Drivers, Start your Engines!

I am proud to say that I have officially had my first NASCAR experience. I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical at first as to what the event would entail, and I really had concerns that I would be bored watching a bunch of cars drive in a circle for 4 hours. I was definitely wrong.

First, the events surrounding NASCAR are similar to a carnival. They have booths and games and freebies and give-aways and beer tents and TONS of souvenirs for sale. It was pretty mind-blowing, as were some of the outfits those in attendance were wearing, but we will save that for later.

We drove down to Richmond after work on Friday where we met Katie and Sonny. They had flown in the previous day and met us at the track. The Friday night race was the Nationwide series race, so not all the big names drove.

Then on Saturday things really ramped up. A ton more people and much more fanfare. Saturday night was the Sprint Cup Series. Personally, I was rooting for Dale Jr. because my brother is a big fan. If Dale placed in the top 15 or 20 he would qualify to keep racing and go for the Sprint Cup.

The big headphones are ear protection as well as a radio where you can tune in to the driver of your choice and hear what they are saying on their radios with their pit crew. It's pretty cool and well worth it since otherwise you would just be sitting there watching and not really knowing what is going on. Plus, some of the driver's get pretty animated and when someone gets into a wreck you can hear what they have to say. Highly entertaining.

We also had pit passes for Saturday so we got to go on the track and see the cars and the crews setting up and preparing for the race.

Yay for NASCAR. I am starting to understand why it's the largest spectator sport. My favorite parts were the crashes and since we were in Richmond which has a shorter track, there were a ton, enough to tie the record.

Another great trip with Katie and Sonny. It was great to get out of the city and experience a fun activity that I probably wouldn't have ventured out for on my own.