October 23, 2009

It’s been a busy week at Talladega Superspeedway and around the state. I spent all day Monday in Huntsville promoting the upcoming AMP Energy 500 weekend. I got the chance to spend some time with an old friend Mark McCarter. Mark is a columnist for the Huntsville Times. I first met Mark in 1993 when he was the media representative for Michael Waltrip during his Pennzoil days. It was fun to catch up with him and rekindle stories about Michael and Jimmy Spencer.

Kurt Busch came to Birmingham Wednesday to hang out with some fans, do some media work for us and take home one lucky fan in the AMP Energy 500 pace car. Boy was she excited! She especially got excited when he peeled out of the parking lot. Kurt enjoyed driving the Dodge Challenger so much, he requested to drive back to the airport instead of going as a passenger.

The most exciting event of the week, however, occurred Thursday when Robert Thrower, a medicine man with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, came and blessed the speedway and restored balance to the land. I’m not sure you’re aware of this, but there are many urban legends and superstitions centered around strange occurrences that have happened in and around Talladega Superspeedway. For example, Bobby Isaac once came in and parked his car for no other reason than he heard voices in his head to get out. The driver strike back in 1969, race cars being vandalized in the garage area the night before a race and it goes on and on. So after 40 years of existence, we thought that there was not a better time than now to put these legends and tales behind us and get a blessing. Mr. Thrower came and prayed over the start finish line and held a traditional ceremony to restore balance.

Next week is race week and it’s always one of the two most exciting weekends of the year for me. Race fans will begin arriving Saturday to line up for the Family Campground that will open Tuesday. When our first guest arrives, that’s when we know it’s show time.