I got a hold of a pass to the NASCAR races at Phoenix International Raceway this past weekend. Friday was the Nationwide Series and Saturday was the Nextel Sprint Cup Series. I took the day off on Friday and went with my brother. Not only did we have passes, we had HOT Pit and Garage passes. We could go close to wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. It was awesome! Not only was the track access great, but we also saw some pretty famous people. For one, I knew we were in for a cool weekend when Dale Jarrett crossed the street in front of us while driving in to the track parking lot. Above and to the right is the leaderboard as viewed from the (heavily restricted) driver/owner lot.
I viewed practices and qualifying runs throughout the day on Friday. Pictured above is pit road during Nationwide Series qualifying Friday afternoon.
Friday's race had me all excited! And it wasn't even the Sprint Cup Series yet. I kept getting more and more giddy as the green flag drew nearer. At left is the stage they used for pre-race introductions. It was cool to see the fans pour their love on the drivers. But since it was the Nationwide Series, only a few drivers got cheers. I felt bad for the guys whose names were announced and then were followed with silence. And then I laughed my head off when Kyle Busch got booed mercilessly, because I don't like him either.
My vantage point at the beginning of the race is pictured at right. Reporters from local news stations were standing near me. I was that close. When the race started I made sure I was standing on the pit wall at the start/finish line. It was awesome. The roar of the engines, combined with the rush of all the cars whizzing past me at blazing speeds got me hooked. Once my email starts working again I will post a video of the green flag from my vantage point, which was 30 yards from the track. I stayed there, mesmerized, for a few dozen laps. Then I went down at the end of the pit near the exit of Turn 4. That was also a great view.
As the race went on, I moved around the pits to see the crews in action. One person I met this weekend is the pit coach for Richard Childress Racing. When one caution came up, we ran to the
pits to take a look at the stop. His job was to analyze the pit stop and give the crews pointers for improvements, whether it be incorrect fundamentals or just plain slow technique. My brother and I left the race with around 20 or 25 laps left.
Saturday was a blast as well. During the afternoon, I cruised the pits again, but this time, it was during the pre-race pit pass window where fans got to bring their children and take pictures in the pits. It was quite crowded. While there, I snapped some photos of the pits. Below are the pits. From left to right, they are the pits of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, and Michael Waltrip.
Mark Martin had the pole, and flat out dominated the race. I was glad that he won. I've heard from several people how great of a guy he is.
On a side note, I saw a couple of celebrities there. One was Evander Holyfield (below left) and Michael Strahan (below right).
As my email gets up and going again, I'll post some of the videos as well.
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