Life in the Fast Lane

Matt racing around the track on his own.

Matt posing with Richard Petty's foot and hand print.

Matt and his fiance Casey.

Bret, Matt, Steph, and Lindsey. Steph and Lindsey from LMS helped organize and make all of this possible for Matt. THANK YOU!

Matt and the gentleman from CARQUEST that also helped make this possible for Matt.

Matt with Mel our driver.

Matt posing with his car in victory circle.

Another of Matt posing with his car in victory circle.

Matt on the track being interviewed.

HE DID IT! He raced around the track and got up to 135 m.p.h. with his Camaro.

After 15 hours of driving, we got to the hotel around 3 am this morning and were able to catch a couple hours of sleep. Then we headed to Lowe's Motor Speedway around 7:30 am this morning. Everyone at LMS was extremely nice. We drove right in to victory lane and Matt was able to get on the track right away. LMS donated many different things to Matt and his family, including a carhart bag, autographed memorabilia from Matt Kenseth who unfortunately was out of town for the holiday, two crew shirts, hats, free hotel, meals,and many other things. Car Quest also donated a racing helmet that was signed and worn by Kyle Busch. They also set up a very nice and event-filled itinerary. Matt was out on the race track for an hour and a half. He started out following the pace car to get comfortable with the feeling and staying around 80 mph. Then they allowed him to go himself! He was cautious at first but then he got used to it real quickly. He gave Bret (his friend), Casey, Nate, Dad, Jenny, and Mom all a ride around the track at maximum speed of 135 mph! It was an amazing experience. This is something Matt and our family will never forget. He also was interviewed by three local tv stations and the Charlotte Observer Newspaper. Here are some links to the tv stations with his articles (some aren't published yet but will be tonight) and online articles.

http://www.wbtv.com/global/story.asp?s=9426686 – channel 3 news in North Carolina
http://www.wsoctv.com/ – channel 9 news in North Carolina
http://news14.com/content/local_news/601930/teen-gets-to-live-dream-at-speedway/Default.aspx – channel 14 news in North Carolina
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=smith_marty&page=DoorToDoor
http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/opinion/11/27/splash.go.rswan.thanksgiving/index.html

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/galleries/gallery/382184.html

http://www.wdtimes.com/articles/2008/11/28/news/news2.txt

www.kentucky.com/614/story/609619.html

www.thatsracin.com/242/story/21287.html

www.macon.com/356/story/540825.html

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/316524

www.quote.com/news/story.action?id=KRO334e7052

Matt had so much fun and there was no way you would be able to wipe that smile off his face. He also got the chance to drive on the track at the same time Ryan, soon to be brother-in-law, was able to take his corvette out on the track. Mel, our driver that drove the trailer with Matt and Ryan's cars, even got the chance to take his truck out on the track and drive it! :) It was a once in a lifetime experience and we extremely appreciate everything that people did to prepare this for Matt. This will be a memory he will have for the rest of his life and it has made his dreams come true. Then we did a little bit of shopping at the gift shop at the speed track. Then we also went to Quaker State Lube for a delicious lunch compliments of LMS. It was really good but then everyone had to go back to the hotel for a nap. It has been a very long day and we still have many more fun things planned for tonight and tomorrow.

Thank you for everything people have done for Matt and our family. Without God, none of this would be possible and He will take care of Matt. Please continue to keep Matt in your prayers.

More to come! :)