Sept 30: A tradition of NASCAR

Here they come and everyone is on their feet, waiting for those modern day gladiators to cross the start finish line. The excitement is palatable, as sixty thousand plus avid race fans anticipate the action, that they will be seeing over the next three hundred laps of door handle to door handle, no holds barred, NASCAR racing. 

Great lead up to today's blog. Lines worthy of a promo ad for the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last Sunday, the 25th. The occasion? This was the twentieth year that my buddy Steve and I have headed to a big NASCAR race. Usually we go south to Virginia or North Carolina, but this time, we went back to the race, that we had started with back in the 1990's (has it been that long?). A great tradition.

NASCAR has had its up and downs, going from a time when the races sold out months in advance, with over a hundred thousand race fans showing up every Sunday, for the various races throughout the US. To these days, when walk up tickets for excellent seats are readily available and maybe "only" sixty to seventy thousand fans fill the stands. Still an impressive number, but paling in comparison to the halcyon days of the past, only a few brief years ago.

No matter, these shows are an event, with lots of displays for the various sponsors and competing companies........

.....like the suspended race car, that has been a focal point of Toyota's exhibit for the past few years. Easy way for the fans to locate their display in the midway that is the fan midway. Toyota always has a great display, as this pic shows......

 Want to see how a street Camry compares to the track car? Look no further than this half and half display, with the production car lined up beside the race car. Can you spot the difference? Of course, you can, as basically the only similarity is the name and the grille decal on the track car. Product identification is really all that is important here. Reality can take a holiday.

Or this Ford Fusion, that lets you see what is under the skin of this race car........

"Yes, son, this is exactly what our family's Fusion looks like."

Yes sir, when NASCAR comes to town, it is a very big deal. Much like a travelling circus, minus the clowns and the elephants, but with the myriad trailers and the performers........

Every team has at least one huge eighteen wheeler that transports their car, as well as all the paraphernalia and electronics, that are associated with a big time race team. All painted up in the team colours, so they present a professional look and act as a rolling billboard for their sponsor, as they traverse the United States, like the Caterpillar team hauler below........

Fans buy souvenirs, so the Fanzone caters to their every whim and when you see what is being sold, one sure does wonder about those whims. Each driver's merchandise area is identified by their picture, so as to ensure that you don't wander into an unwanted adversary's souvenir area by mistake.........

Nothing like spending a few bucks to help pay your favorite team's $10,000,000-$25,000,000 budget. Sure, those three t-shirts will keep them on the track for another couple of weeks at least.

Looking for an interesting weekend? Looking to spend some quality time with a good buddy? Looking to see New England in late September? If yes, to any of these questions, then join the throngs of race fans and visit the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. You might even have a good time.

For me, as I said, this has been a very enjoyable tradition. Part road trip, part race weekend. A chance to spend time with a good friend, while our wives got together in Toronto for golf in our absence. Who had the better deal? I wonder.

Until next time.......