On meeting Dale Jr.

From: Maureen, NJ
My husband and I ventured to Philly (Philadelphia, PA) to the Philadelphia Car Show back in January 2002. Jr. was to make an appearance which I could not wait. I had bought the tickets months before. Finally, getting to see JR up close. After going to my first race (Busch Race in Nazareth, PA) three years before I was hooked from the get go. We waited for four hours in line to my husbands dismay. He likes Jr. but did not want to wait in line that long. Well needless to say, I made him wait. I mean it's Dale Earnhardt Jr! With the tons of fans I would have waited overnight if I had too. LOL! We finally where escorted into this huge room where we waited another hour before he came out. The cheers where overwhelming, the chants JR. JR. JR. where deafening. Jr. himself looked overwhelmed by it all. I mean we where in Philly, it's not exactly a Nascar haven.

I have never in my lifetime at least at this point seen such a rush of emotion. These people (all 1,000) of us wanted to show how much we care and support this one person. Well at least most of us. The girl next to me actually yelled out loud more than once that she was willing to have his child. LOL. Well, maybe that was over the top. But the guy is totally adorable! What girl wouldn't want to love him and have his children, I thought to myself. HUMM? Ok focus back on Jr.

After the clapping and cheering went on for a least 3-4 minutes. Fans where asking all kinds of questions as you can imagine. And he was so generous with his answers. Really taking the time to answer. Not any one liner's either. This guy really wanted to be here. He cared. You could tell.

Well after about a 1/2 hour of answering questions with flash bulbs going off like fireworks. He bid us goodbye! I had to sit back down. What a Rush! With my finger now blistered from pressing on the camera button so many times, I looked over at my poor husband who was sweet enough to drive me to Philly, endure the whole day and then stand and wait for 5 hours. I said, "So what do you think?" His face looked a little shocked at what we had just gone through and simply he said, "Man, he was very cool!" "I am really glad we came." "He seems to be a regular guy who really cares about his fans." I looked at my husband, (suprised by his answer) who is really not into the whole Nascar thing and would probably never call another guy cool (at least in public) and said, "Well, now you know why I am a fan!" He looked back at me and said, "Well, he's got my vote!" Now that was a big deal. My husband, this big football looking guy, surrounded by mostly screaming young beautiful girls, came out of there just as pleased as I was. What a day to remember!

Thank you Jr. for making our trip so memorable. You are a great guy. And I am proud to say, I am a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fan! We love you and our family (nicknamed "the bleacher creatures") will always be out there to cheer you on no matter what! Thanks for making this sport so much fun to watch. You will always be number one in our book.

This is my contribution to Dale Jr. Apperication week. I thought this was an awesome idea! He deserves only the best of the best!

Thank you,
Maureen Ciufo
Ringoes, New Jersey