Meet & Greet

When the Vancouver Molson Indy race started in Vancouver, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The sights and sounds were in my own back yard and no longer just on TV. Back during those years, my uncle worked for a television station and was given tickets each year, but unfortunatly or fortunately he was unable to attend.  So each year he gave the tickets to me.  What an experience!! I was usually there when the gates opened and would leave when the sweepers and cleanup crew would kick me out.  Over the many many years that I went, I would gain countless opportunities to meet some of my heros, and in some cases spend a few moments with them, and I always had this white binder with me.

This binder held all my photos and autograph cards, and throughout the years it  seemed  that I would run into someone without any warning, so I would simply have them sign the binder.

The autograph above is of one of the all time greats "Mario Andretti".  The day was coming to an end and it just started to pour rain, so I ran for cover under an awning.  I thought I was all by myself, but when I turned around Mario Andretti was trying to keep dry as well.  We chatted for a few minutes waiting for the rain to ease and asked him to sign the binder...very cool moment and a very cool guy.

The autograph above is from the Brazilian, Cristiano da Matta during his very first year in the CART Racing Series.  I was making one last pass of the trailers in the paddock area, when a small grundgy looking kid walked out of a trailer wearing baggy clothes.  Carrying a backpack and wearing a baseball cap pulled down tight, I knew it was Cristiano.  I didn't want to be the first one to approach him, so I followed him down the lane.  He would stop for a few moments at each paddock sight to take a quick look at the other teams and their preparations.  After seeing dozens and dozens of people not noticing who he was, I finally walked up to him stood beside him for a minute, then wished him good luck in the race.  He glanced at me and saw that I had the binder, a sharpie pen and a few autographies on it.  He reached over, surveyed the autographies with a smile and then signed it right beside Mario's autograph....no one else saw him do this.  He gave me back my pen and binder and then slowly continued his walk down the paddock lane...and I never saw anyone approach him until he was into the tunnel and away from the public.  That kid went on to win many races, the Champcar Championship, and eventually made his way all the way to Formula 1 with the Toyota Motorsports Team.

Other drivers that signed the binder are:
Jan Magnussun -  former Formula 1 & CART driver, currently in Lemans endurance racing
PJ Jones - former CART/Indy driver and American Lemans Endurance racing
Dario Franchetti - former Champcar & Nascar driver, and current 3-time Indycar Champion
Scott Pruett - former CART and Nascar driver, currently racing in the Grand-Am Racing Series
Gil de Ferran - 2-time Champcar Champion and Indy 500 winner, currently team owner and racing in the American Lemans Series.
Juan Pablo Montoya - former CART champion, Indy 500 winner, Formula 1 winner, and currently races in the Nascar Racing Series

And there is still more room on the binder....