Back from the Bristol NASCAR race.

Through a series of lucky circumstances I got to attend the NASCAR race at Bristol.

One word, WOW. I have been in there before to see the Christmas lights so I knew the layout of the place but to see a race in there was pretty cool.

I will post a link to my photos and videos tomorrow.


Here are some thoughts though:

First our seats were AWESOME! The start finish line was just to our left and in Row 61 you could see everything on the track, except the back pit where Dale Jr was pitting but hey no use to be that picky. We could see everything on the track in great view. And with seats on the end of the row it was no problem getting in and out.


It is LOUD! I took earplugs knowing this already but words and advice do not get you ready for just how loud it is. And the lack of cautions made it really loud for really long but in a fun way. I have spent a lot of time in my life next to a drummer crash the hell out of crash symbols, I have been in concerts where my ears were ringing 2 days later, I thought I knew loud.....and now I do since I experience a new kinda of loud.

For a place that holds over 160,000 people they do a great job of getting people in and out of the track. I was really impressed.

For all the people you see drinking (and most are) everyone was well behaved. Granted it was a cool low 50 degree something day (you could see your breathe in the track at times so I am sure the temp dropped) so maybe the cooler weather helped keep people in check as well.

I knew that NASCAR has branched out to fans of all income levels, backgrounds and education level and you very much see that at the track. Most people appear to be from a blue collar background but you see a ton of people from the north and midwest. The first giveaway are the license plates of cars parked along the road (I will talk about parking later), and then when you are in the track we saw a ton of West Virginia, Ohio State, Pittsburgh Steeler and other northern jerseys. Granted seeing someone in a jersey does not mean they are from the north but I can also tell you that you are not going to see on any regular basis southern folk in Ohio State gear. But more often than not all you have to do is just listen to the accents as people pass by, just like they can tell a southern voice you can hear the northern and midwest tones as well.


Prices are high! I won't get into the details of how I got my ticket but I will say that I was very lucky that it was free. Face value is over $90 and I got it for free, my lucky day for sure..I did mention we has AWESOME seats right!! But just looking at the hats and shirts...and everything else with a price sticker on it... prices are really high. Yes I know that they always are at any event but it seem to me these were a bit higher than the norm. But matter it does not as line after line of people walked away with bags filled to the brim in tow. With a baby on the way and gas prices getting higher I already knew that I was buying not a thing after all I was just very lucky to be there in the first place.


Bristol has a new surface this year and that meant not as many wrecks. For the fan that loves the wrecks they were disappointed..only 7 cautions all day and maybe 3 of those were multi car wrecks. The reason I mention the lack of wrecks are for 2 reasons: cautions did not seem to last as long in person as they do watching it on TV. At the longer tracks this may not be the case but at 1/2 mile Bristol it just felt like they didn't last that long. Maybe because it took that long to regain your hearing and be able to talk to the person beside you.

The other reason would be the lack of wrecks added to the race moving quicker through the day. It did not seem like we were there for 3 hours give or take. From Lap 400 to 500 felt like just moments apart, then again when you get locked into a driver and watching his moves as the laps tick down then time just speeds right along.


Parking: Part of my very lucky day was not having to drive or park. Anytime I don't have to drive or park is a great day. I was really able to take in the parking and people park everywhere! It is in a controlled manner but still with 160,000 plus people just think of all the vehicles. They park along the road, in fields, homes etc. Again it is in a controlled manner. But I was shocked at how far away people park and walk to the track. Miles and miles and yes miles and more miles and then a few more miles away from the track. I guess our man with the plan knew the ins and outs of what to do...even though we had a pretty healthy walk back to the car...we did not walk nowhere near what it appeared most folks were doing. Walking and drinking, walking in high heels, walking in designer shoes, tennis shoes, no shoes but no matter how they were walking they were walking.


All in all it was awesome and ranks in my Top 3 sports events of all time..Dallas Cowboys in Dallas being 1, Appalachian playing Auburn in Alabama my first year with the Appalachian Sports Network being 2.

I hope to find the funds to take the wife and friends in the future. It is something that everyone should do at least once in life.