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!

Indianapolis: The Big Go

It's the biggest race of the year.

The U.S. Nationals. Indy. The Big Go.

Why is the atmosphere surrounding the U.S. Nationals so palpable?

The Big Go

This year marks the 59th running of the U.S. Nationals, and it is the 52nd consecutive year the event has been held in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Originally called "The Nationals," the Big Go was first held in Great Bend, Kansas in 1955. At that time, it was the NHRA's only national event.

Then, the event moved to Michigan's Detroit Dragway.

In 1961, the NHRA's U.S. Nationals found its permanent home in Indy at Lucas Oil Raceway (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park).

The U.S. Nationals has a different setup than the other races on NHRA's circuit. The pro categories make five qualifying runs (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) instead of the usual four (Friday and Saturday).

Running eliminations on Labor Day, it is the only Monday event on NHRA's schedule. In fact, in 2004, the U.S. Nationals earned the title of being the longest-running Labor Day motorsports event in the United States.

Additionally, the Big Go is notorious for holding a "race within a race." In recent years, this event has been titled the Traxxas Shootout.

Eight drivers from both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories compete. Seven of the eight drivers qualify for the Traxxas Shootout by being the first drivers to win in the regular season. The eighth driver is entered into the shootout by a fan vote lottery drawing. (If a driver receives 35% of the vote, they will have 35 entries in the drawing).

When these drivers run in the shootout, each round counts toward their qualifying effort.

The prize? The winner in each category receives $100,000 and a huge (and heavy!) trophy.

According to Larry Dixon, a four-time U.S. Nationals winner, the race in Indy has become "the biggest, most prestigious race on tour."

Dixon explained how the U.S. Nationals earned the name "The Big Go": "Back in the day, it was the only race. It was the biggest, and you had to go."

It was where the big names--the legends--gathered: Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits...

Now, the Big Go is also the last regular season event in the NHRA circuit before the countdown to the championship starts. It is your last chance to secure a spot in the top ten. After eliminations in Indy, the top 10 to compete for the championship are set.

In short, drivers and crews bring their A-game to Indy. They want to win Indy more than (almost) anything.

In a TV interview, Ron Capps, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car, said when he was asked if he would rather win the championship or the Big Go, that it's something you have to think about.

I asked Dixon the same question. "That would be like choosing which kid is your favorite," he said. It's impossible. Indy is that big.

2013 Traxxas Shootout Winners

Top Fuel: Shawn Langdon
Funny Car: Jack Beckman

 

2013 U.S. Nationals Winners

Top Fuel: Shawn Langdon
Funny Car: Robert Hight
Pro Stock Car: Mike Edwards
Pro Stock Motorcycle: John Hall

Some information for this post was retrieved from the following:
Lucas Oil Raceway's website
Wikipedia

Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

I can't think of a better way to end this "mini series" of posts about the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 than to share with you my favorite pictures from that weekend at Mid-Ohio!

China Beach/The Esses

In the first post of the series, I told you that the Esses is one of the most popular locations to sit at Mid-Ohio. Here are a few examples of why that is.

 

 

Friday Practice

Pictured: Sam Hornish, Jr., Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, and Regan Smith.

  

 

Garage Tour

My mom and I won passes for a garage tour through Mid-Ohio's Twitter. If you aren't following them on Twitter, you can find them here.

 

 

Autograph Session

Nationwide/Mid-Ohio were kind enough to give away 400 wristbands to an autograph session featuring almost 20 drivers!

Track Walk

Fans were able to walk part of the track before pre-race ceremonies.

 

Pre-Race Ceremonies

The Ohio State University Marching Band made an appearance!

 

  

 

Jeffrey Earnhardt

 

Alex Bowman

 

  

Travis Pastrana

 Elliott Sadler

 Austin Dillon

 

Max Papis

 Brian Vickers

 Kyle Larson

AJ Allmendinger

And that concludes Racing Fuel's coverage of the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 from Mid-Ohio!

Thank you, Mid-Ohio, for a great time. I can't wait until next year.

Did you attend the NCH 200? Email me your pictures and/or share your thoughts below!