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Friday afternoon, I was able to get away from work and put the finishing touches on my car. As I loaded the most gorgeous sprint car I’ve ever worked on, I heard cables snapping all around me. The trailer door let loose and I prayed I still had four feet and hands. Please don’t quote me on that.
At that point, I was relegated to trailer inventory and clean the shop till someone came along to help me lift the door and call it a day. Considering both weren’t that huge of a task, I found myself on the back porch of grandma’s house having an extremely serious conversation on Bell and Larson at Dirt Bristol. I had no clue she knew who either one of them were. She’s a Logano fan because he owns a skating rink down the road.
FYI, she’s going with Larson. Bell’s just a rookie.
Before grandma and I really started arguing and possibly coming to blows, dad showed up having managed an 18-wheeler for eighteen hours to stop by and defuse the situation… And help me lift the back of the racing trailer.
I told dad she’s passionate toward her racing. He said, “I’ve known her longer than you.”
Anyways….
After the trailer door finally closes, we look at each other to say, “Are we are really doing this?”
The smirk from both answered everything.
“Dad, they start early and finish early up there. Nothing like down here. We actually need to leave on time, this time.”
And for once, dad is texting me at 5AM, “where you at?”
All I can tell him is, “Dad, my girl has never been to any type of race in her entire life, and she’s trying to figure out what to wear.”
Several jeans and sweater combos later, along with a multitude of heel choices, the tears in my eyes that I might miss Driver’s Meeting four states away finally convince her toward a decision.
The F350 cranks up beautifully around 5:30AM and as we roll toward the North, dad and I realize we are actually doing this!
Stopping at a Wendy’s somewhere near Lincoln Speedway became a final realization that we are going to race Lincoln tonight. Watching all the gorgeous toterhomes and tall trailers roll by a while Melissa and I agreed to share a medium fries…One Day babe!
Rolling into staging, not for racing, but just to get in the pits can be extremely intimating. Am I allowed to chill behind Rahmer? Is it cool if I get behind the 91 car? Holy shit, what do I do?!
As we grab pit passes, the coward in me tells dad to drive in the pits as I walk around the track so I don’t have to deal with the anxiety of parking near legends.
Melissa and I walk up the side of turn 1. Her first time ever seeing a race track, and my first time never wondering if I would ever get to race in Pennsylvania.
After watching my girl glance toward her first dirt track in excitement, I looked toward Heaven for clarity and smiled, then saw my trailer rolling through the Lincoln pits.
Life was and is perfect.
Brandon McLain
United Sprint Car Series Driver
2014 Season
National Rookie of the Year!
National Points - 8th
Southern Points - 3rd
Asphalt Points - 3rd
18 Races, 3 Top 5's, 14 Top 10's
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