Getting to the gate in Martinsville

Race day morning looked like most so far: rainy and cold. The drive from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Martinsville, Virginia, went smoothly and took the expected hour and change. About twenty miles out from the track, we saw our first sign looking for tickets; I was a little surprised we didn't see more until we were within a couple miles of the track.

The weather improved... a little: the rain stopped. It was still only around forty... yes, forty degrees. When we finally found our parking place and got out of the car, we could see our breath... unless the wind was too strong. This was gonna be quite a day. Linda and I had a few hours before the green flag and we had things to do!

One of my favorite things to do is catch a little of the Race Day show with John Roberts, Jimmy "Mr. Excitement" Spencer, and Kenny Wallace; that's them across the top of the image. They were prepared for the chilly weather as well.

I also like to swing by the haulers to see if I can find a driver signing autographs. This time, we were fortunate enough to catch Kurt Busch signing autographs at his hauler; that's him in the lower left.

Linda shot a couple of photos of the haulers; the image in the lower left is from Kyle Busch's hauler; he drives for M&M's. Actually, Kyle and Kurt are on Linda's fantasy racing team so this was a little bonus.

One of the great traditions of Martinsville is found at the concession stand: the hot dogs. Linda and I each ordered one with "everything." For two bucks each, we got an uncommonly pink hot dog buried under chili, mustard, onions, and that vinegar cole slaw that showed up on the barbecue in North Carolina. Well... it's what you do here so we tried them. They were great! Unfortunately, we ate them up before we got a photo; sorry about that uncharacteristic slip.

Everything outside complete, it was time to find our seats.