My Inner Race Fan

  • by Trish Berg
  • July 9, 2013
  • 371
                        
Struggling with loads of laundry, clutter in the kitchen and chaos in your life? Stress can easily steal our joy. Trish Berg reminds us to simplify the small stuff and find Joy in the Journey. Going to an auto race of any sort is just out of my comfort zone. I am, after all, a city-girl who lives on a farm only because she married a farmer. And let me tell you that there is a lot of city left in this girl. But sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zone in order to grow and discover new things. So last weekend at Norwalk Raceway, I discovered my inner race fan. What made this adventure even sweeter was that our dear friends, Brian and Sharon, had won four VIP passes from The Fin, and invited us to attend as their guests. (Oh yes, the first thing I discovered is that Fin, Feather and Fur is called The Fin.) When we arrived at Norwalk, we were escorted to the Rocky Mountain Boot VIP tent where we had unlimited cold pop and water, hot dogs, shade and tables. Our tent was right next to Matt Hagan’s Funny Car trailer where his pit crew was working on the engine, or whatever is inside the car. I learned that sponsorship is crucial in racing. Matt Hagan races for the DSR (Don Schumacher Racing) team, and his major sponsor is Rocky Mountain Boot. The Fin was co-sponsoring this specific event for Matt. I learned that it takes a huge pit crew working on the car right up until the green light to get a car ready, and that they constantly adjust and change things along the way. After some time in our VIP tent, we headed up to the stands to watch the qualifying races. I immediately learned that drag racing is extremely loud, so loud you need ear plugs in order to survive. I learned that top fuel cars and alcohol cars are different, but look alike, and that Funny Cars are wider and look more like real cars. I never did learn why they are called Funny Cars, and I felt stupid asking. I learned that many of the cars petered out and did not cross the finish line because they failed to grip the track, that top speeds were near 300 MPH, and that watching drag racing can be exciting. I also learned that I can take about two hours of watching drag racing in the summer heat until I am ready to head back to the VIP tent. We were eventually served a terrific free lunch there, and toured the Matt Hagan trailer and got to meet him. I posed for a picture with Matt and let me just say that from now on, I am a Matt Hagan fan for sure! And I learned that you can buy a pound of ice cream for a buck at Norwalk which makes the summer heat not seem so bad. I like living the VIP life, even at a race track. Life is just sweeter when you have a VIP pass. In the end, I had a wonderful day. I won a DSR hat (which I gave to Brian) and was given a connector rod signed by Matt Hagan himself (which I plan to place on my desk at work as a conversation piece). Most of all I learned that even a girl with a lot of city in her can enjoy a day at the races as long as she is with people she adores…. …and being a race fan is a lot easier with a VIP pass.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load