Nascar 2008

[RICHARD]

The reason I love NASCAR is the way fans conduct themselves, for the most part.

It's fun to see the way fans support their drivers- jackets, t-shirts, bags and even underwear.... Even the booing a driver at the intros is a practice that I encourage...But, I really hate the tossing of crap onto the track and the flipping the bird after the race.

Nascar is probably the last family sport - baseball held it's own for a while but sitting in the stands, with drunken louts yelling 'YOU SUCK' at players, gets old, fast!

Yeah it's part of the game/race to root your favorites on, but it's really disturbing to see people take it so seriously that they have to ruin it for everyone else-especially those who take kids to the track.

I am not an angel when I sit in my house and curse out a driver for being a chump, causing a crash or getting out of the pit box and losing the lead.
But, I am really irritated when I see people act like idiots.

---------------

I did take execption to KB taking off the glasses and wiping his eyes - in homage to the DE jr. fans - I guess if you provoke the paying customers you have to take their grief.

Maybe the announcers and other drivers aren't lying when they bring up the subject of security having to escort drivers from the track.

[RobiLee]

Richard, just wanted to let you know that "flipping the bird" goes on through out the whole race. It isn't saved for just after the race. It also wouldn't surprise me if there were more "drunken louts" at a nascar race than at a baseball game. At the races you are allowed to bring your own beer in and you are lucky if you aren't sitting next to a very drunken lout who either spills his beer on you or maybe even barfs on your shoes (happened to a friend of mine). I've actually watched children help their dad carry in the cooler full of beer. The last race I went to I sat behind a family with two small children. The parents were putting away the beers and the group in front of them were a drunken rowdy bunch. Not for sure how much of a "family" sport that is considered to be.

That being said I LOVE going to the races!

[RICHARD]

Thanks for the insight.

I have never seen a race from the stands at a large speedway-and only a few from a motorhome in the infield.

The "local" track closed about 7 years ago. It was a 1/3 mile deal and they raced Sportsman and Winston events-it was Ron Hornaday's home track for a while. The crowds there were very well behaved and the most visible way of showing your disgust was the 'shoo' or 'getouttahere' hand motions. It was great because it was a small track and security didn't put up with the BS and you were not allowed to bring booze in.

It's been a while since I have attended a motorsports event-one of the last ones was a motocross event and I'll never go back. The fans there were rude and obnoxious. This is a generalization but the worst of the bunch were the long haired, tattooed bunch in racing jersys and the stacked up beer cups-smoking pot next to the family groups and enhancing every cheer with "effing" or "eff".

I'm really sorry to hear that the crowds have become that stupid in such a short time.

[RobiLee]

Don't get me wrong though, because I think NASCAR fans are the best. I have been to several different kind of sporting events and in my opinion nothing beats a Nascar fan. They are usually the nicest and easiest people to talk to and be around

[Cincy'sMom]

I've been to Michigan, Phoenix, California, and Kentucky for Nascar races of one series or another. Of those, only Michigan allows you to carry in alcohol. And of those tracks, only in California did I see obnoxious drunks and really I would only call them bobderline. That was also the race that was delayed over and over and over again, giving people plenty of extra time to indulge. I was sitting in front a group of guys working in CA from Florida. They were mid 20-30's and didn't bother me at all. The family in front of me wasn't as amused, being their first time at a race with their 2 young children, but the kids had on the big radio ear muffs so I doubt they could hear much of what was being said, or with many of the phrases they were using doing describe Jeff Gordon, the kids shouldn't have understood what it meant!

[anna_66]

I did take execption to KB taking off the glasses and wiping his eyes - in homage to the DE jr. fans - I guess if you provoke the paying customers you have to take their grief.

Sorry Richard, Mark and I were a couple of people who actually got a chuckle out of him doing that. I think that boy can take all the grief they give him...I even think he kind of likes it...lol.


Jr fans are going way too far in blaming him for that wreck, wearing their Busch hater t-shirts and such. Stupid if you ask me (I know, no one did)

Still can't believe I'm sticking up for him

[Cincy'sMom]

Still can't believe I'm sticking up for him

I'm with you Anna!!!

[RICHARD]

Sorry Richard, Mark and I were a couple of people who actually got a chuckle out of him doing that. I think that boy can take all the grief they give him...I even think he kind of likes it...lol.


Jr fans are going way too far in blaming him for that wreck, wearing their Busch hater t-shirts and such. Stupid if you ask me (I know, no one did)

Still can't believe I'm sticking up for him

I really hate BUSCH, I'm a PABST man.

I thought the wiping eyes thing was funny too. I just feel that he should have let it go. It bothered me that the announcers and some of the drivers were suggesting that KB have security escort him out.

Going to the Raider games there was always the player who would make gestures to the fans when coming from the dressing room, if you were standing by the tunnel you might as well wear a helmet. The jokers from up above would start to throw trash - cups, empty bottles, batteries and god knows what else.

A DE jr fan at home isn't going to toss stuff at the screen-but what is stopping him from paying a few bucks to tour pit row and taking it out on KB in person? I remember the tennis gal that was stabbed a few years ago at a match? That was a weird situation. I love the fact that there are fans on PR and the drivers are accessible....But there is always one nut job in the crowd and the good fans suffer for his sins. For the most part SCS fans are pretty good and passionate. Passion and alcohol really are a bad mix......sometimes

In all the years of attending events there was only one time I felt threatened with my safety.....and the home team won.


CM,
See how the people that come to Cah Lee Fuh Nee Ah act? In the past few years I've cut back from my attending events for a few reasons. I don't have my BGFF-did I actually use that term just now???-to go with me and the idea that I have to be wary of the crowd -if I am attending with any females or kids, it takes the fun outta it for me.....

I attended an off-road race in Vegas and my GF and dad were almost part of a fight. I always tried for aisle seats-being tall I could stick my legs out onto the steps. After a few bathroom runs I ended up with the GF and dad near the aisle when a fight broke out. Two idiots bumped into each other, one spilled his beer and it was on.

I grabbed them both, slid them over and stood at the end seat. The fight started to move into our seats and I managed to put a hand on one guy and keep him from falling down. Eventually one of the idiots was body slammed on the seats right in front of us.

It really sucks when you have to think about an emergency plan when you to a sporting event. Before, you just had to worry about spending the extra 15 bucks for the sweat shirt instead of the t-shirt.
Today? i don't wanna think about it.

[RICHARD]

Pit crew competition tonight on SPEED!

[Cincy'sMom]

Pit crew competition tonight on SPEED!

I set the DVR last night!!! (CSI Season Finale is on at the same time. Have to record both!)

[RICHARD]

I got a flyer in the mail from Mario Andretti and Jeff GOrdon.

They need 350 dollars from me.

The only thing I have to do is to drive down the AutoClub race track and drive one of their cars around the track.

I'm not a fan of either so I'll have to use the money for something else.

[Moesha]

I got one of those flyers too. It's in the trash right now.

This year the Nashville Speedway was allowing all season ticket holders the chance to drive their own personal vehicle around the track. I'd been a season ticket holder for the past few years but didn't renew this year. That might have been fun though.

[Cincy'sMom]

I got a flyer in the mail from Mario Andretti and Jeff GOrdon.

They need 350 dollars from me.

The only thing I have to do is to drive down the AutoClub race track and drive one of their cars around the track.

I'm not a fan of either so I'll have to use the money for something else.

Fan or not, if you get a chance to drive a car, DO IT!!!! It is an awesome experience!