"24 Hours at Daytona" Sunday

Photo used with the permission of Juha Lievonen. My thanks to him.

5:55 Let me just say that while I really do consider myself a morning person, ONLY Patrick Dempsey would be able to get me up out of my very warm bed, THIS early on a Sunday! If he ever reads this (yes people, I know he won't) I hope he at least gets a smile out of the fact that I'm here, with bed hair, NO Starbucks, and bleary eyes...Because he (and the team) are worth it. And truth be told, right now, he's having a harder time than I am. Honestly, I think the LeMans race was easier because I didn't go to sleep AT ALL. This time I did, and I'm trying to get my brain to wake up enough to focus. Alright, enough of my blah blah blah...Here we go....

At this time, according to Live timing, Patrick Dempsey is in the #40 in eighth place. Dave Lacey is in 17th place in the #41 Team Seattle car.

6:00 Live coverage is back! Good morning to all the happy and very bright and shiny people of SpeedTV.


6:12 A Dempsey/Foster commercial! What a way to get me smiling!


So, while we have a minute, let me tell you about last night....I got off the computer around midnight or so because my back was begging for mercy. I had a friend watching Live timing for me (Thanks, Di) and she would send me periodic updates. At one point, I got a text saying Patrick was in the car in 8th place. Not even five minutes later I get another text saying, "stand by, I'm hearing the #40 is out." So, my mind starts spinning.....


6:25 Shot of Patrick Dempsey driving....Morning Patrick!


....Back to my story....I get the news that the #40 may be out and of course all I know is that Patrick is in the car and minutes ago things were fine. Did he spin out? Did he wreck? Is he hurt? Yes, I know, I worry too much....


6:29 A promo shot of PD talking about what it would mean to win the Rolex 24...Commentators are talking about his scruffy look. Hey, I can promise you that he looks a lot scruffier NOW than he did in that taped piece...


Once again, back to my story....So after what seemed like forever, I get a text saying that apparently it was just a long pit, but that now nobody can figure out who's driving, because Live timing keeps putting up different people. As long as everybody was safe, I didn't care. And that seems to be the case, Thank God!


6:42 Not DR related, but I just watched as an engine fire was put out...This is why I pray and get so flippin' nervous! I wonder if I would feel any better if I were personally able to see all of the things done to the car and all of the things the drivers do to keep themselves safe. Guess I'll only be able to test that theory out only if by some miracle I'm able to go to a race one day. I know Joe Foster and Patrick Dempsey have both said how safe everything is, but still, I worry.


6:49: Patrick Dempsey currently in 7th place.


7:43 Patrick Dempsey out of the car after a stint. Said he was hearing/feeling lots of vibration so the team was checking things out. "Better to be safe than sorry at this point" he said. And added that "people were being gentlemen" in terms of how the DP and GT cars were getting along on track. Patrick's smiling and laughing....Way to make my morning Patrick, Thanks! :)


7:57 Scott Maxwell in the car now for Dempsey Racing, currently in 9th place.


My poor dog just came in and looked at me like I had two heads for being up already. She promptly left my room after she figured out I wasn't going back to bed. Sorry, Tazzie!


8:09 Scott Maxwell now in 8th place.


8:21 Scott Maxwell in 7th place while Leh Keen is in 15th in the Team Seattle car. That car has had problems throughout the night but is hanging in there!


I wonder if Patrick is as tired as I am of everybody constantly reminding us that "Patrick Dempsey plays Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy." I would LOVE to read at least one racing article that doesn't even mention that fact. I'm convinced (and have been for awhile now) that Patrick is not an actor who races, but rather, a racer who acts. I just wonder if it'll be any different once Patrick no longer plays Derek Shepherd. Probably not, they'll just change it to, "Patrick Dempsey who once starred in ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Derek Shepherd...." It just bugs me, but I guess I get it. He has definitely brought more fans (myself included) into the sport of racing. Sorry, it's early, I'm sleepy and rambling...Did you enjoy my "off track" moment? Yes, the pun was intended.... ;)


8:50 Headed to church. More to come this afternoon! Go DR!


11:53 Back from church and done with lunch. Came back to find Joe Foster in SIXTH place! WOW!!!! Go Dempsey Racing! Zoom Zoom!


11:59 had the t.v. on for less than ten minutes and have seen A LOT of the number 40....Looking SO great, but now I'm SO nervous for my team! Just be careful, stay consistent, stay focused! I know, I'm talking like they can will hear/read this but hey, it's helping ME! Note to Jim Jordan: TOTALLY biting my nails right now! I know you said that was your job, but you've got company right now! AHHHHHH!!!!!


12:16 Just saw a pic of the latest DR shirts....Oh my goodness....I WANT ONE!


12:27 Mazda voiceover! "I will never give up, give in, or buckle under..." How appropriate for the moment! :)


12:30 Patrick Dempsey taped piece talking about true champions. On a personal note, Patrick IS a true champion in my eyes....For reasons that have nothing to do with racing or acting! He's my hero and a true champion indeed!


12:33 I find it funny that the folks at SpeedTV seem to already think that Dempsey Racing won't have a top ten finish as they said, "I'm sure Patrick Dempsey & those guys would have liked a top ten finish..." Ummm...Excuse me but last I checked there's still two hours of race time left. It's not over until it's over....Never count out Dempsey Racing. Ever!


12:43 I LOVE the Dempsey/Foster commercial...Makes my day every single time it airs!


12:46 Talking to Team Seattle as we watch the 41 go round the track. Talking about all the money being raised for the Seattle Children's Hospital. Also gives a plug to the Dempsey Center as well...Thanks, SpeedTV commentators!


1:02 Camera on the #40 and we get a camera shot of Joe Foster in the car for several minutes! I say it often, but the #40 car looks AWESOME!!!!!!!


1:22 According to SpeedTV, Patrick Dempsey is in 14th place. Live timing just isn't cutting it...Still has Patrick as 7th place at a time when Joe Foster was actually the one driving. Sigh...


1:37 I'm very confused...SpeedTV has Dempsey in seventh place in their running order, but just had him in 14th moments ago....Which is it?

1:45 Just got clarification...The # 40 is in seventh and the #41 is in fourteenth. Thanks, Di!

Sigh...If I can't meet or even talk to Patrick Dempsey, I'd at least love a Mazda hat or one of the new DR shirts...

2:27 Five minutes to go in the race

2:28 #40 in sixth place

2:32: Dempsey Racing #40 finishes the 24 Hours at Daytona in sixth. Team Seattle #41 finishes in fourteenth! What a great race for both!!! Thanks to those of you who prayed for them this weekend!

It is such an honor to be a Dempsey Racing fan, I'm SO proud to support this team and EVERYONE involved with it. It's going to be a FANTASTIC season for DR (there will be a podium finish...Just remember folks, you read it here first!) and I look forward to being there (even if only in spirit) to cheer them on and support them in any and every way possible. Go Dempsey Racing....Zoom, zoom!

"24 Hours at Daytona" Saturday

Here is my 24 Hours at Daytona play by play... Focused on Dempsey Racing and the teams two cars, #40 and #41. Go Dempsey Racing!

Quick Patrick Dempsey interview with a SpeedTV reporter whose birthday is today and who gets a happy birthday wish from Patrick. I'm positive there's nothing like Patrick Dempsey wishing you a happy birthday.

Camera pans and I see the 40 on the track. Camera pans and we see Joe Foster giving the camera a wave...Hi Joe!

Race officially begins....Behind the pace car due to the rain. Safety first!

TONS of tweeting going on at my @PDempseyFan twitter account! Switched from my personal one (@NatNicole1981) to my PD one for the race.

No rain falling, still under yellow about 2 laps away from the green flag...

2:48 pm. checking in with Joe Foster of Dempsey Racing in the #40 car giving a description of the track! The car looks AWESOME and Joe sounds focused and ready! LOVE that we get a camera with the car this year!!!!!

2:51 GREEN FLAG!!! Go Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle!!!

2:59 #40 is in 13 place, driven by Joe Foster.

3:02 Leh Keen #41 in THIRD PLACE!!!!!!!

3:06 See the AWESOME looking #41 on the track

I know they train to race in the rain, but it still makes me nervous. Glad the rain is slowing and hopefully the track will dry up quick.

3:22 under caution

Every time someone talks about Patrick Long my ears perk up! HAHA!

3:29 Back to Green

3:37 The commentators with SpeedTV tried to blame Dane Cameron's car trouble on the #40. Me here: "What??" After a replay. It's clear the number 40 never touched Cameron's car.

A PD Mazda voiceover during the break.... "Zoom zoom forever." Have I mentioned that I want a Mazda hat?

4:04 Leh Keen in 11th place in the #41 Joe Foster in 13th place in the #40.

4:06 Leh Keen in 10th, Joe Foster in 11th....WOW!

Patrick Long is out of the car for driver change. Now maybe I won't get whiplash from turning to my t.v. every time the name "Patrick" is said. That is until MY Patrick gets in the car....

4:10 BOTH Dempsey Racing cars are in the top ten and Speed TV says NOTHING?!? Come on, guys! Give DR their coverage!

4:16 We must have pitted. Joe fell back a few spots.

4:21 Leh Keen #41 pitting now....Driver change, Have no idea who is in at this point. Grand Am keeps changing it. Don't even know if it was Keen driving.... If anyone from the team is reading this and would like to let me know, please do! Love the Team Seattle car...My name is on it! :)

Was getting up to go make some hot chocolate and my Mom was already bringing me some so I wouldn't miss any DR action! My Mom rocks! Thanks, Mom! :)

4:32 Patrick Dempsey in the car!

Another PD voiceover! I love it! :)

5:14 Dave Lacey about to get in the #41 for Team Seattle.

5:15 and there's the INCREDIBLE looking # 4o driven by Patrick Dempsey. Several minutes of camera time as we get a profile view of Patrick driving. Apparently they're having trouble communicating with Patrick right now on the mic. Hopefully it gets resolved soon!

5:20 Patrick Dempsey interview as he gets out. "I lost the radio on lap two which is really difficult because you don't know who's coming up behind you. I didn't have the confidence I would like, but thank goodness the cars in good shape, it's early on. We just have to be really patient."

SpeedTV is loving those PD voiceovers! Another one just aired!

6:48 Team Seattle #41 car is in 12th place with the #40 car right behind him in 13th. I think they like sticking close to each other.

7:06 Dinner break for me...

7:41 Back from dinner with the #40 passing the number 41 to put #40 in TENTH place and #41 in 11th. Go Dempsey Racing!

7:54 Some GREAT things being said about Dempsey Racing as a whole while we watch Charles zoom zoom around the track looking awesome!

8:41 interview with Charles. Talks about the car being okay after some contact with debris. "We at Dempsey Racing are here to overcome and hopefully we'll still be here tomorrow morning." Also had good things to say about Patrick and the team as a whole. What a sweet guy!

8:59 Live coverage on speedtv ends until 6.a.m. tomorrow morning

Hope you've enjoyed my play by play of the first part of the race. I'll be recapping tomorrow's part of the race as well. Have a great night everybody! And prayers continue for the team as they race through the night. Go Dempsey Racing! :)

Photo used with the permission of Juha Lievonen. My thanks to him.

Prayers, Please!

I've got a few prayer requests:

I've been dealing with some major spiritual warfare for the past week or so. I've never been the most secure person when it comes to other people's perceptions of me and Satan is having a hay day with that insecurity right now. Please just pray that I will stand on God's truth and that I will know that I am genuinely loved, not merely tolerated.

Tomorrow (Friday) I will basically be on my own at the church office. Ramona is out for the next two weeks recovering from back surgery so I have more responsibility than usual while she's out. Please pray for patience with myself and others around me. Please pray that I am able to do what needs to be done, that I am able to answer any questions people may call in with and that I may shine brightly for Him while doing so. Please also pray for Ramona as she continues to recover.

Patrick Dempsey and Dempsey Racing will take part in the 24 hours of Daytona this weekend. The team is already in Daytona doing practices and for the first time, the team will have two cars out on the track. It's a grueling 24 hours for the team as they race non stop. I plan on watching, just as I did for the 24 hours of Le Mans. Please pray for the team's safety, for a clear mind, for a great race, and that everything goes well. I am debating whether or not to do a play by play here. We shall see. Just please pray for them this weekend.

Thank you in advance for lifting these requests up! :) God bless!

Help For Haiti

I think most of us are feeling pretty helpless right now as we look and see the devastation caused by the Earthquake in Haiti. As a friend of mine said earlier, "I wish I could do more." The good news is, God CAN do more! If we do what we can, I fully believe God will do what we can't! Below are just a few ways you can help if you feel inclined.

Help Compassion Children Affected by Earthquake

Donate to the Red Cross

World Vision

Mission of Mercy

All of these are great ways to help. Most importantly though, please pray for those affected and those going to help with the relief efforts. Thanks!

Pray big, believe big, because GOD IS BIG ENOUGH!

Happy Birthday, Patrick!

Happy Birthday, Patrick Dempsey! I hope your next year is FABULOUS! You deserve nothing but the best. Thank you for being a constant inspiration to me. I thank God for you every single day! Have an amazing birthday! God bless!

2009: A Look Back

I thought I would jot down some memorable moments of the past year. These are in no particular order. Enjoy the trip down my memory lane.

* Alexis started Kindergarten.

* Austin began going to pre-school full time.

* I began volunteering up at the Church every Friday.

* Mom, Dad, Kimberly, Justin, Lexi, Austin, Tazzie, and I all went to Galveston for a weekend and had a BLAST! We're making it a tradition and will be going back in 2010.

* Mom, Dad, and I went to Colorado for a week and are still in awe of God's beauty when we look at pictures. AND...Dad FINALLY saw his Colorado bear!

* Taylor Crocker was born.

* I got the surprise of a lifetime the day after my birthday (don't ask, won't tell)

* Michael W. Smith's "A New Hallelujah" came out and I fell in love with "Deep in Love with You"

* KSBJ was able to put their Listen Live feature back online.

* I discovered "Enation" and "Eyes of Grace" is now my favorite song of ALL time. A band that seeks God first!

* Lexi made a Home run during an All Stars softball tournament!

* Meredith and Derek got engaged in an elevator and "married" via post-it note on "Grey's Anatomy."

* I began to start enjoying "Brothers & Sisters" MORE than "Grey's Anatomy." (and the whole world gasps...I know).

* I deleted my Myspace account and jumped into the Facebook world.

* I got a twitter account.

* Jonathan Jackson returned to the role of Lucky on "General Hospital" after a TEN YEAR absence...And he and Becky Herbst still have what made me fall in love with them. And JJ continues to be sold out for Christ!

* Scott Reeves joined GH as Steven Webber and he and his wife Melissa have become two of my biggest inspirations because of the way they live their lives and seek God in all they do.

* I got an IPhone.

* Liz Jordan got engaged....LIVE on KSBJ.

* I watched and prayed while Patrick Dempsey raced in the 24 Hours of LeMans (yep, stayed up ALL night & still made it to church the next morning).

* I said "See ya later" to my Great Granny after she went to be with Jesus Christmas Eve.

* Trent and Ginny brought Ruthie home from China.

* It snowed like crazy while Kimberly, Mom & I were shopping in early December.

* We got a White Christmas while in Coppell for the holidays.

* My best friend since Kindergarten found out she was expecting her third child!

* I came to appreciate and be more grateful for my older sister and the relationship we have because at the end of the day, we're always going to be the only sisters we have.

All of the above things makes me thank God for His plan and for the simple things He has done that fill my heart. I pray that in 2010 I continue to fall more in love with Him and that I may reflect Him in all that I do.

I know there are AMAZING things ahead in 2010 and I pray that each of you have a year filled with God's best. May you know that you are loved and adored by Him, and I pray you seek Him in every way and that He reveals Himself to each of you in incredible ways in the coming year.

Love and hugs to all of you. God bless!

The Twitterness of it All

I'm a twitter person, I like twitter, BUT I'm learning that it's all about WHO you are on twitter that will reflect how many followers you have.

There are a few people I follow on twitter that are in the industry of entertainment in some capacity or another. Three of those people I really enjoy and I @ them quite often. I have no clue why though, one of those people has over two thousand followers, the second one has over one thousand, and the third had over one hundred on his first day on twitter two days ago. Today he has 640 and climbing by the hour.

I love these people, but let's face it, they have no clue whether I follow or unfollow them at any given moment. I'm simply just another tweet, just another person, just another fan. It boggles my mind at times that people are always like "follow me on twitter..." and they already have an AMAZING amount of followers. How in the world do they keep up with everything? To be fair, the three people I've mentioned above, don't @ anyone, all of their tweets are general to everyone. I do however, know someone with over twenty five thousand followers who DOES @ reply to people, only it seems to me the SAME people get the replies.

When I was under the name PDempseyFan, I had 80 followers, most of them were greys fans or race car people. I rarely got @ replies when I mentioned something general about me, but when it was something about Patrick Dempsey, it got attention. Once again, all about who you are.

Now that I am under the name NatNicole1981 I have 9 followers. Nobody cares what Natalie Pearce is doing at any given moment, but if you're "in the public eye" they can't get enough.

I've slowed down my @ mentions to everyone, most of the time I simply don't see the point. it'll just get lost in the shuffle, but I still enjoy the peek I get into their world. :)

And to be fair to them, I purposefully didn't specifically mention the three people I especially enjoy.