What You Missed In Daytona

After a few years of not attending a race and over a year of sharing my rants and raves here on this blog, I returned to Daytona this past weekend for the Coke Zero 400.  For weeks, I had readied everything with anticipation of a great weekend and up-close NASCAR, and Daytona did not disappoint.

First of all, the weather was beautiful.  Yes, Florida is hot in July, but there was a decent breeze for most of the afternoon that made tailgating a blast.  I have been to a Daytona race at which a few people were injured by a lightning strike, and a Daytona race that left most people sunburned and dehydrated.  This weekend was about as good as Florida can be in July.

As we have never really done hard core tailgating at Daytona, we had planned to eat at a local restaurant prior to entering the track.  Instead, we parked next to two Firefighters from Moultrie, GA, and a retired Army veteran and his wife from the Tampa, FL area.  They made certain to show my wife and I, and our two friends, exactly how tailgating is done NASCAR style.  They had grilled burgers, hotdogs, bratwurst, and corn, along with tents, chairs, radio, etc.  The most important thing they had were welcoming attitudes and plenty of conversation.  Since me and my friend are Firefighters, we had plenty to discus with the other Firefighters and had an awesome time.

I rambled on about all that to say this: NASCAR fans are amazing.  Whether you are a Junior fan or cheer for a Busch brother, they are willing to share their food and time with you.  If you have never tailgated NASCAR style, you should give it a try!

Also, I have shared on multiple posts about how much can be learned or experienced by following NASCAR and NASCAR personalities on Twitter.  This weekend I was able to join a "TweetUp", a meeting at the track of people who follow NASCAR on Twitter, all the way up to those who write about NASCAR in print and online media.  As there are often visitors, both drivers and otherwise, I was eager to see who would show.  The coordinator of the meetings, Jeff Gluck (motorsports editor at SBNation.com), had said there would be a big guest, and he did not lie.  A few minutes into a question and answer session with some Daytona administration personnel, in walks Train, who were scheduled to sing a prerace concert.  A few minutes later, Landon Cassill, driver of the #83 Burger King car, walks up right beside me to watch.  All because I follow some NASCAR people on Twitter.

NASCAR is a great sport folks, but NASCAR Nation totally rocks.  If you haven't experienced all of it, you should!  And for those of you who make it what it is, I thank you for another great experience!

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