I know this doesn't belong here but....

[bmwrocks]

I wanted to share with you that I went to my first NASCAR race yesterday, the Super Bowl of Motorsports, the Daytona 500. I sat about 100 yds past the finish line in the 4th row. Yes that is VERY close to the track.

And I gotta say HOLY CRAP what an experience!!! TV does not do it justice and it is something you have to experience to know what it is like.

The noise was the most overwhelming feature and the smell as the cars scream smells like a mixture of burning rubber and clutches.

And I gotta say I was a little scary at first knowing I could get hit with accident debris being so close to the fence, but I got over that pretty quickly.

Those drivers are nothing short of insane, and the bravest individuals I have ever seen.....no crap. I have the utmost respect for the drivers and anyone who says they aren't athletes is a moron.

Really the whole thing defies words.

I have some low res video I took, can I post it like a pic on here?

I know some of you have been there, done that, and can vouch for my excitement......

 

[aNoodle]

Hell yeah...I did Daytona once a few years ago.

It truly is impressive...if you sit in the first rows or do the overhang on the fence (before security pulls you away) be prepared to pick rubber bits out of your shirt! And you'll smell like rocket fluid by the time the race is over. The Thunder of the cars passing by is something you can never appreciate unless you experience it once for yourself—same for the speeds they are going…tv just doesn't do it justice. It's a raw motor sport experience. I'd say it's one of those must-sees. (And Daytona is the Tiffany of the circuit...if it's possible to say that about NASCAR.)

Plus, I can't remember ever drinking so much in one day!!!!

BMWRocks, what was it like seeing Air force One do a fly by? (Bush has one-upped even himself since landing on the aircraft carrier!)

 

[mscoins]

Yes, the Daytona 500 is an experience that can only be fully appreciated in person, more so from the 4th row (too close for me ). Hope you wore ear protection. I'll bet you'll be smelling tire and asphalt dust for days!

 

[bmwrocks]

BMWRocks, what was it like seeing Air force One do a fly by? (Bush has one-upped even himself since landing on the aircraft carrier!)

That was pretty amazing. It did a slow, low banked flyby over turn three and then aound behind the far grandstands, then flew away toward the southeast, then turned around, flew straight toward the track toward the northwest, banked west and landed at the airport which is just south of the track, coming to a rest in full view of the grandstands!!!

Then he rolled into the track in a calvalcade of black military SUVs, did his thing, and rolled back out the same way. The plane stayed there till about lap 100, then he took off in equal granduer and banked the thing around the track again.....what a showoff!!!!

I have a pic of that I will post here later......

Also the B2 flyby was sweet.

All this was on TV right?

 

[Kirby]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! Fourth row - I'm surprised you didn't get a little tire compound in your face! Sounds like you had a good view of Waltrip's wreck, I think that was on your side? So are you hooked now?

NASCAR races are a heck of an experience and a lot of fun. I've been to Pocono (high speed track) here in PA, but my favorite track to go to is Richmond, VA for the night races. Not a bad seat in the house, slower speeds so you can see the drivers better, lots of bumping and grinding.

If you were in the infield at Daytona you would have seen the other kind of bumping and grinding!

 

[aNoodle]

Oh...jeez...I didn't know it was THAT much of a production. (I guess it's election year!) I don't know what was broadcast at the time. I just saw some clips on CNN today.

Yeah, post some pics.

 

[Kirby]

P.S.

A few of the guys I work with are anti NASCAR, anti racing in general, and say that auto racing isn't a sport, and the drivers aren't atheletes.

I tell 'em that they should say that to Ryan Newman or Michael Waltrip's face, and see if they can outrun them before they get their a$$ handed to 'em!

 

[bmwrocks]

P.S.

A few of the guys I work with are anti NASCAR, anti racing in general, and say that auto racing isn't a sport, and the drivers aren't atheletes.

I tell 'em that they should say that to Ryan Newman or Michael Waltrip's face, and see if they can outrun them before they get their a$$ handed to 'em!

LMAO......I have no idea how they keep control of those cars at those speeds. They have got to be strong as hell.

Waltrip's crash was on the south side and I was on the north side (main stands). So I had no view of it at all. Looked like a bunch of smoke to me, thats all. They showed replays of it on a big screen so thats all I saw. It took 10 mnutes to get him out though.....that was scary to say the least.

I didn't detect any rubber bits on my face, but I can tell you that my ears took a beating and my nose was clogged with dust!!!! I was stupid and had no earplugs. But looking around me I didn't see anyone with earplugs except the people that worked there. Damn rednecks!!!

 

[Ghost]

I don’t follow NASCAR and I’ve never gone to the Daytona 500 but like that commercial with the NASCAR driver talking about a baseball player getting hit by a pitch. He’s in the middle of a crash and doing 360’s saying “that must be a tough sport and it must have hurt, ‘cuz he was limping.”

I have gone to the INDY 500 and that was INSANE. I sat close as well but the cars were going by so fast I could barely see them. IMO Road America in Wisconsin is one of the best places to see a race. I think it’s turn three where the cars come off of straightaway, you here them downshift then it’s a 90 degree left turn that leads straight up a hill. There is nothing like hearing the drivers go through the gears.

 

[jrt67ss350]

A few years back, my dad and I went to the UAW GM 500 (I think it was a 500 - might have been a 600) at Lowes Motor Speedway (was the Charlotte Motor Speedway at the time). We were at turn 3, about 10 rows or so up. It was incredible. Everyone's right - you really can't appreciate the sport until you see a real race. I can't stand it when people say that automotive racing is not a sport because it's just a bunch of cars driving around in circles. I'd love to see any of those people try to drive the way these pros do and have an eighth of the endurance theses guys have. Simply amazing. I can't imagine how tiring it must be to keep one of those beasts under control right at the limit of the car's capabilities for an entire race.

Plus, every single wreck in that race happened right in front of us!

 

[dudley821]

Never been to Daytona, but I must say sitting 10th row at Talladega is one hell of a crazy experience. You should try Bristol sometime too, not top speeds like Daytona, but it's a lot of beating and banging, that track is my favorite to go to.

If you guys aren't familiar with it, there's a thing called Richard Petty Driving Experience where you can actually drive a stock car around the tracks by yourself. My mom bought it for my dad's 40th birthday a few years ago and he fell in love, he's done it a few times since then. Afterwards he was absolutely speechless, he literally didn't say anything for a few hours cuz he was so blown away. At one of them I did a ride-along thing where you get to ride in the passenger seat with a profesional (not a NASCAR racer, but a pro at those things) and he actually races some other guys and I have to say it was the most exhilirating experience of my life. Going 175 around those high banked turns with a car inches from you is the scariest thing in the world. I was only 13 then and ever since then I've told my parents I wanna do the driving thing for my 18th birthday (you have to be 18 to do it). If you are that into the sport I would HIGHLY recommend doing the Richard Petty, the ride along was absolutely amazing and my dad was blown away by driving it by himself. Before that I didn't like NASCAR, but since then I have been to a few races with my parents (they're obsessed) and I have fallen in love with the sport, I have so much respect for those drivers to be able to do that every weekend. Anyone who says NASCAR isn't a sport needs to go to a race or get in one of those cars for themselves.

 

[Kirby]

I was stupid and had no earplugs. But looking around me I didn't see anyone with earplugs except the people that worked there. Damn rednecks!!!

I used to go to local stock car races, so I was prepared for the noise issue. A company called Racing Electronics sells headsets that provide hearing protection. I get on the Internet before I go to a race, get the latest frequencies used by the teams and program them into my Bearcat scanner. It is really cool to hear the team chatter as the race takes place. Jeff Gordon is particularly cranked up on the radio when he is in the running.

 

[bmw046series]

Ever drive your BMW on the track?

 

[Kirby]

Who me? Not yet. But in 2 weeks the local SCCA club is holding an AutoX. I am about 90% sure that I will go give it a run.

 

[bmw046series]

If you ever make it to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (when a race isn’t in town), to get to the museum there you have to cross the track it’s in the center, about 10 years ago a friend of mine and I were down there and the track wasn’t blocked off, so we decided to take the old Ford Taurus for a spin, only made it half way around just decided it was to risky. I don’t know why they didn’t have it blocked off; I’d like to take my BMW on there now though.