Flags at half staff

[FC138fan]

Take it for what its worth, but I just emailed my friend whom I've gone to Brainerd with for the past 10 years.

I wrote-
"I’m kinda getting over the drags… I haven’t watched them on tv for over a year. And that’s too much money to spend on 1 night of partying. "

Is this an indication of the state of the state? I don't know, but I guess its not good news.

 

[TooTall999]

Due to personal matters last year, we missed Brainerd for the first time since 2001. I didn't miss going as much as I thought I would. The diminishing car counts over the last few years have made it a lot less enjoyable. That being said we've been talking about trying out Chicago instead.

 

[mick]

nick, your problem is ONE nite of partying.....TWO or more greatly reduces the average cost of the next day's hangover.
trust me on this, i speak from experience
seriously i've had your same sentiments the last few years but still continue to do at least 2-3 dayz and probably
won't give up this year, very fortunate to camp with a great group of friends who we all only see once a year.
without the camping and residual fun the race would have lost me years ago.

 

[paoldtimer]

I still enjoy working (usher) at Maple Grove. Doing that for many years. It's much more fun than working the 2 NASCAR races at Pocono. I look forward to going to Vegas 2 since it's part of my vacation.

 

[FC138fan]

Chicago... yes, as a matter of fact we are still discussing going out there for a day. We made the trip 2 years ago and it was fun. I told him that would be a decision on the week of the race, weather dependent and whatnot. Drive out Friday, see the afternoon and evening sesssion, spend the night somewhere down there and be home Saturday afternoon. Chi-town Friday night IMO 10 times better then the racing at BIR. As someone mentioned in another thread, the place is way overdesigned, so a gen admission ticket, you can basically have free range seating, esp on Friday. The last time we went, we were top row getting the breeze and nobody within 10 feet of us. From a racing fan perspective, Chicago is the way to go.

The partying... last year kinda left a sour taste... we went Saturday, saw the race (I can't remember one run from that day - must have been not very memorable... did Capps blow up that day?) That night, we partied hard. I remember feeling like total trash Sunday morning, totally hung over till around 2pm where we packed up and left. It was pretty miserable in the stands that day, totally dis-interested in the race.

My friend is still going to make the trip, he has a couple other friends he ran into last year, so he'll be going with them. His response "Not that I have the money but it's one of the only times in a year to let loose..."

The first couple years of going up there, its gone from 100% racing 0% party in 2004 to last years 90% party 10% racing. If I'm over the party, I wanna go see racing... so Chicago might be the way to go. Get my fix for the year.

 

[mick]

if you go to any one race long enough and put yourself in viewing distance of the race, eventually every track will
produce memorable runs....bir for example: multiple FC burndowns in '88......ormsby wheely into guardrail.....scelzi/smith accident.....jim yates first PS win......schu w/fastest speed ever in 1/4.....bod bode win.

every track has it's memorable moments, some more than others: chicago for me will always be doug kalitta's 4.42.
how many memorable moments have there been from gainesville?...quite a few, but none from last weekend,
which is getting to be the norm at most tracks as 1/4 et & mph records are a thing of the past.
i think only a small handful of fans have a grasp on 1000' marks

 

[FC138fan]

if you go to any one race long enough and put yourself in viewing distance of the race, eventually every track will
produce memorable runs....bir for example: multiple FC burndowns in '88......ormsby wheely into guardrail.....scelzi/smith accident.....jim yates first PS win......schu w/fastest speed ever in 1/4.....bod bode win.
s

In my 13 or so trips to BIR, I guess I don't have any real "holy crap that was awesome!" Runs. When Hofmann was running, he always running shitty up there. The one year I introduced my site to him and got to know him and the Mooneyes crew, he didn't qualify. I was absent that run Schu ran that outrageous speed that one year. I was there for the Scelzi / Smith crash, but all I remember from that was seeing his tire shred shoot 800' in the air then a garbled mess (I remember the crowd reaction though on the replay).

My best memory in all of racing was an IHRA race at Norwalk, meeting Shirley Muldowney, Mark Thomas, and the spectacle of that event. I was only 15 or so at the time, but this was before the internet and they were like movie stars to me. And the first time I ever saw nitro at night in person... simply awestruck.