I went to my first Nascar race on November 3-5. My dad has always been a NASCAR fan and I wanted to take him for his birthday which is November 13. We drove to Fort Worth late morning on the 3rd and made it to Texas Motor Speedway in plenty of time to get our pit passes and watch the drivers qualify. Driving up to the speedway was exciting -- especially once you hear the cars driving around. It is very, very loud.
It was great to be able to get into the pit area -- especially when the drivers were qualifying. We saw a lot of them walk by right in front of us: Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Bush, and many more. We were so tired that we didn't stay to watch the truck races that night.
The view from the pits: Tony Stewart's pit crew getting the car ready to qualify.
Getting to our hotel was quite an experience. The hotel staff did a horrendous job of giving me directions and we went completely out of our way but finally made it to the hotel about an hour after leaving the track.
On Saturday, we went to the race track early (I thought traffic would be horrendous but it wasn't) and we were able to see the drivers practicing. We stayed to watch the Busch race and then went and had dinner at Outback.
On Sunday we took off early to beat traffic (which once again was not bad). It started sprinkling when we got to the track but that didn't stop any of the activities. We put on our rain slickers and went about buying souvenirs for everyone. That place is addictive -- there is so much stuff that you want to buy it all.
We saw Lightning McQueen, Mater and Sally from Cars. They were the cutest things!
It continued to rain and the race was delayed for about 45 mins. The drivers had to drive around the track for a while to help dry it. Watching the race is something else. Those cars are so fast and so loud! Being there really gets you into the race. We were seated on Row 9 right in front of pit row. I had read online that the seats were going to be bad and we weren't going to be able to see anything. Well, that wasn't the case. The seats were great and you could see everything (well, not around the entire track but that was fine with me).
I had fun listening to the scanner and hearing the drivers during the race. Most of my attention was on #8 Dale Jr. -- at one point during the race he asked his crew for water and some Prilosec. He was not feeling well and he said he felt like he was going to throw up. The next time he came into the pit area, he was given water and they had put the Prilosec into the water. Over the scanner I heard him say something like "you dumb ass, you don't put it in the water!" It was hilarious -- but I felt awful for him; can you imagine feeling that sick and going over 180 mph for three hours! It was amazing he was able to stay in the race. That is a true athlete!
Dale Jr. going round the track!
This was my first race but hopefully it won't be my last one.
It was great to be able to get into the pit area -- especially when the drivers were qualifying. We saw a lot of them walk by right in front of us: Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Bush, and many more. We were so tired that we didn't stay to watch the truck races that night.
The view from the pits: Tony Stewart's pit crew getting the car ready to qualify.
Getting to our hotel was quite an experience. The hotel staff did a horrendous job of giving me directions and we went completely out of our way but finally made it to the hotel about an hour after leaving the track.
On Saturday, we went to the race track early (I thought traffic would be horrendous but it wasn't) and we were able to see the drivers practicing. We stayed to watch the Busch race and then went and had dinner at Outback.
On Sunday we took off early to beat traffic (which once again was not bad). It started sprinkling when we got to the track but that didn't stop any of the activities. We put on our rain slickers and went about buying souvenirs for everyone. That place is addictive -- there is so much stuff that you want to buy it all.
We saw Lightning McQueen, Mater and Sally from Cars. They were the cutest things!
It continued to rain and the race was delayed for about 45 mins. The drivers had to drive around the track for a while to help dry it. Watching the race is something else. Those cars are so fast and so loud! Being there really gets you into the race. We were seated on Row 9 right in front of pit row. I had read online that the seats were going to be bad and we weren't going to be able to see anything. Well, that wasn't the case. The seats were great and you could see everything (well, not around the entire track but that was fine with me).
I had fun listening to the scanner and hearing the drivers during the race. Most of my attention was on #8 Dale Jr. -- at one point during the race he asked his crew for water and some Prilosec. He was not feeling well and he said he felt like he was going to throw up. The next time he came into the pit area, he was given water and they had put the Prilosec into the water. Over the scanner I heard him say something like "you dumb ass, you don't put it in the water!" It was hilarious -- but I felt awful for him; can you imagine feeling that sick and going over 180 mph for three hours! It was amazing he was able to stay in the race. That is a true athlete!
Dale Jr. going round the track!
This was my first race but hopefully it won't be my last one.
** Kasey Kahn went to a local sports store to sign autographs. Mom and I took the kids (Diane, Mom and I had to stand in line for about 40 mins. to get the tickets) to meet Kasey, get his autograph and take a picture of him. He seemed really nice.
Jacob is the only one who would take a picture with him.
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