“A dream is a wish your heart makes,
When you’re fast asleep.
In dreams you lose your heartaches.
Whatever you wish for, you keep.Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through.
No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on believing,
The dream that you wish will come true.”
Okay, so there’s a great bit of wisdom from Disney’s “Cinderella”, right?
Well, I’m here to tell you, that is 100 percent, absolutely true!
If you’ve been reading my columns for a while, you might recall an earlier effort on the subject of pin trading. Among the tales of my enjoyment of pins was a real low moment when the bulk of my collection (all in one big pin bag) was stolen from the back seat of a car parked in front of my house. I imagine that the bag looked a lot like a computer laptop case. Once who ever took it found out what it really had, it was likely they would toss it away.
There were a lot of memories and great times associated with the pins, but I always hoped they might show up, somehow. That was back in 2001, on March 15, and I just considered them gone.
Fast forward to this week. Got a voice mail from the company that does the landscaping for the townhouse complex I live in. Seems they thought they had something of mine that one of their gardeners had found. So not knowing what it might have been, I called. I’ve had mail go missing, packages left by drivers in odd spots, so I didn’t really give it much thought. When I heard back from the folks at their office, they asked me some questions about the item they found. Seems that they had reported the find to the property management company that handles the complex a while back, but no one had a clue as to who it might belong to. So they put the item off to one side in their shop where it gathered dust until about a week ago. A closer examination revealed my name, and they got my phone number out of the book.
So when someone stopped by yesterday afternoon, I was absolutely surprised. It was the missing pin bag with all of the pins intact!
“Happy, happy, joy, joy!” (Imagine Roger doing his best Ren & Stimpy happy dance here…)
Since then, I’ve looked over the goodies about a thousand times, and started to do a proper inventory. I’ll have a fair number of pins to trade now, thanks to some I managed to replace. I’ve said some prayers of thanks as this is not much short of as miracle in my book.
As the song above says,
“No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on believing,
The dream that you wish will come true.”
Now on with the feature…
Name the number one growing sport in the country? You would probably not be surprised that it has a large family and female demographic. That would be NASCAR racing. And as popular as it is becoming, that popularity is not limited to the big time Winston Cup races. It’s growing at small tracks all across the nation.
Not so long ago, if you had asked folks looking for advertising dollars for any NASCAR event, you might have been told that it had very narrow market. Mostly in the southern states and likely males from 25 to 45, too. But that is definitely not the case now. Especially when it can be noted that Nextel just signed a 10 year deal to sponsor the Cup Series!
By now, you should know that I’m hooked on machinery. Yes, I have used the term “planes, trains and automobiles” in jest, but there is more truth in that phrase than I sometimes want to admit. If it goes fast and makes a lot of noise, I’m there!
And while for me, auto racing is a passing fancy (Okay, so I went to my first race when I was less than six months old in Germany — June 7, 1959 for the 1000 Kilometer race to watch Dan Gurney, Phil Hill and Sterling Moss at the old Nurburgring — there are movies to prove it. More on the Nurburgring later…), some folks live and die on how their favorite driver did in his last race (my oldest nephew and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as an example).
I’m told I chewed on the cover of a program similar to this one. How embarrassing!
With a racing history across the country going back as far as motor cars themselves, people have enjoyed watching races at all kinds of venues. There were dirt tracks, board tracks, city street courses and cross country road courses. Some of the early NASCAR races were run on sandy beaches. Some people went for the excitement of the machinery, others to see the heroes behind the steering wheel. That hasn’t changed in all the years.
As technology has improved, the availability of spectator participation has as well. Once you had to be content with finding a good seat and a spot to watch you favorite driver go by on each lap. Now you can almost be right in the car along with the driver. There is the in-car camera and even listening to that driver chat with his crew over the radio.
But if you want to make that final step, there is a way to actually ride along in the car. That’s the Richard Petty Driving Experience, and it takes place at NASCAR venues all across the nation. But why not join folks like Michael Eisner, and take the plunge just outside the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom in Florida? That is one of several year-round locations where this opportunity is available. Before we visited Florida in 1999, I knew it was there, but the sounds of cars going around the track at speed was hard to miss as we arrived at the TTC one morning.
While I have not had the pleasure of this experience first hand, one of my friends (Ken Mitchroney with memorable experiences racing open-wheel modifieds) did! Last year, during a visit to the Daytona Speedway, he found a group of his former racing buddies (from the Volusia County Speedway) all employed as part of the team offering this to the public. After he stopped laughing over old times with them, it was off for the ride around this classic racetrack. As this was not his first visit (He’s been there during Speedweek and even had a full access pit pass one year) to the track, he knew what to expect, but said it was a real thrill none the less.
The Richard Petty Driving Experience offers several levels of opportunities for you to enjoy:
The basic experience is the Ride Along. “Available At: All locations (during scheduled driving experiences) Price: $89 – $125 (Price varies according to track location.) Highlights: Experience a real life racing thrill when you ride shotgun in a two-seat stock car driven by a professional instructor for a Winston Cup style Qualifying Run”
From there, it’s a chance to ride in a race with other cars out on the track in the Ultimate Ride Experience. “Available At: Short tracks to superspeedways across the country. Price: $199 – $249 (Price varies according to track location.) Highlights: Richard Petty Driving Experience is taking you one step closer to experiencing first-hand the thrill and excitement of stock car racing! Experience a real race from the passenger’s seat. Ride for six to ten laps from flag to flag as you experience side-by-side racing, drafting, passing, pit stops and more!”
Next up the ladder is the Rookie Experience with you behind the wheel and in control of the car. “Available At: Atlanta, California, Chicagoland, Darlington, Gateway, Homestead, Indianapolis, Kansas, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Lowe’s, Memphis, Michigan, Milwaukee, Nazareth, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Pikes Peak, Richmond, Talladega, Texas and Walt Disney World. Price: $349 – $499 (Price varies according to track location.) Highlights: Your hands are on the wheel, your foot is on the gas, and you’re in the driver’s seat for 8 laps around the track. The program lasts three hours; the memories last a lifetime.”
Not enough? Well get ready, as the next level is the King’s Experience. “Available At: Atlanta, California, Chicagoland, Darlington, Gateway, Homestead, Kansas, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Lowe’s, Michigan, Milwaukee, Nazareth, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Pikes Peak, Richmond, Rockingham (UK), Talladega, Texas and Walt Disney World. Price: $749 – $1199 (Price varies according to track location.) Highlights: Satisfy your need for speed while trying to tame the speedway in this high-thrill, 18-lap program. Total program lasts approximately five hours.”
Are we there yet? Maybe not! How about the Experience of a Lifetime? “Available At: Atlanta, California, Chicagoland, Gateway, Homestead, Kansas, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Lowe’s, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pikes Peak, Rockingham (UK), Texas and Walt Disney World. Price: $1199 – $1249 (Price varies according to track location.) Highlights: Think you can handle 30 laps of white-knuckled, heart-pounding speed? Improve your driving line, increase your speed and consider a career change.”
By now, you should be ready for anything! So why not step up to the Racing Experience? “Available At: Atlanta, Las Vegas, Lowe’s and Texas. Price: $2399 Highlights: This program covers 80 laps over 1 1/2 days. You’ll receive instruction on refining your driving line, building speed, and side-by-side driving.”
Can you feel the pace getting exciting? Move up one more level to the Advanced Racing Experience. “Available At: Atlanta, Las Vegas, Lowe’s and Texas. Price: $2999 Highlights: The greatly intensified personal instruction makes drivers who take this 40 lap program feel like they’re ready to take on Petty. Experience of a Lifetime or Racing Experience is prerequisite for admission to this experience.”
Ok, so you’re all set to go now, right? Well then, how about some experiences at particular speedways around the country? You can choose from the following:
? BRISTOL EXPERIENCE
? BRICKYARD EXPERIENCE
? DAYTONA EXPERIENCE
? DAYTONA SUPER 16
? TALLADEGA EXPERIENCE
? TALLADEGA SUPER 16
So there you have it. How to get from one side of the fence to the other, and see what it’s like from the track instead of the grandstand.
But that’s not the only way. Check out your local speedway or racetrack. Just up the freeway from me (Jim and Nancy drove right by on their way to Fresno/Mineral King and didn’t even know it!) is the infamous Altamont Raceway Park. (In 1970, the Rolling Stones used the property for an open-air concert, and hired a local Hells Angel chapter to provide security. Details have never been clear, but there was a fatality, and the place was marked for history.)
Today, Altamont makes a claim that it is the fastest half-mile paved oval track in Northern California. According to the history page on their web site, “Altamont Raceway Park originally opened its gates to the public in the 1930’s and changed to its current configuration in 1963. Throughout its history, Altamont has run a wide variety of events and attracted some of the biggest names in racing history, such as Foyt, Andretti and Unser. Today, Altamont is sanctioned by the SRL Short Track Auto Racing Series.”
But it has something that let’s average folks like us enjoy racing all that much more. Rentals! Previously, rentals has been available in the Mini Super Truck division — that races on the quarter-mile oval. A new division, the CAM or Corporate American Modified cars offers spectators a slightly less intimidating opportunity with all the thrills one would expect. Racing schools offer instruction to all ages at the track including the opportunity to race.
Opportunities like these are available across the country, so the next time you’re out at the local speedway, ask! You will be surprised (and maybe even tempted) by the answer.
Back to the Nurburgring for a closing comment. Road & Track Magazine had a great feature on the track in the January 15, 2001 issue. While the layout of the track has changed a bit since that 1959 visit (although a new F1 course also is in the area), the public is still able to drive the old course for a fee — in 2001 that was about $9.50 a lap. One of the most disturbing sights has to be the tour busses travelling the circuit — at speed. (Here’s another fan site for the Nurburgring.)
One issue the article does cover is that the old track has seen its share of accidents — both during races as well as during open driving events. Unlike the legal wrangles this would offer here in the U.S., it is very clear that once you decide to drive the circuit or even stand as a spectator at certain locations, you do so at your own risk. If something happens, so be it, and no one else is liable for anything. Now that’s refreshing…. Someone accepting responsibility for their own actions and not expecting someone else to do that for them. What a concept!
So there you have it. Another one of those things you always wanted to do, but didn’t think you could! Next week, there is another tale from out and about, and hopefully, the next piece in this series will follow that — the tale of spending the night in a real medieval castle. Yoikes and away!!!
Thanks again to everyone who has given coin of the realm through Roger’s Amazon Honor System Paybox. Even a dollar or two makes the smiles grow out here on the electronic prairie.