At around 2:00 pm, on Friday, June 15th, 2007, after driving almost 6 hours, my daughter Michaela and I pulled into the Northwoods/Northfield campground just outside of Michigan International Speedway. It's finally here...Nascar weekend. The Michigan 200 Craftsman Truck race on Saturday, and the Citizens Bank 400 Nascar Nextel Cup race on Sunday. I've been coming here since 1999 for Father's Day weekend (and some years in August), with only 2 years off. When my daughter was smaller, she'd ask me when she could come to Nascar with me. I'd tell her, when she was 12. Well, she's 12 this year, so here she is with me. It was a great way to spend Father's Day.

The people are great here too. Last year, we got very lucky and ended up surrounded by some great people. Bordering our site to the south of us is Jeff Rickstad from Wisconsin, and to the east is John and Janet Mueller and T.J. and Carrie Trudeau from Iowa. Being surrounded by good friends only adds to the whole Nascar experience. There's 1 site up for grabs in our block, so it'll be interesting to see who gets it next year. New friends this year were Mark and Joanna from Iowa, Blake and Chris from Michigan, and Michael and Roberta from Indiana.

After the tent is set up, and all the equipment put in place just so, it's off to town to get some groceries, Coor's Light and Jack Daniels. Michaela went to a movie with Janet and Carrie, so it made doing what I had to do a lot easier. When I got back and put everything away, John, T.J. and myself just sat under the shade or one of our awnings and shot the breeze. Once the girls got back, we all ate some pizza and got ready to settle down to the bonfire for the night. The bonfire is one of the most important aspects of race weekend. It's where friends who haven't seen each other for a year, talk and get along as if they just saw each other last weekend.

Saturday morning is here too early. After making some breakfast, Michaela and I decide to go to the track and check out the souveniers at all the team trailers in the Fan Zone. She's decided her driver is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Mine is Tony Stewart. We pick up some stuff and head back to the site for a while, then it's time to go to the Truck race. The weather for the whole weekend was hot, humid and sunny, but by the time the truck race started, we were under the shade of the boxes and suites in the media tower. The truck race was won by Nextel Cup driver, Travis Kvapil after a last lap pass of Cup driver Kyle Busch. Coming third was Craftsman Truck driver, Brendan Gaughan. Michaela liked her first race, but did say it was kind of loud. Back to the site again, a shower at the new trailer 4 sites away, and it's time for saturday night's dinner and the bonfire.

Sunday morning, there's a buzz in the air. It's Nascar Nextel Cup race day, and everyone is excited. We hang around most of the morning, eat lunch then head to the track for the race. What an awesome sight. Close to 150 thousand people all there for one purpose. Our seats this year are great. They're 12 rows up in the centre grandstand right at the start/finish line. The driver introductions are right in front of us. After the national anthem, the jets fly over the grandstand, and it's time for the most famous words in motorsports..."Gentleman, start your engines". A roar fills the air, and the cars start out onto the track. Everyone is on their feet. As they come around turn 4 of the last warm up lap, the green flag flies in the air, the engines peak, and it's race time...200 laps, 400 miles. It was a great race. Carl Edwards in the 99 Office Depot car won the race. Second was Martin Truex Jr. in the 1 Bass Pro Shops car, and third was Tony Stewart in the 20 Home Depot car.

The race is over. The weekend is over. Back to the site to make a nice steak dinner for Michaela and me. John, Janet, T.J. and Carrie left for Iowa around 9:00. There were a few of us who stayed the night. At 7:00 am, Monday morning, Michaela and I packed up and headed back home. Good times and good friends are what Nascar is all about. See you all again next year.