What do all Americans do at least 2-3 times in their lives? Well go to the races of course. This past weekend saw the Ramsey family at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon Tennessee. Mr. Fix-it was ever so happy to find the NASCAR Truck Series running a race near us here in Tennessee. He kept talking about it until I finally said to go ahead and get the tickets. Racing is so Mr. Fix-it's thing and he loves everything about it. He used to race before he joined the Army and is from a big racing community in western North Carolina. He is most proud of the fact his name made it into a NASCAR yearbook one year. The Army kind of put a damper on the racing thing and here he is 20 years later sitting in the stands. The next best thing right?
There was lots of excitement at the racetrack. We arrived early on Saturday evening after about a two hour drive. The stands at this racetrack were facing east so as the sun set, we were shaded by the stands. What a relief! A few years ago we traveled to Indianapolis to watch the Brickyard 400 and there we sat in the full sun all day long. We might not have been so early had it not been for the fact we could never figure out if the race was scheduled for Eastern Time or Central Time. Indiana is a weird state in that most of the counties set their own time and counties right next to each other can be in different time zones. Whew. It made for complications when Mr. Fix-it was a recruiter in Indiana. Anyhow, there was also some confusion at the Nashville Superspeedway as to when the race would start and whether or not it was Eastern or Central time. I knew it was to start at 8 pm Central time but obviously folks come from far and wide to watch racing and some fans near us were wondering when the race would start. When will the race start seems to be a universal question at the races but it never stops the fans from packing them in.
Racing seems to be a big deal in America and is considered the working man's past time? I've heard that and also the fact that racing was at one time one of the fastest growing spectator sports in America. I think racing is still doing well but has suffered a little drawdown in the number of fans visiting but visit we do!
Where else can you get a fix for your need for speed, have a cold beer, enjoy hot dogs and scream and shout and let it all out in a family oriented atmosphere than at the racetrack? Can you see the trucks passing by in the above picture? They go really fast for 150 loops! I took a little break (well actually about 45 minutes of the two hour race) and Mr. Fix-it was wondering where I went, but geez, unless you have a favorite driver to cheer for and are really into racing it can-ahem-get a bit boring. I was looking for some good landscaping at the track but there was none. Wink. Wink. There were no major crashes on this evening (made the race go faster!) and the favored driver (Todd Bodine) won. All in all it was an interesting outing and makes our second time attending a race-guess we can cross that off our bucket list.
The good thing about truck races is they are not as loud as the car races. That was a good thing for me. Another great thing on this evening was that the racetrack was not totally packed and everyone had their own spots and room in the stands. Everything is so clean and neat and people so friendly that the evening was fun for all. And since this is so not a gardening post today and totally all about family and fun, here is a great shot of the Jimster and his latest girlfriend. Teenagers are pretty terrific most of the time and these two were fabulous. Jimmy definitely perked up when the President of Gibson guitars came on stage. It was either him or the three scantily clad ladies, not sure which one really piqued his interest but I'm leaning toward the guitar man. Both Jimmy and Tiffany had a great time but Tiffany was a bit distressed that some fans were booing during some of the introductions of drivers. Hey, that is all part of the race culture and really not such a bad thing. Favorites and those people we all love to hate are what brings back the fans to the races week after week....
in the garden....
Have you ever been to a fast vehicle race?
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,
In the Garden
Impressive track photos here...boy oh boy are the races popular with us rednecks, lol.
ReplyDeleteWe go to the track in Richmond occasionally and Langley Speedway is just around the corner from where I live. My hubby is a big Nascar fan. Glad you had a nice outing with the family. :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun time!
ReplyDeleteWe went to the Marlboro 500 in Michigan about twenty years ago. (my husband worked for Roger Penske then.)
I just remember it being hot! And the tire goo stuck on our faces. Good times, though!
Closest we've been is the monster truck show (loved it), odd since we have a race track in the next town. We won tickets to the local 500 but gave them away, it's like watching paint dry to me. My hubs is football and baseball, that's enough, golf almost creeped in one year, argh! Almost.
ReplyDeleteDarla, Your secret and mine okay:)
ReplyDeleteRacquel, I've heard of Richmond track-too cool!
Rosey, Marlboro 500 in Michigan-great! I'm going to let hubby know where all my blogging friends have seen the races.
Dawn, I went to one of those monster truck things and was so not impressed. I think that as more of a man toy boy thingy. Part of the problem was we paid waaaay too much to go. Hubby's recruiting battalion was working it so it was kind of mandatory. I remember JOAT loving all those sports. You like them too though. Have a great weekend.
Hi Tina, somehow I could just picture you looking for some flowers around the track -it would look pretty though -you know:) It looks like great family fun -hope you have a super weekend. Ciao!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time, Tina. Racing is not my thing, but it's very popular with lots of people around here. Indiana is a weird state, isn't it:) I just assume they're an hour ahead of us, so depending on where I'm headed, I might be on time or an hour early:)
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys had a great time! I drive by the Super Speedway on the way to my in-laws but I've never been to a race.
ReplyDeleteMy sister and brother-in-law love races. Toooooo loud for me. :-)
ReplyDeleteI stayed a weekend with my cousins growing up (teenager I s'pose) and they took me to the racetrack in Seattle. I remember Duane had a 1948 Anglia in his garage he started up for me and it shook the whole place. Then when we got to the races there was one like his there in the race. It was great fun and my only time ever going. I have, however, been to watch my brother a few times over the years race motorcycles. Once I was a bit hung over and all I could hear of these bike engines was them saying Raaaaaaiiiiiiinnnnnneeeeerrrr Beeeeeeeeer. We had a commercial where the engines formed those words and boy was I hearing it all day after the night before. Funny now - back then, not so much!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, Heck yeah! Every other business has great landscaping. Racetracks, harumph, just grass. You have a fabulous weekend too. I'll be in my garden hopefully-finally.
ReplyDeleteRose, Great advice on the time change. I personally love Indiana but I love central time zone even more. If we ever move up north it might be your state. Friendly folks there for sure.
Dave, It was really fun and not too expensive as entertainment goes. The truck races were not so noisy so that was great. I was surprised at how many little kids were there-even babies; but I don't think that was too smart. I guess they get them started early on the passion.
GSS, Truck racing might be for you then. Not too noisy but I wore my earplugs just because.
Linda, That was quite a memory! I have a smile thinking of it and you!
I've never been to any fast vehicle races. Glad you and your family had such a fun time.
ReplyDeleteWhohoooo, expecting rain all weekend long! Come on rain...
ReplyDeleteThis is an unexpected posting today. I had no idea you had gone to the Races, What fun!
My mother and father use to Race at the Clarksville Speedway in the drag races! Yes, my mom has trophies from racing in the 60's. How cool is that?
We occasionally go the dirt track races (Circle Burners) here in Augusta but not during the heat of the summer.
When living in Texas, we went to the NHRA drag races. That was awesome as we got to see some really fast cars go down the track. We had pit passes and got to see some of the big boys and girl up close and personal. We saw Shirley Muldowney, John Force, Don Prudhomme, etc. We saw Shirley coming out of her trailer with her dog on a pillow. She was in a rush to get it to the Vet, as it was dying from old age. So sad to see that and it weighs on my mind today.
My favorites are the Demolition Derby's. They are so much fun to watch people bang up their cars on purpose! Strange, I know but fun to me for some reason.
Now this bit of funny, for our honeymoon, my Ex-hubby and I went to Springfield, Ill for the Hot Rod Nationals car show. How bad is that?
NASCAR is very prpular and very family friendly. I guess with it being such a family thing, that is a good thing in todays world. I used to like racing but I guess my tastes have changed over the years. We used to go to the races and I enjoyed them but I also was scared. I never like to be a cars going fast so do not know why I like racing. When I was a kid we used to go to the stock car races as I had a cousin that raced. Then Papa had a drag racing car and loved racing but he never did race it as he could not fit in it and we sold it to put a well on the land. The jet cars were fun but I think my fav in racing was the funny cars.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool and I will tell Papa about that Skeeter as he has watched the movie about Muldowney many times.
Would you believe I have never been? Where I grew up in Florida, they had something called "stock car races" - not quite the same thing. It was next to the town dump and between that and the fumes I was totally nauseated. Not a good memory. This looks like fun, though!
ReplyDeleteI live about an hour from Michigan International Speedway (NASCAR racing) and have never gone. I did once go to a tractor pull in (cue deep announcer voice) 10 feet of mud and that was fun. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to a speedway race, but I have visited Talladega, AL a few times as I have in-laws there. Does that count?
ReplyDelete