This past Saturday (10/18/2008) was the 20th annual NASCAR Day in Randleman, NC. This event was birthed out of the old yearly Richard Petty Fan Appreciation Day that he held at his shop. It grew too large for the shop and 20 years ago, it morphed into a two-day street festival in Randleman. These days it's just one day, but still just as much fun! (It changed from 2 days to 1 because there's many churches on Main Street and it's hard to get to them Sunday morning with the street blocked off!)We had a great time on Saturday meeting the Gilders and many other fine folks from here at Racer's Reunion - including some people who weren't before, but are now a part of the site.We brought a celebrity of our own - our good friend, Louise Walden. We call her "Mother" because she's nearly 80 and is "Mom" to most everyone 'round here, relation or not. Her husband (who passed in 1991) was Robert "Handlebars" Walden, who raced from 1948-1958. Jeff and Dustin wasted no time in getting an on-camera interview from her (which will hopefully be posted soon!). Mother Louise enjoyed meeting the folks from the Old Time Racer's Group out of Archdale, NC - especially the drivers who knew Handlebars! She also got excited when they started up some of the racecars!!Jeff and Dustin got a lot of video (in fact, here's one of highlights of NASCAR Day - it's great! They got to see and meet some real NASCAR history at the local Firestone Hardware store, which has been there for 62 years. The owner, Reid Andrews, used to mount and balance all of Lee Petty's racecar tires. When Lee complained that the tires weren't balanced right because he was feeling vibration in the race car, Reid explained that they were racing at faster and faster speeds and were starting to feel wind resistance. He told Lee to lower the front of the car, and soon afterwards all the drivers had their cars lowered down in the front, and aerodynamics became a much bigger factor in racing. Reid also joked with us about the "official" fuel of NASCAR - it comes in a quart mason jar (moonshine!). Of course, he was only kidding. We think.This is a yearly event celebrating the extensive NASCAR heritage in this area (more than just the Petty's!). Many consider this part of NC to be the birthplace of racing. Make your plans to come to Randleman next year! (Just remember, if you do come, ask me about hotels to stay in (or the Gilders about hotels to avoid!).-Pastor Ken (and Kathi - whose racing claim to fame is that she's a faster typist than Ken, and so typed this for him!)