Driving home from Nashville after covering the first NASCAR event of 2010, the Sound & Speed Fan Festival, I had time to think about the new racing year that’s fast approaching and it made me think of how lucky I am get to go to these events and get to do what I love doing.
The Sound & Speed Fan Festival gets me excited for the new year to get started. I get to see the drivers, owners, music stars and the dedicated fans that drove through snow storms, ice and very cold weather, just to get a few seconds with their favorite driver and to get an autograph on items they carried from home or obtained at the event. I saw hats, shirts, scaled cars and many other items that the fans treasure along with their hopes to get the signature scribbled from their favorite driver.
As I drove East on I-40, I thought how these dedicated fans would give their eye teeth to see what goes on behind those guarded doors, where the drivers and music stars wait their turn to go out and meet with the fans. As the drivers wait for their particular time to go out for the autograph signing and the fan Question &Answer sessions, back in the Media Center, it’s a busy place that the fans do not see. While some drivers are out in the crowds, the others are back being interviewed by TV and the print media. The numerous media members have a room where work tables and their computers are set up so the stories and articles can be written.
There are photographers, writers, local TV news stations and sports networks from many areas of the news media. This event brought out the big guns like Marty Smith, Bob Pockrass, and Speed was there filming for Sunday nights 2010 Premier of the Speed Report Show. Radio personalities were present as well. The stars were brought out in groups, a couple of drivers and a couple of music stars for a press conference, where the media could ask questions. The bigger the driver or star, the more media members were in attendance.
So you could imagine how full the room got when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. entered the room for his interview. The seven or eight rows of seats were full and people were standing all over the crowded press room. There were more TV cameras set up for him than anyone else, you have to admit, he draws a /big crowd/! From 10:00 AM to 5:00PM, there was a different group of stars every 15 to 30 minutes. It was a very busy day.
Usually, at the end of the Fan Festival, all the stars go down to the Wildhorse Saloon for a big party with more fund raising events taking place all through the night. There’s always a big red carpet event of the stars entering the Wildhorse with more photo opportunities and interviews being conducted. This year the weather put a big damper on the event. A major water main in downtown Nashville burst Friday night and flooded the Wildhorse and many other buildings in the downtown area. With temps in the low teens, ice formed and the city was forced to close four or five streets for the repair. Even the electric was out on some of those streets. We were told it could be Monday or Tuesday before water and electric could be restored and the streets re-opened.
In the end, the decision was made to move the Wildhorse party to the coliseum where the Sound & Speed event took place. It was a big change in plans and had to be made quickly. All the displays had to be removed from inside the coliseum. Every thing had to be moved from the other location; the tables, catering, and even the band, that had already set up at the Wildhorse, had to tear down and set up at the Coliseum. The red carpet itself had to be moved across town. Somehow, they pulled it off. The media was there shooting the stars as they walked in on the red carpet, we were not permitted to enter for the party but did get some good shots as they came in all dressed up with their wives, dates and some by themselves.
Sound & Speed is a great fund raiser for Victory Junction and the Country Music Hall of Fame and it takes a lot of work behind the scenes to pull it off. Its all volunteer for the stars, they do it for the charities and most come back year after year. Its great fun for the fans but its equally great for the charities and I feel very blessed to be able to cover such an event.
Editor’s note: Be sure to check out some of Steve’s photos from this event:
Sights from “Sound & Speed”
by Steve Langley
