NASCAR Day
Yesterday was my day at the races. If you've never been to a NASCAR race, you have no idea what you're missing. It is so frakking fun! Seeing everyone with their gear on, listening and talking to fans about their drivers, seeing all of the motorhomes with their many drivers' flags...it's all quite the spectacle.
The MBA in me can't help but calculate revenues. There were over 100,000 people at PIR yesterday for the race. A lot of them came in for the whole weekend. Counting food, drink, lodging, merchandise and ticket prices, that's an incredible amount of moola. I read that one race weekend is worth more than a Super Bowl in revenue and I believe it.
Getting to the race wasn't hard. Traffic wasn't too bad and the hike up to the raceway was pretty easy. Getting past the merchandise haulers was not so easy. I should clarify, getting past Jimmie Johnson's merchandise hauler wasn't easy. Based on shoppers alone, Jimmie is the most popular driver out there. He had 150% the people that Dale Jr. had and he's been the crowd favorite for years.
I met up with Lime Dart and Tommy inside the raceway and we caught part of Tracksidewhich is a how on Speed Channel for those not in the know. Kenny Wallace is clearly the crowd favorite. He revs up the audience and has a lot of fun out there.
On the commercial breaks, they handed out freebies (koozies, hats, t-shirts and the like). The show must have been sponsored by Home Depot because they gave out orange Home Depot hard hats. I got one but have no idea what I'll do with it since I am a Lowe's girl through and through and wouldn't be caught dead wearing it. But, hey, it was free stuff.
We headed up to our seats during driver introductions. I was quite pleased to see that Jimmie's pit was right across from us. How cool was that? I had a bird's eye view of the action all day which was awesome.
Based on driver introductions (combined cheers and boos), the drivers who are the most in the public eye are, in order:
Jeff Gordon
Tony Stewart
Dale Earhnardt, Jr.
Kurt Busch
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie started 29th because he was unlucky enough to qualify first. The track has no grip early in qualifying so he didn't get a good lap time. I had no doubt that he would make up ground quickly once the race started, though, since he had the fastest time in Happy Hour. And, he did make it up. One of the great things about being at a race is that you're not at the mercy of the TV broadcast. I got to focus on Jimmie and watch him carve his way to the front. He was a stud! It was totally awesome.
I had a dilemma with my race partner, Lime Dart. She's a Matt Kenseth fan so she was rooting for Matt while I was clearly rooting for Jimmie. We managed to get through the day without fighting as I tried to be subdued in my cheering as Jimmie passed car after car while Matt wasn't doing too well.
A little digression...I think I reached my multi-tasking limit at the race. At one point, I was listening to Lime Dart in one ear, listening to MRN radio in the other, conducting two different text message conversations and, oh yeah, watching the race. I managed to get through it all with only a few typos, though.
It came down to Jimmie and Kevin Harvick at the end. Jimmie came close to making a move on Harvick in the last few laps but he wisely didn't push it. He's point racing now. He needs to finish 12th or better next week to win the championship. I won't relax until that race is over.
One week to go in the season...
Nice Jimmie Sign.
The MBA in me can't help but calculate revenues. There were over 100,000 people at PIR yesterday for the race. A lot of them came in for the whole weekend. Counting food, drink, lodging, merchandise and ticket prices, that's an incredible amount of moola. I read that one race weekend is worth more than a Super Bowl in revenue and I believe it.
The crowd in front of Jimmie's merchandise hauler.
Getting to the race wasn't hard. Traffic wasn't too bad and the hike up to the raceway was pretty easy. Getting past the merchandise haulers was not so easy. I should clarify, getting past Jimmie Johnson's merchandise hauler wasn't easy. Based on shoppers alone, Jimmie is the most popular driver out there. He had 150% the people that Dale Jr. had and he's been the crowd favorite for years.
Me at Trackside.
I met up with Lime Dart and Tommy inside the raceway and we caught part of Tracksidewhich is a how on Speed Channel for those not in the know. Kenny Wallace is clearly the crowd favorite. He revs up the audience and has a lot of fun out there.
Jimmie on the big screen at Trackside.
On the commercial breaks, they handed out freebies (koozies, hats, t-shirts and the like). The show must have been sponsored by Home Depot because they gave out orange Home Depot hard hats. I got one but have no idea what I'll do with it since I am a Lowe's girl through and through and wouldn't be caught dead wearing it. But, hey, it was free stuff.
Another good sign.
We headed up to our seats during driver introductions. I was quite pleased to see that Jimmie's pit was right across from us. How cool was that? I had a bird's eye view of the action all day which was awesome.
Based on driver introductions (combined cheers and boos), the drivers who are the most in the public eye are, in order:
Jeff Gordon
Tony Stewart
Dale Earhnardt, Jr.
Kurt Busch
Jimmie Johnson
Lime Dart and Tommy.
Jimmie started 29th because he was unlucky enough to qualify first. The track has no grip early in qualifying so he didn't get a good lap time. I had no doubt that he would make up ground quickly once the race started, though, since he had the fastest time in Happy Hour. And, he did make it up. One of the great things about being at a race is that you're not at the mercy of the TV broadcast. I got to focus on Jimmie and watch him carve his way to the front. He was a stud! It was totally awesome.
I had a dilemma with my race partner, Lime Dart. She's a Matt Kenseth fan so she was rooting for Matt while I was clearly rooting for Jimmie. We managed to get through the day without fighting as I tried to be subdued in my cheering as Jimmie passed car after car while Matt wasn't doing too well.
Pit stop for Jimmie.
A little digression...I think I reached my multi-tasking limit at the race. At one point, I was listening to Lime Dart in one ear, listening to MRN radio in the other, conducting two different text message conversations and, oh yeah, watching the race. I managed to get through it all with only a few typos, though.
It came down to Jimmie and Kevin Harvick at the end. Jimmie came close to making a move on Harvick in the last few laps but he wisely didn't push it. He's point racing now. He needs to finish 12th or better next week to win the championship. I won't relax until that race is over.
One week to go in the season...
