The Rolex 24

If you thought I was excited about the Barrett Jackson auction last weekend... you should be at my house this weekend. This weekend it is the Rolex 24 race. What does the 24 stand for? That's right, 24 hours! I love it! Fox and Speed TV broadcast about 18 hours of it and I have watched most of it. It's the unofficial start to the race season. There are somewhere around 60 cars and each car has three or four drivers that rotate throughout the 24 hours. In the end, the winners get a Rolex

As opposed to last weekend, I am feeling much better so I have done lots of of other things (like reorganizing closets and my guest bedrooms) while the race was on... but I can still pay enough attention to the race to enjoy it. I have actually been to the Rolex 24. My parents and I went in 2001 for my birthday present that year. It was my first sports car race to attend and we didn't know what we were doing, but I really wanted to go because Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were racing with the Corvette team. The weather was absolutely miserable and my mom caught pneumonia while we were sitting out in the cold and rain all night. That's right.. we sat out in the rain all night... like I said, we didn't know what we were doing. Now when we go to sports car races, we camp in a tent... and mom stays home.

But I was still very excited to be there. I didn't get to meet any of the drivers like we do now when we go to the races, but I was glad to have been there. The #2 Corvette won the whole thing and the Dale Jr #3 Corvette team came in second in class and fourth over all! It was also one of the last races that Dale Earnhardt was in before he was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500. That year for my birthday I also got a die cast car just like this one.

My dad ordered it before the race but the production was delayed and so it didn't come in until after the race. Because Dale Earnhardt died just a few weeks later, it is a pretty collectible item and I am very glad to have it. For now, it sits in a box in my closet but one day I can hopefully display it somewhere.

The race technically just ended but I have not seen the end yet. Since I was at church this morning and didn't get up at 5 AM or whenever the coverage started back, I have about seven hours of coverage on my Tivo waiting for me. Yes I know I need a life... no need to e-mail me and tell me that. :-)