Hello race fans!

Is everyone as pumped up about the 2011 NASCAR season as I am? I am so excited to get things rolling, I have been counting down the days and now it is finally here! I have been watching, when I could, all the racing from the Budweiser Shootout, to the practice sessions and the Gatorade Duel 150's! My husband and I were in the beautiful islands of Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean from February 8-16, so fortunately we got FOX and saw the Shootout! As you can imagine I was so excited to see my favorite driver Denny Hamlin, cross the finish line first, but of course that was short lived! I knew he didn't win when he crossed below the yellow line, but it sure was an exciting way to finish the race! Denny's week hasn't gotten a whole lot better! He apparently didn't have his steering wheel locked in when he went to qualify, so he ran in the grass and ended up qualifying very poorly for the Duels. But, fortunately, even after a spin in that race, he came back and finished eighth to qualify eighteenth for the Daytona 500! GOOD LUCK DENNY!!!

So, having said all that, I want to know what everyone thinks about all the rule changes since they got to Daytona! And what about this two car draft that seems to be the "new" form of racing there now! I'm not sure I like it, but I don't think we will know what to expect until we see all forty three cars on the track on Sunday!
As some of you know, I am an avid NASCAR fan, and personally, I don't care what they drive, how they drive it, or what kind of car it is, I will always be excited to go see a race or watch it on TV! I just want to see a great race with my driver contending for the win!

I am curious to know what all you Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans are thinking this year. Do you like him paired up with Steve Latarte? Do you think he has a legitimate chance at winning the Great American race? And what about you Jeff Gordon fans? Will he finally break his losing streak? Will he ever win that fifth Championship? Don't get mad at me fans of both of these two, but I think Dale Jr. is gonna struggle again this year and I think Jeff is going to be a contender but I don't think he will win the Championship. Now, as I have said before, I am really bad at predictions, so if I am wrong about both of these guys, I will eat my words for sure! Also, can Jimmie Johnson win a sixth Championship in a row? I hope not!!! I want Denny to win it this year, and his motto has become #11 in 2011! I hope that is the case!!! I guess we will have to watch this season and find out!

I am going to sit back and watch the season opening Nationwide race in Daytona today and then anxiously watch the 500 on Sunday! I expect both races to be equally exciting, only thing that would make it better is if I was actually there! If you're in Daytona at the track, Terry Lynch of Lynch Tours & More is there with a great group of people, so stop by the bus parking lot and say hi!

One last note, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the tenth anniversary of the passing of Dale Earnhardt ten years ago this weekend. I was at that race back in 2001, and even though I was not an Earnhardt fan, I have to say, his death shook me to the core! I have never seen so much sadness and disbelief as I did that day. I was bringing a bus load of Lynch Tours customers back to Orlando after the race, when about halfway home, I found out that he had died. I told my customers if I knew anything before we got back to the hotel, I would let them know. Unfortunately, I had to make that dreadful announcement to them. I had grown men break down and cry when I told them and I sat down in my seat and broke down into tears! I had a personal reason for that, my dad passed away in 1999 and he was a huge Earnhardt fan, so it had an especially hard impact on me! In the days following Dale's death, I couldn't watch enough of all the coverage that was on TV or in the newspapers. Even though I was not a fan of his, love him or hate him, he was NASCAR! I think the sport to this day has not been the same! I would personally like to tell the Earnhardt family that you are in my thoughts this weekend as I'm sure it is very difficult to look back at that fateful day.

Lastly, I want to wish all of the driver's, crew members and fans at Daytona, a very safe weekend! And, thank you NASCAR for trying to put on the best show possible for us fans here and all over the world! As always, see you at the races!!!