Sundays in the South: Raceday!

I feel like I've been in the car all weekend long!  Just today, we traveled from  SC to VA and back!  You see, I am a huge race fan.  I do live in the South and racing is big here, but I did not grow up in a racing family or watch races at all.  But, in the early 90s I went to Darlington with my sister and her husband (who was a race fan) and I was instantly hooked!  After all, I am an adrenaline junkie.  The speeds of the cars flying by, the rumble of the engines that you can feel through your body....but most of all, the family atmosphere and fan friendliness of the sport is like no other sport.  It's not like other sports, where your "team" is playing a different team each week.  Instead your favorite driver is racing against the same 42 other drivers week in and week out, so you feel like you get to know ALL of them.  It really is like one big family and though you root against your opponents, deep down you love them all because you see their families, their teams and their passion on a weekly basis.

My husband and I attend several races each year.  We've been to most of the tracks within a day driving distance of us - Charlotte, Atlanta, Darlington, and Bristol, but one track stole my heart.  Martinsville.  From the first time we went to this track and there were neighborhoods of people sitting in their lawn chairs to "greet" the race traffic coming into their small town, I knew it was like no other.  Martinsville is the oldest track on the circuit and it sits right smack in the middle of a neighborhood.  So quaint and cute! And, not to mention the BEST side-by-side racing around!

For years now, we've attended both the spring and fall races at the track.  They should just go ahead and put our names on the seats because I plan to be there every year!  We also buy garage passes so that I can pretend to be racing paparazzi...trying to get up close and personal with some of my favorite people in the sport.  Here are some of my favorite pics from this year...

Jimmie Johnson, 5-Time Champion and today's race winner!

Chad Knauss....soooo nice and one of the smartest guys in the sport! ;)

Martin Truex, the hubby's favorite driver.

Brian Vickers - LOVE this guy!  So glad to see him back...healthy and happy!

Richard Childress - car owner

Jeff Gordon, my favorite driver, but a hard man to catch! ;)

The King, Richard Petty, always takes the time to talk, sign autographs, and take pictures.

I'm always so surprised at how up close and personal they let you get with the cars right before the race.  I was looking for an opportunity to climb in! ;)

Well, that's what I've been up to this weekend!  Hope you've had some time to relax and enjoy something you love.  Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY for some handmade goodness from Grace and Lace!