We expected horrendous traffic heading into Daytona and especially on the road to the racetrack. We had no problems- found a parking spot for $10 with the Girl Scouts (with a little bit of a hike to get to the track). By 8:00, we were at the track-for a race that didn’t start until 1:00! So, we tried to absorb a bit of the local color- the parking lots filled with people tailgating and the huge trailers filled with racer paraphernalia.
The very popular racers had their own tractor trailer filled with shirts, jackets, hats, bumper stickers…. John threatened to buy a Dale Earnhardt jacket- but the prices fortunately kept him in line. After a few hours of walking through the crowds and the vendor booths, we headed to Barnes and Noble for a few hours of quiet in their café- reading the NY Times and having a bite to eat.Just a few minutes before race time, we headed to the track. We had prepped for our big day by reading "NASCAR for Dummies" and headed to the track with what we thought was some basic knowledge. We had great seats in the Roberts Tower-overlooking the track (and at $175/each, they should have been good!). The race started with a stunning display of good old American patriotism- complete with overflights by military jets and parachuting soldiers, a rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" by Mariah Carey and a mass recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance (the last time either John or I heard the Pledge was in grade school!!).
These race car fans take this "Proud to be an American" stuff seriously! Then John Travolta made the announcement, "Gentlemen, start your engines". The sound of the cars whizzing by was amazing- wish we had taken our video camera)....and we got to see a roll-over crash and a few car collisions in the pit. John sat next to a good old boy who sat down and pulled out a huge bucket of fried chicken and a six pack of beer. He turned out to be a pretty nice guy- who answered all of John's novice questions (about 10 minutes into the questioning, he turned to John and said, "Is this your first time here?"). They talked about the price of the races and our red-neck admitted that he now has to budget for just a few races a year- he sets aside $6,000 a year for 4-5 races!
Well, things were going great, until the skies opened up and it started to pour. We were about 25% through the 500 mile race. No umbrellas are allowed - and since we didn't have those great New Orleans parkas, John had suggested that we bring some large trash bags. So, we cut open the arm and head holes and we sat there in our trash bags (yes- we were truly "white trash"). We finally decided that there was no way that the race was going to be completed and all of my mascara was running into my eyes and we were soaking wet. So, we made it to the quarter finals and headed back to our parking spot (about 1/2 mile away). They actually did start up the race again after we left- but only went for 100 laps before they called it and declared the current front runner, Michael Waltrip, the winner.We got back to TGO to find the coach locked and no Mija inside. Ann, our TGO realtor, had offered to walk Mija a few times during the day and in one of her visits, the door locked her- and Mija out. So, Mija got to spend the day with the realtors in the TGO office. She had a great day.
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