nascar in fontucky

if you want a photo, scroll down and check out that b&w shot of Junior Johnson.
went to the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing event today. It was in Fontana, aka Fontucky, aka not anywhere you would stop unless you wanted to visit the race track out there. It was a good event, although some cars were having engine problems because CA mandated unleaded gas for the cars (they usually run on leaded gasoline). more observations and thoughts on today's racing deal:

• I got to watch the race from one of the luxury suites, directly above the pits. best seats in the house for sure. plus we parked in the infield. no peon parking for us, thanks very much.
  
• bonus#2: watching the race from the suite provided an excellent view of both pit row and gave me a place to retreat when it got too damn cold on the viewing terrace up above. also the tv coverage of the race is good, so you can watch replays on it there. grandstand viewing was a tough go. the weather sucked.
  
• bad weather kept the pit lizards way down this year. they were still present, but in reduced numbers.
  
• my favorite driver used to be jeff gordon. I don't know why so many fans hate his guts. well, partly I do. he changed manufacturers early in his career from Ford to Chevy. That's a no-no. then he won a lot of races. and he doesn't have an accent (he grew up in indiana). he's a hit with crossover sponsors, because he's handsome in a teenage boy sort of way. but i can see that mostly they hate him now because he's a jackass. to wit: we watched the drivers make their way out of the infield, onto the track. they walked past singly or with teammates, keeping a low profile. almost all wear a hat, glasses, or both. except for Prince Gordon. he walked through the tunnel with hair flowing, holding his pregnant wife's hand, cameras capturing every moment. it was a carefully orchestrated bit of douchebaggery. later, the crowd booed him soundly. ouch.
  
• question from my friend: What's going on with #8?
  senior executive: he's leaking something from the rear end.
  friend: you mean the car or the driver?
  senior exec: [hard look]
  friend: [expressionless] what?
  
• the prerace jet flyby never gets old.
  
• i find the muffled sound of race cars very soothing. i nodded off for a few minutes in the suite. limited sleep the previous several nights may have been a contributing factor.
  

that about covers it. took me 8 hours to do the whole thing. I forget who won the race. there were 120k other people there. ask them. Prince Gordon came in second.
Thanks for reading.