One of the things I didn’t tell you about, and should have… Was going to Talladega for the race on October 23rd.
Although my husband and our friends, Pam and Tim are big NASCAR fans, I could never see any purpose to sitting in front of the TV for hours watching little cars go round and round while some good old boys talked about it non-stop. To my way of thinking it is tantamount to watching hamsters running in their exercise wheels, and what’s up with that little rat relative Digger?
I digress.
So almost a year ago we began talking about the October Race at Talladega. And before we knew it the plans were made, the tickets bought, plane reservations made, and they were here!
Personally I was more excited at the aspect of our friends coming to visit! We hadn’t seen them since we left California three years ago, and I was looking forward to spending time with them. Even if it meant having to sit in bleachers for a day…
Well, we drove over two hours, parked, walked over a mile, found our seats, sat down, and realized…
We were right in front of the start/finish line!
Now some folks would prefer to be way up high so they can see the whole track clearly, and some would prefer to be down in the center of the track where all the partying and crazy stuff is going on, but me, I was kinda liking to be where it all begins and ends. Although I am not a NASCAR fan, and I don’t have a driver I’m following, it was fun to be there live and in the middle of the action, to see up close what went on in the pit. Oh, and the really big bonus??? No Digger! The annoying little rodent was MIA! 😀
Before I get to the pictures I want to take a moment to thank Tim and Pam for buying the tickets. It was very generous and we all had a great day! Yes, even me.
Now, let me tell you, taking pictures of FAST cars is hard. Add a fence and it is next to impossible! I found that to get a good shot I had to set the camera for action and face into the oncoming cars. Doing this allowed the camera to find a focus range and get in a few clear shots. Like these…
OK, so these aren’t fast-moving cars, but trust me, the fellas in the photo were hustling!
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No, your eyes do not deceive you. That really is 12 inch wide tape holding on the fender of number 20!
TAPE!
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You have to look at this one close up! Imagine driving way over 200 mph, and you are kissing bumpers with the guy in front of you… on a curve… INSANE.
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I took so many photos that day and almost all were trash. The action is simply too fast for this amateur, and so were the heads of the fans!
I have various blurred shots of the back of several NASCAR fan’s caps. I thought this red one was attractive… 😉
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So for me, even though not a racing fan, it was a great race! There were four crashes in which no one was killed or seriously maimed (that’s always a plus) and best of all, I was there with my Sweety and best friends!
Hmm… whatever happened to Digger? Maybe he got run over by one of the fellas on the track?
(Curiosity got the better of ya, huh?) 😉
Life on the Farmlet 
This is so exciting! My dad goes to these races every year. My cousin has his own plane and they fly out to the races, just the two of them. This year, they also went to that place ????after the races where they got to drive a stock car around the track, four times I believe. I should be scanning my dad’s pictures into the computer soon for him and will probably be doing a post about his trip as well. It looks like your day out there was full of excitement! I would have loved to have your seats as well.
Lana
Wow Lana, Imagine having a private plane to fly in and enjoy the day! Whoo-hoo! I am not savvy regarding the place where you can drive a stock car around… However, my father’s friends let me “drive” one of their quarter midgets up the street and back when I was about 11 or 12. 😉
(Drive = sit in his lap while we toured the street in slow-mo)
You had a great and possibly very noisy day! c
Two words Cecilia… EARPLUGS BABY!
LOL, once during the afternoon I accidentally pulled one out. What a shock!
Me and my love of abstracts had me catching the red blurred ball cap first. I really like that image! 🙂 And the subtle change in color in the lower right.
What fun to see the race (but earplugs might be a good idea 🙂 ). And fun to shoot cars moving so fast too. And just the excitement of it all. Great post!
Hello Katie, I’m so glad you stopped by, and delighted that you like it! Especially the blurred ball cap… 😉
~ L
I have to admit my curiousity was distracting me from the rest of the post so I was especially excited to see the video. Catchy tune! Is it a kids’ cartoon? I did go back and read and check out the pics once my curiousity was satisfied…and the comments. Glad you had earplugs.
As a teenager, I used to go to the track – not nascar, I don’t know what it was called – we just called them drag races. I remember they had ‘funny cars’ that would scream down the track for a ridiculously short distance, breaking the sound barrier. Never thought of ear plugs in those days. I even got to hang out in the pit with a friend who had a car in the Street Car races – had old jeans on one day that the butt ripped out of – that was memorable. But that was in the heyday of the streakers – talk about memories!
So let’s see – I remember the scream of the funny cars, the adventures in the pit and the streakers…I guess you could say I’m not much of a fan. 🙂
Curiosity as in, you looked at the pictures first? Hahaha! I don’t mind bit. Yes the video is from the kids cartoon series. We used to have funny car races and exotic fuel cars at the fairgrounds in Pomona and at the Irwindale speedway. The ones in Pomona were called “The Winternationals” and you could hear the cars for over 5 miles in any direction! I do hope you looked at the panorama shot up close. I just can’t get it out of my mind that those guys fly around the track touching bumpers (Drafting I believe it is called) for almost the whole race! Apparently, it really does make a difference because there was one fella that didn’t have anyone to draft with and he was behind for the whole race. Oh, and that patch in the curve of the track is really more of a WALL! It keeps them from flying off the track in the corners. Whew!
Yup, you must of enjoyed the races in those days. 😉
I got so caught up in the memories you evoked that I forgot to comment on the post! I did look at the pictures and am quite impressed with them! I totally suck at any kind of action shots and you did a great job of stopping these speeding bullets. The drafting looks so incredibly dangerous. It’s like football in a way, they’re so well protected that they are not afraid of anything. I’m such a sook though, I’d probably be afraid to watch! 🙂 The company you find yourself with however can make any experience a good one. I’m happy for you that you got to spend this time with good friends.
Thanks Cindy, I do miss my friends. If there were not 3,000 miles between you and I, then I believe we would be dearest friends. But then, I guess this internet thing we do is sorta like pen pals, huh?
hi Honey, i have just named you for an award over on The Farmy page. hope you are having a great day.. c
I know, your link to my blog made a “ping back” and I followed it to see what was up… and there was mention of Moi right there on your page! You are a dear heart to think of me for this award. Thank you! 😀 (Been a bit of a slacker of late, so I guess I better get off my duff and start posting.)
We used to watch Nascar races every week, and attended a few in Richmond and Charlotte. I would love to see Daytona or Talledega, just to get a feel of how fast that really is. It looks like you had great seats, except for photography! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Lol, I love that red hat, where can I get one?! Like you I have never understood watching car races on tv, ahh but in person things are much different! I am glad you had a nice day and had such awesome seats!
Thank you Ginger, It really was a special day! Oh, and about that red hat… well here’s a hint on where to get one: The front of the hat said TALLADAGA. 😉