Watching Kurt Busch dive down on the track apron in the early stage of the Kentucky race, my grandson asked why it was called an "apron."
I confessed I had no idea.
How about the answer?
The "apron" of a racetrack is an extension of the pavement, and much like Gramma's apron that protected her good house dress from food stains, the track apron is a paved barrier designed to protect the beautifully manicured grassy areas of a racetrack, which are later decimated by someone's victory celebration. The word "apron" is applied much like most of the English language. The "stands" are where people sit. The "pits" have no actual depressed or below ground areas. We drive on parkways, we park in driveways. Your grandson will have ample opportunity to study the English language, as, unless it has changed, it was a required subject every single year of middle, junior high, high school, and college. I took it, I passed it, and now I find few people that I can converse with using it.
Well. Let's see. Umm. Ahem. I mean. Wait.
That's actually a darn good question.
While modern "pits" have no actual depressed or below ground areas, that wasn't always the case.
Pretty neat [ story and reference photos ] about the origin of racing's pit road.
Thanks, folks!
There seems to always be someone that has to ruin a good discussion by using actual facts. Ha! I imagine Big Bill France was responsible for eliminating this practice with the advent of NASCAR, just to keep everything "above ground" so to speak. (not to mention the pits filling up when the tide came in)
