On Saturday February 24, we attended our first Winston Cup Series NASCAR (stock car) race. It was the Goodwrench 200 held in Rockingham, NC, about 100 miles southwest of Cary. Being at the race was a fascinating experience that was enjoyable and satisfying–satisfying in the sense that we don't see a need to attend such races on a regular basis. Memorable aspects of the experience:

• The noise of the cars and their power were incredible! All the seats in the grandstand are fairly close to the track, the farthest ones are still only 30 or so rows from track level. We sat halfway up the stands directly across from the pit area 100 feet beyond the starting line. At the start of the race and after every green flag, more than thirty cars bunched together would have their pedals slammed to their metals and hit speeds of about 150 mph. You could feel the roar of their engines in your chest. Even with ear plugs the noise was too much for Eric. He spent much of the race on the walkway behind the grandstands with Curt or Missy. (In Monaco last year, the Formula 1's were even louder but there we sat much higher from the track.)

• Stock car drivers are known as the "good old boys", their fans as rednecks. There were very few non-whites at the track and quite a few confederate flags in the parking lots. Many if not most of the men were shirtless and had tattoos. Alcohol and tobacco products were in heavy use in the stands and the most popular food was fried chicken.

• Stock car fans follow their racing circuit as "white collar" fans follow their alumni's football games. The parking lot had lots of pitched tents, trailers and winnebagos with out-of-state licenses.

• Fan behavior was, at first blush, not too unruly. Given the nature of the audience we expected a rowdy, boisterous crowd. The reason it was restrained in many ways had to do with the noise of the cars. You had to speak loudly for just the person sitting next to you to hear. Forget about yelling something so that a significant number of people will hear you. So, apart from each other, we didn't hear anyone in the audience say anything that was stupid, boring, or classless. There were three behaviors that were bothersome. First, there was a tendency to throw empty beer cans. Had there not been policemen and security personnel present, this would have been worse. Had there not been a high mesh fence around the track, many of these cans would have landed on the racetrack. Second, whenever a camera panned part of the crowd, that section would rise en masse and act rather foolish; waving, yelling, and gesturing (which is common for most sporting crowds). Third, when a portion of the crowd stood to see some important event in the race, we would end up standing long after it was over. When you're that low to the track, if people in front of you are up, you have to stand up to see. Yelling "down in front" is pointless since it won't be heard.

• What the race circuit markets are the drivers. Each driver has his own tractor trailer of souvenirs parked in front of the track. The racing "teams" are sold through the driver. That's unlike true team sports. You could be a Yankee fan, have a sense of long-term connectedness through their history, watch as faces come and go, and still be a Yankee fan. Most of your souvenirs would be Yankee-based, not about an individual Yankee. Here you are a Jeff Gordon fan (last year's champion), or a Dale Earnhardt fan (seven time Winston Cup Champion), or a Bill Elliot fan (ten times voted most popular driver). If they happen to change "teams", it's likely you would too. In the Formula 1 circuit, drivers may announce in the middle of a racing season that they have signed with another team for the next season. World champion Michael Schumacher did that last year and his moved caused a ripple of others–all during the F1 season. Can you imagine Michael Jordan announcing, in mid-season, that he has already signed to play for the Knicks next year? No conflict of interest?

• Corporate sponsors are not shy about their advertising of races and drivers. This seems common in all types of racing all over the world. What we saw at "The Rock", in addition to the billboards around the track, on the infield, in the names of races (e.g., the Goodwrench 200), at the start of the race (with introductions of some 30 general managers or marketing directors from various companies), on the cars, on the clothing of the drivers, in the program, and on the souvenirs, was an advertisement in a most unusual place. The flag that signaled the end of the race was only half checkered. The other half was a company logo–a red circle with "76" in it.

• Stock car racing involves a lot of bumping and grinding. Most of the cars that finished the race (only a handful did not) had obvious body damage (the most common being bent and scratched fenders and bumpers and tire marks from rubbing against other cars). One car that had a more seriously bent hood pulled into the pits and had a crewman jump up and down on the hood to try to straighten it. Some of the cars used bungee cords to hold hoods down or fenders and bumpers up while they continued to race.

• After the start of the race and between accidents and re-starts, the race was, to us, really rather boring. Cars just seem to drive around the track with little passing. The cars are spaced and their sense of power seems diminshed by their spacing and constancy. After an accident has been cleared and the green flag again drops, the cars are bunched and rapidly double their speeds. That is exciting!

• The day we went all seating was general admission. When they sell reserved seating, the highest priced tickets are those furthest (and highest) from the track. Those seats are preferred because one can see the far side of the track better, the noise is less intense, and one is less likely to get hit with thrown objects as there are fewer people behind you. In every other sport and entertainment we know, the closer to the action, the more expensive the ticket.

• Finally, and our favorite memory, was the "dirtiness" of the air at the race. It was a sunny, warm day, so there was a bit of mugginess from so many bodies so close together. The fun part was these little black specs we were accumulating on our exposed skin during the course of the race. We didn't know what they were until the next day. Our neighbor told us they were small pieces of the tires being worn off the racecars and blown through the air onto our legs, arms, and faces. Bits of stock car tires all over us! Cool!

© 1998 frantzs@geocities.com