Walking at 100 mph

What a weekend. Justin and I went to the Nascar Sprint Cup race in Martinsville, VA on April, 3. The trip was Justin's birthday present for his 16th birthday. We left mid-morning on Saturday and pulled back into the driveway at 11:30 Sunday night. We covered some miles and had a great time together. We have been to races before, but neither of us had been to a short track for a Nascar race before this trip. After a brief moment of reflection, it was decided that I will make this trip again sometime. It was a blast.

Probably the best part of the weekend was the many ways that we saw God meet needs and provide.
(1) Only a few days prior to the trip, the weather report was calling for rain. We had bright, sunny skies until we were within 100 miles of home.

(2) We had absolutely NO traffic problems at all, going or coming. There is a section of I-81 in VA that is undergoing major construction, but there were no delays on the weekend. We arrived at the track without sitting in traffic. We found parking with no trouble close to the track. After the race, we had a short walk to the van, were allowed into the traffic line quickly and began the slow drive to the highway. Once there, we had quick travel toward home. I have spent hours in traffic at other races.

(3) We were able to see and do practically everything we wanted. Our seats were great, allowing viewing of the entire track. We had plenty of time to wander around the souvenir trailers. We had passes to go out on the front straight and watch cars finish inspection and then get rolled onto the starting grid. We were able to see part of Speed Channel's pre-race show live and we saw part of Fox Sport's pre-race show being broadcast live. We even tried the "famous" Martinsville hot dog.

(4) We spent significantly less than I expected. First, Martinsville offers a special deal to encourage kids (0-16) to attend. Justin's race ticket was all of $10, allowing me to get seats a touch higher in the stands and still spend less than at other tracks. The race tickets for both of us were less than what I usually spend for one ticket at other Cup races. The tickets and the track passes totaled less than 2 tickets at other events. Too cool. Also, the van ran great and actually got almost 23 mph. The hotel in Roanoke was inexpensive, but only 1 hour from the track. It cost me $75 less than a hotel in Martinsville would have. Overall, the price was right.

(5) We saw a great race. It had action throughout, especially if you were able to see the track and were not locked into watching one car at a time. My race scanner allowed us to listen in and hear some of what was happening. We had all of the items needed to watch and hear the race. I did not need to purchase anything as far as equipment. We have all that we need.

God was so very good. We had a wonderful, memorable weekend with much time together. The highlight of the entire weekend was having the opportunity to spend time with my son. It was a blast to have the weekend "alone" with him. He is growing up and developing into a fine young man, even if he does cheer for Jeff Gordon. I guess I will allow him that one issue to deal with. I simply rejoice in the goodness and graciousness of God to me and my family.