...Ponderings...

In October of 2010, I took a leap of faith and applied for NASCAR media credentials at Phoenix International Raceway.

Much to my surprise, and glee, I was accepted.

On November 10th, I hopped in my car and drove the 100 miles from my hometown in Tucson to Phoenix to attend the Kobalt Tools 500. In an economy car and the most inexpensive hotel I could find, I felt like I was rich. I first visited the track that Thursday, the 11th, and I was greeted there by some of the nicest folks around.

Nothing went wrong and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I spouted out five, count them five, articles that weekend. It was a new high for me and my one-article-a-week postings on the site I write for, Skirts and Scuffs. I even worked up the nerve to say hello and introduce myself to the likes of Clair B Lang, Tom Jensen, Dustin Long, and Bob Pockrass. It was very nearly a perfect weekend. I fully expected my next journey to the Capitol City to be just as wonderful.

Now I realize, I was looking at the NASCAR media world through rose-colored glasses.

On the day before Valentine’s Day this year, I received a text message from my editor, Katy, that I had my credential confirmation letter. All of this still being so new to me, I felt a rush of excitement in anticipation for the day which I’d already planned for. The day I would head to my second NASCAR race as credentialed media.

Things could have probably gone worse on this trip, but I don’t see how it could have gotten much worse than it did. The plan was to get to Phoenix International Raceway, henceforth referred to as PIR, by 3pm local time and pick up my credentials, then head to the hotel and have a nice dinner.

The day started off well enough when I woke up to the sound of a bugle call somewhere in my house. No, really, I think someone’s alarm was a gosh darn bugle call! Ok then. It was now about fifteen after six in the morning and there I was, awake, on only about 5 hours of sleep. Took me a while, but I finally managed to get back to sleep. Then, just as I was slipping in to REM, there was a knock at the door that ripped me out of my light sleep. Alright then. It was my mother telling me my dad was sick and she was taking him to the doctor.

It was 7:19 in the morning. Okay, I thought, I can deal with this. Well, I curled up and tried to go back to sleep, knowing I could probably squeeze out another hour of sleep. Well, that didn’t happen by 8:30 so I decided to just get up and make a cup of coffee and some toast for breakfast, I was planning on lunching at the Dairy Queen near Picacho Peak on my way out of town (this is the only thing that went as planned all day. And even then, the burger was burnt and the fries were too hot and under-seasoned). I waited around for something to happen, got ready, sat around some more and did basically nothing all day except to watch the Kevin Harvick Roast and the Tucson Rodeo Parade on television.

Around 11:30, I called Enterprise because they had asked me to call them so they could send someone out to get me when it was time to pick up my rental, at noon. I had requested a pick-up at 11:45, so that should have given me plenty of time to get the car and get to the track to pick up my credentials. I didn’t get picked up until 12:30.

To put it mildly, I was ticked. They had to drop someone off that lived 20 minutes away. This translated into me having to wait 45 minutes for my ride. They also did not have a rental available for me at noon.

I finally got my car, got home, packed it up, and was on the road just after one. Just past the stoplight by my house, I realized something. I had forgotten my clothes. I had to turn around, get my clothes and finally, hit the road. By the time I had gotten past all the traffic, I had been driving for nearly an hour and I hadn’t even gotten on the interstate yet.

Fast-forward a little bit. It’s now 2:30 in the afternoon and I am finally on the interstate and headed toward Picacho. Then my rental starts acting strange, it’s weaving all over the road and I’m not moving the wheel. After having been in a severe rollover accident at 17, I’m not to keen on interstate driving. Needless to say, I was pretty disturbed by this new circumstance. I pulled over to try and get a look at the tires to see if it was bad tread or just the wind. Well, I ended up in farmland. Not a place to pull out along the nearly 2 miles I had driven. So, I turned around and got back on the interstate, figuring I’d just wait until I got to the Dairy Queen to check them.

The weaving continued. When I got to my stop, I checked the tires and they were all fine. They even appeared to be brand new, this threw me off. I half expected older tires, at least I would have some sort of explanation for the lack of control. I eventually concluded that the tires were fine and the car too light to not weave some when faced with the wind on the interstate. After a really horrible lunch, I hit the road again.

The weaving was come-and-go all the way to Phoenix but I was able to keep the car (and my emotions) under control. I got off the interstate at the exit I’d looked up and, somehow, ended up driving around Sky Harbor International. Not exactly where I showed on my map where the road would lead but I know the airport well enough to navigate through (thanks to driving around it eight times in April 2010 while trying to find the parking lot to greet my friend Rebecca).

While I drove, I went to turn on my GPS navigation on my phone. It wouldn’t even load up the map. I have known for a while that my phone wasn’t working well but I figured that since it works most of the time, I wouldn’t have a problem on this trip. Well, I tried to look up the directions. Nothing. I finally resorted to a power cycle, which fixed the service issue. Long story short, I found my hotel.

While checking in, my credit card (which I owe all of 5 cents on) was declined. Here was a new trial. I had four nights and the clerk tried to run it three times. Three times it was declined. I had her take off a night. It worked. Great, so now what? I had her take off my last night and I figured, I would just pay in cash. She said that was alright, gave me my key and I was on my way.

Fully expecting to make coffee to comfort my self from the awful day, I was dismayed to discover my room did not contain the coffee pot which had been promised me. That was just like a slap in my poor, wounded face.

So here I sit, irritated, coffeeless, and hungry. Oh, and I never did make it to the track to pick up my credentials. This means a very early morning for me tomorrow.

Folks- this world will be filled with trials, we just have to learn to make the best of it. Right now, I choose to remain optimistic, in spite of having been put through all of this today. I know the weekend will be fun and exciting, I know that I’ll represent the site well. It’s not easy, sometimes, to do this. And I’m only here for one, maybe two races. I can’t imagine all that the regular media goes through each week they travel.

Today, in short, has been a rotten day but I choose to make the best of the coming days.

God bless.