NASCAR FANS---LET'S GET THIS GUIDE TO #1...if you stopped by to check this out, even if you don't finish reading it, please take the time to "VOTE" at the bottom...

Attending a NASCAR race is a great experience that I highly recommend to anyone...but there are some things I think everyone needs to know before they go:

Higher vs. Lower Seats...

View from Row 42

Row one..is that Kahne or Mayfield??

1)    The higher the seats the better...period.  Unless you want your cavities rattled out of your head, stay off the first 20 rows of any track. Secondly, if you are too low, you will not be able to see anything more than what is going on in front of you, and at 180mph at some tracks, that is NOT much.  You want to be up high enough to see the whole track.  Ask your seller if the seats have backs (there is nothing worse than sitting in a section without seat backs and being surrounded by 500 pound gorillas...voice of experience), what part of the row, if there are any visual obstructions, etc.  If the seller won't disclose the exact seat location to you, they should atleast let you know if they are aisle seats, or middle of a section, etc.    I find it amusing when I see a seller touting their seats as FRONT ROW...and then go on to describe how you will feel the thunder (but leave out "feel the rubber marbles pelting you and won't be able to see squat and the burning fuel")...personally I am there to see the race.   NASCAR races are not like other sporting events (i.e. Football, Baseball, Basketball) where you want to be closer to the action...and I would be willing to bet that if it is your first time attending, and you were to get to low of seats, chances are it will spoil your experience and probably would not inspire you to go back again.   It is a good idea to purchase a "credential holder" (this is a lanyard with a clear plastic pouch on it to hold your ticket, pit pass...etc) you will have to present your ticket to get in and out of the gate, and it keeps it available, should there be a dispute as to if you are in the proper seat.

2)    Find out the restrictions of the track you are going to.  You can save a TON of money by bringing your own cooler and food to the track.  We rarely drop a dime inside the track.  Most of the "legal" size coolers at tracks such as Atlanta & Texas, will easily hold a case of beer, I mean favorite beverage.  Check the FAQ page on the tracks website for more information.  Another thing I have found that is great for keeping my cooler cold is to freeze a couple bottles of water and put them in with the other beverages...they keep them cold and there is no additional weight or leakage from melting ice.   Another "secret" if you do put ice in your cooler...put some ice in, a little rock salt and then beverages and then more ice with rock salt...use it sparingly.  I know it sounds ridiculous...but the same stuff that you use to melt snow and ice in the winter will actually make your cooler and ice COLDER. (Look at a package of rock salt the next time you are in the store if you think I am feeding you a line)  If you use too much it will freeze your drinks.  It will make your ice go a WHOLE lot farther on a hotter day.  I usually do this for my cooler we leave in the back of the truck so we still have cold drinks for after the race.  **Soapbox time** After watching the race at Chicagoland I feel obligated to point out, that if people continue to throw beer cans at the end of the races to display their displeasure in the outcome of the race, tracks may take away the PRIVILEGE of taking coolers into the track...NASCAR gives drivers penalties for doing stupid things...5.50 a beer is a huge penalty for all of the rest of us to have to pay for the ignorance and stupidity of others ***Gets off Soapbox***  (I am not a Jeff Gordon fan...so please don't view that comment in that context...ha)  

3)    Allow ample time to get to the track.  For example...if it should typically take an hour to get to the track...you better leave 3 hours early...traffic is a nightmare.   We usually get out to the track around 8am on race day to avoid the traffic, to park closer and to walk around the trailers. If you manage to score a VIP or upgraded parking at a track that typically will not cut down your wait time getting into the track...it just gets you to park closer to the track itself...it is better to leave WAY earlier than to be sitting on the interstate in traffic and listening to the command to start engines on your car radio

Okay Bigolepig you made me get out to the track three million hours early...now what am I suppose to do???

There are usually drivers out at their merchandise trailers early on race morning signing autographs.  Stop by your favorite drivers trailer, some will have a dry erase sign out front with appearance information. Some of the boards will say "tickets" needed.  What they mean by this is the trailer will hand out a certain amount of tickets for the autograph session, you must have one of these tickets in order to get in the line to get the drivers autograph.  Even if you don't get a ticket, you will still be able to get pretty close for some photos.  People pay a buttload for pit passes...but we have seen so many drivers just by getting out to the track early.  If you want to better your chances...get out to the track on qualifying day...Also, I have found that if you do a web search for "driver appearances and the event name" on google you will find information about different events held in the city on race weekends where you can have a chance to see drivers.  Here are a few examples of who we have seen:

Four Cup Champions!!

Robby Gordon makes an effort each race weekend to go out and spend time with the fans at his trailer.  If you are a fan or not when you walk up, you will be one by the time you leave.   You will see he is the most fan friendly driver hands down and you will see why his fans are so loyal through good and bad.           GAS ON!!

Also wanted to mention, the "free" displays are also a great way to kill time before the race.  All the tracks I have been to have a "midway" area with sponsor tents set up, most have some small give away item (tshirts, koozies, keychains, posters, etc.) or free sample of a product. If you use smokeless tobacco, you will score at those tents---I always fill out those forms also so we can double up on those samples, just hard for a woman to look convincing as a "dipper", but word to the wise if you say you are getting it for someone else, some of the vendors will not third party sample, so for the day you become an honorary participate.  Warning to first timers...they have alot of things you must fill out to get the "free" stuff...unless you want a TON of phone solicitors and surveyors calling, PUT YOUR WRONG PHONE NUMBER or do not put one at all!!  I learned the hardway...it does not matter if you are on the no-call list, you are giving permission by completing these entries.  If it is for a "prize" giveaway, and they can not contact you by phone, then they should contact you via mail should you be the lucky winner.  I have found junk mail is easier to get rid of than a phone solicitor...

Pre race activities are also fun to attend...get up close to the fence and you can get great photos of your favorite driver and close enough to boo your not so favorite drivers.   Alot of times they have a concert with some fairly decent acts...check the track website for this information.   

4)    Take ear protection...you will need it.  Foam ear plugs are inexpensive and work fine, the ones with the "cord" attaching them together is better. (Purchase these BEFORE you go...they can be as much as 3.00 a pair at the track...we bought a gross of these on eBay for 12.00)  Best is a race scanner set up.  If you rent one from the track it can be kind of pricey.   They will give you a weekend rate, which also will include a "deposit" to make sure you return their scanner and headsets.  The deposit can be as much as 300.00 so make sure you have some form of deposit such as a credit card, cash, or your spouse.   The weekend rental for the scanner and headphones is approximately 40.00.  I have purchased all my scanners used on eBay...they will pay for themselves the first time you use it. Look for scanners during the "off season" if possible.   The demand is not as high as during the race season and you will get a better price. Even if you buy a scanner set up for ONE race, you will probably be able to resell it on eBay and get the majority of your money back.  You can also purchase a "splitter" so two people can share one scanner, each must have their own set of headphones.  You will have to purchase the scanner frequency lists from one of the rental trailers....they are approximately 5.00.   I keep mine from season to season, as they rarely change...the drivers may change cars....but the frequencies stay with car.   Example,  I can go back to scanner listings to 1998 for Dale Earnhardt...and Kevin Harvick now has the same frequencies.     You can also check resources online for scanner lists you can print out and take with you.   Jayski.com has a fairly current list on that website.   I also try to program my scanner before I ever leave the house, so I am not fooling with it in the stands.

5)   Plan enough time off.  In case of rain...for example...if the race is scheduled for Sunday...plan on being off on Monday also.  NASCAR will do everything it can to run the race, but if the weather does not permit, they will postpone for the next day...they do not give refunds unless the event is completely cancelled.   Rained out races are the still fun to attend...only about 1/3 of the original crowd show up the next day and "upgrading" your seat is usually not a problem.   This year's race at Michigan is a fine example of the lengths that NASCAR will go to not to have to cancel an event.   I have read on different online resources that some tracks are offering ticket insurance.   It is a few extra dollars, and it will reimburse your ticket price if the event is postponed and you were not able to attend.   I think this is a worthwhile idea if your plans do not permit date flexibility.  I would rather be out 3-4 bucks per ticket thank to take it in the shorts for over a 100 bucks a ticket.

Speaking of weather,  Races can take some creative dressing, especially in the Spring and Fall season.   If you get out to the track early, chances are you will be bundled up in jackets and sweatshirts, but by the end of the day you will be down to a tank top.  So my recommendation is LAYER!   I also HIGHLY stress the use of sunscreen...no fun to get a bad sunburn on Busch day and feel like crap on Sunday not wanting to sit in the sun again.  What I have found that works the BEST is BullFrog Sport Block...it is a light spray, does not sweat off, and is the ONLY sunscreen of its kind.  Even after sitting in the sun all day, you will not feel worn out from it...sounds silly...but my dermatologist told me about it, and it lives up to it's promises. (Saving one race fan from skin cancer is my personal mission...ha)  Also, take the essentials...sunglasses, hat, camera, binoculars, trash bag (to put camera and scanner in inside of backpack incase of rain) and rain ponchos.   Most tracks do not permit umbrellas and will make you leave them at the gate.    Also, it is a great idea to take some toliet paper with you...by the end of the race chances are you will be drip drying if you don't bring some with you, as the bathrooms tend to run out.

6)    Tailgate!!! This has to be the BEST part of race weekend for my family and friends.  Avoid the stress and frustration of leaving by staying and cooking out afterwards.  You are going to have to wait more than likely...might as well be enjoying the time flipping burgers than getting flipped off trying to get out of the parking lots.

7)   Should I take my piglets??   With the high price of Cup tickets and the length of the races I recommend taking the kids to a Busch race first.   The races are shorter and most race weekends the Cup drivers have two practice sessions on Saturday morning for approximately two hours before the Busch race.   That way they get to see the "big boys" run and still get to see some great racing.   My kids are in their early teens and they can stay interested in the Busch race...500 mile cup races they get a little restless.   Another thing...when taking your kids you might want to go with an open mind...when my son was 11 he was exposed (pun intended) to how girls get strings of mardi gras beads driving out of the parking lot this spring...needless to say he will be taking a bag full of beads to the next race....JUST KIDDING (I don't think he was as freaked out by this as I was)...just wanted to make the point, that if you take your kids, there is a chance they will see, and hear some things they usually don't and you will just have to shrug it off.  NASCAR races are great, and I personally would not hesitate taking my kids to a race due to any of the rare but possible "sideshows". 

8)  Pit Pass or not to Pit Pass??  That it is a great question...depends on your expectations.  I purchased and used pit passes for the first time at the Fall Texas race.  It was great and a once in a lifetime chance, as I probably would not pay to do it again (anyone who has a few free ones laying around I would not turn them down...hint hint).  Granted we did see some drivers, and got a few autographs.   But if THAT is your objective to going in the pits you will be dissapointed.   The majority of the drivers move swiftly through the crowds (which are usually behind a fence) and will only sign for a few if any people.  What I DID enjoy is that we got to be in the pits during qualifying, THAT was worth it, we were sitting on pit row watching from there...whole different perspective.  If you can get your hands on GARAGE passes, those give you a better chance of seeing the driver you want, instead of the random chance encounter of other drivers.  

9)   Camping is great fun, if you want to make a full weekend out of it.  You may show up only knowing the people you arrived with, but by the end of the weekend I can assure you, you will know everyone camping around you by name and they will know yours.  The atmosphere at night is great...but make sure you get a reserved spot.   This will make for a less stressful arrival.  Non-reserved camping is simply first come first serve.  If you can not get to the campground until Friday of race weekend, chances are you are going to be in the worse part of the camp ground or not being able to get a spot at all.  Texas is great as they have a temporary Brookshire's grocery store set up for the campers to use.   It is fully stocked and the prices are comparable to a regular grocery store.  They have almost constant trash pick up there as well...the camp ground is remarkably clean and very well monitored.   For information on tracks to share/find information please visit our "campsite" at   nascarcamping.com

10)   NEVER purchase tickets from a "second chance" offer UNLESS it appears on your "my eBay" page under the second chance offer section.  There are individuals from overseas who scan completed auctions, and collect names of the losing bidders and offer to sell additional tickets to them for a set price.  They will insist that you pay them with either Western Union or an instant transfer of some sort,...It is never a good practice to purchase tickets outside the scope of eBay.  Save your hard earned cash for the track...if it does not go through ebay...chances are you won't be going through the   gates at the race track.  You have NO recourse when the deal goes south if it does not go through eBay.  Ebay works diligently to educate members about these type of fraud and scam techniques.  I recommend purchasing from people who have tickets "in hand" and can ship upon receipt of your payment.  Check the sellers feedback rating, and see what other people have purchased from them.  Always check with the track for tickets first...this ensures you will get the seat, for a fair price or if nothing else will give you a "baseline" for the price of the seats...and some tracks will let you "renew" you seats from the following year after you purchase from them.     I have uncovered another scam that runs rampant on the WANT IT NOW listings.   IF you post up a listing for tickets to any event, you will get a response back from some idiot that claims he has 8 tickets to the specific event that you posted a listing for.   He will have his yahoo id listed (it is typically a fictious name and a two to three digit number) and state you can contact him via that method.  His full email address will not be listed, as eBay has a filtering process to deter direct contact...but anyone knows all you have to do is add @yahoo.com to the persons id to establish contact.  The next email  you will get from him will want you to tell him again what tickets you wanted...from there the non-sense begins.   He will state that he will initiate a transaction through eBay square trade (the whole time assuring you it is completely safe, secure, blah blah blah)...IF you agree to this he will then send you a VERY official looking email, that shows what tickets you agreed to purchase, but it will insist on you making the payment through WESTERN UNION-----RUN my friend...RUN!!   For fun and to jack with this guy, I posted up an auction for a fictious race the "BIGOLEPIG 500" and guess what, he amazingly had tickets IN HAND for this event.   You can goto nascarcamping.com in the NASCAR forum/fans lounge/eBay thread and see ALL of the correspondence between me and this idiot (complete with webshots for proof)...IT IS PRICELESS...not to mention a good laugh.    (I invite everyone to join our forum, if for nothing else to alert people to anytype of scam they have been a witness or victim of, I do my part to educate race fans)

***NOTICE TO SELLERS***  IF you are selling tickets that have ANYTYPE of a barcode on them it is VERY important to cover those up in the photos you post on eBay.   A lot of the tracks use a scanning device for entry and exit to the tracks.   If your photo is clear enough a low life scum, can take that photo and produce a ticket using that bar code.    Then it will be a race of who gets to the track first and gets entry into the track.  Those scanning systems will not permit two tickets with the same bar code entry into the track.   SO...to safeguard yourself as a buyer as well...steer clear of tickets posted with the barcodes showing.    (This is also true with most other event tickets i.e. football, baseball...etc.)Make sure you are able to resell your tickets without jeopardizing your season tickets.   I had a person contact me to let me know they lost the rights to their season tickets at Indy because someone at the speedway scans the auctions and was able to identify the owner of the tickets and refused to renew this persons tickets for reselling them.  This person GAVE the tickets away, and a the friend they gave them to sold them for less than face value on eBay and they attempted to explain the situation to the ticket office, but it fell on deaf ears.   Please don't risk it...call and find out if you can resell your tickets.    IF in doubt...donate them, or don't use them at all.

Some sellers end up letting go of great tickets because they don't know how to list them properly.  Always search with "title and description" box checked and instead of putting in TICKETS in the search try the word SEATS.  Put the City or State where the event will be held also...and the word "RACE" you will be amazed on how many auctions you can find this way.  Use these words in all combinations and you will find items appear that don't in the traditional "NEXTEL CUP TICKETS" searching.  Set up Automatic searches with these combinations and you will get daily updates from eBay when new items are posted...Another thing...if you find one of these auctions where someone has a really vague description...contact them right away, and if they seem like good seats bid on them immediately...little known to most eBayers, once an item has a bid on it the seller can not change the original title description, therefore if the listing continues "as is" this will increase your chances of winning and getting the tickets for a great price.  

Another thing I have found to be of great value once you have purchased tickets from a seller and have a sucessful transaction with them, keep them on your "favorite sellers" list.   I have contacted people I have bought season tickets from previously to see if they are wanting to sell their tickets again, most people are willing to deal with you direct and I feel totally comfortable doing this if I have purchased from someone in the past.  

  Have any questions or need a "trained" eye to look at an auction for you or to help you post your tickets...contact me through eBay or email me directly...my email is listed on my eBay page link below.

This guide is a work in progress, so check back as I update this page frequently...share it with a friend!!   Have an idea of something I should add to this page, please contact me and I am always happy to add appropriate information to this page!!  Also check out my eBay page, I have put links to all the tracks websites, as well as some other nascar related links...

Don't forget...if you found any part of this guide helpful...please check YES below!!!