What a day last Saturday at New Hampshire International Speedway, taking in what is referred to as the NASCAR experience. Going twice a year to New Hampshire for NASCAR is just what a vacation should be, a day long trip up and back for a couple of hours to watch the Modifieds and the Busch Series live in action.I have to say driving up was a lot better on Saturday than once thought it would be and so was parking. This time around we got there somewhat early and grabbed a parking spot down by the entrance which means that we would have to walk what I would say a good mile just to get the tickets and then a good mile down in back for collectibles and we all now that’s one hot items after another.
Finally one can rest and just in time for the Nextel Cup Series Final Practice (11:30am) and with scanner in hand, that’s fun. I mostly listened to Dale Jr’s radio and boy he wasn’t happy with his car during that practice session, it just kept going tighter and tighter in the corners.
Specking of the Car of Tomorrow, this was my first time to see the COT in person and in action and you know it is interesting, but ugle, the rear wing to me isn’t even the problem, but I can’t say the same for the frontend, that spliter and the weird look is just not what you want to see. I will say walking around the speedway, I really didn’t see the COT showcar anywhere for me to take a close up view of it and pictures weren’t all that possible neither.
The main reason for going up on Saturday was to watch the Modifieds in action, but this one just had a bad flavor to it, they just couldn’t stop wrecking and one driver just dominated what green flag laps they had. If that wasn’t enough, NASCAR cut the race by 15 laps because it was so-called getting to close to the Busch Series race. It left me wanted me in action.
Now the opposite can be said for the Busch Series race, the opening introduction had to campers out front on track and there was also the 10 minute wait after that, but once this sprint race got underway, it wasn’t bad. There were cautions and even a red flag, but for me I, after 4 hours of sitting in the grandstands under the hot sun, I was cooked. I ended up watch and listening to race from under the grandstands for about 100 laps just to cool off including during Eric in the #0 Hefty crash sending him along the turn 3-4 riding the safer barrer walls and coming back down on all four.In the end, the battle for the victory was heating up, but Carl Edwards just couldn’t do anything with Kevin Harvick with the laps remaining and Harvick won leading most of the laps, what a performance by Kevin Harck and his first Busch Series New Hampshire victory from what the track said. That’s hard to believe considering how domanate he was last year and in years past.
I even managed to buy a new CFS 1/24 diecast on my way out of none other than Mark Martin’s #01 U.S. Army Car of Tomorrow and what a look that has. My father bought the MA version of Tony Raines #96 COT, boy what a difference between manufacturers. Luckly for me, after a long day I got home just in time for the Truck Series race on television and to rewatch the Busch Series race that I so called Tivoed.
What a day and I’m now getting over the sunburn, I can’t wait til NASCAR returns in September, I might just be taking in my first Cup series race on that Sunday, now that’s cool. See Yeah!
