Well my wife and I recently attended our first NASCAR race. The Checker 500 held here at PIR last Sunday was the first NASCAR event either of us has attended. I first would like to thank Mark (with a subcontractor we're using on a current project in the valley) for providing the tickets. Overall it was a wonderful, though sobering, experience. We had a delightful time together, and I was pleasantly surprised at my wife's genuine interest the whole afternoon.
We set off for the track several hours before the 2pm start time. I wasn't sure what to expect as we came within miles of the track, which is located out in the southwest valley. Surprisingly the Sherrif's Dept had a well organized and planned out set of routes to brings cars into the enormous parking area. That made the self-parking less chaotic. Since we were arriving on Sunday for an event that basically started Friday afternoon, you can imagine how far away we had to park. Quite right - it was a 30 minute walk from our car to the ticketing gate. My wife quickly noticed how all the cars, RV's, campers, etc - seemed to be a "maze of metal."
The maze of metal soon morphed into a stream of flesh as we were swept along in the crowds of people moving toward their repsective seats as race time approached. A flash of ancient Roman colosseum with venders lined all around the outside selling their wares, the smell of food, crowds of people moving in all directions - anxiously awaiting the main event - came to mind. There was, as you would expect, no lack of alchoholic beverages available, together with your typical desert thirst-quenchers. It could easily be likened to a circus, carnival, fair, or any such event intended to overwhelm the senses and lure the weak into over-consumptions of all kinds.
We were fortunate to find our seats two-thirds up the grand-stands. This allowed a gracious view of the entire infield, along with the complete track. We were also positioned just at the end of turn four and at the beginning of the long main straight (long for a one-mile track). Unfortunately (at first anyway) it also allowed us an uninterupted view of the sun. Even in the mid-80's it can still be quite sweltering with no shade. Did I mention they don't allow umbrellas! Who would need one anyway - it rarely rains in the desert - right? Not. It wasn't long before there was an abundance of shade - and even a little rain to cool things off. Many complained as it brought the race to a halt for 20-30 minutes, but we saw the blessing in it and appreciated it.
As the race gets underway, the most obvious feature during the whole event is the SOUND! We were prepared with ear plugs, but the shear consistency of it was amazing. Equally amazing to my wife was the closeness of the cars at such speeds with so few mishaps. Though there were a few in this race - expecially at the end of the race - they mostly moved around the track, one after the other - like an endless chain of pearls. I must admit it was a bit like watching a carousel - almost hipnotic.
As you might imagine, the race continued lap-after-lap, much the same. An occasional yellow flag, due to debri, to shake things up a bit. There were occasions where cars bumped each other and one or both ended up in the wall. This provoked the mass exudos of the other cars from the track into the pits. It also generated some of the biggest shifts in position. Some benfitted - others didn't. Finally in the end it was Jimmy Johnson who one the race - after leading it for most the laps.
As we left the track, we realized it was an enjoyable experience, and are glad we had the opportunity. Have we been bittin by the NASCAR bug? I think not. But that doen't mean we wouldn't welcome the opportunity to experience it again.
