Days 5 and 6 NASCAR: Good Day… Bad Tires!

In the Northeast, we’re not really familiar or comfortable with NASCAR, but everywhere else around the country, people take pride in it. They care about racing, the drivers, and the history behind it. Next stop, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard!

We arrived to Indy around 2ish. We drove through a small town that never gave the impression that it housed one of the true mecca’s of racin’. Leading up to the actual street where the stadium was, we didn’t hit any traffic. After zig zagging our way through the field, a parking attendant directed us to our spot. We parked and began setting up camp.

The family next to us was also setting up and we got to talking. Dwight was there with his wife Sarah, and his daughter Katie (Hi Katie) and Katie’s boyfriend Blake. After setting up, we sat around, drank some Miller Lite and watched as more and more people came and set up filling the lot around us. During one of our conversations, Dwight informed us, “I used to drink so many of these, my friends called me Miller Dwight.” At which point, I think Phil was a little jealous that he didn’t have a name that rhymed with Miller or Lite…. Philler Lite just doesn’t sound the same.

We knew we were in for an interesting stay when a coach bus pulled up and a ton of guys got off and unloaded it, and unloaded it, and unloaded it. They really must have had a lot of stuff because an ambulance was there in under 30 minutes to tend to an injured party.

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, a school bus pulled up with curtains covering the windows. It truly was a school bus turned RV. All that was missing was it blasting “I don’t wanna cause no fus. Oooohhh Ahhhh the magic bus” as it pulled in. In the end, it’s a good thing that school bus was there it’s the only thing that allowed us to find our car in the sea of tents and vehicles after the race.

After dinner, we sat sharing both stories and Miller Lite’s. Phil went to bed pretty early, and I stayed up enjoying quality time with the family. The guys one tent over, also joined in the Miller Lite sharing, and we enjoyed a night of laughter and good times. I dubbed one of them Josh, not really caring what his actual name was, because he looked similar to Josh Partridge (Not as cute though so don’t worry Josh). :o) Throughout the evening, I taught them the exploding pound, and Soulja Boy dance and a few other fabulous things. Sarah became my “biffle” as did Blake. All around, the night was a blast.

We had a really good night’s sleep, and woke up refreshed nice and early. This was very similar to Joe Peschi sleeping in the jail cell in “My Cousin Vinny”. The chaos going on around us only aided in our restful sleep. After a breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes we sat around relaxing before heading off to the big race.

As we walked through the lot, we realized that the chaos that surrounded us the night before was nothing compared to the partying that was done in other areas of the field.

At one point, we passed a porta-potty area, and 6 of the 8 potties were knocked down. It was awful. For some reason, one of the guys in the group walking in front of us, decided that he needed to relieve himself right then and there. So he went into one of the remaining standing potties, and Oh My God was it the most horrendous smell ever!

We arrived at the stadium after a roughly 8 mile walk, in hopes of seeing the bricks, but were unable to get to that area. Bummer! We went to purchase a souvenir and I realized, that I had left my debit card locked in the car back at the camp. And after spending $20 on the hat, we were left to enjoy ourselves with $13. It was both a curse and a blessing that we didn’t have any money to buy alcohol. However, given the long day and the hot sun, it was probably a blessing. We did have a cooler with water bottles so we did stay hydrated.

We FINALLY got to our seats, after passing our section 3 different times, (you really don’t understand how big the stadium is. You can walk past your section, and keep walking for another good half of a mile before realizing it). We took in the view and were just in total awe. It was very surreal and just amazing.

A little before the race started, we made friends with our seat neighbors, some crazy guy with his step-daughter and her best friend. Although he was crazy, he and the 2 girls were all really nice, much like everyone we’ve encountered thus far on our trip. He even invited us to dinner after the race to his friend's trailer across the street from the track, "There's more food there than we know what to do with! You just have to pretent to be my long lost cousin" needless to say, we passed on that opportunity. However, it truly is a refreshing feeling to see how friendly and courteous everyone is, especially when they hear you’re a “racing virgin”. They want to make sure you enjoy yourself. When we ran out of water, crazy guy gave us each an ice cold bottle from his cooler. The woman next to us was spraying everyone around us with her water fan. These are just things you don’t see everywhere.

At the beginning of the race, there is a ton of pageantry that goes on. From the F15 Jets that flew over, the drivers all being paraded around the track in red, white, and blue pick-up trucks to TV/movie star John C. McGuilney waving the “all go” green flag. For those of you who don’t know, John C McGinley played the role of one of the Bobs in Office Space. We thoroughly hope that at some point during the race he went up to a Goodyear representative and said, “What would you say you do here?”

It was getting towards the end of the race and all of sudden, a brawl broke out. Now, I’ve seen fights, at bars or at Yankee stadium, and when they break out, people cheer them on and encourage it. The fans here were legitimately upset that this was happening. You heard screams like “C’mon guys, this is racin’… not fightin” The crazy guy next to us was really apologetic to us, saying things like “I’m sorry this happened at your first race”, “this isn’t racing, people don’t fight at racin’.

Ultimately, Jimmy Johnson’s Pit Crew won the race. So basically, the race could have been better, especially when there’s a damn caution every 10 minutes, but it was a great experience! From the smell and the sound of the cars, to the excitement and pageantry that revolves all around it. However, Phil would like me to add, he doesn’t understand why Goodyear can’t make tires good enough to be able to withstand more than 12 laps of racing. F1 can do it, why can’t they…. All they have to do it make good tires.

After the walk back to the camping field, and much debating on whether or not to stay the extra night tonight, we decided to move on, and began breaking down our tents. I’m not sure what was better, the race, or being able to meet the people we did while camping; genuinely, the nicest most caring family. We said our goodbyes, and hopped in the car, and are now heading to South Dakota where we’ll be staying 30 minutes outside the badlands! :o)

As we are driving along through Illinois, we happened upon a plain state lightening and thunder storm. The lightening crashes and a placenta falls to the floor right in front of us in 2 parts of the sky as if it were dueling to see who could light up the sky more. It’s an amazing sight.