Americalog

[Velvet]

Stardate 022011

My hangover suggested we had made out okay party-wise the night before despite finding very little in the way of drinkers in our walk through the park. I awoke to the voice of our neighbor telling someone that the highway in front of the RV park was already a parking lot of snarled traffic. I got up and saw it was 10:30am, and my brother Al and family friend Fred were already a half-hour late in arriving.

Shook some of the cobwebs free of my brain and stumbled to the office for some coffee. We had barely gotten started on our day when Fred and Al showed up, having spent ninety minutes in traffic trying to get here. “C'mon, let's go!†my brother yelled. Huh, wha? We hadn't had breakfast or showers or nothing. Of course Al was having none of that so quick as we could we packed our cooler, grabbed our tickets and headed to the office where we missed the shuttle by about thirty seconds.

With about twenty minutes to wait for the next bus I ran back to the RV and threw together some sandwiches which proved a lifesaver for Heather and I. The bus arrived and by 12:30 we were on our way to the biggest race in NASCAR, the Daytona 500.

The shuttle bus hires (bribes) a cop to ride along with the shuttle. His job is to get out at certain intervals and get other cops to move pylons so we can drive down closed-off streets, getting us to the track in a mere ten or fifteen minutes. My mother had told us the race started at 2pm so we were surprised when we examined our tickets and found we were a half-hour from race time, which would be at 1pm. We hustled through the crowds and made it to our excellent seats just in time to grab a burger at concessions and crack a Budweiser for the opening prayer.

For those unfamiliar to NASCAR, you may find it interesting that the biggest race of the season is the opening race, which always happens here in Daytona. The track is two and-a-half miles long and the stands seat over 150,000. The size of the crowd is really quite staggering, it looks like we're about to watch a pod race from Star Wars I. The sport is decidedly southern; the announcers all have a drawl, the vernacular is straight from Lil' Abner, and every race starts with a massive group prayer imploring Jesus to keep all the drivers safe. I made a point of pounding a beer during prayer-time but showed enough respect to stand quietly with hat in hand for the national anthem, sung today by country superstar Martina McBride. Timed to the second, as Ms. McBride's last note started to fade seven jet fighters did a fly-by overhead in perfect formation.

A positive aspect to the southerness of NASCAR is the freedom to bring in your own beer, though each person is limited to a maximum of 32 cans each, soft-sided coolers only. I kid you not.

With the track cleared of fans and the cars lined up and ready to go, the cry “Gentlemen, start your engines!†went up and 43 thunder makers began revving up for the race. The pace car led the powerful machines around the track a few times while the whole crowd stood in anticipation. Finally the pace car pits and the cars zoom around to the start/finish line where the green flag is waving. Race on!

As the cars roar past us for the first of what will be more than 200 times this afternoon the sound is staggering. Many in the crowd (Al and Fred included) wear headphones attached to radio trackers that allow one to dial in the driver/crew conversation of any driver at any time. The rest of us revel in the massive sound. As the cars zoom past for lap number two everyone has hit their stride, and one gets the feel for what 200+mph really looks like.

It looks like a blur of colours followed by a roar that rivals any Ozzy Osbourne concert.

Dale Earnhart is to NASCAR what Bob Marley is to Jamaica. Racing's favourite son died here on the track ten years ago on the final lap of the Daytona 500. They say he was blocking so that his son, Dale Jr. and his teammate would be clear to battle for first and second place, which they did. Dale's name and his number 3 are and will always be hallowed like religious relics to race fans, and there was a tribute planned on this anniversary of his passing. For the third lap the scanners went silent and the entire crowd, 150,000 strong, quietly raised three fingers in the air. It was a moving sight for most, and for many it was enough to bring tears.

By lap four it was back to drinkin' and yellin' as everyone cheered for their favourite driver and jeered at the ones they hate the most. Like any sport, NASCAR is way more fun if you have someone to root for, so Heather and I were behind the driver my family reveres, #18 in the M&M's car, Kyle Busch.

In the fifth lap #18 was the first car to leave the track, spinning out at 200mph to the raucous glee of his haters. Miraculously missing every car that zipped by, Busch sustained no damage but did require numerous and extensive pit stops to adjust his alignment and get his car back up to snuff.

It goes without saying with a track as big as the Daytona Speedway you can't see the race near as well as you can on television, but you can smell it and you can feel it. There's a special oomph to being there in person, you just can't grasp the speeds and the sounds through your flat-screen.

Growing up in a family of racers (my mom and my uncle raced for several years while my brother has raced most of his life) I have been to plenty of races at local quarter-mile tracks, but this was my first time experiencing NASCAR in person. Everything is the same, but on a much grander scale. The excitement, the feverish pitch of the crowd, the speeds and the wrecks, it's all there but bigger. To my surprise even the bathrooms are similar. I remember as a kid going to the can at the Riverglade Speedway outside of Moncton and standing shoulder to shoulder with drunken race fans peeing into an eaves trough that ran along the wall of the men's bathroom, pouring out onto the ground behind the shack. Not a word of a lie, the washrooms at the Daytona Speedway are the same, only bigger. Instead of an eaves trough dozens of men take aim at a square, slightly angled receptacle that runs out of the room and I suspect into a giant vat marked “Bud Light.â€

Back on the track there were wrecks aplenty as drivers vied for position amongst the field. Somewhere around lap fifty a couple of cars went into the wall and careened into a phalanx of speeders, ultimately putting about fifteen cars into the pits for quick repairs. The pits were right in front and we could easily watch the high-energy mechanic ballet that cleans the windshield, fills the tank, adjusts the alignment and changes four tires in 12.9 seconds.

150 laps in our #18 had battled his way back to the front of the pack, leading for a few laps on a day that would set a NACAR record for the most leader changes in a race, at nearly seventy. The crowd got rowdier as the coolers got lighter, the bathroom trough got busier and the cars started racing harder and harder. With every wreck the cars get re-bunched up which makes for a lot of excitement. With only a couple of laps to go the cars started taking more and more chances which inevitably leads to more crashes. NASCAR rules state that laps under caution are counted, but if an accident happens with two laps to go the drivers are given two laps of high speed racing so the contest doesn't end while they cruise slowly behind the pace car. We were treated to two extra restarts at the end, with Kyle Busch standing anywhere from second place to eighth, and while it seems nobody's favourite driver won, everyone seemed happy to see #21 cross the line first, an unsponsored car driven by a kid who was making only his second ever start in a NASCAR race. The driver had turned twenty just the day before, making him the youngest ever winner of the Daytona 500. I suspect he won't lack a sponsor for much longer.

The jubilant winner celebrated by kicking up plenty of smoke, melting his tires in a series of doughnuts at the start/finish line, as is the custom. Happily the crowd began to disperse under sunny skies with a great run behind them. Al seemed like he was in a hurry to get out of there so he and Fred left ahead of us, while Heather and I were happy to linger a bit in the massive crowd.

Beer bags empty we checked out some merch and ultimately found our way to the shuttle pickup and got back to the RV park where we rendez-vous'd with Al and Fred. Al drove us back to Deland where my mother had whipped up some yummy margaritas and barbecued burgers and we enjoyed a parting feast with the family. An hour or two of chit-chat and we got a drive back to the motor home where Heather and I would be spending the last night of our fabulous vacation.

All that's left now is a long drive back to the land of ice and snow. We got a fairly early start this morning and as we pass through our third state of the morning with Heather at the wheel we are both pleased with an excellent American vacation behind us. Though the immaculate weather we've been treated to while in Florida makes it a bit hard to leave, we miss our cat, and three weeks is a pretty long time to be away. With 7,000 kilometres on the tach so far this trip we are less than twenty hours of potentially continuous driving from the close of our journey.

I can't believe it's over.

[jaybone]

Stardate 022011

Instead of an eaves trough dozens of men take aim at a square, slightly angled receptacle that runs out of the room and I suspect into a giant vat marked “Bud Light.â€

That made me laugh out loud! Great read and excellent ending to a very American Road Trip.

[peipunk]

I also lament the conclusion of this journey.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

love the maximum of 32 cans each part

The fines collected from a RIDE program outta there would probably balance the budgets of every single southern state currently operating in the red. It'd probably also start another civil war but there's always trade-offs.

[Booche]

Great stuff. Hopefully this avoids the inevitable:

[peipunk]

Great stuff. Hopefully this avoids the inevitable:

Man, a quick search really has my juices flowin'.

[jaybone]

They have opened up in Canada!!! There is one in Mississauga and I know they are planning on opening more. I have been twice in the past few weeks!

I plan on checking out In'n'Out while in Vegas this weekend to see who wins in the fast food challenge.

[Booche]

There's one in Kingston now which I have been planning to hit the next time I am there plus this thing which I just discovered thanks to Velvet's awesome read about his recent travels.

Sorry for the hijack but it is kinda your fault Todd. I would eat the fuck out of a burger right now. Yes. I know it is 9:12am.

[peipunk]

Sorry for the hijack but it is kinda your fault Todd. I would eat the fuck out of a burger right now. Yes. I know it is 9:12am.

True dat. I also would eat the fuck out of a burger right now, even if it came wrapped in a skunk's arse. Hunger hath ways of awakening primal instincts.

I reckon Todd's driving so he can't complain about burger hijacks/hijinx.

[Velvet]

Have just completed 8,867 kilometres of driving in three weeks and have finally arrived at home.

After reading this thread and learning that there is a Five Guys in Kingston, I am getting back in the car RIGHT NOW. See you in 400kms!

[Cosmic ChrisC]

Go hug your cat first ok?

[edger]

Glad to hear you two arrived home safely. Happy digesting...

[TheGoodRev]

I seriously enjoyed these logs, and all of your writings Todd. Keep em coming and I'll keep reading! And one day you should publish!

[Velvet]

More pics have been added.

A big thanks to phorbesie for taking 98% of the pictures on our trip and for taking the time to upload some of them to the logs.

The last pics will be up sometime next week, once her flickr account gets freed up.

[Velvet]

Now with pics!

[backbacon]

Awesome!

[edger]

Great pics guys. Many thanks again for taking the time to share.

[TheGoodRev]

There's no way I'm the first to say this, but I wanna see all the Velvet logs compiled, edited, and published with photos. Even if self-published, I'd buy it!

[Davey Boy 2.0]

Audio-book!!

BradM can record it!!

[backbacon]

I'd buy some of your book, Velvet! One for me and one for a bunch of friends whom I know would love to read your travel logs but have never got around to seeking them out.