BURLINGTON, NC :: The title of this article may seem cliche, but stay with me on this one. I’ll reference it plenty of times to make it worthwhile.

As my fourth season of Race Announcing has commenced, I can honestly say this one could not have started soon enough for me after an off season that was filled with drama, stress, and questions to which I didn’t have the answers to.

In a perfect world, my off season wouldn’t have been newsworthy at all.  As some would say ‘no news is good news’ is usually my preferred choice for an off season.  But it was the furthest thing from that.

As time went on my email, Facebook and cell phone were flooded on a regular basis with questions about what was going to happen with Ace Speedway and what was I going to do.

In hind sight, I understand why these questions we’re asked, because people wanted good news and hoped that I had it.  I too wished for that, but I was as in limbo as anyone else.  In time, these questions made me bitter, tired, and flat out irritated.  Not so much because of the repetitive nature of the questions, but because I had no good news to offer as an answer and found myself repeating the same thing over and over.  “I don’t know. I wish I did, but I really don’t.  If I hear anything good, I’ll let you know.”

As January approached, an opportunity came for me to go with Brad Allen to Southern National Motorsports Park, and I jumped at the opportunity.  Who wouldn’t?  It’s a track fresh off a resurgence that just happened to have an opening for my position.

At the Piedmont Racing Expo in Raleigh in January, it finally hit home in a hard way that I was going somewhere new when for the first time ever I walked in that building and wasn’t wearing Ace Speedway attire.  But as the day went on, it felt better and better.  And now, I am honored that I get to call the races at a place like Southern National and work for guys like Michael Diaz and Jerry Brown.

Would I have sought the opportunity had the off season been drama free?  Maybe, maybe not.  But now I can safely say it was a blessing in disguise.

Then came the good news that seemed to come at the last possible minute, that circumstances had come together to allow my friend Brad Allen to return to Ace Speedway and get the 2013 organized and ready to go.

I can honestly say that it makes more excited for a race season than ever before and I’ve been a race fan all 24 years of my life.

Would I have been this excited without everything that happened over the off-season?  Maybe, but I can’t say for sure.  While tumultuous, it has opened my eyes to just how many people care about that 4/10’s mile bullring in Altamahaw.  And also makes me remember to never, take a race season for granted, because you really never know what the future will hold.

It was, as referenced before a blessing in disguise.

As 2013 moves right along, starting March 29th my schedule will become much, much busier.  I’ll go to Ace Speedway on Friday nights about five minutes down the road, then waking up on Saturday mornings and making the two hour trip to Southern National Motorsports Park to announce on Saturday nights.

It’s not the first time I’ve announced somewhere other than Ace, but it will be my first season announcing at two different tracks much like many other announcers before me.

At first the thought of this sounded like too much, but now I’m more than ready for it!

Would I have taken on this challenge with a drama free off season?  I can’t say for sure, but now that the smoke has cleared I can honestly say, it was (one last time) a blessing in disguise.

In closing, I’d like to say this.  And if you’ve read all the way down to this point, I sincerely appreciate your read.

Some people think because I announce that I’m an upper member of management at any track I work at, this couldn’t be further from the truth.  I’m a race track employee, just like many others.  I’m there because I love racing, believe in the track, and want to see others enjoy the racing just like I do.  I may not make the decisions and most times I’d rather not.  I’m a proud race track employee at two awesome establishments, I just happen to talk with a microphone in my hand.

Remember that at the next track you visit or at your hometown track wherever that is.  The announcer is no higher on the hog than the girls in the concession stands or the guys driving the clean-up truck.  We are all there for the same reasons.  We love racing, and we want everyone who comes thru the gate to enjoy the racing too.