07/02/2024
It's taken far too long for me to tell this story, but it's been nagging at me for over a month now, so there is no better time than now.
Sunday (man I sure have been doing a lot of Sunday racing this year!) May 26, 2024 might go down as my single favorite day of racing. But the story really starts a few days before...
Tuesday, May 21st I get a ping in the Discord (it's a small Discord with only a handful of people from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida, and South Carolina) from my buddy Carter Bouche asking what I think the car count will be at Ogilvie the upcoming Sunday. I'll be honest, this is an odd question to get from someone who lives 5 1/2 hours away. We all know the underlying thought process. This man is clearly thinking about making that looooong drive for some racing.
With an assist from Whoa Nelly Racing, we venture a guess of around 90 cars in total (we were wrong, 103). We then get to chatting about weather, it was a particularly wet week of racing, and all of the other options for racing closer to Carter than my home track.
It would seem at this point, it's all just a fun exercise in talking about races we wish we could be at and working on our amateur meteorology skills. However, I do make sure to let Carter know I'll be in attendance, should Mother Nature smile on us that particular day.
The rest of the week passes. I'd say uneventfully, but going back and reading a week's worth of Discord chats really drives home how diverse our conversations can be. Everything from discussions about the EF scale, to teaching kids about leadership, to making silly inside jokes, to good and bad elements of promoting racing events, and everything in between.
That Saturday, May 25th, Ol' Gal and I made the day trip down to Deer Creek Speedway to catch up with the USMTS - United States Modified Touring Series. It was a blast as always! Spent some time in the pits doing our best not to be awkward (easier said than done), bought some merch for ourselves and WhoaNelly, and stocked up on Carroll's Corn.
When I roll into the house early Sunday morning, I see that Carter has asked one of the Discord's resident meteorologists, Brad Gorman, for an update on Sunday's forecast at Ogilvie and it's a good one! I'm getting excited.
But wait there's more!!! Ryan Wozniak is coming too if the other options rain out. I had met Carter previously when he made the trek to Mississippi Thunder Speedway for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Dairyland Showdown, but I hadn't met Ryan. Now I'm full on jazzed.
Sunday, my favorite day of racing ever, starts with some messages confirming that both Carter and Ryan are nearly in route and a Tweet from WhoaNelly lamenting that he couldn't be joining us.
I know I've taken foooooreeeeevvvveeeerrrrrrr to get to this point, but this is where it really sets in, two of my closest racing buddies are driving 5 1/2 hours to come watch racing with me at my home track. Yes, we spend most of our time chatting in Discord. Yes, we are flung far apart. But these are my buddies. These are the dudes who get to hear the unfiltered version of me and, for some unknown reason, despite all that, they want to come watch racing with me. Time to make it as fun as I can.
First things first, I can't let them come all this way and not hit up one of Ol' Gal's and I's favorite racing stops, Brass Rail. We coordinate schedules and set a time. Ol' Gal and I arrive first and get situated, Carter and Ryan arrive just a few minutes later. Within a minute, we're cracking jokes, laughing, and having a good time. Yup, this is way cooler than I had hoped. Not only is the vibe the same in person, but Ol' Gal fits right in. They accepted her as one of the crew without batting an eye. Ol' Gal, that amazing woman, could make friends with the meanest alley cat so I knew she'd accept them without issue. (Small interlude, I hope I have made it clear throughout my posts how much I adore this woman. There is no DirtInfo without her.) To give an honest reporting, however, it was touch and go there for a minute when the waitress came to take our order and neither Ryan or Carter ordered broasted chicken!!!
Bellies full, we head to the track. We roll into the grandstands and there are open spots in my favorite section! This day just keeps getting better and better!
As we settle in at Ogilvie Raceway and get ready for the FYE Motorsports MN Mod Nationals to kick off, Ryan reveals that this is first time watching a race in Minnesota. Yeah, at this point I'm beaming with pride. Ryan has been to 49 other tracks and this is his first time in Minnesota, at my home track, with me!!!
To make the day even better, I managed to connect with RacingVagabond and we set some tentative plans to catch up should the opportunity present itself. And it sure as heck does. As we see him walk by, I flag him down using the power of my pink Zach Johnson shirt to draw his attention. Thankfully, Vagabond was in the corresponding blue version of the same shirt so he knew he could trust the Kirby looking guy waiving at him randomly.
From there the 5 of us settle in to watch a very entertaining show. Ryan even got to watch one of the coolest modified lead battles he'd ever seen between Jody Bellefuielle, J.T. Johnson, Clayton Wagamon, and Kaden Blaeser. If only he hadn't lost track of the leader, and winner, Ryan Gierke. ๐คฃ
Man was I proud dude. Getting to point out my favorite drivers and share random insights and knowledge. Sharing and listening to funny stories. Learning more about my friends. Making new friends. Sharing the things that bring me joy.
Ultimately, that's what sticks out about this day to me. I got to have fun with my friends at the race track. For some, this is an every weekend occurrence. For others, like me, we are looking to make friends at the track. This was one of the few times I've been able to both bring friends and make friends at the track.
What makes it all the more special to me is the effort that went into making it happen. All of us were at a track the night before. All of us made time to be at the track again, together. My friends drove 5.5 hours just to watch racing with me! I'm going to make that same drive just to watch racing with them!
That's why I love this sport. Every single time I go to the track, I am reminded of something a man much wiser than me asked "Have you ever met someone at the race track that you didn't like?"
