RaceBud

It’s the good fortune of the Turn 3 Race Team to have the Texas Motor Speedway as our home track. This is one of the great NASCAR venues in the country. A few others compete closely, maybe even win the Best Track in the Country competition, but here are nine reasons the Texas track claims its place among the best.

1. Plenty of campgrounds. Serious NASCAR fans don’t just show up for a race. It takes time – more than a day or two – to properly enjoy one these events. Certain food and drink must be enjoyed, along with the company of longtime friends who meet a few times each year—same time, same place, same reason. And it takes a fair amount of space to spend that time in. Texas has that. Continue Reading »

You like to watch, don’t you?

NASCAR wrecks, that is. Come on admit it. Wrecks add spice to the race and pepper the continuous laps with a shot of adrenaline. Wrecks are as much a part of the sport as bump drafting. And often one leads to the other.

What is it about a NASCAR race that makes it so exciting – or boring? Challenges for position, lead changes and door-banging, side-by-side racing contribute to the excitement level of a race, but the real thing we all want to see is the wrecks.

Show me a race with three hours of side-by-side racing and not much else, and I’ll show you a dozen journalistic thumbs-down reviews based on boredom. That same race with a fiery multi-car crash becomes a lot more exciting. Throw in an end-over-end barrel roll through the front stretch and that same boring race gets reviews full of exclamation points.

Continue Reading »

Until I became a NASCAR fan, I hadn’t really noticed just how much – pardon my bluntness – CRAP is out there bearing some sort of driver name, image, number, and/or team sponsor.Literally, if you can think of it, someone’s slapped a number on it and it’s on eBay. One quick computer search confirms my suspicions. Tens of thousands of NASCAR items – from fishing lures to toilet paper – are for sale.

It made me wonder … why? What’s the reason behind fans buying all this stuff?

Does buying more driver merchandise make you a bigger or better fan? I mean, are those people walking Fido on a Jimmy Johnson dog leash or sporting a Robby Gordon doo-rag more dedicated to their driver than those who aren’t?

Continue Reading »

In October 2002, Turn 3 Race Team members Nick, Barbie, Jeanette and I trekked to Charlotte, NC, for the fall race at Lowes Motor Speedway.

We made the trip in Nick and Barbie’s motor coach. He casually refers to it as the ‘moho,’ and his t-shirt declared him to be the moho-drivin-mofo-in-charge.

A day and a half after leaving the home track, we arrived and set up camp. Making camp with the moho was like no camp setting-up I’ve experienced before. Nick had to push a button to activate the auto-leveling device, and then push another to extend the giant awning. Whew, I was nearly exhausted! Barbie activated the champagne-pouring ritual and we toasted our arrival.

Continue Reading »

By day, I’m a children’s book author, realtor, spouse, and parent. But, I have a secret even my family doesn‘t know. In the wee hours of the morning, when everyone’s asleep, I log onto my Infield Parking space and become…(drum roll)…“Saidhead60”…the rabid supporter of my favorite NASCAR driver, Boris Said.“Why,” you may ask, “Would a busy professional waste valuable time, updating a fan page for a driver most people feel has no chance of winning a NASCAR race?”

For the same reason I still get chills every time Rocky Balboa wins the fight, lifts his bloody boxing gloves into the air, and yells, “YO, ADRIAN – I DID IT!” Simply said, I believe in the underdog and all the exhilarating possibilities that come with being one. Continue Reading »

Jeanette, my wife, peeked into my office while I was setting it up for the RaceBud adventure. I was hanging a framed piece Jack Roush had signed. “You sure have a lot of autographs in here,” she observed.

Well, yes, there’s a few – and it took quite a bit of time to come by them.

Among NASCAR’s many claims is that its fans have better access to its stars (drivers, owners, crew chiefs and the like) than any other sport. While that’s probably true, the average fan should not expect to see drivers and owners roaming the stands looking for something to sign. But, there are ways to get that treasured autograph, if that’s the goal.

Just how easy, or difficult, is it to get the autographs you want? Here are eight ways: Continue Reading »

It was a few years ago the observation came to me: There’s a big difference between a race fan and driver fan.

A co-worker at my regular job asked if I could find her some tickets for the 2002 April Cup race at the Texas Motor Speedway. Fortunately, I was able to help. The seats were on the front stretch, a few rows in front of where the Turn 3 Race Team sits. A great view of the entire track.
Continue Reading »