In all honesty, I love road racing. However, growing up 15 minutes from Daytona International Speedway has made be somewhat biased. I'm sure at first look you could write it off as just another oval, or stupid hicks turning left for 188 laps. That's just not the case. I may be sheltered in my race viewing career but from NASCAR, to Grand AM cars roaring around the high banks of Daytona, I've always been in awe of that place. There is just something special about Daytona, for me at least. When Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Pepsi 400 in 2001 after Sr. died, I could not even hear that cars over the crowd and the whole place was shaking. I was at Atlanta that same year when Kevin Harvick won in the EX number 3 car now badged the 29 after just three races, that was insane but paled in comparison to that July night in Daytona. Maybe it was the passionate fans climbing the fences losing their minds, maybe it was the impossible drive pulled off by Jr. but I've never felt so connected with an event in my life. Everyone was losing it, regardless of if they were wearing Dupont shirts or Home Depot ones. From all the Daytona 500's, Pepsi 400's, Brumos Porsche 250's, Shootouts, Hershey Kisses, Gatoraids, IROC's, EVERYTHING, this track has my love till I die. I've never felt so involved as I have at Daytona. I've never been somewhere with so much soul as Daytona. That's not to say I've never been to any other tracks, I just have a soft spot for three wide, sparks flying, cars on their roof 2 seconds between first and last place races. The road course NEVER disappointed either. Please, even if you have no interest in oval racing, please visit Daytona for a NASCAR race weekend and just experience what it is, smell the fuel, feel the wind, get rubber in your eyes, choke on tire smoke, Daytona is something to behold. Leave your biases at home. It is truly a spectacle. I've converted many a road race only fan to the insanity that is restrictor plate Daytona racing. Television truly does not do it justice, please see it in person.
My number two and three tracks I've never been to, I can tell they are just as great though.
Spa Francorchapms. From the first Grand Prix I can remember watching from Spa I've been in love, I can't afford 3,500+ dollars for a race weekend though. I would love to visit someday though, to experience what it's like to witness a pack of F1 cars roar through Eau Rouge at full tilt. I can only watch on television and imagine how intense that would be. Do they smell as good as Cup cars lapping? The fuel, the tires? Bits of rubber and dust sticking in your eyes as the cars rip past? Spa is somewhere I have VERY high on my list to visit, even if only just once, I have to know what it's like because I know it's better than it looks on the TV, it has to be.
My third track is another American track. Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee. Opened in 1961, It's not a long track by any means, it's does however have the most banking, and shortest lap times of any Cup track here in the states and 15+/- seconds. I've seen so many down to the wire, bump and run wins at Bristol on television. Everything about it screams GOOD to me. Capable of holding 160+ thousand fans, two pit roads. It has to be one of the jewels of America. I'm sure many fans of European road racing would scoff at the chance to attend a race at somewhere like Bristol, I really beleive however that it would be worth the trip. NASCAR has it's downsides, nighttime short track racing is surely not one of them. You wont get shot if you come here, us "Yanks" aren't bad people. I know NASCAR is looked down upon and so are their left turn only circuits, but it's not just you, we don't like repetitive cookie cutter circuits either, we do however like close hard racing. I will one day make the trip to Bristol to see a night race, I owe it to myself as an American stock car racing fan. That's not to say I'll never make it to Elkhart lake or Road Atlanta or Laguna, this place is just different though. Who would not want to see 800Hp cars flying around a 1/2 mile oval? Then again I'm sure there are some people, just don't hate it 'till you've experienced it first hand.
I love the ring, I love Monaco, I love Sepang (don't care if it's tilke or not), I love Sarthe, I love Suzuka, I love all kinds of racing and many tracks, these three just are a little more special to me. Something about them, I've found and fallen for, nothing will change that, it's just the way it is. Like I've said, if you get a chance to come to the States, or if your already here, come give Daytona a try, you'd have to be nearly lifeless to come away from a race not grinning ear to ear. Who cares if it was just an oval race. You will not be disappointed, honestly.
. Nurburgring is like the most glorious race track to date in my mind.
