We got cautions, we got pitstops...You can't hear a dang thing once the flag drops...

Thursday morning we made a quick stop at the Eustis Farmer's Market. It took all the self control I had to NOT buy a flat of the beautiful berries (Plant City strawberries, where we will be attending the Strawberry Festival). We were headed for Daytona for the day and I knew there was no way I was going to have the time to process them.

The weather was ugly...wind and rain, but since most of the program was inside, it was a perfect day for the NASCAR museum.

The first thing you walk in they put you right in front of this huge gift shop....I call these places "Needful Things"....fortunately I don't need anything!!!

Our first stop was at one of the feature movies. Informative and fun!!

And anyone who has seen the Disney movie 'CARS...will recognize the Hudson Hornet

This is one of the unique displays. This just looked like a regular race car and all of a sudden the body is being lifted and the frame and chassis are exposed for study.... Then the body comes back down.

The motorcycle display.....

We checked the time of the tours of the race track and luck was with us because it stopped raining just long enough for us to take the half hour tour on the shuttle.

When we got right out on the track it was overwhelming. First of all I had no idea how many spectators they could actually seat. Then when we saw the curves up close, it was like WOW they are that steep??? Television is deceiving!! In a way I would love to camp and sit on top of the motor home and watch a race....and then on the other hand I don't know if I could deal with that many race fans. I know they have it very organized but it looks as though it would take a week to get out of the parking lot!!
If I had known we were going to end up on Victory lane I would have had a bottle of champagne to pour over Alex's head!! Just to make it little more authentic.....

One of the many simulated rides where you could experience racing......

This was one of my favorite attractions. Anyone who wanted to could go in and change a tire on this race car and they would time you. Winner gets his/her name on the board for the day. While we were watching there was a little boy about 5 years who was rolling the tire to his dad. He was SO serious!! He also knew what he was doing!

This was another of the movies. This was 3D which of course is always great fun!!

Joe and Alex were the only ones who went on this ride. It was a hoot to watch them. If you hit a wall the car shook, tipped and rattled. Joe won the race!

The trophy room.....

An ariel view of the track.....

And I guess Dale Earnhardt will always be NASCAR's sweetheart!

I can't imagine the sadness that prevailed the day he died.....

But following in his footsteps and another favorite, Dale Jr.......

OK...so I left ONE little fact out. I drove one of the simulated cars and after about 30 seconds, I told the attendant mine wasn't working. He smiled (trying not to laugh) and said, "I'm sorry mam but you were disqualified"....WHAT...why was I disqualified??? "Mam, you were going down the infield backwards".

THE END