Vacation, Day 12, 11/1/2009, Part 6

NAPA crew member getting ready for the race by applying a sticking substance to a lug nut.


Then he positions each lug nut on the wheel. That way they'll already be there when the tire is quickly placed onto the race car during a pit stop.


Here you can see how the tires looked before the man sat down and got to work. The yellow lug nuts are beside the holes in the wheels. He puts each lug nut onto the hole.

I found this about attaching the lug nuts at the NASCAR insiders dot com:

The glue used by most teams is a weatherstripping adhesive from a company called Norton. While fairly easy to work with, weather conditions can alter its effectiveness. Teams will usually glue wheels up two to three hours before a race starts, so the glue has time to set up. Glue up too early, and the glue will become hard and brittle. Do it too late, and the glue will be soft and have no strength.


Another team finished their lug nuts before I got there to take the photo.

Be sure to check out Dr. Theopolis at Portland Oregon Daily Photo!

Vacation, Day 12, 11/1/2009, Part 5

Juan Pablo Montoya's pit box.

Various tools await to fulfill the pit crew' needs, later on in the race. I'm going to make my best guess about these.

Drills.


Helmets. Delphi Micro Pulse, whatever that is.


Saws.


Catch can.


Wedge wrenches.

Vacation, Day 12, 11/1/2009, Part 4

Earl Scheib vehicle takes a lap around the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway well before the start of the race. It's like maybe 8:45 a.m.


Found this on the Web: Earl Scheib was a company which specialized in repainting and collision repair of automobiles, with locations in 23 states in the US. Earl Scheib ceased operations nationwide on July 16, 2010. The corporation will no longer honor its customer warranties. Each store is now independently owned and operated by individual owners.

A very special portrait of Duncan, our darlin' dachshund

The glorious portrait of Duncan stands beside our television, near the box that holds his ashes, beside a favorite photo. The beautiful potted azalea came to Mama on Valentine's Day, 2008, by way of our dear friend Fred Washburn. Covered with blossoms for a very long time when it first arrived, the little azalea has now bloomed two more times in the past two years.


Karina Riebel of Painted Dog Studios completed the portrait from a photo that I had e-mailed to our friend Leslie Rosella. She and Chris Cooley gave the painting to us--sweethearts that they are.

Vacation, Day 12, 11/1/2009, Part 3

"It's me! It's me! It's Ernest T" said Ernest T. Bass. Remember that line from "The Andy Griffith Show"? I love it myownself. I'm standing in my favorite spot at Talladega Superspeedway, right at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s pit box! Lucky, lucky me. And don't I look way too cute in my hat with the propeller, one rain jacket tied around my waist, wearing a light-weight sweater and my new Dale Jr. T, my second rain jacket stuffed into my Goodwill-purchased Kate Spade handbag!


I wrote him a note!


Joey Logano's used lug nuts, for sale for charity. I bought a couple.

If you've got time, head on over to Portland Oregon Daily Photo to see today's post. You can get there by clicking the link at the bottom of this post in My Other Blogs. Thanks!

Vacation, Day 12, 11/1/2009, Part 2

Symbolic of the day, the starter's box at Talladega Superspeedway. I took this photo as Ian and I walked down through the empty stands so that we could walk across the track itself, all the way to pit road!


I have to say that I love this photo! Why?


Can you see those two men in the truck, the one of the left and the one on the right? I don't have any idea who they both are, nor can I even see the person in between them. But it's obvious that they could see me and my camera. Look at the eye contact! Look at the smiles! Excitement all around.

I've just found that what we have here is a NASCAR Pace Car Ride! So at least one, maybe two of the people in there won the chance to ride around the track at Talladega. Good grief! Wouldn't I just about faint if I could get to do that? Yep!

Vacation, Day 12, 11/1/2009, Part 1

Breakfast on race day, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich!


What is Milton up to here?


He's put together this little propane heater to help deal with the condensation on the inside of the golf cart cover!


He enlisted Ian to wipe the outside in unison with him as he wiped the inside. I think that was a smart move because it gave Milton something solid to push on with the paper towels.


You can tell that it rained quite a bit the night before. Mud city, right there at the campground beside Talladega Superspeedway.


Steaming mud on the way to the track.


Ian and I walked over early, avoiding the mud, so that we could take advantage of our Pit Road Passes!

More tomorrow. If you have time, stop by Portland Oregon Daily Photo, my other blog, for a vivid head of hair!

Vacation, Day 11, 10/31/2009, Part 4

Another yummy supper, Halloween Night, 2009, at Talladega Superspeedway.


Baked beans.


Ham.


Potato salad.


Bread.

Now for the few trick-or-treaters who stopped by the campsite.

Vacation, Day 11, 10/31/2009, Part 3

Layers and layers of clothing, a blanket for Kay and a hat for me--that's our race-wear on a cool, it's been raining earlier, day at Talladega Superspeedway!


Jason, Betty and Mike enjoyed themselves, too, despite the cold.


Oops! Couldn't happen in a much worse spot on the track. See the orange cone almost in the bottom center of the photo? That's known as the commitment cone. It sits on the yellow line that marks the beginning of pit road. You must be going a set, announced MPH when you cross it, or you will be penalized. This driver couldn't slow down from probably well over 150 mph!

Found this on the WWW: The pit road speed all depends on the track. Most superspeedway are 70MPH (112 Km/H), however Bristol Motor Speedway is 45MHP which is (72 Km/H). The drivers get their pit road speed before the race, when they are behind the pace car (because the pace car is doing pit road speed). Since they don't have speedometers in the car they use the tachometers and see what RPM (and in what gear, usually second) they are pulling.


One more colorful, anything goes, NASCAR fan.


Reckon this is part of his Halloween costume?


Here's a pretty good shot that shows the steep banking characteristic of Talladega Superspeedway. Going into turn three in this photo, approaching if not already at 32.4 degrees. That's steep!


Another oops! This truck went to the garage.




More of the neat attire worn by race fans.


The sun came out!


It wouldn't be NASCAR without the blimp! Although I wasn't in front of a TV screen, I could visualize the sort of shots taken from on high.


Coming off Turn 4, these two got together somehow. They slid and slid, towards the infield wall.


The 6 truck managed not to hit any walls.


The 81 slid into the infield wall. Here come the safety crews--see the ambulance lights are on, too. And down in the lower right corner of the photo, one NASCAR official waves the flag with the X on it which means pit road is closed. The other official must be assigned to watch traffic. That red line on the blue wall is the official beginning of pit road--you can see the yellow line on the pavement that extends out toward the commitment cone.


There goes the driver, Tayler Malsam, into the ambulance for the ride to the infield care center--a mandatory medical check follows.


Just about time to head for the campground. That doggone Kyle Busch won the race.


One last headwear choice to share with you.


Rutledge Wood on the Speed Channel, back at the toy hauler. I got to meet him when I won the trip to Homestead in 2006.

Come back tomorrow for supper and trick-or-treaters!

Plus, if you've got time, go over to Portland Oregon Daily Photo for today's post of the Hawthorne Bridge, all lit up for its birthday!