Sunday 24th May
So the big day was here, time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series coca cola 600. The longest race of the season.
A beautiful fine morning started with a healthy breakfast for a change, only 2 rashers of bacon instead of 4! I jest, I actually opted for the fruit bowl option.
Anyway, less about food, after breakfast I managed to watch Mercedes throw away the Monaco Grand Prix for Lewis Hamilton then watched the first half of Hull vs Manchester United.
At 11am it was time to board the bus for the short ride back up to Charlotte Motor Speedway. On the way up Shane, our tour guide got us in good spirits for the day ahead and invited us all to play a sweepstake game where we would each pick a drivers name out of a bag and if the driver we picked went on to win the race we would win a prize. I picked out Ricky Stenhouse Jr so wasn't expecting much there.
We arrived at the track extremely early because some other guests in our party had also booked garage tours, pit passes and other pre race activities.
I took the time to just mooch around the facility again, watch the crowds arrive, each person wearing caps and t shirts supporting their favourite drivers, lots of things going on, the smell of hot dogs, burgers and Turkey legs wafting through the air, the whole area was buzzing.
Stood and listened to Aric Almirola doing a Q&A session for a while and then came across Joey Logano signing autographs at his merchandise trailer.... of which there were looong queues.
A couple of hours before the race the pre race festivities got going. Z Z Top were playing a concert buy I didn't catch any of this, just heard the racket. Instead I decided to watch the end of the Indy 500 on one of the many TV around the stadium that were showing the race. Juan Pablo Montoya hung on to win.
Following this I found my seat in the stands. I was sat next to a couple from Louisiana who I had become friends with during the trip. My seats were a few rows further up than yesterday, the views were great. Nothing will beat that moment when you walk out from underneath the stands and see the race track in all its glory in front of you. Cars lined up on pit Road glistening in the afternoon sunshine, fans on the infield enjoying the pre race ceremonies. I watched as one kid and his dad walked up towards their seating section, the boy was awestruck at what he saw, his face lit up, mouth opened in amazement, he turned around to his dad who smiled back as if to say.... Welcome to NASCAR.
The pre race ceremonies were a fitting tribute to US soldiers serving their country, it is labor day weekend here in the states.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, everyone well up for the race. Popular drivers were cheered passionately when introduced to the crowd, (Dale Jr) hated drivers booed even more so (Kyle Busch).
The race got going in the late afternoon sunshine and Matt Kenseth led the early going. The lead changed numerous times in the race but Martin Truex Jr looked to have the best car all night. The sun went down and the floodlights came on which made everything look even more spectacular. Was treated to a mid race funnel cake courtesy of my friends sitting next to me. Carl Edwards won the 400 lapper by managing to stretch the fuel mileage in his #19 Toyota. A sense of deja vu as I saw him win at Texas a good few years ago in similar circumstances. Fireworks were let off as he crossed the line, he came around to the front stretch and did his customary back flip much to the joy of the crowd. Was hoping Jeff Gordon could have done a little better than his 15th place finish as this is probably the last time I'll see him race.
Then came the mass exodus... Thousands and thousands of people leaving the track at the same time, stayed with my fellow tour friends who were equally confused as to where we needed to get to. Somehow in the melee I needed to return my scanner as well. Managed to do this after fighting through the crowds.
In the end it all worked out well, got back to the bus in good time, and we were soon on the road and moving quickly. Enjoyed chatting with people on the way back about the race. It was sad to say goodbye to them when we got back to the hotel, they have been so nice and friendly. Wished them all a safe journey home and joked to Mary, the lady who was on my last tour as well coincidently, that I would probably see her on the next tour.
Got back to the hotel just before midnight so not bad going. Thoroughly enjoyed the last few days and I look forward to exploring the nascar hall of fame tomorrow.
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