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January 10, 2004
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A Trip-Of-A-Lifetime And The ‘American Dream’
BIOGRAPHY FOR SCMSRN.com
My name is Alan Brewer and I am
a 19 year old student from Great Britain. I am currently on a ‘year out’
between high school and university. The High School I went to was King’s
Rochester (one of the oldest schools in the world) which is about half an hour
from my ‘village’ (I bet you don’t have those in America) of East Farleigh,
about 30 miles south of London. I have a place waiting for me at St Andrews
University in Scotland for when I return from my epic adventure; a 17 week tour
of every single NASCAR race from the Daytona 500 to the Coca-Cola 600.
Ever since I saw the movies ‘Days of Thunder’ and
‘Smokey and the Bandit’, I have had a passion for everything American. As a
child I always liked to be different and from an early age I developed a liking
of the ‘land of the free’; I fell in love with the American dream and
razzmatazz featured in those 2 movies. These movies became personal favourites
and I watched them over and over again. At about the age of 10 (1994) I bought
the first Papyrus NASCAR computer game. I played it day and night and grew to
know names like Irnie Irvan, Harry Gant and a young Jeff Gordon. After a while
though, I longed for the reality of NASCAR, not the Hollywood representation. I
got my dad, being a British Airways pilot, to bring me back NASCAR magazines
from America. I got more and more into
the sport, fascinated by the sights and colours of the cars and the racetracks
and their complete American exclusiveness – there is nothing like NASCAR in
England. Up until 1999 the only experience I had of NASCAR was gained through
books, magazines, and ‘year in review’ videos. I needed more – after all I had
never seen a NASCAR race on TV. In 1999, at the age of 15, I managed to
persuade my dad to take me to my first race; the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn
400 at Rockingham, won by Jeff Burton. Before that race, I had only ever seen
one NASCAR race on television and that was on a holiday in America in the
summer of that year. After that Rockingham race, I made a promise to myself to
see at least one race every year.
In 2000 I dragged my mum and dad to Bristol for
the August night race. We couldn’t get tickets for the Cup Race, but I was quite happy to watch it in the
hotel. The Busch race was won by Kevin Harvick who led every single lap.
In 2001 the race was the Southern 500 at
Darlington, up until then the best race I had seen. This was where I got my
first real look at Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch. Both won poles for the Busch
Race and Cup Race respectively and never ceased to amaze me with their natural
talent. However, the weekend was not all good; I was devastated to see my favourite
driver being airlifted to hospital during the Busch Race when Steve Park got
clobbered by Larry Foyt on the caution lap. However, I still left the track on
Sunday in high spirits, already looking forward to next year’s race.
2001 was also the first year of regular NASCAR
TV coverage in England. There was only one problem though; the races were
condensed into 45 minute highlight shows, were a week delayed, and worst of all
had English commentators who to be honest did not have a clue about NASCAR racing.
For a true NASCAR fan it was unbearable; watching the races when I already knew
who was going to win. Sure enough I complained to the programmers, and within a
week I was glad to hear Mike Joy call The Winston as opposed to some English
Formula One fan. But at least I was getting an increased viewing of the sport.
The next year was possibly the best year of my
life. It incorporated 3 races during a 7 week holiday in America by myself at
the age of 17. Staying in a friend’s apartment in Chicago, I travelled by bus
to races at Pocono, Indianapolis and Michigan. The bus ride to Pocono was 17
hours but well worth the trip; although attending the race was not a certainty
at the end of it. I had tickets for the Pennsylvania 500 but no way of getting
to the track from my hotel. I made some posters that I put around the hotel
pleading for lifts to the racetrack. With no luck I resorted to asking anyone I
saw wearing a NASCAR T-shirt. It didn’t take me long and within a day of
arriving at the hotel I was hooked up with some fine people from Canada who
were using the room next door. They took me under their wing and treated me
like a member of their family for the entire weekend – taking me to the
racetrack each day and feeding me. That was my first true encounter with other
race-fans and one I will never ever forget. The race itself was a bit
disappointing; interrupted and shortened by rain - the race was eventually won
by Bill Elliott. But again the weekend was tarnished by another Steve Park
accident. I couldn’t believe it; on the first lap he was involved in a huge
crash with Dale Earnhardt Jr. I was
beginning to think I brought bad luck to Park.
The next week I was off to Indianapolis for the
Brickyard 400, again won by Bill Elliott, and then two weeks later I headed to
Michigan Speedway for the Pepsi 400 and my first ever camping experience at a
racetrack. This was probably the best weekend of my life. I have never seen
that kind of hospitality. As soon as I entered that campground and set up my
tent and raised my British flag it was like walking into a family of 10,000
people.
In 2003 I made it to the Aarons 499 at
Talladega, this time with my dad. We hired an RV and camped again (after
Michigan I made a promise to myself to never again stay in a hotel for a race).
That race was superb, despite half the field being eliminated on the third lap
in the ‘biggest of the big ones’. But in a way that’s what you go to see at
Talladega. Live races also began being available to watch on TV in 2003. A
channel called NASN (North American Sports Network) shows all the races live at
a price of £20 or about $30 a month – quite expensive but definitely worth it.
But ever since that first race at Rockingham, I
have been planning a NASCAR tour which kicks off in February at Daytona. The
plan was to take a year out between high school and university, work for six
months between August and January, and then follow the series for six months
from Daytona to Daytona. For about three years I studied maps, schedules and
prices. But it soon became evident that I could not fund a six month tour. I
decided then on a 4 and a half month tour of every single race from the Daytona
500 to the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway. The tour will consist of 14
NEXTEL Cup weekends, 10 Busch races, and 4 truck races. It will include 14,000
miles on the road, visits to 24 states, two drives across the entire breadth of
the country, and stop-offs at the Grand Canyon, New Orleans and Las Vegas.
Throughout 2002 I went into more detail
inquiring about vehicle insurance, prices of fuel, food and tickets, and
planning an exact route. At first it all felt like a pipe dream, but as soon as
I left school and started working towards it, the dream started to become a
reality.
As soon as I left school in July I went looking
for work. I needed to raise $9,000 in six months. I already had a Sunday job at
Tesco (a large food store like Kmart or Albertsons), but I needed work that was
a bit more enjoyable. I applied for countless numbers of jobs in local pubs and
bars, eventually landing a job in the kitchens at the Horseshoe restaurant. I
also took up some more shifts at Tesco and began to save. By August I was
working anywhere between 60 and 80 hours a week. I soon moved out of the
kitchens and began working on the bar and in the restaurant. Whilst I wasn’t at
work I was making my key preparations for the tour. The first step was the
purchasing of race tickets and camping spots which I did between September and
November. By November I started contacting magazines and newspapers trying to
get any publicity I could. Not only did I want to get all the attention I could
to reward my hard work, but I was looking for sponsorship that could be gained
through media exposure. I then contacted the PR directors at all the racetracks
I am visiting, and told them about the adventure, which brings me up to where I
am today. Additionally, during all these phone calls and e-mails I found time
to take a trip to the US Embassy in London to apply for a holiday visa.
All that remains is to organise tickets for the
Richmond race which don’t go on sale until February, obtain an international
driving permit, and seek some sponsorship. Due to the conditions of my visa I
cannot get paid in dollars – only in goods. Therefore I am targeting companies
that can pay in goods such as restaurants and food stores. I am also trying to
work a deal with a car and caravan manufacturer, but to date I have had no luck
in this area – just got to keep on trying.
I now have enough money for the trip and have
stirred up lots of attention with the media, plus I have landed one sponsor in
Wilderness Aware Rafting. Let’s hope that there is more to come.
Now all that remains is to fly out to Atlanta
and begin a trip-of-a-lifetime and enjoy the ‘American Dream’ that I used to
long for during my childhood. Perhaps I will see you on my travels.
The itinerary: NASCAR Journey
2004:
Also See: Freddy
Guyunette
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