I’ve always been a fan of any and all forms of motorsport since as far back as I can remember. From go-karts to Formula 1, I love watching, learning, and partaking in every event I possibly can. NASCAR is no exception and early in 2010 when I realized that I had an upcoming open weekend coinciding with a NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway, I seized on the opportunity to attend! I purchased a cheap ticket on the backstretch through a local seller on craigslist and planned to drive up from San Antonio early in the morning on the day of the race. As the date drew closer however, rain loomed heavily over the surrounding area and threatened to put a major wrench in my plans. Nonetheless, I had already bought a ticket and made no alternate arrangements so I remained committed to going to the race. Being that my only car was a Lotus Elise at the time and also being that a majority of the parking is on grass/dirt, I wanted to get there extra early so I could ensure I got a spot on the pavement to at least prevent me from getting stuck in the mud or worse, damaging my car. I left home late Saturday night and pulled in to the parking lot during a torrential rain storm at about 2AM Sunday Morning. I quickly threw my roof cover over the top of my Elise and made camp in what was definitely one of the worst cars to try to sleep in. I slept sitting nearly straight up with a pillow behind my head and against the window. I was awakened a few hours later by a neighborly passerby who decided he needed to use the restroom after parking next to me and who then proceeded to urinate in the space between our cars. The rain continued and I waited in angst until finally late in the afternoon NASCAR officially postponed the race until Monday. Unfortunately for me I was still fairly new at my job at the time and didn’t have the established presence to be able to call in to work the next day so I somberly climbed back into my car and drove four hours home, soggy and defeated. 500 Miles, had to sleep overnight in a Lotus, and the cost of my ticket yet I had nothing to show for it.

After hearing this story my Dad felt that it was the perfect opportunity for some father-son time and decided that he would take me and my younger brother Waylon to the next race at Texas Motor Speedway coming up in a few months on November 7th. We got much better tickets this go around and luckily, there were clear skies the entire weekend. We drove up Saturday and stayed in a hotel near the track so that we could just hop over the next morning. Traffic was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be and we arrived a few hours before the race began.

We stopped by live broadcasts of the Speed Channel and ESPN, even making a few appearances in the background during their shows. Amazingly one of my Dad’s friends happened to be there as well and just happened to have a Pit Pass he was not using so I also got the opportunity to wander around the pits before the race as well.

It was pretty cool to see all the cars lined up and to see the pit crews prepping for the race. I got back to my seat just in time for the most famous words in motorsports and soon enough the cars were rolling around the track waiting for the green flag.

Its hard to explain it to someone who hasn’t experienced it but the excitement of actually being there versus watching the race on television is magnified by an extraordinary amount. TV does not do justice to how loud or how fast these cars actually are. You can almost feel the sound in your chest and don’t even try to stand next to the track for more than a few laps or else you will most likely develop some form of hearing loss. On top of that, when the cars fly by at nearly 200MPH, you are treated to a delightful gust of race fuel exhaust fumes that only make the experience that much richer in a very unusual way. Even if you are not a fan of NASCAR, the sights, sounds, and experience are something that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy at least once in their lifetime. It was definitely a great experience and I can’t wait until I have another opportunity to do it all over again.