FEB. 18TH,2007 DA

Well, it is time to catch up on where the whirlwind of racing has taken me to since Dec. 30th, 2006.

I left for a cross country trip with the SUPERCUTS.COM Showcar in tow to head to Spokane, Washington for a promotion for SUPERCUTS; the sponsor of the #22 FITZMOTORSPORTS DODGE CHARGER in the NASCAR BUSCH SERIES.

In leaving on December 30th, I knew my New Year's Eve plans were out the window. I was not sure where I would be watching the ball drop, or where I may have to be to make my scheduled time, especially with the weather forecasts not looking too promising.

I'm so Blessed with having made such great friends that I still have in my corner that I've met over my many years on the racing road. One of those great people is Mary Ann Petrino and her sons, Josh and Jason of Nashville, Tn. (actually Ashland Park).

Mary Ann was kind enough to provide me with a place to stay, and to top it off, had my truck and trailer secured at a local storage faciltiy while I waited out the New Years Holiday.

I spent a quiet evening catching up on e-mails, planning my journey; getting weather updates with potential blizzard conditions getting ready to set in the Pacific Northwest. I had to stay disciplined for my next day of travel; in other words; NO PARTIES!!!!!

I left the Nasville, Tn. area on New Years Day morning; saying goodbye to my friends, and their dog, which they named Buddy; but, my crazy sense of humour came out one day and called him "Buddy Love"; the character that Jerry Lewis created in the 1960's movie, "The Nutty Professor." (Sorry Eddie Murphy; Jerry Lewis's version is my fav). So now, he is called Buddy Jean Love Simmons; unfortunately, I was unable to put my adopted child on my tax return...or did I???

I left for the journey that most Nascar Busch Series Transport Drivers never get to see; especially in the middle of winter in full swing.

Now, the states that were to follow were new to me and some were old friends. Crossing into Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and then into Washington.

Arriving into Spokane was a sigh of relief! After driving on ice in Montana; snow and ice in Idaho; the light snow of Spokane was, well, a welcome sight, and yes, my NEXTEL Phone started working again! You do not know how dependent you/I/we have become with cell phones. For two days I was without service. I actually found my old BELLSOUTH Phone Card, and it had been so long since I had used same, I had to blow the dust off the account numbers to make a call. Now I know what Lewis and Clark felt like trying to come across country without their cell phones working properly...

After arriving at the wrong hotel; okay, it was a 50/50 shot; I mean the Red Lion Hotels are great, but, there are two on the same street...I mean they have diffrent names underneath the banner, but, how is a guy to know? So after leaving the registration desk, and the lady at the first Red Lion making me feel like I was Michael Waltrip "at the wrong track", I got my composure back and went to the correct location.

Now SUPERCUTS knows how to hook a man up; I mean a king size bed; riverfront view, and a hotel with great ammenities. When in Spokane, I highly recommend the (or at least one of them) Red Lion Hotel/Riverfront.

Now in preparing to do my show car appearance, I thought I had stumbled into a modern episode remake of the 1978 classis 'ANIMAL HOUSE'. There were students all over the place, I mean literally, all over the place; hallways; corridors; rooms; bar; restaurant; I'm sure some in closets even, studying up for their upcoming inter-collegiate debates. I had to play the devil's advocate a few times.......I mean, it was like being married without the marriage certificate...I had to stir the pot; except, I threw a few of those nice young future leaders of America into a blender with a fire house on their heads... Okay, it was all in fun, and yes, it was great to see that our country is in the good hands of some very capable future leaders.

On Friday, January 5th, 2007, I headed to the Spokane Arena to put the show car on display for driver Carlos Contreras; and to promote SUPERCUTS as they were doing a cross marketing project with the SPOKANE CHIEFS Hockey Team. Some lucky fan will be getting all access and then some at the upcoming race at the Las Vegas Motorspeedway on March 10th, 2007.

Now, I know about as much about hockey, as I do writing articles for this website, but, I try to learn something new everyday. My fellow team member and part time driver, Carlos was given the honor of being an "Honorary Referee" to put out the puck to start the game. Instead, Carlos got the suprise of his life! The players were more interested in punching each other out as soon as Carlos dropped the puck on the ice (had to spell check the word puck) and settle old scores, than to play the game!

Carlos came back to the show car, which was on display of the front entrance of the Spokane Arena. He was asking me about the rules of engagement in hockey; I told him that it is a team effort to be every man for himself...or so I thought. Now being from North Carolina, home of the CAROLINA HURRICANES, based in Raleigh, N.C., our state capitol; and recently named numero uno place to live in the good ole USA by FORBES MAGAZINE, I'm still trying to learn about hockey, and my friends from Canada think that it is a shame that "a bunch of rednecks" have the Stanly Cup in North Carolina. I told em' we would be drinking moonshine from it on a regular basis, instead of Molson!

Now as the evening went on, I found out what NASCAR may know by now: there are rabid NASCAR Fans in the Pacific Northwest!!! We were given such a warm and V.I.P. welcome, that I immediately said: NASCAR needs to put a track up here for these folks, and maybe take a date away from tracks that, in my opinion are really not up to par in some areas to have the privilege of having two dates! It would be supported by the masses! I know things are in the works, but I've heard that rhetoric before from track owners on expansion.

I would like to thank, Sara, Patti with REGIS CORP./SUPERCUTS; you ladies know your stuff on how to take care of the fans; thanks to Claudia and Jerry with the local SUPERCUTS Stores, and all the fine employees I had the honor to meet and work with.

Thanks to Andy and all the fine staff of the Spokane Arena; they are a class act, and know how to put an event on like no other.

Thanks to all the fine folks at DISHMAN DODGE, located at 7700 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley. We enjoyed spending our Saturday, January 6th, with you fine folks. Congrats on the new building, and we wish you much sales success! Marti and her top notch sales staff can be reached at 1-877-568-3362 for the much needed auto purchase!

And a super special thanks and shout out goes to Dave Allen, owner of RACING LIMOS/WWW.RACINGLIMOS.COM. Dave was so gracious to take Carlos to the airport for his departure to Denver, CO. to finish his vacation with his family. It was also great to ride around Spokane in a limo to check out the scenery and local restaurants. If you need a limo, call Dave Allen at (509) 279-0545.

Thanks to locals for the front row seats for the Saturday night game of the Spokane Chiefs. Danny was gracious enough to help me out on some of the happenings of the game. I'm working on a new book: "Hockey for Dummies."

As the snow was falling, I pulled out of Spokane knowing one thing; I wanted to return with race cars on my trailer to race at the new track they will hopefully one day have!

My next update will be of the SUPERCUTS Convention in Las Vegas, NV. NAMES WILL BE CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT

VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE THAT OF CONTRIBUTOR ED SIMMONS AND NOT THAT OF THE RACE CREW JOBS STAFF AS A WHOLE.