RIR president couldn't be happier with race date (cont'd)

Q: Switching gears, let's talk about a couple of your off-the-track passions -- starting with riding your Harley motorcycles. How many do you have, and how long have you been riding?

Fritz: I've got two. I've got the original one I purchased and started riding in 1997 -- a Harley-Davidson Softail and I've also got a Harley-Davidson Road King as well, for longer trips. I enjoy getting away and the outdoors. It's been a pretty big passion of mine for a number of years.

Q: What are a couple of the more interesting places you've been able to ride to?

Fritz: Some buddies of mine from high school still stay in touch. We try to make two trips a year -- in the fall and in the spring. ... Most times we ride together through the mountains of southwest Virginia and North Carolina and Tennessee, down in that area. Just the opportunity to be riding through the mountains in the open air with a bunch of my high-school buddies is really neat experience. The scenery, especially in the fall when the foliage is changing colors, is really beautiful.

Q: So are you guys like the characters in the movie Wild Hogs?

Fritz isn't sure which 'wild hog' he is, but he knows it isn't John Travolta.

Fritz: (Laughing) I guess pretty close to that, I would say. That was indeed a good movie.

Q: Which character would you say you most closely resemble? Maybe the one played by actor John Travolta?

Fritz: I don't have the looks nor the dancing ability of John Travolta, so I'd probably be somewhere in the middle of those guys. I definitely wouldn't mess with any other bikers like they did in the movie. It was an entertaining show, but we try to avoid conflict when we can.

Q: Tell us how serious you are about one of your other off-the-track passions -- Virginia Tech football?

Fritz: We actually had a PR function a couple of weeks back with (driver) Denny Hamlin and Coach Frank Beamer down in Blacksburg, Va. It was a great opportunity for Denny Hamlin and myself to spend some time with the team and the coaching staff down there.

Q: Coach Beamer has even served as grand marshal of one of your races previously, right?

Fritz: He got the opportunity to wave the flag and still remembers that moment in the starter's stand. He's been here a number of times and is a big supporter of our program. And as you know, a lot of those athletes wind up on crews for race teams at various levels in NASCAR. So there is good synergy between college football players and the activities here at the race track.

Q: So you know Beamer pretty well?

Fritz: Real well. He's a close friend and, like I said, he's been here a number of times. We chat when I get the chance to go to some games down in Blacksburg, and talk on the phone from time to time. He's a big race fan and I'm a big Hokie fan, so we definitely have a lot in common.

Q: He might be a little busy this Saturday, so will he be able to make this race coming up?

Fritz: They've got an afternoon game against Marshall. If there was any way he could get up here for the Saturday night race, I know he'd do it. But right now he's focused on his football season and he said it's unlikely he'll be able to get up here for the race. If there is a way, though, I'm sure he'll try to do it. Typically he gets to come to our spring race and is a little too busy to come in the fall.