Happy people.
Don't know how happy you were last Sunday but I can tell you it's doubtful you were happier than the people we'll visit with today because they are part of the Carson City company called Interstate Batteries and they are the main sponsor of the Bobby Labonte NASCAR No. 18 Interstate Battery car.
Last Sunday Bobby won the 2000 NASCAR racing championship when he finished in fourth place to cinch the title. It was his first ever points championship and our local company was thrilled he won. Former NFL Head Coach Joe Gibbs owns the car and the racing team.
"I think anything Joe Gibbs touches he finds a way to turn to gold," said Gary Krupp, the general manager of Interstate Batteries. "Joe owns the team and I knew he would have a championship team. This is a great honor for Interstate Batteries and its dealers - This is a big thing for us."
Some of you may remember Gary from a column we did with him in March of last year. We talked about car racing and family and at the time Gary and his wife Jill were expecting their second child, who was born 19 months ago today, and her name is Haylee Ann. She was born at Carson-Tahoe Hospital, as was their daughter Taylor Marie, who turns 4 in February.
Gary is 33 and was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Reno. He and Jill, 29, have been married six years. She was born in Salinas, Calif.
"I've been with Interstate Batteries for almost 14 years now," said Gary. "We're the only Interstate Batteries company in all of Northern Nevada. We serve all of Northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe and Northern California as far as Susanville. To the south we go as far as Hawthorne and to Bishop, Calif. Our store is located on Carson Meadows Drive behind the Laundry Lounge on Fifth Street."
The company is a wholesale distributor and it rarely sells to the public but will.
"We're primarily a wholesaler but we do sell retail but don't advertise that as over 90-percent of our business is wholesale," said Gary. "We sell new and used batteries and cables and corrosion kits. We also have small backup batteries for alarms and things like that. We have well over 2,500 batteries here at our warehouse."
By the way, Gary and Jill are both Carson High School graduates. They were married at the Mormon Station at Genoa Park.
BACK TO THE TRACK
Gary has met Bobby Labonte and is a "big NASCAR fan" and a big fan of Gibbs, the former Washington Redskins coach.
"Interstate batteries sponsors NASCAR and NHRA race cars for Joe," said Gary happily. "We're a sports oriented company and we also are an official NFL sponsor. I met Bobby and he's a great driver, a clean driver and a family man. He's been driving for Joe since 1995. I go to at least one NASCAR race a year if not more. I'm a fan too."
LET'S MEET DAN & MIKE
The local company has four employees plus Gary and all watched last Sunday's race and were overjoyed that their driver is now a champion.
Mike Smith is "our team leader" and as a route sales manager he does "a lot of the training" for Interstate Batteries. He is 37 and has been married to Dyan for eight years. She was born in Milwaukee and he in Glendale, Calif. Their daughter Amanda is 6 years old and was born at Carson-Tahoe Hospital.
Mike has also met Bobby and he thinks the world of him.
"I met Bobby a couple of times," said Mike. "He's a quiet guy. A nice man and a great and smart driver. I follow NASCAR and the Busch series and have for about 15 years. I like any kind of motor sports.
"Dyan is a fan too. We watched Bobby cinch it Sunday. We'll watch the final race of the season today (ESPN at 9:30 a.m.) but the pressure is off. We're all glad he won it last week so we don't have to sweat out this week's race."
Mike covers a lot of territory for Interstate Batteries including Fallon, the lake and he goes to many places in Nevada and California, including Bishop.
He goes "everywhere Dan doesn't" and that would be Dan Gunzburg. The 30-year-old route sales manager was born in Sacramento and has lived in Carson City for 12 years. He is single.
"I've been a NASCAR fan for 15 years," said a smiling Dan. "That and football. I saw Bobby win and that is just fantastic! It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."
Dan has worked for Interstate Batteries for "just over a year" and before that he was a fence installer for Artistic Fence company in Carson City.
"My territory covers all of Reno, up north to Susanville and all the surrounding areas," he added. "It's the best job I've ever had. I got lucky."
-- The other two Interstate Batteries employees are Trace Wallis, the office manager, and Keith Sokoloski, the warehouse manager who is also a driver. Both saw Bobby win and both are as thrilled as their fellow employees!
Just a happy gang of people right here in Carson City enjoying the fruits of victory for their car and driver ....
MORE HAPPY PEOPLE
That's who you'll see if you watch our Street Talk TV Show tonight on CAT-10 at 6 p.m.
Our guests are "world travelers" Diane and her husband "Rev the Pirate" and we'll tell you about their travels, Rev's "movie stint" where he played a pirate in the movies "Cutthroat Island" with Geena Davis and Matthew Modine and he also played a pirate in the Jean Claude Van Damme movie "The Quest." We'll show you many still photos from those movies plus we'll visit with "90-something" grandmother Rosayln the comedian so don't miss it!
The show repeats Monday at 8 a.m.
Alan Rogers is a Nevada Appeal columnist. Call him at 887-2430, ext. 402.
