Nathan meets Tony Stewart!

[2nsmom]

There are days in your life that are so special you know that you will never, ever forget them. November 13th was one of those days for us.

All you have to do is look at my page to know what a huge fan of NASCAR driver Tony Stewart we are. My son, Nathan, who is autistic, is quite possibly his biggest fan of all.

Well, thanks to my dad and a wonderful employee of Home Depot Racing, Nathan was able to meet his racing idol.

When Tony first walked into the room, Nathan was so awestruck that he ducked under the table! Tony said, "Hey you're not gonna get shy on me now are you?" Nathan came out after that and his face just lit up. He watched excitedly as Tony signed his book, shirt, pictures and even mine and my daughter's shirts (Actually, my daughter, Natalie, who's 3, didn't have a Tony Stewart shirt, but asked him to sign it anyway. He said, "We, better ask mom first!" Of course I said "Yes!")!

I got many great pictures, but the most special one is the one we all took together (see below). He spent lots of time talking to my dad, playing with my kids and was always a true gentleman. Nathan then asked him the 2 big questions he had for him. First was "Can you win on Sunday?" He said "I'll try!" Then Nathan asked him if he could be on the pole, He said "I hope so! Wow, you sure do have a lot for me to do!" Nathan then gave him a high-five.

We hated to see it come to an end, but, like all good things, it eventually had to. Watching the race yesterday was needless to say even more special for us, knowing we had shared in a very special weekend in Tony's life, the end of a tremendously successful run with the Home Depot. We wish him continued success in his new endeavour and will always be grateful he gave his biggest fan memories and smiles that will never diminish.

[RoosMom13]

Nov. 17, 2008 at 9:54 AM Wow, how wonderful! That brought tears to my eyes!

[zoogie104]

Nov. 17, 2008 at 11:10 AM

That is so awsome I am so happy for you! I probably would have hid under the table too lol...  I am glad that Nathan had a lot of fun.

[alz2007]

Nov. 17, 2008 at 11:30 AM

How great! He is an awesome person and I am glad that your son was able to experience that. How cool!!

[amy7243]

Nov. 17, 2008 at 8:29 PM

That is so cool! We love Tony too. He is a great guy and what a wonderful experience!

[rowdygirl18]

Nov. 17, 2008 at 8:48 PM

That is great! I'm so happy Tony took the time for him!

[ZsMommy]

Feb. 22, 2009 at 3:21 PM

I was all teary eyed reading this-That's wonderful. I'm told he truly is a kind man and a true gentleman-and reading your journal and your personal experience it definetely shows.