Drivers relate their rainy-day stories

By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
October 6, 2001
2:23 PM EDT (1823 GMT)

CONCORD, N.C. -- So what’s a driver to do when forced to sit and wait out a rain delay like the one Saturday before the Little Trees 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway?

Randy LaJoie

“I remember some really good quarter-pitching contests with my dad in Pocono,” former Modified standout Randy LaJoie said. “We would hold them in the garage area back when I was driving Modifieds. It was awesome.

“During a rain delay, we would have 100 people or so in there. If you won one pot -- man, you were one happy dude. I did fairly well, not enough to finance my racing that weekend, but enough to buy some beer.”

While LaJoie was tossing silver against the wall, Jason Keller was laying the cards down.

“A few years ago at Nazareth, a bunch of us got into a serious card game,” Keller said. “It got pretty heated during that game, too, when the pot got up to $1,600. I’m glad I didn’t have to pay that out.

“One guy lost a bunch, but it wasn’t me.”

David Green had a much more laid-back approach than either Keller or LaJoie.

“I always wanted to sleep,” Green said. “I really didn’t want to because I was afraid I would oversleep and miss the race. So, I haven’t done that in awhile.”

Earlier in his career, Mike McLaughlin had a different kind of rain delay problem.

Mike McLaughlin

“I remember one time I anticipated a rainout and it didn’t turn out to be,” McLaughlin said. “It was during a Modified race. I thought since it was going to rain, I didn’t have to get home as early the night before.

“I can only tell you this much -- I missed the first practice. Then I went out for the second practice and pulled in. I told the team we should park the car because it was going a lot faster than I was.

“I did run the last one, though. Clyde McLeod was my crew chief then and he wasn’t too happy with me. He didn’t speak to me the rest of the weekend.”

McLaughlin recovered enough to run third until a broken spindle forced him out.

Another Northeast Modified standout, Geoffrey Bodine, had an interesting rain delay story to tell.

“I can’t tell you everything that’s gone on through the years,” he said.

“You know, there was one thing that happened in the mid-70s during a delay. My son Barry was conceived.”