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Part 2...

 

There's a hobby shop in Hamilton that I used to visit a lot when I was collecting Nascar diecast & building 1/24 scale models. Twice a year, they'd bring up various race cars to attract fans...

 

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Fans who've been around since '87 will remember this car very well. During the annual All-Star race, Dale Earnhardt & Bill Elliott were battling for the lead late in the race.

Elliott threw a block pushing Earnhardt down off the apron & into the grass. Mere mortals would've spun out, but Dale stayed in the gas passing Elliott for the lead & eventually, the win.

Since that night, this exact car has been known as the car from "The pass in the grass". Perhaps my favorite car...

 

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I used to go there so much, I became good friends with the owners. So much so, that during one of these showings, I was asked if I was interested in sitting in Dale's 2000 Taz car.... :w00t::w00t:

 

Crawlin' in...

 

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Once inside, I was numb. Dale sat very low in the car, almost made me feel like my butt was draggin'...

 

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The feel of the wheel, the shifter...the smell of the high-octane racing fuel, the smell of the rubber....wow!!

 

I got to drive it onto the hauler...

 

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Once inside the hauler, I went to climb out & forgot where I was & whacked my head on the roof of the trailer...

 

Still numb... :P

 

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Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to meet a ton of these guys. I only scanned a few of my favorites. No, I never met Dale, but I got this close once...

 

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'Gentleman' Ned Jarrett...

 

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Kerry Earnhardt...see the resemblance??

 

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Darrell Waltrip...

 

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Nascar's newest bad-boy, Michael Waltrip...

 

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Other's include Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin, Harry Gant, Dave Marcis, Kenny Schrader, Joe Nemecheck, Terry Labonte, Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott & the list goes on.

 

 

I took a trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway in November 2000, when the Napa 500 was the last race of the year. On the way down, I stayed in Kannapolis, North Carolina for the first few days of the week. Kannapolis is Earnhardt's hometown.

During my stay, I toured a few of the areas race shops. One of them was Hendrick Motorsports...

 

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Inside the Museum, some cool cars were on display, like Tim Richmond's '88 Monte Carlo...

 

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Some will remember the Talladega race where Gordon took out his teamate, Kenny Schrader. When Schrader's car finally stopped tumbling down the backstretch, here's what was left...

 

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They also had some butt-ugly cars on display too...

 

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The highlight of Hendrick Motorsports was the Terry Labonte shop. They let us go right on in! We toured the hauler, the drivers lounge, the works!

Here's the Grinch car...

 

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But the best shop of all was....

 

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To see the rest, you'll have to click here....Part 3...http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3529

Edited by MuskyBill

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