On the Red Carpet at the 2008 NASCAR Awards Ceremony with IGotShotgun

Now, I love New York City. You can find just about anything and anything can happen. Still, the last things I expected to find in the bustling and dense streets of New York are rabid NASCAR fans, Jimmie Johnson's championship Chevy Impala and the champ himself greeting fans, posing for pictures and riding the wave of his third consecutive NASCAR championship. Well, welcome to the 2008 NASCAR Awards Ceremony. Lesson learned: expect the unexpected.

I was at the historic Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Midtown Manhattan preparing for the annual "NASCAR Prom." For one night, the biggest and best drivers in the sport trade in the fire suit for a tuxedo. The elegance of the evening contrasted to the sunsoaked infields of Talledaga and Daytona. For the drivers, its a chance to celebrate the 2008 season and look forward to another year beginning in January.

We got set up on the red carpet around 6pm. Did I say red? I meant yellow carpet -- NASCAR does its own thing as usual. Drivers were slated to arrive at 6:15 with a 7:00 start time for the Awards. The expected drivers read as a Who's Who in 2008 NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon and more. Luckily enough, IGotShotgun was the only video crew among a sea of still photographers. I was excited to get the chance to get up close and personal with icons of American sport.

As the clock ticked closer to 7:00, the press patiently waited for the drivers to arrive. Without warning, almost every driver began to arrive all at once. The names and faces began to fly by -- Kevin Costner, Richard Petty, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and more. The flash of light bulbs came at a blistering speed. The drivers and their dates sparkled & looked more Hollywood than Charlotte.

Jimmie Johnson was instantly at ease and relaxing and how could he not? It was his night to celebrate an unprecedented feat in sport. Tony Stewart was also a great interview. He was clearly more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt than tuxedo and hair product.

After only a few minutes of interviews, we were backed up with drivers waiting to talk to us. How long do you keep Jeff Gordon waiting? Not long. What I thought would be a nice leisurely chat with my new best-driver-friends soon became a fleeting chance to talk to the biggest stars in the sport. Sure, everyone has heard of IGotShotgun and is bending over backwards to talk to us but I think their minds were on the ceremony and party afterwards.

Afterwards, we lingered on the yellow carpet, recounting the exciting moments with the drivers and band Matchbox Twenty. I couldn't wait to see the footage and begin editing. It was NASCAR's most glamorous night and we were lucky to take it all in.

2010 Camaro makes debut

At the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Chevy revealed the 2010 Camaro and discussed the attributes that will make this car such a crowd favorite.

Check out this much anticipated vehicle via these videos:

Rhett and Link cover World of Outlaws dirt track finals

Rhett and Link joined IGS once again, this time for the World of Outlaws dirt track finals in Concord, NJ. They shadowed the Tony Stewart Racing Team and chatted with the likes of Donny Schatz and Kraig Kisner. Hilarity of course ensued.

Check it out in the IGS video library!

Til next time,
Jacquie

Hanging with the King

So the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, paid a visit to Motown and took a few GM vehicles for a test drive at the auto maker's Milford Proving Ground. To make him feel at home, Detroit Red Wings and fellow Swedes Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Samuelsson, Johan Franzen and Nicklas Lidstrom joined him. All were able to get behind the wheel of some of GM's hybrid and fuel cell vehicles and put the pedal to the metal of some of GM's most powerful cars.

Check out the action here:

Cars, Stars, Rock N Roll

IGotShotgun’s past couple of months can be summed up this way: cars, stars, rock n roll. Even in an Escalade we couldn’t take all of you along for the ride, but you can relive some of our experiences by watching the videos. After riding shotgun with the SAAB performance team, please don’t try any stunts at home. The drivers brought new meaning to the words “buckle up, we’re going for a ride!” After hanging out with the Swedes, we figured it was time to jet over to Hollywood for the American Latino Awards. We met a bunch of stars including Eva Longoria with her basketball star husband Tony Parker, Taboo from Black Eyed Peas, Jessica Alba from Fantastic Four and America Ferrera of Ugly Betty. If you watch close enough, you’ll see some other celebs hanging out with IGotShotgun. We mixed race cars with music and ended up at the Chevy Rock N Roll event. It was so much fun to see Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears and many others talk about the perfect marriage. As if that wasn’t enough, we ended up crossing the border to attend the Toronto Film Festival for an epic event. It was such a huge event, we invited Mr. Safety of YouTube fame to ride shotgun. We ended up running into “Mr. Epic” himself, Gerard Butler. You have to see the video, to believe it! I hope you feel like you’re up to speed (no pun intended). What’s next on the menu? The seasons are changing, and we’re heading west for sun, a visit to La La land for the auto show and a stop in Vegas. Typically, what’s done in Vegas stays there, but I’m sure we can share a few back seat confessions.

Gettin' dirty at the HUMMER Driving Academy

IGotShotgun's Doug enjoyed a down and dirty Friday morning plowing through the road and woods courses at the HUMMER Driving Academy in South Bend, Ind. The course enabled HUMMER to show what its vehicles are made of as they took on streams, hills, logs and other obstacles.

Also on hand was 2008 number two overall NFL Draft pick, Chris Long of the St. Louis Rams. He got behind the wheel of a HUMMER H3 to take on the course for himself.

Check out all the action here:

Smart as a Rock

Worldwide Interweb! Hello! We're back!

Sorry for the delays in posting but the IGotShotgun team has been busy crafting more videos, more fun and great things for you to check out. Like this new video!



On our latest adventure, the IGS team took Internet sensation iJustine to Las Vegas for the Get Smart premiere at Cinevegas, the annual film festival in Vegas. Because when I think Vegas I think film.

Remember all the ruckus a while back when an unsuspecting iPhone user got a 300 page bill from Apple? Well, that was iJustine and that simple video gained her fame across the land and interweb tubes. Since then, she's been featured in NYTimes, magazines, newspapers, yada yada yada. Plus, a really nice wikipedia entry.

In any case, we had a great time in Las Vegas doing all sorts of neat digital things. Known as a "lifecaster," she was broadcasting a lot using phones, cameras, etc. on Qik, Twittering and bringing the experience to you in more ways than one. Look for more of the same from IGS in the near future. Dwayne Johnson (formerly, The Rock) was a great guy and fabulous on the red carpet. But don't take my word for it, check out the video.

You can see more of iJustine here, here and here.

Look for more soon! Thanks for tuning in and please subscribe to us on YouTube, Twitter, Revver, Veoh, Streetfire or whatever site you prefer (we're probably already there!). Also remember we've got a great Facebook fan page and we're still on the ancient MySpace (the kids are still into it). Keep it reals, interwebbers!

IGS Tom