NASCAR

Kelly's parents are in town this weekend and her dad is a race fan. He invited me to go to the NASCAR race at the Phoenix International Raceway. Saturday, April 12, 2008 will go down is history as my first NASCAR experience. I joined over 100,000 people to watch the Subway Fresh Fit 500. We had great seats and the fans around me were friendly and explained a lot about the race and how things work. For anyone attending a race, be sure to bring your EAR PLUGS! The Air Force fly over before the race was loud, but the cars were louder. Anyone taking a marketing class needs to go to a race. Marketing and sales are definitely the name of the game when it comes to NASCAR. Cars are important, tailgating in the parking lots attract a lot of people, and beer is not a scarce commodity.

It's amazing to me how many people show up to the races. The fans are loyal to the car companies, race teams and most importantly the drivers. Anything that can be sold or rented to fans is: Portable GPS devices to track the cars and speeds, scanners to listen to the pit crews; entire semi trucks dedicated to just one driver and their merchandise. There was even a parking lot set up as a showroom for RV's. If you're going to travel around the country to follow your favorite sport, you need you recreational vehicle or motor home. I've been to a lot of different sporting events, but when it comes to crowd size and tailgating, NASCAR has all the other sports beat.

My day of watching fast cars make left turns for almost 3 hours was a lot of fun. My hearing has returned. My butt is still numb from sitting on the bleachers and my camera is full of pictures. If I was asked to go to another race in the future, I would definitely say yes. Not just for watching the cars turn left, but for the total NASCAR experience.

A view of the main gate/sales area/parking lot

Race winner Jimmy Johnson

Jeff Gordon

Me and Kelly's dad....thank you for the tickets!