Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Dover (5 times), Homestead, Daytona (500), New Hampshire, Charlotte, Martinsville.
in the 90's I was hanging with a group of friends that were Dover season ticket holders. we spent a week in Rehobeth and go to the fall race. good times.
2005-2009 hooked up with my 3 brothers and went to a different track every season.
The Rock, Fontana, Daytona, Sears Point, and Charlotte.
Super Mods @ Mesa Marin was awesome. Watching Winston West (I'm sure they are called something else today) cars run the high line @ Irwindale is pretty freakin awesome as well.
Charlotte, Martinsville, Bristol, Dega, Daytona, and Darlington. Go to the Martinsville and Charlotte races every year, and why not, they are so close.....especially Charlotte.
That's ironic... I live about 30 minutes from Charlotte Motor Speedway and I've only been to one Cup race there. We even get free tickets offered to us at work.
I guess I just really prefer short tracks and superspeedways. Although I do miss my Atlanta season tickets that we gave up. That track rocks for a 1.5 miler. Just doesn't rock enough to pay $125 per seat.
The Rock, Fontana, Daytona, Sears Point, and Charlotte.
Super Mods @ Mesa Marin was awesome. Watching Winston West (I'm sure they are called something else today) cars run the high line @ Irwindale is pretty freakin awesome as well.
From the "I lived there, why didn't I go?" department: I was about 90 minutes from Irwindale and never caught a race there for various reasons. It's a regret I have, as last I knew, the track is in trouble and will need to be sold to some racing friendly people if racing is to continue there.
I understand that work has resumed on Kern County Raceway which was thought to be a "replacement" for Mesa Marin...hopefully that will be successful.
Hoping to move back to California later this summer....
I have driven to all of the tracks on the Cup circuit over the last 13 years including some that are no longer on the tour such as the Rock, and N. Wilkesboro.
Also been to many of the tracks on the Nationwide and truck series tours but I have yet to make it to the Iowa facility.
Up until two years ago, I was missing Watkins Glen but finally made it there too.
I have my favorites and not-so-favorites but that has more to do with working at the facilities, the fans and the track workers rather than the actual racing itself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vmaxnc
All of the Cup tracks except Martinsville and Pocono. I've long lost count of the other tracks.
Many, many stories. For many of those races I worked for a company that provided scanners to corporate clients. So while I didn't get to watch every lap of every race (140+ races of all varieties; race fans will tell you that it can get boring) I have seen a lot of cool things.
When I was 15 Earhardt's race team had a friends and family event out Charlotte Motor Speedway. Some other teams were there at well. My neighbor drove his transporter, so I went with him and his wife. They had a 2 seat car, and Dale drove me around the track for 3-4 laps at speed. I'm not sure how fast we went, but even though I knew almost nothing about cars and racing, I remember the turn 2 wall coming up reeeaaalllly fast, and that it was hard to breathe about half the time.
I was in the inside of turn 4 at Daytona when Earnhardt finally won. Nothing like 100k+ crying rednecks.
I was in the same place three years later when he hit the wall on the last lap. That was sad.
Being on the scanner and able to see pit road is interesting. I watched several teams work together on the last lap at Talladega one year, and shuffle the #1 driver back to #5, while they each moved up one position. Then that ex-#1 driver got on his radio. Not pleasant. Definitely in violation of NASCAR protocol.
At the Indy 500 one year I was working a second floor garage suite, which overlooks the walkway behind pit road. Thousands of fans were walking there, checking out the pits, garages, trailers etc. before the race started. A group of about 50 troops in desert camo were walking towards me, in a loose group amidst all the other fans. Someone started clapping, and it went wild after that. Almost immediately everyone within sight of them started cheering and clapping, and then someone trained a camera on them, which showed up on all the huge screens around the track. The troops, without looking at each other or anyone else, moved into a loose formation, and fell into step, while 300,000 people were on their feet. I could see tears on some of their faces as they went by, as many of us had as well. It was a moving experience.
The fans provide entertainment as well. At Texas, the crowd was streaming past my position; thousands and thousands of people, many drunk and burnt to a crisp. One rowdy fellow, wearing only jean shorts and flip flops, was yelling and chugging beer as he walked with his 3 equally crusty friends. He was drunker and more burnt than most. He tripped, and hit one of the big barrel track cans like it was a tackling dummy. It was piled high with every bit of race trash you can think of, but mostly food, wrappers, and cans. It exploded when he hit it, and he went down yelling into that disgusting mess. His buddies were laughing so hard they fell down, and much of the crown joined in. I looked at the dozen guys working for me and said "don't!" because it was obvious they were all about to lose it as well. Then I just had to walk away, while the poor drunk was trying to find his beer amongst hundreds of cans.
Never seen a Cup race, but I've visited Rockingham and Charlotte.
That's cool. There's something about being at a track when it's (near) empty. I never attended a race at Charlotte, but I've been to the track as well. Same with Indianapolis Motor Speedway - took the tour twice, been to the museum...never saw a car on the track. One of the tours I took was when they were tearing down the walls to reinforce them for a then rumored NASCAR test session.
The only thing better that watching NASCAR races is actually driving the tracks at speed in your own High performance car which I have done at Atlanta motor speedway, New Hampshire speedway, Indianapolis motor speedway, Pocono raceway and the absolute best IMO, Watkins Glen where I have over 10,000 on track miles.
IF you belong to NASA you can get to drive those tracks too.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
