A New Memory

Now that our children have grown, my husband and I are trying to understand this new stage of our life. Before, our focus was all the activities and hubbub of the children. Now, we have time to rediscover our own dreams and hobbies. My husband is very supportive of my writing, and I want to be a part of his.

One of his interests is NASCAR. I figured I could at least pay attention and learn a little bit about it. So, while he was watching a race one Sunday afternoon, I decided to choose a car that I liked.....a cute M&M car.... and it won! "My favorite car won!"

He laughed with surprise. "YOUR FAVORITE?" and added, "You don't pick a car because it's cute. That's Kyle Busch's car."

So, Kyle Busch was "my" driver...only because I liked the M&M car.

Well, my son got us tickets to watch a real race in Loudon, NH, this last Saturday. I wasn't sure what to expect and agreed to go too. My mind was busy for weeks wondering what I should bring. I packed sunscreen, a hat, a blanket (for warmth or seat padding), a notebook and pen, water, snacks, and a book. I considered an umbrella, but decided it would not be polite to those around us.

We arrived at the track soon after the gates opened. As we chose a spot on the metal bleachers (thankfully with backs), I couldn't help but compare the whole thing to a giant chinese wok. After weeks of rain, we were glad to see the sun, but as the day progressed, I truly felt like I was in a frying pan.


I enjoy watching people. I noticed that the men outnumbered the women, most of them wearing hats of their favorite driver and ear muffs. I saw more hairy backs and tattoos than I care to ever see again. By noon, the stands were a palette of moving colors.


I knew it would be noisy, but didn't realize how really loud it would be. I had squishy ear plugs that helped, but I could still hear the roar of motors that would vibrate right through my feet and the book I was holding. My notebook became handy to communicate with my husband, since talking was near impossible.

As I watched the cars go around and around the track, I began noticing the sponsors. (Old Spice, Lenox, Menards, etc.) I wondered if the UPS and FEDEX drivers were lost, and I also couldn't understand why a driver would promote BUDWEISER or JACK DANIELS. The most ironic sponsor was TOMTOM, which makes GPS machines. ("Turn left, turn left, turn left, turn left...")


I was amazed and pleased to see nearly 100,000 people stand and remove their hats and respect a prayer and singing of "The Star Spangled Banner", not just once, but twice! Where else in the world would you ever see that?

We watched hours of practice runs and qualifying runs. The sun shone brightly and I prayed for clouds. Bare skinned backs and bald heads got pinker as the hours passed. The first race of modified cars (don't ask me...their tires stuck out more) was exciting, the leaders braiding themselves around the track as they vied for the win. It ended with a bumper-car crash and everyone on their feet.

I thought that was THE RACE and was getting ready to go. My husband laughed and said, "No! The next event was why we came, the big race." (At least I had time to finish my book.) The start was interesting, and occasionally the cars pushed each other into the wall and they all had to visit pit lane, but most of the 200 laps were boring.

I noticed that "my" driver, Kyle Busch, in a sleek black and hot pink car, was working his way to the front. He won!












As we were walking the mile back to our car, it started to rain. The whole day wasn't so bad. I may even go again and wear a wider brimmed hat.



Be sure to go to Lynette's Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane for more great blog posts.