The day is young, but the air is hot; you can feel its stickiness on your skin. The pavement only radiates the heat making it worse, but for some reason, this discomfort vanishes as you see movement across the track. You hold your breath and your heart begins to race as the vehicle approaches and roars past in the blink of an eye leaving only fumes in its wake. You look at your friend and just like a child you beg, "Again, again!"
I was never a fan of sitting in front of a television to watch cars circle a racetrack for hours upon hours at a time. To me, NASCAR was for the rednecks of America the beautiful, and in many ways, it certainly is; however, my visit to the Daytona International Speedway changed my opinion of the sport (I guess you would call it a sport?).
On Daytona Beach day, I put on my cutoff jean shorts (to better fit in), and Doubles Shark Whisperer and I headed for the racetrack (check it off the bucket list). The Speedway only hosts a few events throughout the year, the most important being the Daytona 500. On all other days, tourists are allowed to take tours (NASCAR facts don't interest me....who's Dale Earnhardt Jr.?), do ride-alongs with professionals (are you crazy?), change tires (I have triple-A for that), and drive yourself around the track (no, seriously, are you crazy?). Basically, you name it, they will allow you to do it for a price. However, very few people know that you can walk right out to the racetrack for free, and that is precisely what we did.
On this particular day, the professional drivers were taking tourists on ride-alongs, which allowed us to experience what it's really like to see a car on the track going well over 160mph. I have to say that after feeling that rush, I am definitely more open to NASCAR, but you probably won't see me wasting my afternoon away on watching cars circle a track. Buy me tickets though, and I'll be there in a pit stop......is that the saying?.....or maybe in a jiffy.
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| Daytona International Speedway (said in the most redneck voice possible). |
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| "America is about speed--hot, nasty, badass speed.-Eleanor Roosevelt" (From Talladega Nights) |
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| Where's Jdub? Similar to Where's Waldo but more female and less striped. |
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| "I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo T-shirt because it says I want to be formal, but I'm here to party." (From Talladega Nights) |
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| "If you ain't first, you're last." (From Talladega Nights) |
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| "Shake and bake!" (From Talladega Nights) |
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| Sweet home 'murica! |
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| No words. |
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| Cruisin' Daytona Beach with these hot pups. |
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| Daytona Beach. |
Motorsport Terminology
Bridesmaid: A driver who finishes the race or racing season as runner up. Derived from the expression 'always the bridesmaid, never the bride' referring to someone who frequently comes close to success without ever achieving it.
Buschwhacker or Claim Jumper: A driver who regularly races in the first tier NASCAR series, the Sprint Cup Series, who makes guest or semi-regular appearances racing in the second-tier NASCAR Nationwide Series. The term was named originally for then sponsor of the second-tier series Anheuser-Busch brewery. The newer term references insurance abuse (from the current sponsor).
Door-slammer: Drag racing term used to group vehicles, usually sedan bodied, that still have functional doors for driver access to the vehicle, as opposed to Funny cars which have a single lightwight outer body draped over the racing chassis.
Flopper: Funny car, short for "fender flopper." Coined by dragster crews in the late 1960s to separate Funny Cars, which had fiberglass bodies with fenders, from dragsters. Erroneously attributed to flip-top bodies of Funny Cars.
Hung-out-to-dry: Typically used in context to pack racing; a car that pulls out of the "draft train" to make a pass, but ends up losing many positions. Numerous cars drafting closely together normally drive faster than one car by itself. The lone car hung out to dry sometimes falls all the way to the end of the draft train.
Kitty litter: Informal term with two possible meanings. It is either a nickname for a gravel trap, or for a material applied to the track surface to clean up a leaking fluid.
Lollipop: A sign on a stick used in pit stops, which is held in front of the car and raised when the pit stop is completed. Though the same basic device is utilized in NASCAR and IndyCar, generic terms such as pit board or sign board are preferred as the sign is not round, but sometimes square, and often is in a specific design unique to the driver or team (such as Kevin Harvick's happy face logo, or a team's number stylised as it fits on the car). In addition, in NASCAR & IndyCar, the sign is usually only used for the driver to locate their pit box. It is pulled back, and not normally used to signal departure as it is in Formula One,.
Marbles: Pieces of rubber from tires that accumulate on the racing surface outside of the racing line that are slippery like toy marbles.
Meatball: A specific racing flag used in some countries to indicate to a competitor there is a defect with the car which has the potential to cause a safety risk to the competitor or to another competitor. Most usually applied to trailing smoke or loose bodywork. The flag is black with a large orange dot in the centre of the flag, looking vaguely like a meatball.
And now it's time for my victory lap.....
