5:30am and we’re up after getting home at midnight and making it to bed at 1am.  Why the rise and shine at the crack of dawn? Well it’s race weekend, what else are you going to do? We made it the track by 7:30am. We were directed to our tailgating space, about 4 rows from the main gate of the track. A great spot! By 10am we had the grill fired up and breakfast was on the skillet.

It was touch and go through out the day in dealing with the weather. But we kept busy by shopping, keeping up on the Caps win over the Penguins and of course grilling bbq chicken. Finally by 5pm it was time to pack it up and head to our seats with fingers crossed that the rain would stop long enough to get the race in. Thank the rain Gods who covered the track with a giant umbrella and allowed the jet dryers clear the surface and keep it clear for the race. It pour down rain north and south of the track. But some how missed us, just long enough to get the 400 laps on the books.

And what a race it was! Watching Tony and Ryan constantly moving up into the top 10 after each pit stop was exciting. Along with everyone else in our section, we were thrilled watching Jimmy Johnson spin out in turn 2. The last 20 laps kept us on the edge of our seat as Tony moved up into 2nd and Ryan moved into 4th.  Not sure a few additional would have helped Tony catch up to the leader, but Jeff Burton sure was making a run at trying to take 2nd away from him. So I’m glad it finished the way it did.

I’m so proud of Stewart-Haas Racing. It’s great to see Tony and Ryan in the top 12 in points. For a long time we thought Ryan was a much better driver than what his stats were showing. He just needed a good crew, good engines and a chance to put his talent on the track. It also says a lot about Tony and his ability to turn a company around and make it competitive. Wow. The Munchkin and I couldn’t be happier with our boys.