Arca’s big day

All year long I have watched the Arca put on a great show. A show that I feel has been better than NASCAR. Now, I finally got the chance to get out from behind the desk and go to Talladega. Pulling up to Talladega you see the lines of campers, RVs, and some crazy homemade things that people are going to be living in for the next few days here at Talladega. You realize that this is more than just a race this is part of the history called Talladega. 

 
Arca is here to put on a show for the fans that you won’t soon forget. The names are here; Scott Speed, Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier and many more. They are all here with the same purpose; to win at the superspeedway and become part of Talladega history. 
 
I had the chance to see the garages. The guys working on these cars are like bees. They all have jobs that they are responsible for, and they are at the top of their game. I got the chance to meet out host Andy Belmont who is on the race report every Wednesday. Andy is one of the hardest working team owners that I have ever seen. He cares about each of the cars he puts out on the track, that they are the best of the best, and puts it all in his driver’s hands. Andy has two drivers here at Talladega, and they are the guys to get the job done. 
 
The first driver I meet is Dominick Casola. He is a very well spoken young driver who is here to try to better his third place finish from last year. Andy has his car set and Dominick goes out and qualifies the car in the 22nd spot. Andy reassures him that he has a car that will make it to the front of the pack. The second driver I met is Tommy Hessert III. He is another one of Andy’s very talented drivers and carries himself very well. He is ready to get out there to see what his car will do. Tommy was able to qualify his car on the outside of the pole and is very pleased. 
 
Race day is here, and the crew at Andy Belmont is ready to race. Remember, this is Talladega, it’s not a matter if an accident will occur, just a matter of when. The green flag drops and the cars come to life. They rip down the front straight. As they come around the first lap Tommy Hessert III has pulled into the lead in the number 1 Boudreaux’s Butt Paste car. Dominic Casola in the number 14 Casola Farms car is on the move threw the pack. But, twelve laps into the race, the track strikes and Talladega claims its first victims. The tire of the number 25 driven by Brian Scott blows and collects the number 14 of Dominic Casola. The hit is hard and the car is out. Andy still has hope because the Number 1 is still leading. Tommy leads the next 39 laps for a total of 51 laps led. Tommy comes in for his pit stop and returns to the field in 15th and quickly makes his way back up to 6th and clearly has the car to win when the Talladega track strikes again. The lead car blows a tire and collects Tommy. Into the wall goes the car, and so does the hope of winning this race.

I am amazed that Andy is still so upbeat, given the tough luck of the day. He simply comes back to the hauler, has a positive word, and is ready to get the car packed up and  head on back home to Toledo. 
 
I want to Thank all the guys at Andy Belmont. You all are great. Thanks Guys.