| Author | Message | ||
     Etennuly |
Bristol Motor Speedway is having their 'Inaugural Cruise-In at the Last Great Colosseum' Saturday May 21. It is being held in the infield of the "World's Fastest Half Mile", Bristol Motor Speedway, race track during the " Thunder Valley Drag Racing" weekend. It includes laps on the race track. The guy I spoke to said it will be fifteen cars at a time, evenly spaced out, for about seven laps at between 50 to 70 miles per hour. They will be taking pictures at the finish line and in Victory Circle. For $40 it is just too good to pass up. I am in! I am doing this in my Vette, but any make of vehicle is invited. If you are interested just Google "Bristol Motor Speedway ticket office. | ||
| Sifo |
I've done a lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Same sort of 50 to 70 MPH thing. I'm pretty sure that at Bristol you are going to have to steer pretty significantly up hill just to keep on the track. Still, it's a pretty cool thing to get to do. I know on my pace lap, there where moments where the pace was {slightly} higher than others.  I wonder how long the line will be? | ||
| Etennuly |
It is still early in the registration process, the guy said that he did not know how many entrants will be signing up. I did Daytona's infield course and Sebring many years ago. Daytona we had to follow a lead car in form. They had had a bad street car wreck a year or two before and did not want any chance of that happening again. At Sebring they told us we had to follow the pace car. So the pace car went out, a few minutes later the first Vette went, and a couple minutes later the next one went and so on. Spread out we got to play a little. There were 107 Corvettes on that track tour. Me and the guys around me were getting 105 mph down the back straight. That is when I found out that stock Corvette brakes suck.That is actually a fairly sharp curve coming in under the pit bridge.  | ||
| Hughlysses |
I have a friend who made a lap at Charlotte Motor Speedway once. ~25 years ago, he and his wife were heading out on their honeymoon and going through Charlotte. He decided to ride by the track and see if anything was going on. The place looked deserted, but he noticed one of the entrances onto the track was wide open. He figured "what the hell" and drove his car out onto the track, made a lap at moderate speed, and pulled back out. He didn't see a soul the whole time. I'm guessing you probably couldn't get away with that today. | ||
| Airbozo |
Wish I was going to be near there. That would be fun. I've done 12 laps on The Sonoma Raceway in an R5. Got to be a passenger for 6 laps in an R8. Had my S3 there, but not track prepped (not sure they would let me on anyway). | ||
| Pwnzor |
I've done 2 laps at California Speedway... On the Z1K, flat out, about 160mph (that's all she's got). Those high banked turns are really banked.... high. It was awesome. Won't be making it to Bristol, unfortunately. | ||
| Etennuly |
Hey Hugh, I did kind of the same thing at Darlington. I had been there for a couple of races back in the mid 80's. I stopped in one year with my eldest son to see the museum which was closed due to the roof caving in from storms. No one was around so we walked around a bit and found a walk in gate open to the track so.....we walked around the track. I was amazed at how beat up the surface was. It had gouges from wrecks, chunks of pavement loosened and missing from weathering, and it was no where near smooth as you would think a racing surface should be. Very coarse, like a mean grinder disc and quite bumpy. We watched the next race that ran there on TV, and it was run as the track was when we saw it. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Cool story, Vern. That's crazy about the surface. Hard to believe that was the first "superspeedway" when it was built in the late 1940's. I've been to races at Darlington several times. My dad knew Harold Brasington, the guy that built the track. When my dad started running draglines in the late 1940's, they used to hire Mr. Brasington, who had a paving business, to bring his lowboy to move the dragline from job to job. My dad's family is from the Darlington area (at least my grandfather, great grandfather, and great-great grandfather). In fact, there's an "Odom Street" ~1000 feet from the racetrack. I'd love to find out how it got the name. | ||
| Etennuly |
Back when the front straight was covered, the catch fence was made of heavy wire fence with like 12" squares. Darlington was run more like a typical Saturday night race with little security and few problems because it was run in the daytime. I walked down to the fence during the race near the fast end of the straight stretch. I leaned my head out just a little to see Bill Elliot coming down the straight at about 160 mph. Not having been down to the fence before, I momentarily did not realize that it was actually mounted on top of the race surface retaining wall. Mesmerized, I could see that the roof of Elliot's car was buckling from the air pressure as he was coming down the straight. It passed under my partially exposed head, in my stupid choice of position, by less than two feet! Even more exciting, he was just short of touching the wall with his quarter panel. That wall was 6" thick concrete, I was leaning on it. I had a serious pucker moment.  For the next couple of months everytime I would think about it, I could hear my self say "that was stupid", under my breath. | ||
| Mtnmason |
Thanks for sharing, Etennuly. A lot of guys on this forum like to trash NASCAR. I can't see any way to experience what you described and not LOVE IT. YES - it's definitely one of those "ain't what it used to be" deals. I was extremely fortunate that my dad and grandpa started taking me to Martinsville in the late 80's. I don't follow the sport like I used to but I try to make a couple races every year. When I lived in Richmond from 07-13, I never missed a race. Short tracks are where it's at! Been to Darlington several times as well way back in the day when they raced during daylight and then again since they started only doing nights. That is special place for sure. (Message edited by mtnmason on February 10, 2016) | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Just happen to think of this after reading these posts how much I am enjoying the TV program "search for the ultimate street car". Many different makes & models with many near stock to maxed out. They seem to test all factions of car performance which I really like. Anybody else enjoying this. | ||
| Sifo |
Hey Bob, were you looking for some specialty clips for a truck a while back? Did you ever find what you need? Since then I found a place called clipsandfasteners.com. They sell clips and fasteners, just for those who were wondering. It's a great resource for all of those specialty clips and fasteners. Sorry for the thread derailment. | ||
| Etennuly |
Hey Tom, I think that was Oldog who was looking for those clips. Yeah Ward, I have been a Nascar fan since back before Nascar was COOL. As a kid of 11 years, I had the first 'Circle Track' magazine that came out in 1968. I believe it had Richard Petty's pre-Super Bird, Road Runner on the cover. I subscribed to that magazine through my elementary school's schoolastic reading program. I cut that magazine up and stuck pictures all over my school book covers and locker. It was funny how my dad could never figure out where I was getting the magazine. He thought I was sneaking change out of a jar and finding rides to the store in town, three miles away. Along with my highway pop bottle collecting, I actually used my weekly Boy Scout dues money for my subscription, which worked until the scout leader told my dad I was three bucks behind. From mid 1974 to 1986 I did not see much Nascar stuff. I was involved in dirt track racing every night and weekend for six years on a buddy's car, then a little over four years on my own cars. After I quit dirt track racing in the North East in the mid 80's, I went to several Nascar races in the South East. At that time I lived in the Tampa area I was a frequent flier to Daytona.....and I really don't care if some others don't like it.....I always have. Back in my day(mid 80's to early 90's) I turned down some pretty cool propositions because I was newly married and we had a new house and a new business, with babies in hand and on the way at that time. I did not want to be away from my new family. A friend got me into being on Rick Wilson's pit crew as a sub. Which is how you got on a team back then. When they called I could not go due to baby on the way due date(same weekend-go figure). Then at nearly the same time, the guys who owned the Hooter's jet drag car invited me to join their World tour for a couple of years, to travel with and maintain the car. I could not be gone eleven months of the year. But it would have been quite interesting I'm sure. | ||
| 86129squids |
Vern, the above post explains a LOT.  Gotta love your fandamily! | ||
| Etennuly |
Well "crash fest" was alive and well at Daytona last night. It is cool how when they make changes to the cars that the drivers have to learn all over how to drive them. Rounded nose and rounded rear bumper makes for an uncomfortable "push" down the straights. As soon as they get near the corner the round on round roll off each other. Not good for the car in front. |
