Thousands jam speedway grounds for Food City Race Night at BMS

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Andy Short usually doesn’t walk around Pilgrims Knob, Va., wearing a hat shaped like a cheese wedge – but as he stood in line Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway and waited for Food City Race Night to begin, his choice of headgear was perfectly logical.

“My favorite driver is Matt Kenseth, and he’s a big Green Bay Packers fan like me,” Short said as the cheesehead, the universal symbol of Packer football fans everywhere, sat firmly on his head.

“I’m hoping he’ll see me wearing my cheesehead and sign it for me,” Short said while his mother, Evelyn – a Tony Stewart fan, she’ll have you know – playfully rolled her eyes. “We have to support each other, you know?”

Neither race fans nor racers were afraid to show their support and affection for each other during Race Night, which saw thousands jam the speedway grounds to take part in the activities.

Some of the memorable moments and images of a Friday family night at BMS include:

“Flip this lid - and sign it, too, please”

It was 20 minutes before the Race Night gates opened at 4 p.m., and at the front of one long line waiting to enter stood Dennis Shelton of Greeneville, Tenn., holding a “deck lid” – a race-car trunk cover – plastered with autographs.

Shelton, along with dad Keith Johnson, had been holding both the spot and deck lid for some time, too.

“We’ve got in line at 7:40 [a.m.],” Shelton said with a laugh. “We’re definitely diehard fans. Obviously, right?”

Shelton was wearing a Kevin Harvick T-shirt, but scoffed and smiled when asked if he’d staked out this early spot in line in a dogged quest to get his favorite driver’s autograph.

“Nah, I already got him,” Shelton said, pointing to one of the 10 signatures on his deck lid. “I’m hoping to get [racers] Eric McClure and Scott Wimmer, maybe a few others. I got plenty of room for a whole lot more autographs, and I’ll keep taking this around till there’s none left.”

Memo to those hoping to be first in line at the August race night party: You’d might start heading to Bristol now. If not, there’s a pretty good chance that a man from Greeneville – with a deck lid – will probably have your spot.

Going to the dogs (and cats and horses and birds...)

Krissie Newman, wife of NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, chuckled when asked to define the role the couple’s six dogs play in their lives.

“They’re our kids, definitely as much as non-kids could ever be,” Newman said. “And they all have their own personalities like kids, too. We’ve got the lazy one, the comical one, the athletic one, the bossy one, the needy one. But we love them all the same, just like you would kids.”

The Newmans are promoting their new book, “Pit Road Pets – The Second Lap: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets.” It’s a sequel to their first “Pit Road Pets” book, released four years ago, and includes photos of some Bristol race fans and their animals.

The couple will sign copies of the book at 2 p.m. today at Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Souvenir Trailer. The book’s earnings will go to several animal-related charities and groups, including an animal “community center” that the Newmans plan to build near their home in Statesville, N.C.

The Next Generation

Charger Division star racer Freddie Taylor Jr. sat at a table far away from where the more-celebrated NASCAR racers were signing autographs.

But most probably, none of those drivers had a smile as broad as Taylor’s as fans came up to meet the 28-year-old Abingdon, Va. racer.

“Man, this is great, getting to see so many fans who know and appreciate what you do,” Taylor said as Kevin Wolfe, a fellow Charger Division star, nodded in agreement from the adjacent table.

“Who knows, maybe one day, I’ll be over in the NASCAR drivers’ tent,” Taylor said. ‘We’ll see how my career goes. But I’m loving this moment. And, when I leave, I’ll be able to go to Walmart without everyone recognizing me.”

The Next Generation - In Pink

Kaylee Ray, 5, and her sister Alexcia, 10, might have been wearing shy smiles as the two – both clad in pink – distributed breast-cancer awareness pamphlets to the passing Race Night crowd.

But the unaware shouldn’t be fooled by the pink or the shy grins: On kart-tracks across Eastern Tennessee, Kaylee and Alexcia Ray of Jonesborough, Tenn., are known as two stone-cold racing demons – as the table full of plaques and trophies behind them clearly proved.

“They’re both eating this day up, they love being out here with other race fans,” said their proud mom, Jennifer Ray, who helped the girls distribute pamphlets along with their granddad, Smoky Ray.

“They want to be the next Danica Patrick, the next Carl Edwards,” Jennifer Ray said. “That’s their dream, and I’ll always support whatever their dreams are.”

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