#Toronto welcomed driver NASCAR star
Michael Waltrip (@MW55) with snow, @TimHortons and loyal fans at
@CME_racing 2013. A room full of VIP fans had an early and private meet and greet with the Champion racer (winner of the Daytona 500 - twice), team owner and race commentator who was born in Kentucky and now lives in North Carolina, USA. Michael joins the hero card ladies, above.
Driver Kyle Busch was at the show on Sunday - see photos of his visit on my blog post here.
Salon B at the International Centre was the site of the meet and greet which was limited to a maximum of 50 people. First he answered questions from host Spencer Lewis before going to each table to talk to each VIP, while also signing race memorabilia. The special guests received hero cards, autographs, professional photographs of the meeting, show admission and a one year subscription to
Inside Track Motorsport News Magazine.
Out in the great hall the Mazda stage was setup to receive the star in front of hundreds of excited race fans. After a series of questions the driver sat down for an extended autograph session for general audience members who had lined up for hours to meet the star. Michael was very relaxed and had a great time meeting the fans.
Michael says he has wrecked a few cars in his career, which make for great viewing, and he will continue to race as long as he can. When he can't win in a series he will drop down until he eventually ends up racing go karts!
Racer Ron Fellows at the CME
The tall driver looks forward to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and he says that Canadian driver Ron Fellows is capable of accomplishing the win.
Michael made an extended appearance at the Toyota exhibition. One of the things he mentioned was the famous crash during a practice at Bristol in 1990 where his car hit a concrete barrier and was almost totally destroyed. He said you could find video of the horrific crash on YouTube; just type in Michael Waltrip, crash and after going through a lot of his crashes you will find the Bristol crash. To save you time I have embeded the official NASCAR video of the event.
Someone even brought a Goodyear race tire for the driver to sign
His visit included the following.
"12:45 – 1:30 p.m. MICHAEL WALTRIP Q&A: Two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip will be on The Mazda Stage for a Q&A with the fans. The week after the show, he will be in Daytona in the hunt for his third win in stock car racing’s biggest event. But on this day, the popular racer will be at the CME to talk about his racing career, his role as a successful team owner, his commentating duties, his book, his Twitter antics and anything else the fans want to know about.
1:30 – 2:15 p.m. MICHAEL WALTRIP AUTOGRAPH SESSION: After his Q&A session with the fans, Michael Waltrip will remain on The Mazda Stage to sign autographs for the fans. There are some reserved seats up front and the first 50 autographs will go to people who purchased VIP packages, but beyond that, Waltrip will sign as many autographs as possible. The session will conclude at the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series trailer."
Host Spencer Lewis
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