2018 Monster Energy Nascar Cup At Dover International Speedway
Sunday, October 7, 2018 was my first experience going to Nascar since I was very young. The Nascar races on Sunday were the 2018 Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series at Dover International Speedway in Delaware. Dover International Speedway is across from Delaware State University, so that made the commute simple and provided cheap parking with my student pass. Before the races was the fan zone which was packed with people from all over the East Coast, based on the different license plates, and there was definitely a lot going on. From the Bobby Bones 94.7 trailer to the Monster Drink setup handing out samples. There was a “Use your melon, drive sober” campaign who had a grand setup with a variety of games including the tricycle course, driving a nascar simulation, shooting hoops with the drunk goggles, a nascar decoration you can take pictures with, and a competition to see how fast you can put the screws in the tires back on. They were also one of the sponsors for Saturday’s racer, Ross Chastain in the Xfinity race. There was an amusement attraction such as a zipline, along with many concession stands and merchandise for Dover Raceway and the Nascar drivers.
Once the races started, I learned after about thirty minutes that I needed to buy soundproof headphones cause my regular headphones I listen to music with, did not work. It was very loud consistently, but with the shape of the arena and the Nascar’s racing, it made sense. At first, I had based my knowledge of the sport off of “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” which is a Nascar movie featuring Will Ferrell. Luckily, I had another friend who was attending the races texting me and explaining what was going on when I was asking questions. Basically, this was the Championship race with the racers doing 400 laps and then we have a winner. I have watched nascar over the summer when it was on tv and I have been following one racer, Chase Elliott. You can say he is my “Nascar honey” and on the track on Sunday, he was #9. At first, the racing was boring cause all you see are the cars going around the track until it going to about lap #340, the race started to get interesting. There were two crashes, the cars are going faster, and all trying to be first to cross the finish line. The audience started shouting and you can feel the fans getting anxious and eager to see who is going to win. Especially after the second crash who was Brad Keselowski. They did not like him, but the winner ended up being my “Nascar honey,” Chase Elliott!
This was definitely a great experience seeing my favorite Nascar driver win and being in the middle of the Nascar fans. This had definitely changed my views on nascar and maybe I will continue to be a fan. I am hoping to go to Dover Days which is the summer nascar and I hope everyone does too. Between the smell of the food and screaming fans at the end, it is definitely a sight to see.
*Fun Fact: Nascar’s are created homemade from the interior to the exterior, with a few similarities to a regular car.*