Dale Jr.

NASCAR/Getty Images/Chris Trotman

In the late hours of Sunday night, after a six hour rain delay, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won his second Daytona 500. Earhardt Jr.'s first Daytona win was in 2004.

This victory ended Earhardt Jr's. 55 race drought that goes back to 2012. Junior lead six times for 54 laps. There were 42 lead changes and four multi-car crashes. A crash with seven laps to go by Austin Dillon, who was driving the No. 3 car for the first time since Dale Earnhardt's 2001 death, set up a two lap shootout. Earnhardt Jr. was able to get a jump on Brad Keselowski and had teammate Jeff Gordon following him. Denny Hamlin was able to charge to the front and challenge Earnhardt Jr. for the lead. Earnhardt was able to hold him off.

Earnhardt Jr. said in Victory Lane, "Winning this race is the greatest felling that you could feel in this sport besides accepting the trophy for the championship. I didn't know if I'd ever get the chance to feel it again and it feels just as good."

I loved the photo that Junior posted on his Twitter account this morning. I bet your Dad is happy.

NASCAR Hall of Fame III - Charlotte, NC

NASCAR Hall of Fame II - Charlotte, NC

NASCAR Hall of Fame I - Charlotte, North Carolina

Track Time

My husband received a gift for Track Time Racing Schools at Christmas from his Mom. Track Time is where you can drive a authentic NASCAR or ride in one at Michigan International Speedway. My husband attended a session Saturday afternoon. He attended class then suited up to get ready to drive a NASCAR. He got to drive a total of 8 laps around MIS. He really enjoyed the experience and hopes to do it again sometime.

Top photo: My husband receiving final instructions before heading out at Michigan International Speedway

Middle photo: My huband crossing the start/final line in a NASCAR.

Bottom photo: All smiles after driving a NASCAR around MIS.

Random things

Monday was the premiere of Nurse Jackie on Showtime. I think it is a great show already. Edie Falco is great as Jackie. Who knew I could like a nurse who has a prescription drug problem? I think it is funny that Paul Schulze plays her lover on the show. If you don't know Paul, he played Father Phil Intintola on The Sopranos. Nurse Jackie and The Sopranos are both completely different shows, but I can't help thinking about Carmela Soprano and Father Phil getting it on.

My anti-flammatory pills ran out Wednesday. I have been stretching and icing my heel everyday. I have an appointment with the foot doctor next Tuesday. I hope he sees improvement. If he doesn't, I have to have cortisone shots. If he does maybe I would be able to increase my mileage again. Let's hope for the second option.

In speaking of feet, I bought myself new running shoes Wednesday. I've been running in my old pair for 500 miles or so. My first run in the new shoes went well.

I will be spending most of my Friday working. Besides my morning desk shift I will be photographing a local baseball and softball team playing in a state semifinal game in Battle Creek. The games are back to back. My hope is when the first game ends that I will have time to relax before standing for another hour or two at the second game.

Besides the state semifinals games, it is also race weekend. This weekend is the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Where I live is about 25 minutes away from the track. I haven't been to MIS for a NASCAR race in two years. For the past couple of years, I had weddings to photograph. This year my excuse for not going is the lack of hours. Since I have been away for a couple of years I do miss being in that environment. I miss seeing some of my photographer buddies and photographing Dale Jr. The things I don't miss is the traffic, the crowds of people on pit lane and the noise. On Sunday, I will be enjoying the race from my couch.

Weekend Update

Woke early on Saturday morning to get ready and drive to a wedding in the next county. It was a nice sunny day, unlike the day before with drenching rain and thunderstorms. By mid-afternoon, I was sweating a lot in my polo shirt and pants. I think the bridal party beat me when they were riding in their stretch limo. The AC wasn't working too well. I worked from 9:20 am to 9:45 pm. I got home at 10:30 pm. So it is safe to say it was a long day. I think for the entire day, besides driving, I sat for only an hour.

I spent Sunday morning cleaning my house. I saw on TV a while ago, that if you put your sponge in the microwave for two minutes it will kill germs. I wanted to kill germs, so I put my sponge in and walked back to the bathroom to finish cleaning. During the two minutes, I was smelling something. I walked back into the kitchen and opened the microwave. The sponge was burnt. I'm such an idiot. I put a dry sponge into the microwave. If you try it at home, make sure the sponge is wet. Later that evening I told my husband about the incident. He said it could have started a fire. There was no fire. But a lot of smoke and burning smells for the rest of the morning and early afternoon.

Sunday, the NASCAR Sprint Series had a race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. MIS is twenty minutes away from my house. I passed the assignment to a freelance photographer because having photographed a wedding on Saturday, I wanted a day off. The time I don't cover a race is when my favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., wins. It was a little disappointing that I wasn't there. There's always next time.

From standing most of the day on Saturday, I woke up with sore and tight quads. Most of Sunday, I spent on the couch reading, watching TV or napping, trying to rest my legs. Sunday is my long day of running. I was going to pass on the run, but I needed to do it. I thought I would just see how far I could go. When I started running, my quad pain went away. I ended up running six miles. Right after I stopped running and started walking around the quad tightness and soreness reappeared. Which I thought was weird. But I was glad I could get my six mile run in.

Yesterday was Father's Day. I didn't do anything to celebrate it. Even though my dad has been gone for almost 10 years, I did think of him during the day. I was thinking, if he was still with us would he have watched the race? Would all of the family be at home with him? My husband and I went out to dinner in the evening. Looking around the restaurant, most people were with their fathers. It made me sad. They can still hug and talk to them. If I want to see my dad, I have memories, photos to look at or visit the cemetery. Even those can't replace the fact that he is gone.

Weekend update

Not all University of Michigan teams got hammered this weekend like the football team. Saturday the Michigan women's cross country team had seven runners place in the top 10 at the Indiana Open in Bloomington, Indiana. Michigan's Erin Webster was the winner of the race.

After watching Michigan lose to Oregon, I was upset again when Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s engine blew with six laps to go at the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in Richmond, Virginia. With that DNF, Junior finished 198 points behind Kevin Harvick for the final spot in the Top 12 and is locked out of the Chase for the Nextel Cup. I hope he can get a win before the season is over, but if not, I hope he does better next season with his new team.

While Junior's engine was blowing up, I created a slideshow from Brian & Theresé's reception on September 1. To see it, go here.

It must be a miracle! The Detroit Lions defeated Oakland Raiders Sunday 36-21. My favorite player Jason Hanson had three field goals good from 46, 46 & 23 yards. Next week the Lions play Minnesota at home. Let's see if they can do it again next week.

I agree with Daniele, Zach was acting smug when she was talking to him in the Head of Household room. He has been a floater all season, not taking sides. I don't want him to win. I want a Donato to win. Dick and Daniele have been playing the game best all summer. I can't wait until Daniele uses the Power of Veto on herself Tuesday and sends Jameka home. Then its down to the final three.

Weekend update

This past Saturday, I photographed a wedding. I felt bad for the bride. Things weren't going her way.

I get to the hotel at 2pm and ask the front desk clerk where the bride's suite was. He asked why. I told him that I was supposed to shoot the bridal party there. The clerk said that they weren't in that room. He added he didn't know where they were either. He said he would call the mother and see where the bride was. He talked to her and hung up. The bride was still at the hair salon. After 10 minutes of waiting, he told me he would call the mother again. He hung up the phone and told me that there wasn't an answer. The front desk clerk then called someone else and found out which room the bride was moved to. He asked me if I would like to go to the room or stay in the lobby. I said the room.

We walked down the hallway that led to the bride's room. While walking through the hall, I noticed a smell. Why do most hotels have smelly halls? Anyway, it wasn't plesant, but we arrived at the room soon after that. He opened the door and let me in. Once I was in the room, I unpacked what I needed and started to work. The bride had her veil on the bed, so I took photos of that. Not much else was in the room. After I was in the room for 10 minutes, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and saw two women dressed nice. They were the mother of the bride and her friend. They weren't sure if this was the correct room or not. I let them in and we all sat down. We all chatted until the bride came in about 10 minutes later.

The bride said that they got behind at the hair salon and there were other problems as well. The hotel double booked her original suite. That forced her to get another room. The second room she got was smaller. With the smaller room, all of the bridesmaids had to get dressed elsewhere. The placards for the reception still had to be finished. After they were finished, someone had to drive to the reception site about a half hour away to set the cards up. At this time, a bridesmaid went to go get copies of the program. The store said that they couldn't get to them Sunday. She told the store that the programs were for a wedding later that afternoon. Last I heard, the store started making the programs around 4 pm. The programs never made it to the wedding. In between moving to different rooms, things having to get done, the bride forgot to pack double-sided tape. Not to worry. Her mother's friend drove to a store nearby and picked some up. After the bride got her dress on, she put some of the tape underneath her dress. The tape wasn't sticking. The bride said she didn't have time to worry about it and let it go.

Once it was time for the wedding, everything was going according to plan. The wedding, formal photos and the reception happened without any problems. I felt bad for the bride. It was her big day and she had to worry about things that went wrong and weren't finished.

A while ago I blogged about running a 5K. I didn't send money before hand, because I missed the early registration. The race was Sunday morning. I figured that I usually get up early on Sunday's and I would have no trouble getting up for this race. The night before I got home from the reception around 10:30 pm and didn't go to bed until after 11 pm. Sunday morning, I woke up and looked at my alarm clock. It read 8:30 am. I totally missed the start of the race. I felt bad, I have run this race for 4 years.

I had a good excuse, a wedding the night before. Later in the day, I did run on my treadmill while watching a NASCAR race. But it wasn't the same as running in a race. Checking out the other runners before the start. Standing at the start line getting ready to start my watch. Hearing the gun go off. Hearing the sound of other runners feet striking the road and clapping and cheering when you cross the finish line.

I will be running a 5K at the end of July. This race is on the best high school cross country course in the county, lots of hills, swamps and woods. When I say I will run this race, I will. It is the toughest race and I love it.

Weekend update

Friday, I spent most of my afternoon and evening standing on pit road at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI. The afternoon started with the Citizens Bank 400 Time Trials for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. I didn't get to see my favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in person. I saw him on the big jumbo-tron in turn 4 and driving around in his car during his qualifying lap. Sadly, Junior didn't qualify in the top 5. Only the top 5 in qualifying park their cars on pit road. After his lap he pulled straight into the garage.

After time trials, was the ACRA RE/MAX series Michigan 200. The big names of the race was IndyCar driver Sam Hornish, Jr and female driver Erin Crocker. The race was pretty boring and Hornish and Crocker finished second and third.

On Saturday morning I woke up dizzy. Everywhere I looked the walls were moving. Usually on Saturdays if I don't have an early morning assignment I run. I considered running, but I didn't feel up to it. After taking a shower, I really wasn't feeling well and threw up three times. I had an assignment later in the afternoon, so I had to get better. I snacked on some crackers and started to feel OK. My husband made hamburgers for lunch. I started eating it and felt like throwing up. I kept the food down, but I didn't finish it. My dogs Blitzkrieg and Kelly were thankful for that. They got to split what I didn't eat.

Later that afternoon, I got in my car and drove to Battle Creek. A local team, Tecumseh Indians, were playing the Division 2 Softball state finals. When I arrived at Bailey Park, I found a parking spot and collected my photo gear. It was a hot, sunny day and I was still not feeling well. I knew it would long day.

The media box that I stood in was right on the field to the right of the batter box on the third base side. I have covered a lot of games before but never that close. During the 3rd or 4th inning, a new photographer came down to the field and stood outside of the box. After the inning was over, the umpire behind the plate told the photographer the he needed to be in the media box. He asked the photographers near him to move down and only two of them did. I was on the other end of the box at the chalk line, I couldn't move down any more. The two photographers on my left didn't move at all. Since they didn't move and there was no more room in the box, the umpire told him to leave the field. I kind of felt bad for him, but if he wanted to shoot on the field he should have been earlier, like at the start of the game. The team that I covered, Tecumseh, won the state championship 3-1. It was nice to drive 1.5 hours to see a team win it all.

I took Sunday off. I could have been at MIS photographing the Citizens Bank 400, but I gave it to another photographer. During the race I worked on wedding stuff and got a lot taken care of. Later that afternoon I ran on my treadmill. The first half mile was terrible. I felt like I was running with cement blocks attached to my shoes. It was hard to run. I stopped at a half mile and took a breather. After that, the rest of the run was good.

Random things

Over on my website, Deloris Clark-Osborne Photography, a blog has been added. On this blog I will be posting my favorite photos from my sessions. I have a couple of engagements posted right now. I will be adding the weddings and teens that I have already photographed this year soon.

While in Tecumseh yesterday, I decided to get my engagement/wedding rings cleaned at the jewelry store that made them. I handed my rings over to the employee and she went in the back to clean them. She came back and handed me the rings. She then asked if the ring was bought at the store. I said it was made here. She went on to tell me that one of the prongs holding the diamond is cracked. She said that it wasn't an emergency to get it fixed, but it needed to be repaired. My husband asked how long it will take to fix the engagement ring. Two weeks she said. My husband told me its either two weeks now or two weeks later. It needed to be fixed so I reluctantly handed over my ring. I still have my wedding band, but now my ring finger is lonely without its diamond.

I heard the rumor last night. Now it is not a rumor, it's fact. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be driving for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.

Junior

My favorite NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of this year. This morning at a press conference at JR Motorsports, Junior announced he is leaving DEI to pursue other options. He also stated that he wants to continue to drive a Chevrolet. His sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, has handled Juniors contract negotiations wants to have a deal at the end of the month.

Could Junior drive the number 3 for Richard Childress? Will he go to Joe Gibbs and be teammates with his friends Tony and Denny? We will all find out soon.