I've had some nice seats in my life; shotgun with an Indiana state trooper, center stage at Cats in London and even on top of an elephant at the Indianapolis Zoo when I was a kid.

All of these are experiences I'll never forget, but as you get older it seemingly takes more and more to leave an impression -- a lasting one at least.

Well, I can now add 'top of the No. 29 pit box' to my list because that certainly takes the cake for best seat in the house -- for now -- and likely for a long time to come.

Swan on top of the war wagon at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Typically the only ones fortunate enough to land this kind of seat are either drivers' wives, engineers, team owners, sponsor executives, the occasional celebrity and sometimes, a contest winner.

It was last weekend during the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. There was certainly a lot of drama during the race, namely the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski high-flying feud, but my time perched high above pit road was most memorable. Besides, cars seem to fly more in NASCAR than they do on the The Jetsons these days.

I started by climbing up a narrow ladder with barely any tilt while wearing ballet flats. Now, that's dangerous!

Thankfully, I managed and that was the first step to my seat on the pit box, or as I call it -- Gil Martin's house. Martin is the crew chief for Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet.

Typically the only ones fortunate enough to land this kind of seat are either drivers' wives, engineers, team owners, sponsor executives, the occasional celebrity and sometimes, a contest winner.

Of course I fit into none of those categories. However, I was semi interested in motor oil and the fact that I agreed to learn more about the new Pennzoil Ultra formula and its super cleaning powers hoisted me right to the top of the list of lucky ones to sit on a pit box.

During the race, I must clarify, because I'm sure anyone can sit on top of a pit box prior to the green flag. I've seen swarms of fans get their pictures taken up there before.

So back to me walking up this tiny little ladder, once I made it up I was greeted by my pal Ford Martin, Gil and Rhonda Martin's son and the most well-known teenager in NASCAR.

Immediately I thought, OK this is going to be fun. We'll just hang out, talk and drink Coke together. Um, not so much. Ford busted out a tiny notebook and a pen. On the notebook: A numbered line for each lap of the race. Next, he stuck a radio in my hand and instructed me to put on a headset that very painfully smashed my cute new headband into my skin. (Continued)