Q:
A: Not childhood but still a good one. I had a friend working at Atlanta for the Hooters 500 in 1992 who got me and my brother in the pits. We hung out with Lake Speed's team (Purex #83) and Alan Kulwicki's pit was next door. Not only did I get to see an epic battle for a championship decided between three drivers by one lap (Elliott, Allison, Kulwicki) but I got to see the King pass by right in front of me in a fireball during his last race and shake his hand after wards. When Kulwicki pulled that Ford up off of the track and shut the engine off, I was standing right next to Bob Brooks and I said, 'Kulwicki, where's the party tonight?" Alan replied, "Any where I'm at!" If you pulled the Stock Car racing magazine that covered that race, you will see a picture of me standing next to the Hooter's car with Kulwicki standing on the door. The King took a trip around the track in a convertible and waved one last time to the fans. Bill Elliott won the race but Alan beat him by one lap led to get the five bonus points and win the Winston Cup. And I was there the whole time. The next day before I bid farewell to my friend and rode my bike back to college, I stood up in the silent turn two and watched Darrell Waltrip test his Western Auto car for the next year. I remember looking at the people cleaning up the stands from the day before thinking that I had witnessed one of the best days ever.