What a DAY!!!!!!

What a day PEOPLE!  Sunday turned out to be the perfect day for a drag race fundraiser!  We couldn't have asked for better weather!  Sunny, about 80 degrees, slight breeze... excellent!

There was about 200-300 people there, although some people weren't able to come in, they just donated at the gate saying they couldn't stay!  Thank you to all of you who drove all the way just for that!  The rest of you who made it.... was it awesome or WHAT?  Our very own "Crazy Aunt Carrie" out did herself!  What a woman!  She had a fancy walkie-talkie, and was delegating as if she's done this kind of thing 1000 times!  It was really neat to see her in that position!  Everything ran really smoothly.  We had around 170 or so auction items (thank you to all who provided those), and did really well with that!

Our opening ceremony was AMAZING!  There were 6 "Team Nate Dog" racers that started it off with a kick-butt BURNOUT!  When I saw Ken (Papa) in the very last position for the burnout, it brought tears to my eyes because I knew he was about to blowup his race car doing this burnout!  And to see that back end tilt up when he did it... that was probably the coolest thing EVER!  Craig choked up and all I could do was bounce up and down with a big goofy smile on my face!  Then... we made our grand entrance in a FIRE TRUCK!!!  Sirens blaring, pyro-techs blowing up, people cheering and clapping!  It was surreal!  I tried to hold Nate up, because I didn't feel like we should be the ones who everyone was cheering for.  Gosh, it was really something!

The stands were full and to see everyone there wearing their Team Nate Dog t-shirts or Tanks was unbelievable!  We did some quick thank you's and shout outs, we presented checks of money raised before this day, we stamped Nate's feet on to Jim "Roadkill" Howe's t-shirt to make sure everyone knew that we consider him FAMILY! Then both Craig and myself did our thing.  I wish I would've written down stuff and actually read it, because I really felt like I left a lot of what I wanted to say out.  But Craig did a really beautiful, heartfelt speech and I think it touched a lot of people, I know it touched me.  Then we presented Carrie and Ken with special gifts, a one of a kind for each.  They were hand mold castings of Nate's hands.  Thank you so much to Doug DuBois and Alan Webster for their amazing work!  Their website for anyone who might be interested is...  http://www.essensualsculpture.com/.

Then it was time to race!

There were over 45 racers there that day and that's NOT counting how many STREET racers raced!  That was Great!  Thank you to every racer that spent your Sunday racing for a good cause, you will not be forgotten ever!  Many of you had never even met Nate before Sunday and here you were, we are very proud to be a part of your community!

Ken ended up winning the entire benefit race!!!  How fitting is that?  Every winner donated their winnings back to Team Nate Dog.... wonderful, thank you so much!

We did a "90 seconds for Nate" donation, a power-lap for donations (anyone who paid $5/car could do two laps on the big track, one slow and one "on the go"), silent auction, and all the admissions from the gate were donated.  Even the concession stand workers donated their tips to us!  We ended the night with Kenny Jones opening with about 8 or 9 songs.  He sat up there with his guitar and totally jammed for about 30-40 minutes!  He was so good!  Everyone who stayed was treated to something extra special with the music.  Then, we had an up-and-coming band:  Push to Start.  They are some really talented college kids who played all original songs and totally rocked out on the trailer and picnic table we had set up for their "stage"!  Thanks guys-- you ended our evening with a much needed decompression show!  It was cool to finally have a beer and listen to some great music!  Only about 50 people or so stayed to watch the show, but I know everyone enjoyed themselves!  Next year, we would like to have this event again (hopefully) and do it on a Saturday so that more people can stay and hear the cool music!  Carrie made a demand to the whole band, Colton, Evan, Gabe, Matt and Nathan, that they be there next year!  Here's their MySpace URL: www.myspace.com/pushtostart.

Check 'em out!

Those guys donated all their tips back to Team Nate Dog as well, sooooooo we raised nearly $20,000 for the entire day!  Good Work!  We were BLOWN away at the totals! 

Some shoutouts that didn't make it to the mic--

*All of our friends who drove in from KC and spent Saturday at the Omaha Zoo with us.

*Those who drove up ON Sunday and showed their support!  We are really sorry we weren't able to talk or visit very much, but we loved that you came and hope you had fun!

*Lindsay and Kylie (and their husbands who spent the whole day running after their own kiddos) who completely gave up their entire day working at the auction tables and adding up totals.  These girls also worked very hard to help Carrie organize and get ready for the big day.  This fundraiser would not have happened or run as smooth as it did without your help!  Thank you isn't even enough!

*Teresa-- your help with the signs and your willingness to do anything Carrie threw at you is so appreciated! You also saved Charlie's life and risked your own... we laugh about it, but it shows how much you love our kids and you went up even more to the top of my FAVORITE people list!  I love you!

*Buzz-- your constant support and friendship is without a doubt one of the most important things in our life!  All your help on Sunday and your smiling face was incredible!  Love ya!

I know there are more to thank but I must stop here for now!  Hope you enjoy watching the video and seeing the pics!

Love,

Carolyn