Busy 2 Weeks Has Successful Conclusion

The past two weeks have been full for the Big Red Crew.  That period came to an end last night at Richmond Raceway with the end of our second race week of the year.

It all started last Monday with a long hame stand of the Potomac Nationals in Woodbridge.  Tank and I worked the first game expecting a big night like Mondays last year.  We were totally disappointed.

Tuesday was middle school day and the game started at 10 am. There were

 1500 middle school kids and I think every one of them wanted a funnel cake.  Tank and I were overwhelmed and I completely lost control of the front as about 10 kids across, 5 kids deep and all of them screaming out orders and throwing money at me.  We got through it and it was a really good day.

Tank headed back to Lynchburg and on Wednesday, I worked the game alone and it was cold and foggy.  A very small crowd and the worst game I’ve ever had at Woodbridge.

Thursday was $1 beverage night and featured a great blues rock band called Carl Stoll and the Danger Zone.  They were fabulous and I enjoyed the entertainment during the pre-game period.  An average game for a Thursday.

The weekend was a scheduling nightmare.  I opened by myself on Friday and Tank and Laura drove up to take over and finish out the game.  Meanwhile, I drove back to Lynchburg, picked up Big Red and moved it to Lynchburg College for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Carnival.

The weather forecast was horrible and I felt sure both the Carnival and Saturday’s game at Woodbridge would be ruined.  In addition, the rain was supposed to continue on Sunday with a high likelihood of another rainout.

The forecast was so ominous, that the Carnival was moved inside with Big Red sitting outside.  Not the best scenerio for a good business day.

Friday night, Tank and Laura had a really good game but not too much for the two of them working.

Saturday, with an almost certainty of rain, I cancelled Chuck and Ryan out to save them from a wasted trip from Harrisonburg to Woodbridge and back.  I figured Tank and Laura could handle what little bit we might have on a rainy Saturday.

Wrong.

It never rained in Woodbridge until after midnight and Tank and Laura got slammed.  Their total would have been acceptable with four people working.

Meanwhile, in Lynchburg, it never rained, the event had a great crowd and

 Jean and I were busy all afternoon.  The folks just got their food and sat around on the grassy hillside enjoying the sunshine and a hot dog or funnel cake.

After taking Big Red home, I dorve back to Woodbridge for Sunday’s game not so much for the game as Tank and Laura could handle that, but to tear down everything I need to move to Richmond for the races.

It never rained on Sunday and was another good game.  Despite what should have been a disastorous week, we ended up having a really good one.

I planned to set up at Richmond Raceway on Wednesday but had to delay that as my tent company didn’t get my tent up until Thursday afternoon.  I finally got everything ready to go by Thurday evening.

Friday was a full schedule with all of the practices and qualifying for both the Nationwide race Friday night and the Sprint Cup Race on Saturday night.

I had a full crew with Tank, Laura, Peggy, Chuck, Ryan, Jean, Oswaldo and myself.  Friday was dead all day.  The Nationwide Race was OK but nothing like a Cup Race.

Saturday, we sat around all day and did nothing.  We finall got busy about 6pm and stayed that way all night.  It was awesome.

We were really running on all cylinders on Saturday and were turning 15-20 customers every 5 minutes. The longest anyone waited for a funnel cake was 5 minutes.  My crew did a fantastic job and it was by far the best service we’ve given for a race.

I’m back home for a day to clean up everthing from last week and repack for Woodbridge and another PNat Homestand that starts tomorrow night.  As always, I’ll update to Twitter and Facebook via my phone.

On a personal note, my thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, notes and emails surrounding Mom’s passing.  We’ve tentatively scheduled her Memorial Service on June 28.  I’ll advise when that is finalized.