Paulie's Blog: St. Patrick's, the Yankees and Infineon

Last week's blog ended with some down time with my family, a welcomed reprieve from my constantly busy schedule. I spent the first three days of the week in the Northeast before flying west for our race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. Of my time spent at home, the highlight was walking onto the field at the new Yankee Stadium. In California, we ran as high as second in the [Camping World Series] West race before being punted.

After spending Monday catching up on everything from being away from home for the last week and a half, Tuesday was time for some real fun! After lunch with a close friend in Manhattan, I spent most of my afternoon just cruising NYC. I absolutely love "The City that Never Sleeps." Something about the constant movement, the diversity, and the positive vibes around the city get me in a great mood. I strolled around the city for a bit before sitting down in the middle of Central Park for a short rest. The park is amazing to me, as it is such a serene place amidst the chaos of the city. From there, I took the 10-block walk to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Paulie Harraka signs a baseball for Dr. Tom Haveron while attending a game at Yankee Stadium.

Although I have been in the city countless times, I have always missed St. Patrick's, for some reason. When I walked in, my jaw dropped. I have been fortunate enough to see some of the world's most beautiful churches including St. Peter's Basilica [located in the Vatican City], but St. Patrick's was just amazing. As I walked around the chapel and observed the individual chapels, I marveled at their beauty, especially the Lady Chapel, where the Eucharist is kept. If you are ever near New York City, go to the Cathedral.

From there, I jumped on the 4 [Train] to the Bronx to head to Yankee Stadium. This was my first time on a subway, so I'll admit I was a bit uneasy. Everything happens so quickly that it's easy to miss your stop or end up on the wrong train. However, it all went well and I got off at 161st Street, right across from the Stadium. There, I met up with Steve Fortunato, who I would be attending the game with. We walked into the Stadium around 4:45 [p.m.], well before the 7:05 start time.

Steve works with a number of the Yankees players, and we immediately headed through concrete hallways and quiet stairwells. I had no idea where I was until, all of a sudden, I stepped up and saw that I was standing on the field. The Yankees were having batting practice and I was standing on the field, just behind the temporary backstop. I'm not the type of person that is easily star-struck, but I've been a huge Yankees fan my whole life and this was awesome.

I met a number of people while standing there and even had the chance to chat with [Yankees outfielder] Johnny Damon for a bit. He's an awesome, down-to-earth, soft-spoken guy who is a big NASCAR fan. I also met Dr. Tom Haveron, who is truly an inspiration. Tom is a New Jersey doctor who works tirelessly to raise funds for charitable causes, such as autism. I was honored when Dr. Tom asked me to sign a baseball for him.

From there, Steve and I grabbed some food and headed for our seats, which were two rows behind the Yankees dugout. We had a blast, watching the game and talking the whole time. The Yankees won that night, beating the Washington Nationals, which made it all the more fun. (Continued)