Need for Speed
A NASCAR BLOG BY Jared Turner
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This is a great stretch of the NASCAR season
May
1
We are truly in a terrific stretch of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
What other venues offer a better combination of fan friendliness and fierce competition than Phoenix, Talladega, Richmond, Darlington and Charlotte - the five tracks that the series visits from mid-April through late May.
In Phoenix, the weather is as close to prefect as you'll find at any stop on the Sprint Cup tour. The race, which is run under the lights on a Saturday night at the 1-mile track, isn't usually half bad, either.
Talladega is a place where patrons party from sun-up to sundown, where the excitement on the track borders on insane and where fan loyalties are expressed with fervor surpassing that of turkey lovers on Thanksgiving Day.
Richmond, site of this Saturday night's race, is the perfect blend of fender-rubbing, foot-stomping, fist-pumping drama that keeps spectators on their feet and drivers on the edge. Racing at the .75-mile track is also special because it allows many drivers to relive their roots, which in most cases can be traced to Saturday night short track showdowns across the United States.
Then comes Darlington, site of another night race, and a place so challenging for drivers that it's long been anointed, "The track too tough to tame." It's at this 1.366-mile oval that rookies find out just how much they have to learn and veterans realize they are no less apt to leave with a vintage Darlington stripe. Darlington, which hosted its first race on Labor Day weekend 1950, is also a relic of NASCAR history that few other tracks can claim to be.
Finally there's Charlotte, where the series convenes on back-to-back weekends to wind up the month of May. Charlotte, formally known as Lowe's Motor Speedway, is a treat for drivers and fans alike.
Not only is the track all but in the backyard of the vast majority of drivers and crew members - which allows them to sleep in their own beds on a race weekend for a change - it's a great place for fans who want to do more than a watch a race. Attractions located within minutes of the speedway include dozens of Sprint Cup race shops, a memorial to the late Dale Earnhardt (in his hometown of Kannapolis, N.C.) and a city that is one of South's finest.
If only the entire Cup itinerary could be like this splendid stretch.
What other venues offer a better combination of fan friendliness and fierce competition than Phoenix, Talladega, Richmond, Darlington and Charlotte - the five tracks that the series visits from mid-April through late May.
In Phoenix, the weather is as close to prefect as you'll find at any stop on the Sprint Cup tour. The race, which is run under the lights on a Saturday night at the 1-mile track, isn't usually half bad, either.
Talladega is a place where patrons party from sun-up to sundown, where the excitement on the track borders on insane and where fan loyalties are expressed with fervor surpassing that of turkey lovers on Thanksgiving Day.
Richmond, site of this Saturday night's race, is the perfect blend of fender-rubbing, foot-stomping, fist-pumping drama that keeps spectators on their feet and drivers on the edge. Racing at the .75-mile track is also special because it allows many drivers to relive their roots, which in most cases can be traced to Saturday night short track showdowns across the United States.
Then comes Darlington, site of another night race, and a place so challenging for drivers that it's long been anointed, "The track too tough to tame." It's at this 1.366-mile oval that rookies find out just how much they have to learn and veterans realize they are no less apt to leave with a vintage Darlington stripe. Darlington, which hosted its first race on Labor Day weekend 1950, is also a relic of NASCAR history that few other tracks can claim to be.
Finally there's Charlotte, where the series convenes on back-to-back weekends to wind up the month of May. Charlotte, formally known as Lowe's Motor Speedway, is a treat for drivers and fans alike.
Not only is the track all but in the backyard of the vast majority of drivers and crew members - which allows them to sleep in their own beds on a race weekend for a change - it's a great place for fans who want to do more than a watch a race. Attractions located within minutes of the speedway include dozens of Sprint Cup race shops, a memorial to the late Dale Earnhardt (in his hometown of Kannapolis, N.C.) and a city that is one of South's finest.
If only the entire Cup itinerary could be like this splendid stretch.
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