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Recently, while in Florida, I accomplished another 'bucket list' item, and attended the Daytona 500 with my nephew! The scale of the place is gigantic, seating over 125,00 people.... 5 full Bell Centres!
Walking around the infield, I noticed many large food booths selling enormous pretzels, gigantic turkey legs, and hordes of very BIG people eating huge portions, at about 10:3-0 am! Expecting tobacco spitting good ol' boys, and big haired, big boobed babes everywhere, I noted that people were normal looking, pleasant and friendly, though much bigger than our locals! The seats in the stands were steel, probably to avoid insurance claims from a lard-assed induced stadium collapse!
Listening to Kid Rock sing a few Southern ditties, I foolishly sat on the grass, and very soon, a GoDaddy Danica Patrick clone, (LOL) gnawing on an enormous turkey leg, plopped down before me, obscuring the horizon!
I have always had mixed feelings about NASCAR, and it's red-neck connotations. I thought the cars were crude, and brutish. I thought the drivers were bootleggers only able to turn left!
Well, I have very different thoughts now!
While the cars do have push rod valve trains, and the suspension is rudimentary, these cars are both reliable and incredibly fast.
Both Daytona and LCMT are about the same distance, 2.5 miles.
LCMT has 15 turns, Dayton only four, and they are severely banked.
At LCMT, a 911 Cup car might turn a lap in ... 1:40?
We have 15 turns and use great skill in braking, accelerating and steering. At Daytona, they never lift!
At Daytona, a lap is about 50 seconds! This is about 200 MPH ... continuously.
Driving three abreast, 15 deep, their bumpers inches from each other, the skill and concentration must be enormous! And they do this for 200 laps!
Standing mere feet from the track, the air displacement almost shoves you backwards, the force on one's chest is great, and the sound is monumental!
I thought about us rolling around LCMT, sometimes getting pretty close to each other, but this was amazing to see. They use Vaseline on their bumpers to reduce the risk of pushing, when contacting each other!
I wonder if Michael would black flag us for having greased bumpers!
I have many great memories of trips to see NASCAR races with my dad.
He wasn't particularity fond of racing but when I developed a love for all things motorsports he jumped on board and it became an annual pilgrimage to some track for a race.
We did Charlotte, Richmond, New Hampshire, Taladega, Daytona and Indy for both the indy 500 and the brickyard 500.
The ambiance is always fantastic the people warm and friendly and the racing is a lot of fun to watch. We would purchase VIP passes and often ended out having run-ins with drivers and crew members.
On TV I would rather watch an endurance or F1 race over NASCAR every time and the hardware is much more interesting, but in person nothing beats the action and ambiance of a NASCAR race. Call me a redneck but being able to see the whole track, pit stops and all the door to door action is cool.
I am taking my son to the July race in New Hampshire this year. If the Porsche gods cooperate we will take the 944 and start our own tradition
Joe LOL! You made my day, I busted my gut laughing, especially with the Danica clone pick!!
Gotta luv the spring compressor plates and the steel saftey cables keeping the wheels from sailing into the fence as they draft while inches apart. Great stuff
I have many great memories of trips to see NASCAR races with my dad.
He wasn't particularity fond of racing but when I developed a love for all things motorsports he jumped on board and it became an annual pilgrimage to some track for a race.
We did Charlotte, Richmond, New Hampshire, Taladega, Daytona and Indy for both the indy 500 and the brickyard 500.
The ambiance is always fantastic the people warm and friendly and the racing is a lot of fun to watch. We would purchase VIP passes and often ended out having run-ins with drivers and crew members.
On TV I would rather watch an endurance or F1 race over NASCAR every time and the hardware is much more interesting, but in person nothing beats the action and ambiance of a NASCAR race. Call me a redneck but being able to see the whole track, pit stops and all the door to door action is cool.
I am taking my son to the July race in New Hampshire this year. If the Porsche gods cooperate we will take the 944 and start our own tradition
Mark
What a great recollection of Dad!
I found it could get a mite monotonous over 200 laps, and I sorta dozed mid race.
However, it got very exciting towards the end, and I really enjoyed myself.
Are you coming to Sterling's tomorrow night?
I have many great memories of trips to see NASCAR races with my dad.
He wasn't particularity fond of racing but when I developed a love for all things motorsports he jumped on board and it became an annual pilgrimage to some track for a race.
We did Charlotte, Richmond, New Hampshire, Taladega, Daytona and Indy for both the indy 500 and the brickyard 500.
The ambiance is always fantastic the people warm and friendly and the racing is a lot of fun to watch. We would purchase VIP passes and often ended out having run-ins with drivers and crew members.
On TV I would rather watch an endurance or F1 race over NASCAR every time and the hardware is much more interesting, but in person nothing beats the action and ambiance of a NASCAR race. Call me a redneck but being able to see the whole track, pit stops and all the door to door action is cool.
I am taking my son to the July race in New Hampshire this year. If the Porsche gods cooperate we will take the 944 and start our own tradition
Mark
Originally Posted by Boxster dude
Joe LOL! You made my day, I busted my gut laughing, especially with the Danica clone pick!!
Gotta luv the spring compressor plates and the steel saftey cables keeping the wheels from sailing into the fence as they draft while inches apart. Great stuff
Good eye!
Whaddya think of the interior VAULT?
The seat could support the weight of two cars!
Will you be at Sterling's tomorrow night?
Joe, unfortunately I will miss the diner. Will be in Vancouver, land of a Porsche on every second street corner.
Yeah... old, rusty ones!
All the new ones are driven by Chinese girls, or real estate agents!
Actually, I once saw a tiny little girl driving an RS around Vancouver. Clearly not a driver, she rode the brake pedal....but looked good. Sorta.
Yeah... old, rusty ones!
All the new ones are driven by Chinese girls, or real estate agents!
Actually, I once saw a tiny little girl driving an RS around Vancouver. Clearly not a driver, she rode the brake pedal....but looked good. Sorta.
You need to take photos of this stuff! Girls in China all drive Cayennes or Panameras...
Hey Joe, hello from the land of Lotus Blossoms.
So.. took a short urban trek to the water front (5 blocks) I decided to do a quick count;
- 4 Cayennes mostly soccer moms
- 2 981 Boxsters chasing each other down Burrrard
- 2 991 cabbies
- 2 997 cabbies
- 1 997 Turbo - heard him blip before I saw him... awe man, I miss that sound
- 1 996 C4S
- 1 993 Turbo
I stopped counting the Bentley's after seeing the second wrapped one. (our Asian friends driving)
OH how I long for the end of April when they come out of hibernation.. Torture I say.
03-08-2015, 10:21 PM
LAPIN AT DAYTONA
