Day 2 of the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway was the longest and busiest of the tour but it certainly did not disappoint.

After a breakfast hosted by Aflac and Scotts, featuring NASCAR driver Carl Edwards and some very cute, yet annoying little Aflac ducks complete with jackets and helmets that quack “Aflac”, we went on to our first team event with Richard Childress Racing.

RCR announced that Austin Dillon will be sponsored by Bass Pro Shops in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. There has been a lot of speculation about how hardcore race fans will feel about him bringing the No. 3 back to the track. I, for one, love it! Other than Dale Jr. or Kerry, I think a member of Richard Childress’ family would be the only person that would be appropriate for reintroducing the number to the sport.

After interviewing Austin and joking with him, his brother and RCR development driver Ryan Gifford, we headed to a different room for our time with Richard Petty Motorsports and then on to the Speedway Club at CMS for lunch with Wood Brothers Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

After a good lunch, some very tart Key Lime Pie and receiving some of the team’s new sponsor’s (ExtenZe) samples, we went down to the Nationwide Garage for the Aflac Journalism Awards in honor of Russ Catlin and our time with Roush Fenway Racing.

The interviews with the Roush drivers, minus Greg Biffle who was testing in Texas, went well and we were told we would be getting a special surprise – personal rides in the new Roush Mustang with one of the drivers.

Needless to say, riding with Matt Kenseth in a black and red Mustang around the road course at CMS and the circle track, supposedly getting up to 130mph on the backstretch, was one of the biggest thrills of my life and something I will never forget. Matt is the first NASCAR driver I ever got the chance to interview back in 2004 so that made it even more special for me.

From there we went back to the hotel for writing time and then got back on the buses for our trip to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Due to the fact that the building is still under construction we were given hard hats, orange construction vests and safety goggles as we boarded the bus.

It was pretty funny to see a whole gaggle of reporters wearing that get-up through the building.

One of the MRN guys pin-pointed the exact look later that night. Our hard hats were blue with a white Hall of Fame sticker and he said that one of his fellow MRN employees reminded him of the Monsters, Inc. characters. We called him Mike Wazowski for the rest of the night.

Last night’s hospitality was at Dale Jr.’s bar Whisky River but despite how much I wanted to see that establishment I was just too tired to participate so I took the early bus back to the hotel. Let me tell you, it was really hard to resist the opportunity to ride the mechanical bull.

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