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01/10/04 This week I am going to bring you into the mind of the people that fill the stands! We are going in to where if you go in once you will return! Oh yes you will feel the rush, you will get the bug, you will become a Weekend NASCAR party animal. We will go into the campgrounds surounding the track, and actully meet some of the strangest and most unique people in all of the worlds sports. As I start I must tell you that I am proud to be and am proud to know these people I speak of. The weekend always starts off on a bad note as plans start to fall apart even before you are out of work on Friday. The boss tells you "We Need to get this done before the weekend" 2 hours late right off the bat! (%#^$%^ Boss) Then all goes well for the first 200 miles or so until.... A wrong turn?, A flat?, The motor cycle your on catches fire?, yes something must intervien with your date with the first beer! Then with all that behind you and only 4 hours late, you see the silohet of the towering grandstands. The smell of smoke breaks into your car as the camp fires burn almost out of controll around you.The screams pierce your ears of that drunk guy yelling "GO RUSTY!" answerd by a long aray of BOOs and CHEERs! Finaly as your back side burns from that uncomfertable seat you clamber out and go register for a 20 X 20 spot in the middle of a field with no trees for shade, the whole area is on a 13% slop, and the ground is hard as concrete. You pay your whole weeks earnings for 3 days and 3 nights for this tiny spot that is lost in a sea of Tents and Motor homes. You think to yourself "All right! I'm here!" Now the first thing out of the vehical is the cooler of beer! (Naturaly) Your neihbors tip there hats your way as one guy tips himself out of the chair to come and meet you. "Where you from?" Northern Michigan I repied, "You?" "Over there in that chair... thats where I'm from!" and that is the start to our weekend! Next the tent! Oh lets not even go there. It seems whom ever it was that invented the tent did so with the idea of cub scouts putting them together and setting them up. Not sum guy that has worked all day in 90 % heat and drove for the last 6 hours. In pitch black at 3 in the morning drinking beer! By the time we get to the next step we are feeling the effects of both, the lack of sleep and the 4 brews we sucked down while building our living quarters. So what is next sleep? a sit by the fire? maybe a warm shower? NO! Its time to pack the little cooler that holds 6 cans of beer, with 10 cans and 5 ice cubes. Now we head off for a walk looking for some excitment. Generaly it wont be hard to find. Just follow the sound of thumping basey music and hooots into the open black sky announcing that person as a NASCAR Party Animal. As we walk by the fires that are burning into embers, there are flames ahead tall and bright lighting our way. We stop and visit with a few brothers of NASCAR along the way and find out the events that took place on the track earlier in the day. "Elliot Sadler flipped in turn one" or "Jimmy Spencer punched Busch!" Its always something! Just before we get to the big bash we notice we have only 2 beers left. So we decide to go back for more. Another 1/2 mile back to camp for 7 more beer. "Aw why we're here lets grab a hot dog!" Get out the grill put 2 hot dogs on and have a beer! "Hey look at that guy from the chair it really must be his home he is asleep in it" By the time the Dogs are hot the day catches up with us and we leave the grill with 2 cooked Hot Dogs on it and slip off into our sleeping bags, as we drowned off to sleep listening to the music and cheers going up into the dark sky. You tell me through the tent wall... "We'll party tommorow! That is for sure!" Continued >>> |
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Continued... The sound in the morning that wakes you is the sound you have drempt of since your last vist a year ago. The cars are on the track for early practice. You wake with the adrenelin of knowing you will be at the track today watching the CTS Trucks running the fastest little track around. Breakfast is first on the list of events. Starting with Coffee, then Eggs, Bacon, lightly burnt bread, and two 4 hour old cooked Hot Dogs! A quick stop to the little blue stinky house, and a splash of water in the face washing away all the troubles from the day before! Scrub the teeth and your off to the track. Goto pack up all the things you will need. First and most inportent that lucky cooler that is built for 6 but holds 10 as long as you only use 5 ice cubes, from the night before. Again pack it ful try to get 11 cans in but not quite."Maybe next year"! Ok lets see what else.... um oh yea a cusion, binochulars, camera, Scanner, frequency list, squirt gun, video recorder, sun block, your favorite drivers shirt and hat,better pack 2 sandwiches(The tracks stuff is to much money), and lets see are we forgetting anything?......Oh yea Tickets! Now we are all set! "Lets take the 2 mile hike to our seats first off and get rid of all this stuff. Then we can go to suvineer city." $230.00 later we make the climb back up the grand stand with our bags full and 2 Hot Dogs a piece. The Cup cars just got off the track and driver introductions for the Truck race is under way. Hot Dogs now gone, its time for a beer! The race goes green we stand for the first 20 laps the compatition is close. Finaly we sit as every one settles in for a long green run half a lap later a spin in turn 2 and up we all stand! Green again and we stand for the next 18 laps arms waving every time the leaders come bye as to say "Go.... come on get him!" We sit again rubbing our calf muscles and stretching our backs. A big wreck brings us all back to our feet as we watch to see if every one is all right and that our favorites made it through.Green again stand for 15 laps then get a long green flag almost 100 laps click down no lead changes just the sound of 40 cars blasting past you and the sweet smell of oil and rubber. Kind of puts you into a trance and if it wasn't for that guys hairy legs in your back you could drift off to sleep with the harmonous sounds.The race comes to a drammatic end as the 4th place truck bumps his way past the top 3 to win. "Man that was wrong" "That was bad driving" ..."It was clean he was the man"...The stories of the days race would be repeated and twisted till they made no sence through out the evening around the camp fires. We set off on our quest to get all this stuff back to camp and still be able to carry in one hand an open beer! As we close in on camp we start to get that feeling again of comfert. Just a quick nap will get us prime for tonight........ When we wake up the sun is down people are steadly walking by comenting on our flag and banner display. The first thing I notice upon waking is the burn on my chest and back from 8 hours in the sun with no shirt on. Time for a beer to cool me off! "I'll start the stakes, you cut up some taters!" After dinner we pack up our friendly little cooler that now carves a line across my sholder from the detieriating strap digging into my sun burnt skin. We head off for that party back in the G section of the camp ground. Here we find Girls showing there godley gifts as well as men showing there stupidity! We walk along with this fleshy group untill we run out of beer and make our way back to camp for one more refill. Then its back off to meet more of these people and to find what it is that will draw us back next time and the time there after! 100% Who knows? Sunday Brings new energy as the Cup cars are the high lite of the day. 10 miles later you walk back to camp ready to break down and sit in traffic for 3 hours just to start your 6 hour drive home. We remember the people we met and the times we've shared. We depart at the end of our journey with a simple "Can't wait till next year!" and our trip is all but over! |
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| Here is the view from a die hard race fan of what it is like to go to a race event. |
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| Northern Lights Racing League A Family Oriented League |
