Things That Make You Say "Wow"

 As I sit here on a rainy night in Georgia, I’m thinking about some things I’ve seen lately that have me saying “Wow!” to myself.

 On a personal note, I recently received my red, white and blue Medicare card in the mail. Since I lost my health insurance along with my job at the big newspaper we’ve paid some really hefty premiums for some not-so-great coverage.

 We even had some agents look at our medical history and tell us our best hope is to hurry up and turn 65.

 I’m here now, and it feels pretty darn good.

 On the racing front, I, like a million or more others, am still marveling at the way Ross Chastain rode the wall on the last lap at Martinsville Speedway to pass five drivers for position and claim a playoff berth.

 I’ve had several drivers, good ones, tell me they’ve often wondered if that would work. Of course none of them ever tried it, which makes what Ross did even more impressive.

 Just today, I saw something else on the racing front that I thought I’d never see. I drove by Senoia Raceway and watched as the crew there was putting tarps on the racing surface in an attempt to keep the gray clay dry through the expected showers tonight and Friday morning.

 Like Ross’ move at Martinsville, I’m sure some dirt-track promoters have looked at ways to weather storms and still race but not many actually go out on a limb to the extent that the Pollard family has the past couple of days.

 While some workers were laying tarps, others were lining off the regular parking lot for the campers they’re expecting. Others were lining off Sonny’s nearby hayfield for spectator parking. All as if there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

 I dare say most promoters would pull the plug on a high-dollar show like the Peach State Classic, with its $53,000-to-win finale Saturday night, rather than take the likely financial hit that bad weather usually brings to an outdoor event.

 But as Sonny Pollard reminded me when we talked about it earlier in the week, making money isn’t his main goal for the race track his parents co-founded back in 1969.

  He and his family just want to give racers and race fans a place to enjoy the sport they all love.

 So if the tarps work and the skies clear as forecasted tomorrow I’ll be there to support the Pollards when the gates open. I hope lots of y’all will too.