I needed a hat that said “I’m here for the science” when we went to the NASCAR race at Talladega. The whole experience was a combination of behavioral and physical sciences. The people watching in itself was worth the price of admission. It reminded me of attending a Tennessee – Alabama football game in Tuscaloosa. I do wish they would institute a shirt required policy, though. Most in attendance were Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans – even the color of their hats and shirts were similar to those of Alabama fans. Many were only there to see Junior win, they started leaving after his car blew an engine. Seating was similar to that of a folding chair, except they were bolted down. At a football game, it’s bench type setting. Both venues have the same issue with “large” people really needing to purchase 2 seats – so when the little E fans started leaving seating became a little more comfortable.
Free parking was available in multiple locations around the track. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the traffic flowed in and out. From what I understand, this had been a real sore subject previous years. Trying to move 200,000 people in an orderly fashion is no small task. That’s more than double what we have experienced at Tennessee football games in Knoxville. A large portion were the overnighters – motor homes, travel trailer, tents – you name it. They came early and left late.
We opted to each carry a small iced down cooler with 2 bottles of water, 4 sodas, snacks and Lunchable type ham, cheese & crackers. This worked out very well. If there is a next time, I would freeze 2 bottles of water (one for each bag) and cut back the number of sodas to 2 each. I’d also opt to bring a larger cooler (that would remain in the truck) with additional ice and food for lunch and maybe dinner. I also carried earplugs and sunscreen – although I somehow missed a portion of my neck. Other bring-along items, if there is another trip – the fold up chairs and maybe a small gas grill. It truly is a social type event and would have been even more fun if my sister and her husband could have been there.
Like I said the sociology side of the event was a hoot – all the way down to the conspiracy theory as to why Junior’s car blew the engine. The physics of the race was fun too, the aerodynamics of drafting, the decibel levels, the speed – yeah, who would have thought I could have turned a redneck event (by the way, they aren’t all redneck – have you seen some of those ticket prices?) into a geekfest?
I’ll try to get the pictures I took posted as soon as I can – I did a lot of multi sequence type shots that I’m weeding through.
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