The words of a fan and her second meeting with Patrick Dempsey

It was an action packed weekend.

The day of practice we left Cornwall around…okay, honestly I don’t remember but we stopped at Timmy’s and made our way to Montreal and we got there during the first practice. We watched it for a bit and then figured we’d head down to the paddocks to see what we could see. At the point all the rigs were completely abandoned so we just spent our time walking around and relaxing. Second practice was coming up so we grabbed lunch (most disgusting non-hot dog hot dog I have ever had) and with the day being free we found a spot on the grand stand right across from the Dempsey Racing pit so we had an amazing view! It was really cool to see the car do the pit stop so close by, even if it wasn’t an intense one since it wasn’t a race. It was a fun practice to watch and Jim later told us the team could see us from the pit.

After practice was done we headed back down to the paddocks to see if we could find the team this time. And sure enough we did. After standing around for a few minutes Joe came out and we got his attention with our kick ass Joe Foster tshirts which he absolutely loved. He wanted one of his own and we explained that we had one for Patrick…at which point he let us know that Patrick was coming in that night. We stuck around and chatted with Joe for a bit and the rest of the team started to come out to check out our shirts. The entire team loved them and got a kick out of reading them. Joe had a good laugh with the point about his drunken text messages and Donna loved the “bromance” one (she confirmed to us it’s very real…and something about smoothies and dressing alike…) We created quite the stir and it was kind of amazing. We got our pics taken with Joe, I helped him tell some french fans that Patrick was coming the next day, not yesterday (as he kept saying hier not demain). But they had to get ready for the next practice so we headed out.

The rest of the day we just watched the practice and qualifying…the team did well and qualified 6th and then we headed out after that instead of waiting for the last practice. We got back to my aunt’s and immediately bought a tshirt to make Joe one and went out for supper with my great aunt. And then the tshirt making was a mess of printers and trying to get things to reverse and eventually we both just crashed and decided to finish the shirt in the morning.

Race day we…well we probably didn’t wake up as early as we should have but these things happen, hahaha. We got dressed, headed down to grab a quick breakfast with my great aunt and cousin and then made Joe’s shirt…all in about an hour before boarding the subway to head back to the track for the race.

First thing we did when we got to the track was head down to the paddock area to see the team…who remembered us and we were all greeted with nice and big smiles. Soon after we got therewe talked to Joe for a bit but he had to head out to the driver’s meeting. Patrick came out of the rig and Joe pointed us out to him (which led to an amazing picture…and I assume Joe saying something about the shirts) and Patrick waved and said and something about us being the girls with the shirts. He got a little busy and we talked to some of the other guys on the team and finally he came over, said he was glad I had gotten my DR shirt and gave me a hug, hehehe. He offered a picture but we told him to get to the meeting and the pic would come later.

While they were gone to the meeting we chatted with some of the rest of the team, who were all really nice and friendly and funny, really loved all of them. We talked to Dave about our lives and he asked me if I had a boyfriend and said I was cute which was a nice giggle. Big Joe came over and talked to us about the shirts and some other things.

The drivers meeting finished and all the drivers slowly started coming back. Charles came back first and smiled but didn’t seem very talkative. Joe came back and we got to give him his shirt. He loved it and seemed really appreciative that we went out of our way to make it for him. We chatted for a few minutes but he had things to do and he explained that Patrick would be along shortly, he had just gotten stopped for autographs. Patrick did eventually come back…and unlike last year, this year I really got to see what it’s like for him at a race and I can’t say I envy his life. We had a few seconds to talk to him and took a picture for someone else, but that was it before he got pulled away. He spent the next little bit trying to deal with car things and numerous people coming to meet him and it was all a little crazy. I felt overwhelmed and it wasn’t even me.

We did eventually get some time with him. We pulled him aside for a picture and gave him the shirt (although he went for a picture before the shirt so I got his arm around me a bonus time, hahaha) which he LOVED and got a total laugh from. He claimed he was going to wear it today and thought all the point were great and excellent. I was standing right beside him as we gave it to him and the gabillion cameras that were in the area started flashing pictures so if you see me randomly appearing online that’s why. He held up the shirt and I got a pic of me with him and then one with out the shirt and then a picture of him and Kristina (that didn’t turn out at all as he was looking at the video camera my dad had) . We talked for a few more minutes but he had to go again and he went and showed the shirt to some other guys standing around so that was pretty damn cool.

After Patrick I finally had a chance to talk to Jim and introduce myself. It was very cool to finally talk to him and I think we covered just about every subject there was to cover, hahaha. It was a nice chat and I got to watch them do some work on thecar. Jim had to eventually head off to do paper work and everyone else was getting busy so we headed off to find some seats for the race that was about an hour away.

By this point it was rainy and wet so we found a place on the hill right next to Dodge Hairpin and threw down a plastic paint sheet my dad had picked up from Canadian tire. We watched the Nascar qualifying and mocked them endlessly for going so slow and grabbed lunch before our race started and then enjoyed. It was raining off and on all race but it was still really exciting although frustrating as after my phone died it was impossible to tell what position we were in (when we were in 1st, we thought we weren’t doing well at all, we just couldn’t tell). But the race was amazing and exciting…except for when Charles spun out and nearly got t-boned literally directly in front of us. It was fun though, I forgot how much I love watching races live.

And the team finished 4th, which is a tie for best of the season so even that much better

That led to a debate between Kristina and I if it was our first top 5 finish or not as I swore it wasn’t and she swore it was so after the race we went to watch the path where they took the cars back down until our car came (got a big wave from Javier) and then headed back to the rig. It was still pretty quiet around there, only Patrick and Jim were standing around so we asked them about it and sure enough I was right. We talked to them for a bit about how the team was doing and then Kristina took another pic with Patrick as she didn’t like the first. Things started to get a little crazy after that…more people came to get pics but we stuck around and chatted and I got my friend’s article signed. Patrick didn’t ask many questions about it (he had a crowd building) but Joe and I talked about the article…he didn’t remember it at first (and actually told me he’s not very smart) but eventually remember and we talked a bit about it. It started to calm down a bit and Kristina and I grabbed Patrick and Joe for a picture of the four of us which was good fun.

And then my fave moment of the day…I got Patrick to sign my DR shirt (thank god I have two!) and he signed it and my dad belatedly decided it would make a good pic. So we got Patrick to pose and pretend he was signing my shirt. But it was taking a bit for my dad to take the pic and I had been looking at him pretending to sign and he looked up from his ducked position, made eye contact and kind of smirked at me and we both just started laughing at…I’m not even sure but it was kind of amazing, haahaha. The pic ended up being of him putting the pen cap back on but still…amazing moment to remember.

Once that was done I got a hug goodbye from him and he said it was nice to see me and that he was happy I came out for the race. *Sigh*. I wished him luck on the next two races and said I’d see him next year. I then hugged Jim goodbye and said it was great meeting him and I’d talk to him on facebook. And then got a goodbye hug from Joe who seemed totally confused that I wanted a hug. And then we said goodbye to everyone and left.

And that in a very very long nut shell was my weekend at the race. You may think this was long but trust me, it could have been a hell of a lot longer.

Now I just hate that I have to wait till next season to get to another race. But definitely hoping to get to the 6 Hours at the Glen so it won’t be as long of wait. Would also love to get to the Daytona 24 Hour but not sure I could plan that one fast enough. I just love the races live, and I love the entire team and I wish I could just be around it more.

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