Charlotte NC, Kiwi Mike day 2

It feels good to get up a bit later than usual, have a leisurely breakfast with friends Wally and Regan, relax and do some washing. Holy smokes, my pants finally get a wash after 2 weeks of wear.


Wally is driving us around which feels real nice to be passenger.

Wally's shop is super dooper nice and we did an oil change there. Its how I like a shop to be and what we have too. You can lay on the painted floor and do the things to your bike you need to do and your clothes are still clean. Ernie is Wally's step father and when we get to the shop Ernie has it opened up and ready for us to do our stuff.

Around 2pm we head off to Charlotte Motor Speedway and pick up some Mickey D's on the way.

The track is impressive and massive. The high banking turns are unreal. Wally is very highly respected with many race team folks acknowledging him as we walk around.

We were walking thru the race drivers high dollar motorhome section and we hear hey Wally. It was Carl Edwards and next thing we knew we are in his motorhome chatting away.

Wally is our man!!! He is Sr test engineer of one of the top teams (Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot, M&M and FedEx) because he is darn good. Wally spent 10 years on the road as pit crew and as a crew Chief.

Wally hooked us up with the top level passes which enabled us to be and wander anywhere. Some of our favorite spots were right up against pit wall near Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Jimmy Johnson. The sound is unbelievable which no TV can transfer the sounds and feel of being there in person. The cars are doing 185 miles an hour and it is super fast and impressive in person. These guys put their nuts on the line every race.

I had a very interesting conversation with No 20 team Home Depot tire man (1 of Wally's 3 teams) about tires. So to become educated in what his job is I asked what's the tire mans job entail. Let me tell you that it is very entailed and a job in itself of what he has to go through to match up 4 tires to the car. Each tire is hand made and about 35 tires are made per shift. He aims to get 4 tires made by the same guy at the factory on the same day as each worker makes it a little differently. This is just a small insight into his job. There are so many codes and things he has to figure out that it is a specialty job in itself. Everyone has their place in this organization and there are no slackers.

The pits stops did not last long at all. We got to sample pits stops at the Home Depot and Lowes pits. I'm glad I got video of them as they are precision to the max and well choreographed. It'll be fun reviewing them later on.

The last race I was right up against pit wall and right next to Jimmy Johnson's pit (1st pit to exit pit row). When he won it was quite the spot to see 1st hand the excitement from the pit crew and Johnson himself driving into the pits to congratulate everyone.

It was also good to catch up with Gerald Rinehart (Rinehart Exhausts) and Rutledge Wood (American Top Gear). Both good guys.

Thanks Wally and Regan for a fabulous time.

I'm amazed at the experiences we have had on this trip so far. Another outstanding day.