We'd been going to races faithfully at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the past two years and wanted to try something different. After briefly visiting the pits for last year's Coca-Cola 600 (see here), I thought it would be interesting to get pit passes for the Bank of America 500 in October. I obviously wanted to return to the pits, but even more so, I wanted my 3 and 6 year old boys to get close to the racing action.
Honestly, I was completely clueless (a true nascar newb) when it came to the pits. Most of our time we spent wondering around, eating all of the free Cargill Hamburgers we could handle, and simply soaking in the sights of pit road. While we did not have a hot-pass (the pass that gets your right next to the drivers' garages) but the basic pit pass still gave us some serious access to the cars, pit boxes and even the drivers themselves.
Honestly, I was completely clueless (a true nascar newb) when it came to the pits. Most of our time we spent wondering around, eating all of the free Cargill Hamburgers we could handle, and simply soaking in the sights of pit road. While we did not have a hot-pass (the pass that gets your right next to the drivers' garages) but the basic pit pass still gave us some serious access to the cars, pit boxes and even the drivers themselves.
Joey Logano about to do practice laps |
Thaddeus is in Nascar Heaven: Snow Cone and the Biggest LCD screen! |
On the day of the Bank of America 500, things got much more chaotic on pit road, so we took a few minutes to wander to other areas of the pits. Another one of our favorite memories was having an Italian Ice and watching the largest big screen LCD screen in the world. It was one of those relaxing moments, where you enjoyed a treat and just soaked in where you were.
Nick Wallenda walks the tight rope across to the infield at Charlotte Motor Speedway |
A few hours before the start of the race, the family and I were hanging out by the camper. I realized that we only had an hour before the race started, and had forgotten that there was supposed to be some pretty impressive events before the race. One of those events was that Nik Wallenda was going tight rope walk from the roof of the upper deck to the infield. My son and I decided that we wanted to get as close to Nik's performance as possible. We went down to pit road and noticed that he was about to start! While we rushed to see Nik's performance, I noticed that golf carts passed us with passengers in firesuits. Suddenly, the golf carts got clogged and I looked over at the golf cart next to us. Who was sitting there in his jump suit with water bottle in hand? Mark Martin. I am usually the type that does pretty well with famous people. This time was not one of those times. I honestly can't remember what I said, but it was probably something silly like "Have a good race." He was very cordial, but I think I'd like a redo.
Clint Bowyer over my son's shoulder! |
Obviously, in my opinion, if you've been to the races before and are interested in checking out the pits; the pit passes are definitely worth the investment!
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