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Top 5 Shuttle flying tips
U.S. Marine Col. Doug Hurley is both an astronaut and a real down-to-earth kind of guy. Hurley, who piloted the Space Shuttle Endeavour during the summer, will receive some kind of top-secret honor before today’s race. He also will present TMS president Eddie Gossage with some kind of top-secret gift from mission STS-127. Hurley has been a TMS season ticket holder since 2005 and is the cousin of Nan Zipadelli, whose husband, Greg, is crew chief of the No. 20 Cup team. Not surprisingly, Hurley said his favorite driver is whoever drives the No. 20 car. That used to be Tony Stewart, now it is Joey Logano.Hurley offered these top five tips for anyone who gets the opportunity to pilot a space shuttle:1"It is faster than anything else you’ve ever driven. It goes Mach-25, or 25 times the speed of sound."2"It only has room for seven."3"When you land, there are no engines — it’s a glider. That means you have one chance to land it. No mulligans on the landing."4"The seat is really uncomfortable. You need to be prepared to lay on your back for about four hours in a pressure suit before you launch."5"It has its own toilet — a very, very, very cramped toilet. There are no rest areas in space, so you have to have your own toilet."A new Kurt Busch fanMichael McGee says 7 is his lucky number. If Kurt Busch wins today’s Dickies 500, 2 will be his new lucky number. McGee will win $1 million if Busch finishes first. McGee, the Dickies American Worker of the Year, was allowed to pick one young lady out of 12 who represented each of the drivers in the Chase. McGee quickly made his choice, pointing to the seventh lady in the line for his lucky number. She removed her jacket to reveal a T-shirt with Busch’s name and No. 2.McGee, an agricultural teacher and horse training business owner from Broken Bow, Okla., was named recipient of Dickies’ award last month. He received $50,000 and a trip for two to this weekend’s race. "I don’t really follow NASCAR that much," McGee said. "Hopefully, it’ll be good [today]."Team owner Richard Childress, who does follow NASCAR and was on hand for the ceremony, informed McGee that Busch, a Penske driver, has had good practice runs this weekend and could prove to be a lucky pick.High-paid chauffeursDavid Reutimann, Joey Logano, Michael Waltrip and Mike Skinner will be giving fans rides this morning at the Toyota Start Something! Drive Center across from Gate 7.The drivers will take fans for short trips in a variety of Toyota models.The schedule of drivers: Skinner from 9:30-10 a.m., Reutimann from 10:10-10:30, Logano from 10:45-11:05 and Waltrip from 11:20-11:40.Good seats availableThey’re adding seats at TMS — atop the pit boxes.Pit boxes used to be reserved only for the crew chief and two or three other crew members. But now the pit boxes are expanding to make room for plainclothes-wearing occupants. Read into that, sponsors, VIPs and such.
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