Hey everyone! Since no one has posted in a while, I thought I would
break the silence. As you know, Bristol race weekend is here, an event
that brings back so many memories. Jerry, your blog about Alan
Kulwicki has inspired me to tell my own Bristol stories. I live in
Southwestern Virginia, approximately 12 miles from Bristol and 24 miles
from the track. I remember Alan's death very well. It was 1993, and I
was a very green, recent law school graduate who was waiting on results
from the bar exam. Race weekend is a big event in our area. In those
days, many of the local businesses would have drivers signing
autographs the Thursday evening before the race. My husband and I had
driven around to see if we could pick up any of the driver handout
cards anywhere. On the 11 o'clock news that night, the lead story was
about a plane crash in the Blountville area and about area fire
fighters going to the scene. When we got up the next morning, the
Bristol newspaper headlined Alan Kulwicki's death. We were stunned. A
few short months earlier, Alan had dazzled the racing world when he won
the championship in Atlanta. Now, he was gone. I also remember the
image of Alan's hauler leaving the track with Doyle Ford waving the
checkered flag in tribute. Alan's death cast a long shadow over the
rest of the weekend. Somewhere at home I have a picture of a wreath
placed at souvenir row where Alan's souvenir trailer would have been
parked.

The Saturday before that race, fourteen years ago (yikes), some friends
from work and I got up very early to eat breakfast at the Bonfire
Restaurant on Volunteer Parkway because we heard that Davey Allison ate
there on race weekends. The server was just getting ready to take our
order when we saw Davey heading toward the checkout counter. As we
jumped up, one of the girls in my group told the server, "Honey, you'll
have to come back." We were going to see Davey! We didn't even get
his autograph, but we all got our picture made with him, individually
and in a group. I have the picture sitting on my desk today. Davey
acted like he had all the time in the world for us. From that day, I
went from being a casual Nascar fan to a devoted one. I bought my
first 1/64 diecast car (of Davey, of course) that afternoon. Sadly, we
would lose Davey about 3 months later.

Like Jerry, I picked Jeff Gordon as my favorite driver after Davey's
death. He and I were "rookies" the same year and I'm so happy about
all that he has accomplished. In 1997, Kenny Irwin caught my eye when
he was racing in the truck series. I was thrilled for him when Robert
Yates named him the driver of the 28. In 2000, Kenny appeared at Race
Night, an event that the Food City stores in our area host every
Bristol race weekend. I got Kenny's autograph that evening and had a
chance to wish him good luck. I still miss seeing him on the track.

Nascar has changed so much since 1993. Some changes have been good,
others not so good. I don't like the fact that the Busch Series is
dominated by Cup drivers now. I don't like the fact that the drivers
who post one of the top 43 qualifying speeds may not make the race if
they're not in the top 35 point positions. I don't like the fact that
the drivers are inaccessible now. In 1993, several top name drivers,
including Davey, Dale Jarrett, Kyle Petty, and Jeff Gordon, played in a
softball game before the Spring race in Martinsville. What are the
chances of that happening now? I wonder what Alan, Davey, and Kenny
would think of all the changes?

I hope that all of you are doing well. I miss reading your posts.
Have a great day! Ginger