NASCAR? Really?

I have one theory on why attendance is down at NASCAR races. It could be that there aren’t enough fit Americans to go to these events (more on this later). My family experienced its first, live NASCAR race yesterday at the New Hampshire Speedway in Loudon. Not knowing what to anticipate I formed my expectations based on previous sporting events. But NASCAR is like no other experience…


For starters, you know you’re in trouble when you park your car and you can’t actually see where the sporting event will take place. And it’s not because you paid to park off-site to avoid traffic later…
For anyone who’s not familiar with NASCAR, there are usually two races per year at each speedway on the circuit (although I believe there are road courses that only have one race). So it’s not like most other sports that have several “home games” from which to pick. Also, NASCAR has built a culture of people who travel to the race with RVs and camp for a few days. Needless to say, these speedways hold a lot of people, and they need a place to park.

We walked at least a mile or so to get from our car to the speedway, and then we ascended several flights of stairs to get to our seats which were in row 46 of the main grandstand. No elevators. No ramps between levels. I kept thinking, hey, this is a great workout! We went up and down those stairs multiple times yesterday, and then we walked back to the car at the end of the day. Sure there were a few people being driven around on golf carts, but most people seemed pretty spry and able to get around. And that’s when it dawned on me… perhaps NASCAR races are just too much of a workout for the average American, if all the headlines about our health are true.

The NASCAR crowd is like no other.
I pictured the worst, based on previous sporting events and the fact that “this is NASCAR.” I’ll admit it, I pictured backwoods Billy Bob sucking down a 12-pack of Budweiser, shootin’ off his mouth from his RV. Not so. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen some drunken loudmouth at a professional sporting event ruining the day for the people around him. Yesterday I saw a courteous crowd – no one was pushing, no one was shoving, despite the throngs of people. There was courtesy in the ladies room. There was respect during the national anthem – even the Canadian one. There was little, if any, foul language. I saw no one who appeared drunk. No one threw anything or yelled at someone because he was rooting for an opposing driver.

Even if someone cursed me out, I wouldn’t have heard him.
NASCAR is l-o-u-d. What? I said it’s LOUD!!! You do not watch the race and listen to an announcer. You can barely hear what the guy next to you is saying. So most people wear headsets that are tuned in to race coverage. It might seem odd, but trust me, it helps to have some analysis during the race. Part of NASCAR’s excitement is the teams’ pit strategies and the driver feedback on the cars, and you can’t get that by watching live unless you have audio. Other people just wear earplugs to block some of the sound. And there are a few folks who watch bravely without any ear protection. Regardless, you have thousands of fans sitting closely together having very little interaction with each other. It’s amazing.

As I said, it’s an experience like no other.
First off, NASCAR seems more ‘accessible’ to fans than a lot of other sports. You can buy a pass to walk around in the pits and maybe meet some drivers and their crews before the race. Plus, we had the bonus of sitting in traffic with a few of the haulers who transport the cars from race to shop.

But let’s talk about what draws someone to a live event as opposed to watching NASCAR on TV. Do you know what it sounds like when 45 stock car engines start up? How about when they speed past you at more than 100 miles per hour? Indescribable.