3 September 2006 31 views 2 Comments Print This Post

I got to go to Eastern Tennessee and see some NASCAR at Bristol Motor Speedway. We were in town for both the Bush series FoodCity 250 and the NASCAR Sharpie 500. We got to stay with some fantastic people at the mountain-side home on South Holston Lake.

We flew in on Friday night and had just enough time to get settled before heading off to the race. Bristol is a mecca for race fans in August with fast and furious short track action under the lights. We weren’t disappointed; The FoodCity race had no less than 14 cautions - a tie for the record for this race.

Our seating was in one of the suites above the grandstands. The view was excellent and the service was great, too. A television broadcast the TNT coverage of the race into the suite so we could listen to the announcers and race analysis.

But, to experience the race, we had to go down to the mezzanine and stand in the crowd. I was standing in the crowd when the cars started, after the ceremonial and much anticipated, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” I was still standing in the crowd when the pace car left the track and the cars began racing. The sound of the cars was something I hadn’t expected. The roar was deafening. But it was more than that. The rumble could be felt in your chest. It was almost scary at first.

It was a long night and we had to get up the next day for some wakeboarding and more racing action.

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