Well, HELLO Friends! It certainly has been a while! I hope this finds you well and basking in the glow of the holiday season. It is a very busy time of year for this Nascar Wife, as I am sure it is for most of you.
And, of course, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the holiday preparations, we HAD to make time to watch the BIG RACE! It was a huge sacrifice (insert sarcasm), but sometimes sacrifice is necessary for a Happy Life ;-)
I'm sure you have all heard the discussions about the new system Nascar instituted this past year - pro and con. And each viewpoint has its merits, but I must say I thought it was great for the sport. I liked not knowing who the champion was going to be until the end of the last race. It kept us engaged and looking forward to each and every race right up til the end!
I am anxious to see the changes that will be made for next year. I honestly have not paid much attention to all the announcements yet. I figure there will be plenty of time for that after the winter doldrums set in!
Hubby and I will soon start our serious planning for our racing & camping for 2015. We already have our Spring & Fall Dover tickets (YIPPEE!!!!) so now we need to decide which other races we can make fit our work schedules. It will probably be at least one Martinsville trip ... okay, probably two! I would love to go to Daytona, but the timing on that one makes it difficult for us to get there. So I'm thinking this might the year for Loudon. Or maybe Michigan. Has anyone been to either race? I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice!
I am also starting to think about what I want to blog about in 2015. Look for upcoming posts on our trip to Charlotte and the Hall of Fame, the life of a pit crew member, kids and Nascar, and track food and fashion! And that's a just a few of the ideas I have! I know that as the season progresses I will have lots more to say (you've probably noticed that I am never at a loss for words or opinions!).
Until then I want to wish you and your family good health and good times!
Friday, December 26, 2014
Saturday, November 22, 2014
SANTA CLAUS - NASCAR STYLE!
Well, the holiday craziness has officially begun! It seems you can't flip on the tv or pick up a newspaper without being assaulted by advertisements for the very best holiday gift bargains ever. I don't know about you, but those ads are of no help to me. They pretty much just add to the stress I put on myself to find the absolute most perfect gift for the people on my list.
If you have begun stressing out over what to get for your favorite Nascar fan, I am here to help!
If you have begun stressing out over what to get for your favorite Nascar fan, I am here to help!
- The most obvious (and therefore, in my opinion, the least exciting and most predictable) is something with their favorite driver on it. There seems to be no limit to the 'stuff' you can find featuring your driver. Everything from clothing to home & office supplies (think mouse pads and bottle openers) can be found online. Just do a Google search with the driver's name to find their official fan page, or go to Nascar.com. If you want it, you'll find it. Trust me!
- Tickets to a race - Now you're talkin'! The decision on which race will be limited only by your budget. If you are not looking to spend alot of money, I would suggest choosing the track closest to home. Call the ticket office and tell them what you want to spend and I'll bet they have something for you. I would also recommend that you buy two tickets so that they can invite someone (maybe you!) to go along. If you really want to score major points and do it up right, choose a destination track farther from home and give them a whole weekend package, including hotel. If you have never gone along to a race despite your Big Fan asking you to over and over (and over!) make part of the gift your promise to go along. Now that's a gift!
- Driving Experience - Some of the tracks offer an opportunity for the public to jump in a race care and drive a few laps on the track. This is not inexpensive, but oh my goodness is it ever fun! It will take a little research on your part, but it is well worth the effort. Some tracks also will let you drive your own car on the track, but this is not nearly as cool as they limit your top speed to less than what alot of people drive on the interstate. (But I don't advise doing that in Virginia - see Martinsville post) ;-) You should also know that the times these offers are available are blacked out around race time, so you can't do both on the same trip unless you are staying for an extended period.
- SIRIUS/XM Radio - If you don't already have this, I would suggest putting this high on your list! There is a station devoted entirely to Nascar so you can have 24/7 Nascar (if you really want that!). And even it you already have a subscription for a radio in your car, I'd recommend buying the boom box and portable radio module. We use this all the time when we are camping. It is fun to sit around the campfire and listen to the Nascar guys talk racing, and if we don't have the tv station that is broadcasting the race, we can still not miss a minute of race day excitement. You can find all of this online or at your favorite electronics store (think Best Buy).
Well, there you have it! I hope you found these suggestions helpful. The best part of these is that you don't have to leave the comfort of home to do your shopping! Now get busy!!
Monday, November 10, 2014
THE BIG DAY ....
Well, the Big Day is almost here!! We have waited an entire year for it. We have been talking about it for months. And 'it' is almost here!!
Those of you who are deep in preparation for it may be thinking that I am talking about Thanksgiving. But NO WAY!! I am talking about something much more exciting ...
Those of you who are deep in preparation for it may be thinking that I am talking about Thanksgiving. But NO WAY!! I am talking about something much more exciting ...
THE SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP RACE!!
Ever since Nascar announced the new format for this year's championship, fans everywhere have been talking about it and expressing their opinions about the change. But there is no denying that this has been one of the most exciting years of racing. Ever.
And after Sunday's race, Nascar will have a first-time Champion. There are alot of fans who were really beginning to get disillusioned with the sport because the same guys kept winning the championships. But this year - not so! This year was so exciting and with four fresh faces in the finals, the championship race promises to be an event to remember!
I just heard that there are about 1,000 tickets still available at Miami-Homestead for the Big Day. They also have some campsites available. I am SOOOOO tempted to be spontaneous and just pack up and go, but since we just winterized the RV on Tuesday and since there is that nasty little matter of jobs .....
We will be watching all the coverage from the comfort of home. We'll watch everything pre-race, and truth be told, we will probably have the Nascar station playing on the Sirius/XM too! Even during the race we will mute the television and listen to the MRN broadcast. Those guys are great and there are far less commercials. I told you, we are really big fans!
And unlike the Super Bowl parties we usually attend, we will be watching this one alone. No kids. No friends. Nobody. We're not trying to be anti-social or offend anyone. It's just that, well, we don't want to miss a second of the excitement and they might want to talk and be all sociable ;-)
I'm already planning our menu. I haven't decided exactly what it will be, but I know this much -- it will be a make-ahead something. Maybe wings, grilled then kept warm in the sauce in the crockpot. Or maybe pulled pork sandwiches. What I do know is I'm not cooking OR serving after the race starts. It will be every Nascar fan for themself at this Happy Wife's house!
What are your Championship Race Day plans? Whatever they are, I hope you have a great time! And don't call me - I won't be answering the phone that day either!!
I just heard that there are about 1,000 tickets still available at Miami-Homestead for the Big Day. They also have some campsites available. I am SOOOOO tempted to be spontaneous and just pack up and go, but since we just winterized the RV on Tuesday and since there is that nasty little matter of jobs .....
We will be watching all the coverage from the comfort of home. We'll watch everything pre-race, and truth be told, we will probably have the Nascar station playing on the Sirius/XM too! Even during the race we will mute the television and listen to the MRN broadcast. Those guys are great and there are far less commercials. I told you, we are really big fans!
And unlike the Super Bowl parties we usually attend, we will be watching this one alone. No kids. No friends. Nobody. We're not trying to be anti-social or offend anyone. It's just that, well, we don't want to miss a second of the excitement and they might want to talk and be all sociable ;-)
I'm already planning our menu. I haven't decided exactly what it will be, but I know this much -- it will be a make-ahead something. Maybe wings, grilled then kept warm in the sauce in the crockpot. Or maybe pulled pork sandwiches. What I do know is I'm not cooking OR serving after the race starts. It will be every Nascar fan for themself at this Happy Wife's house!
What are your Championship Race Day plans? Whatever they are, I hope you have a great time! And don't call me - I won't be answering the phone that day either!!
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
MARTINSVILLE -- THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY!
Well, we have returned safe and sound from an absolutely gorgeous weekend in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It was a perfect weather weekend and the fall colors on the mountains were positively electric! What a perfect time of year to visit this area of our country. We feel so fortunate to live close enough to be able to take in this spectacle provided to us courtesy of Mother Nature!
There were lots of things I consider GOOD about the weekend. VERY GOOD, in fact. At the top of the Good List would of course be the race itself. Probably the best race of the year so far. Not a single fan left the track disappointed!
Also GOOD for us was the interesting side trip we took to a little town about two hours north of Martinsville called Lexington. It is the home of Virginia Military Institute and Washington & Lee University. It is also the location of Stonewall Jackson's home and gravesite. The town is a very cool college town, complete with small boutiques and neat little restaurants. There are also two craft breweries that we just had to check out also! We brought home several different beers to share with our boys. I also bought something I have never seen before - a growler of iced coffee tapped over nitro. It is amazingly delicious, and my girls are going to love it!
Along with all the good, there was also some BAD. And, sadly, I can't say that I was surprised at what I found to be BAD. It was the behavior of some of the fans. I know bad behavior is becoming prevalent in our society as a whole, but c'mon! Booing the UNC Marching Band when they were introduced to perform the National Anthem?!?! Because why - you are a Duke fan? Shame on you!
And then there are those who think that the "no smoking" signs apply to everyone except them. And those people are usually sitting in front of me. This weekend was no exception. Young guys who ran out of money because of all the beer they bought so they bummed cigarettes from others around them. Really?!
And, lastly, the BAD behavior of those fans who find satisfaction is standing and giving the finger to a driver who is beating their driver. Newsflash -- HE CAN'T SEE YOU! But the little kids sitting around you certainly can. Or the fan who thought he was funny when, after the race, Brad Keselowski was passing by in his golfcart and he had to shout out "You suck!" Some people are just idiots.
And lastly, the UGLY. And the UGLY AWARD goes to the Virginia police who hid themselves along Route 581, where the speed limit goes from 70 on a two-lane highway to 55 on a three-lane highway (WHY?!?!?!) and then ticketed every out-of-state driver they saw because they knew it was an easy score. Thanks. I feel better now.
How about you? What were your GOOD, BAD & UGLY moments at Martinsville?
There were lots of things I consider GOOD about the weekend. VERY GOOD, in fact. At the top of the Good List would of course be the race itself. Probably the best race of the year so far. Not a single fan left the track disappointed!
Also GOOD for us was the interesting side trip we took to a little town about two hours north of Martinsville called Lexington. It is the home of Virginia Military Institute and Washington & Lee University. It is also the location of Stonewall Jackson's home and gravesite. The town is a very cool college town, complete with small boutiques and neat little restaurants. There are also two craft breweries that we just had to check out also! We brought home several different beers to share with our boys. I also bought something I have never seen before - a growler of iced coffee tapped over nitro. It is amazingly delicious, and my girls are going to love it!
Along with all the good, there was also some BAD. And, sadly, I can't say that I was surprised at what I found to be BAD. It was the behavior of some of the fans. I know bad behavior is becoming prevalent in our society as a whole, but c'mon! Booing the UNC Marching Band when they were introduced to perform the National Anthem?!?! Because why - you are a Duke fan? Shame on you!
And then there are those who think that the "no smoking" signs apply to everyone except them. And those people are usually sitting in front of me. This weekend was no exception. Young guys who ran out of money because of all the beer they bought so they bummed cigarettes from others around them. Really?!
And, lastly, the BAD behavior of those fans who find satisfaction is standing and giving the finger to a driver who is beating their driver. Newsflash -- HE CAN'T SEE YOU! But the little kids sitting around you certainly can. Or the fan who thought he was funny when, after the race, Brad Keselowski was passing by in his golfcart and he had to shout out "You suck!" Some people are just idiots.
And lastly, the UGLY. And the UGLY AWARD goes to the Virginia police who hid themselves along Route 581, where the speed limit goes from 70 on a two-lane highway to 55 on a three-lane highway (WHY?!?!?!) and then ticketed every out-of-state driver they saw because they knew it was an easy score. Thanks. I feel better now.
How about you? What were your GOOD, BAD & UGLY moments at Martinsville?
Sunday, October 19, 2014
NASCAR - THE TIE THAT BINDS
Here is the thing about Nascar fans - they are everywhere. You probably just don't know it! For whatever reason, many people won't admit that they are a fan of the sport. Maybe it is because of the image most people have of stereotypical race fan - toothless, uneducated, beer drinking hillbilly - you get the idea. But once you break the ice with that first awkward comment ... "we follow Nascar" or some such other 'bait' statement ... they come out of the woodwork!
We had this very thing happen to us this past weekend while we were fall camping. On our nightly walk to check out all the gorgeous motorcoaches at the campground, we stopped to chat with a couple who was sitting by their campfire. About ten minutes into the conversation Hubby said something about a campground we had been to for a race weekend. Well .... two hours later (!) we finished our walk, but not before they invited us to their campsite to watch the race on their outdoor TV the next evening. It was a chilly autumn night, but we had a blast with these crazy new friends from New Jersey.
And this very kind of thing happens everywhere we go. A casual comment made in passing, hanging our track flag banner from the RV, playing the Nascar station from our Sirius XM outdoor speakers. All of these have brought so many fun and interesting people into our lives. We have stayed in touch with some, gotten pointers on where to stay and where to park from others. At Bristol last year we tailgated with a rowdy bunch from California and we still laugh when we tell those stories!
It's another reason why this Nascar Wife loves going to races. They are about so much more than the race, although that would be reason enough. We meet the NICEST people and make the best memories!!
As for that crazy couple from New Jersey .... we told them they should come to Martinsville with us next weekend. So they are!! Someone should probably warn the track we are coming!
We had this very thing happen to us this past weekend while we were fall camping. On our nightly walk to check out all the gorgeous motorcoaches at the campground, we stopped to chat with a couple who was sitting by their campfire. About ten minutes into the conversation Hubby said something about a campground we had been to for a race weekend. Well .... two hours later (!) we finished our walk, but not before they invited us to their campsite to watch the race on their outdoor TV the next evening. It was a chilly autumn night, but we had a blast with these crazy new friends from New Jersey.
And this very kind of thing happens everywhere we go. A casual comment made in passing, hanging our track flag banner from the RV, playing the Nascar station from our Sirius XM outdoor speakers. All of these have brought so many fun and interesting people into our lives. We have stayed in touch with some, gotten pointers on where to stay and where to park from others. At Bristol last year we tailgated with a rowdy bunch from California and we still laugh when we tell those stories!
It's another reason why this Nascar Wife loves going to races. They are about so much more than the race, although that would be reason enough. We meet the NICEST people and make the best memories!!
As for that crazy couple from New Jersey .... we told them they should come to Martinsville with us next weekend. So they are!! Someone should probably warn the track we are coming!
Monday, October 6, 2014
GEARING UP FOR MARTINSVILLE
We began our Nascar season with a trip to Martinsville this spring. And yes, it snowed the morning of the Cup race! We drove to the track from our campground with snow covering the side of the interstate! But we were prepared with layers upon layers of warm clothes, and despite the raging winds that had our bleacher seats humming, we enjoyed a great day of racing!
The track at Martinsville is one of my favorites. It is referred to as "The Paperclip" because of its shape - long straightaways and sharp corners. The difference with this track from the others we go to is that this one is flat. No high banked corners to shoot out of. Just like a regular road, only with really sharp corners. As a result the cars do not race at as high a rate of speed as they do at other tracks. But there is a lot of strategy and braking and bumping, so there is a lot of action! Here is how the track is documented at the Hall of Fame --
The track at Martinsville is one of my favorites. It is referred to as "The Paperclip" because of its shape - long straightaways and sharp corners. The difference with this track from the others we go to is that this one is flat. No high banked corners to shoot out of. Just like a regular road, only with really sharp corners. As a result the cars do not race at as high a rate of speed as they do at other tracks. But there is a lot of strategy and braking and bumping, so there is a lot of action! Here is how the track is documented at the Hall of Fame --
I really love going to this track. I'm not sure exactly why, but this will be our third trip in two years and I can't wait!
We will take the RV, but we do not camp at the track. As a general rule we don't camp at a track until we have the chance to check it out in person. We stay at a campground in Natural Bridge, Virginia, and drive the 1+ hours to the track on race day. It is all interstate driving and it is easy to do. We park at the track grass lots - they are free - and there is always plenty of room. It is very hilly so I would not recommend doing this if you have any issues with footing or walking on uneven surfaces. There are lots of parking areas along the main highway where you can pay to park if you prefer. But there really is no reason for us to do that.
Now, about the area. On our drive in to the track we passed one abandoned commercial building after another. It was apparently once a booming area, but no longer. Evidently the main industry was once a Hanes factory, but those jobs went to China. And the rest is history. It appears to me that if Martinsville ever loses the Nascar races there would be no more Martinsville. So even more reason for America-loving Nascar fans to do their patriotic duty and go to the race at Martinsville!
And for that very reason I would not recommend planning to camp at the track until you check it out for yourself. We were actually advised by a Nascar insider not to camp anywhere in Martinsville except at the track where they provide security. Apparently the town is not the safest place to be after dark. I have no first-hand knowledge, but I pass this on to you merely as a matter of information.
This track is quaint. This race is old-school. And this Nascar Wife is going!
(We'll talk about those Martinsville hot dogs next time!)
Monday, September 29, 2014
A REAL HAPPY NASCAR WIFE!
Well, we are back from our weekend at Dover and I just couldn't wait to tell you about this adorable couple we met while we were touring the garages prior to Sunday's race!
As we were walking around, Hubby spotted these two wearing their "Just Married" t-shirts. I asked if I could take their picture for my blog and they obliged. We chatted with them for awhile and they were so darned cute! Melvin and Sara - married on Saturday and the Dover race was their honeymoon! They were headed back to work on Monday morning. What a sweet couple! Melvin is a big Jr. fan and was hoping to score a tire or some other piece of memorabilia from the 88 as a souvenir. I didn't get to see them after the race, but I'd love to know about their experience at the race!
I wish them many, many happy years together! "Nascar Wife, Happy Life!!"
Friday, September 19, 2014
PACKING FOR THE TRACK
I'm starting to think about what I want to pack to take to Dover next weekend, and I thought I'd share some pointers on what and how I pack my bag to take along to the race.
First of all, and most importantly, check the track's website to see their restrictions on what you can take in to your seat on race day. Every track has different rules and there is always that guy who is completely unaware that you can't take certain items inside the track. As he 'converses' with the security guy the line behind him grows longer and longer and fans become more and more aggravated! Doing a little research before you go saves all of us a lot of headaches.
I highly recommend packing your personal items in a clear totebag. If you don't already have one (I actually got one when I purchased a set of sheets!) you can purchase one at the NASCAR trailer in the Fan Zone. They are relatively inexpensive and well worth the investment for the time it will save you going thru the gates.
Here is a list of items I always pack:
With just a little advance planning and thought you'll have everything you need to spend a great day cheering for your favorite driver!
First of all, and most importantly, check the track's website to see their restrictions on what you can take in to your seat on race day. Every track has different rules and there is always that guy who is completely unaware that you can't take certain items inside the track. As he 'converses' with the security guy the line behind him grows longer and longer and fans become more and more aggravated! Doing a little research before you go saves all of us a lot of headaches.
I highly recommend packing your personal items in a clear totebag. If you don't already have one (I actually got one when I purchased a set of sheets!) you can purchase one at the NASCAR trailer in the Fan Zone. They are relatively inexpensive and well worth the investment for the time it will save you going thru the gates.
Here is a list of items I always pack:
- 2 trash bags - Sounds silly, I know, but they come in really handy if your metal bleacher seat is wet or if it starts to rain during the race. You can put them over your lap to keep your legs from getting wet or tear a whole in the top and use as a makeshift raincoat.
- Blanket - Makes those metal bleachers a little softer and a little warmer but also helps to define "your space" so that you don't lose valuable inches when your neighbor tries to put his cooler in your seat. You're welcome!
- Scanner and headsets - If you don't want to use these, be sure to take something for ear protection. You can't imagine how loud it is trackside! A quick trip to the hardware store and you can find inexpensive earplugs. These are an absolute must.
- Extra batteries for your scanner
- Sunscreen, no matter what the weather is. Just a little bit of sun bouncing off those shiny aluminum bleachers and you can get a sunburn more quickly than if you were at the beach!
- Snacks - I am not one of those people who can't go for more than an hour without eating. I also don't really enjoy trying to eat a greasy burger or sloppy sub in my seat. So I take a bunch of easy-to-eat snacks - things like peanut butter crackers, nuts, carrots, apples, etc. I also like to bring a bag of hard candy/mints and gum and a bottle of water.
- Aspirin - I can pretty much always count on getting a headache some time during the day, so I always want to be able to catch it before it gets really awful and spoils my fun.
- Hat & Sunglasses - I am not a baseball hat kind of girl, but I always wear one at a race. Count on the sun being in your eyes at some point during the day.
- TICKETS - Goes without saying, but be sure to double check that someone has them!
- Money - I always throw a couple of dollars in my bag just in case.
With just a little advance planning and thought you'll have everything you need to spend a great day cheering for your favorite driver!
Saturday, September 13, 2014
LESSON LEARNED
No big newsflash here, but NASCAR events are extremely weather dependent. Practice, qualifying, and races. None can happen on schedule when Mother Nature decided to flex her muscles. This weekend's events at Chicagoland Speedway are a prime example.
This happened to us this spring at Martinsville. Hubby was SO excited about being able to go to an early-season race, God bless him.... He ordered our truck race tickets for Saturday and cup race tickets for Sunday months in advance. We were going to Virginia in late March - weather there should be nice and springlike at that time of year, right? Wrong!
It rained all night Friday night, but ever the optimists we knew it would be okay for the truck race on Saturday. Wrong again. We woke up Saturday morning and it was still raining. Bucketfuls. We tuned in the Sirius Nascar station to see what the report from the track was. "Chance of clearing" they said so we decided to head out from the campground in the hopes that "chance" meant "100% chance." Well, as it turned out 'chance' meant more like 'little to no chance'. When we arrived at the track we got a great parking space! No one else was crazy enough to think this was anything but a monsoon! We pulled on our raincoats, popped up our umbrellas, and headed to the Fan Zone. It was actually a great time to be there. We had to dodge each others' umbrellas, but everyone was having fun, just like little kids playing in the rain!
We bought the things we went there to buy and as it started to rain even harder, decided to go back to our truck and wait for awhile. Luckily I thought to throw a couple of snacks and some drinks in the truck before we left so we had a little picnic inside the truck and watch the antics of those who were trying to tailgate in the rain. It was quite entertaining! Meanwhile, they kept pushing back the time of the race - an hour, a half hour, and so on and so on. Soon the discussion turned to "if" it stops raining and how much daylight would be left to get the race in.
The rain never really stopped, although it got a lot lighter. So we decided to head over to the track to see what was happening. This was the first time NASCAR was using the new Air Titans and we thought it would be interesting to see them in action. Hubby got to talk to one of the guys who drives an Air Titan so that was pretty fascinating (for him - haha!)
We found our seats, put our trashbag down first so that we weren't sitting in puddles, and settled in. No more than 5 minutes later the announcement came - truck race has been postponed until AFTER tomorrow's cup race. And here is the Lesson Learned part: Anyone with a ticket for the truck race could get into the cup race an hour after it started, and anyone with a cup race ticket could stay for the truck race! We had spent $70 (give or take) that we really did not need to spend. OUCH!
The same thing just happened to ticket holders in Chicago.
So my advice is this: If you are planning to spend the weekend at the races, buy your tickets for Sunday only. If the weather is nice and everything goes off on schedule, buy your tickets for Friday or Saturday at the gate - there are always tons of tickets available and usually these races are general admission so you're not buying a 'seat' anyway - just admission. If the weather is lousy and races get rescheduled, you will get two for the price of one - kind of like a BOGO in the grocery store!
This happened to us this spring at Martinsville. Hubby was SO excited about being able to go to an early-season race, God bless him.... He ordered our truck race tickets for Saturday and cup race tickets for Sunday months in advance. We were going to Virginia in late March - weather there should be nice and springlike at that time of year, right? Wrong!
It rained all night Friday night, but ever the optimists we knew it would be okay for the truck race on Saturday. Wrong again. We woke up Saturday morning and it was still raining. Bucketfuls. We tuned in the Sirius Nascar station to see what the report from the track was. "Chance of clearing" they said so we decided to head out from the campground in the hopes that "chance" meant "100% chance." Well, as it turned out 'chance' meant more like 'little to no chance'. When we arrived at the track we got a great parking space! No one else was crazy enough to think this was anything but a monsoon! We pulled on our raincoats, popped up our umbrellas, and headed to the Fan Zone. It was actually a great time to be there. We had to dodge each others' umbrellas, but everyone was having fun, just like little kids playing in the rain!
We bought the things we went there to buy and as it started to rain even harder, decided to go back to our truck and wait for awhile. Luckily I thought to throw a couple of snacks and some drinks in the truck before we left so we had a little picnic inside the truck and watch the antics of those who were trying to tailgate in the rain. It was quite entertaining! Meanwhile, they kept pushing back the time of the race - an hour, a half hour, and so on and so on. Soon the discussion turned to "if" it stops raining and how much daylight would be left to get the race in.
The rain never really stopped, although it got a lot lighter. So we decided to head over to the track to see what was happening. This was the first time NASCAR was using the new Air Titans and we thought it would be interesting to see them in action. Hubby got to talk to one of the guys who drives an Air Titan so that was pretty fascinating (for him - haha!)
We found our seats, put our trashbag down first so that we weren't sitting in puddles, and settled in. No more than 5 minutes later the announcement came - truck race has been postponed until AFTER tomorrow's cup race. And here is the Lesson Learned part: Anyone with a ticket for the truck race could get into the cup race an hour after it started, and anyone with a cup race ticket could stay for the truck race! We had spent $70 (give or take) that we really did not need to spend. OUCH!
The same thing just happened to ticket holders in Chicago.
So my advice is this: If you are planning to spend the weekend at the races, buy your tickets for Sunday only. If the weather is nice and everything goes off on schedule, buy your tickets for Friday or Saturday at the gate - there are always tons of tickets available and usually these races are general admission so you're not buying a 'seat' anyway - just admission. If the weather is lousy and races get rescheduled, you will get two for the price of one - kind of like a BOGO in the grocery store!
Friday, September 5, 2014
RACE FOR THE CHASE .... a/k/a THE PLAYOFFS
The NASCAR conversation this week has been all about "the chase". I'm sure you've heard it. You probably thought, 'Chase? What chase? I thought all races were chases!" Well, yes. Technically all races are chases, but in this case "chase" refers to the chase for a championship.
If you think of the Chase in terms of a playoff-type of system it will help you to understand what is at stake. College sports have their conferences; professional sports have their leagues; Nascar has its chase. You get the idea.
Let me see if I can summarize it for you ... You might want to get a little snack ;-)
After tomorrow night's race in Richmond, the top 16 drivers (the ones with the most points - and don't ask me to explain that one to you - that will be for another day) will advance to the Chase for the Championship. Some drivers already know they are in the Chase because they have won a race in the regular season. Winning automatically qualifies a driver for the Chase, as long as they are ranked in the top 30 by chase time. But there are a bunch of drivers who haven't won a race and who want to be in the Chase so the racing should be pretty crazy at Richmond. I can't wait!
After the Richmond race, the top 16 drivers will all have 2,000 points + 3 extra points for every race they have won this year. There are five drivers who have each won 3 races (Keselowski, Logano, Gordon, Johnson, and Earnhardt) so they will be going into the Chase with a 9 point advantage over the others.
The next three races will be Chicago, New Hampshire and Dover (yay!!). The top 16 will have their total points added up after those three races and the bottom 4 will be eliminated, leaving 12 drivers in the Chase. They are going to be racing for their lives in Dover and it is going to be crrraaaazzzy!!
The same thing will happen after the next three races, taking the field down to top 8, and again after the next three taking it down to the top 4 drivers.
Thennnnn, for the final race of the year at Homestead Miami, those final top 4 drivers will race for the 2014 Championship. The one of those four who finishes first will win it all! So a flat tire, a blown engine, a bad restart and they are DONE! (All the drivers will be driving in these races; it's just these top guys who have a chance to win the championship.)
Make sense? I hope so! You might want to mark your calendars now for these dates, because you aren't going anywhere ... except maybe to the track if you are lucky!!
If you think of the Chase in terms of a playoff-type of system it will help you to understand what is at stake. College sports have their conferences; professional sports have their leagues; Nascar has its chase. You get the idea.
Let me see if I can summarize it for you ... You might want to get a little snack ;-)
After tomorrow night's race in Richmond, the top 16 drivers (the ones with the most points - and don't ask me to explain that one to you - that will be for another day) will advance to the Chase for the Championship. Some drivers already know they are in the Chase because they have won a race in the regular season. Winning automatically qualifies a driver for the Chase, as long as they are ranked in the top 30 by chase time. But there are a bunch of drivers who haven't won a race and who want to be in the Chase so the racing should be pretty crazy at Richmond. I can't wait!
After the Richmond race, the top 16 drivers will all have 2,000 points + 3 extra points for every race they have won this year. There are five drivers who have each won 3 races (Keselowski, Logano, Gordon, Johnson, and Earnhardt) so they will be going into the Chase with a 9 point advantage over the others.
The next three races will be Chicago, New Hampshire and Dover (yay!!). The top 16 will have their total points added up after those three races and the bottom 4 will be eliminated, leaving 12 drivers in the Chase. They are going to be racing for their lives in Dover and it is going to be crrraaaazzzy!!
The same thing will happen after the next three races, taking the field down to top 8, and again after the next three taking it down to the top 4 drivers.
Thennnnn, for the final race of the year at Homestead Miami, those final top 4 drivers will race for the 2014 Championship. The one of those four who finishes first will win it all! So a flat tire, a blown engine, a bad restart and they are DONE! (All the drivers will be driving in these races; it's just these top guys who have a chance to win the championship.)
Make sense? I hope so! You might want to mark your calendars now for these dates, because you aren't going anywhere ... except maybe to the track if you are lucky!!
Saturday, August 30, 2014
TONY STEWART
Even if you've never heard of Nascar (have you been living under a rock or something?!?!), my guess is you have heard about the accident involving Tony Stewart ad nauseum. It seems as though everyone has an opinion about what most who know about such things consider an unfortunate accident. A tragedy. A horrible, horrible tragedy.
I am not going to comment on what happened at that dirt track in Canadaigua. If you want to read about it or see video of it, knock yourself out. There is more commentary out there than anyone could possibly care about.
I feel horrible for the family of Kevin Ward, Jr. The pain and anguish they are going through is unimaginable. It isn't fair. Their hearts are broken and their world will never be the same.
I feel equally horrible for Tony Stewart. Believe what you want about the accident, but know this. No athlete ever sets out to intentionally kill a competitor. No adrenaline rush, no anger management issue, ever drives anyone to want to kill someone over something that happened during a sporting event. You may hate them at the moment. You may be consumed by a rage that makes you see red and say stupid things. You may even be driven to physically lash out at them. But you don't want to kill them. You just don't.
Tony Stewart has had issues with his anger when he was younger. He has thrown stuff and said stuff that he should not have. ( I have even heard he is a lousy tipper at the Olive Garden in Charlotte!) But he did not get so mad at a twenty-year-old kid on an obscure little dirt track in New York that he wished him dead. Of that I am sure.
If you didn't see Tony's news conference yesterday, let me tell you - this man is broken. He had a hollow look in his eyes, a haunting emptiness,and he looked like he was going to burst into tears if he didn't get out of there PDQ! My heart aches for him too. I have seen soldiers suffering from PTSD. Tony looked just like them.
Have you ever accidentally hit an animal while you were driving? I'm talking squirrel or skunk or cat. I have. And I hate squirrels. But when I hit one a while back, I thought about it for a long time. I replayed the 'thud' over and over again in my head. I avoided driving on that same stretch of road because I didn't want to see it again. And it was a squirrel. Just a squirrel!!
I can't imagine what Tony Stewart's private moments are like. I don't ever want to know what that feels like. I hope he finds peace, and I hope that young Kevin Ward's family will too. Maybe together they can heal. That would be nice for both of them.
I am glad that Tony has decided to get back in his race car. Sometimes, like Dr. Phil says, you just have to behave yourself out of a situation. I hope he races well. But his finish doesn't really matter. I'm just glad to see that he understands that he needs to be behind the wheel of a race car. Maybe there - in normalcy - he will find some peace. I certainly hope so. Good luck #14, and I'm not talking about Atlanta or any other track for that matter. Good Luck.
I am not going to comment on what happened at that dirt track in Canadaigua. If you want to read about it or see video of it, knock yourself out. There is more commentary out there than anyone could possibly care about.
I feel horrible for the family of Kevin Ward, Jr. The pain and anguish they are going through is unimaginable. It isn't fair. Their hearts are broken and their world will never be the same.
I feel equally horrible for Tony Stewart. Believe what you want about the accident, but know this. No athlete ever sets out to intentionally kill a competitor. No adrenaline rush, no anger management issue, ever drives anyone to want to kill someone over something that happened during a sporting event. You may hate them at the moment. You may be consumed by a rage that makes you see red and say stupid things. You may even be driven to physically lash out at them. But you don't want to kill them. You just don't.
Tony Stewart has had issues with his anger when he was younger. He has thrown stuff and said stuff that he should not have. ( I have even heard he is a lousy tipper at the Olive Garden in Charlotte!) But he did not get so mad at a twenty-year-old kid on an obscure little dirt track in New York that he wished him dead. Of that I am sure.
If you didn't see Tony's news conference yesterday, let me tell you - this man is broken. He had a hollow look in his eyes, a haunting emptiness,and he looked like he was going to burst into tears if he didn't get out of there PDQ! My heart aches for him too. I have seen soldiers suffering from PTSD. Tony looked just like them.
Have you ever accidentally hit an animal while you were driving? I'm talking squirrel or skunk or cat. I have. And I hate squirrels. But when I hit one a while back, I thought about it for a long time. I replayed the 'thud' over and over again in my head. I avoided driving on that same stretch of road because I didn't want to see it again. And it was a squirrel. Just a squirrel!!
I can't imagine what Tony Stewart's private moments are like. I don't ever want to know what that feels like. I hope he finds peace, and I hope that young Kevin Ward's family will too. Maybe together they can heal. That would be nice for both of them.
I am glad that Tony has decided to get back in his race car. Sometimes, like Dr. Phil says, you just have to behave yourself out of a situation. I hope he races well. But his finish doesn't really matter. I'm just glad to see that he understands that he needs to be behind the wheel of a race car. Maybe there - in normalcy - he will find some peace. I certainly hope so. Good luck #14, and I'm not talking about Atlanta or any other track for that matter. Good Luck.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
DOVER - PART TWO
Okay .... don't hate me. But when we "do Dover" we go first class, with tickets for all the track events in the top-of-the-line suite called "Velocity." For three days we live like royalty with cushioned seats in air-conditioned luxury! The suite, unfortunately for you, is always sold out, but there are rumors that the track will be expanding Velocity in the near future. Nothing official, but I would recommend you check with the track next year if you are interested.
I will admit that even as wonderful as Velocity is, three days of racing is a little too much for me. So Hubby often invites a business affiliate to join him on Saturday and I forfeit my ticket and stay in the campground. I actually really enjoy this day and often I will work on scrapbooks or catch up on my movie watching and nap taking. The first time I did this I was quite surprised at how many people, mostly women & kids, do the same. It's a fun, friendly day and I will take some pictures to share with you this year.
If you decide to do something similar, be sure to take the time to visit the "Fan Zone". Even if you just go to the track for the day, be sure to get there really early and take the time to walk through this area. If you are bringing the kids, this is a big Must Do! So many fun things to do, and each driver has his own tractor-trailer-turned-souvenir-shop with everything you could ever want with your favorite guy's number on it!
And speaking of 'your guy', let me offer up this little tidbit of advice .... Pick 'a guy', any 'guy'. Maybe you like his sponsor, maybe you like him, but for whatever reason you pick him, it will make the racing so much more fun and interesting if you have a 'guy' to cheer for! My first 'guy' was Tony Stewart because at that time he drove a Pontiac and so did I. Good enough reason. And I must admit that I still like to cheer on Tony, although I'm not the most loyal of fans. Sometimes I pick a different guy at every track we go to for random reasons. For example, a couple of years ago Brad Keselowski came to visit us in Velocity before the race and I liked him so much that I decided he was going to be my guy for that race. And guess what .... he won!
Now back to Dover .... This is a great track to watch a race! It is a mile-long oval (hence "The Monster Mile"), and you can see the entire track from every seat. The grandstands are really large and there always appears to be empty seats, so you could probably get tickets at the gate if you make a last-minute decision to go.
If you can stick around for awhile after the racing is over, it's a fun spot to watch the drivers' and owners' helicopters land in the infield and take off for home. All the teams' motorhomes park in the infield here too so that's something else for you to check out.
My advice on Dover is this .... "GO!" You may just become a big fan too!!
I will admit that even as wonderful as Velocity is, three days of racing is a little too much for me. So Hubby often invites a business affiliate to join him on Saturday and I forfeit my ticket and stay in the campground. I actually really enjoy this day and often I will work on scrapbooks or catch up on my movie watching and nap taking. The first time I did this I was quite surprised at how many people, mostly women & kids, do the same. It's a fun, friendly day and I will take some pictures to share with you this year.
If you decide to do something similar, be sure to take the time to visit the "Fan Zone". Even if you just go to the track for the day, be sure to get there really early and take the time to walk through this area. If you are bringing the kids, this is a big Must Do! So many fun things to do, and each driver has his own tractor-trailer-turned-souvenir-shop with everything you could ever want with your favorite guy's number on it!
And speaking of 'your guy', let me offer up this little tidbit of advice .... Pick 'a guy', any 'guy'. Maybe you like his sponsor, maybe you like him, but for whatever reason you pick him, it will make the racing so much more fun and interesting if you have a 'guy' to cheer for! My first 'guy' was Tony Stewart because at that time he drove a Pontiac and so did I. Good enough reason. And I must admit that I still like to cheer on Tony, although I'm not the most loyal of fans. Sometimes I pick a different guy at every track we go to for random reasons. For example, a couple of years ago Brad Keselowski came to visit us in Velocity before the race and I liked him so much that I decided he was going to be my guy for that race. And guess what .... he won!
Now back to Dover .... This is a great track to watch a race! It is a mile-long oval (hence "The Monster Mile"), and you can see the entire track from every seat. The grandstands are really large and there always appears to be empty seats, so you could probably get tickets at the gate if you make a last-minute decision to go.
If you can stick around for awhile after the racing is over, it's a fun spot to watch the drivers' and owners' helicopters land in the infield and take off for home. All the teams' motorhomes park in the infield here too so that's something else for you to check out.
My advice on Dover is this .... "GO!" You may just become a big fan too!!
Monday, August 25, 2014
DOVER - PART ONE
I've decided to post my thoughts on Dover now, before the fall race, in the hopes that you will think it sounds like so much fun you want to plan your trip now!
Hubby has been going to the Dover races for probably 15 years or more. He used to go with a couple of buddies, but then his buddies got old. Actually, they are the same age as us but they act like a bunch of old men. So when he lost his race partners I said I would go along, just so he wouldn't miss out. Well, one trip turned into two turned into the whole weekend .... you get the idea. Now I actually look forward to our Dover trip as much as he does!!
Dover is a unique track in where it is located. Most of the tracks we have been to are in the middle of nowhere. And by nowhere, I mean nowhere! You drive miles and miles of rural lands and then BOOM, there's the track. Well, not Dover. This track is along a four-lane highway adjacent to a mall, across the highway from Delaware State University, and on the same property as Dover Downs racetrack and casino. It is a few miles from Dover Air Force base where the large cargo planes fly to and from. It's also about an hour or so from Rehoboth Beach, a quaint little beach town on the Atlantic Ocean. So this is a great area to visit any time, but race weekend is icing on the cake!!
If you plan to camp, there are plenty of options. Lots of the stores in the area will rent you a camping space for the weekend - stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. The Dover Mall, which is adjacent to the track and an easy walk to it, also rents out part of its parking lot for campers. We have stayed here and it is nice because it is level and paved. We now camp on track property where it is grass. I was a little leary of camping at the track just because I was afraid it would be a 24-hour party. And while there is certainly a lot of partying going on, no one gets out of hand. Everyone just has a fun time with lots of cornhole tournaments taking place. Quiet hours begin at 11 p.m. and everyone respects that. Security patrols on a regular basis and we have had no issues. There are some lots where we have heard horror stories about the partying so if you call the track to make a camping reservation, be sure to tell them what type of camping you are looking for. We like the track lot because it is easiest getting out on Sunday night after the race is over.
We go on Thursday evening for the hauler parade, which is quite entertaining! This is when all the big shiny tractor trailers that haul the race cars and their mobile garages come to town. They drive through the streets of town and then down the main road to the racetrack. Chairs line both sides of the road and little kids (and even some big kids) pump their arms to the get the trucks to blow their horns. They drive into the track and park for the weekend. Last year we got to see the entire operation and it was really interesting to see how the weekend unfolds from a logistics standpoint.
Some of the food concessions outside the track are open so it is a nice walk to get a drink, but I wouldn't plan on eating there. It's just a little unpredictable on Thursday evening.
Tomorrow I will post about the races and our tickets. Just a word of warning .... I am a princess at this race ;-)
Hubby has been going to the Dover races for probably 15 years or more. He used to go with a couple of buddies, but then his buddies got old. Actually, they are the same age as us but they act like a bunch of old men. So when he lost his race partners I said I would go along, just so he wouldn't miss out. Well, one trip turned into two turned into the whole weekend .... you get the idea. Now I actually look forward to our Dover trip as much as he does!!
Dover is a unique track in where it is located. Most of the tracks we have been to are in the middle of nowhere. And by nowhere, I mean nowhere! You drive miles and miles of rural lands and then BOOM, there's the track. Well, not Dover. This track is along a four-lane highway adjacent to a mall, across the highway from Delaware State University, and on the same property as Dover Downs racetrack and casino. It is a few miles from Dover Air Force base where the large cargo planes fly to and from. It's also about an hour or so from Rehoboth Beach, a quaint little beach town on the Atlantic Ocean. So this is a great area to visit any time, but race weekend is icing on the cake!!
If you plan to camp, there are plenty of options. Lots of the stores in the area will rent you a camping space for the weekend - stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. The Dover Mall, which is adjacent to the track and an easy walk to it, also rents out part of its parking lot for campers. We have stayed here and it is nice because it is level and paved. We now camp on track property where it is grass. I was a little leary of camping at the track just because I was afraid it would be a 24-hour party. And while there is certainly a lot of partying going on, no one gets out of hand. Everyone just has a fun time with lots of cornhole tournaments taking place. Quiet hours begin at 11 p.m. and everyone respects that. Security patrols on a regular basis and we have had no issues. There are some lots where we have heard horror stories about the partying so if you call the track to make a camping reservation, be sure to tell them what type of camping you are looking for. We like the track lot because it is easiest getting out on Sunday night after the race is over.
We go on Thursday evening for the hauler parade, which is quite entertaining! This is when all the big shiny tractor trailers that haul the race cars and their mobile garages come to town. They drive through the streets of town and then down the main road to the racetrack. Chairs line both sides of the road and little kids (and even some big kids) pump their arms to the get the trucks to blow their horns. They drive into the track and park for the weekend. Last year we got to see the entire operation and it was really interesting to see how the weekend unfolds from a logistics standpoint.
Tomorrow I will post about the races and our tickets. Just a word of warning .... I am a princess at this race ;-)
Saturday, August 23, 2014
BRISTOL
Well, tonight is one of the biggest nights in all of Nascar. It's Bristol Baby!! We are actually watching this one from home. Hubby's gotta work sometimes, ya know!
And, oh my goodness!, what a cute bunch of kids just sang the National Anthem!! Way to go, Kids, you did America proud!! I think the love of God, country and family are one of the main reasons I have grown to love this sport as much as I have. This sport has its priorities in order!
We were in Bristol last year for this race. Our seats were so high up in the grandstands that we were actually looking down on the spotters. (Word of the day: spotter - a member of the race team who stands at the very top of the track, watches the race thru binoculars, and who is in direct radio contact with his driver, telling him/her where to drive the car. These conversations are very interesting, and if you go to a race you should definitely rent a scanner so that you can listen to their conversations. Just FYI, conversations are not edited so they are very raw. I would not recommend letting your really young kids listen; however, if your kids ride the school bus they have probably already heard this stuff :-/ )
The atmosphere of a night race is awesome, and watching them race under the lights just adds a touch of excitement. Here is the drawback to a night race though - people have ALL day to tailgate and by the time the race is over, there are some really really drunk people trying to find their way out. Like I said before, our seats were very high up - so high, in fact, that the elevator did not go that far. Therefore, we had to use the metal fire-escape-like stairs to get down. We decided we did not want to take our chances with these circumstances, so we made our way down when there were 30 laps to go. Even then the stairs were scary, mostly because smoking is not allowed in the grandstands so all those people stand on the stairs to smoke. And the racing starts to get craaaazy at Bristol at the end of the race. We listened to the final laps on our Sirius radio on our way out. Felt bad that I was such a chicken, but Hubby said he was fine with leaving when we did.
We had a GREAT time at this race - met some crazy people who fly in for this race every year from California. We've been thinking about them this week and that makes us wish we were there even more.
Several years ago we took a trip thru this area of Tennessee/Virginia (yes, the city of Bristol actually straddles the state line!) and we stopped and took a tour of the track. Most tracks offer this little perk, and I highly recommend it. You usually get a van ride around the track with a crazy woman behind the wheel and it is a hoot! You get to go to Victory Lane and take a photo or two. At Bristol, we actually got to walk UP the track to experience the banking. I should say try to walk up the track. It was so crazy steep I actually had to sit down and scoot back down because I was afraid I would fall flat on my face! Take advantage of every opportunity you get to do this at any track. You just don't get the feel of it on TV or even in the grandstands. You have to experience it for yourself.
We stayed at a KOA campground about an hour north of the track, which put us an hour closer to home for the next day's five-hour trip home. We met some nice people at the campground who were from the area and who gave us tips on where to park. We exchanged email addresses and have contacted each other several times this year for advice on where to camp for other races. We hope to catch up with them again this fall in Martinsville. Another reason why I love this sport - you meet the nicest people if you just know where to look.
And, oh my goodness!, what a cute bunch of kids just sang the National Anthem!! Way to go, Kids, you did America proud!! I think the love of God, country and family are one of the main reasons I have grown to love this sport as much as I have. This sport has its priorities in order!
We were in Bristol last year for this race. Our seats were so high up in the grandstands that we were actually looking down on the spotters. (Word of the day: spotter - a member of the race team who stands at the very top of the track, watches the race thru binoculars, and who is in direct radio contact with his driver, telling him/her where to drive the car. These conversations are very interesting, and if you go to a race you should definitely rent a scanner so that you can listen to their conversations. Just FYI, conversations are not edited so they are very raw. I would not recommend letting your really young kids listen; however, if your kids ride the school bus they have probably already heard this stuff :-/ )
The atmosphere of a night race is awesome, and watching them race under the lights just adds a touch of excitement. Here is the drawback to a night race though - people have ALL day to tailgate and by the time the race is over, there are some really really drunk people trying to find their way out. Like I said before, our seats were very high up - so high, in fact, that the elevator did not go that far. Therefore, we had to use the metal fire-escape-like stairs to get down. We decided we did not want to take our chances with these circumstances, so we made our way down when there were 30 laps to go. Even then the stairs were scary, mostly because smoking is not allowed in the grandstands so all those people stand on the stairs to smoke. And the racing starts to get craaaazy at Bristol at the end of the race. We listened to the final laps on our Sirius radio on our way out. Felt bad that I was such a chicken, but Hubby said he was fine with leaving when we did.
We had a GREAT time at this race - met some crazy people who fly in for this race every year from California. We've been thinking about them this week and that makes us wish we were there even more.
Several years ago we took a trip thru this area of Tennessee/Virginia (yes, the city of Bristol actually straddles the state line!) and we stopped and took a tour of the track. Most tracks offer this little perk, and I highly recommend it. You usually get a van ride around the track with a crazy woman behind the wheel and it is a hoot! You get to go to Victory Lane and take a photo or two. At Bristol, we actually got to walk UP the track to experience the banking. I should say try to walk up the track. It was so crazy steep I actually had to sit down and scoot back down because I was afraid I would fall flat on my face! Take advantage of every opportunity you get to do this at any track. You just don't get the feel of it on TV or even in the grandstands. You have to experience it for yourself.
We stayed at a KOA campground about an hour north of the track, which put us an hour closer to home for the next day's five-hour trip home. We met some nice people at the campground who were from the area and who gave us tips on where to park. We exchanged email addresses and have contacted each other several times this year for advice on where to camp for other races. We hope to catch up with them again this fall in Martinsville. Another reason why I love this sport - you meet the nicest people if you just know where to look.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
WATKINS GLEN
Well, we are back from our week in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York. Let me just say this, if you ever get the opportunity to visit this area, GO! It is absolutely beautiful. I won't bore you with home movie of our vacation, but here is one of my favorite pictures of the area ...
Grapes grow everywhere, and by everywhere I mean Everywhere! There were even a few grapevines growing in the track infield!
Speaking of the track, here are my thoughts on Watkins Glen....
THE TRACK
Watkins Glen is what is called a "road course" which means that the cars don't drive in a circle or an oval. They actually turn left AND right. If you have never seen a race, this is unique as most tracks require only left turns. And that is as much technical information as you are going to get in this installment of Nascar Wife 101.
Our tickets were for an area known as "The Bog." It is a special area in the infield (the inside of the track as opposed to grandstand seats on the outside of the track) under several large tents. We chose these tickets for several reasons:
Before the race we were able to walk around the pit road area which is a neat thing to do. Here is a picture of Hubby getting an answer to a question for a Nascar official. These are some of the nicest and most approachable people in all of sports. This man was checking in tires but he is also the guy who waves the flags throughout the race. Really neat guy and we learned a lot talking with him.
Some of the places we walked to along the track were really fun to watch the cars whizzzz by. There is an area known as the "bus stop" (no idea why!) that was just plain crazy to watch how the cars navigated through. We could actually see their right front tires coming off the track - at speeds of 200 mph! Observing the fans was also entertaining for me too. There was a horrific accident, which we missed because it was at a spot on the track that we could not see and which resulted in a 'red flag' that lasted an hour and half! That was a long time to find something else to do, but we were lucky enough to find a shade tree with a cool breeze so we took a seat and relaxed for awhile. If we had had grandstand seats I'm not sure what we would have done. It appeared as though a lot of people actually left.
Would I go back to this race? Probably not, but maybe. If Hubby wants to go again, I would - just because I am SUCH a good wife. Or maybe we can convince our friends to join us next time and the boys can go to the race and the girls can just hang out. I'm happy wherever! :-)
OUR TRIP
We spent the rest of the week touring the beautiful Finger Lakes region, visiting wineries and craft breweries as well as hiking Watkins Glen Gorge State Park and walking the streets of Hammondsport, America's Coolest Small Town 2012. And although we did not go to Corning Museum of Glass, it would certainly have been doable. This was such a fun trip! There are 118+ wineries in this region, and every one is unique and most have a very interesting history. Of course we only made it to a few so a return trip would be completely different but equally wonderful.
Our camping headquarters for the week was at Hickory Hill Family Camping Resort in the quaint little town of Bath, NY. It was approximately a 45 minute drive to the track, but that is what we like. Camping at the track can be noisy and rowdy at times. We prefer the tranquility we always find when we are willing to travel a bit. There were lots of other race fans at the campground so Hubby had plenty of race buddies to talk to, but it was nice to have more than two feet of space between us and the next guy!
THE TAKE-AWAY
I'm glad I went to this track, but I'm not in a hurry to go back again. I felt like we missed a really good race, simply because you can't see the whole track the whole time. There were some large TV screens scattered around the track, but not nearly enough, and if I want to watch a race on TV, I'll stay home and watch it from the comfort of my living room on my own big screen.
But I could go to the Finger Lakes region again ... and again ... and again! In fact, I'm already planning next year's tour!!
Our next race weekend will be camping at our "home track" - The Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware, in September. We have done this several times before so if you want any information about this track before the race, just leave a comment.
Until next time ....
Grapes grow everywhere, and by everywhere I mean Everywhere! There were even a few grapevines growing in the track infield!
Speaking of the track, here are my thoughts on Watkins Glen....
THE TRACK
Watkins Glen is what is called a "road course" which means that the cars don't drive in a circle or an oval. They actually turn left AND right. If you have never seen a race, this is unique as most tracks require only left turns. And that is as much technical information as you are going to get in this installment of Nascar Wife 101.
Our tickets were for an area known as "The Bog." It is a special area in the infield (the inside of the track as opposed to grandstand seats on the outside of the track) under several large tents. We chose these tickets for several reasons:
- Access to an area to get out of the hot summer sun if we want
- Private restrooms - this girl doesn't do porta-potties!
- Ability to walk around the infield to see the race at different places
- Food & drink included - no need to seek out concession stands & wait in line
Before the race we were able to walk around the pit road area which is a neat thing to do. Here is a picture of Hubby getting an answer to a question for a Nascar official. These are some of the nicest and most approachable people in all of sports. This man was checking in tires but he is also the guy who waves the flags throughout the race. Really neat guy and we learned a lot talking with him.
Some of the places we walked to along the track were really fun to watch the cars whizzzz by. There is an area known as the "bus stop" (no idea why!) that was just plain crazy to watch how the cars navigated through. We could actually see their right front tires coming off the track - at speeds of 200 mph! Observing the fans was also entertaining for me too. There was a horrific accident, which we missed because it was at a spot on the track that we could not see and which resulted in a 'red flag' that lasted an hour and half! That was a long time to find something else to do, but we were lucky enough to find a shade tree with a cool breeze so we took a seat and relaxed for awhile. If we had had grandstand seats I'm not sure what we would have done. It appeared as though a lot of people actually left.
Would I go back to this race? Probably not, but maybe. If Hubby wants to go again, I would - just because I am SUCH a good wife. Or maybe we can convince our friends to join us next time and the boys can go to the race and the girls can just hang out. I'm happy wherever! :-)
OUR TRIP
We spent the rest of the week touring the beautiful Finger Lakes region, visiting wineries and craft breweries as well as hiking Watkins Glen Gorge State Park and walking the streets of Hammondsport, America's Coolest Small Town 2012. And although we did not go to Corning Museum of Glass, it would certainly have been doable. This was such a fun trip! There are 118+ wineries in this region, and every one is unique and most have a very interesting history. Of course we only made it to a few so a return trip would be completely different but equally wonderful.
Our camping headquarters for the week was at Hickory Hill Family Camping Resort in the quaint little town of Bath, NY. It was approximately a 45 minute drive to the track, but that is what we like. Camping at the track can be noisy and rowdy at times. We prefer the tranquility we always find when we are willing to travel a bit. There were lots of other race fans at the campground so Hubby had plenty of race buddies to talk to, but it was nice to have more than two feet of space between us and the next guy!
THE TAKE-AWAY
I'm glad I went to this track, but I'm not in a hurry to go back again. I felt like we missed a really good race, simply because you can't see the whole track the whole time. There were some large TV screens scattered around the track, but not nearly enough, and if I want to watch a race on TV, I'll stay home and watch it from the comfort of my living room on my own big screen.
But I could go to the Finger Lakes region again ... and again ... and again! In fact, I'm already planning next year's tour!!
Our next race weekend will be camping at our "home track" - The Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware, in September. We have done this several times before so if you want any information about this track before the race, just leave a comment.
Until next time ....
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
GREEN FLAG!
Welcome, Race Fans!
Okay, so maybe you're not really a race fan. Maybe you're just married to a race fan and you've come here for help in understanding what the heck he is so excited about. In that case let me say "Welcome, Wives of Race Fans!"
In the interest of full disclosure I should tell you -- if you have come here looking for help understanding car setups, drivers' points, or other things strategic or technical, you are in the wrong place! If, however, you've come looking for some girlfriend support and understanding, pour yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and read on!
In coming posts I will share my thoughts and our experiences at various tracks. And I hope you will comment and let me know all about your experiences too!
My first official post will come in the next week when I can officially report on Watkins Glen. We will be camping near the track in our RV (don't let the word 'camping' fool you, this sucker is a mobile mansion!) and then spending the rest of the week exploring the Finger Lake region of New York. Okay, the WINERIES of New York! Once I recover I will fill you in on all the nitty-gritty details!
Okay, so maybe you're not really a race fan. Maybe you're just married to a race fan and you've come here for help in understanding what the heck he is so excited about. In that case let me say "Welcome, Wives of Race Fans!"
In the interest of full disclosure I should tell you -- if you have come here looking for help understanding car setups, drivers' points, or other things strategic or technical, you are in the wrong place! If, however, you've come looking for some girlfriend support and understanding, pour yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and read on!
In coming posts I will share my thoughts and our experiences at various tracks. And I hope you will comment and let me know all about your experiences too!
My first official post will come in the next week when I can officially report on Watkins Glen. We will be camping near the track in our RV (don't let the word 'camping' fool you, this sucker is a mobile mansion!) and then spending the rest of the week exploring the Finger Lake region of New York. Okay, the WINERIES of New York! Once I recover I will fill you in on all the nitty-gritty details!
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