February 7, 2002

With all the talk of restrictions of coolers, backpacks, scanner bags, etc., I wanted to offer some tips for gaining entrance to a non-cooler-friendly track while managing to spend less than $100 a day on food and beverages. There are several things to remember, and ways to get around the gate patrol. At a post-cooler-ban race last year, I managed to bring not only food, but my scanner bag into the track. The alternative would have meant carrying my rented scanner all the way out to my parked car (2 miles away, it seemed), fighting the flow of people coming out of the track and hiking back to the scanner rental place, and then walking the distance back to my car again. Being a pretty lazy sort, this was simply unacceptable.

The first thing to remember is that the bulk of the task force is at the gate. Once you're IN, you're presumed to be "clean" of anything illegal, so pack accordingly.

1. A camera bag can have the shoulder strap shortened (tie a knot) and used as a fanny pack. Carry your camera around your neck. There are no restrictions on the SIZE of a fanny pack, so anything smaller than a luggage "carry-on" bag will likely pass, so long as it’s strapped around your mid-section. Pack this bag strategically, with snacks on the bottom, and pack the kinds of snacks that actually ward off hunger (like peanuts). Put other things (like your checkbook) on top of it so it cannot be seen. They won't rummage through a fanny pack that is attached to your person.

2. Wear a coat, even a light one. Anything you're WEARING doesn't count as what you're CARRYING, so dress appropriately. Not appropriately for the weather, but appropriately for smuggling. The most diehard fans arrive before sunrise, and the temperatures are usually still cool enough to get away with wearing at least a light nylon jacket. Bring one with a hood. You can hide snacks in your pockets and they don't check. If you have a hood, you can put two sandwiches inside. Lay them flat, pull the drawstrings, and just walk right past the food patrol at the gate. Pockets can also carry more snacks, and inside jacket pockets are great for this. A longer coat can also mask the other sandwich bag of gummy bears in your front jeans pocket.

After my comments about the winery at Sears Point, one reader pointed out that not everyone is bringing beer and fried chicken, but rather, “When we go to the races, our coolers tend to have bottled water, crudités, fruit and occasionally (when the season is good) truffle mousse'.” Okay, then, but I’m not guaranteeing your mousse will still be properly fluffed after carrying it inside your pocket.

3. Scanner bags can be folded. Detach the shoulder strap and fold the bag inwards. Roll it up like a sleeping bag and wrap the shoulder strap around it, tying securely. This leaves it looking a little like one of those folded cushion stadium chairs. Of course, with your scanners attached to the strap of your make-shift fanny pack and the headphones around your neck, nobody is looking for a scanner bag.

4. Bring another jacket and two seat cushions, all folded up (and of course, wrapped inside that jacket are more snacks), and shove all of those things WITH the folded up scanner bag into the plastic bag you are allowed to bring in. One glance shows it's nothing more than garments and cushions, and you're past the gate. The particularly industrious race fan might even go so far as to delicately slice open a cushioned seat cover along the seam, removing some fluff, and installing a zipper. Properly packed, the zipper wouldn’t even be necessary. A particularly roughed-up looking seat cushion faux-repaired with duct tape would look especially innocent of being a vessel for snacks, even crudités.

Once inside, you can then unpack and repack reasonably. You can unfold the scanner bag, and empty into it all of the food you've stashed, as well as put your scanners and headsets inside. You can fill it up to capacity, but since it likely won't leave your seat until you're leaving the track, you won't be questioned. Now all you need do is buy water (at $3 per bottle), and then refill it at the drinking fountain when it's empty.

Of course, keep the cooler with ice in your trunk, and after a long day at the races, sit back and relax, have a refreshing soda (or bottle of water with your truffle mousse), and while you sit in post-race traffic, count all the money you saved.

You can contact Carol at.. Insider Racing News