June 26, 2007
By Brian Watkins

Brian Watkins

Hot.

No word better describes the weather during last week’s race at Michigan International Speedway. Despite the fact that my driver was flipping burgers for the weekend instead of racing, my wife and I, and the friends we attended the race with, had a great time. The race is always fun to watch and though you just can’t see as much of it from the stands as you can from your living room, there’s still something to be said for cheering the cars as they thunder by throwing dirt and pulverized tire rubber all over you.

Aside from lacking any cool air, the race also lacked in caution flags.

I found myself in a bit of a hypocritical situation towards the end of the event when the top 10 drivers were spread out the entire length of the oval. I found myself wishing out loud that for one reason or another, caution would be flown to bunch the cars back up for the last 10 or 15 laps.

I said it was a hypocritical situation because those who have read my columns in the past know that I have complained time and time again about NASCAR and their “debris cautions” that reveal no debris -- but do result in an exciting finish. There I was hoping somehow a Wal-Mart bag or a small herd of goats would find their way onto the track and give the fans a bit of an exciting finish. But it didn’t happen, and in retrospect, it was a good thing. Casey Mears more than earned his finish and Michael Waltrip, God bless his perseverance, managed a top 10 finish. I even got to cheer as Jimmie Johnson ran out of fuel with nine laps to go.

Not a bad way to spend Fathers Day.

Having spent considerable time in the Army, the hot weather inspired me to consume a lot of water -- A LOT. I think I only had one beer the entire day. I know, not very NASCAR of me, but I wanted to enjoy the race, not the dehydration that would have ensued had I not focused on the water. Many others however, mostly the younger set, were quite content to wait in line for mixed drinks and fork over $7.50 for can after can of beer. More power to ‘em. There was a time I might have been so adventurous, but not anymore.

What was very interesting is that at last year's June MIS race, when the weather was considerably cooler, there were many more agitated people, more cursing back and fourth between fans, throwing of seat cushions, and we even had the privilege of have a guy puke all the way down the stairs next to our seats. This year, with the temp in the mid to high 90’s everyone seemed to be getting along and it made for a much better experience. No one whined when the Canadian National Anthem was played and everyone was respectful when our anthem played. But as nice as the race was, it’s the event before the event that is just as, if not sometimes more enjoyable.

While it’s called tailgating in the parking lots of stick and ball sports, I’m not sure what the official title is at race venues. Whatever you call it, it’s a great time to socialize, grill, play some games, bicker about this driver and that and generally have a good time with friends and like minded folk.

This year was especially nice in the huge grass field that serves as the MIS parking lot for two reasons.

First, traffic was great. I don’t know if they changed anything or if we just got lucky, but the trip was just about non-stop from the driveway to our parking spot and that was a welcome change.

The second and best part of the pre-race experience was our parking spot. There are only two or three trees in the entire parking area at MIS, and as luck would have it, both the van we were riding in and the truck containing the rest of our group managed to end up under the biggest one, providing a perfectly shaded oasis for our grillin’ and chillin’.

As we kicked back eating our brats and burgers, I felt a small (very small) twinge of guilt for having such a lucky spot as we watched the throngs of race fans sweat it out walking to the vendor areas and seeing others grilling nearby with nothing but their ball caps to provide any relief.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.