One on One with My Dad and Dale, Jr.

I entered the Dale Earnhardt Jr, Ride Along contest purely thinking that renewing my membership for $50 a year was a great deal. I never thought that I might actually win a ride with Dale Jr. at Charlotte Motor Speedway. iRacing has given me an inexpensive way to continue the adrenaline rush I used to get when I raced for real, and getting a discount on the annual membership was a sweet deal. I should also mention that, because of iRacing I may have a ride in a STAR Tour modified next year . . . but that is still in the works.

iRacing has given me an inexpensive way to continue the adrenaline rush I used to get when I raced for real, and getting a discount on the annual membership was a sweet deal.

Anyways . . . first I should introduce the guest I brought with me to Charlotte: my father. Not only is he my best friend, my dad is an avid race fan – just like me!

Our flight took-off from the Providence, RI airport at 8 a.m. and we arrived in Charlotte at 10 a.m. Next we rented the car and checked into our hotel . . . all the ordinary things you do when you go on a trip. After we grabbed a quick bite to eat, off we went to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After we received our NASCAR Pit Passes at the credential trailer we watched Sprint Cup Happy Hour and then the Nationwide race from the infield and the pits. I was wearing an iRacing hat and tee-shirt. Everywhere we went in the pits and garages, drivers, crew members and other people stopped to ask me about iRacing, which led to lots of conversations about the contest and the fact that my father and I were in Charlotte because of iRacing.

When we weren’t talking about iRacing we pretty much walked all over the infield and watched from every vantage point. Boy, I had blisters on my feet from all the walking . . . and it was only Friday. It was absolutely great!  By the time the Nationwide race ended and we got out of all the traffic, we were exhausted (not to mention it was just before midnight).  So we called it a night.

  
The next day, Saturday, was the Cup Race. Even though it was a night race, we still got to the track around noon because we did not want to miss anything . . . not to mention that we had plenty of time to mingle and bump shoulders with all the hot shots. I talked to Joey Logano and his father for a few minutes because, when we were younger, we used to race with one another in midgets. So that was really cool.  I got to take pictures with a number of drivers and ex-drivers: Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Dale Jr. (of course), Kevin Harvick, NASCAR Pit Reporter Jamie Little (hey, I couldn’t resist). I could probably go on and on another couple lines, but that’s just a few.

The best part was the driver introduction. We had passes to go on pit road with the drivers, the crews and all the cars and then we got to watch them all get introduced to the croud. It was awesome just to see them in their original selves, not “just” their TV personalities.

Then the race began. We watched the first half from Jr.’s pit stall (how cool is that?) but our legs just got sooo tired from all the standing. So we ended up walking through the tunnel to the grandstands and watching the rest of the race from the great seats we had right on the start/finish line about 25 rows up.

On Sunday we pretty much just relaxed after spending the last two days constantly walking the race track. We visited the NASCAR Hall of Fame, where they have some iRacing simulators with a Cup car running a Charlotte setup. I don’t mean to brag but, hey, I can’t help but mention that I got the fastest time of the week!! I’m pretty proud of myself, to say the least. 

After the Hall of Fame we went to visit all the race shops in the area. I won’t name them all, but we probably went to at least a dozen shops. And we could have gone to some more, but that’s all we had time for.

 
Now for Monday: the Ride Along with Dale Jr.!! First off, I want to say that everything was very organized and professional. We started in the media center where I met with Dale (again) and asked him some questions. After that we went outside for pictures with Dale, myself and the car. Next came the media.  Jr. and I got interviewed by different radio stations, TV stations and some other people. Although I imagine it was pretty routine for Dale, it was pretty cool for me — to say the least.

Then they suited me up and I got in the car. The car was an actual Dale Jr. Cup car with a passenger seat added on the right side. After we got out of the car, Jr. and I had about ten minutes together and we just talked about my real racing experiences and iRacing. Later, when I said, “Hey Jr. me and my father are gonna go to your bar (Whiskey River) tonight for some food and drinks,” he said, “Aww man, I wish I could go with y’all but I have some media stuff I have to take care of. But I’ll set you guys up.” Then he immediately got on the phone with his PR guy and set me and my father with some VIP treatment at Whiskey River with dinner and drinks . . . all for free.
 
That was a perfect end of what was probably the best weekend I have ever experienced, especially since it was with my father. I have been waiting a long time to do something special, one-on-one with my dad and all because of iRacing it came true. I truly thank iRacing and JR Motorsports.
 
Thank You from Rion and Ric Mariscal.