PR Lady Turns Racer...Almost
05-07-03



by Erin Titman-Guest Contributor and Victory Lane Motorsports Management Public Relations Representative




http://www.catchfence.com/html/2003/et050703.html

Some lucky people get the opportunity to fulfill a fantasy. Some get to see a friend fulfill a fantasy. But some of us who are really lucky get both. This was the case for me this past weekend during a trip to Anniston, Al. I was there to visit a friend of mine when he casually mentioned to me that Talladega Speedway was running a promotion where folks who were Alabama residents could come out to the track May 3, and for every ticket to the fall races they bought, they got to take a lap around the track in their own car.

This sounded like a great deal for the locals and a good way to boost ticket sales. It didn't really affect me since I lived in Mississippi. But then in a split second the whole scenario changed. I think it might have been the words my friend spoke next. "I talked to Ken and he said we could go do a lap."

Wow, was I going to actually get to ride with my friend Jimmy while he drove around Talladega Speedway? Now the day was getting interesting. I tried really hard to play it cool. "Cool, that sounds like fun," was my reply. I was, however, silently making a list of all of the people I wanted to call and suddenly realizing what a great invention unlimited weekend cell minutes turned out to be.

Now let me tell you a little bit about me. I work in racing. My job is to make sure all of you know who Tina Gordon is and what she is up to on any given day. Besides the fact that she is my friend, I am also her public relations lady. I am at all of her races and get to see this business from the inside, which is rather cool. What makes it even cooler is that my driver is not only an awesome driver, but she is a woman and a role model for girls who want to grow up and be racers. And what about PR ladies who have a secret desire to race?

I'd be lying if I said I didn't often wonder what it felt like to be behind the wheel going 185mph. Sometimes, I'm watching the race and thinking to myself...' wow I could do that'...NOT! Everyone who knows me says I am a dreamer, but I am smart enough to wake up and smell my limits. I have always known that I could never and would never have the guts to climb into a racecar. Being in the background is fine with me. But the thought of riding with Jimmy was still a pretty good alternative to actually driving myself.

We got out onto pit road in Jimmy's Honda Accord, and I could tell he was so pumped about this. I mean what little boy doesn't want to be a racecar driver at some point? My friend was on cloud nine! Suddenly, in the middle of thinking how sweet this was that he was going to get to live his dream, reality hit me. I was sitting on pit road at Talladega Speedway, in the passenger seat with a guy behind the wheel who looked like a little boy on Christmas morning with a shiny new bike that he was ready to test for speed. I assumed it couldn't be that bad because street cars don't go very fast. Then I took a quick glance at the speedometer and realized this car went up to 140mph. It was then that I realized I might be in trouble.

My first instinct was to grab my cell phone and make a very important call. It went something like this,

Erin: Tina, it's Erin. You will never guess where me and Jimmy are right now.
Tina Gordon: Where?
Erin: We are sitting on pit road at Talladega Speedway and Jimmy is driving and I am riding with him and we are about to make a lap on the track.
Tina: You're kidding me, right? You are sitting in a car with Jimmy and he is driving? ON the track? AT Talladega? Oh Lord I am so nervous for you!
Erin: We are pulling off pit road right now!

So off we went like two ten year olds with Tina on the line for moral support. It seemed easy enough. The instructions were simple. Keep ten car lengths between us and the pace car, stay in the lane he is in, and don't slow down going through turns one and two. Jimmy had it all under control. I was just along for the ride of my life on the most amazing roller coaster I had ever experienced. I simply cannot describe the feeling of being in the middle of turns one and two. When you look out the driver's side window expecting to see the infield, and see the ground instead, the degree of the banking becomes suddenly very clear.

I couldn't tell you much about the conversation during our two laps, and I can't recall the speed, but I do remember Jimmy saying something about his little Honda never having gone that fast and never going that fast again. The other thing that sticks out in my mind is Jimmy complaining that the pace car was slowing down and Tina on the phone suggesting, in jest of course, that he try a little bump draft. For a few seconds, I thought he was going to take her seriously in the heat of the moment. But being the smart and levelheaded guy he is, we stayed behind the pace car and made our way back down pit road.

Something happens in your brain when you are on a racetrack going that fast. I think it is a mixture if adrenaline, and the speed, and the common sense being sucked out of you. Whatever it is, it hit me. The next thing I remember was Jimmy telling me yes I could try it as long as I swore not to put his car into the wall. So it was my turn. I had to tell Tina I was going to drive. She was really rooting for me as Jimmy and her husband took jabs at me. The whole thing is still kind of a blur, but I distinctly remember Jimmy saying something to the effect of "I'm taking my life in my hands. I'm letting Erin drive." Then Tina's husband made some smart comment about how he wouldn't even drive in a Wendy's parking lot with me and was Jimmy crazy?

These silly men could not squelch my enthusiasm. I was in the zone baby! I was tuning out my companions, both live and cellular. That Cake tune, "Going the Distance" was playing in my head and I was squeezing the wheel. Tina was relaying pointers to me through Jimmy, but I never got them. I was too busy screaming the whole time. It was very different in the driver's seat. Going through one and two you literally felt like the car was going to tip over to the left. I think I screamed something to Tina about us switching places and me driving and her doing the pr. I thought I was Erin Petty for a minute, or for two laps.

There were two cars behind me and when we all went back down pit road, I was so proud that I had beat them! They just couldn't pass me. I knew exactly what I'd say in my interview. "That Ford truck and that Lexus were awesome today, but they just didn't have anything for my Honda Accord."

This was a rush like no other I had ever experienced in my life. But it was time to come down to planet earth again. Tina Gordon took care of that for me really quickly. Jimmy gave me the phone and she said to me, "Now imagine another hundred miles per hour and forty-two other cars out there with you." At that moment, my already voluminous respect for these drivers expanded to about five hundred times what it already had been.

I've been to the shop and seen what goes into preparing a race car. I know the guys on our crew and how hard they work. I see the dedication of our crew chief, who is awesome and the sacrifice and perseverance of our owners. I know what a tough business this is to be involved in and what a total passion for it you need to succeed. But the sheer guts and skill it takes to drive a car or truck in a NASCAR race became more apparent to me that day than it ever could have without that experience.

How can there be debate over whether these guys and gals are athletes? How can it not be clear how brave they are? And finally, HOW DO THEY DO IT? I got a lot of things answered that day, but also left with a few more questions about my favorite sport. I pity the next person I meet who makes a comment about racing just being folks going around in a circle.

Talladega Speedway will be doing this promotion again in June, so check their website for details. Thank you so much to Ken Patterson of Talladega Speedway for making this awesome day possible for the average Joe's like me out there, and to my good friend Jimmy Creed, who not only showed me what a great driver he is, but also displayed nerves of steel by letting me drive his car! And lastly a special thanks to Tina Gordon for her pointers. Although this was one of the best experiences of my life, I don't think she and I will be trading places anytime soon! My heartfelt respect to her and all of the other drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as well as all of the other series out there. You folks rock for being able to do what you do and I am lucky to be a part of it all!

You can reach Erin Titman at: etitman@aol.com