wilbur jeffers somehow suckered me into spending 100$ on a ticket to bristol motor speedway to enjoy a nascar race. up to this point in my life i have despised the "sport" and pitied anyone who watched it but because of will's persistent badgering and my curiosity i found myself in tennessee one weekend in august.
after a sleepless night in asheville we piled into the rental car (ford tempo with new jersey plates) and immediately delved headfirst into the nascar experience. you begin to notice youre getting close by seeing the odd truck with a dale earnhardt jr flag and a rather large man driving while sipping a 86 oz diet mtn dew. then it turns into every other car (truck) carrying heavily intoxicated, sunburned, tank topped "race fans" yelling out the windows their favorite drivers beer sponsor and requesting that any females (or males) in your car expose themselves. meanwhile as far as the eye can see the once peaceful rolling hills of east tennessee have turned into a sea of RVs surrounded by a "staggering" amount of shirtless and tattooed fans from every fishing hole and NRA clubhouse in the neighboring states.
the afternoon is spent drinking, betting on the winners (whom ive never heard of) and absorbing the scene. we tailgated with some very nice folks who allowed us to partake in their plush setup. 36' motorcoach, big screen tvs, grill, games, food, alcohol, but they themselves dont go to the race, in fact they go to sleep before its over which struck me as strange.
the time to head to the track is upon us and as we enter i let out a big "rebel yell" which i thought would be welcomed but apparently thats not cool. make mental note. we rent headset/earmuffs which allow you to listen in on the drivers communication w their crew chief, and find our seats. just in time for the intros which start with a rousing singing of the country song about "do you remember when those towers fell.....america is really awwwwesome duh hickey" or something like that, accompanied by a video montage of firefighters, policeman, and a dog catcher or two. then 3 fighter jets flew over, which was really neato. next came the pledge of allegiance lead by kids dressed up in uncle sam outfits, and jets flying over. then came the prayer which included phrases like "may god refuel the racers," and "may jeff gordon spin out in the bottom of turn 4" then the jets flew over. finally the national anthem was sung as a parachutist dropped in with a huge american flag waving behind him and dragged it as he landed. and the jets flew over.
RACETIME!!!!!!! vrrrrroooooommmmmm off they go and immediately the spectator sport becomes just about you as the noise is so deafening that communication is rendered useless. for four hours you live in your head, inhaling high octane fumes and drinking the beer and liquor which you are allowed to bring in.
i must admit the experience at the track itself is indescribable its a complete sensory overload. you can feel the power of the cars, the visual spectacle of the lights, the bright cars whipping around the corners within inches of each other is amazing, the intoxicating smell of rubber and fuel and the anticipation of a wreck is remarkable. but i would have been satisfied with them running the bristol 40 rather than the required bristol 500 laps. it is truly a "once in a lifetime" experience that will stay a "once in a lifetime" experience.
the volume wont transfer on the video for some reason
