So a couple of weeks ago, one a Saturday that we FINALLY had off from Tiki Tan, we decided to take a trip up to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC. If you don’t know what Bowman Gray is, it is the longest running weekly short track that is still sanctioned by NASCAR. Who really cares right? Well, that is true. But what makes the place cool is that it is a quarter-mile track that is built around the outside of a football field that the local Winston-Salem Division 2 or 3 college team still uses. The stadium serves as both a racetrack and football stadium.
On top of that, it is just a cool looking place and they pack fans in there every week for just regular weekly shows. They get maybe 6,000 to 8,000 people normally… and for big shows, can get over 10,000. That is impressive for a weekly short track.
So after inviting everyone we know (ok, maybe not, but a lot of people), it was just Jennell, JT and Dale heading to the stadium. Of course, a tradition when going up there is heading to Kurleys BBQ. It is one of my favorite places to eat and has great food. They get it out to you faster than any fast food restaurant and have the best hush puppies going. It’s in Welcome, NC, which is where the Richard Childress shops are located. I guess a lot of the RCR guys eat there every day. It is a place straight out of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network. Of course, the day Guy Ferri goes there, I’m sure I’ll miss it!
After Kurleys, we were off to the stadium. It had rained plenty leading up to Saturday, but it wasn’t supposed to rain then. So things were looking good. Once we parked and paid for our tickets (we went on $1 ladies night… meaning all women were just $1. And regular tickets were just $10), we were decideing on where to sit. There are plenty of options there and not one bad seat. So we decided on the front row of the beer garden, so we could drink some beer.
Now the front row at BG is special because the track has no catch fencing, expect for in turns one and two. On the straights, you are sitting right by the track with nothing separating you from the track other than a concrete wall.
It was going well and racing was just getting ready to start. We had our beers in hand when came one of the track’s regular fans. And as you can imagine, sitting in the beer garden section, he was something else. Broken foot/leg/toe or whatever he had, he sat right behind us and eventually moved himself right down beside Jeremy. The guy knew EVERYONE! And he smoked enough for EVERYONE. And he didn’t care is his ashes were going into JT’s beer and left over hush puppies.
And, most unfortunate, his family was sending him to rehab the next night, so you know what they told him… go to the stadium and get drunk. And he was. And he told EVERYONE. He told us and we didn’t even know him. And he told everyone that was sitting in the front row, second row, third row and evern whistled and yelled to people in the top row to tell them. It was a real treat.
After one race, we decided that we’d had enough. And with the contact buzz we were getting from his beer drinking, we decided to find some new seats so we could watch the races and hear the race cars.
We sat in turn one, up high this time. And the view was awesome, as you can see. You can see the whole track well and really get a feel for the racing, even though you aren’t right on top of it.
So after the second race of the night… the wide started blowing, and before you knew it, the rain was falling. Most people headed for the exits, but we just stayed put. We thought it would pass. And it did. But then it started raining again. And after about 2 minutes of thinking about it, they called the race.
So Jennell’s first stadium experience was a short one… but it included all of the highlights… big crowd, good seats, Kurley’s BBQ… and even a possible trip to rehab.
We can only imagine what she’ll see in a full show there. We’ll be back soon for sure!
After Kurleys, we were off to the stadium. It had rained plenty leading up to Saturday, but it wasn’t supposed to rain then. So things were looking good. Once we parked and paid for our tickets (we went on $1 ladies night… meaning all women were just $1. And regular tickets were just $10), we were decideing on where to sit. There are plenty of options there and not one bad seat. So we decided on the front row of the beer garden, so we could drink some beer.
Now the front row at BG is special because the track has no catch fencing, expect for in turns one and two. On the straights, you are sitting right by the track with nothing separating you from the track other than a concrete wall. It was going well and racing was just getting ready to start. We had our beers in hand when came one of the track’s regular fans. And as you can imagine, sitting in the beer garden section, he was something else. Broken foot/leg/toe or whatever he had, he sat right behind us and eventually moved himself right down beside Jeremy. The guy knew EVERYONE! And he smoked enough for EVERYONE. And he didn’t care is his ashes were going into JT’s beer and left over hush puppies.
And, most unfortunate, his family was sending him to rehab the next night, so you know what they told him… go to the stadium and get drunk. And he was. And he told EVERYONE. He told us and we didn’t even know him. And he told everyone that was sitting in the front row, second row, third row and evern whistled and yelled to people in the top row to tell them. It was a real treat.
After one race, we decided that we’d had enough. And with the contact buzz we were getting from his beer drinking, we decided to find some new seats so we could watch the races and hear the race cars.
We sat in turn one, up high this time. And the view was awesome, as you can see. You can see the whole track well and really get a feel for the racing, even though you aren’t right on top of it.
So after the second race of the night… the wide started blowing, and before you knew it, the rain was falling. Most people headed for the exits, but we just stayed put. We thought it would pass. And it did. But then it started raining again. And after about 2 minutes of thinking about it, they called the race.
So Jennell’s first stadium experience was a short one… but it included all of the highlights… big crowd, good seats, Kurley’s BBQ… and even a possible trip to rehab.
We can only imagine what she’ll see in a full show there. We’ll be back soon for sure!
1 comment:
Looks like a great track. We have seen the NASCAR haulers on the interstate the last 2 Tuesdays. Bev & I both commented about the great times we had with your family on the race trips, every time we see those trucks.
I can feel for the re-hab guy, my Dr. has me on a dry spell until Oct. while they check out a deal on my liver, so my new favorite happy hour beverage is ICED TEA, imagine that!
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