It’s time to spend with my dad and brother—to hang out and watch NASCAR together, but to also chat about friends and family. It’s an opportunity for my brother and me to pick our father’s brain, to learn so much more about our family’s past and so much about how we should live our lives.
It’s a chance to hang out with 200,000 plus fellow NASCAR fans and to watch the second greatest NASCAR spectacle of each season.
It’s a chance to watch my childhood idol, Mark Martin, go out and race against the best in NASCAR.
Mark Martin (almost hidden on the left) walks through gasoline alley in 2006 after the race
It’s a chance to camp out, get away from technology, and enjoy a night under the stars.
Oh, free giveaways definitely don’t hurt the cause either.
Car companies, power tool vendors, food companies, health and beauty supply groups, the armed forces and so many more set up shop outside the race track and offer goodies to NASCAR fans. After qualifying last year I got a phone call from a teacher from my high school, who is a fellow NASCAR fan, and he said, and I quote, “Hey, you guys gotta get up here on the main drag and get some of the free [stuff].” (The last word edited for family reading)
And ever since that day, my brother, dad and I remind one another that there’s nothing better than “free [stuff]”.
Last year my brother threw a bean bag from on top of a Chevy car display and made the bean bag into a hole on the board (a game we West Siders of Cincinnati affectionately call “corn hole”). He won two free movie passes and a $10 iTunes gift card. Oh, we’re just getting started.
At Indianapolis there are so many vendors giving away “free [stuff]” along Georgetown Road. Toyota offers giveaways if you visit their stand. Craftsman and DeWalt have had nice giveaways over the past few years (including DeWalt sunglasses which I still wear to this day—and they even double as safety glasses!). The U.S. Army, Old Spice, Ekrich Farms, Totino’s Pizza Rolls, Levi-Strauss, Dish-TV Network, NASA, Coke and AAA have all set up booths over the past few years.
And all of them give away the “free [stuff]”.
Sometimes all it takes is walking up to the display or the booth and filling out a paper. Sometimes—in the case of the food groups—it just means walking up and snagging some trial versions of the food. If you’re a NASCAR fan, you know how easy it is to come home with a trunk full of freebies from a race weekend. We have over the past four to five years. It will be no different this year.
Of course, some of the vendors set up inside the track, and a place like Indianapolis is conducive to on site giveaways. DLP, Allstate (the sponsor of the Brickyard 400) and Crown Royal are among the few inside vendors at Indianapolis.
Some vendors have grown to accommodate technology. In 2005 we had two places offer to snap photos of us with digital/cut out NASCAR personalities. Those have shown up here more than a few times. Last year we had five opportunities to get our photo taken with NASCAR drivers or their cars.
My favorite part of going to the track—next to the race, the time I spend with my dad and brother, and the true thrill of seeing, smelling and hearing the cars—is taking a spin in one of many simulators.
The racing simulators at the Toyota display let race fans try their hand at Daytona for a few laps
Our favorite stop has become the Toyota booth because my brother won his race two years ago and has since tried—unsuccessfully—to win another race. I’ve sat in no less than five different simulators, and I’ll be honest, I’ve been humbled.
Put a controller in my hand and I’m decent enough to win races. Put me in a digital video game machine that simulates the real thing, and I become the driver from Cincinnati that I get stuck behind while commuting.
My dreams of one day crossing that yard of bricks in a stock car have long been dashed, and these simulators only further the proof that neither Jack Roush nor Rick Hendrick will be calling my name any time soon.
But the dream of standing next to the biggest stars in the sport, next to their machines and on pit road at Indy will come true within the next 24 hours. And I will have goosebumps if I walk through that entrance from the historic Gasoline Alley onto pit road to watch practice. I’ll be there, and if you check back throughout the weekend, I’ll do my best to give you some good memories and great coverage from Indy.
The countdown is close to zero, and for me, it’s time to start preparing for a few round trips from Cincinnati to Indianapolis. The two hour drive will be peaceful and hopefully stress free; just as I hope reading these posts have been for all of you—peaceful and enjoyable.-----------------------------------------------
Check back later for some fun facts and a little trivia to keep your mind fresh for this weekend’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. I’ll post final travel plans and hopefully a preliminary itinerary for this weekend. Most of my plans are subject to change, but I’ll do my best to uphold my promises to you. After all, without you guys, I’m just typing to occupy my time! Have a great Thursday.
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