After spending the day with my family, enjoying dinner together and putting my daughter to bed, it was time to load the car and head to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Pep Boys Auto 500 weekend. Hitting the highway late at night I was able to take my time and enjoy the drive, something that tends to get lost in the face-paced world we live in these days.

Navigating the AM stations for much of the drive, I was able to enjoy a number of great stations and broadcasts from across this great nation. At one point listening to my Philadelphia Phillies lose to the Houston Astros, it was refreshing to hear commercials for businesses from my hometown area. As the radio fizzled in and out I continued to flip through the stations, finding anything from Louisiana high school football scores to an all-Elvis, all the time program. As I made my way into Georgia, the shine of lights caught my eye on the side of the highway and the sight could not keep this hardcore race fan away.

Driving past the Georgia Karting Komplex in Carnesville, Ga., hundreds of campers, trailers and trucks surrounded the complex as karts racing around the track kicked up dust and screamed in the late-summer night. Taking a detour I hit the back roads of Georgia in an attempt to check out this awesome event. After a few directions from a friendly gas station attendant, I hit the dirt road, turned into the complex and was ready to watch some racing.

The Tri-State Pro Series and the American Kart Racing Association presented the 3rd annual Labor Day Bash, a two-day event that drew karters of all ages from all over the Southeast. Over 250 karts took to the track on Friday night, while nearly 700 were expected for Saturday’s action.

With racing moms and proud fathers hanging on to the fence and standing atop the bleachers cheering their racers on, the hum of the karts around the dirt oval rung into the night. The competition was fierce, with beating and banging taking place throughout the field. There were five classes racing Friday night – Stock Lite, Blue Lite, Box Stock Heavy, Jr. Gold Lite and Stock Heavy – while the ages, experience levels and budgets greatly varied.

In the end it was a clean sweep for Harold Wiggins’ Phantom Karts. Impressive Hunter Curtis from Mooresville, N.C. captured two wins on the night, taking the Stock Lite Main and the Box Stock Heavy. Young Spencer Davis also took home two checkered flags with wins in the Blue Lite Main and the Jr. Gold Lite division. Beating the boys in the Stock Heavy Main was Stephanie Pitts.

After talking with some fans and racers it was back to the road for the last hour of my journey. Channeling the AM stations once again, it was a welcomed site to hit the entrance to the Atlanta Motor Speedway. With two days of NASCAR action ahead of me, the drive was behind me but the experience was nothing but enjoyable.

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