Michigan International Speedway - The Rest of the Story

We had intended to update daily or at least a few times while we were there, but with all the action and the slow connection due to all the usage of cell phones we were unable to keep up.


We arrived in the staging area at the track on Thursday around noon to prepare for our going into the infield around 5pm. What a great well oiled machine they have, the hundreds of campers lined up and orchestrated into the infield was amazing. We were close to the front of the line so it was pretty cool to watch the infield fill up with campers and all the things people do at the races to show their love for the sport, us included.




There are differences at each race track we attend, there were a few very noticeable ones here. Absolutely no dogs were allowed, actually no pets at all. Also, since there was no tunnel where vehicles could come in or out except when they opened the track, the traffic was low. Everyone drove their bikes around the infield instead of their vehicles which was a nice change. They also had a policy, which we did not learn until Sunday, but anyone who was a rookie, (first time in the infield here) hung caution tape all over them and their site, we did not but here is an example.


The track is very fan oriented, we apparently were flying our flag too high and were instructed by a very courteous security personnel to please lower it. We have been to several tracks either working or as fans and we have encountered some pretty egotistical workers who felt they needed to be rough to enforce the rules, these guys were not and we must admit, it was a welcomed encounter.

Most of our neighbors were great, we had that one guy that everyone regrets having in their group but all in all the others made up for him, for the most part, he got drunk then passed out. Our neighbor in front of us had a trailer with an outside generator that he situated about 6 feet from our rig, it was fine since it was in front of us and we sleep in the back area. We were outside enjoying the terrific weather we were having when I seen smoke, lots of black smoke coming from his generator and before we could reach it, the generator spewed oil ALL over our rig. The windshield, passenger window and the entire front of our rig was covered with oil. Luckily, Jerry had just washed and waxed it so it didn’t soak in too much, it was hot so once it cooled everyone joined in to get it off. It didn’t do any damage but it was a mess to clean up.

While trying to update our blog this strange bird came from out of nowhere and jumped up on my computer. It startled me at first, but then when it began to pose for me to photograph it, we knew it was harmless. It was not injured, just scared we think from the noise the cars made when they started their engines. It is loud in the infield and for such a small thing, it can surely feel like a huge distraction. But, once it got it’s bearings back, it flew away without a problem.




We had 3 great days of racing…Jerry watches it from the roof of our RV and I enjoy it on our patio with our Sprint FanView Scanner. Friday we enjoyed the ARCA race, then Saturday Carl Edwards won the Nationwide Series, then finally on Sunday, we watched Denny Hamlin take the checker flag to win the Sprint Cup Series. It was a great weekend for racing and for us to be in the infield and absorbing all of the energy, it was fantastic.


We had a great time and stayed until Monday morning, which many folks did as well. Our last evening we hung out with our neighbors having a huge bonfire since NO wood could leave the infield once it was brought in. This is something that is happening a lot in this part of the country due to the different types of bugs that are causing complete havoc amongst the trees. We got an early start and were on the road again heading north through Michigan.

We took so many photos, to see them all, check out our Picasa Web Albums.