NASCAR—a mystery to some, an obsession to others, and a joke to about everyone else. Many people fail to see the allure of watching cars drive around in a loop for hours, and I must admit that I was very skeptical of its appeal when my family first started getting into it. But several summers ago, my parents had an extra ticket for the July race at New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS) in Loudon, so I was invited to tag along. I’ve been hooked ever since! My parents have been to multiple other tracks along the East Coast and I went with them on a trip to the track in Bristol Tennessee in August 2003. Someday I’d like to visit the big name tracks like Daytona and Talladega too. Or maybe even every track in the entire Nextel Cup circuit!
Regardless, my family still goes to the July race at NHIS every year, and usually we go to the one in September too. It’s such a fun and interesting experience that I thought, "why not write about it for my website?" So this year, I decided to document my long day at NHIS for the 2004 Siemens 300. I was armed with a notebook and pen all day and kept a running time diary from the moment I woke up until the moment I got home, and I brought my camera along to take some pictures of the sights and cars in order to make a detailed and (hopefully) interesting feature. Please read on!
5:00 AM – My alarm goes off and is promptly hit with my fist. Outside my window I can see the rays of early morning light illuminating the sky. It’s going to be a beautiful day, but I’m not awake enough at this point to care.
5: 10 AM – Somehow I manage to crawl out of bed. I can hear the landlords (my sister Ashley and her husband Phil) moving around upstairs. Despite being barely conscious, I dress and begin packing my backpack with the things I’ll need during the day, such as my Gameboy, a notebook, camera, sunscreen, sunglasses and bug repellent. Maggie and Cassie keep getting underfoot as I get ready. I’m usually a very late riser so my being awake at this hour greatly confuses them!
5:50 AM – I’m more or less ready at this point but still feel 75% asleep. We’re supposed to leave at about 6:15 to meet with my parents and the others for 7AM, so I have time for a caffeine injection.
6:00 AM – Caffeine is ingested. Brain is beginning to resume its normal functions. Ash and Phil have brought down the coolers and their necessities and are loading up the van. Almost ready.
6:23 AM – We had some trouble confining Luke and Teddy (the dogs) in the family room, so we’re getting a slightly later start than we intended. We now pull out of the driveway and pray that we don’t come home to a lake of dog pee and a mountain of dog crap later tonight.
6:45 AM – Brief stop at a mini-mart along the way for ice. There’s also a good sale on soda so Phil picks up a couple more 12-paks of Coke.
7:10 AM – We arrive at the rendezvous point only slightly late but we’re the last ones to get there. This is a first! Usually Mom and Dad are the last ones to arrive because they’re habitually tardy for everything! There are 7 vehicles in total in our group, amounting to about 20 or so people. Every vehicle is also some form of pickup or SUV (or a van in our case). Cargo room is important! We line up our cars, Dad taking the point, and begin to drive as a convoy towards the track. On the street corners nearby, several people are holding up signs saying, "I Need Tickets." I wish them luck, but this race has been sold out for weeks!
7:35 AM – We’re nearing the track and the traffic is starting to get very bad. Aggressive driving is required to keep all the cars together. Some years we’re lucky and get to park all in a row, and others we’ve ended up very spread out. The closer we all are, the better it is for tailgating!
7:45 AM – The parking gods were kind to us and all 7 cars are right together! HOORAY! Immediately, we begin to set up "base camp" as we’re all starving and want breakfast. Food is slowly unpacked, a total of 4 gas grills are fired up, and 3 large tables with lots of chairs are set up. It quickly begins to look like party central.
Every year there’s also at least one new feature. This year it’s our very own outhouse courtesy of my Aunt Nancy. She found this tent in some catalog and just had to buy it! The "throne" was something Dad made with an old chair, an old toilet seat and acetylene torch. I’m looking at this thing and now know that we’ve crossed the line from "fans" to "obsessors." [Sigh]
There’s a group next to us composed entirely of men, some older and some around my age. It’s still very early in the morning and they’re breaking out a beer funnel! I don’t believe it! Is this some throwback to college frat parties? Obviously they don’t care about having powerful hangovers tomorrow...
8:00 AM – Base camp is now complete and the cooking begins. Uncle Bernie starts in on his signature bacon, Greg cooks sausage, and Dad begins frying up three dozen eggs, all of which will be consumed! I think Uncle Andre brought a pitcher of Bloody Marys. Food and alcohol will generally flow freely for the rest of the day. The new TV that Nancy brought along has the morning news on and the weather report is looking great—not too hot and no rain in sight. Usually the July air will reach upwards of 95 degrees on race day, but this year promises to be much more comfortable.
I should probably mention that Dad has six younger brothers and all of them are race fans to some degree. Four of his brothers, Andre, Bernie, Charlie and Mike, are partying with us today, so this is very much a family-oriented affair. Bernie’s wife Nancy was actually the one who got us all into NASCAR in the first place, so these affairs are all her fault!
 Firing up the grills |
 Tailgating begins |
9:00 AM – Breakfast is more or less winding down, though there’s still plenty of food out to nibble on. I’m feeling satisfied after eating two fried eggs, several strips of bacon, toast, and a bunch of strawberries. Aside from the eggs and bacon, which are Dad’s and Bernie’s specialties, no one is ever assigned anything specific to bring. This results in plenty of surprises and everyone is always invited to try whatever he or she wants. It’s a "share the wealth" sort of thing, I guess. There’s never a shortage of food at these gatherings; in fact, we often bring too much and have leftovers for days.
Now we’re all sitting around and talking, mostly about the day ahead. Generally, each NASCAR fan has a favorite driver and we’re no exception. Mom loves Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bernie is a big Terry LaBonte fan, Ashley favors Tony Stewart, and Phil likes Michael Waltrip, just to name a few. I’m something of a rarity in that I don’t have a specific favorite driver—just certain ones I prefer and certain ones I don’t like. Among my favorites are Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth, though I often root for others too. Already I can hear some people bickering about various drivers, but it’s all in good fun.
Above, the sky is bright blue and streaked with a few thin clouds. The air is feeling considerably warmer than it was at 5:30 and I’m thinking that now would be a good time to lather on the sunblock. Being one of those albino people from the north, I don’t tan or even really burn—I stroke. That old saying about an ounce of prevention makes a lot of sense.
10:10 AM – I spent the past 40 minutes helping Mom and Ashley configure their race scanners. These nifty devices are basically small, programmable radios that many NASCAR fans listen to while at the track. Each driver in the Nextel Cup circuit has a radio frequency used to communicate with his pit crew, and a list of those frequencies is always available on the internet or from an official book. A fan can then program those frequencies into the scanner and use them to listen in on the drivers’ conversations with the pit crews! It’s a very cool feature and one that some fans (like my Mom) refuse to go without. You can get the official race broadcasts from Fox, TNT or NBC on the scanner too, which can help you stay informed of what’s going on behind the scenes. Naturally, they have running commentary announced at the track, but you usually can’t hear it over the cars, so the scanner helps out a lot.
With that done, I have the rest of the morning to myself. I’m now coated in SPF 45 sunscreen and feeling much safer out in the increasing heat, and I snag a Vanilla Coke from the cooler and decide to work on my latest story to pass the time. The race doesn’t start until 2PM.
10:35 AM – There’s a nice breeze today, but it’s apparently a little too strong for the new outhouse as it started to fall over. So Dad and my uncles work on making it more secure. Ashley quips as she watches them; "How many Frenchmen does it take to fix an outdoor toilet?" The world may never know.
11:20 AM – Phil and Mom had been napping earlier but they’ve since been woken up so we can get ready to head to the hospitality tents. I mentioned earlier that this race is sold out, and Dad was having a terrible time getting tickets. It turned out that the only way he could get any was to pay extra money and get them through a corporation. Some of the companies associated with NASCAR will set up big tents outside of the track and for a fee, a race fan is allowed access to these tents where they can get door prizes, a free lunch, and even a chance to meet some of the drivers! This time around, we’re the "honored" guests of Federal Mogul, makers of many fine auto parts used for the cars. To get past the gates to the tent, we have to wear these ugly neon orange bracelets made out of paper. It’s a good thing this day isn’t about fashion!
So Mom, Dad, Phil, Ash and I pack up the scanners and stuff our small coolers full of extra water, soda and beer for the race. Believe it or not, you’re allowed to bring outside food and drink with you into the track! They sell stuff inside of course, but it’s also very expensive and somewhat inconvenient. There are a couple rules about what is allowed in the track, most of which were created in the wake of September 11th. You have to use a small, preferably soft-backed cooler (no bigger than 14 inches in any dimension) and you can’t bring in any glass. Every bag or cooler you bring will also be searched before you’re allowed past the gates. It’s a bit of a pain to deal with but it is for safety’s sake and we’ve never encountered a problem with the system.
No one else in the group has hospitality bands, so they’re starting to cook lunch before they head for the track. We bid them goodbye and the five of us make the short journey down the hill to the tents.
12:10 PM – In the shadow of the Speedway sit the gigantic corporate hospitality tents. There are lots of big names hosting parties—Coca-Cola, DuPont, Home Depot, NAPA Auto Parts—and there are thousands of people walking in the area. We find the Federal Mogul tent and seek out a table, a task made very difficult by the crowd. There’s a DJ in the back making annoying comments as he plays equally annoying country music at volume level 11. My ears hurt!
We got goodie bags as we entered. The contents vary from year to year and often contain some neat little gifts. This package has a souvenir hat complete with the date of the race, a matching T-shirt, a plastic sleeve for your race ticket, and some nifty topper thing for soda/beer cans that’s supposed to maintain the fizz. Lunch is being served and it smells good. Dad fetches everyone drinks; water for Phil and Mom, a Pepsi for me, and a beer for himself and Ashley. We decide to wait for the lines to die down a little before we get our food.
While we waited, a 7-8 year old boy got up and sang karaoke to "Picture" by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. He was very cute!
12:45 PM – Lunch is over and the crowds are beginning to disperse. I’m stuffed full of barbequed chicken, rolls, green salad and a couple of cookies. The food was quite good, which it ought to be considering the outrageous price of this excursion ($190 apiece)! We gather our things and make for the Speedway. On our way out of the tent, this couple decided to sing that same "Picture" song as a duet. To say they were bad would be an understatement—I think I’ve been scarred for life!
There are numerous trailers set up under and around the Speedway and these sell all kinds of racing paraphernalia—hats, shirts, jackets, jewelry, model cars, bumper stickers, flags...the list is endless. It’s fun to go shopping and find gear to show off your fandom! It’s a seemingly endless sea of people walking around this midway, the sight of which never ceases to amaze me. Nearly everyone is wearing a hat or shirt with their favorite driver’s name and/or number on it. I’m content wearing the hat I got last summer on our trip to Tennessee. It’s red, white and blue and says "Bristol Motor Speedway" on the front in big letters. Well-traveled NASCAR fans must show everyone what other tracks they’ve been to!
1:30 PM – Half an hour until the race is set to start. We find our seats and enjoy watching some of the opening fanfare and the all-important driver introductions. The sun is very mild for July; I’m guessing it’s only 80 or so. It’s hard to tell the actual air temperature since it’s always 10-15 degrees hotter inside the track than out. Around us, fans are conglomerating in droves. The grandstands hold approximately 120,000 people and I’m not seeing an empty seat anywhere!
NHIS is a short track, sometimes referred to as a "slow" track since the cars can’t drive as fast here as they can at a huge speedway like Daytona. It’s oval shaped and slightly over a mile long in length. The turns are banked 12 degrees, which is quite flat compared to some other places (Bristol has 36 degrees of banking, for instance). The race is 300 laps long, so that’s about 300 miles. Some races have the number of laps in the name (like the Sharpie 500 in Bristol), whereas others (like the Daytona 500) use the number of miles in the name instead. NHIS races are cool in that you’re getting both the number of miles and the number of laps in the titles!
 Pit Road |
 Turns 1 and 2 |
 Turns 3 and 4 |
1:50 PM – Driver introductions are complete and the crews can be seen running around pit road below us. Car #12 driven by Ryan Newman had the pole (starting first position). Fans bounce beach balls and start doing the Wave in anticipation for the big event. The start is just minutes away and you can feel the crowd’s adrenaline rising!
2:07 PM – The singing of the Star Spangled Banner marks the countdown to green. Every race always features a fly-over by army jets or planes, and today the jets come from the New Hampshire National Guard base in Portsmouth. They also hoist up a huge American Flag using a crane and let it ripple in the breeze for awhile. Nothing like a sporting event to bring out one’s patriotism.
 The Fly-over |
 The really big Flag! |
2:15 PM – Finally they announce the most famous words in racing: "Gentlemen, start your engines!" They release a bunch of red, white and blue helium balloons into the air, which soar skyward like some sort of mushroom cloud. The pace car slowly guides the racers off of pit road and onto the track. They’ll run a few "warm up" laps and then the race will begin!
 Lots of Balloons! |
 Warming up |
 Green Flag! |
2:23 PM – The pace car drives back to pit road and the green flag waves! The whole crowd stands and cheers as all of the engines roar to full throttle and the cars accelerate down the straightaway. These vehicles pack some 800 horsepower and they are LOUD; nearly deafening, in fact. The smell of burning rubber from the tires fills the air. The average speed at NHIS is somewhere around 100-110 mph, which is generally slow for stock cars but still really fast when you think about it. The cars all look like blurs of color when they go by.
Ryan Newman is pulling out for a strong lead. Jeff Gordon (#24) had a disappointing qualifying for today, starting in 24th place after four consecutive first place starts, but he’s already tearing up the tarmac to catch up.
2:35 PM – Lap 25. Newman’s starting to catch up to the stragglers, meaning that some of the cars will now be a lap behind the leader. A guy sitting a few rows behind us passed out due to heat exhaustion. The EMTs on staff attend to him and he’s eventually taken down the stairs and out of the track, presumably to a hospital. This always happens to several people each July (sometimes in September too), the result of too much sun combined with too little water (or too much alcohol). People really need to learn to be more careful with their bodies.
2:50 PM – Lap 50. Michael Waltrip (#15) is slowly creeping up on Newman. Go Michael! Jeff Gordon is now in the top 10.
2:54 PM – Lap 59 heralds the first caution of the day. Ricky Craven (#32) dinged the wall. The yellow flag waves and most of the leaders take the opportunity to pit, where they get fuel and small tweaks to the cars like new tires or chasis adjustments. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#8) was badly burned in an accident on Monday and leaves the race; rookie driver Martin Truex Jr. will drive the car in his stead. But because he started the race, Earnhardt will still get the points gathered by the #8 car added to his total, which affects his standings for the championship.
3:00 PM – Lap 65 goes green. Ryan Newman pulls ahead with Waltrip still on his tail. Restarts are often tricky because the cars get grouped back together, so things get crowed on the track and it’s difficult for the drivers to maneuver. A common saying in NASCAR is that cautions cause cautions.
3:02 PM – Lap 69. Jeff Gordon’s made it onto the leader board by taking the 7th place spot; by lap 80 he’ll be 5th. Waltrip is still trying to catch Newman, but now Jamie McMurray (#42) is vying for the 2nd place spot. Tony Stewart (#20) isn’t a distant 4th either!
3:13 PM – Lap 90. The yellow flag goes out again due to debris on the track. Some cars, including big names like Jimmie Johnson (#48), Bobby LaBonte (#18) and Sterling Marlin (#40) decide to pit.
3:24 PM – Lap 100. The green flag waves, but no sooner have the cars sped up than Dave Blaney (#30) stalls out in Turn One. Caution number 3 goes out at Lap 101. Collective groans are heard all around the stands.
3:29 PM – Green again at lap 105. At least they were quick about it.
3:45 PM – I’m starting to get very annoyed. Ryan Newman has led this entire race so far and no one seems able to catch him! Michael Waltrip and Jamie McMurray are competing for 2nd place, but no one’s even close to Newman at this point. Races lose a lot of their interest if there aren’t any lead changes. Somebody pass him already!
3:47 PM – Lap 139. Truex hit the wall in Turn 1 so we’ve reached caution number 4. The leading cars decide to pit, and fast work by Jeff Gordon’s team bumps him from 5th place to 3rd. Newman still makes it out first, however. And I’m pleased to see a newcomer to the top five spots—Dale Jarrett (#88) is now in 2nd. Go UPS!
3:53 PM – Now we’re at lap 145 and the green flag goes out again. Kurt Busch (#97) had a good pit stop too, apparently, as he’s now passed Jarrett to take 2nd place.
3:55 PM – Lap 150 marks the midway point of the race. Newman is still way out in front. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are currently vying for 4th place, and Jamie McMurray is looking to move up from 6th place. I’m surprised at how few cautions we’ve had so far today. This race is going very quickly and at this rate will be over with before much longer.
More of those thin clouds have moved in to cover up the sun. I can’t get over how perfect the weather is today. Instead of baking like a potato, I’m perfectly comfortable. Lucky!
4:03 PM – Lap 165. There’s still a wide gap between 1st (Newman) and 2nd (Busch) but it’s starting to close. Jamie McMurray just flew by a bunch of other drivers to take a distant 3rd. He has to be happy with how well he’s doing today.
4:06 PM – Lap 171. Yay! Someone’s finally knocked Ryan Newman out of 1st place! The bad part is that that someone is Kurt Busch. Bleh. McMurray’s still very far behind both of them but he seems bent on catching up.
4:08 PM – Lap 174. That was unexpected—Todd Bodine stalled out in Turn 1 just like Blaney did awhile back. Cursed engines? This will make only the fifth caution of the day. Dale Jarrett pits but the rest of the leaders stay out, so he’ll end up further behind.
4:14 PM – Lap 180. They’d just gone green again when Brian Vickers (#25) hit the wall in Turn 4, bringing us to caution number six. Despite the lack of lead changes, this race is still very interesting!
4:17 PM – Lap 183 goes green...again. Kurt Busch immediately takes off, separating from the rest of the group. Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon round out the top five spots.
4:25 PM – We’ve reached lap 200, meaning we’re two-thirds of the way through this race. Kurt Busch is way out in front but McMurray is beginning to gain on Newman for 2nd place.
4:30 PM – Lap 210. Ricky Rudd (#21) had a bit of a fender-bender in Turn 3, so we’ve begun caution number seven. The lead cars make pit stops again.
4:38 PM – Lap 216 goes green. Ryan Newman is back in 1st place; Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth (#17), Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon fill the rest of the top five. Jamie McMurray is in 6th—he’s having a really solid day.
4:40 PM – Guess I spoke too soon about the lack of cautions earlier. Jeff Green (#43) just crashed in Turn 4, making for the eighth caution of the day.
4:50 PM – Green again at lap 229. Casey Mears (#41) spun out in Turn 1 on the restart, but he recovered so quickly that the caution flag didn’t go out. Oooh! Jeff Gordon just passed Ryan Newman for 2nd place!
4:52 PM – Crap! Rookie Brendan Gaughan (#77) crashed in Turn 2, so we’re at the ninth caution. Now this is just getting annoying.
4:55 PM – Lap 236 heralds the return of the green flag. Kurt Busch is already pulling far ahead, but I still say this could be anyone’s race.
5:02 PM – There’s only 50 laps to go and Kurt Busch is way out in front. Matt Kenseth is quickly gaining on Ryan Newman, hoping to take the 3rd spot, but it’ll be awhile before he can catch Jeff Gordon in 2nd.
5:05 PM – Lap 254. Ricky Craven hit the damn wall again, this time in Turn 3. Caution number 10—swell!
5:14 PM – Lap 263 goes green. The leaders begin to thin out as usual, but the cars at the back are racing three wide! It’s hard to decide which end to watch!
5:16 PM – Lap 271. Greg Biffle (#16) hit the wall, calling for yet another caution. Some people above and below us are beginning to pack up their stuff and leave, likely hoping to avoid traffic (yeah right). Personally, I have no idea why anyone would choose to miss the end of the race to save a mere 15 minutes or so in traffic!
5:23 PM – Green at lap 276. Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon pull ahead again, but Matt Kenseth is giving Ryan Newman a run for 3rd place.
5:30 PM – Lap 290! We’re coming down to the wire now. Kurt Busch likely has the race in the bag unless something happens. Kenseth can’t quite get around Newman...damn.
5:33 PM – Lap 293. I can’t believe it! Rusty Wallace (#2) crashed in Turn 4, so we’re under caution again! The crews will clean the track quickly and we’ll have a shootout for the win. Lots of people are on their feet in anticipation.
5:35 PM – The shootout begins at lap 297. Everyone’s standing now, just waiting to see if Busch or Gordon will win. The white flag marks one lap to go and...Kurt Busch takes it! CRA-AP! Jeff Gordon takes a strong second, Ryan Newman’s in 3rd, Matt Kenseth’s in 4th and Tony Stewart finishes 5th. Jamie McMurray, one of the most impressive drivers of the day, finishes 7th. Good for him!
5:40 PM – Kurt Busch burns out at the start/finish line as is the tradition for most winners. It creates a huge cloud of choking dust and smoke, and the air is now filled with the pungent smell of incinerated rubber. It was a very good race, but now it’s over and it’s time for us to return to base.
 Busch burns out |
 One more shot of the crowds! |
6:15 PM – We arrive back at the cars, tired but happy. Everyone else is already there and beginning to get stuff out for dinner. Eating and relaxing is about all we can do until some of the traffic clears out. With 120,000 people gathered here, it doesn’t take a math genius to know that that’s a lot of cars!
Phil begins cooking his signature salmon (glazed with maple syrup) on kabobs, Dad has a bunch of potatoes and steak tips, and Charlie brought venison from one of his successful hunts back in November. There are tons of deserts and other things too, and we all graze according to our individual tastes. Plus we trade racing stories since we all sat in different parts of the grandstands. Apparently there was a guy with a gas powered blender making drinks behind Bernie and Nancy. None of us have any idea where one could obtain such a thing, but Mom thinks we should try to get one for next year.
7:00 PM – The group next to us is beer funneling again. One guy proceeds to violently puke his guts out afterwards. People from other parts of the field are gathering around to watch this spectacle. Some of my uncles are laughing, but all I can do is groan. In my opinion, if you’re going to do something that stupid, you deserve to get sick and have a horrible hangover!
7:30 PM – I’m feeling pretty full and very, very tired. The lack of sleep is finally catching up with me and all I want to do is go home and crash. Too bad it’ll be awhile before that happens. Some of the people around us are shooting up firecrackers and fireworks, giving a festival feel to the evening. It’s still beautiful out, though a bit cooler with twilight setting in. We basically had a perfect day for racing.
7:45 PM – Ooopsie. Someone’s car battery went dead. A guy comes over and asks my Dad if he can give him a boost. Luckily Dad always keeps a set of jumper cables around! We’ve been in such a situation ourselves before and have found willing help from other people. I’m reminded of the spirit of camaraderie amongst NASCAR fans. It seems that everywhere you look there’s someone willing to lend a helping hand or a funny racing story. We’re a very special breed of fans.
8:00 PM – Clean up begins at long last. The field is looking more and more empty by the minute, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t traffic leading up to the highway.
8:20 PM – Our cars are packed and we all say goodbye and drive off in our separate ways. Phil, Ashley and I head out the southern gate while Mom, Dad and everyone else heads out the north gate. The traffic is a bit backed up but it’s still moving along pretty well. Above us, a nice pink sunset provides closure to a wonderful (though exhausting) day.
8:35 PM – Now the traffic is stuck bumper to bumper. Nothing unusual, though Phil’s looking pretty worn out. I ask him if he’s awake enough to drive home and if he wants a soda to perk him up. He says he drank 10 Cokes already today and fears that an 11th would prevent him from getting any sleep at all. Now I’m just speechless...
8:53 PM – We’re on the highway now, heading home. We should be there in about half an hour or so unless traffic backs up again.
9:26 PM – Safely in the driveway. My bed is calling to me...
9:30 PM – It should come as no surprise that Luke and Teddy made an absolute mess of the family room while we were gone. They shredded some paper and chewed apart one of Phil’s kneepads that he wears when he’s doing home improvement stuff like laying flooring. I can’t even count all of the pee puddles or crap piles. It stinks to high heaven! Let this be a lesson to never leave two naughty dogs alone in the house for 15 hours!
But the mess is cleaned up and the landlords and I do ourselves a favor by washing up and going to bed.
10:00 PM – I’m realizing as I undress to shower that I got a little sunburned despite wearing that thick coating of SPF 45. I should write to the Neutrogena company and demand a refund!
I’m joking. It’s really not that bad considering some sunburns I’ve received in the past. Just a few traces of red along my shoulders and chest near the edges of where my tanktop was. My arms are actually a bit tanned—that’s surprising! Thankfully nothing happened to my ears or my face as those spots hurt when they get burned. I can’t complain. I had a wonderful day and saw a great race. A little sun damage is a small price to pay for a perfect day at NHIS!
Thus concludes a day at the track as a NASCAR fan. It's a long and exhausting day but it's undoubtedly fun and I'd recommend anyone to try it sometime. One race will have you hooked!