Infineon Raceway, June 22, 2008
Well, THIS race day was a new one for me. We chose, rather than driving to the track, paying the astronomical gas prices, and getting a hotel room for the night, to bus it…found a local tour group that had a deal for bus trip and tickets, all for about what I’ve paid in the past for tickets at other tracks!! It was AWESOME!!
Well, the 6+ hours each way, making stops to pick up other NASCAR fans, WAS slightly sanity-testing, (I DID get my nails manicured, something I hadn’t gotten around to before leaving! LOL) but it was still great to be able to nap when we could (really hard to nap sitting up, though…the bus was pretty full) and not have to worry about all that. We watched the sun rise over the mountains…and the gas prices rise as we got further north. Thank GOD we didn’t have to worry about that on this day!!
Of course, we went the extra mile and got pit passes/driver intro passes, too. After last year’s fiasco with buying tickets last minute, and thinking we were also purchasing pit passes (through a secondary vendor), only to find out we bought a second set of tickets, I didn’t take any chances this time…got them directly from the track.
Arriving there on a sunny and warm day (a wonderful change from the previous days in Sonoma, which apparently were as hot as they were in Harvickland, where I currently reside, hitting triple-digits…and a remarkable change from the LAST time I was at a race track!! Thank GOD!!) with a nice cool breeze, we wasted no time picking up our pit passes and getting down there.
Well, THIS race day was a new one for me. We chose, rather than driving to the track, paying the astronomical gas prices, and getting a hotel room for the night, to bus it…found a local tour group that had a deal for bus trip and tickets, all for about what I’ve paid in the past for tickets at other tracks!! It was AWESOME!!
Well, the 6+ hours each way, making stops to pick up other NASCAR fans, WAS slightly sanity-testing, (I DID get my nails manicured, something I hadn’t gotten around to before leaving! LOL) but it was still great to be able to nap when we could (really hard to nap sitting up, though…the bus was pretty full) and not have to worry about all that. We watched the sun rise over the mountains…and the gas prices rise as we got further north. Thank GOD we didn’t have to worry about that on this day!!
Of course, we went the extra mile and got pit passes/driver intro passes, too. After last year’s fiasco with buying tickets last minute, and thinking we were also purchasing pit passes (through a secondary vendor), only to find out we bought a second set of tickets, I didn’t take any chances this time…got them directly from the track.
Arriving there on a sunny and warm day (a wonderful change from the previous days in Sonoma, which apparently were as hot as they were in Harvickland, where I currently reside, hitting triple-digits…and a remarkable change from the LAST time I was at a race track!! Thank GOD!!) with a nice cool breeze, we wasted no time picking up our pit passes and getting down there.
(I was kicking myself as I looked at this pic....why didn't I look to see who's pit box that was attached to??? WHO IS 'BEAK'??? LOL)Being on someone else’s schedule to get there, we only had limited pit lane time, but were still able to stroll along, taking in the sights and sounds…ahhh, pit lane on race day morning, there’s nothing like it!! I still wonder, though, how some of these “women” get in there, where supposedly long pants and closed-toe shoes as well as no exposed shoulders is the standard rule, in their mini skirts and bikinis….
After wandering up and down pit lane, getting our fix of the race day aura of controlled chaos as crews set up pit boxes and put their cars through inspection, LeadfootRN and I split up, she to go up to our seats to watch the driver intros from there (her knee was bothering her, and she didn’t feel like hiking back around to the area where they let us in for Driver Intros) and I headed down there, to wait with the rest of the crowd.
While waiting, we were treated to an airshow, which I surprisingly got not one, but 3 good (one particularly surprising) shots of:
After wandering up and down pit lane, getting our fix of the race day aura of controlled chaos as crews set up pit boxes and put their cars through inspection, LeadfootRN and I split up, she to go up to our seats to watch the driver intros from there (her knee was bothering her, and she didn’t feel like hiking back around to the area where they let us in for Driver Intros) and I headed down there, to wait with the rest of the crowd.
While waiting, we were treated to an airshow, which I surprisingly got not one, but 3 good (one particularly surprising) shots of:
Once in, we enjoyed a Rolling Stones cover band (whatever…bring on the drivers!! Let’s go racing!!! LOL) and I chatted with a lady beside me sporting a 99 ticket lanyard, who was new to the driver intros deal, so I told her what to expect…she had a much more professional camera than I did, and was bound and determined to get close up shots of Carl and a few others of her favorites…20/20 hindsight, I should have given her my e-mail, asked if she’d be willing to share some of her pics. Oh well.
Sitting there on the pit wall, well, the track wall, pit wall was actually about 6 feet behind us, beside the 99 car (of course we 99 fans had gravitated to it! LOL)
Sitting there on the pit wall, well, the track wall, pit wall was actually about 6 feet behind us, beside the 99 car (of course we 99 fans had gravitated to it! LOL)
we just enjoyed the balmy weather and chatted, and that’s when Sandie found me….the “Official Edhead” t-shirt gave me away. Well, that and most Edheads who frequent the RFR boards know what I look like…my pic has been on there a FEW times. LOL
So we chatted for a while, she’s a fellow nurse also, from the San Fran area, and I look forward to looking her up when I finally move up that way…we had a good time, even though it seemed like it was taking forever for intros to get under way!!!
The 99 crew started lining up on pit wall behind us, and we were surprised and pleased to see Bob there with them…
So we chatted for a while, she’s a fellow nurse also, from the San Fran area, and I look forward to looking her up when I finally move up that way…we had a good time, even though it seemed like it was taking forever for intros to get under way!!!
The 99 crew started lining up on pit wall behind us, and we were surprised and pleased to see Bob there with them…
And Edhead teamwork kicked in….Sandie called “Bob!” and got his attention, poised with her camera for a pic…but I thought the soberly curious face he turned our way would just never do, so I called out “Smile Bob!!” and VOILA!! It’s a “Bob Smile”. Success!! :D
Finally Driver intros got under way, and in no time as they reached the top 10, I was split between snapping pics of the drivers as they came down the stage in front of us, and turning around and snapping pics of them as they came around the track on their trucks and dismounted behind us…busy busy!! I LOVED it!! Felt like I was TRULY in the middle of everything!!! (If you want more than Carl pics, you'll have to check out the album linked below...I AM an Edhead, after all!! LOL)
Race time, Sandie and her friend and I separated to head to our seats, and after fending off a guy who thought a gal by herself under the stands was fair game for a pick-up attempt (NOT!!!), I grabbed some burgers and beers and joined LeadfootRN in our seats…
The race itself, from an Edhead standpoint, was AWESOME, listening to Bob encourage Carl as he passed car after car, heading to the front, and they adjusted their strategy because the car was running so good, trying to extend their run to have more fuel for the end….
And then, they got bitten. The caution came out after a bunch of cars had already pitted, and Carl hadn’t. Normally, on regular oval tracks, this would have benefitted Carl and team, putting those cars who had just pitted a lap down, where they would have ended up after they pitted…but not on the long winding road course. As a result of this half a lap too soon caution, Carl went from second place to 10th…GRRR!!
But again, he headed forward, picking off cars, and eventually got those 5 bonus points for leading….only to be bitten yet again by the same thing. THIS time, he went back to 20th. How is a fan supposed to keep her hopes up when her guy has the fastest car out there, but keeps getting put back because strategy bit him????
Disheartened, and knowing that there was little chance Carl could pass 19 cars in the laps remaining (and indeed, he even lost a couple of spots at first), I headed out to the bus…we only had 30 minutes after the finish to get out there, and on the hills at Sonoma, I hate to be rushed, and LeadfootRN, with her sore knee, had already headed out there for the same reason….so, scanner still tuned to the 99 team’s frequency, I trudged out.
But again, he headed forward, picking off cars, and eventually got those 5 bonus points for leading….only to be bitten yet again by the same thing. THIS time, he went back to 20th. How is a fan supposed to keep her hopes up when her guy has the fastest car out there, but keeps getting put back because strategy bit him????
Disheartened, and knowing that there was little chance Carl could pass 19 cars in the laps remaining (and indeed, he even lost a couple of spots at first), I headed out to the bus…we only had 30 minutes after the finish to get out there, and on the hills at Sonoma, I hate to be rushed, and LeadfootRN, with her sore knee, had already headed out there for the same reason….so, scanner still tuned to the 99 team’s frequency, I trudged out.
You see, having been awake since 1 am, and it now being around 4pm in the afternoon or so, I was wiped…I had hit the wall of exhaustion. Didn’t even see it coming. T-boned me. One minute I’m happily cheering Carl and crew on to what was surely to be a top 5 finish, if not a win, then commiserating with him at the bad luck, the next…UGH…No energy!! I just needed to sit somewhere quiet and listen to the end of the race.
So we did, and heard that Carl managed to claw his way back to a top 10 finish, which alleviated SOME of my disappointment, but when your guy has the car to beat, it never totally helps that he has a great come-back but still doesn’t win.
The rest of the bus group showed up in good time, and we got out before the bulk of the race traffic, so other than extreme stiffness from trying to nap sitting up (basically, losing consciousness…LF maintains I was snoring…I don’t snore!! Wheeze a little, heavy breath a little, maybe, but snore…nope. LOL)
The ride home was uneventful (Of course it was…I was unconscious for at least 50% of it!!). I can see this bus thing being the wave of the future for NASCAR attendees….it really does take a load off, and is much more affordable, with gas prices the way they are today. That being said, for me, it’s only good for same-day races, not entire race weekends. I really do prefer to be in control of when I arrive and leave. The early bird gets the worm!! AND, had Carl actually won…it would have been hard to tear myself away from the Victory Lane scene!!
So we did, and heard that Carl managed to claw his way back to a top 10 finish, which alleviated SOME of my disappointment, but when your guy has the car to beat, it never totally helps that he has a great come-back but still doesn’t win.
The rest of the bus group showed up in good time, and we got out before the bulk of the race traffic, so other than extreme stiffness from trying to nap sitting up (basically, losing consciousness…LF maintains I was snoring…I don’t snore!! Wheeze a little, heavy breath a little, maybe, but snore…nope. LOL)
The ride home was uneventful (Of course it was…I was unconscious for at least 50% of it!!). I can see this bus thing being the wave of the future for NASCAR attendees….it really does take a load off, and is much more affordable, with gas prices the way they are today. That being said, for me, it’s only good for same-day races, not entire race weekends. I really do prefer to be in control of when I arrive and leave. The early bird gets the worm!! AND, had Carl actually won…it would have been hard to tear myself away from the Victory Lane scene!!
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