Carolyn Brewster: A hard day of walking at the track
Fans walk through the infield tunnel at Kansas Speedway, one of many long walks fans face during a day at that track, or any track, for that matter. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
I’ve mentioned it a million times before and anyone who’s been to the track knows it from personal experience – a day at the races means a lot of walking. But there is nothing concrete or definitive about the term “a lot.” What might be a short hike for one fan could be the equivalent of a marathon to another. So, in an effort to hang some meat on the bones of the overused term “a lot,” I decided to do some research. Armed with a pedometer and a good pair of walking shoes, I set off for a day at Talladega Superspeedway to determine exactly how far “a lot” really is.
Clipped to my hip, the pedometer began counting steps the moment I arrived at the speedway. My morning consisted of what I consider regular fan activity – parking in the middle of nowhere, getting lost, finding food, locating bathrooms, shopping, picking up our tickets, plus prerace shows and activities. By the time I found my seat and the green flag waved, I had logged 12,739 steps. At a stride of roughly 27 inches, that equates to 5.43 miles. OK, doesn’t sound like much, but I was impressed. And no, I didn’t do the math to convert that in my head.
Through the remainder of the race day I only managed an additional 1.5 miles, for a grand total of 16,248 steps, or 6.93 miles. That mostly consisted of trips to the concession stand, bathroom, and then the final walk back to the car (I even found my car on the first try). If nothing else, that certainly underscores the need for comfort over fashion in the shoe department.
Since I received no federal grants or subsidies – only a really good piece of fried chicken from a hospitality buffet – my research does not account for certain variables. Fans who tailgate might tend to log few steps at a NASCAR race. The need for food and entertainment is satisfied right there at their vehicle, so infrequent trips to the port-a-potty and grandstands might lead to fewer steps.
The second variable to consider is the size of the track. Superspeedways are massive, so to get from one side of the track to the other is naturally a farther distance. However, a colleague, Scene photographer, David Griffin, says he walks more at smaller tracks. The simple logic: at smaller tracks everything “seems” close, so we walk.
At big tracks, we can drive, take the shuttle, or just not make the effort to see what’s on the other side. I vote we slap a pedometer on Mr. Griffin and get some hard statistics.
Although my findings won’t be reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, you can know with great certainty for all my future columns, I define walking “a lot” at the track as walking really, really far.
