Caution still flying along
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Liz Allison
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By Liz Allison, Turner Sports Interactive
January 16, 2002
10:23 AM EST (1523 GMT)
COMMENTARY
Whew, 2001 was a long season. Time to throw the yellow flag. Flag on the play. Oh yeah, wrong sport. Anyway, you get the picture.
No offense to the male crew members and drivers, but they aren't the only ones worn out at the end of the racing season. The ladies have had it, too.
So what do you do? You head straight to the sixth annual January Caution.
This event was the brainstorm idea of Jackie Pegram, who also is the heart and soul of the Motor Racing Outreach-Kids Club.
This get-together is held every January in Charlotte, N.C., for all the ladies of racing from crewmembers' wives to drivers' wives and so on.
"We have had 380 woman RSVP for the Caution this year so far and we are still counting," Jackie said.
The January Caution was held Jan. 15 at the University Hilton, right in the heart of the racing community, which makes it convenient for the ladies to slip away for a night of fellowship and friendship.
The evening was slated for a lovely dinner and a few surprise guest speakers, one of which was Ann Schrader -- the wife of Kenny Schrader who lost her own father recently and requested donations to be made to the January Caution.
For those of you who do not know Ann, she is a bucket of laughs and is so much fun to listen to but more than that, she is very spiritual and quite articulate.
There is a minimal ticket price and that is to cover the price of the food. By the way, Hendrick Motorsports bought seven tables for the ladies of that team. What a nice treat! There are also over 150 door prizes to give away that were donated by different businesses in the Charlotte area.
"I started this six years ago to just give the ladies a chance to meet other women in the sport and have a chance to charge up for the upcoming season. It takes a lot to wind down from the old year and to stay going all through the New Year so this gives the ladies a chance to do both," Jackie said about the initial idea of the Caution.
She continued, "Every Caution has taken on its own personality and has been so blessed by God. We do a whole lot of laughing and a whole lot of praying and we even sing. I don't expect this Caution to be a any different."
Jackie herself was scheduled to speak to the ladies about her faith and how she holds it all together during the long and crazy race season.
She and her husband, Ron, are at the majority of the races (because of their dedication to the Motor Racing Outreach Ministry) throughout the race season so she can relate to the hectic life style that all of these women face week in and week out.
Jackie Pegram is highly respected by everyone in the NASCAR family, but especially the women. I, like many others, consider her a spiritual rock and an overall gifted lady whose energy never seems to run out. Her dedication to the families in NASCAR is unending. This Caution is just another way for her to reach out to her old friends and her new friends.
Jackie and her hard-working volunteers that make this happen each year look forward to the time they have to sit back and talk to their friends and hopefully meet some new ones at the caution.
"We will have so much fun. After this Caution, I will already look forward to next years. This means a lot to me and to a lot of women. It is a lot of work but it is worth it," she said.
So, now you know one of the secrets to how the women in racing hold it together each season. They get their January Caution and get supercharged. I can't think of a better way to do just that.
To find out more on the January Caution contact The Motor Racing Outreach at www.Go2MRO.com or call (704)455-3828.
NOTE: Liz Allison's column appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com and the opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer. To reach Liz, you can contact her at alli65@aol.com.
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