How I Became a NASCAR Fan (part three)
Posted: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
by Nila Smith
Fact and Fiction
Hot Labs and Heats and Features, OH MY!
As I sit here today, some 19 years after the fact, I look back on myself and realize that instead of being the mature 30 something I should have been, I behaved more like a 3 year old over this race business.
I was somewhat childish, but more over I was very insecure. This in itself speaks of the person that I was at that point in my life.
I have to admit, those shorts bothered me. I couldn't help but wonder if the women running around with scantly covered bods weren't at least a portion of the attraction my hubs felt for this so called sport.
But, as we settled down in our places on the bleachers, I did manage to put that aside and make an effort to understand what it was we were doing there.
The race track, commonly referred to as a "dirt track" was what I would have called a "mud track". It seems that is part of the process though. A large water truck drove around the little track that wasn't an oval or a circle, but more like a slightly misshapen doughnut, flooding it with water, while a tractor followed at a safe distance with a harrow, scuffing up the mud and creating golf ball size wads of the stuff.
Then it seemed to me that out of the blue an old junky looking car would appear, soaring out of a side road onto the track, and at breakneck speeds drive the circle, slinging mud from end to appetite. I soon realized that another good reason to sit high in the grandstands was to avoid being cold cocked by a mud ball!
The hub was taking this all in like I would have a piece of carnival glass at an auction, totally engrossed, his eyes following the cars every movement. At the same time, he had come to realize that he was going to have to keep me in the loop by explaining to me what was going on. What we were watching at that moment was what was known in the sport as hot laps".
Drivers came onto the track and made a few rounds. Their goals were multiple. First they wanted to get a sense of how their car was running. Then they needed to get a "feel for the track", pack it back down from all the water, and find their "groove". I laughed at the thought of a Redneck Sport using terminology such as "finding their groove"; until the hubs explained that it meant a specific spot on the track. The groove was where they could run their best and fastest, and generally on a small track such as this one there was only one "groove".
And I had to ask, why bother wetting and roughing it up when the drivers goal is to pack it back down. Poor hubs, he looked at me and said "just because". Okay, I've probably used that expression for "I don't know" a time or two myself, so I let it go.
When hot laps were all over, all the cars came out on the track and slowly circled while the announcer for the evening introduced each one. The drivers would stick their hands out the windows and wave to the grandstand, and the announcer would encourage the audience to wave back.
Because I never saw the hubs as being one for "viewer participation", I was shocked when he raised his hand high and started waving at all the drivers and they rolled past. I followed suit and waved at I have no idea who.
All around us, people were yelling and clapping for their favorite driver. Again, I felt out of place. I didn't know any of these people, so what was I supposed to do. I decided to ask the hubs what his plans were, and he soon told me that he thought he was going to get behind the number 3 car.
I searched the lot of them, and found that car, and quickly surmised that he was rooting for it because it was painted black. The hubs loved black trucks, so why not root for a black car.
So, quite pleased with my analogy I told hubs that I knew he was rooting for 3 because it was black. He replied, "No, I'm rooting for Dale Earnhardt's number".
"Oh! So you know that guy!" I exclaimed.
Poor hubs, he's trying so hard, but he just couldn't help shaking his head over my comment. "No, that is not Dale Earnhardt, I don't know who that guy is, but he's using Dale Earnhardts number" he said emphasizing the word number.
So I had to ask who in the world is Dale Earnhardt, and the hubs was quick to tell me that he was only the greatest NASCAR driver on earth. Again with that word, I don't know what that is, but I've had enough "new stuff" for one day, so I parked "NASCAR" in the back of my mind, and decided to pursue it at some other time. In the meanwhile, if the hubs wanted to support the number three, I vowed that I would do so also.
Now up until this point in time, I had kind of gone along with what I thought was a lame brained sport, that was of little or no value. But then, the races began, and life as I knew it then changed forever.
Dirt tracks are sometimes flat ovals or rounds, and sometimes they are "banked" like many of the professional NASCAR tracks. This is something that I came to understand a little better later along my race fan journey.
This tiny misshapen doughnut track was banked, and it was that banking, I believe that made all the difference in my perception of this sport.
As I watched these crazy homemade objects resembling cars, roll at thunderous speeds around the tiny track I was in awe of the capability of the drivers.
On the short straight-away, they put their foot to the floor, and gained as much speed as humanly possible. Then when they entered the curve of the track, hit the brakes, spun the steering wheel, floated the tail end of the car up the banking, kept the nose close to the infield, and slid around the curve like skaters on ice.
Watching one car do it was amazing, but when the race was close, and there would be two or even three cars taking the curve side by side, it was astronomical. It seemed almost choreographed, cars dancing in concert around a mud laden stage.
I was engrossed. While others were screaming and cheering and jumping up off their seats, I sat their like a stone, taking it all in, trying to see every car at once, and wishing that it would never end. I was hooked, enthralled by the speed, the accuracy, and the stamina of the drivers and their cars.
And thus it began, my unquenchable desire for speed. I have since become an avid NASCAR fan, I still love the dirt track, am enthralled by Monster Trucks, and and own a tee-shirt with my favorite driver plastered to my chest!
Until next time, remember, go fast, turn left!
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Nila,Great job. I enjoyed this so much and was able to picture everything so well! You have wonderful descriptive aptitude (don't even know if that is the way to say it but somehow I know you understnad).You should write a novel. By the way, does one pronounce your name as in Neela or Nila with a long i sound? (I teach phonetics and I'm always curious about things like that.) Could it even be Nila with a short i as in Nilla Wafers?NancyGood Morning Nancy!Thank-you so much for your kind words on all three of my articles!In regard to my name, many folks have a hard time getting it right the first try, but it is a long "I". I sometimes wish my folks had spelled it Nyla, as I think it would have been easier for everyone.Again, thanks, and have a great day!Nila
Good job in expressing how you felt and feel. I woudl concentrate on a little less and being mroe precise. Not becuase of the quality but length at times can detract. I for one know first hand. Best wishes.Thank-you for you kind words, and your advise.I write for a daily internet paper, and my word counts are always a struggle!
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