NASCAR Update: MichAgain
NASCAR Cup Series made its second and final stop at Michigan International Speedway for the 2005 season on Sunday. I was in attendance for the first stop in June.
Michigan was a sort of culture shock. I am not talking about the beer, or the woo hoo-ing, or the little bits of rubber that rain down on spectators. (I feel right at home with all of that.) I am not even talking about the opening prayer to Jesus, or the military fly over, or the Star Spangled Banner performed by an up-and-coming, Nashville star. (The beer goes a long way towards settling my fears about the mixing of church, state, country music, and NASCAR.)
I had attended several races before Michigan including Martinsville, Texas–and TALLADEGA BABY!–to name a few. The Michigan crowd was bland in comparison. That was my first impression upon arrival. That lack of southern eccentricity was all camouflage. Those folks had been saving up some bad behavior beneath the white bread and not the good kind of bad.
A group of guys made racist remarks the likes of which I have never heard, not even among the confederate-flag-waving crowd. A drunken couple screamed at an attendant because she did not know where they had parked their car. A young boy walked by loaded down with chairs and coolers while his parents weaved drunkenly behind him. Post-race, a woman performed a strip tease on top of an SUV shaking her breasts while parents covered their childrens eyes.
It was not all bad. It was a perfect day for racing; sunny, but not too hot. I was there with my siblings and we always manage to crack each other up. My sister got the autograph of her true love, Jeremy Mayfield. And we had great seatmates from Indiana who amused us with a new drinking game. Rules: you take a swig every time you spot someone with a mullet, or bad teeth. Those dudes were blitzed.
Biffle took the checkered flag and Stewart gave a sneak preview of his streak yet to come.
Now it is August and Jeremy Mayfield took his UAW Dodge to Victory Lane, which should make my sister happy. The top slots came down to fuel mileage strategy. Mayfield and a handful of others had topped off during a late caution allowing them to stay on track while the race leaders made a final stop for fuel. Good for the Evernham team. They have managed to stay in the top ten of points, but marginally. This will go a long way towards securing their spot in the Chase. Stewart–still smokingcame in fifth.
