Voda-Blog : From a Temporary Home to the Real One!
Is This Heaven? No, it’s just Iowa.
This week is a big one for me. I get to go home. Not the home where I live now, but the one where I grew up.
The 11th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the 2011 season takes place Saturday, July 16th at Iowa Speedway. I grew up 3 hours east of Newton, Iowa. The Iowa I lived in didn’t have a NASCAR track. It wasn’t there. It was just a dream.
As a kid, the Des Moines area seemed so far away. We usually only traveled there for state tournaments…wrestling and basketball…or for the Iowa State Fair.
(PS…I took Ron Hornaday and Ricky Carmichael to the Iowa State Fair 3 years ago to promote what would be the first Iowa truck race. They loved it…especially Buddy, the prize-winning boar!)
Now, nothing feels more like “home” than my annual trip to Iowa’s capital city.
Even seeing simple things like Iowa license plates or old, familiar restaurants, reminds me I’m home.
This year, I’ll really be home…spending a couple of days in my hometown before driving across Interstate 80. AND…while there…I’ll be promoting the race. In fact, I’ve been invited to throw out the first pitch for my hometown’s minor league baseball team. Seriously! Wednesday, July 13th…Clinton Lumberkings, 7pm!
Ironically, my trip home comes one week after my trip to one of my “former” homes. I used to work for WLEX, the NBC affiliate, in Lexington, KY. Covering sports in the Bluegrass state…high school football, University of Kentucky basketball, horse racing…provided me some of my best times. Anchoring the 6p sports, then running out to shoot 2 basketball games, and racing back to the station to edit the highlights in time for the 11p show…a total high!
While at the Kentucky Speedway this past week, I ran into several familiar faces….fans and former work colleagues. I’ve been to the track for the last few years covering truck races, but it was great to see a really good track (with really good people) get their first Sprint Cup Series race.
But, I feel it’s important to point out, Kentucky was a state where I enjoyed working and I’ll always treasure memories from my time there. BUT…Iowa is my home. And no track…or its success…is more important to me than the Iowa Speedway.
That’s why I encourage Iowans to support their home track…a track that used to be nothing but a field of dreams. I’ll be there. I hope you will be, too!
Krista hangs out with US Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson at Chalrotte Motor Speedway.
Krista with Ron Hornaday, Ricky Carmichael and an award-winning boar at the Iowa State Fair.
