Race Time!!!

It's that time again and yes, our family is officially a NASCAR family. Who would have ever thought we would want to sit and watch cars race around an oval track for almost three hours? Definitely NOT us.

But I have to say that this is truly a great sport to watch. I guess the one thing that I really respected about NASCAR was their commitment to faith in God and that they really support our service men and women. Not sure of many others that open their events with a word of prayer like NASCAR does but I absolutely LOVE it.

Steve and Kailee got the rare opportunity last week Friday to attend the races and they both arrived a bit early. Steve's job this year is working with the Motorsports division as a Senior Construction Manager that is working to upgrade the carriers like Verizon and AT&T to provide additional coverage for wireless device users and even to run fiber networks for NASCAR and the media when these events are televised live.

Trust me after Friday's experience, Steve has been elevated to a whole new level by our youngest daughter Kailee. She thinks her dad has the best job in the world now. She was invited by her dad to visit the AutoClub Speedway in Fontana to see some of the work he's been doing and while they were there, they got the very rare honor to meet some of the NASCAR drivers like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and even Kyle Larson as they were getting to practice.

Just for Kailee to get the opportunity to talk with Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 car who is retiring this year and get his autograph was a true blessing.

Kailee will say her best part of the experience was one that brought a true smile to her face and that of her dad. After working on the NASCAR tracks for over two years, Steve has never met any of the drivers, much less his favorite, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 car. Until last Friday. Kailee managed to capture this moment on her camera. Needless to say, she said her dad smiled like a kid at Christmas the entire day.

They were even nice enough to capture pictures with my favorite driver, up and coming rookie driver Kyle Larson who drives the #42 car sponsored by Target. They got autographs from all the drivers they asked and said they were truly great people to talk with.

Was I jealous I didn't go with them? Not really. In my mind, it's times like this that create lasting memories for both Kailee and her dad and there will always be other times in the future for me to go to. Just knowing that either one of them can look back on this day with fondness is a true blessing for me.

I did get the opportunity to join them for race day on Sunday, March 22 and thanks to Steve's credentials I got the opportunity to sign the start/finish line along with Kailee in the backwards ballcap and enjoyed the race as well.

While none of our favorites won, we were still blessed with treasured memories that will outlast this day and we got to cheer on our favorite drivers anyway. We were winners all the way!