Magically Wisped Away To Delaware
Many people find it hard to believe that I am a NASCAR fan. I guess you can say, I am not a hardcore NASCAR fan. I don’t live and breathe motor sports. I’ve said it before; Jason is the one to thank for all of this. His devotion to Tony Stewart (borderline psychotic) fueled our NASCAR frenzy. At one time it was just cars driving around a track, now it has taken on a more detailed meaning. A lot of deciding factors make up a Nextel Cup Champion over the long season, and this year will end like no other with a shootout for The Championship.
It is normally only a matter of time until you decided to experience something in real life as oppose to experiencing it through a medium like television. For example, when someone takes the time to see their favorite music performed live. My first real life NASCAR encounter was last weekend at the Dover International Speedway for the MBNA 400.
The weekend began late for me. I was the only member of our group still on Maryland’s western shore Friday afternoon. Everyone else had followed the crowds to Dover Friday morning or Thursday night. It was a good thing. Someone had to pick up Jen and Bob from BWI late Friday night. I watched some of the Orioles game downtown, and was at BWI just in time for them to grab their luggage. Our drive to Dover was easy. There was not one bit of traffic in the middle of the night. I could not believe what I saw once we turned down the road toward the track. First of all, the stands were enormous, and this is a small track! Dover is a mile around. I can’t imagine the 2 and 3 mile tracks that hold upwards of 200,000 people. Never mind the track, the perimeter was completely engulfed by RVs! As far as the eye could see were different types all flying flags of their favorite drivers below American flags. It was crazy. We pulled into our little area of what I dubbed a Redneck Refugee camp around 2am. Everyone was pretty tired from a long day of drinking. We all said our hellos to Jason, Denby, Matt, Megan, and Ritchie. Listened to the stories of the girls driving around in the backs of trucks acting like whores and had a few drinks. We all pilled in the RV for some shuteye after the fire went out. My best guess on time was about 5am.
The next day we woke up, and we immediately realized the limitations of eight people living in a RV probably designed for about five. Our water was almost gone and the holding tank was full. I was able to grab a quick shower, but others had to wait. The good thing about this refugee camp was that trucks drove around providing service every few hours. They’ll fill up your RV with water, unload the crapper, and sell ice. Fantastic. The weather was less then desirable, but we made the best of it. It basically was raining or overcast the whole weekend. Ritchie cooked up some sweet breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, and sausage. My grandmother’s Irish bread was a hit! After breakfast, Matt and I promptly setup the beer pong table. It was constructed out of saw horses and a piece of plywood. The *high* winds and sprinkling rain made it almost impossible to play, but we taught Bob how to get down to the best college game ever.
The rest of the day pretty much consisted of socializing with each other and our neighbors. Denby, Ritchie, and I took a field trip to the outside world. We picked up some supplies at Wal-Mart and Wawa. I wasn’t feeling to well so, I took a nap for a few hours. Eventually dinner time rolled around, and Megan prepared some of the best shiskabobs I have ever eaten. We started to listen to a lot of music, and build a fire for when the sun went down. One of the most interesting conversations we had was about naming a child. Jen and Bob are thinking about starting a family in Mississippi. Jen asked if I could post about the conversation so, my readers could shoot her some ideas. I did one better. Check out this little tool that will let you post baby names you like! The night began to wind down much earlier then the night before. After all, tomorrow was race day. We each had a few smores and called it a night.
Denby woke us all up Sunday screaming something like, "Count Down To Green!" That means the count down to the Green Flag or start of the race had begun. For some of these people in the RV Refugee camp, it began a week or two ago when they showed up. Either way, we began to clean up the campsite for a speedy departure after the race. We also packed up our 12x12 coolers with as many beverages as possible. This is NASCAR. You can bring as much beer as you want into every race.
The walk over to the track was maybe a mile? I am such a bad judge of these things. It was kind of annoying because; everything was so muddy. It had been raining for maybe five days. Outside the track, we took some time to peruse Souvenir City. It is what it sounds like. Each driver has a large booth (actually a tractor trailer) full of memorabilia for purchase. My driver is Ryan Newman, so I picked up a small #12 decal for my car. I had on my “I Love Ryan Newman” t-shirt. I got some great looks from a few other fans.
While everyone was looking around, Denby commented on one man’s camera. I believe it was a Nikon D100, but I didn’t get a great look. The guy turned out to be a photographer for the Baltimore Sun. He and a reporter were at the race to get a story for the feature section of their paper. The reporter interviewed all of us, and the photographer took photos. The story is going to print on Thursday or Friday. Look for links later in the week.
After everyone made a few purchases, we found our seats right in turn three. We were about 20 rows up from the track. Man, it is so loud. Louder then any concert I have ever been too. I really don’t wear ear plugs. Just chalk up loss of hearing later in life, but I wore some for this event. I took them out for a few laps, and my ears were ringing. I also wore sunglasses the whole time. We were so close; you could feel rubber and other stuff getting in your eyes with the glasses off.
It also happened to be the 60th anniversary of D-Day so; there was a ceremony to honor the heroes before the race. After the ceremony, the drivers drove around the track in the back of pickups waving to the crowd. I thought that was a nice touch.
The race itself was really exciting. Of course, I was routing for Ryan Newman, but I pulled number 8 in our group pool. Everyone put up ten bucks and got a number. If the number you pulled was the last number of the winning driver, you got the pot. This meant I was also routing for Dale Erdnheart Jr., Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Labonte, and Elliot Sadler. What was really cool was the scanner Jason purchased. We could take turns listening to driver’s channels and the radio play by play.
During the race Ryan Newman led for a few laps, but everything got flipped upside down at lap 347. There was a 17 car pile up right in turn 3. We got to see the whole thing from real close. Ryan Newman was involved, and he was so angry. His car was all banged up (check out picture 11). Kasey Kahne emerged from the Red Flag (stop the race to clean the track) in the lead. He only led for about 8 laps. He slid out on a bit of oil from a blown engine. What a blunder. NASCAR should have thrown a caution for the blown engine to clean the track. This cost the rookie his 1st Nextel Cup victory. After this caution, Tony Stewart, Jr., and Mark Martin battled for the win with Martin coming away with the win. What an exciting 4 hours!
The walk back to the car wasn’t too bad. We were able to pull out of the RV site pretty quickly. Unfortunately, not only did Matt win the pool, but he took us on a detour to the University of Delaware, and we had to drive back down 95 home. Oh well, at least I was back in Silver Spring in time to be in bed by 11pm. What a crazy weekend. Not only was the race so much fun, but hanging out with everyone was a blast. I’ll definitely be attending another race. I just hope this time it doesn’t rain the entire weekend. Maybe it will be Dover? I don’t know. Bob, Jen, Jason, and Denby go to races all over the country. Road trip to Alabama anyone?
