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It’s Only Just Begun!

Dedicated to the sunshine of truth,

the moonshine of meeting deadlines,

and the starshine of Victoria.

8661 Deer Run Dr. * Victoria

952-443-2351

The Victoria GAZETTE

Victoria’s Corner Bar.  Nightly Specials and Menus.  952-443-9944

by Sue Orsen/The Victoria Gazette

         A summer of events in downtown Victoria has only just begun, and that means many more concerts in the park and classic car nights.  Each of the four Wednesday evenings in July, for example, is featuring either a concert, classic cars, or both.  Add three fun Wednesday evenings plus the Volksfest weekend in August, and yet one more classic car night in September, and you can see that it's only just begun. 

         As residents of a northern clime, we are very welcoming of the first events of the season, having anticipated them over the cold long winter months.  We relish the outdoor patios in downtown Victoria, the music, old and new faces on the streets, and  just being alive and outside.

         Three Wednesday evenings in June are featured in these first pages at this time, and it's only just begun.  Yeah, concerts and classic cars in downtown Victoria!

***

         Laura O'Neill is the new President of the Victoria Lions Club, the first girl president of that renowned organization, and she is many other good things including the face of Cornerstone Insurance Agency in the Lakeside Building in downtown Victoria.  Laura is also a fan of NASCAR, which has a language all its own.  Thank you, Randy Miller, President of the Victoria Business Association, for pointing me in Laura's direction at Classic Car Night on June 22nd, and thank you, Laura, for answering questions from someone not very familiar with NASCAR.

         Who is your cardboard friend?

         Laura:  "He is Dale Earnhardt, Jr., one of the top active drivers in NASCAR.  He won the Daytona 500 twice and has also won the Most Popular Driver Award 13 times (consecutively from 2003 through 2015 on top of that).  His father Dale Earnhardt, Sr., was killed on the final lap in the Daytona 500.

         Briefly, what is NASCAR?

         Laura:  "NASCAR is stock car racing.  Its history is that bootleggers used to tweak their cars so that they could outrun the cops when they were delivering moonshine back during Prohibition."

         Why is the number "88" significant?

       Laura: "That number, 88, is Dale Jr.'s number, on his cars."

         Tell us about the car that you posed with for me and my camera.

         Laura:  "The car is Dale Jr's show car.  It had a real NASCAR engine, which we started up about five times during Victoria's Classic Car Night on June 22nd.  It has real NASCAR tires and body/frame.  It has never been raced on the track, however."

         How did you get this fancy car to be on display in Victoria?

         Laura:  "Cornerstone Insurance is an independent car and home insurance agency, which means we represent 12 different insurance companies.  This give us the unique ability to 'shop' our customers' car and home insurance with several companies, to find them the best combination of coverages, for the best price possible.  One of the companies we represent is Nationwide Insurance, and they are one of Dale Jr.'s lead sponsors.  As part of their sponsorship, they have a show car available to their agents to bring to their hometowns."

         What was inside that big long RV?

         Laura:  "The NASCAR travels around the country in that big trailer, and there is also a racing simulator inside the trailer, where fans can take their turn at driving two laps of Talladega Speedway, one of the more popular race tracks."

 

 

         The photographic story is located in Sue’s Album.  Here’s a click that’ll take you directly there:  It’s Only Just Begun.

 

 

July 2016