The morning of the Pocono 500 dawned cloudy and cool, when only a day before it was supposed to be sunny and warm. On the way to the track the sun decided it was going to tease us by peeking in and out of the clouds, but in general the sky remained gray.
Casey Mears was signing at 10AM and Kurt at 10:30AM, so the first thing Danni, Mom and I did was go check out their souvenir rigs. Unfortunately tickets were needed for Kurt’s line and they were sold out, which was really disappointing for me because first of all I’d love to meet him and secondly I was lugging around Pit Road Pets in my David Reutimann backpack. The book got amazingly heavy very quickly. Then we headed off to Casey’s rig, on the way discovering that the Team Red Bull boys, JJ Yeley and David Gilliland were also going to be signing. When we got to the #25 trailer we found that no tickets were needed but the line was already stretching behind several rigs. I would have loved to have gotten Casey’s autograph but it’s more fun for me to watch the drivers than to stand in line for a long time and spend about five seconds with them (not to mention I’m pretty good at making a fool of myself in front of Casey). It turns out that my choice had a happy ending.
We were talking to a woman who also liked Casey a lot and who had run right into him at Daytona. I’ve read that Casey walks to his signings because he’s not that recognizable, but was a little surprised he still does it now that he’s better known among the fans. This lady said that she came face-to-face with him and was entranced by his eyes (I know how that feels…she’s 100% right about those eyes, and I’m not trying to be a goofy fangirl). He was very nice to her and very casual, which was cool to hear. While we waited for Casey to arrive we talked about autographs vs. photographs and both agreed that we like the photographs more since they bring back memories better than someone’s signature.
When Casey appeared my heart jumped as it always does, and the lady and I shared a satisfied glance. Casey seemed a little shyer than normal but still was very nice to everyone he signed for (especially the little kids), and always willing to take pictures. I noticed that his mom, Carol, had come out with him, so that was pretty cool.
After a while we were getting ready to leave for the TRB rig when suddenly Danni asked, “Is that Roger?” I turned around and Roger Mears was standing next to Carol. I love Roger so I was very excited to see him. Jim jumped on the opportunity to get our pictures taken with them and asked them if it would be okay. They happily complied (though they looked a little surprised that we wanted pictures with them). Jim cheerfully said that we were very short but are “like twenty”, which made Carol laugh and say, “Oh, really? Wow!” The Mears couple leaned down to compensate for our shortness and there is our first picture with NASCAR personalities! So they aren’t drivers, but they made one! Danni and I thanked them with glee and said goodbye.
When we reached the TRB rig AJ was already there, signing and talking. I think he was worried about how he was going to run because although he was friendly to every fan he met he looked distracted when he wasn’t doing anything. Danni had a Red Bull can she wanted him to sign but was too nervous to get on the line, so me being Miss Tough grabbed the can and went to get on the line. The problem was made clear to me as I watched a little kid duck under the fence, only to get yelled at very rudely by the line controller (I guess that’s what he was), “You need a ticket!” The kid looked frightened and walked away. then another guy came up to the line controller and asked if he could get on the line (by the way, no one was on AJ’s line anymore), and the line controller gave him the same nasty, “YOU NEED A TICKET!!!” So basically I didn’t even ask. AJ stuck around for a few minutes with a bit of an uncomfortable expression on his face (it must suck to have no one to sign for, but no one could get tickets because of Mr. Rude!) and then left after only ten minutes total of signing. I was perplexed. If TRB wants AJ to sign for people then they shouldn’t be so crappy to the fans! There was no one on AJ’s line at the time and I don’t see why the guy wouldn’t allow three more people to sneak in.
Brian was up next, though we had to wait a while for him. The first thing I noticed about him (besides that he is very good-looking and that his eyes really are the same color as his hair) was that he appeared very nervous and shy as everyone screamed and cheered for him. As he sat down his eyes darted all over the place and it took a few minutes for him to relax. Despite his apparent jitters he was talkative and ready to smile (and, like Casey, especially for the kids). Danni snapped some pictures of him and then we took off toward Kurt’s rig.
It was a MOB! I couldn’t believe how big the crowd was but it made me a little apprehensive because I was afraid that there would be a lot of fans there to boo him. We slipped our way toward the front part of the swarm and waited. Kurt was late (as usual) but when that door opened I got a good cheer ready to rip. So did everyone else in the crowd except one or two people! The few that booed were cut short and left mighty quick, probably shocked and afraid that us Kurt fans were going to beat them up like the cowards they were! The cheers were wonderful and Kurt soaked them all up with an appreciative grin.
By far, Kurt is the most fan-friendly driver I’ve ever seen. He smiled and talked to every fan and whenever someone in the crowd called for him he’d look up, grin and give a thumbs-up. I couldn’t be prouder to be a fan of his, and anyone who dislikes him is really missing out on a great guy. Every time I watch him sign I love him more and more.
Finally we dragged ourselves away from him and looked for the green rig of JJ Yeley. I may sound like a little fangirl again, but when I saw him I actually had to look away and catch my breath. He is a million times more handsome in real life than on TV, and he’s pretty handsome on TV!
JJ was amiable toward both the fans on the line and in the crowd. However, his confidence turned to embarrassment when out of nowhere some stupid tart from the RaceGirl rig showed up and made a big scene. JJ’s face turned bright red because she actually had the nerve to start stroking his chest and cheeks, and put her umbrella in front of both of them and pretended to be kissing him. I thought this was pretty inappropriate, even as a joke, since JJ is married, not to mention that he looked incredibly awkward. I also felt it was very unfair to his fans because they got less of an experience with him as he was so distracted by this hobag. Luckily JJ handled it very well and even posed with her before she (at last) left. Immediately he recovered and radiated relief. Poor JJ!
Next up was Reed Sorenson, who was hiding in the corner of his rig behind a flag, which made him really hard to see. It didn’t take long for me to guess that he wasn’t feeling too well, since I heard him very audibly snuffle - and it sounded pretty congested! He was also being harassed by a pair of cougars, one who snorted when she laughed after she took his picture (I must admit I giggled in spite of my irritation with them). Check out Reed’s face!
Thankfully we got a good smile when someone in the crowd yelled, “Reed, you’re badass!”
Lastly we went to see David Gilliland. He was signing some diecast before he started with the fans and was also hiding a little bit. He was very shy, but also gave a nice smile. The lady standing in front of us remarked on how little he is, and that he could be her son! Mom was surprised to learn that David is in his 30s, since he looks very boyish.
We also saw Robby Gordon and David Ragan but were heading off to other rigs at the time so we didn’t take pictures. Kasey Kahne was apparently having a Q&A session (what a screaming squealing mob that must have been!) and Jim and Nicole just missed Jamie McMurray’s Q&A. I think in the three years we’ve been going to Pocono more drivers were signing this time than ever before! It was a lot of fun to watch them all.
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