So my family were really looking forward to the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway over Labor Weekend. We haven't gone too many places since Jeremy got home, and most of my summer was based around Mikey's doctor appointments so we didn't do a whole lot either.
We really wanted a nice vacation, and we got it too. We ate at Fat Matt's which is a great BBQ restaurant in downtown Atlanta, and we all really enjoyed the World of Coke museum too. And despite the rain, we loved the pre-race events at the Speedway. We got to be on the background on Speed, plus got a bunch of free things. It really was a lot of fun. Even sitting watching them try to dry the track was hysterical.
A race really is the best place to people watch and Atlanta has been the best by far. I've been to many races, but never have I seen so many cowboy boots, ripped t-shirts and mullets. Even a lot of very short shorts. Whatever, you expect to see that. BUT NOT ON GUYS!!! What the hell Atlanta?? I saw so many guys wearing ripped off jean shorts. It's not attractive on any man. Even Denny Hamlin wouldn't be sexy in them! And what was worse was that some were Britanny Spears short...as in the pockets were hanging below the 'hem?' line. Not cute!! Seriously not cute!! I was very tempted to take pictures, but I just couldn't stoop that low - it would have been pretty rude. And lets face it, I don't really want to remember those delightful mental images. So with the power of Google, I'll find you some things that closely resemble what blinded me.
Anyway, just before the track was dried, there was a sudden down pour which saturated everything, and the race had to be rescheduled. It was completely understandable. I didn't want to sit there with the kids for 3 hours until the track dried, then watch the race, then sit in traffic before getting to the hotel. That would have been 6 am. And the drivers are only human. I can't imagine driving at 200 mph as is it, dodging other cars and driving within inches on the wall, with limited vision out my windows. There's a reason why they are the elite - they are the ones with lightning fast hand-eye coordination. And I heard some people saying they should get rain tires and wipers. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? That's the dumbest idea ever! Have you tried driving down the interstate fast in a storm?
Personally, I value the safety measures NASCAR has for the fans, drivers and officials. They have them for a reason, and I don't ever want to witness the death of a driver. Now, saying that, I do wish that NASCAR had been more proactive, rather than reactive. It was obvious that Sunday morning that the race wouldn't be run, and they also knew well in advance that they would have to reschedule it for Tuesday. So many people had paid big bucks for tickets, plus hotels, gas, food etc, and most had to work on Tuesday. There were no refunds. If you couldn't attend the race on Tuesday you were SOL. We were relatively lucky compared to others. We couldn't attend the Tuesday race, but we had free hotel stays, and would spend the money going home on gas anyhow. We just spent a lot on overpriced hot dogs, and the $150 for the tickets. I heard of others who had spent over $4000 on camping spots, or the people who got tickets for Atlanta because of the parking situation in Kentucky. They tried to see two races and got no racing in return.
So I'm not mad about the weather, or the decision made to reschedule the race. But Atlanta made a buttload off money from people who got nothing in return. I had hoped that we could switch the tickets for tickets to Martinsville or Richmond. Or get a partial refund. Something at least. Not the "too bad, so sad" from the speedway. For an organization who is supposed to be about the fans, we sure were treated like crap.
But, the race (which I watched on TV while holding the tickets in my hand) was a really good one and I really wished I could have been there. I'll still watch racing because we love it. But I will NOT go back to Atlanta. Too bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment