Practice and Qualifying Birthday - The Good

And no, the title does not mean to imply that I or anyone for that matter needs to practice or qualify for a birthday. Especially when you get to my age. What it does mean is that on Friday, the day of my actual birthday, we decided to take a trip to Fontana to watch the practice and qualifying for NASCAR's Auto Club 500. If you recall, last year we did the same thing in Vegas and had an absolute blast. This year was no exception. To add to the excitement, we had company, as both Scottie and Ali and the Castillo Clan decided to join us.

For those who have never experienced it, I wish I could properly describe the feeling upon seeing and hearing the roar of a stock car as it whizzes by you at 180+ miles per hour. It is such a rush. Jake, not surprisingly wanted his ear plugs in before even entering the grandstands and upon first walking in, he did complain that it was still too loud. But once we got up in the stands a little further, he became adjusted to the noise and broke out in his ear to ear grin as he started to recognize some of his favorite drivers and cars from the races he watches on TV.

Then of course we walked the booths and found several of the 09 diecast cars Jake does not already have, as well as a girly NASCAR t-shirt for me. Jake was also able to repeat his experience from last year, as he raced a remote control Dale Jr. 88, competing against other racers. Unfortunately, unlike last year he did not win but he still had a lot of fun.

I cannot say Jadyn was really into the scene. She refused to wear earplugs and cuddled with us while in the grandstands. By the time we went back in to watch the qualifying, she had fallen asleep and this is her DURING the qualifying. I can't quite fathom how she managed to sleep through all the noise, but she did:

Here are some of the other better pictures from our day at the racetrack. Jake posing with his earplugs:

Scottie and Ali:

The girls with the beautiful snow-capped mountains beyond the racetrack as our backdrop:

The Fenenoz Family with the Castillo Clan in the grandstands - that is Andres and Danielle with their children Adalia and Adan:


He may not look like he is having fun but that was only because he was concentrating so hard:

During our lunch break, the kids were having fun in the grass. This is when Jadyn was falling asleep so unfortunately she missed out on the fun:

Never miss a chance to pose up close with a NASCAR race car:

Not the best picture, but I couldn't forgo including the infamous Dale Jr.

Tony Stewart in his new Office Depot #14 car:

The fastest car of the day, #48 Jimmie Johnson who qualified at a whooping 183+ miles:

View of the track:

This was such an eventful day that I have to break the blog posts up into two parts as that night had it's share of excitement as well. I wish I could say it was all fun but as you will soon find out, the evening took quite a dramatic turn so stayed tuned.