Race Day

Even though we celebrated Doug's birthday earlier in the month, he didn't get his actual birthday present until this past Saturday night.  I had talked to him about the possibility of a birthday race package in previous years but he finally decided to give it a go this time around.  All American Raceway in Roseville offers spectator packages for people who would like to come in for the afternoon/evening and compete in a "stockcar" type race.  Doug showed up at 2pm on Saturday for the instruction and qualifying laps.  Out of the seven guys racing, Doug was the only one who didn't have any race experience.  All of the others had been there several times before or normally raced in what's known as the "Bomber" class.  The race was supposed to start at 6:10pm and Doug called early in the afternoon to let me know what time to show up.  Our dear Amanda agreed to come along with me to help wrangle the wee ones.  We were planning to leave a bit early to give ourselves plenty of time to stop and get some cash and find our way to the raceway.  As I was heading to the front door around 5:20, with Jacob in hand, the phone rang.  It was Doug calling to say that the race had been moved up and it would be starting at 5:45 instead of 6:10.  I started to frantically run around, realized I didn't know my pin number for my debit card (I always used the credit card and just get cash from Doug when I need it), called Doug to see if he knew it, got in the truck, got back out to get headsets for the kids, got back in the truck, drove down the road, realized I still didn't know my pin number, turned around and drove back to the house because Anna told me she had a ton of money in her wallet but I only found $8.00 there, jumped back in the truck and began to drive.  We made it to the raceway, found a place to park outside because we didn't have enough money to pay for parking and the entrance fee, literally ran to the entrance only to find that it would cost $35 to get in and Amanda and I only had $16 between the two of us.  The lady there was SOOOO nice and only had me pay for the kids. We made it through the main gate and began to RUN to find the grandstand as they were announcing Doug's name over the loudspeaker!  I dropped my wallet.  Lauren picked it up.  I dropped Jacob's jacket.  Lauren picked it up.  Amanda had Jacob in her arms and we were all running around, completely unaware of where we were supposed to be.  We came across another gate and could see the cars lined up but the security guard wouldn't let us through without a stamp even though we had our tickets.  We had to race back through the food section to find the "main" entrance and got to the stands just as the official waved the green flag.  Whew!  That's Doug in the yellow #2.

The race started and I would be surprised if Doug didn't hear Anna cheering him on.  She loves her Daddy!  The race was only 15 laps long and Doug started in the back.  He kept fighting and working his way up though and made it to third place!  He was closing in on #s 1 and 2 and I really think he could have taken them if he'd had a few more laps to go.

He came and met us in the stands after his race and we watched a few more races until it was time for the trophy presentation.  Doug went down onto the field and was interviewed but somehow they misplaced all the trophies for the spectator racing portion!  I think they're going to mail it to us.  He had such a great time though and would do it all over again.



 Happy Birthday, Honey!  We love you!