I am not a big fan of NASCAR. It’s not snobbery. It just doesn’t do anything for me. This is in sharp contrast to the thousands of brightly-hued, leather jacket-sporting denizens invading my sleepy suburban hamlet this weekend for the Something or Other 500 at California Speedway.
The track is close enough that you can hear the sound of revved engines on the breeze, the smell of conspicuous fuel consumption in the morning. There’s really only one solution: I’m going to Vegas.
Despite a full slate of responsibilites which threatened my participation in BettyFest, I will be making that northward drive later this evening after my niece’s birthday party, trading
I went to my first NASCAR race last year at Darlington. I figured I should go as it is an hour from my house and carries a lot of history in the circuit. On my last trip to Vegas, I started talking with the bellman who was carrying our bags to the car on our way out. When he found out where we were from, he immediately asked if we were NASCAR fans. I told him I watched a race on occasion with my buddies who were from North Carolina and "real" fans-the kind that are turning away because the sport has changed so much- and he agreed it was a shame the organizers were screwing with history by taking races away from long-time tracks to move into the bigger markets. He and his Wife were huge fans and had been to Darlington along with many other races. It impressed me so much someone from out West knew so much about a sport that had grown up in the South, I resolved to go when I got the chance and before they took away the other Darlington race. I found a suprisingly mixed crowd (lots of stars-n-bars but also a significant cross-section of our population) which made me realize everybody likes fast cars, even if they are just going around in a circle. I’ll go back this year for the day-long festival and have a good time. I’m not a true fan by any stretch but it is a worthy event to attend at least once.