Texas Motor Speedway (TX)

Had an unexpected opportunity today: Nicky won two tickets to a NASCAR race! Actually, she won two tickets to three races from a local radio station. She took Erin and Brenna to the truck race (Friday) and Nationwide Series (Saturday). Today, she left early in the morning so she could go to a concert by Trace Adkins at the Speedway (also part of the package!). I headed up to the track later - and as I drove up (1350L), I got to see an awesome fly-by of a B-52 at the end of the National Anthem. I made it to our seats at 1400L - just as the announcer said "Gentlemen, start your engines!" Wow! The view was tremendous - just at the start of Turn 1. After the race began, I realized I had forgotten my earplugs (yikes!). The race went on for about 100 laps before there was a caution - and my ears grew accustomed to the constant, ear-splitting noise. But it was all worth it! I was reminded of the aircraft carrier flight deck as they raced - a deep tone, very loud, vibrating your whole body. I was glad I've watched enough races to know who all the drivers were and how they were performing. We saw a couple of wrecks (minor) but the race went very quickly. The noise, wind generated by the cars, debris from the track, fan-watching (etc.) was priceless. I walked out to my car with around 25 laps to go and ended up spending the rest of the race trying to get my car started (dead battery) - fortunately, another fan helped me. Drove home as it was getting dark - fireworks accompanying Tony Stewart's win. I probably would never have gone to a race without Nicky winning the tickets - but I'm glad she did!