Okay, first off, let it be said again how much The Corrupted admire Chad Knaus.

He is one hell of a guy: caring, friendly, funny and smart as hell. (Yeah, I used 'hell' twice in one sentence. This is serious stuff. LOL)

My weekend at the Kansas Speedway was fabulous! Friday--I got to meet The Chad. I had FanWalk tickets at Qualifying so I was hanging out near the fence all day. I just think the whole experience of being that close to the action is amazing. I would love to spend a whole weekend just taking it all in. It's incredible. But I'm getting offtrack (literally) here...

They run the cars through inspection right by the FanWalk area so I parked myself there and watched all the cars coming through. Along comes the 48 Crew. I was wearing the T-shirt Chad had sent us girls and when the crew got close they all just stared me down. It freaked me out! (I'm shy, ya know?!) Ron Malec came up to the fence and just looked at me and then Ryan McCray came up to me asking where I got the shirt and I told them Chad sent it to me. I explained the Chad site and they seemed to know what I was talking about. When Chad caught up with the 48, they pointed me out and he came over and chatted with me a bit. He asked me how I liked the shirt and which one of the 3 gals from the Chad site I was. We shook hands through the fence and took a photo (For the record, I must state that I am not down with my part of that picture! Hey, sometimes "Strawberry Shortcake" looks goofy, right?) To make my day even better, JJ got the pole!

(Injection from Marissa: It was at this point Denise calls me and I almost drive off the interstate with her screaming about meeting The Chad. Some trucker is not happy with me, I bet, but it was worth it to hear how stoked De was!)

On Saturday, I missed the first practice (stuck in God-awful traffic) so I blame JJ's bad luck on me not being there. I got there in time for Happy Hour and listened to Chad and crew working to make JJ's backup car the best it could be. I managed to run into the 48 Crew again by the inspection area. I was just gonna watch 'cause it's interesting to see them check heights and stuff and I knew they were busy with the new car. Chad stopped to sign some autographs so I thought "Well, hell..." LOL I had nothing with me but my ticket so I had him sign that. I was thrilled to death that he remembered me. Must've been my crazy red hair! *grin* And a side note...Chad? Were you weighing yourself on the car inspection scales?!?! You are my favorite dork!

Sunday-race day-was so fun! I'd never rented a scanner before and it was so cool to listen in! And mad props to Chad for picking the pit stall directly across from my seats. LOL I was so proud of Team Lowe's for charging through the field and getting a good finish for the race. You boys RAWK!

This is long, huh? It was just a wonderful weekend. A special thanks to Chad for stopping to chat with me. You sure know how to make a girl's day! We're pulling for ya'll for the rest of the season and I know more good things are to come!

~Denise