Buddy Rice...

...is sitting 3 rows behind me as I type this from my US Air flight. We are flying from PHX to Orlando and he is driving in the Brumos 250 this weekend. Pretty cool!

That is pretty cool. Brian Redman sat two seats over from me on the way back from Monterey last year. I helped him get his bag from the overhead bin. He said "thanks for helping an old man." I told him that he wasn't an old man.

Buddy Rice is flying coach? Then again, most racers are jockey-sized these days so he wouldn't need all the leg room in 1st Class...

My wife sat next to a guy on a flight when a little kid asked for his autograph. He smiled, signed it. After my wife asks "Are you famous?"

Clint Black. "Oh." Then he had to explain who he was and what he did for a living.

"Oh."

I once used the urinal next to Mark Martin at Daytona.

I shared the ladies room with the Pirelli Tire girls at Mosport...

In reply to Lesley:

Impressive.

Lesley wrote: I shared the ladies room with the Pirelli Tire girls at Mosport...

pictures, or it didn't happen.

pigeon wrote: Buddy Rice is flying coach? Then again, most racers are jockey-sized these days so he wouldn't need all the leg room in 1st Class...

He was with his wife and 2 year old daughter. She and their daughter were hanging out near me in the gate area and I said to her "This may sound like an odd question, but is your husband Buddy Rice?" She lit up in a smile and said "Yes...how did you know that?" I told her that I'm a racing fan and that he's pretty recognizable (especially with the flat bill Arizona Diamondbacks hat on.

She went on to say that they were going to Disney and Sea World after the racing weekend!

I stood next to Paul Newman at a driver's meeting at Brainerd back in the early 1980s, when he was racing for Bob Sharp in GT-1. I didn't bother him, though.

Randy Pobst slept on my floor once.

jg

I slept in an elevator once. Okay, a whole bunch o' times.

JG Pasterjak wrote: Randy Pobst slept on my floor once. jg

Today Charles Espenlaub pet my sideburns.

I rode on an elevator with Geoff Brabham. Just being in his presence made me faster the next day at RA.

I shared conversation and beer with Dorsey Schroeder at the Road Atlanta Valvoline Run-offs; the year before his first appearance as a competitor.

We were both pulling for the Lotus Europa running in C-Production.

drag race content

I told Don Prudhomme and Steve Evans I'd trade with either of them when they were complaining at the hotel checkin about having to stay over in Brainerd because of a rain delay. They didn't bite.

My brush with racing fame: having Buck Baker, riding in the passenger seat, get PISSED at me because I couldn't drive my way out of a spin on a wet skidpad. At least, not the first time. Second and third, :thumbs up: but he was still pissed. He cusses like a sailor.

I once had Ernie Irvan tell me to go do something to myself

I bought a car from James Clay.

Oh and Mike Skeen (UTCC last year) helped me work on another e36

I rode a session at VIR with James Clay (while at my first track day) ... a bit of an eye opener...

By the way, Buddy Rice drives for the Spirit of Daytona, our local team: http://www.sdr-motorsports.com

We have known the Flis family for a loooooooooooong time.

I can still remember being in Tampa shortly after I moved there from Texas. I was working for Joe Varde's Firestone Firehawk team. We were getting the cars ready for the opening race at Sebring, and working a late night. I had watched Joe race on tv quite a bit, in the IMSA RS series. Buddy Norton had shown up earlier that day to prep his car for Sebring as well. We were sitting around, having pizza, listening to them tell war stories. The front door opened, and in walked Jack Baldwin. That was a pretty good day.

Ranks almost right up there with the day I met Guido.

At a FramNationals in Atlanta a few years back, I was standing in a circle of fans around the winner's circle. The funny car trophy was about to be given out, but the winner hadn't showed up yet. About that time, somebody ran into me from behind, in a dead run. Darn near knocked me on my butt.

Soon found out it was some guy named John Force..

Chatted with Brock Yates at his book signing 7 or 8 years ago. Told him I'd waited 20 yeas to meet him, he said I should work on better goals. Funny guy.