Nascar at Dover

I know these are motorcycle forums, but I think most of you have gasoline in your blood so I want to share my experience.
I went to a Nextel race at Dover this weekend, and Dodge was giving out free laps in their high-end street machines. They would put you in a Viper or and SVT with a professional driver and he would take you around a small road track at really stupid speeds. I waited in a ridiculously long line twice for this honor.
The Viper was king of the road, but the tires were so sticky that the guy couldn't get it to skid. The SVT was another story entirely. For those of you that don't know, the SVT is a Dodge Ram pickup with a 500 hp V10 engine and a top speed of 155 mph. Imagine a drunken psycho throwing a 6,000lb vehicle into hairpin turns at full throttle and you get a good idea of the ride. I haven't had so much fun since my senior prom.

 

Ah yes, senior prom, I remember her well!!! uh......er....
Yes, some of us love NASCAR!

 

Nice!! Would have been REAL impressive if they let you drive it around the course... :lol: :wink:

Seriously though, wonder how someone gets that job? Go to the NASCAR race, make laps around a road course all day in an $80k car, and get paid for it!! 8O

 

Sounds like one cool joy ride. Glad you waited in line arn' t you. I'm a NASCAR MARK MARTIN fan.

 

I'm not much of a fan of "Rednecks Turning Left" but that sounds like a heck of a day for you. Actually, I'd probably enjoy a race live, it's just not something I'd ever think of going to.

Good on you.

 

hey man sounds like an awesome experiance..

but i was wondering are you confusing the sVt with the dodge ram sRt?, i believe it is the srt10 ram, i am not trying to rain on your parade or anything, but want to make sure everyone knows. They may be bringing out an svt i dont know but i believe the v-10 ram was called the SRT-10

 

The guy that took me for the truck ride used to race Toyotas in the Craftsman Truck series. Most were instructors at a racing school.
I was never a NASCAR fan until I went to a race, it's just not the same on TV. As for the rednecks turning left thing, the rednecks are half the fun of it. There was actually a truck full of rednecks that brought squares of sod with them so they could play horseshoes in the parking lot. The good 'ol boys really know how to have fun.

BTW, the truck was an SRT not an SVT.

 

I kid about the redneck thing - I think it's jsut a great description of the sport - at least the spectator side of it.

Anyway, I had a question. Did they get you geared up at all in a suit and helmet? Or did you just buckle in as if you were riding to the store with a buddy?

 

Next time your driving your 4 wheeler down a dirt or gravel road put the pedal to the metal and turn left. If you smile you might be a redneck.

 

ROFL!!! Agreed!!!

I love how people think that circle track racing is so easy. I'd like to see those people try it. I raced circle track for 3 years, have been on a break for a while now, but do plan on going back to racing in the future. I always say, "don't knock it till you tried it!!" :wink:

BTW, this wasn't a knock directly on Oblivion, more just to the constant NASCAR-hating I get from various people all over the place. 8)

 

Just to be clear (don't worry, I didn't take offense - and if it WAS a knock, I can take knocks pretty well), I don't think any racing is easy. Hell, even in drag racing you can end up in a fireball. Horse racing can get you killed. And don't get me STARTED on Pinewood Derby! I'll never forget my Weblos year. . . .

I respect what those guys do, whether on 2 wheels or more, circle tack or twisty (though I prefer the twisty). I'm just not often inspired to sit and watch. Occasionally if I catch a race while flipping channels, I'll hang out for a while, but that's about it. But again, I'd probably enjoy a live race. If I have any negative feelings about racing, its that I am a little bothered by the wastefulness of it all. Similarly, I love airshows, but I feel guilty when I think of the dollars and fossil fuels being burned up by the second for entertainment. But that's an entirely different issue I don't really want to get into. There are obviously benefits to racing - technological advancements in efficiency, safety, and hell, maybe even marketing so I'm not condeming it. It's just something _I_ think about from time to time.

Anywho, no offense was intended. The 'rednecks turing left' thing cracks me up, but it's in good fun, not mean-spirited. I may be a liberal-college educated Chicago boy, but I've done my share of stupid redneck tricks, and I've got the scars to prove it. I grew up hunting, spending lots of time on farms, and after college I lived in the Middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin for a year and a half. I've owned a pickup truck complete with a gun rack, a labrador, and a stereo worth more than the truck itself. So, while you'll never see me with a confederate flag, I have forgotten to apply the suncreen above my collar from time to time.

 

Oblivion, your wit is just hilarious! I'm with you on the waste, probably the largest reason I disapprove of the whole competition thing. Research is one reason to burn our resources but the scale of use for the pleasure? I love cars, bikes, motorcycles, airplanes, heck anything that moves more or less. If only the efforts spent racing could be combined with greater emphasis upon the research aspect I might get excited (it could be done if only the interest was there). But how can you blame the researchers if they don't want to put millions (yes millions, R&D doesn't come cheap) into a vehicle that will be purposely put into a high risk situation with fewer controls than should be, simply to see it dashed against a wall? Quite the conundrum, I'm torn as well. I love to see aircraft flying, but what purpose does it serve if the flight is simply to amuse the crowd? The US Navy Flight Demonstration Team (the Blue Angles) are a recruitment platform and that is where they get their money. Expensive but effective. Impresses the heck out of little kids, who grow to be big kids with dreams and so on. I guess the balance is struck in the final outcome of the race/demonstration. It is a crowd pleaser and folks do line up to plunk down their cash to see it. We can print more money, we can't replace the lost resource. I'm on the fence here I guess. I'm thrilled to pop open the 'glass on a NASCAR vehicle and oggle the engine and all the gizmos and I know they are the result of research as well as trial and error, but at the same time, I'm stuck with how much waste there is involved in getting there. Is there a way to balance this?

 

Wow, getting ready to get into a real philisophical conversation here.

If it's wasteful, have any of you ever been to the movies? Or watch TV? How much money is spent making that great action flick that you've gone to see? What kind of price can really be put on entertainment?

Not only that, but what about human being's natural drive to competition? I don't think that there's anything in the world that is done that hasn't turned into a competition at one point or another, and racing is no different.

Also, getting off this for a moment, think about the boost to the local area's economy when the race/airshow/sporting event happens there. With racing especially, the local businesses boom on race weekend, creating more jobs and a better overall economy. A little snapshot of what would happen if there was no racing can be seen in several towns here in NC that have had races taken away from them. Rockingham and North Wilkesboro were relatively small towns that transformed into a bustling metropolis two times a year. Now that there is no race coming to town, they have more or less turned into ghost towns, with people losing their jobs and having to move to find work.

 

I did think about the movies, Joel, no doubt, just forgot to mention it. Really can be sickening if you think about it.

What's wrong with a nice quiet game of cards or horeshoes?

 

With your neighbors and friends out on the front porch? Community is a dying cultural heritage. I'd rather have the neighbors pop in for a quick burn on the grill and a few cold ones than a night spent in front of the boobtube.

 

You've convinced me. I'm selling the bike and walking everywhere! (Well...maybe not just yet...)