“If you’re not lost, you’re not much of an explorer.” This was the story of our lives last year. I’ve never known two people who can take more wrong turns, than right…except for my mother and I. We spent 2015 selling apparel and doing social media updates on race night for the National Sprint League. When deciding our departure time for the next show, we would allow for thirty extra minutes in case we got lost, which was the majority of the time!
The drives were nothing short of exciting. On our trip to Huset’s Speedway on May 24th, we barely made it to a BP gas station where we accidently filled the diesel truck with gas! At least we enjoyed a nice sit-down meal at the connected restaurant while we waited for Dave Lunstra to get us (Thank you so much to him). Life on the road was always about sleeping in and doing our hair and makeup in the vehicle. We were going to use our time wisely and get ready. It was pouring rain. We walked into the merchandise trailer to find our bags soaked from a leak! You can only imagine how we reacted to all of this when we finally made it to Huset’s, and the races rained out anyway!
What did Savanna Johnson and I do when there was a rain out? We just jumped in the car and drove five hours north to hit a local race! Many car rides were filled with a bunch of fun times, driving as quick as possible to a gas station, laughing until we’re crying, and occasionally we were four crabby girls when it got too late!
We had early mornings, late nights, lots of coffee, and we were always hungry! But I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We would arrive at tracks mid-morning and start our routine to get ready. I handled a lot of the merchandise side. I dealt with the money, reports, driver’s shirts, and my favorite thing, hanging sponsor banners! Okay, that last job may have been a bit sarcastic, but Savanna and I always made the best of it. When it was 90 degrees and sunny in the mid-afternoon and we were climbing bleachers to hang them, we just wanted a cold shower. We learned really quickly that as soon as the checkered flag waved, we better take down the sponsor banners before the fans do.
At Huset’s Speedway on July 26th, I was walking from the merchandise trailer to take down banners when I came across a couple boys running with several over their shoulders. I yelled, thinking they would stop and give them back, but that only made them run faster. I started running after them, but then realized I wasn’t sure how I was going to get them. Thank goodness for Lauren Stewart who wasn’t giving up and got them back for us! The bright side to that was we didn’t have to take them down that night. They did it for us!
We may have all now gone our separate ways with work, but the year was full of learning experiences, many ups and downs, and a ton of memories.
Thanks to an offer from Brian Brown, I’m continuing life on the merchandise side of things. I don’t know what I would have done this year, if I didn’t continue working for a team. I enjoy meeting so many great fans, and sharing some great merchandise with them! You can find me on Saturday nights at Knoxville Raceway under the grandstands, and occasionally at other tracks, too!