THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 24, 1994 TAG: 9410240059
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLIE DENN, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
John Foster and Lisa Minehart share an intense love of auto racing. So what better way to begin life together, they figured, than with a wedding at the start/ finish line at Langley Raceway?
Sunday afternoon, that's just what the two Chesapeake residents did. They exchanged vows in front of a crowd of about 4,000 in the stands and a group of relatives and friends.
Then Foster went out and drove in a 125-lap Enduro race on the 0.395-mile track.
``This was just us,'' said Minehart, 29. ``We've both been married before and we've had the traditional church wedding and the gown and all that.
``We wanted something different this time. . . . Since we both love race driving so much, we felt this was the perfect place.''
``It started as a joke, really,'' added Foster, 31. ``One of us suggested it and we kind of laughed it off at first. But the more we thought about it, the more the idea began to sound good to us.''
``We probably wouldn't have done this for a regular NASCAR race,'' said Roger Bottorff, the track's director of promotions. ``But we try to be flexible, and the idea of a wedding sounded OK to us, so we figured, why not let them go ahead?''
The couple met several years ago when Minehart brought her truck to Standard Engine of Portsmouth. The vehicle needed a new engine, which Foster installed.
A few days later, Foster got a letter from Minehart asking him out on a date. The two have been inseparable ever since.
``The thing I like is that she will do anything with a car,'' said Foster, who now works for Tubbs Auto Parts in Norfolk as a field representative. ``She's even helped me put an engine in. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty, and she really knows what she's doing under the hood.''
Both have been behind the wheel of a race car.
Foster has driven in Enduro races at Langley for seven years. The class, which has loose rules and few equipment requirements, runs several times a year at the track, usually on Sunday afternoons.
Minehart has driven in ladies' Enduro events. Although she did not run in 1994, she plans to resume racing next season.
``I had always wanted to drive but never had the nerve to try it,'' Minehart said. ``Once I met John, he was always positive. He encouraged me to go for it.''
Foster, meanwhile, has his sights set on running in the regular Saturday night program at Langley, possibly in the Limited Stock class, next year.
Will the two ever trade driving tips?
``She's a real good driver,'' Foster said. ``I don't have to tell her much.
Said Minehart: ``He's a better driver than I am, but he always encourages me. So I try to be there for him. I'm his scorer whenever he races. Any way I can help, I will.''
Including getting married at the start/finish line. ILLUSTRATION: JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/Staff
Race car drivers John Foster and Lisa Minehart take a victory lap
after their wedding Sunday at Langley Speedway in Hampton, above.
Below, they exchange a wedding day kiss after the ceremony at the
start/finish line.
by CNB