Hello All,
Just thought I'd share my family's weekend at the NASCAR Races (2.21.09-2.22.09).
I took my family and a neighbor's kid out to Fontana to the races last weekend, and boy did we get more than we bargained for.
Neither my wife or I had ever been to a NASCAR event, so we were both virgins. My oldest son loves Kyle Busch, and my youngest loves Dale Jr., so we knew we were in for an expensive weekend (T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, diecast cars, etc.).
We only had tickets for the Sunday race (Sprint Cup), but my wife wanted to do some pre-race shopping, so we went to the track on Saturday (just prior to the Nationwide race) to see what kind of shopping booths they had. My wife got an idea to go up and ask the ticket takers if we could go shopping in the vendors area, and believe it or not they said, "yes." - Mind you we didn't have tickets.
So we made our way to the big trucks of goodies and my wallet was soon empty. I did however find a steal. My favorite amusement park snack....funnel cakes....they were ONLY $9.00.
After our shopping spree, we went back to the hotel only to find out we were next door to Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart's pit crews. My sons got really excited because they got to talk with their crews for a little while.
After an early evening beddy by, we got up and went to the Sprint Cup race. We had pit passes, and the boys got to take pics. of their favorite drivers' pit area, sign their names on the start/finish line, and best of all....we got front row, standing room only, spots right where driver introductions began....Jeff Gordon (my favorite driver), Robby Gordon, Jeff Johnson, Mark Martin and 2 other drivers gave my oldest son hi-fives and fist pumps. I instantly became the coolest dad in the world, and my wife's knees became jell-o when she got to touch Dale Jr.'s arm. In 9 years of knowing my wife, I've yet to ever have that effect on her
We made our way to our seats, and sat for a few minutes until the race started. Not 30 or so laps into the race, a few guys next to my wife pulled out baggies of pot and rolling papers and started rollin' up some big fatties. I had my headphones on, and scanner in-hand so I was oblivious to everything but the race. Being so close to the track, you can't hear crap, so my wife texted out "the guys next to my have marijuana and are about to light up." I thought she was kidding, until I looked over and they were the only few people out of 75k fans who were sitting down, and sure 'nuff they were ready to start blazin...We asked, since we had 3 young kids with us, if they would not light up. Their not so polite answer was a resounding "NO!"
We didn't want our kids or the neighbor's kid around that so we packed up everything and left to the information booth. We explained to security what happened and they asked us where our seats were and then moved us to better seats. From my understanding, while I was getting food, several CHP (CA Highway Patrol) Officers rushed where we were sitting before and escorted several people out of the track.
The track security resolved the situation very quickly and ended up saving the day! The kids loved the race, even though Matt Kenseth won. I believe Kyle Busch finished 5th, and Dale Jr. had a DNF.
Anyone else have stories about their NASCAR experiences?
Have a great rest of the weekend!
John
Our Weekend in NASCAR Heaven
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