Have you ever missed out on something at one time in your life that you will forever regret missing? Like your senior prom, or your best friends wedding; something that you know you can never go back and do over? Well I have and it really stinks. A few days before the 2001 Daytona 500, my husband and I decided that this was the year we were going to a NASCAR race. The main reason for this decision was because we wanted to see Dale Earnhardt in person. On February 18th, 2001 a tragedy occurred that changed our decision: on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 Dale Earnhardt lost his life, the NASCAR world lost a legend and I lost my hero.
Dale Earnhardt was just a regular guy off the street who had the ambition and the talent to drive a racecar. He started out working as a mechanic and running races on weekends on small dirt tracks around North Carolina. His father Ralph Dale Earnhardt raced professionally but Dale had a family and other responsibilities that kept him from racing. He finally got his big break and started racing with the big boys. In 1979, his first year in the series, he won rookie of the year. The following year he won his first championship. To this day he remains the only driver in the sport’s history to win Rookie of the Year his first season and the NASCAR Winston Cup championship in his second. By 1993 Dale Earnhardt had won his 7th Winston Cup Championship. Dale Earnhardt was the first driver to ever put a license on his signature and to use his talent and his good business sense to help NASCAR become the popular sport that it is today. He went from a mechanic and farmer to a multi-million dollar businessman. Even with all the fame and fortune he remembered who he was and where he came from.
My husband and I have a large collection of NASCAR merchandise that fills our entertainment center. Most of our collection consists of Dale Earnhardt memorabilia. Although our collection was a daily reminder of the loss of my hero, in some ways it helped the healing process. After February 18th I didn't know whether or not I was ever going to watch another NASCAR race. Seeing this collection every day made me realize that even though Dale Earhardt was gone, I can still enjoy NASCAR. It is still difficult for me to sit down and watch the race and not have “The Intimidator” there, however, Dale wasn’t the only Earnhardt in the Winston Cup Series. The other Earnhardt is known to the NASCAR world, as “Little E. “ This Earnhardt is Dale Earnhardt Jr. The youngest son of the legendary “Man In Black.” Since his fathers death Dale Jr. has become one of the most popular drivers in the Winston Cup Series. Junior shows a lot of the same attributes that made his dad so popular. For many NASCAR fans it seemed only natural to go from one Earnhardt to another. As for myself, I am back to watching the races every Sunday. Dale Jr. has become the driver that I am most interested in watching. Not only is he a talented driver but he also is extremely easy on the eyes (at least from this female’s point of view).
By January 2002 my husband and I had done a lot of thinking about the races. We missed the opportunity to see our favorite driver in person and were not going to let it happen again. This year we are determined to go to a race and we began to check out the tracks and the availability of tickets on the Internet.
On February 17th the race season began with the Daytona 500. By the end of February we had decided on the track and the race we would like to see. We called for tickets and to our amazement there were still seats available. Believe it or not, there were even pit passes still available so we could go right onto pit road and possibly meet the drivers. Without a second thought, we bought the tickets. We were going to Michigan to a NASCAR race! I was so excited about going to a race but now came the hard part; I had to wait for June.
The months very slowly passed. First March, then April, then May and FINALLY June had arrived. Qualifying and Happy Hour for this race was on Friday the 14th. The ARCA Series race was there on Saturday along with the Winston Cup Practice. Then there was the main event. The Winston Cup Series on Sunday the 16th, which also happened to be Father’s Day.
The 10th of June arrived and we were all rushing to get things done. My husband and I were leaving on the 12th for Michigan. My children were going to stay with my folks so I had a lot of packing to do. As the day continued on in chaos I suddenly realized something and it made me sad. My oldest son William was going to leave on the 15th for Camp Wilderness in Minnesota for Boy Scouts and would not be back home until the 22nd. My husband and I were leaving on the 12th for Michigan and would not be back until the 19th. We were taking the kids to my parents’ house on the 11th so that meant that I would not see William for almost 2 full weeks. William was 11 years old and he had never been away from home for more than a weekend and had never been that far away from home. I was going to be away from my youngest son Jamie too, but that seemed to be easier to deal with. Jamie would be here in Williston with his grandparents. It made me wonder if I should go or if I should stay. Then I finally came to my senses and realize that for me to decide not to go just 2 days from leaving was silly. My son would be with other scouts his age and with several responsible adults so he would be fine without me.
The 12th of June arrived and at 6:00am and were off to Michigan. As we reached the Minnesota/North Dakota border I looked at the map. Suddenly something dawned on me. I turned and looked at my husband and said, “You mean to tell me that we have to drive across 6 states to get to this race?” He just looked at me with a big smile on his face and said, “Yep.” We had to drive through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana just to get to Michigan. We also had to drive half way through Michigan to get to the town of Battle Creek. That is where we were staying and it was still 60 miles from the track.
We arrived in Battle Creek, Michigan on Thursday the 13th at about 5:00pm. We had driven about 1400 miles to get there and I was already dreading the drive home. After driving through 6 different states I realized that North Dakota isn’t the only state where idiots can get a drivers license. There was so much road construction that we were constantly slowing down and speeding up. Some of these idiots were driving 70 and 80 miles an hour in a 30 or 40 mile an hour construction zone. At one time we had to hit the breaks with an 18-wheeler in front of us and we could see the smoke roll off of his tires. We found out that our anti-lock breaks work! The next race I go to, I’m flying!! We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and recovering from the long drive.
Friday morning arrived and we decide to leave for the track at about 9am. Qualifying and Happy Hour doesn’t start until 3pm so we would have plenty of time to get to the track and just hang out in the pits. This was a great opportunity for me to get some pictures of the cars and of the drivers. We made our way to the track despite all of the road construction and as we turned the last corner we saw the most spectacular sight. To quote NASCAR.com “Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking.” This track is a tri-oval shaped track that has an 18-degree banking in the turns with 136,373 reserved grandstand seats. This place is huge! My hometown of Wildrose, with houses, streets and all could fit in the infield of this track. The total track site is 1,200+acres. We spent most of the day walking up and down pit road, and I was able to get autographs from drivers like Jeremy Mayfield, Robby Gordon, and Sterling Marlin. I also managed to get some fantastic pictures of the cars and the drivers. Some of these include pictures of Jeff Gordon, Steve Park, Michael Waltrip, and Ward Burton. I even managed to get pictures of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The biggest day for us came on Sunday, June 16th. It’s Father’s Day and the day of the Winston Cup Race. We woke up about 3:30am and were at the track by 5am. As we got parked in our designated spot I turned and looked at the car sitting 2 spots to my right. There were 4 guys setting up chairs and pulling coolers out of their vehicle. They finished setting up their little tailgate party and I cringed at the next sight I saw. These 4 guys cracked open a beer at 5:00 in the morning.
At 8:00am the gates opened to the track area and we decided to walk through the midway where the drivers merchandise haulers were. We picked up some souvenirs for friends and family and spent far too much money. We then decided we had better find our seats before we had no money left to get home on. Our seats in the grandstands were just off the right of the start finish line and we were in the very front row. The only thing between the track and me was about 10 feet of concrete and a fence. What a view, this was going to be great! It was cloudy and the weather called for a chance of rain but as the group “Soluna” began to sing the Star Spangled Banner, the clouds started to break and the sun began to shine. Just before they finished singing I began to hear a dull rumble. It got louder and louder until out of the clouds 4 F-16 jet fighters flew over head and the grand marshal said, “Gentlemen…Start... Your…Engines!” The sound of 43, 800 horsepower engines made my adrenaline rush and the race was on. The sights and sounds at the racetrack seamed so different compared to what we see on TV every week. The friendliness of the other fans that I had the opportunity to visit with is one of the things that can’t be experienced by watching the race on TV. The sound of the cars as they fly by at 185 miles per hour was so loud that I had to shout at the top of my voice just to speak to my husband, and he could still just barely hear me. I was so amazed at what 130 thousand people all in the same place, looked like. TV just doesn’t do a NASCAR race justice! On one of the restarts after a caution as those 43 cars went flying by me at 185 miles per hour, a piece of debris came off of the track and nailed me right in the neck. I had a welt about the size of a nickel on my neck and it even bled. It hurt like hell but I loved every minute of it. When the race was over I made my husband take a picture of it.
After about 200 laps and 3½ hours of high speed excitement, Matt Kenseth in the #17 won the race and pulled his car into victory lane; right where I had my picture taken just hours before. We made our way out of the track and after about 3 hours of slow traffic we finally arrived back at the motel. Monday morning we started our long journey back home. Besides the idiots on the highway, the drive home was uneventful.
There are hundreds and thousands of NASCAR fans in this world and I hope that every one of them gets the opportunity at least once in their lifetime to go to a race. Going to this race was even more gratifying than I anticipated it would be. No words can express the pure excitement and adrenaline rush. In order to fully understand, you would have to experience it for yourself. If I wasn’t addicted to NASCAR before I went to this race, I am now!
This is one experience in my life that I will never forget.