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PRI SHOW & DARF BANQUET
all photos can be clicked on to enlarge
Background graphic courtesy of USAC FANS.COM
Well last Wednesday we packed our bags and headed to Indy. We arrived at DRC
CHASSIS at about 1:30 to find Joe Devin, AJ Anderson and Danny Holtsclaw working
feverishly to get Jarod Fox's DRC together in time for the Gasoline Alley open house and
it's departure to Fox's home thereafter. Apon arrival, Joe was looking frazzled and
according to AJ, they had worked non stop for 3 days. Joe's look indicated that HE had
indeed done that, but AJ's use of the word "we" was perhaps a bit of an exaggeration.

Shortly thereafter, Brandon Petty arrived to hang out and be on hand for the Gasoline
Alley tour. Brandon was full of funny mail delivery and farming stories that kept folks
entertained. Brandon works hard, that's for sure!

Kevin and I were assigned the task of hanging pictures that Joe had accumulated over the
past few years, but had yet to display properly. Kevin was not happy with my
over-direction and claimed I was being too artistic in my lay-out. He said it was a "shop"
not a salon. I of course told him to put a sock in it...particularly since Joe was quite
pleased with the results.

After our picture hanging, I started my motherly duties of cleaning dirt and dust and
getting fingerprints off of the mirrors. By 5pm when the first of the tour arrived, the shop
was in great shape and was stocked with 3 huge tubs of refreshing beverages. One
funny note, the person who picked up the beer was supposed to have picked up chips
and food, but uh...forgot. So, much to Joes' dismay his open house menu consisted of
nothing but malt beverages.

The open house was fun, with arrivals of lots of racers like Bryan Clauson, Casey
Shuman, Jay Drake and Randy Hannagan to name a few. Lots of other industry people
came in to give DRC a peek. Bench racing and rumors took precedence in conversation
topics and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face...with the only exception being
with Joe Devin's beloved pug BUBBA was hit by a car out front. Luckilly, Bubba was taken
to the vet and came out okay. Get well soon, Bubba.

After the open house we all caravaned to Kelly's Pub where we joined other race-people
for some really bad Karaoke and cold beverages. More bench racing and lots of
"remember when" stories made that a really fun night. Kevin and I went back and stayed
at Joe & AJ's for the night.

Thursday morning came too quickly and we headed off to the PRI show with AJ after an
entirely too large breakfast at Denny's. Our first major stop was the new silvercrown car
USAC had on display. Kevin was impressed by the idea of going 180 mph but was not
impressed with the fuel cell being under his "butt" and was disapointed with the design.
However, he said that he'd drive one in a heart beat so I suppose his criticisms should be
taken with a grain of salt. He was able to get some info on possibly running a car for
someone at Ft. Wayne which he was really excited about. He also ran into old friends and
made lots of new ones.

That night, Kevin and I went to the National Sprint Car Hall Of Fame banquet for their
sprint car poll awards. Bryan Clauson was honored for having won the non-wing wild card
award, while fellow L-burg racer, Derek Franks had been nominated for Rookie of the
Year. The ceremony was great with many racers and industry folks on hand, but the very
best part was the Hall of Fame reunion that followed the awards. Bubby Jones, Steve
Stapp, Larry Dickson, "Speedy" Bill Smith, Bob Trostle and Brad Doty were on hand and
shared several entertaining stories of the good old days. This made Kevin's whole
night...possibly year, getting to sit up close and personal and hear the stories from some
of our sports greatest. We truly enjoyed this event and it marked the highlight of the PRI
show for us.

After the banquet and a bite to eat, Kevin and I were worn out and weary, but we agreed
to join our racing friends at the Have A Nice Day cafe' in downtown Indy. There we saw
too many racers to count! It was a lot of fun, but due to exaustion, we retired early and
headed back to Joe's for part of a night's sleep before we woke up to do it all over again.

Friday we wandered about the PRI show and ultimately hooked up with Dickie Gaines
where he and Kevin shared the same anxiety about "asking for deals". We thought it was
pretty funny that Dickie who has won some of the biggest races to date is too shy to ask
for deals. The day ended with a pow-wow where everyone was deciding if they were
going to go the USAC banquet where Dickie was scheduled to pick up and award for his
9th place finish in points and also an award for most improved driver in the sprints. Kevin
and I had decided that we needed to head home since we were so tired and still had to go
to another banquet on Saturday night in Dayton. Well, let's just say that I don't think any
of the group ended up at the USAC banquet.....Dickie included. We enjoyed the PRI show
very much and wished we had more time to see more of it.

After a long trip home, we picked up NIcholas who was not as happy to see us as we were
to see him. It seems he has figured out that Grandmas and Grandpas do a lot less
hollerin' at him and alot more spoilin'. In any event, we were happy to be home and
sleeping in our own bed.

Saturday night we went to the Dayton Auto Racing Fanclub's Night of Champions where
Kevin was honored for winning Lawrenceburg's track championship. Friends and fellow
Lawrenceburg racers Luke Hall and Matt Brun were honored with Rookie of the year and
driver of the year awards respectively. One of the highlights of the night was Kevin
getting to talk about the re-opening of his beloved Winchester Speedway's with track
owner, Charlie Shaw. It was a great night put on by a wonderful organization whose
support of the sport we love is second to none.

That's the wrap of the PRI show and DARF banquet. Please check back as we have lots
of things "in the works" that we will be reporting on soon!
~Lauren


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