A cold weekend in Atlanta, but nothing cheers me up more during a dreary cold winter than the sound of high horsepower V-8 engines and the smell of high octane racing fuel. Back several years ago after a hiatus from driving short track race cars, I returned to the local track to drive a car for a friend one Saturday night. As I walked across the track, I saw a friend fueling his late model. I walked over to the gas pumps and chatted with them a few. When they asked me if I had missed racing, I stuck two fingers in the race car fuel cell dipping into the sweet smelling racing fuel and then splashed it behind both ears like cologne. I think it sufficiently answered their question.
I have been out of the seat of a race car for the last 9 years, but my passion for racing and motorsports has not died. So, covering the race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway is always an enjoyable sideline.
Friday night the track hosted open wheel modifieds on the 1/4 mile "thunder ring" short track and it was some of the best racing I have seen in a long time. As I write this the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is qualifying for today's 3pm race. Tomorrow the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars will compete.
Watching it on TV is enjoyable. Sitting in the stands at the track is even better. But, being able to walk thru the garage as teams ready their cars and walking down pit road during the pit stops is the best fix I get since retiring from driving.
