From the Parking to the Grandstands: This race fans view of New Hampshire.

A #3 Dale Earnhardt Tribute hat, a scanner with headset, a digital camera, a medium duffle bag with the essentinuels and one race day ticket for the day is makes up a trip for this race fan to a Friday, Saturday or Sunday day at New Hampshire International Speedway.

This is an experience that I have taking in many times in the past 8+ years of going at NHIS, taking in either a Friday of watching Cup Series qualifying and a Busch East race or a Saturday of watching the Cup Series Happy Hour, an incredible race of the Modified Tour and either a Busch (Nationwide in 2008) Series or Truck Series race and what an experience it is.

What a day, on the road early up though the traffic and toll roads straight though to the speedway with one pitstop along the way and there it is, the first of the speedway entrances, right on up and finding a parking space along the straight and then it begins, the walk from the Jeep to the speedway it self, from this point on it all depends on where you park that makes the difference, walking, looking at souvenirs, taking pictures of the outside events including the SPEED Stage and straight on up and into the speedway.


Image taken by me.

Now its time to browse through the souvenir trailers in hopes of finding that interesting diecast, hat or whatever of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, and so on… Time for lunch and a dart to that general admission grandstand to find that seat up front and then taking pictures and listening to several drivers on the scanner.

While listening to scanner, a race fan can quickly pick up just what is going on with that driver just by listening to the driver’s tone in his description of his car along with just what setup they are working on. Each driver has there own chemistry with there crew chief and crew members on just how they want there car to feel and each driver says it differently. Drivers can go from being happy to being angry and back in a couple of seconds depending on what happens to the car and on track. I have heard drivers get angry over an incident or just the setup and none of the drivers are afraid to say just what’s on there minds, but I have to give them credit, sitting in a hot racecar all day long going over 100 mph average and battling 42 other drivers can anybody upset, so don’t take to much of what they say on the radio to heart.

Over four hours later just sitting in those seats and depending on the day, the action on track could range from Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. pacing final practice to one or two race winners with a burnout or donuts straight to victory lane with the crowd screaming just what’s on there minds.


Picture was taking by me while standing on pitroad... Clint Bowyer winning his first Cup Series race at NHIS this past September.

And then it’s all over, back though the rows of souvenir trailers in a last check for that diecast, up though the thousands of racing fans exiting to the parking lots. If its Friday or Saturday, race fans will go to there cars and battle the traffic to the highway and off we go.

However if its Sunday, the day isn’t over for the NASCAR experience, one hour after the race ends, the infield tunnel opens and 43 Cup Series Transporters – Haulers exit the tunnel all to see thousands of race fans lining the streets from the infield tunnel to just past the first entrance of the speedway on down… What a parade, transporters blowing there air horns at the crowds as they head for the highway three wide down 9 miles of route 106. What an experience…


Picture was taking by me outside the passenger side window of the Cup Series Haulers passing by the grandstands.

And experience I took in first hand last September for the Sylvania 300, the parade is amazing from the sidelines, but it’s even better when your one of the cars heading out in that parade of haulers as both my father and I did. What a line of haulers down the road at dust and to top it off, we followed the #17 Dewalt Transporter for Matt Kenseth on out, its photography handing out the passenger side window with a digital camera in hand snapping one by as haulers go by. Once out and in the city, we stopped at McDonalds in Concord, we spotted the #2 Penske Hauler going by, what a sight to see and then its off… home. Like I said, what experience.


Picture was taking by me outside the passenger side window of a line of haulers waiting to exit the speedway.

What a way to write about taking in the NASCAR experience from two different sides of tracks, first, from the media side of it in my previous piece called “From the garage to the pits: The Best Seat in the House in New Hampshire.”, to writing about it on from what the average racing fan side in this piece, two different sides, one great experience.