This week I learned that on the right day of the year for only a donation to Toys for Tots, I could get to drive my car around Michigan International Speedway!
It was awesome!
Because I had to take my mom to the bank on Saturday anyway, I asked her if she would want to ride along out to the speedway with me. We both used to watch NASCAR racing for many years. It was the perfect activity for her–no walking.
She kept saying there would be tons of people and there would be a line.
There wasn’t.
We had a little trouble finding the right entrance to go in, but then we got to drive through a very narrow tunnel that made me nervous. Then everyone in the car had to sign a disclaimer. I even had to sign one for my son, M.
We went to enter the track on pit road.
I said, “Look! It’s pit road.”
My mom said, “Where?”
I said, “We are ON it!”
Then she was impressed.
I said, “Take pictures!”
She said, “I don’t have a camera.”
I said, “Use your cell phone.”
She forgets that there is a camera on her phone.
She got nervous when I went high in the turns. They are banked so high that my everyday vehicle seemed like it would roll over any second. It was very strange to see minivans and SUVs driving around the track together.
For your donation, you were supposed to get one time around the track at 25mph. We went more than one lap and more than 25mph, but not as many times or as fast as anyone else.
I felt a little closer to Jeff Gordon that day.
Here are our pictures:
The view from the track
Me gritting my teeth as I approach the steep banking
The view of the track through my windshield
The biggest surprise was the text I received the next morning from my mom:
Riding around the racetrack was one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. Thank you.
Hmmm… If she is going to be that grateful for a change, I just might have to start dragging her out more often.
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