Colonel Pichi at Talladega
Yes that's me at Talladega Superspeedway and yes I am now a NASCAR convert after having driven 6 laps at the Superspeedway this morning. I remember growing up watching NASCAR racing on ABC Sports and Cale Yarborough number 21 was my favorite racer. But after high school I really didn't follow NASCAR that much and while in Germany I became a fan of Formula One racing which I still watch on TV when I get the chance. But today was something special. We finally took the long drive from Red River Army Depot in Texarkana to Anniston Army Depot here in Anniston Alabama on Wednesday. I was lucky enough to get to ride and drive in a Ford Explorer versus the bus. We drove through Louisiana, and when we got to Mississippi we stopped for lunch at a riverboat casino to eat at the buffet in order to give the Iraqi's a chance to taste some American cuisine. After lunch we visited and got a 90 minute tour of the Battle of Vicksburg site. I reminded Major Sanders from Alabama that us Yankees did prevail in this battle, and below is the monument dedicated to the Soldiers from Wisconsin who fought in this crucial battle. Old Abe the bald eagle is on top of the monument.
Wisconsin Monument with Old Abe
We then arrived in Anniston late on Wednesday and toured the depot on Thursday and Friday. I was most interested in the small arms facility since that is the first one that will be functionable at the TNMD. We spent about 45 minutes at that facility but I could have stayed there for a couple of hours since there was so much to absorb. We were also able to see their disassembly and reassembly site, their machine shop, turret shop, component shop and various other sites. The Iraqi's got a chance to ride in an M-1 tank as it did it's test drive, I passed on the chance having already driven a M-1 while I was stationed with the 1st Armored Division.
Last night we had a dinner at the Berman Museum here in Anniston and before dinner we got a chance to see all the art and military collections that were collected by COL and Mrs Berman. I was impressed at their WWII exhibits specially the weapons collection and uniform collection of all the main players in WWII. Dinner was excellent and I enjoyed the company of several of the key local community representatives, and once again the Southern hospitality was top notch.
Today being our last day the Chamber of Commerce and local community provided us with a chance of a lifetime, to actually drive a stock car at the Talladega Superspeedway for 6 laps. We got out there at 0730 and after some instruction changing into the driver gear and getting fitted with the helmet we received our final tips and it was gentleman start your engines. I was selected to drive number 11 and the local driver who was in the passenger seat was Jeff who had driven in NASCAR events but now is happy driving smaller venues on weekends plus working at the depot and being a mayor. Climbing into the vehicle was a chore and after getting my neck harness hooked up and being strapped in there was not much room at all to move around in. We got the green flag and after getting pushed out of the pits and shifting into gear away we went. I didn't get into fourth gear until I was half way around the 2.66 mile tri-oval and then when Jeff told me to get into fourth away I went. The first real lap on the track on turn one which is banked at 33 degrees was a little queasy on the stomach but after that it was pedal to the metal as I maintained my death grip on the steering wheel thinking "damn I'm going 165+ miles an hour and if I screw up I could really do some serious damage out here". My fourth lap was the fastest lap as I hit 167 mph and passed a couple of cars along the way. I guess that you're supposed to climb as high as possible in the curves but human instinct tells you otherwise. On the last lap I had Jeff pull the steering wheel to the right so that I was about 3 feet away from the wall and all I could think about was how much closer did he think I could get before I hit the damn wall!!
Before I knew it the checker flag was waved, I never saw the damn thing and the ride of a lifetime was over. I knew that I probably could have gone a little faster but for my first time I was a happy camper. I definitely have much more respect for these guys who do this for 500 miles at a pop going 180+ mph with 30+ guys on the track just inches behind each other. As I told the guys doing 80 mph at Taji along the supply depot road won't be the same anymore!!
After we got back it was more shopping at a mall and then I headed up to the room to do some Army work, then worked out and finally after more than a year got to eat some sushi at a restaurant nearby. Granted the ambiance and sushi wasn't as good as Kazoo's back home but it was a great way to wrap up the trip. We then had some wine and smoked some nice cigars outside the hotel while watching it lightening and thunder. Tomorrow we are on our way back to Jordan, so I will write some more when I get back to Iraq. Unfortunately for me my digital camera in NMC and there will be no more photos until I get back home and get the camera fixed.
The Colonel
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