Back where my NASCAR passion began – @PoconoRaceway 6.13.09
Last Sunday we headed up to the locale where my passion for NASCAR began. [Apologies for the delay in getting this up - we are ramping the blog in many ways. Stay tuned]. Back in the summer of 1992, I headed to my first NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway with my high school buddies for the Miller Genuine Draft 500. Not your typical activity for a bunch of guys from Monmouth County, New Jersey.
It was a great time to enter into fandom for the sport – during the era of NASCAR greats like Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Harry Gant, Bill Elliot, Rusty Wallace and many more. I loved racing, speed and all things automotive from a very young age. The full experience of the “race day,” including: the tailgate, walking through the pits, socializing with the mass of fans, the air force jet fly over, the smell of fuel and rubber, and most importantly – the intense sound of forty-three 800-hp cup cars roaring down the front stretch at over 200 mph. At that moment I realized, NASCAR was more than a sport – it was a lifestyle.
It was a very memorable day in NASCAR history. From the seats of the Terrace Club, we watched Davey Allison charge through the pack with Darrell Waltrip on his bumper exiting the “Tunnel Turn.” The two cars made contact and Davey’s car careened into the grass, caught air and began a series of 9 flips before landing on the infield guardrail. We stared in awe and concern during the long caution as Davey was pulled from the car and loaded into a MedEvac chopper. A traumatizing moment that will forever remain in my memory and first experience as a NASCAR fan and spectator.
Here I am 17 years later – heading to Pocono again, this time with @StephAgresta and my parents. They too have been infected with the contagious passion for NASCAR. Outfitted with our race hats and t-shirts, Sprint FanViews, and #88 Amp Energy Dale Jr cooler bag filled with cold beer we set out for a full day of racing.
It would be an exiting 500 miles on the 2.5 mile “Tricky Triangle” in Long Pond, PA. This was NASCAR’s first race with the new double file “shoot-out” style restart rule. A restart on lap 118 would provide exciting door to door racing though it wasn’t long before the field would stretch out single file. Long green flag runs kept the new restart format from having an impact on the out come of the race. It would come down to a fuel mileage. A gamble by Tony Stewart staying out and shutting off the motor in the corners of the final laps would earn him his first checkered flag as driver/owner for Stewart Haas Racing. Check out our video of Smoke’s celebratory burnout below. Simply an awesome end to a great race day!
So that’s where it all began eh? And then it began for me there too with you 17 years later. I really had no idea what I was in for when you invited me out to the field for my inaugural Nascar Race at Pocono Raceway last year, and then again at Dover International Speedway later in that same season. One thing is for sure man, and that is that we are all looking forward to tuning into the rest of the Sprint Cup Series races with Ultimate Race Day this year!!