It began with a little friendly wager between two track general managers in Atlanta and New England. It ended with an epic championship game that won't soon be forgotten.
For one lucky New Hampshire Motor Speedway/New England Patriots fan, the celebration will continue.
Before the "Big Game," Fans of NHMS and Atlanta Motor Speedway were encouraged to join in the social media conversation to support their respective football teams on all channels and platforms by using the hashtags #NHMSPatriots or #AMSFalcons. Meghan Tuck, a rabid Patriots fan, was one of those fans and was randomly chosen to attend the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 5.
"I don't think that it's really set in yet that I actually won. I got the call in the middle of naptime during Valentine's Day," said Tuck, who works at a day care. "Nap time is when I am setting up our projects for the second half of the day, so I was a little busy melting chocolate. I then called my husband to let him know that we had won and it hit me that we were going to go to Atlanta.
"I then called my Dad, and then my Mom - all the while trying to not burn the chocolate!"
Tuck's husband, Richard, is in his 10th year with the Coast Guard. Meghan is the Ombudsman, the liaison between the spouses and the Command for two units on Cape Cod. She runs a daycare out of their home on base for other Coast Guard families, while also holding a position on the Housing Advisory Council to help merge the gap between the housing officer and families living on base.
The two were regulars at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when the two were stationed in Portsmouth, N.H. When duty pulled Richard across the country to San Diego, Calif., they would drive to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Back in New England for the last three years, Meghan and Richard have attended at least one NASCAR race a year in Loudon.
"We love getting to share the race experience with Kayden (Richard's son and Meghan's step son) and see him get involved with cheering on his driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.," said Meghan, who is Kayden's step mom.
Meghan's mother, Robin, has plans to join the two at Atlanta Motor speedway.
"She works for FEMA and is currently deployed to Georgia," Meghan said. "However, she may be released from her deployment before race weekend and will not have the option to stay on site. If this happens I am planning on contacting the CG Recruitment center in Atlanta to see if I can get some active duty members to join us."
