NASCAR virgins have fun stories of losing their NASCAR innocence

With the testing of the new spoiler in Charlotte this week, I feel it only necessary to take a look back at a time when the spoiler was in style—a time when the cars looked a little bit more like street cars than they do now, and a time when I was truly an innocent little NASCAR fan.

This shot, taken in 2003, shows a slightly different me standing on the track in Speedway, Indiana

A few weeks back Raygan Swan, writer for NASCAR.com, wrote an article that caught my eye. The article spoke to me. I feel as if it’s only important to (re)-share my feelings on her story idea. (For her story, follow this link: http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/opinion/03/04/splash.go.rswan.first.NASCAR.race/index.html)

Without song, who would know of such deep love, and such passion for others. Without song, what good would my next description be?

“Can’t you hear my heart beat, for the very first time,” Madonna sang in her song, “Like a Virgin”.

Likewise, Lifehouse’s hit “First Time”—which debuted in 2007—speaks of falling in love for the first time: “Looking at you, holding my breath, for once in my life, I’m scared to death, I’m taking a chance, letting you inside.”

And, after seeing the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys” a few years back, I learned the true story behind the Four Season’s monster hit “Oh What a Night”.

All of these songs speak of one almost taboo word in our society, virginity, and more specifically, losing one’s innocence. So here’s my story…my NASCAR story.

Do I remember losing my NASCAR virginity? Heck yeah, but do I remember it in the way that Raygan Swan wrote about? Not as much. NASCAR fans, she wrote, “come in different shapes and sizes, tell different stories, PG and R-rated, love the sport for different reasons, and no matter what, they never forget their first time.”

(For the 2008 story I wrote about my first time, check out this link: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2008/07/brickyard-through-my-eyes-moment-2.html)

It’s easy to remember waking up that day, and some other landmark occasions (like seeing the track for the first time), but I realized that my first time is nothing compared to the first time of NASCAR fans today.

"These are my people," Rodney Atkins sings. I couldn't agree more

With an abundance of technology and social networking sites, sharing one’s first time with the world has become instantaneous. Want updates on the race, but can’t get to a TV? Simple, follow one of a multitude of writers on Twitter. Maybe even check in with your favorite driver or crew member—many of them have started Tweeting this year as well. Last season I ventured into the Twitter universe, tweeting numerous times from my cell phone while traipsing around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

When I went to my first race in 1996, we didn’t take a camera. If we did, my dad and I would have had to take a lot of rolls of film with us, something almost no one deals with today. Last year I snapped 437 photos in three days in Speedway, Ind., an amount of pictures that would have been limited if I were still using film. Now with cameras on our phones and instant updates to Facebook via mobile devices, fans from anywhere can post a photo of their favorite driver to the web for friends and family to see.

With a film camera I only would have taken two or three shots of Mark Martin, not ten or twenty

With flip phones, Flip cams and digital cameras of all shapes and sizes, sharing one’s first time with the world has become easy. When my dad and I made the journey to Indianapolis in 1996 we had to wait until hours after the race to call my mom from a pay phone in a McDonald’s parking lot. In 2010 if you want to call home, feel free to open your cell phone and dial, just be wary that the person on the other line might not be able to hear a thing you’re saying.

While I’ll probably never forget bits and pieces of my first time at a NASCAR event, fans today have numerous ways to remember every little piece of theirs. Losing one’s NASCAR virginity is a momentous occasion, and now it’s easier to remember than it was back when I did it. (Unless of course you down a few too many adult beverages during the course of a race, then you won’t be singing “Oh What a Night,” but rather, “Oh, why did I do that?”)

Raygan Swan’s first race, oddly enough, was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a place that I, my dad and my brother all lost our NASCAR virginity. It’s a family affair. And it’s one that I invite any one to join in on. Want to lose your NASCAR virginity? Make sure you take lots of pictures, it’s a moment you’ll never forget.

Me (left), my brother (middle) and my dad (right) make a "guys outing" of the Brickyard each year

After all, you always remember your first time.