My wife and I went to watch a NASCAR race in Nashville, Tennessee
earlier this summer and there was one moment just before the driver
introductions that I wanted to share with you. To set the scene, we had
the opportunity to visit the infield area before the race and really
enjoyed seeing the cars up close and watching the pre-race pit area
activities by the different teams. So sure we were having a lot of fun
taking photographs and checking things out. More importantly to my
story though, there was the opportunity to get a few driver's autographs
and so we eventually somewhat planted ourselves - Sharpie's and race
program in hand - in the area where drivers were walking as they left
the garage and walked to the stage for the driver's introductions
ceremony. I think we were about 10 feet from the security fence that
kept the fans out of the garage area.
Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 earlier this Spring and seeing him
coming towards us was a thrill. He had a huge smile on his face as he
walked in our direction and we could tell he was really enjoying his
afternoon. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., his teammate and also a driver in
NASCAR, was maybe 20 steps behind Trevor. As Trevor reached the fence
and passed through the gate he was immediately surrounded by eager
autograph seekers and well-wishers. I'm sure he was focused and doing
his part as a Daytona 500 champion to reach out to fans in love with his
sport.
What happened next was totally unexpected and really great to be able
to witness. A young boy in a wheelchair was hoping to get to meet
Trevor but there was no way anyone would have noticed him because his
parents had parked him out of the way and tucked back behind the fence a
bit. Ricky spotted him though as he passed through the gate and
immediately called out to Trevor to stop what he was doing and come back
to meet the boy. By now Trevor was surrounded and had to politely ask a
few people to move out of the way in order for him to reverse course.
Ricky Stenhouse and Trevor Bayne really showed me what they were made of in the next minute or so by leaning down to meet their new friend and even squatted down next to his wheelchair and posed for a photograph. A few fans had to step back to make room for the picture taking but I am sure everyone knew something special was happening right then. All three of the guys in the shot were enjoying the fan moment you could tell. The boy was smiling from ear to ear. Ricky was even kidding around and kind of pretend-scolding Trevor for being too focused to spot the real champion in his vicinity that day. Trevor was laughing too because he knew Ricky was right. Everyone standing near us was humbled by the driver's willingness to temporarily skip out on being the focus of everyone's attention.
FYI: In case you wanted to know more about these two drivers, Trevor's official page is here: http://www.trevorbayne.com/ and Ricky's official page is here: http://www.stenhousejr.com/