Homestead, FL (USA)

Race Day!!! This opportunity was really special: closest NASCAR championship series ever - with some trash talk from Tony Stewart and a track that normally doesn't see a drop of rain. I'll mention (for posterity) that Nicky had been needling me for a week to skip the race altogether to drive her to Key West - but the rain this morning dampened (pun intended) her resolve. I really think she wanted to watch part of the race but didn't want to be at the track all day long. In any case, she picked up some food for us (croissant sandwiches) from a quaint bistro nearby and we used the fancy (water-proof) backpacks the travel hosts gave us to bring supplies for the day. While we waited to leave for the track, we saw a lot of Miami Dolphin fans who were on the same kind of travel gig as us (except that they were going to the football game). Our bus (one of three) left from the parking lot at the hotel at around 1000L - the folks seated behind us were from St. Johns, Newfoundland (NASCAR fans!). The rain was bad enough this morning to dampen the mood - and cause me to think (more than once) that the race might be cancelled... Still, we had a police escort all the way to the Homestead-Miami Raceway (using carpool lanes, breakdown lanes - and the grass). I'm SO glad we didn't try to drive ourselves because the traffic jam was huge (some poor suckers were trying to use the Florida Turnpike to get to Key West - ooops!). We arrived at the bus parking area around 1100L - partly cloudy skies by then! There were already a lot of tailgaters there but not a lot of people inside the gates. Nicky and I explored for several hours - getting free samples of racer sponsored snacks, trying to get ourselves on TV (broadcast on Speed Channel), attempting to win (Nicky) free cars, trips to Daytona 500 (etc.). As a Ford owner for nearly 25 years, I was pleasantly surprised by all the fanfare they were making as the sponsors of the championship event. We saw Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin drive by (three feet away) on golf carts, blending into the crowd very easily as they went to the podium to tout Ford F-150s. We ate some small meals (snacks, really, but Nicky had a Cuban sandwich) at different points before the race began, and tried to get as much out of the full day as we could: photo opportunities with the #14 car, musical entertainment by the Brass Brigade, Seal Team parachutes (etc.). I almost regretted that we hadn't bought a pit pass, but we later learned that the First Lady was in the Pit area all day and that paying customers had been denied access despite having a ticket [BTW, this was the reason for all the "boos" reported by ESPN in the following days]. We took our seats (great ones - 25th row on the front stretch, could see the whole track, only about 100 meters beyond the finish line) around 1430L - watched the driver intros, National Anthem and F-16 fly-by. All day long, Nicky had been commenting (rightly so) that certain things weren't done as well as they do them at Texas Motor Speedway, but our seats were SO much better - and we were among real fans who paid good money for the event. Race began on time (1500L) but we only made it through 14 laps before the rain began (it had been dry ALL day!). We got to watch both Tony Stewart's and Carl Edwards' car in the pit areas - right in front of us - and there was just as much excitement for that as for the race. The "Chase" has been so great this whole year - close and charged with energy every week. You could really feel it in the crowd and the cheers were so loud whenever Tony Stewart made a big (AKA crazy, aggressive, dangerous) move. Carl Edwards seemed to have it in the bag - he was leading the race and he just had to keep Stewart from winning. Stewart even fell to 40th place - twice - before storming back to get the lead (VERY LOUD in the stands). Things were really getting good - but then it started to POUR. We had to run for cover - but couldn't get any food at that time because (several) hundreds of thousands were hiding from the rain, too. Finally, the rain stopped - about an hour and a half later, we were back in our seats for the awesome last half of the race. The ONLY way Edwards could lose the championship was for Stewart to win and for him to be worse than second - but that is almost exactly what happened (#14 first, #99 second). It all came down to amazing passes, stellar fuel strategy and a lucky caution flag - the race was one for the ages. Tied in points, Stewart won the Championship with a tie-breaker. I'm so glad we were there - it was a once in a lifetime event! We stayed long enough to watch a little of the celebration, but it started to pour soon after the end of the race - we ran to our bus. We were actually supposed to leave at around 1900L but - with the rain delay - it was closer to 2100L when we departed. The police escort took us down swamp roads to cut off the traffic jam on the Turnpike - we passed Kyle Busch's and Denny Hamlin's trucks on the way and got on the highway in front of nearly everyone (did I mention I'm glad I didn't drive?!). "Home" at around 2215L. Wanted to go out to eat, but skipped it in favor or packing and getting some sleep for our early morning departure from the airport. What a day - thanks, Nicky!!!!