I just put several pictures out in my area. I'm afraid they're too small. If you think so, let me know. I'll try again. I've got the originals.
No, no pictures yet. I got over 200 shots and have only done a quick look at all of them. Some are absolute crap. Some aren't worth posting. Some are pretty darned good if I say so myself.
Probably the most interesting thing I can do is give you a newbie's impressions. There are a lot more expert opinions and, honestly, I'm not a partisan for any particular driver so I won't go there much.
I can definitely say it's something you have to experience to really appreciate, though.
Getting there: I left my house about 7:30 and made the trip with one stop by about 10:00. I parked in the free lot and took the tram/bus to the track. I met a really nice young couple with a 4-5 year old daughter wearing a princess crown. Turns out they had spent several days at Disney World and this was the adults' part of the trip. I asked if they thought that was enough of a bribe. They hoped so!
Wandered around and around for a long time. Lots and lots of stuff to do and see. Interviews with some of the drivers. Food and drinks everywhere but expensive. I was glad I brought my own snacks and drinks. Freebies and promotions and haulers selling stuff for every driver and some that weren't even there.
Speaking of which, I thought it interesting that all the Dale, Jr. sellers had long lines. The Dale, Sr. stuff didn't seem to be in as big a demand. Don't get me wrong, there still was interest but it seemed heavily outweighed. My first reaction was that people were probably still replacing their old "8" stuff but then I wondered if some of it wasn't a backlash against DEI / Teresa. Any ideas?
Being a sci-fi fan, I was attracted to the NASA setup. The technology (touch screens and other higher-tech interfaces) was neat but the whole thing just seemed kind of lame. I had to wonder just what they were doing there. I'm sure it costs a good bit to set up at Daytona. They seemed to be (lamely) pushing the agenda for going back to the moon and eventually Mars. It could've been done a lot better.
The military was there in force. There was even a competition to see if you could pass the SEAL entrance physical requirements. No time for messing around, I guess. The Navy, though, tried to keep it on a lighter note. They had a rock band made up of sailors from Jacksonville. They were pretty good even doing covers of Guns 'n Roses which could've been a disaster all by itself.
All the people there were generally polite, friendly, and happy to be there. With a few exceptions, I'd call it a family-friendly environment, even counting the vast quantities of adult beverages consumed.
Hmmm...
Rented a scanner. Easy to use, easy to follow instructions. I'd say it was definitely worth the money. The cars and the race itself were loud, even sitting where I was (and they were great seats, R1!!) but the headphones muffled all that and still allowed you to get the commentary as well as each driver's comms and the officials' channels. Nice insights and quicker understanding of things that were happening. You do have to take off the headphones to talk to your neighbors and just get a feeling for the power of all those cars blazing by at top speed.
Next, hopefully, pictures and race stuff. I still haven't decided how much to concentrate on it but there's really bad (tm) experience after the race. You'll just have to be patient. :)
My in-laws just came back from a family trip and, wouldn't you know? One of the family gave them tickets to the Camping World 300 on Saturday and they offered them to us. If we'd had some more time, we could've made this a really big family weekend. Oh well. I'm sure we can make some suggestions to my father-in-law if he can't come up with anyone.
Anyway, my son and I are gathering up stuff for the trip on Sunday. The forecast now is for a chance of rain and a high in the low 80's. Sounds good so far!