ONMC ALL-STAR FAN EXPERIENCE: DAY 4

By Ron Lemasters Jr.

CONCORD, N.C. -- What began on Wednesday in Randleman ended Saturday in Concord: the ONMC's annual All-Star Fan Experience.

Our band of avid race fans met at 10 a.m. at the Richard Petty Driving Experience compound just behind the Diamond Terrace at Charlotte Motor Speedway for a tour and information session by our hosts. Special thanks to Alisa Jenkins, Don Winchester and Donnie Beehler for their time and for showing us how the popular driving school operates from day-to-day!

From there, it was off to the track itself for Garage Tours and Driver Intros.

Meeting at our familiar Gate 1 entrance, our Members toured the garage area in groups, drinking in the sights and sounds of race day. 

When the tours were over and a much-needed break in the schedule was over, we assembled again to attend the Driver Intros.

At the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Driver Intros is a show. Our Members in the mosh pit on the front stretch were treated to a mini-concert from country music star Jake Owen and his band (which was fantastic!) before Owen and Rutledge Wood did the honors for the drivers.

Standing in the middle of thousands of fans, we saw everything that happened from about 20 feet away. It was awesome! We were even on TV, some of us, and thanks to Fox Sports 1 for that.

When the music faded, the lights dimmed and we had to move--they were getting ready to race on that track and we couldn't exactly stay put!--it was the end of our four-day trip through parts of the NASCAR world.

To recap, we spent the first day at Victory Junction with The King himself, Richard Petty, and were treated to a special concert by The Howling Tongues. We toured the Petty Museum, saw the house The King was born in and all the other stuff associated with the winningest organization in NASCAR. A tour of the Victory Junction facility and a service project capped the first day.

On Thursday, we spent the morning at the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame and Museum, taking in the collection of racing cars and history that Don Miller and his group had assembled.

Lunch at Fat Boys followed, and we went from there to Penske Racing for a session with Jim Beichler and the Penske pit crews. A tour of the massive facility followed and that wrapped up the second day.

Tours of the NASCAR R&D Center and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates began the third day on Friday, and they were lights-out! Special thanks to the staff at both shops for their hospitality and great presentations!

From there, it was off to the annual ONMC Tailgate at the Speedway. The lovely Chelsea Bain again performed for us, along with her band, and the Members were captivated...along with the cars on U.S. 29 that got a peek at one of the up-and-coming country singer! Catered by Sticky Fingers, the food was awesome and so was the camaraderie. That's what it's all about, after all.

For more complete recaps, please visit the ONMC.com web site!