Break your routine and try something new at the races

By Mike Dutko

For 8/13/04

We’re smack dab in the middle of summer vacation time. For me an annual trip to the Carolinas does the trick to recharge my batteries. Actually I need to come home and rest up from all the activity we cram into each day down there. If you are not going to get away this year maybe you can simply take a vacation from your usual routine. If you are like most people, with the exception of a couple weeks a year, you go to work and do the same thing over and over again. In many ways race fans are like that too. They rarely take a break from their normal routine. Maybe it’s time to try something new.  Here’s a couple suggestions to make the usual routine not so routine.

How many fans have been coming to Mercer for years and every week they sit in the exact same spot? Try finding a new location, just for one night. You might find out you like the new view. Bring a lawn chair and sit down front in the grass next time. If you have never done that, the folks down front have a great time.  Or buy a pit pass and stroll through the pit area to see the cars, the drivers, and all the activity that takes place prior to and during the races, and then you can still come in the grandstands and watch the racing. 

How may fans have been sitting in the same spot for years and still don’t know the people who have been sitting next to them for years? Spend a couple minutes introducing yourself to the people next to you. They might be an eccentric millionaire just looking for someone to pass their fortune on to someday.

Try making friendly wagers on the outcome of the races with your friends and those around you. Betting is of course illegal in Pennsylvania unless of course the state figures out some way to get their finger in the pie, or slot in the most recent case, so just wager cookies. If you don’t have cookies I guess you can use dough. There are two preferred methods to betting on the races; probably the most common is everybody just picks their favorite as the cars come out of the pit gate. Usually the loudest fan gets the fastest car this way. Just picking a car as they come out the pit gate also works well if the people beside you are new the sport- just kidding!

Another way to wager on the outcome is to do like the drivers when they get to the track. Pull pills to see which car you will have. A few numbered bingo chips in a cup will suffice nicely. Most everybody has one of those cheap Bingo games in the closet at home with one of two numbers missing. The person with the lowest number gets the first car and so on, or they can get the first pick. Rather than betting on who will finish first, pick a spot like fourth, and see who wins that race. If you want to play the game with young kids, choose the cars by selecting the car that matches the color of a card you select from a stack of colored cards. You can have them draw the cards at home coloring each race cars a different color.

When we were kids we all had toy race cars. When was the last time you went by Ray’s Racing Collectibles trailer and took a look at the racing novelties they have to sell? Buy yourself a toy sprint car and put it on your desk at work. That way on those particularly long days you can take your car off the computer monitor and race it around on the floor of your office. An even better thing to do is pass your toy car to a youngster when you get back to the stands. When was the last time you had a snow cone? Let yourself go and be a kid for a couple hours. It won’t hurt too bad. If you normally buy a hamburger and fries with a Pepsi, try the meatball sandwich with nachos and a milk chug instead. There’s a ton of ways to mix things up when you go to the races.

Pick you favorite driver, local, NASCAR, IRL, etc and count how many T-shirts you see with their name on it. The losers can buy the winner a new shirt. Stop one of the drivers you see who are coming into the stands throughout the night and introduce yourself to them. You will find they are very friendly and outgoing. Ask them about their car. Believe me they will be all too eager to answer your questions.

Want to try something really interesting? Bring a tablet and a pen and try to score the races yourself. Write the numbers down as the cars cross the line. You will find out this is a very difficult job. One that goes unnoticed far too often. We have a great scoring crew at Mercer. Try it and see just how difficult their job is.

Have you ever been by the photo stand to see the great pictures Dan Fennel has on sale?  Buy a picture of one of the winners and have it autographed in the McClung Auto Body Victory Lane.

Last but not least, invite your relatives or a friend and their family to accompany you to the races. If you don’t normally attend, but would like to see what the excitement is all about I guarantee if you ask a neighbor or friend to tag along they would love to introduce you to this great sport of ours. Remember when you were introduced to racing? Chances are if you are like most of us, a grown-up took you to your first race as a child. Kids love the races! Bring a child with you some night that has never been to the races. They will have a ton of questions, and you will look like a hero in their eyes for spending time with them and answering their questions. I will never forget the memories of my grandfather holding my hand as we walked to the Reading Fairgrounds to see the modifieds race when I was a child. Believe me when I tell you that was a long time ago, but is cemented in my memory forever, and one of the things that made him my idol.

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