I am a self-professed road course hater. I don’t like them in the slightest. And I don’t hide this fact, either. So you can imagine what was going through my head when, last year, my first NASCAR race was going to be at Watkins Glen International. I was excited and horrified all at the same time. Excited because I was finally going to a race (my husband had already been to a couple). But it was, after all, a road course. And, as I said before, I hate road courses. But in true fan fashion, I enjoyed myself anyway. Right up until they postponed it for rain. I didn’t even get to hear “Gentlemen! Start your engines!” Nope. The skies opened up and it poured. And because I had to work on Monday, I could not go back. So my first actual race, as in watching a live race, was the following weekend at Michigan (which is a fabulous track, btw!).
This year, I came to Watkins Glen with an open mind. No, I don’t like road courses, but I was willing to give the track a chance to change my mind. And it pains me to admit that it did…a little.
I can’t put my finger on what makes a road course “boring” for me. I just can’t. Because I don’t know. I simply find myself less interested in the race and more interested in doing other things…like sleeping, or doing laundry, or anything other than watching the race. Usually I’m sitting on the couch tweeting and playing on Facebook. But watching it in person? A completely different story.
I spent a good portion of today’s race between the esses and turn 4, specifically coming out of the esses and going up the slight hill and over the pedestrian tunnel into turn 4 (east tunnel). I stood under the spotter stand which had a great view, but also allowed me to stand in the shade periodically if I wanted to. And while I expected to not be at all enthusiastic about watching the race because I feared I wouldn’t see much, I was surprisingly mistaken. I couldn’t see much, no. Just turns 1-4. But there was a jumbo-tron not far from me where I could watch what was going on around the track and I found myself much more interested in person than I am as a fan at home on my couch. It was actually fun!I found that there was much more action and stuff going on than I was able to perceive on tv. And I can’t help but wonder why this is? After all, on tv I can see the whole track. Yesterday I could only see a portion of it. I can only figure it’s because watching a race in person is more fun than watching at home. You can be part of the action and feel the exhilaration.
I don’t know what I’ll think about road courses when I’m sitting on my couch watching Sonoma next year. But I know I’ve learned to appreciate them a little better. And I like watching them in person much better than watching them on tv. I’m hoping that when Sonoma rolls around next year I’ll be a little more attentive and a little less bored. Just a little 😉
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