The first NASCAR race I ever attended was the 1999 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
My brother and I drove the 1,200 miles from Framingham, MA to Daytona, FL in our parents' red Ford Windstar. The check engine light came on somewhere in South Carolina, just to make things interesting.
We arrived at the track 8 hours before the green flag; I remember sitting in the parking lot and it being the hottest day ever. My brother and I walked the souvenir trailers packed in like a herd of sweaty sheep. We bought a giant number "6" decal from Mark Martin's Valvoline trailer and put it on the back window of our minivan to show our support.
Inside the track was amazing. Grand in every way imaginable. They sold beer buy the buckets. You could actually buy a bucket full of ice with 5 cans of Budweiser in it. The pre-race ceremony was filled with patriotism and wonder. Four F-14A Tomcats flew by as the Star Spangled Banner was being sung. It was simply magic. Our seats were about 50 yards past the start/finish line and we had an amazing view of turn 4 and the tri-oval; pit road stretched out right in front of us.
I actually don't remember much about the race itself except that unbelievable second lap. 43 cars, side-by-side, 2 inches apart, nose-to-tail all up to full speed, 199 m.ph. They entered turn 4 and a feeling of panic almost knocked me to the ground. There was no way they were going to make that turn, they were going way to fast. They are going to pile up, 30 rows deep and thousands of people were going to get hurt...But that didn't happen. At the apex of the turn, every single car sank to within a half inch of the track and they held that turn at 190. The panic turned to sheer joy and I was a NASCAR fan.
Dale Jarrett beat Dale Earnhardt Sr. to win the race under caution and Mark Martin finished 17th. I've been to at least one race a year ever since.
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3 comments:
...don't know much about nascar except from the Tom Cruise movie, days of thunder. In my youth I did see two forumula one races in Europe, one in the UK and the famous one in Monte Carlo. The biggest impression I had was the noise --OMG -- loud! yikes.
Maybe I should get some down home culture and check it out some day.
CK
I also don't know much about NASCAR, but I saw a lot of racing in the movies and commercials. I always have been wondering what would be the racers’ feeling when they finally reach the finish line or when they pass by the other cars clashing each other. Are they thrilled or scared? How much anxiety would their loved ones like family experience watching their race? Oh well, it is not my sports and I don't know what to say when my son ever into racing car. But, it is certainly and excited to watch.
Congratulations for your blog. Just an advice: The font is very small and is hard to read. All the best, Carlos M.
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