This year was the big one, the year that I hit the big 30. I really wasn’t looking forward to my 30th birthday. Then again I really don’t look forward to any of my birthdays. I will say that this one was a little different.
For months, at least since October, Dawn had been teasing me that she was going to make this birthday special. To be honest it was not something that I was looking forward to. The last thing that I wanted was to have a big hoopla about my birthday.
To make matters worse Dawn made it clear that her surprise was time sensitive. She had been poking and prodding me about my schedule around the time of my birthday. Similar to last year, this spring I was scheduled to attend a week long training class in San Francisco around my birthday.
Finally, the day comes and Dawn hands me this envelope with a Richard Petty Driving Experience logo on it. I tear into it and discover that Dawn had purchased an eight lap package at Las Vegas Motor Speedway!! This was truly an awesome present!! There was one problem however; I would have to wait three weeks before I could go!! Ohhh the agony!! Thankfully the three weeks passed rather quickly and it was race time!!
Talk about an authentic NASCAR race day experience, we even had jets flying over as we were about to get started. The speedway is located right next door to Nellis AFB and they were running training exercises that day and this is one of maybe a dozen jets we had flying overhead before our laps started.
The weather that day was absolutely beautiful. It was hot, but not unbearably so. I mean it was only 100 something degrees instead of the 110’s of degrees. However, the Richard Petty folks did their absolute best to make sure that we were as comfortable as they could make it. They had the huge portable coolers and plenty of water to go around. Furthermore, they did their absolute best to make things comfortable for the family of those who there to do laps. As I was watching some safety videos and doing some laps in a van discussing safety, Dawn and Lexi were busy doing their own thing. I was told later that at no time did Dawn or Lexi feel like they were either unwanted or in the way. As a matter of fact they even let the little kiddo pose for some pictures with her favorite car.
Overall, the experience was absolutely amazing. It was so nice to hear that Dawn and Lexi had as an enjoyable time as I did. Considering they were only there as observers, I can only imagine how much of miserable time they could have had if the staff present were unaccommodating. However, it felt as if they were trying to make it enjoyable for everyone involved, the participants and the observers.
If anyone needs a great gift idea for that special someone for a special occasion I hands down recommend this to anyone, NASCAR fan or not. I think this picture sums it up well.
If I had a chance to do it again I would not hesitate to do so.
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