Thank you and goodbye to Red Bull Racing

I know, it's odd. I'm a NASCAR fan. I'm a well educated, hip hop loving, NYC living, book reading, 31 year old woman....who loves NASCAR.

Growing up on the weekends I did my fair share of playing outside, riding bikes, going to the community pool (in the non-peak sun damage times of the day...thanks crazy mom), going to Opryland, and playing sports. However, every weekend in our house there was always sports of some sort on the TV. Depending on the time of year it was NFL football, college football, college basketball, MLB, Golf, NBA, and also on Sunday's my dad (who controlled the remote on Sunday) would often times put on the NASCAR race. My father (VERY well educated, cinematographer, music lover, garden grower, etc) liked to watch NASCAR. I don't think he had a driver that he particularly pulled for or if he did I never knew.

I, on the other hand, loved Bill Elliot. I liked his nickname (AwesomeBill for Dawsonville) but mostly I liked him as a child because I was pretty sure he looked like a real life version of Ronald McDonald. As Bill got older and stopped winning and when I started college I stopped watching NASCAR. I can't tell you if my dad did as well as his home life changed too.

Not until 2009 had I thought about NASCAR since I moved out in 1998 but that was the year I started working for Red Bull. The next thing I know I had the opportunity to go to the 2010 spring race in Bristol, TN -- a track known for it running the fastest mile on earth. I was new the company but I knew this could be my only chance-- I asked if I could have 2 tickets and if I could bring my dad.

My relationship with my father has been pretty shaky since 1999-ish and I wasn't sure if he would even want to go-- a 5 hour drive, hotel night stay, the race and then driving back...it would be the most time we had spent together since before my parents divorced. To my surprise-- he wanted to go...and go we did.

We drove to Knoxville the night before the race, had dinner at some crappy chain restaurant and woke up bright and early to get to Bristol on Sunday. We had Hot Passes which allowed us access to the pits, the drivers, the haulers-- everything-- it was pretty cool, and I couldn't imagine spending it with anyone else. And since AwesomeBill wasn't racing any longer I had to find a new driver/team to pull for...insert Red Bull Racing. At the time it was manned by drivers Brian Vickers and Scott Speed and later Vickers and Kasey Kahne. We got to see both Speed and Vickers close up, interact with their crew and my dad, the constant photographer, was able to take pictures all day long. In fact, he became the official Red Bull photographer for the day as there were important guests that had forgotten their camera.

The race started and the sound was just unbelievable-- we were unprepared-- no headphones with scanners, no earplugs...no problem. We soaked it up. The sounds, the smells-- cars headed to the pits, watching a pit stop from 5 feet away, trying to stay out of the way of rolling tires-- the intensity of being in the pits was quite an adrenaline rush.

And from that day until right now, I've either watched or followed along via Twitter with every NASCAR race- cheering for Red Bull Racing. And so has my dad. I can't imagine he's been quite as involved as I have but I know he's been watching. He called to congratulate us on last weeks big win in Phoenix.

I don't know if I'll watch next year without Red Bull in the hunt. I'm sure I'll always cheer for Kasey and Brian in their future endeavors but mostly I have NASCAR to thank for one of the best weekends in some time with my dad.

Below are some pictures-- Mark Martin (my dad tried to act cool but he was totally enamored), my dad playing with his camera, and the pit crew helmets.

Cheers to Red Bull Racing. Cheers to NASCAR. Cheers all around.

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Upstate New York...my new favorite place

Just finished my first ever collegiate trek through UNY and it was some sort of epic. Mostly I had amazing tour guides Andrei and Tim and the landscape was just gorgeous. It reminded me quite a bit of Alabama which made me yearn for more of the open land and sky that isn't blocked by uber tall buildings. I digress...let's talk food.

Like the complete idiot that I am I had never put Buffalo Wings and Buffalo, NY together...the genius of my brain never ceases to amaze me. So, I flew into Buffalo on Thursday morning and by the time lunch rolled around we were ready to check out Duff's. http://www.duffsfamouswings.ca/content/home/home.html

There are 2 famous Wing establishments in Buffalo-- Anchor Bar apparently invented the "Wing" and Duff's claims to have perfected it. Duff's claims that Medium= Hot, Medium Hot=Very Hot, and Hot= Very Very Hot. Not sure of what "hot" means in Buffalo we decided to go with Medium and you know what? They were ehhh...Medium Hot. But...they were tasty. Good flavor, crispy, and BIG!

I also was able to try some of Tim's "Beef on Weck" sandwich-- apparently another Buffalo traditional fare option. Tender roast beef served on a Kummelweck roll (a roll topped with copious amounts of Kosher salt and caraway seeds). The salt, caraway and beef really do mix well together but just too much salt for my taste.

Our next foodrageous stop was for dinner at Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester. http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/ When Andrei said we were going to a BBQ place for dinner my response was : "You know I'm from the south, right?". He was pretty positive that Dinosaur could stand up to my high BBQ standards...and I have to admit, he was right.

First I had to try their Fried Green Tomatoes....the tomatoes themselves were super great with a really nice breading but they served it with a ranch dressing that was very overpowering and a little runny in consistency. I prefer a thicker remoulade.

Next I ordered the "Big Ass Pork Plate" with a side of mashed potatoes and a side salad. As most of my frequent readers know (all 2 of you), mashed potatoes are one of my favorite foods-- right up there with eggs. First- the pork-- it was damn good. Really nicely smoked, tender but yet not mushy as it can sometime be-- defined meat but not stringy. They top it with a homemade bbq sauce that was somewhat typical but flavorful. I was glad they didn't put too much sauce because I'm of the belief that too much sauce RUINS good BBQ.

The mashed potatoes were good- definitely homemade. Could have used a bit more black pepper but that's just my preference. I was able to try some of Tim's Mac & Cheese and it definitely didn't live up to expectations but Mac & Cheese is hard to do in mass and keep the quality.

While the food in UNY was great...the sky, scenery and company really made the trip. I tried to get a good picture of the sunset Friday night but it doesn't do it justice.