Do you know the feeling of exhaling?

Well, now that May is nearly complete, I am rediscovering that wonderful sensation. What a month.

Quail Hollow Championship kicked off April 30th, and took us through May 3rd. Remember who won?

A relatively normal week followed. Had some baseball between Durham and Charlotte, Cup series went to Darlington, and there was Mother's Day.

Then it began.

All Star Pit Crew Challenge. All Star Qualifying. Camping World Truck race. All Star Race.

Amazingly, we got through all that rain free. I think.

Then Cup qualifying on Thursday the 21st, Nationwide race on the 23rd, and what became the 24 Hours of Concord (otherwise known as the Coca Cola 600). Rains interrupted the Nationwide series rains, ending it 30 laps shy of the finish. Congrats to Mike Bliss for getting the win.

Then the marathon 600 began. Kinda. There was the securing of the front stretch by the military. Choppers flying over the track--actually inside the track. Franklin Graham giving the invocation. 4 military jets buzzed the track, after-burners at full glow. Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson smiling even brighter than the after-burners.

Just when you thought the race could get going, Mother Nature entered the track, and she decided to hang around. At the time, it was believed it was the first time the 600 was ever postponed (everyone, including yours truly reported that). Now that the excitement has worn off, it appears the 1963 was also a rain delayed 600. The race date listed in the NASCAR media guide for that year was June 2. Only one other 600 mile race was run in the month of June, and that was the first one in 1960 (June 19th). that 1963 race appears to have been pushed back an entire week, with the original date likely May 26th.

Now the Month of Speed draws to a close (we also had the Kentucky Derby and Preakness run, plus the Indy 500, too). The Carolina Panthers open their OTA's on Wendesday (practices in shirts and shorts, no pads or hitting). Those will happen for at least 3 weeks, but a 4th week is scheduled. Football season will be here before you know it (although some, like our own Aaron Mesmer say it never stops).

I am giving the blog the rest of the week off, but I am sure there will be other contributions between now and Monday. 38 hours at the race track waiting out the rain will give you brain-fry, especially if you aren't accustomed to that sort of thing.

See you back next week!

Mike Solarte

PS--Sean O'Hair won the 2009 Quail Hollow Championship. I brought that up, as I had to really think back to who was the winner during Race Weeks. As I said, brain-fry.