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| A Race or a Party? – 6 August 2007 Before I go on this rant, I have to point out that I’m not castigating anyone for what they do. Races are a great place for everyone to get together and have fun in whatever way they define fun. I’m just discussing some of my general observations and fully realize that I am part of the minority. I, personally, have never understood the idea of getting completely obliterated at a race. It happens at every race at every venue, but the big ones really seem to bring it out of people. Go to the Kings Royal, Knoxville Nationals, or the Chili Bowl, and you will see people drink non-stop for days at a time. Dehydration is abundant. Hangovers are cured with more alcohol. People show their truly “fun” sides, or so they think. Don’t we all get more attractive and more charismatic when we drink? Most of us sing really well, too. Then, there are those of us who go to watch the race. My preference is always to be in the pits, working on a car. Things don’t always work out the way we would like them to. Therefore, sometimes I am relegated to sitting in the stands and watching one of the greatest sites anyone will ever have the opportunity to see. I love watching slide job after slide job, the lines that different drivers choose to run and the way different cars squat differently, or seeing the strategy play out in a racer’ s mind as he determines how to get through traffic, making split second decisions at 140 miles per hour. Rarely, these days, will you see me drinking at the track. Perhaps it’s my simple female mind, but I just cannot concentrate and really appreciate everything that is going on with my brain impeded by hops and barley. It is not that I do not drink. On the contrary, I drink almost every night during the week after my trek through corporate purgatory. However, my intentions for drinking are very different from those at the track. I applaud them in having a great time, enjoying the company of people they see only once or twice a year. I only drink when I need to make other people seem more interesting to me. Interesting people are never hard to find at the track. -- The Mermaid |
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