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John and his friends, Bobby and Mike, were in the back yard playing with their cars.

John had always loved cars and especially the race cars. Every time a Stock Car race was on TV, he and his friends would be glued to the set watching their favorite driver and cheering him on.

John’s favorite driver was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and he just got so excited when he watched him maneuver around the track.

That afternoon while they were playing, Dad came home and called out to John. "John, come here, I have some wonderful news for you”.

John came running along with Billy and Mike .... “What do you want, Dad ?”

“How would you like to go to a real Stock Car race? Dad said.

“OH, Boy! Can we? Can we?" John was jumping around and yelling... he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Billy and Mike come with us?”

Going to a race with Dad would be so exciting, but to go with his friends also would be the most incredible adventure.

The next Stock Car race was going to be in Indianapolis. John couldn’t imagine going all the way from Hometown, USA, to the race. But, Dad had planned on driving to the race and so there would be room for all of them to go.

The big day to go was here and John, his Dad and Billy and Mike were ready to get on the road.

John, Billy and Mike had all their things packed the night before. Billy and Mike spent the night so that they could get an early start the next morning.

When they got to the Indy 500 track, they watched Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and several of the other drivers perform their qualifying heats.

Just as John hoped, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. got the pole position and would be in first position in the upcoming race.

The next day, Dad took the boys to meet Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s crew chief in the “pit”.

They immediately noticed that the grease, oil, fuel and rubber all combined into one powerful smell.

John stood there in awe as the chief welcomed them into the pit to see what the crew did to help the driver.

“Hi John, Billy and Mike, it’s nice of your Dad to bring you here to the pit.”

“I understand that you boys really like seeing the races” Said the chief.

“Oh yes!” Exclaimed Billy ... we watch the races all the time and even pretend we are in one of the stock car races”

“I know what you mean” said the chief “I did the same thing when I was a boy”.

“Let me show you what we do here in the pit. Of course, right now, there isn’t a lot going on because there isn’t a race, but I want to introduce you to the rest of the crew” the chief said.

And with that, he introduced the boys to the rest of the crew. “These men are very important to the race. As you can imagine, time is everything and every man here has be able to do his job in the very fastest manner.

Everything has to be done during a 16-second pit stop. They do everything from putting in fuel, changing tires, repairing any problems. 16 seconds is not very long, but it may mean the difference between winning and losing a race.”

"Dale, I would like to introduce you to our new friends here” said the chief and with that, John, Billy and Mike got to shake the hand of their very favorite race car driver.

Chief, I would like to take my car out for a shake down run. I want to make sure the suspension is right,” said Dale. “Do you boys want to take a ride with me?”

Here was their hero inviting them to ride in his race car. The boys piled into the car, fastened their seat-belts and put on their helmets, goggles and ear protectors. It was going to be a wonderful, noisy, exciting ride.

And it was! As the engine roared to life, it was deafening. The boys felt themselves pushed against the seat as the race car increased it’s speed.

Holding tightly to their seats and feeling the vibration of the car’s tires as they felt it “stick” to the track, the boys watched in fascination as Dale speed shifted the gears as they raced around the track.

Even though they were not going the 125+ mph as in a race, it was so exciting to see Dale put the race car through its paces.

When the ride was over, Dale took them back to the pit. The boys got out excited, covered in dust and when they took their goggles off, they looked like little raccoons with the dust and dirt covering their faces leaving rings around their eyes where the goggles were.

Dad said “Boys, it’s time we let the men take care of their work and we need to get to the motel and get some rest because tomorrow is the big race.”

That night, as the boys tried to settle down and sleep, each one relived riding in Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s car and imagined being in the big race tomorrow as they drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, Dad woke them and after a hearty breakfast, they got their seats at the track and were anxious for the race to begin.

Soon, the announcement “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES,” the green flag waved and the pace car took off with the team of drivers roaring their engines as they settled into the race.

Dale raced his race car against all the other cars and as they roared around the track, the boys cringed every time Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was crowded out of his place and screamed in encouragement every time Dale pulled ahead of the pack.

The roar of the crowd and the noise of the engines was almost deafening as the cars raced around the track. Dust, rubber and exhaust fumes mixed together to create the most tantalizing smell for the boys.

This is what they dreamed of and now it was happening.

Four hours and 500 miles later, the white flag waved, meaning there was one more lap to go.

Dale's car pulled out from behind the rest of the cars and just in the last second crossed the finish line with the checkered flag waving and Dale Earnhart, Jr. winning.

The boys were hoarse from screaming. The dream came true and they saw their hero, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., win the Indy 500. Nothing could beat this.

On their way home, the exhausted boys all fell asleep in the back seat of the car dreaming of racing in a stockcar race.