Everyone at the race track seems to be wearing some kind of Headset?  Why is that?

Some of these headsets merely block out the noise for those people with sensitive ears, like children and of course some grown ups too!  However, most of those headsets are attached to scanners which enable the "Smart Race Fan" to hear conversations between their favorite drivers and their pit crew (as well as their not-so-favorite drivers!).  The conversations are not only between the drivers and their pit crews but the spotter and sometimes the car owner as well.  You can also listen to MRN (Motorsports Racing Network) and keep track of which car is leading, because after a long stretch of green flag racing you can lose track of who is on the lead lap.  (Usually the scoreboard at the track only shows the top ten drivers).

You have the capability to scan several drivers, dependant upon the number of channels in the scanner and the availability of frequencies.  Here at SmartRaceFan Communications, we make every effort to maintain an up to date listing of the frequencies for the drivers in all three of the Nascar Series. (Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck).  Please refer to our frequency page on our website for additional information regarding frequencies.

We recommend that you listen to the 2nd place driver on back for more conversations.  Usually the car in the lead is pretty quiet except for the "clear" that you hear from time to time as the driver passes other cars.  The "clear" is each drivers spotter letting the driver know that they have "cleared" the car currently being passed and they can drop back into their "groove".

After a pitt stop, drivers tend to report in on the handling of the car and the feel of the tires.  If there was a bad pitt stop you tend to hear an exchange of words regarding whatever happened in the pits to slow down the driver or if there is some kind of "mishap" between two drivers - you really hear a conversation!  (Remember there is no time delay on these conversations - so be prepared to hear "real life" emotion and currently there are no fines for certain words said over the radios!)

Bottom line - you get more for the price of that ticket if you can feel like you are involved in every aspect of the race.  What better way than to hear the actual communication of the driver and his team........

See our guides on the scanner, headset, stubby antenna and frequency information for more info.  We hope this helps the newcomer to the greatest port in the world!