I'm sure that most race fans can remember their first race - when, where, with who, etc. I am proud to say I have been a race fan for over half of my life.... except that would only be a decade. I remember it well, back in 2003, I was 7 years old. I saw the last NASCAR race that season; actually, it was more like the last two laps of the last race.

It was a special race as I would find out much later. It was the last time a NASCAR race was to be called the 'Winston Cup'. It was the cigarette maker's 32nd season as title sponsor of the top-level of NASCAR, which during its stay had seen more than it's fair share of thrills. At the time, the United States Government was making it harder and harder for tobacco companies to advertise, and starting at the 2004 season, NEXTEL would step in and take over as title sponsor.

When I saw my first race, the 2003 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, my family was sitting down to a meal at Cici's Pizza when for the last handful of laps, my dad and grandpa turned around to watch the race on the restaurant's big screen. I soon stopped eating for a moment to join in on their excitement as Bill Elliott, who I later found out was a hometown hero, was leading with about a lap and a half to go. Bill was piloting his Evernham owned #9 Dodge for the last time as a full-time driver. For 2004, he would semi-retire as a driver and become a driving coach for a rookie, Kasey Kahne, who was taking over the ride for the next season. At this point in the race, it looked as if Elliott was going out with a bang with a 45th career victory (he had just won the week before at Rockingham). Just then, NBC's play-by-play announcers, Allen Bestwick & Benny Parsons had called out that Bill took the white flag, and was 'just playing' with second place, Bobby Labonte. While watching the race, my father told me that the only way that Elliott couldn't win now, was if he happened to blow a tire. The very second he said, Benny Parsons shouted "And Elliott blew a tire in turn 2.....Bobby Labonte is going to win" I still blame my dad for jinxing Bill that day and what would've been his last win. Instead, it was Bobby Labonte's last victory. Also in 2003, it was his older brother Terry's last victory in the last true Southern 500. At the spring Darlington race that year, it was also Pontiac's last win in NASCAR.

My dad and granddad didn't continue eating until the TV crews interviewed a disappointed Bill Elliott. That was my first small taste into the world of stock car racing. That one lap disappointment was an absolute thrill and I soon found out I was hooked. I figured if my family was interested in it, then I had to be right in the middle of it also.

About two months later, at Christmas time, I received a NASCAR computer game, it was a few years old, but it helped me learn the older drivers. I also got a NASCAR history book, and to top it all off, a brand new go-kart! My mom even made me a jumpsuit; I really felt like a race car driver.

Starting with the next season, I starting watching every race I could, learn every driver, paint scheme, and I was big on collecting anything that said NASCAR on it. I remember for several years in a row, I would always get sick around Daytona. Since I couldn't go outside or anything, I watched every lap of the 'Great American Race'. I remember in 2004, Tony Stewart dominated the race, but Dale Earnhardt Jr., who I would later find out he was the off-spring of a 7-time champion, would go to win. Tony Stewart was who my dad was pulling for, earned a runner-up, so naturally he became my favorite.

In a nut-shell, those first couple of laps I witnessed introduced me into a lifetime of a soon-to-be career. As soon as I started to accumulate history books of racing, I loved studying the history of the sport. I would collect any kind of racing memorabilia. In 2008, I would begin volunteering at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame where that alone has led me to meet so many great and monumental legends of racing. Starting in 2010, I joined on board here with Racers Reunion, and became a member of the radio. And for almost a year, I have worked at Atlanta Motorsports Park. A place where I get payed and can still be involved in Motorsports.

When you think about it, it's really amazing that just by watching a lap of a race as a child, it has opened up many doors. I thought what better to talk about tonight, than to celebrate the anniversary of the first auto race I ever saw.