I just arrived home from a great day out with my daughter Brianne. I’ve gotta tell you that every man needs to take his daughter out, no matter her age. I told her that we would have to do some work stuff and then the rest of the day would be up to her.
We left this morning and passed out 75 invite cards to our ATM series. Brianne was nervous at first, but as the day went on, she passed them out like a pro. She was talking with kids and saying “You’ve got to come and check out Elevation Church…it’s so cool!” It made this papa very proud. So I took her out to celebrate at Taco Bell.
Around 2pm, we headed out for the Indy Race in Nashville. As we drove by the track, you could hear the cars practicing already. Zoom Zoom doesn’t quite do it. We got to our seats and wouldn’t you know that practice was over. So we headed out to the souvenir trailers to see what they had. As we looked around, I noticed this IRL guy walking toward Brianne with a strange look on his face. He told her that he needed her help with something and asked us to come with him. The guy asked us to stop in front of a trailer for a minute while he looked for something. He came back with a big banner that read “I am Indy”. Brianne soaked it up.
As we walked back to the stands, the PA announcer said that the drivers would do free autographs at 7pm. We hopped on a tram to get to the infield and to get in line. At 7pm, the drivers came out and the line inched forward. Since we were there early, it didn’t take us long to reach the drivers.
First up was Tony Kanaan. He and Sam Hornish Jr got into it after last week’s race so I was wondering what type of person he was. He was awesome!! He asked Brianne’s name and was very courteous towards her and I. After Tony, came Dario Franchitti. Dario won the Indy 500 and has a home in Leiper’s Fork with his wife Ashley Judd. Dario was just like Tony. Very great with Brianne and was nice to me as well. After Tony, was Marco Andretti. He was quiet, but at least acknowledged that we were there (more in a moment). And then Danica Patrick. Brianne was star struck. She wanted to see her and now Danica was signing her banner. She didn’t stop talking about meeting Danica.
As we finished our autographs with the Andretti Green team, we headed over to the Penske team. We waited until we got up to meet the drivers there. I was a fan of the Penske team for the past few years. I saw Helio Castroneves win the Indy 1998 race, so I guess you can say that I’ve been a fan of his since then. He said “yeah great” and pretty much acted like he didn’t care. Next to him was Sam Hornish Jr. Sam was just signing things and didn’t speak or give any expression at all.
Brianne and I walked away from that table and she said to me “Why didn’t those guys talk to me? Why aren’t all the people like the first ones?” She’s 8. Makes you wonder what’s going on in her 8 year old mind. Thankfully Scott Sharp and the guys at the final table took time to ask Brianne how to spell her name and actually wrote it on the banner. Very Nice!
This long post is a reminder to us all that you only get one chance to make a first impression. It also reminds us men that others will not treat our daughters the same as we would. Put that on your checklist when every boy comes over to take your daughter out on a date.
The racing team both my daughter and I will cheer for tomorrow is the Andretti Green Team. And yes, it is a switch from Penske for me. Here’s why:
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