Camping at NASCAR Races

If you are a fan of the races, you have probably at least entertained the thought of camping out at the race with other anticipating race fans. There is something about the vibe when camping at a NASCAR race that can't be beat, especially for those die hard fans out there that are truly thrilled b y it all. Getting NASCAR tickets is one thing, but actually having the opportunity to be on the infield as the race is going on is a unique experience in itself, one that no real race fan should have to live without having experienced.

There are different types of camping that can be done at a NASCAR race. Most people have RVs that they like to camp with because they can hook them up and be able to use the water, the facilities, and have electricity in the camper. There are also camping sites for NASCAR races that do not offer hook ups at all, although many of these facilities will make other arrangements for you to dispose of your waste and get clean water. Of course, there is always the option of camping in a tent and that is often the favorite option amongst those who would rather do things simply. Whichever method of camping you choose should not be hard to accommodate.

Why Bother Camping at NASCAR Races?

Many people who travel to NASCAR don't see the point in camping, and the truth is that it is not for everyone. There are many people who make a tradition out of traveling to races like the Coca Cola 600 and the Daytona 500 and camping with a huge group of friends and associates. Then there are people who fly to town and stay in luxury suites; obviously the latter group might not appreciate the experience. There is a camaraderie to be had at camp sites that goes well with the vibrant NASCAR atmosphere.

Camping at NASCAR Is One Big Party

People choose to camp at NASCAR rather than get a room or stay at a bed and breakfast because of the type of experience it offers. It is a great way for a lot of people who are interested in one thing to get together and celebrate it. There is often drinking, cookouts, parties, games, activities—you name it, it is done at a NASCAR campout. It is a good place to bring little ones who you want to enjoy the races with you and teach them how to have some good, wholesome fun.

Where to Camp at NASCAR

Depending on what race you are attending and what track you will be at, there are several different places to camp. Some tracks allow camping on the infield only, while some tracks allow camping inside the track and outside it as well. Other places have campsites very close to the track that are designated for camping NASCAR fans as well, so the venue can change accommodations from place to place and race to race. Check with your race in advance so that you can reserve a spot, and let your friends and loved ones know in advance, especially if there is a distance to be traveled to the race itself.

Something to keep in mind about camping out at NASCAR races is that the more popular the race is and the bigger of a deal the event is, the harder it is going to be to get a space. Sometimes, they require that you reserve a camping space a year in advance or more and that is a bit too long for some people. A lot of things can change in a year, but usually the cost of reserving the space is not too much to ask to have the space reserved when demand for it is going to be so high once the event rolls around.

Camping at NASCAR takes organization. It takes planning, and most of all it takes the will to have a good time. There should only be one rule at a NASCAR camping event and it should be that non race fans and party poopers are not allowed!

Steve Godlewski travels all over the country with his wife Jen, 2 Kids, 2 Dogs, and the cat. Feel free to join us and ride shotgun. Ride with us: http://www.roadwarriorslive.com

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Senna immortalised in new movie

The hotly anticipated new film 'Senna', about the life and career of the Brazilian Formula 1 legend, has finally been given a UK release date - 3 June.

The movie, which I was lucky enough to see last summer, has caused quite a stir both within Formula 1 and the film world and with good reason - it's fantastic. It has already won one significant award from the jury at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, who gave it the World Cinema Audience award for best documentary.

It's a marvellous movie and, coming as it does from Working Title, the company behind Four Weddings and a Funeral and the brilliant mountaineering film Touching The Void, that's no surprise.

Senna's story is a compelling one anyway, but what makes this film are the unearthed treasures of previously unseen footage - including revealing snapshots of his life in Brazil and behind the closed doors of the driver briefings at grands prix.

These are weaved together with more familiar images of the great Brazilian's career to create a fascinating story that grips the audience from early on and never lets go. You can get a sense of it from the trailer we have embedded in this blog.

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The fundamental story will be familiar to many - Senna's arrival in F1 with high expectations; his unnerving of the established stars with his breathtaking pace; his battle with arch-rival Alain Prost; his emergence as the dominant force within the sport through his talent and magnetic personality and charisma; his death and the shock felt around the world, not just in the sport that he had come to transcend.

But to make it work as a film, the producers had to make a decision about the narrative arc - what was their story line?

They chose the classic theme of the little guy battling against the establishment and, while it works well as a story and is true up to a certain point in Senna's career, it is also where those more familiar with Senna's story may occasionally find themselves questioning it.

Carried along as you are by the power of the film itself and of Senna's presence, you're aware that the events of his life don't fit the theme as comfortably as you might like - not from an objective point of view, anyway.

An example comes in a sequence that is one of the movie's greatest strengths - the way it deals with events surrounding the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix.

This was the first of two infamous collisions between Senna and Prost at Suzuka in consecutive years. The Frenchman turned in on Senna when the Brazilian tried to pass him at the chicane, they collided, Prost climbed out of his car, but Senna went on to win the race, only to be disqualified on dubious grounds for cutting the chicane, a decision that handed the title to Prost.


The poster for the new movie 'Senna'

Using previously unseen footage, the film shows Prost making his way to the stewards' room after the race and talking to Jean-Marie Balestre, the president of the sport's governing body, then called Fisa.

It creates a powerful reminder of how badly treated Senna was that weekend by the powers that be, so it fits nicely with the story of the film. Prost is painted as the villain, manipulating his powerful contacts to the detriment of the wronged, naïve, brilliant upstart.

But of course the reality was much more complex than that. This sequence is not preceded by any sense of how things had got to that point between Senna and Prost, no relating of Senna's aggressive driving tactics towards his rival, or his breaking of an agreement the two had made before the San Marino Grand Prix earlier that year.

It is only later in the film - by which time Senna himself has effectively become the establishment - that this darker side to his sporting personality, the slightly unhinged aspect to his character, is touched upon.

On an objective level, this undermines the film a little. But from a cinematic point of view it undoubtedly makes for a more powerful story.

This film is telling Senna's story, from Senna's point view. He is used as a narrator in death, through archive interviews, in much the same way as the hero of Touching The Void, Joe Simpson, is used in life in that film, and the end product is similarly superb.

'Senna', then, is not an unbiased movie; it's not trying to be. But it is a brilliant and beautiful one.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/senna_immortalised_in_new_movi.html

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NASCAR Tickets - NASCAR Continues To Thrive

Whoever thought that the current economic turmoil would leave the grandstands empty at sporting events didn't consider NASCAR's dedicated fan base. Stock car racing is one of America's favorite pastimes, and enthusiasts of the racing league have recently been proving their dedication to the sport, as NASCAR tickets have been selling out even despite the hard times during this recession. The gigantic amount of support from NASCAR fans has been overwhelming, and it was proven once again last weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway, when a sold-out crowd came down to the grandstands to cheer on their favorite NASCAR drivers at the Food City 500.

Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee is one of stock car racing's most coveted racetracks, and last week's Food City 500 set a track record, but it wasn't the racecar drivers breaking precedents. For the 54th consecutive event in a row, the half-mile speedway sold out tickets to the track for a race, filling up all 160,000 seats in the stadium with racing enthusiasts set to cheer on their favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors like Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth. While the Bristol Motor Speedway has sold out tickets to the Food City 500 every year since 1982, this year the track and its employees had to work extra hard to turn out tickets to fans, as several corporate sponsors had handed their tickets back in during this economic recession. Bristol nonetheless accomplished this task, letting the tradition live on this year at the Tennessee track. The Food City 500 was also the second race of this NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season to sell out, following in the footsteps of the season opener at the Daytona 500.

At last weekend's Food City 500 race, the sold-out crowd at Bristol Motor Speedway watched anxiously as Kyle Busch zoomed his way to another Cup Series victory, yanking his second win of the season (after Las Vegas earlier this month) and also his second career win at what is dubbed "the world's fastest half-mile." Busch held off Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne (respectively) to whiz down Victory Lane in first place, using all the help he could get from his pit crew to propel him to the top of the NASCAR race. Busch almost lost his race-leading edge after a late pit stop in last week's Food City race, but after communicating with his pit crew, Busch said that, "I told the ladies to man up, and they got it done on the next stop. It is pretty awesome to win here. I should have won last fall here. We've had great cars, we just keep ruining it on pit road."

Kyle Busch now sits in fourth place overall in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, loosening the grip Jeff Gordon has over the league in points and climbing three spots from the last race. Gordon is still in first place in standings after finishing fourth at Bristol, sitting pretty with 794 total points while Kurt Busch has 718, Clint Bowyer has 715, Kyle Busch has 709 and Carl Edwards has 665. It's still anyone's game, however, so get tickets to a NASCAR race online and come out to the track to watch these phenomenal drivers speed circles around their competitors during the rest of the 2009 racing season!

This article is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

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Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/251701/nascar-tickets-nascar-continues-to-thrive

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My review of the first three races of 2011

Two wins for Sebastian Vettel in the flying Red Bull, a superb recovery from pre-season problems for McLaren culminating in a stunning victory for Lewis Hamilton in China, Ferrari struggling, impressive pace from Renault and debutant Paul di Resta, and signs of a resurgence for Mercedes.

Watch my review of the start of the 2011 Formula 1 season.

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IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE THE UK, YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/murraywalker/2011/04/my_review_of_the_first_three_r.html

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NASCAR Tickets - Labonte to Enter Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame

Bobby Labonte's NASCAR career is far from over, but his phenomenal racing over the past several years has earned him a (perhaps premature?) induction into the elite Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame anyway. On April 1, 2009, Labonte will join the ranks of the top motorsports daredevils throughout the state of Texas in the state's motorsports vault, partaking in an event at the Texas Motor Speedway's Speedway Club to accept his induction into the hall of fame.

Labonte recently made a statement about his entrance to the Texas Motorsports HOF, saying, "I'm honored and humbled to have people in Texas appreciate what I do on the track. I love Texas and will always hold the state and the speedway close to my heart. I was there for the groundbreaking [of Texas Motor Speedway] and have made a few unforgettable career accomplishments there. It's a really nice feeling to know that you've got people behind you in your home state. I've also been lucky enough over the years to have great people behind me; great fans, great owners, great sponsors, great teams. I wouldn't be where I am today without the support of people in the industry and people who love the sport."

The great No. 96 Bobby Labonte is among a celebrated batch of Texans to get the invite to be inducted into the state's motorsports hall of fame, and this Corpus Christi native is among several other racing greats from across the state, including fellow NASCAR drivers A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Lee Shepherd, Kenny Bernstein, Jim Hall, Eddie Hill, Jim McElreath, Mark Martin and, of course, Labonte's older brother Terry Labonte. Bruton Smith will also be inducted into the 2009 hall of fame alongside Bobby Labonte, and other awards given at the April 1 celebration will be given to Rick Hendrick for Legends Award, Scott Dixon for Texas Motor Speedway Sportsmanship and Carl Edwards for Texas Motor Speedway Racer of the Year.

Fans with NASCAR tickets have been cheering on Bobby Labonte since 1990, when he ran a full season with the Busch Series. Labonte won his first Busch Series championship in 1991 and has been a threat to the racing world ever since, making numerous Top 10 Sprint Cup Series finishes in the last several years. While the Labonte brothers packed the one-two punch in much of the '90s and '00s with Terry often overshadowing Bobby in the earlier years, it has been Bobby who has had the more fruitful career recently.

Bobby Labonte finished 21st overall in the Cup Series last year with two Top 10 finishes. The Hall of Fame Racing guru was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 alongside his brother, and the much-respected Bobby Labonte is currently in 23rd place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings after the Bristol race, having finished 22nd at Daytona, 20th at Fontana, fifth at Las Vegas and 22nd at Bristol (and having engine trouble at Atlanta.) NASCAR tickets to see Bobby Labonte whip around the track live are available now online, so come see this racing legend before he decides to retire!

This article is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Labonte to Enter Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/251708/nascar-tickets-labonte-to-enter-texas-motorsports-hall-of-fame

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Brilliant Hamilton brings season alive

Lewis Hamilton was fighting back the tears as he prepared to go out on to the podium after winning the Chinese Grand Prix. It had, he said, felt like "an eternity" since his last victory, in the Belgian Grand Prix last August. After he has come down to earth, he might well think it was worth the wait. This was - Martin Brundle and David Coulthard agreed - one of the greatest performances of Hamilton's career.

A thrilling race, in which it was impossible to pick a winner until very close to the end, put an end to Sebastian Vettel's domination of the 2011 season. From looking like his Red Bull had the pace to win every race, the world champion now knows he faces a fight.

From the very beginning of the season, it has looked like Hamilton would be the man giving the Red Bulls their closest challenge, but events had transpired in the previous two races to prevent him taking the fight to Vettel.

In China, though, Hamilton finally got the chance he had been waiting for and the result was one of the most exciting Formula 1 races for a very long time.

It ebbed and flowed, the advantage swaying one way and then the other between four teams and five different drivers, all coming together in a thrilling final few laps as the various strategies chosen by the different teams merged.

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What allowed it all to happen was both Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button beating Vettel, who started from pole position, away from the grid. That demoted the German to third place on the first lap and prevented him from unleashing the full pace of the Red Bull and building an advantage he could then defend for the rest of the race.

Instead, Vettel spent the first part of the race bottled up behind the McLarens and from that position Red Bull made what eventually turned out to be a critical error - to do only two pit stops compared to the three of McLaren.

For a long time, it looked like it would work - starting from when Button made the astonishing error of stopping at the Red Bull pit instead of his McLaren one as he and Vettel came in for the first time.

That put Vettel ahead of both McLarens, into clear air and seemingly on course to cruise to victory. But it soon became clear it would not be as simple as that. He did not close on the leading Mercedes of the impressive Nico Rosberg as quickly as might have been expected, and neither was he pulling away from Felipe Massa's Ferrari behind him.

As the race developed, it soon became clear that it was turning into a classic F1 strategy battle - two stops versus three.

Had this been last year, with more durable tyres, the two-stoppers - Vettel and Massa - would have won out, as they were in front by the time all the leading runners had completed the stops.

But the deliberately rapid degradation of the new Pirelli tyres means that races are no longer about track position going into the final stages. Because the tyres can lose their edge so quickly, they are about who has the most grip in the closing laps. It is no good being in front if you do not have the grip to defend your position.

That created a brilliant spectacle - as was the idea when Pirelli were asked to design tyres in this way. Once everyone had completed their pit stops, Hamilton was in fourth place, and on tyres with much more grip than Vettel, Massa and Rosberg in the first three positions.

Hamilton's passing moves on those three got better and better - peaking with a superbly audacious dive down the inside of Vettel into the 150mph Turn Seven to take the lead. It was, as even Vettel had to admit, "a good move".

But arguably the best of all was the overtake that made the victory possible - taking what at the time was second place from Button into Turn One on lap 35, with 21 laps to go.

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It is not the easiest of places to pass - there is no sharp braking into that corner; the cars dive in and slow progressively as it gets tighter and tighter through nearly a complete circle. Hamilton seemed to catch Button unawares and there was a nervy moment when the older man suddenly realised his team-mate was there.

Button had a little wobble as he made room for Hamilton, and up on the pit wall team principal Martin Whitmarsh had his heart in his mouth. But it worked out and Hamilton had three laps to make up some time before his final stop.

"It felt absolutely incredible and was probably one of the best races I've ever competed in," Hamilton told BBC Sport's F1 Forum after the race. "It was one of the best grand prix wins I can remember."

It was indeed a quite superb drive, probably his best in the dry, and one that certainly ranks up there with his wet-weather wins at Japan 2007, Silverstone 2008 and Spa last year.

It was also a timely reminder that for all Vettel's impressive run of wins and pole positions at the end of last year and the beginning of this, there are a few other drivers out there who are at least a match for him if they are provided with the right equipment and circumstances.

Among them, Hamilton is right up at the top - and this win has closed the gap to Vettel in the championship to 21 points. Suddenly, a season that had looked poised to be a Red Bull walkover has come alive.

The key themes of the narrative are still not absolutely clear.

One, it seems, will be Red Bull's struggles with Kers. These again proved an Achilles heel for the team - Webber struggled with the system through the weekend, and it malfunctioned on Vettel's car in the race, just as it did in Malaysia a week ago.

Another will clearly be the impact of the tyres and the controversial moveable rear wing, or DRS as it is known in F1 jargon. For ultra-purists, there is an argument that the racing, while exciting, feels a little artificial at times.

As Webber, whose fabulous recovery drive ironically made him one of the biggest beneficiaries of the massive grip differences between old and new tyres, put it: "I'm still not a huge fan of how it is; sometimes the overtakes are not all that genuine because the guys don't have anything to fight back with."

But after a race as good as this, how much does that matter?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/brilliant_hamilton_brings_seas.html

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