Doubling up on NASCAR Night

Years ago, I was covering a Charleston (S.C.) Riverdogs game, but I also needed to write a racing column for the next day. It was NASCAR Night, so I went early and interviewed local short-track driver Charles Powell III and wrote the racing column while keeping an eye on the baseball game.

When I'd finished the column and sent it, I kept up with the game, a good one. When the Riverdogs won 4-3, I asked the Riverdogs guys in the pressbox if I should mention Richard Petty, whose number was 43. One of the guys said, "If you don't, we will." So I did.

My lead was something like, "Richard Petty would have been proud. On NASCAR Night, the Charleston Riverdogs matched the King of NASCAR's car number with a 4-3 win over (Somebody)."

The next day, my boss said he was angry when he saw the Richard Petty mention; then from reading on, he realized it was NASCAR Night. He wasn't even aware of NASCAR Night, and my going that day was pure luck.

I was happy with the way it worked out, but I couldn't tell if he was happy.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

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