Straight out of the Joliet newspaper...
Channeling my inner Richard Petty
Donna Vickroy: On assignment September 14, 2011 9:10PM
Some moments just scream movie lines.
Like when youre riding shotgun in a pace car in the shadow of Ricky Bobby.
You need to grab a hold of that line between speed and chaos, and you need to wrestle it to the ground like a demon cobra!
For about 30 minutes on a recent Friday morning, I was Tony Stewart no, wait! Jeff Gordon no, wait!! Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Well, OK, I was just a reporter firing it up while I rode sidekick around the
1.5-mile track at Chicagoland Speedway.
Though we topped out at around 70 mph, and though our Toyota hybrid didnt make so much as a whimper, let alone a roar, it was cool to ride on a real track, to bank the turns, to glide down to the apron and to imagine the enormous stadium, the largest sporting venue in Illinois, packed with nearly 100,000 cheering fans.
Thats how many are expected to turn out for this weekends kickoff of the Sprint Cup Series at the Joliet track.
Theyll fill the 15-story grandstand, theyll camp overnight in their RVs and theyll all have their favorites a favorite driver, a favorite car, a favorite sponsor, even.
Its something to see when the grandstand goes from a skeleton city to a jam-packed place, said John Brecklin, director of operations and my personal pace car driver.
A car is only as good as a driver can drive it, Brecklin said.
Sure, they can tweak a vehicle, take a couple of pounds of air out of the left front tire, for example, or try to compensate for the weather, but in the end, its the drivers ability that determines who gets to visit Victory Lane, he said.
Its seat-of-the-pants driving. Veterans tend to adapt quicker to changes, he said. I respect them for their abilities. Theyre athletes just like football or baseball players.
Experienced drivers know how to position themselves for optimal maneuvering in and out of the pack. They use the 18-degree bank to their advantage. They know that a car runs differently when its tank is full.
And just about everybody has a preference when it comes to pit stop positioning, which is no small feat, all you petrified parallel parkers.
Some want the end spot, so no one is behind them. Others prefer the first spot because its easier to get out. Most end up somewhere in the middle. Location is determined by qualifying times and other factors.
Most people dont realize that racing is also a team sport, Brecklin said. A driver relies heavily on his crew chief and his pit stop workers.
The pace cars come directly from the manufacturer, in this case, Toyota. They have an onboard fire suppressant and a six-point seat belt. The race cars are custom-built and run on a special fuel that is
85 percent ethanol.
Brecklin said speeds average around 150 mph, but can go up to 170 mph.
On this day, Brecklin stayed well below his potential. Perhaps he was fearful I might scream like somebody all hopped up on Mountain Dew. Good call.
Fans can take a spin by signing up for one of three driving schools that visit the track throughout the year. The Richard Petty Driving Experience is a popular one.
The personal driving is one way the racing industry is trying to extend interest in the sport beyond the racing season.
Like the rest of the sports world, auto racing has hit some economic speed bumps in recent years. Scott Paddock, track president for Chicagoland Speedway, said, NASCAR has been impacted more than others because a lot of our fan base was hit squarely by the economic downturn.
But, he added, racing still is the second-most-watched sport in America, with 75 million fans.
Paddock hopes to turn what was a seasonal buzz into a yearlong thrill by continuing to pulse compelling story lines every couple of weeks.
Jimmie Johnson, the first driver to visit Victory Lane after the Speedway opened in 2001, was there two weeks ago, chatting up the upcoming races.
Hosting the debut race in what Paddock calls the playoffs of racing, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, has fanned the flames, he said. The 10-race competition will end in November in Miami.
NASCAR didnt help its cause when it introduced the Car of Tomorrow in 2006. Though safer, it had a more homogenized look, which, it turned out, the fans hated.
People want their rooting interest, Paddock said. They want to pull for Ford or Chevy as madly as they pull for their favorite driver.
There may be thousands of fans, but the fandom is spread across 43 drivers and countless sponsors. Which is why it can get crazy loud at these events.
I asked Brecklin what it is about racing that revs people up so much.
Just about everybody can put themselves in the drivers seat, he said. And just about everybody likes the notion of going fast.
Indeed, I left the track, got back into my sensible SUV and prepared to let er rip.
I turned onto Speedway Boulevard, put the pedal to the medal and opened that baby up to a ripping 30 mph.
Shake and bake!
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
