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 By Kaycee Nilson May 21, 2006 Last night, Saturday, May 20, 2006, NASCAR held it’s “All Star Challenge” at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte North Carolina. At the end, it was Jimmie Johnson standing in the winner’s circle with a huge check for one million dollars. In a three-segment race that equaled a total of 90 laps, Johnson dominated the last segment. That is even after a crash that took out 12 cars, including my perennial favorite, Tony Stewart. But the good news is that Coca Cola donated one quarter of a million dollars to the Victory Junction Gang for Kyle Petty being voted into the race. Kyle had one of the campers with him on the stage during Driver Introductions and I think that fact alone made a lot of people realize just what the VJG is about. It’s about the kids; it’s about kids with disabilities. To donate that amount of money from Coca Cola is going to help the children at the camp to not only have a better time, but to have better medical care. But for one moment, not to be handicapped kids, but to be normal kids doing what kids do at camp. The highlight of the event was a signed guitar given to Kyle Petty by the Red Hot Chili Peppers for charity auction for the camp. Then the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang a set in between the segments and the lights from the stage blinded the drivers for the second segment. For those that have never seen the race, there is a 30-lap segment, a 40-lap segment and then a 20-lap segment. But between the 30-lap segment and the 40-lap segment, the field undergoes a “Switch” or a reversal of the line-up. To me, this makes it easier to see who are the better drivers and the better crews. Kurt Busch on lap 20 of the first segment had his engine blown. So his night was over before it even got started. Last night’s win makes Johnson a 7 time winner at this particular track. No small feat for a driver! Especially a driver like Jimmie Johnson, who at the current standing is first in the ranks but never won the Cup Championship. Next weekend is the longest race of the season, “The Coca Cola 600.” This means not 600 laps, but 600 miles. This will test the new tires that were used this weekend designed by Goodyear of a harder compound. But it will also test man and machine against a new surface. This past year Lowe’s underwent a grinding process that brought a new surface to the speedway and some feared of tire wear as in the past on this particular track. So not only do they have a new surface, but new tires designed especially for this track. Many drivers already hate the new tires, They say that the harder compound will take the tires longer to warm up to be at safe speeds. What will happen this next weekend? Only time will tell. ------------ About the author: Kaycee Nilson has completed her first novel, "Night Falls on Chicago." The first two chapters can be viewed at http://www.KayceeNilson.com. Besides writing columns for Useless-Knowledge and Speedway Media, Kaycee is currently working on two more novels, "From the Mind of a Vampire", and "I'll Love You Til You Die." If you have enjoyed what you read, or would like to leave Kaycee a message, please visit her message board at http://www.KayceeNilson.com/Board Email: Kaycee@kayceenilson.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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