Mike Celizic

When the PR guy introduces Dan Lowry, he says, “Dan is one lucky SOB.”

“Yes, I am,” the self-described regular guy from Ohio readily agrees.

He’s on the telephone from his home in Columbiana, Ohio, and he has only a few minutes before he leaves for his weekly eight-ball league. Then he has to get ready to fly to Richmond, Va., with his wife and about 30 family members and friends to watch Saturday’s Dan Lowry 400 NASCAR race.

Yeah, the “Dan Lowry 400.” He probably walks around the house just saying it over and over again: “The Dan Lowry 400 — Hey! That’s me!”

Dan’s a lifelong NASCAR fan who can remember watching Bill Elliott win Daytona on television in 1985 when he was just 6. But as big a fan as he is, he’s never actually been to a race. First there was no money, then there was school, then there was a job that kept him traveling all over the world, then there was buying a house and getting married and a new job — it was always something.

So now he’s not only going to a race, but it’s a race named after him — it says so on all the banners and advertisements and press releases. It’s even on the trophy. He’s going to get to say “Gentlemen, start your engines.” And sit with Jamie McMurray’s crew chief during the race — did I mention that Jamie McMurray is Dan’s favorite driver? And give the winner that trophy emblematic of winning the 2008 Dan Lowry 400.

All that and the food and drinks are free, too. Not just for him, but for his friends and family.

How cool is that?

“Unbelievable,” the 29-year-old electrical engineer says. “It’s just been a blessing.”

You’re probably thinking there’s a catch, and there is. Dan has had to pose for publicity pictures wearing a purple velvet cape edged in gold and a crown of gold and red velvet. If it makes him look like a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey, that’s the idea. His weekend of golden memories is being sponsored by Crown Royal, the presenter of the Dan Lowry 400 and the outfit that made it all possible.

It’s a small price to pay — “Well worth it,” he says — especially since Crown Royal is Dan’s favorite adult beverage. He either drinks it on the rocks or with Sprite — a classic Midwest high-ball. And, like the company’s ads advise, he drinks it responsibly, because, as he says, “getting older (He thinks 29 is older?) and getting ready to have kids makes you think about that stuff.”

He sounds like a great guy, the kind of hard-working guy who is the backbone of this country. We’re always saying at times like these that it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. In this case, it’s true.

This is the second year that Crown Royal is running what has to be one of the greatest fan-participation promotions ever. Those deals where guys try to kick a field goal or sink a half-court shot for a million bucks pale in comparison. This isn’t a minute in the spotlight and then sinking back into obscurity. This is a whole weekend, his own race, his name on the trophy on a star driver’s mantel — forever.

As Dan says, it’s like winning the lottery except you don’t have to buy a ticket. All he had to do was write a 50-word essay telling about a time he enjoyed the sponsor’s drink in a responsible manner — so if you’re thinking of entering and your story ends with the twin Bulgarian contortionists you met at the circus and a motel room, don’t bother.

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