Good Times and Fast Cars

Is there something you like to do with your dad? Something that is just for the two of you?

As I have mentioned in previous postings, for some reason my birthday usually ends up being a string of various events that runs over the better part of a week. However, for the past couple of years, the week has been finished off with a father/son trip to the NHRA Nationals Drag Race at Virginia Motorsports Park. We made our annual trip yesterday and it was a great time.

My father and I are pretty different. He is really into Civil War history and I am not. I am really into doing outdoorsy stuff and he is not. Like most dads and their sons, we're different. But going to this race is something we both look forward to going to. Now, my dad loves drag racing a lot more than I do. He follows it all year and knows all the drivers and where they stand in the points bracket and who has the most to win or lose at any given race. He even likes going to races at other tracks.

I guess he has always loved cars. When I was young, my dad was the original backyard mechanic. He was always working on our cars. Unfortunately, he is also a total night-owl and would want to start working on the car after dinner and would go well into the night with it. So I would have to stay up late on school nights, holding the flashlight or fetching tools. Unfortunately, I would always be in trouble for not holding the light so my dad could see what he was doing (although I could always see just fine) and when he sent me to get a particular tool, I couldn't ever seem to find it in the four toolboxes and several buckets that he stored his tools in. Because of this, I think my dad's favorite phrase was that I, "couldn't find my ass with both hands." It was this experience that makes me cringe at the very thought of having to work on a car myself. I can do it, but I'd really rather just pay someone else to take care of whatever needs to be done.

We used to go to Richmond Dragway when I was young though, and I have always loved drag racing. I guess I like that the cars are really fast and loud and you don't have to watch the cars go round and round for hours before there is a winner. Its simple. Two cars, and whoever gets to the end first, wins. Instant closure. I like that.

The race at Virginia Motorsports Park is a major stop on the annual NHRA drag racing national tour. This race is where you can go to see the major teams in the sport and some legendary drivers. The one thing I really do like about the NHRA event, and drag racing in general, is that it is very fan-friendly. When you go to the race, everyone has the opportunity to walk around the pit area and see the cars up close. The racing teams work right there in the open and they are always happy to talk to the fans and explain what they are doing. Often the drivers are there as well to talk to the race fans, sign autographs, and get their pictures taken. You instantly realize these guys truly value the people who come to see them and they do their best not to dissappoint.

Another thing I like about the NHRA event is that the teams all seem to form a well-knit community. They are all competing, but you can tell the way they interract that there is a bond there as well. There is a type of sportsmanship that is often missing in other sports. You see the drivers and other teams cheering each other on, and when there is an accident, they are all affected. I suppose this is due to the fact that while they are competing against one another, there is a common enemy in the form of run time. All of the teams are working their hardest to make it down the track faster to get a lower time. When two cars are racing, even though one has to lose, everyone cheers for a new lowest time. I believe it is this common goal that prevents any sort of petty rivalry.

Besides the drivers, the fans are pretty amazing. I will say that a lot of folks you see at the race are some pretty hard looking people. I can tell you from our trip yesterday that certain hairstyles such as the rat-tail and the mullet are still quite alive. There are also lots of bikers and many-many tattoos. Hard looking people, but probably some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. I saw lots of people cheering on their favorite drivers and any car that would turn a good run time. I didn't see anyone get over the top drunk, out of control, or any fighting. I did see groups of people you would never expect to get along having a great time together.

My dad and I had great seats right over the starting line. When the nitrous-fueled drag cars would take off, our noses a and eyes would burn from the fumes. The racing was great, there were no accidents, and we spent the entire afternoon sitting out in the sun, cheering and trying to talk in between runs. I couldn't think of many better ways to spend a fall day.

I really love my dad and I feel lucky I have one that thinks enough of me to take me to this race every year. We had some time to just talk without all the other interferences that usually get in the way and re-cemented our relationship for another year. Sure, we'll see each other plenty in the next twelve months and we'll talk a lot and go do things together, but we'll both be ready to sneak off to the race again next year, just the two of us.

The NHRA Nationals race is held at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie county every year, usually right around Columbus Day. As I mentioned, it is extremely fan friendly and they put on a show that pretty much anyone would like. (By the way, drag racing is REALLY good for ADD types....) I have never had a bad time and it is another one of those things that is a definite event on my calendar. I really would like to invite you to come with me next year, but unfortunately my group of two is full, and I'll just have to hope to run into you there. I'll be sitting next to my dad. We'll look like we're crying, but its just from the nitro fumes. You can tell from our smiles....