OUR 5-MONTH HOLIDAY - Final
By DAN HARVEY
On January 12th, 2014, my wife Liz and I started on a fi ve month trip that took us to Key West,
Washington DC, to the Race Weeks at Charlotte while RVing thru 25 states.
Race Weeks at Charlotte
Aft er Liz and I got to Charlotte, the home of NASCAR and the Tom Johnson Camping Center, we spent fi ve days relaxing. We met Barry and Terry Klein who would be leading us on this Rally on the fi rst day; the rest of the Caravaners showed up on May 11th
. While waiting for the Rally to start, Liz and I did some local
touring enjoying some fi ne dining at a restaurant that was featured on Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives simply named “Dish”; as well enjoying a meal at the Speedway Club overlooking the front stretch at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. We went to the track to see about the Petty Driving experience only to fi nd out they have suspended this until aſt er all the racing has been completed. We also had an oil and fi lter change as well replacing the original 2005 fan belt on the truck. We did have one stormy day with lots of wind and torrential
rain. T e wind came up pretty fast pulling up one of the stakes Barry, our Wagon Master, had hammered into the ground to keep his awning from being blown around, wrapping their awning back over the RV. Barry and Terry were not in the park so I re-secured the awning to the ground but one of the arms would have to be replaced. We start the Rally with an Orientation meeting and lunch at
the RandR BBQ Restaurant meeting the other Caravaners. We had a total of 16 RV’s on the NASCAR Rally and Liz and I were the only Canadians. Aſt er the Orientation Liz and I walked through the Shell Rotella Super Rigs Truck Show at the ZMAX Drag Strip parking lot. T e Show was open to everyone with a working semi, not just a show truck. T e rigs came from all over the States and Canada. We talked with a trucker from Saskatoon who knew all too well the roads to Fort McMurray. On the 15th
we woke up to a tornado warning, and joined
up with about six couples in the brick washroom and shower building. It rained off and on all day. When the Tornado warning passed, our tour of the Sam Bass Gallery and Museum went off without a hitch. Sam Bass is an Artist who has designed several paint schemes of the Sprint Cup cars. We were then taken on a tour of the Speed Way, which includes a ride around the track in a 15-passenger van at 70 MPH. Because of on and off rain showers as well as NASCAR working on the track, we were only driven around the track once instead of three times. T ere
14 RVT 169 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 The caravaners in Dale Earnhardt Plaza.
was a break in the weather so Liz and I went back to the Truck Show picking up a lot of free merchandise. We opted out of the scheduled trip downtown to see the Sprint Cup Hauler Parade because once again it was raining too hard to go. We did see the Haulers drive around the campground though. On the 16th
Clint Bowyer’s winning Sprint car.
Kyle Busch’s winning truck.
Our Cedar Creek 5th wheel at night.
the day was free until the practices start for the
All Star Showdown and Nation Wide Truck Race. I used the time to pick up my Pit Pass and our Fan Vision scanners. In the early aſt ernoon I started to walk over to the Track and accepted a ride from a Volunteer in a Golf Cart that took me right to the Pit Area. T ere were about 50 of these volunteers with Golf Carts all around the track. I used them to come back to the Campground. Liz and I also used them to go to Speedway for the races, all for the price of a donation. In the Pit Area the Sprint Cup cars were practicing and you sure got a feeling for the speed of cars as well as the noise. Drivers were busy. T e Show Down Race was exciting with not too many
crashes plus the fact that Clint Bowyer, driving for MWR won the event and transferred into the All Star Race on the 17th
Busch won the pole for the Camping World Truck Race with a record speed then proceeded to dominate the race leading all the green fl ag laps.
. Kyle
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