Forums Closed
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As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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05-22-2005, 08:54 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NC
Posts: 12,270
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Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Almost Famous at the All-Star Race
WHO: Me, 25 and huge Kasey Kahne fan, DH (Andy), 24, huge Kate Hudson fan, but we'll get into that later......
WHEN: Saturday, May 21, 2005
WHERE: Charlotte, NC (Actually it's Concord but it's so close), Lowes Motor Speedway
WHY: Duh! B/C Kasey won the race last week in Richmond and the speedway is like 15 minutes down the road!
Okay, so here's a little background... To get into the All Star Race you must have won a race either last year or this year. Kasey had 42 starts on 0 wins  So last week he qualifies 1st for the Busch race AND the Nextel race in Richmond. Finishes in the top 5 for Busch so I'm a little concerned about Saturday's Nextel race. Well DH's parents came up last Saturday night and we took them out on the town. I had to be in a bar with TVs so we took them to a cool place that Andy & I go to some, The Fox and Hound. So we all sat there, me, Dh, in-laws, and DH's aunt & uncle, drinking and watching the race. Well only me, DH, and DFIL were really paying attention. As the race got closer and closer to the finish with Kasey in the lead (almost the whole time), I told DH and DFIL that if Kasey won we were going to the All Star Race next weekend. I also added "that's a pretty big IF". Sure enough, my boy came through and won!! So we came home that night and purchased 2 tickets for the race and here we are...
So we get up Saturday morning and are ready to go by 10. We get the cooler packed with ice, our scanners that DH borrowed from a guy at work, and head out. We stopped by the grocery store to purchase some "beverages" for the cooler and get some cash back. Then we're back on our way. We got to the speedway around 11ish and it was already getting busy. (The racing didn't start till 7). So we drove around in search of the free parking that the website claimed the speedway had. Finally we found somewhere and parked. Then we walked through all the merchandise area on our way to the will call booth. I, of course, had to purchase some Kasey memorabilia, I got a cute visor hat, a cute #9 girlie t-shirt, and a sticker for my car  Total, get ready for this, $18!! Can't beat that!!
After my shopping spree and seeing one of Kasey's Busch cars we went over to pick up our tickets. I had purchased them in my name so I had my DL out. Now my DL is still my SC DL and has my SC address, so the lady behind the window was a little short with me and needed to know my new address ASAP. This after asking if the tickets were in my name.... umm... if they weren't why would I hand you MY DL??  Finally, we had tickets in hand.
Once we had our tickets we went and walked around some more of the fan area. We did the Nextel Experience again and Andy let me drive the virtual car b/c I didn't know where to shift the shifter. I did a pretty darn good job, and would have done better if DH hadn't kept shifting down and slowing me down when I should have been going full speed! We left the Nextel Experience area and walked down to the Goody's Headache Powder booth. They had a Plinko like game set up and I LOVED Plinko of The Price is Right, so I HAD to play!! I went up first and won a lapel pin, whoohoo Dh went up and won a seat cushion! Now that's what I'm talking about!! 
By this time we were getting hungry, and I had cracked into my "beverages" while in line for Plinko. So we decided to get something to eat. We stopped at a BBQ booth and DH had a bbq sandwich he really enjoyed and I had a hotdog. We split a bottle of water and the total was $13!! Not as comparable to the Kasey merchandise  We found a spot on the grass to sit down and eat. YEA for the seat cushion!! 
Once we were filled up and had rested some we headed over to wait in line for the gates to open. The Black Crowes were playing a concert on the infield for anyone with race day tickets and we're fans of some of their music. Now DH is a fan of the lead singer's wife, Kate Hudson, so he was hoping she'd be there but I was very skeptical. The gates opened and we filed in. We were able to get right up to the stage with one row of people in front of us. Since the concert was put on by Miller Lite and Miller Lite is Rusty Wallace's sponsor, and since this is Rusty's last call, Rusty came out and introduced the band!! It was so cool to see him so close! I have been a fan of his since I first started watching races back when I was a kid! Then some sound guys come out, and then, this blonde chick carrying a baby walks across stage, and DH starts to flip out b/c, yup, that's right, it was Kate Hudson and their baby. They go and sit off to the side of the stage and I'm pretty sure DH kept his eyes over there the whole time in hopes of another glimpse. (Thus why I titled this what I did, for those who are unfamiliar, Kate Hudson was in the movie "Almost Famous".)
The concert was amazing!! Amazing up until about there was about 3 songs left and I had to get to a bathroom ASAP!! I held it and held it and held it as long as I could and FINALLY, the show ended. We bolted towards the tunnel and I left DH in the dust to find a bathroom. I figured for sure he'd see there was only one way to go and the bathrooms were right there... But I come out and don't see him. So I walk down a little ways and still don't see him, then I start to panic a little, what do I do if I can't find him?? I don't have the ticket so I'm not positive where our seats are, and would he think to go there anyway??? My head started to spin a little and I walked back up the bathroom area. There he was, standing in the middle of the walkway... I apparently came out the entrance to the bathroom and he was waiting by the exit
After that little mishap we decided to go and see where our seats were. We were right smack dab in the middle of the 4th turn terrace. It was really a great spot b/c we could see around the whole 1 1/2 mile track. After being in the sun for the concert we were both feeling the sunburn that was developing on our arms and faces (well DH's face, not mine). So we went back into the tunnel area to get some dinner. We went to Bojangles and had a 6 pack of chicken fingers each and some fries and 2 lemonades... Total $20. Not too too bad I guess. We ate under the tunnel area b/c I couldn't bare the sun for the next 2 hours. Around 6:30 we went back out to our seats.
When we arrived back at our seats we discovered we had some real winners around us. The guy in front of us was so drunk he couldn't even sit in his seat correctly without spilling beer everywhere. He kept putting his feet in the chairs of the people in front of him and the group of people he was with (all very nice people for putting up with him) would have to make him put his legs down. Then he pulls out his plastic bottle of Jim Beam and starts to pour it straight into his cup This guy went downhill fast!! He was passed out before the All Star race even started!
Finally, some racing begins with the Nextel Open. This is the race that allows one person to race their way into the All Star Race. Brian Vickers pretty much spun out Mike Bliss (who had led the entire time, 20 laps) right before the crossed the finish line and he won the race! Not a great way to win in my opinion, but I guess racin's racing.
After the Open the Nextel ceremonies begin. We used our scanners and picked up the camera and producer crew along with the TV commentators. It was really neat to listen to how they put it all together for TV. There was a BIG screen on the infield you could watch to see what was happening so we could see (and hear) when the camera changed. It makes you think about it when you're watching it on TV.
Driver introductions came and went, Kasey's team drove by and we cheered for our boy! Then it was time to go racing for a million bucks. Unfortunately the one big wreck of the race happened about 15 or 20 laps in and Kasey found it. He was done for the night  But we still had a few of our favs out there, including Elliot Sadler. So we continued to follow him all night. He ended up finishing second to Mark Martin.
After the race was over we made the long trek back to our car. We got in our car at 11:23 (I remember looking at the clock) and we pulled out of the parking lot at 12:00  But once we got out of there it took us about 30 minutes to get home (that's about 10 minutes longer than normal).
Today we're all burned, my arms are and DH's face and head He looks pitiful. We learned our lesson and now know to bring sunscreen next time. And when might next time be you ask?? Well we're going to the Coca Cola 600 qualifying on Thursday night for the race on Saturday.. And on Saturday we're driving up the road about 45 minutes to Evernham Motorsports for Fan Appreciation Day. The first 400 people there get tickets for the autograph session so you know I'll be there to meet Kasey!!
Here's some photos:
Kasey's busch car
Kasey's merch trailer
Herbie was there..
The speedway
Playing plinko
Lunch in front of the track
walking to the concert stage
The Nextel Stage they use during opening ceremonies
RUSTY
Kate walking off stage... I was late with the camera
The Black Crowes
Check out the keyboard players shirt
Kate's in the white shades
the view from our seats
Herbie raced the track
JG just for Terri
It was hard to get a good shot in the dark and from a distance
The track at night
The red flag stop for the wreck that took out Kasey
Well that was our adventure at the All Star Race!! Here's hoping I see Kasey up close next Saturday!!
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05-22-2005, 09:05 PM
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#2
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
What a great time Melissa  Great pictures too  Sorry Kasey didn't win |
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05-22-2005, 09:18 PM
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#3
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PassPorter and WDW Addict
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Texas
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 12,489
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Melissa...sorry Kasey didn't win, but it sounds like you guys had a wonderful time. I love the pictures! Hope you get to meet Kasey!
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05-22-2005, 09:28 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Melissa what a great day even if Kasey didn't win! |
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05-22-2005, 09:37 PM
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#5
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Dopey's biggest fan!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: China Spring, TX
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 26,975
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
I watched the race!!!  Granted, I was sitting on my couch in the air conditioning, but I still watched it!!!
My thoughts on your fantabulous race report :
1. It is fitting that your sometimes hang out would have a Disney name "The Fox and Hound" . . . speaking of, I have that movie and still have never seen it!!!
2. The Black Crowes are actually going onstage in about 5 minutes tonight here in Pensacola!!! This is SpringFest weekend (3 days long - Papa Roach, Trust Company, Lit and Everclear played yesterday. The Black Crowes and Chingy today. Lots of other acts too . . . 4 stages!!!) I was going to go down and catch the show, but didn't come up with the $30 per ticket for the 3 days in time!!! Oh yeah, and the Crowes will be at the House of Blues at DTD on Wednesday . . . maybe the keyboard guy should have saved his Disney shirt for THAT!!!
3. Those were some big ol' shades on Kate Hudson . . . (I think I want to go watch Almost Famous now . . .  )
4. I am going to e-mail that picture of Rusty to DH . . . he is a big Rusty fan!!!
5. You have to hand it to Mark Martin though . . . he's going out with an All Star win, he won't have that chance again!!!
6. That's a great pic of you two eating lunch!!! Self portrait? Put that in your "future sig pic" file!!!
7. You going to all these races and stuff now is making me jealous!!! I've never been yet . . . but I'm probably going to Atlanta for the race on Halloween weekend!!!
Awesome report and great pics too!!! |
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05-22-2005, 09:50 PM
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#6
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Batman's Gal/Mickey's Pal
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Owensboro, KY USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 95,254
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
I am so jealous, Lowe's Motor Speedway is my favorite race track. But I'm really glad you had such a great time (if you omit the sunburn). Have fun Thursday night!
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05-22-2005, 09:55 PM
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#7
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Yeah!!! Melissa got a picture of Jeff for me!!!! Thank you SO much  |
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05-22-2005, 09:58 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NC
Posts: 12,270
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
[ QUOTE ]
I watched the race!!! Granted, I was sitting on my couch in the air conditioning, but I still watched it!!!
My thoughts on your fantabulous race report :
1. It is fitting that your sometimes hang out would have a Disney name "The Fox and Hound" . . . speaking of, I have that movie and still have never seen it!!!
2. The Black Crowes are actually going onstage in about 5 minutes tonight here in Pensacola!!! This is SpringFest weekend (3 days long - Papa Roach, Trust Company, Lit and Everclear played yesterday. The Black Crowes and Chingy today. Lots of other acts too . . . 4 stages!!!) I was going to go down and catch the show, but didn't come up with the $30 per ticket for the 3 days in time!!! Oh yeah, and the Crowes will be at the House of Blues at DTD on Wednesday . . . maybe the keyboard guy should have saved his Disney shirt for THAT!!!
3. Those were some big ol' shades on Kate Hudson . . . (I think I want to go watch Almost Famous now . . . )
4. I am going to e-mail that picture of Rusty to DH . . . he is a big Rusty fan!!!
5. You have to hand it to Mark Martin though . . . he's going out with an All Star win, he won't have that chance again!!!
6. That's a great pic of you two eating lunch!!! Self portrait? Put that in your "future sig pic" file!!!
7. You going to all these races and stuff now is making me jealous!!! I've never been yet . . . but I'm probably going to Atlanta for the race on Halloween weekend!!!
Awesome report and great pics too!!!
[/ QUOTE ]
Sarah you flippin crack me up! I have more Rusty pictures if you'd like to have them to send your DH. I just picked one to post.
You should make a road trip up here in the fall b/c we're going to the fall race here in Charlotte. |
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05-22-2005, 10:53 PM
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#9
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The Original BagMan
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Shalimar, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 22,002
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Thanks for the Rusty Pic, he and Mark Martin are my favorites... Glad one of them won.
Great TR and looks like you guys had fun!!! Thanks for sharing...
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05-23-2005, 09:35 AM
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#10
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 18,767
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Great trip report. I watched the race as well and was disappointed as well that Kasey got caught up in the mess. We hope to get to Lowe's Motor Speedway in the near future. We have tickets for the Busch and Cup race here in Indy!
Great pics as always! Thanks you so much for sharing!
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05-23-2005, 11:01 AM
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#11
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Sounds like you had a really great time Melissa!! Your pictures are awesome!!!!! We have a Fox & Hound here too, and the food is really good!!
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05-23-2005, 12:14 PM
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#12
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: second star to the right
Posts: 13,308
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
I only saw bits and pieces of the race - we had just got home from WDW that night. You are becoming a real "Race Chick", eh?? Sounds like you had a fun time. We have been to many races and there is always a guy sitting nearby that is way drunk and passes out before the race starts (Except when you get the really good seat!!  )
We are going to Pocono in a couple weeks and sitting directly behind pit road - I'll try to get you all some good shots of your favorites! Last year a bunch of crews kept coming into our VIP area and stealing our food - how rude!! |
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05-23-2005, 12:42 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,547
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Awesome pics, it looks like you guys had a great time!
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05-24-2005, 10:20 AM
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#14
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Wannabe Snowbird
Join Date: May 2002
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 34,137
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
Sounds like you had a great time. Those photos are really good too!
Here's hoping you get to see Kasey up close on the weekend!  |
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05-24-2005, 12:50 PM
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#15
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Manchester NH
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 12,514
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Re: Almost Famous at the All Star Race
The pictures are awesome... we are trying to get tickets for Loudon, but it's one of those tracks that's always sold out... we may just do happy hour and the Busch race...just a side note, did you check out the show Nascar 360? It was about Kasey, Rusty, Jamie McMurray and Robbie Gordan.
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