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Actor David Spade attends Southern 500

Actor and comedian David Spade paid a visit to Darlington Raceway to attend the final Southern 500 held on Labor Day weekend. Spade promoting his new movie "Dickie Roberts" took time out of his busy schedule to meet-and-greet with drivers, series ...

Actor and comedian David Spade paid a visit to Darlington Raceway to attend the final Southern 500 held on Labor Day weekend. Spade promoting his new movie "Dickie Roberts" took time out of his busy schedule to meet-and-greet with drivers, series officials and members of the media. Escorted by an entourage of superior-looking beings, Spade commented on his weekend in NASCAR country.

"We went to the Cracker Barrel. There's something going on with the Barrel, the line is out the door. We went to Shoney's - we've hit all the hot spots....we drove in circles and went and saw The China Syndrome at the local theater."

Spade, who grew up in the Southwest and has never attended a NASCAR event, spent time walking around the track meeting fans and taking in the unique culture of a NASCAR race weekend.

"It was basically 100,000 people yelling hey, it's 'Joe Dirt'!" Spade said of his interaction with the fans.

Among the neat things he was able to do while at Darlington, was take a hot lap with race commentator Wally Dallenbach, which went slightly awry.

"Wally spun me around the track and it didnt work out like I thought it would," said Spade. "He poured me into that car and it was like getting an MRI..Bumping the wall at 140 mph isn't an exact science. We went around and it was terrifying and I had a wee bit of a panic attack. When you watch it on TV you think they are in there cranking the tunes...but its like being in a lunar module."

"He hit the wall 'accidentally' about six times," Spade continued. "I don't know maybe he's not that good, which is why he's up there (TV Booth). Even I know you are not supposed to hit the wall. I'm not so tough...don't tell everyone I was crying."

Spade also had the opportunity to hang out and get to know two of NASCAR's brightest stars, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Spade was impressed with them both.

"These guys are a really big deal and they were surprisingly friendly. Real cool and nice."

When asked to repeat that Tony Stewart was a nice guy, Spade insisted,"Tony Stewart is a real sweetheart, a huggy bear."

Spade appeared to be amused by all the trimmings that go into a typical Winston Cup event, and vowed that this would not be his last trip to a NASCAR event.

"We might do a sequel to "Joe Dirt", said Spade. "Joe Dirt Reloaded" and he's definitely going to stop by NASCAR, its too fun. We'll make him a front tire loader or something... just ripe for a bunch of fun characters and interesting people."

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