September 14, 2002

Now, before you get all worked up that your home track has the better fans. Give me a chance to explain.

Last September, as the nation crawled out from under the devastation of the terrorist attacks, NASCAR made the decision to move that Sunday’s race in Loudon to the Friday after Thanksgiving. November in New Hampshire? That’s right, race fans – Cup racing in New Hampshire in late November!

The next 60 days brought speculation from media and drivers who all thought they had a better idea to Cup racing in Loudon in November.

“Run it on a Wednesday,” one driver said.

“Why not move this other race to that day and put Loudon in earlier?” a journalist suggested.

“It’s the day after a holiday; we should be with our families,” another driver noted.

Well said, sir. We all should be with our families that holiday weekend. But when our country goes through a national tragedy, plans change to accommodate our sadness and the time we desperately needed to get back on our feet.

So race fans all across New England circled Friday, November 23, 2001 on their calendars and made plans to be in Loudon that day – no matter what. And those fans that were previously unable to obtain tickets immediately started working their networks to find any way to be present for this race. These fans paid no attention to the endless alternate suggestions that were bantered about. NASCAR and NHIS said November 23; it was going to be November 23.

The days turned to weeks and slowly we all got back to the business at hand while we struggled to find normalcy, whatever that was after what we had all just experienced. Races produced winners every week. The week’s racing events gave us something to root for, perhaps a mild distraction from the stress.

Finally, November arrived, and with one week to Loudon, we already knew we’d have a new Winston Cup Champion. As the days passed, any fan planning to attend the race probably had weather.com marked as a favorite – that 10-day weather forecast became an all too familiar sight.

Thirty-eight degrees. “OK,” I said to myself in an almost confident, almost convincing tone. “I can handle 38 degrees. That’s not that cold.”

As a race fan, when you’re used to going to a race in the blazing heat of July or the warm temperatures of early September, how do you begin to prepare for temperatures in the thirties? You develop a back-up plan, of course! And that’s exactly what these New Englanders did.

Instead of a backyard summer BBQ of burgers and potato salad, they fried up a full-sized turkey and, in the spirit of the holiday, brought along all the fixings for an all-American Thanksgiving dinner – tailgating style.

With unseasonable November temperatures in the fifties, there was a bright side. For this race, there were no worries about sunscreen, sunburn, heat exhaustion, or running out of ice. Instead, the mild temperatures provided fans with the opportunity to don every stitch of racing gear they owned – Tshirt, sweatshirt, embroidered jacket, and hat all emblazoned with loyalty to their favorite driver. Seat cushions, usually brought along for comfort, provided much needed warmth and insulation from the metal bleachers on this brisk November day.

As I pulled off the highway onto the road that leads to NHIS, I sat in the long line of cars and smiled. The fans were showing up despite the temperature and the holiday weekend. That gave me hope.

When we finally settled in to our seats just as driver introductions began, the stands started to fill up. Soon, nearly every seat was filled, and the energy was intoxicating. This was the race that was rightly sacrificed during our darkest hours. Now, it was being given back to us.

To all the New England racing fans that turned up in force that cold November day, including Bud, Jeff, and firefighter David. For those fans whose deafening roars during the patriotic flyover gave us all a reason to cheer louder and longer. For the New Englanders whose respectful silence turned to a unified, rousing ovation during our national anthem. And to those whose raucous cheers for that wonderful, all-American phrase “Gentlemen, start your engines” demonstrated the emotions we all felt that day, thank you!! You showed NASCAR and our fellow fans across the country, that postponing that race was the right thing to do.

And that’s why Loudon has the best fans. Period.

You can send feedback to L.M. Burke at: Insider Racing News

Seriously Sunday

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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. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.

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