Track walk at Charlotte Motor Speedway Coca-Cola 600

Track walk at Charlotte Motor Speedway Coca-Cola 600
Track walk at Charlotte Motor Speedway Coca-Cola 600

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Nascar Newbs: is Nascar really Family Friendly entertainment???

      I have to admit, after my first experience at a Nascar race in 2004, I didn't think that this would ever be a place I would bring my kids. There are quite a few incidents that come to mind on that night, but the most memorable was a fully "lit-up" nascar enthusiast who sat down next to the girl beside me and had a complete conversation. While she couldn't understand many of the words he was slurring, I do believe that he was hitting on her. Nonetheless, while I find drunk people with mullets humorous, I didn't think I wanted my young, impressionable boys to experience these hooligans.
         With that being said, in the last ten years Nascar has made some serious strides to make the sport accessible and "friendly" to families and with some knowledge of these accommodations, you can make your trip to the track smooth and enjoyable.
           Most tracks have cordoned off certain seating sections as "alcohol and smoke-free" zones and they are diligent to make sure that no substances of the sort enter that section, and there are no shenanigans whatsoever. Ironically, these seats seem to have the least amount of demand, so you can get these at a fairly decent price. I recently bought tickets for two to the Bank of America 500 for $59, and when I used my 50 dollar credit that I received in the mail, I ended up paying under $10 for tickets! Some tracks also have special kids rates, so you can buy one ticket at the normal price and a child's ticket for half price, or even free!
         After thinking about my past experiences with Nascar races, I realized that most of the "problematic" incidents  at the track occurred right before and right after the event in the main parking lots as well as right outside of the main entrance. I recognized that if I camped in the family campgrounds section and bought tickets in the family section that was on the edge of the track, I evaded all of these negative encounters. I simply walked my kids from my camper up to the nearby gate and I was IN the family section!  (You can see in the picture on the left- the gate is right where the seats end.)
      Also, I made sure that my family was not around the main entrance of the track within two hours of the event. One of my boys and I hung out at the campsite while our friends were enjoying the pit passes in the infield. (I will discuss pit pass upgrades on another blog entry...)
     Keep your eyes out for family-friendly Nascar events. In an upcoming blog I will review my boys' reaction to a recent Nationwide Autograph event that included Danica Patrick, Ricky Stenhouse, as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!


If you liked what you've read, and you want to know more about our family experiences and tips for Nascar Newbs - follow this feed or my twitter account @DeanHardy23

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