We all get great calls in life -- calls from our family members on holidays, calls to service, calls of gratitude when we've done something nice.

Whatever the call may be, we always remember the great details surrounding the particularly life-changing ones like a player going into the draft, a call from a boss with a dream job offer, the call from your wife saying you'll be a father soon.

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I can remember seeing Jeff [Gordon] race for the first time at Atlanta, and I was so impressed with his talent. And then we found out he wasn't under contract, and I just couldn't believe it.

”

-- RICK HENDRICK

We remember things like where we were, what we were wearing, what was playing on the radio even.

It's no different for NASCAR drivers. They never forget the day they got the proverbial "call" to go racing in NASCAR's big leagues.

Clint Bowyer was standing inside a body shop in Kansas when he got the call that would change his life forever. Racing some asphalt events in the Midwest on weekends and working in a body shop through the week, Bowyer was trying to make it to the next level before running out of money.

"All of a sudden your cell phone rings standing in the middle of a body shop at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and it's Richard Childress on the phone," Bowyer recalled. "That phone call doesn't happen in any sport really, let alone what your dream was of trying to get to the next level."

Bowyer is right. Those magical phone calls are a rarity, if not obsolete, so even though we've heard the story told dozens of times it never gets old. Even though we aren't millionaires living in NASCAR's fast lane, we all can relate.

"Being able to go down to your parents and tell them you're never going to believe who just called me, and by the way, I've got to leave at 6:30 in the morning, so I'll be gone. It was a pretty cool situation," he said.

A teenage boy will always remember getting a call from the high school coach or reading his name posted on a varsity roster in the locker room. Daughters will never forget the time they ripped open that first college acceptance letter in front of the mailbox. And I'll never forget the day the local newspaper sent me on my first assignment. Sadly, it was the goat show at the county 4-H fair.

Nevertheless, these times are special and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin also has a unique and memorable story surrounding his call. It began at Hickory Motor Speedway.

"We had a test," Hamlin remembers. "I didn't realize the significance at the time of this test."

Nor did J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing.

"They really were not looking for me or anything like that. I was just there trying to help out because it was my equipment. We were selling our equipment to them for their diversity program in the Late Model Series. Next thing you know, the last day of the test, J.D. showed up there. No offense, I didn't realize his role at Gibbs Racing was that big."

"It wasn't and still isn't," Gibbs laughed.

Hamlin added, "I just thought, hey, it's no big deal, one of the Gibbs is here, that's very cool. I just didn't realize at that moment I was kind of on trial, being watched."

They watched, then took a chance and made a call Hamlin explained.

"How do you take a guy that you just watched turn a few laps around Hickory Motor Speedway and throw him into the Truck Series and see how he does? They just took a chance on me," he said. "I was just very fortunate."

Teammate Joey Logano shares a similar story. The only differences are he went looking for Gibbs, not the other way around, and it wasn't a phone call -- but Logano certainly knew whom to contact.

"We knew Scott Zipadelli [crew chief and younger brother of Greg Zipadelli, also a crew chief] really well growing up in Connecticut. He was from up there and at the time he was the car chief of the No.18 car over at Joe Gibbs Racing." Logano said.

A meeting was planned with Gibbs, Logano and his father Tom Logano.

"I remember sitting there with J.D., we had this little video made up with stuff I've done through my career and here comes Joe Gibbs [team owner] walking up," Logano said. "I thought that was one of the coolest things. Shoot, two weeks later, three weeks later, maybe, I had a contract done, signed, we're going racing."

A simple process, yet an unforgettable moment.

But what about all those team owners and presidents making the calls? Making the calls can be just as memorable as receiving them.

"I can remember seeing Jeff [Gordon] race for the first time at Atlanta, and I was so impressed with his talent. And then we found out he wasn't under contract, and I just couldn't believe it," Rick Hendrick said.

Known for making the right calls, Hendrick has amassed nine Sprint Cup Series championships. Gordon has four, Jimmie Johnson four and Terry Labonte one.

"For me, that's the big moment of excitement, knowing that you have a shot at getting the deal done. That's when you have to pull out all the stops," Hendrick said. "It was similar with Jimmie. We found out he was available and said, 'Hey, man, let's get after this.'"

And although you're hard-pressed to find stories of those "pop-the-cork" kind of moments in NASCAR -- as opposed to other professional athletes who can experience a rush of emotion on events like draft day -- Hendrick said drivers as well as team owners still never forget the call.