The next stop on our whirlwind NASCAR tour was Gillett-Evernham Motorsports in Statesville, NC.  There was, unfortunately, no round 2 sighting of Kasey (click here to recall round 1).  GEM is probably one of the most up close and personal shops we visited, though.  As you can see by looking at my photos, the cars being worked on in the shop are very close to the viewing area and the work space is rather small (compared to some of the other shops we visited).  This allows viewers to get a good look at the goings on.  Also, I believe GEM is the only shop we visited where we got to see the COT template.

While a paint scheme is typically based on the sponsors’ logos and color schemes, there are (maybe) a handful of items that the drivers themselves can work with their teams to customize.  The photo below is a partial photo of Elliott Sadler’s #19 Best Buy Dodge and displays an example of this customization.  If you look above the window, you will see the driver’s signature (in this case, Elliott’s).  To the right of this are two ribbons - the one of the left is for autism awareness and the one on the right is cancer awareness.  (Pink ribbons are typically most closely associated with breast cancer awareness but I am not sure, in this case, if it is that specific.)  These are two causes near and dear to Elliott’s heart.  Elliott’s niece, for example, was diagnosed with autism in 2001.  [For information about Elliott's charity work, go to the Hermie & Elliott Sadler Foundation website.]

Click here to see all of the photos I took at Gillett-Evernham Motorsports.