NASCAR? I knew nothing much about NASCAR until we had a son. His facination began the moment he could make buzzing noises from his lips, spin wheels and hold a car in his little fingers. Ever since those days before he turned one in late 2000, he would most likely be found with a car in hand, locating some sort of powder be it baby powder, sand or dirt to make his racing tracks and his signature buzz on any surface he thought suitable (These surfaces included his bedroom floor, kitchen counter, living room floor, sidewalk, and the best surface was the bathtub!). We found a Tony Stuart costume for him which, needless to say, was washed every night he went to sleep. Picture one shows Sammy wearing his Home Depot uniform to his Jewish holiday Purim Parade in preschool. When the teachers said that he needed to dress like one of the characters of the story, Sammy's reply was, "Tony is the King of racing, so I wanted to be King!!" The second picture depicts Sammy, of course as Tony Stuart, and his buddies dressed as Jeff Gordon racing their bikes up and down the sidewalk. They make chalk race lines and a finish line. It did not matter who won, as long as they were NASCAR racers. He gets upset, picture four, when Tony Stuart does not win on one of the courses that was aired on a particular day, and certainly it must be the same face as many other fans when their favorite car/driver does not place first across the finish line! During a trip to Disney in Florida in his kindergarten year there was a NASCAR ride. He chose to not go inside to ride a car he would not be allowed to drive himself, so he sat in the stationary car designed for the children to climb on. We spent about three hours watching him sit in the car with his mind imagining himself far far away on one of the race tracks, speeding through the 500 mile course at 200 miles per hour. That memory is what he talks about most. Picture three shows him wearing the costume last summer before second grade getting ready to race away somewhere, or find one of his friends to create a race track. This year, the costume does not fit and floods his ankles, but that does not deter him from happily showing off his HOME DEPOT Tony Stuart colors. He watches the races every weekend they are on and wishes he could see a race and of course meet Tony himself, however; the cost is out of our range. He instead uses his imagination, erector sets, matchbox cars, bikes and his buzzing lips to take himself to the races. I love NASCAR because the facination my little man has taught our family to love it!!!

Thank you!!

Heidi Unterberg,

Proud mommy of a die-hard NASCAR fan whom wishes to be there one day, hopefully escorting ROBIN yelling "GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!!"

PS He even named the cat PROPELLER because the cars propel at speeds he wished he could travel!