A Long NASCAR Weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Well, the weekend was long, to say the least!

Christie and I headed over to Georgia to kick off a weekend centered around one of our favorite things—NASCAR. Our first stop was Dallas, Georgia, to spend some time with Matt, Aubree-Anna, and our granddaughter, Parker.

By the time we arrived, Parker was already asleep, but we enjoyed visiting with Matt and Aubree-Anna before calling it a night ourselves.

Saturday – Xfinity Series Race Day

Saturday morning started the right way—with coffee. After getting ourselves going, we made the drive to Atlanta Motor Speedway (or as many people are now calling it, EchoPark Speedway).

Once we arrived, we found our seats and settled in for the day's race. Before long, my cousin Noel and his wife Jordan joined us, making the day even more enjoyable.

The race itself was exciting, although it seemed to go on forever with nine caution flags and four red flags slowing the action. Despite all the delays, it was worth the wait to watch Justin Allgaier take home the victory.

After the race, we still had about an hour's drive back to Dallas, making for a pretty long day. Of course, no late-night road trip is complete without food, so we made a 1:00 a.m. Taco Bell run before getting back to Matt and Aubree-Anna's house. We stayed up talking for a little while before finally getting some much-needed sleep.

Sunday – Cup Series... and the Rain

Sunday morning didn't quite start as planned.

The condensation pump at Matt and Aubree-Anna's decided it wasn't going to cooperate, so Matt and I spent part of the morning troubleshooting it. Thankfully, after a little work, we got everything running again.

With that behind us, Christie and I headed back to the racetrack, hoping Mother Nature would cooperate and we'd have a full day of racing.

Before heading into the grandstands, we spent some time in the Fan Zone where we watched Trackside Live featuring Kenny Wallace, John Roberts, Todd Gilliland, and Jose. It's always fun getting to hear from drivers and personalities before the race.

Once inside the speedway, we enjoyed the pre-race ceremonies, which included parachutists dropping into the track and a special appearance by Braves legend Chipper Jones.

Everything looked great...

...until about 8:43 p.m.

The first yellow flag came out because of rain.

Christie and I made our way down to the concourse where we found seats, knowing there was a good chance officials would clear the grandstands if the weather continued. We waited until around 9:45 p.m., watching the radar and the activity around the track, before I finally made what I called a "managerial decision."

My best guess was that the race probably wouldn't restart until around 11:00 p.m., and if that happened, it likely wouldn't end until close to 2:00 a.m. Add another hour-long drive back to Dallas after that, and we were looking at an extremely late night.

So, we packed up and headed back.

We made it back to Matt and Aubree-Anna's around 11:30 p.m., where I turned on the TV and finished watching the rest of the race from the comfort of the couch. In the end, I still got to see how everything played out—but without having to make that hour-long drive home in the middle of the night.

Looking Back

Even though the weather had other plans for Sunday night, it was still a great weekend. We got to spend time with family, see Parker, enjoy two days at the racetrack, catch up with Noel and Jordan, and watch Justin Allgaier pick up a win.

Sometimes weekends don't go exactly as planned, but those are often the ones you remember the most.

Until the next race...