Page 177 of The Legend

Theshirts, the trading cards, and those kids who wanted to race my number. The beingrespected, the smiles of adulation, unending autographs was all I knew for thelast twenty years. That has a huge impact on your life whether you want it toor not.

What Icouldn’t understand was that we were living out an image that wasn’t real. Whetherit was a nervous forget-my-own-name smile, feeling encircled and trapped, Iplayed my part to an image that wasn’t me.

Maybesomeday I would be me and remembered for who I was and what I did for thesport, not my image or an angle created. Or maybe I’ll be just a common namepassing in conversation? Until then, my image, my name reported by countlessreporters, gossiped about and carried to overpowering levels, reach me andthose around me whether we wanted it to or not.

Eitherway, I chose a line and stuck with it. Image or not, revolving door or not, itled me here.

Inside Line – Sway

At thelast championship banquet, NASCAR invited Jameson even though he wasn’t in thetop twelve in points. They had a special recognition they wanted to do for him.This left our family all going with us to Vegas for the ceremony.

Spencerlooked at me as we rode in the elevator the night of the banquet to the hall.“Remember when we got stuck in the elevator?”

“I try notto.” I replied sourly applying some lips gloss. “Not only was I eight monthspregnant, but you were trying to get me to take my clothes off.”

“I’ll askagain if—”

I punchedhis stomach. “Don’t be that guy Spencer.”

When wegot downstairs, I found Jameson waiting for me and we walked their red carpet together.Hundreds of people were here tonight just to hear him speak and what they hadplanned for Jimi.

Laughterbroke out beside us when Brody and Bobby started joking with Jameson. I wasn’tsure how he would take Brody joking with him but he surprised me.

Jamesonsmiled and the mood broke, surprised laughter echoed. Turning, he looked backat me briefly and then regarded the crowd again.

The thingwas, the majority of these people were here tonight, aside from thechampionship contenders and their team, to pay respect to Jimi and show Jamesontheir support.

They werewaiting for him to speak the truth, something he always did. They were waitingfor a glimpse into his soul wanting to know the man behind the wheel.

When theceremonies began, I watched the video, clips of Jameson over the years. My boywas there, goofy, energetic Jameson full of life. They showed clips of hiscareer and highlighted his last season right down to that last win inHomestead.

It didn’tmatter who your favorite driver was or what you believed in. That night Jamesonwon in Homestead, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place when he took thatcheckered flag for the last time.

Unlikemost banquets when we were seated on stage, since Jameson hadn’t won thechampionship we were seated at a table in the audience to the right of thestage.

Casten satbeside me. “Tommy stuffed a sandwich in his pocket and walked over to the beer.What’s not to love about him?”

I laughedlooking at my son dressed in a tuxedo. He noticed immediately and nodded a littletoo arrogantly. “That’s right mama, I look good.” Looking around the room, hiseyes caught with a young blonde two table away. “Damn, looks like Paul’sdaughter is growing up.”

Castenleft after that.

Jamesonapproached the table again only to be asked by a host to come back stage again.

Watchinghim now, I always knew just how great Jameson was. But that weekend, and thenight of the awards banquet that year, it became real as I listened to some ofthe greatest icons in auto racing talk about my husband as though he was god.

I feltJameson’s hand squeeze mine when a photograph of him winning his first NASCARrace in Rockingham came on the screen. It wasn’t just of him though, Jimi wasright next to him in the photo smiling at his son.

That’swhen Russ Campbell walked on stage as the only light shined on him dressed inhis black tuxedo. “As many know, we lost a part of our family this year at theFrost Nationals and nearly lost one of the greatest drivers this sport hasseen. But first, I think we should talk a little about the man who made thispossible for him, Jimi.”

It wasweird to me that they were talking about him like he wasn’t here and then itreally dawned on me, Jimi wasn’t here any longer. I reached for Jameson’s handagain. It was clammy and trembling as they spoke of his father.

This hadto be hard.

“JimiRiley was born in 1956 in Bloomington, Indiana to Casten Sr. and Elle Riley andthat’s where he made his name. Casten Riley Sr. built sprint cars from the groundup and then raced them down at Bloomington Speedway. After a while, Jimi tookinterest and in that small town in the Midwest is where his love was formedwith dirt racing. Jimi won his first World of Outlaws championship the veryfirst season it was started in 1978. From there he went on to thirty more andraked in three thousand and forty feature wins in his forty-five season career.

“You seeit all the time, NHRA, NFL Coaches, Actors, various people in sportsbroadcasting all taking an interest in NASCAR. Some just simply watch whereothers try their hand at team ownership. Jimi wasn’t any different. He justdecided one day, “Hey, I think I’ll start a NASCAR team.” And he did.But his greatest decision was pairing a rookie driver and Bobby Cole together.”

The crowdchuckled as Larry, the broadcasting announcer for the banquet, took over thespeech smiling. “No one touched Jameson’s records he set back in 2003 with histwelve wins, twenty-two top five’s and thirty top ten finishes in thethirty-six race schedule.

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