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TAMPA - Joe DiCorte was dumbstruck. He just gazed wide-mouthed after turning to see Ryan Newman tapping him on his shoulder. First the Hillsborough County firefighter stuck out a quivering hand, then reached out for a hug that turned into a quick and manly shoulder grab.
It was as if he was afraid of breaking or chasing off his favorite Nextel Cup driver.
But there Newman was with a camera crew, surrounding DiCorte and wife Ann Marie in an Alltel retail store on Dale Mabry Highway on Tuesday afternoon. DiCorte, 45, had been on his way to lunch with his wife when he was lured into the store by the Newman show car out front.
And Ann Marie, a nurse at St. Joseph's, wanted a pink cover for her cell phone. So in they came. Out they went as winners of a prize package that includes a trip to the Oct. 15 Nextel Cup race in Charlotte, where DiCorte's name will be stenciled alongside Newman's on the No. 12 Dodge.
DiCorte, who won because he wore a Dodge hat and named the series points leader, shook as he signed paperwork for his prize.
"The only other thing I ever won before was an eight-pack of STP motor oil," he said. "This is ... amazing."