Thought I should do a post wrapping up a week of camping at Atlanta Motor Speedway. I have been going to the Labor Day Weekend Race for several years now. I always want to go to arrive on Wednesday before the race, but never seem to make it until Thursday. This year, I thought Tuesday would be the day, so I finally made that Wednesday show date. You can actually arrive the Saturday before the race, a full 8 days if you are so inclined. That’s a few more trips for gas and beer than I can do, so for me, the five days was fine. Oh, by the way, even though I was camping, I got a lot of work stuff done too. Funny how the change of surroundings can improve your productivity.
Typically for me, I bring rain to the track. Some forecast called for it again this year, but for the most part, no so much this year.
It was good to see Christina, aka Miss ZMAX at the track this year. She agreed to douse me with the bucket for the Ice Bucket Challenge. We met last year, I became a loyal ZMAX customer and it was nice to see her recognize me as I walked up to the Souvenir Trailer at the race. Her good looks are only dwarfed by her skills marketing the product of ZMAX. She’s a pro!
Since I generally camp alone, my personal goal is to find new friends and share their track cooking. Some might call that mooching, but at the race, it’s understood and accepted. That way, I could get along with crackers, Pop-Tarts, popcorn and beer on my own. It worked again, hanging with some Georgia fans from the North Georgia area. Heck, they tuned their TV to the Alabama game for me, now that’s what I call a new good friend.
Having General Admission tickets for the Nationwide Race, I opted to skip the race after finding the section filled to the max. But the Sprint Race, I have some Primo Spaces, first row, second section and the view of the track is great. Thanks to Casey Kane for an exciting finish to the race. It was good to see those Hendricks Motor Sports Guys in a good showing at the track. And Danica, a part of Stewart Haas provide a good finish in the Sunday Night race.
There was a big support group for Tony Steward at the track Sunday Night. It didn’t matter what driver shirt or hat you were wearing, because when Tony came on the track it was all hand standing, with hats in the air. When he hit the way and retired from the race, many, okay, more than that, stood and gave him a round of applause for getting back into the game. I caught him at practice on Friday, and that group of viewers, did the same.
The race in Atlanta moves to March 1st next year. Not sure how I feel about that. I guess I can do the race and use the Labor Day Weekend for Burning Man, as I’ve always wanted to put that in my schedule (aka Bucket List). It was a good camping adventure!
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on September 2, 2014. View the original page.
