Get accused sometimes of bashing when we talk about drivers.
And, I posted today about my feelings of asking for driver autographs while "working" in the business. Don't.
Those subjects and the recent anniversary of a very black day in NASCAR's Daytona history reminded me of a couple of really nice things that someone who could be very intimidating did.
1) Sometime in the mid-90s, very, very early on a crisp November Sunday morning in the infield at Atlanta I was walking from the infield media center to the track cafeteria on the road that also ran in from the old turn one vehicle tunnel. As I walked by a black Chevy Yukon with the windows blacked out, the horn blew loudly and I about jumped out of my skin.
The driver side window rolled down and Dale Earnhardt with that impish smile and crows feet congregating around his eyes "ordered" me to get in the vehicle. At the time I was working for the Richmond track and hadn't worked with Dale directly since 1983. Teresa was in the passenger seat. Dale said, "I just wanted to tell you in person in front of Teresa how much I appreciate the things you did for me at Wrangler. You need to hear it and so does she." Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather, but it was a very special moment.
2) Also, in the late 90s, my wife managed a one of a kind boutique owned by a major department store chain in downtown Charlotte that sold only cosmetics and fragrances primarily to customers from the surrounding big bank headquarters buildings.
The high performance of her store one year was rewarded by dinner with a group of about ten other high achieving ladies at a very pricey and exclusive Morton's Steakhouse in downtown Charlotte. Unknown to her was the fact Dale and Teresa were also eating there that evening. She hadn't seen Dale in years.
As she described it to me, someone suddenly put their hands on her shoulders while all the other ladies at the table gasped in astonishment! Of, course, it was Dale, who proceeded to inquire about her and our daughters who used to swim with his kids in the motel pools at Bristol and Nashville in the summer.
Before he left the table, Dale graciously signed several cocktail napkins for the ladies.
My wife still gets tickled remembering those ladies almost peeing in their pants!
Kind of like the old Candid Camera television show slogan... "When you least expect it, you're elected, it's your lucky day..."
Drivers aren't always as intimidating as they seem and I will forever appreciate what Dale did for my wife and her group.
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM