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Daytona 2014!!
About 8 months ago I said to my husband, “Lets go to the Daytona 500 in 2014”. In my teens I had gone to the Seattle International Raceway with my brother and wanted my husband and daughter to experience the sound of a thoroughly revved up engine screaming as it passes you by. We had chosen seats on the opposite side of the track between the 2nd and 3rd curve which gave us a good view of the track and the curves. Also, there was a huge screen that provided you with the view of what was occurring on the opposite side of the track and for replay. You gotta love technology. |
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The weather was mild and we were hoping the storm brewing in the distance would pass by. Winter for everyone had been a brutal one and temperatures everywhere were lower than normal. Still, having come from Minnesota to escape the extreme cold, temperatures in the 60’s were downright balmy for us and we were in heaven. We ate the sandwiches we brought with us and sat down with a nice cold beer to enjoy the race.
“Gentlemen, start your engines.” The cars came cruising around the track, slow……like a rumbling low growl of an animal ready to pounce. The flag went down and they took off. As they came around the 1st curve and into the stretch in front of the stands the sound was deafening……intoxicating. No sound system, no technology can duplicate what it feels like to have that sound rumble through your body as the stream of cars pass the stands. Over and over again they came around and we sat down to enjoy the race. |
But the storm would not pass us by. The race was suspended after the 38th
lap as the rain came down. It poured and
along with everyone else we left the stands and spent the next 3 hours
underneath with the rest of the fans. We
put our rain gear on…..the fashionable plastic sold everywhere, bought another
beer and waited. Around 5:00 it looked
as though the rain would ease up…..but it came down again in another
deluge.
Tired and with soaking feet, we boarded the bus which took us back to a field where we had parked our car along with hundreds of other fans. The field was now a huge mud hole through which we slowly navigated.
We returned to our hotel tired, hungry and a little discouraged. The race finally resumed again around 9:00 p.m. We chose to stay in our hotel room rather than risk parking in the muddy field….unaware of other parking possibilities. We had enjoyed the 38 laps we did see and agreed there was nothing like being there for the actual race. It was and is……..awesome.
Tired and with soaking feet, we boarded the bus which took us back to a field where we had parked our car along with hundreds of other fans. The field was now a huge mud hole through which we slowly navigated.
We returned to our hotel tired, hungry and a little discouraged. The race finally resumed again around 9:00 p.m. We chose to stay in our hotel room rather than risk parking in the muddy field….unaware of other parking possibilities. We had enjoyed the 38 laps we did see and agreed there was nothing like being there for the actual race. It was and is……..awesome.