Fri 24 Aug 2007
I am a NASCAR fan. I don’t like to admit it around my golf buddies, but I have always had an affinity for most forms of auto racing.
In 1988 I tried racing myself at Trail-way Speedway in Hanover, PA. In six career races in the Street Stock Class with my #64 1976 Monte Carlo I won a grand total of $55 making 3 final events and once finishing as high as 12th. My cousin Matt Hoff, who provided the garage and tons of support, once finished 2nd in the feature race. He finished 2nd to “Dizzy Dean” Renfro who is a racing legend in the area whose career dates back the early 1950s and had one career NASCAR start.
My 5-year old son Sammy has become a huge NASCAR fan as he has lots of 1:64 (matchbox size) and has learned about all of the drivers. Much to my chagrin, his favorite driver in NASCAR is Kurt Busch (who is my least favorite). Last Friday I took Sammy to MIS to see the practice and qualifying. After initially wanting to go home during practice (too loud despite headphones on for ear protection), Sammy settled down and enjoyed the day. Getting a bunch of 1:64 scale cars helped. We also got to meet a fraternity brother of mine, Mike Wheeler, who is an engineer on Denny Hamlin’s Fed Ex car. Mike said he works 80-90 hours a week as he is at the track Thursday-Sunday. He is really busy in the Shop Monday-Wednesday preparing for the next race.
Here are my reviews of the seven tracks I have been to ranked from best to worst:
1) Bristol Motor Speedway (Night Race – 8/22/98 – Mark Martin Winner)
This was the 1st ever race I attended, what an awesome experience. Bristol is a .533 mile track that has high banks and is completely surrounded by stands. This race track is like sitting in Michigan Stadium with a race track in the middle. You MUST wear ear protection as this place is loud! You will have trouble spotting the leader as he will catch the back of the pack within 20 laps. It is best to focus on your favorite car and follow it.
My experience: We went with 2 other couples and had to stay about 90 miles away. My buddy and I sat about 10 rows from the track on the backstretch. It was like watching a Saturday Night Race at a local track as you could see the drivers through their front window as they came off of turn 2. They were really fighting their steering wheels. Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Mike Skinner finished 6th and 7th and I was shocked at how hard they raced each other. There was obviously no love loss between these 2.
2) Daytona International Speedway (2/18/2001 Daytona 500 – Michael Waltrip Winner)
Daytona was built in 1959 and is a great speedway. There are tons of amenities around the track including the Daytona USA museum. You want to sit high at this track so that you can see the other side of the track. The Back Stretch seats are cool as turn 2 gets narrow which causes close racing, then the cars fan out and literally drag race down the back stretch until having to narrow down for the entry to turn 3. This speedway is the 2nd most famous speedway in the US (behind Indy). This speedway is also very dangerous as there have been 28 racing related deaths at this track.
My experience: Yes, I was there when Dale Sr. died. He died on the last corner of the last lap of the race in an accident that did not look that bad from my vantage point just past the start finish line. It was Michael Waltrip’s first NASCAR victory (you will find that theme happening to me as half of the races I have been to have 1st time winners). I was flipping between Waltrip’s radio and the TV broadcast on my scanner. My cousin Matt was listening to Dale Sr’s channel and could tell right away that he was severely hurt. The racing was tight the whole way and there was a horrible accident by Tony Stewart on the backstretch that had me praying for everyone’s safety. Amazingly no one was seriously hurt in that accident.
3) Texas Motor Speedway (4/2/2000 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Winner)
Texas Motor Speedway was built in 1996. It has all the amenities of a modern day arena with comfortable seats, luxury suite, and great sightlines. It is 1.5 miles long and the infield is sunk in such a way that you can see all the action. This is a very fast race track with tight racing. Access to this track is very easy as it located right off of I-35. The most famous race at this track was the one that was never ran as on 4/29/2001 CART canceled the Firehawk 600 two hours before it was supposed to start because of dangerously high speeds and driver’s complaining of dizziness because of severe G-Forces.
My experience: This was Dale Jr’s first cup victory. It was also Adam Petty’s first and only race in the premier division of NASCAR (He would die 5 weeks later in a practice accident in New Hampshire). I got Garage Passes thanks to an uncle whose company was a NASCAR sponsor. Garage passes are really hard to get (even more so today). This definitely was a cool experience. After the race we got back in the garage (I’m not sure we were supposed to). NASCAR dyno tested the top 3 finishers and I have several minutes of video of the #8 on a dyno machine.
4) Richmond International Raceway (9/7/2002 - Matt Kenseth Winner)
Richmond is an old track with its first NASCAR event in 1953. It has changed configurations throughout the years and has been a 3/4 mile tri-oval since 1989. The track is not particularly easy to get to. It also does not have the amenities of Texas or Daytona. What it does have though is good racing action though. The whole track is easy to see, and the racing is tight (though not nearly as tight or wild as Bristol).
My experience: Sterling Marlin had a hard crash on the 8th lap of this race. He was the season points leader at the time, but that wreck coupled with a wreck 3 races later at Kansas cost him his best chance at a championship. Michael Waltrip had the field down almost an entire lap after some pit strategy, but got wrecked on a restart. After the race, my Buddy Eric and I drove all the way back to Michigan after dropping my cousin Matt off in MD.
5) Lowe’s Motor Speedway (Coca Cola 600 – 5/28/2000 - Matt Kenseth Winner)
Lowes (formerly known as Charlotte Motor Speedway) is the home track of NASCAR as most of the teams have their shops in Charlotte area. It was first built in 1959 and having hosted the longest race (600 miles) annually since 1960. The track is easy to get to and has good sight lines. It is the same length as Texas (1.5 miles), but not as fast. According to Wikipedia, it is one of the busiest sporting venues in the country hosting 380 events per year.
My experience: My same uncle who set me up in Texas, went to this race with us. For the Busch Race, I got to ride in a pickup that drove the drivers around the track during introductions. You really get a feel for the banking at a track when you are on it. Matt Kenseth got his first career win (a recurring theme with me), but I would be lying if I said that I was at the track to witness it. There were 2 rain delays during the race and we didn’t wait out the 2nd one. We saw the end on TV at the Bar of the OMNI Hotel in downtown Charlotte.
6) Michigan International Speedway (Qualifying Only 8/17/2007 - Jeff Gordon Pole Winner)
MIS hosts 2 races per year. It was first built in 1968 and having hosted 2 races every year except one since 1969. The track has horrible sightlines. No matter how high you sit, you can’t really see the backstretch as the campers in the infield block the view. It is quite a bit away from any interstates making it a hassle to get there. The track is wide and all of the drivers like it which usually leads to a pretty boring race. Open wheel racing is exciting here (at least on TV) as there is tons of speed and plenty of room to pass.
My experience: Summed up at the top of this post.
7) Pocono Raceway (7/25/99 - Bobby Labonte Winner)
Pocono hosted its first Cup race in 1974. It has hosted 2 races every year since 1983. The track is located in the Pocono Mountains, which used to be a popular honeymoon spot (Pre 1950s). The whole area is full of run down motels and the track fits right in as it is also ran down and has no amenities. The seating is bench style, with no leg room. The pitch of the stands is not very steep meaning shorter people will have trouble seeing over the crowd in front of them. The racing is good as track has a unique triangular shape with three different turns varying in radius and banking. The front stretch is the longest straightaway in the sport and is wide enough to allow plenty of passing.
My experience: We set in the “club level” tickets which meant that you were at the top of the stands under the overhang where they served you really bad food. Saturday was the ARCA race and Blaise Alexander, who was a 23-year old local guy from Central PA won the race. He was killed in an accident involving Kerry Earnhardt less than 2 years later at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Bobby Labonte won the NASCAR race by a fairly wide margin of 9 seconds. It gave him a sweep at the track for 1999.