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06/07/2004 Archived Entry: "Dover International Speedway"

I had my first trip to Dover International Speedway yesterday, in Dover, Delaware, for the NASCAR MBNA 400 race. It was my first NASCAR race, and very interesting -- and loud! The 400 mile race around the Monster Mile was won by Mark Martin. The photo at the right shows the back of some of the viewing stands and a few of the many souvenir trailers in the midway outside the stands. The crowd of 140,000 arrived via hundreds of motorcoaches, and thousands of cars, recreational motorhomes and other vehicles parked in fields around the track (very well orgainized, I might add). It was a little muddy from rain early in the day but the rain stopped a couple of hours before race time and the race started pretty much on time just after 1 PM. With almost a dozen yellow and red flags, the race was frequently interrupted, and finished just before 6 PM. Surprisingly (to me, anyway), my passengers made it back to the coach and I was out of the motorcoach parking area just after 6:30 PM and on the road. Traffic moved well for a crowd of that size. It helped tremendously that the police had a dedicated bus lane and U-turn turn-around for motorcoaches on the first part of Route 1 by the track area. All in all a pretty good trip, even though I didn't get in to see the race. I had a chance at a ticket for $25 (a good price for a $90 ticket) but had hoped to get in for $20, so I missed my opportunity. Maybe next time!