The worst drivers in the world walk through here, too

Years ago, I was walking out of the Winston Cup garage at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and I ran into my friend Benny Parsons. Benny, a former racer and then a TV guy for ESPN, was leading a bunch of folks through the gate.

There was a sign entering the garage that said something like "The greatest drivers in the world walk through this gate."

Benny was in a playful mood, and said, "And the worst drivers in the world walk through that gate, too, don't they, Tommy?"

Seriously, I answered, "Benny, I'm a pretty good driver. I just don't drive fast."

We all laughed, Benny and me included.

I wish I had a picture of us in front of that sign, but there was no one there with a camera. And this was long before smartphones.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

More entries from TARJ

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

EDITOR@WORK blog entries 

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!