hills has begun.

 

My "Pit Crew", Kevin and Tony are about as excited to be on the road as I am. We've been thinking about this road trip for quite a few ekks now...who am I fooling? We've been thinking about it since we left here last year. We're so ready for this thaqt no one even needs coffee.

 

Approaching the exit for highway 127, the anticipation ramps up. after heading south, we see a sign letting us know that Napoleon is just down the road and Brooklyn isn't far away. 2 hours after we pulled out, we're here. First stop, the credentials office. We have to get the RV across the track before it "goes hot" at 9:30am, but we've got plenty of time.

 

While I'm on the subject, a little info on going to and leaving MIS. As any fan who has ever come here knows, getting here is a lot easier than leaving. Last August, MDOT tried an experiment without telling the folks at MIS about it. I guess they figured if it didn't work, no one would know...leaving here has always been a nightmare.

 

Well it worked, even track workers and management noticed that the lots got empty quicker.What MDOT did was adjust the traffic flow. Starting this weekend, there will be two lanes of outbound traffic on northbound M-50 from MIS to Napoleon and also on eastbound US-12 from MIS to M-52. This new plan goes into effect with 50 laps remaing in the Citizens Bank 400 on Sunday.

 

OK, back to the fun stuff...next stop, Paddock parking so that we can stretch our legs, eat and head to the garage area.  After finding the same spot we had last year we bail out of the Rv and stretch our legs.

 

We have a good hour before heading to the garage area and press rooms for opportunities to talk to the drivers and get some photos (more on that later). Breakfast, yeah! We meet the neighbors and then head to the press room, encountering Jack Roush (The Cat In The Hat), on the way. After a quick stop, we hit the garage and start taking it all in.

 

Is there anything like the smell of that rubber, that noise, those fumes? Man, this is FANtastic, to coin a phrase.

 

Wandering through the garage area, I come across all of the cars and drivers that I can't wait to see on Sunday afternoons in the "man Room" downstairs, at home. Jeff Gordon; David Gilliland; The "King" - Richard Petty; Martin Truex, Jr.; Jeff Burton; Jeremy Mayfield...well, you get the idea.

 

i"m in NASCAR heaven, and I get to do what I love, share my experiences with others. I was able to get all kinds of pictures...come back later and they should be posted here for you to check out.    

 

Gotta run...the ARCA series race starts in 5 minutes. I'll send pics later and come back to tell you more

 

AJ