"It got through unscathed," Kasey Kahne said with a grin after signing a photo of his #4 Red Bull Toyota when I pointed out where my picture was on his car last weekend.
Red Bull allowed fans to send their photos for placement on the car that would race in the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It came in 22nd that very long, hot night.
Then we snapped a photo together and I headed on my way.
Just like at the races, fans come from all over the region when a driver makes an appearance. Wednesday's opening of the 100th Ollie's Bargain Outlet was no different. Interestingly enough, even fans of other drivers showed up, like a fellow in a Kyle Busch Motorsports shirt.
One man came to Barboursville, W.Va., all the way from Columbus, Ohio. Well, ok, Pickerington. Might as well say Columbus. Kenny was a Kasey Kahne fan, die-cast in hand, waiting to get it signed.
We just struck up a conversation about Kasey Kahne and the fact Red Bull Racing put fan photos on the #4 car last weekend at the Coke 600. He had a photo on the car, as did I. Hopefully, Kenny can find where his pics wound up on the car from the instructions I gave.
So, how did Kasey Kahne end up at Barboursville, W.Va., just a stone's throw away from Ona Speedway, where the likes of Richard Petty raced back in the day. Kasey is a friend of the President and CEO of Ollie's Bargain Outlet. They met through mutual friends almost 10 years ago.
With a chuckle, Kasey brought out a bottle of champagne to give Mark Butler on the occasion, with the president noting the autograph session might be delayed a little bit while they broke open the bubbly in that little black bag the NASCAR driver was holding. Just kidding.
The two teamed up to benefit the Kasey Kahne Foundation, which works with youth in various ways. The couple dozen Kasey stand ups, which sold for $30 each, were dedicated to benefit the Foundation and Ronald McDonald houses.
Kasey is not the only NASCAR driver to appear for Ollies. Butler said there are several, including Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler.
"NASCAR and Ollie's is a good fit," Butler said, noting the demographic is quite similar. There were a couple hundred people who showed up, many die-hard Kahne fans with their own items for him to sign - die-cast cars, photos they had taken, replica hoods, shirts and the like.
I got my photo, well, a screen shot of my photo on his car, signed. And my first edition of Pit Road Pets, which benefits the Ryan Newman Foundation also got signed.
Yep, it was a good day.
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