Race-Attending Etiquette

I’ve attended a fair amount of races in my time (granted, I’m only 22), and it has occurred to me that many people are… inconsiderate.

*It should be noted that I considered using a much less delicate word in place of inconsiderate.

I know this may seem like I’m being overly sensitive to what others do, and you may even think I’m the one being rude for pointing this out.

But the things I’ve seen people do at races, both NASCAR and NHRA, have blown my mind.

In June, my mom and I sat behind some of the rudest people I have ever been near at an event.

Because of this, it lead me to believe that some people could use a resource for proper race-attending “etiquette.”

So, here it goes:

This is not okay.

1. Do not stand during the race. For a NASCAR race, it’s perfectly fine to stand during the first and last few laps. Cheer on your driver! That’s partially why you’re there, after all. Even stand during cautions. Try to find out what’s going on. Stretch, go to the bathroom, walk around—not much is happening during cautions laps. But when the race is in full action, sit your butt down. If you’re standing, the people behind you have to stand. The people behind them have to stand… and so on. And if those behind you decide not to stand (I’m that type of person because I don’t want to stand for the whole race—that’s why I purchased tickets for a seat), then that means they probably can’t see. I like to be able to see what I paid for, and I didn’t pay to see your back and butt. For a NHRA event, the same rule applies. Sit down. All it takes is a couple of people at the finish line to stand, then pretty much everyone needs to stand. Life would be so much easier if everyone just sat down!
   
   
2. Keep your trash to yourself. Too many times now, my favorite driver has been screwed over from winning a race because trash was on the grill of his car. I know accidents happen and things can get away from you, but I see way too much trash flying around. Yeah, yeah… it may be funny to cause a caution or to wreck someone’s chance at winning. But it’s really not. I don’t see trash flying around as often at NHRA events, but keep your trash to yourself there, too. If it gets on the track, the Safety Safari will have to pick it up, and it slows down the flow of the event.
   
   
3. Do not smoke in the stands. My father smokes, so I am used to it. I’m used to people doing the whole “fake cough” thing because they don’t like smoke getting blown in their face. I can see how it is rude to smoke in a grandstand full of people, especially if there are young children around. I fully understand that it is your right to smoke, but I suggest you just go down under the stands to smoke. You won’t miss much of the racing action.
   
   But keep in mind that the “fake cough” is rude, too.
   
   
4. Be patient in the parking lot. There are a lot of people at a racing event, but it might not always seem like that until you are actually trying to leave. When my mom and I went to Pocono Raceway, we waited nearly 30 minutes to get out of our parking spot just to get into the line to leave the track. Practice the rule of letting one person into the line. I know, I know. If you don’t let anyone in line, you may get out sooner. Trust me—you’re going to be waiting for a long time anyway, so you might as well be polite.
   
   On the flip side of this, also don’t be rude if you are the one trying to get into the line. If you see someone let a person into line, don’t make them let you out, too. I point this out because, sometimes when I let people into line, a lot of people try to take advantage of that opportunity.
   
   Long story short, everyone just wait your turn. You will get out of there eventually!
   
   
5. Be mindful of little kids. I mean several things with this statement. If you are the one with children, keep track of them. It’s difficult for those around you to enjoy the race when kids are running all over the place. I know they have a lot of energy, so take them underneath the stands and let them play for a little bit so they aren’t distracting everyone.
   
   If you don’t have kids but there are kids sitting behind you, try to make it so they can see. As mentioned previously, it’s not fun to have your only view be the back of a person’s head. When we were at Pocono, there were kids next to me. A man in front of these kids stood nearly the entire time. Those poor kids could not see, and that is not going to be a memorable experience for them.
   
   And finally, let kids go in front of you when you are in line for an autograph. This isn’t always necessary if it’s an organized autograph session (with wristbands or something). But if the driver(s) kind of seem to be in a rush, make sure the kids are able to meet them. This goes back to making the experience memorable for the kids. :)

That’s all I have!

Moral of the story—just remember to be courteous and thoughtful when you are at the track. I know it’s important to have fun (tons and tons of fun!), but that doesn’t mean you have to be rude to those around you. After all, they want to have fun, too!

What tips do you have for those going to an upcoming racing event?

Track Tips: Charlotte Motor Speedway

I attended the History 300 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway over Memorial Day weekend. If you plan to attend these races next year, or the races at the track in October, I have a few tips for you based on my experience.

*However, keep in mind that these tips are based off of Memorial Day weekend; therefore, there may be changes if you attend the NASCAR races in October!

1. Try to stay off 77 -- There were many times when traffic would come to a complete stop for no reason. Everyone would just bunch up for a couple of miles. A trip from our hotel to the track that was supposed to take thirty minutes actually took over an hour. I was told this was not because of track traffic -- it's like this all the time! This is why I suggest finding a way to the track that avoids 77. We found a way around it (I shall not give away our secrets!); therefore, it is possible! It made the trip easier and quicker.

2. Parking -- Park in a free lot! Charlotte Motor Speedway offers a lot of parking space, which is great. For Thursday night qualifying, all of the parking lots were free so you could park relatively close to the gates. On Saturday and Sunday, the lots closer to the gates were not free. However, there were free parking lots that were a bit further away. It's not *too* far of a walk; plus, there were shuttles that took you closer to the gates. Supposedly, the shuttles run after the races, as well (I say supposedly because I only saw shuttles taking fans back to the campgrounds -- not the parking lots -- but it is possible we just missed the shuttles that were taking people back to their cars). But like I said, it isn't too long of a walk (especially if you get there early)!

3. Walk the track -- On Friday, Charlotte Motor Speedway offered a track walk to individuals who had purchased a ticket to the Coca-Cola 600, as well as the opportunity to play games, spend time with fellow fans, and drink ice-cold Coca-Cola before and after the walk (or during, if you decided not to walk the track). In addition to walking the 1.5-mile long track, fans were visited by drivers sponsored by Coca-Cola, including Danica Patrick, Elliott Sadler, Bubba Wallace, and Tony Stewart. Now, I'm not the type of person who walks 1.5 miles every day so I was a bit weary. If you aren't that type of person either, I promise you that it is not strenuous! You walk slowly, and you even stop every now and then. It was a lot of fun!

A photo from the track walk at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

4. Arrive early on Sunday -- As mentioned, arriving early is great for getting a reasonable parking spot in the free lots. When we looked at our schedule, we saw that the gates didn't open until 12:30 p.m.; however, the Fan Zone opened at 10:00 a.m. I strongly suggest arriving early to spend time in the Fan Zone. Holy cow -- there's so much to do. Vendors, games, driver appearances -- not to mention the infamous, race-day tweetup. Plus, once the gates opened, Charlotte Motor Speedway even had the Indy 500 playing on the big screen (I appreciated that)!

5. Go to The Dirt Track at Charlotte (and bring goggles!) -- We decided to include tickets to The Dirt Track races in our ticket package, and I'm sure glad we did. There's not much that beats dirt track racing. You don't really need to bring goggles, but it's not a bad idea. This was my first time at a dirt track, and I was not expecting it bother my eyes as much as it did. (Maybe I'm just wimpy!) Either way, it's definitely worth including.

The Dirt Track at Charlotte

Thank you, Charlotte Motor Speedway, for a wonderful time!

My Trip to Bristol Motor Speedway

I had the privilege of being Team Penske's guest in March at Bristol Motor Speedway. I had not previously been to BMS, and words cannot express how fantastic of an experience I had -- even with the rain and extremely cold temperatures! Great racing, great seats, great people.

Below are a few of my favorite photos from the weekend, but first...

I want to thank a few people:

1. Team Penske for their generosity
2. My Twitter friends who were able to meet up with me at the Ford Racing stage
3. A certain friend who gave me a new pair of shades

Bristol Motor Speedway - The Last Great Colosseum

On the track

Brad Keselowski getting ready for practice

From the #2 hauler tour

The backup Blanco Deuce

My group

Regan Smith during qualifying

Brian Scott

Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney's No. 29 truck

Brad Keselowski signing autographs at the Ford Racing stage

Rain = sad day

Carl Edwards' car on pit lane

Getting ready to roll

Martin Truex, Jr. before driver introductions

I got to meet some of my Twitter friends before the Food City 500

Ryan Blaney

I was excited to see an unscheduled night race

Again, I can't thank everyone enough. I hope to return to Bristol Motor Speedway soon!

Clean Air vs. Dirty Air

During my first year as a NASCAR fan, there were a couple of phrases that I heard over and over again: clean air and dirty air.

Honestly, I had no idea what this meant.

Here's what I knew: clean air = good; dirty air = bad.

... but what do these phrases really mean?

Simply put, a driver does not have clean air if there is a car in front of them. Being at the front of the pack is ideal, not only because that means a driver is in p1, but also because it allows the driver to avoid dirty air.

Sam Hornish, Jr., now a part-time driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing, describes dirty air like being on a highway: if you ever "got too close to a semi-truck and felt that turbulence--that is kind of what it's like."

It's important to note that dirty air affects the cars differently on the various tracks because each track allows for different speeds, and speed is a huge factor.

"The faster you are going, the more it affects the car," said Hornish. "If someone is in front of you at Talladega, it is very different than being behind someone at Bristol."

The reason clean air is crucial for a car's speed is because of how dependent the cars are on aero, which affects the car's down force.

When another car is too close in front of a driver, the driver loses down force.

Hornish explains that this causes an aero push; "meaning, you can turn the wheel, but the car does not want to turn."

So, yes... clean air = good, dirty air = bad. But now we know why.

NHRA and NASCAR -- Save the dates (and times!)

The racing season kicked off this past weekend with TUDOR United SportCar's Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. For details on the race, click here.

This means that the first NHRA and NASCAR races are right around the corner!

I don't want you to miss any of the action, so here is the schedule for the upcoming events:

NHRA

The NHRA season will kick off at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California for the Winternationals. The event is from February 6 through February 9.

TV Schedule

Qualifying: February 8 from 11:00 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET on ESPN2
Eliminations: February 9 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on ESPN

Are you attending the race? Visit www.nhra.com for a full race schedule!

NASCAR

The official NASCAR season starts with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on February 21, the NASCAR Nationwide Series on February 22, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on February 23 at Daytona International Speedway.

TV Schedule

NCWTS qualifying: February 21 at 4:05 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
NCWTS race (NextEra Energy Resources 250): February 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

NNS qualifying: February 21 at 1:05 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
NNS race (DRIVE4COPD 300): February 22 at 1:15 p.m. ET on ESPN

Sprint Cup qualifying: February 16 at 1:05 p.m. ET on FOX
Sprint Cup race (Daytona 500): February 23 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX

However, don't forget to watch the entire Daytona Speedweeks extravaganza (practices and Budweiser Duels and the Sprint Unlimited, oh my)! To view the full TV schedule, click here.

Who's ready?

Part-Time Racer/Full-Time Student

As a college student, I'm relatively busy. That has always made me curious how college athletes are able to balance school with practice/games/social life/and possibly work.

In high school, I played softball. That was manageable for me because games and practice didn't interfere with classes, and we never traveled too far (so, it wasn't late when we got home).

However, being a college athlete means that you are probably going to miss several classes during your sport's season. Meaning, you miss lectures, class discussions, exams...

"I love what I do, and it's
worth every bit of work I put into
it and more," said Ryan Ellis.

Yet, college athletes are able to make up the work because there is usually an understanding between the coaches and the professors, and absences are excused.

What if you play a sport that doesn't represent the college--racing, for instance?

Ryan Ellis, part-time driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, grew up around racing.

His father and his father's father raced, and it was natural for him to fall in line: "Before I could walk, I would crawl over to my Power Wheels Jeep and drive around the house.

When I was four, my parents got me my first quarter midget," said Ellis.

Since then, he has been working his way up the racing ladder.

In addition to being a part-time driver, Ellis is also currently a business-marketing major at George Mason University.

Ellis's main career goal is to reach the highest level of NASCAR, and that is why he chose his major: "I believe the most successful drivers today are either great engineers or great marketers. The best drivers are both," he said.

As sponsorship has become a huge part in all facets of racing, Ellis believes that his marketing background will help him receive (and maintain) the funding to eventually become a full-time driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Because he is an athlete in a sport that does not directly represent his university, it has been difficult for Ellis to keep up with his classes.

"Some professors do not allow me to make up exams if I am out of town and ultimately, that is the reason I am still in school," he said. "I have had to drop six or seven classes because I was out of town for a race, and the professor would not allow me to reschedule an exam. If it weren't for that, I would have graduated a year ago."

Ellis hasn't let this get him down. Driving full-time in NASCAR is his dream, and he is willing to do what it takes to make racing his number one priority.

While it may be argued that classes should come first, Ellis makes note that "there are only so many opportunities to make it in this sport.

"I'm very lucky to be at the level I am, and I'll do anything to stay here," he said.

The quote in Ryan Ellis' email signature said it best: "Racing is life... everything before and after is just waiting." -- Steve McQueen

Sam Hornish, Jr.: The Transition

Last week, the NASCAR Nationwide Series was in Dover, and Hornish finished p17. This drops Hornish's lead over Austin Dillon from a margin of 15 points to only 4.

The NNS field races at Kansas Speedway tomorrow. Only five races remain until the 2013 champion is crowned.

As I mentioned last week in my post about Sam Hornish, Jr.'s early racing career, this would be Hornish's first NASCAR Nationwide Series win if he can hold off Dillon.

Sam Hornish, Jr. isn't new to winning championships, however. He previously raced in the IndyCar Series, and won three championships (2001, 2002, and 2006) before making the transition to NASCAR.

The Transition

Hornish started racing in the IndyCar Series in 2000. In 2004, he joined the Penske Racing team.

Toward the end of the 2006 season, Hornish and Penske announced that Hornish would race in the final two NASCAR Nationwide Series (then the Busch Series) races, as well as select races in the 2007 season while remaining full-time in IndyCar.

Hornish finished 36th in Phoenix and 43rd in Homestead in 2006.

Although not a great start in NNS, keep in mind that he was new to the series.

IndyCar and NASCAR are by no means similar, and Hornish had to overcome that obstacle: "In an IndyCar, you have data which the driver and engineer can look at to see what the car is doing," he said.

"In NASCAR," on the other hand, "the driver has to feel everything the car is doing, then tell that to the crew chief. That makes the people aspect of it much more important in NASCAR than in IndyCar. The crew chief has to understand what the driver is saying and what he means," said Hornish.

Sam Hornish, Jr. continued to be a part-time driver in the Nationwide Series until 2012, when he made the move permanent.

In his first full season, Hornish finished 4th in the points.

NASCAR and IndyCar visit some of the same tracks--Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway, for example.

Meaning, Hornish has had the opportunity to race on these tracks in both series. While this may seem like an advantage, Hornish said the only advantage is knowing your way around the track.

It's nice "being familiar with the track, but the cars are so different that it doesn't really help too much" as far as transferring data from one series to the other, he said.

Regardless, Hornish clearly hit his stride when he became a NASCAR Nationwide Series regular.

Memorable Wins

Having raced in both series, Hornish has been able to make it to winner's circle at a variety of tracks. A couple of these wins stand out:

"In IndyCar, the Indy 500, of course," he said.

The Indianapolis 500 is the most prestigious race on the IndyCar circuit, and Hornish earned the coveted win in 2006 by a margin of only 0.0635 seconds over Marco Andretti. He became the first driver to take the lead on the race's final lap in the process.

"It was a childhood dream of mine to make the race, so to win it was amazing beyond my wildest dreams," Hornish said.

To watch the incredible 2006 finish, you can find it here.

As far as in NASCAR, Sam Hornish, Jr.'s most memorable win came shortly after his good friend, Dan Wheldon, passed away in an IndyCar accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011.

"The (2011) Phoenix Nationwide Series race was memorable for me as it came at a great time. We were running a partial schedule, trying to put something together for next year. It was also just a few weeks after Dan Weldon died, so he was in my thoughts that day as we celebrated," he said.

If you haven't been watching the NASCAR Nationwide Series races, now is the time! Tune in tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN to watch the Sam Hornish, Jr. vs. Austin Dillon battle heat up.

Thank you, Sam, for the interview!

Sam Hornish, Jr.: The Beginning

The NASCAR Nationwide Championship has become a battle of two: Austin Dillon vs. Sam Hornish, Jr.

Sam Hornish, Jr., driver for Penske Racing, is currently leading Austin Dillon in the points standing by a margin of 15 points. Regan Smith is in third, 45 points behind Hornish.

Hornish has been on a roll of good finishes recently. In seven of the past ten races, he has finished in the top-4.

If Hornish can maintain his lead for the final six races, he will earn the first Nationwide Championship of his career.

A driver doesn't wake up one day and become a potential champion. How did Hornish get started?

The Beginning

Hornish made the decision to race go-karts when he was eleven: "My dad and I used to go to the races a lot when I was a kid, and we thought we would try the go-kart thing just for fun," said Hornish. "I ended up doing pretty good in my first race, and I liked it, too."

In 1993, Hornish joined the World Karting Association and won seven races that season.

The following year, he improved. He won several WKA championships, including the U.S. Grand Championship, the Canadian Grand Championship, and the U.S. Junior Grand Championship.

Even at a young age, it was clear--Sam Hornish, Jr. was good.

Although he had talent, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. It was hard to "find the funding to keep going on," he said. This is a common obstacle for most drivers.

Another concern for Hornish was "trying to find the right team and situation that would allow [him] to continue to improve as a driver.

"It is a constant process of moving up--every time you proved that you can win at one level, you then have to move up to the next level and do it all over again," he said.

This didn't stop Hornish. He worked his way up to the IndyCar Series, and in 2004, Hornish joined forces with the Penske Racing team.

It seemed to be the perfect match.

Through Penske Racing, he was able to meet his racing inspiration: Rick Mears.

Mears' record is impressive to say the very least. He is a four-time Indy 500 winner, as well as a three-time IndyCar champion.

"[Rick Mears] was one of my favorites growing up," said Hornish. "He always seemed to let his driving do the talking.

"When I came to Team Penske, I got to know him...getting to know him has really been pretty cool," he said.

In 2006, Hornish began making his move from IndyCar to NASCAR. He continued to drive for Penske Racing through the transition, this year marking his 9th year with the team.

*Check back next week for Sam Hornish, Jr.'s transition from IndyCar to NASCAR.