This page covers the trip to the Daytona 500 that My son Rob and I won in the "Mobilize Your Ride Page Contest" sponsored by CarDomain and Mobil 1 in 2008. Rob and I both would like to especially thank CarDomain for our recent awards!

What an awesome trip Rob and I had, going to see the Daytona 500 was a thrill for both of us and an event that will never be forgotten! There was so many things to see and do there, and so much ground to cover. The Racing Track and Grounds in Daytona Beach, FL is enormous to say the least and right from the start....it was very evident that the support for Racing in this town is second to none!  

There are alot of pics that I will be posting, I thought I would start out this page with a Vid I put together of our trip to the Daytona 500. Rob and I connected with my freind Bud....CarDomain members will know him as OraneKrate, he is a great guy and his Mustang is the sweetest thing I have ever layed my eyes on! I hope you enjoy the Vid!

One of the first things Rob and I did when we got to Daytona was hit the Beach, there is alot of history that was made on this famous Beach. Some was made by others and some was made by me during the 70's, when I would come down here with my friends during Spring Break and do my best to lose as many brain cells as possible in 10 days!....LOL

While we were driving up US 1 in Daytona Beach, we spotted this dusty old Ford Rag Top parked at the local Sonics....lol

Rob and I made sure we had time to visit my very good friend Bud....AKA "OrangeKrate". I am here to say that Bud's incredible 2007 Ford Mustang is for real! The pics on his page do not lie, Bud's ride is 1st class all the way!

It's no wonder "OrangeKrate" was Awarded "Showoff Of The Year", this Mustang is a Dream Car!

And to all those Haters out there that said "OrangeKrate" is not DUB worthy......Think Again because it is!

The interior and exterior were flawless and the engine compartment was out of this world, it's quite obvious that Bud likes shiney things!....lol The sound system he had was totally kickass, We cruised to Pink Floyd.....The only way to fly!

Bud took me on a thrill ride in the "Krate" I'll soon not forget, the power is there folks! We were cruiseing down Hwy. 1 in Daytona and Bud punched her a few times.....I thought I was gonna wet my pants!

When we got to Daytona International Speedway we found the grounds of the track were littered with Race Cars everywhere!

There was hundreds of Corvette's there on Saturday, I didn't catch the Club or Group's name but they were well represented!

Tony Stewart, Dale JR.,Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski and many other notable Drivers and owners, gave interviews throughout the day and offered close up views for fans. It was exciting to see some of my favorite and not so favorite Drivers up close like this!

Here is one of the "close up views" that had entered my mind while JR. took the microphone. I am really loving the new Nikon P80 I bought right about now!

Rob and I just had to stop and get our pics next to some of Richard Petty Motorsport's cars!

Kasey Kahne Drives Number 9 right now.

It was amazing to Rob and I, all the work and preparation.....not to mention the money involved!

I was floored at the amount of new tires and rims they had stacked up......Just for practice!

Scott Speed in his Toyota Camry, going out for a practice run.

Down by the garages, all the awesome tool boxes would make any Mechanic or Machinist jealous!

These Chevy's were recieving alot of attention. I thought it was interesting that number 46 has only been used in 20 of the 51 runnings of the Daytona 500, The number has never won a NASCAR Race, and only finished in the top 10 once in about 100 races.

I just marveled at the checkered flag paint job in the stands! The paint job this track gets is really inspirational!

Kyle Busch, getting some last minute adjustments before pulling out of the garage. Whatever they did....it worked, his car was the class of the track...till it got wrecked!

Teams had anywhere from 10 -16 sets of tires and wheels ready to go....That's alot of cash sitting there!

Like I said before.....the paint job this track gets is amazing! How the hell did they figure out what color goes where?

Earnhardt-Ganassi's number 8 driven by Aric Almiroloa.....Anyone notice the Mobil-1 Decal??..I did!

One of Roush-Fenway Racing's Ford Fusion's

A little attention being given to the Team Earnhardt-Ganassi car. There was alot of action in these garages, and it sure drew a ton of spectators!

Here is a nice view of Kurt Busch's Miller Lite Dodge Charger.

These guy's definately have the best jobs on the planet!

Ah yes.....one of the culprits in the big crash....Red Bull Racing's Toyota Camry, Driven by Brian Vickers.

Steve Wallace was the winner of the "Camping World 300" in 2008, this year he finished 37th.....tough luck, but that's Racing!

This Drag Car just screams....Take my picture!.....So I did.

More Mustang footage for the Ford fans.

The picture does no justice to the flames on this Mustang, I thought they looked pretty cool!

More big boy car toys just sitting around! This Digger Ford Fusion is awesome looking.

The rear looks pretty cool, all the woodland critters are here!

These "Bar Stool Racers" caught our eyes, I think they are pretty cool and I might just build one of them! They don't look too difficult to build, maybe I'll start a ride page for one!....lol

I grabbed this pic from the Pace Car on Saturday's Race.

Rob and I climbed up in the stands on Saturday to watch the Drivers practice before the "Camping World 300".

It was fun to watch them go through the paces, I was surprised that there were not that many fans watching it!

We agreed that the top of the SUNOCO Sign in the far background, would be a great place to watch a race from. They had 4 of them, one one each corner.

We hung out on the Track Midway for countless hours, there were so many things to see and do....and people all over the place. This was truly an event going on this side of the track, food....free samples everywhere for almost everything, tons of trailers selling your favorite Drivers wares, collecter cars and trucks, race cars and so much more!

This was a "must pic"...Our favorite Driver(yes....even before he won the 500 this year) and a Wisconsin native, Matt Kensith has been my favorite Driver for years. he is a quiet guy that talks with his driving more than his mouth.....a lesson that a few famous NASCAR Drivers should learn about!

What a well run facility the Daytona Speedway is, rarely a long line anywhere. They must have quite a few folks employed there....no signs of a recession here!

So this is what the Army spends money on??? This was the backend of one of the Army Recruiting vehicles, I will not promote the waste of Taxpayer money by showing anymore pics of it! One in every Humvee...Is that the new Line?

This 2010 Camaro has been getting alot of attention and I can see why, it just plain looks Badass!

The front, the back, anyway you look at this Chevy it says cool!

This is the view we had from our seats, the track is setup with huge video screens that can easily be seen from any seat in the grandstands. In the center of the track is a small lake, we enjoyed the intermittent wakeboard/ski shows during the races.

On the south end of the track there is a large campground, I really wonder where the most exspensive vehicles really were, the cars in the Pits?....or the awesome RV's setup in the campground?

There was always always something flying around in the air with an advertisement behind it, if it wasn't a plane....then it was a Blimp or a Fighter Jet!

Here is another one for the Ford fans, this color really isn't for me but the wheels are pretty cool. This one was the Pace Car for the "Camping World 300".

The Ford Shelby GT500 is definately a winner!

Now that's a big one! I couldn't pass up this pic.

While we were strolling the Midway, Rob and I played one of the simulated Racing games that were abundant on the Midway. This one was put on by Tylenal, they were handing out plenty of free samples of the stuff too. Rob was getting interviewed after he creamed the rest of the pack in the race!

The Beach wasn't the only place to play in the sand, these folks were building a very detailed Sand Castle right in front of the Race Track Museum. The sand here is amazingly fine and smooth and packs well...Not Bad!

There was quite a few Hot Rods spread around the Midway....Nice!

That wasn't the only nice thing hanging arond the Midway, hmmm....I quit with the cigarettes...but am seriously considering taking up chewing for some reason.

The old Fords make the some of the best Rods....this one is really hot!

Looks like Rob has found something Hot himself!...lol

Now we are in trouble....A fitting pic for Rob here!

We took some time and went into the Daytona Experience, it's a Museum and interactive display of the Racing history of the Daytona Speedway. It's really quite interesting and there were alot of exhibits.

You can really get a feel for the 31 degree corners with the track display Thats inside "The Daytona Experience".

Roush Fenway Racing's Ford Fusion Driven by David Ragan.

Here is a hot little number, fresh off the track...complete with the confetti, scratches and tire rubber. This is the famous "Brumos Racing" Porsche Riley that won the 2009 "Rolex 24" at Daytona in January....With the closest finish in history!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. with his 1st 500 Victory

Dale Earnhardt Sr. was the man....R.I.P. Dale

Big Race...Big Trophies...Big Money!

This was a cool display, the body lifts off the chassis while you watch! It was pretty neat to see the inside of the cars like this!

Hmmm...It's pretty tempting!

Like I said...You can't go anywhere without tripping over a race car!

A guy from Virginia snapped this shot of Rob and I at our seats for the 500. We were 56 rows up...Perfect View!

Lots of the Emergency Vehicles put on a little pre race parade, it was really loud as the all had their sirens on and were honking their horns to beat the band!

The UPS trucks where I live don't look anything like this! The guy driving it has got a pretty decent job....I'll bet he dosen't have to deliver anything at all!

During the Pace Lap, you could just feel the excitement and electricity that was building in the stands! The Big One was about to get underway at last.

The noise from the crowd was near deafening when the race started, it was a good race....but it was littered with cautions and mishaps.

See what I mean? Those are great seats in that SUNOCO sign!

JR. was not having a good day......That's Racing!

There are alot of ways of looking at this 10 car crash, it was pretty spectacular to see it live. There is alot of controversey over who's fault it is, that's Racing too I guess!

I want one of these!

The ultimate outdoor take anywhere screen.

The rain moved in pretty quick, Matt Kensith made a sweet move to take 1st just before the final caution flag. The rain never stopped and eventually he was announced the winner of the Daytona 500.

The Sprint Tower tells the story, Congrats to Matt Kensith. I was rooting for him all the way, but the victory is bittersweet. It would have been a lot sweeter if the race had gone the distance. But he's my guy!....YeeeHaww!

This is the first Challenger I have seen on the street, Rob and I spotted in a parking lot in Orlando. I really like it alot, but after seeing it on the street....The 2010 Camaro blows it away!

We went back to Daytona Beach one last time before we left for Milwaukee, it's a beautiful Beach.

I wish we had a little more time to spend down here, it's 20 degrees in Milwaukee right now and it's 70 here.

I will have alot of memories from my trip to Daytona to take home with me, all of them are good.

Some of them are great!