Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS)
Our Experience Working in Campground Security

This is how I had imagined things to be, a group working together. Our rig, parked right behind our Leads, has turned out to be the gathering place, just as it was in our stationary home. We thought it was finally our time to enjoy this lifestyle and all was going according to our plan. The gates opened and we were first on the shift, we all worked 8 hours on and 8 hours off and things went so smoothly, we were all upbeat and the rules were being enforced, as they should be, but then…

After returning from our first time off, things changed drastically and mostly for the worse. We still worked very well as a group but the rules changed, actually, there were no longer any rules and anything was acceptable. We understand that there is always exceptions to the rules but throwing up your arms and saying, “That is the way it is.” and allowing rules to go right out the window is not acceptable. Management has rules to abide by but when they try to enforce them, the higher ups should back them up so a peaceful harmony is maintained among the fans and workers. I have a hard time when rules are given to us, then within one day, anything, and just about everything is allowed with no recourse to stand by. At this point we were wondering why they were paying us when we were not doing what we were suppose to be doing. Mostly we did traffic control in and out of the gates since checking passes were no longer a priority.

Then when things began to get out of control, workers began associating NASCAR fans with the chaos instead of where it really should be and that is with the inefficient ways of the chain of command and backing one another when a rule is enforced. The fans were confused since one Workamper who followed the rules would not let them in and then the next moment another Workamper would let in the fan’s friend under the same circumstance.

Also, when a Workamper complains over the “Luck of the Draw”, then refuses to work in that location and is not told to hit the road but instead escorted to several other spots until they find the one that suits them should not be acceptable. That is exactly what happened to one couple intended for our area, this made us one couple short which added to the chaos.

Being the lucky ones to some meant that we did not have the best campground to work in but found our luck in many other ways as we made the best of our situation. It wasn’t always easy since we heard that if we complained enough we would have been able to get into the infield where we dreamed we would be and not in the dustiest and furthest area of the track.

We will not become whiners just to get the better areas to work because if we did we would have missed out on meeting some really incredible people. Our Leads, as well as the other Workampers were the best to be associated with and we would not have traded that for the other areas. By the end of the week we became friends, exchanged contact information and will definitely keep in touch with one another, something that would not have happened if we had made the choice to change our fate.

Our photos can be viewed at http://hittheroadjack.shutterfly.com/action/