and so the last race of the summer season is upon us...

The unofficial end of summer has passed and it's time for the leaves to start changing color in the northeast.  It's a bittersweet time of year as the summer ends along with being out on the water, fishing and relaxing at the pool or beach.  Along with that sadness comes the joy football season brings, perfect golf weather (in my eyes) and One Last Race To Make The Chase in NASCAR!

c/o Todd Warshaw / Getty Images

I'll be leaving for Richmond International Raceway tomorrow and can't wait to see what the racing there will bring this weekend!  The sport has 10 drivers all going for 5 spots available in the 2013 chase.  Who will make it and who will be left out?  We'll have that answer in the late hours of Saturday evening.

2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 preview

This will be my fifth and maybe last race of the 2013 NASCAR season so let's make it a good one @RIRInsider !

If it's anything close to last year's race, we have nothing to worry about.  Does everyone remember Clint Bowyer rallying from a mid-race spin to win and Jeff Gordon finishing second to lock himself into the chase?  Kyle Busch would have topped Jeff if he had finished in 15th instead of 16th!

2012 Federated Auto Parts

See you tomorrow, Richmond International Raceway!

- @themike79

greater Richmond area map (One Last Race To Make The Chase edition)

...continued from Race #2 @ Richmond International Raceway

@themike79 's map of the greater Richmond area

Richmond International Raceway   @RIRInsider

   600 E Laburnum Ave            Ricmond, VA

Richmond International Airport      @Flack4RIC

   1 Richard E Byrd Terminal Dr   Richmond, VA

Downtown/Shockoe
   Omni Richmond Hotel  
          http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/Richmond.aspx
   The Tobacco Company
          http://www.thetobaccocompany.com/
   Sine Irish Pub            
          http://www.sineirishpub.com/
   City Dogs                    
          http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-Dogs/153572520666

Buz & Ned's                                 http://buzandneds.com/
   1119 North Blvd                  Richmond, VA

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery   @Hardywood
   2408 Ownby Ln                  Richmond, VA

Sweet Frog                                  http://sweetfrogyogurt.com/

2007 Pennsylvania 500 @ Pocono Raceway

Race #4

continued from Race #3

As I go back to Pocono Raceway for the 7th time in 6 years (5th consecutive) in just a few short days, I wanted to share my first experience at what is know as The Tricky Triangle.

If you read Race #2, you know early 2007 was when I met the woman of my dreams who has now been my wife for 10 months & 3 days.  She had a house at the Jersey shore (not that Jersey shore) which I spent a few weekends at with her during the summer of 2007.

Sea Girt (this Jersey shore)

I spent most my summers in Newport, RI after college and never knew NJ had "this Jersey shore."  Like most people outside NJ, I had a stereotypical view of the Jersey shore until I met Danielle.

Obviously, Danielle knew I loved watching NASCAR and going to races so she showed a bit of interest in the sport. I recall her asking me if I knew that it was a privately owned company and describing the sport as genius. Think about it: we all have our favorite drivers and actually pay money for their hats, shirts, etc that contain their sponsors' logos.  We pay to advertise for companies we have no affiliation with and don't even blink an eye.  Then our driver switches sponsors every few years and we follow by purchasing new gear.

NASCAR = GENIUS

After her "research," she had asked me to take her to a race.  I was of course beyond thrilled so I ordered her some Dale Jr gear and checked the schedule for the next feasible race to attend.  There it was - talk about a parlay.  We were hanging at the Jersey Shore Friday & Saturday night, then leaving early Sunday morning to head over to NYC's home track.  It was a quick 2 hour drive to Pocono Raceway and we were there with plenty of time to tailgate.

Walking into the track, I spotted a Lamborghini Murcielago adjacent to the track.  And what was sitting immediately next to that beautiful Lamborghini ...

...
you guessed correctly if you said a 1980s Ford F150 w/ a ladder rack.  It wasn't just any 1980s Ford F150 - there was a tarp over the ladder rack and a couple sleeping on an air mattress in the bed of the truck.  I welcomed my wife to the NASCAR world where all walks of life come together as one to support the best auto racing on the planet.



We made our way into a packed house on a beautiful August afternoon to watch Kurt Busch (the same Kurt Busch I had seen in a confrontation w/ Tony Stewart at  Race #3) dominate the race.  As a Dale Jr fan, I was pumped to see that Budweiser (the brand I was supporting in the stands) car running up front all day until seeing him spin.  Soon enough, the #8 car was back up front and leading laps.  Talk about being pumped up!  If you have ever been to a race when Jr is leading, you know what I'm talking about!  Even though he finished in 2nd, I was still psyched as no driver had anything for that dominant #2 car.  The race would go down as the "Battle of the Beers" - Dale Jr's Budwieser vs. Kurt Busch's Miller Lite.

You can watch the race HERE

We left after the race and went back to our car to do some post race tailgating in what is now Pocono Raceway's solar farm - Pocono Raceway is the world's larges solar powered sports facility.  (see the photo above for size comparison to motorsport's biggest infield)

STORY:  Pocono Raceway goes solar

VIDEO:  Pocono Raceway goes solar

"I borrowed some money from my wife and went ahead and did it."

                                                                                           -Doc Mattioli

As an architect, being green is something that is huge in our industry and I will always support a sports venue that is a pioneer in the renewable energy world.  Oh yeah, the fast cars and great racing have something to do with it too!

My wife went from not knowing anything about the sport to someone who has been to 13 races in the past 6 years.  You be the judge of how addictive the NASCAR experience is to a rookie...

See you tomorrow, Pocono Raceway!

next up: Race #5 @ Richmond International Raceway

greater Pocono Raceway area map (August edition)

Once again, it has been over a month since my last post and this time it's just due to summer and too much relaxing, golfing, fishing and vacations.

Since my last post, I made it to my first Indy Car race and of course it was at Pocono Raceway!  Aside from drag cars (not talking about the male cars that dress as females), it was the first time I have seen cars do 230mph in front of me - talk about an adrenaline rush.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a NASCAR fan first but I have come to realize I just love all types of racing.  Indy Car has a new fan!

As the GoBowling.Com 400 weekend is finally upon us, I revised the map showing how much fun the Pocono area really is - golf, lake activities, water parks, breweries, casinos...   ...and oh yeah, an insanely fast, unique track in the middle of it all!  It will be a bittersweet weekend.  On one hand it's such a rush to know we'll be watching ARCA, Camping World Truck Series and Sprint Cup all in one weekend - on the other hand, come Monday we have to wait 43 1/2 weeks until NASCAR returns to the Tricky Triangle.

I will be leaving for Pocono Friday morning for the 3rd time in 8 weeks, see you in 70 hours @poconoraceway !!!  (good thing I spent the last 10 days on vacation with my wife or she might think I love Pocono Raceway more than her)

@themike79 's map of the greater Pocono Raceway Area

Pocono Raceway                @poconoraceway

   500 Long Pond Rd            Long Pond, PA

Blakeslee Inn Pub                        @blakesleeinn

   200 PA 940                               Blakeslee, PA

Split Rock Resort                        @splitrockresort
   100 Moseywood Rd                  Lake Harmont, PA

Camelbeach Waterpark               @CamelbeachPA
   1 Camelback Rd                        Tannersville, PA

Barley Creek Brewing                  @BarleyCreekBrew
   Sullivan Tr & Camelback Rd      Tannersville, PA (and @ the Pocono Raceway Infield)

Mohegan Sun @ Pocono Downs  @MSPocono
   1280 PA 315                             Wilkes-Barre, PA

Lake Wallenpaupack                   Lake Wallenpaupack

Antonio's Pizza                        
   501 Main St                               White Haven, PA
      (you may just run into a certain drive who frequents the establishment)

2013 Track Presidents (spring season)

my apologies for being a few weeks late but here are the official results of the 2013 Track Presidents spring season:

CONGRATULATIONS TO @bigdalsky of @PoconoRaceway

greater Pocono Raceway area map

It's been over a month since my last post and that's mostly due to May being the busiest month of the year for me.

As the Party In The Poconos 400 weekend is finally upon us, I put together an area map showing just how much of a party the Pocono Raceway area really is - golf, lake activities, water parks, breweries, casinos...   ...and oh yeah, an insanely fast, unique track in the middle of it all!

I should already be setting up my campsite in NASCAR's largest infield, but the weather has forced a delay so I'll be on my way first thing in the morning - see you in 20 hours, @poconoraceway !!!

@themike79 's map of the greater Pocono Raceway Area

Pocono Raceway                @poconoraceway

   500 Long Pond Rd            Long Pond, PA

Blakeslee Inn Pub                        @blakesleeinn

   200 PA 940                               Blakeslee, PA

Split Rock Resort                        @splitrockresort
   100 Moseywood Rd                  Lake Harmont, PA

Camelbeach Waterpark               @CamelbeachPA
   1 Camelback Rd                        Tannersville, PA

Barley Creek Brewing                  @BarleyCreekBrew
   Sullivan Tr & Camelback Rd      Tannersville, PA (and @ the Pocono Raceway Infield)

Mohegan Sun @ Pocono Downs  @MSPocono
   1280 PA 315                             Wilkes-Barre, PA

Lake Wallenpaupack                   Lake Wallenpaupack

Antonio's Pizza                          
   501 Main St                               White Haven, PA
      (you may just run into a certain drive who frequents the establishment)

Fantasy NASCAR - Drivers & Danica

my wife Danielle and I have a 'friendly' fantasy NASCAR league where we bet a set amount on weekly performance and at the end of the season, the loser takes the winner to a restaurant of their choice.

NOTE: we live in an area where many of the top restaurants in the world are easily accessible so let's hope I can start turning things around @ Darlington

That 'friendly' turned into laughing when she pointed out that she was beating me by 41pts already - what makes things worse is she started a week late so she actually has me by 341pts already.

"You need to stop picking w/ your heart, thinking Dale Jr is actually going to win a race." -Danielle

As you can see we skipped Daytona since I was there (2013 Daytona 500) and she forgot to pick drivers for Phoenix.

It looks like Denny and I have something in common going forward...

2013 Aaron's 499

For some reason I'm feeling much better today than I was on Monday, May 7, 2012.
That Monday last year was the conclusion of my bachelor party - started in Biloxi, MS and ended in Atlanta, GA w/ a road trip to Talladega thrown in the middle.

Hard Rock - Biloxi, MS

Talladega Superspeedway

I'm willing to bet Brad Keselowski was feeling better that Monday morning as well.  It was the first time I had ever seen Brad win a race live (26th race I had been to).

Brad Keselowski wins the 2012 Aaron's 499 @ Talladega

After this year's race, he was a tad aggravated w/ NASCAR and their handling of the last restart.  Per his tweet below, he felt NASCAR had lined he and David Ragan up incorrectly - which NASCAR came back to defend when asked.

mad as hell about that finish. We were suppose to line up 10th when the 34 switched lanes entering 3 before green. That lane won.BS
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) May 6, 2013

This is the restart order per Bob Pockrass:

Lineup at lap 190 restart: 8)Speed 9)Keselowski 10)Ragan 11)Gilliland
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 6, 2013

Aside from Brad's aggravation, we had:

   -Denny Hamlin back in the car after a 4 week hiatus
      (I was hoping to see him back last week @ Richmond - see you in Richmond, Denny)

   -Ricky Stenhouse causing a wreck that took out his girlfriend, Danica
      (added because broadcaster Mike Joy thought it was important enough to talk about "speed dating")
 
   -Ryan Newman letting the fans know we could figure out who "they" means
      "getting their heads out of their asses"

   -Kyle Busch admittedly causing a wreck involving 16 cars
      the first Big One

   -NASCAR on Fox coverage of the race where we saw more commercials during green flag racing than the 3+ hour red flag delay

Denny Hamlin was back in the car for the first time since his crash at Auto Club Speedway in March.  Thank God he switched out w/ Brian Vickers when he did, saving him from being involved in the first Big One.

I think Danica is great for the sport and wish her nothing but the best.  These broadcasters seriously need to get back to race coverage and leave the "Stenica" - "Ricky's girlfriend" - "speed dating" comments up to TMZ and the tabloids.

Ryan Newman gets a ton of respect from me for letting his family know he was alright and then voicing his issues w/ the second Big One at Talladega.  As an aside - Ryan's car did prevent Kurt Busch's car from continuing it's side over side rolling similar to that nasty Joey Logano crash at Dover in 2009.

video: Joey Logano flips @ Dover 2009

Kyle Busch caused the first Big One on lap 43 of the race - way too soon for something like that.  In his tweet, he stated that his and Kasey Kahne's cars don't get along at plate races.  He did man up and apologize.  I would love to know what his apologies mean to those drivers affected.  Every time I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, he goes off causing wrecks or spewing BS from his mouth.  The guy can drive but his attitude takes so much away.  Maybe he likes pissing fans and drivers off to the point of fans saying he "sucks" or drivers wanting to take him out (see the 2008 Bristol night race).
I can't bring myself to believe he actually likes pissing the fans off considering he blocked me on twitter for making comments like #BuschSucks and...

this just in: @samanthabusch , Kyle's mom and 8 others are the only people who care @kylebusch is ok.#NASCAR #Talladega #BigOne #KyleBusch
— the /\/\ike (@themike79) May 5, 2013

Kyle, I admit that was a nasty tweet and I apologize if that hurt you.  I'm a lover not a fighter.  I want to have respect for you as a driver but I just can't with that bad attitude.  Maybe your apology to those 16 drivers is a start in the right direction.  Best of luck to you on what I hope is a new path in life.

I really don't have too many words for the Fox coverage of yesterday's race.  Commercials is the first that comes to mind and I understand those are what makes live NASCAR races available to us fans but someone over there needs to put together a new plan of attack.  Fox coverage is what makes me appreciative of being able to see so many races live.

and oh yeah - Congratulations to David Ragan for winning the race!!!

c/o Fox Sports

Back to regularly scheduled programming - 2013 Toyota Owners 400 @ Richmond International Raceway is up next.

our trek to Richmond International Raceway from CT

continued from my last off day of the spring season


   Richmond-DC Weekend

   Friday
        4:45 AM   alarm goes off
        5:15 AM   leave for the airport (way too early but safe - see my 1st Richmond experience)
        9:15 AM   arrive in Washington DC and begin our trek to Richmond

with a stop for breakfast @ Chick-fil-A (NOTE: we don't have them in CT)

      SOMEWHERE MID-FLIGHT   stop @ the local super Walmart for weekend supplies (beer)

      12:30 PM   arrive @ Richmond International Raceway to pick up tickets

        1:15 PM   check-in @ our hotel in downtown Richmond so I can fly my flag over the city

#FlyYours

        2:00 PM   lunch at the great Buz and Neds as promised

Buz and Ned's (as promised)

Immediately following our awesome lunch and first beer (for some odd reason, it was a Miller Lite in case Brad Keselowski is wondering) of the weekend, we made our way over to the track to commence a weekend of tailgating, racing and awesome fans!

Warm-Up Tailgating (my wife and our friend Amy)

Ok - maybe we got to the track a little early for the Nationwide Race...   ...it's never too early for tailgating at Richmond!!!  We brought our friends Kenn & Amy to their first NASCAR weekend ever and wanted to be sure they engaged in the total experience.

We made our way into the track a little early for pre-race ceremonies where Amy had the chance to meet Travis Pastrana (who I think is awesome for the sport)!  I'm beginning to wonder if Amy is Travis' good luck charm after posting a top 10 last weekend @ Richmond and has now won his 1st ever pole award @ Talladega Superspeedway.

Amy & Travis on pit road @ Richmond International Raceway

overheard in @ririnsider parking lot by a #NASCAR 1st timer (female)- sunshine, cold beer and fast cars; what's better than this?#Richmond
— the /\/\ike (@themike79) April 27, 2013

...as you can guess, that NASCAR 1st timer was Amy

our trek to Richmond ends here and will pick up soon in Race #31   ...

   
   

my last off day of the spring season

and so it is finally upon me - the last day I go without live racing in the spring season...

...of course Sunday will begin another off-season until I get to Pocono Raceway for the newly named "Party In The Poconos 400" June 7 weekend.  It's a much shorter off season for me - 5 weeks opposed to these past 8 weeks I had to suffer through.

Doc's Place

I have an 11:30-1:00 meeting, have myself some lunch and then hit the home stretch until my 5:00 bell rings!  I'll then make my way home to walk my dog, Don Mattingly (yes, I was a huge fan of the "Hitman"), on this beautiful April Thursday afternoon.

Don Mattingly

It looks as though the weather a little further south in Richmond, VA is even nicer per @RIRInsider's photos.

Then it's time to pack my bags, eat some dinner and head to sleep a little early for the 4:45 AM wake-up call.  Thank God the airport is only a 20 minute drive from home.

See you tomorrow, Richmond International Raceway!

- @themike79

greater Richmond area map

...continued from Race #2 @ Richmond International Raceway

I promised a map of the great Richmond area so here it is - showing some of my favorite places and the proximity of everything (one of the reasons I chose RIR as my first planned trip).

@themike79 's map of the greater Richmond area

Richmond International Raceway   @RIRInsider

   600 E Laburnum Ave            Ricmond, VA

Richmond International Airport      @Flack4RIC

   1 Richard E Byrd Terminal Dr   Richmond, VA

Downtown/Shockoe
   Omni Richmond Hotel    
          http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/Richmond.aspx
   The Tobacco Company  
          http://www.thetobaccocompany.com/
   Sine Irish Pub              
          http://www.sineirishpub.com/
   City Dogs                      
          http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-Dogs/153572520666

Buz & Ned's                                 http://buzandneds.com/
   1119 North Blvd                  Richmond, VA

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery   @Hardywood
   2408 Ownby Ln                  Richmond, VA

Sweet Frog                                  http://sweetfrogyogurt.com/

my last off weekend of the spring season

So here we are with NASCAR heading into America's heartland @ Kansas Speedway after the first night race of the season...
I always look at the Texas night race as a warm up for the NASCAR schedule's prime night racing season which starts @ Richmond International Raceway next weekend, then passes through Darlington, Daytona, Bristol, Atlanta and then culminating w/ that one last race to make the chase back at Richmond.

Entering Kansas, I have a few questions (all relating to Denny Hamlin):

   How much media will Denny Hamlin garner this weekend? (after all, he did win this race last year)
   Would Denny have been a favorite @ Kansas if he were racing?
   Will this be Denny Hamlin's last off weekend of the spring season?

He tweeted this week asking NASCAR for the points they took from Penske:

In the NYC area, this time of year provides us with our first glimpse of spring - warm weather, trees starting to bloom, boats going back in the water and me wearing flip-flops & shorts way too early.  And oh yeah, it's the time of year where I get to make my first visit of the season to Richmond! (will we see Denny there?)

Richmond International Raceway (Spring 2011)

I am more than excited that I'll be hopping on a plane in less than 7 days (6 days & 14 hours to be exact) - this is the first time since the spring 2010 race my wife will be accompanying me.  This time we won't be partaking in the Richmond 2 Person Tailgate since we're bringing another couple along for the experience.  It will be their first time to a NASCAR race and I'm willing to bet not their last.

On Friday morning, we'll make our way into the downtown area known as Shockoe Slip to check into our hotel.  It's a great downtown neighborhood w/ hotels, restaurants, bars and adorned w/ great architecture & cobblestone streets.  It's a great place to stay during race weekend - the best of both worlds w/ the city night life & restaurants combined with America's #1 sport within a 5 mile drive.

Shockoe Slip

After checking out the downtown, we'll probably head over to grab some lunch at  Buz and Ned's Real BBQ which has been featured on the travel channel (most likely because I had been there previously).  Immediately following lunch, we'll make our way over to the track for some tailgating w/ friends, which is definitely better than the Richmond 1 person tailgate I had last September on my last (of 4) bachelor party.

the Richmond 1 person tailgate

It looks as though if I'm craving some more BBQ while tailgating, I'll be able to get my fix at the track:  RIR Local Food.

The first round of tailgating (which is a warm-up similar to the night race @ Texas Motor Speedway) will be short lived as it's time to head into the track to watch some qualifying and then some NASCAR Nationwide Racing.  Here's to hoping this spring's Nationwide race is as exciting as last year's!

Dale Jr Coors Light pole winner @ RIR 2012

Following the Nationwide race is when the fun escalates to a new level - I'll follow up with a story on that one...  ...or follow it live @themike79.

See you in less than a week, Richmond! 

my second to last off weekend of the spring season

This past weekend was the 6th race of the season I watched from my couch since being at the 2013 Daytona 500.

Jimmie Johnson's winning #48 car c/o mopar1

Even though she is into a different type of racing, my wife Danielle (Life Love and Long Runs) watched the race w/ me until about 20 laps to go and then went up to get ready for bed.  She is a bit of a swimmer, cyclist, runner - these athletic people are known as triathletes. (not something I was familiar with before I met her)

I soon followed her to bed following the race (which was easy due to the race's winner) because I was planning on waking up at 5:30 Sunday morning to watch her race in the Fitness Women's Half Marathon in NYC.  FYI - I'm into watching all types of racing.

We left our house at 6:00 AM and made our way into the city, where I dropped her off to meet a friend who was also racing.  I then made my way into Times Square, which is a very different place at 7:00 AM, to #FlyYours - see @RIRInsider #FlyYours on twitter.

I was already in "only one more off weekend to go" mode and getting amped up for NASCAR's next night race at America's Premier Short Track in Richmond, VA!

During the half marathon, I usually only get to see her twice.  Unlike during the IRONMAN where I saw her about 15 times since it was 14 straight hours of exercising!!!  I'll be sure to write about that race spectating in the future.

Danielle @ Mile 9

Danielle set a personal record for her half marathon time!  It was now time to get back to the "burbs" and watch the Masters (after completing the "honeydo" list of course).

12 days from then, I would be leaving for Richmond and my spring off-season would nearly be over!

Richmond International Raceway

2007 Autism Speaks 400 @Dover International Speedway

Race #3

continued from Race #2

In the wake of Martin Truex Jr's 2nd place finish (minus the penalty points) in the NRA500 @ Texas Motor Speedway, I'll tell you about my first trip to Dover International Speedway in 2007.

My friend Mike (that I watched my first Daytona 500 with - see my journey), my other brother and I decided to go down to Dover for the spring race on the first weekend in June.  We left CT early Saturday afternoon, drove (2 1/2 hours) down the NJ Turnpike and stayed in the Philadelphia area since all hotels in the Dover area were sold out.
We of course went into Philly to eat some dinner (wiz wit) at Pat's King of Steaks since Geno's is 2nd rate. (my opinion)  We had a great evening out and about in the greater Philly area, then went back to the hotel to get some shuteye before the next day's festivities.

(what we thought would be) Raceday
We woke up and made our way out to breakfast.  Since we don't get to Philly too often, we decided to go back to Pat's for breakfast.  How could you say no to this?

Pat's King of Steaks (wiz wit)

After our Richard Simmon's approved breakfast, we made the 1h15m drive to Dover.  The skies were overcast and the rain was on and off but we had hopes of actually watching a race that day.  We made it over to one of the parking areas to the east of the track (across route 1) when the skies started to open up.  We went to the store grabbed some beers in the hopes we would get back to the track for some tailgating.  The weather of Tropical Storm Barry kept getting worse and we had no hotel to head back to so we went over to Buffalo Wild Wing's for some lunch.  After deciding we would all call into work for Monday, that lunch turned into dinner which turned into us closing the place down.  With no hotel, we decided to sleep in the car out in the parking lot.

Oh yeah - this is the car that 3 men slept in (1 in the back seat and 1 each in the front seats).

All would have been fine if we could leave the top down but with the weather, the top stayed up!  It was a rainy humid overnight so I recall opening the window or door every so often, falling asleep and then having the rain wake me up.  But who cares - I was going to get to watch my 3rd live NASCAR race!

Raceday
We woke up Monday morning to clear skies!  It was my first time to a concrete track - the type of concrete that rips apart tires and sends rubber drifting into the first 20 rows.  Leave a cup of beer in front of you for a few laps and it will soon have a black film across the top.  Dover is a 1 mile track - similar to the bull ring known as Bristol Motor Speedway but much faster.
We were there to see Martin Truex Jr's first ever win (@ his home track) in NASCAR's premiere series (and only to this day).  The beating and banging we saw in that race and the confrontation between Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart (confrontation at Dover) was enough to bring me back.

NASCAR, I'm addicted!

next up: Race #4 @ Pocono Raceway (my wife's first NASCAR race)

2007 Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 @ Richmond International Raceway

Race #2

continued from Race #1

Richmond International Raceway

It was early 2007 and I had just watched one of the closest Daytona 500 races ever with Kevin Harvick edging out Mark Martin by 0.02 seconds while Clint Bowyer came sliding across the finish line on his roof.

NOTE: Clint walked away from the crash

By that Monday after the Daytona 500, I had the itch to go see another race for 5 months. (since my Race #1)  It was still cold in the northeast so it was hard to imagine going to a live sporting event that time of year.

I started researching tracks and after a few weeks decided to make Richmond International Raceway the venue I would see my second race.  It would be the first race (of many) that I set up all travel arrangements (since Race #1 was planned by others).

My reasoning for choosing Richmond:

   -quick flight from New York City

   -proximity of Richmond International Airport to the track/hotels (Richmond Map)

   -NIGHT RACE!!!

I went with Chad and my brother who were the same fans I went to Race #1 with so I knew it wasn't just me that had the itch for another race.

The few months leading up to that race at Richmond were a huge turning point in my life.

   -I had met the woman of my dreams who would become my wife.

   -I went from a small architecture firm (my first job out of college) to my current job which I have     

    been happily employed at for over 6 years.

   -I was now a real NASCAR fan. (in my mind anyway)

September 29, 2012

The night before I was leaving for Richmond, Danielle (see "the woman of my dreams" above) and I went to a baseball game at Yankee Stadium.  Of course it was in the early stages of dating and we stayed at the bar late after the game.  I wasn't thinking about being so tired (hungover) the next morning because we were having fun.  To make a long story short, we nearly missed our Saturday morning flight to Richmond - we had to convince one of the gate attendants to let us on the plane. You will soon come to realize I am all about the parlay (usually NASCAR & golf).

We made it to Richmond and the weather wasn't agreeing with our or NASCAR's plans.  We tailgated for hours and had a blast meeting new people.  The tailgating at Richmond is reason enough to go back there time after time!  From the two person tailgates Danielle and I have had there to the huge tailgates we have been invited to join in, it's just an experience words can't describe.

the Richmond 2 person tailgate

So after Chad, my brother and I tailgated, we bought some ponchos and made our way into the track.  It was our first night race so were praying the weather would clear but forecasts didn't look so good.  We sat at our seats in turn 4 (now one of my favorite places to sit for races there) and were super psyched when the cars started up their engines.  I remember walking into the track on the backstretch and the national anthem started on our walk to turn 4.  Everyone and I mean everyone stopped what they were doing, removed their hats and addressed the flag that stands for the freedom we have in this great country.  It was a very moving experience and something that still gives me (good) chills when I think about the memory.  See "Patriotism at Richmond International Raceway" from Race #1 .

The cars started and made 12 laps before NASCAR made the call to postpone the race until the following day. We made our way back to the car in a light mist and proceeded to tailgate for a bit with our neighbors while cars dissipated.  After making our way back to the hotel and getting a good night's rest, we had to figure out how we would watch the race since our flight was scheduled to depart midway through the Sunday race.  My brother went online and found a reasonable rate for a one way rental to New York City.  Problem solved - we would get to see our first race at Richmond International Raceway!!!  We watched the entire race which I just watched again via youtube.  You can watch it here:  2007 Jim Stewart 400 @ RIR video

NOTE: one of the benefits of a Saturday night race - it can be postponed and people don't have to worry about taking the next day off from work.

The racing was fantastic and just what I had imagined a short track to be like.  This would be the first time I witness Jimmie Johnson win a race out of the 6 times he has won while I'm at a track.

Jimmie Johnson wins The Jim Stewart 400

We had such a great time that I didn't mind the drive home and would soon start planning my next trip to Richmond so I could see a night race!  I believe I have only missed 3 Richmond races since that beautiful May Sunday in 2007.  After all, it is America's Premier Short Track.  You can take my word for it since I have been to every short track (tracks under 1 mile in length) on the NASCAR circuit.

See you in 19 days, @RIRInsider !