NASCAR's State Fair Flair

By Cathy Elliott, Guest Columnist

Have you ever been to a state fair?

I remember the first time my parents took my brother and me to the fair in Raleigh, N.C. For a kid who thought the Tilt-A-Whirl at Dowdy's Amusement Park at the beach was the pinnacle of excitement, the state fair overwhelmed me by the sheer size and volume of things to see and do, packed into a relatively small space.

Everywhere I looked, there was movement and activity. People were chowing down on foot-long hot dogs and cotton candy, tossing ping pong balls into goldfish bowls and shooting water pistols into the mouths of clowns. There was The Amazing Bearded Woman (nowadays, that could easily be handled with a couple smears of hot wax and a moderately high tolerance for pain), and The Amazing Guy Who Hammered Nails Up His Nose.

The rides were way more exotic than the Tilt-A-Whirl; they had a Scrambler, bumper cars and that zero gravity thing that spins you around really fast and then drops the floor out from under you, leaving nothing but G forces to hold you plastered into the mesh cage.

For a 10-year-old, it was the wow factor to the millionth power. It seemed at the time to be an embarrassment of riches.

Then I attended my first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, which happened to be at Darlington Raceway, and suddenly the fair seemed ... just fair.

Usually when you attend a major sporting event, you chart your own course and set sail. A NASCAR event is an entirely different animal. It's like being in the center of a hurricane that carries you along from one exciting attraction to the next.

This might include a little tailgating in the parking lot, a couple of passes through the souvenir haulers to find that rare copy of "Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Guide to Style" or "Matt Kenseth's Hilarious Hijinks, Vol II," followed by a stroll through the pits to observe the fascinating process of securing lug nuts to wheel wells with whatever that yellow goo they use is called.

If you're lucky, you could get an autograph from someone's gas man or rear tire changer as they get their team's gear ready to race. If you're really lucky, you might spot a driver who has accidentally wandered through the pits on his way to a hospitality tent appearance or a media interview. And if you're extremely lucky, and blessed with good timing, the aforementioned driver might even sign your shirt or hat.

Just as a cowboy never saddles up without his six-shooter strapped to his side, a NASCAR superstar never leaves his hauler without that trusty Sharpie tucked securely in his pocket. You never know when you might need to be armed and ready to sign.

On your way to the grandstand, you can wander through the midway area and check out all the massive sponsor displays; you might even run across The Guy Who Can Change a Tire in Under Five Seconds. Now, that's amazing.

You can stop by the concession stand and pick up a foot-long hot dog, plus a two-feet-long turkey leg. Even the food is bigger at a race track.

And then there are the rides, dozens of them; 43, to be exact. No two are alike. They embody the constant position-changing of the Scrambler, the hang-on-to-something-and-hope-for-the-best tumult of the Tilt-A-Whirl, and the nudge-and-grind of the bumper cars, all in one loud, fast and glistening package, spinning so fast you do feel the bottom has dropped from beneath your feet.

Stock racing is much, much more than fair. It is the greatest thrill ride of all.

Note: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series are off during the weekend of March 14-15. Both series will return to race action on March 21 and 22 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

— Source: NASCAR