When we arrived at the track at 5:00 AM, all the concessions were still closed. Most of the security guards that had been there all weekend were gone as well. (I guess they had to go back to their day jobs).
We found the teams hard at work on their cars. The forecast was 70° and sunny -- that changed everything. Once the cars started going through inspection again, Mom headed for pit road. I wandered around, taking pictures.
In the post inspection lull, I got the autographs of Danny "Chocolate" Meyers (I should have had him sign my #3 hat!), Tony Eury Sr. (I should have had him sign my pit pass!), and David Green (he was hanging around all weekend -- guess he was working on getting another Cup ride).
Mom and I agreed that once the race started, we would not want to leave the pits to go find food and drink (all the concessions are on the opposite end of the garage). I went back to the little fajita stand, hoping they would finally be open, but they weren't -- guess they had to go back to their regular jobs, too. I wound up back at the Texas Rib Rangers (God, I hope they dump that caterer!) where I bought us two breakfast burritos. I also bought a bottled coke down the way and stuck it in my pocket. Unfortunately, by the time I got back to Mom in Rusty's pit, my coke was gone. I backtracked, but never found it.
It must have been a Monday, because when I decided to put my money in the Bobby Labonte Coke machine, it was empty (guess everyone felt as sorry for him as I did). I tried three other machines before I got one to give me a Coke (Bill Elliott!). I stuck it in my pocket and headed off for Dale Jr.'s pit.
During the pre-race boredom, I got several of Dale Jr.'s pit crew to sign my pit pass. I wish I'd gotten Tony Eury Sr. to sign it as well. I only missed a few, and of course, I really wanted Dale Jr.'s autograph, but we barely saw him all weekend.
I met a lot of interesting people in the pits. Most of them had the one-day only, pre-race pit passes that could be bought with season tickets. I'm glad we didn't waste our money on those! If you've never been to pit road, I guess it would be kind of cool. But there's really not that much to see, you don't have access to the cars or the drivers, and you have to leave before the race starts. They chased everyone out pretty quickly, and there weren't very many people left wandering around, even though it always looks packed on TV.
Mom stayed in Rusty's pit. When a newbie walked up and asked a crewmember why he was putting orange tape on the tires, the crewman said, "Because the tire changer is nearly blind, this is so he knows where to put the tire on." Then the newbie asked why he was painting the lug nuts pink. The crewman said, "So he can see them if he drops one." The fan just nodded as though it made all the sense in the world, all the while my mom is about to bust a gut. The crewman who answered him WAS the tire changer, and he was marking his own tires.
When I dropped my second Coke, I knew it was going to be a bad day. This time it cracked the bottle and started spewing. My quick reflexes allowed me to use my foot to roll it over before picking it up and throwing it away. Since there was hardly anyone left in the pits, I decided I wouldn't lose my place going to get another, but I wanted to wait until after the first pit stop.
I missed most of the first pit stop because two DEI executives entered the pit and stood right in front of me, blocking my view. After it was over, I ate my burrito (Mom said she warmed hers up by laying it (in foil) on the side of one of Rusty's used tires. She also notes that when the tires came off the car, the sidewalls were hot, but the side that touches the track (what do you call it if it doesn't have tread?) was relatively cool.
As soon as the car had left pit road, Tony Eury Sr. turned to the crew and said, "Who didn't bring the tire back?" When one of the rear tire changers 'fessed up, Tony Sr. said angrily, "Don't let that happen again! That's a 15-second penalty. Get that f-----g tire back over here where it's supposed to be!"